Hello everyone! Ugh, I know, it's been quite a looong time. And I really do apologize for that. There isn't a good excuse for how long it took me to get this chapter up, but allow me to explain regardless! Most of the reason is because I'm lazy. Some of it is also due to the fact that I started college, and getting settled in and whatnot took some time. Then I had some bad writer's block, and even when I got over it, I still never quite got into the feel for this chapter (as you may notice. I feel that it's a bit lacking). I also started watching a new anime, and got obsessed with that. Soo, some things happened, and it just took me a really long time to get around to writing this chapter. That being said, here it is for you now!
Disclaimer: Black-Neko-Chan does not own Yu-Gi-Oh, and probably never will. Just get used to that fact folks.
A relationship turned out to be something much more difficult to deal with than Marik would have assumed. There was the trouble of trying to explain to his siblings why he was always going over to Bakura's house now, or why every once in a while he came home with markings on his neck from when Bakura decided to randomly attack him. Most of these he was able to hide, but sometimes Isis noticed and, of course, made sure everyone else knew about them too. His brother and sister thought there was some girl he was sneaking off to see. Rishid had actually given him the pregnancy talk. Only Malik suspected the truth about where those marks were coming from.
Not only did Marik have to deal with his annoying family, but then there was Bakura himself. His boyfriend. Man was that strange to say. He really couldn't believe it. He was especially having trouble with the random attacks from Bakura that he had mentioned before. They always caught him by surprise. Like the attack he received the moment he knocked on the door of Ryou and Bakura's house.
Marik was standing at the door, waiting for someone to open it. He had just been over here yesterday after school, and the day before that too. He wondered if he should really be coming over every day like this. He and Bakura were together now, but did that really mean that they had to spend ever day together? He wanted to be with Bakura and to see him everyday, but he didn't want to be intruding either.
The door opened, and before Marik was quite aware what was happening, a white blur flew at him and adhered itself to his waist. He felt warm, familiar lips on his own, and a rather impatient tongue trying to push its way past his own lips. After he recovered from his shock over the sudden attack, Marik opened his mouth eagerly, and wrapped one arm about Bakura's waist. His free hand buried itself in white hair.
"Nice to see you too," Marik greeted when Bakura pulled away. The vampire grinned at him lewdly, showing off both sharp fangs and red eyes. He moved in for another kiss, but Ryou appeared in the doorway and dragged both of them into the house.
"No making out in front of the neighbors! Behave yourselves now!" Ryou scolded as he sat them both down on the small couch.
"Doubt they would have minded too much. Long as we put on a good show it would have been fine," Bakura smirked. He elbowed Marik in the side, whose face had gone a strange shade of red. Doing… that… with Bakura in front of his neighbors? Oh my…
"Marik? Are you okay? Your face has gone all red. Maybe your aren't feeling well? It is hot outside and it's a bit of a walk…" Ryou trailed off, sounding worried. Marik's already red face only worsened. Caught!
"I know! I'll go get you a glass of water. If you're hot, that has to be the best solution, right?" Ryou exclaimed. He hoped off his chair eagerly and headed into the kitchen. The very moment he was gone, Bakura took the opportunity to once again adhere their lips together. Marik hadn't even noticed the way his arms had snaked themselves around his waist, but now that Ryou was gone those arms tightened and pushed Marik right up against Bakura.
"Just what were you thinking about that made you so flustered?" Bakura questioned huskily in between kisses. He smirked as Marik blushed again and then lowered his head to the Egyptian's neck and began to kiss the sensitive skin there.
"N-nothing," Marik stuttered as his blush deepened. He moved his head to the side slightly and brushed his hair, giving Bakura easier access to his neck. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to relax under the pleasurable feeling.
"Liar," Bakura hissed, making Marik shiver.
"No, really, I-"
"Bakura! Marik!" Marik jumped away from Bakura the moment he heard his name being called (which was difficult to do, seeing as Bakura's arms were still wrapped around his waist). His face grew bright red when he saw Ryou standing in the doorway, looking at the two of them with a stern expression etched into his features. He was holding a glass of water in one hand, and the other was poised against his hip.
"Honestly you two! I can't leave you alone for a second before you're on top of each other again! Can't you please refrain yourselves? Doing such things like that, it's almost indecent!" Ryou scolded. Bakura smirked and quirked an eyebrow at his younger brother.
"Ryou, we're living in the twenty-first century now, remember? Everyone does things like this in public. And really, we're only doing it in front of you, and you can hardly be considered 'public,'" Bakura finished. Ryou glared and put the glass of water down on a table. Then he marched straight up to his brother and sternly looked him right in the eyes.
"Well that's because people in this century have no morals," Ryou started.
"Or you're just a prude," Bakura snickered. Ryou glared, but continued on without pause.
"Regardless of what you think, there are still many other things that the two of you could be doing instead of sitting on the couch the entire day eating one another's faces," He said.
"Nothing I can think of would be better," Bakura retorted, grinning evilly.
"How about a date? That's what normal couples do. Go see a movie, or take a romantic stroll, or get a bite to eat! Something!" Ryou suggested. Bakura laughed and rolled his eyes.
"Oh yes, that sounds like a brilliant plan," He uttered sarcastically. "'Here Marik, let's go out for dinner. You can get a sandwich and I'll go have a little run in the woods and see what I can find out there.' Wonderful Ryou, wonderful."
Ryou grimaced. "All right, that last one was rather distasteful. But you could still go out and do other things! Marik, wouldn't you like to do something other than sit on a couch all day?" Suddenly two sets of eyes were on him, and, to his perpetual disgust, he blushed again.
"Well… I wouldn't mind going on a date," He admitted nervously. He cursed himself mentally after realizing that yes, that very sentence had indeed come from his own mouth. What was happening to him? He was turning into a blushing schoolgirl with a crush! Meanwhile, outside of Marik's inner dilemma, Bakura was staring at him with a horrified expression on his face.
"You actually agree with him? I thought you were on my side!" He cried out in dismay. He withdrew his arms from Marik's sides in a hurry, causing said boy to look up at him.
"Well it would be nice to do something different once in a while," He pointed out. Bakura scowled, knowing he'd been beaten. Ryou smiled and Marik just sat there, wondering what this all meant now. So would they be going on a date? His attention was brought back to the two twins when he noticed the older one's sour expression abruptly split into a malicious grin as he looked at the younger. Now Ryou seemed weary.
"You know Ryou, I think a date would be a prefect thing for us to go on. We'll go see a movie. Doesn't that sound nice? But do you know what would be even better? If we were to turn this little outing into a double date. You can come along too, and Marik will bring that psycho brother of his along with him," Bakura suggested sadistically.
