A Cry of Desperation
by TAFKAE

A/N: Wow! Twelve reviews already! That's more than I've gotten for Keys, and it's been up for months… *sob* If I get ten for chapter 2, I'll put up chapter 3 (which is finished, am now working on Anzu's). Thanks to all my adoring fans, and esp. to Kvaedi (for the nickname "taffy" … silly nickname, fits me well!)

~*~*~

I am a fool.

No, scratch that. I'm not a fool, I'm a complete idiot. I… I tried to break it to you gently, Yugi, but I had no choice at that point!

…Why am I trying to defend myself? I know no one's listening, and I'm not even convincing myself anyway. I don't remember much about my past, but I do know I've lost too many people through my narrow-mindedness. No choice. No other way. How many times have I said that? Why did I say it now?

Yugi… I blew it. Every pleading question seems to scrape against a raw wound. It hurts me, more than you know, to hear you this afraid, but I can't answer, somehow it almost feels as though you wouldn't want me to. It's all right. I can't think of any decent answers for them anyway.

How many other people did you kill while I slept?

Yes, you're a smart kid. Everything's coming together now. But you're… you're unwilling to accept the past, and even more unwilling to accept me, though the latter doesn't surprise me in the least. I doubt our friends would do any better.

Our friends…? Yes… I suppose they have become my friends as well. Please, Yugi, they're all there for you. Listen to them. They're right.

Maybe if I close myself off, maybe that thing won't get out again! You'll never get out again, I swear it! You'd have to –

– but you would, wouldn't you?

You didn't need to finish that sentence. You'd have to kill me. The second part is in resigned horror – have I really gotten you that scared? – and then drifting to Pegasus, to Grandpa, to Kaiba, to –

Oh, God. You're serious!

Gotta do this before I change my mind!

Almost elation in his voice – freedom – freedom – freedom from what? Me? I didn't think… Only one thing could stop him right now, and that's if he –

– tripped.

Bakura. Bakura, yes, you understand where his train of thought is going. It's gone through your own head too many times to count. I can do nothing at this point. Every word stings more than the last – prisoner – all my fault – laughing –

That one is your imagination. Either that or I'm crying, which I seriously doubt. I can't laugh. Not now. Not when you're crying like that. Not when it hurts you to look into the eyes of the only other person who understands what you're going through, even eyes that gentle, eyes that shouldn't hurt…

But now… now I'm looking into them too… and they do. It's very rare to find people who care so much about you. Very rare, even, to find people who are willing to stop you from killing yourself. Believe me, I know.

– and today having it just thrust on me that there's a monster hiding inside me, who's been using me for God-knows-how-long to do God-knows-what, and I don't like it!

A monster…? At this point, that'd just be insulting the cards. I have to say something, anything! Please, Yugi, just listen –

– please stay away from me, stay away from my friends!

Yugi, please, could you give me a chance to explain? Oh, damn it, I'm sure that sounded just as pleady as him, but no, he doesn't notice, too caught up in his emotions –

EXPLAIN?! How could you explain? Please, whoever you are, just leave me alone, don't make me hear your voice again, don't make me feel you there, just shrivel up and die before I do!!

– to even notice that he is. To even notice that he's still sitting on the castle, or that the sun is still shining. "Why won't you just leave me alone…?"

So I do. I… I do have to take responsibility. I've driven you, in less than three days, to the very brink of insanity, and maybe beyond. I… I'll make it up to you, Yugi, I promise I will. I will find a way to rescue your grandfather.

I will not hurt anymore.

Oh… and remind me to thank the others someday. I doubt I could have tripped you again.

~*~*~

A/N: Sorry about this chapter being so much shorter than the first one; Yami's train of thought isn't going nearly as fast as Yugi's. And just a little something I dunno if you caught: all that hesitancy at the beginning and end, after the "I"s. Can anyone guess what it is/means?

Let's see them reviews people! And, uh… any chance anybody out there would like to read my other stuff?