Disclaimer: Yugioh is the creation of Kazuki Takahashi.

Notes: Five unrelated alternate universes featuring Ryou Bakura. We've got a Victorian era historical, an AU of one of my own AUs, a crossover, a superhero fusion/crackfic, and the YGO equivalent of an "all human" AU. Yami Yugi/Ryou in one; implied Yami/Yugi in one; implied or potential Yami Yugi/Ryou in one; the others are gen.

All of these are as complete as they're going to get.

Five Lives Ryou Bakura Never Lived

By Lucidscreamer

1. Butlering for Great Justice!

"Good morning, sir. I see the assassins have failed again," Ryou said, entering his employer's bedroom and crossing to open the heavy draperies over the floor to ceiling windows.

As sunlight flooded the room, the lump under the blankets on the bed groaned, rolled over, and buried its head under the pillows.

"Really, sir—" Ryou crossed the room again, retrieved the silver breakfast tray, and placed it on the table beside the bed. "—It's almost three in the afternoon. Time for all good little billionaires to be rising and shining."

The lump on the bed shifted, groaned again, and finally deigned to leave its cocoon. A disheveled head of spiky auburn hair and blond bangs erupted from the blankets, and dark eyes glowered sleepily at Ryou, who smiled.

"Good morning, Master Yami."

"Please note that I am, as requested, rising," Yami growled, throwing back the covers to reveal a bare, tanned chest above silk pajama pants. "But I absolutely refuse to shine."

"Rough night, sir?"

An inarticulate sound somewhere between a snort and a snarl was the only response as his employer took the glass of protein drink that Ryou handed him. Fresh bruises littered Yami's back and sides, and a shallow cut had left a streak of dried blood smeared across his ribs. He tilted his head back as he drained the glass, revealing a necklace of bruises around his throat.

"Perhaps you should speak to Mr. Kaiba about upgrading your armor, sir?" The gentle suggestion was apparently ignored, though Ryou was certain his employer had not only heard him but filed the thought away for future consideration. "In the meantime, you have a board meeting in an hour. I thought the blue Armani?"

"Sounds good, Ryou. Thanks."

"My pleasure, sir." Pressing a slice of whole-grain toast into his employer's hand, Ryou dusted off his fingers and headed for the closet to retrieve the selected suit. "Will there be anything else?"

"Refresh my memory... What's this meeting again?"

"The proposed joint project with Industrial Illusions, I believe, sir."

Yami made a face that absolutely no one who knew him in his nighttime persona would believe him capable of. "Oh, great. That means dealing with that nut bar, Pegasus. Just what I need after the night I had..."

"Dare I ask?"

"The Tomb Robber broke into the Domino Museum after something from the Egyptian exhibit. I'm not sure what, exactly, because I interrupted him before he could get to whatever it was. Unfortunately, he got away. Fortunately, I'm sure he'll try again, so I can lay a trap. I'll need to do some research..."

Ryou made a mental note to add that to the search queue on the Cray array in the Cave.

"Bandit Keith was up to his usual nonsense. I left him dangling from the light post outside police headquarters." Yami paused in his recitation of the night's battles to dab a spoonful of marmalade on his toast. "There are signs that the Rare Hunters are back and active in the city."

Something else for Ryou to add to the search parameters.

"Then the Mind Control Kid escaped from the asylum, and I spent half the night tracking him down by the trail of 'mind slaves' he left wreaking havoc in his wake." All of whom Yami would have had to subdue, while trying not to cause undue injury to unwilling henchmen who were, in reality, themselves victims.

"And, judging by the state of your uniform-" Ryou scooped the battered remains of black, Kevlar/Nomex tri-weave armor from the floor. The suit looked as if it had been hacked, slashed, shot at, and burned. So, pretty much a typical night. "-when you found him, he tried to kill you."

"Nothing new there." Sighing, Yami finished his toast and reached for the tea. "All that was before midnight."

"And after midnight, sir?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

Oh, dear. "More villains?"

Yami was silent for so long that Ryou had just decided his employer wasn't going to answer when Yami muttered, "...and heroes."

Oh. Oh! 'Oh, dear,' indeed. Ryou fought a grin. "And will Mr. Mutou-" AKA 'The Game King'. "-be joining us for dinner at the manor anytime soon, sir?"

Pausing in the doorway to the en suite, Yami mumbled, "...Tonight," and vanished into the shower before Ryou could fully enjoy the sight of his employer blushing red all the way to the tips of his ears.

Alone in the bedroom, Ryou allowed the grin to escape. It wasn't an easy life, in the service of heroes. But sometimes it had it's small rewards.

-o0o-

Notes: The opening dialogue comes from an "adopt a first line" thread on the NaNoWriMo forums and inspired this segment.