There's more to life than Duel Monsters
There's more to life than Duel Monsters.
Ch12: The Nightmare of Loss
Disclaimer: I don't own the cast or story from Yu Gi Oh so please don't sue me. Oh, and as this is my story, all rights reserved.
Hm, I should stop making it a habit to procrastinate. : ( I did need the sleep though. Eh, I wish I had a clone to study for me. Longest chapter yet! Yay! I don't know who's still reading, but if you are, sorry for the delay.
Marik's Nightmare
Marik watched two kids sitting on a seesaw, he knew he was the little tanned blonde one, and he was smiling at the snowy-haired pale one across from him. The other boy was smiling back. There was a song in the background that Marik remembered singing to himself when he played as a child, in Ancient Egypt.
Funny, I don't actually remember where I learnt it.
He decided it was probably from one of the slaves. That is, he heard it and made the slave teach him. Marik would have liked to know what the words actually meant but that language had long since died out and was forever lost in the mists of time, like so many of the things he remembered.
The picture zoomed in, until he was his own childhood self. He couldn't move himself or turn his head, as though the child didn't really want to take his eyes off the other boy. There was also no backdrop to this scene, Marik realized, it was all shiny and light – the way daydream sequences were in some cartoons.
But this wasn't a daydream. The kids were pushing off the ground faster and faster. Marik grinned as he felt the nervousness hit him – both he and the other boy were going too fast, and the seesaw shuddered whenever one of the boys hit the top.
Marik's child-sized hands were sweating, as he looked at the other boy's calm smile, and felt the unsaid challenge hanging in the air. One thought shocked him to the core, suddenly he knew, he just knew…
There is no ground.
But he couldn't stop himself – he wasn't about to lose.
Marik pushed off with all his might, the seesaw shuddered when he hit the top, his grip on the handlebar slipped, and he fell off the side.
His heart pounded in his ears, and he screamed in a voice he wasn't used to. As the other boy quickly disappeared from view, he fell away from the shimmering light, down into oblivion…into darkness.
He came to, and opened his eyes, only to be greeted with an all-too-familiar sight. It was the tomb, the prison he found himself in when he first awoke in this life. He was lying face down on a stone slab, naked; the little he could see of the room was lit by flickering torches.
Suddenly, like déjà vu, there was a burning sensation on his back.
Marik jumped up, startled, feeling the tattoo rod scrape his back, and quickly scrambled off the slab, putting it between himself, and the hooded masked man that was, as expected a nightmare version of Malik's father.
"Lie back down." Came the familiar authoritarian voice, sending shivers down Marik's spine.
Marik shook his head smiling, and backed away, shivering with cold and fear. The masked man started laughing. Malik was prepared for the inevitable locked door that would be there, holding his hands out behind him to meet it, but to his surprise, he felt nothing but air all the way out of the room.
When the room was almost out of sight, the laughter could still be clearly heard, and the masked man started walking slowly towards Marik, footsteps echoing down the hallway.
Marik turned and ran into the maze of passages that lay beyond the room, followed by laughter and footsteps. When his path forked, he took a turning at random, heartbeat almost as loud as his bare feet on the stone.
Marik was looking behind him as he ran, not expecting anything to be in his way, and crashed into a white haired tomb robber, sending both of them flying to the floor…and there was darkness.
Marik opened his eyes to find himself wrapped up in luxurious sheets, warm in a bed that wasn't his own. He pushed himself up to sit as his eyes tried to adjust to the dim white glow of streetlamps filtering in through thin black curtains from outside.
He surveyed the mess of sheets around him, and his eyes rested on something white.
Hair. Bakura?
So much happiness flooded Marik, that he had to hold onto the bed not to float away.
Ra, let this be his dream too.
Marik reached out to the familiar silhouette and felt warm wet skin. He smirked and automatically drew his hand up to his mouth to lick it, but something stopped him short, sending shivers down his spine and plunging him into the lowest, darkest depths of fear, tinged with despair and panic.
It's so dark, why is it dark? It…it can't be…
But there was no mistaking the metallic scent of blood – Marik was used to it, even found it pleasant at times; it had so many happy memories attached to it. But this was different, and the blood was still warm.
Marik slowly looked at his other hand, fear sitting like a lump in his throat making it hard to breathe or swallow, his vision blurred with unshed tears. Sure enough, there was the knife, coated in blood.
Marik heard the police sirens, but all he could think about was the shape that lay prone next to him, life-force seeping out. There was no saving somebody once Marik was done with them.
"Bakura! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it. Please come back." He whispered vehemently to the dead something he would never say to the living.
Marik glanced at the body, waiting for Bakura to sit up, smile and tell him that he'd lost the round. But there was nothing.
The police rushed into the room, disarmed Marik, and took him outside. Amidst the coloured lights, sirens and reporters, he felt a giggle start in his throat, one that turned into uncontrollable laughter.
My fault, my fault, always my fault. Sang in his head.
But just as the officer was pushing his head down so he would get into the police car, he noticed at the back of the crowd, standing apart from it, a boy that could have been a hallucination or a ghost, but knowing Bakura, was probably the real thing.
Bakura nodded to Marik, who felt a strange mix of great elation, and amazing betrayal wash over him. The emotions were so strong that he couldn't resist the now irate officer as the latter pushed him roughly into the car, nor was he able to move his feet.
Marik fell towards the back seat…and out of an overcrowded train, propelled along across the platform by the press of people. As he regained his footing and moved quickly through the crowd, his heart thumped in his chest so loudly that he could swear all the people could hear it.
He felt like he was doing something stealthy, something illegal, and that would have been alright, even the giant spy trench coat and hat he wore added a sense of poetry to the situation – it was a dream after all. But it also felt like he was doing something vital, and that unnerved him.
Soon, Marik reached the storage lockers, pushed in the combination and opened it. There was a brown paper package. He took it, and made his way to the entrance of the station…
And walked out into Ancient Egypt. The giant hall, people in period costumes and the familiar sight of the pharaoh on his throne – was he always that short? – dealing with petitioners were all a dead giveaway.
Wow. He's the very picture of Yugi Moto. How did I not notice? Could the pharaoh…be Yugi? If I can have a vessel, then I don't see why he shouldn't…so, since I owned the Senn Rod back then and am now tied to it…that Senn Puzzle round his neck that I've seen so many times in duels …This is very interesting.
It was Marik's turn, and he moved forward, head bowed, chains he had not noticed a moment ago, clinking. It was strange, because only the rich and reasonably powerful could petition the pharaoh, and only slaves wore chains, but nobody acted like Marik was out of place.
He held the package out to the pharaoh who was playing with a small gold key. A guard walked forward to take the package out of Marik's hands, and he was startled to notice that this guard had the head of a jackal.
Anubis.
The guard proceeded to open the wrapping, then the box, and pulled out… a folded piece of paper!
Marik could see what it said, and his heart sank as the paper was taken up to the pharaoh. It was an I.O.U. and there was only one person in the world that could steal something out of a sealed package without even touching the wrapping.
Phantom. He thought, feeling incensed and betrayed, but more than anything, his heart physically ached that he had no right to feel that anymore; they were enemies now.
Marik felt laughter building up, but as always, the world was out of sync with Marik's mind. The pharaoh was frowning, and the Anubis-guard was walking towards Marik who was making a superhuman effort not to grin.
