AN: Oh dear, I'm not sure if you guys will like this chapter or not…I worked hard on it, because I wasn't sure if it was good enough. Erk, please review…

Thanks to…

dragonlady222: I completely agree with you, about Nyq. Ryou's father, the Pharaoh, does have issues. He's so blind to Ryou, probably because he's much younger and childish (in his eyes) than the Crown Prince. Thanks for the review!

Mystik Genie: lol. Yeah, go Bakura! Thanks for the review!

casaragi: Hehe, a cookie for you! I hope you had fun at your party, and thanks for the review!

FlyingShadow666: I hope they're okay, too. Thanks for the review!

The Vampire Prince: You're so right about Nyq. I wonder if he even feels bad about it. Thanks for the review!

gecko-grl-2: No problem. Thanks for the review!

Chapter Sixteen: End of His Pain

Scarlet. Everything was scarlet.

"Bakura, go back!"

The soil, the sky.

"Hold on, Kaiya, I'm coming!"

The doors, the walls.

"No, stay out!"

The fire, the blood.

"Kaiya!"

There was a thunderous crash as a beam fell right before him, sending him sprawling backwards. He let out a shout, scared and surprised. Memories seared his mind's eye as the last image of his sister disappeared, the image of her trying to shield herself as the building crashed down on her.

Bakura didn't know why, but he was shivering. Isn't that ironic? He pulled himself together and struggled against the thin air and smoke.

He thought he was walking down the middle of the stables, since there were stalls on either side. He looked frantically, unable to scream or yell a name because he was terrified.

It was hard to breathe, it was hard to see. His eyes were watering with the effort of trying to keep them open, and his throat was burning as he fought to respire.

He could feel his hand shake from the wet cloth it held. He wasn't using it, because he knew that Ryou would need it more.

The crackling and roaring of the fire deafened his ears. Screams could be heard, especially her voice. They were sobbing, begging him to save them. Bakura stumbled, falling on his knees. He let out a small cry, and quickly caught himself. He could still hear them, screaming his name as they burned.

Bakura pressed his hands against his ears, crying. He lost sight of what he was doing here. Why had he jumped through that damn window? He didn't want to be here, not in the midst of his worst nightmare.

He fought to stand, to run back outside, and immediately fell backwards. He angrily stood up again, and found himself glaring at an ivory hawk charm.

Bakura was still for a moment, his mind numb. What was I going to do? Run away? Leave him here? To die? He slowly bent down and picked it up. It won't be the same as before. I'm going to find him. I…have to.

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Ryou felt like his throat was being crushed. He cried silently, not having the energy to make any noise. His eyes stung, they felt so dry, but he couldn't blink. His entire body was frozen, he couldn't move.

He was on his side, up on the loft, and scared. Was he going to die? Was anyone coming to save him? Would anyone remember him? Did anyone know he was in the stables as it burned?

Will anyone come to my funeral?

Ryou felt his entire body restrict. He coughed, and realized that that was probably his last intake of air. His lungs were being crushed, his body unfeeling. Already he couldn't move his legs. He was dying.

"And why the heck would you die? I'm right here, aren't I?"

Liar…

It was all a lie, wasn't it? In the end, he was going to leave anyways, wasn't he? He wasn't going to stay.Why would he, for a brat like you?For someone's father who had killed his entire village?Ryou tried to swallow, he needed to get some air. He probably only stayed with you for the food and lodging. Did he ever really care for you? Did you ever really help you?

Bakura looked at him when Nyq offered him lessons. Ryou looked away, and accused, "You were going to say no anyway…"

He wasn't going to waste his time with you. He wasn't going to stay with you and be your 'friend'. Look at what you did to him! You ruined his life!

He stopped trying, it wasn't worth the pain. His throat screamed every time he tried to open his mouth. His chest felt like it tore open when he tried to breathe through his nose.

Ryou knew he was being unfair, but he really had believed the snow-haired thief. Bakura… you liar…

It's your fault for falling for it. Why would anyone care about a useless, powerless prince like you?

As his mind let out a final shriek as he felt the feeling leave his arms and torso, Ryou clenched his teeth.

I…I…

Worthless.

I trusted you, Bakura.

He felt the tension lift away, and tried to close his eyes.

