Chapter 12

"And So It Was Done"

For a moment, there was silence.

Bakura could only stare in disbelief. It wasn't possible. It wasn't. Shadow-chan…stand up…this isn't funny…

And then the Leader of the Shadow Army began to laugh.

"Oh, Bakura! You should see your face right now. Was he truly so precious to you? I thought you two were sworn enemies."

Was? Was? Why…why is he using past tense? Shadow-chan isn't dead, he isn't…

"Look at him, poor thing. At least it was quick, eh, 'Kura?"

Blood was starting to pool around the small body.

He's bleeding. He's hurt. I gotta help him. Then he'll get up, and he'll be all right. Bakura started towards the child limp form, slowly at first, as if in a dream, then picking up speed. Who did this to him! I am going to hurt them!

"Hold it, 'Kura." Suddenly, the Leader was in front of him, the Lead Beast by his side. "I think seeing him in this state is going to disrupt your concentration. You haven't forgotten that we were right in the middle of our game?

Bakura stared, not comprehending any of the words.

It was him! his mind suddenly spoke up. HE did it, him and that Monster! HE HURT SHADOW-CHAN!

That was all it took to get Bakura's blood racing again.

"YOU! IT WAS YOU," he screamed. "YOU HURT HIM!"

"And what are you going to do about it?"

"I'M GOING TO MURDER YOU!"

A surge of emotions raced through his system. All at once, power grew within him from an entirely new source, giving strength to his body.

The Leader frowned as he sensed the growing energy source. What is this? He use up all his energy with that last attack-

His thought was never finished.

At that moment, Bakura snapped. All the power came rushing out. And it tripled the last attack in strength.

The Beast let out a howl before shattering.

The Leader screamed in agony as the attack literally ripped his body apart.

And then it was over. All the Monsters disappeared. It was as if they never were.

And it had all been finished with one single blow.

Bakura turned, satisfied that he had gotten revenge, and, stumbling slightly, made his way to Shadow.

He dropped to his knees beside the unmoving form.

"Shadow-chan?" His voice was hoarse, and his hands were shaking, but he took no notice. "Shadow-chan, wake up."

Gently, he gathered the small form into his arms. Blood covered the child's body. The puzzle was drenched with the crimson liquid. The boy's eyes were closed

Bakura frowned, and stood up. I gotta get him help.

"Bakura."

The yami turned, and saw the others behind him.

"Ryou, he needs a doctor," the spirit stated in a detached voice. "He's hurt."

"I-I know, 'Kura-chan."

Bakura cocked his head. "So why aren't you calling those am-bu-lances things? And why are you crying, Ryou? He'll be fine, he just needs a doctor."

Ryou stared at him.

Seto placed a hand on the shorter teen's shoulder. "Bakura, give him to me."

The spirit shook his head, drawing back. "No, it's ok, I can carry him. I want to be there when he wakes up."

"I called 911," Téa said softly, hanging up her cell phone.

"Bakura, listen, please. Give him to me," Seto said again, with a desperate edge to his voice.

"Why?"

"'Kura…he's not going to wake up." The CEO ran a hand through his hair uneasily.

Bakura blinked. "What are you talking about? Of course he'll wake up."

"Oh, screw it, Bakura!" Joey snapped. "You saw him get hit. Look at him! How could he possibly have survived that?"

Bakura backed up. "He'll be fine!"

/Bakura/Ryou sounded weary./Please, Bakura, reasonable/

"I am!" the yami insisted out loud.

Ryou turned away, pressing a hand to his bleeding chest.

"Bakura," Seto said with a forced calm. "You have to understand that he's gone."

"You don't know that," the spirit defended. But his reason was catching up to him, and his voice wasn't very convincing.

"Bakura…"

"He's not dead!" tears started to run down his dirty face. He shook his head angrily. "He isn't!"

"Bakura, I-"

"No, Seto, he's right."

The CEO groaned. "Not you too, Yugi. Look, it's not as if I don't care. Why do you have to be so-"

"Seto, I'm telling the truth. I can feel it." The hikari gestured to his puzzle. "Please, trust me. He's alive, if only barely. The puzzle…it couldn't shield him entirely, but it did, and is still doing, its best. I'm just hoping it'll be enough."