Marik clued into the danger of the situation when the guard was almost on him. He stepped back, but tripped over the chains and fell…
Onto a couch in a club. He looked up, and his eyes were drawn to Bakura, dressed in a white sleeveless top and cargo pants – a raver's outfit – surrounded by boys and girls wearing the same, the crest that marked Marik's house slaves, tattooed on their shoulders.
They were all talking quietly, hands all over the place with no regard for public decency. Not that anyone but Marik seemed to mind or come to that, even notice. They were walking into the backrooms of the club after all.
Marik got up and followed them, but soon stumbled back out of the darkened rooms, what little he had seen and heard, burnt into his brain. The room spun – it felt too hot, too stuffy, he couldn't breathe.
But before he could cross the dance floor to the entrance, his eyes were drawn to the boy who had just come in, and was now standing about looking lost. Marik's heart skipped a beat. There was no mistaking that body, that look of polite embarrassment that was so out of place among the thrill junkies and desperate whores.
Ryou.
As if he had heard, the boy looked straight at Marik. Their eyes met and while one couldn't look away, the other wouldn't. Green eyes blue. It seemed to Marik that there was no space dividing them, that he could see a deep, unrelenting sadness reflected in Ryou's eyes …
That and the letters I.O.U.
Marik's Nightmare
Yugi Moto looked at the giant, firmly closed castle gates, as Jounochi yawned. Nobody had said a word in hours.
It was a cold dawn and they moved about, sitting down then standing again, pacing, keeping an eye out for their friends or other duellists.
More importantly, it was the day before Halloween; they had to enter those gates today to get into the finals.
Honda, Jounochi and Yugi had emerged from the tunnels under the castle only moments before. They were all cold, tired and a bit disoriented from their long trek underground.
But it's not just that, it feels like there's an air of disappointment around us all today.
All in all, Yugi reflected, it had not been that bad an experience, but we're already making the best we can of a bad situation, and the universe, as Jounochi had pointed out several times during this trek, seems to have a grudge against us.
Yugi had won the duel, against a man pretending to be the ghost of Seto Kaiba that would return to life by defeating Yugi. This was something so peculiar that Yugi suspected it had been thought up by Maxemillion Pegasus. The suits seemed to be listening to someone's orders throughout the duel, and instead of following through by releasing Mokuba, they had taken the boy, and started a landslide to trap Yugi and his friends in the cave. Everything in fact, aside from the 'ghost' had happened pretty much as expected.
It was lucky that Ryou had told him about the tunnels, because Jounochi and Honda had been bent on digging their way out, and there simply wasn't enough time for it, not with their starchip deficit.
Ryou had turned out to be a reliable source of information. They had met the guardians – the 'Paradox twins' and duelled them, then picked the right door in the twins' puzzle and made their way out. It was a very rewarding experience in that it had been Yugi's very first double duel. It was good that he got to team up with one of his best friends, as it offset the disadvantage of it being his first time quite nicely.
The downside was that the duel with the suits had only given Yugi four starchips, and the Paradox twins had left Yugi and Jounochi only two starchips richer. As the scores stood, Yugi could get into the castle with his ten, but he was torn between his wish to help his grandfather and his loyalty to his friends – Jounochi was determined to make the finals, and he needed four more starchips, while Honda, less determined by comparison, needed six.
There was also the separate issue of whether his friends would be let in to watch if they did not have the right amount of starchips to participate in the finals themselves.
There is time, Yugi reminded himself, we still have to wait for the others, and if Anzu still does not want to take the starchips, maybe Mai will give them to Honda and Jounochi. Regardless of the morality, I think it would be best if Anzu kept her starchips, then we could all get into the finals.
But a ruthless, treasonous thought sat at the back of Yugi's mind. The less people get into the finals with me the better my chances to win and duel Pegasus.
Before Yugi could argue with the thought in his head, Honda tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to where a stone-faced and very much alive Seto Kaiba emerged from the castle's catacombs. Yugi felt he should have been surprised or something, but it was too cold that morning.
Jounochi silently walked off to intercept Kaiba, followed by a wary Honda and challenged him to a duel.
Kaiba smirked. "Move mutt."
I thought he wasn't in the tournament, was Yugi's first thought, as Honda restrained a livid Jounochi. Then the feeling of responsibility to stick up for his friend hit him.
"Drop dead Kaiba." Honda replied, as Jounochi seemed to be too angry for words.
"Already am." Said Kaiba, wisely not coming any closer to the two. He looked at Yugi, with a calculatingly cold stare. "Duel me."
"I would love to, but we will have to find an arena." Yugi answered automatically, truthfully, feeling the need to defend his friend more strongly because of the little treasonous thought he had managed to muffle earlier.
Besides, he justified his reply to his duelmaniac self, I want to see if I am good enough to beat him without my puzzle or Exodia. In defending his friend, the heart of the cards should theoretically give him an edge but Yugi thought it would be interesting to see how much of one he would get.
"Are you in the tournament?" Yugi added, just out of curiosity, coincidentally following the maxim that a smart duellist, a strong duellist, always ups the stakes.
Seto Kaiba nodded, showing five starchips he took out of a pants pocket. "Follow me."
Five starchips, which should help Jounochi get inside no problem. Where is he going?
Yugi ran after Seto Kaiba, who was climbing some outside stairs to the battlements over the castle gates.
"Man, this is one weird castle." Honda commented once they had reached the top. They could see into the empty courtyard, but there seemed to be no way down there unless you were willing to risk a three-storey fall onto stone.
Yugi and Kaiba set themselves up on opposite towers. Seto Kaiba knelt and opened his briefcase, taking a couple of disk-like devices out. He proceeded to give one to Yugi, then returned to his spot.
"I am only going to say this once. This is a duelling disk – a portable arena of my own design. I'll go first. Watch if you want to learn how it works. All my starchips to all of yours."
"That isn't fair." Argued Honda, tearing himself away from looking worriedly at Jounochi who was leaning precariously over the edge commenting on how fatal it would be.
Kaiba smirked derisively. "Yugi has a commercial version of the disk, mine is a prototype; the odds are fair."
"Why do you want all of my starchips?" Yugi asked, a cold breeze playing with his hair.
Seto Kaiba turned to face him, a look of neutral calculation again on his face. "I am going to get my brother out and I don't need a pep squad in the audience."
Yugi's hopes sank. He has the heart of the cards for him as well!
Yugi nodded, feeling nervous warmth spread through his body, keeping the cold at bay. He looked at his friends.
Looking down into the courtyard once again, Honda was commenting to Jounochi how castles usually did not have a way to get in from the outside, while Jounochi pointed out that they still couldn't get inside the courtyard or any other part of the castle from there. Honda countered by saying that 'if you put archers up here, you could start a nice invasion'.
Kaiba's shake of the head attracted Yugi's attention.
Yugi looked questioningly at Kaiba.
Surprisingly Seto Kaiba replied. "And the defender will know exactly where you'll invade from." Startled, Honda and Jounochi returned their attention to the stage for the duel, which was probably what Kaiba had intended all along.
Yugi, uncertain, took out his deck and following Kaiba's example, launched his disk and put his deck into the holster on it, watching as it was shuffled.
"You get 'im Yugi!" Jounochi cheered.
Relax; you know you can do this. Let's see how much of an advantage this newer model gives me.
Seto Kaiba arrived on the island before daybreak, in a motorboat. He had rented the same kind of boat as was used by Pegasus' security to 'escort' duellists who lost off the island so his arrival wouldn't be noticed.
