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Day Two
Marik Ishtal was making his way down the same way, yet again. He grimaced when met with the same security guard yesterday. Paying no heed to the guard, he proceeded into the room, in which his patient was sitting and gazing contently at the table like before. He cleared his throat, placing the boy's file onto the table and sitting down across from him. After a long while, the boy finally noticed his presence in the room. What came next was quite unexpected. The teen jumped up and hugged him. Actually hugged him. Marik Ishtal was shocked out of his mind, unable to exhibit any reaction, except to shove the boy harshly away.
"What the hell do you think you're doing!?" he yelled. Malik smiled and sat back down on his seat. "You… you…"
"I was just happy to see you, that's all," the teen whispered softly, afraid that he'd be made fun of. "I… missed you." Marik frowned and sighed. Brushing back his bangs, he leaned against the metallic chair, holding the boy in a scrutinizing gaze.
"You actually missed me?" he mused, chuckling outwardly. The boy nodded enthusiastically, a broad grin upon his face. "Yea, well, I didn't miss you. And you're aware I only get three days with you a week, isn't that right?" The psychiatrist watched amusedly as his patient pouted.
"What do we do today?" the teen asked eagerly, ignoring the earlier cruel statement his guest made. The taller man shrugged, pulling something out of his suit pocket. He commanded the teen to place his hand before him, enabling him to deposit the item within its grip. He smirked, settling back in his seat to watch the bewildered expression of his patient.
"Do you like it?" Malik blinked, breathing softly out.
"This is for me?" He pointed to it, a small smile starting to form on his lips.
"Yea. An old lady told me the other day you like candy," the shrink informed. He gasped when the blond boy jumped up from his seat and tackle hugged him. "W-what are you doing!?" Malik let go, apologizing and sitting back on his steel chair.
"Sorry, I couldn't help myself." Ishtal frowned.
"You're acting differently from yesterday," he commented.
"Oh? Er… I am? Well… the old lady's name is Katie. She's really nice," the teen muttered, dodging the subject as he unwrapped the plastic covering of the candy. He popped the candy into his mouth, chewing away at its sweetness.
"You changed the subject purposely." Malik swallowed the candy.
"I'm sorry," he said.
"Why should you be? Is this another of your tricks to drive me insane?" he questioned. Malik shook his head vehemently.
"No! No! That's not it! This is just… the way I am…" the teen mumbled, his head hung low. "This is who I am. I know you probably don't believe me because I'm insane… but… you must."
"Oh? Why should I?" Malik flinched, scrunching his shoulders.
"I… I don't know," he admitted. Ishtal sighed impatiently, flipping open his patient's file once again. Blue-gray eyes scanned the section under Personality Disorders, landing on a single disorder.
'Borderline', he thought. 'Maybe that's the reason why he's so… different today. He's unstable? Hmm…'
"Just because I attempted to kill myself several times, it doesn't mean I have a personality disorder," a voice whispered behind the man, enforcing him to jump out of his seat. He turned to glare at the blond boy for scaring him. Malik smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry. I didn't meant to sneak up on you," he uttered nervously.
"Stop saying you're sorry," he snarled. "I don't like people apologizing to me over and over."
"But I angered you," the teen argued.
"It's not like an apology will fix the damage immediately, right? Besides, it wasn't a big deal." Malik hung his head, returning to his seat once again, eyes diverting from the intense gaze his psychiatrist was giving him. "What were you saying before?" the blond man asked. The teen sighed inwardly, clenching the fabric of his pants.
"I said that I don't have a personality disorder just because I attempted to kill myself several times and my parents once," he said, adding to it. Ishtal rested his chin on both of his hands, eyeing his patiently inquisitively.
"Why do you think that?" he asked, his voice a bored one.
"Because!" Malik stood up, fisting his hands. "It's not right to say there's something wrong with me being me, don't you think so!?"
'That's true', the shrink thought mentally. "And so?"
"And so you shouldn't call me insane. I'm not!" the teen hollered, his calm exterior gone.
"Really?"
"Yes!" Ishtal stood up, striding out of the room. Malik blinked, glimpsing at the spot where his new shrink stood once before, nearly a second ago. Sighing in defeat, he headed over to his small bed, plopping down on it. He stared up at the ceiling, his thoughts finding their way to the blond man. 'Ishtal…'
Marik was at home, rationalizing about what he found out that day about his new patient. 'Borderline', he thought. 'Borderline…'
"Marik! Dinner time!" Jumping off his bed, the man rushed down the stairs. It was a shame that he still lived with his sister, Ishizu.
"Coming!" he hollered to her. Landing safely on the ground, he opened the door to the kitchen and parked himself on one of the chairs. He looked at the plate in front of him and frowned. "We're… eating… this again?" he asked out loud.
"Sorry, little Marik. I didn't have time to cook today," she grinned, ruffling his spiked up hair. He slapped the hand gently away, putting on a half-glare.
"I'm not little anymore, sister." The ebony haired lady smiled, sitting down to join her brother at the dinner table.
"I know, but I can't help it. So, how was your day?" Marik smiled inside his head, keeping a cool outer surface. He was thankful that his sister was always there for him to listen to everything he had to say.
