A/N Happy Valentines Day! :) Or: Hyvää Ystävänpäivää!

Anyway, let's get into the business. An anonymous reader asked me when the Darkshipping is going to come in. And to be honest, not very soon. As you can see, at this point Yami and Bakura dislike each other, very very much, plus Yami is dying, so... Darkshipping is going to come in when the plot gives in. I'm not writing this because of the yaoi, but because of the plot, which I love, so please, be patient, and try to understand my reasons. If you can't read a fic that doesn't have yaoi in first five chapters, then sorry, I can't help. :D

Now that's done with. I would be glad, if I don't get reviews that say: 'I want some yaoi'. But of course review is always a review. Do what you want. But I will inform you when the darkshipping is going to kick in. You can count on that.

Warnings: Lolz, something, I'm bored of this now :D

(wow, 5th chapter O_o My titles just keep on getting longer :D)

Disclaimer: Nah.

In honor of Valentines day, and because this is my 5th chapter, I dedicate this chapter to my friends and readers. (If you consider yourself both, feel special)

5. 6 Conversations and We're Getting Somewhere

Days were passing by, extremely fast. Bakura had lived in Yugi's basement for almost a week now. Yami was slowly becoming desperate. He could feel how weak he was becoming, and to be honest, he wouldn't last very long. He felt so thin.

Yami tried shyly to talk with Bakura numerous times after that indigent in the basement. Yami never talked about the laughing though. It had freaked him out, and he didn't want to be left alone with Bakura, if the other yami started laughing again.

When talking to Bakura Yami noticed that Bakura was as unpredictable as ever. Sometimes he ignored Yami completely. Sometimes he just screamed at Yami, telling how much he hated him, and how happy he would be when Yami would finally drop dead. Sometimes he was rational and almost nice, dropping hints now and then, though most of the time Yami couldn't tell what was a hint and what was not, and that just confused him more. Sometimes, mostly in the nighttime, Bakura lost control, and started breaking things in the basement, much to Yugi's annoyance. There wasn't soon nothing unbroken in Mutou's basement, expect maybe the walls. Bakura sometimes still walked on four feet, instead of two. It was always subconscious; he only did it, if he didn't think about it. And it always crept Yami out.

Yami also took a notice of that he never saw Bakura sleeping. The other yami was always awake when he entered the basement and started climbing down the stairs.

Sometimes Ryou talked with Bakura too, but he never got anything useful out of his yami.

No matter how many times Ryou asked, Bakura refused to let Ryou change his bandages. He refused to be touched, claiming that he was fine. Which he was, at least when compared to the time when they brought him to the basement. Bakura was cleaner now, and acted more like a human. He had gained some weight too. But after being on a no food-diet for six months, few days didn't count much. He was still sickly thin, and it felt bad to look at him.

Bakura was slowly, but surely gaining his strength, and Yami knew that no lock could hold king of thieves inside, when he was in full strength.

Yami just had to try harder, right?

"So..." Bakura tilted his head and stared at Yami. He was sitting on the floor, his position little crouched and a curious look on his face. "Why didn't you ask Marik to help you? He is a yami too. Or am I just easier to handle?"

Yami, sitting on one of the wooden stairs, shrugged.

"I called him, or actually I tried to call Malik, but he answered," Yami told. "He said neither he nor Malik know what's going on. He said you know. Do you?"

Yami looked for any signs of knowledge in Bakura's face, only thing he saw was a glint of amusement in his eyes. Bakura just ignored Yami's question. He chuckled and shook his head in disbelief.

"That Marik... " Bakura said, his tone thankful. "God, I love that psycho. I owe him one."

"A big one, " Yami murmured, before deciding that this conversation was over and leaving.

Bakura laughed.

This was one of those times, that no matter what Yami said, Bakura ignored him and just stared into spaces, or at the wall, like he was doing now. And as minutes passed by Yami grew impatient, watching Bakura's crouched back.

"Could you even give me a sign that you heard what I just said?" he snapped.

Bakura's head turned slowly to face Yami. He seemed bored and tired, and like he really didn't care about, what Yami had just said.

"You know," Bakura said. " One thing I learned while I was on that island was patience."

"I can see that," Yami answered.

Before sealing away Bakura's patience had lasted for, what, three minutes? This was one of those times when Yami deeply regretted ever sending Bakura away, he did that a lot nowadays. But as always, Yami reminded himself that this whole dying thing had come as a total surprise, there haven't been a way to him to predict this, and at that time sending Bakura away seemed like a smart move. And it had worked, for about six months.

"Maybe you should learn to be patient too," Bakura sweetly suggested.

"I can't be patient! I'm dying!" Yami pulled his hair out in frustration.

Bakura gave him a long stare, unaffected by this outburst.

"I can see that," he said at last after another long pause. Then he turned to stare at the wall again.

"Aaargghhh!" Yami screamed.

He stomped outside. Bakura knew exactly how to annoy him. The named yami smirked in the darkness and continued his staring competition with the wall. He was winning.

"Please Bakura! I give you anything!" Yami pleaded.

Trying to outsmart Bakura to slip out his secrets had proven ineffective. But Yami wasn't going to give up now. So he tried a different approach. He begged.

"I ask nicely, I beg on my knees. I'll do anything!"

Bakura frowned. He refused to look at Yami.

"As much as I would love to see you on your knees... No deal, pharaoh," he said, and that was final.

Yami sighed. Well, at least he didn't need to beg anymore, since it wasn't clearly working.

"I don't get it," Bakura said.

"What?" Yami asked, confused.

"Why do you humiliate yourself, why don't you just use you magic and force the answer out of me?"

"That would be inhumane," Yami answered. "I didn't bring you back here to be tortured."

