Chibi B: Ohmygoodness...This fanfic LIVES! o.o
I am so sorry for the LONG wait:bows: I was busy, and then had no ideas for this...and, school and...I'm just a horrible authoress!
Taski: Yes. Yes you are.
Chibi B: Anyways...Here's the next chapter! But, as always...Here's a few reminders and notes...
I did send out the lemon for ToCN for those who wanted it..but there's still a few people who wrote their e-mail in and it didn't show up...so, if you still haven't gotten it yet - check your old review.
If your e-mail DID show up, then I just haven't gotten around to sending it to you yet and will try later today (Since I'm sick from school right now...) Or possibly tomorrow.
Okay, well...THANK YOU REVIEWERS:cries: I never thought I'd have this many! It's like, an impossible dream come true! I wouldn't be this far without you...Thanks!
Disclaimer: Don't own. Leave me alone!
Closing the door softly behind him, Marik trudged towards the bed where Bakura and Ryou were already sleeping, the younger hikari's face stained with tears and snuggled protectively in Bakura's arms.
He choked back a whimper, and crawled onto the bed with them, jumping when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Marik…" Bakura whispered, scooting off to the side and separating him from his hikari. "Lay down here." He tugged the unresisting yami in between him and Ryou, wrapping his arm around the other's waist and kissing his cheek.
"Will he be alright, Bakura?" Marik asked, avoiding eye contact with the yami and opting to stare at the ceiling instead. Bakura sighed.
"I don't know, Marik. You should have been able to heal all of his physical wounds, so Malik shouldn't be blind unless it was caused by something else."
"But what else could it be?"
"I don't have a clue, Marik." Bakura admitted, resting his cheek on the other's chest. "We'll find out later today when we take him to the doctors."
"Alright…"
"I love you, Marik."
"Love you too, Kura."
"Malik, wake up, it's time for your appointment…" Isis called gently, shaking her brother's shoulder. Malik frowned in his sleep, and rolled over still mumbling to himself. "Malik…"
"No!" Malik bolted upright, looking around frantically even though he couldn't see. Isis stepped back, startled at the teen's shout, and tried to calm him down.
"Malik? It's Isis…"
"Neesan?" Malik let out a shaky breath, lifting a hand to brush away his sweaty golden locks from his forehead.
"It's almost time to leave for your appointment." She said softly, patting his head. "Why don't you take a shower?"
"Okay…" Malik sighed, then attempted to stand up, only to trip over the bed sheets tangled in his legs. He hit the ground with a startled yelp, wincing as his right wrist took most of the fall.
Not even two seconds later, he heard feet pounding up the stairs and someone crashing into his room.
"Malik? Are you okay?" Ryou gasped, rushing over to help the other hikari up.
"I'm fine, I just tripped…" He muttered, wishing he could see where he was going. "I'm off to take a shower."
"When you can't even see what you're doing?" Marik's voice registered through Malik's mind, and the younger teen tensed somewhat warily. Sensing his yami's hurt, the blond light recalled what had happened before he fell asleep, and tried his hardest to calm down.
"I'll manage." He mumbled, though, in his mind he was doubtful of that.
"Why don't you have Marik come with you, to help?" Bakura suggested, blinking when half the room began blushing. "What?"
"It's actually a good idea," Ryou mused, coughing lightly. Malik's head snapped towards him, his eyes wide and panicky. What was Ryou thinking! "He'll just stay in the bathroom and hand you everything you need."
"I agree." Marik nodded, trying to keep his perverted thoughts at bay. "That way, I'll be there if you hurt yourself."
"I'll be fine…" Malik protested, managing to stand up without tripping. "Really…"
"No you won't Malik," Isis sighed, grabbing hold of her brother's arm to keep him steady. "Marik will go in with you."
"B-But..!" Malik stammered, unbelieving that his own sister, who hated Marik, actually agreed.
"No buts, Malik." Isis said sternly, then turned to Marik. "Take good care of him. And if I hear that you hurt him…"
"I won't." Marik snapped, gently taking a hold of Malik's shoulder and steering him towards one of the many bathrooms in the house. The hikari flinched, but followed his darker half compliantly, not wanting to cause any trouble.
Once the two were in the room, Marik sat Malik down on the toilet seat, and started up the shower, waiting for it to warm up to a comfortable temperature.
The hikari started to fidget uncomfortably, his heart beating frantically in his chest. He was alone in a room with his yami, the man who had abused him for months, about to take a shower…He couldn't feel more nervous than this.
"It's ready." Marik said after checking the temperature of the water, watching as his light jumped at the words. "Go ahead and undress."
"U-Umm…" Malik stuttered, his face a bright red. Marik was forcing him to strip while watching!
"Oh! I'll turn around." The yami smiled sheepishly, forgetting how uneasy his light was at the moment. "I won't look. Promise."
