Helllooo~ ^_^
Again, I'll be gone from June 6th to June 14th (on a church camp...), so no updates or review replys during that time~! D:
But yeah, I might (slim chance) update this once more before leaving. But seriously, don't count on it. :/
"Talking"
Emphasis on a word, two flashbacks are like this too
Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing except the plot that gets officially introduced in this chapter.
Warnings: Nada.
On a random note, thanks for the reviews on last chapter, guys! So MewMewRadish, kurinki, Nebelkind and RiverTear980~ ILU guys~ :'D *gives them cookies*
Special greetings:
MewMewRadish: Lol, an update just when you subscribed... XD
Nebelkind: Plot advance is go! YAYYY! OwO
I'll explain some things in the end, so you'd better read the author's note in the end...
After breakfast (which included some fruits and yoghurt, for future reference), Marik figured we could go ask Mai-san about something to do. Like, if the other kids had something cool planned and we could tag along.
They were planning to play hide and seek later, but I disagreed to be a part of the game. Marik tried to convince me to play, but I wouldn't do it.
I said that I have my reasons, and he gave up in the end.
But then Ishizu came. I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but she has a soft voice, a motherly kind with a tender edge to it. Marik and she (she and Marik? No, Marik and she. Whatever.) had some kind of an argument. At least I think it was an argument, since Marik sounded particularly unhappy about it. But they were using Egyptian to discuss about it, so I didn't understand a word.
Finally, after some more yelling, Marik gave up for the second time that day and walked over to me. He hugged me carefully and said that needed to go do something awfully important with Ishizu.
I don't know what gave it away, but after he unwrapped his arms from around me, he ruffled my hair and said, "Don't look so sad, Ryou. I'll be back."
I feebly held my pinky up, trying hard not to cry, since Marik didn't want me to look so sad. "Promise?"
"Promise." Marik agreed and entwined his pinky with mine.
And again Marik left., but this time he actually promised to be back.
So I waited.
While I was patiently waiting for Marik's return, days passed. And when enough days pass, they turn into weeks.
Mai-san offered to teach me more numbers, but I carefully turned her down. This only because Marik promised to come back, and Marik promised to teach me to count to hundred. I believe Mai-san understood this, because she didn't question my decision, teaching me some alphabets and kanji instead.
My name is spelled "R-Y-O-U." Marik's name has an R too. So naturally, I like R now.
Ryou is written with this funny kanji. Mai said it's like a sideways jackal head or... Something of the sort.. I didn't remember seeing it so I couldn't really tell.
And that particular kanji means completion. My mother must've liked me to name me like that... I liked the idea.
Then I ended up wondering if Marik liked me, too. Like my mum liked me? That sounded awkward. But...
"Do you want to be my friend?"
"I don't mind."
"I will nevernevernevernever complain about shopping again! Without shopping, we wouldn't have met! Yay shopping!"
"Mother told me... that you should show your feelings to the ones you trust."
"You care. You care and I'm happy. And I trust you so you can see it."
"You have to eat some with me someday, 'kay?"
"Promise."
Marik sure acted like he liked me. I didn't know what kind of liking it is, since I wasn't too familiar with liking in general. Marik liked strawberries... Because they were yummy. If he liked me, I hoped it wasn't because I was yummy. Or because I tasted like strawberries. For all I knew, he didn't even know what I tasted like...
...Back to kanji now...
The kanji for Bakura sounded so complicated that I forgot them right away. I hoped Mai-san wouldn't mind, since I did learn a lot of other things from her.
Weeks passed. And when enough weeks pass, they turn into months.
Marik isn't Japanese, so his name isn't written in kanji, but katakana. Yeah, those things that look like snakes. I've never really understood them, either.
Soon it was June, just summery enough for me to wonder if Marik had got the strawberries he had wanted. And if I hadn't believed in luck, fate, hope, destiny and all the other fluffy, cute and special fairytale things, I gained more faith in them that day, when I heard Marik's cheerful laughter, almost like my thoughts had somehow summoned him.
"Ryou! Why did I know I would find you here?"
"We met here, so I'm always here." I said simply.
Marik muttered something in what I believed what was an agreement, and grabbed my arm. "Let's go!" he said sing-song.
"Huh?" I questioned as he pulled me up, "Where?"
"You'll see." he said mysterically, and once again I could just hear his grin.
So I agreed to go with him. Even though I was wary of surprises, I trusted Marik more than I had ever trusted anyone else. Oh, and Marik had the weirdest conversations when it was all quiet. I thought that I should remember to tell him that someday.
"Do you like cucumbers?" he asked me.
