Wow, it's been quite some time since this was updated, hasn't it? Sorry about that – but this chapter gave me some trouble. In the end, it didn't turn out quite like I wanted, but it'll have to do. Thank-you all for putting up with me and I hope you enjoy Part 8.
Also, Rishid is Odeon, if you're only familiar with the English Version.
Edit 7/19/07: I tried to tone done the ooc of this chapter, but it's still mostly there. I do assure you – Chapter 9 will feature everyone back in character. XD
Part 8. Rishid.
"Master Malik?" Rishid scanned the various guests sitting contently at their tables at the small coffee shop. He looked down again at his two steaming drinks and once again viewed the empty table before him. At least it was Master Malik who paid for the coffee, even if he was too lazy to go get it himself.
Rishid knew he shouldn't have gotten up this morning when he realized he had been forgotten by Master Malik. He sighed and set the drinks down on the table and sat to take a sip of his own steaming beverage. A few quiet sips would calm him down. Master Malik was always telling him he acted like a mother hen anyway. Rishid stared at the untouched coffee cup and added some cream out of habit. It wasn't his fault whenever he left Master Malik alone he got into trouble. I mean, really, he hasn't changed all that much from his 'take over the world' days. He stirred the two liquids together and watched them blend into a creamy chocolate color.
It was here when a sliver of silver resting on the ground caught his attention. Reaching down for it, Rishid found it to be a single white hair. He pondered it for a moment and ran it back and forth between his fingers. He didn't need a genetics lab to know who's hair this belonged to. There was only one white haired psycho that Master Malik would run off with. He hoped. Imhetep help us all if he would run off with someone else. Actually, help us even if he did run off with Bakura. After all, that boy was a bad influence.
Mother hen instinct took over a this point and Rishid rose to the challenge. After cleaning up the plates of course, a lifetime as a servant hadn't worn off him yet. Damn.
He was lucky that there was a phone booth about two steps from the café, it would make finding Bakura's address easier. He whistled a happy tune as made his way to the helpful book. After looking briefly looking down column B he was able to locate a one Ryou Bakura's apartment. He was fairly surprised it was actually listed under the child's name, but who was he question the will of Ma'at?
Rishid was also relieved that the apartment complex was close by to the coffee hut, as it would only take him about twenty minutes to reach the building if he took his time walking. He smiled to himself when he realized that this would not be as big of an issue as he had thought. He would simple walk down to the building, grab Master Malik, politely of course, and take him home to Mistress Isis. She always knew what to do with him when he refused to listen to his "big brother." You would think after the whole evil half consuming him he would have learned his lesson about listening to faithful old Rishid.
He was making his way down the path when he heard the soft pitter patter of little feet. It made him feel warm and fuzzy inside to think of cute little critters running around and being joyful. Rishid turned slowly to look down at a pint sized Pomeranian that had just started to yip at him. He smiled, but refrained from petting the dog. The street sign caught his eye and realized he was only about a block away from Bakura's home. Rishid waved happily to the puppy before attempting to turn around.
Or at least until he heard the bark. He looked down and confirmed it was not from the Pomeranian. It was much too deep, menacing, and vicious. Besides, the Pomeranian's mouth didn't budge. If Ma'at liked him, it was merely someone's television set blaring too loudly. In the middle of the street. If she didn't like him, there was a Doberman, Pit Bull, or Rottweiler growling behind him.
Would you look at that? It was a Great Dane. He briefly wondered what he did to piss Ma'at off. He smiled at the dog and took a step back accidentally kicking the Pomeranian he had forgotten about. What came about after this went by much too quickly for him to remember completely, but he was sure the little bitch had ripped his pants and the big dog had taken a chunk of his rear out. That couldn't have tasted good. However, Rishid had little time to care as he sprinted wildly in the opposite direction of the apartment complex. Maybe he could run around the block and avoid them.
Nope. They were still chasing him and had recruited a buddy or two. He didn't know the breeds of those two new ones, but they were bigger than the Dane, that's all that mattered. They needed names so he could curse them later. He'd call the Dane, Hamlet. The Pomeranian was now Kate, while he'd name the other two dogs Yugi and Yami because he knew this was somehow their fault down the line and he couldn't remember anymore Shakespeare characters. Stupid dogs, this is why they worshiped cats. Cats reminded him of Master Malik, selfish and too lazy to help. Better yet, too lazy to chase a poor man down the street with a gang of buddies.
