The Purpose of a Heart
Chapter Twenty-two

Yami was at home. He too was watching the news that morning, not taking in much of it. He was instead trying to figure out the emotion inside of him. It wasn't fear, or guilt, or anger, or any of the ways he thought he'd be feeling. It was just sort of resolute.

"I had to do it." he said to himself. "It had to be done, for Bakura, and that guy deserved to die." He'd been telling himself this to try and get rid of the guilt, but that was the strange thing. There was no guilt. He felt surprisingly calm. Which confused him only further. Why didn't he feel bad? Once again he wondered if this was how Bakura had felt. Before last night, he would have thought it impossible to shoot someone and feel this settled the next day. Now he felt as though he were doing something wrong by feeling almost completely normal.

There was a pounding at the door. Yami turned the TV off, but didn't get up. The pounding grew more impatient and he heard what sounded a lot like Joey's voice calling his name. His friends, of course…they must have heard the news too. He hadn't told them about Bakura giving his gun to him, but he knew perfectly well that they were no fools. Finally he stood up and walked to the door.

"Hey guys." He said, opening it to see them all pressed against the door to the point that Mai and Joey, the two in front, nearly fell over when it opened.

"Yami!"

"We saw the news-"

"-Bakura's Uzi-"

"How could you?"

"Did-"

"-in critical condition-"

"Why?"

"-talking about it all morning on TV-"

"What were you-"

"-police everywhere-"

Yami heard only bits of sentences as they all spoke at once. Finally they sorted themselves out, everyone seemed to reach a silent agreement of sorts, and Yugi asked,

"Yami, did you shoot that guy?"

Yami waited, thinking maybe now the guilt would show up, but still none did. In fact, he was actually feeling pretty satisfied with himself.

"Yes."

They all gaped. "But-you-" Ryou sputtered.

"How?" Tea asked.

"WHY?" Tristan wanted to know.

"Did you really?" Joey questioned.

Yami frowned. "Yes, I really did. Bakura gave me his Uzi, I've got it, I shot the guy last night, I know he's in the hospital now. I don't even know how I hit him because I wasn't trying to aim. Somehow I got lucky, or else he was just unlucky. I did it, I admit it, and it doesn't matter anymore about right or wrong. I did it for Bakura. I'm trying to clear his name, and that officer had it out for Bakura. He was determined that he'd be found guilty no matter what, and now that he's gone, Bakura will have a fair chance. I just hope he has the sense to use it. He never admitted to anything, so if he's smart, he'll take this moment to claim it was all a made-up story."

"Yami-" Yugi began. Yami didn't let him get any further before snapping,

"Look Yugi, I did it, okay? It's not a joke and I'm not going to try to say I didn't."

Yugi blinked. "I understand, I wasn't going to scold you."

"You do? You weren't?"

"You're doing for him what Bakura did for you." Joey said, suddenly understanding too.

"I suppose Yugi told you…?"

"Yeah, he did." Mai said. "And look, I'm sorry I taught that song to Joey-"

"It's not important." Yami said, waving his hand. "So, are you going to turn me in?"

"No way!" Tea said.

"Yeah, we couldn't do that." Ryou agreed.

Yami felt a rush of gratitude. He hadn't really thought they would, but a small part of him had been worrying nonetheless. "Thanks. I'm glad."

"But Yami, what if it doesn't work? What if it they find a way to blame Bakura even though he's in the hospital, or what if they cover it up like a copycat murder?" Tristan asked.

Yami turned toward him with a small smile. "Well, then I'll just have to try again, won't I?" He said. "There's plenty more officers where that one came from."

For some reason, they didn't seem as stunned by this as he thought they would. And he himself barely felt surprised at all by what he'd said. This had gone past common sense long ago. Somehow it seemed that nothing he said or did would come as a shock now.

"But what if they find out it was you? What if you're arrested?" Tea finally asked.

Yami shrugged. "Then I guess that's just what'll happen."

"Is Bakura really worth that much to you? Yugi told us that you weren't entirely sure about how you felt about him. So…does this mean you've decided?" Joey wondered. "Are you really in love with him? Because if you were friends or something, I could see you trying to help, but shooting someone…sounds like infatuation to me. No offense man, but it does."

