Malik sat in the waiting room of Domino City Hospital, staring at the large, metal door that separated him from his yami. Getting Mariku through the medical staff hadn't been as tricky as one might have thought. He didn't have any kind of birth certificate or legal registration, but after a quick call from one of the hospital's biggest corporate sponsers, there had been no more questions. Now all they could do was wait for the results. It had been almost three hours and still no news.
"Hey, you okay?"
Malik looked up at Ryou and shook his head. "I can feel him fighting... like last time when I sent him away, but he's in so much pain." The teen sighed. "Fighting and pain. Its all he ever knew."
The Brit nodded. "Yeah. I-I mean what with the circumstances of his birth and all, I guess... I guess he never had much of a chance." Ryou wrapped the other boy in a tight hug, allowing Malik to cry despairingly into his chest. The Egyptian was taking this so hard. It was obvious that he felt personally responsible for Mariku's actions.
"D-do you think he'll be happier on the other side?" Malik stuttered helplessly, unable to keep his voice under control. "Will the Gods show him mercy? I mean its...its not his fault h-he's like that. Its mine. Its..."
"Will you shut up?"
Both hikaris stared bleary-eyed at Bakura. The Thief King had been pacing up and down the hall the whole time. He looked livid.
"Kura! How can you be so insensitive?"
"Insensitive?" The spirit sneered. "You're talking about Mariku as if he were already dead, and you call ME insensitive? Get it through your fucking heads! Its not over yet!"
Everyone was silent for a moment, then Malik began crying even harder. Bakura was right. He couldn't give up on his yami just yet, but it was so damn hard! When they had loaded Mariku into the ambulance he had been so cold, as if he were already dead.
"Excuse me, Malik Ishtar?"
The blonde looked up eagerly at the nurse. "Is he alright?"
The woman forced a reassuring smile. "Considering the extent of your friend's injuries, I'd say he's doing remarkably well. We performed a blood transfusion and put him on a a drip to restore fluids. He's resting in ICU if you'd like to see him."
Malik leapt to his feet so fast his head began to spin. "Yes, of course!" He followed the nurse, barely noticing Bakura and Ryou bringing up the rear. His sister and guardian weren't there. Rishid was contacting the Pharaoh, and Ishizu was still helping Kaiba get Marik's paperwork ironed out. Malik didn't mind though. He wasn't really in the mood to be surrounded by people anyway.
"And here we are." Swinging the door wide open, the nurse stepped aside so the three could enter. Malik rushed right to the bed, but Ryou and Bakura hung back, not really knowing what to do. Sensing the tension, she quickly made herself scarce. "Well, I'll leave you alone for the moment. Just page me at the front desk if you need anything."
The blonde didn't reply. He simply sank to his knees, staring in horror at his yami's mangled arm. Though the blood was gone, it was still a mess. Piecing together Mariku's tattered flesh must have been a painstaking process. Line after line of delicate stitches zig-zagged across his arm, holding shut the deepest wounds while strips of gauze covered those that were less serious. The gashes on his wrists were especially horrible. The depth of the cuts, coupled with how sensitive the skin in that area was, had caused the edges of the sewn flesh to bruise, turning a ghastly sort of purple.
As gently as possible, Malik grasped the Darkness' hand. Mariku stirred when he did this, his head and shoulders shifting slightly in the teen's direction. Malik gave his palm a faint squeeze. "Can you hear me?"
There was no answer, simply the smooth and blissful silence of one lost in the deepest realms of sleep. The hikari gazed up into his yami's face. Even with the unusually pastypallor of his face, Marik appeared quite tranquil.
"He looks happy."
Malik nodded slightly at Ryou's words. "He does."
"Fucking pessimists. What did I tell you?"
Ryou rolled his eyes in Bakura's direction. "Forgive us Oh Great One! How could we have been so foolish as to not have trusted the word of a thief?"
The Egyptian chuckled softly at the white-tressed duo, his breath causing Mariku's bangs to flutter. Hesitating for less than an instant, he touched his lips to the Darkness' forehead. He almost gasped. Beneath that warm expanse of bronze, Malik could sense the life coursing deep within his yami's soul. He could hear Mariku's heartbeat and feel the strange current of his spirit, weakened perhaps, but still resilliant. A faint smile playing at his lips, the teen pulled away. "He'll be alright. I'm sure of it."
With a happy laugh, the Brit launched himself at Malik. "Kura was right! I can't believe we almost gave up hope!" Turning back to the door, Ryou was surprised to find the Thief had vanished. Slowly he unwound himself from Malik's waist. "Bakura?" He searched for him through the mindlink. No reply.