As he had worked with Croquet, on Pegasus' island security system as well as the extra plans specially tailored to the tournament, Seto knew that today the suits would be running security checks across the entire island, one sector at a time. This basically meant that at this hour, most, if not all of the suits were in or near the desert, leaving his path to the castle unguarded.
And so it was. To Seto's satisfaction he reached the entrance to the castle dungeon catacombs as expected; without incident.
Being dead certainly has its advantages, thought Seto, smirking as he entered the master code he himself had picked out, that nobody had thought to change now that the only person apart from Pegasus who knew it was reportedly dead.
The stone wall blocking the entrance slipped open soundlessly and Seto ran out of the leaf rustling, cold, dark forest into the much warmer, well lit corridor. The wall shut soundlessly behind him, and the movement of warm air trying to escape stopped.
Seto however kept running, making his way as quickly as he could to the first set of cells in his pre-planned search pattern. He was looking for Mokuba, and knowing that Pegasus liked poetic gestures, Seto thought the most likely place to find a prisoner in a castle was the dungeon.
"Big brother!" Mokuba called out as soon as Seto entered the fourth set. The cells were reasonably small, and the area was well lit, so Seto quickly spotted Mokuba – eagerly pressed against a set of bars in one of the last cells along the wall. There were two doors leading out of the set, both thick and wooden and closed.
But still, it's best to be cautious.
"Mokuba, let me concentrate." Seto said calmly, and Mokuba nodded, shutting his mouth before whatever he was about to say could escape.
Seto's heart pounded and immense happiness and relief flooded him as the sight of his brother looking a little worse for wear but effectively unharmed slowly registered. Seto's mind, meanwhile quickly and carefully took in the cell, searching for the best method of escape.
It was soon evident that Pegasus had to have a sadistic or stupid streak – Mokuba was wearing a ball and chain of comic proportions, making the ankle it was tied to look tiny and delicate. This precaution was as cruel as it was useless – if someone could pick the lock to the ancient cell, there was nothing to prevent them from doing the same to the chain, and if someone could break down the cell door, they could simply carry Mokuba away, ball and all.
Checking his anger at his brother's treatment, Seto took a lockpick that Ludo had lent him out of his pocket and started trying to open the ancient cell door. The lockpick had been one of three things Seto had procured before coming, the other two being the motorboat and a spare prototype of his duelling disk he kept in storage as proof of having invented it.
It probably would not be healthy to speculate what a man who could easily break down a door uses a set of lockpicks for. Seto contemplated, smirking internally. There's always the possibility that it is all perfectly innocent, but Ludo's association with Pegasus puts it right outside the probable zone.
Pegasus wasn't the type of person to associate with innocent people as a rule, of course he wasn't the type of person to stick to rules either. Pegasus was the kind of person that loved to sneak up and surprise people at the most inopportune moments. Seto strongly suspected that Pegasus planned it that way ahead of time – it was too perfect to be just luck.
"Tsk, tsk Kaiba boy!" Pegasus was resplendent in today's purple tuxedo complete with white frilly shirt, tied with a blue ribbon at the throat. He grinned happily, gesturing towards an unobtrusive camera. The effect was strange, considering that his face was as always half covered by his shoulder-long silver hair.
Seto stepped away from the lock, and keeping his surprise and anger at bay, checked the room – there was nobody here besides the three of them.
"Speechless? You know purple is my colour." Pegasus continued, seemingly oblivious to his predicament.
"Git." Seto replied, barely succeeding at controlling the boiling mass of anger welling up inside. It was anger at the failure of a plan Seto had considered foolproof, the fact this only ever happened with Pegasus around and at the sadistic treatment of his only family; Mokuba.
"Come now, Kaiba boy." Pegasus pouted, sending horrified shivers down Seto's spine at the sight. "I thought you of all people would plan better."
And I keep thinking that one day you'll grow up; people aren't perfect. But I'm not done yet, Pegasus, you should have brought reinforcements.
"My brother is the best strategist in the world!" Mokuba yelled, unable to hold back anymore. "He plans to take me home and you can't stop him!"
Pegasus smiled kindly at Mokuba. "Well I'm certainly not planning to. Trust me; you don't want to trust in plans implicitly."
Seto shushed Mokuba before he could reply and walked towards Pegasus, very aware of the heavy metal briefcase he was holding.
"Come now Kaiba boy," Pegasus took a couple of steps back in what seemed like mock fear, raising his hands defensively. "Look at him, not a scratch. You can't possibly be homicidal."
Seto smirked, stopping in front of Pegasus, gripping the handle of his briefcase tightly. "I can."
"Why?" Pegasus said in a pleasantly amused tone, cocking his head to the side, so that some of the hair over his face fell aside, a gold Egyptian carving he sometimes wore over one eye glinting in between the remaining strands.
"Ball. And. Chain." Seto stated matter-of-factly, bracing himself.
"Oh that!" Pegasus smirked, his golden eye flashed and there was a dull thump behind Seto. He turned to see Mokuba had fallen to the floor.
Fear, anger and disbelief chased each other through Seto, nothing showed on his face. He turned back to Pegasus, ready to strike, but paused as he was faced with a duel monsters card that looked blank for a second, then had the picture of a trapped Mokuba on it.
"What is that?" Seto asked calmly, his own voice sounding far away.
Pegasus looked at the card sadly. "I am afraid that it is strike one, Kaiba boy; Mokuba's soul is now in a place where he won't feel any… physical discomfort." He looked Seto in the eye. "It's a game, business, the best kind; where the stakes can be infinitely high Kaiba boy. Sometimes, we do what we have to do to keep our heads above water."
"Siding with them?" Asked Seto, too cushioned by the shock to object to any statements made by Pegasus.
"Mmm." Pegasus nodded. "I prefer not to pick sides until the dust settles. Their main plan has failed, all they have is Mokuba as backup. Duel me in the tournament Kaiba, win and I am honour bound to fulfil your wish; I'll release Mokuba into your care."
Seto raised an eyebrow at the suggestion.
Pegasus smirked. "It can hardly be my fault if someone in the tournament turns out to be a good duellist."
Seto considered this proposal and nodded, emotions still in turmoil as the shock wore off. "How?"
Pegasus looked surprised. "Oh Kaiba boy! Don't you know? Oh of course you don't, you can't given how secretive this whole affair has been. I'd say it was my fault but I think nothing can ever be said to be truly the fault of one person, theoretically speaking. You need starchips, ten to get into the castle to duel me; I think as world champion you could probably skip the whole finals thing, considering how you're not the most patient of people, and as long as there's an audience and nobody can say I just handed the boy over then made up a story. People don't seem to believe me, and that is disconcerting, especially since I always tell the truth, most of the time, oh dear, the security will be here soon. Here, this should get you started."
He handed five small yellow stars to a very impatient Seto, and smiled. "I'm afraid you'll have to get the other five."
Not a problem. Seto smirked derisively.
Have your fun Pegasus, perhaps I can still gain something out of all this. "Where's Yugi Moto?"
Ryou Bakura walked out of his garden in time to make it to the courtyard by sunset, just.
The gates were being opened ceremoniously as he walked up to Otogi.
"I am sorry, I must have lost track of time." He said quietly.
Otogi rolled his eyes, smirking. "Don't worry I think everyone's been too busy staring at our host."
Ryou looked around to the balcony behind them, where Maxemillion Pegasus stood, surveying the courtyard, a glass of wine in one hand.
Oh dear.