"Why Malik?" Marik asked, feeling like he was missing something here. Maybe it was the way Bakura and Ryou continued to look each other dead in the eyes, as if they were having a silent battle of wits that he wasn't a part of. Was that how twins were supposed to act? Or was that just a habit one gained after living with another person for such long time? Either way, he was sure that he and Malik didn't act that way. He was almost never able to deduce what was going on in the other's head. He didn't know if that was a good thing, or bad thing. What would it be like, he wondered, to know another person so well that it rendered words as useless?
"Ohh, you don't know yet?" Bakura asked, never taking his eyes away from Ryou's. Marik was brought back to the conversation by the sound of his voice. He watched the two of them carefully, not wanting to miss anything.
"Bakura!" Ryou said sharply.
"You see, dear little Ryou has a crush on your crazy brother. And I'm sure he would just love it if he were to go with the three of us to see a movie. Wouldn't you Ryou?" Bakura questioned. Ryou's face became one of utter mortification, and Marik just stared for a moment while the information he had just received slowly came together in his head. With that missing piece of the puzzle it all made sense to him. Now he understood why Ryou was nicer than should be expected to his brother, and why he didn't seem to mind being alone with him.
"Malik?" He asked, trying to hold back his laughter. "Oh man Ryou, you actually like Malik? I don't think there's anyone who actually likes Malik!"
"Well Ryou does, so don't you think the two of them should go out on a date as well? Get to know each other a bit better?" Bakura questioned.
"Oh definitely! Don't worry Ryou, I'll get him to go! Don't worry at all, I've got it under control!" Marik sniggered.
"Oh stop it! You're teasing me!" Ryou pouted.
"No we're not! We're just helping you get your man!" Bakura exclaimed.
"Both of you are horrible!" Ryou cried out. He stood up briskly and walked out of the room, taking the glass of water he had so generously brought for Marik with him. The moment he was gone Marik couldn't hold his sniggers back any longer, and both he and Bakura burst out into mad laughter. The image of Ryou's flustered, bright red face was sill fresh in both of their minds, causing them to laugh even harder at his embarrassment.
"Oh man, I can't believe you hadn't told me that before," Marik said once the laughter had faded. He took in a deep breath of air and exhaled, then settled against the couch.
"I had to wait until the perfect moment. Otherwise it wouldn't have been as fun," Bakura smiled. "Now, do you think you can actually persuade your brother to go?"
"Of course I can," Marik grinned.
"Good. Make sure he comes then. Don't tell him about Ryou's little crush however," Bakura instructed.
"Hmm, why?"
"Because I want to tease my brother, not make his depressed. Just don't tell him."
"Aww, how cute. Bakura's worried about his little brother. What a nice, caring, older brother you are," Marik teased. Bakura gave him a look, but he ignored it completely. "Just wait until I tell Malik he needs to behave himself because Bakura's worried for Ryou."
"Do that, and I'll be sure to take advantage of you at the movie theater in front of him," Bakura smirked. Marik frowned. Malik was already almost positive that he and Bakura were doing things together, and he certainly did not need any hard evidence of this matter. And then he'd tell Isis and Rishid, and while Rishid wouldn't be any trouble, Isis would want to verify with him that he was indeed gay, and then she'd want to talk to both he and Bakura about their relationship together, and the kinds of things they were doing together and no! That would not be happening! He wouldn't let it!
"So I take it that I've won?" Bakura chuckled.
"Shut up," Marik growled, and because he didn't have any other way of making sure the other remained quiet, he sealed their lips together with a short kiss. Of which Bakura was very eager to participate in. Before it could get too deep, he broke away, to Bakura's disappointment.
"Do we really have to talk?" He pouted.
"Yes," Marik grinned. "Seriously now though, you and Ryou are really close, aren't you? Even if you say otherwise, you really care about him, don't you?"
"Well we've bother been alive for quite some time now, and most of that time we've been together. Actually there's only a handful of times I can think of where we've been separated," Bakura mused. He lost the hungry look in his eyes and his voice became more subdued as he traversed his memory. Marik listened intently. He was sure that Bakura had a lot of interesting things to talk about, and he wanted to hear it all. He was sorely disappointed when instead of talking, the other smiled and kissed him on the lips once more.
"No! I want to hear about it!" Marik pouted. Bakura sighed.
"We've been through a lot together you know, and it would take a while to tell you everything. So how about some other time?" He suggested.
"You promise?" Marik questioned skeptically. Bakura kissed him twice in quick succession and wrapped his arms around his sides to pull his body closer.
"I promise," He vowed solemnly.
"Okay then," Marik gave in, smiling gently. He gave in to Bakura's tiny kisses and allowed himself to be satisfied with this answer. If he got to know, he didn't mind waiting a little bit. And what a wonderful way to make the time pass.
00000
"But Maliiiiiiiik!" Marik whined as he followed his twin around the house. First to the kitchen to grab a drink, and then up the stairs into his room where he placed the drink down, then to the bathroom, then back into his room.
"I already told you no," Malik deadpanned.
"Come on! Would it really kill you to go see a movie?" Marik demanded.
"Possibly," Malik responded dryly. Marik huffed and grabbed his look-alike by the arm and began to pull on him.
"And what exactly is this supposed to accomplish?" The other questioned, quirking an eyebrow.
"Just say you'll go! It won't be that bad, I promise! And then I'll stop pestering you!" Marik whined. Malik rolled his eyes and, steadfastly ignoring Marik, walked across his room to where he'd placed his water and drank some of it. A stream of the liquid trailed down his chin, and he licked it when he put the glass back down. Then, for no apparent reason, he grabbed the hemline of his black tank and stripped it off over his head, then lied down on his bed, taking Marik along with him.
Marik landed on his brother's bare chest with a grunt. He looked at his twin a bit uncomfortably, and then spoke.
"And what exactly was the point of that?" He asked. Malik smirked.
"You were clinging to me and made it hot. I thought this might make you leave," He answered truthfully. Marik frowned. He looked at his brother's bare chest –the mirror image of his own- and felt a vague sense of discomfort. It was too similar. He didn't like it. But he wasn't going to leave, because that was what Malik wanted him to do, and he wasn't going to let him win. Instead he released his grip on Malik's arm and lied down on the bed. He propped himself up on Malik's chest and looked him in the eyes.
"Come with us to the movie theater," He said.
"Why do you think I would want to put myself through that? A date with you and both of them? It really would kill me," Malik argued. Marik sighed and rested his head on his brother's chest. He wasn't going to lose… He wasn't! Even if he had to do that…!
Mind made up to go through with his own awful plan, Marik raised his head off his brother's chest and pouted slightly.
"But Malik… I need you to go. Bakura is going too, and what if he tries to do something bad to me in the movie theater while it's all dark?" He pouted. Inside his head he winced. There went his pride. Right out the window. Oh, Bakura was going to pay for making him do this.
"You're old enough to stick up for yourself now, aren't you big brother?" Malik questioned. One of his bronzed hands moved to the side of Marik's face and cupped his cheek. His lilac eyes widened and his first reaction was to pull away as quickly as he could. He reigned in that initial impulse however, and allowed the hand to remain there.
