TheAnimeFanGirl challenged me to write in first person. This is probably the ONLY time I will ever do this in this story. Flashbacks are a nightmare for me to write too. Needless to say, this isn't my favorite chapter.

It had taken a matter of seconds for Ryou to fall asleep. The poor child had been through so much emotional stress.

"I really wish I knew how to take care of you. I wish I could protect you. And most of all, I wish I could take away your pain," Bakura whispered. He sighed and ran his fingers through Ryou's hair, taking care not to pull too hard on the matted snarls. "What am I going to do?"

"I'm sorry, 'Kura."

Bakura almost jumped at the voice, but didn't look up.

"Are you honestly sorry, or did Marik force you to do this?"

"Listen, I heard everything, and…"

Brown eyes, tinted blood red with anger snapped up. "You had no right to just eavesdrop on a personal matter!" Bakura hissed through his teeth.

"I'm sorry! I just wanted to know wh..."

"And asking directly was inconvenient because?"

"I wanted to understand why y..."

"Well do you understand now? Was it worth betraying what little trust I had in you? Are you happy now?"

Malik sighed sadly and turned to go back to his room, "I truly am sorry Bakura." And with that, he turned and walked away, the front door slamming behind him.

*Bakura POV*

I winced as the door slammed. "Why am I so stupid? I may have just destroyed the best thing that ever happened to me," I murmured, shaking my head.

Malik had been there for me ever since we ran into each other on the streets. We had taken care of each others' cuts, bruises, and broken bones. Of course, Marik and Akefia had been at our sides every step of the way.

*Flashback*

"Split up!" I called, veering left, away from Akefia. He nodded and disappeared into the woods, weaving between trees and hiding in the shadows.

BANG!

My hand flew to my right shoulder, already feeling the pain explode and the blood bubble to the surface. I bit my lip and kept running, twisting and turning through the narrow alleys. I had almost forgotten how bad bullet wounds stung.

BANG!

Fortunately, this bullet hit too far down and to the left, hitting the grimy brick wall instead of me.

"Damn." A dark voice whispered.

I would have frozen in shock, had I not been running for my life. Instead, I ran into a crevice in the wall, waiting for the cops to run by.

"Come on guys, he went this way!" Heavy footsteps ran past me.

I slunk out of my hiding spot and crept over to the strange voice, kneeling down beside it.

"How bad did he get you?" I asked, keeping my voice hushed.

In a matter of seconds, I was pulled into a weak headlock. "Who are you and who do you work for?"

*End Flashback*

I still don't know why he believed anything I had said that night. But he did, and we ended up going to my house to tend to our wounds.

Malik had stayed up at night, calming me down when I had nightmares from my childhood. He didn't quite understand them, but he held me close and listened to my hysteric cries.

He kept me sane.

And what did I do in return? Disregard his feelings and insult him. I was a terrible person; there was no way around it.

I stood and carried Ryou to the couch, draping a blanket around him.

"Akefia?" I knocked on his door. "Can you take care of Ryou for a bit?"

He opened the door just enough to stare at me skeptically. "Who's Ryou?"

"The child."

"Oh, I guess I can."

"Thank you."

I turned and ran to the front door, grabbing my coat in the process. I had to find Malik.