Hello everyone! I know that you've all been waiting to read what happens next, especially after how everything ended in the last chapter.

Thank you JellOtaku for adding/favoring the story! Also, if you want to see Mimiki in her birthday dress, please check out my deviantart page, my username is the same as it is here.

Please enjoy this chapter and review!

Chapter 9

Realization

Marik starting shaking again as more tears flowed. Her question kept replaying in his mind as he broke down. "Mimiki! I'm sorry! I didn't—"

"I think that you did enough, Marik! You let me die! You let that storm and snake kill me!" she spat with venom.

"Look...I know that this is my fault! I'm sorry! If I could make this all better, I would! Honest!"

She stared down at him, unmoved by his words. Her stare kept drilling into his soul, making him feel insignificant as he waited for a response. "Please talk to me, Mimi!" he pleaded as he cried. She stayed silent again for a moment as her movements showed her pondering over his words.

"Hmm...you want to make this all better, right Marik?"

"Yes! More than anything Mimi! Tell me what to do and I'll do it!" he cried desperately, tears still falling rapidly. Her devious smile deepened as she chuckled and closed her eyes for a moment.

"Fine then. Go home and kill your family or yourself. It doesn't really matter, I don't care."

Marik's heart stopped. How could she say that so carefree and with a smile? Marik thought he was hearing things until her words finally registered in his head. "What…? Mimiki...you're not serious!"

"I'm as serious as a heart attack, Marik. What's the problem? You've already killed me, so honoring my request should be easy, so add them to your resume. It's only fair, right? A life for a life!" Then she started to assume a thinking gesture and spoke again. "Actually, my life is worth at least two or three lives, don't you think?" she asked happily.

Her eyes quickly widened with a idea. "Here's an idea! Why don't you start with Odion first? He is the oldest, after all."

Marik sat there and stared at her in disbelief. Since when did she become so ruthless and uncaring? It was like he didn't know who she was. Did death really have that affect on her? Who was this girl and what did she do with his best friend? Marik gasped as her features were slowly changing: her teeth seemed to grow sharper and her eyes looked like an angry cat. His heart was slowly breaking and he started to panic. 'I don't know what to do!' he screamed mentally as he ripped his fingers through his hair.

She drank in his disbelief and panic, loving that his negative feelings were making her stronger and continued to egg him on further. "Come on! Think about it, Ishtar! Odion was never meant to be in the Ishtar clan and your father treated him like shit, especially after you were born! You were practically the cause of his pain for the last thirteen years, so ending his life for him is like doing him a favor!"

Marik looked up at her, afraid to ask his next question, but the words fell from his mouth. "And why Ishizu?" She pipped up at his question and smiled widely.

"Ishizu, you ask? You can kill her so I can have a friend here in the afterlife. It's rather dull over here with no friends around. I mean, none of my friends from home are dead yet! None of their other friends pissed them off and let them slip into a freak weather accident to kill them like you did!" she stressed with a toothy smile. "Come on, it's the least you could do."

Marik shook at her words and couldn't find the courage to speak. The overwhelming guilt suffocated him as his eyes widened with despair and he felt his world crash around him. He started to feel like he was losing control and his eyes became blank as he fell to his knees. She folded her arms in pleasure. The plan was working perfectly. She walked up to him and quickly grabbed his chin and then looked into his eyes.

"Besides, how can you go back home and tell them that you killed me? Your family would disown you, so kill them anyway! Ishizu was already pissed at you for ruining my day along with stealing my first kiss, so do it Marik! This is all your fault so make everything better!" she yelled sternly with veins forming on her face.

"Yes...Mimi...I'll do it...if it makes everything better..." he said with his head facing the ground.

She smirked, released his chin and placed her hands on her hips. "Glad you see it my way. It's good to know that you know that you can't win an argument with a girl. We'll always be right."

'My plan is working perfectly! Now to add more damage by putting the icing on the cake!' she thought.

"Do you need more reasons to why you should do this? What about your dear mother and father?"

Marik gave her a hollow, depressed looked. "Mother...and father?" he asked quietly.

