...I actually have no notes for this chapter...

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Darkwolf193: Don't worry, I can tell the diff between a flame and a criticism ^_^ yes, I agree, but it was necessary... you'll see why later!

A thank you also to Koori no Kokoro, ObiWanGirl, shadowspecter, Ril, Yugi-obsessed, CrazyAboutYugi, Latias, Kitty Neko, Shade25, One Winged Tenshi, Ame, Bi Panda, Anna EC, Yami Yami Yugi, Violet Blossoms (thanks for the plushies! ^_^), Smarty1, Dark Amethystunicorn, Morgaine: Lady of the Lake, BadLuckShuichi, s.h.i.r.o.i.k.e.t.s.u.e.k.i, Lady Rapidash, trekkie-54, RavenWulf, Abi2, Taddybear, blueraydragon, tamachan444, yamiyugifanadic (*hands over cookie*), Babsey The Great, Lunar Shadowsong, Athena5897, Flowers and Setosgal

*~*~*~*~*~*

Bakura bit his lip as he stood outside his and Malik's bedroom door. He knew Malik was in there. He knew what he was going to say. He knew Malik wouldn't take it well… but he also knew that he had to do it. And therein lay the problem.

How could he just walk in and blurt out that he was responsible for Malik's father's death? That he was ultimately responsible for Malik being orphaned? Bakura leaned up against the wall with a small groan. If he hadn't been such a hot-headed youth, this wouldn't have arisen now. It would be so much easier to blame it on Tuthmises – to say that if he hadn't wrongly killed Ryou, Bakura wouldn't have had anything to claim vengeance for – but he knew he alone had responsibility for his actions. Even at the entrance to the tomb he'd hesitated, wondering if what he was doing was wrong. If he'd listened to that small voice, if he'd swallowed his pride and anger and walked away, he wouldn't have to face this now. But he hadn't walked away, and now he had to pay for his mistake.

"Bakura?"

Bakura jerked out of his self-reproachful thoughts and spun to face the doorway, guilt written all over his face. Malik was stood there, smiling brightly. "I thought I heard you!" he remarked cheerfully. When he noticed Bakura's remorseful gaze, his smile faded slightly, and he even frowned a little. "Bakura…? What's wrong?"

The tomb robber's eyes dropped so he was staring at the dirt on the floor. "Malik… I need to talk to you…" he mumbled.

Confusion in his violet eyes, Malik nodded dumbly, stepping aside to allow Bakura into their shared room and closing the door behind him. "What's wrong?" he asked again.

Bakura sat down on the bed, slumping forward as he retraced his words in his head once again. Now that the moment had arrived, they were much harder to recall, and when he did remember they didn't sound anywhere near as good as he'd first thought. He had somewhat expected it, but even so he rued the fact, wishing that any of the gods – or preferably goddesses – would strike him with inspiration, just a few simple words that would make it all okay again.

"Malik," Bakura began, his voice hoarse. "There's something I did, a long time ago… and I have to tell you now. It's not fair to keep it from you. You need to know, so you can move on."

Malik frowned slightly, pursing his lips in thought. What was Bakura talking about? What could he have done all that time ago that would affect Malik now?

"I…" Bakura paused, checking his wording again and taking a deep breath to compose himself. "Your father… the night he was killed at the tomb…"

Malik's eyes flashed wide, his jaw dropping open. Bakura didn't…?

"…It was me."

Malik took a shaky step back from Bakura, unable to accept what he'd just heard. "No…" he whispered. "You didn't… you… you're joking, right?" Bakura couldn't have done it. He hated whoever had killed his father… but he loved Bakura. There was no way they could be the same person. It just… it didn't work. It couldn't work. There had to be some other reason Bakura was saying that.

"…I'm sorry Malik. This isn't a joke. I had to tell you, so you could begin to get over it."

"No…"

"I'm so sorry Malik. I didn't think about what I was doing, and… I fucked it up…" Bakura looked up at Malik with wide, slightly teary eyes. "Tuthmises killed my brother, my only guardian, and destroyed my life. I just wanted revenge… I didn't think about what it'd do to everyone else…"

Malik's reply was quiet, sharp and bitter. "So that makes it okay?" His face suddenly contorted into a snarl, and he almost lashed out at Bakura. "So that makes it okay? You think that admitting your mistake will just make the pain go away?" Malik advanced on Bakura two paces, his fist drawn back, ready to strike. "Don't you realise what that did Bakura? You ruined my life!"

