A/N: For those of you that haven't noticed…the rating has been changed to M now XD Guess, you know what's coming up next then ;D

WARNING: IF YOU'RE EXPECTING TO BE NO DEMENTED MALIK THEN YOU'RE READING THE WRONG FIC. TURN BACK NOW WHILE YOU HAVE THE CHANCE~! (Personally, I don't think it's that bad but meh..*shrugs*)

Enjoy!

Chapter 5- Stuck on the Inside

Ding, ding!

The bell hanging above the door sounded distant as Malik was blinded by the brightness of the store. Even hidden by the shadow of his hood his eyes were in pain. The light was annoying. It was too bright inside here. Why was it so bright? It's too bright…

"Ah, sorry we're closed right now."

A sickeningly sweet and high pitched voice distracted Malik from his surroundings. It took him awhile to focus his sight on the petit male addressing him, who was standing nearby.

He was shorter than Malik initially thought; the kid barely made it to his chest. He was looking back at him with benevolent, amethyst eyes as he walked towards him.

"I'm not here to buy anything," said Malik coolly. "Where is the one that looks like you?"

Surprise crossed the teen's face. "Yami? Do you know him?"

/So, his name is Yami…/ Malik thought. "You can say that," Malik voiced out loud. "Go get him.."

Hesitantly, as if he wasn't sure he should be doing listening to somebody he didn't know, the kid turned around and disappeared behind a door that was in the back of the shop. Malik smiled slightly. This was becoming too easy— not that he was complaining. He could feel his hikari stirring; his time was definitely ticking.

While waiting, he looked around the shop, noting some of the games he had seen in his hikari's room. He walked towards the glass counter and leaned against it, all the while fingering the knife in his pocket as he looked for the light switch in the area. It didn't take long for him to find it, and he smiled once again as he thought of different ways of how to handle his prey. Mere minutes later, the sound of the doorknob turning alerted Malik and he was soon entranced as he watched the other twin coming out.

Immediately, Malik noticed Yami was considerably less sweet-tempered than his other sibling, rather, he looked exotic. Compared to the other brother, Yami's eyes glowed with the intensity of a blazing fire, and his body radiated confidence, not like the softhearted personality of his twin.

The longer Malik took in the entrancing sight the more it was seeming like he had chosen perfectly. Malik couldn't help the Cheshire Cat grin that spread across his face as he looked Yami up and down. Oh, yes, he had definitely found someone worth his time; he could practically feel the blood rushing through his body! He wondered how much of a fight Yami would put against him, how it would feel to have Yami's lithe frame pressed against his own…to hear his screams….He had the intense feeling to violate the male in front of him, in more ways than one, but he wanted to drag this out for as long as possible. Savor the moment.

"What are you doing? Get away from me."

The calm, authoritative voice broke through the haze that had engulfed Malik. Shaking his head, he realized that he had unconsciously moved closer towards Yami.

Yami didn't waste any time speaking as soon as he realized he had Malik's attention again. "Who are you? What do you want?" he asked warily.

/What I want?/ Malik repeated slowly. It was getting hard to concentrate; hard to stay calm. He could barely hold back anymore…barely form coherent thoughts.

\Wait…No…Wait….\

Malik chuckled darkly as he heard the faint echo of his hikari's voice tried to fight against the restraints.

As if he could wait any longer. It was time for him to play…

The sound of surprise seemed distant as Yami barely made it out of Malik's reach but he wasn't quick enough to escape from Malik's hands twice. Successfully pinning Yami against the wall, Malik harshly gripped the hair on the back of the petit male's head before yanking down. A sharp hiss escaped from those rose-tinted lips as Malik crushed his lips against them in a rough, bruising kiss. Immediately, Yami began fighting back, grunting and doing everything he could to inflict pain on Malik.

But Malik wasn't feeling the pain as he should. It felt too good. Everything felt too good. Yami's lips, the feel of his body, the soft, subdued cries coming from that fragile throat.

He couldn't be stopped; He refused to stop.

