There's nothing you can say to hurt me,
For this strength, it runs so deep,
Rooted in this promise in me,
One which means my heart to keep.
Batter me with slights remembered,
Beat me down with fearsome schemes,
Burn my face with hate-sick embers,
Run me through with shards of dreams
And twist the knife too far and further,
'Til you know I'd break and fall,
Bruise my soul with spell and monster,
Watch me stay and take it all,
For what I fight you for's worth striving,
Simmering beneath my skin;
Do not doubt I'll stay surviving,
Nor disbelieve that soon I'll win.
I forgive you, even though
I know you cannot hear me yet.
If you trust no more, just know
I can't hold back, and can't regret,
Can only give you this same vow
That keeps my soul from shattering:
Things may be beyond bad now,
But I won't stop for anything
Until we all can laugh again
And live beneath the same bright sky;
My foe, my obstacle, my friend,
This cannot, will not, be goodbye.

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Background:

I wrote this inspired by On the Wrong Track from the original Yu-Gi-Oh!, Waking the Dragons to be exact, when Joey was forced to finish off Rex, but promised to save him. At this same time, we're smack in the middle of the Dark Signers arc in 5D's. I found Joey's promise to Rex comparable to Yusei's promise to Martha's 'nestlings' and Dr. Schmidt that they could get everyone back by defeating the Dark Signers, when he knows that that might not be true. These promises are utterly unreasonable; neither Joey nor Yusei knows he can keep that promise, but he makes it because that's the only thing keeping him going through so much pain. Joey lost Mai and Yugi within a day of each other; Yusei just had Rally turn to dust in his arms, and tomorrow he has to try and destroy someone he used to call one of his best friends. They make those promises because they need to convince themselves that it's worth it, that this pain doesn't last forever. And that convinces them only because these duelists value and honor their promises; their word means something tangible, and is not easily broken. It's the only shield they have against the end of the world, but it's all they need.