Note: Hey, iPanda here. Lol you wanna know what motivated me to write a bleach/yugioh crossover fanfic? My friend Echo Song Smith who wrote Gaara's Song happened to be a bigger fan of Naruto and Bleach but still like Marik and Bakura so I thought I could write something for him because he's just a good friend to me. I know stuff like this don't get popular very often but it doesn't matter to me. As long as Echo likes it I'm happy :D
Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh or Bleach
Going to sleep for the first time in a year was a major relief for Marik. For some unknown reason, Marik could never find himself getting tired as a ghost in the human world. Maybe it was the only perks to being dead, or that a wandering soul didn't need rest as it is too busy trying to find it's place in the world. Marik could never find the answer to why he could never sleep but it didn't bother him as much as the chains and not being able to move on did. In a way it benefited Marik more because he was watching his family in the day and ventured to the surface at night. And the day before, since arriving to Soul Society, Marik found himself growing more and more tired as the sun began to set and day turned into night. It was a relief that Ryou showed up when he did otherwise Marik would have experienced his first actual sleep on the cold hard ground and not on a mattress in a warm home. And another bonus was that Marik could dream again.
He dreamed that he was happy, that he was with his family and they were having a meal together. Their was no concern over the tomb keeper's initiation or any worry about Mariku's sanity. It was just them having a good time. Rishid played soccer on the surface with him and Mariku, and at the end of the day Isis served them their favorite food. At bed time, Isis tucked them into bed and read their favorite story. Ironically when Marik closed his eyes in his dream he opened them in real life. Amane was the one waking him up.
"Come on! It's time for bwekfast!" She said shoving Marik's arm roughly. Guess Marik was still tired from yesterday.
Marik slowly pulled himself out of bed and stretched his muscles. His body ached a little from moving around so much and he wished he could've stayed in bed longer. Marik staggered to the paper door like a drunken fool and steadied himself on the wall to get his focus back and when his eyes finally stopped seeing white spots in front of his face Marik finally walked calmly down to where the living room was. Unfortunately, last night Ryou didn't have any time to show them around the house and only got the chance to get the exhausted Ishtar's to bed. Hopefully today would be a better chance to get a look around the house after breakfast. Marik stood dumbly in the door way to the living room and walked around the room hoping to find a door to the kitchen or at least follow the scent of cooked food. Which is what he did. He followed the scent of what smelled like sweet and spicy food cooking and Marik felt his stomach rumble with hunger and followed the scent trail where it led to what looked like the dining room as Rishid, Isis, Akefia, Bakura, and Ryou were all sitting at the table waiting patiently for the rest of the group to show up. Bakura looked up from the table and narrowed his eyes.
"About time you showed up for breakfast." He sneered. Marik glared at the boy.
"Pardon my manners, but Ryou forgot to give us a tour of the house." Marik said sitting down next to Rishid. Ryou's eyes widened in shock and bopped himself on the forehead.
"That's what I forgot to do last night! Oh, Marik-san, I'm so sorry!" Ryou said bowing his head down in forgiveness. Marik was taken aback by the sudden kindness seeing as he almost mistook Ryou for Bakura.
"No, it's fine, really. Thank you for letting us stay here, by the way. It means a lot." Marik said smiling bringing the flustered boy back up to his attention and smiling widely.
"By the way," Marik started. "How did you two find your way into the dining room?" Marik asked his two older siblings. Isis spoke first.
"Akefia, and Ryou showed us the way to the dining room." She said. Bakura leaned forward with his head resting on his palm and his elbow on the table.
"I guess Amane was too busy waking up your twin to show you to the table." Bakura said mockingly. Marik glared at the other boy.
"At least I found my way here to the table without anyone's help." Marik spat venomously. Bakura shrugged with that mocking smirk still creased onto his lips.
"Good for you. Maybe today you could find your way to the bathroom without digging up a hole in the backyard." Bakura mocked. Marik could feel his face heat up in frustration.
"And I hope that this world doesn't have as many annoying jerks like you." Marik spat. Bakura's smirk seemed to widen into a small grin.
"I take that as a compliment you know." He said. Marik was about to tell the other boy off when Amane and Mariku walked in.
"I bwought Mawiku over. Can we eat now?" Amane asked oblivious to the strong tension in the air and the glare's Bakura and Marik were giving each other and the already exhausted looks on Isis, Rishid, and Ryou. Akefia on the other hand thought the whole quarrel was amusing.
"Yes, Amane. We can finally eat breakfast." Akefia said sitting up the young girl onto his lap and giving her a small ball of rice.
"Bakura told me that your family are vegetarian so I prepared some dishes for you." Ryou said pointing over to the platters of fruit salad, rice, and some vegetables. Most of which the Ishtar's haven't seen.