Malik forced Yami's mouth open and thrust his tongue inside that hot, moist depth.

He wanted more. He wanted more. Heneededmoregivememoregivememore!

Suddenly Malik felt something that made him recoil back slightly. He could feel a sharp pang on his lips. Slowly, Malik brought a hand to touch them as he faintly realized he was feeling pain. Once pulling them back he saw that there was blood on his fingertips.

/Huh./

Malik eyes traveled slowly from the red drips towards defiant red. And a callous grin tugged at his lips.

"I might have gone easy on you if you hadn't resisted so much," Malik whispered, pulling the knife out from his pocket, "but now I've changed my mind."

He licked the blade slowly, keeping his gaze fixed on Yami's own. "I'm going to rip you apart now," he said sweetly.

Yami launched himself from the wall a split second before the words even left Malik's mouth but it didn't matter. It was already too late.

Expecting Yami to head for the back door, Malik moved towards it as well. He didn't waste any time preventing his prey from escaping. Quickly his right hand shot out and grabbed Yami by the arm, yanked the small frame back and swung him into the store's display case.

Crash!

Glistening shards scattered everywhere, crunching under Malik's boots as he turned out the lights. He could hear Yami gasp out in pain as lighting bathed the store in temporary light. Malik could hear his Hikari's groans, trying to break from his restraints as thunder roared above him. Time was ticking.

Malik felt as if he was watching someone else move across the glistening floor; shortening the distance between Yami and the cloaked figure. But he could feel the softness of skin and the heat of flesh against the cloaked figure's hand as it closed around Yami's throat, pulling him away from the crumpled mess of the display case and onto the floor. Despite being detached from the feelings of his actions, he knew what he wanted to do next.

Slowly, Malik's hand tightens around Yami's slim neck and immediately the petit teen's hands tried to claw away at Malik's. A slight chuckled ghosted over Malik's lips as he watched Yami struggled.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO HIM?!"

Malik felt like he was jolted from his dream as he heard that sickeningly sweet voice sounding furious and horrified at the same time and noticed that the searing, bright lights had come back on. Snapping his head towards the source of the shout, Malik glared straight at the younger brother, who was standing stock-still, his hand still hovering over the light switch.

A loud crack sounded as Yami used the opportunity to connect his fist with Malik's face but that only pissed Malik off. Quickly retaliating, Malik picked Yami up by the neck before slamming him back down. As he heard more screams from behind him, he dropped the knife long enough to backhand Yami across his face, causing his head to bang against the floor.

"Yuugi," gasped out Yami, still trying to pry Malik's hand off of him, "don't. Get—out of here now."

\No…No, please…..Wait…\

Malik's head rolled slowly back towards Yami, his eyes half-lidded as he gazed at him. "I'd listen to him if I were you…" Malik raised the knife up before turning back to Yuugi and bringing it into his view, watching with satisfaction as the petit male eyes went wide in horror. "You wouldn't want him dead would you?" Without warning, he brought the knife down in a slashing motion, ripping apart Yami's skin in two quick cuts against the side of his stomach.

Yuugi screamed and Yami cried out as blood appeared on the floor, the glass, their clothes, and the knife.

Malik was about to bring the knife crashing down again when he felt a force other than his own stop his arm from raising up. Panic swelled in Malik's chest as he realized his hold on Marik was faltering.

/Damnit…Damnit! No! Stay the hell out of this!/

He tried to move his arm again but to no avail.

\Get off of him! Malik, GET THE HELL OFF OF HIM! Please! Just stop it! Stop it, STOP IT!\

At some point, through his hikari's screaming, he noticed Yuugi had ran out of the room. Cursing loudly at the turn of events he released Yami's neck and made a beeline for the door. Using his cloak to turn the doorknob, Malik burst through the door and into the torrential rain. He thought he could hear sirens in the distance. Not wasting any more time he took off down the street as fast as he could.

-o-o-o-

Marik sat huddled against the wall, his legs pressed up to his chest with his head lying down on his knees. Every now and again a sob would break the silence of his room as Marik switched an ice pack from one hand to the other. He had no idea how much time had passed since….since that incident happened. Marik was doing his best to forget but he couldn't banish the images from his mind so easily.