"So he'll be all right?" Joey perked up.

"That I cannot say," Yugi whispered. "His life-force is weak."

Bakura held the little boy close, as if hoping that it would keep the child's spirit bonded to his body.

Paramedics and police officers burst into the clearing. "What happened here!" one gasped, seeing the group. Not a single one of them had gotten away without a scratch. Marik was unconscious, but waking up in his yami's arms.

"Oh, never mind that! Help him!" Yugi cried in English, pointing at Shadow. "Please, he's dying!"

The paramedics hurried to comply.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Hours and hours later found Bakura sitting in the waiting room of a hospital. The doctors had patched him up. He had been worse off than he had thought, but he would be ok. They had declared that he was in a state of shock. He didn't really care what the doctors thought. He stared straight ahead, his eyes unfocused. His mind was numb, refusing to function properly.

They had taken Shadow away. His Shadow. They'd taken him from his arms. Oh, those people had given plenty of reassurances, but none of it mattered. He wanted to be with the child. He wanted to be at his side!

But despite his struggles, they had succeeded in separating them.

He almost laughed. A fine guardian he was. He had managed to leave the child unprotected twice in a day.

He shivered, subconsciously fighting the urge to cry. He wanted the boy back. He wanted to feel the child's arm around him, to see the boy's sparkling eyes, and to feel the small body against his own.

Ryou had his arm around him. He knew that, in some far away part of his mind. But he didn't really care. How? How could this have happened? It was just like the fight seven years ago. Except this time, it was a lot more personal, and the wound was cut deeper. Losing Yami once had been hard enough. Now it was like losing him all over again.

Ryou looked worriedly at his yami. The spirit looked so lost. His hands were shaking, and Ryou felt a shiver run through the taller teen's body.

Removing his jacket, the hikari draped it around his friend's shoulders.

Rubbing his tired eyes, Ryou sighed. It was well into the early hours of the morning. They had yet to let them see Shadow. Marik was resting comfortably; the doctors had finished with him about an hour ago. Or was it two? He really didn't know. They hadn't been allowed to visit the other hikari either. The doctor had firmly stated that his patient needed rest.

Everyone else was fine. There were deep wounds that would turn into permanent scars and broken bones, but nothing life-threatening. The magic-users were especially drained, but they would recover with time.

The worst scars, Ryou felt, would be the emotional ones. Losing Shadow now wouldn't help.

He looked around. Yugi had given up and had fallen asleep, exhaustion clearly written on his face. He was clutching the puzzle tightly, even in his sleep.

Téa, too, was sleeping.

Joey and Tristan had left to get a drink of coffee, having been unable to keep sitting any longer.

Malik was like Bakura, staring off into thin air. He was stroking the Millennium Rod absentmindedly.

When he turned to look at Seto, he realized the CEO was staring at him.

Ryou raised his eyebrows slightly. "Something wrong, Seto?"

The brunette sighed. "I don't know…I feel so detached from everything. I mean, I know I should be feeling sad, or at least unhappy…but I'm not." He shook his head. "What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing's wrong with you, Seto-kun. It's just your way or dealing with stress. Everyone reacts differently." Ryou closed his eyes. "At the moment, I wish I could take it like you."

Seto shuddered. "Perhaps. But I feel so guilty, watching you all suffer as if from a distance…" he trailed, and fell silent.

Ryou turned to gave Seto a small smile of reassurance, before putting his head on Bakura's shoulder and surrendering to the weariness that was pulling him into the blankets of sleep.

At five a.m. the doctor who had taken charge of Shadow walked into the waiting room. He was clearly in need of rest, which was not surprising in the least. The man had spent hour after hour trying to keep his young patient alive.

Yugi had woken up by then, and sprang to his feet the moment the doctor came into view.

The doctor gave the younger man a small smile which was meant to be reassuring, though it wasn't entirely effective.

The others were asleep; even Bakura had finally dozed off.

"Doctor…" Yugi began the moment the other man was within hearing distance.

The doctor held up a hand. "I know you're concerned. Sit down, I'll tell you everything." That said, he took a chair and pulled it over to sit so he was face-to-face with Yugi.