But they trusted Ryou seeing as he went through all the trouble of preparing a meal for them. Marik on the other hand couldn't believe that Bakura would go to Ryou about this. He thought for sure Bakura would tell Ryou to cook an all meat dish for them just to spite Marik but he supposed that Bakura would be getting onto the entire family's bad side if he were to do that. Marik shrugged mentally to himself and brought over a bowl of fruit over to him. He looked around for any silver wear but all he saw was empty plates, food, and a pair of sticks to his left. Marik picked up the wooden sticks and held it in front of his face. Bakura looked over to see Marik staring at the chop sticks and snickered to himself.
"What you've never used chop sticks before?" He asked. Marik looked over and shook his head.
"Unlike you people, back where I was from we ate food with a fancy piece of utensils called 'silver wear'." Marik said smirking. Bakura rolled his eyes dismissively.
"Well this isn't the human world, Marik. This is Soul Society, and I'm afraid there are some things that you are going to have to get used too if you plan on staying here. Learning how to eat food with chopstick is one of them." Bakura said waving his own chopsticks around for emphasis. Marik glared at the boy for yet again winning another argument.
"Well how the heck am I supposed to use two pieces of wood for eating my food, huh?" Marik said raising his voice just above the comfort zone. Isis glared at him making Marik submit quickly. When father wasn't around it was usually Isis that disciplined the two boys. Bakura and the other Touzoku's on the other hand didn't seem bothered by the outburst.
"You hold it like this, Marik." Bakura said holding up the chopsticks the way he did before. Marik tried doing the same thing but ended up making the two stick stand the wrong way in his hand. Bakura sighed and got off of his seat to and went over to where Marik was making Rishid scoot away from the two boys. Bakura held up the chopsticks again in front of Marik.
"Hold it like this, Marik." He repeated. Marik tried again and this time he got it half way right but Bakura was still unimpressed. "No, Marik. Watch my fingers. Look closely and try to get it right, okay?" Bakura instructed again. Marik looked at Bakura's right hand and saw the way he gently held the two sticks between his thumb and index finger. Marik mimicked the same gesture finally gaining Bakura's approval.
"Good. Now try to eat it like this." Bakura said slowly grabbing a piece of watermelon from Marik's dish and bringing it up into his mouth. Marik was about to object to Bakura stealing his food but when he noticed Bakura's expectant gaze, still waiting for Marik to do as he was told Marik swallowed his pride and mimicked Bakura again but accidentally making a grape slip out of the chopsticks.
"Almost, but not quite. You can't put too much pressure on the food or else that's going to happen a lot. Now try again but this time let your index and middle finger do the work. Remember the thumb is to help hold the food and the index and middle finger help to grab and hold the food, got it?" Bakura asked finishing his explanation. Marik was taken by surprise by Bakura's sudden gesture of kindness but did as he was told and this time got an orange wedge to go into his mouth. Bakura smiled like a proud teacher at this.
"That's good. Now keep using that technique over and over and you would have gotten it right." Bakura said. Marik looked at Bakura trying to read his facial expression to find anything suspicious but it looked like the boy was actually serious. Marik's face heated up at his kind smile.
"Um, thank you." Marik said going back to his food. Bakura went back to his spot and ate his food like nothing happened. Marik looked around and saw that his siblings were eating food like the way Bakura had showed him. He also noticed that Ryou and Akefia were exchanging awkward glances to each other clearly surprised as well by Bakura's sudden lesson for Marik. Amane on the other hand paid no mind to it and reached over to drink her tea.
"So would you guys mind if we showed you around the house after breakfast? I feel bad for not doing so last night so after we clean up I can show you around the house and yard." Ryou said cheerfully, quickly changing the tension in the atmosphere.
"Oh, yes that would be great. Thank you." Isis smiled.
After that, the entire breakfast was eaten with silence aside from occasional conversation with Marik's older siblings with Ryou and Akefia. Bakura didn't speak much after teaching Marik how to properly use chopsticks and Marik was grateful for that. Whenever Bakura spoke it was to irritate Marik. But a few minutes ago Bakura had a sudden change of heart for Marik and helped him out with the chopsticks. Maybe Bakura had a reason for helping him out. Probably something along the lines of "I just didn't want to watch a fool like you fumble over food, that's all". Whatever the reason, Marik didn't feel like speaking to Bakura either. For the matter Mariku didn't speak much either. He just ate his food and glanced over at the Touzoku's occasionally. Akefia looked over at Mariku and smirked.
"What the matter, kid? Cat got your tongue?" He asked in an almost teasing voice. Mariku looked over at Akefia with an indifferent gaze..
"I was just thinking." He said putting his bowl down.
"About what?" Akefia asked slightly curious.
"Well, the shinigami said that once we arrived here things would be much easier for us. But then all of you say that there are apparently regulations to living in the Soul Society. And now I'm thinking that we just got suckered into coming here and just living a normal life like everyone else and not having the 'spa treatment' I was told." Mariku said. And it was true too. All of them thought the same thing when they arrived. The only bonus for Marik was that he got to live in the surface like a normal person now.
