…
Chapter 7: Your Friend is Dead
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"Shit…"
"Turn it off!"
Marik stopped the tape, then tore it out of the VCR and smashed it against the wall.
Each of their cell phones rang.
"What does yours say?"
"Unknown caller."
"Same."
"Same."
After a few long seconds, Marik answered.
SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
… … …
When Fluffy entered the den, the first thing he saw was Marik, who was staring at something on the floor. Fluffy couldn't see what it was—Marik was in front of the couch, and Fluffy was approaching from behind it. Marik was turned slightly away—as Fluffy approached, he noticed that Marik was trembling.
"Aibou…"
Marik started, and spun to face his yami. His expression gave no hint of familiarity, and his face was spattered with blood. The front of his clothes was dyed crimson.
Fluffy hurried to Marik, but stopped when he rounded the couch.
On the floor around Marik's feet were mutilated, blood-drenched body parts that amounted to Honda, Duke, and Mai.
"Marik—"
"Your friend is dead." A sinister, self-satisfied grin had appeared on Marik's face.
"We have to get you out of here—" He tried to take hold of Marik's arm, but his hand was slapped away.
Marik rushed forward and swung out with his other hand, but didn't connect. When he let it rest at his side, Fluffy saw the dagger in Marik's hand, then felt the hot blood gushing from his throat, and collapsed.
Marik gathered the pieces of the broken video cassette and crammed them into his cargo pocket. Then he stepped over Fluffy to leave the room.
… … …
Ra-Chan and Bakura had taken the 91, which was a mistake—they'd both forgotten that it cruised along at snail's pace to stay on schedule. Baku-Chan had fallen asleep, and Ra-Chan was watching everything out the window—
Marik?
He pressed his forehead against the glass.
I could've sworn that was Marik's motorcycle. He was really flying, too.
He sighed and sat back.
No, there are lots of motorcyclists. Marik's probably still at Kaiba's place. Besides, the clothes were wrong.
Bakura shook himself awake with a panicky cry. He was gasping and sweating, his eyes wide and afraid.
"Are you alright?"
Bakura pinched himself in the arm, digging his short fingernails into the flesh. He pinched so hard that his hand started shaking.
"Stop!" Ra-Chan pulled his hand away. "Why did you do that?"
"You have to do me a favor. From this point on, if you see me asleep, wake me up."
"…"
"Please, Aibou."
After a short time, Ryou said yes.
… … …
Yami lifted the coffee mug to his lips and sipped thoughtfully, holding a sheaf of papers before his eyes. He glanced downwards and growled. There was a ring shaped coffee stain on Yugi's desktop. Before he could do anything about it, there was a knock on the door.
He made his way downstairs and opened the door to find Marik standing there wearing a black vinyl rain coat.
He smiled. "Konnichiwa, My Pharaoh. May I come in?"