The Purpose of a Heart
Chapter Sixteen

Bakura paused and cast an eye toward the young man in the blue jumpsuit, who was looking around frantically. They met eyes and Bakura arched his eyebrow. Behind the boss's back, the man shrugged helplessly. Bakura returned his attention to the boss. Keeping him distracted was the best thing for now.

"Look, I know almost everything now. The least you can do is answer my questions."

"Fire away." The man replied cheerfully.

"What the heck are you doing down here?"

"Building a laser."

"What for?"

"To obliterate America, of course. The USA to be exact." The boss replied as if discussing the weather. Bakura furrowed his brow in confusion.

"Why America? Why not some other random country? What've you got against the US?"

The boss glanced off to his right and sighed. "You won't understand. No one can, unless they've lived through everything I have. Blair has shared a similar experience, but even he doesn't fully get it. I don't expect you to agree with my reasoning."

"And I sure as heck don't expect to either, but I'd like to know why you're so down on America. The country's just minding its own business over there, like every other country in the world. That's even an American-based laser you've got there."

"The country is not minding its own business. And it's not as harmless as so many people take it to be. The country of dreams, my ass." His voice had taken a familiar bitter edge. Bakura recognized the tone. It was exactly the same tone he himself got whenever he'd talk about Kuru Eruna. "That country and its army have destroyed the dreams of millions of people. Including my own."

Bakura cocked his head slightly, puzzled.

"Let me start at the beginning. You've heard of World War II, surely."

"Yeah."

"And you know the circumstances under which it ended, don't you?"

"Sure, America made those atomic bombs and dropped them on Japan…" Bakura trailed off. "Is that what this is about? Getting revenge for a bunch of people that got killed, like, sixty-something years ago?"

"No, it's not that. The bombs didn't kill everyone at first, you know. There were the initial casualties, of course. As far as I'm concerned, they got lucky to die instantly. Other people, thousands of them…they had to suffer through the aftermath. Through the chaos, through the disease and the losses they suffered. Even people that were innocent, that had never even heard of Pearl Harbor, much less had anything to do with the attack."

"But it ended the war." Bakura pointed out, ever one to argue.

"It ruined thousands of people's lives!" the boss banged his fist on the corner of the table. "Civilians, children, brave soldiers that fought for their country, military leaders, the elderly…the bombs didn't care who they touched, whether they deserved it or not."

"Look, I'm real glad you've got something you live for." Bakura said. "But could you get to the point?"

The boss studied the cuff of his shirt, and finally asked, "Do you know what Leukemia is?"

"Cancer."

"Indeed, it's a very nasty form of cancer. Of course, all disease is terrible in different ways, but Leukemia is one of the worst. It's incurable."

"…And?"

"When America dropped its bombs, it caused a lot of people that weren't killed right off to get strange, deadly diseases. Leukemia was one of those. And a lot of people never knew they had it till it was too late." He sighed. "It was a hellish time, and there's still no cure for the disease."

"That's a sad story." Bakura allowed, though he felt little remorse. Those people had died a long time ago. Frankly, he didn't care. "But I don't get what it has to do with this. That all happened before you were born, didn't it? You don't look that old."

"Exactly. It happened very soon before I was born. My mother, she lived near Hiroshima. And she got Leukemia from the radiation. She, who had nothing at all to do with the war. Her husband, my father, he was a businessman. He was American, but had lived in Japan for a long time." he indicated his blond hair. "They were both angry for Pearl Harbor, and given the chance, I believe my family would have fought on America's side. And how did the country of dreams repay their loyalty? They dropped atomic bombs. She was pregnant with me at the time. She didn't realize until some years later that she had the cancer. It killed her soon after, when I was fifteen. That's how the disease is. Sometimes it kills fast, and on rare occasions it'll haunt you through your whole life. My father, he died from what I guess was a broken heart, if it's possible to die from one of those."