"…"
"Are you done yet, hikari?" Marik asked, having been staring at the wall for the past five minutes.
"Have you turned around yet?" Malik asked back, somewhat meekly. He hadn't even started taking his clothes off.
"Yes, Malik. I've been staring at the wall the whole time." The yami sighed, but brightened up when he heard the rustle of clothing. It took everything he had to resist the urge to take a peak, but knew that if he did, Malik wouldn't forgive him for a very, very long time.
Malik paused at his boxers, and stood up, using the wall for balance. He listened for the sound of running water, and felt his way over to the shower curtain, sighing in relief. He slipped off his boxers, and went in quickly before yelping at the sudden hot temperature.
"What's wrong?" Marik spun around at the yelp to find Malik already in the shower, but huddled against the wall. "Malik?"
"Too hot!" The teen whimpered, and Marik turned the knobs as fast as he could.
"I'm sorry, Malik! I thought that it was fine…"
"It's, okay." Malik shuddered, and took a deep breath before stepping back under the spray of water, sighing in relief when it didn't scald his skin. He felt a pair of eyes on him and flinched. "Uh, Marik?"
"Hmm?" The yami mumbled, in a trance. When he went to fix the water, he caught a good sight of his lighter half without clothes, and couldn't seem to pull his eyes away.
"Could you, hand me the shampoo?"
"Mmmhmm…"
"…Are you staring at me?"
"Mmmm."
"…" Malik felt his face light up and he squeaked before dropping on the shower floor and curling into a ball. What was wrong with his dark side!
"Hmm…Malik?" Marik blinked at his light before his eyes widened in realization and he glanced away. "Sorry, Mal-chan, I won't look anymore."
"M-Mal-chan?" Malik whimpered, but uncurled from his ball when he no longer felt the other's eyes on him. He felt something nudge his hand, and took hold of it curiously, guessing it was the shampoo bottle he had asked for earlier. "Arigatou…"
"Uh-huh. Just tell me if you need something, I'll get it." Marik said, his voice devoid of any emotion. Malik flinched, but slowly stood up and began applying the substance to his hair. He quickly rinsed it out, and asked for the conditioner next, then the soap.
"Um, I'm done…" Malik muttered. "Could you, uh, hand me a towel please?"
"Sure, hold on." Marik reached inside the shower and turned the water off, careful not to look at the beautiful blond in front of him before going into the cupboard and pulling out a peach colored towel.
"Thanks…" Malik mumbled once Marik handed him the towel. He dried his body off as fast as he could before working on his hair. He wrapped the cloth around his waist, and felt alongside the wall for a way to step out of the shower so he couldn't get hurt.
Marik noticed what the other was doing, and quickly reached a hand out to steady him, carefully showing him where to step. He handed the teen a bathrobe, turning around so Malik could change.
The hikari was beginning to get nervous with all the silence. Was Marik mad at him?
"Ready?"
His yami's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and he put on his robe before muttering he was finished.
"You okay?" Marik asked, watching his light carefully as the other teen shied away.
"Yes…"
"…Do I really make you that uncomfortable?" Marik asked, a crestfallen expression on his face as he stared longingly at his light.
Malik remained silent, not knowing how to answer. Yes, he was still afraid of Marik. Who wouldn't be? But, his yami's presence also helped calm his nerves, and he was finding himself wishing for Marik to stay by his side.
Marik took the silence as rejection, and bit his lip as he gently took hold of Malik's arm to lead him out of the bathroom. Bakura and Ryou were still there, sitting on the tanned teen's bed and staring at them curiously.
"Bakura and Ryou will help you get dressed," Marik said softly, "I'll go downstairs for a bit."
Malik wanted to say something, anything, to make the other stay, but was too late. Marik had already made it out the door. He stood there, his arms hanging by his sides in a depressed and frustrated manor.
"Malik?" Ryou asked softly, noticing the hikari's forlorn expression. "You okay?"
"Yeah, Ryou…I'm fine." Malik lied, tugging his bathrobe closer to himself. "Could you hand me some clothes, please?" Ryou blinked and stood up, rummaging through Malik's drawers.
"Get him something comfortable to wear, hikari." Bakura muttered, standing up as well and walking to the door. "I'm going down to see Marik, alright?"
"Alright, Bakura." Ryou replied, now digging through the closet. Bakura headed towards the door, and accidentally brushed against Malik on the way. The hikari stiffened, and then relaxed once he sensed Bakura further away from him, missing the darker half's hurt look.
"Ryou?" He muttered, carefully making his way towards the bed and sitting down. "Just grab anything, okay?"
"How about a sweat outfit? That should be comfortable enough, right?" Ryou asked, pulling out a lilac colored outfit.
