I really shouldn't have been playing the Les Miserables music in the background; it's hard to focus on writing when such sad events are being sung in the background.
Also, I'm really disappointed that no one even tried to crack a guess at those questions! Fret not, my dears, for I have made the new batch much easier (just not at face value). Also, I love IV from Zexal as my favorite YGO antagonist; Gauche is my favorite character. Also, my teacher's wife's maiden name is King, same as my last name. I was LIVID when my teacher told me that she told him that she told me; his extra credit question can be anywhere from 5 points to 3000, but the higher ones are anywhere from who scored the last touchdown in the 1989 NFL to his wife's current odometer.
Dreams pass into the reality of action. From the actions stems the dream again; and this interdependence produces the highest form of living. - Anais Nin
The four males rested uneasily that night. While the sleeping arrangements were less than appealing, the main cause for their discomfort was more emotional than physical. Not one of the four could completely understand what was happening to them, but each had a nagging voice in the back of their minds desperately trying to … Well, no one knew what the voice was trying to say. Still, each welcomed the night and a chance to try and recover from such an exhausting day. Marik had dressed down to only his pants while Ryo had removed his pants and kept his shirt and boxers. Melvin insisted that he and Ryo just sleep naked together, but Marik convinced his brother none too kindly to remain fully clad or else. When sleep fell over the three males in the living room, they had already forgotten about Bakura, who had began his own peculiar dream for the night much before the others.
[M*S]
Time passed at a fraction its normal pace. Bakura saw the world leisurely move by in first person. Sand and more sand spread over vast amounts of land, and the young dreamer wonder why his mind had taken him to such an odd place. Bakura's senses were not clouded, nor was he fooled into believing the land before him was real. Despite knowing well that he was dreaming, Bakura lacked the ability to awaken, as though forces needed him to experience his little dream world.
Bakura had been so caught up in observing the dream-world that he never heard footsteps behind him until it was too late. From the back someone jumped on Bakura and brought him to the ground. The stranger pinned Bakura down, as would be expected of an attacker, but then he nuzzled his head into the crook of Bakura's neck. Bakura took the chance to throw off the assaulter and quickly turned around to fight the person foolish enough to molest the thief.
Bakura gasped as it appeared to be the same person from his visions. Namu glared at Bakura from the sandy ground with his vivid honey eyes that pierced right into Bakura's heart. Bakura finally looked down at his own hands to realize that they were dark brown rather than creamy porcelain. Bakura met Namu's eyes again, and could not falter his gaze away again.
"Well? What was that for? I was only playing. I know you take things seriously, but I thought it has been long enough since we had a good romping. Normally you jump at the chance to have me," the young male complained angrily. "At least help me up, Akefia," he ordered extending a hand.
Bakura scoffed and turned his back on the other male. "You can get up on your own. Serves you right, idiot."
"What? That is heartless, even for you. I was just excited to hold you again. Didn't you miss me even a little bit, Akefia?" Namu asked with a wink.
"No," Bakura coldly answered.
Namu sighed and glared at Bakura again. "Fine. Last time I try to make you excited about me, Akefia. Clearly you don't find me arousing anymore."
Bakura turned back around and sighed. Namu really was breathtaking. Bakura knew he was dreaming, and he knew that he found Namu handsome in all the visions from before, but never would he submit his pride by pleading for even an imaginary male to forgive him. Why Bakura would picture himself as a guy from random hallucinations was beyond him, especially since he had to deal with the other annoying person from the visions.
Namu said nothing more and kept a simple stare on Bakura. Bakura found it annoying, but the brunet seemed to do it with a backwards form of hurt that made the thief pity the other male. "Stop looking at me like that. You're plenty arousing, so stop annoying me."
Namu continued to stare at Bakura, a look that said that Bakura should already know why Namu was staring. "Bakura, you're trying to make me forgive the wrong things again." Namu reached out to grab Bakura's hands, and surprisingly, Bakura did not pull away.
Bakura froze. The dream Namu had been referring to him as Akefia, but then he changed it to Bakura. The thief was confused by the sudden change, and he wondered if the dream would have a point. When Bakura was about to reply back, Namu spoke again.
"Don't ask for forgiveness; don't even try to gain it. What you've done is already forgiven. What you will do is what matters most, Bakura." Namu looked at Bakura with half-lidded, rueful eyes. All the former playful left and only a sad, wounded man was standing before Bakura. "I wish I had more time with you, to make you understand. Maybe next time you'll be as happy to see me as I am to see you." Slowly, the other tan then began to fade.
