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Description
This is a rewrite from an old Yu-Gi-Oh! fanfic I wrote over 10 years ago. This is a Marik/OC set years before Battle City. If you want to see a picture of my OC Mimiki Maiyaka, please browse through my gallery. Have fun and happy reading!

Chapter 1 - Encounter

She quietly unpacked the last box of her things, one by one. Minutes later she placed the last book into the bookshelf. She slowly started to walk to her window as the sun was rising slowly into the horizon. Upon opening, the harsh desert air slapped her face. She flinched a little and sighed, growing irritated. She hadn’t adjusted to the time zone change and although she thought that sunrises were a beautiful sight to behold, today was just not one of those days. She was never a morning person and right now, she just wanted to seek refuge in her dreams. She closed her eyes and thought back to her life back in Domino. Memories of her family and friends that she left behind rushed to her and made her want to cry. She wiped her eyes and looked out of the window again. The sight of the cultured buildings and the horizon leading to the desert made her fume again.

‘Why did we have to come here? There’s nothing here but sand!’ she thought sadly. She growled and quickly slammed the window a bit harder than she intended. Suddenly there was a knock at her door. She turned to meet eyes with her mother, Sumie who had peeked her head into the room. The tan woman stepped in and shut the door. “Ah Mimiki, you’re awake. I was wondering what that sound was.”
“Yeah sorry mom. I didn’t mean to slam my window shut. I’ve been awake for a while now…” Her mother looked at her worryingly as she brushed her chocolate hair behind her ear. She then noticed that Mimiki had unpacked all of her belongings. “I see you’ve finished unpacking. Great job, sweetie! You did it a lot faster than I thought you would.” she said with a small smile.

“Uh huh…yeah…I did just a few minutes ago.” she replied while looking away and twiddling her thumbs. Sumie picked up on her tone and behavior. She quickly took a seat on her bed and motioned for her to sit with her. As Mimiki joined her, she wrapped an arm around her and started to speak. “Mimiki…I know that this is hard for you. Moving overseas is never easy.” Hearing her mother’s words wasn’t easy and made her glassy eyed again.

“But why here?! We’re so far away from Japan! Grandma, my friends…everyone...everything!” she said burying her head into her mother’s shirt. Her mother rubbed Mimiki’s hair gently as she started to cry. “I know, I know, but your father is here on business. It’s only for a year. I’ll be over before you know it. Then we’ll be back in Japan. I miss it too, honey. The bright side to this is you’ll learn another language and get to have experiences that other kids haven’t had. This is important to your father, so let’s support him all we can, ok? You know we’re here whenever you need to talk.” She said with a smile. Mimiki looked up at her with her big blue eyes, her mother gently wiped her tears away.

“After breakfast, why don’t we go down to the markets? We’ll do a little shopping. Maybe we’ll find something interesting there. Does that sound good?” Mimiki nodded in agreement and smiled. A girl could always use some retail therapy to clear her mind. “It’s a date!”
“Good, good. There’s that smile that I know and love. We’ll leave soon, so get ready ok?” Mimiki nodded. “Ok.” Her mother left and closed the door behind her. Mimiki got ready and joined her family for breakfast. Her father, Masahiro, helped Sumie serve the meal. Masahiro was the tall, solid tan man of the house. Mimiki’s younger siblings had beat her to the table and the kids slowly ate their meals. Her younger sister, Mika was drained from the move and was drifting in and out of sleep. The middle child, Makoto, was in his own world as he picked at his food. Masahiro noticed the silence and decided to speak.

“So Mimiki, I heard that you and your mother were going to the markets today. That sounds fun! It’ll be nice to explore the town a bit before you start school next week.” he said trying to lighten up the mood.

