I have a strange blend of emotions as I post this final chapter of my story which I have worked so long and hard on. I am happy that it is over and that I can now work on my sequel (to which the prologue is posted below) but at the same time I had so much fun spending time thinking up and writing this story.

Please review! This is the final chapter of the story, and I would love to hear what you thought of it. Thanks in advance!

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Chapter Nineteen

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Seto found himself running through the hospital so quickly that all of the people and objects that he passed by were simple blurs, even some of the patients in the hallway he had disregarded and blazed his way past. Only moments before he had broken into full speed had he been notified that Ryou's bone marrow transplant was complete, and now he had every intention of getting by his side as fast as possible.

As he rounded the final corner and flew into Ryou's recovery room, he felt his heart stop. With eager eyes he glanced over the entire space, finding it to be completely empty. He gritted his teeth and smacked his hand against the wall, turning around and storming down the hall. Grabbing a nearby doctor by the collar, he shook him slightly and shouted, "Where the hell is Ryou?!"

With wide eyes and a slight tremble, the doctor informed Seto that he had gone home with his father only a few minutes before he had arrived. Instantly Seto released the man from his grip and took off once more, a few people he dashed past shouting at him to slow down. He didn't even hear their shouts of protest, for all he cared about was getting to Ryou and hearing that everything had worked according to plan. Seto screamed at his driver to go faster, and the louder he made his voice the harder he pressed down on the gas pedal. In half the time it usually took to get to Ryou's apartment building, Seto had arrived. Leaving his frazzled driver in the front seat, Seto tore out of the car and almost jumped up the flight of stairs to his front door, knocking in it firmly.

"Ryou!" He called, the door opening up a second later. Michael had to dodge Seto's knocking fist, and even though he greeted Seto, he brushed past him and bolted up the stairs, finding Ryou's bedroom door to be open ajar. As he shoved it out of his way, he began to catch his breath, for standing across the room next to an open window he saw Ryou leaning against the wall. He looked up the moment he heard all of the commotion, and a huge smile stretched across his face as he caught Seto's gaze.

"Seto!" He cried out, opening his arms as Seto wrapped his own around Ryou's body. They stood there for several minutes, holding each other firmly and smothering one another's lips in passionate kisses. Needing to take a breath, Ryou pulled his head back and said, "I was wondering when you were going to show up!"

Seto's hungry eyes skimmed over Ryou's body. He appeared to have gained a little weight, his cheeks now seeming less sunken in. The color of his skin was still pale, but had more color and life in it then Seto had recalled it having the last time. The hair on his head was the same, about half of it gone, but that didn't stop Seto from breathing a deep sigh of relief and permitting himself to smile.

"I was worried about you," He said, brushing his fingers against Ryou's cheek. Ryou's eyes widened fully, and a moment later his signature grin lit up his whole person.

"Seto, it worked. It all worked. I'm cancer free!"

At that moment in time, Seto was so filled with happiness that he thought he was going to burst. He was delighted by the fact that the surgery had cured his Ryou of that dreadful disease, and he grinned at the thought that soon he would be back to his normal appearance. All the same though, the fact that he no longer had to worry about Ryou's health caused him to remember the fact that he did not know the truth, and it suddenly felt like the huge load of whether or not Ryou would live was replaced by the thought that he still might lose him once he knew just what his past contained.

Seto took a deep breath and lead Ryou over to the bed, both of them sitting down on its side. Ryou looked at Seto questioningly and shook his head, the smile on his face unwavering in size. "Is something wrong?"

Seto glanced away for a second, unable to look Ryou directly in the eye. He knew the time had come for him to confess everything to him, even though it held the chance that Ryou would be deeply upset. "There are things about me that you really should know. You deserve to know the truth…" He began. Ryou scooted closer and took Seto's hand in his. "Alright then, I'm listening."

