{-Merodi no Takai-}
Chapter One: Because I Care
- - - - -
Notes: New fic. Again. -_- I have some problem with finishing fics. And to make it worse, I keep making new ones. Ugh. Anyway, here's the first chapter and my first attempt at this pairing. Wish me luck. Oh, and if I accidentally bash someone, it's because it's in Malik's point of view...^_=;;
(The following information is about *this* chapter only!)
Pairings: Ryou/Yuugi, Otogi/Jou, Anzu/Shizuka, Mariku/Bakura
Song: Michelle Branch [Leap of Faith]
Point of View: Malik
Genre: General/Drama/Humor
- - - - -
I sigh as I watch the scenery roll by. I'm stuck in a van with a bunch of hyper and lovey-dovey teenagers. Aren't I just lucky? Actually, the van itself isn't that bad. In fact, it's rather nice, for a van. You know, leather seats, pillows, icy sodas...all that someone could wish for in a van, right?
It still doesn't change the situation. I'll explain.
Last week, my sister got this idea about going to some beach for summer vacation. I somehow got dragged into it. Rishid actually managed to escape by giving some lame excuse about visiting his mother. His mother is _dead_! I don't know how oneesan didn't notice that one. Maybe she was just in one of her less serious moods. Anyway, she finds out that Yuugi-tachi (Yuugi, Jounouchi, Anzu, Ryou, Otogi, Shizuka) were planning on going there too, and invites them to come with us. Fun, ne?
Iie.
And of course, the dark halves come too. The Pharaoh, Bakura, and of course, my own, Mariku. How many people is that? Eleven? Sheesh. And it all started with an innocent brochure that just _had_ to be left on our doorstep. The next time I see the mailman, I swear, he will be down in less that five seconds.
So, here I am. Squeezed in a van. Ugh. My life is so sad. Oneesan is driving. My yami and Bakura squeezed in the passenger seat. Not that they don't mind. Otogi, Jou, Yuugi, and Ryou are seated in the second row, both couples snogging. Anzu and Shizuka are making out in the last row of seats, with the Pharaoh in the corner. And me?
Oh, I'm sitting in the trunk. Amidst all the luggage and bags and garbage they brought on this crazy trip. Just great. Ain't life just peachy?
Hey, Jou just yelled something. "We're here!" Ah. So the puppy can be useful. He can be a watchdog. Get it? Watch-dog? Tell time? Wait, I don't get it...Um, never mind. Forget I even said a thing about...whatever I was talking about. *smiles*
Oneesan halts the car to a stop and if I lean upward, I can see a tall fancy building. I think that's the hotel. Ooh...pretty. I don't even notice as everyone leaves the car and rabidly attack the trunk, grabbing all their luggage and forgetting that they stuck me there.
Itai! Great, now I'm sitting on the ground, rubbing my head. I look up and see if anyone has noticed my fall. Nobody. Everyone is chatting happily and grabbing their stuff. Why do the gods hate me? Sure, I wanted to kill the Pharaoh, but that was probably just my teenage hormones! *sweatdrop* Okay, so maybe it wasn't hormones, but I've gotten over that. I no longer want to rid of the Pharaoh anymore.
Hey, speaking of the Pharaoh, he's looking at me funny. His eyes, those fiery crimson orbs, look slightly glazed. When he notices me looking back at him, he quickly turns on his heel to go talk to his hikari. I wonder...
I follow the rest of the group into the hotel, where oneesan checks us in. She receives some keys and pulls us off to an empty area. I don't really notice what's going on...
"...Malik." says oneesan's voice. I blink. Malik? Isn't that my name?
"Pardon?" I ask politely, hoping she will repeat what she said. She looks at me.
"Malik, you're not listening. I said that you will share a room with Yami Yuugi." She tossed each of us a key. Argh. Why do I have to stay with him?
I'm so misunderstood.
I grab my black duffel bag and find the way to the room that I will be staying in for...the next week. I fling open the door. Hmm...It's not that bad of a room, as a matter of fact. I throw the duffel bag on the floor and walk over to the window. Wow...this room faces the beach directly. I wonder why there is nobody on the sand or in water...I look at the key Isis gave me. Kaiba...Corp...Resort. Oh. My. Ra.
We're staying in Kaiba's private soon-to-be-opened resort. No wonder Yuugi-tachi were going. Jou must've been able to get the rooms for us. We all know that the billionaire has something for the puppy. Heh. I actually find it rather amusing. Jou already has Otogi...
