Hey guys, thanks so much for the feedback. I'd like to thank everyone!
Yugi and Mai – Yep, you're right, I did steal the lines from the TV show. I'm so naughty! And yes…things will get worse. I'm such an evil cow, aren't I? Thank you very much for the compliment!
Lia Xaragi – Ah…if you don't like sonnets then you might not like the chapter after this one. Yes, it seems very odd that you're sticking up for the shrimp but you have to admit, I was a bit nasty to him… And I would love to read your Fruits Basket fic when it's done. Is it a one-shot or multi-chapter? Hope this chapter is as good as the last one…although it is very long.
Mai – Thank you so much for your review, you really cheered me up! Your compliments really boosted my confidence because I thought nobody liked this story. Your review is truly appreciated.
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! as usual or 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', that's Mr Shakespeare again. I do have the story though, all to myself!
Warning: Crude references made about food, a rather boring history lesson and Marik (well, he needs a warning just for being here). The introduction to prejudices of society is woven in here too but it's not in your face or anything. No sex though, I think.
Note: New feature to my story, blah is when Marik is talking in Arabic. This only features in this part though luckily. It's just because I couldn't be bothered to look up things in Arabic. You probably won't even notice it, it's only for a few sentences.
"Blah" is speaking, #blah# is thinking and songs while /blah/ is emphasis. xxxxxx and xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx are dividers in a chapter. For this chapter, >blah> is people speaking Arabic.
Now everyone is fourteen and they're starting high school, which is going to be very interesting as two new people get introduced...
(Just a note to say that this chapter is dedicated to Mai because she reassured me that I wasn't a crap writer.)
Chapter one: Beginning the Tale
"Eugh…why the hell am I awake at this stupid time in the morning?" Joey groaned as he, Tristan, Yugi and Téa walked to school.
"First of all Joey, it's only eight in the morning and second of all, we're starting high school so we have to get there earlier anyway." Téa explained, sighing in exasperation at Joey's moaning.
"But eight in the morning /is/ early for me! At this rate I'm going to have to spend the first lesson catching up on sleep!"
"Well it's not like you do anything other than sleep." Tristan interjected, causing to Joey to frown.
"Yes I do!"
"Just calm down guys! The only reason we're up this early is to find out how long it takes us to get to school. And anyway, we might see someone interesting." Yugi interrupted, not wanting to hear an argument this early in the morning. It was bad enough that he had disputes with his grandpa about Téa, who he insisted he shouldn't talk to because she was a girl. He couldn't really understand the problem though, it wasn't like he was going to jump Téa or anything. In fact the thought of that just made Yugi shiver.
"Well I hope we see something/any/thing, interesting or you might have to carry me home on a stretcher." Joey replied, causing the others to laugh.
"Only if they had one big enough." Unable to think of a comeback, Joey merely glared at Tristan.
Fifteen minutes later and they reached Domino High School. Although they had always thought their school was large, this building was the definition of /big/. There were at least three blocks, each one made up of three floors with staircases connecting them as well as patches of grass, dotted with benches. There were people flowing in through the gates, like leaves on a river, occasionally caught up by the rocks known as their friends. Despite this, there were very specific areas made up of royal blue and pink, the attitudes of the society firmly fixed in their minds. The gates opened up to a large path leading to the main doors with grass on either side, your typical American high school.
Unsure of where to go, the four of them milled around on the grass, waiting until something happened that indicated where they were supposed to go.
"Well this is boring…" Joey said, slumping down onto the ground.
"Oh so we're eager to get into school now are we?" Téa asked.
"No! I just hate waiting around, that's all." Joey pointed out and Yugi nodded in agreement.
"Me too. I just want to get this day over and done with." Yugi said, sitting down on the grass next to Joey.
"Well we've only got ten minutes until the bell goes so something's got to happen soon." Tristan said hopefully.
Just as he said this, they saw someone walking in their direction, no, make that towards them. They stared; they had never seen anyone like him before. (Note from Chen: Can you guess who it is from the description?) Long, wheat coloured hair that reached his shoulders, gold chokers around his neck and dangly gold earrings. His most prominent feature though was his lavender coloured eyes. Yugi's eyes were considered strange enough when they first saw him but this boy's eyes were even weirder. For as well as being purple, they had odd marks underneath them, flicking out from the corners of his eyes, going across before flicking inwards.
He stopped when he reached them and looked around, almost seeming to not realise they were there. A second later though he faced them and smiled.
"Hey are you new too?" His accent was strange and nobody knew what it was apart from Yugi.
"Yeah we are. Your accent…where are you from?" Téa replied, the question making the boy smile.
"Egypt." He looked at Yugi, who had said it at nearly the same time as him. "Wow, you're the first person who's known straight away."
"Well my grandpa talks to Shadi occasionally and-" He stopped, seeing the boy looking interested.
"I assume this is /the/ Shadi. How does your grandpa know him?" Ah, problem. You weren't supposed to tell anybody about the Item you held unless you trusted them. Apart from grandpa, Téa, Tristan and Joey were the only people who knew. "After all, Shadi is an important person, what with having the Scale and Key. Which must mean you have one of three: Eye, Puzzle or Ring. Well I know for a fact it's not the Eye, he disappeared a long time ago so two left. Like to enlighten me on which one it is?" The others stared at him, shocked. Not many people had such knowledge of the Items. The most anybody knew was that were seven Millennium Items and some people had them. So unless he was an obsessive, that meant…
"You have an Item too." As soon as Yugi said this, he noticed a glimmer inside Marik's jacket, the Item being revealed. It would only happen if the person so wished it or if they told someone they had it. Which wasn't that often, it was a risky thing to do.
"That must mean you have…the Rod." Téa said slowly and as soon as Yugi heard this he backed away slightly.
"You have the Rod?" He squeaked. The other three stared at him; they didn't know what its ability was. But Yugi did and it scared him.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to use it on you. Why would I anyway, Puzzle boy?" It glowed slightly as it was revealed and Yugi sighed.
"Yep, I have the Puzzle. But don't tell anyone please."
"Of course I won't as long as you don't tell anyone about the Rod. I don't want people cowering every time they see me."
"Why would they cower?" Tristan asked.
"Because you can mind control people with it." He whispered, looking around to make sure no one was listening.
"Really? Have you ever used it before?" Joey said, sounding fascinated and frightened at the same time.
"Only once and it was horrible…I don't really want to talk about it." They remained silent for a moment, uneasy at what he had said until Yugi said thoughtfully,
"I've only used the Puzzle once too. Remember that time when we were threatened by that armed robber?" The others nodded their heads, the memory of what happened running through their heads. "I used it on him then, but I didn't know how much power I was using so I killed him by accident."
"So that's why he…" Joey said aloud, tailing off when the image of the man lying on the ground came into their minds.