Even though it was the hardest thing Seto could ever think of doing, he began to rip the scabs off of his inner wounds and started to spill everything. He started off where most confessions do, with the beginning, where he had first encountered what it felt like to use cocaine. He painstakingly put into words just how empty and bland his life had been before he had met either Ryou or Joey, and he fought back the urge to punch himself as he told about the horrible thing he had done to Joey when they had been together as a couple. Then he went on to talk about his younger brother and just how much he loved him, and how it had torn his heart in half when the courts had ruled him unfit to care for or even see him for the next few years. That was when he explained to Ryou all about Dr. Teleshov and how he had been there to counsel Seto for all of that time, and that if it hadn't been for his uncle he would have probably overdosed the moment he had gotten the chance. He choked out how it had killed him to not only watch himself fall to pieces, but the entire relationship that he had with Joey vanished with that slice of his knife. Seto watched tears flood Ryou's eyes, but he knew that his confession was not over yet. There was a brief pause before Seto was able to find the right words to describe how he felt the moment he had laid eyes on Ryou, and then he found a small tear escaping his eye as he told about how frightened he had been once he had found out about Ryou's leukemia. He forced himself to tell about how he had gone into the cancer ward and come face to face with dozens of people on the verge of death, and that their images had haunted his mind and made him crash back down onto his silver tipped solution. He turned his head away as he told Ryou about how unbearable the thought of losing him had become, and that the only thing that caused him to forget and feel no inner pain had been his drugs. However, he explained, he had come to realize that he loved and cared for Ryou more then anything else, and that he had literally dragged himself off into rehab and that as he was explaining all of this, the present day marked the third week of his cleansing.

For the first time, Seto's appearance showed all of the emotions and pain that a scarred human would have, and the barriers that he had been hiding himself inside of had been completely destroyed. Although Ryou felt hurt beyond words at finding out the things that Seto had been keeping from him, he was also shocked and rather pleased that Seto trusted and cared for him enough to break down into nothing more then a person who had been severely haunted by his past.

There was a moment of painful silence as the two boys simply sat in the tense air and let the exchanged words sink in. Seto had pulled his hand away and had his eyes elsewhere, for he felt like complete shit after having to put the knowledge of his past on Ryou. Finally Ryou reached out and grabbed Seto's hand again, gently squeezing it. He did not hold it back, though, for he didn't feel like he had earned the right to.

"I'm only half the man I thought I would be." Seto muttered through his teeth.

Even though Ryou's cheeks were heavily saturated by tears, a small smile managed to emerge onto his face. "Seto, you may think you're only half the man that you thought you would become, but I think you're twice the man I'll ever need." He shook his head and tenderly placed his fingers on Seto's cheek. "I don't mind your tainted past, Seto. It's the past, after all. It's over." He sniffled. "All that matters now is that you were willing to come clean." Like Déjà vu, Ryou pulled Seto's head back so that they were looking eye to eye, and as their gazes locked in place Seto could see just how tender and loving Ryou really was, and it caused his heart to melt.

"That makes me love you even more, Seto." Ryou finished. Seto glanced down at their hands and lightly squeezed his in return. Ryou tugged on Seto's arm, motioning for him to lie down on the bed. Seto complied and slowly brought himself down, and then Ryou laid himself on top of him. For several minutes he just ran his fingers through Seto's hair and simply stared into his eyes, searching them to be sure that Seto had been listening to what he had been saying. Leaning his head down, he pressed their lips into a tender kiss, the warmth from Ryou's close body forcing Seto to relax.

"Seto, why were you always so crass towards everyone, especially me and Joey?"

Seto released a sigh. The way that Ryou had been handling and reacting to his past was nothing like what he thought it would be, and instead of feeling even more pain he was starting to feel lighter and even free of his past struggles.

"I was terrified of being rejected and hurt again. I've already had to deal with so much shit, and I didn't want anyone, particularly you two to see that, so I just learned to turn all of my fear into anger." He looked away, then finished, "I thought I would never get burned that way."

Ryou picked up a small segment of Seto's hair and twirled it around his finger, using his other hand to gently stroke the back of his neck. Using his elbow, he propped himself up somewhat on the bed over Seto, careful not to pull his hair.

"It all makes sense now." He replied, releasing a sigh himself. He glanced down at his bony fingers. "I'm sorry that you still have to see me like this." He mumbled. "It will be a few more months until all of my fat is back to normal and the hair on my head has grown back." Seto glanced over at him, and then he reached out and cupped Ryou's face in his hand.

"Ryou, look at me." He said, gazing into Ryou's eyes, which were rich in color again and had a healthy glaze to them. "It doesn't bother me, Ryou. The fact that your hair is gone…it doesn't matter to me anymore." He then placed his other hand on the opposite side of Ryou's face and held him just like he had done when they had shared their first kiss. He swallowed hard, realizing what he was just about to say, and then stated, "I fell in love with you, Ryou. Not your hair."

