:Hi everyone! Sorry if some chapters are later than usual, work piles up now that school has started! I'm trying to keep a constant update pattern, but I'm ashamed of myself that I can't do what I used to do, which was update every other day. But these chapters get harder to write and school does not help! Thank for all the support though, it really helps! I hope you enjoy this chapter!:
Serenity took a deep breath intake as she stood in front of a door that was labeled 'Friend' inside the royal dorm, how original of the staff to place a sign like that in front of the royals friend's room...She exhaled, hoping that when she woke up this royal that he wouldn't cause her any problems. She knocked loudly on the door, thinking about how she was delivering a message to a royal that would be having lunch with Bakura. Was the royal insane?! Bakura was not the kind of person you would want to take out to lunch, but she guessed that she couldn't blame the royal. He was charming when he wanted to be, every once in a while she would walk around and notice when Bakura seemed to be helping a fellow student with a problem. She also noticed that when he would study or simply read anything that he enjoyed, he acquired a look of peace on his face. She had never seen his niceness directly, but she would see it from faraway. Perhaps the royal had seen his inner nice side? That's impossible, Serenity told herself, but it could be true...
Serenity crossed her arms, her body being surrounded by her original brown shirt and jeans. She looked down at the watch on her wrist as she tapped her foot, waiting for the royal to come to the door. She sighed, deciding to knock again and actually received a response this time.
"I'm comin-Ah!" The royal yelled from behind the door, letting out a yelp as Serenity heard a loud thump erupt from the other side of the door. Oh great, another one fell out of bed...She sighed, yelling that she was coming in as she opened the door and placed a hand on her hip as she rose an eyebrow at what she saw, she leaned on the door knob with her other hand. The royal that was supposed to be the main royal's friend had decided to tumble out of bed just like the princess, but his fall was less graceful in a way, perhaps it was just her imagination.
"Are you alright?" Serenity asked, her eyebrow still risen in slight amusement. She watched as the bundle of violet blankets moved in an attempt to get untangled. She looked around the room, seeing basically a standard room with dark walls and dark violet floors. It looked a bit like that one royal's room, the one that had been with her brother...She felt rage built up in her as she thought of them together, she shook her head. No, No. Calm down...
"Yeah!" The royal replied, an arm shooting out of the blankets, the hand attached to it in the form of a thumbs up. "I'm completely fine!" Serenity watched the bundle stand up, the cotton now beginning to fall off the royal and make her blink in surprise as the royal revealed himself, she blushed and looked away.
"Um..." She uttered out. "Shouldn't you have clothes on?" Serenity usually didn't care if people were half naked, but this guy didn't have anything on! Nothing! Nude, plain as day, as naked as naked could get!
Malik stood up, confused when she began to blush and look away. He blinked in realization when she asked the question, oh yeah...He smiled awkwardly, his face turning a slight pink at how strange the situation was.
"Do you mind...uh..." Malik looked to his dresser, scratching the back of his head. "Waiting here while I go..." He trailed off, pointing to the door that would lead to the bathroom. Serenity took another deep breath and exhaled slowly, yeah she could wait. She would gladly wait as long as she didn't have to see this royal flaunt his glory around!
"No. I don't mind, Mr..." She trailed off, what was this royal's name again? She had read it before coming here, but that sudden exposure freaked her out and now she couldn't remember! Something like Marvin? Melvin? Marik?
"Malik." Malik chuckled, walking to the dresser and quickly grabbing the school uniform. "Malik Ishtar." Serenity pouted, her face calming down as she heard him walk into the bathroom. She crossed her arms with a pout.
"I was close enough..."
()()()()()()()()()
"First Joey, and now you." Yugi groaned, stirring his spoon around in his bowl of cheerios, his cheek resting on his free hand. Anzu giggled at the statement, darting her eyes to their silver haired friend who was glaring holes into a Demonology book. Joey rolled his eyes, taking a bite of a biscuit with a glop of jelly in it. Bakura had woken up early in the morning to study for an upcoming test that was apparently tomorrow, and since he was awake he had woken up Joey. He couldn't wake Yugi, because he was already up and studying for other classes. Anzu looked at Joey, seeing him stare down Yugi and his cereal.