The sands began to swirl with great force in an encompassing storm. The sands spiraled around where Namu was, as if blowing him away to the point one could not even see past the grainy barricade. Bakura extended his arm in vain to breach the spot where the spiraling sands most focused, but the sand threw Bakura away from the other male.
When Bakura opened his eyes after landing, he found himself lying in Marik's bed with a foreign, small ache in his heart. For good measure Bakura looked at his arms by the light of the moon to see that his pale skin was back, as well as his skinny frame. Bakura looked around to see any other signs that he was dreaming, but only can across the closet he stole the ring from. The door was open a sliver, and Bakura knew there was more gold in the closet, but actually scowledat the idea of the gleaming metal. Of all reactions to gold, Bakura never found himself actually displeased with any of it. The gold in the closet started the whole mess, and Bakura wanted nothing more than to cut all associations with it.
Begrudgingly Bakura made a new decision and finally got out of bed. The pale teen opened the door at and saw Ryo and Marik sprawled on the floor. Bakura knew Ryo was a bit of a cuddler, but seeing his brother latched into Marik's arm still annoyed the wakeful twin. Still, seeing Ryo on Marik so comfortably would make his plan all the more satisfying. Bakura shook Marik on his other arm. Marik barely stirred, so Bakura shook harder and harder. With all the shaking, Ryo was the one about to awaken.
Bakura was about to give up realizing Marik slept like a corpse, but he vaguely saw the blond stirring in his sleep. Bakura leaned in to try and wake the blond again, only to hear a low and strained moaned. Bakura's eyes widened slightly, but returned to normal when his eyes trailed down Marik's body and he realized why Marik would be less than cooperative to get up.
"Oh, Marik, it's time to get up," Bakura cooed into the blond's ear.
"Mm. Akefia… please, Akefia," Marik moaned lowly.
Bakura's expression turned sour again and decided to just pull Marik up by one arm. The blond snapped into consciousness, but remained foggy and angry. "Wh-what the-?! Who is there?!" Marik shouted.
"Shh!" Bakura scolded flinging a hand over Marik's mouth. "Don't wake the others. I need to talk to you."
"And this could not wait until morning?"
"No. It's important, so get over your little wet dream and come outside with me," Bakura ordered dragging Marik to the door.
Marik yanked his arm from Bakura's grip. "Fine." Marik had half a mind to slap the annoying dream-killer, but decided to give him the chance to talk. If Bakura said something that turned out to be trivial, Marik would just throw him over the railing.
"Good," Bakura said finally going outside with Marik following.
The blond waited for a response, but Bakura decided to sit on the cold concrete and let his legs dangle over the edge of the building beneath the railing. Marik sighed, but joined the other in the odd position. Bakura still only wore an undershirt and boxers, and Marik was still only in his pants. Their hair was a mess, and their eyes had a fiery essence in them. Marik just got rid of his annoying erection by thinking of Melvin in a speedo, but in total they still looked rather lewd. Neither cared much since they were not in any sort of decent neighborhood anyway. Finally Marik gave Bakura a meaningful glance and the other shrugged.
"I'll give back your ring," Bakura said openly without tripping over a single word.
Marik's mouth hung open slightly. After all the time and fighting trying to defend his innocence, Bakura openly agreed to return the artifact? Marik was more than hesitant to believe the thief. "What's the catch?"
"That you get out of my life."
"Well, you would definitely be forced not to see anyone if I pressed charges and you went to jail. Why would you come clean after all that struggling?" Marik asked almost annoyed that Bakura would not continue the charade. After all that pain and struggling, Marik had almost began to feel guilty about accusing the thief. Almost.
"Well, you still wouldn't annoy me, so I guess I don't care. Ryo wouldn't have another mouth to feed, and he wouldn't have to try helping me anymore. You'd probably press charges anyway, so I'm just saving everyone a lot of grief. Especially me." Bakura leaned back and rested himself on his hands. The thief eyed the cloudy sky and wondered why the stars never seemed to shine on him when he tried to do something semi-decent.
Marik stayed quiet for a moment and pressed his head against the cold metal bar. He gripped two other poles of the railing and imagined Bakura in his place. He pictured Bakura behind cold, bleak bars in a hopeless area. Marik pictured the broken look on Ryo's sad face seeing his dear twin locked away with such shame. Marik sighed and shook his head. The blond turned to Bakura again, making sure their eyes connected before speaking. "I will not get out of your hair so easily. Since you openly confessed that you do have my ring, you better return it. Even if I do not bring the police involved, you will return it."