I shrugged. "I guess they are all right. I like creampuffs. Oh, and did you get your strawberries?" I asked upon recalling his somewhat obsessive behavior towards the mentioned berries.
"Nope. I'm waiting..." my friend seemed to be thinking hard about something here, "Ishizu said that there's only six months until my birthday! Isn't that cool?" he suddenly changed the subject out of nowhere.
I was vaguely aware that six months was half a year, but I agreed anyways. "Yes, it's cool! When is your birthday, then?"
"December 23rd. Juuust before Christmas." I heard from his voice that he didn't really approve of the thought.
"Oh, so you celebrate Christmas too?" I questioned, referring to him being Egyptian and stuff.
"Yeah." he let the subject drop like that. "When's your birthday?"
"September 9th." I informed him. "Not that far, either."
"Awesome! I won't forget!" he promised. And I, too, made a mental note to not forget December 23rd.
Then he stopped and knocked on something. You know, knock-kno-kno-knock-knock, knock-knock-knock? Well, like that anyways. It was probably a door he knocked on, actually.
"I brought him!" Marik chirped, quite obviously referring to me when saying "him". Then he pulled me into a room with Ishizu and some kindergarten-adult-person inside and sat me in a chair like a little doll.
"Good afternoon, Ryou-kun." the kindergarten person said politely. Funny, I wasn't even aware that it was already afternoon...
I nodded. "Good afternoon." I thought his name was Kaiba or Koiba or something, but I didn't want to risk it.
I wanted to know if I was in trouble or something to have Marik drag me here, but it would've been a very rude question, so I avoided asking it, instead holding Marik's hand for mental support.
"Do you need his agreement on this?" Marik asked.
Some shuffling of papers.
"No, but it's always better that way." Koiba-san answered. Or Kaiba. The kindergarten person.
I was a bit confused; My agreement on what, exactly?
Marik poked my floorhead, effectually gaining my attention. "Do you want Ishizu to adopt you?" he questioned somewhat shyly.
Adopt? Like, I could get out of this place and live with Marik?
"Huh?" I asked dumbly to make sure I hadn't heard him wrong. Maybe I was just dreaming all this... Maybe Marik was actually somewhere else, sharing strawberries with some girl...
No, he wouldn't do that. We made a pinky promise.
"Marik is picky about his friends, and I've always wanted another little brother." Ishizu explained to me, "I've had the papers in for ages, but nobody has been found so far. And then, I leave Marik alone for a day and he befriends you, Ryou!" she giggled lightly, "Doesn't that sounds like fate to you?"
So me meeting Marik was fate? I kind of liked this thought.
I wasn't sure who the last question was pointed to (or if it was rhetorical), and I didn't even get the chance to answer it anyways, before Marik already continued for her.
"And I can be your guide dog if you want." the promise held such sincerity in it that it didn't even cross my mind that he would've meant it jokingly.
Here I managed to voice my thoughts. "You would do that?" I asked Marik, happier than words could describe. "You would be my eyes?"
"Yes." he agreed.
I didn't need him to make a pinky promise about the subject, because I knew he wouldn't let me down. "Yes." I repeated, "I would like that."
The kindergarten person handed me a pen (at least I think it was . "Then do sign this." he showed Marik the spot, and my Egyptian friend guided my hand holding the pen to the space. "Just doodle something." he whispered.
And I obeyed, drawing a random curvy line, just something to say "Ryou approves of this".
We left Ishizu and Koiba-san there to talk and probably fill some more papers.
"Now you won't need to come here ever again. How does it feel?" Marik was grinning again, I just knew it.
"Epic. I hated it here before you came around." I said honestly.
Marik seemed to agree with me on this, "Yeah, this isn't one of the nicest places, right?" I nodded, and he continued, "Home is much better. You can sleep with me."
It was quiet for a moment. I tried to find any signs that would verify if I was dreaming or not.
"You know what?" Marik asked me suddenly.
"Huh?"
"That was the important thing. Ishizu had a lot of paper work to get them to agree so we could keep you." Marik said, talking kind of like I was a stray puppy.
I felt tears well up in my eyes. Marik's special secret was that he and Ishizu wanted me to have a home?
"W-wh-what about the thing you murmured in my hair and promised to tell me about it later?" I shuttered.
Marik pulled me close, apparently trying to recreate the situation.
"Oh." he said, without letting me go. "I said 'I promise I'll get you out of here'."
I started crying silently. I just couldn't help it anymore.
"Ryou?" Marik asked. "Are you crying?"
"Yes." I replied meekly. "You care. You care and I'm happy. And I trust you so you can see it." I repeated his words perfectly.
"I'm glad you trust me." Marik said simply. "I'll try to be worth it. Now will you tell me why you wouldn't play hide-and-seek?"
