When the former spirit of the millennium ring opened his eyes again, the faces of Yami Yugi, Tea, Tristan, Joey, and Kaiba were hovering above him.
"What… happened…" he whispered.
"You fainted." Yami Yugi replied softly. "My hikari called for a nurse."
Bakura looked around him. He was in a hospital bed, with a blanked pulled up to his chest. An IV was attached to his left arm.
"What's this for?"
"You were really dehydrated." Tea answered. "They needed to get fluids into your body."
It took Bakura another minute or so for her answer to sink in. Having been a spirit for over five thousand years, such necessities had completely slipped his mind.
"How long have I…"
"Only a few hours." Tristan replied.
Suddenly, a wave of panic struck Bakura.
"Oh, Ra! Ryou!" he jolted upright, ignoring the exhaustion his body still felt. "How's Ryou! Show me Ryou!"
Tea pushed the former spirit back down onto the bed, which took surprisingly less force than she anticipated it would. The rest of the group exchanged glances, eventually settling on Yami Yugi.
"…what…" Bakura's voice was laced with dread.
"Bakura… we're sorry…" Yami Yugi spoke for everyone.
"No." he tried to get up, but Tea and Tristan held him down.
"Ryou passed away while you were unconscious."
Bakura froze. Something inside him snapped, and he leapt forward, lunging at Yami Yugi.
"You liar!" he shrieked, stretching his free hand through Tristan and now Kaiba's grip. "You conniving pharaoh! I'll rip your heart out!"
"I'm sorry, Bakura…" Yami Yugi repeated.
Even the three of them could barely hold Bakura down.
"No! Ryou's fine! You don't know what you're talking about!" Bakura shouted, tears streaming down his cheeks. "He's fine! He's just sleeping! He'll wake up! And then we'll be together! Just like he wanted!"
"I'm sorry…" Yami Yugi repeated again. Bakura continued to scream. In the scuffle, he managed to punch Kaiba in the jaw, and eventually tore his arm free from the IV.
"Let me see him!" he jumped up, again being pushed down by Tea and Tristan. Joey jumped in now, holding the former spirit's legs. "Let me go, you brats! Let me see Ryou!"
"Stop thrashing." Kaiba finally spoke, massaging his sore jaw. "He's still right here."
Bakura stopped fighting. When the other three realized he wasn't trying to attack, they let go of his body. Everyone except Yami Yugi took a cautious step back.
"His body is right here, Bakura." The pharaoh motioned to the bed right next to him. Ryou was completely motionless, and all the machines had been turned off.
The former spirit of the millennium ring pushed what was left of the blanket off of him, and stumbled to Ryou's side. The open wound in his arm bled down onto the white cloth, and onto Ryou's hand. Bakura held Ryou's hand tightly. It was so very cold.
"No… Ryou… you can't be dead! Do you hear me?" he cried. "You're not dead! I order you to wake up! Now!"
Yami Yugi advanced cautiously, and put a hand on the former spirit's shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Bakura." He rubbed the other's shoulder gently. "Ryou is dead."
Bakura pushed him away, and reached for his hikari. He hugged Ryou's lifeless body, and cradled it gently, stroking his light's pure white hair.
"No… Don't leave me… Ryou… Come back to me, Ryou…" he sobbed. No one knew exactly how to comfort the now human Bakura. "Oh Ra… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"
"You can't bring him back." Yami Yugi sighed. "No one can."
Bakura still refused to acknowledge his presence.
"I tried to protect you… I tried… You were right… Yugi was right… I did care… I do care…" he continued to sob. "I do care…"
But caring doesn't bring souls back from the dead.