"That's fine." Malik answered, holding out his hands. Ryou gave him the clothes, then blushed and turned around when the other began to change.
"Marik?" Bakura called, peeking around the corner and into the living room, finding blond haired dark hunched over on the couch. He walked over and sat down next to the yami, placing a hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong?"
Marik snorted and roughly shrugged Bakura's hand off, turning to look out the window. Bakura sighed, and grabbed onto the other's hand, only to have the same thing happen.
"Go away, Bakura."
"Not till you tell me what the hell is wrong with you!" Bakura hissed, forcing Marik to look at him.
"Bakura, I'm serious. I just need to be alone for a while, okay? Don't mess with me right now…"
"Is that a threat, Ishtar?" The previous thief glared, grinding his teeth in anger. "I know you're upset, but Ryou and I need you right now…Malik needs you."
"Well, tell me then, Bakura, how the hell would you feel if Ryou only remembered the times you beat him, huh?" Marik shouted, pushing the other off of him to stand up. "How would you feel if the only thing Ryou remembered was about how you raped him?"
Hearing multiple gasps behind them, the two spun around to see the two hikaris with Isis and Rishid staring at them, shocked. Ryou flinched, and stared at the wall, avoiding eye contact. He heard a choked yell, then the slamming of a door and looked up just in time to see Bakura running down the driveway and into the street.
"Bakura!" He yelled worriedly, and tried to get through Isis and Rishid, but the two blocked his way. "Let me go! I have to go get him!"
"Just let him go, Ryou." Isis said calmly. "He's not welcome back in this house anyways."
"What? Wh-Why?" Ryou shook his head frantically, and continued to struggle. "No! I have to go find my yami! Please…" He broke off sobbing and finally managed to get by Isis, running to Marik. "Why did you say that to him? He didn't mean for it to happen! How could you hurt him like that!" Ryou cried, hugging onto Marik's arm.
"Ryou…" Marik muttered, falling down to his knees with Ryou in his arms. "Shit…I'm sorry Ryou-chan…I'm sorry."
"Go find him!" Ryou begged, his eyes wide and panicked. "You have to go find him, Marik!"
"Shh, settle down, Ry-chan…I'll go find him." Marik soothed, and stood up, dragging Ryou with him. "Listen to me, Ryou, okay? I need you to calm down and help Isis and Rishid with Malik. Can you do that for me?" He couldn't even bring his eyes up to his own hikari's, and just looked at Ryou's tear filled eyes.
"Y-Yes…" Ryou hiccupped softly and rubbed his eyes with his sleeve. "Go find him…please?"
"I will." Marik forced a smile and stood up, walking out the door without looking back. He could barely stand the guilt he felt over what he said to Bakura, he knew that the other was hurting immensely. Why did he always have to lose control over his mouth?
Now sprinting in the direction Bakura ran off in, he caught site of a flash of silver heading towards a public lake and followed it, hoping it really was Bakura and not some old person wandering around.
He stopped abruptly when he saw that it was in fact, Bakura; the other dark had curled underneath the base of a tree, oblivious to his follower. Gathering what little courage he had, he quietly made his way over to the yami.
"Ryou, are you okay?" Malik asked worriedly, he was still standing at the base of the stairs, one hand on the wall for balance. His blank eyes scanned worriedly around as he listened to his friend's soft sniffles and whimpers.
"H-Hai, Malik…I'm, fine." Ryou tried to smile through his tears, forgetting for a moment that Malik couldn't see him. That thought only made him more depressed, and his smile faltered.
"Why didn't you say anything, Ryou? We could have helped you…" Isis spoke up, reaching over to put a reassuring hand on the hikari only to have the other shy away.
"You don't understand, Isis-san." He shook his head. "Bakura didn't mean for anything to happen, he was drunk…And he felt so bad afterwards." He smiled in remembrance. "He tried everything to make it up to me, and he still apologizes. I forgave him, we agreed to put it behind us…and now this happened."
"But Ryou, he took your innocence." Isis protested, "How could you forgive something like that so easily?" Surprisingly, Ryou smiled, staring up at her with teary eyes.
"At least it was Bakura who was my first…I, I wanted it to be him anyways. It may not have been the way I wished for my first time to be like, but, at least it was with him; and for that, I'm grateful."
Isis stood stone still, a shocked expression on her face along with Rishid. Malik was still trying to process the information, and reached a hand out for his best friend. Ryou grabbed onto it and was startled when Malik pulled him into a hug.
"Ryou? Tell me, please, what happened these past few days? I-I'm so confused. Marik's acting different, your yami's acting different, and you are too, Ryou-chan…Why?"
Ryou sniffled and held Malik tighter. He wished desperately that everything would be alright; he just wanted to burst into tears.
"I don't know if I can explain everything now, okay Malik? Let's just go to the doctors to get you checked out. I'm sure Marik and Bakura will catch up with us there."
