Spirit of the puzzle (book 1)

Chapter 15: unexpected arrival

Loud and obnoxious chatter rings through the crowded halls as Yugi fights his way through the crowd. The grating laughter of a large group of scantily dressed girls sets my teeth on edge. I look back at Yugi. How does he put up with this constant storm of noise almost all week? It must be a struggle.
Yugi is struggling to make it through the hallway because of all the oblivious people forming a barrier in the middle of the hall. He struggles to squeeze past them without disturbing them...I would have shoved them out of my way, but that's why I'm not Yugi. He seems to be making good progress until he comes upon a boy that is almost three times his height. I can tell just by looking at this boy's face that he is a brute. He sticks his foot out as Yugi tries to pass. My aibou stumbles.
My arms shoot out to catch him but another set of arms ensnare him. A boy with deep tan skin and faded gold hair cradles my Yugi in his arms. He smiles down at Yugi with an uncomfortable sense of awkwardness and apology. The look appalls me. The mere fact that this boy is so casually touching my hikari is repulsive. I struggle to repress my anger and bitter resentment towards this boy.
"Are you ok?" He asks with an accent that sends shivers down my spine.
"Yeah." Yugi says with a sheepish smile. "Thanks." The boy releases his grip on Yugi as he stands there awkwardly. "That was very kind of you."
"Don't worry about it." He says with a small grin. "My body just moved. I don't like seeing anyone get hurt."
"Still, thank you."
The boy sticks his hand out. "My name is Marik Ishtar. What's yours?"
"My name's Yugi." He says taking the boy's hand. "It's nice to meet you."
"The pleasure is all mine." Marik's eyes drift away from Yugi and rest on me. My eyes narrow in suspicion when his eyes don't continue to drift, they remain locked on me. He shouldn't be able to see me at all, so how does he know that I'm standing right here? There is something about this boy that isn't quite right. His eyes quickly return to Yugi who is smiling up at him with his innocent naïveté. The pair walk down the hall together continuing to converse as I follow closely behind Yugi like a shadow, not allowing my eyes to stray away from this child.
"It doesn't sound like you're from around here." Yugi says kindly. "Are you new here?"
"Yes actually." He says with a smile. "My sister and I actually came here from Egypt. She is setting up an exhibit here."
I knew it. This boy is Egyptian. The longer I look at him the more painfully obvious it becomes. He may be Egyptian, but that doesn't mean I trust him. There is a darkness that is surrounding this boy. Its presence unsettles me. It is overpowering for someone so young and alive. It is becoming painfully obvious that there is more to this boy than there seems, just like my Yugi.
The conversation between the boys continues as I prod through Marik's bag. My heart stops for a few seconds when I find the millennium rod in his possession. How did this boy come to possess the millennium rod?! I had this particular artifact sealed away in my mother's tomb. It's impossible that he would just happen upon it.
"Well this is my class. I'll see you later Marik." Yugi says as he stands in the doorway of his classroom.
"Goodbye Yugi." Yugi turns away from him and walks into the class. The hall empties of students until all that remains is Marik and myself. His eyes never drift from mine as we stand staring at one another. He smirks at me with a cold gaze. His shoulder brushes past me as he walks past. "Follow me, pharaoh." He whispers menacingly. I glare at his insolence to try and intimidate me. He is merely a child. A child that holds the answers to my questions. I turn on my heel and follow him down the abandoned hall.

Wind tousles our hair as we stand on the rooftop balcony of the school building. Aggravation claws at my mind as we stand up here. Marik hasn't said a word since he invited me up here. It has become painstakingly obvious that he can see me and knows who I am, but the real question is who is he? I would have that answer if he would just open his damn mouth to speak!
"What are you Marik?" A deep laugh escapes his lips as he looks at me with a vicious glint in his eyes.
"I am flesh and blood just like you are pharaoh...or you were." He says with a smirk that makes my blood boil.
"No one of flesh and blood would be able to see me as clearly as you do. Not without knowing of my presence originally."
"Are you doubting my existence?" He smirks mischievously. His steel gray eyes gleam with his madness. "Coming from a spirit that should have passed on thousands of years ago that's rather hurtful."
"Answer my question! What are you?" His smirk falters. He almost seems disappointed that I'm not prolonging his insane monologue. It would appear that he rather enjoys to hear himself talk. I will grant him the pleasure of hearing his own voice as long as he answers my questions in return.
"You can't tell?" He says with narrowed eyes. "I suppose you can't. You are relying solely on your eyes and not your senses! So tell me, pharaoh, what do you see?"
"A boy struggling to impress me. That is what I see."
"It would seem that your wit hasn't faded throughout the centuries, my pharaoh." He walks towards me. His face mere inches away from my own. "But you would be foolish to only assume me a boy."
"Oh really?"
"I am so much more than that. You and I knew each other very well in ancient Egypt."
"Funny. I have no memory of you."
"Ofcourse not, you were more concerned with yourself than worrying about the people you were ruling over." Blood roars in my ears as I struggle to contain my anger. The mere insolence of his words enrage me even though I know that they ring with truth. "I would have thought that even you would have recognized my face." He says with a sneer. His gaze on my face seems more meaningful than before.
"Sorry," I say coldly. "I don't remember nobodies." His face glows with rage. I can feel his rage radiating off his face in waves, warming my skin. I smirk into his steel gray eyes that look lifeless now. "Have I angered you, boy?" His hand shoots out and wraps itself around my throat. I don't even flinch when he squeezes.
"You should truly be more wary of what you say to me." He says with a deep baritone voice dripping with madness. Now that voice brings back memories. "You may not be able to speak again."
"Hello Ammon." His grip on my throat tightens at my words.
"That is not my name!"
"I know." He looks at me suspiciously through lifeless eyes. "It just suits you so well, considering you are trying to conceal your name. It is only natural that I would call you a name that describes what you are doing: hiding." A menacing growl slips through his lips, and his hand releases my throat and falls back to his side. His head is bowed slightly so that his eyes are invisible to me.
"It would seem that you have remembered your place in this hierarchy Malik."
"I certainly remember yours." His eyes peer up at me through his tattered locks that have frayed in several directions. "On the ground, drowning in your own blood."
The color red flashes before my eyes and when I blink I find my hand squeezing the life out of Malik. I have slammed his body onto the cement floor of the balcony so hard that there are cracks etching their paths out towards the edges of the balcony. Malik claws at my hand as I continue to tighten my grip. A twisted sense of pleasure fills me as I watch his face convulse in pain and his lips begin to turn blue.
"What's wrong Malik? Not so mighty without your breath?" There is a flash of gold as the millennium rod flies out of Marik's bag and into his hand. The rounded edge of the rod is slammed right in between my eyes and I collapse in pain beside the panting form of Malik.
/"Yami what's going on?"/ Yugi asks worriedly.
/"Nothing aibou...pay attention to your class."/
/"I can't. I'm in the nurses because my head felt like it was going to crack open. What's going on?"/ I ignore him as Malik begins to stir. /"Yami!"/
"What do you want from me?" I hiss out in pain as I stagger to my feet. My coordination suffering from the intense blow to the head. "What is the purpose of coming back here?"
"You still don't understand." Malik staggers to his feet one of his hands gently cradling his neck in his palm. "You haven't learned at all. Five thousand years and still a fool."
"The only fool I see here is you."
"You will learn from your mistakes pharaoh." He says as he staggers towards the stairs. His form pauses beside me. "You will learn very soon." He says before slamming his fist into my skull. The world fades into darkness as I fall to the ground.
Damn you...Malik.