A/N: Your guesses on the thief were all great! Unfortunately, I can't tell you who it is. So thanks to LadySunami I'm updating earlier than expected… in the middle of the night, now that's Halloween~
Replies are at the bottom!
A lot of Deathshipping in this chapter. Kuracakes was a great inspiration~ And, do you believe in ghost stories? Just asking~
Chapter 8
Haunted
An irritated sigh escaped a pair of lips that belonged to a rather annoyed Egyptian teen. The eyes of countless of students watched him as he walked down the hallway of the school building. Some were whispering to each other, others made disgusted faces and there even were some who giggled. He was getting tired of this. It had been going on for weeks now. In fact, he was so sick of this that he had asked his sister to let him stay at home for a while. She refused, of course, and made her little brother go to the hellish place anyway. And so he had to endure this every day. Daily humiliation he could not escape from, there was hardly anything worse. Hardly anybody talked to him and if they did, then it was no normal conversation. If students were forced to somehow converse with him, they would do it with knowing, disgusted looks, witty remarks and sometimes even with insults. Malik never let it show that their behavior affected him. He knew that if he showed them his weak side, then this would never stop. He simply had to show them that he was better than that. But no matter how many times he repeated this over and over in his mind, he was simply sick of it. And he did not want to wait any longer, he wanted this to stop now.
And this was not even his only problem. Oh no, there was more. He was still feeling bad for failing to save all of the Sennen Items. And at home his sister kept pestering him. She had become so unbearably nosy. Whenever Malik was sitting down somewhere with his cell phone in his hands, texting his friend, she would ask him all kinds of weird questions. Talking about weird questions. About two days after the incident in the museum Rishid had asked a few very suspicious questions. And the result had been anything but pleasant.
Malik had just put his plate into the dishwasher and was walking out of the kitchen when someone grabbed his arm. The boy spun around and was face to face with an uneasy looking Rishid. "Do you have a minute?" the tall Egyptian asked and tried hard to keep eye-contact.
The teen narrowed his eyes at him wearily but nodded regardless. Rishid led both of them into his room where he made his little brother sit down on the bed. "What's wrong? You're acting weird" Malik commented as he crossed his arms. Rishid usually never acted like this and he wanted answers, now.
Rishid carefully closed the door behind him before he approached his younger brother. "Malik, do you remember when Mariku's..."
When the man paused awkwardly, Malik immediately knew what he meant. "Boyfriend?"
"Yes. Do you remember when he visited that evening?"
"Yes? What about him?"
"He brought his brother as well, didn't he." It was a statement and no question but Malik nodded regardless, even if reluctant. He did not like where this was going. Because it was moving away from Ryou and into Bakura's direction. Something told him that this was a dangerous course. He saw his oldest brother avert his eyes for a moment before he refocused them on the pair of lavender eyes. Malik was beginning to feel less like the one with the upper hand and more like cornered prey looking into the eye of its hunter. Rishid eyed him with a look only older siblings or parents were able to give. He decided that this was not a good sign and that he should be especially careful with his answers now.
"What was his name again?" Rishid asked sounding thoughtful.
"Bakura", Malik answered with ease and his brother went on.
"And he's his brother?"
"Twin brother, yes."
"And is he in the same class as Mariku?"
"Yes, together with Ryou."
"And he and Mariku are friends, yes?"
Malik paused for a moment and thought about how to answer. What was it with all these questions anyways? Still, if he refused to answer it would raise suspicion. "I think they are still friends although they don't hang out too much anymore. You know why..."
Rishid nodded in understanding. "Yes, because he probably spends all of his time with Ryou. But what does he keep himself occupied with if he doesn't spend time with Mariku?"
This was getting more and more suspicious by the second and Malik just wanted the questions to stop already. "How should I know?" he retorted more aggressively than intended. He immediately regretted his tone but it was too late, Rishid had already heard it.
One black eyebrow rose questioningly. "Malik, do you spend time with him?"
Lavender eyes widened for a moment. Had Rishid heard about the rumors? Or had he seen them? Then he put his indifferent mask back on. At least he had hoped it would look indifferent, instead it looked annoyed. He glared up at his older brother. "Why do you ask?"
However, the question was simply ignored. "I've heard bad things about him", the tall Egyptian said while he turned around to face the door, ready to leave. "You should watch who you turn to. Always remember that people are not always who they seem to be."
At that Malik stood up from his spot on the bed to stand next to his brother and eye him defiantly. "What are you implying? That I can't take care of myself? That I have no idea of what people can be like? Or that I'm still a kid? Answer me, Rishid!"
Slowly, the back was turned around and Malik was face to face with his brother again. To his surprise he did not look angered, instead he looked hurt. He instantly felt a twinge of guilt in his heart for having an outburst like that. "I'm merely worried about you. He is no good influence. I've heard what sorts of things he's done already, how many times his brother or father had to pick him up from the police department because he had gotten in some sort of trouble. I just don't want anything to happen to you. Is it wrong to be worried that you might end up in jail beside him someday?"
At first Malik had felt sympathy and guilt but his anger had been inflamed once more. "It's not wrong to be worried but it's wrong to imprison me like that. Nobody has the right to tell me who I should befriend and who not, not even you, brother. My friends are the family I choose. And if I choose to sit next to them in jail, then that's my decision." Malikthen grabbed the door handle, eyes still on his brother's shocked ones. "And there's nothing you can do about it..." And with that he left the room and his brother.
His brother had not brought the subject up anymore but Malik was still worried about the whole situation. He was afraid that Rishid might know something. Bakura had lost his mask in the museum that night. What if Rishid had seen his face? And what about Mariku? He had not spoken to him in ages. What was wrong with that guy? It was as if he was avoiding him. And Bakura as well, from what he could tell.