Mimiki nodded as she took another bite of her food. “Yeah. Mom thinks that we’ll find something interesting there. Maybe I’ll find a nice piece of jewelry!” Her brother let out a laugh that woke Mika up. “You girls and your jewelry.” her little brother chimed in. “Is that you all care about?” Mimiki decided to ignore her brother and continued to eat. She was hoping to get out of the house as quickly as possible. “Of course we care about jewelry Makoto!” Mika spat. “All princesses need their jewelry to become extra pretty, right Mimi?” she asked with a smile. Mimiki returned her smile and patted her on her head. “That’s right, Mika. I’ll make sure to find something to make me extra pretty.”
“If you don’t find anything, you can take something from my box of jewels to make you extra, extra pretty!” Mimiki laughed at her sister’s innocence. “I’ll remember that. Thanks Mika.” The adults smiled at the children. The air seemed a little lighter now.
After eating breakfast, Mimiki and Sumie headed to the market. The stalls were filled many exotic and beautiful products, none that Mimiki had ever seen before. Her mother saw her amazement and smiled. She gave Mimiki some money to add to her allowance. “Thank you mom!”

“Now don’t spend it all in one place.” she joked. “I won’t!” Mimiki said smiling. ‘I won’t try to, anyways.’ she thought. “Now I’m also going to do a little grocery shopping after I take a look around. We’ll meet back here in a couple of hours, ok?” Mimiki nodded and the two went their separate ways.

*~*

Down below the desert sands, someone wanted to experience the surface world. He desired to see it at least once before he assumed his responsibility as tomb keeper. He sat in his bed while he read his scriptures. He sighed as he looked up to the stone ceiling and placed his book on his lap.

‘I wonder what it really is like up there…’ he thought.
When he walked around the tomb and reached a skyline, he could see the blue sky and its various stages. Sometimes it'd be a bit windy and he could smell the fresh desert air. It was like that skyline kept telling him that he was a trapped rat; a rat to forever live in his dark, underground crypt and never being able to reach out to the hope and freedom it held above. Thinking of that made him a bit depressed, but it made his desire to see the surface world grow even stronger. His thoughts were finally interrupted by his older sister.
“Marik,” she called. His face lit up as he looked up at her and sat his book to the side. “Ishizu, sister!”
“What are you doing? Are you studying your scriptures?” she asked as she sat beside him. “Yeah…I’m just taking a break.” he replied as he looked up again. Ishizu noticed his stare. She’d seen that look plastered on his face quite frequently lately. “What are you thinking about?” She had a good feeling about knowing what he was thinking about and she was hoping that it really wasn’t what she thought it was. They’ve had this conversation many times before and she managed to shut him down about it, but his desire seemed to grow more and more. “I was thinking about-”

“The surface world again?” she asked, cutting him off. Marik looked at her worryingly as Ishizu glared at him. “Marik…” she said in a motherly tone as Marik turned away from her. “I know, I know. I can’t go up to the surface. It’s forbidden for us to go up there . You say it all of the time.” Ishizu smiled at his understanding. “That’s right! You’re a -"

“Tomb keeper. I know.” he said, rolling his lavender eyes. Ishizu’s smile transformed into a glare as she looked at him again. “Marik! Stop -”
“Back talking! I know!” Ishizu gnashed her teeth. It was times like this that he managed to piss her off. Unfortunately for her, because of his desires to go above the tomb, he was becoming more irritating. The two sat in silence for a minute. “Please Ishizu! Just this once! Take me to the surface!” be begged loudly. Ishizu placed a finger over her mouth, giving a quick “sshh” sound. “Lower your voice, Marik!” she scolded. She looked back towards his doors to see if she could hear any footsteps. Luckily, none were heard. “It’s too dangerous! Father will be furious if he found out! You know how much he hates the surface world! We’ll be in big trouble!”

Marik quickly grabbed his sister’s hand with a pleading look in his eyes. “Please sister! Please! Just this once! I won’t ask again!”
“No Marik!” she tried to yell as quietly as she could. Marik quickly looked down, feeling defeated. Ishizu felt sorry for him, but she was doing this for his own good. She knew that he was resenting his role as a tomb keeper at the tender age of 13, especially after he received the tomb keepers initiation a year ago. She could still remember his blood curdling screams during the procedure and felt great sympathy for her little brother. Ishizu couldn’t blame her brother for wanting to see what life was like outside the tomb. She often wondered how it would be as well, beyond the entrance that lead to their home. She would occasionally sneak up there at night while everyone was asleep. She admired how beautiful the desert looked as the moon shined brightly in the sky as she breathed in the fresh air. Ishizu would see the city border in the distance and wanted to visit, but never had the courage to step a few feet away from the tomb’s entrance in fear out being caught by their raging father.