Yami had to look away for that one, but they could easily hear the smile in his voice,

"He's worth it, Joey. It's taken me awhile and I can't explain why or how, but yes…I love him."

"Bakura, it's lunchtime." The nurse, Reia, opened the door.

"I'm not hungry." Bakura muttered.

"Come on, you have to eat or you'll never get well, and acting mopey isn't going to help. You have to cheer up!"

"In a few days they're toting me off to jail, and you want me to cheer up?" Bakura asked sarcastically. "Okay, I guess I could do that. Yay! I'm going to jail! I'm so happy I'm about to burst. I've always wanted to go to jail…In fact, I'm so goddamn thrilled I would dance if I knew how. Was that happy enough for you?"

"Now you're acting like a little kid. Should I bring you a tray in here?"

"I told you I'm not hungry."

"Chocolate pocky for dessert." She said temptingly. Bakura shook his head. She frowned and walked inside.

"Are you concerned about being blamed for whoever shot Tanaka? You don't need to be, I'll testify that you were here."

"It's not about me. Everyone knows I was here." Bakura glanced at the door sourly and lowered his voice. "They're blaming…they're blaming my friend."

"The one that keeps trying to come visit you?"

"Yes."

"Well, if he didn't-"

"I'm not entirely sure he didn't." Bakura admitted. "I-look-can I tell you something and you won't repeat it to those vultures out there?"

She nodded. "Of course you can. I'm a neutral party to all this."

Yami, if I get arrested for trusting her, it's going to be your fault. Bakura thought silently. "Three months ago, when I tried to kill myself and Yami came in here, I told him to take my Uzi. He said Jared had it, and I told him I wanted him to have something of mine, and that was all I had left to offer him. I don't know whether or not Jared gave the Uzi to him, but Yami also told me he'd do anything to get me out of here. If he was the person who shot what's-his-face, then he could get in big trouble if the police show up with a warrant to search his house. I want to warn him, but there's no way I'll be able to." He paused. He hadn't meant to say that much, but as soon as he'd begun talking, he couldn't stop the words from coming out. "I can't protect him this time. And damn that PISSES ME OFF." He brought both fists down on the bed angrily. "I'm going to jail, Yami might get arrested, nothing is working out like I hoped it would, everything is just so…freaking…screwed…up. And I don't want any lunch."

She said nothing for a moment as Bakura glowered at the wall. Issei was right, he was right all along. Even though he's dead, he's still managed to screw up my life and Yami's life and there's no way to stop it... Suddenly he perked up. "Hey, wait a second! You could call him for me. Say you got to leave to go…I don't know, get your hair done or something, and call Yami and tell him he's got to run."

She looked doubtful. "Bakura, I really don't want to get involved in this, I'd rather stay out."

"Come on…"

"I'm sorry, but-"

"Okay fine, what if you snuck a telephone in here, or distracted them long enough for me to make a call. Just to tell him! It'd only take like, three minutes."

"There's absolutely no way that would work." She shook her head. "There's no phone jack in this room."

"What about a cell phone? Or, back to the original plan, couldn't you call him? If he's innocent, you wouldn't want him to go to jail, would you?"

"No, of course not, but if he's innocent, he has nothing to worry about."

Bakura faltered for a moment. "Well…awright, good point." He stopped. "Okay, what if, after work today, you stopped by his house and visited him? Tell him you're sending a hello from me. And then while you're there-"

"You just don't give up, do you?"

Bakura looked back evenly. "Nope."

"What you're asking me to do is against the law. I'm sorry Bakura, I can't do it for you. I don't even know for sure that you're innocent." She did look truly sorry and so rather than yell at her, Bakura waited till she stood up and then asked, hoping he sounded sincere,

"Would you do it for Yami? I'm not asking you to do anything else besides distract the police for a moment. I'll make the call, I'll take responsibility. It doesn't matter if I'm a criminal or not, if Yami is innocent then he shouldn't get in trouble. If he shot someone, he would only do it for a good reason, he wouldn't do it for fun, and he only would as a last resort. So just let me call him. He doesn't deserve to go to jail, he'd never last in there."

She paused, glanced at the door, and then back at Bakura. "Okay, five minutes is all you'll have." Reaching into her pocket, she turned back around to rearrange the flowers in a vase beside his bed and while doing so, slipped her cell phone to him. "Everyone else is with Tanaka right now, only one is at your door. I'll talk to him for a moment." She whispered.