School was problematic and so was his life at home. The only part of his life he really enjoyed was - a soft smile made its way onto his lips - spending time with Bakura. Malik had realized that having a friend was simply an amazing experience. He could bother Bakura whenever he wanted, could talk about all sorts of strange things and still find it amusing. He felt at home when he was with Bakura. Because he felt comfortable, welcome and free all at once. He was everything he could never have been around him. He could relax, have fun and simply be a side he had never found in himself before. A side that felt different. He had thought a lot about it until he finally realized it. This new side of him was truly and undeniably happy. If he wanted to, he could forget about his problems. Because no matter what his friend did, it cheered him up somehow. And whatever he did, he did it in his own special way, just like they both were when they were together. Special. To Malik it felt like they had a special bond. He wondered whether others felt like this when they were with friends. Whether they also felt like the missing piece had been put into the puzzle. It felt unreal. Like a dream world.
However, a dream world was just a dream world after all. Something he woke up from every day.
And reality had never been so crystal clear as it was when Malik was suddenly faced with a few individuals he was, unfortunately, acquainted with. He had just reached his locker when he found three certain students standing a few feet away from him. He recognized the blue hair of the leader of the little group and the two tall students beside him. He quickly averted his eyes and shifted his attention to his locker which he opened. He tried his best to pretend he had never seen them. He knew what they had come for but he was not prepared to fight back yet. Now he regretted that he had spent so much time with his new-found friend instead of training with his brother a bit. He had not prepared himself for this at all. His only hope was that they had not seen him but for what other reason would they be on this floor if not for him? Caught up in his inner fight with himself he had not noticed how he had just been standing there staring at the same spot in his locker the whole time. There was no way anyone would believe he had not seen them. 'Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!' he thought frantically as he stared at one of his books with dilated eyes. In the corner of his eye he could see the blunette make a step to approach him. His will to 'survive' finally kicked in and he decided to get away as long as he still had the chance to. With that in mind he closed his locker without retrieving anything.
But when he closed the door, something beside him came into view. He gasped, startled that there was suddenly someone standing beside him. He had a little déjà-vu when the familiar smirk, mahogany eyes and snow white hair greeted him.
"Bakura", Malik said, blinking.
"Did I startle you?" the albino snickered. The younger teen turned slightly to catch a brief glance of the three teens that were still standing behind him. He noted with relief that they made no other move to approach him. It was most likely because of Bakura.
"Why are you here?" he asked as he turned back to his friend. But his friend was looking at what was behind him and he was frowning. Malik hoped that he had not recognized the other teens although he probably had. He just prayed that nothing bad would happen. Bakura made no move towards them but his eyes never left the group when he talked.
"I'll tell you somewhere else. Come", he ordered with his hand pushing lightly on the Egyptian's back. Of course, all eyes were on the two of them as Bakura dragged his younger partner down the hallway, away from the group of older students. Malik already felt nauseous just thinking about what sorts of rumors would go around this time.
Soon they were standing on the rooftop of their school. Neither could help but think about their first 'meeting' that was connected to this place. Bakura leaned his back against the fence and shoved his hands into his pockets. Malik stayed on his spot opposite his partner and waited for him to revive their conversation. His albino friend grinned, seemingly pleased with whatever he was about to say.
"What's on Monday, Malik?" he asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
The blond was confused by the unexpected question but thought about it regardless. "Well... the 31st? Why?"
Bakura rolled his eyes hopelessly. "Ah, come on. And what's on the 31st every year?" The Egyptian raised an eyebrow at him and he added, "It's really not that hard if you pay at least a little bit of attention to what's on sale."
Malik tried harder. What do shops sell at this time of the year? He had not noticed anything special. But then it hit him like lightening. "Halloween", he finally answered.
"Bingo! And guess what", Bakura said unusually eager.
"What?"
"Guess who's going out on Halloween." And both smirked devilishly.
"I see. So? What are they up to?"
"I finally found out what Mariku gave to Ryou for his birthday. Ryou just couldn't keep quiet about it and told me all about it yesterday. Well, the prick got him tickets for a musical. And they're going to see that musical on Halloween. I believe that this year's Halloween will be memorable for them", the older teen finished, the evil grin always present.
"I couldn't agree more", Malik snickered. "Well, partner, got a plan already?"
"Only the best from the true King of Thieves."
"I'm all ears..."
Today was going to be a great day, because today was the day Mariku had been looking forward to ever since his lover's birthday. It was not because of the place they were going to, it was because he would be with his beloved all day and all night long. He found it funny how Ryou was so excited about this musical while he was just happy that he could have the albino for so long. They had not been together like this in quite some time. And he genuinely missed being close to the person he cherished. Things had been a bit rocky between them because of recent events and how they ended. All of their previous dates had been ruined somehow. But that would not happen today. Because this time he had prepared for every case. Nothing was going to go wrong this time.
He eyed his reflection in the mirror and frowned. But what in the name of Ra should he wear? He had not asked Ryou about it because he had never thought about it until now. Today was Halloween so did that mean he had to dress up? If yes, as what? If it were Bakura he was meeting, he would not care about his clothes but he wanted to look different – in a positive way - when he was going out with his lover. His frown deepened as he thought about Bakura.
He knew that something was going on between his friend and his little brother, he just had to find out what exactly it was. Malik obviously thought of the other teen as his friend. But Mariku knew Bakura too well. That self-centered wannabe criminal would never care a lot about anyone besides his twin brother and himself, of course. He could be using Malik for anything. His brother was naive enough to let someone who he believed was his friend exploit him. That thief could do Ra knows what to him. Malik might take the wrong course because of him and, as his older brother, Mariku had to prevent that from happening. Therefore he had to find out what was going on and stop it before it was too late.