I tried hard to disappear in Marik's arms, but I probably didn't try hard enough, since it didn't actually work. "My father played hide-and-seek with me. I hid, and he didn't come. Then I started feeling really dizzy... And there was something that smelled awful, and then I woke up and I was blind."
"Ryou" Marik cried.
I heard him, but I couldn't stop the flooding memories anymore. "Father was so mad... So, so mad. And then he died. And mother died too. And I was..."
"RYOU!" Marik cried again, tightening his grip on me. "Please... just stop... I'm sorry I asked you. I'm so sorry."
I came out of my daze to find Marik crying. "It's alright." I said reassuringly. "It wasn't your fault that it happened."
"And neither was it yours." Marik decided.
Acceptance. I smiled, and I know Marik smiled back.
"Ishizu will come out soon." I stated.
"I know."
"You should let me go."
"I won't. You are warm."
"You'll answer if she asks something." I giggled, thinking about the possible questions.
"Fair enough." Marik let me go, and frankly, I quickly found myself regretting ever even mentioning Ishizu.
"Any more secrets you want to share?" I asked him.
My best friend seemed to think about this for a while. "Maybe... What do you want to know?"
"Why are you waiting with the strawberries?"
Marik chuckled. "You are silly, Ryou. Don't you know?"
"You have to eat some with me someday, 'kay?"
"Oh." I really did feel silly now. Marik wanted to eat strawberries with me, so he waited patiently to see if Ishizu could adopt me.
"Yeah." Marik ruffled my hair affectionally, "Yeah."
"Marik! Ryou!" Ishizu called. "We can go now!"
"'Kay!" Marik said and stood up, taking my hand in his to pull me up too. "Come on, Ryou. We're going home."
I liked the word. "Home".
During the car ride, Marik taught me more numbers, from twenty-eight to fifty-six.
And Ishizu kept on commenting how happy she was that Marik had found a friend in me.
I was so happy about that too.
Once we were home, Ishizu, Marik and I agreed on where some small things would always be so I could find them too.
The toothbrushes were in the left corner of the small table in the bathroom, the first-aid kit was in the hallway, the phone was on the kitchen counter, stuff like that.
And then Marik took me to his room, which was up the stairs and left through the corridor, and showed me his belongings.
In reality, this meant he gave them to me and let me poke them. There aren't too many ways to show things to a blind person, after all.
Marik had a desk in his room, and he set most of the things there and let me learn their order.
A pencil case, a plushie cat, a book in hieroglyphs, my photo book...
We agreed to put my clothes in the right side of his wardrobe. Because it would've seriously bothered me if the toothbrushes were on the left, and Marik's room was on the left and my clothes were on the left, too.
Marik laughed at this and told me that I was weird.
I claimed that he was weird too, and he said that at least we were weird together.
Apparently Ishizu had prepared food meanwhile, because soon she called us down to eat.
"What are we eating?" I questioned.
"Don't worry, it's not some traditional Egyptian food, it's spaghetti. And tomato sauce." Marik informed me.
"Coooool, spaghetti is yummy!" I cheered gleefully.
"I know right?" Marik said as we sat down.
"Do you like it here, Ryou?" Ishizu asked me just a little worriedly.
I nodded eagerly, "Yes! It's really nice here!"
She let out a sigh. "That's a relief. I was worried if you'd feel weird in a place like this... Should you sleep in the guest room?"
And once again, Marik answered for me. "No! Ryou is sleeping with me!" he announced, hugging me more or less possessively.
Ishizu giggled at this. "I see."
"It's okay with you, right?" I asked, just to make sure, before nuzzling a little bit closer to Marik.
"Very much so. Now eat before your food gets too cold." Ishizu said happily.
If you think Ishizu seems off, it's just because she's really young too.
Hope you're happy now. It should've been pretty obvious from the beginning that Ishizu would adopt Ryou, but yeah, if it wasn't...
Ryou wasn't in a kindergarten at any point. He was a foster kid. :/
And Ryou's explonation is REALLY fuzzy. But he wasn't really there when it happened, so I guess I have to explain it...
Ryou's father was a bit ignorant, and left Ryou alone in town. There, this one bad man (10 points if you know who. It's really not that hard) drugged him and tried to threaten his father to give him money. But his father didn't care, and this person went into blindish rage and accidentally poisoned poor Ryou. And he took Ryou back to his home in regret, and killed Ryou's father later, so the little boy wouldn't make the connection.
Don't blame the bad man. I'd make him apologize to Ryou, but my Angsthipping never seems to work if... Certain people exist.
And don't blame me, but that's what happened. XD
Reviewwwww? owo