Bakura nodded and slid down under his bed covers, punching in the digits he recalled from the Lost poster, almost before she had left the room.

Four rings, five rings…"Hello, you've reached-" Bakura hit the plunger button in irritation and dialed again. At five rings he heard the shrill beep again and, "Hello, you've-" Frantic now, he tried for the third time and got nothing but the message again. The door reopened and he shot up in his bed to see Reia returning with a lunch tray.

"I've brought you extra pocky, hopefully it will cheer you up a bit." She said, loud enough to be heard outside as she handed him two boxes.

Bakura slid the cell phone back and shook his head. "Couldn't get through." He muttered.

"Why?"

"Dunno." He chewed a pocky stick and sullenly watched the fuzzy shapes of people walking around outside through the window in the door. I've got to think of something…

That evening, just as Bakura was stumbling exaggeratedly around the physical therapy room, (he had actually made good progress, and now faked a lot of his disability in order to stay in the hospital as long as he could), he heard an uproar of sound in the hallway. The therapist made him sit down and went to scold whoever it was, returning fairly quickly.

"What's going on?" Bakura asked.

"That police officer that was shot has just died." She said, not aware of what connection Bakura had to it. "And it seems they've secured a warrant to go after the person that they think did it. Yamu, Yumi, some name like that. They just have to wait for it to be faxed or something. Anyway Mr. Bakura, if you could stand up, we can resume-"

Bakura, however, was unable to stand up now. No…Yami…he doesn't even know what's coming!

The therapist glanced at the clock. "Oh, it's nearly seven…would you like to go on down to dinner? We can just stop here for the night. I'll call Reia to see you back to your room…"

Bakura's mind raced for a solution, when he quite suddenly found one staring him in the face. Of course, why had he not thought of it before? Sure, it wasn't the most brilliant plan in the world, but then again, it wasn't so dumb it was impossible either. In fact, by Bakura's standards, it wasn't too bad. At least it didn't involve shooting anyone this time.

The moment he limped out of the room with Reia, he whispered,

"Reia, in a few seconds, I'm going to fall right here and seriously injure my leg, requiring emergency surgery, okay?"

"What?" she hissed.

Bakura gave her a look. "And you're going to rush me off to emergency surgery before the police realize anything."

"But you-"

"But instead, you're going to call me a taxi, and rush me to the main floor where I will leave the hospital and get a taxi ride to Yami's house before the police arrive with their warrant."

"Bakura, that's illegal, and dangerous, and I'll lose my job-"

Bakura opened his eyes very wide and stared into hers, as if staring into her soul at the same time. Finally he asked, "Please?"

She stared back. This was the first time she'd heard him ever say the word 'please' like that during his whole three-month stay. Most of the time he had been moody, demanding, if not flat-out rude. He'd asked for little and spent all his time sulking. Clearly this person's safety must mean the world to him. If he really cared about Yami that much… "Awright, you win, I'll help you." She looked away. "Just don't expect hospital insurance to pay for this."

Bakura grinned triumphantly. "I don't plan to be paying any insurance on anything." With that, he launched himself into quite a spectacular tumble.

The minutes following his fall slurred together. Reia shouting for help, police demanding to know what had happened, a doctor ordering Reia to take Bakura to the emergency surgery floor immediately for fear he had seriously re-injured himself, being rushed down the hall on a gurney, howling in not-entirely fake pain, (for his fall had actually hurt somewhat), Reia taking an impromptu turn in a split moment to separate them from view into an elevator.

"You'll be okay?" She asked, helping him off the gurney as the lift traveled down to the main floor and she called a taxi agency.

"Fine." Bakura promised. "I've been making better progress than the therapist knows, I don't really need this crutch."

"You're going to look very odd running around in your pajamas." She observed.

"My pajamas are less conscious than those gowns you used to make me wear." Bakura huffed. "I'll borrow something of Yami's if I have time. Thanks a lot for this. I mean, as soon as they find out you lost me somehow…tell them I shoved you or something, I don't want you to go to jail. You might still lose your job, but…"

She smiled and handed him money to pay for the taxi. "It's okay…I've been thinking of looking for a new job anyway. This is a good cause, I think. Just make sure that you and Yami take care of yourselves."