Ryou's lip began to quiver, and just when he was about to say something Seto silenced him with a deep kiss.

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For the second time that day, Seto found himself walking out of the hospital. Dr. Teleshov had ordered another round of blood tests to be certain that his body was still doing well without any drugs, and the small pricks he had felt when they drew some blood had been worth it to find out that his organs were going to be alright after all.

Suddenly a large hand grabbed his shoulder and yanked him into an alleyway, causing him to momentarily loose his footing. Once Seto regained his stance, he turned around and found himself face to face with his dealer.

"What the hell was that for?" Seto snarled, yanking his arm away.

"You still need this?" He asked, holding up a small bag filled with cocaine needles. Seto glared down at the bag and shook his head. "No, I don't need your shit anymore. I've got a life now." He turned around and began to walk away.

"You know, my boss isn't going to be happy to have lost his most valuable customer."

"That's not my problem now, is it?" Seto snapped back over his shoulder. "Our deals are off." He continued on his way out of the alley.

"I think you and I both know that this isn't really the end, Seto. In fact, this is only the beginning." Seto stopped walking and tensed his jaw, turning halfway to glance at him.

"You're a smart guy, Mister Kaiba, I'll give you that. But these-" He raised his eyebrow and held up the bag with the drug needles. "These things don't just go away. Not even you can escape their grip, even though you have attempted rehab twice now."

Seto growled, and his dealer walked a little closer to him. When he leaned forward, Seto discovered him to reek of cigarette smoke, and he stifled a cough.

"Not even someone as attractive as Ryou can keep you away from this world for long."

Enraged and surprised that he knew so much, Seto grabbed the guy by his coat and lifted him into the air. "How the fuck do you know about him?!" Seto demanded.

The guy, not fazed by Seto's actions, simply laughed. "My boss makes it a high priority to get to know his clients, with or without their consent. He knows more about your life then you or the people within it do."

Seto shook the guy forcefully for several seconds, almost causing him to drop the bag. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't just kill you right here, right now!"

The man reached up and stroked his chin, a thoughtful expression on his face. "The boss made it clear that if any harm should befall one of his workers by your hand, all those people whom you hold dear and call your friends are to be executed, starting with yourself."

Growing frustrated, Seto slammed the guy against the nearest wall, almost knocking the wind out of him. "Who the hell is your boss?!"

A toothy grin grew onto the man's face and he laughed maniacally. "I'm sure that psychologist of yours, Dr. Teleshov, knows something about us. Of course, the moment he tells you anything, he is dead. That is the way we operate. It is very simple, actually. You open your mouth to say a name, you lose your head." Drawing his finger across his throat, he made a cutting sound.

Seto tensed his hands into the fabric of the guy's coat, seething in his mind. He forced himself to let go, and the guy instantly dropped to the ground. "Get the fuck out of here." Seto declared, his eyes wild with passion. The man brought himself to his feet and brushed himself off, making sure the contents of his bag were still in one piece. "I'll let this physical harassment go this once, Mister Kaiba. But don't think that simply by no longer being one of our customers that we will disappear. Besides, you will probably be calling on us again soon to relieve your needs. Or else, we'll be contacting you." He eyed up Seto, who appeared to be ready to maul him at the drop of a pin. "We never forget a name or a face, Mister Kaiba. Now have yourself a…pleasant day." He winked at Seto once before turning around and melting into the darkness of the hospital alleyway.

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Joey tiptoed down the hallway of Dr. Teleshov's home, hoping that he wouldn't wake his new parent. Although he had been living there for just over two weeks, he had still not grown accustomed to the size and space of it yet, and it felt like forever before he had reached the doors of their library. He wrapped his fingers around the doorknob and turned it slightly, slipping inside and shutting it a moment later.

I can't sleep. The news is just too disturbing, even though I really shouldn't be all that bothered by it. Joey thought, wandering over to the table where he had left his backpack. I mean, I knew that my dad was horrible, but I still can't grasp the idea that when the authorities went in to haul him off to jail they found him lying face down in his intestines. Why would somebody kill him like that? He sighed, and unzipped his bag to pull out a few books. It really doesn't matter, so long as he's gone and I can have an actual life now. At least I can use this extra energy to finish up the last of my homework. Finals start next week. He reached inside to grab a pencil, but couldn't find any.