"Bye, Isis!" called a voice from downstairs.
"Where are you going?" he heard his sister question. There was a short pause and Mariku approached the slightly opened door and gazed through the slit. His little brother, naive, little baby brother, was standing at the front door, ready to leave. He turned around to face his sister who was waiting patiently for an answer.
"I'm going to a friend's place. He's uh... having a Halloween party and he invited me", the blond explained.
Isis put a hand on her hip. "A party?"
"Yes."
"I hope it's a normal party."
Malik rolled his eyes at that. "It is. There's no alcohol or anything. Can I go now?"
The woman did not seem convinced and was reluctant to answer. "Well... but if you come back with a hangover-"
"Promise that won't happen. Bye, sis!" Malik interrupted and quickly left.
"-then I'll never let you on a party ever again!" Isis finished when her brother closed the front door. She was not sure whether he had heard it but he knew exactly that if he screwed up he would have to bear the consequences.
When his brother had left, Mariku turned back to his closet and his problem. He tried to find clothes to wear but his mind had wandered off to a completely different place. Malik going to a party? That could not be right. Something was definitely wrong. And he had mentioned a friend inviting him. Mariku immediately thought back to Bakura and all the ways in which he could taint his brother. An interesting idea entered his mind. 'What if that bastard is trying to take revenge by getting Malik into trouble. Oh, Bakura, if that's the case then you're in deep shit.' Or what if it was not getting Malik into trouble but something else? Something even worse. What if Bakura was trying to take revenge by using his brother in a - Mariku felt disgusted and enraged at the mere thought - sexual way. Bakura probably thought that Mariku was not serious about his relationship with Ryou and wanted to do the same to Malik now.
Then again, he thought, Malik would never let anyone near him in that way, especially not another guy. He had been taught that homosexuality was wrong after all. He was sure about that, Malik would not fall for that trick and he would not have to worry about that at least. Still, he believed the older Touzoku was his friend. His violet eyes were boring holes into his clothes by now. It was not safe to leave things like this. He needed to do something about their little 'friendship', and soon.
Hideaki Touzoku was not too surprised to have the youngest Ishtar standing in front of him when he answered the door. Malik came to visit quite frequently. He still had not gotten used to the fact that such a nice boy was friends with his trouble-seeking son. But he did not complain. Maybe his son would have a positive change someday thanks to this boy.
"Good evening, Malik", he greeted with a smile. The blond bowed quickly and smiled back.
"Hello, Hideaki-san", Malik greeted back.
"I bet you want to see Bakura. Come in." The man further opened the door and stepped aside so the teen could enter. Malik gave him a brief glance of gratitude and went directly for the stairs. However, he was stopped when Mr. Touzoku spoke again. "Malik."
The addressed boy turned around, one foot on the first step already. "Hm?"
"Have you heard anything new about the Sennen Items?" Malik frowned slightly. He had completely forgotten about this. This was not the first time his friend's father had asked him about the items. The first time had been almost immediately after the incident in the museum. Of course the archaeologist was concerned about them. They were the only reason he was still in Japan after all. Malik was worried about them, too, and he kept thinking about a plan to get them back. With no success until now. It might be easier with Bakura's help but he did not want to owe him even more. Besides, the last time had been very risky and his friend had almost been caught because he had involved him in his quest. He did not intend to do this again.
The blond hung his head slightly, not looking into the other's eyes. The answer was the same as always. "No."
He could hear the man's soft sigh. "Alright", he said and Malik took that as his permission to leave. With that he ascended the stairs to his friend's room. He walked through the familiar hallway towards that certain door and did not even knock when he entered. Finding his friend asleep on his bed had become close to normal already. He was lying on his back with one arm covering his eyes. It was hard to tell whether he was really asleep or just acting. Malik grinned as an evil idea entered his mind. He silently closed the door behind him and soundlessly snuck up to the sleeping teen. He halted in front of the bed, ready to pounce on to the older boy when a voice stopped him.
"Don't you dare...", came the warning from the wide awake albino.
Malik huffed in return. "You're absolutely no fun, 'Kura."
Bakura grinned lazily upon hearing the nickname. It was another thing that had become normal. He remembered the first time his partner had used it. That had been in the club when Malik had been too drunk for everything. Even though the young Egyptian did not remember that time, he had returned to calling him by that nickname nevertheless. It might have reminded Bakura a lot of Mariku but to him it sounded way better coming out of Malik's mouth, so he was fine with it. As for Bakura, he usually did not call the younger teen by any pet names. He rarely ever used 'kiddo' anymore, only when he really wanted to piss him off. Things had become different between them, but he assumed it was not for worse. He enjoyed their relationship like this, although deep down he always felt like there was still something missing.
"Guess what", Malik said as he sat down on the edge of the bed.
"I don't have to guess. You'll tell me anyway", the albino responded wisely, making the other roll his eyes.
"Your father asked me about the items again."
"Nothing new."
"Having the items under the same roof as him makes me worry", the blond explained, biting his bottom lip. "What if he finds them?"
"You really shouldn't be worried about this. I've learned to lock my room. And even if he breaks in, he'll never find them where I've hidden them", Bakura said calmly, his arm still shielding his eyes.
"How can you be so sure? What if he finds them regardless? You'd be in huge trouble."
At that, the older teen smirked once again and raised his arm to look at his friend. "So concerned about me? I'm touched."
"I believe you got it all wrong, dear partner", Malik responded with a grin of his own. "I'm concerned about the items, not you."
His friend snickered. "That hurt", he said sarcastically and sat up. "Anyway, we should get ready for tonight."