"Yeah… So then-" Yugi suddenly stopped, realising he didn't know what the boy's name was.
"Marik Ishtar." He kindly offered and Yugi smiled in thanks.
"I'm Yugi and these three are Joey, Tristan and Téa." He pointed at the others before turning back to Marik. "Do you know where we're supposed to go?"
"You mean you haven't gotten your stuff yet?"
"No. Is that bad?" Téa asked nervously.
"We've got a few minutes, we should be ok." He started to walk towards the school and the others followed him.
They entered the building and while they looked around at all the lockers and how big the main hall was, Marik appeared uninterested as he led them to an office. Inside was a woman sitting at a desk, surrounded by filing cabinets and various pieces of paper, leaving just enough space on the desk for a couple of framed photographs and a computer. She looked up when she heard them enter and smiled kindly.
"Hello, I assume you want your timetables etc." They nodded their heads and it was then she spotted Marik. "You looking forward to school so much you want another timetable Marik?" Seeing the others' faces, she laughed. "Don't worry, I live just down the road. My daughter and his sister are good friends." She shook her head and laughed again. "So then, what are your names?"
"Yugi Muto." She looked through the pieces of paper until she found his. She did the same with the others and just as she was giving Téa hers, the bell went.
"Just go up the stairs outside this room and your homeroom is on the left, second one along." They thanked her before making their way to their room.
As they did so, they looked at what they had been given and they saw a timetable as well as a combination number for their lockers. They entered their homeroom and saw that some people were milling around, talking to each other while others had sat down.
"Window seats!" Joey and Tristan said excitedly, running to make sure they got them.
"Don't worry, that's normal." Téa said to reassure Marik as they followed them to the tables they were now sat at. They had just settled down when the teacher walked into the classroom and across to her desk at the front.
"Good morning students, my name is Miss Abrahams and I am your form tutor. I will be taking the register with you in the morning and afternoon as well as keeping an eye on how you are doing in your subjects. You will be seeing each other a lot as you will have most of your classes together, except for maths, D.T. and P.E. and I will be teaching you for history in here. As it is the first day of the school year, you will be missing the first two lessons in order to get everything sorted out." She paused and looked around the classroom, noting the number of empty desks. "Is everyone else lost?"
In answer to this, the door opened and a group of about ten students walked in, looking sheepish when they noticed that everyone else was sitting down.
"Sorry miss but we got lost." One of them said nervously as they stood bunched at the door.
"Don't worry, it's only your first day so I expected some of you to get lost. Please sit down." They did so quickly and she faced the whole class. "That looks better. Now then, for those of you who have only just come in, I was just telling the others that I am your form tutor and will be looking after you this year and that most of your classes are together apart from maths, D.T. and P.E. Oh, I forgot to mention that after the first term, all of your lessons will be put into sets apart from English, IT, Art and Music. The first two lessons are cancelled in order for you to get settled in. Now that all of that is done, I can take the register."
She did so and then allowed them to talk for a few minutes while she went to find out what had happened to a student who was still missing. The group got out their timetables and looked at them to see what they had.
"Well we've got history after break, so that's all right." Marik commented and Tristan pulled a face.
"Yuck…history." His comment was drowned out by Joey though who took one look at his timetable and screamed.
"NO! Maths, science /and/ English! I don't think we've got a worse day than today!" The rest of the class turned around to stare at him while Téa gave him a glare.
"Joey, will you control yourself!"
"I must admit, I'm not enjoying the prospect of maths." Yugi said to diffuse the situation while Marik looked on with interest.
"It might be ok, hopefully the teacher won't drop us in the deep end. And anyway, we're in sets so they'll work to our pace."
"That's a point, how do we know what sets we're in?" Tristan asked.
"It says on the timetable…" They looked at their schedules and it turned out that Marik and Téa were in set two, Yugi was in set three and Joey and Tristan were in set four.
"Typical, we're in the dumbo set." Joey muttered and Yugi smiled comfortingly.
"Don't worry Joey, if you both work hard enough then you can ask them to move you up."
"Yeah, you're right Yuug. We'll be with you in no time." He cheered up after this. "So then, what about this missing person?"
"Well I don't remember them going to our school. What about you Marik?"
"Huh?" He looked up at Téa and frowned. "No, I don't recognise them…"
"Oh well, I'm sure they'll turn up." Yugi shrugged his shoulders as Miss Abrahams walked into the room.
"Right class, you can put your stuff in your lockers now if you want. You should have your numbers and combinations. You're allowed to put pictures etcetera in them but don't graffiti them please." People started standing up, objects in their hands as they made their way out of the classroom. "You'll find them just outside this room."
The rest of the two lessons went slowly, but at least it gave the four of them more of a chance to find out things about Marik. Soon it was break and they decided to try and find out where the maths rooms were so they didn't embarrass themselves by getting lost. As they were doing so, they saw a girl ahead of them who smiled when she saw them and walked up to them.
"So how's my little baby brother doing?" She said in a puerile voice, causing Marik to frown and cross his arms.
"Fuck off Ishizu, I'm not a baby. For a start off you're only two years older than me." Marik growled in return, causing her to gasp.
"Marik, don't swear! And you're a baby because you insist on acting like that." She said and it was then she noticed the others standing there in silence staring at her. "Aren't you going to introduce your friends to me then?"
"Oh yeah. This is Yugi, Tristan, Joey and Téa." Marik said casually. "We're all in the same class. Guys, this is my sister Ishizu. She's in grade eleven."
"Hi." They said quietly and she laughed.
"Don't be so nervous, I'm not going to bite you!" She looked at her watch and sighed. "Break's nearly over."
"Hey Ishizu, do you know where the maths room are?"
"You got that next?" Marik nodded his head. "They're in the building there on the middle floor. They're in order so it should be easy to work out which one is which." She explained.
"Thanks sis. We'd better get going now." They turned to leave but she stopped them, saying,
"Oh Marik, I won't be walking after school so Odion will pick you up instead." Marik blushed furiously at this.
"What? I'm old enough to walk home on my own!" He yelled, stamping his foot on the ground as his eyes flashed in anger.
"You may be old enough, physically if not mentally, but it isn't safe and you know why." She snapped back, crossing her arms.
"Well Yugi doesn't need someone to walk him home!" He argued.
"Marik!" Yugi squeaked, knowing Marik had just broken his word.
"And why does that support your argument?"
"Because Yugi has a Millennium Item too." Marik said triumphantly, causing Yugi to sigh. Marik noticed his face and smiled. "Don't worry, Ishizu knows all about the Items, she has one too."
"The Necklace…" Ishizu admitted, although she kept it hidden. "But Marik, that isn't the point! Yugi walks home with other people and you don't!"
"What if I found someone to walk home with?"
"I don't know Marik, you'd have to talk to mum. And anyway, you haven't seen Odion for weeks and when he finally gets a day off you don't want to see him! You ungrateful little brat!" She said angrily, her voice rising.
