Jackiedragoness: This is basically a story/sonfic about Malik's past. It's a one-shot story, so I don't think there is going to be another chapter or a sequel... But ya never know! The song lyrics are from the song, 'Nobody Told Me,' by Puddle of Mudd! I love rock.



Seto Kaiba: Why is it Malik? Why can't it be me!?



Yami Bakura: Because you already get enough as it is from your fans.



JD: *ignores Y. Bakura* Because you'll be the main character in the Matrix/Yugioh crossover I'm working on. Now, disclaimers!



*A long scroll appears in JD's hand*



JD: I don't own Yu-Gi-oh or any of its characters. Now then, on with the story!



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The light haired teen sunk in the overflowing street. Sunk in all the people, that is. He was lost and drowning in the current of feet, and all the black and grey fish did not care. They were too busy caring for themselves to notice. Then the current would stop, all the anxious silver fish held only by a red light, a "Do Not Walk" sign. Then the sign would change green, and the flood would start all over again. He was caught in this river's current, dragged farther and farther away from his home. But he did not care. He let the river take him away.



"Looking back in my childhood

Wasn't too bad but it wasn't that great

I carried the lookers like a bag of bricks

Feels like it's holding down again

Staring down a pitch black road

Painted love show me the direction

Sun is burning on my face

Sun is setting me on fire..."



And he would have gone for miles, if it had not been for the hand that roughly grabbed him arm. The boy's dark blue eyes flashed with fear as he looked up at his captor. He stared into those black eyes for what seemed like forever, and they burned in his mind. The two dark eyes, burning malice, belonged to his father.



"Nobody told me where to go

Nobody told me where to run..."



His hands were like claws as he gripped onto the boy's arm harder and dragged him up against the current and into an alley. His father roughly threw him down so the boy was kneeling.

"Get up, Mariku," the man demanded. Mariku began to stand up and face him, but was thrown down again my a swift slap across the face. The boy was on his hands and knees, and he felt warm blood trickle down his burning cheek.



"I can't find my way back home

Lost my head down in somewhere

Couldn't we just be going alone?

Melting down in fear I've shown..."



"Get up," the man repeated, his voice too calm. Mariku slowly stood up, looking at the ground. He felt tears collect at the edges of his eyes.

"You little shit," the man said, ever so calmly. "Don't you ever try to get away from us again."

"Yes, sir," Mariku said blandly, looking at his father's boots.



"Gazing down a lonely road

I see the stop sign way up ahead

Sun is burning on my face

Sun is setting me on fire..."



"Do you know how long it took me to find you? We need you to stay home," the man continued to lecture.

Mariku swallowed. His father only used him for pickpocketing to pay rent and a rag doll of torture.

"Now, then. Let's go home," the man said as he roughly grabbed Mariku's wrist. The boy winced, expecting another slap, but instead was dragged deeper down the alley to their home. Mariku lightly touched the clotting cut on his cheek, knowing full-well that he was in for much more than this. He wondered if his sister was alright. They approached a run-down house, with a bad paint job, one broken window (the other was cracked) and one of the front door's hinges was missing. Mariku's father pushed open the door and threw him in. He looked into his sister's dark eyes. Her black, straight hair fell down her back to a simple dress. Her lips parted and her eyes widened slightly when she saw his bloody cut.



"Nobody told me where to go

Nobody told me where to run

Nobody told me where to go

Nobody told me, nobody told me..."



"Isiszu, why don't you go to your room?" her father said. His tone seemed more like a statement rather than a question. She didn't move.

"Now," he demanded. "Your brother and I need to talk some things through."

She was frozen to the spot, afraid of what her father would do and half-ready to protect her brother.



"Same old shit, different day

Gotta get up, gotta get up

Same old shit, different day

Gotta get up, gotta get up..."



"Fine," Her father's eyes glinted anger as he grabbed Mariku's arm. Mariku quickly looked down to the ground and Isiszu took a small step toward them. She repeated the word, stop, again and again in her head. When their father raised his hand and Mariku cringed, she said the word out loud, as clearly as possible.

"Stop!"



"I can't find my way back home

Lost my head down in somewhere

Couldn't we just be going alone?

Melting down in fear I've shown

Gazing down a lonely road

I see the stop sign way up ahead

Sun is burning on my face

Sun is setting me on fire..."



They all seemed to freeze, her father's hand poised for attack. He let go of Mariku's arm and began to head for her. She walked backward into a corner and closed her eyes, preparing for her punishment. Instead she heard the draw of something metal, a quick shuffling of feet, then a gagging noise and the dripping of a liquid. She heard the noise of something heavy fall to the ground. Then the withdraw of what was unmistakably a knife.

"It's alright, sister. He's gone now," Mariku said, panting and wiping crimson liquid from his hands, face, and a golden dagger.



"Nobody told me where to go

Nobody told me where to run

Nobody told me where to go

Nobody told me, nobody told me..."

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Ryou Bakura: I thought he didn't live in a city...



JD: He didn't. That's a miscalculation. And there is a reason why I'm calling Malik and Isis strange-like names. Since the Japanese language doesn't have the, 'l,' sound in it, Malik is pronounced, 'Mariku,' and Isis, 'Isizu.'



Seto: *puts on Matrix glasses* Write away, Jackie!



JD: *rolls eyes*



R&R please!