"Besides," Malik was continuing, "don't you like it when he does those things to you? Those marks on your neck sure seem to suggest that you do." Now Marik blushed and really wished he did not have to do this, but he remained where he was. This was all necessary! He had to win!
"Pleeeaasseeee…? Brother? I need you to do this for me," Marik pouted. He stared at his brother hard, hoping that it would work. If it didn't, he didn't know what else he could do.
"If it will get you to shut up and stop disgracing yourself, then fine," Malik scowled, apparently tiring of all this. Marik broke out into a huge grin.
"Yay!" He cheered. Malik scoffed and none too nicely pushed him off the bed.
"Just leave. The way you're acting is disgusting. I feel like I'm going to be sick," He grimaced. Marik grinned and got up off the ground, wisely deciding that for the time being as least, he would ignore being pushed off the bed. He headed for the door of the room, and turned around to tell Malik when the movie would be. Malik had turned over in his bed, and when Marik saw this his words dried up in his throat. He felt the same feeling of discomfort all around him again, and he quickly left the room before it began to choke him. He practically ran to his own room, and when he reached it he sat on his bed and breathed deeply. He closed his eyes and tried to calm himself, but all he could see was Malik. Malik without his shirt.
00000
The next day at school Marik told Bakura that he had succeeded in making Malik go with them to the movies. He conveniently left out the part explaining how exactly he had managed to accomplish that. Luckily for him, Bakura didn't seem to care about any of that, just that Malik was indeed going.
So once that was settled, their tentative date to go to the movies today became concrete, and for the rest of the day Marik was unable to think of anything else but that. He knew it was stupid to get so excited about going on a date, but he couldn't help it. He would actually be doing something with Bakura besides fooling around on the couch. Somehow, that made it all the more precious. This really seemed to cement the idea that the two of them were actually going out, not just messing around because they wanted to.
Almost immediately after thinking this, Marik smacked his forehead and groaned. He was turning into a girl. What he had really meant to say was that it would be fun to see how Malik and Ryou reacted when they were stuck with each other in the theater. Yeah, that was it. No girly mushy crap for him.
So for the rest of the day Marik tried hard to keep his mind off Bakura and the movies. And for the most part, due to the large quantities of work he did in his classes today, he was successful. He kept his mind off Bakura and instead concentrated solely on his schoolwork. At least until he returned home and had nothing else to occupy his mind with. He briefly contemplated if he should change outfits before smacking his head against his wall and cursing himself for once again acting like a silly girl. This damn night was causing him more stress than it was worth.
In order to prevent himself from thinking such unseemly thoughts, Marik decided to take a nap until it was time to go. He dropped his book bag off on his floor and briefly glanced at his homework before heading to his bed. He would do all that stuff later. He sank gratefully into his plush mattress and stretched languidly, smiling as he snuggled against his pillow. He felt quite tired now that he was actually in his bed, and a nap sounded like a great idea, just what he needed. He yawned and threw his sheet over him, then hugged his body closely. And then Malik burst into his room.
"Ow-! What the hell? What's going on?" Marik asked as he rubbed his now sore head. He had somehow managed to bump his head against his wall when he sat up to look at Malik.
"I just had a heart attack," His brother informed in a monotone voice. Marik stared at him. Malik stared back, completely stone-faced. Marik continued to stare. And then he burst out laughing. A look of confusion passed over Malik's face, and that only caused Marik's laughter to increase. He laughed so much that his sides started to hurt, and he kept laughing even as he pressed his hands to his side to attempt to alleviate some of the pain there. When his laughter finally died down, he looked at Malik and noticed the petulant little scowl he had plastered on his face, and his laughter started up all over again.
"I fail to see the humor in this situation. What if I had really been dying?" Malik questioned in a bland tone.
"That's why it's funny!" Marik burst out. Malik's scowl deepened, and Marik tried to control his giggles for a moment as he elaborated. "I mean, if you were really dying, you certainly… certainly… pffft…! Certainly wouldn't have come in here with such a bored expression! You'd have been… ha ha ha ha! Ahh, you'd have been panicking! Are you really that desperate not to go?"
"You have no idea," Malik drawled.
"Well you already said that you would, so you have to now," Marik reasoned when his laughter had finally ceased. Even so, he could not help the random giggle that would interrupt his speech every now and then. "It's not going to be that bad, okay? Just pay attention to the movie, and if that sucks, pretend you're doing something fun."
"You mean like murdering you?" Malik asked. The beginning of a grin was inching across his face, and Marik shivered. Yeah, sometimes he was glad he didn't know what was going on inside his brother's head.
"Whatever floats your boat. We'll be going later tonight, so just make sure you're ready by then. Bakura and Ryou are coming to get us," Marik said. Malik grinned widely and headed out of his room.
"Oh, I will be," He muttered darkly.
00000
Malik was not happy. In fact, one could almost describe his mood as murderous. If only he could murder them all and dispose of their bodies without being caught. It would make the evening so much better.
His brother had run into his room and dragged him outside of the house only moments ago. Waiting outside for the Egyptians had been the very people Malik did not want to see. Both twins were sitting in a fancy red convertible, and he briefly wondered how the hell they had acquired that before the repulsive sight of the asshole mauling his brother ruined his mood even further. He turned away angrily from the disgusting sight and calmed himself by picturing his hands around the asshole's neck and throttling him. Just because he had said he didn't care what his brother did with his "friend" did not mean he wanted to see it openly displayed in front of him.
"Bakura! Stop it! Not in front of my house you idiot!" He heard his brother hiss angrily. Taking that to mean it was now okay to look, Malik turned back around with a scowl on his face and glared heatedly at his brother and his companion. If that had been any indication of how the rest of the night was going to go, then Malik wondered just how Marik expected him to get through this night without actually killing someone. This was just asking for too much. He was already barely stopping himself from punching the oldest white-haired male, how did his brother expect him to control himself for the length of an entire movie?
"Hello!"
Malik's withering gaze briefly left Marik and Bakura as he looked to the side of him. The second twin was looking up at him and smiling. When he noticed that Malik was now paying attention to him, a faint red dusted his cheeks and he looked away shyly. Malik's scowl deepened. This person again.
"Ahh, so are going to the movies to us?" Ryou asked politely. Malik sneered.
"Why else would I be out here? Unless you mean to suggest I'm just indulging in my skills as a voyeur," He scoffed. Ryou seemed taken aback by that comment, and his blush increased much more. Malik watched this reaction with sadistic pleasure, and his mood improved just a little bit.
"I-I'm sorry! Th-That was a stupid question! Of course you must be going with us! What else would you be doing? I'm very sorry if I suggested otherwise!" Ryou apologized quickly. He continued to apologize non-stop, and when Malik could take it no longer, he brought two fingers up and placed them on Ryou's lips to silence the other boy.
