There we have it, chapter two, well actually it's one since the last one was sorta like an intro but oh well XD
Anyway, I actually like this chapter. It was fun to write (oh, like the first one wasn't ) and Marik is in character at the END at least. But hey, a baby brother HAS to tease his sister, right? No Bakura here yet though, but he's comming first thing in the next chapter ;)
Hope you like it and please review! Adios!
Another typical saturday morning in Domino; the sun slowly rising above the tall buildings, casting it's warm glow on the yet not fully awake city.
Through the window of an apartment on the west side of town, the day's first sunrays fell upon Marik Ishtar, sprawled out in between his purple bedsheets in all his topless glory, and groaned in discomfort as the golden light hit his face.
It wasn't that Marik didn't like the sun or anything. Hell, he loved the damned sun, normally, but it was just that it's fairly difficult to love it when you're lying in bed with a massive hangover and its bright freaking light is practically blinding you and causing your head to ache... well, more than it already does. The egyptian whined, silently cursing all alcoholic bevarages.
Oh Ra... what did I drink last night, fucking gasoline...?
Rubbing his tired eyes with one hand and using the other as support, the blonde sat up in the large bed, slowly taking in his surroundings. Doing so, he realised something that made his left eye twitch dangerously.
... More importantly, how the fuck did I end up back in my apartment?
A cup of coffee, a shower, and plenty of asprin later, the egyptian began to recall the events of the previous night. Lying down on the livingroom couch wearing his favourite lilac bathrobe with his legs dangeling over the edge, he could vaugely remember doing a tap-dance on one of the dinnertables at the hotel together with Ryou and Yugi's grandpa... The rest was all in a haze. He promptly smacked himself at the memory; It didn't exactly help with the headache caused from the hangover, but really, in moments like these what else can you do but facepalm?
Never again, do you hear me, Marik? Never again, do you understand you stupid motherfu-
Marik thoughts were interrupted by a ringtone that cut his head in half. Or at least, that's how the hungover egyptian experienced it. At the speed of light, the blonde got off the couch and sprinted to the phone in the hallway, desperate not to let go past the first ring. Snatching the phone from its holder, he let out a sigh of relief before awnsering.
"Marik Ishtar speaking."
"Oh, good morning Marik!" a voice he would recognize anywhere spoke on the other end. Marik smiled softly.
"This is Ishizu by the way," his sister added quickly and he let out a small, happy (though a bit pained) laugh.
"I know, I kinda know your voice now after, oh what is it now, soon to be nineteen years?" Ishizu huffed on the other end, pretending as if the comment had offended her.
"Where did you get such a smart mouth, you little rascal? No, don't awnser that Marik, it's a rethorical question." Marik pouted.
"You're no fun, sis."
"Indeed I'm not. And speaking of things that aren't fun, I just called to remind you that you have to go to our house later today and pick up Milo. And don't forget to water the plants once every week while we're gone like you did last time, Marik." The egyptian glared at the phone for a good while before finally awnsering slowly with emphasis:
"Those plants had it comming..."
Ishizu sighed on the other end, but it was an amused sigh.
"Just don't forget about Milo, okay? That's what's important here. It sure was nice of you to take care of her until we get back though Marik, I really apriciate it." Marik grinned.
"No problem. I like Milo. We'll have loads of fun together!" Ishizu chuckled.
"Marik, she's a cat!" Her brother snorted, sounding very offended.
"You just don't appriciate her like I do." Ishizu laughed out loud at this.
"Fine, fine. Just don't forget about it okay? Oops, gotta go, we're getting on the plane now! Bye bye Marik, don't get into too much trouble while we're gone!" The younger sibling chuckled sinisterly before teasingly purring into the phone:
"Oh no, I'll be a good boy."
"Mm-hm. Good like the time you set the house on fire?" Marik groaned.
"Ra, Ishizu, that was like, ages ago! Let it go already!"
"Marik, it was eight months ago."
"Same thing!"
"Right. Well brother, we'll see eachother in a month then! Bye!" Marik snickered, feeling the insane need to put in just a tiny comment right here-
"Bye sis, don't go too hard on Rishid now! And make sure you use protection, sweetheart! I don't feel like being an uncle just yet!"
"GOODBYE, Marik!"
A 'click'-sound was heard on the other end as Ishizu hung up on him. Marik giggled in a rather childish fashion. Teasing his elder sister never got boring. With a smile on his face, Marik put the phone down and went back into his bedroom to search for something to wear, because seriously, you don't go outside wearing nothing but a freaking bathrobe.
Not even in Japan you don't.
Because apparently there is a slight difference between a kimono and a bathrobe.
Marik found that out the hard way.
The egyptian finally decided on a plain pair of tight black jeans and a long-sleeved lilac silk shirt that matched his eyes, which he only buttoned up halfway due to the warm weather. He had already gotten his hair fixed after his shower, but felt the need to double-check now that the outfit was complete. Looking at himself in the full-body mirror in the bedroom, he decided he looked fine. Not fine enough to go out clubbing exactly, but fine enough to walk out the door.
