What a Dream Was Here!

~Chapter 1~

Dear Amane,

You'll never believe what happened this week.  But first let me tell you about everything else.

Dad got another raise.  He's been put in charge of this branch of the bank.  That's a lot of responsibility.  He might not be able to read his monthly archeology magazine at work anymore.  That'll disappoint him.  He always wanted to be an archeologist.  Sometimes I almost feel sorry for being born.  That was what finally made him give up on ever being one.

I'm glad he's not, though.  Since you and mom went away.  Give mom my love, ok?

That's all the news about dad.  He hasn't met anyone, even though all his coworkers say that he should start dating again.  They say that it's unnatural how long it's been since he had a woman in his life.  But you know dad.  I don't think he'll ever find someone he wants to date.  No one could ever compare to mom.  Anyway, I think his coworkers are busybodies who should mind their own business.  Just because most of them have new lovers every other week they think he should too.

Jounouchi-kun and Honda-kun came back to school this week.  Everyone is a bit warier of them than they were before.  I think they're the only kids from this school to ever be to juvenile detention.  The principal must not like that they were.  It'll be on the school's permanent record as well as theirs.

It's strange, though.  They don't seem worried about their records.  I thought at least Honda-kun would be worried about it.  He has a family to live up to.  Jounouchi-kun doesn't really have much family, so he's never cared as much about his record.  I don't know why they aren't worried yet, but I'll figure it out.  They have to talk to someone other than each other, and no one else will talk to them.

Mazaki-san still won't talk to me.  I wish she would.  It would make it much easier to find out information on Mutou-kun.  I go by his family's game store after school a lot to ask about him.  I know what you're thinking, but I didn't find out it was a game shop until after I looked them up so I could apologize about what happened to Mutou-kun and ask how he was doing.

I think his grandfather likes me because I ask and because I like games.  I've bought a bunch of things, and sometimes when it's not busy I'll play something with him.  He says that he likes it and that it makes him feel like Mutou-kun is still there.  They're close.

Mutou-kun is still in a coma.  I don't know if he'll ever come out of it.  Jounouchi-kun and Honda-kun said that when I go visit him this week they want to come too.  Mazaki-san overheard that and started yelling at them.  She doesn't want them anywhere near Mutou-kun and said that what happened last time should be enough to keep them away.  I think they're going to come anyway.

It's strange to think that they'll actually call me their friend now.  I know you'll say that after the amount of time I spent going to see them it shouldn't be a surprise, but you've never met them.  I tried being their friend for weeks before what happened and neither of them wanted me around.  Being away changed them.

Has it changed you too?

And now the surprise.

I got a job today.

I know, you think that's not the most interesting thing.  You're probably yelling at me right now for getting you all excited over nothing.  But I haven't told you what job it is yet.

I got home from school and the phone started ringing as I unlocked the door.  I barely got my shoes off in time to grab the phone.  The caller - it must have been a secretary - asked me to meet his boss at a nearby cafe.  I asked what time and he said as soon as I could get there.  I told him I'd be there in half an hour.

I didn't want to be in my uniform.

When I got there I was called over to a table where there were two people.  I had only expected one.  The second one was his brother, I found out.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.

I asked his name, but he just said to call him Seto for now, and introduced his brother as Mokuba.  Mokuba was very shy and barely said hello to me.

Seto told me that because of problems they've had in the past Mokuba is afraid of adults.  He's always been homeschooled.  But the tutor that Seto had for him scared him too, so he had to fire him.

I have to admit that the way he said that made me nervous.  It looked like he'd had the man killed.  But who would do something like that?

Because of Mokuba's fears, Seto was looking for someone about his own age to tutor his brother.  He'd heard that I was a good student and wanted to know if I'd consent to coming to their house after school to help Mokuba.

I was very flattered by this, but told him that I didn't know if I was good enough to teach someone else.  He said that he'd looked into my records and that he'd heard that I helped Jounouchi-kun and Honda-kun keep up with their school work.

You can stop laughing now.  I'll wait.  And no, I'm NOT too nice for my own good!

Anyway, he said that if I wasn't sure he'd be willing to take me on for a month as a trial so we could see if it would work.  I agreed that there was no reason not to do that.  Besides, it's not like I do anything else after school.  I'll still have time to visit Mutou-kun and his grandfather.  Maybe if I get to be friends with Mokuba he'll come with me.

I can hear you asking me how old he is.  He's 11.  And before you start laughing at me again, let me remind you that most of your friends were mine, so you shouldn't laugh at me.

So I have an after school teaching job.  I think I'm getting paid more than my teachers for it.

And now the part that will make you fall over from shock.