Pale hands were shoved through the sleeves of a brown coat, as Ryou prepared for his Halloween date. It was already dark outside and it was getting colder each day, so choosing some warm clothes was not wrong. In addition, he also wrapped a light blue scarf around his neck. When he was ready, he said goodbye to his father and left the house, oblivious to the two pairs of eyes watching him.
He only had to walk a few steps and already caught sight of a person waiting on the sidewalk. A soft smile graced his lips when he recognized the person to be his boyfriend. Upon approaching him, Mariku realized that Ryou was behind him and so he turned around. His white haired lover was still smiling at him when he made the final steps to stand in front of the taller teen. Mariku almost immediately and without a warning bent down to give his beloved a gentle kiss on the lips.
Ryou had honestly not expected such a greeting but was all the more grateful. His cheeks grew only a bit warmer but on his pale skin the soft red was very obvious. "Are you in a good mood?" he asked in his polite way.
His lover merely smirked. "I'm always in a good mood when I see you", he answered easily, making the other's blush darken.
The pale teen broke their eye-contact but grabbed his lover's hand to signal that he was ready to go. He felt the other entwine their fingers and lead him away. Only a few feet away from the couple stood a midnight blue car. The vehicle belonged to the Ishtar family and was usually used by Rishid. But tonight Mariku was able to use it which made things a lot more comfortable. The theatre was not around the next corner after all. It was actually going to be a long ride to the next city. In the beginning they could occupy themselves with some small talk but both soon drifted off into their own world.
At some point, Ryou remembered the first time he had ever seen Mariku. He shifted his gaze from the window to said boy who seemed concentrated on the road. Ryou smiled a little. Who could have guessed that they would end up together? Their first meeting had gone terrible after all.
It had been just another class in school, yet 14-years-old Ryou was anything but happy. It was not because class had been boring or he had forgotten his homework. It was simply because class was over and now was break time. For Ryou this was always torturous, because for bullies he was the perfect target. He did not understand this at all. He was always nice to others and always tried to help, so why did those people treat him badly? He had not done anything, this was not fair.
His twin brother, on the other hand, was rather popular and respected despite his rough personality. Girls kept sending him love letters and people either did as he said or avoided him. He also had something like a gang, no real friends but 'followers' who did everything he told them to do. He was not a good student like Ryou, he skipped classes whenever he felt like it, hardly ever did his homework by himself, if ever, and cheated wherever it was possible. Bakura was everything parents wanted to keep their kids from becoming, and yet he was one of the most popular students in school.
They were exact opposites, one was a bully and the other was a victim. Ryou could have asked Bakura to help him with his problems, because Ryou was the only person he would do anything for, but the younger twin did not want his brother to get in even more trouble than he already was. Sometimes Bakura would find out when others had mocked or even beaten him but most of the time he did not because he kept silent about it. And those kids knew that and took advantage of it.
Therefore the kid with the long, snow white hair was now hurrying down the hallways of the school. If he was fast enough, then maybe they would not even notice him. His hopes were short-lived, however, when he literally bumped into someone. Because he had been running so quickly the force was rather great and he stumbled backwards, close to falling to the floor.
"Oh, I'm really sorry!" he quickly apologized before he had even looked up. And when he did, his eyes widened considerably. For in front of him, together with some other students, stood a boy with exotic, tan skin, spiked, sandy blond hair and intimidating, violet eyes - Mariku Ishtar. The boy the whole school was talking about. He had just transferred to their school a few weeks ago and had already gained a fearsome reputation. Rumors said that he tended to be violent simply when people got on his nerves. He was said to have actually beaten someone so much that the boy had to spend a night in the hospital. Ryou gulped nervously as he gazed up at the boy who in return was glaring down at him, his eyes almost boring holes into his head. When no reply came, Ryou backed off a bit, intending to turn around and leave again as soon as possible. "Sorry", he repeated once more and with that he turned his back on the scary boy.
"Wait", came the expected protest and Ryou froze over on the spot, his heart thudding rapidly against his chest, throat becoming dry. "Aren't you Touzoku's brother?" the boy questioned with a strange accent the albino had never heard before. He did not dare to face the other but he nodded nevertheless. He instantly regretted that he was not face to face with the other when he heard footsteps approach him. He screwed his eyes shut, ready for some act of violence.
"Yes, you're that bastard's brother. So? What are we going to do with you?" the other students snickered in the background and Mariku shot them a glare that shut them up.
Ryou was trembling by now and still found no courage to look at the one doing this to him. "J-just let me go, p-please..." he stammered.
"I'm afraid that's impossible. Because of your dear brother I got into some nasty trouble, you see? I can't just let you go when I could do something better." The voice had drawn closer with every word and by the end Ryou could feel the other's breath hit his ear.
Suddenly, he made an unexpected move. He grabbed the pale boy by the collar of his uniform and pushed him towards his followers. The students reflexively stepped aside when the boy came stumbling and finally fell on his rear on the hard floor. Ryou winced in pain and rubbed his hurting backside. When he looked back up, he found himself surrounded by the gang of bullies. They had made a circle around him, there was no escape now. For a brief moment all Ryou wished was for his brother to come and save him. He quickly shoved it aside, however, because that would mean that his brother might get hurt as well. It was for the better if he took all the beating. He shut his eyes tightly, blocking out the evil snickers and chuckles. He knew no one would step in and take his side now but he could not deny the little spark of hope deep within his heart. The hope for a miracle.
There was a 'thud' noise like something had been hit and following came a voice the boy knew the best. "Get the fuck away from him", it snarled.
Chocolate brown eyes flew open and fell upon his look-alike. "Bakura!" Ryou exclaimed hopefully. His brother looked anything but pleased but neither did the tan boy.