As he looked into the mirror, Marik's thoughts wandered back to the previous night. Really, how had he ended up back at his place? Somebody must've brought him there; he had been way too smashed to find his way back last night, and the hotel they had held the wedding party at was halfway across the city from his apartment - kinda long way to go by foot.
Especially when you can barely even stand up straight, much less walk down a street.
Finally, Marik shrugged. Weirder things have happened. But still, it was frustrating. Marik was, after all, a control freak. He didn't like not being fully aware of the situation, and yet here he was, unable to recall what the hell he had done last night.
No control whatsoever.
Well I could always try asking the neighbour on the way out, Marik thought with another shrug before walking out back into the livingroom.
Otherwise, I'll just give Yugi a call. I swear, that kid is immune to alcohol...
Grabbing his keys from the coffee table, Marik put on his now a bit worn-out black leather jacket and walked out the door, contemplating weather or not he should take his motorcyckle to Ishizu and Rishid's today. With the hangover and all... although it was progressively getting better, Marik noted with glee.
As he closed the door behind him, Marik couldn't help but marvel at how quiet the apartmentbuilding was this morning. To his great vexation, Marik had some pretty noisy neighbours, and although the ones on his floor were relatively calm - the rest were most certainly not. Especially that jerk what's-his-name-again downstairs... Niigata Hiruko, that's it! Fucking neighbours. Always playing death metal so fucking loud he wouldn't be surprised if someone from the apartment-building next door came to complain; fighting with their roomate or sagnificant other... or just drilling holes in the wall for no bloody good reason other than pissing everybody else in the house off. Really, they were just... idiots and assholes, the whole lot of them.
Now, Marik wasn't really much of a people person to begin with, (goes without saying) and these neighbours of his were driving him insane, slowly but surely. If only he had his millenium rod...
... he would stab them repeatedly in the eyesocket while laughing manically as they begged him for mercy.
Which was why the silence was so refreshing to the egyptian. A small, yet content smile graced his features as he began walking down the staircase to the first floor.
"Oi, egyptian, you got some last night or what?" a voice called out to him. Marik froze. Crap. He wasn't nearly drunk enough to deal with his idiotic neighbours right now... Taking a deep breath, the blonde slowly turned to face the positively insanely irritating conversation he knew by experience would follow after being adressed this way.
... And after seeing the person that had adressed him, Marik felt just as sick as he had waking up this morning.
Fuck. It's that bloody bastard downstairs Niigata again...
"I don't see how that's any business of yours," Marik replied coldly. Niigata laughed.
"Oh, come on now it's no secret! We all knew you swang that way!"
Marik felt his eye twitch for the second time this morning.
Urge... to kill... rising...!
"And what, exactly, gave you that impression?" he hissed through his clentched teeth, unable to restrain his temper anymore. Niigata obviously didn't notice and let out a dramatic sigh.
"You want me to write you a list? Dude, take a look in the mirror you wear friggin earrings for fuck's sake!" Marik was gnashing his teeth at this point, but his neighbour paid it no mind.
"And last night you came stumbeling in here high as a house in the arms of this weird white-haired dude, I mean seriously-"
"Wait-what?"
White-haired dude...? Could that be Ryou he's referring to?
Niigata looked slightly puzzled at first.
"I said you came in high as a – OOOOH" his face lit up in realization, and an look of understanding came over his features.
"I get it you were that wasted, okay I hear you. Alright, I'll throw you a bone, mate – the guy was around your height, really long white hair, a bit messy too, couldn't catch the colour of his eyes though. Around the same age as you too."
Marik sighed in relief. He had been right. Now that he knew it had been Ryou taking him home last night he could rest easy. But first he needed to take care of the neighbour's dumb misunderstanding of the situation.
Becuase Marik wasn't fucking gay.
Seriously.
"Oh, I know who that is. Friend of mine, actually. But I'll have you know that, unfortunatly for you, he isn't gay and neither am I. Nothing. Happened. Last night. Got it?"
I'll kill him one day, I swear...
Niigata looked a bit taken aback by the egyptians sharp tone but finally nodded.
"Okay, whatever. But, I mean it's totally cool with me ya'know I got nothing against gay guys and shit, ya'know?" If looks could kill the man would've died on the spot.
"Err, o-okay I'll just go on back in now..." he stuttered, slowly backing away from the not-entirely sane egyptian. Marik snorted out a "Yeah, that's what I thought" before he turned on his heel and walked down the last staircase to floor zero, through the doorway and out on the street. Gods, he needed to get a new apartment...
