Title: Real Dream in the Fake Heaven
Author: Supernerd3333
Summary: Kaiba belonged to the cult of Assassini and was somehow transported to a place that seemed to be heaven, where he met Yami. But was this place really heaven? S/YY.
Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh.
Warning: AU. VERY OOC. S/YY and various other side pairings that I don't really want to list. OOC for both characters. Very mushy, at least for the first few chapters or so, even if I've only written the first chapter. My very poor sense of humor. And I absolutely SUCK at description. Don't say that you haven't been warned.
Historical Background: During 11th century, a Muslim noble named Hasan bin Sabah fled his homeland Persia for a financial scandal and settled first in Egypt, where he learned about the underground cult Dar ul Kikmet. Then he returned to Persia and seized control of mountain fortress Alamut. There he, known as Old Man of the Mountain, formed the cult Shiah Ismai, which later became known as Assassini, Hashshashin or Hashishiyyin (one who smokes hashish, a type of drug). Legend said, that he built a huge garden in the valley beneath the mountain, and put numerous beautiful women, precious wine, and countless types of rare flowers there. He seized and drugged young men and put them into the garden, making them believe that it was heaven. (Some say that he seize these young men before he trained them, but I think that would be too late to train assassins, wouldn't it? So I wrote the story in which the assassins in trainings were send to this heaven.) These young men would then believe that Hasan was the great prophet in Koran. They would follow his every command and die for him. In Egyptian history, it should be the Fatimid or Ayyubid period. In 1250, Mongols broke into the fortress and killed everyone in there. But this cult was so widespread that they still carried on assassination in many areas (sound familiar?), some of the terrorists today were actually said to be influenced by their teaching. Doesn't that make you wonder about the war today?
I know I should be writing my other story now, but I just can't seem to do it right now. I believe that's called writer's block. Never had it before since it had always been one-shot. But block after just one chapter, that must be lame. Anyway, I couldn't find anything to do so I started reading about Mongolian history in the appendix of a Chinese novel. I know, I know, I'm a dork. But I've read that novel for over 50 times now. So I read about Mongolian conquest for the world and stumbled across a pretty interesting idea. Now why not start writing about this idea to get over the block for the other one? So here I am, working on another idea that I have no idea of how to finish. Let's just hope the block thing won't last too long.
Flames welcome, except ones for the main pairing. Don't like, don't read.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Seto Kaiba lied in his bed. It was just another morning in his life, a life spent in training. He was trained as an assassin in the Assassini clan. His parents and brother died of famine when he was eight and he was luckily rescued from the same fate by his master, Dartz
Then, he found out that Dartz was not like what he originally thought. He trained assassins and was known as Old Man of the Mountain by others. He trained the assassins since they were kids and taught them to follow his lead at all times, to kill for him, to die for him. He told them that was the only way to reach heaven and they believed him. How, Kaiba did know. All he knew was that near the end of their training period and before the beginning of real assassin career, those young men would disappear for about a month. When they returned, the only thing they would say was that they had reached heaven.
Heaven, indeed. How could they reach heaven when they were bounded to this hell-hole earth. At first, Kaiba trusted Dartz. Sure the guy had assassinated kings and nobles all over Middle East and Europe, but to say the truth, some of those bastards deserved to die. Those people kept all the money and food while the poor died of hunger. In Kaiba's once innocent heart, Dartz executed all those assassinations to help the poor and uphold justice in this otherwise dark and corrupt world. But six years ago, what he saw changed his opinion of his master forever.
Flashback
It was a pleasant day, Kaiba stayed out late to practice the move he learned that day. When he finally finished, the moon was already starting to descend. It was very late. He quickly ran back to his room. But on his way back he saw light in the hall where they usually held meetings. There should be absolutely no one in there right now. Could it be an enemy? Kaiba inched cautiously toward the huge wooden door and peeked through the crack.
Against center of the back wall sat his master in a great stone throne. Guards stood at both sides. In the middle of the room knelt a shaking figure.
"Please, the great prophet, accept all these gold from our king of Egypt, and spare him form an untimely death."
"Untimely death?" Dartz raised an eyebrow. "If this was the only money you king could gather, maybe it's the right time to end his life. It's better for him to just die than to live so miserably." Dartz picked up a few gold coins with obvious contempt.