"Well think of it this way; Shinigami sugar coat everything for wandering souls and us rukangai residents because they don't want us to worry about how average it is to be a loser like us. They say that they'll protect us, and that they'll give us all the food and shelter we need to survive the harsh elements, and for awhile they do help us out but after a few days we have to watch our own backs. But to tell you the truth, it's the shinigami that get the 'spa treatment' not us. They live the life of luxury while we have to buy our own food, clothes, and fire wood, while they get to have their own place to stay and the only thing they to do is kill hollows, and protect the humans, and spirits that live in the human world and in rukangai." Akefia explained and in that moment, all the Ishtar's realized how lucky a shinigami is and how pathetic their life is now that they have to work for everything just to live. Back home they had the luxury of being born into the Ishtar clan and having everyone work for them and not the other way around.
"Akefia wants to become a shinigami one day." Ryou said drawing everyone's attention to him now.
"He said that he doesn't want to live this way and wants to become a shinigami because of it." Ryou explained. Isis turned to Akefia.
"When do you plan on becoming a shinigami?" She asked.
"In a few years. It'd be reckless of me to leave Amane alone with these boys." Akefia smirked and winked at his little sister who giggled.
"I wouldn't mind becoming a shinigami one day." Marik admitted. Everyone turned to him.
"It's very rare for spirits that arrived from the human world to become a shinigami." Bakura said matter of fact.
"Only spirits that have reiatsu can become shinigami." Ryou said.
"What's reiatsu?" Mariku asked.
"Reiatsu, also translated as 'spiritual pressure' is basically the power that shinigami have or the essence of a spirit that gives them their strength. If you run out of reiatsu it's possible you could die or you need to recover by resting and eating enough food that could get your strength back up. Everyone has reiatsu." Ryou explained.
"But what about us? I don't even know how to feel reiatsu, so how can I become a shinigami?" Marik asked genuinely intrigued with this talk about shinigami and reiatsu.
"That's something that must be taught to you at Shinigami Academy. Among other things you learn how to control your reiatsu, and get your own zanpakuto." Ryou said. Hearing the word "zanpakuto" brought Marik back to the moment when the shinigami sent them to Soul Society.
"That's their sword, isn't it?" Marik asked. Ryou nodded.
"I was told that gaining a zanpakuto is a right of passage for shinigami graduates. You have to get in touch with your inner spirit and there you would learn the name of your zanpakuto and even gain the sword itself." Ryou continued.
"So in other words, getting a zanpakuto isn't like winning the lottery or even picking up a random sword and writing your name on it, is it?" Mariku asked.
"Each zanpakuto is unique and has it's own strengths and weaknesses. In a way, a zanpakuto is an extension of yourself; your personality. Except you are it's master and the sword is your servant willing to do what it's asked in battle." Ryou said.
This made Marik more determined to become a shinigami. Not just for a better life but to actually have some purpose in his life. Before, the only purpose Marik had was to live in a tomb for the rest of his life to protect the pharaoh's tomb. It wasn't something that Marik had volunteered for either. It was his destiny to become a tombkeeper and whether he liked it or not his father made that very clear that he was in fact becoming a member of the tombkeepers. But now Marik can become something more than that. He can become a shinigami and it would be his dream too. It would be a more exciting life than what he was forced into and Marik can actually have fun with it too. He can fight hollows and save people. He could finally get his wish and be what he wanted to be without anyone telling him it's wrong or that it was futile. In this world he was free and he wanted to use it as well as he could and all of his wishes could come true. That is if genies really did exist. But now Marik banished all doubts from his mind. He will become a shinigami. He knew it would happen.
After breakfast Isis helped Ryou and Amane with cleaning the dishes while Bakura showed Marik and Mariku around the house while Akefia showed Risihid around the yard. Bakura basically showed the boys the interior of the house and where all the rooms were. Bathrooms, kitchen, bedrooms, and such. Then Bakura took the boys to the backyard and showed them around the forest. He showed them a few paths that could lead them to several nearby villages which was in a way essential so they could have a wider variety of shops to go to. Or as Marik noted: less trouble for Bakura if he decides to steal again. Then Bakura showed them to a river where they get their water and then showed them to a hot spring that was just about four meters away from the house. According to Bakura a hot spring is a place where people usually bathe in or want to relax. Marik couldn't understand how people could bathe outside or where all the water came from to form it so he voiced his thoughts aloud.
"I don't get it. Why would people bathe in the middle of a forest?" Marik asked. Bakura shrugged.
"Some people don't mind showing a little skin when their outside taking a hot bath. But if you're self-conscious then there's plenty of towels to use just for an occasion." That raised another question.
"Why would people dip into a hot spring with a towel wrapped around their waist? Call me old fashioned, but that's just weird." Marik said. Bakura smirked.
"Hey like I said, some people don't mind going into an open hot spring naked, and some don't want to flash anybody in case a person comes over. Their's always a reason for something, Marik." Bakura said smirking arrogantly. Marik rolled his eyes.
"Where does all this water come from anyway?" Marik asked.