Inhaling the fresh morning air, however, Marik felt his anger fade and a faint smile replaced the frown. Afterall, with the exception of his neighbours, Marik had all he could ever wish for. He had family and good friends supporting him in everything, and he was about to begin his second year of college this fall – something he actually looked forward too. Well, go figure since he was in the top three in his grade, but still! He had his own apartment and a freaking motorcyckle for fuck's sake, really the only thing he didn't have was a girlfriend. It bothered him a little, but since he'd never found a girl interesting enough to go through the trouble of asking her out, it wasn't really that big a deal. What was kind of a big deal was that he due to this was still a virgin. It wasn't like he was saving himself or anything... he just really wanted his first time at least to be with someone special. After that it didn' matter, then he'd just sleep with anyone he felt like but until then...
Until then, he'd wait.
Walking down the street Marik listened to the sounds of the awakening city. Storeowners were starting to open up their shops; people were lazily beginning to crawl out of their apartments, partly still asleep. Marik decided he'd take the bus today; he didn't like driving with a hangover since it lowered his concentration. And after the crash he was in last year, well... let's just say he'd gotten a lot more careful in traffic. Not because of the broken arm and ribs, but because Ishizu can be quite scary when she wants to. Marik shivered at the memory of the look in his sister's eyes after confessing he'd had a drink or two before getting up on his bike that night.
Women are scary... Shit, I really do sound gay, no wonder that stupid neighbour thinks I'm queer!
Marik let out a sigh as he reached the bus stop and went to check the bus table. Next one would arrive 9:11. Marik pulled out his cellphone to look at the time; the screen showed 9:08. Good. Only three minutes left then.
Brushing a few strands of hair from his face, Marik stuffed the phone back into his pocket – or, he was about to, before it rang. Checking the display, the blonde raised an eyebrow. Secret number.
Meh. Might as well awnser anyhow.
"Marik Ishtar."
"..."
"... Hello?"
Someone was breathing on the other end, he could hear it clearly. Now he was getting annoyed.
"Hello? Is there anyone there?" Still no reply. Just breathing. Marik gritted his teeth.
"Look punk, if you got something to say to me, say it!" Silence again. Marik was just about to hang up when-
"Nah." Marik's left eye twitched.
"What?"
"Don't feel like it."
Click.
Quiet, no breathing. Marik removed the phone from his ear and looked at it in disbelief.
"Okay seriously, what the fuck was that all about?" he shouted at it, irritated, confused and, actually, a bit frightened. For starters, he wasn't the type of guy to give out his number to just anyone, only a few select people had it. Sure, it might've been just a prank call, but something told him that that wasn't it. And there was something else, and that was what was truely so unnerving; He recognized that voice. He couldn't quite place it, but he knew he had heard it before. Damnit, why couldn't he seem to remember?
As the egyptian got on the bus, Marik was thinking so hard it actually hurt (or maybe it was the hangover haunting him again) before a familiar voice called out:
"Marik! Wow, you're already up? And here I thought you'd be lying in bed until tomorrow morning!" Looking up, Marik came face to face with a grinning Anzu. The egyptian raised an eyebrow.
"Eh? Anzu? What are you doing in this part of town?"
This of course, was merely a polite way of saying "what the fuck are you doing here, leave me the hell alone", but she of course didn't know that. Marik just didn't like Anzu, he had no reason to. She was annoying as hell, loud and obnoxious. How the heck Yugi managed to get a crush on her before the pharaoh came along was beyond him...
"Oh, I was just checking up on Mai-san, she was almost as wasted as you when she left. She's sound asleep thanks to a little help from these babies," Anzu smiled and held up a bottle of white pills that Marik hoped were sleeping pills.
"You seem to be doing fine, though. You gotta tell me your secret!" she laughed, and Marik mustered a smile.
"Asprin and coffee. And lots of it." Anzu giggled.
"Come on Marik, sit here with me! Don't be shy! So, what are you doing out this early then?" the girl asked curiously. Marik shrugged.
"Picking Ishizu's cat up and watering the plants... or not. We'll see about that last one..." Marik put on a sour expression and put his finger to his chin, appearing to be in deep thoughts. Anzu laughed.
"I'm on my way to the dance studio myself, so I'll get off in a few stops. But you'll have to sit here for awhile, am I right? Rishid and Ishizu's house is pretty far from here." Marik nodded.
"Mm-hm. That's true, but it sure beats driving hungover."
"Hm, good point there, Marik... Oh, oops next one's mine, better get up! I'll see you later, Marik!" The egyptian watched the young dancer bouncing off the buss, eager to get her practice done, and was actually a bit taken aback by her enthusiasm. A sting of jealousy hit him, and he wished he too could be as passionate about something as she was about her dancing. After the pharaoh left, Anzu had devoted herself completely to the studio, and she'd gotten good. Very good in fact, even Marik had to admit that.
The egyptian crossed his arms and stubbornly looked out the window. He'd admit the girl had talent, but that was as far as he went.
But now, without Anzu to distract him, Marik's thoughts begin to wander back to the strange phonecall from earlier. And that voice... why was it so familiar? Unable to find his awnser, the egyptian tilted his head back and groaned in defeat.
This is by far one of the weirdest days of my life.
And Marik had no idea how right he was.
This was only the beginning.