Finally, an update! My apologies to those of you whom I've kept waiting! This chapter is not quite as action-packed, but I needed some plot-linkage…heh heh… So voila. Enjoy!

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Malik slumped at his desk, brooding over his half-finished English paper. How was he going to finish his analysis in the next five minutes? Stupid Siddhartha…that madman… that corrupted body… Might the fishes and crocodiles devour him, might the demons tear him to little pieces! Malik shook his head slightly, frowning. The headache was getting worse. He put his head down on his desk for a moment, waiting for the pounding to pass. The bell rang. Damn.

He drifted through the next half hour of class, the headache growing steadily worse. Finally he decided to excuse himself and go get a drink of water from the fountain. Closing the door quietly, he turned to walk down the hall. It would be the last thing he would be able to remember for a while…

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4:16 p.m.

Rei Yamamoto had worked as the school secretary for nearly thirty-five years now. And she had never seen a student with so many absences as Malik Ishtar had had recently.

"Children these days have absolutely no sense of responsibility," she said sadly to herself, shaking her head. The note in front of her confirmed another mark against the Ishtar boy; evidently he had left in the middle of his first class and never returned. The boy's guardians had been notified before, but it seemed that whatever effect that had had on the boy's behavior had worn off. She glanced at the phone numbers on the contact list. Perhaps another phone call home wouldn't hurt. Sighing, she reached for the phone.

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Isis jumped slightly when the telephone on her desk rang; it was particularly quiet this afternoon, and she had been spending the last several hours sorting through a seemingly never-ending stack of papers that had somehow managed to accrue on her desk. The sudden sound split the silence and hung heavily in the still air.

"Department of Egyptian Antiquities," she answered automatically, pushing back a strand of hair and glancing at an old memo in her hand. Dated last May. By the Gods. It hasn't been that long since I went through this stack, has it?

"Hello. I'm trying to reach Miss Isis Ishtar…" The voice on the other end of the line sounded vaguely familiar.

"This is she."

"Ah. Very good. I'm Rei Yamamoto, calling from Domino High…"

Isis sighed inwardly. It was not the first telephone call she had received from the school secretary. "Hello, Yamamoto-san," she said politely. This is not going to be good news, I can tell…

"Miss Ishtar, I'm afraid I'm calling with some disappointing news. It seems that Malik left class earlier this morning and hasn't been seen since. Were you aware of this?"

Isis pitched another stack of old papers into the wastebasket beside her desk. "I'm sorry," she said, trying to keep the tired edge out of her voice, "I didn't know this."

"I just wanted to let you know, dear. His records show that he has skipped class several times over the past few weeks…of course, we're not sure why. Perhaps he's ill, or something is troubling the young man?" The secretary's voice had taken on a grandmotherly tone. "I just think someone needs to talk to him…"

"Yes. Yes, I agree…" Isis said, somewhat distracted. A letter dated from February. Gods. She sighed and switched the phone to her right ear. "Thank you for calling, Yamamoto-san."

"You're welcome, dear. Please let us know if there's anything the school can do."

"I will. Thank you." She placed the phone back on the receiver, sighing. The room fell once again into heavy silence, and Isis ran a hand through her hair, frustrated. Malik…brother. What's wrong?

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Doctor Hinoto had been sorting through supplies for the last ten minutes, completely absorbed in his own thoughts. So he nearly had a heart attack when he turned around to see the young man standing behind him. "Gah!" he yelped ineloquently, then caught himself. He straightened his glasses on his nose while he tried to catch his breath. "How the hell did you get in here?"

The dark-skinned boy in front of him shrugged mildly. "I got lost." The voice held a certain sly undertone that made the doctor narrow his eyes.

"Well, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to get lost again," he said sternly. "Visitors are not allowed back here."

The boy shrugged again languidly. "Sure thing." He turned and left before Doctor Hinoto could send him another irritated glare. Hinoto sent a stern look at the boy's retreating back anyway.

That was…odd. He turned back to the shelves, selecting one last small bottle before turning to gather his other supplies. Hmm. That was strange. He could have sworn he had picked up a scalpel five minutes ago. I must be getting old, he thought ruefully. My memory's going already. Feeling silly, he crouched to look under a nearby table in case the blade had fallen on the floor without him noticing. Nothing. He shook his head slightly. Sighing, he selected another, new scalpel before turning and locking the supply door behind him.