I bounce onto the bed on the right and fall back, sprawling out on my back. Kaiba may be stupid, but these beds are comfy. Uhhm...*smiles* I look up as I hear somebody fumble with the door and then opens it. Somebody with spiky hair...I grin and throw one of my pillows at his head.
"ITAI! What the hell was that?" yells a voice that doesn't belong to my yami.
"Uh..." I look over and see the Pharaoh standing there, rubbing his head. Heh, oops. "Oh, sorry there. I thought you were my yami." I say sheepishly. He scowls and throws the pillow back at me.
"Just don't do it again."
He throws his bag onto the floor and flumps onto the other bed. Damn. I have to share a room with him. HIM! Ra, is this about the hormones again?!?!? I swear, I didn't do anything wrong! Augh...
We lie there for a minutes in silence. Then the Pharaoh stands up and looks up at me.
"Malik?" he says. I blink and look up at him with curious lavender eyes. "Will you come with me and explore this hotel?"
Sure, why not--Whoa, whoa! Backtrack there! Did the Pharaoh, the one who hates me to the depth of his very soul, just invite me to walk around this hotel with him? What the hell has gotten into him? Oh, well. I have nothing better to do.
I shrug. "Okay." His eyes light up and he waits patiently by the door for me to get ready. I jump off the bed and join him. He opens the door and we walk smack into my yami and Bakura. My arms somehow touches with his hand and sends jolts up my body. Why is my body reacting so violently to just the slightest touch? I pull my arm quickly away, trying to cover my blush. Okay, _now_ it's the hormones.
But why the Pharaoh?
I don't notice, but the Pharaoh is blushing too. Bakura smirks.
"And where would you two be going?" he asks. I look coldly at him.
"To explore this place."
"Ohhh..." Mariku says slyly. Then the two of them just walk into the room. But it's what I hear them say that makes me turn bright red. "Those two _soooo_ want to screw each other." The Pharaoh and I walk on, pretending we never heard that comment and being careful not to look at each other. The silence is unbearable. So I, Malik no baka just _had_ to say something. Of course, it didn't sound much like anything.
"UmshowahyounYuugi?"
What the hell was that? I'm not even sure what I just said. The Pharaoh blinks at me with those beautiful crimson eyes. Okay, I'm going crazy. Well, more crazier than usual. I just called the Pharaoh's eyes beautiful. And he blinks again, that adorable confused look on his face. *breathes* This is just a weird...thing that happens when I go to beach resorts called KaibaCorp Resort. The...um...environment makes me lovey-dovey! Yeah! That's it. Damn. I can't even convince myself.
"...What did you just say?" he asks.
I shake my head. "Never mind."
Then silence is among us again.
***
I watch as the Pharaoh looks longingly at a display of a promo booster pack. It's strange. I never thought anyone could stand in front of a stand displaying a pack of cards for so long. It's been at least five minutes.
"Uh..." I clear my throat. "Pharaoh, do you really want that?" He turns around and looks at me with sad eyes. I raise my eyebrow slightly.
"I left my money with Yuugi..." he replied. I frown and fish through my pockets for some change. I pull out a bunch of coins and reluctantly pour them into his hand. He stares at me with an odd look on his face.
"Malik..." he starts.
"Keep the change." I say and grab two packs of the cards and toss them at him. He catches them deftly and walks over to the cashier, still looking at me curiously. I scowl. I have no idea what just possessed me to do that. I could have bought so much nice gold jewelry with that! Ugh...I guess I'm just feeling generous today. Maybe it's because of that fall I took out of the trunk...
Anyway, the Pharaoh comes back now, grinning cutely. No, not cutely, Malik. Just grinning. He tries to hand me the rest of the coins. I shake my head and push his hand away from me. "I told you, keep the change. I don't need it." He frowns slightly and drops the coins in his pocket, still looking at me and trying to figure out why I'm being generous all of a sudden. To tell you the truth, I have absolutely no idea either. Ah, well.
We walk on, stopping once in a while to glance into the shops. The Pharaoh sees an ice cream parlor and nudges me gently. "Come on," he says. "My treat." I shrug and follow him into the small old-fashioned shop. Ooh, goody. Ice cream. Yay! He quickly asks me what I want and I reply. He orders and I watch as the ice cream is scooped from the container...thingys. The cones are handed to us and I take mine gratefully. Yum. Vanilla. The Pharaoh pays for it with the money I gave him. Wow, I guess he's feeling generous too. Or maybe he just wants to repay his debt. Yeah, that's probably it.