"Ryou's right," Isis spoke up. "It's time to leave."
Malik sighed into Ryou's arms, but nodded. It seemed as if he would have to wait a bit longer to find the answers he wanted.
"Bakura…"
"Get the fuck away, Marik." The tomb robber growled, burrowing further in his arms.
"Bakura, please, I'm sorry…"
"Just, go away, Marik."
"No! Bakura I'm serious, I was a complete ass, I shouldn't have said something like that-"
"Something like what? We both know it's true." Bakura spat bitterly, refusing to look at the other dark. "I raped my hikari. Might as well face the facts and let everyone know. Hell, let's go tell the Pharaoh right now! Maybe he'll be nice and send me to the Shadow Realm!"
"Bakura-"
"It hurts, you know?" the yami interrupted once again, staring out across the lake, resting his chin on his knees, arms still wrapped around them. "I didn't mean for it to happen…I never wanted to hurt him like that…I didn't want to t-take his innocence away from him before he was r-ready!" The thief was now sobbing out loud, choking on his words.
Marik stood back and watched helplessly, feeling his heart throb painfully in his chest. It was his fault Bakura was like this…Dropping to his knees, he pulled Bakura away from the tree and out of his curled position and into his arms.
"Shh Kura, I'm sorry…I'm so so sorry…It wasn't your fault, alright? It wasn't your fault."
"Yes it was!" He wailed, clutching onto Marik's shirt desperately. "It's all my fault! Oh Ra, I wish I never came to Ryou! I wish he never found this damn ring!" Bakura clawed at his chest where the golden jewelry rested somewhat desperately before going limp and slumping into Marik's arms fully, crying softly.
"Kura," Marik whispered, his own eyes becoming watery at the sight of the once proud King of Thieves crying in his arms. "It'll be okay, Bakura…Ryou forgave you, remember? He loves you, Kura. Just like me and Malik do…" The thought of his own hikari made him wince; he was worried about him. "Come on lover, let's go catch up with everyone at the doctors."
"I don't deserve to be forgiven." Bakura mumbled, shaking his head.
"Everyone deserves to be forgiven, Bakura." Marik said sternly, pulling the other back by his shoulders to look him in the eye. "We both made mistakes…running away isn't going to make up for them." Bakura's puffed up eyes glowed in understanding.
"You're right, Marik, I'm sorry for being such an idiot." Marik chuckled bitterly and hugged the yami to his chest.
"If anyone was being an idiot, it was me. I'm the one who should be sorry, Kura." He kissed Bakura's lips and stood up. "Come on, let's go meet up with the others."
Bakura sat on the ground and stared out at the lake one last time before smiling and standing up alongside Marik. He mumbled a quick thanks to the other, and began to walk back to Malik's home with the intent of grabbing their motorcycle, Marik following behind him.
"Malik Ishtar?" A nurse called, holding a clipboard in front of her. Malik blinked and nervously stood up, Ryou steadying him. The nurse ran her eyes up and down the two before walking down the hall. "Come with me, please."
Ryou lead Malik down the hall and into the next room, Isis and Rishid following him. The nurse informed that there'd be a few minute wait until the doctor was there, and then promptly left the room, slamming the door behind her.
Malik fidgeted slightly from his spot on the doctor's table, his hand clenching and unclenching on poor Ryou's fingers.
"Relax, Malik, there's nothing to be worried about-" Isis was about to go on, when her cell phone cut her off. She blinked, but answered it, her face becoming pale when she heard the message on the other end. "I'll be right there." She hung up.
"Neesan?" Malik asked quietly.
"I'm sorry, Malik. There's an emergency at the museum, they need me there as soon as possible along with Rishid." Malik's blind eyes widened.
"But-"
"Ryou will stay here with you, I'll inform the doctor on my way out." She leaned down and kissed Malik's forehead. "I'm sorry, Malik…but I really have to go." Not waiting for a response, she forced a reluctant Rishid out of the room with her, leaving Malik and Ryou alone in the examination room.
"Malik-chan…" Ryou whispered softly, noticing that Malik seemed even more upset. "It's okay…"
"Yeah," he muttered, absently stroking the other hikari's hand, unable to see the blush that lit up Ryou's features. "Hey, Ryou?"
"Hmm?"
"Is what Marik said true? About Bakura, uh…"
"Yes…" Ryou whispered, and felt Malik squeeze his hand. "But, I've forgiven him. He was drunk…"
"But what about all those times he hurt you before?" Malik asked angrily. "How can you be so kind to them after all he's done to you?" There was heavy silence that hung in the air after Malik's outburst, and just when Ryou opened his mouth, the door creaked open.
"Ishtar Malik?" A tall man with piercing blue eyes and brown hair asked, peering over his glasses at the two sitting on the table.