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"So where were you last week, Wednesday night?"

Ryou frowned in thought. Good God. He couldn't even remember what he had eaten for dinner last night, let alone what he was doing last week. "Um…I was here, I suppose."

"Was anyone else here with you?"

He shook his head, a strand of pale hair falling into his eyes. He brushed it aside as he looked at the detectives sitting across from him in his living room. He was beginning to think that letting them come into the house had been a mistake.

"So you live alone, then?" an officer asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, no…not exactly. I mean, my father is here, too. Sometimes." He shrugged. "He's very busy with his work," he said lightly.

"I see." One of the detectives made a note. Ryou swallowed nervously. That voice in the back of his head was starting to get louder. Tell them to leave. Now. We've had enough of this foolishness. The boy passed a hand over his eyes. He was really starting to feel unwell.

"We've spoken with the administrators at your school…"

Ryou cringed inwardly. I hope they didn't mention those weeks I skipped. Ryou was a good student when he applied himself, but some days he felt…less motivated.

"…it seems that there were one or two fights you may have been involved in…"

'Involved in' fights. Ha. Finished them, is more like it.

"…and you've had some attendance troubles in the past…"

Ryou shifted uncomfortably his chair, unsettled by both the snickering Voice and the well-informed police.

"Can you tell us a little more about that?"

Flushing, Ryou studied his sneakers before nodding. But he had done nothing wrong. At least not that he could remember. There was no reason to be afraid to talk to the police, was there? Fool, the Voice said, silky and derisive. Ryou licked his lips and began speaking anyway…

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Rishid's cell phone was blinking at him. Hm…voice message. Punching in a few numbers, he held the phone to his ear, waiting patiently through the voice announcing "message one".

"Hello, Rishid. Sorry to bother you at work…"

Rishid smiled faintly in recognition. Isis. She always prefaced her calls to him with 'Sorry to bother you at work…' He honestly didn't mind the interruption, as he had told her, but it seemed to be a habit she couldn't break.

"…I'm calling to let you know I might be a little late getting out of work today," her voice continued. "If it's inconvenient for you to pick me up, I can take the bus home…" At that point she seemed to be done talking, but she suddenly hurried to add a final thought: "Oh…and Rishid…the school called again. It seems Malik left school earlier this morning." A tired sigh came over the line. "Sometimes I just don't know what to do with him…Anyway. We'll have to talk about that later, I suppose. See you tonight." The message ended.

Shaking his head, Rishid pocketed the phone again. Malik… His first reaction was to leave work immediately and hunt his brother down. What if he turned violent? Again, a small voice amended. He's been violent before… He frowned slightly, turning toward the door before hesitating.

What if nothing's wrong? Malik is already upset that you asked about his medicine. He needs to see that you trust him; the last thing he wants to find out is that his older brother is following him. But at the same time, Rishid knew that his brother, or more accurately the Creature inside his brother, could not be trusted. Ever. Even if Malik had seemed normal at breakfast, it was very possible that things had gone horribly wrong since this morning.

The question now, though, was how to find his brother. Pulling his cell phone out of his pocket once more, Rishid dialed Malik's phone. His brother always had his phone on him, and Rishid was praying that he would pick up now.

C'mon, c'mon….answer the phone! The ringing seemed to last forever, but it was probably only on the fourth ring that someone picked up. That someone, however, wasn't saying anything.

Rishid swallowed. "…Hello?" he ventured. There seemed to be some sort of beeping in the background, and the sound of other voices in a crowded room. The noises seemed familiar, but Rishid couldn't quite place them. "Hello?" he tried again. "Malik?"

"Hello, brother." A sly, amused voice hissed back at him.

Gods, no… "Creature," he growled.

"Servant," the voice spat back at him. And then he hung up.

Cursing under his breath, Rishid hung up as well. Well, that was productive. He ran a hand over his head, frustrated. How the hell was he going to find him now? But even as he started pacing in front of his desk, something was being put together in his mind. The sounds in the background…where was he when I called? And suddenly it hit him. He knew the sounds because he had been to the place before: Domino city hospital.

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Muahaha! Suspense! Now to scribble out the next chapter…hopefully one filled with action-packed goodness…heh heh…

Review if you have a mind to!