Hello everyone and thank you again for reading this far. The story is finally at the half way mark and will be speeding along from this point on.
A special thanks to basecannon and SoulDea for following the story!
Happy reading!
Chapter 5
Warmth
A few months had passed since Marik and Mimiki were spending more time with each other. Marik slowly revealed his life to her — how he wasn't allowed to be in contact with the outside world and his siblings. Mimiki drank in amazement in his story. She couldn't imagine living the same life he had. His limited knowledge about things finally made sense to her, but also amused her. The curiosity of the customs of the surface world had infected Marik greatly and he had requested that she'd teach him everything about her world and she gladly accepted. Marik excitedly listened to everything she had to say. Mimiki noticed his excitement as he listened to what she said and smiled inwardly. She decided to poke fun at his ignorance of the world. At times, she told him a lot of lies.
"What do you mean that boys are made from snips, snails and puppy dog tails?! That's repulsive!" Marik said.
"I mean what I just said! And you're right! You boys are gross!" she said while sitting on her bed.
Marik sat in her desk chair and narrowed his eyes at her. "And what are you girls supposed to be made out of?"
"Only the finest things in the world!" she declared proudly.
Marik still sat there, not convinced. "And that is?"
"Sugar, spice and everything nice! The complete opposite of you boys!"
Marik really wasn't convinced. "Liar!" he said.
He quickly took one of her nearby pillows and threw it at her hard enough for her to fall off of her bed with a loud thud. She slowly rose from the ground with her pillow in hand, rubbing the back of her head with her free hand. "Did you really have to throw my pillow at me?!"
"That's what you get for lying! It's bad to lie, you know!" he said as he wagged his finger at her.
"Put a sock in it, Ishtar!" She quickly threw the pillow back at the boy and the two quickly engaged in a pillow fight. Mimiki laughed as she finally gave up.
"Okay, okay! I give up!"
Marik threw the last pillow at her again and smiled. He never had that much fun before. He never thought about playing with pillows before. This was the start of many more pillow fights to come. She also taught him how to play video games and duel monsters, beating him frequently.
Mimiki had also grown more curious about his life as well. He had told her about some of his scriptures and she wanted to learn how to read them. She also wanted to see how he lived, but he would always shy away from the idea. He had always come to her house to play, but never invited her over and she couldn't figure out why.
The two were sitting at the kitchen table, having a drink of water. Marik started to take a sip of his water when Mimiki started to speak.
"So you're always at my house to play. When can I come over to your place to hang out?"
Marik choked a bit at hearing her question. He was weary about bringing her back to his home and remembered how scared she was during her last "visit". Marik didn't want to lose her friendship because of her suppressed fear, but Mimiki really wanted to visit his home. They had always met up at her house and Marik found her house to be pretty amazing since he'd never been inside a real one until recently. Every time she would ask, he would manage to direct the topic elsewhere for the last three weeks. Her constant pestering was chipping away at his resolve. After receiving help from Mimiki by patting him on the back to relieve him of his choking he cleared his throat and tried to think of something to say.
"Uhh...well…"
Mimiki's eyebrow rose as she cupped her face with her hands. "Well what?"
"I always come over because your house is so nice. It's much more fun to be in than at my house."
"I'm pretty sure that your house is just as nice as mine. You live in this area, right?"
Marik looked away slowly. "Yeah...you can say that…"
"Then let me come over." she said with a smile.
"No." he said, turning away from her.
"Why not?!" she asked exasperated, unconsciously slamming both hands on the table, causing Marik to jump a bit. "Friends invite friends over to each other's houses! I told you that, didn't I? Come on! It'll be fun!"
'Why is this girl so persistent?' he thought. "No!"
"Please?" she begged. She stared at him with puppy eyes and smiled sweetly.
He almost blushed and turned away. He was determined to not let her have her way. He was going to put his foot down and exercise his authority. After all, it was his house...or compound.
"No!" he replied strongly.
Mimiki glared at him and crossed her arms. "Fine!" She quietly excused herself and walked to the freezer to glanced at the contents inside. Her eyes fell upon a certain item and she smiled evilly.
"Hey Marik...you want some ice cream?"
Marik's eyes lit up with excitement. "Yes, please!"
Marik had fallen in love with ice cream, strawberry and chocolate in particular. He couldn't get enough of the sweet stuff and would always hope that Mimiki would give him some whenever he came over. She grabbed the necessary items, sat at the table and began to serve herself first. Marik waited for his portion until she sealed the ice cream tub and started eating her portion. Marik shot her a confused look.
"Where's mine?" he asked.
Mimiki took the spoon out of her mouth and gave him a bored look. "You're not getting any. You won't let me come over to your house." she said and quickly took another spoonful.
"Are you kidding me?! Give me that ice cream!"
He quickly lunged for the carton and she grabbed it and pushed his head back, dangling it from her hand far away from him with her spoon in her mouth.
"You want this ice cream?"
He struggled to push towards her, fearing that he could push her out of the chair and hurt her, but he really wanted his ice cream.
"I want it!"
"You want this ice cream?"
"I want it!" he stressed.
"You want this ice cream?"
"I want it, Mimiki!" he yelled with angry, widened eyes. His angry demeanor made her chuckle.
"How bad do you want it?" she asked after taking the spoon out of her mouth.
Marik gritted his teeth. "I want it now!"
"Then take me to your house today! No if's, ands or buts!" she stressed. "This is my final offer, Ishtar. Take it or leave it!"
Marik sighed. "Fine! Just give me the ice cream!"
Mimiki smiled and started scooping a portion for him. "Glad you see it my way, Ishtar." she said as he allowed the dessert to drop in his bowl loudly. Marik glared at her and quickly grabbed the bowl and started eating. He hoped that her visit wouldn't cause a problem.
