Chapter Two
Okay. One review so far. Manic Demon is awesome! And no, I will NOT put all the chapters up at the same time. However, since you begged so flatteringly, I'm putting this chapter up sooner than planned.Since you're my first reviewer, I'll dedicate this chappie to You!(don't expect it to be this soon all the time…)
I don't own Yugioh…and so on and so forth… rolls eyes
A special note on Marik in this story: he's Not the yami. Yami Marik was banished at the end of Battle City. That remains unchanged. Got it? Okay then…
Chapter two: Remember?
"You…you remember?" Yami whispered hoarsely.
All eyes were on the tomb robber now except for Ryou's, who was looking about confused.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Bakura sneered. "Of course I remember! How could I forget all the shit you…" He froze in mid-sentence, eyes locked with Yami's. "You mean you've forgotten? Everything?"
The look of defeat on the former monarch's face answered what he could not bear to say. Yami had no idea what to do now. He'd thought the tomb robber had no recollection of the past; now, however, it was quite obvious this wasn't the case.
Bakura sat back slightly, a smug smirk appearing on his face. "So what's all this been then?"
Yami blinked in confusion. "What?"
"This whole high and mighty act you've been putting on in this modern age," Bakura replied smoothly, flicking off the ash from the end of his cigarette. "Is this how you've always acted or is this what you think you should act like?"
"What do you mean by 'I think I should act'?"
Bakura's eyes held a confident gleam, "Perhaps you act the way you do, all high and mighty above all the rest, because you assume that's how pharaoh's acted in ancient Egypt?"
"I did not come here to be insulted or judged by the likes of you, tomb robber," Yami growled, advancing slightly.
"That's the attitude I mean…and it's 'former' tomb robber now, thank you very much. This isn't Egypt. You are not a god. You never were. Get that in your spiky head," Bakura sneered.
An instant later Yami backed off a few steps, howling in pain. Yugi rushed forward to his darker half who was clutching his left hand to his chest. Yami glared down at the red burn mark that was darkening on the back of said hand.
"YOU!" he shrieked in uncontrollable fury.
Bakura remained in his seat, the scrunched cigarette dangling between his thumb and index finger.
"Now Yami…" Yugi began, desperate to avoid a fight between the two ancient spirits.
"I suggest you take your leave now. You've already overstayed your welcome," Bakura said icily, eyes never leaving the enraged yami before him.
Yami's eyes blazed with intensity, yet he didn't utter a sound. Yugi gripped his darker half's arm gently. The others stood tensely in the doorway.
/Yami/ Yugi whispered through their mind link as he tugged softly on his arm; his other half had let down his defense.
Just then there was the sound of the front door opening, followed by a bubbly "Hello!"
Anzu pranced in. Everyone just stared at her.
Not noticing the tension in the room she continued: "Hey guys! So are we ready to go?" she chirped.
Her smile slowly fell as she noticed the trio by the computer. Yami was glaring daggers at Bakura who sat calmly in front of him. Penetrating eyes bore into her as his head turned in her direction. A terrified Yugi stood trembling next to Yami, clutching his other half's arm.
Bakura slowly turned his attention back to Yami. "You heard me. Out. Now." He stood up, pointing to the door.
Yami looked as if he'd attempt to punch the white-haired spirit's lights out at any given moment. To the surprise of all, he turned on his heel and headed for the door. Jou and Honda grabbed Anzu and rushed for the front door.
"Hey, guys wait!" she squealed as she was dragged off.
Poor Yugi, still grasping his darker half's arm, was all but pulled across the room. At the doorway Yami stopped and glared over his shoulder at the tomb robber with a look that clearly said This is not over.
Bakura managed a sadistical smirk that replied I know.
Ryou looked back and forth worriedly. Not wanting to be subject to Bakura's rage, he meant to follow his friends. He froze in the doorway when a gruff voice spoke in his head.
(And where are you going, dear light? We have some things to discuss)
Ryou nodded silently at Bakura, trembling as he watched his friends disappear down the street.
"He knows!" Yami ranted, pacing about the living room back at the game shop.