"He's probably only doing it because mum told him to! He doesn't care about me, he just doesn't want to get it in the neck from her." Marik replied, causing Ishizu to sigh.
"He does care about you. He wanted to see you today because it was your first day of school and he had to get special permission from-"
"He shouldn't have to get permission from that bastard! He acts like he's more important than his own family is." Ishizu sniffed and shrugged her shoulders.
"Well whatever Marik. Just be civil to him when you see him ok?"
"Fine." He said before walking off.
The others stood there for a moment, not sure what to do or even what had just happened. They turned to Ishizu and she smiled tiredly, shaking her head.
"I'm sorry you had to see that. Marik can…be like that sometimes."
"This may sound rude but what was that about?" Téa asked.
"Our brother Odion works as a body guard for Shadi and well…we haven't seen him much recently. Apparently Shadi's been getting a bit restless so Odion hasn't been able to get a lot of time off. Marik loves him really but they always used to be together and now he hardly sees him anymore. I think he feels jealous…" She explained. "And in a way, I think Marik blames Odion for what's happened recently."
"What do you mean?" Yugi said but Ishizu shook her head.
"That really isn't up to me to tell you. Try not to be too hard on him, he's been through a lot in the last year, stuff he shouldn't have to go through at his age." He looked like he was going to ask her another question but she stopped him. "He'll tell you when he wants to." The bell went and she looked around, as though surprised by it. "Well I'd better get going. See you sometime maybe."
She continued down the corridor and the others stood there for a moment in silence before making their back to their form room and history. When they arrived, they found Marik sitting at his desk, leaning on his elbows as he stared down at the wood. He didn't look up when they sat down at their desks, he didn't even move. Téa got up from her seat and knelt in front of Marik, looking up at him.
"Marik?" His eyes flickered in her direction but he couldn't hold her gaze and he continued to look downwards. "We'll talk at lunch ok?" He nodded his head slightly and being satisfied, she sat back down at her desk. Just then the teacher walked into the room and waited until the class had quietened down before speaking.
"Right students, for this term we'll be studying the Great Depression." This signalled lots of groans from everyone and Miss Abrahams sighed. "I know you think it's boring but you'll be tested on it at the end of the term so you need to know it."
"But Miss, some of us have done this before." Someone called out and she raised an eyebrow.
"Is that so? Then /some of you/ should be able to tell me what the causes of it are. And no calling out." She wrote 'Causes of the Depression' on the board before drawing a circle around it. She let the class copy it out before continuing. "So then, can anyone tell me the causes?" There was silence, obviously those who had done it before couldn't remember. "Nobody?" Marik sighed and put up his hand. "Yes Marik?"
"What about the Wall Street Crash?" He suggested.
"Yes, that was a very important factor. Can anyone tell me about the Wall Street Crash?"
"It was caused by a loss of confidence in the market." Someone said, their hand in the air.
"That is true but why was there a loss of confidence?" She persisted and was met again by silence.
"Because important investors started selling their stuff and that panicked everyone as they thought that something must be going on. As well as lots of selling, there was no buying, resulting in share prices crashing." Marik said in a bored voice, causing everyone to stare at him in surprise.
"Yes…that's right Marik. Any other suggestions?" Although she didn't specify Marik, it was obvious that it was he she meant.
"There was corruption in the banking system, no proper regulations and this meant that people could still buy and sell with huge debts. They were using money they didn't have."
"This is excellent Marik. And you have also touched on another important point. The type of market is also important. At this point, the stock market was known as a 'bull market'." She paused as the class wrote this down, looking around. "Would anyone like to guess what it is? Marik?"
"I don't know, I've never studied the Great Depression before." He said, shrugging his shoulders, causing her to gasp.
"Then how come you know so much?"
"Guesswork mostly." He said, trying to sound casual although the others could tell he was blushing in embarrassment.
"Well it's very good guesswork. Does anyone else have an idea as to what a bull market is?" She looked at Marik, impressed.
"A bull market is where there is lots of buying and selling." Joey suddenly piped up and Téa looked at him in surprise. He'd never willingly given an answer to anything before, as he had a perpetual fear of being wrong. But from the look on Miss Abrahams' face, he was right.
"Well done Joey! Do you know much about the stock market?"
"Only what my uncle tells me." He said quietly and she looked at him expectantly. "The stock market is where shares are bought and sold. Shares are things that show the value of a company and they can go up and down in price depending on how the business is doing. If things are going very well, it's called a boom but if it's not so well, it's called a bust, or depression if it's very bad. It can be affected by lots of things, like foreign affairs, social and economic conditions etc." He stopped, realising how long he had been talking for and Miss Abrahams continued from where he left off.
"At the time, foreign affairs were not good. Because of high import prices and America's theory of standing alone, many countries in Europe refused to trade with them. The attitudes of the people were that if you weren't involved in shares, you were a nobody. Therefore everyone was involved, even if they didn't have money to do so. As Marik has said, there was no regulation so people could keep on getting loans. When the banks started calling them back in, nobody could pay them back, causing large amounts of money to be lost."
Just then the bell went and Miss Abrahams looked up in surprise. Had the lesson really gone that quickly? Everyone started to pack away, standing up so they could leave as quickly as possible.
"For homework I want you to make sure your notes on the Wall Street Crash are complete. I will be taking them in next lesson so don't think you can just forget about them." Cue another groan from the class. The five of them left the room and made their way to the maths rooms.
"Wow Marik, I don't know anyone who's so good at history." Tristan said in awe.
"Well…as I said, I just guessed most of the stuff. Some it was general things I knew anyway." He said quietly, blushing again.
"Hey, it's nothing to be embarrassed about! I think it's cool you're so good at something." Yugi said comfortingly. "And Joey, a man of the stock market. I didn't know you were interested in that stuff."
"Yeah, they're called traders but I'm not interested. My uncle keeps trying to get me involved even though he knows how bad at that sort of stuff I am." Joey said quickly, shaking his head so his hair covered his face.
"Well maths now…where are we going to go for lunch?" Téa asked.
"I have to go and buy something-"
"You're going to risk eating the crap they serve in there?" Marik interrupted. "My sister told me about the food, most of the time you can't recognise anything in it."
"I must admit, even I brought lunch with me today." Yugi added, causing Joey's face to fall.
"But you always buy lunch!"
"I wasn't going to risk getting food poisoning! I was going to use you as a guinea pig and if you're ok and the cooking's decent, I'll continue buying my food." Yugi explained.
"I wouldn't worry anyway Joey, you have a stomach of steel. Remember that time when that milk was off? You're the only person who didn't get ill as a result of it." Tristan said as they reached the maths rooms.
"Why don't you get your lunch as quickly as possible Joey and we'll meet you outside the canteen? Maybe we can go and eat on the grass."
