AN: As promised! Here it is! (By the way, part 1, 2 and 3 of 'Money Makes the World go 'Round' aren't consecutive, so…yeah. Please keep that in mind).

Thanks to…

dragonlady222: Yeah, Bakura's going to be really tired now, since he's working both the job at the bar and at the factory. Thanks for the review!

ONIX-21: Hehe, that's good! Thanks for the review!

casaragi: …XD Yeah, you've got powers. (Does that make you feel more confident in your powers, now? ) A goddess, huh? Does that mean I'm still 'ebil'? And yes, Ryou is sweet to be considering Bakura's worries now. Thanks for the review!

Superhumansaiyajin: It's just serving drinks, but yeah, still a bad place for Bakura. Honestly though, I was having a hard time thinking of a place that operates all night, and a bar was the best one (there was nightclubs, but the bar fit better). Hey! You're in eleventh grade! ME TOO! Haha, that's pretty cool. Thanks for the review!

Chapter Fourteen: Reprieve

As Ryou walked underneath the bright glow of another lamppost, he felt as if he could dance to the ends of the earth and back. Grinning childishly, he tightened his hold on his brother's hand, eager and thrilled about their nighttime excursion. He occasionally snuck a glance up at Bakura as well, to make sure that he wasn't the only one enjoying their walk.

Bakura, who had been in deep thought ever since they had left the condos, noticed what Ryou was doing. He had to laugh at Ryou's cute expression. The child's face was flushed, the tip of his nose was red from the icy wind. The excited yet anxious expression told Bakura just how impatient the boy was to get to the park, making the teen's troubles seem to melt away.

"It's been a while since we've done something together, huh?" Bakura remarked, staring up at the sky as they continued to move forward.

Ryou happily swung their hands a bit as he chortled an agreement. Then he cautiously emphasized his next question. "But that's okay, because we're going to go to the park every few days, right?"

"Right," Bakura replied, his gaze still directed at the dark horizon.

Ryou felt his body receive a reprieve from the tension it had pent up. He had been worried for naught! Of course Bakura didn't forget his promise.

"Hey, do you see the park? I can see it."

Ryou enthusiastically narrowed his eyes to get a better look ahead. All he could see was great, looming shadows. However, as they crossed the street together, Ryou realized the shadows were really the fence of grand pine trees surrounding the park. The child took in a breath as the anticipation made him want to sprint toward the entrance.

A gargantuan jungle gym, complete with five different colored slides, a tire swing, and monkeys bars that ran around in a circle, was the first thing to meet Ryou's eyes. It looked new, since the shades of red and blue looked quite vibrant. A beautifully painted merry-go-round was further behind the large play structure, with two whole sets of swings in the other corner, completing the triangle.

"Marik told me that you've got an entire plan figured for tonight," Bakura said, a hint of a smile on his lips.

Ryou laughed as he ran ahead, shouting into the dark, "Swings first!"

The wearisome thoughts and fears of the need for money slowly unclamped itself from Bakura as he played around with Ryou. He jumped off the swings and ran up the slides with the lively child, forgetting, for the moment, about having to work extra hours at night to make up for the cutting of his salary. Racing up and down the chutes and spinning themselves silly on the merry-go-round, time flew by the boys as they shouted names at the stars while laying on the gyratory platform.

Feeling unburdened by the weight of money allowed Bakura to laugh without reserve that night. He was truly relaxing and enjoying himself for the first time in a while.

Later on, the frequent nightly trips to the park, that Ryou so treasured, would be the only thing keeping him sane.

-

The school bell had rung fifteen minutes ago, letting loose the five hundred children who attended Shin Elementary…all but one.

A small child, no older than eight, found himself sitting in his third grade teacher's office, knowing what this uncalled meeting was for. But it didn't make it easier – Ryou was still nervous. The wooden seat on which the child was perched was too large, hard and uncomfortable. His feet dangled in air, him being too short for them to reach the ground. Feeling dwarfed by everything, the sweating Ryou swallowed hard as he found himself at a loss for words.

"I thought I had made it quite clear that you needed a laptop two days ago, Ryou."

The child winced as the teacher gave him a stern look, not really angry, but disappointed. Studying his feet, Ryou mumbled incoherent words as his excuse.

