Chapter VII: The Lake of Dreams

(A/N: Although I am using the lyrics from "Mistress" by Disturbed, this chapter is originally inspired by Review "Arms Wide Open" by Creed, who I like, but this song got me thinking, which, technically, is a bad thing. And no, this chapter will not hold any romantic scenes besides a little crush a certain little boy we all know has.)

I stand on the brink of your mind
living inside a nightmare from which
I just cannot awaken

A few days passed quietly and quickly. The skies were always clear for some unknown reason, and the sun always shined brilliantly in the sky, causing several beings to come out and enjoy the light and warmth, while others hid in the shadows and darkness of the alleys, waiting for the night to arrive. As most will know, one of those beings just happened to be a deadly, murderous Egyptian, who waited for his prey each night. While one girl caused several questions to arouse amongst her friends. Motou Yugi and his other, his yami, the Pharaoh, questioned of the vision they had and the meaning of so. Yami no Bakura continued to flirt with the young girl and figure out the meaning of his own memory, but neither succeeded any closer to the answers than Yami no Malik did in finding the host of Horus. No one had any succession in obtaining their goals, and now Rika was about to find out the truth about herself.

The day that brought about the end of the mystery was a very clear and beautiful day. The sun hung high, illuminating the sky and earth with its warm light. In the crowd a young boy could be found, his long, ravenous hair swayed over his shoulders as he sat on a bench, thinking. Within his dark eyes, he found much memory of disagreements and arguments amongst him and his older brother. He decided not to think about those things, trying to clear his mind. It had been about a week since that day when they saw her again. It was a happy day for him, mainly because he hadn't seen her in a long time, but his older brother, Seto, acted as it was a horrible day. Since that day, he has begged and pleaded with Seto to allow her to baby-sit him once again, but the answer never changed. It was always no. He didn't understand why the sudden change in attitude about his brother. He always thought if they ever met again, they would be pleased to see each other. But there wasn't a smile on either face when they made eye contact. It was like since they separated that they grew to hate each other.

He didn't want to think about them right now. He wanted to try to clear his head. He had been distracted and stressed to a limit in his mind during these past weeks that he couldn't think straight. He closed his eyes, trying to block out all sounds and thoughts from his mind, trying to relax. But as he did so, his mind kept wondering back to her. He could imagine her warm and sweet smile, her pitch-black with red streaks running through the strands, her moonlike, silver eyes that always held a smile towards him. He missed her a lot. He didn't know why, but every time he thought about her, a weird, strange feeling aroused in his stomach, hurting him and making him blush. Why did he always feel that? What type of emotion was that?

As this ran through his head, he felt a soft hand run through his hair, caressing him gently and lovingly. The touch was warm and soothing. He opened his eyes to stare into a pair of silver ones, framed elegantly onto a fair face, surrounded by black and crimson hair. He smiled, pulling away slowly from her hand. He couldn't believe that she was there with them.

"Hey, there, little Mokuba," she spoke to him. He smiled, enjoying the way she said his name.

"Hey, Rika. What's up?" he asked. She shook her head, and then joined him on the bench.

"Where's Seto?" she asked. "I normally you see you two together always."

"We had a bit of an argument, I decided to get out and get some air," Mokuba confessed. She smiled.

"Hey, there's this place I discovered a couple of days ago that no one goes to. I'm heading over there right now. You want to come with?" she asked. He smiled and nodded, standing up with her and looking up at the sky. It was such a lovely day. And now it was going to get even better as he was about to spend it all alone with Rika. He walked with her towards the street and she held out her hand. Immediately, a neon yellow car drove up to them, and she opened the door to allow him in.