"Good idea Yugi. But we have to survive maths first." Joey looked at the door with a sense of foreboding and Tristan rolled his eyes as he grabbed Joey's arm and entered the room.
"We'll see you guys later."
By the time the others found Joey at lunchtime, he was shaking and looked very pale. Apparently, according to Tristan, maths had been a lot worse than first thought. The fact that he ended up with something that looked like slurry for lunch didn't really help either. They found a patch of grass outside and sat down, while Joey collapsed.
"I now actually hate maths. I didn't understand anything we were doing this lesson!" He exclaimed dramatically.
"Joey, we only went through what we're doing this year." Tristan scolded.
"Exactly! It's just going to get worse!" He sighed, lying on his back. "I think I'm going to need extra help again Téa."
"We'll see ok. If it means I have to spend two hours trying to explain trigonometry to you again, I don't think I want to help you." She said, causing Marik to giggle.
"Trigonometry is one of the easiest things in maths!"
"My point exactly. Imagine how long it took me to try and explain the cosine rule to him."
"Don't mention that terrible thing!" Joey screamed, grabbing his head in agony.
"And /someone/ isn't overreacting…" Marik muttered, rolling his eyes as he took his lunch out. Joey spotted it and his eye began to twitch when he saw the…greenness of it.
"What's wrong with your lunch? It's got green stuff in it!" Joey yelled, leaping away from it.
"Err…nothing's wrong with it. This is what I normally eat." He said slowly, raising an eyebrow. "Is this normal behaviour too?"
"Oh yeah, we forgot to warn you that Joey has an allergy to green things. Especially if it's in a salad or roast dinner." Téa said, trying to stop herself from getting hysterical.
"I'll remember that for next time…" By now Marik was seriously wondering what he had got himself in for, talking to these people. He smiled; at least he had someone to talk to. "Want a bit of carrot?" He asked suddenly, holding out a piece of the orange vegetable to him.
"No, keep it away from me!"
"What's wrong with it? It's not green." Marik asked innocently, despite the evil smile on his face. He popped it into his mouth, only to nearly choke on it when he saw Joey's face.
"I can't believe you actually just ate that and then looked like you enjoyed it too!" Joey shouted, using his bag as a shield. "Stay away from me you mutant!"
"Oh really Joey, you're so stupid sometimes!"
"At least I don't eat that filth!" Joey retaliated. Marik merely shook his head and continued to eat his lunch. "And anyway, how does that fill you up? If I had to live on salad, I'd die of starvation."
"I have pasta too." Marik said cheerfully, causing Joey to shudder. "I just eat properly, that's all. Otherwise you get really unhealthy."
"That's the thing Marik. He may eat lots of crap but he's a great sportsman, he used to be on the football team back in junior high." Yugi explained.
"Ooh…well you just have a high metabolism. I don't, I balloon in weight if I'm not careful." He shrugged his shoulders. "Anyway, you may moan about my lunch but what about yours? It looks like it's come out of a cow's backside."
"You have to admit Joey, he's right. I wouldn't eat that stuff if you paid me a million dollars." Tristan peered at it closely, holding his nose. "What's it supposed to be anyway?"
"It's /supposed/ to be curry although now you mention it, it does look like some sort of animal waste. Oh well, looks like I go hungry." As he said this, his stomach growled loudly and he laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head.
"Oh Joey, what would we do without you? We can't let you starve." Téa said, passing over her sandwiches. "They're not your favourite but nevermind." Joey stared at them for a moment before grinning madly.
"Thanks Téa! It doesn't matter what's in them, as long as they're edible!"
"I don't think they even have to be edible…" Yugi muttered, smiling quietly to himself.
"So then Marik…what's Odion like? Ishizu told us he's your brother." Téa said hesitantly and Marik frowned, hearing his name.
"I wouldn't know what he's like, I haven't seen him in months." He said bitterly, looking downwards.
"But you get to see him today."
"So what? Whenever I see him, he never asks me how I am or anything, all he can talk about is Shadi and what's happening in the council. As if I care."
"Then why don't you tell him you don't want to talk about those things?"
"You think I haven't tried? He can never remember/Shadi/ takes up all his time." He said his name like it was poison in his mouth and that he was slowly dying every time he uttered it.
"Marik, why do you hate Shadi so much?"
"Because my brother thinks he's more important than I am!"
"You're jealous of him…"
"Of course I am! I looked up to him; he kept us all safe when my dad died. And now I don't see him anymore…"
"It's not that though, is it? There's something else…" Téa said, peering closely at Marik. He avoided her gaze, making it obvious that there was but he wouldn't reveal what it was.
"There's nothing else…nothing I want to talk about."
"But there is /something/." Téa said triumphantly. "Look Marik, if you want /we'll/ talk to Odion for you."
"Why do you think you'll make a difference? If his family can't then I doubt you can either."
"But we're strangers. We're your friends so maybe he'll feel he has to give off a good impression. We won't say much, just that you're a bit down so he should concentrate on you and make sure you're ok." Téa suggested and Marik looked at her, interested by what she had said.
"And you would do that?"
"Of course we would, we're your friends. We don't want you to be mad at your brother, family is one of the most important things in your life, it's not worth hating them." She explained and Marik smiled.
"Thanks."
The bell went and Joey and Tristan sighed, knowing they had science and English to survive before they could go home.
It turned out that science, a subject that most of them disliked could be split into three further things: biology, chemistry and physics. Which didn't impress Joey too much. Especially when he found out that there was a textbook for each one. And they would need to take their lab coats to every lesson. The only thing which made the whole situation better was the fact that they also discovered there was something called a Bunsen burner and that it could be used to set fire to a large number of things. As if this wasn't bad enough, Joey found out that /yet/ again, they would be doing Shakespeare in English, this time 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. And it didn't even have any blood in it, only a man with an ass' head. So by the time school ended, Joey was ready to throw himself out of a window, although this wouldn't have done much since they were on the ground floor. Marik seemed happy though, maybe it was because of what had happened at lunch.
They had agreed that Marik would 'go back to his locker' while the others went to find Odion and tell him that Marik would be along in a minute. They stood outside the school and looked around for a man fitting Marik's description of him: big, with dark hair in a ponytail and a big scar on his face. He had reassured them that Odion was kind and gentle really but they were still cautious when they finally found him, standing outside the school gate. In the end, Yugi rolled his eyes at Joey and Tristan's refusal to go near him and went up to him first instead.
"Hi, are you Marik's brother?" He asked cheerfully, trying not to let his fear show. Especially as there was a height difference of several inches i.e. twelve, between them. He looked down in surprise, he didn't realise they let ten year olds in to high school.
"Hello, who are you?" He asked, his accent even stronger than Marik's. Must be all that time he spent with Shadi.