The tanner of the two frowned. "Where'd he go?"
"I'm not sure." Biting back the irrational worry building in his stomach, Ryou went to look down the hall. "There's no sign of him anywhere. I'd better go look."
"I'll help."
Noting the hint of reluctance in Malik's voice, Ryou shook his head. "No, you should stay here. Marik needs you more than anyone."
The Egyptian gripped his yami's hand a little tighter. "You sure?"
"Positive." In an instant the Brit disappeared around the corner, leaving Malik to watch over his fallen dark side. Realizing that he would get nowhere wandering aimlessly through the hospital corridors, Ryou called upon the Sennen Ring. A part of him hadn't expected it to appear, seeing as he was nothing but a vessal, but after about a minute or so of concentrating he could feel it's cold surface materialize on his chest. 'Show me to Bakura.'
Nothing... The item simply didn't react. Ryou cried out in dismay. Why was he able to call upon the Ring but still be unable to use it? Wait! He was forgetting something. Bakura wasn't the Thief's real name! Almost laughing at his own stupidity, the Brit closed his eyes and held up the golden amulet. 'Touzouko. Find Touzouko...'
The hallway was filled with a faint glow as one of the Ring's points began to stir before finally settling on a location somewhere to his left. Breaking into a run, Ryou set off in that direction. He kept his eyes fixed on this single prick of light, often stumbling for his trouble. He zig-zagged madly down the halls, coming to a sudden stop as item's point torqued upwards at an odd angle. The teen stood there for a minute, out of breath and slightly stunned. Then, finally looking up into the steril whiteness surrounding him, he groaned. "Idiot!"
It was a staircase.
Slapping himself on the forehead, Ryou made his way up the steps. Where could they lead to? He was already on the hospital's highest story. At the top of the stairs was an unremarkable, steel door. Without thinking, the Brit pushed it open. What he saw took his breath away.
The door took him not to another endless hospital corridor as he'd expected, but outside onto the roof. The Ring hadn't led him astray after all. Bakura stood near the edge of the building, gazing down into the bustling maze that was Domino City. The sky was just beginning to bleed red with the approaching sunset. It contrasted sharply with the cool, midnight blue of the offices and apartment complexes, as if casting upon them some kind of heavenly shadow. The yami seemed every bit as captivated by this picture as Ryou, for his usually sharp gaze appeared far away and vacant. The Brit was imediately struck with how beautiful Bakura appeared. With that distant look in his eyes and the way his body was sillouetted by the dying sun, the Thief looked almost like an angel.
"Kura?"
Whirling around, the spirit's voice came in a rattled gasp. "Ryou! What are you doing here?"
The Brit smiled and fingered the Sennen item around his neck. "I know a bit more about shadow magic than you give me credit for." Slowly, he walked out onto the roof. "This view sure is something! How did you find this?"
"I don't know. I just..." Bakura sighed. "...just had to get away."
Without thinking, Ryou grasped his other's hand. "You did the right thing, you know. If you hadn't found Malik Mariku would really be dead."
"I'm aware of that."
"You were also right about what you said about life. It hurts to be rejected, but it hurts even more to never try at all."
Bakura snorted. "I was being an idiot. Its not really worth it, just something people say to sound poetic. Listen to me, yadunoshi. Be careful with your heart, because when it fucking breaks you'll realize how much of a bitch living can be!"
"Don't say that!" Ryou wrapped his arms tightly around his yami's torso. "I know it hurts to see Malik with the one you love, but think about it. Even if you hadn't confessed, would it have been any less painful?"
The Thief furrowed his brows slightly and pulled his hikari closer to his chest. "No, I guess not."
"Then why are you so bitter?"
Bakura opened his mouth to speak but paused for a moment. He couldn't just spit out some cocky reply. This was Ryou damnit! He expected a real answer. "I'm tired of being alone."
There was a long silence. Both figures just stood there, staring off into a miasma of concrete and gold-dipped clouds. Suddenly Ryou spoke, his breathy whisper breaking the stillness. "I get that. Deep down, everyone's afraid of being lonely. They're scared that if they're by themselves, their very existance will be meaningless."
Bakura lifted the teen's chin and stared down into his trembling face. The Brit never could hide his emotions. They were splayed out like a map in the shimmering facets of his eyes. "Hikari, are you lonely?"
It was in thatinstant that Ryou made his move. Without stopping to think about the consequences he arched his neck, capturing the spirit's lips in a shy kiss. "...yes..." He trembled and pulled away. "I-I am."