"I know…" the boy whispered dejectedly. "That's why I told you. So you could move on and let it go."

"I'd rather have never known!" Malik yelled. "Why don't you just go kill yourself now and save me the trouble?" Pausing only to hiss an angry 'bastard!' at the white-haired tomb robber, Malik turned and bolted from the room.

"Malik!" Bakura yelled, jumping up from the bed. "Where are you going?"

A slammed door was all that answered Bakura, and his dejected, teary whisper echoed softly in the following silence as he slumped to his knees, a tear rolling down his cheek.

"Shit…"

*~*~*~*~*~*

Yugi tilted his head at a cute angle as Yami finished his exegesis [1]. "But… I still don't see how it actually works."

Yami sighed slightly, smiling at his young partner. He was trying to explain the concept of diplomacy to Yugi, without much luck. Yugi continued, pressing home his confusion. "If everyone knows that everyone else is lying, and everyone knows that everyone else knows, then why pretend you're all telling the truth? Why not just say what you mean?"

The Pharaoh smiled again. He'd gone through exactly the same questions himself with his father. "Because that's how wars start, Yugi. Ultimately, everyone is sure that their cause is the right one, and your cause will frequently conflict with everyone else's. If we all said what we thought, people would get very offended very quickly. If we all lie, we can all go away, report those lies to our leaders honestly, with witnesses to support it, and that will be the end of it. Likewise, the leaders can remain assured that the surrounding nations at least accept their position, even if they'd rather be there themselves."

Slowly, Yugi nodded, making a mental note to just not get involved with politics. "Well, what if–?"

The boy suddenly stopped mid sentence, his eyes wide. A series of visions were roaring through his head, overpowering his senses and confusing his thoughts. He clutched at his temples with his hands, screwing his eyes shut, and sunk to his knees as he felt himself dizzying, oblivious to Yami's cries of concern. The images were growing more and more vivid, racing through his skull and slamming into his consciousness with more and more power. Bakura… Malik… Malik running… the two talking… Bakura alone… Malik and Bakura talking… Malik running… Both boys crying… The images were jumbled, making no sense to Yugi. He couldn't work out what they were saying or what he was supposed to be seeing.

Suddenly, one new image flashed past, blinking by in a fraction of a second like all the others. Tuthmises' tomb. Then Bakura and Malik talking… Malik crying… running… Bakura crying… Bakura picking up a knife…

The images suddenly stopped, and Yugi fell forward onto his hands, panting loudly. Eyes wide with shock and from exhaustion, sweat trickling down his forehead, Yugi spoke. "Bakura…" he gasped, sucking in another lungful of air. "We've got to go and stop Bakura, now…"

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Malik!" the tomb robber cried as he ran through the streets. "Malik! Where are you?"

Dried tear tracks adorning his face, Bakura's frantic search for Malik was proving to be completely useless. He ran down every street, peered down every alley, climbed onto every rooftop in a bid to find the boy. He didn't know why – he didn't know what he'd do or say when and if he did find him – but he had to do something. He couldn't take just sitting at home waiting.

"Malik!" Bakura yelled again, finding the search harder and harder as the sun slowly set. Dark alleyways got darker, and potential hiding places grew more frequent. Bakura was taking longer to check, and so getting through fewer locations. "Malik, please answer me!"

The only reply Bakura got was from the wind, whipping sand up into his face as it blasted through the city. Shielding his eyes, Bakura carried on, calling out time and again for the boy. Slowly, though, his resolve weakened. With each unanswered cry, with each fruitless search, Bakura's hope faded slightly, like a flame on a candle that was slowly burning out. Slowly, his actions grew more sluggish, more tired, as the despair he originally felt began to settle in once more.

What was the use anyway? Malik wouldn't come back to him now.

"I'd rather have never known!"

