Disclaimer: This is one of three bonus chapters I will be posting in the wake of Like Old Times' completion. This first one is an excerpt of the first chapter from Malik's point of view. It's a bit short, but I hope you will enjoy it anyhow.
Chapter One; Omens (Malik's PoV)
At first I don't even recognize her. Her back is to me as I approach from the other side of the street, pushing past the other, more eager individuals milling about the city's center and awaiting the orders of their ringleader, Seto Kaiba. The large screen above us counts down the mere minutes left until his "spectacular" announcement of the start of this wretched tournament he's concocted. I can't help but sneer at the thought, knowing what these games had once been before it had all been reduced to a child's card game. What a mockery! How my ancestors would weep.
My eyes scan the crowd, not even fully conscious of what I'm searching for, until a glint of metal catches my interest. I hold my breath as she halfway turns in my direction, her lips curled and parted in a full out laugh. The glint of metal that had grabbed my attention hangs limply from the wrist she uses to pull back a strand of her dark, ever-shifting hair. Her emerald eyes gleam in the low light and glow from within in pure, short-term happiness. She's not the child I used to know, but a woman. A beautiful one, at that. Her hands are now moving excitedly in front of her as she chatters to a smaller Asian girl who smiles back at her in a polite manner. I have to smirk at that. The girl was always such a chatterbox, and witnessing her from afar now tells me not much has changed. I can't help but laugh at myself, my mind still recognizing her as I knew her before. I run a hand through my hair as I try focusing on the present, rather than past, her.
She suddenly turns, and I swear I can hear her voice as she calls out, but I can clearly pick it out as nothing but a memory. The voice I hear is much too high-pitched, the voice of a child. I take an involuntary step forward, propelled by the memory of her. My only friend from the outside world. I want to run and meet her, say hello, pick up where we left off all those years ago.
My mind clutches to our last meeting, our small bodies huddled together in the dunes as she cried and told me she didn't want to go. The old ache burns my throat, and my fingers itch in wanting to hold her again. I feel a smile tug at my own lips, realizing this is what it feels like to have something that had been missing returned to me. I came to this land to avenge my father, and here I gain another precious person in his place-
She turns and jumps into the arms of another person, a boy. I stop advancing, taking in the scene, her cheerful smile and friendly peck on his cheek, see his own smile in return. My throat goes dry as my vision narrows to only see him.
I recognize him immediately, and rage overcomes any thoughts of nostalgia I've just been entertaining. Out of everyone in this wretched country, this wretched city, she has to be with him? My fists clench at my sides as my head starts to spin from my un-paced breaths. My mortal enemy, the man who murdered my father, is with her.
Though she's let go of him, his hand still hangs loosely in hers. How can he touch her so leisurely? Are they lovers? The word mine burns the back of my throat, though I can hardly justify it to myself. I vaguely recall her saying she was going to live with a cousin, but that makes me angrier than the idea of him being her lover. The man who killed my father is also the blood relative of my best friend? My Amari? It tastes bitter on my tongue, but it rings true. Fate is a cruel woman, indeed.
I no longer advance, my feet retreating instead as I bump into the shoulders of the people behind me. They whine, but I ignore them, my thoughts going to dark places. The more bodies that come between us, the more I feel myself stretching the invisible thread that ties us together. Only one good thing can come of this. She means something to him in some impossibly intimate way. If I can get my hands on her I can use her against him, make her my hostage. If he reacts like he should, I will win much quicker and much easier than I've planned. If he doesn't, and shows less than expected worry for her, I can turn her against him. I can get her back. I'll be killing two birds with one stone.
By the time the clock reaches zero and the booming voice of the pompous Kaiba carpets over the crowd, I'm already halfway down a deserted back street, on my way back to deploy the first stage of this newly formulated plan. It will take a few days to put everything in order, but I have no doubt this will work out in my favor, no matter what turn it takes. The hero always wins in the end.