"Hey Yugi." Joey spoke, breaking the silence over the little friend group. Yugi rose his eyes to Joey and arched an eyebrow in response. He smirked and mimicked a high voice.
"Don't play with your food." He sung out playfully, making Anzu giggle as Yugi narrowed his eyes and smacked him upside the head.
"Not funny."
"Hey! You always nag at us!"
"Yeah, because I have my reasons."
"And what are those reasons?"
"None of your business."
"Tell me-"
"Will you blokes be quiet?!" Bakura snapped, his eyes raising to his feuding friends. The two looked at him in shock, and slight fear as the boy glared at them. His glare was harsh. Anzu sighed, placing a gentle hand on Bakura's shoulder and making him jump for a split second.
"Bakura, are you okay?" She whispered, concerned for her friend. Bakura sighed, placing a hand on his head and cringed when he felt a slight sting in his skull. Great, he was getting a headache, lovely.
"Yeah, I'm fine..." Bakura replied, looking down next to him to see his black satchel. He reached down and opened it, grabbing a pencil and paper out of it. He began to write, his friends watching him as he began to write out facts he remembered. Yugi stood up, pushing his bowl of half eaten cereal toward his blond friend, who gladly accepted the food. He made his way behind Bakura, looking over his shoulder and raising an eyebrow at one of the sentences he wrote.
"A Succubus is a female demon. The Incubus is the male one." Yugi spoke, placing a small finger on the line that he corrected. Bakura flushed in embarrassment, how could he mess up such a simple fact?! He mumbled out a thanks and corrected it, wincing as he felt the sharp sting in his brain again...
This was not going to be a good day.
()()()()()()()()()()
Serenity sat down on the small loveseat in the room, her legs crossed and her elbow rested on them and her chin rested in her palm, she was supposed to come here, leave, and then go prepare for class. But she hadn't expected the damn royal to go and take a shower! She heard the bathroom door open and almost threw her arms up in relief, finally! Serenity turned her head, finding Malik to be fully clothed in the school uniform with his hair shining with water.
"Sorry about that, let me introduce myself better." Malik walked to her, a friendly smile coming onto his face as he held out a hand. "I'm Malik Ishtar, friend of the royalty that is visiting here, it's nice to meet you, Ms. Wheeler." Serenity's eyes widened, wait...A royal was introducing themselves in a friendly manner? She eyed the hand warily, no, he was going to kiss her hand like all of the others would. She took it hesitantly, becoming incredibly surprised when she was given a firm handshake.
"How do you know my name?" Serenity asked, trying to hide the shock erupting inside her. Malik rose an eyebrow and released her hand, he poked her near her shoulder.
"You're wearing a name tag." He stated with a smile. Serenity blinked in confusion as she looked down and ,indeed, noticed that she was wearing a name tag. She had forgotten all about it!
"Oh..." She laughed, causing Malik to join her in an awkward chuckle. This was odd...No royal acted so normal...But then again, the princess had acted like a child who didn't want to wake up and get out of bed...Mr. Kaiba was a jerk, The prince had acted confused as if he didn't know how to greet someone...Were these royals really royals?
"So, what brings you here?" Malik questioned, crossing his arms and keeping a smile on his face. Serenity inwardly gasped, she had almost forgotten!
"Oh! U-Um..." She thought quickly, clearing her throat and opening her mouth again to speak. "Today, Mr. Ishtar, you are to have your lunch with Bakura Shi in 4th period today in the cabin located behind this dorm." Malik's eyes widened, his face turning a slight pink as he processed this information. It was his turn?! He reached forward and grabbed Serenity's shoulders, shocking her as he stared into her eyes.
"Really?" Malik asked, excitement hinted in his voice. Serenity quickly nodded, to which Malik responded with a loud 'Yes!' and began to hug her to his chest. Her eyes widened, I'm getting hugged by a royal!
"I'm so happy!" Malik cheered, letting her go and looking down at her. "Thank you so much for telling me!" Serenity smiled, a small blush going onto her face, she had never been thanked by a royal before. It felt nice...
"You're welcome, although..." Serenity let out a giggle. "It's just my job."
"You're good at it though!" Malik complimented her, smiling brightly as she let out another giggle. Serenity couldn't help but like Malik, he was nice, much more nice than some royals she knew.
