.:Chapter three - A Happy Outing:.
It was no time before Yami and Bakura were behind Mariku, who was only blinking at the boy in front of him, who was wiping his face and screaming things that could only have been obscenities.
"Mariku--try thinking before you do something stupid!" Yami spat, smacking the older male upside his head. The tanned being turned, glaring down at the prince.
"Like I said, it's his way of showing love," Bakura said, waving it off. Hey, he thought it was funny. He blinked when something hissed, looking down. It was that...thing Mariku had taken in and named... "What's wrong with you?" he asked, kicking at the animal, trying to get it to go away.
The creature had other plans though, and attacked his leg, causing him to scream and fall over, trying to rip it off of him. "What is it with things attacking my leg!" he cried, grabbing at Princess, who just snapped his hand.
"Leave him alone!" Mariku whined, pushing past Yami and picking up the small fluff-ball, cuddling it close as it glared at Bakura. "Princess no like you," he said, sticking out his tongue, cradling the animal to his chest lovingly. Yami sighed, and raked his hand through his hair, trying to calm down. The three, poor boys were still there, only... trying to hold back the blonde one. He shrugged and pointed to their translators.
"We should probably try to see if these can tell us what all their gibberish means," he said, tapping the part on his ear. "Though, it does sound slightly familiar." he added, twisting something here and there. Finally, he was able to catch a few words of what the children were saying;
"But he...LICKED...disgusting!" But unfortunately, that was all of the conversation he could understand. Yami frowned, but he was somewhat pleased.
"Bakura, Mariku! Set your translators to number six--it seems these beings speak a language slightly close to our cousins on the planet around the second sun," he said, setting his throat-piece now. Turning to the three he smiled. "I am sorry for my friend," he apologized, bowing slightly. The boys blinked at him, looking confused.
Finally, the white-haired one stepped forward, looking somewhat flustered. "Uh, you...speak...do you?" he asked Yami frowned and pressed something in his ear again, while his two counterparts beside him changed their own.
"Pardon?" he asked, testing this one out. Hopefully it could be more efficient...
This time the shortest one piped in. "Are you alright?" he asked, frowning.
Bingo.
"Actually, number seven's better," he said, casting a side-glance at the other two, who nodded and complied, Mariku struggling slightly between holding his little furry friend, and readjusting his equipment. Yami turned back and noticed the uneasy, and highly confused looks he was getting. "Sorry," he started, "Problem with translations," he laughed slightly, rubbing the back of his head.
"Are you guys body modifiers?" the shortest one asked again, tilting his head, frowning (though he looked somewhat embarrassed).
All three blinked, having heard this. "Um..."
The young boy blushed, and fidgeted. "Well, all I meant was, you...um...you look different," he said, going back to his feet. "I mean, I think it's cool and all, but...getting your ears like that had to have hurt, right?" he continued, looking up, meeting Yami's bloody gaze.
The taller blinked, and then lifted a hand to his ear, feeling its usual sharpened appearance. His red orbs moved to the boy's in front of him, and then widened slightly. They weren't the same... Apparently the beings that lived on this planet had flattened ears... not pointed ones. This meant that they didn't hear as accurately... 'How strange,' he thought, 'These beings are so... obsolete. How have they survived themselves?'
"Not as much as you'd think, no..." Yami bluffed, dropping his hand. He hoped this lie would suffice for now--he didn't particularly want them to get caught.
"So, where the hell are we?" snapped Bakura, who was standing once more, his leg spurting a few droplets of blood every now and then. He looked quite pissed, and edgy. Of course he had reason to be...but still.
Yami kicked him again in the leg, causing the other to yelp and lunge for the prince. And he would have succeeded in mauling him, if Mariku hadn't interjected, leaping and tackling the white-haired male, sitting proudly on his stomach. "I win again!" he cheered, picking up his pet, which had walked up to him and nudged the blonde's leg with its head.
"Um...Anyway, my name is Yami," he said, tilting his head slightly in a polite bow. "The angry one is Bakura, and the insane one is Mariku... and I apologize for any harm he might have caused you," he directed the last part at the tanned boy, who was glaring at the one holding the animal.
"Why does he carry that thing around?" he asked, crossing his arms, rubbing his cheek against his shoulder, trying to wipe the remaining spit off.