"Um, that's me, sir." Malik spoke up, once again back to his nervous fidgeting.
"Hmm." The doctor hummed thoughtfully, and walked up to the teen, pushing Ryou away, to begin his examination. "What seems to be the problem, Mr. Ishtar?"
"I can't see." Malik said rather bluntly. "And, I can't remember anything that happened for the past few weeks."
"Really now?" The doctor asked, frowning. "Did this just happen all of a sudden? Or was there a cause?"
"I, uh…don't remember."
"He was kidnapped a few days ago." Ryou informed shyly, seeing that Malik didn't have any information to give. "We just got him back this morning."
"I see." He took Malik's chin in his hands and turned him left and right, then moved on to his arms and legs. "He seems to not have any physical injuries other than his eyesight and memory loss. The trauma from his kidnapping could explain the memory loss, but, I haven't a clue why he can't see."
Suddenly, a loud commotion could be heard outside, cussing and swearing followed by screams and shouts before the door slammed open.
"Sir! I'm sorry, but these two insisted on barging in here!" the nurse from before panted, her hair disheveled and staring at the doctor while fearfully glancing behind her, where Bakura and Marik stood.
"Bakura!" Ryou shouted excitedly, sliding past the doctor and nurse to jump into his yami's arms. "I was so worried about you! Don't run off like that again, please!"
"Sorry to worry you, aibou." Bakura mumbled affectionately, squeezing his light to his chest. "I just, needed some time…" Ryou hung on to his other half, and burrowed his face into his chest.
"It wasn't your fault…I love you." He whispered, so only the other could hear.
"What is the meaning of this?" The doctor asked angrily, startling Ryou who jumped out of his dark's arms quickly.
"Um, sorry sir, but…"
"We're close friends of Malik's." Marik informed, stepping out from behind Bakura and shutting the door on the poor traumatized nurse behind him. "Sorry to have interrupted." The doctor blinked perplexedly before turned back to Malik, who was now looking more nervous than before.
"Right. Now, do you remember anything about your kidnapping? Anything at all?" Malik shook his head, a troubled look on his face.
"No. I can't remember anything."
"Ryou was kidnapped with him, is there anything you remember that could have caused this?" Bakura asked, turning to his hikari.
"I wouldn't remember either, I was knocked out by the drug Honda used…"
"There were drugs involved?" Ryou glanced at the doctor and nodded his head. "I see. Well, let me take a blood sample from Malik here, then we'll see if we can get to the bottom of this."
The doctor then proceeded to whip out a needle and tube, turning to the other three in the room. "I'll ask you not to look while I do this, for his sake and my own." Then, he proceeded to get his sample.
Malik flinched once the needle came in contact with his skin, and gasped when he saw painful flashbacks of Honda with a needle, coming at him. Whimpering, he clutched his head when the doctor stepped back.
"Malik?" Marik asked urgently; he had seen the flashes as well.
"I'm…I'm okay." He panted, still clutching his head with his eyes clenched shut. The doctor seemed to understand what had happened, and backed away to give the teen some air.
"I'll go run a few tests on this sample and phone you with the results sometime tomorrow. Meanwhile, I want you to stay put in bed." He looked at the other three. "He's not to have any unnecessary stress, understand?" He seemed satisfied when the three nodded their heads, and left the room.
"Malik-kun?" Ryou asked hesitantly, wondering if he should walk over to him or not. Malik slowly uncurled and sat up, sliding off the table. Marik, who was closest, grabbed on to Malik's hand when the light held it out. Knowing it wasn't Ryou's hand he felt, Malik paused hesitantly, before following where Marik was leading him.
"We brought both bikes, it's a good thing too since it seems as if Isis and Rishid aren't here." Marik said, happy his hikari didn't push him away. "Where did they go anyways?"
"Emergency at the museum." Malik mumbled, letting out a small yawn. He was already worn out from the day's activities.
"Let's get you back to bed," Marik muttered, noticing his hikari's exhaustion. When they reached their motorcycles, however, he became hesitant.
((Would you like to ride with Bakura, instead?)) He asked his light through their link. Malik jumped in surprise at hearing the deep, rumbling voice in his head.
/ H-Huh/ He stuttered confusedly.
((I asked if you'd rather feel more comfortable with Bakura on the bike? ))Marik tried as hard as he could to make his voice sound neutral; he didn't want his light to know how it hurt to know Malik was still afraid of him.
/ No, it- it doesn't matter./ Marik's face brightened considerably.
((Really? You'll be okay if you ride with me?))
/Yeah…/ Malik couldn't help but smile when he felt Marik's attitude shift abruptly. It was, nice, to see his yami in such a good mood.
"Meet you back at Malik's?" Bakura asked, mounting his cycle with Ryou behind him.