A sign of hope appeared when he spotted the apartment building, he'd made a full circle around the block. Rishid leaped for the first high point he saw in the yard, which turned out to be a rather tall tree. "Thank Geb!" After scrambling to the first set of branches, he climbed one more flight to hide himself in the foliage. If the dogs were stupid they'd forget he was there.
After about three hours, Rishid had noticed the stupid mongrels had a system of guard duty going. First Yami and Kate would leave for about thirty minutes leaving Hamlet and Yugi watching him. When they had returned, they'd have food and the other two would eat before running off themselves. He wanted to cry, but he'd rather not hear the barking again. And more than that he wanted some pants. His pair had gotten caught on one of the first branches and torn completely. Kate took great pride in shredding it beyond recognition. He settled himself further into his branch chair that he had found very uncomfortable for the tenth time. It was going to be a long day.
Make that night. It was only another hour before sunset, the sky was already turning red from the disappearing orb. If the Gods had any mercy the sun would not set until the dogs had left.
Curse them. Curse them all! Curse Aten, Bastet, Benu, Buto, Kheper, Ra, and Sia. Double curses to Atum for not listening to his silent pleas. He'd regret that string of madness later, but for now he was calmed by Nut's glittering stars. Rishid decided that the dogs weren't leaving for now and could only hope they'd be gone by morning. He was about to curl into the tree to try and get some sleep when he heard it.
"Bakura!" He heard the familiar whining and leaned out of the branches towards it. The dogs growled, but there was no mistaking that voice!
"What Malik?" There was a pause. "Stop grabbing! I told you no!"
"Bakura!"
"No!"
Rishid wished he could see better so he could stop Min from working on Master Malik! Master Malik was never good with liquor. How did Rishid know he was drunk? The bottle of Captain Morgan's that Bakura was holding out of reach was a good tip. He stuck with his earlier theory. Bad influence and under the influence all in one. There was only one thing to do in this case.
"Help!" He tried to make his cries audible over the sounds of barking. He added the names Hamlet, Kate, Yugi and Yami to his curse list.
Bakura stopped walking just short of the door and let Malik slam into him and in his drunken stupor hit the pavement soon after. A quick look at a bunch of yelping dogs knocked his thief senses into gear. His first instinct was to see what they were barking at, just like any other hot blooded voyeur at heart.
"Bakura," Malik tried to pull himself up using Bakura's pants as a lever. "I thought you said we were going to find some girls?"
"Later." Bakura kept his eyes on the tree to see an interesting sight. Well, well, well. Look what we got here.
Got what, Bakura? Sam muttered. He just wanted to go back to sleep, but if it caught Bakura's curiosity it couldn't be a good thing.
None of your business.
Rishid waved his arms and nearly fell out of the tree in his attempts to get Bakura to come help him. He had shadow magic! He could beat up the dogs easy! All it would take was a good monster summon and these dogs would wish they had never met this face-tattooed Egyptian!
Bakura cocked his head to one side and blinked. Rishid, in a tree, with no pants, surrounded by barking dogs. Not that it was his business, but if the pants were anything to go by, than Rishid too wanted to get laid tonight. He shuddered at the thought of Rishid being kinkier than him, if the dogs were anything to go by. He took a sip of his drink.
"What'cha lookin' at, Bakura?" Malik clung helplessly to his shoulder, no longer being able to support himself let alone notice Rishid in the tree.
"Me!" Rishid shouted and clung to a branch to hang off. He kicked at Yami who had gotten too close in a leap. "Come help me!"
"Nothing, Malik." He smirked at Rishid. "Let's go inside."
"Damn you thief!" Rishid collapsed against the tree. Sleep. He needed sleep. He'd deal with the thief later. Then the rain started.
This time, Rishid cried.