"Don't stare, it's rude." He heard Otogi whisper, and quickly turned around to apologise, but was stopped by the grin on Otogi's face. "Reeelax, Ryou."
Ryou looked down, embarrassed. The only thing that marred his stay here was a conundrum of politeness. As a guest, he felt he should make his stay as small a burden on his hosts as possible.
Ryou would feel uncomfortable if he didn't apologise, but apologising seemed to make people think he was uncomfortable, and made them go out of their way to make him feel at home, which had the effect of making him uncomfortable. So apology or no, it all ended the same way.
Discomfort was one reason he spent most of his time in the garden. Another reason, was so that people didn't have to go out of their way to entertain him. Though, this did mean that they tended to spend their spare time looking for him.
Ryou took a deep breath and let it out. Unfortunately, to Ryou's embarrassment, it was cold, and his breath came out as a cloud.
Otogi chuckled, perfectly at ease.
He leaned over and pretended to fall asleep on Ryou's shoulder. "This is sooo, boring! And it's freezing out here. What say we bail?"
Ryou knew he should be used to Otogi's antics by now, but this didn't stop him from being surprised. He looked at Otogi and saw the boy had been quite serious. "That's rude. It's a ceremony, I know they're long but…"
Otogi shook his head grinning. "You're too much Ryou. What does it matter if the host's gone? They can take care of it." He gestured towards the suits under Croquet's direction who were discussing something with the finalists who were just out of sight.
Ryou looked behind them and saw that Pegasus had indeed disappeared.
"Well, I'm going, you can freeze if you want but my cheer squad would kill me." And true to his word, Otogi turned on his heel and strolled back inside the castle.
Ryou waited a moment, undecided, but it seemed silly for him to stand around in the cold, alone, to greet finalists he may not even know. He turned and walked after Otogi.
I hope Malik made it in.
He caught the door just before it shut behind Otogi, and walked in to find the other boy warming himself on the welcoming fire that had been lit in the fireplace. The fire was more for show than anything else – the castle had central heating.
"So you've finally come to your senses, eh?" Otogi asked, lazily slumping into a nearby armchair.
Finally? It was only a couple of seconds, Ryou thought, but asked something he felt was much more relevant. "Where did Pegasus go?"
Otogi shrugged, as his cheerleaders ran into the room giggling, and planted themselves on and around his armchair – one on each arm rest, and one hanging on the back. They had put on their cheer outfits for the first time during their stay, because the finals were coming up. Halloween themed, orange pompoms obscured parts of the perfectly content Otogi.
He moved a pompom aside and added as an afterthought, "They're having a cartoon marathon I think." Then one of his cheerleaders asked him a why he wasn't duelling in the tournament, and all four were lost to the world as the cheerleaders started trying to convince Otogi to enter the finals. As Ryou left to go to his room, he heard Otogi's defence that he couldn't be bothered, which set off an explosion of comments about how brilliant he would be.
Ryou smiled, as the door behind him closed his ears were spared the giggling and shrieking that seemed to accompany those girls whenever they were in the same room as Otogi. Ryou had once seen them by themselves, and the room had been as quiet as a graveyard by comparison. The girls had been wearing jeans, and Halloween jumpers, lying around on the floor in front of the fireplace reading and drinking tea.
Ryou looked up to find himself face to face with the door to his room. Looking down the hallway, made his eyes widen with surprise.
Was that Seto Kaiba?
Didn't I overhear the suits say that it was such a tragedy that he had been killed?
Perhaps I misheard.
Ryou opened the door, and walked inside. He lay down on the bed, unable to stop himself from wondering if he was out of touch, since even Otogi was dressed for the occasion in black and orange, with a jack-o lantern on his black top…
He realised he'd fallen asleep as soon as he woke up. Ryou got up, wiped sleep out of his eyes and opened the door to his room to be faced with Malik walking down the hall towards him!
"Malik, uh, hello." Ryou managed to say through his elation.
But the boy walking towards him, Senn Rod in hand, wasn't Malik, and he didn't respond. His dark blue eyes sparkled angrily, making Ryou's heart beat faster, sending cold shivers down his spine.
"What on earth does Malik see in you?" Namu was smiling but his anger was plainly audible in the otherwise quiet and empty hallway. "You're weak, spineless, a disgrace to Bakura's image, the waters of the Nile would spit out your rotting corpse even if that meant your murderer's capture…"
Ryou listened for a bit, but he no longer felt the urge to run. He felt that he was on firm, familiar ground here, though it hurt more to hear those words coming from somebody else's mouth instead of his own head. Still, at home he had a knife that made all these things just a little less true.
"I know." He replied dejectedly, interrupting, when the pile of charges felt almost overwhelming.
Ryou's sad acceptance only seemed to anger the other boy further though. Namu's eyes bore into Ryou.
"How dare you have so much of Bakura and be SAD?!" Namu's smile showed too many teeth now and the anger had turned to rage.
This scene brought back memories of Keith which threw Ryou's feelings into turmoil. Happiness, sadness and longing waged war against very strong fear tinged with outrage. All of these were directed at the virtual stranger who was yelling at him.
The combined effect made Ryou back away into his room until he could back away no more. The other boy followed, closing the door, and moving to within easy reach in the gloom.
"His skin." Here, the boy cupped Ryou's cheek.
Ryou wanted to scream, to run as his heart pounded, warning him of the danger, but he felt the other boy's warm, smooth palm and couldn't move.
"His hair." Here, the Senn Rod disappeared as the boy's other hand gently brushed Ryou's hair at odds with his voice, making Ryou's skin tingle.
"His hard shell, the tongue of a lawyer…" Here the boy seemed to pause in thought, his eyes sparkling madly at whatever ideas were brewing in his head.
He looks so much like Malik.
The amount of longing attached to that thought almost drowned the surprised Ryou.
But it was soon forgotten as the boy's angry kiss propelled both of them onto the bed Ryou had retreated to. The boy smelt of dry desert heat and chocolate cookies he must have had for supper. He moved with a speed and skill that Ryou found hard to follow. Everything was a mass of sensations, many of them pain and some ecstasy, but Ryou couldn't cry out; he could hardly breathe.
Malik Ishtar's body sat and looked at the body of the boy lying in the moonlight beside him on the bed. Whether the other boy was asleep or unconscious he didn't know, and hadn't bothered to check.
The pain of just sitting there was excruciating, almost matching that of getting Malik's tombkeeper tattoos. The fresh looking cuts on the wrists were causes of a separate wave of worry that struggled to make itself felt.
Marik closed his eyes and smiled, emotional pain sharpened by the lack of visual interference. He reached out a hand, and it touched familiar yet foreign skin, wrapped in a mess of sheets. That felt so right the pain instantly vanished.
Now the worry took over, and his eyes snapped open, to check the other boy was alright. But then everything was slightly off again. The air had a different feel to it, and Marik satisfied himself with taking his hand away again.
If I didn't know… He looks so much like Bakura.
The pain hit him again, and Marik fell back onto the bed, seeking the only refuge he had left…
…Malik opened his eyes, to come face to face with a sleeping Ryou. He rubbed his chest where some pain was slowly ebbing, putting it down to physical exertion on a full stomach.
A grin grew on his face at that thought, and he made no effort to restrain it. He felt inclined to whistle, but upon considering the fact that the other boy might object, didn't.
There was only one thing that spoiled the atmosphere in the end. It was a thought.
Malik sighed. Why do I never get to have the fun?