I trusted you.

His body gave up, and his heart stopped for a moment.

Until the chocolate eyes saw the hand atop the ladder.

He couldn't believe it. He was stunned as a soot-streaked Bakura hauled himself into the loft, and crawled over to him. He was saying something, yelling and shouting to be heard, but Ryou could say nothing.

The little prince wanted to say sorry, to voice his relief, to cry and be held. Yet his body wouldn't move, and his eyelids were growing heavy.

Bakura shook the child, panicking as Ryou didn't respond. The building was groaning, on the verge of collapsing. They had to get out. Bakura would have just grabbed the child and ran out of there as fast as he could, but Ryou…

Cursing himself for his stupidity, Bakura took the drenched shawl he held and draped it over the child's mouth. "Don't die, you idiot!" he screamed, gathering the fallen body as quickly as he could.

The fire was spreading faster than he had anticipated. They had to get moving, or they would meet the same fate as Kaiya.

Ryou gasped, feeling droplets of water splash down his throat. It was as if the water were acid, because it burned the whole way down. He wanted to shout in alarm, but then realized that the water had opened an airway.

He struggled to breathe as fast as he could, hungrily trying to get air. Half the time, he got smoke.

As Bakura was shakily going down the ladder with one arm around the child and one on the ladder, he nearly fell off as another beam crashed down right beside them.

The thief cursed again, too scared to move. Fire surrounded the bottom of the ladder, and it was slowly eating its way up to them. He couldn't go down anymore, he had to either jump off or go back up.

He tried to force his legs to jump, but they didn't budge. Screaming from his village victims still tore through the air, rattling his mentality. Coughing could be heard from Ryou as he fought to breathe.

We're going to die.

Bakura held onto the ladder tightly, crying. The entire time in the stables, his sister had followed him. Her face was half burnt, her eyes desperate. She was burning to death, calling for him, begging for him to help her.

"I can't…" he whispered shamefully, fighting back tears as he closed his eyes in an attempt to ward off the ghost. "I can't…"

Another beam crashed down, followed in rapid succession by several more. The building let out a moan as it creaked and the fire cackled.

I have to…save Ryou. Bakura swallowed hard, finding it hard to think. His eyes were bloodshot from all the smoke, and his mind was demanding more air.

I have to move…Bakura forced himself to open his eyes and look down. He tried his best to ignore his sister, who was groping at him, as he took a step down.

The rung snapped and he felt himself fall. He let out a grunt as he landed on his back, feeling dreadfully dead. But it still hurt, meaning he was still alive. His crash sent embers flying everywhere, probably saving his life because it had smothered most of the small flames waiting for him there.

He clambered to his feet and frantically looked for Ryou. The child was a few feet away on his knees, the wet cloth pressed against his face as he trembled.

Bakura took a step forward and met the little prince's eyes. They were horrified. Bakura moved to his side, and tried to pull him up.

Then he saw what Ryou had seen.

The entire front of the stables was up in flames, the door and windows completely impossible to reach.

Bakura stared at it, knowing that only five yards of fire separated them from the outside world. There was a creak above, and he glanced up only to see the entire rafter in flames.

There was a resounding and sickening thud behind them as another piece of timber fell from the ceiling. Bakura swept up Ryou and dove to the side. The second plank barely missed them by mere inches.

The thief wasted no time. He looked around for anything they could use as a temporary shield against the fire. He found nothing, not even a cloak, before his eyes fell on a small cape.

Bakura picked it up, and used it to cover as much of Ryou and himself as he could. He tried to shield Ryou with his body as he paced toward the double barn doors. If he could dive against that thing fast and hard enough, it should open upon impact.

Let's just hope that no one is stupid enough to be near it to be crushed by the doors.

Bakura allowed himself a small intake of air before he would start running. In the corner of his eye, the thief saw Kaiya weeping on the floor.

It felt as if someone stabbed him as he clenched his teeth and ran straight for their escape. Leaving behind his sister again would have killed him, if the small hands of the little prince had not been holding onto him for dear life.

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AN: Will they make it, I wonder? Please review. Erm…I didn't mean for the chapter to be so messy-like. Was it confusing? I'm sorry if it was. This took a lot of time to revise and edit…I hope you liked it.