For a moment Bakura's mind refused to function. He just stood there, wondering if what had just happened was real or some kind of confusing dream. Ryou loved him? Why? How? Did he love him back? A million questions raced through the Thief's mind, and just as he thought he might be drowned in their unrelenting flow, something shocked him back to life. His hikari... his hikari was leaving. With an almost desperate cry, Bakura jumped between Ryou and the door. Tears were streaming down the Brit's face. Why was he crying?
"Ry..."
"Its okay." The boy's lips fumbled until they found a position similar to that of a smile. "I understand that you don't feel the same. I just had to find some way of telling you..."
The tombrobber stared with unabashed astonishment at his other half. So it was true. Ryou did love him, but he just couldn't return that love. Bakura's heart was already with Mariku, but then why had the teen's lips against his own felt so right? How was it that staring into Ryou's eyes made him feel like he was falling? True, a part of him would always be lost in the dark and beautiful passion that was Malik Ishtar's yami, but then, if there was more than one kind of love, couldn't you love more than one person? Maybe Bakura had been blind. Maybe the person who could make him happy had been at his side the whole time.
Feeling as if his heart were about to explode, the Brit waited for Bakura to say something... anything. He didn't want his yami to hate him. He just wanted him to know, but when the Thief remained silent Ryou seriously began regretting his words. He'd been too forward. He shouldn't have...
The teen let out a muffled cry as a pair of lips suddenly attacked his own. Fireworks erupted in his mind, fueled to new levels of intensity as Bakura's tongue slipped into his mouth. He wanted to laugh, cry, and scream all at the same, but all Ryou could manage was a deep-throated moan. He clung desperately to his darker half. He couldn't let this moment end, not now when they stood at the edge of the precipice, mortals below and the flames of Heaven dancing above. It was magic, not shadow magic or other forms that could kill, but true magic, unhindered by violence or human hate. When Bakura finally broke away, Ryou could feel the spell's after effects dancing across his still parted lips.
"Ryou?"
"Kura?"
An unspoken agreement passed between them then, a decision that would further entwine their fates, but it would be alright. They had been through rough times and would doubtlessly go through many more, but they would make it through. It was instants like this, instants that tore apart the illusions of light and dark and let real magic surface, that would always remind them. No matter what it took, no matter how painful things would get, in the end it would always be alright.
"For the last time, you can't go in there!" Malik's throat hurt from screaming. "He's still sleeping, Yami! YOU CAN'T GO IN!"
Trying to get past the blonde blocking the doorway, the former Pharaoh let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine! I won't try talking to Marik. Just tell me where I can find Ryou and Bakura!" They had come to the hospital as soon as Rishid told them, and even Atem couldn't comprehend the unusually malicious emotions running through him.
"I don't know! Bakura left and Ryou went to go look for him!"
Yami stomach did a painful flip. /Damn that Thief! Probably luring him off so he can seduce him.../
/Yami.../ Yugi mentally groaned. /One of the only people Bakura cares about just tried to kill himself! He probably couldn't handle seeing Mariku in such a bad state./
His Aibou was right. He knew his Aibou was right, but for once Yami couldn't find it in himself to practice restraint. Pinching the bridge of his nose in fustration, the star-haired spirit glared daggers at the Egyptian. "Even after Battle City, I've always gone out of my way to help you, Malik! The least you could do is tell me what's going on!"
"What do you want me to tell you?" By now Malik was close to tears. "That my yami tried to kill himself? That because of me he used that fucking Rod to hack apart his arm? Well thats what happened, Pharaoh! Because of my stupidity Mariku wanted to die, and if Bakura hadn't found me when he did, he probably would have!"
Just as Yami was about to reply, a soft groan caused Malik to jump. Turning his back on the two look-a-likes, he raced to the Darkness' side. Mariku was waking up.
"M-marik?"
Twisting his head from side to side, the spirit's eyes finally opened. He stared at the hikari dazedly, unable to bring his gaze into focus. All he was really aware of was his lighter half's voice as well as the excruciating agony tearing through his left arm. Trying to lift the apendage, Mariku gasped in pain. Damn. It hurt.
"Don't move." Malik reached out, laying his hand gently on his yami's one good arm. He could feel the Darkness' pain and confusion through their link. "Do you remember what happened?"
For a moment Marik didn't reply. He closed his eyes, trying to sort through the memories that suddenly seemed to bombard him. Then, with a rattling intake of breath, he nodded.