"I don't have a license yet, so we'll take a taxi there. Is that all right with you?" she asked him. Mokuba nodded, anticipating the day. Several times before Rika would take him away from his brother's company and spend the day with him, buy him things or go to the beach or the park and enjoy the day together. She would even "kidnap" him for a while just to hang out. He guessed that she didn't have very many friends, either that or she was practicing with him on hoping to have children of her own one day. He didn't know what it was, but every time he was with Rika, he felt safe and secure, like how he used to in the arms of his own mother. He missed her, and when in the arms of Rika, he missed her even more. But he liked having Rika around, though. It was like having an older sister, someone who he could not only look up to, but admire.

Rika leaned forward, giving the driver of the taxi directions, and they rode off. Mokuba looked out the window, watching the buildings and cars and strangers pass by at such speed, it hypnotized him. He felt Rika watching him with those silver eyes. Then a question just suddenly flowed out of his mouth that seemed to have offended Rika a bit, and he regretted ever asking it.

"Rika, why did you break up with Seto?" She looked at him, a confused look in her eyes, and then turned away, letting out a solemn, depressed sigh. She didn't answer, but smiled sweetly at Mokuba.

"It's something you shouldn't be worried about," she spoke, running her fingers through his silky black bangs. He smiled at her, knowing that she already forgave him. But still he wondered what the reason was. Seto and Rika were happy together, though they didn't show it out in public. He always was jealous of his older brother, but then reality would hit him that he and Rika were too far apart in ages that it couldn't happen. As they rode off, the crowds and building began to fade and the drove into a large field of green outside the city. Mokuba recognized this place, mainly because this area was mostly abandoned, all but the soccer teams that came out and played in their games. No one came out here, so far from the malls and business of the city. It was a small countryside, and whenever they wanted some peace and quiet, Rika would take Mokuba out here just to relax.

Soon the large and wide green grass fields began to fade more into large open fields of sand and dirt, not one bit of greenery grown this far. At the edge of this field, the cab stopped and Rika quickly handed the driver a couple of folded bills before getting out and stepped aside for Mokuba. Then the cab drove forward, made a U-turn, and drove back into the city. Mokuba looked around the desert fields, and then looked to see a few feet away, casting large shadows down upon them, tall palm trees and bushes and plants rose high into the sky, a cool breeze escaping from the oasis. Mokuba looked up at the small forest, surprised to see it had grown out here for so long.

"Are we going in there?" Mokuba asked her. She nodded charmingly, and held out her hand to him.

"I discovered this place a couple of days ago when I just took a walk outside of town. Wait until you see what behind these trees," she spoke. Mokuba took her hand and they walked together into the trees, a slight blush arousing in Mokuba's face when he realized he was holding Rika's hand. He pulled his hand away, not wanting to embarrass himself or be treated younger than what he was. He walked with her into the trees, and gasped.

The trees spread apart in an elegant manner, the lining amongst them forming a crescent moon in the shore. Breaking along was a large body of water, like a lake, that sparkled brilliantly with a mixture of azure, turquoise, and navy. The water reflected the sunlight beautifully, and Mokuba was just mesmerized by the beauty of this place. How could it have been abandoned? It was so lovely, so brilliantly beautiful.

"Rika, this is…amazing!" Mokuba spoke, approaching the shoreline of the water. He looked down and saw his reflection in the surface.

"I'd thought you'd like it, Mokuba," she spoke gently to him. He turned to see her stand by one of the trees, hidden by its shadow. Then she took a step into the sunlight, a bright smile on her face. He loved that smile. But what happened next surprised him. An echoing siren sounded close to them, and he looked around into the distant streets behind the trees, hoping to see a police car, but no. The siren echoed above them, but from where? The sunlight brightened in his eyes, but then the light faded slightly, and silence echoed in the area. But what happened next startled him more.

Rika took a few steps forward, but then something shot under her foot, catching her ankle, and her feet left the ground. Immediately her body fell forward onto the ground, and Mokuba watched with fear in his eyes as her forearm hit one root hard, while her head collided with its trunk. Pain surged through her head and body, and Mokuba heard a loud crack come from her body. Mokuba ran towards her as a low moan of "ow" escaped her lips, and she hunched over, cradling her arm.