"I worked with my new patient again," he said in between bites.
"Don't talk with your mouth full," she said disapprovingly.
"Like you're doing anything different." Blushing, she glared at her brother. Ishtal chose to dismiss his dear sister's glare and continued with his story, still in between bites. "I think he has a personality disorder. All his previous psychiatrists all wrote down 'Borderline'."
"What's… 'borderline'?" she inquired.
"One word, unstable. He probably suffers from mood swings and that's just a part of Borderline," he replied.
"He's unstable? But little brother, we all suffer from mood swings," she pointed out.
"Yes, but he suffers from severe mood swings, probably." Ishizu shook her head, disbelieving everything her brother told her. "And besides, he's insane."
"Marik!" she yelled. "You can't just say he's insane!"
"But he is! That's why he's in an insane institution!" he glared. Ishizu sighed, pushing her plate away. She stood up and left the kitchen. Marik glowered down at his plate of already devoured food. "What did I say wrong, now?" He shoved the plate away, crossing one leg over the other and crossing his arms. 'I mean… he is insane, right?'
The lock on the door clicked and in came an old lady, carrying a small plate of food. She smiled when the blond boy hopped off the bed and hugged her. "Old Lady Katie! You're here!" She chuckled softly, setting the plate on the table before the excited teen.
"Yes dear. I'm sorry I couldn't bring you candy today." Malik shook his head and smirked up at the old lady.
"It's okay! Ishtal brought me candy today!" he exclaimed giddily, chomping on the food. She tilted her head in confusion and clapped her hands together when she remembered whom the blond was talking about.
"Ah! It's your new psychiatrist, am I right?" Malik nodded. "Hmm… he's quite a looker," she commented, laughing quietly to herself at the sight of the teen's blush.
"Old Lady Katie! Y-you…" She patted his head.
"Don't worry, I'm too old for that thing. But I noticed that you talk more about this psychiatrist than any of your previous ones," she grinned down at him mischievously. The teen felt blood rush to his cheeks.
"I-I…" he began.
"Don't worry child. Is this the first time you've felt like this?" she asked him gently, prodding unconsciously at his past.
"Y-yes… I was always alone…" he whimpered, lips quivering. She smiled sadly and pulled him into a hug.
"You don't belong here," she whispered softly to him. "You should be free… you don't belong here."
Later that night, Ishizu paid her brother a little visit. Sneaking into the man's room, she flicked on the lights, hearing a grumble come from underneath some sheets. "Go away, Ishizu."
"Tsk, Marik. Talking to your sister like that?" She raised an eyebrow, slowly making her way to the room's bed. "I came her to apologize for walking out on you like that…" Marik sat up on the bed, throwing his covers to the ground.
"I forgave you a long time ago. Don't apologize," he muttered indignantly.
"Okay then! You deserved that scolding, you little brat!" Marik grinned.
"I know you came here for more than just an apology, dear sister." She smiled.
"You know me too well," remarked the black haired lady. "It's true. I came here to get something out of my head that's been bothering me…" Ishtal gestured for her to go on. "All of your other patients, you've never really taken notice to them before but why this boy? I noticed how you've been…" she stopped, noting the grim expression on her brother's expression. "I'm sorry…"
"Don't be," he said impassively. She let out a long sigh, eyeing her brother from the corner of her eyes.
"It's just… that… you've never been this dedicated to a patient before," she mumbled.
"I don't know why either, sister." She beamed, thumping him on the head. "Ow!" The blond glared.
"But I have a suspicion as to why though," she winked at him. The blond man blinked, dumbfounded and eyes wide with confusion.
"What is that?" he frowned, a bad feeling floating over him.
"It's a secret!" she declared, bouncing out of the room. Before she left, she stood at the door, her figure tense. "Marik…"
"What?"
"I hope you… you… are happy with your life." She left, leaving behind an even more bewildered blond.
"What do you mean, dear sister? Of course I'm happy," he said to no one in particular.
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A/N : Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Next chapter is fluffy. XD
Extra Note : And I read up on that certain personality disorder so what I wrote up in this story about it, is true. Those are some symptoms of a 'Borderline' person. For more information on personality disorders, go to the site I went to. There's a link provided below. infoctr/ factsheets/ 91.cfm (Just take out the spaces)
Review Replies
Pharaoh Atemu's Angel : O.O Ehehe... thanks again Tange! . You're so kind to me. XD
Dark-Angel302 : Faves. O.o WOW!! Thanks a lot! It means a lot to me! XD This is the fastest I can update, is that okay?
Chibi B-channie : Yep! XD I'm glad you are happy. Ehehehehehe.... yea, cuteness. Why are there so few pictures too?
Dark Magician Girl / Hikaru : Thanks. I suppose. Ehehehe...
Neko Moon Goddess : XD Really, it's interesting? Yay! XD
Carmen5-Nemrac : Hey you! I remember you! XD From my story "Fade". I deleted it... blah. XD Are you a big MalikxMarik fan like me? /starry eyes/ There must be more of them....!
Anyways, thank you all for the reviews. I hope this chapter was not disappointing and I'd love some constructive criticism if you may. Thanks! Ta!