"Yeah, see you there!" Marik called, helping Malik situate himself on the bike so he wouldn't fall off. He climbed on himself, and grabbed Malik's hands to make him hold him around the waist. "Don't let go."
"I know…" Malik mumbled embarrassedly, leaning his head on his yami's back when the other started the motorcycle. Checking once more to make sure his hikari was safely on, Marik sped off down the road to the Ishtar household.
They pulled in about fifteen minutes later next to Bakura's bike. Marik smiling when he caught the two cuddling while sitting on the porch. He helped his hikari down, and carefully led him to the front door.
"You okay, Malik-kun?" Ryou asked, giggling when the other light yawned.
"Mmtir'd…" He mumbled, practically dozing on his feet. He fell forwards and landed in Bakura's arms. At first, he was too frightened to move, but because he was too tired, he didn't really care, and hesitantly snuggled into the welcoming warmth.
"O..kay.." Bakura muttered, a bit surprised. He gently swooped Malik up in his arms, feeling him curl up to his chest and moan quietly. Marik and Ryou couldn't help but coo at the scene until Bakura began to glare and motion for them to open the door.
The white haired yami carried Malik upstairs and into the tanned hikari's room; gently depositing him on the bed. The light groaned once more before curling around his pillow into a tiny ball.
"Kawaii…" Marik and Bakura booth crooned at the same time, giving each other grins.
"Oyasumi, Malik-kun…we'll get your blood results tomorrow, and find out what's wrong." Ryou muttered, before cautiously tugging the covers over the teen. He was out like a light.
Signaling to the yami hikari pair, Marik tip toed out of the room and into the hallway, shutting the door behind him when Ryou and Bakura followed.
"I don't know about you two…but I'm already tired out, and it's not even the evening yet!" Marik sighed, leaning up against the wall.
"Me too." Bakura admitted, still feeling emotionally drained from his outburst earlier.
"Would you like me to make you something to eat then?" Ryou offered quietly. "I'm sure Isis-san wouldn't mind loaning me her kitchen…"
"That'd be great, Ryou." Marik strained a smile at the light, frowning when all he received back was a hesitant quirk of the teen's lips before he disappeared downstairs. He watched him for a second, before quickly cursing. How could he be so stupid?
"What's wrong?" Bakura asked gruffly, tugging the yami down the steps.
"I just realized that with all this shit going on with Malik, we completely forgot about how traumatized Ryou is…After all, I bet Honda brought back some, unpleasant memories."
"Shit, you're completely right…" Bakura growled, his shoulders slumping with realization. "Shit, shit, SHIT!"
"B-Bakura-sama?" Ryou peaked his head out from behind the wall to the next room. "I mean, ano, Bakura…Is something wrong?"
"Nothing, Ryou-chan." Bakura lied, and forced a small, reassuring smile at his hikari. "Nothing's wrong…"
"Um, if you're sure…" Ryou mumbled before disappearing back into the kitchen to continue with his cooking.
"How could I forget that?" Bakura muttered as soon as his light was out of hearing distance. "How could I forget my own hikari…even for a moment!"
"Bakura, knock it off. It's been understandable with all the stress that's been going on."
"But, Marik! You're absolutely right…I was wondering why he seemed so reserved. And just now, he added the 'sama' again!" Bakura clenched his eyes shut in frustration, his nails cutting into the palms of his hands. He felt like such an idiot.
"Bakura…" Marik mumbled, once again tugging the dark into his arms and down on the couch, situating the body in his lap. "We're just going to have to give him time, Kura…And be slow with him. He'll be alright, Ryou's stronger now."
"But he's still my light. And he's still fragile." Bakura sighed, tilting his head back, a bitter smile on his face. "I'm a worthless yami, I've barely been there for him his whole life, and when he needs me the most I end up having a breakdown."
"Kura…"
"No, seriously. This whole situation just, sucks." The former thief didn't move a muscle as Marik's arms tightened their hold on him, trying to offer what little comfort he could.
They sat there, each lost in their own thoughts until Ryou once again peaked out from the kitchen and hesitantly made his way over to them, fidgeting subconsciously.
"Um, food's ready." He said softly.
"Mmm, good, I'm starved!" Marik grinned, shifting around until Bakura got off his lap. "What did you make?"
"Oh, just a pasta dish…" Ryou blushed, following Marik as he lead the way to the dining room, unaware of Bakura's scrutinizing gaze behind him. "Should I wake up Malik?" He sat down across from the other yami, Bakura taking a seat next to him.
"Nah, let him sleep for a while," Marik said, piling massive amounts of food on his plate. "Mmm, this looks delicious, Ryou!"
"Thank you…" Ryou once again blushed, happy Marik approved. He glanced over at Bakura worriedly, wondering why the other was acting so quiet. Catching the other's concerned look, and sensing his uneasiness, Bakura smiled at Ryou before helping himself to some of the pasta as well.