A thought later, he was grinning again as it reminded him that he had had quite a lot of fun with Bakura, regardless of their busy schedules. Again he felt like whistling, and again he didn't.
Malik did notice the cuts on the wrist but he felt sure that it wasn't anything to be worried about. In fact, Malik couldn't think of anything that could worry him when it came to Bakura. We must be the most relaxed couple in the world.
He did pause to consider whether Bakura would go as far as calling them a couple, but felt that Bakura wouldn't have any objection if Malik did, and that he wouldn't have one if Bakura didn't. It was really very easy, much easier than being friends with Ryou, though the boy lying next to him looked awfully tempting, and his hair was a shade too neat to be Bakura's.
Malik considered this the perfect end to a perfect day, or as near to one as anyone could get considering how the whole world was crazy.
Malik had arrived at the castle gates early. There, he met up with an extremely dejected Yugi, surrounded by people trying to cheer him up. Malik learned that Seto Kaiba had come and gone, beating Yugi in a duel, and taking all his starchips. Kaiba was now in the castle.
Mai had arrived a couple of minutes later, both her and Anzu looking well rested, happy and tanned. Mai managed to cheer Yugi up by telling him to get over losing a duel in a tournament, that if he wanted to keep duelling he would lose a lot more and have to bounce back quickly.
Malik had added the example of Bandit Keith, who had effectively vanished from the circuit not long after losing to Pegasus' 'champion'. This seemed to have a good combined effect, especially since Anzu still refused her starchips, and Mai ended up giving all ten to Yugi.
Malik gave his spare eight to Honda, but Honda said that he thought Jounochi had deserved them more and that he wanted to see whether Jounochi would crack under the pressure. So after the ensuing scuffle, the only people walking though the castle gates as competitors for the finals were Yugi, Malik, Mai, and an injured Jounochi. As it turned out, there were no issues about letting the rest of the gang, namely Honda and Anzu, in to watch.
Speaking of issues, I suppose this one doesn't need any more.
Malik reached across an expanse of bed, disentangled his sheet, and put it on Ryou. He got off the bed, managed to locate all of his clothes, grabbed the pile of them and left.
As soon as he walked out into the hall naked, Malik yawned and felt a wave of mental and physical exhaustion hit him seemingly from nowhere.
It's dark; there are still a couple of hours of sleep I can catch.
Malik shuffled off in search of any room without an occupant so he could collapse onto the bed. The reasoning behind this was that there was just no way he could possibly remember where his 'meringue room, you can't miss it' was.
Malik only noticed that he had actually walked around the castle naked as he crawled under warm sheets.
Yugi turned over, for the hundredth time that night.
It's the finals, kept running through his head. And it isn't just some local tournament, every good duellist who could, came, and Mai, Jounochi, Malik and I are the only ones who got through. What if I lose to Jounochi? What if I lose to Pegasus? Will my grandfather come back anyway? Does it matter? Shouldn't I get some sleep?
Yugi had been fine when he had gone to bed, but he'd had a very strange dream involving his grandfather's soul and a strange place called the shadow realm. After waking up from that, trying to sleep again was futile. The constant turning over felt like someone had left him inside a washing machine, on super wash.
Yugi turned over again, putting his face in the pillow and stretching out his arms as far as he could… He touched something warm and soft.
Cold fear gripped Yugi. Without opening his eyes, he moved across a little more, so his hand could figure out what this object was.
It was breathing! Yugi felt another hand push his off.
Carefully, Yugi opened his eyes and turned his head to see… Malik! Yugi literally jumped out of bed, all the while staring at the blonde boy who was lying quietly on the very edge.
The fear drifted off somewhere as embarrassment, horror and questions moved in. Yugi was at a loss, he didn't know what to do.
First thing he did do, was check that he was still wearing his underwear. He was. That's a relief.
Looking outside, he could see it was almost dawn. Well I'm not going to get any sleep, might as well do something useful.
Studiously ignoring the blonde, for nothing could be done until Malik woke up, Yugi got dressed, and took out his deck. By then, it was light enough for him to see the cards.
Yugi he sat down on the bed, determined not to be bothered by the other boy, and started figuring out whether this was really the deck he wanted to duel with.
Lost to the world, Yugi perfected his selection. It was light by the time he slipped the complete deck into his pocket.
Feeling much more relaxed, he assessed his situation. Malik could have just been so tired he did not know he had come into my room. Perhaps he sleepwalks. Yugi looked at the floor beside the bed. Perhaps he sleepwalks naked with a pile of clothes in his hands.
Yugi smiled. Funnily enough, it sounded just like something Malik would do.
Right, how did Pegasus explain it? Today I have to present either the white card or treasure card to get into the finals .The white card, if I have it when I win, will grant me a single request from Pegasus – releasing my grandfather and Mokuba. The treasure card, again if I win will get me three million dollars. Beside all that, I get the title of King of Games.
Just then Malik yawned, and sat up. Rubbing sleep from his eyes, he looked around and upon seeing Yugi, put one hand behind his head and burst into a fit of laughter.
"Good morning Malik." Smiled Yugi.
Malik wiped tears from his eyes. "Ah, I haven't laughed like that in ages! Sorry Yugi, I'm glad to see you're alright about this. I just wandered in here last night, exhausted I was, actually…" Here Malik dissolved into a fit of laughter again. "…ah…" He wiped the tears away again. "I was actually trying to find an unoccupied room, as I don't remember where mine is… I am so happy, you're not Jounochi!"
Yugi couldn't help but smile.
Somehow, Malik makes the strangest things seem normal.
Then Yugi looked down, serious, as a thought emerged that had been gnawing at the back of his mind. "Do you think I'll be able to win?"
There was no answer.
Yugi looked up to find a smiling Malik. "You can hardly ask me that, I'm your competition, remember?"
Yugi shook his head, serious. "I didn't mean that, I mean will I be able to duel. That loss to Seto… Kaiba, it was very close, but he's got a better deck and he must have wanted it more than I did. He was standing so close to the edge… I passed up a chance to attack."
Malik grinned. "Anubis, he really got to you, huh? Sometimes you know, you'll just… lose. We all make stupid moves sometimes; you'll pass up other attack opportunities, that's for sure, and for less reason. Nobody could be more dedicated to your grandfather than you, Yugi."
Yugi smiled weakly. "Thankyou Malik, it was just, if I attacked, he could have fallen, and…"
Just then Jounochi walked in, and froze in shock, looking from Yugi to Malik.
And I almost attacked.
"Uh, Yugi, I thought this was your room."
"It is." Yugi answered, realizing too late that Jounochi was really getting the wrong idea.
"Uh, I'll just go…" Jounochi said, looking from the smiling Malik to Yugi who was too stunned to speak.
He thinks…Well, I suppose I thought… what did I think?
Malik laughed, lessening the tension. "Ah, I really should get dressed, before we get more guests. Eh, Yugi?"
Yugi got up and handed Malik's clothes pile to the boy. "We'll wait outside."
Malik grinned and wiggled his eyebrows as he said. "You sure?"
Yugi sweatdropped, and nodded, turning around and walking up to an open-mouthed Jounochi to push him out of the room. Just as they left and Yugi was about to close the door, Malik called him back.
"Wait here Jounochi." Yugi ordered, and getting a nod in reply, went back inside.
Malik was sitting on the bed, hands behind his back, obviously trying not to smile. "I think you'll definitely feel better about your chances in the final if you see this."