"My name is Yugi Muto, I'm a friend of Marik's. He says that he'll be out in a minute, he left his history homework in his locker. We told him to keep it in his bag but he didn't want to carry his folder any further than necessary. Which meant he left it behind of course." Yugi continued to jabber, hoping that someone else would say something at any point in the next year or so. He was struggling to think coherently at the moment.
"Well thank you for telling me. Are you all friends of Marik's?" He indicated Joey, Tristan and Téa who were standing behind Yugi for protection, although Yugi wouldn't have proved much use, what with the height thing and all.
"Yes, we are." Téa replied politely, not wanting to get him irate.
"It's good to know he's making friends. I haven't seen him much recently, I've had a lot of work." Odion commented.
"You mean protecting Shadi? Marik told us about it, that's why he was upset earlier because he said that-" Yugi started but was soon stopped when he felt metal against his neck. Hr glanced down, squinting at the glare of the knife.
>Odion, what are you doing?> They heard Marik yell out, although they couldn't make out the words he said. They were in a different language or something.
>Marik, you told them about what I do! You know you're not supposed to, it's dangerous!> Odion bellowed, although he loosened his grip a bit, not wanting to upset his brother.
>For a start off, it was Ishizu who said it and anyway Yugi is the grandson of Solomon Muto. He holds the Millennium Puzzle. The others know about it, they know that Ishizu and me have Items too.> Marik explained quickly, his voice rising. >Now let him go, unless you want to explain to his grandfather why he's dead!>
>I'm sorry Marik, I didn't realise…> He let go of Yugi and he backed away, looking frightened at what had happened. His grandpa had warned him that something like this might happen, but he thought it wouldn't really. He turned to stare at Marik, confused by what was going on.
"Are you ok Yugi?" He asked and Yugi nodded faintly, avoiding his eyes.
"I am sorry, I did not realise you were Solomon's grandson. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions, I apologise." Odion said sombrely, putting the knife away.
"Err…would someone care to explain what the hell just happened? And what were you speaking in?" Joey interrupted, getting a weird look from Odion.
"We were speaking in Arabic and when Yugi said about protecting Shadi, I jumped to the conclusion that you were trying to hurt him. I'm getting too paranoid; it's his fault really. Getting all jumpy about the Millennium Ring this time." Odion explained.
"What have I said about carrying weapons when you're near me? You know I don't like them." Marik said distastefully and Odion smiled apologetically.
"I forgot, again. I'm forgetting everything recently but I think your friends may have reminded me of a few important things. Such as you. I'm sorry I haven't seen you recently, mum told me you were upset with me." He looked down at Marik and he smiled, stepping forward but suddenly he stopped and looked fearful. "Don't worry, nothing will happen."
"Are you sure?" Marik asked and Odion nodded his head. Marik smiled again before launching himself into Odion's arms, hugging him tightly. "I missed you." He whispered as Odion put his arms around Marik too. The others, realising that they should go now, said goodbye to him before making their way home.
The two of them stood like this for a little while, Odion holding Marik in his protective hug. With twelve years difference between them, Odion felt like his father in a way, which he had been since his real one had died. He taught Marik lots of things about life and Marik listened, knowing they would come useful in future.
"So then…" Odion finally said, letting go of Marik. "How was your day?"
"It was ok. Most of my lessons were boring; I had history, maths, English and science. I'm in set two for maths. Joey made science and English quite interesting though, he nearly chucked himself out of the window when he heard that we were doing Shakespeare. I don't think he likes English very much. And when he found out we have three textbooks for science…" Marik laughed, the image of Joey's indignant face coming into his mind. "His face was a picture! And then at lunchtime he went into this whole thing about my lunch and then wouldn't eat his because it looked like slurry." He continued to gush, excited that he could finally tell Odion about things that were happening to him.
"This Joey sounds very funny… Your friends look like nice people." Odion commented, knowing not to interrupt Marik for too long.
"They are nice. Joey's really silly; he makes me laugh all the time. Téa's the one who made me feel better at lunch-"
"Yes, she told me something had happened. What was it?"
"Ishizu told me that you were picking me up at break and I got really mad so I just left and she told them some stuff. She talked to me and suggested that she would mention something to you, to make you realise that I was upset. Didn't really work though, Yugi tried and then…" He trailed off, not wanting to talk about what had happened.
"So what are the other two like?" Odion asked, not seeming to notice the uneasiness in Marik's voice.
"Tristan is ok, he's quiet and doesn't say much but Téa told me that him and Joey have been friends for a long time and that he's always there to back them up." Marik paused. "Yugi is…I don't know. He's really thoughtful, always aware of what's going on. He may be short but he's got a big heart, he helped Joey and Tristan out a long time ago when they were bullying him and they've been friends with him ever since."
"He was bullied?"
"Yeah, his size doesn't really help him. He said that he had something wrong with him when he was younger to do with his chest and the drugs he was given sort of stunted his growth."
"Yes, Solomon said something like that to me. I didn't see him much then though, he spent all his time with Yugi, he was really afraid that he might die."
"I'm glad he didn't." They walked in silence for a while, enjoying the sunshine. "When I told him about the Rod, he was really scared of me because he thought I was going to mind control him." Marik laughed at that, although he stopped quickly. Odion looked at him and was shocked to see he was crying.
"Marik, what's wrong?" He asked, pulling him into a hug.
"He didn't even know me but because I told him I had the Rod, he didn't want to go anywhere near me! He judged me because I had it!" He sobbed, leaning his head on Odion's chest. "Odion, I don't want people to be scared of me for the rest of my life! I don't want to be alone."
"Shush Marik, you won't be alone. Yugi's not afraid of you now, is he? They're only scared of you because they don't understand. One day you'll meet someone who won't be afraid and when that happens, you'll never be alone again." Odion said comfortingly.
"When?"
"I don't know Marik but it will happen, I promise." Marik looked up and smiled at him, wiping his eyes.
"Thanks Odion." He whispered. Odion merely smiled before they continued their way home, talking about what they had both done recently.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
A few days passed and the five of them had settled down into the daily routine of school, although Joey continued to wonder at Marik's ability to live on salad and pasta for days on end. It was a Tuesday and the group had just entered the homeroom, which was now half full. They perched on their usual desks and started on the moan of the morning: P.E. Double P.E.
"I never understood the rules of football, I'd never even heard of it until I moved here. They automatically assumed I knew everything about it…" Marik commented.
"Then how do you survive in P.E.?" Yugi asked.
"I know what I'm not supposed to do so I can usually get myself sent off within the first five minutes." Marik grinned slyly while Tristan raised an eyebrow.
"And you do that every week?"
"I have 'anger problems' according to the record they keep here so most of the time, they don't make me play, unless it's a new teacher who hasn't bothered to read them." Marik explained.
"Hey, then you might be with me! They won't let me play football because of my height and all the health problems I had when I was younger." Yugi said.