Bakura suddenly sensed what was coming, and his prediction was right as the boss raised his hand and pointed to himself. "I have the disease as well. It went into remission early on, all by itself. I was beyond lucky, I was a miracle. The doctors said I could live my life as normally as possible, one of the only people to survive and move on. But how was I supposed to? A teenager, whose parents were dead, whose friends were dying, and who had somehow been the single person spared. It wasn't fair, so I decided that one day I'd make up for it. And I did. Eventually I made my way into the American military, stole the blueprints for the laser, and began my plan to make up for what I'd done. I'd make up for living when they couldn't."

"That's crazy."

"I told you, you can't understand!" The boss snapped.

"Hey, look, I know a thing or two about seeing your family and friends die, okay?" Bakura shot back. "And yeah, it bites. But come on, you can't blame yourself for living. That's like punishing yourself for eating sugar when a diabetic can't. It's not your fault you got lucky."

"I don't care whose fault it was. You never lived through it. You don't know what it was like. The American bombs killed many innocent people. I'm just doing the same thing they did."

"I think you're insane." Bakura said plainly. "An absolute nutcase."

"Think whatever you want."

"I will, and I also think that if you're going to blast a bunch of random Americans because they're just who they are, you should blast yourself too. You blame America for killing innocent people because they happened to live in Japan. And what about yourself? You had Lou killed, didn't you? And you clearly pointed out that you had other betrayers eliminated. And you threatened to kill Yami. All these people that just happened to be in the wrong place. So, by my calculation, that makes you guilty of the same thing you're accusing that other country of doing."

"Is this still about Yami? Blair was right, you are starting to get rather annoying, constantly preaching about him."

"Leave Yami out of it!"

"Why should I? You brought him up. And besides, those people jeopardized my plan. I had a reason to kill them. And shouldn't you kill yourself while you're at it? After all, you went and shot those people. No one forced you to. I never even asked you to shoot that nurse."

"You said you'd kill Yami if I didn't!"

"So? All this proves to me is that you were playing God in your own way, deciding who deserved to live and who deserved to die. Just because you protected the life of one person doesn't make you any sort of hero. And given what I've heard about him, I think Yami would agree. You and I are very similar."

"We are not!" Bakura argued.

The boss continued as if he hadn't even heard him: "We each live for one reason, and that reason is worth doing anything for. It's like I told you your first day here. We all have motivations. Mine is revenge, yours is Yami. Those things are worth killing for, we think."

"So, tell me, what was Blair's edge? What sort of motivation did he have?"

"His father was a military leader that was put in prison after the war. He later hung himself in jail. Blair grew up very bitter about it." He tapped the floor with his foot. "This jail, in fact."

"This was a jail?" Bakura asked, surprised. Well, that explained the prison-like feel in the atmosphere.

"Yes, it was. And this is all that remains of that jail, the basement. This used to be a cell for war criminals. Many military leaders after World War II were kept down here, and committed suicide. After fighting bravely for their country, they couldn't bear to live being called 'criminals.' However, Blair didn't quite understand my viewpoint. So his death doesn't matter, like I said, and I worrythat he might have been on the verge of betraying me.But as you can see, even the most coldhearted people can be driven by love. Even yourself."

"I've had just about enough of your philosophy lesson!" Bakura grumbled. "I don't care about any of that. But I think you're completely unhinged. First of all, this revenge is so childish it's ridiculous. Revenge should be used to teach a lesson. What kind of lesson is being taught if you just start blowing up cities?"

"That's phase one. Phase two is where the real objective comes into play."

"You mean incinerating America isn't your plan?"

"No! What sort of person do you think I am? That's phase one. Phase two is much more involved. By attacking America, I'm going to set off what will become World War III."

"World War III?" Bakura repeated.

"Yes."

"That's ridiculous."

"What?"

"I said it's ridiculous! It's stupid! Why the hell are you going to start up a war that'll just get even more innocent people hurt? I thought you just said that was what you were going to prevent!" It all seemed so confusing to Bakura that trying to figure out all the angles was becoming frustrating.

"Because I want people to go through what I went through." The man's eyes took on a far-off look. "I want them to see what it was like, and maybe, there will be a lesson learned."

"Yeah, that wars spawn freaks." Bakura muttered.

"You shut your mouth. You don't understand any of this. You don't get it. America will be brought to its knees. And they will be unable to partake in World War III because of it."