Seto is Kaiba - as in the president of Kaiba Corp.  When he finally told me that I nearly choked on my tea.

You're probably getting a good laugh at my expense here, aren't you?  Just wait.  Someday I'll get you back for all of it.

So starting Monday, a car will pick me up after school and take me to the Kaiba mansion for a few hours.  I can bring my own work along with me, so I won't get behind.  This feels like a surreal dream.

There's dad!  I have to go tell him.

Give my love to mom.

Love,
Oniichan.

PS: Dad thinks it's a great learning experience for me.  I didn't tell him that it's for Kaiba.  We're going to a museum exhibit now, so I'm going to get this ready to send.
- Oniichan.


The pale haired boy folded the paper of the letter and put it in an envelope.  He addressed it:

Bakura Amane
Heaven

and put it in the box with all of the other letters that never got mailed.


~Chapter 2~

Bakura loved listening to his father.

"So Isis collected all of the pieces of Osiris that their brother Set had scattered to the wind.  All except one.  And she put him back together.  And then they sired Horus, who's one of the more important Egyptian gods."

Bakura looked at the mummy that had spawned this storytelling session.  He had heard the story before.  "But tou-san, how could they sire Horus if Osiris was missing his--"

"That's enough out of you," his father said with a laugh.  "But the Pharaohs of Egypt were said to be sort of descended from Osiris.  Every sarcophagus has the Osiris beard on it, symbolizing that the Pharaoh was like Osiris - a god to his people."

Bakura looked at the mummy again and felt slightly sad, as he always did when his father talked about ancient Egypt or Greece or any of the other places he'd studied in school.

"I remember the last time I went on a dig.  You were around eleven then.  I was looking so hard for something, anything, that would make me famous and make it so that I could continue archeology.

Bakura hung his head slightly.  "Gomen, tou-san."

His father put an arm around his shoulders.  "Don't worry, Ryou.  You're more important than any career.  And after the accident, I'm glad I'm not an archeologist.  I'd have to leave you alone for long periods of time."  He looked at the mummy a minute.  "Just the same, it's a shame I couldn't find you a present."

"Let's look at something else," Bakura suggested.

They wandered through the new Egypt exhibit and Bakura listened to his father's stories of life in ancient Egypt, and the valley of Kings, and everything else he knew about Egypt.  It was better than being there, Bakura thought.

Finally, the museum closing around them, the pair left.  They stopped by a Chinese dimsum restaurant that was still open and had hot dumplings while discussing everything from the exhibit to what had happened that day.  After that they went home to bed.

Bakura's father didn't wake up until past noon the next day.

"What's for lunch?" He asked with a yawn, tucking his shirt in.

Bakura looked up from his book.  "I don't know.  It's your day to cook.  And I hope you have something good 'cause I'm starved."

His father paused in the doorway.  "It's...  Ryou, why didn't you wake me!"  He pushed his sleeves up and turned to the kitchen.  "How long have you been awake?"

"Only since eight," Bakura answered, managing to look mournful until his father's guilty expression broke his composure.  "We stayed up too late last night.  I've only been up half an hour."

"You are a horrible son," His father declared.  "And just for that, I'm going to make sure I'm awake at six tomorrow when it's your turn to cook.  And I'm also only going to give you cereal today."

"Tou-san!" Bakura protested, managing to look guilty for a moment before breaking into laughter again.  This time his father joined him.

Instead of the promised cereal, they shared a stack of pancakes and several eggs that had braved his father's skillet to be made into an omelet.

"You always try to make the biggest mess possible when it's your turn to cook," Bakura said with a laugh.  "Just because I have to clean up afterwards doesn't mean that you can make as messy a meal as you can!"

"Well, my teenage son," his father replied.  "I'd like to remind you that you make bigger messes for me to clean up."

"Only because you request the fanciest things mom used to make and they require eighty different ingredients that you have to mix in eight bowls, mix them with twelve different mixers, and put into three pots and five pans to cook."

"Now you might be exaggerating just a little," his father said with a laugh.  "Eat your brunch."

"You know, I think you do this on purpose," Bakura declared after a few moments of eating.  "You wake up late so you only have to cook two meals, but you insist that I cook three every time it's my day to cook."

"That's utter nonsense," his father disagreed.  "I cook on weekdays just as much as you do."

"And then there are only two meals a day!"  The boy paused, brow furrowing as he thought.  "I think I just disproved my point...."

His father laughed.  "And just for proving yourself wrong you can choose what we do this afternoon."

Bakura's face lit up.  "Monster World?" he asked instantly.


~Chapter 3~

The game lasted through Sunday.  True to his word, Bakura's father demanded food almost every hour.  Bakura smiled and indulged him until the man decided that he'd had enough food for a while.