Why would he want to be nice to me, anyway?
"Yami! Malik!" I hear two female voices yell from another side of the room. The Pharaoh and I turn to see Anzu and Shizuka waving. I watch the Pharaoh as he frowns first, then scowls, then glares, then plasters on a neutral expression. I frown myself at the queer reaction he had to his friends greeting him. Then I shake my head and forget about it as I follow the one I used to hate the the two girls' table. We take our seats across from them.
"Hi!!" chirped Anzu. I swear, sometimes she annoys the hell out of me with all that perkiness. Nobody should be allowed to be that happy. It should be illegal. Though, judging by the way she and Shizuka are, I guess it's not that surprising. Damn. I wish I had someone to love like that.
Wait! Where the hell did that come from?
I hate love. It's useless. Then why did I just say...?
Forget it, Malik no baka. Your brain is only messed up today because of this damn trip. Yes. That's it. Breathe, Malik. Okay! I'm okay now.
"So what have you guys seen so far?" Shizuka asked, a smile on her face. She sipped the chocolate and vanilla milkshake that she and Anzu were sharing. Okay, she's perky too, but at least she's not as bad. Though, when she's all clingy with her brother, it _does_ get quite annoying.
"Well, I bought two new packs of cards...and that's basically it." The Pharaoh replied, eating his ice cream quietly.
"You want to come with us to the beach?" Anzu asks, still with that creepy smile on her face. I look at the Pharaoh, who shrugs.
"Maybe later. For now, I want to--." He stops himself in the middle of his sentence.
"You want to what, Yami?" Anzu asks. The Pharaoh shakes his head, eyes looking down at the table...depressingly?
"Nothing..."
***
We finally escape the (annoying) girls and find ourselves wandering through the hotel once more.
"Uh, so where do you want to go now?" I ask. He shrugs.
"Wherever. How about...there? You don't mind if I buy stuff with the money you gave me, do you?" I shake my head and glance at the shop that he pointed to. Oh, heh. Punk clothes shop. Should have known the Pharaoh's leather fetish. Okay, so I can't really say anything. I wear leather myself.
"Sure."
I follow him into the shop, sitting in a comfortable armchair and watching absentmindedly as the Pharaoh flits from stand to stand, looking for something to suit his taste. Finally, he grabs something and ran into a changing room. I lean on the left arm of the chair and drum my fingers boredly on the right one.
A few minutes later, the Pharaoh comes back, wearing black skin-tight leather pants...tighter than his usual dark blue ones. I feel a blush coming on as he models them in front of me. He looks so delicious right now...
"You think these look okay?" he asks.
"Ohhh, yeah..." I rasp, staring at his ass. He looks at me oddly and walks into the changing room. After a moment, he comes back, the leather pants in his arms. I hope my blush has faded away by now...It's kind of bad to have your supposed enemy catching you blush because of him. No, scratch that. _VERY_ bad.
"All right, let's go." he says. I nod weakly and follow him to the cashier, where he quickly pays. We walk out, him with a slight smile on his face and me just trying to get that image of the Pharaoh out of my head. We walk some more, me just realizing that I was shopping with the Pharaoh. O_O Oh well. Might as well have fun. Hey, I think he's talking to me.
"...Malik?!? Uhh...you there?" he asks, waving his hand rapidly in front of my face. I swat his hand out of the way and look down at him.
"What?"
"Do you want to go anywhere? So far we've only gone where I've wanted to go...Anywhere specific that you want to go to?"
"Uhh..." I look around. "Well...not really." Heh, can't blame me. It wasn't _my_ idea to come to this stupid place. Grrr. Okay, maybe I shouldn't have growled. The Pharaoh's looking at me funny. I shake my head to confirm my answer.
"If you're sure then...can we go there?" He pointed to a gift shop. I nodded slightly, thinking of buying something myself. Hey, I could buy a stuffed animal and stab it until it falls apart...Okay, so maybe not. That sounds like something my yami would do. Bakura would just stab a real animal.
...And lick its blood.