"It's a dug up spring. The heat comes from underground magma so the water is naturally heated. No need for electricity or gas here." Bakura said.
"Underground magma?" Marik questioned.
"Don't worry it's safe. The magma is so deep under ground that the only danger it causes is to the earthworms." Bakura said. Mariku nodded understanding a little but Marik didn't quite understand what "magma" was but chose not to question it, in case it caused another banter with Bakura.
"Is there another one around the area?" Mariku asked.
"Yeah but they're all private owned. This one just so happened to be the Touzoku's own personal hot spring. It's a memento from my parents." Bakura said.
"You're rich? Then why would you steal?" Marik asked.
"First of all, I'm not that rich. My father and mother were once shinigami themselves and that house we live in was basically a summer home until they died. And in the will they gave us that house and this hot spring as personal property. They also gave us a lot of money left over but even that's gonna last us for so long so sometimes I'd go into one of the villages down these paths and take something like food, or toys for Amane." Bakura explained.
Marik never saw Bakura as the type to be afraid of the inevitable. Marik was when he was alive. The initiation scared him to the very core every time his family mentioned it to him. And here Bakura is afraid of losing money so he steals from people in case they did get broke. This seemed almost too ridiculous to even think.
"Do you plan on becoming a shinigami, Bakura?" Marik asked. Bakura looked at Marik with all the seriousness that Marik has ever seen from the boy so far.
"Yes. One day I want to leave the rukangai and become a shinigami. I never want to live in this place for as long as I live." Bakura said.
"Then why don't you become one?" Marik asked.
"Sometimes there's an age illegibility to attend Shinigami Academy, but if you suddenly develop strong reiatsu you can sign up regardless of age." Bakura said. That brought another question to Marik's mind.
"How old are you?" Marik asked. Bakura smirked.
"Older than you, that's for sure." Bakura said moving away from the hot spring and back into the forest.
"How old do you have to be to attend Shinigami Acedemy?" Marik persisted stepping in front of Bakura. The boy gave him an indifferent look.
"You have to be over a hundred years old to attend unless you got strong reiatsu." Bakura said. Marik felt his jaw drop. He was only eleven years old! And he had to be over a hundred to attend that school?
"How old are you, Bakura?" Marik asked completely in shock. Bakura smirked.
"Just so you know age isn't that much of a big deal in Soul Society like the way it was back in the human world. A hundred years of age in the human world is like a year to us in Soul Society. So quit fussing about my age, got it?" Bakura snapped making Marik shut his mouth. So people do age but really slowly. Well that is another perk to living in Soul Society Marik supposed.
"So does that mean that you don't celebrate birthdays?" Marik asked. Bakura's nose crinkled upwards like he just got asked the dumbest question in the history of questions.
"Just because age doesn't matter doesn't mean that birthday's are useless. People still go crazy over those, Marik." Bakura said looking like he was about to bust out laughing.
"So when is you're birthday?" Marik asked.
"Same birthday as Ryou's."
"When is it?"
"None of your business." Bakura said smirking and continued walking away from the hot spring and back to the house.
"Wait if your parents were shinigami, then does that mean you and your siblings were born here in Soul Society?" Marik asked catching up to him.
"Yes we are native residents to Soul Society. What of it?" Bakura asked not turning around to continue his conversation. He simply saw the whole thing ridiculous and didn't have the patience for Marik's current pop quiz.
"But I thought all people here were dead." Marik asked.
"The same way people age here, the same way people still have children. In other words people here are practically immortal humans." Bakura said still walking.
"But you said your parents died. How can people die in Soul Society if it's a place where spirits go to live?" Marik asked and this time Bakura stopped walking. Marik looked over his shoulder and saw that his brother had followed them and was listening to the entire conversation. Marik looked back to Bakura who was standing there quietly. Something told Marik that he shouldn't have asked that.
"I said that people were like immortal humans, right? Well even people die here. Even the best shinigami can lose their life to anything possible. Like getting killed in battle by a hollow, or being poisoned, or even being killed by your own comrades. Anything is possible here even for a spirit. But fortunately our bodies are much stronger than human's so spirits and shinigami don't die as easily as human's." Bakura said and without another word he continued his way back to the house. And Marik and Mariku did too.
All three of the boys walked in silence and Marik chose to not ask another question to Bakura for the rest of the day. He was afraid of getting too personal with Bakura so Marik chose not to talk to Bakura for the rest of the day even if he had another question about how things worked in Soul Society. Instead he decided to keep his mouth shut and assisted Ryou in the chores like cleaning up the laundry. They sat by the river with a basket full of clothes, a few bars of detergent, a washboard and some clothes pins to hang up the clothes once they finished cleaning when they were done. Ryou had to show poor Marik how to clean clothes and how to properly use a washboard but the two turned into a pretty good team.
"You know, Marik-san, I'm really glad you volunteered to clean the laundry. Bakura would help me but he hates doing chores." Ryou said with a smile. Marik smiled back.