"It's fine. Just… shut up, would you?" He suggested. He watched as Ryou's brown eyes trailed down to his lips, then as his cheeks turned a furious red. Malik derived a strange sort of enjoyment from this, and was about to say something else when the sound of the white-haired one's brother cut through the silence.
"If the two of you are done flirting perhaps we can get a move on?" The asshole teased. Malik snarled and turned to glare at him, while Ryou stuttered some excuse about how he hadn't been flirting.
"See, this will be fun," Marik remarked. His brother had moved to stand by his side without Malik's knowledge of it, and the sudden voice had startled him ever so slightly. Even so, he did not allow his surprise to break his glaring match with the asshole, although said asshole didn't seem to notice it was going on. He was still teasing his flustered brother. Which was fine with Malik. His lack of an opponent meant that he was clearly the winner here.
"Oh yes. So much fun," Malik uttered sarcastically. Marik just brushed off his sarcasm and led him to the car. The asshole was driving, and he made Marik sit up front with him. Malik and Ryou sat in the back, and when everyone was situated they set off.
The other three inhabitants of the car, excluding himself, all seemed to be having a good time. The two twins and his brother all talked about frivolous nothings, and laughed and smiled while Malik silently fumed in the back. He could not understand why his brother had wanted him to come along. It couldn't have been because he would have felt uncomfortable with just going by himself. For the past week now his brother had been visiting the house of these two every day after school. If he'd felt uncomfortable with them he wouldn't have done that. Nor would he be laughing in such a carefree way with them now. No, Marik did not feel uncomfortable in the least. And that wasn't surprising, because he never had.
Marik and he were different. Even back in Egypt when they had been the leaders of the Ghouls, Marik had always been better than he at talking with people. He was the one to go in with guns blazing and use violence when a gang didn't want to listen to them. But sometimes that wasn't always the best course of action, and that was where Marik came in. Marik was able to talk to a gang, and manipulate them into doing things favorable to the Ghouls. Malik was respected for his power, Mark for his silver tongue and trickery. And it was the same when they came here to Domino. Marik was the one to talk with others, to get to know them, to become their "friends." Malik could not do that. Anyone who tried to talk to him he would see as bothersome, and the sounds of their voices would irritate him to no end. Usually a conversation with him ended when he finally lost it and beat the other person up. Everyone learned the hard way not to talk to him, to just leave him alone. But Marik could actually stand to listen to their inane drabble and use it to his advantage. So there was no way he would believe his brother had dragged him along on this hellish outing because he felt uncomfortable. There had to be another reason.
He observed all three of them carefully as they drove, but he could not figure out what his brother's motive for bringing him along could be. All three were just talking socially, and enjoying their time. None of them dropped any sort of clue as to why he was here, did not even use his name other than to occasionally attempt to engage him in the conversation (not that it worked). Even so, he knew there had to be a reason behind this. There was no way Marik would have invited him along just for the hell of it, or to try to force him to get along with the two brothers. His brother would have known that was foolish and stupid and would not work. He didn't fit in with normal people, didn't want to either. So that would not have been the reason. But what was?
"Oh yay, we're here!" Ryou cheered suddenly, interrupting Malik's thought process. All four of them got out of the car, Malik with a huge scowl on his face. The moment he had gotten out, his brother had laughed like mad at him, followed shortly thereafter by the asshole. Even the younger white-haired twin had to stifle a chuckle. Apparently, due to the open roof on the car, the wind had messed up his hair.
Malik stormed away from the three of them angrily and headed into the theater. He paid for a ticket and then headed immediately to the bathroom. All the spikes in his hair had been messed up, and when he tried to fix it, it didn't work. The gel had lost its hold, leaving him to look like he had attempted to do his hair like normal, then got bored halfway through and just left it. Muttering darkly under his breath, Malik turned the faucets of the sink on and bent down to wash the gel out of his hair. Today was horrible enough without allowing his bedraggled state to cause more laughter from his brother and the asshole. If he was going to suffer through some movie, he was going to at least look presentable.
When he came back out of the bathroom Malik's hair was wet and hanging down around his shoulders, making him look more like his brother than ever before. This came as quite the surprise to both white-haired twins, who were unfortunately waiting outside for him with Marik.
"Wow, would you look at that? You're actually not that bad when you don't look like a psychotic porcupine," The asshole said appraisingly. "Actually, you look just like your brother. You know, I could get used to this, having two sexy Egyptians on my arms." He smirked at Malik, who continued to scowl.
"Unfortunately, unlike my brother, I have taste. And I would certainly never hang onto you like he does," He replied irritable. Marik's happy expression fell ever so slightly, though he covered it quickly with a glare. Malik noticed it of course, but he did nothing about it. Instead he watched as Bakura lost his smirk and glowered at him, then put his arm around Marik's waist.
"Hmm, I think I'd rather have you anyways. Psychopath doesn't have much going for him other than looks," Bakura said to Marik. He kissed him lightly on the lips and Marik responded, deepening the kiss, then both of them broke away from each other and disappeared down the hall and into the room where their movie would be showing. Marik bristled angrily. He didn't want to be here. His hair was ruined, he was being forced to deal with these damn people, and he now had to witness his brother actually being comforted by that asshole and looking so damn happy. He didn't want to see that, didn't want to be here at all. Was this why Marik had told him to come? To piss him off?
"Ah, we should probably get going too," Ryou suggested, forcing Malik to focus on the boy in front of him. He sighed tiredly, they hadn't even gotten to the movie yet and he was already sick of all this. Was he really expected to last this entire night?
Malik scoffed at the other boy and stormed into the room angrily, Ryou running behind him to catch up. He sat purposely far away from his brother and the asshole, not wanting to spend the entire time here having to listen to them whisper to each other and kiss. The mere thought of it made him feel like puking. So when they say down a bit further away from the screen and on the left side of the theater, he made sure to sit right up close to the screen and directly in front of them. Now if he turned his head either way he wouldn't be able to see or hear them. He was slightly surprised when the asshole's younger brother came down to join him. Apparently it showed on his face, for when he looked at Ryou the other boy stiffened up for a moment.
"Ah, umm, if-if you'd like for me to leave I can. I just thought that maybe you'd want some company, but if you'd rather be alone I ca-"
"Just sit," Malik replied irritable, interrupting the boy's ramblings.
"S-sorry. I'll leave if I'm being a bother," Ryou stuttered. Malik ignored him. He shifted in his seat and put his feet up on the one in front of him and began to watch. The theater got darker and the commercials began to play.
"Your hair does look nice like that you know," The boy next to him spoke up suddenly. Malik looked at him and frowned. Was he actually trying to strike up a conversation with him? Better yet, why was he still sitting here next to him? Shouldn't he want to sit next to the other two? Surely they were more interesting than he.
"It looks better the other way," Malik answered gruffly, surprising both Ryou and himself. Neither was expecting him to actually join in the conversation.
"But it looks good this way too. It's nicer," Ryou smiled.