Although his father was a complete tyrant most of the time, he still held love for the late Ishtar and his mother died after giving birth to him. Tears welled up in his eyes again. 'Another person died because of me…' he thought sadly. He felt like his heart and spirit was almost completely broken at this point and couldn't take the pain any longer.

"Yes...your father is already dead thanks to the pharaoh, and your mother lost her life giving birth to your useless ass, tsk, what a pity!" she said while examining her nails. She looked up at him and felt like his breaking point was near.

"So do them a favor Marik and send their beloved children to them! Now go!" she said pointing towards the tomb.

He stood up and turned around to go home upon her request but wouldn't move. He stayed there for a while until she got frustrated. "What are you waiting for?! Go!" she yelled, but he didn't comply. Although he felt crushed by the darkness and her words, something didn't feel right in his heart. It was like a small spark in his heart was still lit and was telling him not to give up. The young girl growled loudly.

"Do it now, Marik!"

"No…" he whispered.

Her eyes shrank in disbelief and anger. "What was that?! I said go!"

He turned around and faced her with his hair covering his eyes. He could hear the voices of the ones he loved telling him not to give up. Life returned to his eyes and his heart burned with resolve. "You're not Mimiki!"

Her eyes widened and she took a step back. "Of course I am! What makes you think that! There's only one of me!"

He looked up at her with an angry face. She was starting to panic. How could he recover like that so quickly? "If you're Mimiki, then how did you know that the pharaoh killed my father?! I never told her that!" She stepped back again and gasped once she realized her mistake of talking too much.

"Of course you have! During our many talks you've—"

"No! I've made sure that she didn't know until I was ready to deal with it myself! She doesn't even remember what happened! And how did you know about the fight Ishizu and I had? Mimiki was gone by then! Mimiki would never make me feel so low like you have! Besides, look at you! You're ugly inside and out! Mimiki would never allow such evil to escape her lips!"

His mind rushed through the many memories they shared. Thinking of her smile, her laugh, her kindness and even her teasing made his heart warm. He knew that the thing standing before him was definitely not his friend. "You are not my friend! Leave, demon!"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I almost had you!" she screamed. "You've think you've won this battle, huh? Mark my words, I'm closer than you think! You haven't seen the last of me! I will have my day! You better believe that!" she said before disappearing into the darkness.

Marik jumped up and wiped the sweat from his forehead and he tried to calm his breathing. He looked around to find everything was the same; the hot sunny day, the sand and Mimiki's motionless body.

"It was a dream...an illusion…a really horrible one..." he sighed as he looked down at her again. He had never felt so horrible like that ever since his tomb keeper initiation, but that evil spirit threw him for a loop. He tried to brush it aside and focused on Mimiki again. He pushed her bangs away from her face as a tear fell on her cheek. Nothing had changed, and it was nothing he could do about it.

"But I wish that you were still alive…" he said as he closed his eyes shut for a moment as he held her close again.

After a few minutes, a gentle breeze washed over them and he heard a faint noise. He listened in closely and felt like he was having a heart attack. He looked at her again to confirm the sound. He thought the desert heat was making him mad and he was seeing things, but it was there as clear as day: she was breathing very slowly. She also had a small smile on her lips and was sweating. She was alive!

He picked her up bridal style and took her back to the tomb before her condition could reverse itself. Lady luck seemed to be on his side and he wasn't going to ruin his second chance.

Once he returned home, Marik quickly called his siblings for help. They took her into his room and carefully sat Mimiki on the bed and removed her headdress and jewelry to make her more comfortable. The elder Ishtars examined her bite wound.

"She could've been bitten by a cobra, a horned viper, or a saw scaled viper. Either way, their venom can be quite lethal. We have to administer an antidote quickly. Odion can you run to our storage room to obtain one vile of our most powerful antidotes? I'm going to retrieve some water, medicine and towels to clean her wound and stabilize her body temperature."

"Yes, Miss Ishizu. I'll return shortly." He quickly made his leave.

"What should I do?" Marik asked quietly with a hint of worry. "What can I do to help, sister?"

Ishizu looked at him with an expression of seriousness. "You'll stay here and watch over her until we return, although I won't be long. Right now she needs to be strictly monitored until she recovers." Marik replied with a somber 'that's it' look. "Okay."