"Sure thing. Thanks for showing me how to wash clothes." Marik said laughing a little. Ryou laughed with him.
"It's no problem. And I'm glad you guys already had some food and clothes with you when I came in to help you. It saves me trouble for having to buy you some spare clothes or buying some more fruits and vegetables for you. I never knew an entire family that never eat meat before so you bringing in some extra food was a real help." Ryou said with a smile. Marik couldn't help but smile back. Unlike Bakura, Ryou was indeed the friendliest and was much easier to talk too.
"Oh, it's no problem. We thought we were gonna find a place to stay so you really helped us out in letting us live with you." Marik said.
"Stay as long as you like. That house is ours forever, and we won't have to worry about rent or mortgage, 'cause that was already taken care of by my parents." Ryou smiled. Marik faltered for a moment at the mention of Ryou's parents. Ryou noticed this even when Marik tried to cover it up. "Bakura told you what happened to our parents didn't he…?" Ryou asked quietly. Marik stiffened.
"I had no idea…" Marik whispered. Ryou put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him.
"That happened a long time ago. Bakura and I were about Amane's age while she was only a baby back then. She has no memory of our parents, but me Akefia, and Bakura all remember them too well." Ryou said quietly looking down sadly at the river. Marik didn't want to ask this but he needed to know at the same time.
"What happened…?" Marik asked quietly hoping Ryou wouldn't here him but the boy did.
"They were on a mission in the human world. They had a standard mission back then… Just keeping an eye on a town because there were violent hollows in the area. But there were too many of them and it was just mom and dad… they were surrounded… And a few days later a shinigami came over with their uniform and told us the worst… their was blood on the clothes…" Ryou began to murmur and it was then that Marik didn't want to here anymore and grabbed Ryou and embraced him.
Marik didn't hug anyone but his family and even then it was extremely rare. Usually it was Isis that hugged him and their siblings but right now Marik didn't want to see Ryou cry over the loss of his parents. He could tell that even though it happened when they were younger the memory was still fresh in his mind. And perhaps that was the reason why Bakura was so sad earlier. Maybe Bakura still remembered the day when he received the news that his parents died in battle. It saddened Marik as it reminded him of the day when he died and saw how distraught his family were. How Mariku cried, his father holding onto his body, Isis sobbing heavily and Rishid doing his best to keep things under control. The thought almost made Marik cry himself. A year has passed since his death and even now Marik wanted to cry. But he wouldn't let himself cry. Not anymore. If he wanted to become a shinigami he had to get strong and that included in holding back his grief and letting go of the memories of his past and forgetting entirely of his mortal life. His human life was the worst existence he ever had. Now in Soul Society he had a chance to start a new life with his family. After Ryou stopped shuddering and sobbing into his chest he pulled away from Marik and wiped any remaining tears he had left and smiled.
"Thank you, Marik-san." Ryou said.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I was just curious." Marik said and Ryou shook his head.
"No need to worry. Everything is okay now." Ryou said clearly trying to be strong. He bent down to continue washing a kimono.
"Hey, Ryou. Do you plan on becoming a shinigami too?" Marik asked looking down at the river. At his peripheral he could see Ryou pause for a moment before answering.
"I would like to become a shinigami one day. But I'm not sure about my reiatsu..." Ryou murmured.
"Well then you just have to practice that's all. Like you said, if you join Shinigami Academy you can learn how to control reiatsu, right?" Marik said confidently.
"Yeah but what if they refuse me…?" Ryou asked quietly.
"Then you just have to try harder next time. I mean I want to become a shinigami too, so if I could do it then you can too." Marik said with a smile. He knew that little by little he was making Ryou more confident in himself. Ryou smiled.
"You're right. I just have to train harder and hone my skills better and maybe I could become like Bakura one day and be as strong as him." Ryou said with the biggest smile on his face. After that the boys continued the laundry in silence but the tension in the air wasn't nearly as heavy as it was before and Marik was glad about that.
Most of the following days were spent getting to know each other. Mariku and Bakura get along pretty well considering Bakura objected to the Ishtar's staying there on the first day. Rishid and Isis have been getting along well with Akefia, Ryou and Amane. Since Isis and Rishid pretty much raised Marik and Mariku they know how to treat younger children unlike the twins who try to hold back from telling Amane to leave them alone. Marik all the while actually gets along with Akefia and Ryou. Ryou is simply too kind to hate, unlike Bakura, and Akefia seems to be this laid back and caring guy. He doesn't get mad or anything at Marik even when he's asking too many questions like with Bakura. Marik even looks up to Akefia seeing as the older boy is exactly what Marik wants to be. He doesn't even judge Marik for wanting to be a shinigami. He just supports him. And Marik is grateful for that.