Mrs. Tamoki sighed as she clicked her newly done nails on her desk. "I'm going to have to call home if I don't see a laptop on your desk next week."

"I'm sorry, I just forgot again," Ryou mumbled, not daring to look up. He knew he was lying, and he felt bad for doing so, but…Bakura looked so tired after he came home from work, and Ryou couldn't bring himself to tell him that he needed two thousand dollars for school.

There was another sigh as Mrs. Tamoki studied the child for a bit longer. Then she sighed again and excused Ryou.

Sliding off the chair and giving a quick bow to his teacher, Ryou darted out of the room and raced toward his classroom. What am I going to do? He felt sick with worry as he trudged down the hall, trying hard not to cry. Bakura looked so tired this morning, and he was going to look even more worn-out when he came back this evening. Ryou's hands shook as he crammed his belongings into his backpack. I need to throw up…He would have taken a trip to the bathroom, but he was already late to his rendezvous with Malik.

Slowly dragging himself to the front of the school, Ryou kept his eyes glued to the ground as he struggled to open the front doors.

Then he froze upon hearing Malik's voice.

"Yes, I'm one of Ryou's guardians…"

"Hi, I'm Mrs. Tamoki, Ryou's teacher here at Shin Elementary?" Ryou felt as if someone had punched him in the stomach.

As the child slipped through the doors and proceeded to hide behind one of the pillars, he heard Malik brightly say, "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Malik." A small part of Ryou was glad that Malik didn't mention his last name.

"Has Ryou told you about our school?" Ryou could hear the suspicious tone in Mrs. Tamoki's voice, probing for any mention of school supplies.

"Well, of course, but is there something specific you'd like to discuss?" Ryou realized Malik's habit of being frank at times came from Marik. However, Malik kept the conversation pleasant while Marik…well…snapping and growling weren't exactly pleasant.

Mrs. Tamoki chuckled. "I'm sure you know that our school is quite prestigious, albeit it is an elementary school. We have excellent desks, whiteboards, text books, and, on top of it all, excelling students."

"Is Ryou failing to meet any of your standards?" Ryou smiled as he detected the sort of joking manner in Malik's speech. As if I was falling behind! Ryou thought.

"No, no," Mrs. Tamoki said. "He's doing wonderfully well in class. My only concern is his lack of supplies – you do know that laptops are required for students here?"

"Oh, yes. Don't worry."

Ryou nearly fell over. Did Malik just lie to his teacher?

"I received it today. I'm sorry, Ryou must have forgotten to tell you that I ordered it online. Shipping seems to take longer these days than I expected." Both Malik and Mrs. Tamoki laughed. "I apologize for taking so long."

"Oh, no! That's fine. I was just worried that Ryou hadn't told you yet."

Ryou restlessly waited out the rest of the conversation, but it seemed as if his teacher wouldn't take the hints that Malik was frequently dropping. He wanted to scold Malik for lying to his teacher! Now he had to tell Bakura he needed a laptop. Could his day get any worse?

As soon as Mrs. Tamoki said goodbye and reentered the school, Ryou ran out from behind the pillar to face Malik.

"Hey! There you are!" Malik smiled, as if he hadn't noticed Ryou was eavesdropping the whole time.

Ryou knew better, but that wasn't the issue right now. "Malik, why'd you lie to my teacher?"

Malik cocked his head to the side as he looked thoughtfully at the glaring Ryou. "But I didn't."

The child blinked. He felt, rather than saw, Malik kneel next to him. "You know, Marik's smarter than he looks…as hard as it is to believe!" As Malik laughed, Ryou slowly comprehended the meaning behind the Egyptian's words.

"B-but…"

"Don't worry." Malik winked. "Think of it as a big birthday present from Marik and me." Ryou was about to complain, but Malik clamped a hand over his mouth. "I don't wanna hear it! Do you have any idea how Marik would feel if you refused his gift? Hah, he would throw a tantrum!"

Ryou was quiet for a moment as he bit his lip and fought the urge to cry. Giving Malik a hug, Ryou was thankful that he had more people he could rely on now.

"Thank you, Malik…"

Malik smiled as he picked the child up and carried him home.

-


AN: I didn't get to edit as much as I would have liked, but…please tell me what you think! Thanks for reading! Expect the next update on Thursday night!