Yugi cocked his head, hoping it wasn't anything that would scare Jounochi even more.
Just then, Malik revealed… The Senn Puzzle!
Yugi couldn't help the exclamation of happiness and surprise. "Ah! How did you…"
Malik grinned, putting a finger to his lips, whispering. "Shh. You don't want to scare Jounochi."
"You didn't seem to object to it before." Yugi noticed.
Malik grinned, tossing the puzzle to Yugi, who caught it easily, almost absentmindedly. "I did say you."
Yugi looked at the puzzle. "Malik, I… thanks, but I can't…"
Malik shook his head, getting out of bed and Yugi studied the puzzle until Malik had put underwear on.
"Ryou had it, he must have found it somehow. I… borrowed it, I'll give it back," Malik said as Yugi almost interrupted at that point. "But it's your destiny, and one way or another it's trying to get back to you. Listen, use it, just for the tournament, if you don't want it after that, I'll give it back, but if you do, talk to Ryou."
Yugi looked at the puzzle and didn't want to let it go. He put the chain around his neck and for the first time in a while felt like a whole person again. He felt like the he could do anything, even beat Pegasus.
"Thanks." He said to Malik, sincerely.
"Anytime. Now go save Jounochi's sanity. I think I can get dressed by myself.
Yugi nodded and went outside. Jounochi was still in exactly the same position as before. Yugi looked up at his friend. "Nothing happened. Was there something you wanted to talk to me about?"
Jounochi nodded, serious. "If you say so Yugi, ah, yeah there was somethin'" Here, Jounochi put a hand behind his head. "Ah, you won't believe this, but… I've lost the treasure card ya gave me."
Yugi smiled, and nodded. "Let's go look, and then if all is lost, I can ask Mai."
Jounochi grinned, everything else forgotten. "Thanks Yugi."
Seto fell into darkness.
It wasn't a metaphor either. The fall was too slow to be anything but damned annoying.
I lost. I can't believe I lost to that git.
How could he predict my moves in that duel? No matter what he says, he can't read minds, it's impossible and no mouldy old Egyptian carving slash eye is going to change that.
Ha. If I could read minds the Big Five wouldn't be able to get away with anything. Nobody would.
He cheated too. Well, of course he cheated, he couldn't beat me otherwise. Mind reading aside, nobody could predict he had Toon World cards.
Trust Pegasus to overdo it. There are easier ways to cheat than to have a set of duelling cards custom made for you.
That cartoon caricature of a Blue Eyes… Cartoon duel monsters that live in a giant Toon World, attack your life points directly, who can't be attacked by anything other than another cartoon. How could Pegasus resist?
It wouldn't be allowed in any public tournament without prior notice. So Pegasus hosts a private one himself instead of getting Industrial Illusions involved. Pegasus has always been one for playing with loaded dice.
Am I ever going to stop falling?
"Shit. Mokuba!"
"Big brother!"
Seto felt the falling sensation stop, though he still couldn't see anything and his feet weren't touching the ground.
"Is that you big brother?"
"Mokuba? Where are you?"
"I don't know Seto, it's dark and there's monsters…" Mokuba sounded scared, slipping into enthusiasm as he continued "…just like in a computer game!" Then the fear was back in his voice. "But I don't have a sword or anything. Seto, if this is a dream, I should have a sword, right?"
No. This place looks like it should be in a nightmare, but Gozaburo…Seto shuddered… isn't here, so either isn't a dream and Pegasus has' trapped my soul' like he claimed he did Mokuba's, which is highly unlikely to say the least, or this is my first nightmare without Gozaburo in it since I met him, ten years ago, which is equally unlikely.
"Seto?"
"Seto Kaiba?" Said an old leathery voice.
"Who's asking?" Seto enquired.
"You are! You're that rude young man who came into my shop!"
"Mr. Moto." If this isn't a dream…
"Moto? Yugi's dad?"
"Grandfather." Seto corrected.
"You know my Yugi?"
"Mokuba, don't talk to strangers." Seto reminded the boy for what felt like the hundredth time.
"But he's Yugi's grandpa, Yugi tried to save me Seto!"
Like I didn't.
"Don't worry, Mokuba, my Yugi will get us out of this."
I'll believe it when I see it.
"My, my! Aren't we cosy!" Came an all too familiar voice.
"Pegasus." Seto shuddered.
"Kaiba boy! Welcome to my little sleepover!"
"Bastard. Where are we?" Seto asked, pent up anger exploding a little before he got it under control again.
"Now, now, no need to be rude." Lectured the voice of the old man.
"I was going to tell you, but now I won't." Pegasus mock sobbed. "You've hurt my feelings."
"Please, Mr. Pegasus, if you know where we are, tell us."
Immediately, Pegasus sounded more cheerful. "Well, since you asked so nicely Mr. Moto, I will of course oblige. We are in a place called the shadow realm, pretty isn't it?"
"Is that why it's so dark?" Seto heard Mokuba ask.
"Oh that!" Pegasus exclaimed, sounding surprised. "No, that's for your comfort; people find it disturbing to see their glowing souls floating in space."
"How did we get here?" Asked the old man.
"Ah, that would be my fault. See, this Millennium Item I happen to have, has special properties. I shouldn't wonder Yugi boy's Puzzle has some too, Mr. Moto." Pegasus explained in a roundabout way.
"What do you plan to do with us?"
"Let us go!" Mokuba's voice interjected.
"I'd love to Mokuba, I really would, but if I did, I would be going back on a promise I made to some people with very long reaches and even longer memories. But do not worry, panic or fret! There's a hero come to rescue you! Since Kaiba boy here couldn't stand up to the might of my Toon World, Yugi boy will have to do the rescuing!"
Before Mokuba could argue further, his exasperation and anger under firm control, Seto asked something that had been bugging him since Pegasus' arrival besides Pegasus himself. "Why're you here?"
"Ah, Kaiba boy! So glad you asked! And just in time too. I thought you would like to watch Yugi boy versus the Toon World, it's set to be the highlight of the tournament!"
"What!"
That newbie actually made it to the finals?!
"Ha. Yes, Yugi boy is quite talented. Here gentlemen and Kaiba boy, for your viewing pleasure, I shall give you a window."
A hole in the darkness appeared moments after the words were said. It looked out onto the arena where Pegasus was facing off against Yugi. The match had yet to begin and Pegasus was declaiming how Yugi was now in the shadow realm.
Indeed, the arena seemed to be encased in a sort of glowing bubble, which made the room outside it look darker. Three boys, Otogi among them were on the viewing balcony. Yugi's gang, puppy included were standing just outside the bubble behind Yugi looking scared.
Seto looked around, but could see nothing but the cinema-screen-like bright window, not even himself. He assumed that Pegasus had gone, since he was currently in the arena still talking at Yugi.
"Mokuba?" Seto asked as he felt worry growing.
"I'm here big brother." The worry was alleviated, as Mokuba didn't sound far away or scared.
"Shh. My Yugi is saying something." Reproved the old man's voice.
Damn. It seems it was too much to hope we'd ditched the old man.
"Sorry." Came Mokuba's whisper.
Fantastic. The freedom of my little brother now depends on whether my little experiment can beat the biggest technically legal cheat in the game.
Well, thanks to me has had the advantage of seeing exactly how Toon World works. Let's see if he can use that advantage.
Ryou glanced at Otogi as the boy ran commentary on the match between Jounochi and Malik, heart beating faster than normal.
He seems to be having fun.