"But the great one, our country is at war with another and drought stroke the country side. This is the most we can gather after receiving your threa… I mean, your message. Please don't kill the king, this is all we have."
"You are at war, great, you can loot from them after you win. Drought, who cares, add more tax, that would definitely get yourself more money."
"But if we do that, people will die and they will rebel."
"And your king will die from the rebellion, tough, he would also die if he doesn't get me more money." Dartz narrowed his eyes as he growled. "But I am a very kind man. I know how hard it is to put more burdens on his people. Now, he only needs to give me one thing in exchange of money. If he does, I promise he'll keep his life and his throne. All these money he gave me will be returned to him and I will assassinate your enemy's king and generals."
"You will? Oh, thank you, the great one, we will forever be in your debt. So what is this treasure and how can we find it?"
"This treasure?" Dartz smirked. "You all know this treasure well enough and would have no problem obtaining it." He stepped down from the throne and walked till he was right in front of the messenger. "I want for exchange of your king's life, his first son, Prince of Egypt." The smirk grew impossibly larger as Dartz walked back.
"The… the prince? But the great one, you can't possibly… I mean, the prince is only ten years old, why would you want him?" The messenger asked desperately.
"Yes, yes I know he is only 10, but his beauty and intelligence are well known throughout the realm." Pegasus sat down again and stared down at the pleading messenger sternly. "Tell your king either to send his prince here or carry his head here." Then, like the weather in June, his expression suddenly changed from one of malice to one of kindness. "And tell your pharaoh not to worry, I will treat his son very kindly."
Kaiba backed away after hearing this and ran straight back to his room. There he prayed all night for that to just be a dream, but he knew it was not. It was all too real.
End Flashback
Kaiba sighed. Now he was 18, 6 years since he realized the man he loved and respected for 4 whole year during his young life was a monster who killed for money. His knight in shining armor was such a being and he appeared in his life in such a crucial developing period, Kaiba doubted if he could ever trust anyone again. He doubted if he could trust and respect himself. For four years he modeled himself after his master. If his master was like that, what had become of him? Was he any better than Dartz? He sighed again as he sat up from the bed.
"You know, you could always sleep in the morning instead of lamenting your fate like all those girly women."
"And you could always keep your mouth shut in morning instead of trying to bud in everyone else's life." Kaiba spat.
"Whatever."
Kaiba wondered why on earth should he be stuck with such an annoying roommate. Bakura was his name, a white haired fiend who had a special interest in seeing others covered in blood. He was a tough guy in battle to say the least, and had a big sarcastic mouth that you wanted so badly to rip off. But even if the fiend acted like he only worked for himself, he would help his comrades in battle without hesitation. And that was why Kaiba haven't tried to kill him in his sleep yet, or maybe because Kaiba did see the guy as a not all together unpleasant acquaintance. He would rather die before he said the word 'friend.'
"Now just get up and let's get some breakfast before the training." Kaiba ordered.
"I just don't understand why you have to be so uptight. Can't you just get the stick you of your ass once in a while?" Bakura grumbled as he got dressed.
"Just. Get. Dressed." Kaiba growled. Uptight? Of course he was. He might have an obnoxious way of speech but he never did anything bad, in fear that it would make him just like Dartz, the one he modeled himself after. He shut himself off so no one could get hurt. But Bakura didn't understand why he did that, no one did.
The two got dressed and went to the eating area to get food when they bumped into the lame group.
"Someone let the puppy out? I don't think the elder would want stray dog in his castle." Kaiba snorted condescendingly.
"Grr…" Joey growled. What's this guy's problem? "You damn god-wanna-be. Let me at him. Let me at him." Joey tried to get out of Duke and Tristan's grip as he tried to charge at Kaiba.
Kaiba simply snorted and walked away. Bakura smirked as he followed Kaiba to get food. "And you were saying I need to shut up? You are the big mouth here."
"Hn. The mutt needed to be put into his place." To this Bakura shook his head. To their surprise, they were the last ones to have breakfast, better eat faster.