The next day came almost to soon and both had to go back to weekday duties.  Bakura wished that the weekend could have been longer, but still, he was excited to start his new job.  All through school he thought about the small, dark boy he had met so briefly the previous week.  He almost missed the times the teacher called on him until Jounouchi took to periodically kicking him under the desk.  He paid attention after that.

True to Kaiba's word, when Bakura got home from school there was a car waiting for him.  He watched the city go by, feeling more and more nervous as he got closer.  Kaiba Seto was known for being insane.  Maybe he HAD killed Mokuba's previous tutor and would kill Bakura too if he didn't do well.

He decided not to think about that possibility.  He would just do the best that he could.  Surely no one would get angry at him for that.  At least, he hoped not.

He took a long, deep breath on exiting the car, looking up at the mansion.  A servant met him at the door and brought him up to Mokuba's room.  The smaller boy hurriedly shut off the computer program he'd been using and jumped to his feet.

Looking up at Bakura through his long bangs, the boy said, "Konnichiwa, Bakura-sensei," in a small voice.

Bakura felt himself melting.  He wanted to give the boy a hug and tell him not to be scared, but he didn't think a hug would be welcome.  He smiled encouragingly, instead.  "Konnichiwa, Mokuba-kun.  You don't have to call me sensei."

"What are we going to do today?" the boy asked, not seeming reassured.

Bakura sighed silently.  He was too serious for a child.  "I think today I'll just see what you know already.  It's probably what we'll do all week so I know where to start from.  Where are your books?"

Mokuba led the way to his study area and they spent the next hour bent over a series of books.  It didn't take long for Bakura to realize that Mokuba knew more politics and economics than he could ever hope to understand, so he skipped over to literature, where he had a distinct advantage.

They were reading a book of short mystery stories when Kaiba came in.  Mokuba's eyes brightened noticably as he raced to meet his brother.  Bakura stood and bowed.

"What do you think?" Kaiba asked without preamble.

Bakura shifted nervously, suddenly aware that the remnants of the hair dye experiment could still be seen under certain lights.  "We're only starting to see what he knows, but I can help with some of the arts.  I thought we'd look at social sciences and literature today, and then math and science tomorrow, and whatever's left on Wednesday."

"And?" the taller boy prompted with a frown.

Bakura took a deep breath.  "And I think I can do this," he said.

Kaiba merely nodded.  "I think that's enough for today.  You will be picked up tomorrow."

Bakura bowed again and hurried out of the room, knowing that the other boy was asking Mokuba the same questions.

~Chapter 4~

On Tuesday, the morning paper announced that Kaiba Corp had control of the world.  As Bakura walked to school in a daze, that was all he could hear around him.  The classroom was abuzz with the news when he got in, those who hadn't seen the paper or the news on TV being filled in by those who had.

In the middle of all this, Jounouchi and Honda were sitting in their seats seemingly ignoring everyone.

"Jounouchi-kun!" Bakura exclaimed, sliding into his own seat.  "Haven't you been listening to anyone all the way here?"

The blond looked uncomfortable.  "What's so big about Kaiba Corp taking over the world?  Everyone's been expecting it for months anyway."

"That's true...." Bakura admitted.  "But Kaiba Corp... is run by Kaiba Seto.  And he's our age!"  The pale haired boy didn't mention that the boy was utterly insane.  Jounouchi had heard enough stories that it didn't have to be said.  And he didn't want to know what Kaiba would do to him if it somehow got back.

Jounouchi shrugged, still looking a bit uneasy.  "Not like the adults have been doing a good job, is it?"

Again, Bakura had to admit that it was true.  They dropped the subject and sat listening to what everyone else was saying until the teacher came in.  Not surprisingly, school had been called off for the day due to the startling news.

The car was waiting for him when he got home.  For a moment he was tempted to not go.  But he had promised to try a month, and he couldn't just leave Mokuba like that.  He really liked the younger boy.  Sighing softly, he got into the car.

He and Mokuba worked together for several hours.  Then he went home and watched the news with his father for hours.

Now more than ever, he was glad he hadn't told his father that the person who had hired him was the head of Kaiba Corp.  He was certain that his father would have tried to get him to stop going.  And while the insanity lurking at the back of his employer's eyes sometimes frightened him, Bakura really didn't want to abandon Mokuba like that.

Wednesday was much the same as Tuesday, a general stop on almost all business having been called the previous night.  Despite the lack of school, the car still showed up midmorning to bring him to the Kaiba mansion and work with Mokuba.  Bakura explained hurriedly to his father that his boss didn't want anything that could cause the student to get behind, then ran out of the house before there were further questions.