"Rika, are you okay!" he asked, leaning over her. She let out a forceful laugh, and looked up at Mokuba. A small scarlet cut was on the side of her forehead, matching liquid trailing down her cheek. She smiled at Mokuba, her eyes holding a dark smile in them.

"Yes, I'm fine, Mokuba, don't worry," she spoke.

"Are you sure! I think we need to get that arm checked out! Come on, I'll go call a cab!" Mokuba demanded, pulling on her uninjured arm, but she remained still. She reached up and grasped his hand delicately, assuring him that she was fine.

"Don't worry about me, Mokuba. I'm fine. My arm's just sprained, and my head just got a bump on it. It's nothing," she said standing up. Mokuba looked at her cradle her arm gently, and then saw that forced smile. She was in pain, but it was as if she was enjoying every bit of it. That was not human. But then again, she hasn't been acting human anymore, like how she used to. Those looks in her eyes were always echoed by darkness and shadows. Her smile always held a depressed or dark aura about it. But no matter what, whenever she smiled, it would warm his heart.

"I still say we should get you to a doctor. I heard something crack!" Mokuba demanded, but once again Rika argued.

"I'm fine, Mokuba. That was just the bark of the tree when my head hit it," she reassured. She looked from him to the lake, and that smile vanished. Her eyes gazed into the water with a hypnotic and dreaming gaze. Her eyes were fixed in a perfect, fainting gaze towards the surface of the water. She approached the shore and Mokuba could only watch her, feeling his body pin to that spot.

The water gave a more beautiful shimmer as her ankles sunk beneath the surface, and it was as if the light reflecting in the water was added by her spirit. She walked further into the water, and her eyes closed, feeling the cool and gentle touch of it against her flesh hidden beneath her clothes. Mokuba then gasped as her body reached the center of the lake, the water licking at the flesh of her waist. Then the sunlight surrounding them faded, sending the forest into shadows somewhat, the daylight giving them sight of where they were. Mokuba stared in awe, and a beautiful sound filtered to his ears. It was like a combination of the call of a wolf, an orchestra of flutes and pipes, and the gentle whispers of the wind. Mokuba closed his eyes, feeling like as if the sound was coming from inside him, from inside his soul. He felt like all was at peace, like he and his brother never argued, like Seto and Rika never broke up, like there were no wars, no worries, no fears in the world. All was peaceful and beautiful. The music began to flow from his ears into his heart, into his soul. It was so beautiful to hear such an angelic sound.

He opened his eyes and looked out into the lake, and gasped. The whole lake was shining a beautiful light, almost like a mixing of white and blue. It was so beautiful, and the light surrounded Rika in a beautiful way. It was almost like wings had sprouted from her back, shining in the light. The light then covered her body, and then vanished completely. Mokuba blinked, the beautiful sounds died, and the sunlight came back, the only light streaming onto the water. Rika turned to him, confused of what just happened also, but then smiled at Mokuba as she moved her arm freely, and he also noticed the wound and blood on her face had vanished completely.

"What was that?" Mokuba asked.

"I don't know, but it felt good," Rika spoke, dabbing at her head, checking for an opening or blood. She smiled, feeling nothing but her clear face, and waded out of the water. She approached Mokuba, a bright smile on her face. She ran her fingers through his hair lovingly, and he couldn't help but embrace her around the waist.

"I'm so glad you're okay. But what healed you?" he asked, looking at the water's surface.

"I don't know. After I stood back up, I felt like something was calling me. Like a voice, or song, and I couldn't control my body anymore. It was like a dream, a wondering dream where I had to obey, not command," she explained. Mokuba looked at her, seeing the confusion and worry in her eyes, and then he smiled.