Rishid quietly thanked Harakhti for bringing the sun and getting rid of the rain. However, more curses to Ma'at because those dogs were still there. He made up his mind. Rishid was a man. He could take this like a man. So, he did the manly thing and took this opportunity to jump out of the tree making sure to land on Hamlet's head. He laughed when the dog yelped. That was for the rump bite. Rishid sprinted for the door of the apartment complex, long coat flowing behind him. By the time he reached the door he had suffered two more bites and a bruised elbow. Not too bad, and he thanked Sepa for making sure his wild animals weren't aided by a locked door. That would have just been cruel. A sigh and a quiet prayer to Nehebukau for healing (okay, so it wasn't a snake or a scorpion bite! Close enough.) before starting down the hallway looking for the elevator.
"Pervert!" Rishid jumped at the shrill voice from behind him.
He turned in time to see a purse slam into the tattooed side of his face before seeing the skirt of an old woman fly behind her apartment door. Okay, he could take a hint. He needed pants. Luck was on his side as he turned to see an open door just down the hall. A quick peak inside and he was favored by a pair of pants sitting on the couch. They were hideous; some weird combination of pink and green striped silk pants. He sighed, if he was going to sink to stealing something, he at least hoped it'd be worth the effort. Whatever, he should be happy they fit at least. Though, he knew he'd never live it down from Master Malik. He pulled his coat tighter around himself and continued his way down the hall silk pants swishing happily against his legs. Rishid was happy that they put names next to the numbers on the doors, if they didn't he never would have found Bakura's apartment so quickly. He knocked on the door and growled when he didn't receive an answer.
Screw etiquette. Rishid invited himself into the apartment…only to find the apartment empty it seemed. He huffed and wondered briefly just what Ma'at still had in store for him when he noticed the bottles on the floor. He picked one up, shook the contents in the bottom lightly, and took a swig.
He deserved it.
After his nerves were settled with the help of a strong drink, or two, Rishid took a good look around the apartment for some clue as to where his charge and his bad influence of a friend could be at. He double checked all of the rooms just to make sure they weren't hiding and he knew that white haired bastard had seen him in the tree last night. Rishid hit the wall when he checked the last room. All that was there was a game table set up with some diorama and a newspaper clipping with something circled in red.
Wait.
A closer inspection revealed a sale for that Monster World game at the mall neatly marked with the red ink. A quick check on the time for the sale compared with a check for the time on the wall and the math fit! Rishid took one last swig and decided not to spend any more time than necessary in this apartment. He pulled at the silk pants to try and get them to fit better on his way out.
In the meantime, Mr. Jacobs on the first floor was singing praises that Aunt Gertrude's hideous pants she had bought him for Christmas that one year had gone missing.
The mall was loud, crowded and confusing. Rishid held his head as he checked a map in an attempt to look for this damn game store. After about five minutes looking, he finally found it and hoped Master Malik appreciated all his efforts! Much to his dismay however, Malik was no where to be seen. He did however spy the pharaoh and Bakura, which told him Malik was probably here at one point. He took a moment to glare at Bakura for causing all of this trouble before thinking. Malik had to be somewhere around this place, but Rishid assumed that he'd stay close to Bakura. He rather liked that boy for some odd reason.
"I guess he already left." Rishid sighed and turned away. Maybe Malik had gone off somewhere else in the mall. That boy always was a sucker for new fashion. Rishid stopped outside of a small game shop as he caught the sight of a familiar blonde head. It was that Jonouchi boy! His friend was with him, and there was some other boy hanging around. There was someone in the way so all he could catch was the top of a very sandy blonde head. And were those golden dangling earrings he could see from the corner!
"I just love your pants! They look exactly like a pair I got my nephew."
Rishid was stopped from his march towards the shop by a small old lady blocking his path. He looked over her head to see that familiar blonde mop start walking away and he cursed a few more of his gods while he was at it. "Excuse me, Ma'am."
"Where did you get them?" She refused to get out of Rishid's way. "I got mine at a department shop."
"I," Rishid paused for a moment. "Thrift store."
"Really? Someone threw those out?"
"I can't imagine why, now if you'll excuse me."
"What thrift store? Maybe it was one of the nicer ones." She smiled and tried pulling up Rishid's coat to get a better look. "My, those look exactly like the pair I bought. Can I see the tag?"
"Could you please let go!" This was absurd. He was six foot something and this four foot nothing lady was giving him a hard time! After about five to six minutes of struggling, Rishid managed to get out of the woman's clutches, but he had lost his target! He nearly cried on the spot, but he persevered. He could handle this situation just fine.