This simply action caused Malik's floodgates to open. With a screaming sob, he poured out all the raw, heartwrenching grief that had been festering in is soul. "I'm sorry," he choked. "I-I'm so sorry!"
Seeing his hikari in such a state, Mariku brought his right arm up, shakily caressing the boy's face. /Don't./ He wiped a few stray tears from the Egyptian's cheek. /Its stupid to be sorry for something thats not your fault./ Of all people, why was Malik apologizing to him? Marik was the cause behind all his problems in the first place.
"Mariku!" The name came in a kind of broken gasp. He lay his hand over his yami's, trying to stop it's trembling. "Don't...don't ever do something like that again...I love you too much...Oh God...I love you!" The boy was starting to hyperventilate. Within seconds he was an incoherent mess of tearful sobs.
Still confused by his lighter half's actions, Marik watched him cry. It was unbelievable. Did Malik really care for him that much?
"You're awake."
Ryou and Bakura had returned. Both appeared to be fine, though they did look a little rumpled. Brushing past Yami, Bakura strode into the room. He knelt by Malik and stared deep within Mariku's eyes. "You sure know how to cause a scene." He cracked a familiar grin. "Crazy bastard."
Despite himself, the bedridden blonde smirked back. "...heh...I'll remember that during our next shadow game..."
Pulling the still shaken Malik into a comforting hug, Ryou also couldn't help smiling. "We're just happy you're back, Marik. W-we were so scared. I mean when you..." The Brit didn't finish. Instead he opted to bury his face in his fellow hikari's chest.
Mariku's own breath caught in his throat. He'd hurt them, really hurt them, but they still weren't willing to leave his side. What was it that could make people so forgiving...so loving? He didn't understand it and probably never would. The spirit allowed his eyelids to droop as a few stray tears appeared came to cling to his lashes.
Yami watched the group from the doorway, feeling like a complete outsider. Up until this point he'd really thought Bakura and Mariku wouldn't change, that they were putting on some kind of elaborate act, but he couldn't find a single lie in this. They werebehaving so tenderly. It was as if the ice in their souls had begun to melt, leaving behind something which wascompletely human, flawed perhaps, but still human.
"Pharaoh, he's awake."
Glancing up, the spirit was glad to see Rishid and Ishizu had returned. Even they didn't intrude upon the others' moment. Like Yugi and Atem,they were left to the sidelines.
"Do you think they'll be alright now?"
Yugi beamed up at Ishizu. "After making it through something like this, I don't see how they possibly couldn't."
"Yes," Rishid nodded. "I am sure they are strong enough."
They stood there for a moment, lost in the scene before them, when suddenly Yami walked away. He couldn't take it anymore. Why did he have to be the good one? Why did he have to be just and kind and honorable and worst of all lonely while Bakura and Marik could be as horrible as they wanted and still get all the sympathy? They looked so happy, lost in the moment together. Why couldn't he experience something like that? Ignoring the others' shouts he stormed around the corner and kept going until he came to a dead end hall. With an angry shout, the spirit slammed his fist into the wall. "Why do I always have to be strong? Couldn'tsomeone hold meup for a change?"
"I could, you know. I'm always there." Yugi approached the Pharaoh, arms outstretched. "I don't know how much its worth to you, but I won't leave you, not in a million years."
For a moment Yami stared dumbly into is hikari's saddened eyes. Then, slowly, he pulled the boy into his arms. "Don't think like that, Aibou. You mean the world to me, really you do. Its just that sometimes... well sometimes I feel like I need something more than just friendship."
/You're not the only one./ Blushing deeply, Yugi refused to meet the spirit's gaze.
Yami, in turn, looked flabbergasted. Did Yugi really mean that? He wasn't just saying it to try to make him feel better or because he didn't quite understand? "You mean..."
"I'm not lying!" Finally looking up,the boy locked eyes with his other half.
The moment their eyes met, Yami forgot the feelings he'd been harboring for Ryou. He forgot jealousy, forgot loneliness. All he could focus on was his Aibou's pretty face. He'd been with Yugi for years now, but never had Atem really took the time to look at him as he did now. He remembered the boy's words and smiled. It seems he had found someone to hold him up after all.
-TOT (I hope you liked this chapter. I didn't put as much Marik/Malik fluff in there as I would have liked, but I'll make it up in the last chapter. Also, I might write an epilogue. Anyway, this chapter mainly focused on Ryou and Bakura finally getting together. I realized when I was writing their kiss scene that I really haven't put much romance into this story. Oh well. I'll make that up to you as well. Well, good bye for now, and thank you once again for taking the time to review.)