Huh, that's strange… He glanced over at Dr. Teleshov's personal desk. I bet there are a few pens in there. Walking over to it, he yanked a drawer open and glanced over its contents, spying a pen sticking out from underneath a paper. He grabbed it and removed it from the drawer, and was about to close it again before noticing a shiny wooden handle sticking out on the other side of the paper. Curiosity took full hold of him, and so he lifted the paper to see what was underneath. His eyes grew wide as he beheld a pistol with an intricate cherry wood handle. Just to the side of the gun he noticed there to be a brass key and some tattered old papers written in Russian. He softly picked up the weapon and glanced over it, finding the barrel to be clean.

"Why does a psychologist have this?" He wondered out lout.

"You weren't supposed to find that already." A voice from behind says, causing Joey to jump. He whipped around, eyes darting, but didn't see anyone.

"Who's there?!" Joey exclaimed, turning around in a full circle and pointing the gun as he moves. His arms were shaking nervously, and suddenly a piercing laughter rang through the room.

"Put that thing down, Joey." The voice said. From the side, a hand flew out and grabbed the body of the weapon. "I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself."

Joey stared at the hand, becoming fearful of what this person's intentions were. "Show yourself!" Joey stated, hoping he sounded more confident then he felt. Sure enough, a full body emerged from the deep shadows of the library. They took a step forward, and Joey locked eyes with harsh blue ones. The face he gazed upon was youthful and attractive, but the cheekbones remained stagnant and expressionless, the lips curled up in the corner in a mischievous manner similar to the dark gleam reflected from his eyes.

Joey's jaw dropped open, and the unexpected guest removed the gun from his grip and tossed it down onto a nearby shelf. Then as quickly as he had arrived, he disappeared back into the shadows once more, leaving Joey's mind teeming with questions.

The face that Joey had gazed upon had belonged to none other than Seto Kaiba.

The end, but to be continued...

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(Alright, so that was the end of Pure. Posted below for your enjoyment [and to get a taste of what the sequel will hold] I have posted the prologue to it below. What is the name of Pure's sequel? I have decided to call it.... Shadows.)

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What if I told you that our shadows are alive?

A shadow in itself has no substance; it is just a dark, thin form that clings to your flesh when the light hits your body just so. A shadow is revealed when the surrounding light envelops your frame in such a way where it cannot fully cover your whole self at once, and that is when it reveals to you that dark and flexible form we call our shadow.

But what if this shadow was no longer a part of yourself? What if it wasn't the result of light being unable to fully envelope you? What if your shadow had its own body? A body whose shadow was nothing more then the dark ghost of its past, which followed you around like a fatal attraction?

Well Nicolai, I have come to the disturbing realization that some of our shadows are quite alive. Even some of the skeletons in our closets still have enough of a heart to survive, yet they still hold close to them that bitter sting that pierces through us like a knife, forever changing us all the way to our core.

Please do not be concerned for me, for I have been surrounded by darkness and hatred for so long that it almost seems to be my light. Even though my father was the scum of the Earth, he taught me the valuable lesson of the masquerade, one trick of which I have made an intimate part of my daily life.

You see, the only true way to defeat a dark shadow is to become one yourself, while at the same time not losing focus of who you really are. They can give you a new identity, strip you of the clothes on your back, and even suit you up to fight with them in their war, but all the while you are really just playing a wicked game of deception, a game in which your life is the thing that you lose if you do not come out as the victor.

The Russian Mafia is in fact this living shadow that I have spoken of, a group that I know Seto and yourself have been involved in all too well. They are a brutish group of people that have either given their soul up for the sake of an infamous role in history or were born without a soul altogether.

The only way to truly defeat these people and their shadows is by becoming a sheep in wolf's clothing and entering into their camp, a task of which I am ready and willing to take on. I must thank you for leaving your room the way that you did, for without the items in there I could not be alive or even penning this letter to you.

Now I must breathe the same polluted air as they do, talk the same poisonous words as they do, and spread more blood across the stone hallways of their castle then butter across the rotten bread they shove down your throats and force you to live off of if you are not fit to their standards of a perfect criminal.

If you are reading this letter and have not received any other means of communication from me, that means that I am already dead and lost the ongoing battle between flesh and shadow…if that is so, please do not grieve long for me, for I would not want you to be distressed. You have become like a father to me, Nicolai, and for that debt which I can never repay nor explain in words, I am forever grateful.

Signed, your son, Joey Wheeler, or as the Mafia has affectionately named me…Rasputin

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