"And I said I would bloody return it if you and your molester brother get out of my life!"
"My brother and I will be in your life for as long as it takes to make you repay us!"
"Repay you for what? This is a fair deal! I'm sure at least Melvin's been repaid well enough by getting his filthy hands over Ryo's innocent body. Why are you all so bloody annoying?"
"I believe you are far more annoying than I am. You cause me infinite stress and anguish. I demand compensation. You were the one that caused this turn of events anyway from the moment you decided to steal from me."
Bakura knew that the logic was at least semi-valid, and the thief regretted his actions every minute he spent with the Egyptian brothers. Bakura turned away from the blond and starred back into the starless sky in unsaid defeat. From the corner of his eyes Bakura noticed Marik looking up as well. The thief understood that he and the Egyptian would likely never get along, nor would they probably ever escape each other, but in the end they still could see the same sky, breath the same air, feel the same emotions. As much as Bakura hated to admit it, Marik and he did have similar emotions. Neither would back down due to immense stubbornness, neither disliked their twins going at each other, both liked gold, both trusted each other in a backhanded, spiteful way. Bakura could trust Marik to be annoying and vice versa. In a way Bakura would go so far as to call Marik as an equal.
"We should go back inside, you know," Marik said turning away from the sky to look at Bakura.
"No, I. . . ." Bakura paused a bit trying to make sure his next question wouldn't sound as stupid as he thought, which he decided it sounded even more stupid. "I have something else to talk to you about."
"Fine. Make it quick; I am getting cold," Marik commanded.
Bakura glared at the order, but spoke anyway. "Have you been having weird visions?"
Marik paused, unable to word the best answer. "Yes," the blond said dumbly. "As you should know the show Ishizu showed was not smoke and mirrors; it was all true, but since you and I met I have been experiencing, well, I thought they were merely mental lapses to be honest."
"I don't think they're mental lapses. I heard the dream you were having. You were moaning 'Akefia' in your sleep. That's one of the names from the visions you've been having, isn't it?"
"Yes, but the dream was a bit foggy. I remember him calling me 'Namu' at first, and I remember how right it felt to be held by him. If he is just someone from my visions, I cannot understand why he would appear in my dreams so vividly. I know very little on all of this. We could ask my sister, Ishizu, but she tends to only rattle more questions than answers," Marik explained resting his head on the pole again in defeat.
"So I noticed. She's just as annoying as you, anyway. I bet she'd be just as useless." Bakura growled to himself in frustration from the situation. "Did your dream 'Akefia' say anything you can remember?"
"I cannot really recall. He was more willing to let his hands do the talking. I have never been able to remember my dreams well, but," Marik paused to take a breath, "but I know he told me that he was sorry. He also said forgiveness should be as endless as the repentance." Marik eyed Bakura a bit at the last comment.
"Bullshit! You're lying through your teeth! You just want me to feel like I owe you so that you can 'forgive' me later!"
Marik released a devilish laugh and denied nothing. "I cannot recall a time yet that I have spoken a dishonest tale, good sir." In Marik's defense, he really never lied to Bakura, but the blond could only remember so much of the dream.
"You're such a bloody git. I can't wait until you leave me alone. Once we figure out these fucking visions I'm never coming with a mile radius of you idiots."
"If you are going to be a grumpy asshole, you can take it inside. I believe it is I who will enjoy never seeing you again." Marik shoved Bakura almost playfully as they sat as relaxed in the cool night. Bakura pushed back with just as much force, which led Marik to push back again. The two went at each other with growing smiles and less and less anger. The fight turned into an almost playful battle of who would be the most stubborn and keep going. Marik was prepared to push Bakura again until a glass bottle shattered on the metal bar near his hand.
"Flirt in hell, faggots!" a very drunk and slurred yell came from the near the stairwell near the two males. The bottle still had horrible smelling alcohol in it and the shards landed everywhere to the point it would be impossible to get up without at least one cut. The person that yelled had another equally drunk friend beside him snickering. Marik was about to retort back until Bakura took over for him.
"Grow a pair, fucking asshole! Like you won't be sucking your drunk friend's little dick tonight when he'll be too plastered to refuse!" Bakura shot them a bird and stood up disregarding the glass everywhere to go inside. "Are you going to take more of their shit or come inside with me?"
