Marik didn't bother going to their afternoon lecture.
Instead, he stayed in his room.
Brooding.
Plotting.
Why had what Yugi said stung him so much?
He hated it here.
No one wanted him here.
Master Yami wouldn't care if he simply disappeared.
He'd be happier with just Yugi.
Marik was never a good student to begin with.
So… Why was he here?
All these thoughts swarmed around in his head.
It had never been his choice to become Yami's apprentice.
He had never wanted this life.
It had all been his sister's doing.
His beautiful, older sister.
He had always admired and loved her.
She always knew what she was doing.
She was always right.
Never wrong.
She always did what was best for the family…
It was her idea.
This was the life she wanted for Marik.
At first Marik was excited about it.
He had always liked the idea of learning to use magic and many other things.
Power.
He liked the idea of having power.
But that soon changed when he learned that he'd be separated from his siblings.
He didn't want that.
He was so terrified of that.
The idea of being alone with a strange man in a big, empty building scared him more than anything.
And he hadn't seen his family since.
Even though Master Yami tried to show kindness towards him in anything they did,
Marik hated him for taking his family away.
He absolutely despised him.
He hated the man with all his heart.
He'd be hard on his teacher completely on purpose.
Make things difficult for the man.
Let him know how much he hated him.
Marik clenched his teeth together as he laid down on the soft bed.
And then there was Yugi.
Marik had been Yami's only apprentice for at least six years or more.
Yugi came a year ago.
Yami had found him all alone on the streets,
And being the kind-hearted soul he is, he took the young boy in as a second apprentice.
Yugi didn't have to go through any of the painful procedures of becoming a student that Marik did.
He was simply accepted.
Just like that.
And Yugi loved it here.
He was happy being here in this place.
Yugi was truly grateful.
Before Marik came here, he had everything.
Before Yugi came here, he had nothing.
And Master Yami loved Yugi.
It made Marik sick.
What bothered him wasn't that Yami liked Yugi more than him,
No, what bothered him was that Yugi made Yami happy.
Seeing his master smile so much,
So happy to be alive.
It filled Marik with pure rage.
Ever since Marik was forced to be in this place,
The only thing that kept him sane was his master's misery.
But now his master was so happy…
There was nothing for him here.
That was it.
He had to get out of here.
Now.
"M-Master Yami?" Yugi peeked his head meekly into Yami's office.
"Hm?" Yami got up from his seat and rushed over to the smaller boy, "Yugi, is something wrong?"
Even though the master looked troubled, himself, he instantly dropped everything to see what was wrong with the boy.
"Oh…" Yugi had the most shameful look on his face, "It could be nothing. I'm sorry, Master."
"If it were nothing, you wouldn't have felt the need to come." Yami gave a weary smile, "Now, tell me what's wrong."
Yugi sighed, "…I'm worried about Marik."
Master Yami gave him a strange, hard-to-make-out look, "Did something happen?"
Yugi looked down at his feet, obviously uncomfortable about speaking of Marik. "W-We… Got into a fight today."
A worried look came over Yami in a flash, but he motioned Yugi to continue.
"A-And I haven't seen him since. He locked himself in his room and won't talk to me or anything."
"I see…" Yami nodded when Yugi finished.
"I hope Marik's okay…" Yugi spoke quietly, "If he hurts himself because of something that I said…"
Yami put a hand on his student's shoulder, "Marik will be alright, don't worry about him."
Yugi blinked, "But Master, aren't you worried?"
Yami smiled, pulling the boy into a tight embrace. "Of course, though I know better than to doubt my student."
Yugi returned the gesture and left for the door. "Thank-you, Master Yami!"
After Yugi left, Yami settled down back into his desk.
However, this only lasted a moment or so before Yugi threw the door open in a wave of panik.
"Master, Marik's gone!"