"So now you're changing, " Bakura mocked. "Too late, pharaoh."

Sometimes, well quite often actually, the conversation of two yamis would turn into a fight. Those fights involved a lot of mocking, taunting, cursing and yelling, sometimes object throwing, form both sides of the fight. Sometimes Bakura would shut Yami up, and sometimes it would be Yami shutting Bakura up. And sometimes Yugi or Ryou would shut them both up. Either way, whoever stopped the fight it didn't matter. Their fights were never pretty to watch. They never was and never will be.

That's why Yugi kindly asked Yami not to pick fights with Bakura anymore, since they weren't getting anywhere like this.

"Bakura knows that too," Yami answered to Yugi's request. " He knows it, and he loves to annoy me, just so he has another excuse not to help me"

"Don't you think it's time to stop saying that everything is his fault?" Yugi asked. "He can't be guilty of everything."

"I'm not saying everything is his fault," Yami insisted.

Yugi gave him a look, which is given to a stubborn child.

"It seems like it to me," Yugi said.

Yami rolled his eyes.

"Don't let him get on your nerves," Yugi advised, with a bright smile.

Yami waved his hands in anger.

"What do you want me to do?!" he asked. " Scream at you and tell how much I hate you?!"

"Well that's the truth, isn't it?!" Bakura screamed back. "Feel free to hate me, that's what I'm here for!"

"Don't play the victim this time!" Yami warned.

"But that's what I am!"

"Really mature, tomb robber, really mature!"

"So I'm the child now?!" Bakura asked. "Well what if we both stop acting like spoiled kids, and shut the fuck up!!!"

Yami didn't say another word after that comment.

Yami was sitting on one of the stairs once again. He leaned his chin against his hand and watched Bakura. Leaning against the wall, across the room was Bakura, playing with a piece of wood. God only knows from where he had got that.

Yami sighed and closed his eyes, tired. This constant bickering and screaming wore him out. And he was out of ideas too. Guess he really doesn't get anything out of Bakura.

"I know you don't want to help me," Yami murmured. "And you have a reason too. A good one. If I were to I wouldn't help myself either."

A long silent pause followed this statement.

"Does this mean you're giving up?" Bakura asked finally, still playing with that piece of wood. "This doesn't sound like you at all, pharaoh."

Could it be that Bakura, one of the most competitive persons Yami knew, was disappointed because of this easy victory? Yami really didn't think much about it.

"I'm so tired," he said. " Go ahead, scream at me, tell me why exactly you don't want to help me. I want to hear it from you, even once."

"You can't do it," Bakura said. "That's a reason good enough for me, plus the fact that I hate you."

Yami's eyes shot open.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"No matter what I say, no matter what you try to do, you can't do it. You're a dead man, pharaoh."

"Tell me what I can't do?" Yami asked, new hope rising its pretty head in his mind.

"It doesn't change anything," Bakura said indifferently.

Yami stood up and slowly approached Bakura.

"So it really doesn't matter, whether you tell it me or not?"

Bakura shrugged, staring at the piece of wood in his hands.

"I guess not."

"So..?" Yami tilted his head, trying to see Bakura's face clearly.

"What do you think is wrong with you?" Bakura asked.

"Well..." Yami stammered, rubbing the back of his head with his hand. "I thought, that maybe it has something to do with the Shadow Magic... Or something."

Bakura sniggered.

"Shadow Magic is trying to keep you alive. It seems you really don't get it."

"So what is it?" Yami demanded.

"Balance. It's all about balance really, " Bakura said with a straight face

Yami raised his eyebrow.

"Balance?"

"Sometimes your stupidity amazes me, pharaoh," Bakura smirked. "Balance," he repeated. Then he was deep in thought for a long time, thinking of what he should say, and what he should not, before he started speaking again. Yami held his gaze on Bakura.

"We aren't whole," Bakura said. "We are half of one soul, our hikaris are the other half. The balance between hikari and yami must stay. Ryou is the good part of our soul, but against the little darkness in his soul is little light in my soul. We balance each other. There can't be two hikaris in one soul..." Bakura was silent for a while. "I guess sealing me away kept you alive for six months."

"Are you saying that I'm dying because I'm good?" Yami asked in disbelief.

"You're dying because yours and Yugi's soul is off balance. Someone has to be the darkness."

"Well, why I'm the one dying and not Yugi?"

"Wouldn't you like that..." Bakura murmured, before clearing his throat, and speaking: " Because you are attached to Yugi and not the other way around. He is the original one."

"You know a lot for a person who doesn't know how to read," Yami said.

"Don't make fun of me," Bakura warned, saying that this conversation could be easily turned into one of those fights Yami was so tired of.

"Sorry," Yami apologized quickly. "And what is the thing I can't do to stop this?"

"You have two options."

Bakura held up two fingers.

"One. You balance your soul by turning Yugi into a 'bad guy', fast."

One finger was put down.

"Impossible," Yami said. "Maybe if I had something like three years...."

"Which you don't have. So its impossible to you, just like I thought. Well, you always have your second option. You turn yourself back into the 'bad guy' you were, fast, by, I don't know, killing someone?"

"Like someone human?" Yami asked in shock.

Bakura nodded.

"That's sick!" Yami yelled. " I can't do that. You're insane."

"Just a little crazy, "Bakura assured. "and right. As I said it didn't change anything, though now you know what you should do."

He put the piece of wood down, stood up and walked through Yami, who just stared blankly forward and didn't utter a word.

"Think about it," Bakura said chuckling darkly and disappearing into shadows.

"So did he say anything new?" Yugi asked, when exhausted Yami opened the basement door.

"Any clues? Ryou continued.

Yami shut the door and shook his head.

"No, nothing."

A/N: I luv 'ya all! :3