"Looks like it's just me and you then Joey."
"I don't mind, I love P.E.! The only thing I don't like about it is gym."
"Which is what I'll be doing for most of the year! I hate netball too, it's so stupid. Why can't they just let me do dance for a whole year?" Téa sighed.
"Téa's really good at dance, she does it out of school." Yugi said to Marik.
"Hey guys, have you heard?" They looked over at the direction of the voice and noticed a boy named Andrew standing in front of them. "Apparently they found the missing student! They've been stuck in England for the last week. Looks like they'll be sitting next to you Téa." He said before going back to his friends.
"Stuck in England? Where's England?" Tristan asked and when he got raised eyebrows, he threw up his hands. "What? You know I'm bad at geography."
"It's in western Europe, in the island of Britain." Téa explained.
"Oh, Britain! I know where /that/ is."
Tristan was saved from further embarrassment by the bell and they sat at their desks, wondering what this new person was like, as was the rest of their class. Miss Abrahams entered the classroom with someone behind her but they couldn't see them properly (Note from Chen: Guess what peeps, it's another 'can you work out who it is' game!). The only thing they could see was snowy white hair and the blue uniform of the school. As the teacher stood at the front of the classroom, they could finally see the person. Their white hair reached their shoulders, framing their pale face and large brown eyes. Somebody wondered if they were a girl wearing the wrong uniform while others just stared in shock.
"Class, this is Ryou Bakura and he's from England." She turned to Ryou and noticed he looked like a rabbit caught in headlights. "Don't worry, you'll be fine. You can fit next to Téa, I'm sure she and her friends will be happy to show you around." He merely nodded his head before walking towards the empty desk.
"Oh man, it's a boy? He's not going to last a week in this place, he'll be beaten to a pulp!" Joey whispered in amazement, receiving a glare from Téa.
"I hate to say it Téa but he's right. Trust us, we know these things…" Tristan added quietly, just as Ryou reached his seat. He stared at them silently, fear in his eyes and so Téa smiled to put him at ease.
"Hi Ryou, I'm Téa and this is Joey, Tristan, Yugi and Marik." He looked at Marik with interest but it went back to fear when Marik met his gaze.
"Hi." He said shortly.
"So why have you moved to Domino then?" Yugi asked.
"I don't know really. I just go where my dad tells me to. I've been to a lot places in my life." Téa smiled to herself, she loved the British accent.
"So where have you been?"
"Japan, Australia, Greece, Brazil, Egypt-"
"Egypt? That's where Marik's from!" Téa exclaimed and Ryou glanced at Marik again.
"Marik Ishtar? Weren't you the one who put everyone's biscuits in their milk at nursery school?" Marik laughed in embarrassment.
"Err…yeah, that was me. I'm surprised you remember that." Ryou shrugged his shoulders, as though trying to remove the five pairs of eyes that were staring at him.
"So you were a terror as a child too then?" Joey said jokingly to Marik.
"So then Ryou, what set are you in for maths?" He frowned at Tristan. "Get out your timetable, it'll be on there." He did so and looked at it for a moment.
"Set three."
"Great, you're with me!" Yugi exclaimed. "Do you have an excuse for P.E. too?"
"P.E.? We've got that today?" Ryou practically squeaked, looking very panicky.
"Don't look so worried, it's only football. You can do what I do, use your ignorance of the rules to get yourself sent off in the first five minutes." Marik suggested, now beginning to get worried himself at the look on Ryou's face. "Anyway, it's after break so you've got a couple of hours of freedom yet."
They eventually went off to their first lesson of the day, maths, before going to geography. Break time came around and the group went out of the classroom to find their lockers and P.E. kits. It was only when they got to them that they realised that Ryou had disappeared. Deciding that he would turn up eventually, they grabbed their kits and made their way over to the changing rooms. When they arrived, Téa waved goodbye before making her way over to where the other girls were. The others went to the boys' room where they found a man waiting by the door with a clipboard in his hands.
"Football this half term boys so make sure you have the right kit on. Names please?" They did so and when he heard Yugi's, he turned to him. "Ah yes, I know you don't do football. Do you have any work you could be getting on with?"
"I have some maths homework." Yugi said.
"Well you can do some of that then. Right boys, off you go." They went to a fairly empty part of the changing room and placed their P.E. kits on the bench.
"Well he seems all right." Tristan commented.
"Yeah, unfortunately he seems like the sort of teacher who's willing to explain to you the rules." Marik said despondently, making the others smile.
"I'm sure you'll be ok at football." Joey said.
"I don't think I was built for football, I'm too short and skinny." Marik said, putting his shirt on as if to prove the point. Which it did in a way as it practically swamped him.
"You think you're short and skinny?" Yugi piped up and Marik smiled nervously.
"Ok, so maybe not compared to you but against to those good at it I am." He shrugged his shoulders before kneeling beside the pile of clothes that were his. "Yugi, can you look after the Rod for me? I wouldn't normally bother but Shadi's aggravated, which has made Odion aggravated and now I am too. It's infectious."
"Not here I assume?" Yugi asked, indicating the number of people nearby.
"In the toilets. Let's do it now." Just as he said that, they heard the teacher shout,
"Yugi, could I have a word with you please?" Marik looked worried when he heard this but Yugi just shrugged his shoulders.
"Marik, meet me in the restroom, I'll be as quick as I can." Yugi said and they went off in their separate directions. Yugi reached the teacher and looked up at him. "Yes sir?"
"Could you have a look around for a student please? His name is Ryou Bakura and I haven't seen him yet." Yugi was surprised at this, although he did his best not to show it.
"Yeah, I'll see if I can find him." Yugi went back through the changing room, looking around as he made his way to the restroom. Although he had to find Ryou, he thought he might as well do this at the same time.
He entered the restroom and found Marik standing at the end one with the door in a position where you couldn't see anyone and it didn't look suspicious either. Marik was standing behind it and smiled when he saw Yugi.
"What did he want?"
"Ryou hasn't turned up so I have to go look for him." Marik looked surprised, frowning.
"But he was in class this morning…" He shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe he just got lost. Here, you'd better take the Rod now." He revealed it but as he did so, they both sensed something. Another Millennium Item. Instantly they became edgy and Marik pushed Yugi behind him before holding the Rod out and peering around the door.
"What do you think it is?" Yugi whispered.
"I don't know but someone's in here too. Can you hear them?" They stood silent for a moment and they could hear someone breathing faintly.
Marik walked out of the cubicle and sidled towards the locked door, Yugi pressed up against his back. They saw it and bracing himself, Marik barged the door with his shoulder, only to hear someone squeak on the other side.
"Don't crush me please!"
"Ryou? What are you doing in there?" Marik said in surprise as they heard a click, the door being unlocked. Marik pushed it open and found Ryou sitting on the floor, knees against his chest, looking even paler than usual. He then saw what was in the toilet. "Yuck!" He jumped backwards, crashing into Yugi who was shocked to say the least.