Bakura gave her a salute and slipped out through the emergency room front door. A nurse at the desk gave him a funny look and started to stand up to ask where he was going, but before she could say anything, Bakura was outside and found a cab pulling up. He dashed inside and instructed the driver to burn rubber.

The driver gave him a funny look too as they traveled down the highway. "What's with the clothes?" he asked.

"Costume party."

"No kidding? Is it a holiday?"

"A friend of mine's birthday." Bakura thought quickly. "It's a sleepover."

"Really now?"

"Yep." Now that he was a few miles from the hospital, his racing heart had calmed down and he could think straight. This driver wouldn't be the only person to notice his odd clothes. He had to find some normal street clothes, and preferably a hat to tone down his hair. But before any of that, he had to get to Yami's house, and had to do it before the police found out he wasn't in surgery and sent out a search team.

Earlier that day, Yami had gone for a walk simply to get out of the house. He returned home, checked for messages and found none on his answering machine, and so had turned on TV to watch a movie, a bowl of instant ramen in his hand. A gunfight on the movie caught his attention as he slurped noodles, and made him think of Bakura. He was considering calling the hospital to see if there was any new information about the police officer, when a breaking news bulletin cut in to answer his question for him. Androu Tanaka was dead. For some reason, watching the news on the screen, Yami felt only angry at the man. Most likely Bakura's trial wasn't the first he'd fixed. No telling how many innocent people had had their lives ruined by him. Yami saw it more as justice than as a crime. He had deserved what he'd got.

There was a sudden hammering at his door. Startled, Yami got up and opened it to see…

"Bakura!" He exclaimed. "What-how-did they let you out?"

"Let me in, goddammit!" Bakura shoved by him and shut the door with a solid thump. "Geez Yami, rule one of becoming a criminal, don't make it so easy to track yourself down!"

"You know?"

"Damn straight I know! Isn't it obvious? My Uzi went missing that night in the woods. It was my Uzi that shot the guy. You were apparently causing a ruckus about riding with me, so the police remember you. And they remember how you got in a fight with them at the hospital. And then, apparently like the dimwit you are, you were wandering around the hospital the other day and they put two and two together. Bottom line, you're a lousy vigilante, they know you're the killer, and right this moment they are probably on their way here with a warrant to search your apartment and arrest you, and so here I am to save you. Ta-da, your own personal rescue man." Bakura said this all in one breath. He leaned against the wall to take some of the pressure off his newly-healed leg. "Oh, and I need to borrow some clothes, do you have anything that will fit me? Preferably larger jeans, I've got to fit them over this brace…"

Yami blinked, struggling to take everything in so quickly. "Clothes…sure, I think I have something…the pants may be a little short, but I might have a pair that'll fit your brace…Bakura, how did you get here?" He finally asked, opening the door to his closet, Bakura now sitting on his bed.

"Faking serious injury, gurney, taxicab, walking." Bakura said wearily. "I'm not free, if that's what you mean. I had to run away from the hospital to get here to warn you. As soon as I get some clothes, I want you to grab the Uzi and the Tonfa Blasters, and we're going to make a run for it, now that we're both wanted by the police. You should probably snatch your wallet too, we'll need all the money we can get."

Yami threw some random articles of clothing at him. "Here, I'll go get the guns while you change." He still wasn't entirely sure he understood, but at least one part of it made some sense-he and Bakura couldn't hang around here for much longer if the police were really on their way. He vanished from the room and returned as Bakura was adjusting a baseball cap over his hair and admiring the effect in the mirror.

"Here, give me the Uzi." Yami tossed it to him and Bakura slung it over his shoulder, patting it fondly. "Man, I've missed this thing. I can see you've shined it all up nice and pretty too, not bad. Thanks for taking care of it Yami, you don't know how much it means to me. I knew I could trust you. Are there many bullets left?"

"Six, I think. But here, I've got one of these clips, Jared gave it to me-" Yami held it out.

"Great, this'll be more than enough." Bakura discarded the old clip and shoved in the new one. "And the Tonfa Blasters?"

"No idea."

"Lemmie see." Bakura snatched them. "Sweet, Jared had them reloaded and they're multiple-fire now. Dang, am I sure glad I saved him that time at the range. He's not such a bad guy…"

"Is this a good thing?" Yami asked, blinking.

