Short, random little oneshot as inspired by one of the ads that filled my childhood.
Yugi Mutou, Ryou Bakura, and Marik Ishtar were all sitting in the living room of the apartment over the Kame Game Shop. Various text books and notebooks were spread out on the floor in front of them, along with a bag of Tootsie Pops.
Hey, you need to have something to fuel you through your homework, right?
Marik was new to everything, and he didn't quite understand everything yet, so Ryou and Yugi were used to having to stop whatever it was they were doing to answer his questions, as odd as they sometimes were.
But they were not quite ready for the one that he was about to come up with.
"Hey, guys?" Marik asked.
His fellow hikaris both glanced up, wondering what it was the Egyptian was wondering.
"What's on your mind, Marik?"
"Well, I'm just wondering... How many licks does it take to get to the center of one of these 'Tootsie Pops?'"
The other boys frowned and looked at one another. Not a single idea was coming to mind.
Yugi pulled a raspberry flavored sucker out of his mouth, staring at it thoughtfully. "I don't know how many licks it would take. I usually just suck on them."
"Most people do," Ryou added, nodding amiably. "We usually just stick them in our mouths and suck on them, then chew on the Tootsie roll in the center."
"But..." Marik glared at the bag. "Then why do they make such a big deal out 'how many licks does it take?'"
"It's just a gimmick, Marik. Let it go."
"I can't!" the former tomb-keeper whined. "I don't understand! I have to know! Please, tell me what it all means!"
An hour or so later, he was still whining about it, and the other two hikaris were getting tired of listening to him. They tried to change the subject, but he wouldn't hear it, and he doggedly continued to carry on about the suckers with the strange, puzzling gimmick.
Taking the hint that the others were getting annoyed, Marik eventually left the Mutou's residence, heading back towards the house where he lived with Ishizu and Odion, pout evident on his lips. "Well, I thought it was important, anyway!"
Pulling one of the suckers from his pocket, he stuck it into his mouth, sucking on it feverishly as he entered Ishizu's house through the back door. Brow furrowed, he collapsed onto his bed, licking away at the candy, counting as he licked.
"Oh, what are you going on about now?" came a voice from inside his head.
Marik nearly jumped out of his skin, accidentally spitting out his sucker. Turning, he glared at the transparent figure that appeared on the bed beside him. "Don't do that!"
Yami no Marik gave his weaker half a twisted grin. "Why shouldn't I? I like seeing you scared, especially when your fear is directed at me."
He frowned, taking the candy out of his light's hands and staring at it. "... What is this?"
"It's a sucker, a kind of sugary treat."
Yami no Marik turned back to look at his other half. "And your problem with it is...?"
"How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop!" Marik cried out. "This... thing gimmick thing... I don't... It bothers me!"
His evil version continued to look at him in a bored fashion. "How... many... licks? That's what's bothering you so much?"
Sighing, he raised the candy to his tongue, counting off as he licked it. "One... two... three..."
Marik's eyes widened as the yami's mouth grew, the sucker vanishing within and dissolving in the shadows.
Yami no Marik fixed him with a stare. "Apparently, it only takes three licks, mister antagonist."
Thoroughly scarred for life, the young tomb-keeper fell back on his bed, closing his eyes and hiding beneath his blankets, searching for comfort.
The other Marik smirked, patting the trembling form on the back, causing the other to pass out.
"Pleasant dreams, weak side."