Suddenly, another person interrupted their silence. “Miss Ishizu, please allow Master Marik go to the surface. One trip shouldn’t hurt. I’ll make sure that the Master isn’t aware of your absence. He just retired to his chambers to rest and said that he wished to not be disturbed. Hopefully he will stay in there for a while. I’ll take care of everything. I promise.”
They both turned to Odion as he walked into the room. The two siblings let a out a heavy sigh and was glad that their father didn’t hear their conversation. Odion loved his siblings greatly and especially wanted Marik to experience this. He just wanted him to be happy. Marik was happy that at least one person understood how he felt.

“I don’t know Odion. It might be too risky.” Ishizu replied. “Come on! Please? You promised me a long time ago that you’d take me with you one day! Why can’t that day be today? I just want to live like a normal person for once. Odion said that he will cover for us! We’ll be fine!” Ishizu sighed. She was clearly outvoted and Marik’s pleading puppy dog eye stare started to bore into her soul. “I hope that I won’t regret this.” she thought.
“Fine Marik. Since it means so much to you and Odion has agreed to cover for us, we can go.” Marik’s face lit up as he hugged her. “Thank you Ishizu!”
She gave him an unnerving hug in return. “We’re only staying out for a short time, one hour only. When I say it’s time to return, we have to leave. After this, you have to promise not to talk about this again.” Marik nodded quickly in excitement. “I promise!”
“Come, Marik. We should leave immediately while father is locked away in his chambers.”
Marik quickly jumped up and followed her to the entrance. He couldn’t wait to see how it really was. Odion bid them a quiet adieu and prepared to cover their absence.
‘I’m so happy! Nothing could go wrong! Yes...nothing could go wrong…’ Marik thought.

*~*

Ishizu and Marik had finally reached the markets. Marik stared in amazement. He had never seen so many people at once before. Ishizu was also amazed at the amount of people and the hustle and bustle of the stalls, but she tried to hide her emotions from Marik. She didn’t want to risk getting him too excited. “Wow! Look at all the people Ishizu! I’ve never seen so many people before!”
Ishizu’s features didn’t change. “I can see that Marik. Remember, this isn’t our world, so don’t get attached. Keep on walking and don’t touch anything!” she scolded. “I won’t!” he said in a disregarding tone as he kept peering into various stalls. Ishizu let out a heavy sigh of regret. ‘What have I agreed to?’
As the two siblings explored the market, Mimiki had just purchased a necklace with a blue moonstone pendant and a bottle of Egyptian lotus perfume. They had caught her eye immediately, noting that the stone almost matched her eyes and the perfume was to her liking - fresh and light. She quickly sprayed some on her and then continued to walk as she examined the pendant more closely, unaware of where she was walking.

‘I should’ve bought that other one, too. I had enough money left...maybe I’ll wait until I get my next allowance.’ she thought. All of a sudden, her concentration was broken by a sudden yelp. She stepped on something hard, yet firm. She looked down to find a tan hand under her black flat. “Ow!”

Mimiki shrieked and quickly moved her foot. Marik quickly retracted his hand and rubbed it. “I’m-I’m so sorry! I didn’t see you! I didn’t mean to -” Then she noticed the magazine that was under his hand. “And I stepped on your book! I’m so sorry!”
Marik stood up, looked at her and gasped. All of a sudden, he felt heat rush to his cheeks. ‘Wow...she’s beautiful…’ he thought. Mimiki saw that his magazine was dirty. “I’m sorry! Are you ok? I’m sorry that I soiled your magazine! I’ll buy you another one! Is that ok with you?” Marik kept staring at her, unable to look away. He wasn’t used to seeing other girls, especially around his age. Her blue eyes, long dark brown hair and the scent of her perfume had him smitten. He also found her foreign clothes interesting and colorful. “Um...hello? Is that ok with you?”