"What!"
"There's…in the toilet…" Yugi frowned before realising what he was trying to say.
"You mean he's been sick?" Marik nodded, looking slightly faint and Yugi shook his head. "Go and tell the teacher we found Ryou and he's been sick, I'll see if he's ok."
"Doesn't the…bother you?" He asked in surprise, indicating with his hand so he wouldn't have to mention the dreaded word, essential if he wanted to keep the contents of his stomach inside where they belonged.
"Look, I lived in hospital for nearly a year, I've seen my fair share of vomit in that time." Yugi said and he pushed Marik out of the way, grabbing the Rod at the same time. "Now go!"
Marik nodded his head before rushing out of the toilet, obviously pleased to be away from them. Yugi rolled his eyes before turning back to Ryou, who hadn't said anything so far. In fact, he had remained totally still, curled up on the floor. He kneeled down beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey Ryou, are you ok?" He looked up at him, eyes wide and was that fear Yugi could see? Why would he be afraid?
"Yeah, I just feel light headed." He mumbled, rubbing his hands with his face. Just then, the teacher entered the restroom and saw them both sitting on the floor.
"Hey Ryou, will you be ok?" He said, as he looked down at them. He didn't reply, merely continuing to hold his face in his hands. "Yugi?"
"Yeah, he's just been sick. He said he felt a bit light headed but apart from that he'll be fine." The teacher sighed with relief.
"Well when he's ok to stand up, take him outside for some fresh air ok? And don't make him eat anything for the moment, his stomach's probably still feeling unsettled." Yugi nodded his head and the teacher left, shouting at the people who were still inside.
"Do you want to go outside?" Yugi said quietly to Ryou after a moment and he nodded his head, standing up shakily. Yugi quickly flushed the toilet to prevent some poor unfortunate soul from finding it later on when it had had a chance to increase in its aroma before leading the way out.
They walked slowly to some benches near the fields where they were playing football and Yugi smiled, seeing a small blue thing charging around the field, trying to trip everyone up. That'd be Marik then. A few moments later, the whistle went and the teacher walked over to the person, probably to patiently explain that the aim of the game /wasn't/ to cause as many injuries as possible. He looked over at Ryou and noticed that he looked worried again and sitting down on the bench, he turned to him.
"What's wrong Ryou?" He looked up in surprise, trying to act puzzled.
"What do you mean?"
"You weren't really ill were you? You were trying to get out of P.E. so you made yourself sick." Yugi said randomly, trying to see if he'd get a reaction out of Ryou. And he did.
"No I wasn't!"
"Yes you were. I saw the look on your face when I mentioned it this morning, you looked panicked. Why?" Ryou didn't say anything and Yugi smiled gently at him. "Don't worry, I won't tell the teacher if you don't want me to."
"He knows anyway." Ryou whispered. "I have a-" He stopped, blushing furiously.
"You have something wrong with you? That means it'll be on your file." Yugi said thoughtfully and Ryou nodded his head in agreement.
"It is. I…I don't want to talk about it." Yugi sighed mentally. Normally he wouldn't have been so pushy about it but whatever was wrong with Ryou was affecting him a lot and making him unhappy. But suddenly he thought of something, someone he had met while he was in hospital…
"Ryou, what did you have for breakfast?"
"Nothing." He said quietly, almost…hesitantly?
"What about at break?" Ryou didn't say anything, merely staring at the ground. "Did you eat any chocolate?" He nodded his head. "Anything else?" Another nod. "Crisps? Sandwiches? Biscuits?" He stopped, hearing a sob and saw that Ryou was crying. "Hey, don't cry. It's ok."
"No it's not, it's not ok." Ryou closed his eyes. "It's so embarrassing, boys aren't supposed to get it."
"I knew a boy who had bulimia-" He looked up in surprise, how could Yugi know? Most boys had never even heard of it. "When I was up at the hospital. But he got better…"
"That's the point! I was supposed to be over it, I hadn't done it for three months. They all thought I was ok…" They remained silent as Ryou's sobs gradually subsided until he turned to Yugi. "Do you know why I've only just started coming to school?"
"Well someone told us you've been stuck in England."
"Hmm, good lie I suppose. I haven't been to school because I threatened that I would start making myself sick again if we moved here. I didn't want to move, I was happy in England…" He explained.
"But you're here now."
"Only because my dad practically carried me onto the plane. It was quite funny really, they had to sedate me and keep me away from the other passengers in case I got aggravated." He smiled sadly as he said this, showing how desperate he was to try and change how bad things were. Yugi was suddenly reminded of Marik, and realised that he had said Shadi was aggravated too. Apparently, according to Odion, because of the Millennium Ring. And he and Marik had sensed something too and when they had looked, they found Ryou. Could he...?
"Ryou…do you have a Millennium Item?" Yugi asked cautiously, hoping that he was right. He didn't want to raise suspicions.
"You have two, although one of them doesn't belong to you." Ryou replied, not really answering the question. "Puzzle and Rod?" He thought for a moment. "And the Rod isn't yours, it's Marik's…" He put his hand to his chest and revealed his Item.
"The Ring…that's how you sensed the other Items!"
"Yes. Unfortunately I can't control it, it just points them out straight away." He laughed, tucking it back under his shirt. "But why do you have the Rod?"
"Bit complicated really. But basically, Shadi's a bit aggravated because of you, which got Odion, his body guard aggravated, which got Marik, his brother aggravated. So he asked me to look after it." Yugi explained and Ryou nodded his head in understanding.
"I think I got that." He stopped, hearing the whistle go and they noticed that everybody was heading towards the changing rooms.
"Let's go." Yugi said cheerfully, standing up and Ryou did the same but didn't look at him.
"Thanks for talking to me Yugi but I should go now."
"Why? It's lunchtime now."
"I just…I don't want to be in your way." He mumbled before walking away.
"But you wouldn't be! Ryou!" Yugi shouted but he ignored him, continuing towards the front of the school, head bent and hands in his pockets.
Yugi sighed and headed back into the P.E. changing rooms where he found Tristan, Joey and Marik getting changed back into their uniforms. Just then the teacher went up to him and asked him how Ryou was. He made up some story about him feeling better before walking up to the others.
"Have fun then?" He asked cheerfully, receiving a frown from Marik.
"No! He stopped the game just so he could tell me the basic rules! My career of not doing football is looking short lived now." He complained. "But I did manage to knock some people over." He added happily.
"Here's the Rod." He said, passing it over quickly. Luckily everyone was too busy putting their shirts on to notice.
"Thanks Yugi."
"Hey, where did Ryou go? I thought he was with you." Joey commented, looking around.
"Nah. He…" Yugi wasn't sure what to say. He got the feeling that he shouldn't tell the others what had happened but he couldn't think of a convincing lie. "We talked for a bit and then he just left."