The words echoed through Bakura's mind. Malik hated him. He'd been able to tell straight away. No matter what else had happened, Malik had never reacted like that before. That wasn't just anger that Malik had directed at him; it had also been years of pent-up pain rushing to the surface, freed now that Bakura had told him the truth. All the years of suffering, of wondering, of wishing to be able to take revenge, all the painful brooding Malik had gone through – it had all been Bakura's fault. Bakura was the source of everything Malik had been through. And he now hated him for it.

"What's the use?" Bakura whispered weakly as he slumped against a wall. "He'll never come back to me now… Even if I did find him, I'd be lucky if he even acknowledged me…"

Pushing away from the wall, Bakura staggered feebly forward. "I've got nothing now…" he whispered. He genuinely believed it too – he'd lost his parents, he'd lost his brother, who he still idolised even today, he'd lost the one true love of his life… what was worth staying for?

"Why don't you just go kill yourself now and save me the trouble?"

"I'm sorry Ryou…" Bakura whispered, reaching for the dagger that hung at his belt. He unsheathed it and held it gently in both hands, the blade balanced across his left palm and the handle on his right. It had been a gift from Malik, one he'd actually got a job for, to earn the money to buy it honestly, specially for Bakura. His right hand closed, and he raised the knife up.

"I'm so sorry, my brother… I've got too much pain to go on, and too much to answer for… I'll never get to Sekhet-Hetepet now…" Bakura choked at this thought, resigning himself to never seeing his brother again. That had been the one dream that he'd still held, but now he was going to cheat himself of even that.

"…I'll be in Duat, Ryou. I hope I made you proud of me…" Bakura wiped a tear from his eye furiously, not wanting to ruin his final goodbye with tears. "Please understand, my brother…I'll always love you…"

*~*~*~*~*~*

Yugi suddenly froze mid-step as more images assailed him, though this time they were far less powerful than the first time. "The courtyard!" he yelled, turning and running back a little way with Yami close behind him. "He's there! We don't have long!"

The two darted down a side street and burst into the open at a full sprint. Across the other side of the vast open space, they saw Bakura, a knife pointed at his chest with both hands on it, ready to strike.

"Bakura, stop!"

*~*~*~*~*~*

Malik sat in a corner, his mind reeling as Bakura's words finally sank in. Tears rolled down his cheeks, but he barely noticed them. He was shaking from the shock, physically unable to calm his body. Bakura had been the one all along. Bakura had been his father's killer.

His tears began to slow as he took deep, calming breaths, and he peered round the room he was in. Somehow, he'd found Bakura's old hidey-hole. The place Bakura had taken him the first time they'd met, when Bakura had rescued him from the city guards [2]. Something had drawn him there.

He rocked forward onto his knees, slouching in the dust, and softly traced the floor with his fingertips. It was here they'd first introduced themselves. Here Bakura had taken him on as his study. Here they'd first made love together. For better or worse, here was where Malik's life had turned around.

"Bakura…" the boy softly whispered.

Malik loved him. No matter how much he hated him, he still loved him too. He could feel it as the memories of their first time came back. Bakura had been so gentle with him; the first time anyone had been for so many years. Bakura had shown genuine feelings for him, something he'd been starved of for so long. And Malik had returned them. He still did.

"What can I do…?" he whispered. He hated Bakura for what he did… but loved him for who he was. Was he just bearing grudges from the past? Did it really still hurt so much after all this time?

"You can come with us."

Malik cried out as he felt both of his arms being roughly grabbed, the two guards pinning him to the floor and twisting his arms behind his back. He felt a rough piece of rope being wrapped around his wrists as he struggled, kicking at the guards in vain. He'd let his guard down for that moment, and now…

"There's quite a nice price on your head, pretty little thief," one of the guards smirked. "You're coming to the palace with us, so we can get our reward."

With that, Malik was hoisted roughly up onto one of the guards' shoulders, and carried away.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Did you see that?" Adair whispered.
Akemi nodded in reply. "Bakura needs to know."

*~*~*~*~*~*

[1] Exegesis [ek-ze-je-sis]: Explanation, definition. It's actually an English word – I came across it and had to expand my vocabulary!
[2] If you don't understand this reference, Forbidden Love Chapter 6 explains it.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Please review!