"It's a great thing, it means you've got a lot more bullets to fire. Here, put these on. You may need them. Remember, these are automatic, like miniature machine-guns. They're not like the Uzi or your average shotgun. So be careful."

"Whatever you say." Yami replied, fastening the belt, having only understood about half of the lingo. He had something more important on his mind anyway. "Bakura-about why I killed that guy-"

"This really isn't the time, Yami." Bakura informed, distracted as he tightened the brace on his leg and they walked out into the hall.

"But you need to know…" Yami insisted. Bakura still wasn't paying much attention so Yami raised his voice: "He was fixing your trial so that no matter what you'd be thrown in jail. I just…wanted to help you."

Bakura looked shocked, then, unexpectedly, the expression on his face became very gentle for a split second. It surprised Yami greatly, he'd never thought he'd ever see such an expression on Bakura. But just as quickly, it passed, and Bakura replied, somewhat gruffly, "Well…thanks."

"Don't bother, I probably just made things worse."

"Worry about that later. First, let's get out of here. We need to get someplace the police won't find us while we come up with a plan."

Yami snapped his fingers. "I've got the perfect place. We found a bomb shelter."

"Bomb shelter?"

"A secret bunker Issei was in the throes of building in case of that World War III he had planned. The police don't know about it, and it's hidden really well. We could live down there for quite awhile if we had to." Quickly, Yami dictated instructions on how to get there. "It's got a rusty C-shaped ring." He finished. "It'll be the best place possible."

"You do realize what you're doing, right?" Bakura suddenly asked.

Yami blinked again. "Yeah…helping you."

"And you don't care? I mean, this isn't against your whole, "honour" thing you're always on about? We're running from the police, aren't you going to cut in with something about letting justice take its course?"

"Right and wrong isn't even clear anymore, Bakura. It's too late to worry about it. I don't want you to get hurt anymore, and if this is what I've got to do, then I'll do it."

Bakura studied him for a moment. "Yami…" He seemed to be struggling for the right words. Yami set his hand on Bakura's shoulder.

"It's okay, don't bother. Let's just concentrate on the police that I just heard pull up outside."

"Yami Atemu, open up! It's the police, we have a warrant! You have one minute to exit with your hands up!" A loud banging came on the door.

Yami took a step back. Bakura raised his gun. "It's now or never." He said. "Listen to me Yami. I'm going to try to distract them. I want you to run the first chance you get, and don't look back. Don't worry about me, don't worry if you hear gunshots, just keep running. Go to the bomb shelter. Get there however you have to, just not by foot the whole way, dogs could track you. Shoot whoever you have to, don't hold back. If I'm not there by midnight…then something's happened and I won't be coming, and I don't want you waiting around for me so that you get found. It'll be up to you to do whatever after that, but if I'm not there by midnight, and Yami, this is really important, you've got to leave without me. Got it?"

Yami nodded. "Okay. But you'd better show up."

Bakura grinned. "I plan to. But if I get cornered, you ought to know I'm going out by my own hand, not theirs."

"You're such a show-off."

"Can't help it, if I'm leaving this world, it's going to be in a blaze of glory."

"Yeah, well…save your glory blazing for another day. I want to see you at the bunker."

"I'll be there." Time was slowing down ridiculously. They both knew the danger they were in, though they may have interpreted it differently. Yami recalled what he'd said earlier that morning to his friends. This might be the last chance he'd get to tell Bakura. He'd confessed his feelings to his friends, but Bakura was the person he really needed to tell, and he knew that he shouldn't wait. He opened his mouth, but the words seemed to be stuck. Why was it so easy to tell his friends, but impossible to tell Bakura? How hard could three small words possibly be to say? A combined total of only eight letters, why were they so hard to say?

"Bakura…if we don't…ever see each other again-"

"Save it, Yami."

"But-I need to tell you…"

"I told you, save it. We'll see each other again." Bakura turned his head to look at him. "You can tell me then." Yami closed his mouth and nodded.

"Okay." They broke their gaze and Bakura fired through the door. There was a yelp outside.

"Go, now!" Bakura shouted, swinging the door open and charging outside, letting loose with a spray of bullets.

"Who is that!"