After the whole ordeal at Ryou's the friends were no longer in the carefree, high-spirited mood they had been. Not feeling like going to the arcade or to the movies they opted for going back to the game shop; so there they sat.
"Yami…" Yugi began from his spot on the floor.
"HE BLOODY REMEMBERS!" Yami screamed, face beet red.
The others tensed visibly.
"Hey man, you need to calm down. You're scarin' people here," Jou mumbled from behind the couch.
"Yes Yami, just ignore Bakura. He's an idiot. What does he know?" Anzu huffed, sitting lady-like on the arm of the couch.
"He knows about the past," Yami murmured hopelessly, collapsing on the floor and burying his face in his hands.
"But is that even possible?" Tristan asked curiously.
"I don't know really…It would make more sense if I knew more about the millennium items…how they work….how peoples' souls got sealed in them in the first place…" Yami sighed, glancing at his hand where a bright red burn remained.
"We should put some ointment on that," Yugi suggested, standing up and heading for the bathroom.
"Yami, what happened to your poor hand?" Anzu cried in distress, noticing the burn for the first time.
"Had a run-in with Bakura's cigarette," Yami muttered dully.
"Yeah, wazzup with dat? The bastard!" Jou snarled.
"…and it's such a bad habit too! Doesn't he realize how bad cigarettes are for your health…and that Ryou's breathing in second-hand smoke!" Anzu ranted, totally missing the point of the conversation.
"Anzu, I don't think he cares," Honda replied, staring at the ceiling.
"Besides, he's immortal like Yami," Yugi stated, reappearing with a first aid kit.
"So you can get wounded but not killed?" Jou pondered, staring at the burn that Yugi was now cleaning.
"I guess. I'm not really sure yet how this all works. Heck, I don't even know how that baka and I got our own bodies," Yami replied.
He chuckled internally at the thought of the incident. He'd just woken up one morning on Yugi's bedroom floor, not the chambers of his puzzle. What was even stranger was he feel the carpet. Holding up a hand that was no longer transparent he reacted the way probably anyone else in his situation would: he screamed bloody murder. This, in turn, woke Yugi, who spotted him and screamed as well. Luckily, Yugi's grandfather was on an archeological dig or something at the time, otherwise they could have added a third party to their little screaming fit.
Yami lifted his eyes to Yugi's and saw the gleam in them that said he was remembering the same incident.
"It's all too confusing for me," Jou mumbled.
Honda grunted in response. Jou smacked him. Honda smacked him back. Then they were in a wrestling match on the floor.
"It never ends with those two," Yugi smiled, closing the first aid kit.
Anzu looked on with an expression of motherly disapproval. Yami, meanwhile, was exhausted and didn't really care either way.
/Abiou/
/ Yeah Yami/
/ I'm going upstairs to rest. Tell the other when they're done./ Yami said glancing at Anzu who was tugging on Honda who was in the process of choking Jou.
Yugi grinned. /Sure thing Yami./ He watched his darker half ascend the stairs amidst the insanity.
Bakura sat on the roof of the house, staring at the stars. He held a cigarette to his lips as he watched the red lights of a plane in the distance.
"You know that's a bad habit. I keep telling you to quit before it kills you."
Bakura rolled his eyes and turned to the blond who was struggling out of a second-story window to the roof top. Letting out a yelp, the violet-eyed boy lost his grip and flew backwards. He clamped his eyes shut, waiting for the crash but opened them when he felt a pressure around his wrist.
"You're an idiot, you know that," Bakura grunted, pulling Marik back up.
"Well good evening to you too," Marik grinned, rubbing his wrist. He let out a whistle as he glanced at the ground below.
"You're lucky I've got quick reflexes," Bakura threw the cigarette into the downspout.
"Nah, it wouldn't have been that bad," Marik laughed, leaning against the chimney.
"True, you skull's too thick to be penetrated," Bakura muttered, lighting up another cigarette.
"Well you're the one who decided to camp out on the roof," Marik stretched, all worries gone.
"At least I can balance on the roof."
"Someone's moody tonight."
