TW: Small TW of Atem wanting to die (not in a self-inflicted way). Also depression numbness/apathy. Consider all an on-going TW in regards to Atem after this point.

'What is that? Is that supposed to be a kuriboh? *sigh* This is stupid…'

Atem glanced boredly around the room, observing the poor decorative tastes that Kaiba's decorators had filled the penthouse with. The place was silent, with the exception of the annoying echo of his movements that were far too reminiscent of being in the Puzzle.

He leaned his head back into the dark leather of the sofa, closing his eyes in an attempt to escape the new nightmare he'd found himself in. His eyes had only been closed for a few minutes when he felt the light press of cold metal against his throat.

"If you're going to do it, then do it," he said without opening his eyes.

"Awww…where's the fun in that?" came Bakura's annoying voice.

Atem opened his eyes in time to see Bakura lowering himself to straddle his lap while keeping the blade pressed tightly to Atem's neck. He felt an uncomfortable heat rise in his face, and prayed it didn't show.

"Get off of me," Atem demanded.

"Nah," Bakura said casually, his head tilting slowly one way then the other in an observant manner. "I enjoy watching your reaction. That little blush of yours is cute," he growled tauntingly.

"I am not blushing," Atem said heavily in denial. It wasn't like he had control over how his body reacted. "Why are you even here? Shouldn't you be with Katrina?" he asked in annoyance.

Bakura lowered the signature smirk he'd been hiding behind to reveal how he truly felt. He leaned forward, pressing the blade tighter to Atem's throat.

"I knew you were a fucking ass, but to leave at a time like that?" Bakura shook his head disapprovingly, his face drawn tight into one of bitterness and hatred. "I never thought you'd be so cold."

Atem felt defeated. He relaxed and closed his eyes again, silently praying Bakura would decide not to toy with him this time and just finish the job.

The blade at his throat shook.

"You're not going to say anything?!" Bakura seethed.

"What's there to say that you haven't? I'm a cold-hearted ass."

Bakura's irritated growl was the only warning he had as the blade left his throat and a mouth was crushed against his.

Atem's eyes opened wide as he tried to recoil away. He quickly shoved the elemental back, swinging simultaneously. Fist met face, and the sound it made was satisfying to his ears.

Bakura stumbled back, his face one of shock as he brought his hand up to wipe away the small bit of blood from the corner of his mouth. He looked down at the crimson smear on his hand, then over at Atem, a sadistic grin slowly forming.

"That's more like it! Let's try this again now that you're a bit more lively," Bakura said with a dark chuckle.

"What do you want from me?!" Atem shouted bitterly.

"Isn't it obvious, Pharaoh? I want you to explain your heartless departure."

"I don't have to explain myself to you."

Bakura shook his head while tsking. "That may be true, but I'm not exactly asking for an answer. I'm demanding one."

"And I'm refusing to give one," Atem stated with a scowl.

Bakura stood up straight, his blade vanishing as he chewed the inside of his lip while slowly nodding in thought. "I see. So we're gonna do this the hard way."

He walked over to the wall of glass that overlooked the city and knocked on it. "Mal, you might want to get ready for a quick repair job."

Bakura looked back at Atem, his grin becoming even more devilish than usual as his eyes began to glow bright. Atem could swear that a few tufts of hair had risen to take on the appearance of horns.

"Hey, Pharaoh…can you fly?"

Atem barely registered his body hitting the wall that shattered around him, shards of glass momentarily hung suspended in midair as his mind tried to catch up with what had happened. He watched as the glass retracted back to its origin, the window reforming almost immediately as his body began to rapidly descend away from it. Panicked voices and screams from below filled his ears.

He felt a cool gust of breeze that somehow moved differently from the air around his falling form. The screams and voices vanished, and he found himself upright. He was no longer falling. Instead he hung suspended in the air by the collar of his shirt, a pale hand the only thing keeping him there.

Atem looked down, the building he'd been thrown from appearing far below him. Looking back over at the one holding him in place, he could see Bakura's hair and clothing moving as though a gentle breeze were playfully toying with them. The elemental floated effortlessly among the clouds, appearing almost angelic in the golden rays of the sun. If it weren't for the fact that he could obviously see Domino far beneath his feet, Atem might have thought he'd finally arrived in Aaru.

"Why didn't you just let me hit the ground?" Atem asked in annoyance.

Bakura's face was emotionless as his eyes moved over Atem, studying him.