"This is really good, hikari." Bakura complimented after taking a bite. "Yum…" Ryou smiled.
"Well, aren't you going to eat anything?" Marik asked, noodles hanging out of his mouth.
"I'm not that hungry," Ryou explained gently, trying to ignore the upset and disapproving looks he was receiving. "Really, I'm fine…"
"Just eat a little bit, Ryou." Bakura said sternly. "Let's not have this conversation again."
Ryou scowled a little, but eventually gave in and made himself a small plate, picking at it with obvious distaste. He yawned, but politely covered it up with his hands, and rubbed at his eyes.
"You look exhausted, Ryou." Marik observed, just then noticing the bags under the teen's eyes. "Maybe you should take a nap with Malik."
"But, Isis and Rishid will be back soon…" Ryou protested, "And besides, I don't want to accidentally disturb Malik while he's sleeping."
"Marik's right, you look down right drained." Bakura spoke up, still watching his light like a hawk, "Did you not get enough sleep last night?" Ryou flinched.
"Uh, no, I was fine," Ryou lied, wincing at how obvious he sounded. Both Marik and Bakura were looking more upset than before which was in turn making him even more nervous than he already was.
"Tell you what," Bakura started, surprisingly not to nag his other about the previous night. "Why don't you go get some rest while Marik and I do the dishes, okay?"
"But-"
"No buts," Marik scolded, a glimpse of a smile on his face. "Now, get your skinny butt upstairs and into bed."
Ryou looked between his yami and Marik, trying to figure a way out, but eventually sighed with defeat and did as he was told.
"Thanks, Ryou." Bakura smiled sincerely as the hikari made his way up the stairs. Ryou gave him a small smile back before disappearing down the hall.
"He probably had nightmares." Marik sighed.
"Yeah," Bakura said quietly, cleaning off the table. He glanced at Ryou's dish and wanted to scream in complete frustration over how little was on the plate and how Ryou didn't even look like he touched it. "Do you, do you think Ryou might have an eating disorder?" It hurt to ask, it hurt even to think of it as a possibility, but Bakura had to make sure he wasn't overreacting.
"I don't know, Kura. He might." The blond yami flinched at the thought, "Let's just see if he gets any better over the next few weeks, okay?"
The phone rang, startling the two out of their somewhat serious conversation. Marik rushed to grab it so the noise didn't wake his light up.
"Ishtar residence." He answered, trying to make his voice sound like Malik's.
"Hello, Marik."
"Isis." The yami scowled. "What is it?" The girl sighed tiredly on the other end of the phone.
"Look, the emergency here is bigger than I thought, and it's going to take a couple days to fix, so, Rishid and I won't be home for the rest of the week." She explained, frowning. "I'm trusting you to take care of him while we're gone?"
"Of course," Marik said, although he was inwardly seething. How could Isis abandon her brother now of all times?
"Thanks. I appreciate it."
"Yeah, whatever. I have to go now." He hung up, and felt arms wrap around his waist.
"Isis?" Bakura asked, playing around with the end of Marik's shirt.
"Yeah, she and Rishid won't be back for a few days. Apparently work is more important than family."
"Well, think of it this way. Now we'll have more time to try to get Malik and Ryou better again, without any interruptions."
"Yeah, I guess your right." Marik leaned back in Bakura's embrace and quickly kissed the other's lips. "I'm still sorry for upsetting you…"
"It's okay, Marik." Bakura shook his head, nuzzling against thick strands of blond hair. "I forgive you. Now, come on. Let's go check on the lights."
They quietly padded up the stairs, and peeked into Malik's room to see Ryou curled up to Malik's side, both sleeping quietly. Marik and Bakura both shot each other grins before silently making their way downstairs and into the living room.
"So, any ideas on what to do while they're out?" Marik asked, falling backwards on one of the two sofas in the room.
"Not a clue." Bakura sighed, "Any ideas on what to do when they wake up either?"
"Uhhh," Marik scratched his head sheepishly, "Wow, there really is nothing to do, is there? Um, we could watch the television thing until they wake up?" Bakura sighed, and plopped down on the end of the couch, curling up by Marik's feet.
"Yeah, that sounds good, I guess."
Marik reached to the coffee table, about to grab the remote, but was startled when the phone began to ring. Cursing, he leapt off the couch and grabbed the nearest one.
"Ishtar residence, Malik speaking." He answered, once again changing his voice to sound more like his hikari.
"Marik? It's Yami."
"Pharaoh?" Marik blinked, then scowled. "Whaddya want?"
"Just checking up on how Malik and Ryou are doing…Are they alright?"
"…Malik's not doing too good, actually." Marik winced, "He's blind and has no memories of what happened to him."