Ugh. Okay, we never had this conversation. Anyway, I watch as the Pharaoh walks in and looks up and down the aisles, sometimes stopping and shaking his head, then continuing. It's actually quite interesting. Then I watch as he stares at a flyer posted on the staircase and frowns, then a smile starts to appear on his face. He practically leaps to the cashier, where he begins to ask him quietly about something, occasionally pointing to the flyer. Whatever. I pay for a candy bar and walk outside to wait for him.
At last, the cashier hands him a small slip of paper and he nods and says, "Arigatou." then meets me outside of the shop. I raise my eyebrow as he quickly puts the paper away in his pocket.
"Thanks for waiting." he says. I shrug carelessly. Like I've said before, I don't have anything better to do.
***
I watch as the Pharaoh drops his new pants on his bed and tucks the two new booster packs in one of the pockets of his duffel bag. He turns around and grins at me, signaling for the two of us to leave. We walk side by side to the elevator. I do have to admit, this is a nice hotel...
Anyway, I press the button and wait for the silver doors to open. When they do, I walk in calmly and am followed by the Pharaoh. We lean on the opposite sides of the elevator, avoiding each other's gaze, but trying to look at the other. Confusing, ne? Basically, I look at him, he turns away. He looks at me, I turn away. Heh. It's actually kind of funny.
...Hey! Why am I so interested in looking at him, anyway?
Oh well. The elevator's arrived on the second floor, where Isis said that the restaurant that we're eating at for dinner is. Heh. It's kind of cool, actually. We're the only customers in this resort and every staff member is working for us. It kind of makes me laugh. That's probably one of the only good things about this trip.
"That's it, right?" I ask, pointing at a nice looking restaurant to our left. He nods. We walk into the restaurant and take a table near the others. My yami is absent, along with Bakura. They're probably screwing in their room. Ryou, Yuugi, Otogi, and Jou share a table and Anzu and Shizuka sit at a table next to them.
The Pharaoh doesn't seem to want to sit with them. I wonder why he'd rather sit with me instead of his friends. Or rather, his group of cheerleaders. Well, pharaohs are always a bit on the odd side. That's why I'd have made a great one. But I'm over that whole I-Want-To-Be-Pharaoh-and-kill-the-Spirit-of-the-Puzzle phase. I know that us Gravekeepers are destined to guard his secret and that it was my yami who killed Father.
And I don't really give a damn.
Sure, Father was respected by me, but he almost killed Rishid. Evil bastard. Grr...
Great. The Pharaoh is looking at me strangely again. I shrug carelessly at him. He just blinks cluelessly.
Ooh, here comes the waitress. Eww...she's smiling at me. She hands everyone a menu, then leaves. I scan the menu boredly, deciding carelessly.
She comes back, still smiling with her ugly teeth. She scribbles down the others' orders, then walks over to our table. She asks the Pharaoh what he wants and he answers politely, gritting his teeth. Then she turns to me.
"And what about you, hun?" she asks...trying to sound seductive. Ra, she stinks at this. I point to the place on the menu, not wanting to say a word to this...thing. She leans down and places her long red nails on my menu. "This one? Oh, great choice!" she gushes, flicking her hazel eyes to me expectantly.
Ohh...I see now. She's trying to make me look down her shirt. Damn you, woman! I'm fucking gay. I raise my eyebrow slightly and see the Pharaoh with a furious look in his eye. Hmm...wonder why.
"So...you up to some action tonight, sweetie?" she says quietly, a freaky grin on her face. I wince and am about to reply when the Pharaoh growls loudly.
"You. Will. Keep. Your. Hands. Off. Him." he says, trying to control his temper. Ooh, he's pissed. I can tell. That's the tone that he used to talk to me with. Waitress-girl stands back up, looking down at the Pharaoh.
"Excuse me? Why do I have to take orders from you, kid?" she asks, glaring. He stands up. Okay, she's pretty much dead now. The Eye of Horus is emblazened on his forehead and his crimson eyes are narrowed to slits.
"You have no idea who you're talking to, do you, slut?" he growled angrily. She backs up a little, startled by his third eye. He holds up his right palm. "MIND BREAK!"
__________
One less call to answer,
feeling full of despair,
don't think I can get through it,
just one last prayer.
And it's a leap of faith,
when you believe there's someone out there,
it's a leap of faith when you believe that someone cares, oh,
and when I call out to you,
will you be right there,
right there.
Searching for the answer,
nobody seems to care,
Oh how I wish that you were here,
beside me,
to wipe away my tears.