Two ice cream cones later, of the chocolate flavor variety, and Rishid took one last look around the mall. All he found was the Pharaoh sitting next to a fountain or something. Rishid knew it was petty, but he knew somewhere along the lines it was either all Bakura's fault, or all Yami's fault for encouraging this whole mess. He tried to keep from glaring, but as long as the man wasn't looking his way he might as well make use of it. He imagined Yami as the barking dog he'd seen earlier and chuckled.
Rishid left the mall soon after and realized it was late in the afternoon and he was still hungry. However, Master Malik had all the money. Rishid grumbled and started walking in the direction of his hotel. He was sleeping in a bed tonight and nothing was going to stop that. He whistled as he walked down the street before bumping into a rather rough looking teenager. "Oh, I'm sorry."
"Yeah, you'll be sorry. Nobody messes with me."
Rishid ducked when the kid took a swing at him. "Please, this violence isn't necessary. I apologized!"
"You hit me first! Take your licks like a man!" The kid took another chance at a punch before calling some friends. "Hey guys!"
"You have got to be kidding me." Rishid held his head in his hands when he was jumped by the five or six brats. He briefly heard someone in the background screaming 'Police!'
At least the police station had beds. Rishid rubbed his shoulders as he walked out of the station. They had kept him for a day and a half for rowdy behavior. That was all Rishid wished to recall of the past two days and he left it at that. At least they believed him after he had cried enough in front of them. He must have spilled his entire life story crying over the mess that brat has left him in. No, he wouldn't think about it. On that note, he ignored the laughter coming from the station as he left.
Taking a breath and wiping the grime of his face with some water from a fountain, Rishid straightened and started walking. His destination: A certain apartment where a certain white-haired bastard was holding his brat of a master hostage. He was a spoiled son-of-a-bitch; but he was Rishid's spoiled son-of-a-bitch.
The dogs were waiting for him outside of the apartment but he didn't care. He had enough of this entire fiasco and there was nothing going to stand in his way. "Move." The four dogs, surprisingly enough, weren't stupid. They moved and allowed Rishid to bust into the doors of the apartment complex. His coat swished behind him and the green and pink pants swayed against his legs.
Upon reaching the apartment door, he kicked it open as hard as he could. He walked in to find absolutely no one around. Well, there was a dog there now tied to the door, but it sensed his bad mood and backed into a corner whining. His anger rose at the thought of missing that brat of a master again. But, that's when he heard it. The small muffling of voices in the other room. Rishid smiled when he realized success was close. He marched swiftly to the side room door and flung it open with all of his might.
"Hey, Rishid." Malik waved happily. "Where have you been?"
"Master Malik." Rishid looked at the large group of people sitting around the game table staring at him.
"Hey, um, Rishid, would you like to play too?" Sam asked. The more the merrier right?
You have no idea. Bakura snickered inside Sam's head.
"Yes, do play Rishid." Malik patted a spot on the floor where Rishid could kneel.
"Yes, Master Malik." Rishid willed himself not to explode in any way whether it be by anger or tears. Maybe cursing ever god in his pantheon over the past three days wasn't the wisest of decisions.
Ryou hummed quietly in the center of the floor. That Al fellow had given him instructions to clean the room, he even left a bucket of warm water and a scrub brush, but Ryou rather liked the new additions. Besides, what was the man going to do? Ryou sat up when the door swished open. A new guy walked in and picked up the bucket and cleaning supplies and walked out without a word.
"Are you sure you'd rather not cooperate with us, Ryou?"
Ryou looked up at the ceiling at the sound of the intercom system. That was new, usually the man came in and talked in person. "Not a chance. I don't trust you."
"Suit yourself, kiddo." Al sighed and flipped off the loud speaker. He turned to the man next to him and kept his face level. "Do it."
"But sir, isn't that almost torture?" The assistant hesitated.
"Drastic measures seem to be necessary." Al lit his cigar. "But don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
"Okay."
Ryou scoffed as the room went quiet and tapped the ground to listen to the echo. Who did that Al think he was anyway? What could he possibly do to Ryou? He laughed to himself and turned over. Nothing could be worse than what he'd put up with while Bakura was in his head. Ryou briefly wondered if the spirit was alright.
The lights turned off.
