Chapter Twenty-Four; Promises

Amari lay under her covers, eyes wide open as she stared over at the bleeding red numbers on the digital clock. It was past midnight by the time the duelists were able to return to their rooms for the night. She wasn't quite sure how Kaiba expected them all to eat breakfast and be ready for the next duel by eight, seeing as how that was less than several hours from now.

Amari tossed herself back and forth, both her body and mind too restless for her to sleep. All she could think about was Malik, or what had become of him. Rashid's failure had triggered something within him, something dark and wild. Something evil. Amari didn't doubt that it was the same darkness she'd caught a glimpse of when she had encountered him in the hallway. Gingerly, she brushed her fingers over the purple ovals decorating her upper arm. She winced. If he could act that way when only partially possessed, what did she have to look forward to now that this entity had completely taken over? She didn't want to think about it.

Amari sat up. There was no possible way she was going to be able to fall asleep, so instead she decided to go and visit Rashid in the infirmary. She was surprised she was able to find her way there so easily, even in the dimly lit halls of the blimp. Quietly she opened the door and tip-toed over to the only occupied bed. Rashid slept peacefully, the only signs of his ailment being an IV drip attached to his left arm and the heart monitor on the other side of his bed. It whirred softly, a slight beep going off every few seconds to tell her he was still alive. Amari felt tears sting her eyes.

"Why didn't you listen to me?" she murmured softly, resting her small hand atop his. The contrast was unbelievable. Had she always been this pale? She blamed the moonlight that filtered in through the window. Amari watched as his chest rhythmically rose and fell. He had told her he'd wanted to talk to her after the duel about the marks on her arm. Amari bit her bottom lip, staring woefully into his peaceful face. That wasn't going to happen now.

Do you think he knew the risks? Amari wondered, glancing over at the materialized version of her past self. Rune sighed, her arms crossed.

"He must have," she replied. "His family has been guarding the Nameless Pharaoh's tomb for generations, as well as the original text of the Gods. I would be surprised if he hadn't known," Rune shook her head, her eyes full of empathy. "What I don't understand is why he risked the chance of calling upon Ra when he knew he was not its true master," Amari stared down at the serene expression on Rashid's face. She already knew why.

"Because he loves his brother," she murmured. "He wanted to protect him." Amari knelt down beside Rashid, laying her head on the crook of her arm as she stared at their interlaced hands.

I promise, Rashid, she vowed silently, that I will protect Malik in your place. I will guide him back out of darkness, so rest for now.

She next morning Amari found herself amongst only four people to show up at breakfast. There were Anzu and Jounochi, both of whom had already started to make a dent in the buffet-style meal. Each of them waved to her as she walked in, Jounochi turning back to his plate quicker than Amari could say "Hello". Anzu shot her puppy eyes from where she sat, but Amari ignored her. Even though she was no longer angry with Anzu, she didn't feel much like talking to her at the moment. She made her way over to the end of the line, finding herself stuck behind the blonde she had met earlier. Mai shot Amari a look out of the corner of her eye, crinkling her nose as if she'd smelt something unpleasant.

"You sure you're gonna be able to eat all that, honey?" she asked, pointing a perfectly manicured finger down at the stack of pancakes and sausage on Amari's plate. She grimaced. Her stomach had been complaining to her for food for the past few hours she'd been awake, and since she hadn't eaten much of her dinner the night before it screamed at her now. She had let her hunger guide her serving sizes.

"A growing girl's gotta eat," she shrugged, covering up her mistake with a nonchalant answer. Mai arched an eyebrow at her.

"You'll ruin your cute figure if you keep eating like that," she pointed out, "growing or not." Amari rolled her eyes, allowing them to rest on Mai's practically empty tray.