Ryou couldn't keep his eyes off the match itself for long - it was Malik's turn. Not knowing how it was going to play out was nerve wracking, and looking away just made it worse.
This is how people must feel when they watch their teams play sport… knowing the person involved seems to make all the difference in the world. Knowing the rules doesn't hurt either. Wow! That was a good move.
Ryou was so involved that he barely noticed Malik's friends walk up.
Otogi poked Ryou in the ribs, making him jump.
Ryou looked reprovingly at Otogi, stepping out of arm's reach. "I'm ticklish."
Otogi grinned. "You don't say. You don't listen, either." Ryou was about to apologise but Otogi pressed on, "I said, I wonder why Shizuka's friends went off after Pegasus beat Kaiba."
Ryou thought for a moment. "Why don't you ask them?"
Otogi smirked. "Perhaps I shall," then turning to where Yugi, Mai, Honda and Anzu stood, he called. "Hey guys! Where'd you disappear off to?"
Yugi smirked confidently, somehow looking taller, Senn Puzzle sparkling around his neck, "Jounochi lost his treasure card."
Mai looked Otogi up and down and smiled. "It's the card he needed to show to play in the finals."
Otogi smirked, then turned back to the arena, where Jounochi was losing. "Just not you day, huh?"
Jounochi, who was trying to concentrate on his next move growled. "Go bother somebody else, arrogant asshole."
Otogi didn't look offended at all, he just laughed. "Down, doggy, your sister wouldn't like to hear you say that."
At that comment, Jounochi turned to face Otogi, seriously angry. "Ya leave my sis out o'this! Ya hear?"
Otogi smirked. "Or what? You don't deserve to compete for the title of 'King of Games'. Your bark is worse than your bite."
Jounochi growled and shook his fist, unable to leave the match for fear of disqualification. This made Otogi grin and Jounochi get even angrier. "Name the game asshole!"
Otogi smirked. "That a challenge?"
"Yeah." Jounochi crossed his arms.
Otogi stretched. "Alright. I win, you have to wear a dog costume and be my slave for a week."
"Ya lose, ya clear outta town."
"Deal. Here." Otogi took some dice out of his pocket and tossed them to Jounochi, who had to put his duelling cards down to catch them. "We both roll the dice and the one with the highest amount wins."
Ryou felt a pang of worry. He realized he didn't really want Otogi to leave. "Are you sure?" Ryou asked quietly.
Otogi grinned confidently, whispering. "Don't worry, he's having a bad day and I'm the luckiest guy alive."
Meanwhile, Jounochi had rolled. "Four dice, that's twelve."
Pegasus, from his private balcony on the other side of the arena, nodded. "All in all, not so good."
Otogi smirked, and rolled the dice onto the floor. They stopped by Yugi's feet. "Twenty four," the boy announced seriously, picking up the dice. "They're not loaded." He tossed them to Otogi.
Otogi caught the dice as Anzu and Honda came out of their stupors. "That can't be right!" "How did you do that?" They said simultaneously.
Otogi shrugged, and caught the dice Jounochi had flung at him with a spare hand. "I've always been good with dice."
Ryou shook his head. This is not going to end well, Otogi's just playing but it is a mean trick.
"What?" Otogi asked, noticing Ryou's disapproval.
"Did you have to do that; aggravate him? Do you really want to enslave the brother of a girl you obviously like?" Ryou asked, quietly, speaking his mind fully for the first time since he'd yelled at Malik.
Otogi looked surprised and amused. He thought for a second. "I hadn't thought of that." He shrugged. "I'm sure it'll work itself out. Besides, Pegasus beat Kaiba; there'll be no living in the Kaiba mansion after this. Mokuba will probably get grounded – remember Seto said during the match that Mokuba was a 'guest' here at the castle? Sounds like politics to me. Anyway, the vital point is that it's highly unlikely I'm going to have anything to entertain me for a while – I've got an arcade I have to run, a game to launch, girls to beat off with a stick, etcetera."
Ryou took in all this, and nodded. It doesn't look like it, but he must think a great deal. I guess with a mind like that it is very easy to get bored.
Meanwhile, Jounochi was seething downstairs, and Pegasus was looking decidedly bored himself, as was Malik, by the looks of it, sporting a lightly amused smile.
Anzu and Honda were looking at Yugi and Mai, concern plain on their faces.
Mai said something to Yugi quietly, and the latter nodded. "I challenge you to a duel, Otogi, if I win, you let Jounochi go."
Otogi looked lazily in Yugi's direction. "Sure. I win, you announce to the world that you cheat when you play duel monsters and retire."
Ryou took a deep breath, already very worried about how things would turn out. Instinctively, he looked at Malik, who was looking directly at him, smiling. The smile and the calm blue eyes, made Ryou's heart skip a beat, but also soothed his nerves.
He can't possibly hear everything that is being said up here. Was the only coherent thought that came into Ryou's head.
He tore himself away to face Yugi, when he realised the latter had said something.
Otogi smiled, leaning back on the balcony railing, pocketing the dice. "Sure. The game is my own invention, Dungeon Dice Monsters, and we'll play in the Domino Arcade, which I currently own. I'd like to have it on the day I launch the new game, put it up on the Vid. Screen so everybody gets to know the rules."
Yugi nodded confidently, "Sounds reasonable. How will I know when?"
Otogi laughed. "You'll know, trust me."
Yugi nodded, then returned to his old viewing spot.
Pegasus sighed. "Ah Yugi boy, ever the hero, n'est pas? Play on, gentleman and Jounochi, play on."
And so the match resumed, and Ryou's worry over whether Malik would win returned full force. But beneath it all, the memory of the blue calm of those eyes and that smile would not leave his head.
Malik smiled as he went to sit with Ryou and Otogi on the balcony overlooking the duelling arena. His loss to Yugi still stung, a little because he had tried his best not using his Millennium Rod, when he could see Yugi use the Puzzle and Obelisk against him, but mainly because he had lost in front of Ryou.
Ha. Would it have been better if I'd lost in private? Who am I pretending to be? Trying to impress Ryou by lying isn't a good way to go, especially when I genuinely want him to get to know me.
It was a bit painful showing exactly who he was all of the time, especially when it backfired, but Malik couldn't live any other way. He wasn't an idealist or anything; he wasn't in it for the honesty, he just wasn't going to let his life be ruled by others anymore – a resolution he had made when he had learnt of the death of his father.
Ishizu had been the only hurdle on that path, but she seemed more than willing to give him his space now that 'the evil within him had been exorcised'. Malik wasn't that optimistic; he'd had blackouts since that momentous duel with Yugi, though they were less frequent now, and not usually in public. He figured the 'evil' was just lying low.
Malik thumped down behind the railings, and dangled his feet over the edge of the balcony, getting a good view of the arena through the bars. The finals had just concluded, with Yugi the winner, no surprises there. Jounochi had lost to Malik, and Mai to Yugi. Malik had lost to Yugi in the finals and now Yugi was going to duel Pegasus for the title of 'King of Games', three million dollars and a wish.
The quarter finalists had come out with one million dollars each and Malik had two million coming his way. This was one of the reasons that Duel Monsters was such a popular game – it attracted so many rich sponsors, that the prize money was extremely high. Of course, in private tournaments like this one, which were run by one man, not a company or the government, the only way to get any prize money at all was to get into the finals.