His eyes became glassy again and he tried his best to hide it. She hated seeing him like this and knew that her prior scolding rant was a factor in his frustration. She hugged him softly.

"Marik, I know that I was cruel to you earlier and for that, I apologize. I love you, little brother and I always will. Mimiki is fighting for her life right now so you'll have to fight for her too, understand?"

He cried as he returned her hug. "I'm so sorry! If I didn't—"

Ishizu quickly quieted him and replied "I know, and it's in the past now. Let's help her recover, okay?" Marik nodded and the two separated before Ishizu left to fetch her supplies. After a minute or so, they returned. Odion administered the antidote, cleaned and wrapped the wound while Ishizu patted the young girl dry, placed a cold compress on her forehead, and tried to make her more comfortable as Marik watched.

After an hour, they were able to stabilize her condition and she was sleeping soundly. "What do we do now? Will she be okay?" Marik asked.

Ishizu and Odion smiled. "Yes Master Marik, she'll be fine. She's been through a lot, so she needs to rest. She should feel better by the time she wakes up." he replied.

Marik sighed with relief and smiled. "That's great!"

"We'll just keep monitoring her until she wakes up, but overall she'll be fine. I'm going to inform her parents of the situation so they won't worry about her. Marik, please watch over her until I return. I'll try to make my trip short."

Marik nodded. "Okay. Be safe, sister."

Ishizu flashed him a smile and left the room. Odion decided to give him some time alone and left to clean the mess from the party. Marik pulled his desk chair over to the bed and watched over her. He never thought he'd be so happy to hear someone snore lightly in his life. He laughed a bit at her snoring and he knew she'd kill him if he teased her about it.

'I promise that I won't tease you about this Mimi. Keep on snoring.'

He continued to watch over and took care of her long after Ishizu had returned. After changing her compress again, he yawned as became drowsy. He gave her small hand a gentle squeeze before falling asleep by her side, laying his head and arm on the edge of the bed.

Several hours later, Mimiki stirred awake and tried to open her eyes. Her vision finally cleared and she panicked when she saw the brick ceiling. She tried to sit up quickly and get a feel of the situation, but that had proved difficult as her head fell back onto the pillow. She felt like she had been hit by a semi truck and was a little dizzy. As she tried to rub her eyes, she noticed that something was on her right hand. She turned over to find Marik cupping her hand, sleeping soundly and snoring lightly, looking like an innocent child. Questions quickly filled her head as she tapped him awake. "Marik! Wake up!"

He quickly jumped up and shook his head around as he awoke from his slumber. When he saw her big blue eyes staring back at him, his excitement quickly took over as he dove down and hugged her tightly.

"Mimi! You're alive! You're okay! You're really okay!" he cried.

"Uh huh…" she replied back slowly. "Can you let go of me, please? I can't breathe…"

Marik quickly released her and helped her sit up against the wall. "I'm sorry...I guess I got a little carried away. You have no idea how happy I am to hear you talking again. How are you feeling, Mimi?" he replied smiling as he sat next to her on the bed.

Mimiki looked down and straightened out the creases in the sheets. "It's okay. I'm fine." she assured him. She looked around and noticed her belongings were sitting in the corner and that her jewelry was missing. She finally looked up at him in confusion. "Marik, what happened? How did I end up back here? I thought that I was—"

"Dead?" he asked sadly. A sad silence fell over them. Mimiki's eyes started to become glassy as she recollected her memories.

"I died…" she said sadly. She noticed that Marik was looking down to the ground and tried to avoid her gaze. He started shaking and sniffling was heard as tears flooded his eyes.

"And it was all my fault! It was all my fault…"

Marik stopped sobbing when he felt Mimiki's sudden embrace. She rubbed his head gently as his continued to cry again. She quieted him until he calmed down. "It's okay, Marik. I'm fine, really."

He quickly pulled away from her and shouted "No! It's not okay! You were not okay at all, Mimi! I found you buried under the sand, DEAD!"

Marik continued to cry harder and Mimiki started to feel worse. "No...if I didn't get mad at you and left from here, I would've been okay. You know me...I'm a drama queen, right? I should've handled my feelings a bit better."

"Stop making excuses, Mimi! It was my fault and don't act like it wasn't! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" he shouted again as he continued to cry. Mimiki was taken aback by his outburst and sat there in silence, not knowing what to say to him. She'd never seen him in such a state, so she hugged him again until he calmed down.

"Marik...when I left, I was really mad at you. I had ran away and didn't notice that the sand storm was coming until the heat had gotten to me. Once I realized it, I tried to run back here, but I had already felt sick from the heat, so I hid in that rock enclosure...and that's where that snake bit me. I was so scared...I hate snakes...the bite had hurt a lot...I tried to rip that thing off of my leg and threw it as far as I could. My ankle was throbbing and I felt even worse. The storm came in and I couldn't breathe...I remember passing out soon afterwards."

Guilt started to take over again as Marik looked up at her sadly as she closed her eyes. "When I woke up, I was in meadow. It was really peaceful and serene...the air, the grass, the water...even the sky was different! It was perfect. I've never felt that good in my life and I didn't want to leave. I didn't know that I dead until two angels came for me."

Mimiki opened her eyes again and looked up to the ceiling. "But then I heard your voice...you asked me to come back, didn't you?"

"Yes…" he said quietly.

"Hearing your voice made me want to come back. The angels told me that it wasn't my time to leave. They told me to follow your voice back to the other side. When I came back, I saw you holding me until the breeze lulled me back into my body and I was asleep again."

Marik stayed silent, not knowing what to say. "Don't you get it, Marik? If it weren't for you, I would've stayed on the other side. You saved me, Marik. Please don't cry anymore."

Hearing her words made him hug her tighter and she had shed some tears as well. After a few minutes, he sat back up and she cupped his face with a free hand and wiped his tears away.

"You're my hero, Marik. I can't thank you enough! I'm sorry that I put you through this...I won't do it again...I won't get mad again...I promise!" she said as she started crying.

Marik started to smile a bit and reached for a clean spare hand towel and wiped her tears away. "Don't promise that, Mimi. You get mad all the time. You're the drama queen, remember?"

"But I promise this time! Honest!" she exclaimed. Seeing the worried, yet lively expression on her face made his heart feel light again. She was with him and alive and nothing else could make him happier. He wanted to stay like this with her forever. He smirked when she puffed her cheeks. "You don't believe me, do you Marik?"

"Not at all, Mimi." She quickly snatched the towel from him and playfully hit him with it as he laughed. "I can't stand you, sometimes. I can be nice and you know it!"

"Sure you can…" he said while still laughing.

"Would you shut up and listen to me?!" she asked.

He quickly stuck his tongue out and replied, "Sure, if you can make me!" She groaned and quickly thought of a plan.

"Fine! I will!" She quickly grabbed his face and caught him in a sweet kiss. The two teens blushed as he wrapped her in a hug and finally relaxed. In the hallway, Ishizu tried her best not to squeal and Odion smiled. They were happy that they were on good terms again.

Mimiki quickly broke their kiss and stuck her tongue out at him. She laughed at the poor boy, who was still in a daze.

"Oh look! You're quiet! You're cute when you're quiet." she said sarcastically. "That's what you get!"

Marik was still blushing and his lips felt like they were tingling.

'She kissed me! She actually kissed me!' he thought happily as he remained in his daze for a minute.

Mimiki sat there and laughed lightly. He was such a goof to her before, but now he was her knight in shining armor. She lightly touched her lips, as they were still tingling from their kiss and smiled again.

"But seriously, thank you Marik...for everything." she said turning her head away from him. She didn't want him to see her blush.

Marik smiled warmly at her and relaxed as he hugged her again. "No Mimi, thank you."

The two teens soon settled into their old routine. They talked away as if nothing negative happened that day until Mimiki fell back asleep. During that time, their hearts beat in unison with one another with a feeling they both never felt before. Marik tucked her in and rested his eyes on her sleeping figure and smiled lovingly at her again. After today, Marik came to realize how he truly felt about his best friend.

'I love you, Mimi.'