Now a whole week has passed since the Ishtar's arrived to Soul Society and since the boys have already ate all the food that Isis brought over it was time to go grocery shopping. Plus Amane has been developing a cold too. Just the other day she started coughing and sneezing and Ryou confirmed that the poor girl has a fever. So they also have to get some medicine as well. They decided to not go to the first village the Ishtar's went through and went to another nearby village that according to Ryou has plenty of the supplies they need for Amane's cold. Right now Marik, Bakura, and Ryou were the ones getting supplies for Amane's medicine while Mariku and Akefia got the food. Rishid and Isis stayed home to watch Amane. On the upside people in this village didn't show any signs of distress to seeing the Ishtar twins, which according to Bakura is because Akefia is friends with some of the people here so they're used to seeing people of darker skin.
"Okay, so we need peppermint herbs for Amane's throat and…" Ryou rambled through the list of supplies for Amane while Marik and Bakura stood their next to a merchant that was selling herbs. The merchant, an elderly man sat behind his table looking clearly bored as Ryou read through the list and checked the table once in awhile to look for the appropriate ingredients. Marik and Bakura would exchange occasional glances too each other but mostly Bakura would be staring at the darker boy. Marik figured that Bakura was just trying to bother him with this staring game and just pretended to be distracted by something else, like looking at the different types of herbs on the table. Marik hadn't seen half of this stuff this man was selling. Some of it seemed familiar to him from when he developed a fever from the cobra bite but everything else was completely foreign.
"Okay, that should be it," Ryou said taking a handful of herbs. "Bakura can you hold out the bag for me while Marik and I get these?" Ryou asked his older brother who obeyed him quietly and held out an empty sack while Ryou and Marik reached out for the herbs. Ryou thanked the man and paid him the money before turning around.
"Okay, lets go look for Akefia and Mariku." Ryou said taking the bag from Bakura. The boys searched around the shops and found Akefia and Mariku standing in front of a man selling some meat.
"Hey, there you guys are." Akefia exchanged a smile with the boys before paying the merchant and stuffing some wrapped up meat into a bag that Mariku was holding.
"We got all of Amane's medicine, right here. We can leave any time now." Ryou said.
"Alright. Hey, why don't we get some lunch before we leave? There's this inn close by that we can have lunch at." Akefia said.
"I could eat." Bakura said and all the other boys nodded in agreement.
"Okay but make sure to keep it a secret with Isis and Amane okay? I'm not sure about Rishid but I'm pretty sure the girls will have my head for having lunch without them." Akefia joked.
And with that the boys went over to the inn to eat lunch in. They all sat in a large booth in the corner and waited for a waitress to come by to take their order. Ryou and Marik chatted while Bakura stared at Marik and occasionally spoke to Mariku and Akefia. The entire room seemed to be packed with people so the boys were expected to wait a while before a waitress could come over and take their order. Fifteen minutes passed and finally a thin looking waitress came over and took their order. She stopped at Ryou who was going to ask for mild curry until a high pitched voice screamed across the inn.
"Look! It's Ukitake-taicho!" A kid screamed. Ryou perked up from the table and Bakura smiled while Marik and Mariku exchanged glances.
"Who's Ukitake-taicho?" Marik asked.
"Oh, he's captain of squad 13. He regularly visits rukangai and plays with the kids and gives them treats." Ryou said with the biggest smile Marik has ever seen.
"He's a kid's favorite." Bakura said. And like that all the boys gave Akefia the puppy eyes before he sighed.
"Fine." And like that all the kids scooted off the booth and ran outside to find this Ukitake-taicho.
Ryou managed to find the said man standing in the center of a group of kids. He had long white hair making Marik think on how many people had white hair in the Soul Society. He wore the same clothes as the shinigami he met before but had a white cloak over his uniform. Marik supposed that this is what marked the shinigami as captains. Ryou and Bakura ran up to the group where Ukitake-taicho was standing while Marik and Mariku slowly walked up to him. Marik was a little nervous about meeting a captain for the first time while Mariku was cautious. He wasn't scared of the man but both of the boys had begun to experienced this incredible pressure weighing heavy on them the closer they got to him till the weaker of the two collapsed from the sheer strength of the pressure. Marik's eye sight went completely black and his whole body felt light. It was like dying again except he wasn't in pain and he wasn't tired. He was just weak compared to this man with reiatsu so strong it made Marik collapse.
"Marik! Are you alright?"
Who's voice was that? Ryou's? It definitely wasn't as deep as his brother's or Bakura's voice.
"What happened to him?"
"I don't know! He just fell!"
That could be Bakura and Mariku talking. It's awfully weird to here Bakura sounding concern for once.
"Oh, dear. The poor boy. Here let me see him."
It was a man's voice this time. It didn't sound like Akefia's though. This voice was much softer and gentler. Than things got clearer and brighter. His eyesight was coming back. It started out blurry before his focus returned and Marik was looking up at Ukitake-Taicho. It took a while for Marik to realize the older man was holding him. If it were different Marik would of thought his father was holding him and his family were actually alive. But Marik was still happy to see someone else holding him and examining him in a fatherly way. Not like his father did.
"Are you alright? You're not hurt are you?" The man asked. Marik slowly shook his head.