"It's Bakura!" he heard someone else shout.

"He escaped?"

"Get him!"

Laughing, Bakura took off at a run. His leg was throbbing and he felt a bit wobbly, but at the same time it was pure exhilaration to be outside again, running, to feel the excitement in his blood, just to be free, finally, no longer confined behind doors and walls.He heard the sounds of gunshots behind him and was actually glad to see one bullet hit the ground beside his foot. Hopefully this meant they'd forgotten about Yami and were going after himself only.

Bakura slowed down a few moments later to glance over his shoulder and saw no one following him. He knew he had slowed the police down by hitting practically all of them at least once, not to mention his element of surprise. But very soon he knew they would be after him, sirens off in this distance made it clear they had already called for back-up. He had to find a way to make it to the bunker now. A kid on a moped zoomed by him. Bakura raised the gun and fired, nicking the side of the scooter and causing the kid, a high-school student on his way home from cram school, to crash.

"Owch, man, what's up with you?" the kid demanded, shrinking back at the sight of the gun.

Bakura picked up the moped from the ground and pressed the ignition. "I need this." He said, sitting down and racing off down the street on it.

I'm on my way, Yami. I'm on my way. You'd better be there.

He hadn't gotten half a block before a police car pulled up behind him. Glancing to the side, he saw a second police car coming from a different street, his siren beginning to wail. Bakura grit his teeth. Well, crap. Now what?

The moment Bakura began running, all the officers that were still able took off after him, leaving a few with superficial wounds behind, and one that had been killed upon being shot. They were too busy with their radios to notice much else, so Yami wasted no time running too.

"Suspect Two is getting away!" One of them yelled into her radio. "Heading northbound..." Yami quickened his pace, turning a few corners and arriving on the street he usually took to get to the grocery store. Dusk was falling, and street lights were clicking on. He jogged ahead, trying to stay concealed in the shadows and mindful of Bakura's warning not to walk all the way to the bunker. He was considering going to the store to see if he could steal a car, when behind him he heard the echo of gunshots and stopped dead in his tracks, already starting to turn back when he recalled Bakura's words.

Easy for you to say, "don't worry about me". He thought with a huff. Worrying about you is just what I do. Getting caught up in a secret society, piloting a laser, becoming a murderer, having a car fall on you…and that's not to mention your love for deadly weapons and no sense of self control…dammit, how can I NOT worry?

He lingered where he was now for a few moments, and finally shook his head and took off at a run toward the grocery again.

Bakura's just fine, there's no one, not even the police, that could beat him in a shoot-out, and he's got reflexes like lightening. If I were to go back he'd be standing there with that sneer on his face and then he'd yell at me, "Why the hell are you here! I told you not to turn back!" And then he'd laugh and say I was dumb for worrying about him, there's no one that could ever match him…you can't get rid of that guy anyway. Yami slowed to a stop and walked into the parking lot, looking around for a car he could steal. It was ironic. A year ago he considered himself a good person. Now here he was killing police, stealing cars, and who knew what else he might do. Yet…he still thought of himself as a good person. The best thing for now would be to get to the bunker and wait. I just have to get there, and Bakura will surely be along soon after. He might be on his way there already! Hang on Bakura, I'm coming…

To Be Continued…

Author's Notes:

Aaah! The next chapter will be the last… :insert picture of Bakura holding a copy of the last chapter with a WTF-OMFG look on his face: I can't believe it, is it really the end of the fic? Seriously? No way! You're kidding! Your eyes must be playing tricks on you. No, but really though, next chapter will be the last. How will this end? Will they go to jail? Will they end up fugitives? Will they be together? Will Issei's prediction come true? Will they meet cruel, bloody deaths on the unforgiving city streets, forever fated to never be together, to die alone, to never confess the true depths of their love for each other? (Kami-sama, where am I coming up with this stuff…? It's probably best not to ask…) Only a few of the questions to be cleared up next chapter. I hope you've enjoyed the fic, all the laughs, all the tears, all the blood and gore, and all the love, too. Next chapter will be nice and long. Make sure you have plenty of time when you read it. There's a pretty serious problem to work out, not to mention the relationship.