Mariku bent down and picked up a torn book. "Did you fucker just through that book at me?" he inquired in a venomous tone. But Bakura did not let that affect him even though people were already backing away from the both of them. Tension was in the air, making it seem twice as thick.
"Why yes, it just looked like a perfect match for your thick skull so I thought I'd give the two of you a light push into the right direction", the more confident twin responded mockingly.
The Egyptian's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Don't fuck with me, Touzoku", he warned.
Since Bakura had never been one for listening to warnings, he decided to put something on top that crossed the line. "It looks like my push was too much though. Does it hurt? Want me to call your mommy?"
If Mariku had had some self-restraint before then he had lost the last bit now. Without a warning, he leapt at the the pale teen's throat, making them both crash to the floor. Bakura automatically reacted by putting his feet up to get some space between them. He then used his advantage and, by kicking into the other's stomach, sent the Egyptian flying off of him and onto the floor behind him. Using his chance, he quickly stood up again and intended to kick the other's stomach once more now that he was lying on his back. Mariku reacted quickly enough and caught the albino's foot in both of his hands. He pulled until Bakura lost his balance and crashed to the floor once more.
It was Mariku's time to stand up then and he grabbed the other by his collar, much like he had done to his brother only a few minutes prior. He lifted him up and forcefully pressed the smaller body into the wall, pushing so hard that it knocked the breath out of the younger boy. Bakura pushed against the other's chest and kicked against his shin but it showed no positive results, his opponent only squeezed harder. Seeing no other solution, Bakura tilted his head backwards and, with as much force as he could muster, he head butted the Egyptian. Mariku let go of the other to clutch at his hurt forehead and Bakura mirrored his actions, hissing at the sharp pain.
Ryou had finally stood up and reluctantly approached the momentarily distracted boys. "Uhm...", he started insecurely and gulped. "You shouldn't fight..." But his pleas seemed to fall on deaf ears, for when both had recovered from the last blow they went at each other's throats again. Ryou could only stand and watch helplessly as the two of them hurt each other without thinking. "Please stop!" He tried hard to get them to stop by simply using his voice but in such a physical fight a little voice such as his did not help. Their fight went on and every time Ryou thought Bakura had the upper hand, the tables turned again. The winner was unclear even as the minutes passed them by. Insults were thrown into the round occasionally but, to Ryou's surprise, both of them were grinning despite the beating and harsh words. What was that about, he wondered. Were they actually enjoying this?
It just went on and on like this until after what felt like an eternity, a teacher arrived. Someone must have informed her. She had to tear the boys away from each other to make them stop. They were both panting heavily, having bruises and scratches everywhere. The teacher gave both detention and they were brought to the school's nurse to treat their wounds. Ryou went along because of his brother. He was still scared of the other teen but knew that he was safe as long as Bakura and the teacher were still there. To his dismay, the teacher left the three of them alone.
Nobody dared to utter a word as the nurse did her job. She then turned to Ryou with a smile. "Could you help me?" she asked and of course Ryou did not refuse. She quickly finished bandaging one of Bakura's gashes and turned to his twin brother. "Here", she said as she put a bandage and a pair of scissors into the pale teen's hands. "You can wrap it around his lower arm", she explained with a nod towards Mariku.
When Ryou realized that the nurse was referring to the Egyptian and not his brother, he became even paler. He swallowed audibly and slowly turned to look at Mariku. The boy did not even bother to look back at him even though he could feel his eyes on him. He simply looked into the opposite direction and waited for his wounds to be treated so that he could leave as soon as possible. After another urging glance from the nurse, Ryou finally walked over to where his patient was sitting and took a seat on the bed beside him. With shaky hands he carefully placed the first end of the bandage on the tan boy's arm. Seeing no resistance or protest, he proceeded to wrap the cloth around the tanned arm. During the process, his fingers accidentally brushed the bronze skin and he immediately pulled away with a gasp. But he had noticed that the skin had been unnaturally cold.
The feeling of skin on skin and the little gasp had been enough to catch Mariku's attention. He had been paying attention the whole time but deemed it justified to look now. "What's wrong?" he asked, his voice that of a normal student when he asked a normal question. Ryou was admittedly taken aback by how natural it had sounded but instantly wondered why this boy should not be normal, too. He looked up at the question and met a pair of beautiful, violet eyes. It was different from before somehow, they did not seem dangerous anymore. They were just human eyes, magnificent human eyes. "What?" Mariku repeated when he received no answer and the white haired boy broke their eye contact as quickly as if it was forbidden.
"You're cold...", he muttered barely above a whisper, but Mariku had heard it nonetheless.
"It's always like that", he stated. Ryou nodded in understanding and went back to wrapping the bandage around his arm. When all wounds had been treated, the nurse went to dispose of the trash they had made and left the three of them alone. It was awkwardly silent for a minute until Bakura was the first to break the silence.
"We should do this again", he said, staring at the wall ahead of him.
Two heads turned to him. "Fighting each other you mean?" Mariku asked and Bakura nodded his head solemnly.
It was Ryou's turn to interfere then. "No, you shouldn't. I don't want you to fight", he said. His twin only raised an eyebrow at him.
"Then how about we beat others?" he offered.
"No!" Ryou exclaimed but was ignored when Mariku spoke.
"Yeah, let's start with that one guy from your class."
"The one who asks every girl to go out with him?"
"Yeah, that one. I never liked him."
"Me neither. You're right, he deserves some beating."
"Argh!" Ryou clutched his head with both hands and pulled on his hair. "You two are horrible!"
"Thanks", they both said in unison with equally evil smirks.