A little while later, Mimiki stood at the door waiting for Marik. "Come on, slow poke! I'm waiting~~~" she sang with a big smile.
Marik sighed as the two exited the house and headed to the bazaar. He dreaded every step as the got closer to the edge of the of the bazaar where the desert started.
"Oh yeah! I remember! You live out there! Let's go!"
She started to skip ahead as he stayed behind, watching her behavior. He slowly caught up to her and showed her to the entrance of the tomb. He held his hand out to guide her down the long stairway. Mimiki stood there, frozen and Marik noticed that Mimiki started to shake a little.
"What's wrong? You're not afraid of the dark, are you? It won't be dark for long, I promise."
"I'm not afraid of the dark!" she said slightly snapping at him, causing him to jump a bit. Mimiki noted the look of worry on his face.
"Sorry Marik...I don't know what came over me…"
She quickly tried to push her feelings aside as Marik grew worried for her and grabbed her hand. "If you don't want to go, we can go back." he offered.
Mimiki blushed as she looked at their hands. A wave of peace took over and she started to calm down and squeezed his hand slightly.
"It's okay. I know that I'll be safe with you. It's your home after all." she replied smiling.
Marik smiled and returned her gesture and led her down the stairs after closing the door. Mimiki stared in amazement at the various art on the walls.
"This is so cool Marik! It's even better than the pictures on the internet!"
Marik smiled at her acting like a young child. They finally reached the bottom of the stairs until a voice interrupted them.
"Marik? You're back so—" Ishizu had appeared from around the corner from a nearby hallway. Her eyes quickly focused themselves on Mimiki and she jumped slightly. 'Great, he brought the young girl! I should've seen this coming…'
Marik noticed her behavior and shot her a look pleading 'please don't fight with me' plastered on his face. Ishizu quickly fixed her face and smiled. She knew that this would happen sooner or later, so she decided she'd make the best of the situation.
"Marik you're back so soon! And you've brought a friend!"
Marik nodded. "Yes, this is Mimiki. Mimiki, this is my sister, Ishizu. You two met for a brief moment when we first met, remember?"
Mimiki noticed how beautiful Ishizu was, especially her eyes. They reminded her of a calm ocean midday.
"Wow! You're even more beautiful than I remember! Marik you have a model for a sister! A queen, even! That's so cool!"
Ishizu didn't know how to accept the compliment. She was still getting used to half of the lingo that Marik would rattle on about. She didn't even know what a model was, but she assumed that it was something pleasant. Marik didn't see what the big fuss was about. She was just his plain, older sister. Nothing new.
"It's no big deal, Mimiki. It's just my sister."
Mimiki turned to him and shot him an angry look. "Don't say that! You should be nicer to your sister! You should always treat us ladies with respect!"
Ishizu resisted letting a chuckle escape her lips. 'I like this girl. Tell him the truth!'
Marik rolled his eyes. "Whatever. And since when were you a lady? You're the youngest person here."
Mimiki growled at him. "A lady is lady, regardless of her age!" she shot back before sticking her tongue out at him. "It's nice to meet you, Ishizu!" Ishizu nodded and smiled.
"I'm going to give her a small tour. Is that okay?" Marik asked. Ishizu nodded with a smile. "Yes. I'll have Odion prepare some tea for you both."
"Okay, thank you!"
Marik showed her around the tomb, carefully avoiding the room in which his father had died. He didn't want her to relive those memories, and he didn't want to do the same. They eventually came across a small maze and played tag inside of it. After a while, he eventually lead her to his room and rested from their game as they sat on his bed. Odion had brought them tea shortly afterwards.
"Master Marik, is this your new friend that Miss Ishizu had spoken of?" he asked as he sat the drinks on the desk.
"Yes, Odion. This is Mimiki. Mimiki, this is my brother, Odion."
Mimiki smiled sweetly at him and extended her hand to him. "Hi! It's nice to finally meet you!"
Odion shook the young girl's hand and thought back to the day the Mr. Ishtar was killed. Marik had mentioned that the young girl didn't remember the horrid event and it was now apparent that she didn't remember seeing Odion that day. He was glad that it didn't strain their relationship and was glad that she didn't remember it.
"It's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance as well, Miss Mimiki. Master Marik has told me much about you. It seems like you two have become good friends. I'm glad that Master Marik has such a beautiful young lady to associate with."
Mimiki blushed as Marik scoffed. "Marik! You didn't tell me that your brother was such a gentleman! He definitely knows how to treat a lady! He's just like a prince...unlike you!" she said, giving the boy another raspberry.
Odion chuckled and replied "Thank you, Miss Mimiki. I'm flattered."
Marik scoffed again. "I' am a gentleman!"
Mimiki raised an eyebrow. "Since when? You're the youngest boy here. I think you have a long way to go!" she teased.
"Don't use my own words against me, Mimiki!"
Odion couldn't help but laugh at the two as they continued to fight. "I'll leave you two to your play time. Please let me know if you two need anything else."
"Thank you Odion!" they replied in unison. Odion retrieved his tray and left the room, leaving them in silence for a while as they drank their tea.
"Marik," she said breaking the silence.
"Hm?" he replied quietly as he looked towards her.
"Thank you for today. It was very fun. Everything was perfect."
Marik blushed a little, turning away. "You're welcome."
"Can we do this again?"
"Sure." Marik turned to her to meet her eyes.
She smiled gently and blushed lightly as she looked down into her cup of tea, fingering the clay cup. "Thanks for letting me in, Marik."
Marik blushed again. He started to feel warm inside. Her heart felt light as well. They were looking forward to making more memories together.