"Blind? How the hell did that happen? I thought you healed him!" Yami demanded, although Marik could detect a hint of shock in his words.
"I did. We don't know what caused it so we took him to the hospital or something. Right now we're waiting for his blood test results."
"Alright, well, Yugi and I'll be calling to check up on them, alright? I take it Ryou's alright?"
"No physical harm done, emotional however…" Marik let his statement trail off, twirling the telephone cord nervously.
"Ah, I understand." Yami said, his deep voice laced with sympathy. "Well, thanks for the information. I'll talk to you later, Marik."
"Yeah, see ya later pharaoh." Marik hung up the phone and turned back to the couch, blinking at Bakura's annoyed face. "What?"
"The phone woke Ryou up, and I'm guessing it must have woke Malik too." Bakura growled, standing up and heading to the stairs. After quickly checking his link, Marik found that Malik had indeed arisen as well.
"Shit, they only slept for about a half an hour…"
They once again quietly opened the doors, just in time to see Ryou wipe at his eyes quickly and flash a false smile at them.
"Hi Bakura-sa…Bakura!" He chirped. Bakura winced and immediately began to look upset, striding over to the bed quickly and clasping Ryou's hand.
"Ryou," He said sternly, trying to ignore the sting when Ryou flinched at his touch, "You've been having nightmares, haven't you?"
Ryou immediately bowed his head so his hair covered his eyes, not answering.
"Ryou? Nightmares about what?" Malik spoke up, startling the other three occupants who had forgotten he was awake. Malik stared ahead of him, a concerned look on his face as he reached out a hand to grasp onto his friend's other one.
"N-Nothing, Malik…" Ryou stuttered, tears leaking out of the corner of his eyes. He squeezed his yami's hand tighter. "I'm sorry Bakura…"
"There's nothing to be sorry about, aibou. Absolutely nothing." Bakura hissed, bringing his light's hand to his mouth and kissing each fingertip. "It's okay to have nightmares, alright? Just, don't keep them a secret. If you can't tell me, tell Marik or Malik okay?"
"B-Bakura, I…"
"He's right, Ryou." Marik finally spoke up, walking around to the other side of the bed, where his own light sat. "It's perfectly normal to have bad dreams, and be scared. Just, don't hold it in, okay?"
"I'm sorry." Ryou whispered, sniffling as he caressed the side of Bakura's face with the hand that the dark one had been kissing.
"Will someone please tell me what's going on?" Malik threw his hands up in exasperation. "It's bad enough that I can't see anything, but I'm totally confused as well! Why are you all acting so friendly towards each other? I don't understand!"
"Malik, settle down…" Marik muttered, placing a hand on his light's shoulder.
"I will not calm down until someone explains to me what went gone these past few weeks!" Malik said stubbornly, shrugging off Marik's hand, even though he knew he could get in trouble for it.
Ryou and Bakura looked at each other nervously.
"Malik, we just don't think it'd be healthy to let you know everything yet…"
"I don't care if it's healthy or not, I want to know!"
"But, Malik…"
"Ryou. How would you feel if one day, you went to sleep knowing that your yami hated and abused you, then you woke up and all of a sudden he's acting as if he's your best friend and you have no idea why?"
Ryou winced. He understood what Malik was saying, but at the same time didn't know how to tell him.
"Someone, please just tell me…" Malik whimpered, closing his eyes in frustration and gripping onto the covers around him. Suddenly, his unseeing eyes flew open in shock as a pair of lips suddenly enveloped his own, the familiar feeling sending a tingle down his spine. The warmth disappeared just as suddenly as it appeared, and Malik blinked in disbelief, slowly reaching a hand up to feel his lips.
It was silent. Malik almost couldn't tell that there were three other people in the room with him if not for their slow breathing. Suddenly, a small sound caught his attention, and he slowly reached his hand up, encountering a face covered in tears - his yami's face.
Marik had kissed him.
The face jerked back from Malik's touch, and suddenly the teenager felt something drop into his hand. He heard rapid footsteps move away from him, then the slamming of a door.
Still in a daze, he slowly fingered the object in his hands, realizing that it was a necklace of some sorts…
Wait a minute…
-
"It fits you perfectly, and it brings out your eyes…I won it for you. Do you like it?"
-
Crying out, Malik grabbed onto his head as memory after memory of the days he forgot replayed themselves.
He could vaguely feel someone shaking him before his eyes rolled in the back of his head, and he passed out.
Chibi B: Gah, I know...This chapter was super boring and random...But, I'm running out of ideas and I can't seem to find how to END this!
Taski: Loooooser!
Chibi B: I know! But, yeah, this chapter was roughly 7000 words - the longest chapter in a while so, I hope you enjoyed at least SOME of it:waves: Until next time!
R&R! And please, if you have any ideas - please share! I might take some into account!