His fist connects with my face painfully, and I crash to the floor, smacking my head against the ground. I groan and roll onto my stomach and try desperately to crawl away. I have to get the hell out of here! He's going to kill me for sure!

"Where do you think you're going, Hikari?" Bakura spits from behind me. Oh no. I don't answer, just continue to scramble away. "You actually thought you could escape me?" No. Just hoped. I yelp as Bakura's foot slams into my side, making me roll onto my back. He bends down, his eyes terrifying and dangerous. He grabs me by my throat roughly and jerks me up to a sitting position. No! This isn't supposed to be happening! He was supposed to be gone!

"H-How?" I choke out as he tightens his grip around my neck, making it difficult to breath. Bakura slaps me so hard that blood flies from my mouth.

"Doesn't matter," he hisses, "We have unfinished business. I don't need you anymore. That means I can do what should have been done long ago. Prepare yourself, you spineless cowardly brat. When I'm done with you you're going to wish you were never born." He punches me over and over in the face before slamming my head down onto the hard ground. There is a steady stream of blood leaving my mouth and I whimper from the blows. He jerks me up to my feet and shoves me against the wall. He knees me in the stomach sharply. I can't stop the scream that leaves my lips. Bakura chuckles.

"You are such a weakling," he snickers before grabbing me by my hair and ripping me back to the ground. He kicks me square in the chest, stealing all the breath from my lungs. I am on my hands and knees as coughs rack me; blood drips from my mouth onto the floor. The metallic taste is making me sick. I clench my mouth closed to stop myself from puking. Bakura kicks me in the side and knocks me over. I shriek and cry out and shout as he unleashes his fury. Agony is hitting me from all directions. Every blow brings a new level of torture.

"Stop, Bakura!" I beg, but this just makes him smile cruelly and strike me again. I fight the tears that threaten to overthrow; I refuse to give him the satisfaction of seeing them. Bakura grips the front of my blood soaked shirt and pulls something from his pocket. My eyes widen as I see the blade of the dagger.

So this is it then. He is finally going to kill me. I was an idiot to think he would stay gone. Pharaoh did not defeat him after all. He found his way back. Of course he did, I think bitterly, he'll never leave me be. Why me? Why did it have to be me? Why did this fate have to be mine? What, exactly did I do to deserve this? I suppose it doesn't matter now. I am going to die. Bakura smirks and runs the tip of the bland teasingly against my neck.

"Goodbye Hikari," Bakura says, "it's been fun."Goodbye you fucking bastard! I scream as he slices the blade across my throat.

"NOOO!" I shout as I jerk upright in my bed, shaking and hyperventilating. I put my head in my hands and try to control my breathing. A dream! Just a dream…just a dream…just another nightmare. All my blankets and pillows are on the floor, I am drenched in sweat, and my throat is raw from screaming in my sleep. Deep breaths, Ryou. It was just a nightmare. It wasn't real. Bakura is gone and he's never coming back. I must remember that.

All my attempts at calming myself down never work. Bakura may be gone physically, but mentally he never ever will be. I'll always have nightmares. I'll never be able to forget what happened to me. He'll always be my biggest fear. I'll always remember everything he did; everything he said. I take a deep breath and wipe the sweat from my forehead. My jaw clenches.

All those things may be true, but I am not going to let him win. I've let him win since the first time he took control of me. But not anymore. He's gone and I won't let him continue to be in control of my life. It's my life and I'll be damned if I'm not going to what I want with it! I am through with being a coward. I catch my breath, grim determination on my face.

I'm going to be okay. Somehow.