"I'm sorry, Sir. We don't allow pets in this hotel." The receptionist at the Pineview Hotel told Rishid.
"Can you not make an exception this once? This child is going to be living with us, and we've walked such a long way." Ishizu asked.
The receptionist frowned, studying the injured Ishtar in his basket. "Oh, alright. Just this once."
"Thank you, kindly." Marik said, putting an arm around Victoria. "You see? I told you my brother and sister would make sure Ishtar stayed with us."
The little girl nodded with a sleepy smile. "I knows." She was still pretty shaken up by their encounter with Yami Marik.
Marik knew that was the case, and he smiled taking her small hand in his. "You don't have to be afraid of him. I will never let him hurt you again."
"What if him hurts you?" Victoria asked, pouting up at her best friend.
"I won't let him." Rishid broke in. "We dealt with him once, and we will do it again." He added firmly.
"That's right." Ishizu agreed. "Now come. You both need some rest."
Marik couldn't argue with that. He was sure it was already way past Victoria's bedtime. "Let's go to our rooms to sleep." He suggested to Victoria.
"Kay." She let Marik lead her by the hand to the rooms they had rented.
Ishizu paused at one, and looked at Victoria. "Come,Little One. You and I will share this one."
The child clung to Marik's hand tighter. "I 'tay with Mawik…."
The Ishtars looked at each other. They hadn't expected that. Finally, Marik spoke up in a whisper to Rishid. "Let her fall asleep in our room, then you can carry her into Ishizu's room."
Ishizu nodded. "That would probably be best." She unlocked her door, and walked into the room.
Marik led Victoria into their room, and smiled at her. "You and I really need to sleep."
"Tan sleep with yous?"
"Sure." Marik put her on one side of the bed,and smiled, as he settled down too.
The small girl soon had an arm wrapped around the Egyptian boy, snuggled up close to him while she slept.
Marik winced slightly, then smiled. He looked at Rishid. "She's so precious…"
"She is." Rishid said, watching the girl curl up even closer to Marik. "She certainly seems to like you."
"I know." Marik replied softly, as he gently adjusted her grip, so that she wasn't squeezing his bruised area.
"You should have some ice put on that bruising…." Rishid said slowly.
Marik shook his head. "Really, I'm fine." He smiled at his brother. "Besides, if she wakes up, she'll see how badly I was really hurt, and be even more upset."
Rishid stood up. "We can put her in Ishizu's room, like we said. You must take care of yourself as well, My brother." With that, Rishid gently detached Victoria from her grip on Marik, and carried her to Ishizu's room across the hall. He knocked softly. After a minute, his sister came to the door.
"I see she fell right to sleep." She said with a smile, as Rishid laid the young girl down, and tucked her in.
"She did." Rishid smiled, as the injured cat pawed at the bed to be with his young mistress.
Ishizu scooped the cat up gently and set him down next Victoria's sleeping form. "There you go,Ishtar. She is perfectly safe." She looked up at Rishid now. "How is our brother?"
"He is in a lot of pain, though he tries not to make it obvious. I have suggested that we put some ice on his bruising." Rishid informed her.
"That is a wonderful idea. If you will stay with Victoria a moment, I will go get the ice."
"Alright." Rishid agreed, and watched Ishizu leave the room. After a few minutes, she returned. "I'll go tend to Marik. You should rest, Ishizu."
"Are you sure you don't need help?" She asked him.
"I'm sure I can manage. You just get a little rest. Who knows what we will be dealing with in the future."
Ishizu nodded, and closed her door,after Rishd left. She checked on Victoria. Seeing the child was sound asleep, she laid down on the other bed, and closed her eyes to rest.
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"You fool! I want to know where my twin brother has put my daughter!" Yami Marik glared at the receptionist.
"I'm sorry, Sir. I can't give you that information. Client confidentiality." The clerk replied again.
"You will give it to me, now!" Yami Marik threatened. "You simpleton! He hurts people, and he has my child!"
"If you continue to threaten me, I'll call the police." The clerk replied. "Now please leave."
"Call your policemen. I'll tell them that you helped keep my daughter with a bad person." Yami Marik said with a smirk. After his talk with Yami Bakura, he'd found his child with his alter ego, and now he wanted her back. Yami Bakura had decided to withdraw from their alliance for a time, in order to begin apprentice his own charge in the arts of thievery. And so, Yami Marik had decided that is what he must do for Victoria as well. He knew, however that the Ishtars were a big problem. If she had already fallen under their influence, he was in real trouble.