"Oh."
They found Téa waiting outside for them and they went to their usual spot to have lunch. Joey had finally realised that the perils of buying lunch from school wasn't worth the risks so he was now taking his own, although because he made it himself, it had usually fallen apart by the time he actually had to eat it. Afternoon lessons (maths and English) passed slowly as usual and they went home, wondering if things were always going to be this boring. Marik had finally persuaded his mum that he could walk home on his own when necessary and so he did today as his sister had to stay after school for her art coursework.
As he walked home, Marik wondered about the other Millennium Item he and Yugi had sensed. He didn't recognise it, but the likelihood of it being the Eye was very small. No one knew where the holder of it was; only that nobody would see him during their lifetime, hopefully. Which meant it had to be the Ring. But if it was, who did it belong to? He suspected Ryou but until he actually said he had it, there was no use in speculating. Maybe he would ask him tomorrow. But it did seem suspicious that Shadi had been talking about the Ring at the time that Ryou arrived. And why was he late anyway? Yugi hadn't said anything about where he went to but he knew that he wasn't telling the truth, they had talked about /something/. And when he saw Ryou in afternoon lessons, he looked all right then.
Marik stopped his train of thought though when he heard some commotion down an alleyway. As a rule, Marik never got involved in fights; it was just too much hassle having to deal with his mum and Odion afterwards. He had done a lot of fighting back in Egypt, one of the reasons he suspected they had moved to America, but he didn't see the point now. As he walked past, he glanced down it and was surprised when he saw Ryou backed up against a wall, two people inching closer towards him. Thinking of the chance of being able to ask him a few questions, he dropped his bag and walked towards them.
"What do you think you're doing?" He asked loudly, hoping to distract them. He did so successfully and was met by two large men who laughed when they saw him.
"We're just beating up Nancy here. Why, what are you doing?" One of them retorted.
"I'm here to stop you." Marik said dangerously, fingering the Rod in his pocket. He didn't want to have to use it but he was prepared to in the name of self-defence.
"And who do you think you are?"
"My name is Marik Ishtar." Instantly they backed away a few steps, although they continued to glare at him.
"So you must be the brother of the famous Odion Ishtar… You may have won this time but we'll get Nancy here when you /or/ your Rod can't protect him."
They ran down the alleyway while Marik stared after them, an ominous feeling growing inside him. How did they know he had the Rod? And how did they know Odion? Although Odion didn't keep his name a secret or anything, he kept himself mainly to himself, not allowing many people to know much about him. And why were they after Ryou? Was it just because he looked a little…soft? Thinking of him, he saw that Ryou was now staring at him with a mixture of fear and gratitude. Marik picked his bag up before turning back to Ryou.
"You ok?"
"I…I think so. Thank you for…" He stumbled, glowing red.
"Don't worry about it. But can I ask you a question? Do you have the Ring? And what are you doing down here?"
"That's two questions." Ryou said, laughing weakly but he shrugged his shoulders. "Yes, I have the Ring and you have the Rod and Yugi has the Puzzle. And I'm down here because I'm walking home."
"You live round here then? Maybe we could walk home together?" Marik suggested and nodding his head, Ryou continued down the alleyway. "So where do you live then?"
"North Street."
"That's where I live too! What number?"
"Five."
"Oh, I live at number two hundred and forty nine." Marik ran to catch up with him and they started to walk back in silence. "So what did those guys want with you?"
"Nothing, I don't think. They probably just thought that it'd be a laugh, because I look like a girl." Marik tried to look surprised when he heard this, although he suspected that this was the reason all along. "Don't worry, everywhere I've gone, people have wondered what I am. 'Is it a boy or a girl, or maybe even both?' most of them probably think."
"Well I always thought you were a boy because you were wearing the blue uniform." Marik said to make him feel better.
"But what if girls and boys wore the same uniform? What would you have thought then?" Ryou asked and Marik opened his mouth to answer but then stopped, and closed it again. "Exactly. It wasn't much of a problem back in England but here it is…"
"Maybe you just need to get your hair cut a bit…"
"Maybe. I might just also have to dye it, get a tan, change my voice, put some weight on, get some muscle…" He added, almost bitterly and he clenched his fists. "I'll only be accepted if I change everything about me and that just isn't possible."
"Don't let it get you down. As long as there are people who accept you, it doesn't matter if everyone else doesn't. I mean, look at me. Most people think I'm that weird foreigner who talks funny with their strange clothes and customs." Marik said and Ryou smiled, trying not to laugh. "And look at Yugi, he has strange hair, pale skin, squeaky voice, skinny body with no muscle at all… And he's short too, which just tops it all off." Marik paused for a moment. "Well, probably not 'top', seeing as he can't see the top of much…"
"Marik, that's horrible!" Ryou exclaimed, causing Marik to laugh.
"Well he is! But that's the point, we're all freaks really when you think about it. As long as you have friends, you don't have to worry."
"But…" Ryou said sadly, Marik knew what he was trying to say.
"Look, I'm a friend, Yugi's a friend, we all want to be your friend! What do you think I've been trying to tell you? Don't be down, we'll be here for you." Marik said and Ryou grinned.
"Marik…I…"
"Don't get all emotional on me, it's nothing major! Look, here's your house." They stopped in front of number five. "I'll come pick you up tomorrow at about quarter to eight and we'll walk to school together. You'll have to walk with my sister but she's usually with her friend and is slower than me anyway. What do you say?"
"Yeah, that'd be…cool." Ryou said slowly, not wanting to sound too eager. Marik smiled, seeming to be all knowing before turning to continue down the road. "See you tomorrow Marik!"
"Yeah, see ya!"
A bit of an abrupt ending but I decided to split this part further because it was still ridiculously long. But I'll put a little reminder in the next chapter about what happened in this one in case you forget. Well, let's see if there are any notes for today...
1. Because I'm not American, I'm not sure how the administrative part of the schools work or the exact subjects either. So I made up the most sensible thing and tried to use some of the right words.
2. Yeah, the history lesson scene was very long but it was just to highlight that Marik is a bit insecure about himself. Not sure if that came out though.
3. I understand perfectly how Joey feels, I hate maths too! Although I must have been all right at it because my friend always copied my homework... But if one thing's worse than the cosine rule though, it's circle theorem. Don't even get me started on that.
4. I wasn't being mean about Ryou on purpose, just reflecting on the fact that me and Luff wondered if he was a girl or boy when we first saw him. I mean, the fact that all of the guys are drawn with ridiculously thin waists doesn't help. And the accent...oh, that made us completely hysterical! I don't know anyone who talks like that, least of all any guys! It's just a little bit OTT.
Well, that's all for now and I hope to hear from you all with any sort of comments, as it'll cheer me up a lot!
S. Chensu xxx.