Black Scarab

Chapter One

Synopsis: After the Ishtars move to Japan permanently, Marik starts exhibiting odd behavior. It all feels very familiar. Everything at first is fine, great even, but something is wrong. Marik doesn't tell anyone, keeping it especially secret from his own family, but fear is closing in on him…and so is the return of his darker half.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything…I'm just writing a fanfic.

The room was still dark even though dawn had already come and gone. A young man with tan skin and blond hair lay sprawled on a bed. The bed had been made up haphazardly with whatever covers the Egyptian could find first the night before. There were several cardboard boxes stacked around the room and it had been late last night when he finally curled up under the covers.

"Marik." A voice pierced through the border of sleep. He twitched at the voice barely registering the fact that someone had spoken. There was a laugh. "You'll listen to me again soon enough."

Marik slowly began to pull himself from sleep. He scrunched his eyes tighter, took a deep inhale, and stretched his tired limbs.

There was a sudden knock at his bedroom door and the sound made his body jump slightly. "Marik? Are you awake?" His sister said from the other side of the door. Marik swung his legs over the edge of the bed and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "I hope you're up or else you'll be late for school!" Ishizu's voice whined.

He walked over to the door and opened it to reveal his sister who stood impatiently tapping her foot. "G'morning." Marik said sleepily.

"Hurry up and get ready, Marik…" She said. "Did you stay up unpacking very late?"

Marik shook his head. "I just couldn't fall asleep last night. I think I finally dozed off at around 3AM." He yawned.

Ishizu's face softened. "Excited? You've never been to a 'real high school' before."

He smiled. "Yeah, something like that."

His sister turned to leave but stopped. "You only have 30 minutes to get ready and get there." She tilted her head to the side slightly. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Huh? Yeah. Why?" Marik asked.

She shook her head. "Nothing. You just seem a bit…unfocused this morning."

"Unfocused?" Marik blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing," Ishizu smiled. "Just get ready, okay?" She said and Marik nodded. Ishizu walked back toward the kitchen.

Walking back into his room, Marik went to one of the boxes he had actually bothered to label and pulled out his school uniform. He wasn't sure how he felt about the whole situation but moving to Japan was a better option in his mind than staying in Egypt. His home country was filled with too many bad memories. Marik just wanted to start over.

On the flip side, Ishizu was right; he had never attended a real school before having been forced to live underground in a tomb for a good part of his life. So, it was both exciting and terrifying to actually be going to one.

He sighed. Hopefully Yugi, Jonouchi, Anzu, and the rest of them would accept him into their group. They were the closest thing to friends that he had ever had…and it wasn't like they were even really friends, were they?

Marik put a hand to his head. There was a dull ache that was slowly getting to him.

Rishid placed another box on the table for Ishizu. Ishizu was busy with a different box carefully taking out ceramics covered in newspaper with Arabic writing and unwrapping them.

She looked up at a clock that she had already hung on the kitchen wall. "He's going to be so late…" Ishizu sighed.

"It'll be alright, Ishizu." Rishid chuckled. "He's nervous."

"He'd never admit that to us though…" Ishizu bit her lower lip. She then grumbled something under her breath. "Marik! Are you ready yet?" Her voice was raised so that her brother could hear her from the other room.

Marik walked into the kitchen dressed in his blue school uniform. "This feels weird…"

"You look fine," Ishizu said with a smile. "What do you want for breakfast?"

Marik took one of the ceramic cups Ishizu had just unwrapped and walked over to the sink, filling the cup with water. He put two pills in his mouth than took a swig from the cup. He looked over at his confused siblings. "I have a headache."

"You are going to eat before you go, aren't you?" Ishizu asked.

"Nah, I'll just pick something up on the way," Marik said. "Besides, it looks like you two are busy in here anyway." He looked around at the cluttered kitchen.

"Alright." She said.

Marik walked out of the kitchen. "I'll see you guys later."

"Have a good day, Marik."

Marik was silent for a moment as he walked out the door. He looked back at his brother and sister and forced a smile then nodded. "I will."

When the door closed his sibling went back to their unpacking. "He'll be okay, won't he, Rishid?"

Rishid nodded. "Of course."

Marik stood in shallow water. The water seemed to go on forever, or at least as far as he could see to the horizon. There were bluish-purple water lilies growing densely in the clear, calm liquid. A slight breeze ruffled his blond hair and he closed his eyes to enjoy it.

Then there was laughter.

Marik's eyes shot open and he looked around to find the source of it. No one else was around. It was just he by himself.

More deep laughter. It sent a chill down Marik's spine and he shuttered. The wind started to pick up, the sky was turning gray, and the air chilled considerably. He wrapped his arms around himself, still searching for the origin of the laughter.

"I'm right here, you idiot. Just like I've always been," A voice spoke. "Look down – at your reflection."

Marik was hesitant to do so but finally he glanced down at himself in the water. His breath caught in his throat.

"There you go," His reflection laughed some more. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

Marik wanted to open his mouth to say something but his voice wouldn't obey him. He could do nothing but stare in horror at his dark half, the one that he thought he had gotten rid of or at least suppressed.

Marik could do nothing but slowly shake his head in disbelief. "Tisk, tisk. Is that any way to welcome me back?"

He put his hands over his ears, trying to block out what his dark half was saying but he knew it wouldn't work. "You c-can't be-"

His dark half's cynical laughter echoed through the watery world and, as Marik stared on at his reflection that wasn't really him, he noticed the water lilies were turning brown and wilting. They continued to wither until there was nothing left of them. Not one lily had been spared.