"Why, thank you." She responded, she looked behind her to the door. "I should be going now, I have to get ready for my class to start." Malik nodded in response, before he narrowed his eyes and thought for moment.
"Wait a second..." Malik whispered, happy to find that Serenity did wait. "Are you related to Joey Wheeler?" Serenity blinked at that question, he knew her brother?
"Yes." She responded, hoping that this royal didn't also go after her brother. Serenity liked Malik now, she didn't want to get all protective on him...
"Tell him I said Hi to Aureus, will ya?" Malik requested with a playful wink. Serenity couldn't help but let out a giggle, so he knew about Joey's personal pet, huh?
"I will, Mr. Ishta-" Serenity began before Malik rose a hand to stop her from talking, what did she do? He crossed his arms again.
"Call me Malik." Malik ordered, a pout on his face. "Calling me Mr. Ishtar makes me sound like an old man. Now, try again." Serenity blinked in shock for a moment before she let out a small laugh and smiled brightly at the royal.
"I will. Have a good day, Malik."
()()()()()()()()
Bakura sighed, glaring into the stupid damned book in front of him in his Demonology class. The classroom was creepy in anyone's view, it was surrounded by black, the light only being lit candles in each corner and a small candle on every desk that a student occupied, the teacher's desk was illuminated in a moss green glow as it rested in an corner. The teacher was a man that went by the name of Shadi, he always wore an Egyptian attire and never showed if he had hair or not...Sadly though, despite being a creepy looking teacher, the female students just loved him. Right now he was reading a novel and being pestered by a few females, he ignored them though, which Bakura always admired. How could he ignore them so easily?
Bakura peered back down at his book, feeling his mind spark with a sharp sting that made him wince. He's had the damn headache ever since breakfast, he had tried to make it go away in Mythology, no go there. Yugi had let him sit out while he dug and wrote, it still didn't leave. And now he still had it! He rose a hand to his head, gritting his teeth together, why did he have to get a headache today? The day he was supposed to be studying, he had gotten a headache! Didn't his body know how important this test was?!
Malik looked into the dark classroom, entering quietly and gaping in surprise at how strange the room looked. Wow...He thought, his eyes exploring the room around, it was creepy in a way...But it was beautiful in another sense. The candlelight made the room glow and forced it into a warm temperature that could calm anyone in the room, and the dark made everyone think of nothing but the class they were in, silencing their thoughts from anything but what they needed...He felt eyes look at him and turned to the side to see a strange man surrounded by female students. The teacher rose an eyebrow in question, in his hands held a novel.
Malik bit his lip, not knowing if he should speak to respond to the teacher. His eyes darted across the room, resting them on a silver haired boy that he knew all too well. He gestured at Bakura with both his eyes and hands. The teacher let out a sly smile and nodded at him, directing him to go on ahead to him with his book. Malik nodded in thanks and made his way behind Bakura.
Bakura looked so focused...Malik thought as he could see his interest's face from the side, the boy hadn't noticed him yet. Malik sighed and placed his face near Bakura's, surprised that he still was not sensed or noticed.
"What're you reading?" Malik whispered, shocking the poor boy and making him jump out of his seat quickly, making some of the students stare in their direction. Bakura's eyes widened as he saw Malik, what in god's name was he doing here?! His day was bad enough, why did he have to be here?! He sent a quick glare at all the onlookers and was rewarded with heads turning away from him and the royal. Bakura turned his glare to Malik, sitting down and resuming to read his book. Perhaps he could attempt to mimic his teacher.
"'Kura?" Malik called out softly, taking a seat beside him in a spare chair near him. Bakura winced as his head stung, he glared at Malik, blaming him for the spark of pain just then.
"What?" Bakura hissed out, his glare getting harsher with each second that rolled by. Malik was taken back by this sudden harshness, sure he was used to seeing Bakura mean, but this was way worse than before.
"Are you okay?" Malik questioned, his voice developing a concerned tone. Bakura narrowed his eyes at the blond royal.
"I'm fi-" He stopped briefly, his head sending another pain through his skull. Bakura rose a hand to his head instantly, pressing it firmly to his cranium as if it could help push the pain away. Malik's eyes widened, did he have a headache?