That had been the day they met. After that they started to see one another more often. They were not like usual friends, being sweet to one another with lots of smiling and hugging, but they were friends nevertheless. Bakura and Mariku did nothing but get into trouble the whole time, of course. But when Ryou spent time with Mariku it was much calmer and more peaceful. Ryou had long ago lost his fear for the Egyptian troublemaker. But how they met and how they fell in love were two completely different stories, hardly related to each other.
"Ryou?" came Mariku's voice suddenly. Ryou swiftly turned to look at him questioningly. "I said 'we're here'."
"Oh", the whitette said and glanced out of the window. As a matter of fact, they had arrived. He had been thinking for a long time then.
The theatre was unexpectedly huge and many people had formed a queue in front of the fittingly big entrance. There even was a royal red carpet where the people stood waiting. It was a good thing they had left early because about half an hour had passed until they were finally inside the building. In the lobby they had to wait another thirty minutes until they were finally led to the hall. Their seats were not in one of the first rows but it was close enough to see everything well. Ryou was so excited, he could hardly sit still in his seat. He always had to either fumble with his clothing or swing his feet back and forth. In other people's eyes he probably seemed like a little boy on Christmas Day, but in Mariku's eyes he was his adorable lover, excited over his birthday gift. People were taking their seats, the curtains were still closed.
Mariku could not deny this uneasy feeling that something was going to go wrong again. There was still 'Plan B', but still...
He felt a soft tug on his right arm and realized that Ryou had grabbed it and was now resting his head on his shoulder. Mariku smiled at his boyfriend. "Aren't you always the one who says 'not in public'?" he said with a low chuckle.
Ryou pouted up at the older teen but replaced it with his soft smile again. "Yes, but...", he then hugged the other's arm tightly, "I'm just really happy right now. And no one's looking anyway."
"I wouldn't be so sure", Mariku mumbled with a teasing grin, making the other look around nervously. From what he could tell, there was really nobody looking into their direction. He suddenly felt the other grab his chin and tilt his head into Mariku's direction.
"But I'm glad you're happy", he whispered, leaning closer to the other boy. Ryou was already closing his eyes, bending over his armrest to meet the other. They were close, so close they could feel the other's breath against their own lips. But the kiss remained unshared when a voice tore through the air.
"Dear guests",the voice said through a speaker, "we regret having to tell you that due to technical problems the musical cannot be performed as planned. We apologize for the inconveniences caused. Your money will be returned at the reception. Once more we apologize and wish you a good evening." Protests and ranting could be heard from everywhere as people grabbed their belongings and left the hall again.
Ryou's eyes had reopened during the announcement and were staring directly into Mariku's furious ones. The Egyptian let go of his chin and backed away again, trying to compose himself. "I knew it...", he whispered to himself.
"Mariku?" Ryou said, careful not to provoke the other in this state. "We... should probably leave, too." To his surprise his lover calmed down almost immediately and nodded in agreement.
"Yeah..." With that they stood up and walked towards the exit. This was rather suspicious to Ryou. Normally this would have made his lover stab someone but he was perfectly composed. He himself was very disappointed though. He had been looking forward to this musical for so long, 'Dance Of The Vampires'. He simply loved everything occult, so this had been his musical. He even believed he was angrier about this than his boyfriend was. Hewanted to stab someone now. 'Calm down, Ryou, calm down. Look, Mariku is pulling himself together, you should stay calm, too. For his sake.' But he could not deny it, he was so disappointed now. 'Happy Halloween…', he told himself inwardly.
They went back to the car wordlessly and once again failed to notice that they were being watched. In a black car, parked several feet away from the couple, sat two partners in crime.
"Messing with the hydraulic pipes was a brilliant idea, really", the blond teen praised with a pleased smile, "but I do feel a little bad. Just imagine how much work they put into making the stage set and now everything's ruined."
The albino in the driver's seat shifted to sit straight again. "Who cares? It was a success, another date's been ruined." He then started the engine and they drove off. They followed the couple with another vehicle between them so as to not make it too suspicious. After a while, however, they realized that the course they had taken did not lead them back home.
"Where are those faggots driving?" Bakura wondered aloud and Malik only shrugged his shoulders.
"No idea. I don't know this place, so..."
"We'll just follow them and see what happens", the older teen suggested.
"Do you think they're lost?"
Bakura shook his head. "No. They both know the way."
"This isn't the way home", Ryou said after a while and looked at his boyfriend for an explanation.
"Who said we're going home?" Mariku countered and Ryou was a bit taken aback by that response.
"So... where are we going then?" he asked curiously.
Mariku could no longer suppress the smirk then. And mysteriously he answered "To a place you will like."
The white haired teen blinked at him in confusion but did not press any further. It had sparked his curiosity now but if this was supposed to be a surprise to cheer him up then he did not want to spoil it. So he simply waited, impatient nonetheless. The more minutes passed the further away they got from the comforting safety of the city and deeper into the unknown territory of a dark forest. Ryou was feeling a little uneasy about this. He just hoped they would find the way back again. After a long drive through the seemingly endless, obscure forest, the scenery changed. Into view came an area that was not occupied by trees. Their car came to a halt in front of a high steel fence, in the middle of it a majestic gate. Ryou gazed up at the huge entrance and absentmindedly unfastened his seatbelt. Out of the car, he lost no time in approaching the fence to get a better look at it. It was old, rusty on some parts, but had an elegant design.
He hardly noticed Mariku approach him from behind, when he caught sight of what stood behind the fence. In the shadows of the night, shielded from the eye of public, was an estate. The wrinkled leaves of the few trees that stood in the yard, rustled as a cold breeze blew by. The mansion must have been magnificent in its best years for even now it still looked beautiful. Ryou stared at the sight with wide eyes and Mariku chuckled from beside him.