"I don't want to look 'nice.' I'm not a 'nice' person," Malik responded, annoyed that he was still talking back. The movie started then, and thankfully the theater lapsed into silence, the boy as his side as well. So far this was the best part of the night. Everyone was finally quiet and would leave him alone.
"I bet you can be. Nice, that it. I think everyone can be," Ryou spoke up. Malik looked at him. Instead of becoming more irritated by his talking, he suddenly grinned. Oh, how stupid and naïve this poor boy was. He should have gone to sit by this brother when he had the chance. Malik's grin widened as he leaner closer to Ryou in his seat. He moved his hand from his lap and touched Ryou's arm. He felt the boy's body stiffen and saw his brown eyes look at his hand. From there, his hand traveled to the boy's chest, past his collarbone, and came to a stop at his neck.
"Everyone is nice, huh? I'm afraid that you are very, very wrong," Malik whispered into Ryou's ear. The boy shivered and his grin only widened. "There is no such thing as nice within me. I am darkness, hatred, and madness. So you see, you are completely wrong when you say that I must be nice." His hand tightened around the slender, pale neck and he chuckled lowly. "I have done things you could not possibly even imagine. I could kill you right now and feel absolutely no remorse for it." His tongue slid out of his mouth and quickly licked the ear of the boy next to him. He felt his body tense again, and with a laugh Malik let him go. His hand returned to his lap and Ryou gasped as air rushed into his oxygen-deprived lungs. Malik smiled. His mood was suddenly much better.
The movie continued to play in front of them, and Malik watched it with disinterest. Most of his attention was on the boy sitting next to him. He paid very close attention to him, wanting to see what he would do next. He was surprised, but also disappointed when he did nothing. He had expected to sense fear and apprehension, for the boy to move away from him surely, perhaps go and sit beside his brother. Instead, none of that happened. He could sense Ryou watching him, and it irritated him that his actions seemingly had no effect on the other.
"Why didn't you do it then?" Ryou asked suddenly, making Malik look at him. The movie was half over by this point, and most of it had been spent by both parties in silent contemplation of the other.
"Why didn't you kill me then?"
Malik turned around angrily, not wanting to be proven wrong. In the dark of the theater, Ryou's eyes seemed to glow a faint, dull red.
Later, after the horrible night was over, and Malik had returned to the comfort of his own room, he thought of it all again. Ryou had not been afraid of him. Not even when he'd had his hands around the boy's neck. threatening to kill him. He couldn't get it out of his mind. And the strangest part was, when he'd had his hands placed around that slender, creamy neck, he could not recall having felt a pulse beneath the cool, marble skin.
00000
It was slowly becoming dark when Marik returned home from seeing Bakura. They had gone to see the movie last week, and, despite everything, Marik thought the date had gone very well. Malik hadn't gone psycho at any point during the night, even though he had been annoyed, and Ryou had also appeared to have a good time. He wasn't too sure how that was possible, but oh well. Most of his time during he date had been spent… preoccupied… with Bakura, or watching the movie. Once in a while though he had turned to look at the other two and see what they were up to. Every single time he'd looked, it seemed like the two teens were sitting there quietly, not talking at all. He would have found it to be boring as hell, but whatever got Ryou off… He must have been into some weird shit. He still couldn't believe that the other vampiric brother liked his mentally unstable twin.
He was still silently laughing at this surprising turn of events when he entered his house. Almost immediately his chuckles stopped when he heard rather loud, melodramatic wails coming from the kitchen. Malik happened to be leaving just as he was coming back, and the two of them bumped into each other.
"What's going on?" Marik asked, rubbing his now sore shoulder.
"Don't ask. Just don't," Malik responded, hand on his own shoulder as well.
"Well what is it? I mean man, is that Isis?" Marik asked, growing confused now.
"All right then. Don't say I didn't warn you," Malik smirked wearily, and then without another word left the house. Marik stared at the empty hallway for a moment longer, then sighed and took off his shoes. The horrible wailing sound was still coming from the kitchen, and despite Malik's warnings not to, that was where he headed.
When he entered the kitchen he discovered that the sound was coming from Isis, who appeared to have collapsed haphazardly onto the floor in a crumpled heap. Her hands were at her eyes, which were overflowing with big tears. Rishid was kneeling behind her, apparently trying to comfort her, but to no avail. The entire scene reminded him of something out of a bad sitcom, and he began to wonder if he should try to make his escape before anyone noticed him. He could head back outside, find Malik and wreak havoc with him, come back later and lie and say he'd been over Bakura's longer than he thought. That could work! Sure! Now, to escape…
Aaaannnd… too late. Just as Marik turned to go, his shoe squeaked on the linoleum floor and Isis's eyes were instantly on him. She stared at him with a fierce glare, and then when she took notice of just whom he was, it melted away into her once-more sorrowful expression. She picked herself off the floor and ran to him, then practically flung him into her chest. Her arms tightened around his skinny frame and squeezed. Marik was left with a mouthful of her cotton dress and a deep wondering of what the hell had just happened.
"Oh Marik, Marik! It's terrible! Just terrible! Rishid! Tell him how terrible it is!" Isis commanded.
"It is indeed very terrible," Rishid said, sounding more relieved to be away from Isis than stricken by whatever "terrible" thing had happened.
"Oh Marik! Marik, Marik, Marik! My favorite brother, you'll help me though, won't you?" Isis tearfully questioned. Perhaps, Marik thought, if you would let me go so I could breathe correctly. Seeing as his face was still smothered by his sister's bosom, he tapped on her shoulder instead of voicing his thoughts.
"Oh right!" Isis exclaimed. She released him from her grasp and Marik stumbled away, breathing heavily. His face was dusted with a light blush and his hair and shirt were both rumpled. He smoothed them down with an annoyed huff and sent his sister a glare, which was promptly ignored. Said sister instead fixed him with a look of wide, tearful blue eyes. Oh the melodrama…
"Marik, you remember when we moved here I asked you and your brother to help me move the artifacts at the museum?" Isis asked. Marik nodded slowly, suddenly not liking the turn this conversation was taking. Oh, he remembered all right. That was where he had pilfered those ancient item things. He no longer carried any of them along with him (though Bakura still wore the damn Ring under his shirt), but was it possible that Isis had been in his room and found them? Not that she should have been in his room but-
"Well, and I don't know how anyone could have not noticed this beforehand and told me, goodness knows they had enough time-! Ah, but the point I was getting to is that not all of these artifacts belonged to the museum. Some of them were personal items that had been given by their owners to the museum to be put on display for a set amount of time. Today it seems that one such owner came into the museum to see his artifacts, and found that they weren't out on display. He asked if they were in the back, but there was no file on them. When all the artifacts were transferred to the museum they were never checked into the system. We know that they were there, but we can't find a trace of the now," Isis explained. Marik felt relieved. So they hadn't discovered that he was the one who'd taken them.