"Do you have a headache?" Malik asked, knowing that he was right if Bakura reacted in a negative way. Well, he was right either way. No one just grabs their head out of nowhere, unless they're completely insane.
"No, I don't have a bloody headache!" Bakura snapped, his voice in a harsh whisper. "Will you get out of here?! I need some peace and quiet!" Malik's eyes narrowed, feeling slightly hurt by the sudden demand. He had only come in to tell him that it was almost time for them to have their lunch, but no. Mr. White-kitty-cat had to get all riled up this afternoon.
Bakura almost gaped in surprised when he saw Malik stand up and walk out of his line of sight. Was he actually going to leave? He felt slender fingers go through his hair, nope...
"What the frig-"
"Shh." Malik breathed in Bakura's ear, sending a vibration through his ear down to his spine. Bakura's face turned a bright red at the shush, what was he doing?
"Just relax, okay?" Malik told him, smiling slightly to himself as he began to massage his fingers over Bakura's scalp with ease. He knew what spots to massage in order to get rid of a headache, he was great at these things. He smiled when he began to feel Bakura's head begin to loosen its muscles.
"Does it feel okay?" Malik asked softly, looking into Bakura's silver hair as his fingers moved across the head with gentle presses and movements. Bakura closed his eyes, feeling his head start to become lighter and his body become less tense. It didn't feel okay...
"Yeah..." Bakura whispered, "It feels great..." He hadn't ever received a massage before, and he would have never guessed that a royal would know how to give one. It was relaxing, just sitting there and feeling someone trail their hands through his hair. It was a shocking sensation that made his body just slump and his mind calm down, he didn't even know that he had had a headache at this point.
"So," Malik spoke, beginning to start a conversation. "What were you reading?" Bakura hummed in response, thinking before opening his mouth. If he tried to talk while being this relaxed, his words would come out in mumbles and gibberish.
"I was studying..." Bakura answered softly. "For a test tomorrow..."
"Ah, is it important?"
"Yeah...There's only-" Bakura stopped, sucking in a quick breath as he felt Malik caress a tender part on his head. Malik smiled and continued to massage that one spot, the tender spots were usually the area where the headache sprouted from.
"Two tests a semester..." He finished, letting out the breath he had inhaled in. Malik couldn't help being happy, he wouldn't even mind skipping the lunch if he could just be like this the whole time...But he didn't think that would be allowed...
"Are they worth a lot?" Bakura scoffed at that.
"Worth about 60% of our grade..."
"That's a bit harsh."
"It's a harsh class..." Bakura closed his eyes. "Hey..."
"Hmm?" Malik responded, looking down at his fingers. Bakura tilted his head back, making Malik move his fingers down with his head as Bakura looked up at Malik as if he was upside down.
"My headache's gone." Bakura told him blankly. Malik's eyes widened, his face turning a slight pink as he quickly retracted his fingers from Bakura's scalp.
"O-Oh..." Malik mumbled out, placing his hands behind his back. "S-Sorry..." Bakura couldn't believe it when a small chuckle left his lips, he turned sideways in his chair, turning his head to Malik so he didn't have to strain his neck.
"It's fine." Bakura responded, "I didn't stop you, so it's okay." Malik turned his eyes to Bakura's, blushing more when he found the boy staring at him, his lips a straight line, but his dark eyes showing a bright smile.
"W-Well..." Malik looked behind himself, noticing in the corner of his eye that the teacher was looking at the two of them with slight amusement in his eyes.
"I-I better go, you must be wanting to study in peace..." Malik began to back up, his hands still behind his back and his head now looking down at the floor. "So, I'll leave you alone now." Malik knew he was supposed to tell Bakura that they needed to have their lunch today, but if this was such a big test...Then he needed all the study time he could get. Food isn't more important than someone's grades...
"You don't have to go if you don't want to." Bakura told him, shocking himself and the royal. Malik shot his eyes up from the floor, his heart pounding faster at the sentence. What? He could see the teacher place his book down and stare at the two of them, his arms crossing and a smile on his face. The female students around him pouted and left him alone, finally knowing that his attention wasn't on them.