Ryou was sitting with his back to the arena, where a giant dark bubble appeared and enshrouded the competitors, leaning back on the railings of the balcony. Ryou didn't seem to be paying what little could now be seen of the match any attention; he looked like he was thinking, shrouded by strands of white hair, eyes closed.
Wait a second! He's crossing his arms… If I had to guess…
Malik looked up, but he needn't have worried; Otogi seemed enthralled by the match, standing up to watch, hands gripping the railing so hard his knuckles were white. Otogi was not the most polite of people,
Certainly nothing like Ryou,
But he would have greeted Malik, had he noticed the boy's approach.
Malik looked back down and was startled by red eyes staring inquisitively at him, shaded by the delicate shroud of hair.
"Why didn't you use your… magic?"
The comment sounded very guarded, making Malik glance up at Otogi. The latter hadn't moved an inch. Malik decided nonetheless not to risk it; Bakura would be better than him at recognising a dangerous topic.
Malik smiled quizzically, "Could I have? Against Yugi? He needs to win more than I do."
I have a feeling I know why you don't have too many friends.
Bakura smirked, eyes sparkling. "How charitable. You have no idea how strange those sentiments sound coming out of that mouth…" Bakura leaned forward as he said the last.
Malik turned his head away, looking at the floor. The urge to respond to Bakura's invitation was very strong, and the people all around them just added spice to the mix, but Malik had come wanting something else.
"Can I talk to Ryou?"
Malik had never been one to deny himself anything, and he'd expect that his actions would offend. Not that the fact would stop him, just maybe make him try to let the other party down easy. If it had been anyone but Bakura, that is.
Bakura leaned back on the railings, putting some space between them and Malik looked up to see his smirk widen into a grin. "Sure. You know, he didn't like seeing you lose."…
… "Ryou?" Malik was surprised.
Ryou's emerald eyes sparkled at Malik and the grin faded into a polite, apologetic smile. "I am sorry. I didn't see you there. Hello Malik, how are you?"
Malik grinned, shrugging off the sting of embarrassment at the loss that came back when he was faced with Ryou. "I lost."
"In the finals of a major tournament." Ryou was quick to add, looking down. "I could never do that well."…
…Marik smiled, showing too many teeth. You body can do interesting things when you want it to, vessel.
As if sensing a change in the air, Ryou looked up…
… "What are you up to princeling?" Bakura looked cautious.
Marik smirked in frustration, faced by his ally turned enemy. Protective. The pain was fleeting and soon followed by pure, warm malice. I'll take him either way. Any way I can get Bakura is fine with me.
"Living with a seer makes me pretty good at reading dreams, if I do say so myself. This is especially true of the ones I understand best, the nasty ones…" Bakura watched, seemingly content to let Marik continue.
"… So, I said to myself, 'double check, that's what your precious Ryou would do.' And by the sons of the Pharaohs, my nightmare turned out to be more than just idle paranoia of the evil genius."
Suddenly, anger flared up in Marik like never before. His eyes flashed, and his voice was seething with venom as he said "You stole from me, Bakura. The Senn puzzle is mine."
Bakura's eyes flashed, and his face turned to porcelain – cold and pale. "We no longer have an uneasy truce tomb keeper. That puzzle is a vital part of my plan. A fact that you know very well."
Marik grinned. "You're a thief. I was going to trade it for Obelisk, you could have waited. Patience has always been your virtue."
Bakura matched the grin. It looked like he had an ace up his sleeve. "I guess Malik is rubbing off on me in more ways than one."
Marik chucked. "That one is easily deluded. You shed blood for him, Bakura, he must think it's romantic." As Bakura opened his mouth to interrupt, Marik raised a hand, and the mouth shut.
Both polite little china dolls.
Marik continued, "Does he know you were just keeping my body safe?" He looked at Bakura questioningly, crossing his arms, all anger evaporated in the face of curiosity, leaving a bitter taste in his mouth.
Bakura glanced at Otogi, and Marik followed suit, but the boy was still absorbed. Bakura answered, anger still evident in his clipped tone. "Speaking of which, I saved your life, Marik."
"Humph." Was all Marik could say to that.
"At least this life," Bakura pressed, "You need that body to exist, just like I need Ryou's. That has to be worth something."
Marik smirked derisively as Bakura scrutinised him. "You look after mine, I look after yours, that was the deal, which is now void by the by."
Bakura seemed to be cooling off somewhat, his tone still ticked off, but just that. "I saw the… decorative bruises."
Marik nodded. "Consenting adults, I believe we're called in this country. When you think of something better to repair our business relations, let me know. May I suggest you acquire Obelisk the Tormentor?"…
…Malik felt the remnants of pompousness drain away. Bakura sighed.
"How did it go?" Malik asked, concerned.
Bakura shrugged looking at the wall ahead of him, face expressionless in thought. "It had been a long shot but it was worth a try. At least I've got him speaking to me, worst case scenario was him never opening that pretty mouth for me again…" Bakura glanced at Malik, and smirked, eyes amused. "Let's try that again, shall we?"…
… Malik smiled at Ryou, who frowned in confusion.
"What are you doing for New Year?" Malik asked the first question that entered his head.
Ryou's forehead cleared and he smiled. "Nothing I guess, my father isn't one for family holidays, not since mother…"
Malik grinned, interrupting. "Say no more. How's about we meet up in Domino city? Under the giant TV screen? At, say seven."
Ryou looked surprised at the invitation. "Wouldn't you rather spend the holidays with your family?"
"You've met my family, right?" Malik asked, "Anyway, Christmas is for family. New Year is for friends, or at leat that's what all the American TV shows lead me to believe."
Malik felt warm and fuzzy when he got a genuine smile in response.
"Do you think we'll get snow?" Malik enquired as his mind jumped rapidly and enthusiastically to the one thing he had been most looking forward to with the approach of winter.
"Sure we will." Came Otogi's reply.
The boys looked up to see him standing, leaning on the railing, relaxed once more.
"When did you tune in?" Malik enquired, a mild panic setting in.
It was alleviated by Otogi's reply. "Oh, at around 'the giant TV screen'." Otogi smiled, and Ryou shook his head. "What?"
"It's rude to eavesdrop."
Otogi considered this for a moment, then dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "Nah, it's dang useful. Otherwise, how else would I be able to tell you that Yugi won, Kaiba boy, to borrow the phrase, took Mokuba home in his helicopter after Mokuba thanked Yugi profusely and got himself invited to Yugi's house for Christmas? And that's not all folks. I've received an invitation myself, as did both of you."
Ryou looked surprised. "Why would Yugi…"
Otogi smirked. "He seemed to be in really good spirits. I of course accepted on your behalf."
Ryou frowned. "But…"
Malik smiled at Ryou, willing him to stop being so polite for once. "Come on, it'll be fun!"
Ryou looked warily at Malik. "If you're sure."
Malik nodded, certain Christmas at Yugi's would be fun. "Sure as sure can be."
"Ah! That's what I forgot!" Otogi exclaimed, adding happily. "Ryou's friend, Pegasus gave you guys half an hour to be packed and ready to leave, and I believe he said the boat won't wait."
Malik jumped up, laughing, and nodding to the boys walked off. He was forced to spoil his cool exit, and run because Otogi yelled after him, "Mind you, that was fifteen minutes ago!"
Malik smirked as he ran. I should lose more often, that talk was worth the one million plus wish. Now if it had been a wish fulfilled by Ryou…
Malik's smirk turned into a grin. I just have enough time to get the Senn Puzzle from Yugi and put it in with Ryou's stuff.