Title: Paradox
Author: Alice
Fandoms: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Spoilers: None since this is AU!
Pairings: Yami no Yuugi x Bakura Ryou. Side Jounouchi Katsuya x Mazaki Anzu and possibly others.
Summary: Bakura Ryou was always an average student, until his mother got a new job that required their family to move constantly. As a result, Bakura fell behind. His luck might change when he begins school at Domino High and finds himself sitting next to boy genius, Atemu Yami.
Part: 4?
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Shounen-ai and language.
Recommended Listening: None.
Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! Is not owned by me. Unfortunately.
Author's Notes: …I have an idea for a one-shot fic that would be a crossover with xxxHOLiC…and I really think I should do it. :D

Paradox
by Alice

chapter three

"So how'd you do it, Bakura? How'd you get smart-boy to speak to you?"

Bakura shrugged as dug through his backpack in an attempt to locate his misplaced pen. "I don't know, Jounouchi. I was just doing my work and all of a sudden he told me I had done some things wrong and then he explained it to me and that was that. He didn't say anything after that." Bakura eyed Jounouchi over his backpack for a moment. "And I don't understand why it matters so much. It's not like the boy's mute."

Jounouchi rolled his eyes and leaned over the table to try and snatch some fries off of Honda's tray. The other boy gave Jounouchi a glare and the blonde backed off, scowling. "I don't know," he admitted. "I just think its weird…I've gone to school with him all my life and not once can I remember seeing him speak. And then, all of a sudden, you come along and he speaks. It's weird, ya' know?"

Another small shrug from the white haired boy was all Jounouchi received for a moment before Bakura straightened his back, dumping his backpack onto the floor at his feet, pen and paper in hand. "I suppose that would be weird to you, Jounouchi," Bakura stated, as he leaned for and began scribbling on the piece of paper. "But I still don't think it's a big deal."

"Bakura's right, Jounouchi," said Anzu, sitting down next to Bakura, setting her tray of food down in front of her. "It's not that big of a deal. No need to go all psycho over it."

"I'm not going psycho! I'm just saying its weird! Okay, are we clear?" Jounouchi said, exasperated, glaring at the girl. Anzu rolled her eyes and for once didn't say anything. She didn't have the chance to as Bakura spoke up once more.

"Jounouchi…Atemu doesn't come out the front doors after school. At least, I don't ever see him. Where does he leave the building, do you know?"

Jounouchi thought for a moment but before he could say anything, Honda spoke up. "He goes out the back entrance. I remember seeing him leave that way a few times. No clue why but that's where he goes. Why do you ask, Bakura?"

Yuugi had arrived at their table by now and sat next to Anzu, listening to the conversation. It had been Yuugi's idea that they all go out and just 'hang' for the day and he had also been the one to ask Bakura to join them. They had gone to the arcade first, at the insistence of Jounouchi and Honda, and now they were seated at the food court in the mall. Yuugi watched Bakura continue to scribble on his piece of paper for a moment before the other boy spoke.

"No reason, I was just wondering." And this of course was not entirely true. Ever since Atemu had explained what to do to Bakura early that day, Bakura had been thinking how easy it seemed after Atemu explained to him. He had though, perhaps, that Atemu maybe could help him just a bit more…but he wasn't quite ready to ask Atemu in front of everyone else. Jounouchi seemed to take great pleasure in mocking the boy and the others seemed to be less than interested in him. On top of that, Atemu was most obviously not social in any way, shape or form, and might not even talk to Bakura if others were watching. Which was why Bakura planned to catch him off guard after school one day and ask him. Soon, if time permitted and Bakura was able to make it to the back entrance in time to catch the shorter boy.

Bakura finished writing on his piece of paper and handed it to Jounouchi. "That's the address, phone number, and directions on how to get there," he said, smiling at the others.

"All right. Great! We'll all have to come visit you some time," Jounouchi said, handing the paper to Honda so he could look it over and copy it down or whatever it was Honda and the others did to remember things.

Bakura nodded. "Yeah, that'd be great." But first I need to ask Atemu if he'll help me out…but when should I do that?