"Wait, I mean!" Bakura quickly began to correct himself, feeling his own face begin to light up and his chest get tighter. "Y-You had to come here for some reason, right?" Malik gulped, nodding and refusing to move his violet eyes away from Bakura's chestnut ones.
"W-We're supposed to have our lunch together today..." Malik said, his voice unstable and nervous. Bakura was actually being friendly to him! It was kind of nice...He knew he had to be a little nice, he had cleaned his eyes when he had first met him. But, after that he had acted like he hated him...
"The one where we have to be served?"
"Yeah."
"Oh..." Bakura narrowed his eyes, thinking for a moment. Malik had gotten rid of his headache, and now that Bakura had gotten a better look at him...He wasn't that bad after all...But that didn't mean he liked him, it just meant that he could tolerate him more now. He stood up, walking to Malik.
"I have a better idea." Bakura said, a smirk coming onto his face. Malik blushed, that smirk...He felt his body react in a split second, his face getting hot and his heart going faster and faster, he squirmed under Bakura's gaze.
"T-T-The idea has to wait t-though..." Malik stuttered out, he couldn't speak for anything! "A-After all, t-the lunch was supposed to be during fourth period and it's only third, s-s-so we have-" Malik stopped, a loud ringing sound erupting throughout the classroom, the last bell of the day. The one that announced all classes had ended. The teacher smirked in amusement, while Bakura just smirked because it was funny how perfect the timing was.
"What was that about fourth period?"
()()()()()()()()()()()
"'Kura, are you sure we're allowed to do this?" Malik questioned as he sat in a stool in the cooking class' room. After the bell rang, Bakura had grabbed his wrist and dragged him into the cooking class, after passing by some weird surfer looking guy and asking permission to go in. They had walked in, Bakura had told him to sit down somewhere and then he had put up his hair in a high ponytail and placed a blue apron on himself. Right now, he was cooking on a weird black looking thing. Maybe it was a grill?
"I got permission from Mr. Tsunami, so yes, we are."
"Mr. Tsunami?"
"The cooking class teacher."
"Oh..." Malik shook his head quickly. "That isn't what I meant! I mean, we were supposed to be served and-" Malik shut his mouth in an instant as Bakura turned his eyes to him, shutting him up with that gaze of his.
"I'm sure they won't mind if at least one of the winners don't show up," Bakura grabbed a pair of silver tongs and flipped something, causing it to sizzle. "Also, I owe you for helping me get over my headache." He let out a rare smile as he stared down at his cooking.
"I didn't even know you could cook." Malik grumbled out. Bakura let out a small laugh, of course he wouldn't know. He never talked about cooking around anyone, he didn't even join the cooking class so no one had the slightest clue. Malik wasn't the first to taste his cooking, he was just one of the first to taste his cooking and actually know it was made by him.
"No one does." Bakura turned off the grill and walked to a cabinet, grabbing two plates and silverware. He picked up the food off the grill, placing it onto one plate and placing it in front of Malik, putting the silverware beside him.
"Here." Bakura spoke, feeling slightly nervous. He knew why he was doing this, it was because he was thanking Malik...But, it felt kind of weird to be completely alone with the royal. Odd...He walked to the fridge, looking for something to drink for the both of them.
"Is this steak?" Malik questioned, eying the browned meat in front of him with a hunger in his eyes. Bakura rolled his eyes as he found two cans of coke and grabbed them, placing them both on the table, one being in front of Malik and the other being where he would sit.
"No, it's human." Bakura joked, grabbing the only other steak on the grill and taking a seat across from Malik.
"You're kidding..." Malik laughed, before he stopped and arched an eyebrow in mock seriousness. "Right?" Bakura rolled his eyes and stabbed his steak.
"Yes." Bakura groaned. "Now eat." Malik pouted and grabbed his knife and fork, cutting into the steak to find it easy to get apart, it was tender. He rose a piece to his mouth and took a bite, surprised to find that it was actually pretty good. So, 'Kura can cook? Malik looked to the coke can next to him, what the heck was that? Bakura noticed the glance at the coke can.