"Whatever it was, it helped you, and that's what matters," he said. He sat in the light green grass beneath him and Rika sat next to him, mesmerized by the lakes beauty and color. They sat there for hours, thinking and conversing and playing, acting like the good friends they once were two years ago. Soon, Mokuba began yawning and eventually fell asleep on Rika's lap. She smiled down at his figure, so small, so innocent, so immature, it was more than cute, it was adorable. She looked at the lake, curious of the water's surface and magic. Somehow, it had healed her completely, her body, her wounds, and her soul. Like as if everything in her that had been broken and wounded over the years all healed at once in those waters. It was unexplainable, it was unbelievable, yet it left a smile on her face.

She sat there, Mokuba's head resting on her legs, stroking her fingers delicately through his hair. It had been a long time since Mokuba and she were in this exact position. Seto and she were probably the closest they could ever get in that kind of relationship. It lasted for about two years, and then Seto and she realized that it couldn't get any better. However, it was Seto to prove that otherwise. He took her one night while she was baby-sitting Mokuba, who was fast asleep, and then showed her "the true meaning of love" as he called it afterwards. Though she hated to admit it, even to this day, but for a virgin, Kaiba Seto was really good at it. So good that it left her speechless for days. But then, a few days later, something happened that made her realize she couldn't stay with Seto. Something that devastated her and caused her to lose grips with reality and what was inside her nightmares. Soon, she confronted Seto and told him that she couldn't be with him any longer. It wasn't possible for her to sustain the pain of being apart, but it did them both better good when they did. Kaiba could focus more on his company and little brother and she could focus more on her schooling and her dreams. She didn't have any real dreams. Only one stood in her heart for so long now. But she could never make it come true since two years ago. Now only a faint memory remained of that dream, a memory of what it used to be, of how strong and comforting it became. No more did it live to her.

She sat there with Mokuba in her arms, staring out into the water in a dreaming gaze, hoping to see something extraordinary to her. Nothing happened. She stroked Mokuba's hair, and sighed. Nothing exciting ever happened to her, but somehow she felt like she didn't need excitement. All she needed was this little child here with her. At that moment, a beautiful voice, soft, calming, soothing, began to sing in the wind, brushing against Rika's ears like feathers. The voice was singing a beautiful and caressing lullaby. Rika listened intently, realizing she had heard that lullaby before.

"Hoto sinkutai misue monomono. So close to my heart, so close to my life. Sikai tuso amue mita horo kisue. Close your eyes little one and create a beautiful world…."

"Mother…." Rika didn't know where that came from, but it was as if something forced it out of her mouth. Her mother never sang a lullaby like that before. The lullaby was sang in a different language, a language she had never heard of, yet could understand. A language that she felt like she had spoken before, but she didn't recognize it. How was that possible? Yet that lullaby didn't fade. It remained, singing to her. It was as if an unnoticeable angel was singing a lullaby above them, singing to aide the young child on Rika's lap to sleep.

"Tiyu mokai sintu misue. My heart, my soul, my life. Shitai giscue foro sobek. My flesh, my blood, my bone…."

Rika began to feel light headed, and it was at that moment that she realized she couldn't remain here anymore. She had to wake Mokuba up and get him home. She looked down at his slumbering figure, feeling guilty to even think of waking such an innocent looking being. But she had to. She had to wake him up and take him home. His brother would be worried by now.

"Mokuba," she whispered softly to him. Her voice was low and comforting, soothing to the soul at that moment, warming any heart of any creature that passed by. Above, the beautiful birds listened to her voice as she tried to wake up the young boy, mesmerized by the sudden beauty of it.

"Mokuba."

Mokuba stirred slightly, his closed eyes twitching, and then slowly opening to stare blankly and dreamingly into space. He mistaken the voice of the young teenage girl for another's soothing, comforting, and loving voice. "Ma…ma?" he moaned. The girl smiled sweetly at the mistaken identity, but knew well she would never be called that again. Never again.

"No, Mokuba, it's me, Rika. We need to leave now, okay? I'm sure Seto is worried about you," Rika told him softly.

"But why? It's so nice here. I wish we could stay here forever," Mokuba whined slightly. "I was having such a nice dream."

"About what?" Rika asked.