About a week later…
Leaning against the back wall of Domino High, Bakura tried to regulate his breathing and pondered if he had ever run that fast before. If memory served him right, he had not. Bakura had sat on the edge of his seat waiting for the final bell to ring and once it did he bolted straight to his locker and piled everything into his backpack before continuing to run as fast as he could towards the back exit, all in the hopes of cutting Atemu off. From the looks of it, Bakura had failed. After waiting five minutes, Bakura still had seen no sign of Atemu.

"He probably already left before I got here. Or maybe he went out the front entrance and Jounouchi and Honda were wrong…"

"Do you always talk to yourself like that?"

With a startled cry, Bakura turned swiftly towards the door and saw Atemu standing there with a raised eyebrow. "Oh, Atemu! There you are, I was looking for you!"

Atemu stared at Bakura for a moment, taking a few steps forward as though he planned to walk on by Bakura without saying anything. "Why?"

Bakura twiddled his hands for a moment, gathering up his courage. "Well…last week, you helped me out in math class and I was wondering if maybe you'd be willing to…I dunno. Tutor me?"

That stare of Atemu's was starting to scare Bakura to no end. "What subjects?"

"Well, what classes do you and I have together?"

Atemu didn't even bother to respond to that question. The answer was obvious and Bakura felt silly that he had even asked. "Well, all of those classes I need help in."

"You need help in P.E?" Atemu asked, slowly, his gaze still on Bakura and still making the boy uneasy.

An embarrassed flush spread across Bakura's face and he bowed his head, hoping his hair would cover it. "No…I meant all academic courses."

"I should hope so," Atemu muttered, finally lowering his gaze the pavement, allowing Bakura to breathe easily for a moment. "So you want me to tutor you. On what days and for how long?"

Bakura thought for a moment, running over both his parents schedule in his head for a moment. "Um…how about after school Tuesdays and Thursdays for two hours each day, starting next week?"

Atemu nodded before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a pen and a piece of paper. He tore that paper in half and scribbled something down on one-half. He handed that piece of paper to Bakura, who looked it over quickly. "That's my phone number. If you need me to change dates or times, just call me," Atemu explained, handing Bakura the pen and paper. "Address and phone number, please."

Bakura took the paper and pen from Atemu, jotting down the bit of information Atemu had requested. Then he handed the paper and pen back to Atemu, pocketing Atemu's phone number as he did. He stared at the shorter boy for a moment, a bit bewildered. "So just like that? You'll really tutor me for no money or…anything?"

Atemu looked thoughtfully at Bakura, pondering this over in his mind. "Well, I do not think you would come to me for help unless you desperately need it. And why should I charge you for something I would do volunteering if only I had the time? And this does not conflict with my established schedule so I see no reason why not. Is there any reason you thought I would not do it, Bakura?"

A fierce shake of the head was just the response Atemu seemed to have been looking for. He smiled at Bakura and muttered, "Next Tuesday, then," before turning and heading off, leaving Bakura standing stock still trying to understand what the hell Atemu had just said.

It took a few minutes of mulling things over that Bakura finally realized what had happened. At the same time, he also realized that he was supposed to have been home by then. So it made perfect sense that Bakura spent the next several minutes tearing through the streets of Domino, all sorts of scenarios running through his head. Most of them involved his father simply giving him a sad look and saying, "We were worried." Bakura did not, however, except to find his father looking almost angry and saying, "You should have told us you were having company today."

Bakura stared at his father, dumbstruck. "Company? What compa-" Bakura's voice died in his throat as he looked over his father's shoulder and saw Honda standing there waving. As he listened, Bakura could hear the faint murmur of voices coming from the other room. It seemed as though the whole gang had chosen that day to make an appearance at Bakura's humble abode. "It slipped my mind. Sorry, father," Bakura said sheepishly, slipping past his father to go join his friends. "What are you all doing here?" he asked Honda as he joined the other boy and they turned towards Bakura's room.

"Well, Yuugi suggested we drop by and surprise you today!" Honda explained, giving Bakura a strange look. "Where have you been, anyway?" he asked, eyeing the shorter boy.

"I got a bit lost," Bakura said automatically. "I'm still getting used to this city and got a bit confused on the way. Took a wrong turn somewhere along the way."

