Chapter Seven:
The Bakuras
POVs: Marik Ishtar
"Well, a newbie!"
That was the first time I heard Bakura's voice.
I would never think as he dragged me across the commons by my hair that we'd end up being best friends.
The son of Hermes strode up behind me as I checked out the cabins, wearing a bronze breast plate, and grinned at me.
There, I'd thought he'd kind of looked psycho.
He had long white hair that went part way down his back in spikes, with two standing up a little to create bat wings. His eyes were a dark brown that reminded me of wet sand, and he had a grin that screamed psycho.
He came right up to me and grabbed me by the hair, and started dragging me.
"I believe it's time for you to get the welcoming ceremony I have for you newbies." He said, laughing at the thought.
"Bakura!" Shrieked the voice of who I would later learn was named Ryou Bakura, and was Bakura's twin brother.
Ryou stalked his way across the commons.
"Let him go." He growled to his brother. Only on Ryou did I notice that they were British.
"Make me." Breathed Bakura to Ryou.
Ryou stood there for a second, unable to do anything.
Bakura kept dragging me, and I struggled.
Sure, I'd dealt with bullies before, but Bakura had the grip of someone who'd been fighting with a 2 foot long bronze sword for years.
But I didn't know that yet.
"Stop it." I muttered, "Stop it." Louder now, "STOP IT!"
My words seemed to echo.
Everyone stopped doing anything they were doing.
Bakura stopped pulling me.
"Now let go." I instructed.
He did as he was told, and I scrambled away before he could recover.
...
"I'm sorry about my brother," Said Ryou, coming up to me 7 minutes later when he found me hiding in the amphitheatre. He held out a hand, "Ryou Bakura."
"Marik Ishtar." I replied uneasily, taking his hand.
He tilted his head.
"Are you related to the Oracle?"
"She's my sister, actually... Half-sister."
He nodded.
"Must be interesting."
"Your brother seems more interesting."
"Bakura?" He huffed and sat down, "The bloody tosser thinks he can do whatever he wants. Thinks he's Zeus, or something. Don't think I don't love him, because I do. Sadly. Maybe I try too hard to get him to change. He's probably always going to act like a total, pardon my language, douchelord."
"Douchelord seems appropriate." I said, nodding.
Ryou sighed, and walked across the amphitheatre, grabbing a sword from the wall.
He twirled it, and threw himself at a dummy with grace and skill and viciousness you'd never expect from someone so child-looking.
He slashed and hacked, spinned and jumped. The dummy was in shreds, the head gone.
He gave a little chuckle, and looked at me.
"I'd never do that to an actual person, but... It's interesting to do to an inanimate object." He said, giving a nervous grin, "Sometimes I wonder what it'd be like to fight someone who could fight back, who was actually trying to kill me... It's not like that'll happen, but a guy's gotta dream."
"Could you show me how to do that? At least, at a simpler level?"
Ryou grinned.
"Sure."
...
I picked up pretty fast.
When Ishizu found me, Ryou and I were going at it hard, both of us covered in sweat and bleeding from a couple of grazes.
My sister just chuckled and shook her head, watching us.
Ryou disarmed me, and twirled the sword, sticking it into the ground.
"I win." He said, breathless.
We were both breathing hard.
"Hai, Ishizu." I said breathlessly, grinning at my sister.
"I told you you'd be good with a blade." She said, then laughed, "When he was 7, he started playing with knives, and threw one across the room. Went straight through our brother's ponytail and scared the crap out of him."
She laughed again.
"Of course, I got the strap for that." I muttered, my hands hurting at the memory.
My sister stopped laughing and looked at me sadly.
"We don't talk about that stuff, Marik. Okay?"
I nodded.
We never had, since we'd moved to America. We forgot those tombs, and we forgot everything that happened down there.
Ryou was looking a little confused, but did not question it.
"I believe it's time you two get down to dinner." Ishizu said, changing the subject quickly.
I hadn't noticed, but the sun was starting to go down.
A horn blew in the distance.
Ryou gave a little chuckle.
"I believe you'll sit with us tonight!" He said.
"How would you-"
"All undetermined campers stay and sit with the Hermes Cabin." Ryou said, "Hermes is pretty cool, won't smite you for sleeping in his cabin when you don't belong."
"He isn't undetermined." Ishizu said.
"Let me guess..." Ryou said, looking me up and down, "I'd say Aphrodite."
"And you're right." Ishizu said, grinning at me, "It's where he gets the effeminate beauty from."
"HEY!"
"It's true."
My sister smirked at me, something that rarely happened.
...
As soon as I entered the 'Dining Pavilion', wondering what would happen if it rained, all eyes turned to me.
There was a pink glow above me, and I wondered if someone lit my hair on fire.
But it was pink.
Chiron and the rest of the camp stared at me.
"What?" I asked, extremely confused.
"All hail Marik Ishtar, Son of Aphrodite, Goddess of Love and Beauty."