"I just wanted to ask you if you recalled having seen them, or knew if they'd been misplaced. The man who owns them was very mad that they had gone missing, and I don't know what he'll do if he doesn't get them back! Oh Marik, the museum could go down and I could lose my job! Oh, you'll help me, won't you Marik?" Isis pleaded, looking at him once more with big blue eyes. Funny, but she only got teary when she was looking for his support.
Well, what was he supposed to do about that? Malik had of course turned her down and quickly escaped before she could punish him for it. That meant that if he were to refuse as well, not only would he face his own punishment, but it would probably be doubly bad to make up for Malik's. But he was the one who had stolen them! He very well couldn't help turn himself in. Maybe he could sneak them into museum somehow and hope that the workers there would find them eventually…
"Marik?" Isis interrupted. Her hopeful, deceitfully cheerful voice cit through his inner debate and he looked up at his sister. Oh yeah. She was expecting an answer now, wasn't she?
"Aaahhh… sure. Why wouldn't I help you?" Marik answered, smiling cheerfully. Isis smiled too, all tears forgotten now that she'd gotten his help of course. On the other hand, if he'd refused, her tears would have been gone then too. She'd be too busy killing him to worry about fake crying.
"Great! These are pictures of the artifacts that have gone missing!" Isis exclaimed, suddenly pulling photos out of gods knew where on her outfit. She shoved them into Marik's face, and with a sigh he took a hold of them and shuffled through the pictures. Not that he needed to. He was more than familiar with all of them, seeing as they were stashed up in his room. Ohh, this was going to be fun. How the hell to get himself out of this mess, without letting everyone know that he was the one who'd taken them in the first place
He told Isis that he thought he remembered seeing the items at the museum here in Domino, but he wasn't exactly sure. He escaped with a promise to tell her if he remembered anything else, then locked himself up in his room and busied himself with a pretend test he had to study for. If Isis thought he was busy with schoolwork, she wouldn't bother him anymore about the museum thing. And maybe he could come up with some kind of idea of what to do about all this.
Far later on into the night, when Malik finally returned home, he made sure to twist the skin on his arm. Roughly. It was all his damn fault for not helping Isis to begin with. His brother punched him in the face as a result of that, but the aching in his jaw was totally worth it when he saw the giant bruise Malik had on his arm when they woke up the next day.
00000
The next day at school, during the first chance he got, Marik grabbed Bakura and dragged him by a pale arm into the nearest, and conveniently empty, bathroom. Once there, he checked all of the stalls to make sure it was indeed empty, Bakura watching him with interest the entire time.
"All right, I need you to give me the Ring back," Marik said once he was positive the place was empty. This wasn't how he had wanted to do this, but if he asked for it back at Bakura's house, Ryou might notice, and he did not want that. Ryou was on his brother's side. He doubted it, but what if the innocent looking little vampire decided to get into good favors with his brother by telling him what he'd seen? "Oh Malik, you'll never guess what I saw Marik with!" No, better to just not even get him involved.
"This is why you dragged me into an empty bathroom?" Bakura asked, quirking an eyebrow. "I mean really, this? I thought something interesting was going to happen."
"Stop being perverted. I need it back, this is important! The person who owns it is pissed that all of his things have disappeared!" Marik explained.
"So what?" Bakura drawled lazily, obviously not understanding the importance here. "Someone is always pissed off when his or her stuff gets stolen. No reason to give it back. If everyone did that, this world would fall apart. I certainly wouldn't be able to exist, if I were to give back the life I'd sucked out of everyone."
"You don't understand! It's not that simple!" Marik scolded. "If this guy doesn't get his things back, Isis could get into trouble. And if he's really serious about finding who took them, he might look into the employees, and that's something I'd rather not have happen."
"Well what if I don't want to give it back? I rather like it," Bakura argued.
"Just give it back Bakura! I need it," Marik growled.
"Hmm, how about you come take it?" The other male suggested, his eyes flashing a deep red. Marik knew immediately that this was some half-formed plan the vampire had concocted for some purpose, and that if he did try to get the Ring back he'd be falling for it, but he had to. He needed to get it back with all the other Sennen Items so he could return them to the museum somehow. So without hesitating he walked over to Bakura.
He made it all the way in front of the older man without anything happening. Feeling encouraged by that, Marik raised his arms to Bakura's neck and took hold of the string the Sennen Ring was tied to. The moment his fingers grazed against it Bakura pounced. One moment Marik was standing in front of Bakura, in the next he was pushed up against the wall with his hands pinned up over his head, Bakura in front of him, grinning lecherously.
"Oh, look what I caught," He taunted huskily.
"Will you cut it out already? I'm not playing some kind of game with you Bakura! I need that Ring! And you cheated!" Marik growled. Bakura's eyes flashed red again and he smirked. He leant in close to Marik's neck, close enough for his lips to brush against the sensitive skin there. And although he knew he couldn't give in, Marik could already feel some part of him melting into Bakura's hands, ready to allow him to do whatever he wanted.
"Hmm, you say you aren't playing a game, and then accuse me of cheating. Excuse me, but I'm getting mixed messages here Marik. And I don't recall you ever telling me not to take advantage of my superior speed and strength," Bakura hissed seductively. He could feel those sinister lips curl up into a grin against his neck, and then suddenly there was a hand on his chest, moving slowly down to the end of his shirt.
"Just… get off me!" Marik growled. He struggled again Bakura's vice-like grip, but escape was impossible. Bakura chuckled against the side of his neck, and then opened his mouth and clamped down on the skin there, setting to work on creating another mark for everyone to see. The hand on his abdomen slid tauntingly down under the shirt and then traced slowly up his skin, sending shivers racing through Marik's spine. Against his will, Marik's eyes fluttered close and he tilted his head to the side, allowing Bakura to have more room at his neck.
Bakura suddenly bit down sharply into his neck at the same time his wandering hand twisted one of his nipples. Marik cried out in pain, but a hazy wave of pleasure enveloped him after that. Bakura continued to kiss and to nibble and to suck on his skin, all the while his hand abusing his nipples with pinching and twisting, creating such an interesting blend of pain and pleasure that Marik almost gave in right there. Somehow, he managed to fight against his desire and he opened his hazy eyes, blinked a few times to get back into focus.
He couldn't surpass Bakura in strength. That much was obvious. If he tried to break away from the vampire he would not get anywhere. He had to surprise him, make him let go of his wrists. Marik grinned inwardly, and then without warning raised his leg and kneed Bakura in the chest. That certainly did the trick. Bakura backed away from him sputtering, hands now both across his stomach. Marik smiled viciously, and before the other could see, he tore the Ring off Bakura's neck. He darted to the door to escape, but Bakura recovered before that, and he found himself once more pinned against the wall.
"Now that wasn't very nice Marik. You shouldn't do things like that, unless you want to make me angry," Bakura whispered silkily into his ear. Marik scowled.