Malik…

The mere thought of him sent cold chills down Marik's spine. He was scared out of his mind about…his doppelganger, his imposter, his darker half, whatever he claim himself to be. He didn't know what was happening, what had happened; how he ended up being trapped inside his own body, in some deep slumber and refrained from using his own limbs. And next, seemingly as if he was waking up from a bad dream, how he ended up looking down at defiant ruby eyes with cold satisfaction. A split second later he was surrounded by darkness for what felt like a very long time and, lastly, somehow ended up standing in the middle of the hallway of his own home, his cheek and jaw throbbing with pain…and a stained butcher knife in his hand.

Marik burrowed further into his lap, placing the ice pack beside him while trying to stop himself from shaking from the thought but the whole ordeal was too frightening. He was losing touch with reality. There was no way this could have happened. This didn't happen. But the words couldn't be held onto and the cold and sad truth was threatening to consume him.

"Ra, help me," Marik whispered.

/Stop your crying already./

Marik jumped and instinctively searched his room, fully on guard while trying to find the source of that menacing voice. Only the cluttered mess of his room greeted his eyes. Did he only imagine it? After a few minutes Marik tried to relax his tensed muscles. He pressed his forehead back onto his knees and tried to breathe. "I need help. Sister…."

/She won't help you./

Marik gasped at the near frigid touch on his shoulders. His head snapped up and his eyes met cold, soulless eyes. He wanted to scream but his throat clenched and his mouth became dry; he couldn't even speak let only scream.

"You," said Malik, his voice filled with contempt, "are so pathetically weak." His hands tightened on Marik's shoulders. "How many times am I going to repeat this before it finally sticks in that little goldfish brain of yours? Just look at yourself. This is why you made me, why you need me." He shook his head before releasing Marik.

"You nearly killed him," Marik said, suddenly finding his voice. "You said to trust you and I did! You said you'd protect me, and I believed you! Why would you go off and attempt to murder a guy? I would never hurt anybody!"

"That's because I'm better than you," Malik said simply, unperturbed by Marik's sudden outburst. "I'm the kind of person you don't have the courage to be. What you won't do…I can and I can do it so much better than you ever could. Unlike you, I can't be held back.

As for what I told you…I wasn't lying. And you weren't there when I was the one being attacked. Although, I'll admit I didn't defend myself like I should have."

The Egyptian teen looked at his other half warily, chewing the new information over. "You mean he attacked you first?"

"Of course."

"Why?"

His voice became irritated. "So many questions. You should just take my word for it."

"Why would I? I barely know you."

Malik signed; a long, impatient sign. "This again?" He leaned over Marik and the teen realized that if Malik suddenly decided to be rid of him there wouldn't be anybody to help him even if he did manage to make it out of his bedroom.

"I'm not going to kill you." Once again he placed his icy hands on Marik's shoulders causing him to flinch. "I told you already that I'm here to protect you." Unable to move he could feel Malik's hand move up from his shoulders with deliberate slowness; they came to the base of his neck and Marik thought for sure Malik could feel his pulse quicken as they reached further up then finally rested on his cheeks. As Malik forced Marik's head up, he continued, "You need me here just as I need you. Now, I can't do what you made me for if you keep continuing to doubt me. If you want to survive—to exist—in this world without losing your freedom then you need to let me make all the decisions; your sense of judgment is conflicting at best and not trustworthy. You don't seem to realize the danger you've surrounded yourself in. Your sister, your new friends, everyone…they don't want you. They would rather lock somebody like you up; to snuff you out. After all, they only need you to screw up once so that they can throw you back into that so called institution that claims to help you. You don't want that do you? That's why you only need me. They're too dangerous for us to be around. Deep down you know this; I know this. So you've no need to question me. Now…stop trying to find excuses to doubt me and let me in."