Yami blinked. "The furry thing?"
"The cat, yes,"
"...Um...no reason."
"...Nevermind."
This time, it was the frail-looking pale boy who spoke up. "Um...Thank you," he said, eyeing the tanned Althasian. Mariku blinked and tilted his head. "You saved us," he started, and then seeing the look of utter confusion, he continued, "From those guys, I mean... Thanks,"
"Don't thank him, Ryou," snapped the boy at his side, violet eyes flashing. "I could have fought them off, and you know it!" he hissed under his breath. The shorter one, Ryou, ducked his head slightly, and was about to reply, when the smallest one beat him to it.
"Well, you didn't, and he did. Regardless of whether he...licked you or not, he did. And you should thank him, too," he said, nodding and crossing his own arms.
"As I've said, you'll have to excuse anything he does," Yami said, butting into the conversation. "He's just..." he paused, trying to think up an appropriate word. "Strange."
"Anyway, that one's Malik," said the star-haired boy, pointing to his aggravated friend, who only stuck up his nose and turned his head away. "This is Ryou," the pale-haired boy smiled and waved politely. "And I'm Yuugi." he finished, pointing to his own chest.
"Very nice to meet you Yuugi," Yami said, eyeing the boy's hair. "Tell me," he began, frowning slightly. "Is your hair natural?"
"Yes, strangely enough." he boy laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "Take one look at my Grampa and it'll tell you that," he added, blinking his large, grayish eyes up at the other.
"Um..." Ryou blinked, looking a bit unsure, "Do they always...um...do that?" he asked, referring to the two who were on top of each other, biting and clawing.
All stared for a few seconds, before Yami slowly nodded. "Unfortunately," he trailed off, before letting out a sigh. "You wouldn't mind telling us where we are, would you? I'm afraid we're new here..."
"Well, right now you're in Domino city park, in Japan...but you knew that much, right? I mean it's kinda hard to be in a state and not know what it is..." Yuugi frowned, as if thinking, but then shook it off, laughing slightly in a nervous manner. "But...Um... since you're new, do you need any help finding your way around town?" he asked, smiling brightly.
The short prince chuckled slightly. "So kind," he observed, folding his arms. "If you wouldn't find it too much trouble," he trailed off, tilting his own head. Japan, eh? That didn't really help him at all... but at least it was something.
He idly noted that the blonde boy was still glaring at all three of them, as though he knew something was wrong. This made Yami sweat a little under his collar, though he didn't look it. The child wouldn't actually be able to tell they weren't from there, right? Well, planet-wise... it didn't seem like this species took very kindly to off-planeters... And not to mention their technology sucked.
"Of course! I know my way around pretty well," Yuugi said, puffing out his chest slightly, seeming proud. This act made the prince want to chuckle. Of course, he could tell there were good things about this species as well.
"Look, if you're done trying to court the midget," came the snappy voice of the pale Althasian. Yami turned and glared, face heating up.
"You know very well I wasn't 'courting'" he replied, ready to kick Bakura again at any moment Blinking at the sudden silence he received from the three to his side, he turned, noting their somewhat shocked appearance, and Yuugi's hot-looking face. The boy laughed it off, though, as though trying not to say anything.
"I'm short, I know," he mumbled quietly to the white-haired alien, before looking down, face flushed.
And at this moment, Bakura let out a yelp as he was kicked sharply by Yuugi's taller look-a-like. "If you say one more thing, Bakura..." he trailed off, threatening.
"Damn you!" the other cried, holding his knee. "I need my legs to fucking WALK!"
Mariku, unbeknownst to the rest, had moved and was now standing behind Malik. But oh, boy, did the smaller know this when he felt breath on his neck that made his hair stand on end. "You smell nice," the crazed one purred, grabbing Malik and pulling him back against his chest. "Smell like food," he said, moving to lick the other once more, but Malik, apparently, had all he could stand.
In less that three seconds, Mariku was sitting on the ground with a bruised cheek, looking more hurt than a puppy that had been left alone in a box on the side of a road. He whined in his throat, and lifted a hand to his face, as if he were about to cry, eyes watering. "Ma-Mariku sorry," he said quietly, sniffing.
This site pulled at Malik's chest, and made him feel almost guilty, though he didn't show it. "You're sick," he muttered, glaring. Ryou suddenly pulled on his arm, eyes looking worried.