The water didn't seem crystal clear anymore either. It was dark and thick and…red?

Looking around at the liquid he was standing in, Marik didn't want to acknowledge the substance. "The blood of my enemies." His dark half purred. "And since I have nothing but enemies…well, you get the picture."

Marik squeezed his eyes shut. "This can't be happening."

The school bell chimed and the Egyptian's eyes snapped open. He looked around the room at the students who were standing up, packing up, and getting ready to leave class.

He felt eyes on his back and turned around to see his group of newly acquired friends – Yugi and the gang – talking happily to each other. Only one of them was actually looking in his direction. It was Ryou.

Jonouchi noticed Ryou staring at Marik and vise versa and then called to Marik to join them. Marik nodded and grabbed his bag, standing up wobbly. His headache was blaring now.

"Have a good nap, Sleeping Beauty?" Jonouchi and Honda snickered.

"You guys are rude. Marik's probably still jetlagged," Anzu stepped in with a wink and a smile.

"I'm just joking," Jonouchi said. "Jeez, get a sense of humor!"

Yugi's brow creased. "Don't fight…"

Marik put a hand to his forehead, face scrunched up. "Are you alright?" Ryou asked. "You seem frightened and in pain."

"I think I had a nightmare but…I can't remember it now." Marik said. It was true, he couldn't remember but the feeling still stayed with him. "Oh, and I have a headache. I'll be fine though."

Marik didn't want to mention it but his vision felt wrong. There weren't any black spots or bright stars dancing in his eyes but it was almost as if all the colors in the world were dulled. The classroom felt smaller, the walls closing in. His breath quickened, a nauseous feeling hitting him suddenly. He was lightheaded and looking around at his friends' worried faces only worsened his symptoms.

"You sure you're alright…?" He heard someone say from a distance as if he were a million miles away from his friends. The voice was muffled and warped and Marik felt so very tired.

He pushed past them and ran out the classroom door. He was certain his friends were following him but he couldn't hear their footsteps. He could barely hear anything as the world dulled even further. What's happening to me?

Marik stopped running once outside the school building. He bent over and leaned his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. He felt something nagging at his mind, somewhere deep in the back of his head. Wishing whatever it was would stay there, he pushed the feeling away just has Yugi and Anzu caught up. Marik stood up straight.

"What was that about?" Anzu put her hands on her hips. Yugi was still huffing and puffing, trying desperately to return his breathing to normal.

Marik shook his head. "…Nothing. I just…felt sick for a moment." He refused to look them in the eye. The sight of them made the nauseous and lightheaded feeling worse.

"Maybe…we…should…walk you…home?" Yugi suggested in between gasps for air.

"Maybe I should worry about you too, Yugi…"Anzu said.

"I haven't run…that much in a…long time." Yugi wiped the sweat off his forehead. "Besides, my legs are shorter than yours."

Anzu turned her attention back to the Egyptian. "Yugi's right though. We'll walk you home, Marik."

Marik shook his head again. "No, I'll be fine. Don't worry about it." He offered a weak smile.

Before they could answer Marik turned and hurried away. They didn't follow him this time but he could feel their gaze on his back.

After that, it was as if he blacked out. He couldn't remember the walk home and it felt like it had only a millisecond since he left school grounds. It was like there was a lapse in his memory and Marik didn't like it. He started feeling sick again almost instantly at the thought of it.

But here he was at his front door, unlocking it. He cracked it open to look inside the apartment and make sure neither Rishid or Ishizu were in his line of sight. He really didn't want to talk to anyone right now. He was scared of what was going on inside him.

No one was around so he walked in and then started towards one of three bedrooms, the one he had chosen as his own. Walking past the kitchen, he smelled the aroma of spices and the rustling of pots and pans. He tried to hurry along but his sister caught sight of him. "Marik!" She said, turning off the fire on the stove and rushing over to him with a smile on her face. "You're home early."

Marik looked away from her. "Yeah…I…" He held a hand up to his head again, his headache returning full force.

Ishizu's smile dissipated. He was sure she said something that he couldn't quite hear and then realized her hand was on his forehead.

"What?" He asked, brushing her hand away.

"I said you seem flushed." Ishizu's eyebrows scrunched together. "You feel maybe a bit warm…"

"I'm fine, Ishizu. Don't worry about me." Marik turned towards the hallway. "I have homework to do so I'll be in my room if you need me."

As he walked down the hallway, he passed Rishid's room and Rishid poked his head out, smiling. "How was your day, Marik?"

"Fine." was all Marik said before he entered his own room and shut the door.

Ishizu walked up to Rishid's door, a frown plastered on her face. "Did something happen?" Rishid asked eyebrows furrowed.

"I don't know…I hope not." Ishizu told him.

Inside his room, Marik slid down the door and sat on the floor. His head was pounding and that nagging feeling in the back of his skull had returned. There was almost a whispering and a drive to listen.

Holding his head in his hands, the whispering became louder and more clear…and recognizable. "No, no, no, no, no, no…This c-can't be happening..." A tear slid down Marik's cheek.

There was a deep, sadistic laugh. "Yes, it can," He heard his banished darker half say. "And it is."

More laughter, more pain, more nausea – Marik curled up on the floor still cradling his head and passed out.

To be continued…

Author Note: And that concludes Chapter One! Yay! What did you think of it? Please leave a review and tell me your thoughts.

See you in Chapter Two!

~reedleonn