Marik quickly snapped out of his trance. He fidgeted around in nervousness, not knowing how to react to her. “Um...um...well...eh…” he muttered as he became quiet. ‘Come on, Marik! She’s just another girl, just like your sister! Talk to her!’ Mimiki looked at him weirdly. No boy that she’d ever known had acted like this around her. He was nothing compared to the boys that used to pick on her back home. Silence fell between them and time seemed to stop for Marik until Mimiki spoke up. “Are you ok?” Marik instantly became more nervous and stammered again. “I-I-I…I’m ok!” Mimiki handed him the dirty magazine and he quietly took it from her. “I could buy you another one…”

“No, it’s ok. It’s not mine. It was on the ground and I was just picking it up.”
Marik then looked into the magazine, admiring the exciting articles and photos.
“Wow this isn’t like my scriptures at all! This thing looks cool! What is this? Do you know?” he asked pointing at the picture. Mimiki stood closer to him and looked at the picture and then stared at him in confusion. How could he not know what a motorcycle was? “It’s a motorcycle...it can go really fast. This one looks like it’s a brand new model. You’ve never seen one before? Not even on TV?”
“What’s a TV?” quickly asked in confusion. “I’ve never heard of that before.”
Mimiki was really confused now. “Where has this kid been living? Under a rock or something??” she thought. She decided not to ask him that in such a rude manner.

“You’ve never heard of a TV before? Do your parents not allow you to watch TV? You have to at least have one TV in your house. How would your parents watch the news? Do they at least let you watch that?”
Marik started to panic at her questions and didn’t know how to answer them. He didn’t expect to meet anyone his age on the surface and if he did, not this quickly either. She quickly started asking him more questions. “You said earlier that you read scriptures? You mean like Egyptian hieroglyphics, history books or something? What rock have you been living under? Or is that just a hobby of yours?”
“What do you mean? No I’ve never seen a TV before and I don’t live under a rock. I live underground.” Mimiki couldn’t believe what she was hearing. This kid was acting too weird for her, but she was becoming a bit intrigued with his answers. “Are you serious…? You live underground…?” Marik smiled playfully. “Why yes! I have a role as a tombkeeper and -”
“No Marik! That’s our family secret!” Ishizu called out to him. She quickly appeared behind them and was slightly winded. The two turned to her and saw the look of anger on her face. Marik cursed mentally. ‘I think that I’ve said a little too much...please don’t be too mad at me, sister!’

“Marik! I’ve been looking everywhere for you! You’re not supposed to run off like that!”
‘Ok...she’s only a bit angry. I can handle that.’ he thought. “I’m sorry Ishizu. I was just talking to this girl and - “
“And I think that our time is up! We need to leave now Marik. I think that you have said too much!” she said dragging him away from Mimiki. He kept looking back and forth between the two girls in despair. He didn’t want to leave just yet. “But sister - “ he protested.
“But no Marik! We’ve been out long enough! It’s time to return home!”
Mimiki watched as Ishizu dragged Marik away. Her curiosity was officially sparked. She had never met anyone like him before. The way his sister dragged him away and his talk about being a tombkeeper added to her curiosity. “It must be a big secret if she yelled at him like that. What’s a tombkeeper and why would he keep a tomb?” she thought. After a minute or so after they left, she started to follow after them.

At the end of the market, Ishizu finally released Marik’s wrist from her grip and faced him angrily. “Marik you’re impossible! You’re not supposed to say things that relate to our lives as tomb keepers!” she said harshly.
“I’m sorry sister, but she seems so nice and pretty...and I like her. I want to be friends with her. Can’t I have a friend, even if it’s just one? I promise that I won’t tell father!”