- - - - -
Chapter One: Because I Care
- - - - -
Notes: New fic. Again. -_- I have some problem with finishing fics. And to make it worse, I keep making new ones. Ugh. Anyway, here's the first chapter and my first attempt at this pairing. Wish me luck. Oh, and if I accidentally bash someone, it's because it's in Malik's point of view...^_=;;
(The following information is about *this* chapter only!)
Pairings: Ryou/Yuugi, Otogi/Jou, Anzu/Shizuka, Mariku/Bakura
Song: Michelle Branch [Leap of Faith]
Point of View: Malik
Genre: General/Drama/Humor
- - - - -
I sigh as I watch the scenery roll by. I'm stuck in a van with a bunch of hyper and lovey-dovey teenagers. Aren't I just lucky? Actually, the van itself isn't that bad. In fact, it's rather nice, for a van. You know, leather seats, pillows, icy sodas...all that someone could wish for in a van, right?
It still doesn't change the situation. I'll explain.
Last week, my sister got this idea about going to some beach for summer vacation. I somehow got dragged into it. Rishid actually managed to escape by giving some lame excuse about visiting his mother. His mother is _dead_! I don't know how oneesan didn't notice that one. Maybe she was just in one of her less serious moods. Anyway, she finds out that Yuugi-tachi (Yuugi, Jounouchi, Anzu, Ryou, Otogi, Shizuka) were planning on going there too, and invites them to come with us. Fun, ne?
Iie.
And of course, the dark halves come too. The Pharaoh, Bakura, and of course, my own, Mariku. How many people is that? Eleven? Sheesh. And it all started with an innocent brochure that just _had_ to be left on our doorstep. The next time I see the mailman, I swear, he will be down in less that five seconds.
So, here I am. Squeezed in a van. Ugh. My life is so sad. Oneesan is driving. My yami and Bakura squeezed in the passenger seat. Not that they don't mind. Otogi, Jou, Yuugi, and Ryou are seated in the second row, both couples snogging. Anzu and Shizuka are making out in the last row of seats, with the Pharaoh in the corner. And me?
Oh, I'm sitting in the trunk. Amidst all the luggage and bags and garbage they brought on this crazy trip. Just great. Ain't life just peachy?
Hey, Jou just yelled something. "We're here!" Ah. So the puppy can be useful. He can be a watchdog. Get it? Watch-dog? Tell time? Wait, I don't get it...Um, never mind. Forget I even said a thing about...whatever I was talking about. *smiles*
Oneesan halts the car to a stop and if I lean upward, I can see a tall fancy building. I think that's the hotel. Ooh...pretty. I don't even notice as everyone leaves the car and rabidly attack the trunk, grabbing all their luggage and forgetting that they stuck me there.
Itai! Great, now I'm sitting on the ground, rubbing my head. I look up and see if anyone has noticed my fall. Nobody. Everyone is chatting happily and grabbing their stuff. Why do the gods hate me? Sure, I wanted to kill the Pharaoh, but that was probably just my teenage hormones! *sweatdrop* Okay, so maybe it wasn't hormones, but I've gotten over that. I no longer want to rid of the Pharaoh anymore.
Hey, speaking of the Pharaoh, he's looking at me funny. His eyes, those fiery crimson orbs, look slightly glazed. When he notices me looking back at him, he quickly turns on his heel to go talk to his hikari. I wonder...
I follow the rest of the group into the hotel, where oneesan checks us in. She receives some keys and pulls us off to an empty area. I don't really notice what's going on...
"...Malik." says oneesan's voice. I blink. Malik? Isn't that my name?
"Pardon?" I ask politely, hoping she will repeat what she said. She looks at me.
"Malik, you're not listening. I said that you will share a room with Yami Yuugi." She tossed each of us a key. Argh. Why do I have to stay with him?
I'm so misunderstood.
I grab my black duffel bag and find the way to the room that I will be staying in for...the next week. I fling open the door. Hmm...It's not that bad of a room, as a matter of fact. I throw the duffel bag on the floor and walk over to the window. Wow...this room faces the beach directly. I wonder why there is nobody on the sand or in water...I look at the key Isis gave me. Kaiba...Corp...Resort. Oh. My. Ra.
We're staying in Kaiba's private soon-to-be-opened resort. No wonder Yuugi-tachi were going. Jou must've been able to get the rooms for us. We all know that the billionaire has something for the puppy. Heh. I actually find it rather amusing. Jou already has Otogi...
