Coexistence: Light & Darkness and UNO
Marik Isthar lay in bed enjoying the peace and serenity in his room. After all of the events of Battle City, he had begun to start a new life in Egypt. Much to his surprise, Ishizu had suggested they stay in Domino City. Marik didn't complain, he was happy to be out of the tombs. He closed his eyes. He could feel a presence within his mind. It was his dark half, Yami no Malik, or Mariku. When he had first realized his dark half had reappeared in his mind, he was understandably shocked, and thought on how he could've came back. What really shocked Marik most of all, was how Mariku appeared. His dark half, who normally had no remorse, compassion, and empathy, had a look of complete regret and anger. When he asked him why, Mariku stated that he was only trying to fulfill Marik's wishes. He stated that he wasn't aware that he was doing anything wrong. Marik then in an instant could tell that his dark half wasn't lying. It was almost unbelievable. Yami no Malik, the embodiment of Marik's hatred, malice, and dark qualities was remorseful for his actions.
From that point on, Marik and Mariku had begun to coexist with each other. At first it had been somewhat hard, due to Ishizu's slight fear of Mariku, and Mariku's dislike of Odion's . But Marik insisted that his Yami has reformed. It took some time, but eventually it got tolerable for the Ishtar family. Marik opened his eyes and contacted his Yami using the mental link. 'Hey.' His reply was a grunt. He smiled. No matter how much Mariku had changed, he was still gruff and sarcastic as usual. But Marik was sarcastic as well, so he could deal with it. 'You want to play a card game?' He waited a few seconds. 'Yami?' ((I don't feel like playing Duel Monsters.)) He added with a dark chuckle. ((Besides I'd most likely destroy all of your monsters with Ra.)) Marik rolled his eyes. 'I didn't mean Duel Monsters. Ishizu had went to the store and bought me a card playing game.' He felt Mariku's interest spike up in the mindlink. ((Hmm. What's it called?)) 'It's called UNO. You want to play?' His question was answered when a beam of light surrounded him and retracted to the front of his bed. There stood Mariku with his hands in his pockets. He shrugged. ((Fine, I've got nothing better to do.)) Marik got up from where he was laying and went to his drawers. He pulled out his UNO cards and took them out of the box. He began shuffling the cards, and looked up at Mariku who stood back at him. A somewhat awkward silence was between them, more on Marik's side. "How do you play this game, hikari?" asked Mariku. Marik shrugged and continued shuffling. "Ishizu said that the two players have a certain number of cards. And however has no cards left wins. Mariku raised an eyebrow. Marik chuckled. "Yeah, that was my reaction too when she told me." Marik placed the cards on the bed. He patted the spot opposite him, signaling Mariku to sit. Mariku complied and sat down. Marik then passed out 7 cards for each of them. And the game began.
2 HOURS LATER
"DAMN IT!" "HAHAHAHA! You draw 4 once again, hikari!" Marik fumed once again and drew four. Marik had only one card left, and his Yami had made him draw 4. But when he looked at his newly acquired cards his eyes widened and he inwardly smirked. 'Oh he is going to get it! Just you wait!' "It's your move." Mariku smirked. "Don't need you tell me that. Heh." He drew a card and smirked. 'A draw four card. This is my chance to take him down. Hmph, which might be what he's expecting. I'll wait. No doubt he picked up a valuable card and is planning to use it on me.' "Go ahead, hikari." Marik grinned and put down 3 cards: green, red, and blue Draw 2. "Draw 8 cards! And, UNO!" His grin widened. 'He can't avoid this now. He has no choice but to draw 8. Wait. Why's he smirking?' Marik's grin faltered when he saw his Yami's smirk widen. Mariku chuckled and then let out an evil laugh. "I knew you would play those cards, hikari. This is why I didn't use these cards earlier." Mariku put down his two cards. Marik gaped in horror. "Two Draw 4's?!" Mariku laughed and said only two words. "Uno Out." Marik could only stare in shock, and then promptly threw his cards at his Yami who dodged them in time.
Marik then looked at his clock. 'It's almost midnight. Damn, Ishizu. Playing Uno really does pass the time.' He looked up at Mariku who had his arms folded in a bored manner. "You ready to go back?" Mariku shrugged. "What the hell. I'm tired of defeating you anyway." He smirked after saying this, knowing this would piss Marik off. But to his surprise, Marik chuckled. "You just watch out next time. We'll have a rematch tomorrow. We have a deal?" He stuck out his hand. Mariku smirked and shook his light's hand. "You bet. Heh. You sound confident that you can beat me." Marik smirked as well. "That's because I am confident." Mariku chuckled. "I must admit hikari. I had fun." Marik smiled and nodded. "Yeah I did too." They nodded to each other, and the darker half of the two vanished into a beam of light. The light covered Marik and then faded. Marik laid down onto the bed and closed his eyes. "Good night, Mariku."
In his soul room, Mariku stood looking at the outside of the world through Marik's eyes. ((Pleasant dreams, Marik.))