Marik, unaware of the sudden close proximity Malik was to him, was startled when he felt Malik's lips mercilessly crush against his own. His hands immediately flew up to push Malik off of him but were just as quickly caught and held tightly against his back. The teen squeezed his eyes shut as he felt his mouth forcibly open and filled with his other's tongue. He tasted…off. Marik wasn't quite sure how Malik tasted but it bothered him immensely.

As quick as it all started, it was over just as quickly. He felt Malik pull back so he opened his eyes tentatively. Malik was still too close for comfort and he was smirking, no doubt, at the astonished look on Marik's face. Once again Marik became confused. Too many emotions and thoughts were welled up inside him and it was beginning to be difficult to discern which was what.

"Are you going to let me in?"

Indecision racked Marik making him unable to answer. He opened his mouth but no words would come out and he closed it. He didn't know what he should answer so, Marik averted his eyes and weakly mumbled, "Please…could you let go of me?"

There was a slight pause and Marik wasn't sure if Malik was going to listen until he felt some warmth return to his fingers. "Thanks…"

Malik merely brushed it off. "You're still unsure…"

Marik wasn't sure if it was a question or a statement but he couldn't catch the tone in his dark's voice. Regardless, he nodded though he still didn't look at Malik. But it didn't seem Malik liked that and Marik soon felt that algid touch on his chin, forcing his head up again so that Marik was looking at Malik. He was smiling at him and Marik still found something wrong with Malik's smile….It looked too pleasant, too calculating….

"Don't worry," he said, the pad of his thumb rubbing against Marik's chin. "That will change."

-o-o-o-

For the next few weeks Malik would appear in his apparition form and, more or less, repeat his little speech; asking Marik the same questions over and over and making comments about everything Marik thought or did. It was becoming stressful; taking more energy to ignore the constant assault of talking from Malik. He was losing sleep and appetite since Malik began dictating and would get angry if Marik didn't agree, did what Malik tell him to do, or ignored him completely. By the time the first week since his sister left was nearing its end Marik couldn't bring himself to go to work. He began making the common excuses like being sick and going out of the city until he just quit working at the café altogether. He couldn't even answer the phone when Bakura or Ryou called once he stopped working, much to Malik's glee. Cut off from all the things that Malik considered to be dangerous Marik slowly began to open up towards Malik. Little by little he'd let Malik touch him, no longer noticing the cold and realizing that he enjoyed Malik's acts on him. Not only that, but it reached the point to wear Marik would willingly give up control, allowing Malik to use his body for whatever the spirit felt like doing. When he became aware of surroundings again, he would always be in his room. He was no longer worried because it no longer mattered anymore. Malik would keep him safe; Malik would make sure that his worst fears would never come true.

-o-o-o-

Diiing dongg ding~!

Marik looked up from the bowl and sponge he held in his hands before glancing at the clock. Almost 9, Marik thought as the doorbell rang again. Who would come here at a time like this?

/Don't bother answering it/ said Malik languidly. /I doubt it's anything important./

"But…what if it's my sister?" Marik asked, setting his items down as the doorbell rang again. "She's supposed to come in two days but she might've been able to come back early."

/Then she would have keys to get in, dumbass./

"Ohh…right…."

Marik was about to resume washing the dishes when suddenly an onslaught of noise came from his front door. Somebody was pressing the doorbell button repeatedly while pounding on his door causing a noise so loud Marik immediately stopped what he was going to do and practically ran to the door.

"What the hell is your probl—ah!"

Marik was cut off from his building torrent when a plastic bag filled with small boxes was pushed into his chest, causing him to take several steps back. "What the hell?" Marik asked bewildered just as the culprit who put it there stepped inside his house.

"I guess you're too good to pick up the phone or come by the café now huh?"Marik looked up from the bag and saw Bakura standing there with a smirk as he pushed the plastic into his chest.

"I'm sorry," Ryou said from behind. "I didn't think he'd do that.."

"You're here too?!" Marik blurted out which caused Bakura to glare and Marik to quickly backpedal. "I didn't mean it like that. I just...wasn't expecting anyone."