Marik replied by getting up and walking in after Bakura. The two drunkards continued shouting back at them, but both Marik and Bakura knew they were not worth any more time. Melvin slept throughout everything, but Ryo looked like he was almost about to awaken, so the two fuming males decided to calm down a little so the noise would not cause the kind twin to wake up and demand explanations.
Neither male was tired enough to return to sleep, so both went into Marik's bedroom to calm down and relax. Marik walked where Bakura had already stepped to avoid being cut, but once inside the Egyptian noticed a small trail of blood and a cut on Bakura's pinky toe. Bakura seemed not to notice, which annoyed Marik even more.
"Stop walking already, you idiot! You will get blood in even more places," Marik commanded grabbing Bakura's shoulders and pushing him down to the bed. "Stay here and I will get the first aid kit again."
Bakura could not argue because Marik had already left. The pale teen normally noticed when he had an injury, but he was probably too livid by the stupid drunks to even register the pain from the cut. The nerve of the idiot drunkards assuming Bakura and Marik were actually flirting sickened Bakura. No matter how plastered, no one should never be able to accuse Bakura of doing something so vile and get away with it.
Marik returned in the middle of Bakura's fuming with the kit in hand. The unsuspecting blond kneeled on the floor next to Bakura, and grabbed the cut foot only to be kicked in the shoulder. "What the hell? I have not even done anything!"
"I can do it myself. Don't touch me, idiot. It's your fault this happened anyway," Bakura explained snatching disinfectant and a cotton swab.
"How the hell is it my fault? You are the one that stepped outside barefooted." Marik stood up to tower over Bakura and prepare himself for another fight.
"You're the one that initiated our little shoving contest. The way you look would have made even a sober person assume you're a little faggot. It's disgraceful to have people put me at your level."
"How am I the disgraceful one?! You are the one that resorts to petty theft and fighting. You cannot do a single nice thing for someone. Also, little news flash: I look a hell of a lot more heterosexual than you," Marik spat giving Bakura a venomous glare. "I cannot believe I was ready to thank you for defending me back there. All that mattered was your damn self."
Bakura looked away from Marik's hard glare and shrugged. "It's not like I ever pretended to be anything more than that."
"You are just … unbelievable. You really are."
"Well, thanks. You are, too; I still can't fathom how you can still yell at me without losing that grainy voice of yours."
"I guess you just give me proper motivation to yell," Marik bitterly said.
"It's a natural talent, then." Bakura smirked at Marik's increasingly visible angry vein until he felt a brief pang of remorse. Though the thief only faltered for a moment, the blond's glaring gaze caught it quickly.
"What are you thinking, Bakura?" Marik asked warily.
"It's nothing. I just thought about something, but the thought's long gone now," Bakura answered not without his usual arrogance, but with also an air of confusion. Bakura met Marik's gaze with half-rueful eyes he had never shown anyone else. "Marik, about what I told those idiots outside, I guess a part of me was trying to protect you when I said it. I'm almost happy you walked behind me and didn't get cut on the glass yourself."
Marik released a sigh and nodded. Marik assumed that that was likely the closest thing to something kind Bakura had ever done. Though he still acted like a complete asshole, Marik saw the underlying part of the thief that did have a beating heart. "Do not think I could not have handled that situation alone. Idiots of every variant come around here, so I probably would have handled it better, actually. You just made an unnecessary scene."
"That sort of thing happens often? Jeez, and here I thought I was special. You bring other boys here to flirt with?"
Marik slightly flushed and grabbed the pillow off the bed to hit Bakura. "Ugh! That is not what I meant and you know it!" The blond scolded, hitting Bakura again for good measure. "And we were not flirting with each other! Just go to sleep before I maim you."
"Fine. G'nignt, Marik. Sweet dreams," Bakura teased, remember what Marik was obviously dreaming before.
Marik did not dignify Bakura with any more words. As a light form of revenge, Marik decided to keep the pillow. Even if the blond already had had one, Ryo probably already subconsciously took it, and knowing Bakura had none made it even more precious. Marik never stole really big items, but the Egyptian always liked the feeling of "getting away with it" when I had stolen something, and knowing it was stolen would help him sleep easy that night.
[M*S]
When Marik next awoke, he had a stiff neck and noticed Ryo and Melvin nowhere to be seen. Bakura was sitting in the kitchen drinking some water, looking absolutely bored as could be. The older teen also wore his usual outfit that seemed to have dried, and that gave Marik some relief so he would not see more of the almost naked Briton.
