"What's bad?" asked Malik, sitting on Yuugi's bed, swinging his legs and eating a cookie.
"I can't find any way to reach your big sister."
"Sister?"
"Yeah. Her name is Isis, and I'm sure she'll want to see you."
"Oh. Can I have your cookie?"
"Sure. Where do you think Isis might go if she went to Egypt?"
"Mmhrm…" responded Malik with his mouth full.
"Eh?"
Malik swallowed. "I dunno. I don't even remember her."
"Oh."
He was quiet for a moment. "Can I call you Uncle Yuugi?"
Yuugi blinked. "Uh…why?"
"Because. And can I call your grandpa Jiichan too?"
"I…guess…"
Malik grinned. "Kay den."
Yuugi raised an eyebrow, but shrugged and looked back at his computer. "I give up," he muttered. "We'll have to think of another way to reach her…maybe someone else has an address or something." He dug in his dresser. "I'll have to see if any of my clothes at least sorta fit you, Malik. You didn't happen to get any extra outfits with all that jewelry, did you?"
There was no answer.
Yuugi turned around. "Malik?" Only cookie crumbs remained on the bed. "Uh…Malik, where'd you go?"
Suddenly, a giggling explosion of white burst out of the closet. Yuugi gave a yell and jumped back, only to realize it was Malik tangled in an old sheet. "I like this one," announced the little one, peeking through the eyeholes.
"You can't wear that," sighed Yuugi. "That was my Halloween costume from two years ago."
Malik poked his head out from under the fabric. "Really? You was a ghost?"
"It's 'were'. Yes, I were a gho-I mean, I was-oh, never mind."
Malik laughed and went back to the closet. "You wear these to school, Uncle Yuugi?" he asked, tugging at the neatly hung uniforms.
"Yup."
"Do I get to go to school, Uncle Yuugi?"
"Um…" Yuugi hadn't thought of that. "I don't know. Can you read?"
Malik grabbed a book off of Yuugi's shelf and stared at it for a while. "No."
Yuugi had an idea. "How about this?" He grabbed a paper and clumsily copied some of the hieroglyphics off of Malik's back.
Malik looked at the paper. "Yeah. I can understand that. You write funny, though."
"Thanks. I guess you should go to school, though."
"Cool! And I get homework?"
"Yeah."
"Yay!"
Yuugi stared at the kid. "You like homework?"
"I dunno. What is it, Uncle Yuugi?"
Yuugi blinked a couple times. "You know, it's really weird what's stuck in your memory and what you forgot."
Malik, however, had disappeared into the closet again. "Hey, I like this T-shirt," he commented. "Can I have it?" He held up the item for Yuugi to see.
"Sorry," said Yuugi with a smile. "Not the one with the dark magician. It's my favorite."
"Aw…"
"Dinner!" yelled Sugoroku from another room.
"Yay!" yelled back Malik as he scooted from the room.
Yuugi put the shirt neatly away before going to join them. "Well," he sighed, "I guess this is what it's like to have a little brother." Surprisingly enough, Malik exhibited very good table manners and didn't complain about the vegetables. Afterwards, Yuugi relented and allowed Malik to borrow the dark magician shirt for the night. As they were getting ready for lights out time, Yuugi pulled something from a drawer in the dresser and handed it to Malik.
The kid took it with a look of surprise. "K…koitsu," he murmured.
Yuugi nodded and smiled. "That's right. It's the Sennen Rod. It once belonged to you. Do you remember it?"
Malik ran his finger along its surface, and then pulled it apart in one smooth motion, revealing the blade within. Suddenly, he looked up at Yuugi with a strange gleam in his eyes. A slight grin twitched at the corners of his mouth, making Yuugi shiver. Then, in an instant it was gone. Yuugi blinked a few times, and then shrugged. It must have been his tired eyes playing tricks on him.