Thursday the world was still in an uproar.  But while world leaders tried to assure their people that little would change, schools and businesses were still closed.  Bakura was just glad that the arcade was still open.

Kaiba had told him that he and his brother would be away until Monday, so the young tutor had a few free days.  He would have gone to see Yuugi's grandfather, but Jounouchi and Honda had stopped by his house early and invited him out to the arcade with them.  It had given Bakura such a glow of friendship that he couldn't refuse.

They didn't talk about the week's events, Yuugi, school, or anything else, really.  They played pool - which Honda completely whipped the other two at - and Magical Drop - and after Bakura took the amusement from the other boys he beat them soundly at it.  Mostly, Bakura watched the other two play, laughing as they excitedly insulted each other.  There was no waiting for anything, as most people were staying home.

By the time he got home it had occurred to Bakura to wonder why Jounouchi and Honda weren't as surprised and upset as the rest of the world, but by then it was too late to ask.  Bakura and his father stayed up late into the night watching the news again.

~Chapter 5~

Dear Amane,

I don't know where to start about this week....  It all seems like so much of a blur.

So let's get the most important things out first.

My boss owns the world.

Mutou-kun woke up.

Now to go back and try to fill in the rest somewhere in there.  I really got to meet Mokuba-kun for the first time on Monday.  He's a really nice boy.  I think you'd like him.  He's rather too shy, but I guess with a brother who's as paranoid as they say Kaiba Seto is [I have no idea if he really is or not] it's understandable.  He won't need my help with economics, or politics, or anything involving computers.  He could teach me some things there!

But he doesn't know much about literature or art, so I have a good way to go there, and his science and math is only average.  So I'm not out of a job yet.

He's also way too serious, so I think on Monday I'm going to bring a game.  Not sure which yet, but I'll think of something over the weekend.

I think that Jounouchi-kun and Honda-kun are really starting to be my friends.  We went to the local arcade on Thursday, and it was a lot of fun.  They teased me for liking Magical Drop.  That's all your fault, you know.

Anyway, that's all the small news.

Getting to the big news, it seems that some time last week all the world leaders surrendered to the leader of Kaiba Corp [otherwise known as my BOSS!].  He now owns all of the world.  I wonder if it occurred to any of them that he's very much INSANE and probably not the person they want to give the world to.  Who knows, though?  Maybe they surrendered to him BECAUSE he's insane.  I'm not likely to ever know.

What I think is bigger news, though, is that Mutou-kun woke up.

I went to visit him today - it's the first time I've been able to in over a week and I feel really bad about that.  Jounouchi-kun and Honda-kun came with me, because they wanted to see him and apologize.

I took a book, like I always do, so I can read to him or something, but we ended up just sitting and talking mostly.  They told me about him and I told them about his family, you know.  Just normal talk.

And then, while we were talking, there was this blip from the brain wave monitors and then he started moving.  We all just stopped our talking and crowded around his bed calling his name out.  And after a moment he opened his eyes and....

I really don't think there are words to describe his smile, Amane.  But I'm sure you know what I mean.

He was just so happy to have someone there when he woke up....  To have friends there, he said.  He didn't want to hear apologies or anything.  He said that he had already forgiven them so they should just forget that it happened.

I don't think anything could have made them feel more guilty.

Well, that's not true.  When he wouldn't let any of us leave to tell a nurse because he didn't want his friends going away so soon it made them feel worse.

But he was so honestly happy to see all of us it was amazing.  He wanted to know everything that happened while he was unconscious and sat listening to us all talk raptly.

That's a good word.  Raptly.

But he felt bad that Jounouchi-kun and Honda-kun had to go to juvenile detention because of him.  He apologized to them!

After about fifteen minutes a nurse came in to check on him and we got kicked out really fast.  He made us promise to come see him again soon, though.

You know the weirdest part?  I've been visiting him for two months and the thing that surprised me the most when he woke up was his hair.  His HAIR of all things!

But they cut off the dyed ends and a bit more, so it was all black except for his bangs - and even those are growing out now.  And it wasn't sticking up like it did.  He looks different with his hair down like that.  With most people it would make them look younger or softer, but that doesn't work with Mutou-kun because he already looks young and soft.  I don't know.  He just looks... different.

Maybe when I get to know Mokuba-kun better I'll introduce him to Mutou-kun.  He needs more people than his brother and his tutor to spend time with, and they look almost the same age anyway.  I don't think Mokuba-kun could be afraid of Mutou-kun.

It's something I'm going to think about, anyway.

Give my love to mom.

Love,
Oniichan


The pale haired boy folded the paper of the letter and put it in an envelope.  He addressed it:

Bakura Amane
Heaven

and put it in the box with all of the other letters that never got mailed.