I bounce onto the bed on the right and fall back, sprawling out on my back. Kaiba may be stupid, but these beds are comfy. Uhhm...*smiles* I look up as I hear somebody fumble with the door and then opens it. Somebody with spiky hair...I grin and throw one of my pillows at his head.
"ITAI! What the hell was that?" yells a voice that doesn't belong to my yami.
"Uh..." I look over and see the Pharaoh standing there, rubbing his head. Heh, oops. "Oh, sorry there. I thought you were my yami." I say sheepishly. He scowls and throws the pillow back at me.
"Just don't do it again."
He throws his bag onto the floor and flumps onto the other bed. Damn. I have to share a room with him. HIM! Ra, is this about the hormones again?!?!? I swear, I didn't do anything wrong! Augh...
We lie there for a minutes in silence. Then the Pharaoh stands up and looks up at me.
"Malik?" he says. I blink and look up at him with curious lavender eyes. "Will you come with me and explore this hotel?"
Sure, why not--Whoa, whoa! Backtrack there! Did the Pharaoh, the one who hates me to the depth of his very soul, just invite me to walk around this hotel with him? What the hell has gotten into him? Oh, well. I have nothing better to do.
I shrug. "Okay." His eyes light up and he waits patiently by the door for me to get ready. I jump off the bed and join him. He opens the door and we walk smack into my yami and Bakura. My arms somehow touches with his hand and sends jolts up my body. Why is my body reacting so violently to just the slightest touch? I pull my arm quickly away, trying to cover my blush. Okay, _now_ it's the hormones.
But why the Pharaoh?
I don't notice, but the Pharaoh is blushing too. Bakura smirks.
"And where would you two be going?" he asks. I look coldly at him.
"To explore this place."
"Ohhh..." Mariku says slyly. Then the two of them just walk into the room. But it's what I hear them say that makes me turn bright red. "Those two _soooo_ want to screw each other." The Pharaoh and I walk on, pretending we never heard that comment and being careful not to look at each other. The silence is unbearable. So I, Malik no baka just _had_ to say something. Of course, it didn't sound much like anything.
"UmshowahyounYuugi?"
What the hell was that? I'm not even sure what I just said. The Pharaoh blinks at me with those beautiful crimson eyes. Okay, I'm going crazy. Well, more crazier than usual. I just called the Pharaoh's eyes beautiful. And he blinks again, that adorable confused look on his face. *breathes* This is just a weird...thing that happens when I go to beach resorts called KaibaCorp Resort. The...um...environment makes me lovey-dovey! Yeah! That's it. Damn. I can't even convince myself.
"...What did you just say?" he asks.
I shake my head. "Never mind."
Then silence is among us again.
***
I watch as the Pharaoh looks longingly at a display of a promo booster pack. It's strange. I never thought anyone could stand in front of a stand displaying a pack of cards for so long. It's been at least five minutes.
"Uh..." I clear my throat. "Pharaoh, do you really want that?" He turns around and looks at me with sad eyes. I raise my eyebrow slightly.
"I left my money with Yuugi..." he replied. I frown and fish through my pockets for some change. I pull out a bunch of coins and reluctantly pour them into his hand. He stares at me with an odd look on his face.
"Malik..." he starts.
"Keep the change." I say and grab two packs of the cards and toss them at him. He catches them deftly and walks over to the cashier, still looking at me curiously. I scowl. I have no idea what just possessed me to do that. I could have bought so much nice gold jewelry with that! Ugh...I guess I'm just feeling generous today. Maybe it's because of that fall I took out of the trunk...
Anyway, the Pharaoh comes back now, grinning cutely. No, not cutely, Malik. Just grinning. He tries to hand me the rest of the coins. I shake my head and push his hand away from me. "I told you, keep the change. I don't need it." He frowns slightly and drops the coins in his pocket, still looking at me and trying to figure out why I'm being generous all of a sudden. To tell you the truth, I have absolutely no idea either. Ah, well.
We walk on, stopping once in a while to glance into the shops. The Pharaoh sees an ice cream parlor and nudges me gently. "Come on," he says. "My treat." I shrug and follow him into the small old-fashioned shop. Ooh, goody. Ice cream. Yay! He quickly asks me what I want and I reply. He orders and I watch as the ice cream is scooped from the container...thingys. The cones are handed to us and I take mine gratefully. Yum. Vanilla. The Pharaoh pays for it with the money I gave him. Wow, I guess he's feeling generous too. Or maybe he just wants to repay his debt. Yeah, that's probably it.