"You shouldn't do that Malik," he said, voice hushed to a quiet whisper. He pulled the taller in closer. "What if he's...ya know..." he trailed off, looking uncomfortable. This struck the tanner boy and he blinked, suddenly feeling a little guilty. He knew what the pale boy was implying, and now that he thought about it, Mariku did seem slightly...off. Maybe he was...er...retarded.
"Look, just don't go licking me aga--" he started his apology, though was cut off when he felt something wrap around his waist and twitched, looking down at the alien. Mariku was currently making himself at home, nuzzling the other's side affectionately, as if trying to make amends.
Meanwhile, Bakura was still having problems with his leg. Frankly, he didn't care if the three freakish them-looking things thought Mariku was stupid. He didn't care if they thought Yami was stupid. Hell, he didn't even care if they thought he was stupid. Because, well...he just didn't care. Still rubbing his knee, he mumbled obscenities under his breath, glaring at everything that moved. But a few things were coherent enough to hear, such as; 'fucking prince, kicking my leg, who does he think he is...' and several others of the like.
Yami was watching the whole thing in some shock--he hadn't seen Mariku act so pathetic in quite a while. He looked to see Yuugi's questioning stare, and he smiled somewhat nervously. "Mariku, he's...a bit off in the head," he answered, shrugging. What really was there to say?
Nodding, Yuugi prayed his discomfort didn't show. "So...um... There's several good restaurants around here," he trailed off, hoping the others would catch his drift. "And it is almost lunch-time," he added, after his stomach growled a little. Hey, he was a growing boy, after all!
Yami nodded quickly, looking to Bakura. He could only conclude that 'lunch' was a mealtime, and that a restaurant was somewhere to get the nutritions needed. "Are you hungry, Bakura?" he asked, attempting to ignore the blatant glare he was receiving.
"Yeah, food sounds good. But, oh, wait...I can't fucking walk to get there!" And with this, he threw something at the shorter male, possibly a rock, which Yami just dodged out of the way of.
"Don't you start this," the prince growled, glaring. He felt something and looking down, seeing Mariku's new -- um... cat, was it? -- pawing at his leg. "What?" he asked, blinking down at the creature. Princess, though, apparently didn't like Yami's tone of voice, and proved this by from there using his leg as a scratching post.
Poor Ryou and Yuugi were the only two who had nothing really attacking or paining them at the moment, and could only stare, as Yami and the cat dueled it out over the short prince's precious pants.
---
"Wonderful!" Mariku cried, shoving the rest of what could only be seen as a blur into his mouth. "Mariku wants more! Here-food is good!" he continued, reaching for another slice.
"Heh, I'm pretty fond of pizza myself," Yuugi said, taking a smaller bite than the other. "But... I still think hamburgers are better," he grinned, going in for another mouthful.
Ryou laughed slightly, poking at his own food. "You and hamburgers, Yuugi..." he trailed off, shaking his head. He knew quite well by now that his small friend could very well eat almost his weight in the stuff.
To the pale boy's right, Malik made a face. "That's disgusting," he muttered, going back to his own meal, which was an entirely different type pizza. The others had all assortments of things on it, while his was rather plain. And smaller, since it was meant for just him. "How can you both eat that stuff?" he complained, mouth full.
Ryou thumped his friend on the arm. "Table manners, please," he scolded, though he was smiling. "And just because you detest meat doesn't mean we have to. We put up with you, so you should show us the same consideration."
Yuugi nodded idly while going in for another slice.
On the opposite side of the table, Bakura stared at the food, giving it his infamous "death glare o' doom". He didn't trust it one bit. Next to him, Yami was listening to the conversation curiously.
"Do you not eat meat?" he asked Malik, who only stared at him, an eyebrow cocked.
"That would be the definition of vegetarian." he retorted bluntly, voice monotone. Sighing, he went back to his pizza, leaving Yami to blink.
"But...why?" he asked, not understanding.
Ryou shrugged. "Malik's just stubborn like that," he smiled, eyeing the other. This caused the blonde to elbow him slightly.
"It's part of my culture, so you can shut your mouth, Femmi-boi," he said, grinning as Ryou bristled at the nickname.
"An eye for an eye," said Yuugi plainly, laughing lightly, before going back to his food.