"Shut up."
"Hmm…have a bad day, did we?"
"I've just got a lot on my mind, Marik. You could not comprehend what's been going on lately."
"Well I can't if you don't tell me," Marik yawned.
"Fat chance," the thief scoffed.
"What's that mean, anyway? 'Fat chance'?" Marik wondered, shifting about in an attempt to find a comfy position on the slanted roof.
"It's an expression, fool," Bakura sighed.
"Well I knew that, I just was wondering what it meant. Now come on, tell me what's bugging ya."
The corner of the ancient thief's eye twitched slightly. Marik frowned. He reached over and tried to snatch the cigarette from his friend.
"Wah!" he yelped, losing his balance slightly.
"Serves you right," Bakura grinned, inhaling another wiff of smoke.
"I keep telling you to quit that crap," Marik lecture. "It's gonna kill you."
"First off, no one tells me what to do. Second, I'm an immortal, you nimwit."
"Well it still can't be good for you," Marik mumbled dejectedly.
"Marik, just concern yourself with your own problems. You certainly have enough."
"Actually, I'm doing all right. Now come on, something's really getting to you. You're only this moody when something's really rough for you." Marik scooted closer.
Bakura sighed heavily, giving in. "Yami and his little posse came over today."
Marik tensed, knowing this couldn't be good. "Go on."
"Well I was shouting at the computer in ancient Egyptian…stupid thing froze up again…" Marik nodded; he was quite used to such tantrums from the tomb robber. "Anyway, he barges in and demands to know how I can speak it so fluently. Apparently…he's forgotten his past."
Marik suddenly found the dirt under the nail of his right pinkie extremely interesting. He picked at it, sweating slightly. He knew Bakura was waiting for a response. How was he going to break this to him? He felt the thief's eyes on him and finally spoke.
"Well…isn't that…interesting," he managed.
"Marik," Bakura emphasized each syllable.
"Hmm?" Marik glanced over at the thief innocently. Bakura's eyes were narrowed menacingly. 'Oooh shit.'
"Do you have something you'd like to tell me?" Bakura asked far too sweetly, his fingers holding the cigarette twitching.
"Uh…erm…could we get off the roof first?" Marik whimpered, imagining what it might feel like to be blasted off.
"What do you mean you KNEW?" Bakura screamed in fury.
"See this is the kind of reaction I was afraid of," Marik mumbled from behind a chair.
"So you decided it was better not to tell me at all?"
"Basically," Marik shrugged, coming out from behind the chair and sitting on it. "I mean, it doesn't really affect you all that much, knowing he has no recollection of the past. However, him knowing you remember would only be an annoyance to you."
"How so?" Bakura scowled slightly.
"Think about it, Kura. He's gonna want answers now," Marik stated matter-of-factly.
Bakura froze. 'Damn'
"I hate it when you're right," he grumbled, violently tossing a burnt cigarette into the fireplace.
"I'm always right. You should know that by now," Marik smirked smugly, standing up and proceeding to the front door.
Bakura remained next to the fire, staring into the dancing flames. Marik paused, his hand on the door knob. He'd never seen his friend this unnerved before.
"Hey, you gonna be all right?" he asked softly, completely serious now.
"Sure."
Marik knew there was something else wrong, but it was obvious Bakura didn't want to discuss it. They could read each other well. Sighing, he opened the door, turning once more to see his friend lighting up another cigarette.
"Those tobacco companies must be making a fortune off of you," he joked, attempting to lighten the mood.
"And what gave you the impression that I pay for them?" the thief turned, a victorious smirk on his face.
Marik shook his head, chuckling as he left.
NOTE: Important!
Okay people, I have an announcement to make. In some of the later chapters there are more interactions between Marik and basically all of the other characters. Some people might look at some future interactions between Marik and Bakura (not sexual, don't panic) as romance. That is not what I am aiming for in this fic. However, if you want to view their relationship that way, go ahead if it makes you happy. I don't care either way. It just isn't what I'm leaning towards in this particular fic. Another time. Another place. Okay just wanted to make that clear! Until later!
Review!