"About you…and Seto…and me….You and Seto were together again….And we were a happy family," Mokuba sighed, sitting up in drowsily way. Rika sighed sadly at the boy's dream. Ever since they broke up, that's all he ever wanted. He wanted to see his brother smile the way he used to when he was with Rika.

"Mokuba, I'm sorry, I know that's what you want, but that can never happen again. Me and Seto are history, and though that may be, that doesn't mean we are. I'm still your friend, and I'll still take care of you," Rika spoke, running her fingers lovingly through his hair. He smiled, but then looked down sadly. Rika decided to change the subject between them. "Come on, let's call a cab and go pick up some ice cream before heading back."

Mokuba smiled as he stood up with her and exit the oasis with her, but he couldn't help think that maybe they still had another chance to be together. What if Rika still had feelings for Seto? And he knew Seto still had feelings for her. They still had a chance. But it was all up to Rika to make it that way.

Stand on the edge of your life
just give me another moment
from which I will never awaken

The sun began to sink behind the horizon as the hour passed by and Kaiba Seto was waiting anxiously for his brother to return home. He had gone out earlier that day to clear his head after the two of them had an argument, and since then Kaiba hadn't heard from or seen his younger brother for hours. He really hoped he was alright, especially with these random murders popping up all over the city and a serial killer out there. As he thought of these things, he couldn't help but think of Yukari Rika, who always seemed to be really interested in such things. He remembered when they were together, she would always watch this old American movie called Silence of the Lambs, and it would always freak him and Mokuba out. It was based on a true story about this weird serial killer who kidnapped women of size fourteen or more and starve them for three days, and on the third day he would kill and skin them and wear their skin as his own. It was disgusting and gross beyond all reason, but she enjoyed watching that movie. He never understood why, though.

He also remembered that when they did go see movies in theaters, she wouldn't scream or yell and jump to him like most of the girls in the theater. She did hold this weird spark in her eyes as she watched, a spark that worried him a bit. Luckily, she always told him that it was just a movie and that she liked it, reason for why he was worried. Not very many people like gross and disturbing images. She was always a weird girl, but then again she always was, even at work. She never talked to anyone, not even him when she was at work, and would hide herself in an office or her projects before turning to crowds and groups to discuss business. Reason why she never attended a meeting.

As he thought of her, he realized that though they had broken up, he did miss her skeptical and sassy attitude around the mansion. He especially missed the fact that she was real kind to Mokuba. No one, besides him, was ever that nice to his little brother. Mokuba would even come to him, complimenting their relationship, and talking about how she reminded him of their mother. Kaiba could definitely see a resemblance around her affections towards Mokuba. She never treated Kaiba like a son, though, but more of an equal, if not more. She never hugged him, unless she was truly in a romantic mood, and she never kissed him unless they were alone, where, unfortunately, it would get out of hand. She would always turn him on with a mere kiss, and then he would either play fight with her or wrestle her where one of them got hurt, kind of. It was a fun relationship, and he did miss it. However, he also knew it was better they weren't together.

"Good evening, Master Mokuba," a voice filtered up the stairs into Kaiba's office as he heard the voice of one of their maids spoke as the front door opened. "And Madam Yukari."

Kaiba's heart suddenly stopped when he heard the name "Yukari" be spoken. He rushed out of his office, and, trying to maintain his emotions and appearance, he walked down the stairs into the entrance room where two figures stood, smiling at each other, joking and laughing. One of the figures, smaller than the other, with wild black hair falling to his waist, his dark eyes sparkling with enjoyment and excitement. The other was a tall young woman whose shoulder length pitch-black hair held randomly placed scarlet streaks. Her dark silver eyes held the shadows within them as they looked up to him.

"Hey, there, Seto," she said cheerfully, and Kaiba at once felt his face flow red.

FD: That's all for now. Then next chapter will be a bit more exciting, mainly because there'll be a scene in it that I think you guys would like. It's not violence, it's something else. Something I know I'll like. Anyways, peace!