"Yeah, I'm still not seeing the logic. For a moment, I started to, but all this third World War stuff is nuts. All I have to say, is that you're an insane person that doesn't know what the hell they're doing, and that's a good reason to step in, in my book."

"Maybe you ought to take a good look at yourself before you accuse others of being insane." The boss replied coolly. "Maybe you ought to realize that you had a choice. And that like it or not, you're still a murderer. You still killed those people and you never once really showed that you were sorry for what you did. You never once said that you'd change it if you could go back. Maybe you just don't want to admit what you might suspect, because you're scared it's the truth. You talk a lot about protecting your friend, but could your motives not be entirely unselfish? Perhaps deep down inside you enjoy killing, and this was finally your chance to do so while making it look like an honorable thing. I said it before, I'll say it again. Protecting Yami's life didn't make you a hero. And Yami would agree."

"You don't know a damn thing about Yami, and I can tell you for a fact that he'd agree with me if I asked him right now if I should shoot your mental ass." Bakura snarled. "He would understand if I explained it to him. You're just making this up to make me feel guilty. I took this 'job' because you said you'd kill Yami. He's the only reason I'm here, it has nothing to do with myself."

"Are you positive? You're sure he wouldn't freak out and tell you to get away from him? Think about it, you go tell him that you killed a lot of innocent people, do you really think he's going to give you a hug? No, he's a reasonable person, he'll see right through that you're a killer and he'll run away from you. Who wouldn't?"

"Why did I kill them?" Bakura asked, cutting him off. There was a detail he was honestly curious about now. "Tell me that, why those four people?"

The boss shrugged. "I was bored. The laser was taking a long time. I wasn't satisfied, I wanted some revenge now. And luckily, you came along. They were Americans, and I did research on their families, they were all either involved in WWII or else their parents were. Didn't matter to me if they died, and obviously they didn't matter to you either."

Bakura stood, frozen to the spot in shock. So it had all just been a game. His life had been destroyed because the boss had been bored. He'd let down Yami's trust and become a murderer because the psycho had wanted some entertainment.

A woman approached the two and Bakura turned, firing the Uzi toward her. The bullet imbedded itself in the floor beside her and she froze mid-step.

"CAN'T YOU SEE HE AND I ARE HAVING A DISCUSSION!" Bakura shouted at her.

"Now Bakura, shooting at these people won't help, and neither will yelling."

"How about if I shoot you?" Bakura asked, raising the gun, knowing full well that if nothing else, it would be satisfying. Then he considered that maybe he ought to shoot the computer instead. Yeah, that would destroy the whole thing…

The boss must have suspected what Bakura was thinking, because he brought his finger down squarely on a button on the computer keyboard, and the woman suddenly looked horrified. "Too late now." He folded his arms. "The laser just turned itself on."

Bakura didn't have a chance to stop himself, he fired before he could think, partly out of anger, partly out of frustration, and partly because he just couldn't hold all the emotion he had stuck inside himself back any longer. The evening had put so much upon him that he wanted to scream. It was in this split moment that he realized he ought to have shot the computer before he pushed the button, but with that target no longer presentable, he'd turned to the man in front of him. Honestly, he hadn't intended on shooting the Boss yet, he'd hoped to keep the guy alive long enough to tell him how to turn the laser off if it came to that. Luckily, this registered in his head at the last minute, and he jerked the barrel down just enough so that the Boss dropped to the floor, his legs streaked with blood, but not dead.

"I can just about guarantee that Yami would support that." He snapped, and turned toward the engineers. "Where's the stop button?"

"There is no stop button." The woman, Miyuki, shrugged helplessly.

"What do you mean, 'NO STOP BUTTON'? Everything has a freaking stop button!" Bakura shouted, outraged.

"That was the boss's orders, don't create a stop button. Make it so that once it starts up, it doesn't go off till the time limit is up."

"Well, what sort of timer is it on?"

"Thirty minutes. But we didn't have a chance to finish programming the coordinates, it's just hitting random places." Miyuki looked frantic and wrung her hands. "We weren't done yet, he set it off before it was ready…"

"Thirty minutes is plenty enough time to take out a lot of cities." Bakura muttered to himself, stepping forward. "Okay, all you people, clear out."