After the usual breakfast was the usual training and Dartz' usual visit, which brought out Kaiba's usual cold and courteous voice. Everything happened like everything usually did. But something was different. Kaiba felt dizzy while dodging Bakura's attack. His vision clouded as he staggered to try to remain on his feet. The last thing he saw was Bakura falling on the ground.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Kaiba woke up from the sound of laughter. He slowly opened his eyes and sat up, brain swirling from the action. After finally able to focus, he found out that the sun was already descending and he and some other assassins in training were in an elegant garden. On one side, different flowers swayed with soft wind, carry an intoxicating aroma. On the opposite side, a tranquil river extended beyond. Lavishly decorated houses surrounded them on the other two sides and the laughter he heard was from those houses.
"See? One of them woke up."
"Let's go meet him."
"Whatever you say, girls."
Kaiba watched silently as three girls walked toward him. They were dressed rather garishly, with bright colored tops and rather short skirts, not something you see everyday. They swayed their hips in an obvious attempt at flirting. Kaiba only snorted at that.
"Hello, it's very nice to meet you." A orange haired, brown eyed girl greeted Kaiba while smiling. "My name is Serenity. You can ask me if you want any service."
"So eager to get some action?" The blond woman with amethyst eyes taunted as the girl named Serenity blushed. "By the way, my name is Mai." She winked as Kaiba narrowed his eyes.
"And my name is Tea." A brunette with blue eyes put a hand on Kaiba's shoulder. "Hope to know you more intimately in a few days."
Kaiba couldn't take this any longer as he snarled. "Get. Your. Paws. Off. Me."
The brunette withdrew her hand as her puppy eyes watered. "Why are you so mean? I was trying to be friendly." She sniffed a little as Mai put an arm around her shoulder to comfort her.
"If you are a puppy, there's a mutt right there. I'm surely interested in seeing the product of your mating. And by the way, most people do not call trying to get into others' pants 'friendly.'" Kaiba smirked as he saw Tea blushed.
At this time, the rest of the assassins woke up. Murmurs rose when they saw the girls. Words like "this must be heaven" were heard across the garden. Joey tried clumsily to initiate a conversation with Mai. Duke and Tristan instantly gathered around Serenity, fighting for her attention, or in other word, trying to see who was the more idiotic clown. The rest of the group got the other girls from the house. Kaiba watched all the exchanging with great alert as he tried to figure out where they were and why they were here when Bakura interrupted his thought.
"Look, those two came out of that room on the left."
Kaiba looked toward that direction and saw two boys came out. One has tricolored hair and gigantic amethyst eyes. The other has long white hair and brown eyes just like Bakura, but were much softer tan his comrade's. Those two didn't look as excited a the girls were. Kaiba didn't understand why Bakura cared to point them out. He turned toward the fiend to ask for the reason when he saw pure hunger like predators' in those eyes. One of those boys was going to have a rough day.
The said boys approached them. The white haired boy waved and introduced himself. "Hello there, my name is Ryou, nice to meet you."
Bakura, however, didn't register what the other said. His eyes fixed on the tricolor haired boy, who was fidgeting nervously under the intense gaze. "And I am Yugi." He blushed.
Bakura smirked hearing this. "Yugi, huh? My name is Bakura in case you feel like screaming." Yugi blushed furiously as Ryou stepped away wisely since Bakura could jump on Yugi any second. As expected, Bakura was not one of talk. He picked Yugi up bridal style and muttered huskily against the small boy's ear. "Which one is you room?"
Yugi stuttered. "On… on the left side…sec…second to the left."
Bakura marched away triumphantly with the boy in his arm while Kaiba stared at him incredulously. He was very glad Bakura never showed this side when they were roommates. Now he was just a little bit concerned about the boy's safety. After all, Bakura was infamous for his little predilection for blood.
Ryou voiced his doubt out aloud. "Do you think your friend will hurt Yugi?"
"First, he is not my friend. Second, I have no idea what would happen to the runt. So pray he wouldn't die." Kaiba stated roughly before adding. "Now don't you have some customers to entertain? So get away from me."
"Of course, sir." Ryou hurried away and walked toward Tristan, who was crying for his lost in the love match against Duke for Serenity. Instantly, the tears stopped and the two strolled toward the sea of flower.