Why would he want to be nice to me, anyway?
"Yami! Malik!" I hear two female voices yell from another side of the room. The Pharaoh and I turn to see Anzu and Shizuka waving. I watch the Pharaoh as he frowns first, then scowls, then glares, then plasters on a neutral expression. I frown myself at the queer reaction he had to his friends greeting him. Then I shake my head and forget about it as I follow the one I used to hate the the two girls' table. We take our seats across from them.
"Hi!!" chirped Anzu. I swear, sometimes she annoys the hell out of me with all that perkiness. Nobody should be allowed to be that happy. It should be illegal. Though, judging by the way she and Shizuka are, I guess it's not that surprising. Damn. I wish I had someone to love like that.
Wait! Where the hell did that come from?
I hate love. It's useless. Then why did I just say...?
Forget it, Malik no baka. Your brain is only messed up today because of this damn trip. Yes. That's it. Breathe, Malik. Okay! I'm okay now.
"So what have you guys seen so far?" Shizuka asked, a smile on her face. She sipped the chocolate and vanilla milkshake that she and Anzu were sharing. Okay, she's perky too, but at least she's not as bad. Though, when she's all clingy with her brother, it _does_ get quite annoying.
"Well, I bought two new packs of cards...and that's basically it." The Pharaoh replied, eating his ice cream quietly.
"You want to come with us to the beach?" Anzu asks, still with that creepy smile on her face. I look at the Pharaoh, who shrugs.
"Maybe later. For now, I want to--." He stops himself in the middle of his sentence.
"You want to what, Yami?" Anzu asks. The Pharaoh shakes his head, eyes looking down at the table...depressingly?
"Nothing..."
***
We finally escape the (annoying) girls and find ourselves wandering through the hotel once more.
"Uh, so where do you want to go now?" I ask. He shrugs.
"Wherever. How about...there? You don't mind if I buy stuff with the money you gave me, do you?" I shake my head and glance at the shop that he pointed to. Oh, heh. Punk clothes shop. Should have known the Pharaoh's leather fetish. Okay, so I can't really say anything. I wear leather myself.
"Sure."
I follow him into the shop, sitting in a comfortable armchair and watching absentmindedly as the Pharaoh flits from stand to stand, looking for something to suit his taste. Finally, he grabs something and ran into a changing room. I lean on the left arm of the chair and drum my fingers boredly on the right one.
A few minutes later, the Pharaoh comes back, wearing black skin-tight leather pants...tighter than his usual dark blue ones. I feel a blush coming on as he models them in front of me. He looks so delicious right now...
"You think these look okay?" he asks.
"Ohhh, yeah..." I rasp, staring at his ass. He looks at me oddly and walks into the changing room. After a moment, he comes back, the leather pants in his arms. I hope my blush has faded away by now...It's kind of bad to have your supposed enemy catching you blush because of him. No, scratch that. _VERY_ bad.
"All right, let's go." he says. I nod weakly and follow him to the cashier, where he quickly pays. We walk out, him with a slight smile on his face and me just trying to get that image of the Pharaoh out of my head. We walk some more, me just realizing that I was shopping with the Pharaoh. O_O Oh well. Might as well have fun. Hey, I think he's talking to me.
"...Malik?!? Uhh...you there?" he asks, waving his hand rapidly in front of my face. I swat his hand out of the way and look down at him.
"What?"
"Do you want to go anywhere? So far we've only gone where I've wanted to go...Anywhere specific that you want to go to?"
"Uhh..." I look around. "Well...not really." Heh, can't blame me. It wasn't _my_ idea to come to this stupid place. Grrr. Okay, maybe I shouldn't have growled. The Pharaoh's looking at me funny. I shake my head to confirm my answer.
"If you're sure then...can we go there?" He pointed to a gift shop. I nodded slightly, thinking of buying something myself. Hey, I could buy a stuffed animal and stab it until it falls apart...Okay, so maybe not. That sounds like something my yami would do. Bakura would just stab a real animal.
...And lick its blood.