"No… I just feel weak…" Marik rasped quietly. His body didn't completely gain it's senses back yet and Marik was as he said; still weak. Ukitake smiled apologetically, a look that he would normally see in Ryou or Rishid.
"Sorry. The children here are used to my reiatsu that I don't worry about concealing it but I suppose that was a mistake. I've never met you or your brother before. Are you new to Soul Society?" He asked. Marik nodded.
"They just arrived from the human world a week ago," Ryou said. "He wants to become a shinigami so I thought it would be a good idea if he met you. I guess I wasn't thinking about him collapsing." Ryou said looking at the ground sadly. Bakura put a hand on his back and scratched it comfortingly.
"A shinigami, eh? Well I got some good news for you. People, and even children that collapse from hunger have reiatsu which means that they can actually become shinigami one day." Ukitake said with a smile. Marik could feel his heart beat speed up in joy. So there was hope for him to become a shinigami after all.
"But they were from the human world! Everyone knows that transfer spirits almost never become shinigami! It's a one and million chance!" Bakura shouted angrily. Probably thinking that Marik was being told from a captain that he could become a shinigami set him off. Marik didn't care.
"That's true but even transfer spirits can become shinigami. It's just so rare that people tend to think it's impossible when really, it's not." Ukitake said. Marik looked over at his brother Mariku who was also smiling thinking the same thing. Since Mariku felt the same pressure and nearly collapsed it means that Mariku could also become a shinigami. Marik began to move finally regaining his strength. Ukitake gently put Marik back on the ground and Marik stood up and turned around to Ukitake and bowed lowly.
"Thank you for your help, Ukitake-taicho. I'm sorry for the trouble. I'm sure your very busy." Ryou had been showing Marik and his family some manners to use in this world and one of them was how to give a proper thank you.
"Oh, it's no trouble at all. I am busy but I always have time to visit the children here. Why don't I give you something to make up for you collapsing. I am really sorry about that." Ukitake said and looked through his robe for something before pulling out a small pouch.
"It's full of rock candy. It's from the human world so I'm sure you are familiar with it." Ukitake said giving it to Marik. Marik didn't want to admit about where he was from in the human world but held his tongue and took the pouch thanking him.
"Be sure to share it with your friends, understand?" He said giving a friendly smile before getting up and turning around returning to the circle of children where things resumed like nothing had ever happened.
"Marik, I'm so jealous of you!" Ryou said making Marik turn around questioningly.
"I mean you got to talk to Ukitake-taicho longer than anyone here and to top it off you got candy from him! That means he really likes you, Marik!" Ryou said cheerfully. Marik stared at Ryou quietly not quite understanding what was happening but smiled.
"We should get back to the inn before Akefia gets annoyed." Bakura said. And the boys hurriedly ran back to inn and got back to the booth where Akefia was pretending to be agitated.
"Where'd you guys go to? That was an awful long fan moment with Ukitake-taicho." Akefia said glaring at the boys.
"I collapsed so that's why it took so long." Marik said. Akefia frowned.
"Are you alright now?" He asked and Marik nodded.
"He gave me some candy, too." Marik said with a smile. Akefia smiled back.
"You better share that with us, or I'll bop you on the head." He said with a joking smile. Marik smiled back.
His heart swelled with pride now. Ukitake-taicho actually paid attention to him and gave him some candy. Not to mention that Ukitaki-taicho said that Marik and his brother can become shinigami one day. That was what made Marik even more happy. Now Bakura can finally leave him alone about not becoming a shinigami. Because a captain said it was possible. That is what made Marik so happy for the rest of the day. There was nothing that can let him down now.
Marik stood before the hot spring that same night with a towel wrapped around his waist. He was sure no one would follow him tonight as he asked for permission to be in the hot spring alone. He wanted to be alone for his first dip into the hot spring. He didn't even want Mariku to join him. He just wanted to be by himself as he took his first public bath. Marik was still unsure about taking this outside and even took a bath in the wooden tub for the past few days but for some reason he felt like using the hot spring tonight. There were hanging lights around the hot spring that made it less dark and unnerving for him. He dipped his foot into the water to check the temperature and found it at a comfortable heat. Then he knelt down and dipped his hand into the water waving it through the surface just to be safe. It was a habit Isis got him into whenever she bathed him and Mariku when they were much younger. She would always swish her hand under the water of the tub before letting the boys step in. When Marik found the water to be satisfactory he finally, slowly, dipped into the water. First it was just him sitting on the edge with his legs wading in the water until he finally got his whole body into the water. It was hot but it felt oddly comfortable. The water didn't even burn against his scars which Marik was grateful for. Marik leaned back against the wall of the pool and closed his eyes contently.
"Enjoying the water?" A voice spook from behind him making Marik snap his eyes open and turn around to see Bakura standing behind him with a towel wrapped around his waist. He had his arms crossed over his chest and was looking down at Marik. Marik backed away in surprised.
"What the heck are you doing here? I asked for privacy!" Marik screeched. He didn't mean for his voice to sound high-pitched but Bakura surprised him. Bakura smirked and sat on the edge of the pool with his legs in the water.