Meanwhile, Mariku had wolfed down almost an entire pizza on his own. And Bakura still didn't trust the food.
After their little lunch escapade, the three started showing the newcomers around town, mainly things like the park, the high school, and a few stores. They got some attention, thanks to their choice of clothing and unusual appearance, but none seemed to care all that much. Bakura was his normal pissy self, and Mariku thought the whole thing was rather funny.
Ryou had suggested the music store, seeing as how he was quite fond of sitting alone with his CDs at hand. Not really caring too much, Yuugi and Malik agreed, while the Althasians were in awe of the sites around them. This planet was a lot better than it seemed from far away.
While Malik was bending over, sifting idly through the discount CD rack, his new archenemy came up silently being him. Grinning, Mariku grabbed the smaller boy's hips and leaned over, moving himself on the smaller male.
All Malik could do for the moment, was freeze, eyes wide... Was...was he being...!
Turning, he saw to it that Mariku learn to leave him the hell alone.
---
A whole three minutes and seven thousand, five hundred yen worth of breakings later, the six found themselves on the curb outside, waiting for either the city bus or an idea of what to do now.
"Nice going Malik," Ryou mumbled, face in his hands. "Now the owner's probably never gonna let us go in there again!"
"It wasn't my fault! That -- that FREAK started humping me!" Malik cried, flailing his arms to help show just how furious he was. "It's disgusting enough being LICKED! But HUMPED! And by another GUY to top it all off!"
"Malik, shut up and sit down. You're causing a scene," Yuugi muttered boredly, staring straight ahead. There were a few people who had stopped to watch this, but moved on quickly, not wanting to be caught staring.
Yami was listening to all this in confusion. Turning his head to the three boys, he asked; "What are your traditions on mating?" he inquired curiously.
Ryou blinked and turned to gawk at him in wonder. "Um... what?"
Yuugi cocked his head. "Um... Mating...?" he asked, almost not sure if he really wanted to know.
The prince nodded, trying to brush off the odd looks he was getting. "Yes, mating. Mating as in couplings, lovers, soul-mates..." he trailed off, not really knowing that many other words to use as a synonym for "mate".
Yuugi understood what the other meant a little better now, but was still highly confused. "Uh...it's girl-guy, if you were asking that..." he said with much uncertainty. Where were these guys from, anyways? And surely they knew that much...right?
Ryou coughed awkwardly, looking down. Well, Yuugi certainly wasn't talking about him... of course, that was his, er... skeleton in his closet, if you will. Only he knew of this little black secret, and he liked to keep it that way.
Malik glared. "Don't tell me to shut up!" he hissed at his small, gray-eyed friend, before he pouted and sat down next to his other friend.
Bakura was leaning up against a lamppost, arms crossed and head down, hair covering his face. "You're all acting stupid," he said, tone bored. He had been listening the whole time, and found it quite unusual that these beings didn't take up a mate of the same gender. To him, it all seemed incredibly unnatural. 'Stupid things... don't even know what they're doing.'
Mariku was sitting on the ground, playing sadly with a pebble. "I want my Princess," he whined, squatting, arms wrapped around his knees. "He's lonely without me," he continued, sniffling.
Yami sighed, and rubbed his forehead. "Might as well go back and get him... There's nothing else to do right now." he mumbled, looking tired out from the day. He suddenly blinked, glancing around at the others. "Well, if it's alright with all of you, that is," he added, eyeing everyone.
Yuugi frowned and shrugged. "Who's 'Princess'?" he asked curiously.
"Mariku's cat," Bakura said, looking up for the first time in a while. "Now let's just go now, before it gets dark or something," he said, eyes moving up to the sky, which was beginning to turn a beautiful shade of orange in the distance.
The rest of the group agreed (if not somewhat awkwardly), with Mariku skipping away in the lead, singing something about cabbages or something, and Malik staying as far away as he could from the other, grumbling under his breath.
And so, they made their way into the sunset, in search of Mariku's Princess.
.:Chapter end:.
...I hope you're happy with how much quicker this came out. I am SO sorry this sucks, but I'm literally about to pass out...and I can't see straight, so spelling errors, and what-not shall be fixed tomorrow, or some time in the near future...
Thanks for the reviews, and I hope you enjoy! (The more I get, the happier I am. :D)
-Cecilia