"So I should just allow you to play with me as you will?" He asked coldly. Bakura raised his head and looked him in the eye after hearing that.
"You're adorable when you pout," He smiled, and then connected their lips together. Despite his anger at the other, Marik eagerly participated in the kiss. He allowed Bakura to enter his mouth without a fight, and rubbed his tongue against the intruding one. He both heard and felt Bakura moan into the kiss, and the sound excited him even further. Bakura released both his hands and wrapped an arm around Marik's waist to pull him closer. The other went to his face and brushed the soft skin there. Marik moaned and shifted in his embrace, bringing his leg to rest between Bakura's, and allowing them to get even closer. His own hands entwined themselves in Bakura's long white tresses, and he pulled on them gently.
"See, isn't this a much better alternative to what you called me in here to do?" Bakura asked lowly when their lips separated for air.
"Hmm, you seemed to enjoy being able to do whatever you wanted with me though. Sadistic vampire," Marik murmured, inching closer and pressing their lips together once more. He felt Bakura hum at the back of his throat in agreement. Then, without warning his sharp teeth came down on Marik's wandering tongue and sliced the organ. The hot coppery taste of blood entered his mouth, and pain assaulted his nerves. Marik tore away from the kiss a bit angrily, and brought his hand up to his lips to wipe away the blood that had escaped his mouth.
"What was that?" He demanded. Bakura smirked and allowed his eyes to turn permanent red and his fangs to slide out of his gums. Marik felt an irrational shudder of fear hit him. He knew Bakura would not do anything to harm him, but the vampire was exactly that –a vampire- and he wasn't always ale to control himself around blood. And here he was, all alone and helpless. He was defenseless, his life practically in Bakura's hands. Realization of how completely isolated he was at the moment sent a shiver of pleasure straight to his groin, and he felt repulsed with himself. How disgusting, becoming aroused at such a thing…
"Mmmm, less talk, more kissing," Bakura purred huskily. Once more he took a hold of Marik's wrists and slowly raised them over their heads. They were so close that Marik could feel the hot puffs of Bakura's breath on his skin, and all of his nerves tingled. His entire body was aflame with heat, and his skin was burning where his body touched Bakura's. He looked up into the other's eyes and saw only fiery desire thee. He moaned softly, and his hips suddenly bucked, rubbing lecherously against Bakura's own. Before he could become embarrassed over his behavior, his attention was once more fully on the man in front of him. He leaned in closer and licked away the small traces of blood that lingered on Marik's lips, and then reconnected them in their most passionate of kisses so far.
He could taste the coppery feel of his blood in his mouth, and Bakura's own special unique flavor, unlike anything else he had ever tasted before and too complex to be described. He could feel Bakura's tongue in his mouth, and Bakura's hand on his body, once clenching his wrists, and the other creating that wicked feeling of pleasurable pain once more. He was on fire and he was burning, and oh, he was falling, falling, and he did not care at all. He wanted more of this, to feel more, to feel everything. The need to break apart for air came too soon, far too soon, and he was left feeling weak.
"More," Marik panted, uncaring of how his voice trembled and he weak he sounded.
"You seem to be quite the masochist yourself, you know," Bakura chuckled darkly. He had more control over himself than Marik, but he did not miss the strain on his words, signifying that he too, was having a difficult time.
"Shut up," Marik commanded.
"As you wish." Bakura's eyes twinkled strangely, and he leaned down to claim Marik's bruised lips once more. His tongue skillfully maneuvered around Marik's mouth, seeking out all the traces of blood he could find. And then when that was done, he pulled the cut tongue into his mouth and sucked on it, coaxing out all the blood he could get.
Marik moaned loudly when Bakura released his mouth and then attacked the unmarked side of his neck with small bites and licks. He was thankful for the wall behind him, for if it were gone, he was sure he would have collapsed to the floor by now. The hand on his chest moved down to his abdomen and out from under his shirt, then further down more and lingered on the button of his pants.
"Ahh… Bakura… Nnnh… You can't do that here," Marik protested half-heartedly. His mind was in a haze and he knew that they were going too far now, but somehow he could not find it in himself to care.
"You said you wanted more, didn't you? And you can't go back to class in that condition, looking so delectable and out of it the entire time. Every single eye would be on you, and then I'd have to kill them all. You are only mine and I am the only one who should see you in such a state. So allow me to help…" Bakura purred in his ear. Marik felt his resistance crumble, and he nodded, not trusting himself to speak. Bakura smirked deviously, and he allowed his pale, deft fingers to brush teasingly over the front of Marik's pants, causing the boy to moan softly, and lean against his body for support. Bakura's fingers unbuttoned his pants…
Both males were too far engrossed in their own actions to hear the door to the previously empty bathroom open. By the time the sound of footsteps registered in their minds it was already too late. An unsuspecting student was standing in front of them staring, face a mixture of shock, disgust, and mortification.
"On second thought, maybe I don't have to use the bathroom at all," He announced loudly, then quickly scurried out of the room, intent on banishing the image he'd just witnessed from his mind. Namely, the image of the two males pressed close to each other with not even an inch of space separating their bodies, the one against the wall with his hands pinned above his head and a dark blush adorning his face, and the other with his hands poised over the first guy's crotch. Oh, and let's not forget the entwined legs, and the lust-driven looks in both of their eyes. As if failing his Physics test this morning wasn't bad enough, now he was sure he'd be seeing mental images of that all day too… Oh, today was just not his day…
Bakura and Marik both remained frozen in place for some time after the unfortunate student left, neither of them quite sure of what exactly had happened. Marik was the first to come to his senses, and he pushed himself off the wall and away from Bakura with a mortified shriek. Bakura came to after that, and he briefly considered continuing where they'd left off before they'd been interrupted. Then he noticed Marik's agitated state and decided suggesting that option would not earn him any favors in the future. Damn. Marik might be fine now, but he was still horny as hell.
"How could that have happened? How? Ohhh, and now it'll make its way through the school, and everyone will know! Malik will hear of it for sure! Someone will say something to him, confuse him with me, and then he'll know if it and he'll make fun of me and my life will be over! I knew it wasn't a good idea! Oh, I knew it, I knew it! And now my life is over!" Marik wailed.
"Isn't that a bit too dramatic? I'm sure he's not going to say anything to anyone. He's probably trying to forget it even-"
Marik rounded on Bakura before he could even think about finishing his sentence, and looked at him with such an intense, smoldering stare that Bakura actually backed up.
"This is all your fault," he growled. "If you would have just given me the Ring in the first place, this would have never happened! You're so perverted!"
"Well you didn't seem to mind when I had you against the wall there, unless that moaning was supposed to be a form of protest," Bakura muttered quietly. Not quietly enough however, for when Marik heard his eyes practically lit up with uncontained ire.