"I didn't here about that." Bakura smiled with his head tilted to the left making it look like he was honest about the situation. Marik knew better.
"Yeah right! What are you doing here anyway?" Marik asked gruffly. Bakura gasped pretending to be offended.
"I just wanted to take a bath too, so I thought I'd join you. Where's the problem in that…?" Bakura asked childishly. Marik glared at him.
"You are the last person I'd have a bath with! Just leave me alone." Marik ordered but Bakura stayed and even immersed himself into the water as well further annoying Marik.
"I don't see any problem with sharing a bath with you. I even brought some soap and a change of clothes in case you forgot." Bakura smiled pretending to be friendly. The very fact that Bakura was pretending to be his friend was enough to set Marik off but he had to keep himself under control. Marik just glared at him and waded over to the farthest end of the hot spring, away from Bakura.
"Just what do you want, Bakura? You've been paying me an awful lot of attention, even before we went to the village." Marik said giving Bakura a serious glare. Bakura frowned and sighed.
"I just want to talk to you. There's been something I've been meaning to ask." Bakura said.
"Yeah? And what's that?" Marik asked slightly calmer that Bakura has finally put down his friendly façade.
"What do those scars on your back mean?" He asked bluntly. Marik's eyes widened in complete shock.
"Wh-what…?" He stuttered. Bakura swam a little closer to Marik making the boy shrink in fear.
"I saw a part of the scar sticking out from under your kimono. It looked like a pair of wings. Also Mariku said that he has the exact same scar on his back too but you got yours first. What does it mean?" Bakura asked swimming closer to Marik making him step away from the other boy.
"N-nothing… It's just nothing…" Marik whispered trying to get further away from Bakura but found it very hard. Marik didn't know how to swim so the most he could get out of moving through the water was walking along the bottom. And even that couldn't help him well enough. And before he knew it Bakura was finally in front of him.
"Marik, a scar on a leg from falling on a rock is nothing. Those scars on your back are most certainly not nothing. Now tell me how you got those and what it stands for." Bakura ordered. Marik looked away at the boys cold gaze.
"I don't want too…" He murmured. He felt something grip part of his face and was forced to look Bakura in the eye who was glaring at him.
"You have no choice, Marik. If you try to avoid answering me I will drown you here and now." Bakura threatened.
And for the first time in a year Marik was forced into something that he wanted to avoid. He never wanted to tell Bakura about him being the heir to the Ishtar clan and he most certainly didn't want to explain the ritual either. Marik had promised himself the day he arrived here that he would leave his past behind and forget about his human existence as it was nothing but hell for him and Marik wanted to start a new life in Soul Society. But here he was explaining to Bakura how he died and it did nothing but hurt him. He felt his chest ache at the memory and the scars burned as he described the pain of having his own father carve a hot blade into his back. Marik forced himself to not cry. He refused to cry. If he cried now it would only show how weak he was in front of Bakura and he wanted to be strong. He didn't want to show any pain or fear and when he finished his story Bakura was quiet for a while looking at the water as if he was thinking before he looked up at Marik and spoke.
"Can I touch it?" He asked. Marik's eyes widened.
"What? Why?" Marik asked trying to remain calm. Bakura frowned but his eyes showed no contempt.
"You don't have too. I just want to see what it looks like." For the second time this week since Bakura had explained the concept of death Marik found that Bakura was sincere about this and meant no harm.
Reluctantly, Marik allowed Bakura to look at his back and to even touch the scars. Both the boys sat on the edge of the pool kneeling on the ground. Marik was sitting on his knees and Bakura was kneeling on one leg lightly touching the carvings on Marik's back. Bakura felt the boy's muscles tense up and the scars bunch up a little as he lightly moved his hand over the wings at the top, then to the pictures of the ancient Egyptian God's, and over the hieroglyphs on every inch of Marik's back before pulling his hand away making the other boy relax visibly. Marik turned to look at Bakura's face, thinking that he could say something rude but the boy said nothing. Marik searched his expression trying to find any kind of disgust in Bakura's face but Bakura looked surprisingly sympathetic. Marik looked down, away from his face.
"You're the first person, besides my family that have seen those carvings…" Marik said. Both the boys were quiet after that until Bakura stood up and finally spoke.
"We should get back home." And they did. They both got dressed and went back to the house without another word. Both the boys were quiet after that and Marik asked to be excused to bed early. Needless to say that Marik's relationship with Bakura had changed dramatically after that. Marik was glad that now Bakura wouldn't be bugging him anymore, but Marik couldn't help but wonder that if Bakura had never seen his scars or if Marik had never told him about it that if their relationship would still stay the same. That if they would still hate each other or if that over time they would become friends without the need for Marik to reveal himself to Bakura. Marik had a feeling that it would not be the case either way. In a way Bakura needed to see the scars and understand Marik more to become his friend. And that was unfortunately necessary for Marik.