"Did you honestly think I would make your end that quick? You should know by now that I enjoy playing with my things long after they've broken…and you aren't even remotely broken…yet."

"I don't belong to you," Atem scowled.

Bakura brought Atem in close, grinning devilishly as he licked along the side of Atem's face. "You do now."

Atem attempted to swing at the elemental, but only succeeded in plummeting towards the earth again. He quickly searched inward and called forth his Ka, Slifer appearing and catching him before he could hit the ground. The God Ka placed him on the helipad above the penthouse, then hovered nearby, awaiting further command. Bakura appeared across from him, his own Ka summoned and his face expressing excitement.

"Yes! This is what I'm talking about! My God-level Ka against yours. Just like old times, wouldn't you agree?"

"I don't want to fight," Atem sharply stated. "I just want to be left alone."

"Then give me a reason for why you left…"

Atem clenched his fists. Why was it so hard to just explain himself? Was it because he didn't really know the answer himself? Was it because it was Bakura that was asking? Both?

"You know what, on second thought, I do want to fight. Just not like this."

Atem dismissed Slifer, keeping his focus on the elemental as the God Ka ascended and vanished into the heavens. Diabound vanished from sight as Bakura apparently did the same.

Bakura stood with arms outstretched, his face still flush with excitement. "Do it. I'll let you get in a few hits for free." He summoned a dagger and flicked it between them so that it stuck point-first into the helipad. "Just to make things more interesting," he added.

Atem eyeballed the blade. It was tempting, but he liked the way his hand made contact with Bakura's face even more. He ran towards the smirking bastard, feeling satisfaction as he heard the bones in Bakura's jaw crack.

The force of the swing sent Bakura off-balance, forcing him down to the ground. Atem didn't give him time to recover as he pounced on top and began wailing mercilessly. Each strike was like a sweet release that he didn't realize he'd needed. He swung over and over again, Bakura doing nothing to stop him, taking each hit in stride.

Atem raised his fist again, it shook as his muscles began to ache and burn. He panted as he looked down at the face that looked back up at him, slight movement beneath pale skin reminding Atem that he could break every bone in the elemental's face and they would always return to their original position. There would be no shades of black and purple blooming across that pale face. No mark to prove that he'd allowed Atem to best him. Nothing. Meanwhile, Atem's hand felt tender. He was certain at some point he'd broken something.

"Do you feel better?"

Atem was tempted to strike once more, just for the satisfaction, but he dropped his hand instead as he sat up straight, tilting his head back and closing his eyes as he took in and released a defeated breath .

He felt an object being placed in his hand, another hand helping his to wrap around it. He opened his eyes and looked down, the other hand moving his into a position above the elemental's heart.

"Maybe this will help. All you have to do is press down. I'll be incapacitated for roughly five-to-ten minutes…maybe more if you're lucky. Hell, take the time to throw me off the building if that's what you need. Just know I'll keep coming back until I get what I'm after."

Bakura removed his hand, his eyes locked on Atem's as he waited for him to make a move.

Atem shook as exhaustion began to set in. He released the blade that had been placed in his hand, his head and shoulders falling in defeat. "I don't know."

"You don't know what?"

"...why I left. All I remember is seeing her eyes, and people shouting…and then I was here."

Bakura attempted to sit up, Atem moved to allow it.

Bakura stared blankly for a long moment. "You expect me to believe that you dissociated your way into Kaiba's helicopter?"

Atem opened his mouth to reply, but quickly closed it.

Bakura covered his face with a palm. "Dissociated. It means-"

"I know what it means!" Atem shouted abruptly. He took a second to calm the resurgence of irritation he felt towards the elemental. "I just don't have a good counter argument."

Bakura lowered his hand and nodded his head as if understanding. "I see. Do you remember anything else before it all blurred out? Like maybe how you felt?"

Atem took his time answering. He did remember that part…and it's what bothered him the most. "Helpless….like the day her mother died…and when she was sick…"

Bakura raised a curled knuckle to his face, inwardly thinking. "When she died during the Ra encounter at the palace…you froze then as well, right?"

Atem nodded somberly.

Bakura breathed out a small chuckle while clapping a hand on Atem's shoulder. "Welcome to the 'I'm fucked up from shit that happened in another lifetime' club."

Atem looked at the hand on his shoulder. He wasn't amused. He just felt defeated again.

"Aw, c'mon. Chin up. It's not that bad. Look at me, I'm-...on second thought, I'm probably not a good example," Bakura said half-heartedly while lowering his hand and looking away.