"You…! You know what, I'm not going to your house today!" Marik spat. And with that, he marched out of the bathroom, clutching the Ring tightly in his hand, presumably headed off to his class. And Bakura was left alone in the bathroom, feeling quite stunned and wondering if there was any way he could have responded that would not have risked incurring the wrath of the other. Probably not. Hmm… he wondered if he could find the student who had caused all of this to happen. Maybe he could teach him a lesson about butting in where he was not wanted. That cheered him up a bit, and he too left the bathroom, a devious smirk on his face
00000
"Ahh, what a surprise to see you here on the bus with the rest of us. I guess that means today you won't be going to your love's house, huh?" Mali sneered when Marik sat down next to him on the bus later that day.
"Oh shut up. It's not like I go over there every single day or something," Marik snapped. Malik quirked an eyebrow at that statement and looked at him with an amused expression.
"Are we talking about the same person here? Because I believe you have been going to his house every day as of late. So why not go there today as well? Unless maybe you had a lover's quarrel," He commented, sounding all too thrilled at the idea.
"Stop saying that word. And no, we did not have a fight. I just wanted to go home today, is there something wrong with that?" Marik asked irritably. Malik smirked happily, saying all he needed to with that stupid grin of his. Marik felt like punching it off his face, but figured it wouldn't be a god thing to do here on the bus. Best to wait for when they got off. So he leaned against the seat and closed his eyes and waited for when they would get off. Malik remained silent beside him, and he was thankful for small favors.
When the bus neared their stop, both twins got their things ready and stepped off. They walked in silence past busy streets, not bothering to joke around or jeer and comment on passersby as they usually did. Both of them noticed the sleek black car in their driveway when they reached the house, and were instantly weary of it. Not many came to visit them because their house was so secluded, and the few people that did certainly wouldn't drive such a fancy vehicle. Both twins silently inspected it when they got closer. When neither found anything revealing about the owner on it, they both shrugged and continued on.
Closer to the door of the house they heard the voices of Isis and an unfamiliar man. Most likely the owner of the car. When they reached the voices they saw Isis and Rishid standing in front of the house, talking to a proper-looking man dressed in a gray business suit. When Marik and Malik approached, she and the man both looked at them.
"Ahh, these are my youngest brothers, Marik and Malik. Both of you, this man is Mr. Gourou. He's the one who owns the artifacts we're looking for," Isis introduced when the two of them neared. Both twins caught the tepid, formal tone of her voice, and their initial dislike of the man deepened. It was not like Isis to be so aloof when dealing with newcomers. Marik especially felt weary, as one of the artifacts that rightfully belonged to this wan was now residing in his bag. He involuntarily brought it closer to his body.
"Good day to the two of you. I'm glad I was able to meet all of you at one time. If I've been given he correct information, the two of you helped move the displays at the museum, correct?" The man asked.
"What does it matter to you?" Malik asked coolly. If Isis's own unfriendly behavior towards the man wasn't enough to base her dislike of him off of, then the fact that she did not scold Marik for acting so rudely was more than enough proof. Marik wondered what had been going on before they arrived. Something about this Gourou man annoyed Isis enough to not be civil with him, though what could it be?
"I just wanted to ask all of you some questioned, and thought it would be easiest if you were all here and accounted for," Gourou said and smiled. His smile was cold and unfriendly, and did not reflect in his cool blue eyes. In those eyes Marik could see the way he looked at all of them, calculating and distrustful, as if he viewed them all as a bunch of thieves and liars and had to use his wits to determine which was the correct one. He didn't trust any of them all right, and Marik thought that he'd probably been hassling Isis about whether any of them had taken his precious items. He clutched his bag tighter.
"I don't think we have to answer any of your questions if we don't want to, and I don't know about the rest of my family, but I'd rather not. I have better things to do with my time," Marik remarked, grinning evilly. Malik looked at him for a second, and then he too was grinning that demented smile of his.
"Yes, I think you should go now. You've overstayed your welcome," Malik added. The man scoffed and his smile disappeared into a grim look of satisfaction.
"Surely you wouldn't mind answering some questions if you have nothing to hide…?" He trailed off meaningfully. His blue eyes locked with Marik's, whose own hardened. He did not like this man, not at all. And if he was willing enough to come all the way out here and openly confront them like this, then there was no doubt in Marik's mind that he'd be willing to go further than that too…
"Well well, you guys seem to be having quite the party going on, don't you?"
Their fight was prevented from going any further by the most unlikely of sources. At the sound of the voice, all of them turned to see the newcomer that had shown up. It was a person well known to the Ishtars, for they had worked together on several different occasions. Dressed in her usual purple color, was a tall, blonde woman beautiful enough to be a model. A deep sense of discomfort hit Marik the moment he laid eyes on her. Her name was Kujaku Mai, and he knew her to be a very efficient hunter of vampires. If she was here now, that could only mean bad news.
Ta-da! That was it! And as I said at the beginning, I really feel that this chapter was just kind of "mehhhh..." Sorry about that. I suppose it was a necessary chapter to bridge the stuff that happened in the last one (plot stuff I mean), with stuff that will happen in the ones to come (more plot stuff). So the chapter wasn't very interesting, but necessary. Hopefully the next one will be better, and take a lot less time for me to get it out too. Although, knowing me, it'll probably still take a while...
So on to more interesting things! Random Gourou person! First off, I called him "Mr." I haven't been using "-san" (not that I can remember anyways, and if I did ever, it wasn't important), or any other suffixes, so I'm not going to start now. It won't even matter that much anyways, as most of the time he'll just be called "Gourou." I did take the name from some unimportant villian in the Yu-Gi-Oh manga (can't even remember which one now), but it wasn't the villian I was looking for. I wanted to use the man who takes Yuugi's puzzle to use in the Egyptian exhibit and then decides to not give it back (think that's where Shaadi appears too), but I couldn't find the chapter it was in. (And then I realized "Wait a moment. Does that even happen in the manga? Or does it only happen in season 0?") Either way, it was taking much longer than it needed to, so I picked a random name, and Gourou it was. Yaaaaayyyy.
Last thing (and this is completely unrelated to the fic), but the anime I mentioned I've gotten obsessed with at the top, I just wanted to know if anyone has watched it/read it. So, has anyone read or watched Kuroshitsuji? (Black Butler in English) If so, OMG. I heart it now. A lot. Ahh, it's so wonderful! (I could obsess soooo much more now, but I won't, promise) Mmm, so I've kind of really gotten into that, and want to write stuff for it (already wrote a oneshot actually), so if I decide to do so, that will probably take some of my time. But I shall continue working on this fic, so fear not. Just maybe not as much as before (because you know, my updates were fast in the past, pfft). I realized the other day I was about halfway done with this thing, and got all excited because it'll be the first multi-fic I actually complete. So I definitely shall complete it!
Okay, random babbling section done now! If you so choose to, please review, tell me what you thought about the chapter! Maybe you didn't find it to be as dry as I did! Either way, please review, and thank you! I'll see you all again in chapter 12, which shall hopefully be much sooner in coming out than this one!