"Told you you'd like it", he said.
"We need to get in there", was the albino's only response. Not wasting any time, he grabbed the gate and pulled. However, it did not open up but only made a clinking noise. Ryou looked down to where the sound had come from and only then noticed the iron chains and the heavy lock that kept the gate closed. Almost irritated he turned to his lover.
"Do you have something with which we can open it?" His question was answered when Mariku retrieved a knife from his pocket. He was about to try and unlock the door when his lover had already snapped it out of his hand. Mariku had honestly never seen him unlock anything as quickly as then. With the first try the lock already made a soft click and the heavy chains plus lock fell on the muddy ground. As if being hunted, Ryou dashed through the now open gate and towards the huge building. The older of the two shook his head with a smile and followed him inside.
"It's amazing!" Ryou swooned as he walked closer to the house's entrance, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
"I heard that many years ago a couple lived here", Mariku began and his lover turned to look at him to show his interest. "At first there was a rich family that lived in here. Only a few years after they had moved into the house... something happened."
They both stopped in front of the entrance and Mariku took his knife back to unlock the door himself this time. Ryou blinked at him curiously. "What happened?"
"Their son, a very talented boy, died from a disease. He died when he was really young."
"How awful...", Ryou commented guiltily as Mariku broke the wooden door open with his knife. When they swung the door open, a wave of dust swam over the smooth, marble floor. The first room consisted of a huge hall where two stairs led up to the second floor and countless doors led into several rooms. The walls were decorated with portraits and lamps that were covered in spider webs and dust. The once olive colored curtains were gray and torn. One of many windows was shattered and wind came in through it to whirl up more dust that had settled everywhere.
"In the first year they were devastated and visited his grave at least once a day. But after a year, they got another child, another son. They forgot about their dead son altogether and hardly ever visited his grave anymore. And then..." Mariku paused to look back at Ryou who was so caught up in the story that he did nothing but wait for it to continue. He gulped, sensing that there would be no happy ending.
"Then what...?"
"...They were murdered", he said at long last and gazed at the stairs ahead of them. "Many years after that incident someone else moved in. It was a young couple with a lot of money."
Mariku walked towards the staircase, Ryou following him, and they ascended the stairs that creaked under them with every second step. "After two months they moved out again. They were desperate to find another house they could live in. All they wanted was to get away from this place."
"Why? Was there... was there something wrong with this mansion?" Ryou asked when they had finally made it to the second floor. It looked much like the hall beneath them with many doors leading into different rooms. One door was opened by a crack and both silently agreed to inspect that certain room.
"From what they had told one would think something had to be wrong with this house. Strange things happened. At first they did not think much of it but those incidents became more frequent over time and when they explained why they wanted to move out they said..." Before opening the door, Mariku turned to Ryou again with a malicious smirk. "...that this place was haunted."
"...Amazing...", the smaller teen breathed through barely parted lips. And they finally entered the room that had offered itself to them. There was only the light of the moon to illuminate the place. It made a dusty bed in the center of the room visible. They were about to go further into the room when they suddenly heard a loud thud. They both turned around and scanned their surroundings but found nothing. Then they looked back at each other.
"What was that?" Ryou wondered aloud.
"What the bloody hell did you do now?" hissed the irritated, pale boy.
"I just heard something and knocked this picture down by accident", the blond teen explained and pointed at the portrait that was now lying flat on the floor.
"Oh, you heard something. It was probably just your imagination. Getting paranoid 'cause you're scared?" Bakura mocked, crossing his arms over his chest.
"I'm not scared! And I'm not imagining things, there really was something", Malik said, defending himself and his pride.
Bakura only rolled his eyes with a grin. "Yeah, sure. Believe me there's nothing. The only thing that could run around in this mansion would be a rat."
Malik blushed in embarrassment. There really was no reason to be jumpy. After all, there was nobody except for the lovebirds. "I still don't understand what we're doing here", he mumbled after a while.
"Ryou loves creepy stuff, so this is the perfect place for him", the albino explained with a shrug of his shoulders. The Egyptian grinned amusedly.
"Explains why he likes my brother then", he said, earning a small laugh from his partner.
"Yeah, I suppose."
Malik then bent down to pick up the fallen portrait. When he was able to see the front, he noticed that it was covered by a layer of dust as well. He wiped over the surface with his hand. A picture of a young boy with short, green hair and crystal blue eyes became visible. He showed the picture to his partner, "Who's this?"
"How should I know? Probably one of the former owners of this mansion."
"Hnn..." Malik shifted his eyes back to the picture in his hands, "you're probably right..." He then leaned the portrait against the wall and they continued their 'mission'. Some doors were locked and the room they had a look at were all empty, so they assumed that the couple had gone upstairs.
"We should think of a plan", Bakura whispered to his friend as they climbed up the flight of stairs.
"But what should we do? If Ryou's really into that stuff then I doubt we could scare them."
"True..." They both halted on the stairs to think of a plan. After they had stopped the creaking noise of the stairs could be heard once more and Malik's head shot up to Bakura.
"Was that you?" he asked, his heart beating a bit faster than it should.
"What do you mean?"
And Malik gulped nervously but explained himself regardless. "That... creaking just now. Wasn't that you?"
Bakura's eyes narrowed suspiciously and he shook his head slowly. "No. I thought that was you." Both of them turned into several directions to check for any unwelcome guests. But they were alone. "Maybe it was from the other two", Bakura said when he could not find anyone. Although he had to admit that he also thought the sound had come from the stairs. Malik nodded, even if reluctant, accepting that reasoning.