"Yeah, well, if we had called you'd probably skipped town with the way you've been acting lately."

Marik couldn't argue with that so he stood aside and let the two white-haired teens inside. He could feel Malik steaming beside him but chose to ignore it. After all, it had been days since he had seen Bakura and Ryou; it was like he had nearly forgotten their existence and even the outside world. It was a shock and Marik realized that it had been awhile since he had left the apartment.

"How's it going at the cafe?" He asked, as he locked the door behind himself and looked inside the plastic bag. "What the hell is this?"

Flopping onto the couch, Bakura said dismissively, "What do you think it is?" He pointed at Ryou, who blushed slightly, "It was his idea. Personally, I'd let you starve..."

Marik smiled. Leave it to Ryou to be the thoughtful, forgiving one. He placed the bag of Chinese takeout on the table before playfully ruffling Ryou's hair. "Thanks and I'm sorry for not keeping in touch with you guys."

Bakura grunted while Ryou smiled brightly. "It's ok," he said, ignoring Bakura's grumbled "No, it's not," and began taking out the red and white boxes. "Since it's been awhile we thought we'd eat with you. Maybe we can catch up on things!"

"Sure," said Marik, before leaning over and tossing Bakura the remote. "Maybe we can catch a movie on TV too or something. Would you guys like anything to drink?"

Bakura shook his head while he turned the TV on. Ryou nodded, "Water is fine."

Marik nodded and headed towards the kitchen.

/You're letting them stay.../

Marik jumped. He had completely forgotten about Malik. The barely contained anger in his dark's voice sent chills down his spine. "Yeah," he whispered so that his friends wouldn't hear him from the living room. "They came all this way after all; I don't want to be rude."

He felt Malik seethed as he took two glasses out from the cabinet.

/I don't want them here./

"I'm not kicking them out."

/What?/

Marik set the two glasses filled with water on the counter and, with great difficultly, forced himself to face Malik's transparent form. "I want them here. After seeing them here, I didn't realize how much I missed them." He took a breath. "I'm not kicking them out." He started to turn back around when Malik's grip held him in place. "Ow!"

Malik's grip tighten as he looked at Marik with smoldering anger in his eyes. Marik could feel his stomach begin to twist and turn as fear crawled up his body.

/What's this?/ asked Malik. /You're not listening to me now? Did you forget that you need me?!/ His hold on Marik began to tighten even more as he talked until it took all Marik had to not scream out in pain.

"Malik, stop it," he begged, trying to pry Malik's fingers off of him. Tears were beginning to form in eyes; he didn't want Bakura or Ryou to hear him but he was reaching his limit.

Malik tilted his head to the side as he watched Marik gasp in pain, no longer increasing his hold but not relinquishing either. /You don't need anyone else but me,/ he said. He looked down the hallway were commercials could be heard playing in the living room. /To prove that.../ he turned back to Marik's fearful face, /maybe I should show you what I can do when you don't listen to me, hm?/

Marik's eyes opened wide. "No, don't," he choked out. "They didn't do anything."

/They both look nearly the same,/ Malik went on, feigning deafness, /but I like that older one. What was his name again?/ He paused before saying softly, /Ah, yes. Bakura/ he fixed his dull eyes on Marik's. /I wonder...what it will look like once I paint the walls with his blood? I'm sure it would be beautiful...Don't you agree?/

Marik was crying now. His whole body was shaking. He could feel his arm becoming numb; he was sure a bruise would be left behind. He knew he should give Malik what he wanted now but...

"Alright...alright," Marik forced out through gritted teeth. "Just...can I let them stay for a little while? As a final goodbye. I won't see them again after today." He looked up at Malik. "Please."

It felt like years went by as Malik looked back at him with half-lidded eyes, desolate and dark. Suddenly, Marik could feel warmth return to his and the entire kitchen as Malik straighten himself.

/20 minutes,/ he said, coldly. He looked up at the clock and added, /If they're not out after the time is up and going to make you watch./ Malik turned back towards him. /Starting now./

A/N: Until next time~