Kaiba smirked as those two walked off. Now he was the only one left in the garden. They were either walking in pairs or too busy making out. This seemed the nice time to catch up some sleep. After all even with all those idiots, this place was beautiful. He walked toward a palm tree and lied on the soft ground, drifting into a peaceful slumber.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
"Master, Kaiba did not seem to be enjoying himself. The girls had tried to get him but all failed."
"It was expected. Kaiba always had great taste."
"So what should we do?"
"Bring out our secret weapon of course. We have done everything to perfect him in the last six years. I believe now is the time for a test run."
"Understood, master."
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Kaiba woke up with a start when he felt someone's sudden presence. Ten years of training as assassin had sharpened his senses. Without opening his eyes, he instantly jumped up, did a 360 degrees kick in the air which landed on the unwelcome guest, and landed some distance away form the intruder. Then he realized who it was.
"Grr… Damn you Kaiba. Why do you always have to be so alert?" Bakura grumbled, landing ungracefully on his butt, after being kicked in the jaw. The boy named Yugi who was standing behind Bakura instantly knelt in front of him, checking the injury.
"If you didn't sneak up on me like that, I would have never kicked you, would I? So blame it on yourself." Kaiba answered smugly, but was genuinely surprised that Yugi cared so much about Bakura. He was sure Yugi would be glad to have Bakura killed after the making out session that was surely painful.
But it seemed Yugi didn't want Bakura hurt and was determined to make Bakura feel better, a fact that Bakura apparently took advantage of. The always tough Bakura was sitting on the ground, actually whining about the already subsided pain. Of course Yugi didn't know that, so he was quiet worried and was lightly massaging the kicked area.
"What can I do to make the pain lessen?"
"Well," Bakura pretended to think for a minute, "I think I would stop concentrating on the pain if you distract me."
Being the trusting and caring person he was, Yugi believed Bakura and started to kiss Bakura with passion. Kaiba watched the scene with amusement and was even more so when Bakura couldn't control it and started laughing also. Now Yugi realized that Bakura was just pretending, the usually dormant volcano was about to explode.
"You tricked me? You tricked me to think you are injured and worry to death about it?" Yugi's face was flushed form anger. "Now you are getting it. I am not going to talk or sleep with you for the rest of my life." Yugi started walking away when Bakura grabbed him and pulled him into his lap.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, OK? I should have never pulled that prank on you. It's just… no one cared before." Bakura shrugged, hoping Yugi would understand.
Fortunately for him, Yugi did. "You idiot, you shouldn't have needed to fake injury to know that I do care, and you definitely didn't need to do that to have me kiss you." Yugi gave Bakura a peck.
"OK, OK." Kaiba said disgustingly, looking at the two like germs he prayed he was immune to. "Enough of this mushy crap, you guys are making me sick And Bakura, how did you get the runt to care about you so much?"
"First, Yugi is not a runt. Second, I'd rather keep my wonderful bedding skills a secret." Bakura replied with a smirk.
Kaiba snorted. "Your wonderful bedding skill? I was surprised the runt came out of that room alive, not mention still able to walk."
"Don't say that," Yugi interrupted, "Bakura is gentle."
"Gentle? Bakura? Those two words should never be used in the same sentence. If you call him gentle, I hate to know what you call rough."
Yugi's expression suddenly changed. Is that … shame Kaiba saw on his face? Apparently Bakura noticed it too. "Yugi, what's wrong?"
"No…nothing, Bakura."
"Listen, whatever it is that you are afraid of, I am going to protect you from it now. I'll always be here when you need me." Bakura tightened his hold on the boy's waist.
"Ba…Bakura."
"What ? You don't believe your almighty lover?" Bakura said haughtily, earning a sad smile from the small boy.
Yugi throw his arm around Bakura's neck and buried his head in the other's chest. "I do, Bakura, I do."
Kaiba couldn't help but smile at the scene. He couldn't believe Bakura had such a gentle side to him. Of course, he was also happy for those two and had no doubt that Bakura would be able to execute his promise. Maybe this was heaven for those two, but definitely not for him, who was already getting bored.
"Sorry to interrupt you two love birds, but the others are returning and I believe it's time for dinner."