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Marik sat up very suddenly from a seemingly deep sleep. "He is here." He told Rishid, when his older brother gave him a concerned look. He pulled on his shirt which had been removed to apply the ice. "I must stop him. He will surely be after Victoria." He stood up, and without a word, he headed downstairs to the lobby.
Rishid watched after him for a minute, then snapped out of it to go and get their sister. He knocked on Ishizu's door.
Ishizu opened the door a few seconds later, looking concerned. "What is it, Rishid? Is Marik alright?"
"It is that Yami of his. He has come to claim Victoria, I expect." He looked past her to the stirring child. "She dreams. Perhaps she senses him…"
"I would not doubt it." Ishizu replied, narrowing her eyes. "You must go to him, Rishid. He cannot stand against his darker self alone." Ishizu's voice was full of worry for her youngest brother's safety. "I will stay with Victoria."
"Alright." Rishid turned, and ran down the hall to get to the lobby.
"Mawik……"
Ishizu turned her attention to the whimpering five-year-old girl. "He is alright, Little One." She tried to console her.
Ishtar licked Victoria's face and gently pawed at her. "Merow?" The cat looked up at Ishizu, as if to ask what was wrong.
"She's sad." The Egyptian woman told the cat, petting its head gently. "But you make her feel better, don't you,Ishtar?" Ishizu was deeply concerned for Marik, and it was as if this cat knew that as well.
"Meow." The cat walked into Ishizu's lap, curling up and purring, as she petted him.
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"It seems you will stop at nothing to get your way! Well, this time, you will not win!" Marik glared at his yami, before using his Rod to force him to stop looking like him. "As you can see, Sir, he is not my twin, but a very vile being!"
"You have something of mine, and I want her back!" Yami Marik growled.
"I will not give her back! She is not yours to control and corrupt! What you and yami Bakura have done to these girls is atrocious!"
"What we do with our friends is our concern, you brat!"
"I would be very interested in knowing your definition of friend. A friend does not harm their friends." Marik's voice was sharp. Highly unusual for the gentle Egyptian boy. "I am a real friend. Someone who will protect those that are weaker than I. And protect her I will, by sending you back where you belong!"
"Please. Like I can't get back. You send me back, and Yami Bakura will just use her to get me back. She's the key to the portal."
"As I said. You will never harm her again!" With that, he used his Rod on the spirit, who disappeared instantly. He dropped to his knees, panting.
"Marik! Brother, are you alright? Rishid rushed in now, and scooped his younger brother into his arms.
"I've a very painful headache, but that is about it." Marik managed a weak smile, as he leaned his head on Rishid's chest.
"You must rest. You've been through so much already. First the motorcycle incident, then the bookshelf, and now this."
"I am fine, Rishid. Really." Marik insisted in slight exasperation. "I'm just very tired. "
"Then you must sleep now." Rishid said again, as he returned them to their room.
"Oh Marik!" Ishizu cried, seeing how weak he was. "Are you hurt?"
"I am fine, Dear Sister. Please don't worry so much. I'm just really tired. Is Victoria alright?"
Ishizu shook her head in amazement. No matter how bad things were for him, her brother always worried about others first. "She is sleeping soundly. She must've sensed the yami's presence because she woke up slightly , but then went back to sleep instantly."
Marik nodded, with a tired sigh. "That's good." He closed his eyes, pulling the covers closer to him. "I just need to sleep a while…." He told no one in particular.
"He is so strong…. It's unbelievable." Rishid said to Ishizu, as he tucked their brother in.
"Yes. We are so very lucky to even still have him with us." Ishizu brushed a few strands of Marik's unruly bangs out of the way, but to no avail. They fell right back into place. "So very lucky…." She repeated.
Rishid nodded. "Yes, I know." He looked up at his sister now. "We are lucky to have each other. Not all families get to live together."
"I know." She knew they were both thinking about Victoria. "I only hope Victoria will get to know that kind of family bond. "
"As do I." Rishid agreed. "Go now and rest. I will stand watch over Marik."
"Alright." Ishizu agreed reluctantly, knowing her older brother would not take no for an answer.
Rishid hugged his sister, then walked her across the hall, before returning to keep an eye on Marik.