The Egyptian took a step towards his partner who was still facing him. And in the corner of his eye he could see a shadow lingering at the top of the staircase that was not supposed to be there. In his shock, Malik jumped with a yelp. When he felt himself lose his balance he grabbed the first thing available, Bakura's arm.
Bakura, who had not been expecting the sudden extra weight on his arm, also lost his balance and both of them toppled down the stairs.
"'Noah's Diary'", Ryou read out loud as he held the crimson book in his hands. His fingertips carefully traced the golden letters before he opened the book. He was about to read the first entry when a sudden, loud noise stopped him from doing so. It had sounded like something collapsing or falling to the ground. He looked up at Mariku in surprise who was just as clueless as him.
"What was that?" Ryou asked, feeling a bit uneasy.
Mariku looked around cautiously. "I have a feeling we're not alone here", he said.
Ryou laid the book back down onto the table and clasped his hands together. "Maybe that is the ghost!" he exclaimed excitedly.
"No, Ryou, I mean it. Someone is here."
"Yes, the ghost", Ryou repeated eagerly and Mariku gave him a serious look.
"No, I mean humans, Ryou, not ghosts", he explained impatiently. They were not allowed to be here, so if there was someone checking on this mansion in the middle of the night, then they would be in trouble. "We need to leave, now." Mariku then grabbed his lover's hand and dragged him towards the door.
"Already? But we've just gotten here", the younger teen protested.
"I know but we're in deep shit if someone finds out we broke into this house." Ryou did not say any more. He understood that they could not stay, but he was still sad that they had to leave so soon. Nevertheless, he let his boyfriend lead him out of the room and back to the stairs.
"Shit...", Bakura groaned as he felt pain all over his body. He was sure this would leave a few bruises. His feet were still lying on the first steps of the stairs while the rest of his body had crashed onto the hard stone floor beneath. When he rose his hand to clutch at his forehead and brushed against soft hair, he realized that Malik was lying on top of him.
Malik, too, groaned and slowly propped himself up on his elbows, getting off of his friend's chest, and rubbed a hurting spot on his head. "Damn...", he cursed under his breath which hit Bakura's bare neck. He realized a little too late that he had been lying on something softer than the floor and looked up. He locked eyes with Bakura who was, of course, very close. Feeling heat rise to his face he immediately sat up and scooted further away from his friend, muttering a quick 'sorry' as he did so.
Bakura also sat up then and they remained silent for a long moment, not looking at each other. However, they both heard footsteps coming closer then and instantly got up to hide. This time it had to be the couple, so they hid behind the staircase where they waited until the two had passed them by. It was indeed their brothers who went to the door, suspiciously fast, and left the mansion. When the coast was clear, the two came out of their hideout. They gave each other a questioning look, wondering why those two had left already. Bakura then thought it to be the right time to ask about earlier.
"What was that about anyway? You suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled us both down. We could have some broken bones now", he said with one white eyebrow raised at his partner.
The blond shifted uncomfortably, feeling guilty. "I..." He wanted to tell the truth, say that he had seen something but he knew that Bakura would only make fun of him if he said that again. "I slipped", he lied. His older friend eyed him incredulously but decided not to press any further.
Instead he shook his head and said, "Come on, let's get going." Malik nodded in agreement and after waiting a bit longer, so the others would not see them, they left as well.
Away from the estate, outside the gate and safe again, Ryou turned to his lover. Yes, he was sad that it had ended so soon but Mariku had done all of this for him. He genuinely appreciated it with all of his heart. Therefore he smiled when his lover looked back at him. Without a warning he leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips. When he pulled away and saw the look of surprise on his boyfriend's face, he could not help but laugh.
"Thank you, Mariku", he said sweetly, "this was the best birthday present ever."
And with those words on his mind, the Egyptian smiled back at him and bent down to connect their lips once more in a more passionate kiss.
From afar, a pair of ocean blue eyes watched them. A pitch-black crow flew by but the green head of hair remained unmoving, unaffected by any sort of motion. An exasperate sigh escaped the boy's lips as he watched the scene from the rooftop of the old mansion. He just stayed there and observed everything, as the first car drove off and as the second one did as well. And when they were gone and he was finally all by himself again, he let out another sigh along with the words, "Foolish mortals..."
I hope it's obvious that this was the Noah Kaiba. Just had another story.
Pockyfeind:Thank you! And your guess is good, I just can't say whether it's right or not.
ObliviousAnimeGirl:I love you too! But seriously, thank you! I'm glad it made you happy~
Ryoubakura98:It's already Halloween! I hope I did not disappoint you~ And hehe, you'll have to wait and see whether you were right.
Saminagg:Oh, yes they tried again. And yay! I'm also happy that their relationship is having some progress~ I'm glad you're enjoying it.
Anime-on-replay:I can't tell you if you're right, sorry :D Aww, thank you very much! I'm happy that you like it!
LadySunami:You all have awesome guesses really, but I can't tell you if it's right~ Oh, the drama indeed, the only thing I'm good at actually~ You're so right, girl. And I'm glad that Malik's past was not… disappointing, I guess? I was worried about it being repetitive. Thank you!
Bakukitty4life:And why are you so awesome? Thank you so much for these sweet compliments! I don't know what to say! And I don't think this story would be to LK's liking xD Thank you again!
YamiBaki:Oh my, Pam? Why hello there! And I'm so happy that you're enjoying it so much! And yes, I was indeed hurrying~
Lil-Sango:It's okay, I appreciate that you did review though! *glomps you* And I'm happy that you like it! OMG, I'm going into diabetic coma from all the sweetness! Thank you so much!
Yijasha:Why google, why? :'D I'm relieved that everything is okay and I'm super happy that you like it! Thank you, thank you!
Phew… I love all of you, seriously. Next chapter might be weird with another date. See you soon!