Atem said nothing as he rose and slowly made his way to the penthouse's elevator roof entrance. Once inside, he ignored the screaming cacophony of colors and all-over-the-place decorative themes that made him momentarily regret having summoned Slifer. His body was once again on autopilot as it made its way back to the sofa, and the irritating, cold texture that was too loud whenever he moved. He opted to lay down on his side with his hands beneath his head, staring vacantly at nothing in particular.

He heard the elevator doors open, followed by the echoed taps of Bakura's shoes as he made his way across the floor, stopping just behind the sofa.

"This place looks like someone threw your deck in a blender, hit puree, drank it, then vomited it in every direction. Are you sure you wanna stay here? I can easily explain everything to Kat. I'm certain she'd have no issue letting you come back."

Atem subtly clenched his jaw. There was no way he was going to admit out loud that he already hated it here and wanted to go back…especially since it would mean going back and facing her.

"No…I like it here."

Wow…could he have said that any more unconvincingly?

"Uh-huh…riiight…" was Bakura's obviously-not-buying-it reply.

Atem began to curl in on himself, wanting to be left alone. "Please leave."

"Yeahhh…that's not gonna happen."

There was a short pause of silence, followed by a few soft taps on a device. The elemental had a short conversation in the immortal tongue before, presumably, hanging up his phone. Atem tried his best to keep his eyes focused in front of him, internally begging for Bakura to just leave him be.

White tufts appeared in front of Atem, failing to remain hidden as Bakura was obviously attempting to crawl below the front edge of the sofa, prompting Atem to once again become irritated with the elemental. As he opened his mouth to shout at Bakura, a furry snout appeared centimeters from his face. Ash-violet eyes stared big and round into his own, brows raised in a pouting manner. A tiny, pupperish whine quickly pushed all of the irritation Atem felt towards the elemental away.

Atem sighed heavily as he lifted a hand to stroke one of Bakura's soft ears. "You're not playing fair. How am I supposed to yell at you to leave when you pull something like this?" He lightly shook his head. "I don't understand you. You throw me out a window, but then you let me beat on you? And now this?"

Atem stopped his petting, sitting up while looking down at Bakura in his transfigured form.

"Why are you attempting to lift my spirits?"

Bakura transfigured back, sitting cross-legged on the floor while looking up at the former Pharaoh.

"You were an empty husk ready to just throw in the towel on life. I'm an irritating shit that ignited a temporary spark. Admit it: Since you've come back, the only time you've truly felt anything other than empty or lost is when you've wanted to beat the shit out of me. Am I wrong?"

"So?" Atem said in annoyance. "That doesn't explain why you are doing this."

Bakura appeared to grit his teeth as he chewed the inside of his lip.

"I've been where you are," he said quietly after a long moment of silence. "I know what it's like to just want nothing more than to just lie there and wait." Bakura lowered his eyes and shook his head. "Too afraid to end it yourself, but no energy to fight it."

"That still doesn't explai-"

"I'm still fucking here, dammit!" Bakura shouted, lifting his eyes again and boring his gaze into Atem. "I should have fucking died! Before I met any of you, I. Should. Have. Died. But I didn't," he said firmly. "Instead, I had to push through and deal with the insufferable giddiness of someone who refused to leave me alone. I felt something when I was around her. Who the fuck do you have that makes you feel? Your precious former host? You didn't seem too alive around him at the mall. If anything, you looked worse. But with me…you feel. So what if it's annoyance or anger? It's something…and something is better than nothing."

Atem furled his brow in confusion. "You make it sound as if you actually care."

Bakura held up his hands while leaning away. "Hey now, don't read into it. I just fucking know what you're going through. Maybe not exactly…but I have an idea. Besides, what fun is killing you if you're just waiting for death? I gotta make you want to live. How else am I supposed to enjoy that final moment of yours?"

Atem blinked a few times before replying. "I've said it several times now, and I'm sure I'll say it several more times before I die: There is something majorly wrong with you."

"I know! Isn't it great! And to think, you're currently on the path to becoming just like me!" Bakura stated sarcastically.

Atem's face fell. "Wonderful…now I'm actually inclined to change my outlook on life. I can only imagine how long it will take to become as deranged as you."

"I can help expedite derangement," Bakura commented with a grin. "I'm sure we can narrow down the process from a few centuries to approximately a decade."

Atem placed a palm across his face and groaned.

Like chapter 91, this is another chapter that I have been dying to post. I love Bakura's solution to Atem's apathy is yeeting him through a penthouse window lol