Honda laughed, patting Bakura on the head. "Ah, you'll get used to it eventually. It's not that hard…" They turned into Bakura's room and Honda leapt forward, pointing at Bakura. "Hey guys, look who finally decided to show up at his own house!"

Jounouchi snorted and sent a wave in Bakura's direction. Anzu smiled at him while Yuugi spoke, "Hey, Bakura! Um…I hope you don't mind us deciding to drop by today…you weren't doing anything important that we interrupted or anything, were you?"

Bakura shook his head, closing the door behind him. "No, nothing. I'm actually glad you guys came! This place has been a bit lonely with just me and dad around, mostly."

"What about your mom?" Anzu asked, giving Bakura a look of concern.

"She spends most of her time at work," Bakura explained, seating himself on the edge of his bed. "It's mostly just me and dad around the house." He was silent for a moment before giving the others a strange look. "Um…what do you guys want to do? Just drop by and go or…did you have something in mind?"

Bakura caught a mischievous glint in Jounouchi's eyes. "Well, actually, I was looking at some of your games over there – OW!" Anzu had whacked him over the head and hissed 'that's rude!' at him. "I was looking at your games over there and noticed something called Monster World. It looked interesting. What is it?"

His question was met with silence as Bakura stared at him for a long moment. Then, slowly, Bakura's lips pulled back into a grin.

A few hours later…
"You guys didn't do too bad for your first time," Bakura said as he gathered up the lead miniatures used in the game and placed them gently back into the case he had made for them. "I'm impressed."

"But we lost," Jounouchi said, pouting.

Bakura shrugged as he placed the game board, miniatures case and his hand dandy calculator and status computer away on his game shelf. "But still, you guys did very well. I remember I was so confused the first time I played. I'm surprised you guys made it as far as you did."

Before anyone could say another word there was a short knock on the door of Bakura's room. Bakura glanced up at it for a moment before calling, "Come in."

The door was pushed open and a woman entered the room. She looked to be quite young, maybe in her early thirties, and had long brown hair that was pulled over her shoulder in a ponytail. Her eyes were the same olive green as Bakura's were. The most notable thing about this woman, though, was that she was in a wheelchair. She gave them all a gentle smile as she entered and raised her hand in a small wave. "Hello, there. You must be Ryou's friends. I'm Bakura Akane, Ryou's mother. Please to meet you."

Bakura watched as his friends all bowed in respect before his mother, all of them smiling kindly at her. "Are any of you hungry?" his mother asked, tilting her head to the side inquisitively. They all shook their heads. "Oh, that's fine." She turned her attention to Bakura, her smile widening. "And how are you today, dear?"

Bakura smiled at her. "I'm fine. You?"

"Oh, I'm getting along," she replied, looking a bit downcast. "Do you need anything?" she asked, glancing around at his friends once more. Bakura shook his head. His mother smiled at him. "All right then. I'll leave you kids alone." With that she turned and wheeled herself out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Bakura watched her go, looking quite sad now. The others turned to him, all looking a bit worried. "Your mom seems nice," Anzu said finally. The others were quick to agree.

"Yeah…I know," Bakura said, seating himself on the edge of his bed once more. "She's just been having a difficult time lately…when I was five…my mom and my sister, Amane, were in a car crash. Drunk driver his them. Amane…she died and my mom was paralyzed from the waist down. She was all right, though. Still able to move around just fine. It's only been lately that it's really started to…slow her down."

"Oh…I'm sorry to hear that, Bakura," Yuugi said, staring at the ground sadly. The others nodded, muttering their own apologies. Bakura just smiled at them.

"It's all right. It's not like it's your fault! Now, how about another game, then?"

end chapter three

I had a lot of trouble with this chapter because I knew what I wanted to do but wasn't quite sure how to approach it. I guess this'll do. Anyway, I'm not sure when the next update will be because I am going on vacation next Saturday. I may bring my grandfather's laptop to give me something to do...but we'll see. I also may take some time to work on my one-shot crossover with xxxHOLiC, which will be Yami no Yuugi x Bakura Ryou, done in canon verse. Kind of. Sort of alternate events but still set in the canon world. Anyway...

Chapter Four: It's the first day of Bakura's tutor sessions with Atemu but…something seems to be missing…

Alice