And what have I done to Yami? He's like, a vigilante now! (But I love vigilantes so I guess I can't complain…) Why is it that the justice system is always corrupt and/or mistaken in my fics? Am I some sort of cynic? Nah, I just like to give the good guys a bit of a bad streak, you know, to emphasize that the barriers of "right" and "wrong" are very very flexible. It's very controversial and heaven knows I love to write about controversial stuff to make people think and sometimes…even make get frustrated with me. (I must have a touch of masochism in me…then again, all AMVers have a touch of masochism, so there you go.) This fic sort of pushes that more than others did. I've wanted to write something like this for a long time, something where the good guys have to do bad things. Sure, maybe killing those people was wrong…but Bakura did it because of love, so can he really be blamed? Maybe shooting Tanaka-san was a bit much, but Yami only wanted to protect someone close to him, and the guy was a jerk anyway, so was it really such a bad thing? This is the sort of story I love to write. Bakura and Yami are the sort of charrahs I like too, I hope to create my own OCs somewhat like them someday. I bet they'd do a great tragedy fic too, eh? Jumping off a cliff together or something? Yeah, they'd make great tragedy stars, you know it. Such loveable guys.

I brought Bakura back in as the "hero". My writers' magazine says you should NEVER switch heroes halfway through a story and I realized that Yami was starting to be more the hero than Bakura was. So Bakura's back in the hero seat, (who would have guessed!), and with only one chapter left to go…well, at least now I don't have any more time to screw anything up. This is probably a good thing. :laugh:

I was thinking about this fic the other day, and I was thinking that the Good Charlotte song "Bloody Valentine", and this fic, have a strange similarity. Sure, Bakura didn't have to kill anyone that Yami knew personally, but the chorus…I swear it was written for this fic. Think about it: Oh my love, please don't cry, I'll wash my bloody hands and we'll start a new life. I don't know much at all, I don't know wrong from right. All I know is that I love you tonight. Is that weirdly similar or what? Bakura's asking Yami not to run away from him or cry because Bakura became a murderer…washing off his 'bloody' hands in hopes to start a new life…the fact that he doesn't really know wrong from right…that all he knows is that he loves Yami and will sacrifice anything-even someone else's life-for him…jeez, it's sort of scary. And I didn't even plan this! I might do a vid for these two to that song someday…it'd be a challenge.

Replies!

Fear Of Falling:claps: Yay! I surprised you. xD I love to surprise people with twists in my fics. You're lucky to have shown up late in it, you didn't have to wait through all the other cliffies.

You Know Us: Yep, yep, it was mad serious. Do you have any idea how serious a leg injury alone can be? A person can DIE from a broken femur, and that particular life-threatening bone takes a long time to heal properly. Add that to his other injuries and the stress as well, and there's a perfect example of someone whose insurance company probably hates him…ah well, it doesn't look like Bakura'll be around to pay any insurance right now anyway. Knowing how such companies work…you probably agree that this is actually a good thing for Bakura…xD I'm so glad that Michelle-chan was happy! I wanted to make her happy. And I just can't get anything past you, can I? The slightest hint of symbolism, (such as Yami with the Uzi)…it just doesn't go unnoticed. Very good! You get a prize for being observant about my painstaking symbolic details. :smile: I'm glad someone notes them!

Hershey-Kiss: Yeah, you know, I had a feeling that scene would surprise people…but that's good! Your reaction was what I was going for, which means it must have worked. Aw…I'm sorry about your ankle. I sprained my arm in grade school, so I know just how painful such an event can be, and I didn't even have to deal with crutches. :pats: Have fun watching it turn colours at least. Look on the bright side, you can always smack your enemies over the head with the crutches. That's fun!

I reserve the right to complain now…I downloaded the dub of 184, (y'all are getting tired of listening to me lament about this eppy, aren't you? xD I'm almost as bad about it as I was about 163.), and while I'm a bit disappointed with the loss of one of the original lines, I really like some of the new ones, so that's cool. The problem is that the download I got of it cut off before I got to see the last five minutes! The last five minutes are the most important! That's one of the cutest parts and the part with my favourite dialogue in it! Grrrr…so not fair. How could Yugioh-Legendz do this to me? I've downloaded plenty of episodes from them, but this is the first episode that had the end cut off! Why this episode? Arragghhh…fate is so cruel.

Awright, all done.

Later my loves, I'll see you next week! SCHOOL WILL BE OUT!