"Well, rise and shine, sleepy beauty," Bakura said mockingly.
"Morning," Marik replied trying to get out the last of his fatigue. "Where are our brothers?"
"Ryo and Melvin went out to get breakfast an hour ago. I swear they should be back by now, though. If that damn molester is laying any moves on my brother I swear I'm going to kill you both," Bakura threatened in a quick mumble more to himself than to Marik.
"Ah, so I get to spend even more quality time with you. I must be so lucky." Marik looked around his makeshift bed to see that his pillow was gone. "Hey! No wonder I have a stiff neck! You took my pillow!"
"Trust me, Marik, you're stuff regardless of what I steal. As for the question, you stole it first."
"Because it is, in fact, my pillow! At least you had a bed to sleep on, you selfish thief," Marik fumed glaring at the other male. "Our brothers better come soon before I do something I will regret," Marik mumbled, except a part of him believed if he did something to Bakura no one would reprimand him.
Marik heard the door open to see Melvin letting Ryo inside. "Good morning, everyone. Are you two done trying to kill each other?" Ryo greeted putting some grocery bags on the counter. Melvin followed in behind Ryo carrying most of the bags and dropped them on the counter lazily.
"More like only starting," Marika answered a bit groggily. "What did you two buy?"
"Oh, just a few necessities. I brought milk, eggs, bread, rice, fruit, et cetera. I would have bought more meat, but Melvin said you didn't like that and that it didn't go well in your stomach. I got eggs and some fish so there's at least some protein in your diet."
"And where exactly did you get the money to pay for this?" Bakura asked surveying how much the food cost.
"Your room, between the bed sheets. I figure you owe them more than I do, so I didn't bother using my own money except for a few things. If you complain about it then I won't make you breakfast." Ryo smiled when he spoke, but Bakura still heard the threat despite also hearing the growl of his stomach.
"Fine! It's not like I won't get more anyway. Maybe if you feed the damn blond over there," he said gesturing to Marik, "he'll develop an actually masculine physique."
"Oh? And if I recall well this "un-masculine" physique could take you down easily," Marik mocked getting up just in case Bakura would like to test that claim.
"Shut the hell up! The longer you two bicker, the longer it'll take for Ryo to cook. I didn't carry all the damn bags just to not eat," Melvin snapped warning the other two hotheads.
"Hey! I carried some bags, too," Ryo mumbled though no one cared to listen. The oldest male sighed and decided to put away the food he would not be cooking while the others fought. All in all, Ryo could tell that at least everyone was getting along a little better, so with that thought in mind he beamed a kind smile and started breakfast.
When Melvin pinched Ryo's butt while Bakura and Marik were distracted bickering, the teen realized he rather they all fight each other; at least then Ryo could ignore them and have his body left alone.
So this chapter is much shorter than the last few, only scraping 4k words, but I was pushing it already so ended it there.
Unlike the previous chapter this one actually doesn't have a flashback. When I see on tv people having their supposed "flashback" it sickens me because its always in the thied person point of view. It's sickening because that simply makes NO SENSE when they have flashbacks as "memories." In this story, the flashbacks ARE NOT memories Bakura and Marik actually have (otherwise they would have probably noticed them long before), so it's more like -how should I say?- like they're the recollection of events GIVEN to Marik and Bakura to see. The dream, however, came all from Bakura and Namu, so that way it was interactive as one would be in the real world. Bakura could not even see himself in the dream like in the real world; he would it notice that he looked like Akefia right away. If it helps make any sense of the flashbacks at all, there you go. I can't really explain them better just yet.
QUIZ TIME!
1) Who is my favorite male Disney protagonist?
2) Of all the people I've quoted for the epigraphs in this story, whom do I love the most?
3) In what city in Florida was my tenth grade teacher born which has another city elsewhere?
4) Where do I attend High school?
5) What Am I looking at right now?
Also, PLEASE REVIEW FOR EVERYONE YOU CAN! There are a lot of very good stories on this site that get maybe 1-2 reviews. Fangirl16 barely gets anything for her work. His Consqeuence is a story that I think is really good and deserves some more. Off the top of my head I cannot remember the others, but please do your part to help us loving writers!
Unless you're that one person. I cannot recall the username, but it seemed like every time I made a small critique the person would backhand my review. DWFWFGW! That was so frustrating.