Ugh. Okay, we never had this conversation. Anyway, I watch as the Pharaoh walks in and looks up and down the aisles, sometimes stopping and shaking his head, then continuing. It's actually quite interesting. Then I watch as he stares at a flyer posted on the staircase and frowns, then a smile starts to appear on his face. He practically leaps to the cashier, where he begins to ask him quietly about something, occasionally pointing to the flyer. Whatever. I pay for a candy bar and walk outside to wait for him.
At last, the cashier hands him a small slip of paper and he nods and says, "Arigatou." then meets me outside of the shop. I raise my eyebrow as he quickly puts the paper away in his pocket.
"Thanks for waiting." he says. I shrug carelessly. Like I've said before, I don't have anything better to do.
***
I watch as the Pharaoh drops his new pants on his bed and tucks the two new booster packs in one of the pockets of his duffel bag. He turns around and grins at me, signaling for the two of us to leave. We walk side by side to the elevator. I do have to admit, this is a nice hotel...
Anyway, I press the button and wait for the silver doors to open. When they do, I walk in calmly and am followed by the Pharaoh. We lean on the opposite sides of the elevator, avoiding each other's gaze, but trying to look at the other. Confusing, ne? Basically, I look at him, he turns away. He looks at me, I turn away. Heh. It's actually kind of funny.
...Hey! Why am I so interested in looking at him, anyway?
Oh well. The elevator's arrived on the second floor, where Isis said that the restaurant that we're eating at for dinner is. Heh. It's kind of cool, actually. We're the only customers in this resort and every staff member is working for us. It kind of makes me laugh. That's probably one of the only good things about this trip.
"That's it, right?" I ask, pointing at a nice looking restaurant to our left. He nods. We walk into the restaurant and take a table near the others. My yami is absent, along with Bakura. They're probably screwing in their room. Ryou, Yuugi, Otogi, and Jou share a table and Anzu and Shizuka sit at a table next to them.
The Pharaoh doesn't seem to want to sit with them. I wonder why he'd rather sit with me instead of his friends. Or rather, his group of cheerleaders. Well, pharaohs are always a bit on the odd side. That's why I'd have made a great one. But I'm over that whole I-Want-To-Be-Pharaoh-and-kill-the-Spirit-of-the-Puzzle phase. I know that us Gravekeepers are destined to guard his secret and that it was my yami who killed Father.
And I don't really give a damn.
Sure, Father was respected by me, but he almost killed Rishid. Evil bastard. Grr...
Great. The Pharaoh is looking at me strangely again. I shrug carelessly at him. He just blinks cluelessly.
Ooh, here comes the waitress. Eww...she's smiling at me. She hands everyone a menu, then leaves. I scan the menu boredly, deciding carelessly.
She comes back, still smiling with her ugly teeth. She scribbles down the others' orders, then walks over to our table. She asks the Pharaoh what he wants and he answers politely, gritting his teeth. Then she turns to me.
"And what about you, hun?" she asks...trying to sound seductive. Ra, she stinks at this. I point to the place on the menu, not wanting to say a word to this...thing. She leans down and places her long red nails on my menu. "This one? Oh, great choice!" she gushes, flicking her hazel eyes to me expectantly.
Ohh...I see now. She's trying to make me look down her shirt. Damn you, woman! I'm fucking gay. I raise my eyebrow slightly and see the Pharaoh with a furious look in his eye. Hmm...wonder why.
"So...you up to some action tonight, sweetie?" she says quietly, a freaky grin on her face. I wince and am about to reply when the Pharaoh growls loudly.
"You. Will. Keep. Your. Hands. Off. Him." he says, trying to control his temper. Ooh, he's pissed. I can tell. That's the tone that he used to talk to me with. Waitress-girl stands back up, looking down at the Pharaoh.
"Excuse me? Why do I have to take orders from you, kid?" she asks, glaring. He stands up. Okay, she's pretty much dead now. The Eye of Horus is emblazened on his forehead and his crimson eyes are narrowed to slits.
"You have no idea who you're talking to, do you, slut?" he growled angrily. She backs up a little, startled by his third eye. He holds up his right palm. "MIND BREAK!"
__________
One less call to answer,
feeling full of despair,
don't think I can get through it,
just one last prayer.
And it's a leap of faith,
when you believe there's someone out there,
it's a leap of faith when you believe that someone cares, oh,
and when I call out to you,
will you be right there,
right there.
Searching for the answer,
nobody seems to care,
Oh how I wish that you were here,
beside me,
to wipe away my tears.
- - - - -