"You look like you saw an alien." Bakura commented, pointing at the royal with his fork. Malik blushed in embarrassment and grabbed at the coke can, staring at it as if was an ancient artifact. Bakura rolled his eyes and grabbed it from him, popping it open quickly and handing it back. Malik whispered a thank you and took a sip, enjoying the sizzle in his mouth as the drink filled his mouth.
"They don't have drinks like this in Egypt..." Malik admitted, smiling as he sat the drink down. Bakura rose an eyebrow.
"They don't?"
"No. It's all water and fruit juice, stuff like that."
"Huh. And here I thought royalty had high class soda."
"A high class what?"
"Forget about it." Bakura took a sip of his coke while Malik shrugged and took another bite of his steak. "How is it?" Malik looked at him, moving his eyes back to his food, as if asking if that was what he was talking about. Bakura nodded in response to his gesture.
"It's delicious." Malik told him after he swallowed. Bakura's eyes widened, he smiled softly at the comment, a rare thing to happen for him.
"Thanks..." He whispered, barely loud enough for the royal to hear him. Malik's eyes widened as he stared at Bakura's smile, it made him look so handsome. Bakura stopped smiling and rose an eyebrow in question at Malik, who in turn, panicked and began to try to find a way to explain why he was staring.
"I-I want to try yours!" Malik spoke quickly, pointing at Bakura's steak. Bakura's eyes widened, he began to laugh.
"I don't think you'll like my steak." Bakura laughed more, making Malik pout and cross his arms. He rolled his eyes, muttering out a fine and cutting a piece out of his steak. Malik furrowed his eyebrows together when he could make out that Bakura's food was more red looking than his. Bakura rose his fork to Malik.
"Come on," Bakura wiggled his fork in front of Malik, who just stared at it. "Open your mouth." Malik's face turned pink as he opened his mouth and let Bakura place the steak in it. He closed his lips together, taking the meat off the utensil. He chewed slowly, his eyes widening when he felt a different texture on his tongue.
"Ah! There's blood in this!"
"I told you that you wouldn't like it."
"You didn't tell me it was still alive!"
"It's not alive..."
"There's blood in my mouth!"
"Oh, bloody hell..."
"Exactly!"
"Drink something you idiot!"
()()()()()()()()()()()
"You don't need to walk me back you know..." Malik mumbled out, walking away from the cooking class with Bakura at his side. Bakura shrugged, his hands in his pockets as he walked with Malik to the royal dorm.
"Royals shouldn't walk alone in the dark." Bakura told him blankly. "Don't you have escorts?" Malik pouted, looking down at the dark grass. Bakura was right, it was kind of late...
"I don't have an escort, only royalty does." Malik told him, not afraid to admit that he wasn't a royal. He was so sure Bakura already knew this though.
"You came here with a royal, you're labeled as a royal here because you have a higher status than a lot of the people here, so therefore." Bakura turned his eyes to Malik. "You're royalty." Malik blushed, he felt flattered that Bakura considered him royalty, it wasn't true, but it still felt nice to know someone thought he was.
The two of them walked to the royal dorm. Bakura had to stand and stare at it for a good couple of minutes, he had seen the dorm from far away, but he hadn't been up close to it before.
"Beauty and the Beast much?" Bakura questioned, humor hidden in his voice. Malik chuckled at that.
"I said the same thing when I first saw this place." Malik told him, a smile on his face. Bakura had to laugh at that, it was kind of nice being with the royal. Malik could be annoying, but he was kind of fun, and he was nice...Yeah, he could force himself to tolerate him a little better now.
"Well, I'm going to head off now..." Bakura told the royal, turning to him and letting out another rare smile. Malik turned to him as well, his heart beating fast as they caught each others eyes. He nodded and looked down, causing Bakura to be confused before he felt a force knock into him and slim arms wrap around his neck.
"Thank you for the lunch today, Bakura." Malik whispered as he held tightly onto him. Bakura's eyes widened, his face burning and his chest tightening again, his mouth went dry. Malik had said his full name, and it didn't sound bad coming from him...It sounded better than Kura though, that was for sure. Bakura closed his eyes, letting a barely noticeable smile crawl onto his lips as he lifted one arm and placed it onto Malik's back, pressing him closer to him in a hug.
"You're welcome."
:...Okay Bakura's and Malik's date is the cutest one so far, hands down. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review!: