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Ok... this is my first YGO fic... so don't kill me if it's bad. _;;
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It wasn't the first time they had all forgotten his birthday. The day started like any other day; the mailbox was empty, as was the house.
Even Malik Ishtar himself had almost forgotten as he woke up that ever-warm spring day in Egypt. Of course, this was no surprise seeing how he did forget the year before, and spent that whole year thinking he was still 15. He was a very preoccupied 15-year-old those days. What he was preoccupied with seemed vague and sporadic in Malik's 17-year-old mind. Not that he ever tried all that hard to remember. It was a piece of his life he wasn't all that keen on remembering, for a number of reasons.
Thus it was almost like Malik had grown two years older that day. Personally, he would be celebrating his 16th and his 17th. He wondered at that point if anyone else had remembered at all.
Malik got up after much thought and a jolt of realization when he discovered it was his special day. He left his messy bed unmade, and his clothes unchanged (A pair of baggy pants and no shirt would do fine for the day). He stood in front of the full-length mirror that was among one of the only things in his room. The other things were a desk, a closet, a bed, and a pile of clothes in the far corner.
He hadn't grown much in the past two years, he observed of his reflection. He was still fairly short for his age, and had the same lean-yet-muscular build. His complexion was dark, a result of being a native of Egypt, and (oddly enough) his hair was platinum blond. His eyes were a deep purple, and just below them were two of his many 'tattoos'. Nothing had changed much in the past few years, he thought; at least, nothing physical.
Where as a good deal of himself changed mentally.
Malik shivered involuntarily at the memories that surfaced in his head.
Too much had changed.
He left his room to brood in the kitchen. With any luck is older sister may have left some sort of a birthday breakfast for him before going to work. The kitchen was breezy and warm, as the windows were open, but there was no meal for the birthday boy.
Malik sighed and opened the fridge. He drank what was left of the milk straight from the carton (his sister would have had a hissy-fit) and grabbed a pizza-pop from the freezer.
A thought hit him as he scarfed down the warm pizza-flavoured mush. Maybe he got a letter! Rashid was two days gone on some business, but surely he would have remembered his half-brother's birthday!
Malik trotted over to the front hall where his sister had not yet seen the mail. Picking the letters up, he signed in defeat. All junk.
He sat down again. Two let-downs in one day-- he could tell today was not going to be as fun as he had hoped. But then, as he tossed the fliers one by one across the room, he found something.
The new-found letter could have easily have been missed. As he was looking for his name written in Arabic, he has skimmed past the all-Japanese letter. Although Arabic was his spoken language, it did not mean he not summon up his lost ability to read Japanese.
The letter was addressed to him personally, and was from someone he would have never expected to hear from again for the rest of his life.
Ryou Bakura.
Why on Earth would *he* want to write to *me*?? Malik thought wildly, turning the letter over and practically ripping it open.
How are you? I'm sure you will find this letter a bit out of place, so I will explain. Rashid has come to Domino City on business, as I am sure you are aware, and has taken the time to visit Yugi-kun and myself on your behalf. He tells us that you are not attending school or making friends in your new home in Alexandria. Perhaps you would like to come visit us, and ,maybe even make friends here. I'm sure we can all put the past behind us. I know I can. Maybe you can stay at my house.
Yours,
Ryou. ^_^
Well, Bakura's right about one thing, thought Malik as he read the letter over again, this letter is WAY out of place.
Malik had almost killed Ryou, more than once, and that was even before… he showed up.
And that Rashid! He just *had* to go telling everyone that his poor half brother needed friends! Malik knew that Rashid had good intentions, but did he have to tell half the world about his personal life?
Well, maybe not half the world-- actually not even half of Domino City. Just Yugi and Ryou.
Ryou… why on Earth could he trust Malik??
Malik put down the letter finally and held his head. He was beginning to think in circles, which usually meant he should stop thinking all together for a while.
Of course, dispite what he did to keep himself occupied that day, his mind still lingered on the thought.
Maybe I do need friends…
*~*~*~*~*
By the end of the day Malik had reached some sort of a decision. All he had to do now was talk to his sister.
Unfortunately, Isis Ishtar didn't want to talk to him.
"Please leave me alone, Malik" she said as soon as she saw him after work. She worked for the museum, but seldom did she have to come home this late.
"But, hang on," Malik said, holding the letter in hand and pattering after his sister as she retreated into the living room. "let me ask you one thing!"
"What?" she snapped. Her dark eyes were cold and her dark skin slightly flushed in frustration. Malik should have been afraid.
"I have a request." He began, handing her the letter. "Can I go to Japan?"
She read the letter in a flash and flung it back to him. "Are you insane?" she said to his disappointment. "You? Running amok in Domino City? Again?" Her expression flashed a sort of You-Know-What-Happened-Last-Time look that should of made him feel guilty.
But Malik was determined. "Rashid will be there." He insisted. "And I'm not going to do… that again!"
"Rashid is due back here tomorrow" she snapped, gathering the newspapers on the table beside her and looking as thought the discussion was closed.
"Don't you trust me at all?" he practically yelled, somehow already knowing the answer.
"MALIK! You are a little boy with a bad record!" She always used this grounding. It meant 'I am older than you'. "Who would trust you??" She looked angrier than she had been in ages.
"I'M NOT A LITTLE BOY ANYMORE!" he suddenly yelled, a new topic surfacing. He too was getting angry now. A sudden pain shot in the back of his neck, but he ignored it. "If you haven't noticed I'm 17 today!!"
There was a slight pause as Isis took this in.
"THAT MAKES NO DIFFERENCE!!" she yelled back.
She doesn't care about you...
"You are still a child,"
She just wants to control you...
"...AND I STILL HAVE CONTROL OVER YOU! If you think for one moment that--"
But Malik didn't stay to hear the rest. He had grabbed his cloak and bolted out the door. Not because he was angry, but because he was scared-- scared of that shooting pain in the back of his neck, and angry voice in his head yelling so loudly now that he could only make out one thing repeated over and over again.
KILL HER!
He ran past confused pedestrians and through traffic lights, barely aware of his surroundings. But he couldn't run from it. It was still there, yelling loudly, and straining to pull him back to where his house and sister were.
Hours later, under the heat of the afternoon sun, the boy cowered in some unknown corner deep in the heart of Alexandria, holding his head, and crying.
It was then that Malik decided on something. It may have been him that did, or maybe it was that angry voice still pounding in his brain, but either way it was set.
I'm going to Japan.
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Mwahaha! That's the end of chapter 1! Please R&R!
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