"Now then." The doctor, Dr. Yuichi, pushed his bangs back from his forehead. "I'm pleased to be able to tell you that he is still hanging on to life. He is in critical condition at the moment, and is being closely supervised. We have no clue when he's going to wake up from the coma he's in, or if he'll wake up at all. His body's wrecked; broken bones all over, punctured lungs, and major concussion."

"But when he wakes up, will he make a full recovery?" Yugi asked, anxious.

"If he wakes up, Mr. Mouto. Not when. If. And to answer your question, I am going to honestly tell you that the odds are against him, but it is not impossible."

"May we see him?" the hikari asked hopefully.

"No." The doctor shook his head. "He needs his rest-"

"But doctor." Yugi looked over. Seto had woken up and was speaking in near perfect English. "Can't you just let one of us in?"

Dr. Yuichi hesitated. "I don't know…"

"Please?" Yugi added.

The doctor, seeing their faces, relented. "But one and only one. No arguments. Then you leave him alone to get his rest, got it?"

"Yes sir, thank you!" Yugi beamed.

"Hey, Bakura, wake up!" Seto switched back to Japanese, poking the spirit in the shoulder.

"Whassamatter?" Bakura asked groggily.

"Don't you want to see Shadow-chan?"

Bakura's eyes snapped fully open. "What? I can?" He bolted up, almost dumping Ryou to the ground.

"Follow the doctor," Seto smiled, and pointed.

Ten minutes later, Bakura found himself in front of door number 109 in the Intensive Care Unit.

The doctor opened the door, and, knowing the teen didn't speak English, gestured for him to go in.

In a daze, Bakura stepped through and into the room.

It was dim in the room. The shades were down, and the only light came from a small night-light attached to the wall. It was shaped like an angel.

Bakura's eyes adjusted to the dimness, and settled on the only bed in the little room.

There were machines all around the bed, whirling, beeping, and making a variety of other noises. They all had wires that connected them with a small figure on the white bed.

It took a moment for Bakura's brain to register and comprehend what he was seeing.

"Shadow-chan…"he gasped, hurrying over to the bed.

The child appeared to be asleep. His eyes were closed and his face held a serene expression that almost instantly calmed Bakura down. The boy wore a small hospital gown, and a blanket was drawn up to his chest. Bandages that were wrapped around his chest peeked out from under the soft white gown. He wore an oxygen mask, and Bakura could hear his soft breathing.

It would have been hard to believe the boy was in danger of dying had the machines not been there.

Bakura sat wearily down on a chair placed next to the bed. His hand found its way over to the little boy, and he began to gently stroke the always messy hair.

He's still alive. He thought with a relieved sigh. I would've never forgiven myself…

He ran his hand down Shadow's cheek.

I wish you'd wake up…

But Shadow didn't stir.

Exhaustion made his eyelids start to drop. Surrendering, Bakura shifted, wrapping his hand around Shadow's, reassuring himself that the boy wouldn't be going anywhere. Then he laid other arm on the bed and settled his head on top. His body relaxed as sleep welcomed him home once again.

When Bakura awoke again, he had the strange feeling that someone had been trying to reach him, to talk to him, sometime during his deep slumber.

Shadow didn't wake up that day, or the next, or the next. For two weeks he laid in the hospital room, surrounded by the machines, and almost always accompanied by a person seated next to him.

The doctors and nurses had given up trying to convince Bakura to go home at night. The teen now spent every minute at the hospital, either with Shadow or in the waiting room if one of his friends had taken his place by the child's side.

But by the end of those first two weeks, his hope was fading, replaced by a ton of worries and what-ifs. What if Shadow never woke up? What if, what if, what if?

Every morning, Bakura would always feel that someone had been trying to communicate with his during the night. He mentioned it to Ryou once, and his hikari had suggested he went home to rest. He never brought up the subject again.

It was a week into his stay at the hospital that he began to dream. The first night, it was only a dim light, a speck in the distance. As the days progressed, the light grew stronger.

Until that fourteenth night, at the end of those two uncertain weeks. The night before had brought him a dream filled with pure light that stretched as far as the eye could see.

Tonight, the instant his subconscious mind took over, he heard a voice.

"Bakura."