The three walked towards part of the garden where lavish food was served. Intricately carved stone tables and stools littered under the trees as he river snaked around the corner. The food was delicious to say the least. Lamb with apricot, rice mixed together with all different kinds of meat, and some foreign dishes they could not identify. Of all the people, Joey was definitely the happiest as he gulped down dishes by dishes of food, which made Kaiba lose some of his appetite, but all in all, this was the best dinner he ever had.
The sun was down to its last ray. Golden light reflected on the cloud, reddening half of the sky, also predicting a sunny day. The river glistered in the red light and the garden was surrounded by an ethereal glow. Kaiba had never seen such a beautiful sight. Is this really heaven? His inner thought was interrupted when the brunette form earlier approached him.
"Why are you still alone?" The girl asked him.
"I believe that is none of your business and even if I'm desperate, you'll be the last person on my list." Kaiba glared at her.
But she only started laughing. "I am not here to seduce you if that was what you were thinking. I want to tell you that if you want some alone time, follow the trail beyond the garden. It will lead you to a lake between the mountains. No one really goes there anymore, but it's quiet a sight. And since people here will very likely make a lot of noise, you may consider the offer."
Kaiba grunted. "Hn." The girl nodded and walked off. Then Kaiba started to think about the option. Staying in any of the rooms was out of question and he didn't want to hear all those noises by staying here. Damn, some of them were loud. So hiking really didn't sound that bad, at least it would give him some peace and quiet.
Mind made up, Kaiba walked through all the flowers and onto the trail leading into the mountains. The girl was right, he hadn't reached the lake yet and he was already amazed by the sight around him. Soft moonlight shone on the dirt trail, making it shine with the moon. The light also peeped through thick leaves of trees on both sides, leaving beams of light under. It felt like walking on a road to heaven, or was the garden below the heaven? Kaiba turned around and gazed down. Flower looked more delicate as wind carried an mixture of intoxicating aroma up to the mountain. Without all the noises the place looked divine. Was this really heaven? Kaiba shook his head. He had asked himself that question twice in a day, a question he couldn't answer yet. Even when this place was so magical, he couldn't help but sense an ominous air around it.
Chiding himself for being ridiculous, he resumed his hiking. Not long after, he reached the lake. Soft ripples gathered on the lake as wind swept by. Up in the sky the clouds playfully chased the moon, who was quiet persistent on shining its light through the thin cloud, maybe to admire her own beauty in the lake. Kaiba was just taking all of these in when a movement caught his eyes. Someone was coming from another side of the mountain. Alertness kicking in, he quickly hid behind a bush not far from the lake.
(For the next paragraph, let's just assume that Kaiba had really, really good eyesight.)
What he saw stopped his breath. A man with star shaped hair regally stepped into the clearing right beside Kaiba's hiding point. Under the moon, the man's skin glowed faintly and crimson eyes shone like bright gems. Lithe form was hugged by a thin kilt around his waist and a red robe while various jewelries decorated the limbs. Kaiba couldn't tear his eyes away. Could this really be heaven, was this an angel, or a king?
Kaiba was snapped out of his thoughts when the man started to take his jewelries off. 'Don't tell me he's going to take a bath.' His suspicion was confirmed when the mystery man took off the robe. Kaiba tried to look away but his eyes seemed glued on the pleasantly bare chest and back, not to mention certain parts ached painfully from the view. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the man didn't take off his kilt and walked straight into the water, breaking the moon's reflection while adding his own. After rubbing himself clean, all of which Kaiba took in with pleasure, the man turned his head toward the bush where Kaba was hiding and a clear smirk was formed. Kaiba was shocked to hear a rich and melodious voice.
"You know, if you want to watch so much, you could join me."
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Well, what do you think? It took me a long time to write it. Hopefully didn't disappoint you guys so much after reading all this crap. I finished this by 2am. So I think it's pretty messed up. I don't know. When I write, I am always very excited about the work. When I finished and started to read it again, I find out my piece sucks, definitely not what I was looking for with all those work. Anyway, hope you have a great day.
Lamb with apricot – That was an actual 2000 years Persian dish. My mom made it once. It tasted so good.
Rice mixed with meats – That was a dish I ate in Xinjiang Province in China. Most people in Xinjiang were Muslim too, so I thought maybe they would eat the same thing. I am not exactly sure about the name though. I only know it in Chinese. But the taste is certainly fantastic.