IkutosGirl: So the last chapter was just a lot of explanations and paragraphs of Ryou talking-

Ryou: Tell me about, I think I have a sore throat now. T_T

IkutosGirl: and this chapter will bring to light the reasoning behind Bakura's…erm…'confession'.

Bakura: Do you have to call it that?

IkutosGirl: …

Bakura: Well?

IkutosGirl: …yah; I do.

Bakura: I figured you would say that. T_T

Bakura's POV

"Why…why I said I loved you…?" I questioned, hoping I had misheard the question.

This was not a comfortable subject.

"Yes, so could you please tell me?" Ryou asked again and I gulped.

This was not a comfortable subject; at all. I took a deep breath, planning to get this over with quick.

"I don't know." I said hastily.

Ryou stood dumbstruck in front of me, but then glared at me softly.

"'I don't know' is not a valid answer." Ryou argued and I opened my mouth to respond but…

"Ryou! Why the hell are you talking to yourself…out here…" He yelled but trailed off as his eyes met mine.

I blinked once; twice; three times; but the same image stood in front of me. I turned to Ryou, gaping.

"Ryou, why are there two of you?" I yelled in confusion, not comprehending anything.

"Bakura…I wanted to explain it to you before you found out…I swear!" Ryou attempted to comfort me.

"Aww, is the poor idiot confused again? I feel so sorry for you." The other Ryou sneered at me.

I normally would have hit anyone who called me an idiot in the jaw, but this person was Ryou. Or, they weren't but they were because they looked like him… great, now I was having an internal conflict.

"Shut the hell up." Ryou whispered, obviously directed to Mr. Copycat.

We both stared at Ryou in shock; that was unexpected. The other Ryou was glaring daggers at him, so I pulled him into my arms, shielding him from whatever the hell this thing in front of me might do.

"Someone's being oddly possessive today." The other Ryou noted in mock caring.

He took a step towards us and another. I wasn't afraid; oh no, I never would be of such a fake. I wanted to hit him…really bad. I raised my clenched fist. Thinking he was all high and mighty, he reminded me of the Phar- Yami; but…

Just the thought of seeing pain on his face; one that looked so much like Ryou's, sickened me to my stomach.

I couldn't do it.

Ryou's POV

I could see the conflict in Bakura all over his face. He was getting closer and he would hurt Bakura if I didn't stop him. I pulled myself out of Bakura's arms and I could see confusion cloud his eyes.

I don't know why, but I winked at him. It was the funniest sight I had ever seen; Bakura had blushed.

I turned around to face him and quickly composed my smiling face. I glared at him, doing my best to convey my…dislikes…to him.

"Ryou, why so cold?" He asked me, faking concern.

It was there. He'd taken a step away from the door of my soul room, and one more step would give me an opening to jump in.

"I'm not acting cold." I said steadily, but took a step back.

I could tell Bakura was confused again, wondering why I was backing away if I wasn't afraid. I was only retreating in his eyes. For a second I felt sad, knowing that Bakura probably thought I was weak.

That second was a big mistake.

He noticed I wasn't focused and he lunged at me. I didn't have enough time to react, I was frozen.

"Ryou!" Bakura screamed at me.

I was falling. By the time I hit the floor it had been too long, or had it been too short? I couldn't tell anymore. There was a sickening crack as my head hit the ground. Had the others heard it? I didn't know, but then again, I felt like I didn't know much right now anyways.

Another scream; it was heart wrenching. Bakura was the only one who had a right to scream right now, but how could he scream such a sad tone? Suddenly it all hit me again.

The pain I had felt in my heart; that numbing pain that had spread through my body. I remembered what the feeling was like, what the sound of Bakura's scream was like.

Alone.

That was the only word that I could use to describe the sadness that came from Bakura. What could I do to help? To stop the painful feelings in Bakura?

They were yelling at each other now, but I couldn't make out a single word anymore. My eyes were open, I could swear they were, but I could only see darkness everywhere. Could I move my arm; my fingers? No, I couldn't, my motor skills weren't working either.

You would think I would hope that I wasn't dying. No, I hoped for something else. I hoped Bakura wouldn't die.

One last amusing thought came to mind before I blacked out. For once, I was glad Bakura never listened to me when I had told him to stop carrying knives with him everywhere he went.

He kept a pocket knife in his jean's back, left pocket. 'For easy access' he had told me.

Bakura's POV

"Who the hell are you?" I screamed at the imposter, hate emanating from my words.

I wanted to slice him apart. Normally these kinds of thoughts repelled me, but this was different. I was sure of it now.

He was the one who had been hurting Ryou this whole time.

Even more, he was the one who had been behind the door in my soul room. I had never seen the actual person, but a part of me had always been confused why I hadn't felt hostile towards the figure in the first place. After all, it made perfect sense that I wouldn't be hostile to Ryou, or in this case, someone who looked like him.

"Who am I?" He asked with his disgusting voice that nearly sounded like Ryou's.

I loathed him. I reached for my pocket knife in the back pocket of my jeans. I'd save the sliding knife, combat knife, throwing knives for later. Maybe I could even make a shiv from something around too… By the time I had thought of all of this it had only been a few seconds.

It had been too long since I'd been in a good fight. My mind was working at a beautiful pace as I considered how to destroy the person in front of me. The easiest way to kill someone was to forget they even had a face, or a name.

"Who am I…" I looked at the person in front of me. "Why of course…"

What was he going on about now?

"I'm Ryou!" He said in a sickeningly sweet voice.

I would have been confused by this, but I wasn't even deterred. He wasn't Ryou, and as much as I hated to admit it, right now even if he was Ryou that wouldn't stop me.

The only person who mattered right now was me.

IkutosGirl: Okay, Bakura just went from protective to-

Ryou: You psycho! How could you say that Bakura?

Bakura: Look, just stay on the ground, unconscious, okay?

Ryou: No way! You said, and I quote, "…even if he was Ryou that wouldn't stop me…"

Bakura: Well you know what; if you just stay half dead on the floor the thought of killing you will never cross my mind!

Ryou: F-fine…

Bakura: Thank you! Sheesh, you're so dramatic.

IkutosGirl: …umm…

Bakura: Shut up.

IkutosGirl: Gotcha.