Redemption of Souls Chapter 21: Saying Goodbye to You, a yu-gi-oh fanfic

Chapter 20: Saying Goodbye to You

Yugi swam through the thick sandy like soup as he opened his eyes and tried to see if he could spot Tea, but unfortunately he could see nothing but a sandy muddy brownish blur in front of him that stretched out in front of him and he had to pinch his nose shut as the ghastly mixture suddenly shot up inside and made it burn. It's no use, I'll never find her now… Yugi thought grimly as he sadly realized that Tea was gone forever.

Then suddenly he felt a painful burning sensation in his lungs as he remembered he had to go back up for air. As he surfaced, he felt brush past his leg then he dived down again and something bumped into him as he instinctively wrapped his arms around it and held onto it as he surfaced again holding Tea in his arms.

Yami reached out across the surface of the quicksand and grabbed Yugi and hauled him out of the pit as he held a firm grip on Tea until he was sure they were on dry land.

"She's not breathing…" Yami said as Yugi sat up, then gently laid Tea's body on the ground as Yugi crawled over to her side and began CPR. "Yugi what can I do to help?"

"Just give me some room for now," Yugi said as he stopped breathing into Tea and began chest compressions as he pushed down with every last bit of strength in him. "Come on Tea! FIGHT IT!" he screamed as he slapped her across the face as hard as he could and broke down sobbing as Yami turned away.

Meanwhile, Akari had finally reached Bakura who was laying still and gently she gathered him up into her arms and cradled him in her arms. And as she sat alone holding his body in her arms and as she could hardly believe it was really him. His body was covered with deep bloody gashes and as much as she tried to fight it, she could feel the tears forming in her eyes.

I'm so tired of being here
Of being suppressed by all my childish fears
And if you have to leave
I wish that you would just leave
'Cause your presence still lingers here
And it won't leave me alone

"Somehow I knew we'd meet again Bakura," Akari said gently as she listened to the sound of his ragged breathing and smiled sadly. "but not like this…"

Suddenly Yami heard a coughing sound, and opened his eyes as Tea began to make a gagging sound. "Yugi, something's happening to Tea, look."

At first Yugi didn't respond, but when he saw Tea's eyes he reacted immediately and helped Tea sit up as she threw up the rest of the sand. "Oh, that tasted terrible…" Tea groaned as she wiped the sand and mud away from her face.

"TEA YOU'RE ALL RIGHT!" Yugi cried as he threw his arms around her and began crying into her shoulder as Tea smiled and gently wrapped her arms around him.

"Yugi there's something you need to know about Akari…" Tea said as she looked into Yami's eyes and she began telling them about the mural.

These wounds won't seem to heal
This pain is just too real
There's just too much that time cannot erase
When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears
I held your hand through all of these years
But you still have
All of me

"Akari…" Bakura murmured softly in his sleep as Akari looked down at him in wonder. "you look so sad…Why?"

"But how can this be?" Akari whispered in fear as she heard another voice break into her thoughts.

"It's because you're not really human." Ryou said gently as he laid his hand on her shoulder.

"What do you mean?"

"So she's not really a human being?" Yugi asked with an inquisitive look on his face.

"That explains her powers, but there are still many things we don't know about Akari yet. And Akari may not be the one who can answer our questions but her mother can." Yami mused aloud as Tea and Yugi looked at him as if he himself knew the greatest secret about Akari's past. Then without another word he stretched out his hand and focused on the bond he shared with Akari then suddenly a swirling vortex appeared beneath their feet and they were pulled in immediately.

You used to captivate me
By your resonating light
Now I'm bound by the life you left behind
Your face it haunts
My once pleasant dreams
Your voice it chased away
All the sanity in me

"I don't care if I'm human or not Ryou!" Akari snapped as he told her about the legend of Tenchi no Kibou and how she was really an angel disguised as a human with the ability to save a life at the cost of her own. "If I can save Bakura's life then my sacrifice will be worth all the pain, anguish, and frustration I've endured just to get to this point."

Then there was suddenly a bright flash of light as Yugi, Yami, and Tea appeared in their midst looking dazed and confused.

"I don't know which is worse, that nasty tasting quicksand or that cursed vortex!" Tea muttered as she crossed her arms and gave Yami the look of death.

"Tea, now is not the time for your whining!" Yami scolded her as Yugi's gaze fell on Bakura.

"Akari you're hurt!" Yugi cried out as he saw her injury, which had bled through the thick layer of silk wrapped around it.

"It doesn't matter Yugi…I know now what I must do." Akari said as she closed her eyes and focused her attention on her love for Bakura and a bright blue orb suddenly appeared as she held her hands out to catch it.

"It's so beautiful…" Tea murmured softly as she instinctively reached out to touch it and was surprised when its glow intensified at her touch. "What is it?"

"This is all the energy left in my body. It represents my love for Bakura." Akari said softly as the others watched her gently put it into Bakura's body and gasped as he began breathing normally and slowly he began to open his eyes. Then she smiled as she looked into Yami's eyes, "I will not live long enough to see him awaken, so please tell Bakura I love him with all my heart and I only wish we could've started a new life together. Maybe someday we'll be able to stay together forever and start a family of our own, but today is not that day. I love you all my friends…"

I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone
But though you're still with me
I've been alone all alone

And as she finished speaking, Akari breathed her last breath and fell limply to the ground as the others began crying for their friends. One who had given so much only to lose everything she'd ever known who died for the second time in her life, and one who'd lost so much during his life only to have it given back.

When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears
I held your hand through all of these years
But you still have
All of me