"What about you?" she asked, "You'll faint if you don't eat more than that." Mai shrugged her shoulders.
"I'm on a diet," she answered wispily. This time Amari arched an eyebrow.
"What your diet consist of, air?" she muttered sarcastically. Mai winked at her.
"A girl should always look her best," she replied haughtily. "You never know who might be looking your way,"

I've heard that one before, Amari thought, shooting a flat glance in Anzu's direction. Mai caught her deadpanned look and patted her elbow.

"Don't worry. You'll understand it when you're older," she promised before going to sit down at the table. Amari watched her go, childishly sticking her tongue out when the other girl's back was turned. She decided to go eat in her room.

"Attention Duelists," droned an unenthused voice over the intercom, "You have ten minutes to report to the dueling arena for the announcement of the next two competitors. I repeat…" Amari sighed, getting up from the couch to stretch. Luckily she hadn't had to eat all that food by herself. Yugi had joined her, and now he was currently going through dueling strategies. He knew now that Namu had been the real Malik and that she'd known this the entire time. He had been quiet all through their meal while she explained everything to him, everything except why Malik hated him so much. If she was to protect Malik, then she would have to withhold that information for awhile longer.

"You should probably be going through strategies too, Amari," Yugi warned her as he put his deck back in order. "You don't want to go up there unprepared, especially if you end up against Malik."

"The worst that can happen to me is that I'll lose." She replied, plopping back down on the couch. Yugi shook his head.

"I don't think so," he told her. "So far everyone who's lost on this blimp has ended up being carried away by the medics in critical condition. Besides, you forget that Malik still has the Sennen rod in his possession. He's dangerous, Mar," He took her hand across the table. "The last thing I need is to see you get hurt," Amari pulled away from him, narrowing her eyes.

"Yet it's alright for me to see you gethurt?" she snapped. "You may think it's your destiny to save the world, but it all amounts to nothing if you pull stunts that almost get you killed, Yugi." Yugi made a face and ducked his head.

"Yeah, you're right," he mumbled. "Sorry." Amari huffed through her nose, instantly remorseful. She went to sit next to him, draping an arm over her cousin's shoulders.

"I'm just saying that you should try following your own advice," she told him with a light smile. "Got it? I don't want to lose the only other family I have left." Yugi offered a slight smile, but it faded quickly as he did a double take of her arm. He removed her arm from his shoulders to better inspect it. Amari winced as he grazed one of the bruises. He looked at her in horror.

"He did that, didn't he?" his voice quavered, "When you two were standing together in the hallway," Yugi's eyes glazed over in what Amari thought were tears until she found herself staring into the Pharaoh's intense gaze seconds later. Amari tried pulling away, but he held her wrist tightly. He bent his head lower to closely inspect the damage caused, and when his eyes met hers again they were furious.

"Damn him!" he growled, finally releasing her arm. She pulled it back instinctively, biting her lip. Curse her for being so careless! The last thing she'd wanted was for the two of them to find out. Not that it could have been hidden for much longer anyhow, but she had wanted to postpone this inevitable moment as long as she could.

"He'll pay for this." The ancient spirit growled, standing up. "I'll make him regret every laying a hand on you. " Amari stood, grabbing his arm to pull him away from the door.

"Wait!" she cried, "Please don't do this, Pharaoh. He's not himself right now-"

"Are you expecting me to let him get away with this?" the spirit demanded, whirling on her. Amari cringed back at his fierce expression, but she held her ground.

"I'm just asking you to wait until your duel with him," she replied. "Teach him a lesson on the field, rather than in a fistfight." He shook her off of him, but he didn't move closer towards the door.

"I wasn't planning on using my fists," he growled, "but I'll do as you ask." He turned his back to her. "Come on, we're going to be late for the announcement," Amari felt a chill run up her spine as she silently followed after him, knowing exactly what he meant.

Author's Note;

OVER 100 REVIEWS WOO !

This chapter was literally half as long as my other recent updates. Sorry about that. Hopefully I'll have enough time tomorrow to sit down and type up another chapter before vacation. :/
If not then I have an entire week of nothing where I can just sit down and type. Won't that be fun?

Until then, duckies.

-Mq