"But, the boss said to destroy the evidence-"

"Forget what that nut said and get your asses in gear!" Bakura shouted, aiming the gun at them. "Unless you want some added motivation."

Everyone in the room raced for the door. Bakura caught the young engineer by the arm. "Not you, you stay." He turned on the boss and asked,

"Awright, what's your name? I'm sick of listening to people call you the 'boss'. You're not the boss anymore."

"My name is Iyoku Issei."

"Okay Issei, if that's really your name, tell me how to shut this off."

"They were telling the truth, it can't be shut off." The boss replied, smiling-still, with that same serene smile-from where he lay, his legs coated in blood. Bakura glared at the young man whom he'd snatched.

"Okay, you-tell me how to turn this off."

"It can't be." He said helplessly. Bakura growled and banged his fist on the table in irritation.

If there was no way to turn it off…if there was nothing he could do…then this meant that he'd failed. After everything, after he'd tried so hard to do one simple thing right…he'd failed.

To Be Continued…

Author's Notes:

(I've corrected the forty-sixty mistake. There was a snafuinmy calculating, obviously.Thanks to 'You Know Us' for beta-reading and spotting that for me. :niko:)

So. Now we have a name to give the bossman. Iyoku Issei. His name is one I made up all by myself, and it's also got a very distinct meaning. "Iyoku" meaning ambition or will, and "Issei" meaning lifetime or existence. Put it all together, and make the surname first, (as many people in Japan do), and you have, roughly: "Lifetime ambition". I'm pleased with how that worked out, and the name fits his character. It's sinister enough for the insane bugger, but it's also a name that could belong to a completely innocent stranger-the way he could have been. Took me a long time perusing a Japanese-English server before I settled on an appropriate one.

And now his reasoning has a story behind it too. I'm also happy with the background story this fic had. It might have been a little…typical…but it WAS historic, detailed, and reasonable. Heck, losing his family and friends drove Bakura insane, so it could happen to anyone. Plus, the fact that he and Bakura's stories are oddly similar was planned irony. See, though they have similar backgrounds, one can see the differences in their choices they made, and how they ended up where they did. Like, Bakura has love to live for and Issei's got hate, and you can see where each led…and…is anyone understanding the symbolism here, or am I just confusing you? I wanted an evil character with a little sympathy, so I figured I'd bring in the sad childhood story. Sort of your average unhinged character, I know, but at least there were a FEW original things about him. He's not as cut-out as he could have been. I hope no one thinks I used the reasoning behind the murders as a cop-out. The simplicity was supposed to show how the boss, while very calm and collected, still has the senseless thinking patterns of someone that's insane. It's supposed to be symbolism, so don't take it as a cop-out!

Seriously though, this is a looong way from over, so don't get comfy yet, okie?

Replies!

Hershey-Kiss: Huh. I sort of like the driving into oncoming traffic idea. :ponders: Hmmn…awright, the evil guy had a plan, so sue me. (Well…actually, please don't. I don't have any money.) I don't plan on using such a sort of quote though, that's just sort of cheesy. Been done too many times.

You Know Us: Hallelujah, I'm not on Michelle-chan's hit list anymore. Whew. At least you enjoyed it, however non-canon it might have been. Gotta love the angst. :niko: Ahh, yes! I did lots of research, better believe it. Had to make everything realistic on the off-chance that someone decided to research my research. O.o Nah, he's an OC dude. (OC meaning Other Character, not that he's actually "OC". Syahaha…) Awright Michelle, we can share. Just don't forget who introduced you two!

Okay, I dunno what to say down here this time…Compy's going into the shop likely sometime this or next week, but his repairs should only take a day and so it won't delay the next chapter or anything. I can't wait to get everything running like it should again. So many things I want to save and download and delete too, and now I'll finally be able to do all those things again. Plus, I'll be able to finish my AMV I was working on. Thank kami, I'm starting to go into lack-of-working-on-an-AMV shock. :spasmodic eye twitch:

Peace and love everybody, I'll see you here in a week-