Ishizu stopped for a minute and analyzed him. He was already getting attached to the outside world, which she anticipated there would be a slight attachment, but didn’t anticipate him meeting a girl his own age that he’d start to take a liking to.
‘Now he’s starting to get attached to that girl. We have to get home!’ she thought. She ignored his plea and started walking towards the tomb. “Walk faster Marik.” she commanded. “Wait Ishizu!” he called out as he caught up to her with the magazine in hand. “If I can’t have a friend, then can I at least take this picture of the motorcycle home with me? I promise that I’ll hide it from father.” Ishizu didn’t feel like arguing with him. She was panicking that their time was running short and that their father might leave his chambers soon. She didn’t want to put Odion in any more danger that he could potentially be in if they were caught. “Ok, you can keep it, but just keep on walking!”

Marik tore the picture out and placed it in his pocket. “Thank you sister!” he said happily. Suddenly a tall man in a turban had appeared before them. We wore an item that appeared to be an ankh with a key-like design around his neck. His blank stare sent chills down their spines. “Tomb guardians...you have strayed off your path. Your fate has caught up with you. Soon blood will spill upon blood and your clan will be torn apart in tragedy. It is the will of the Pharaoh…” The two siblings looked at him in shock and then at each other. “Who...are you? How do you know about us?”

When they looked again, he was gone. Ishizu quickly turned to Marik in frustration. “Marik! Forget everything that you saw today! Just forget that today ever happened! That man too and especially that young girl!”
“But sister, what was that man talking about? And what about that item around his neck? I looks like one of the items that our family protects…”

Ishizu looked at him in frustration. She should’ve never agreed to bring her brother here.
“Didn’t I just tell you to forget everything you saw and heard today?! We’re going home now!” Marik looked at her sadly. “Yes sister…I’m sorry...”

Mimiki kept a safe distance away from them. She saw them walk back into the desert towards some ruins and looked back to the market. She glanced at the clock on her cell phone and back and forth at them again. ‘It’ll just be for a little while…I’ll be back before I have to meet up with mom. This is just too interesting to pass up. Afterall, they say that knowledge is power!’ she thought as her excuse to be nosy.

‘ I’ll just take a quick peek and leave...it’s no harm…right?’

Description
This is a rewrite from an old Yu-Gi-Oh! fanfic I wrote over 10 years ago. This is a Marik/OC set years before Battle City. If you want to see a picture of my OC Mimiki Maiyaka, please browse through my gallery. Have fun and happy reading!

Chapter 1 - Encounter

She quietly unpacked the last box of her things, one by one. Minutes later she placed the last book into the bookshelf. She slowly started to walk to her window as the sun was rising slowly into the horizon. Upon opening, the harsh desert air slapped her face. She flinched a little and sighed, growing irritated. She hadn’t adjusted to the time zone change and although she thought that sunrises were a beautiful sight to behold, today was just not one of those days. She was never a morning person and right now, she just wanted to seek refuge in her dreams. She closed her eyes and thought back to her life back in Domino. Memories of her family and friends that she left behind rushed to her and made her want to cry. She wiped her eyes and looked out of the window again. The sight of the cultured buildings and the horizon leading to the desert made her fume again.

‘Why did we have to come here? There’s nothing here but sand!’ she thought sadly. She growled and quickly slammed the window a bit harder than she intended. Suddenly there was a knock at her door. She turned to meet eyes with her mother, Sumie who had peeked her head into the room. The tan woman stepped in and shut the door. “Ah Mimiki, you’re awake. I was wondering what that sound was.”
“Yeah sorry mom. I didn’t mean to slam my window shut. I’ve been awake for a while now…” Her mother looked at her worryingly as she brushed her chocolate hair behind her ear. She then noticed that Mimiki had unpacked all of her belongings. “I see you’ve finished unpacking. Great job, sweetie! You did it a lot faster than I thought you would.” she said with a small smile.

“Uh huh…yeah…I did just a few minutes ago.” she replied while looking away and twiddling her thumbs. Sumie picked up on her tone and behavior. She quickly took a seat on her bed and motioned for her to sit with her. As Mimiki joined her, she wrapped an arm around her and started to speak. “Mimiki…I know that this is hard for you. Moving overseas is never easy.” Hearing her mother’s words wasn’t easy and made her glassy eyed again.

“But why here?! We’re so far away from Japan! Grandma, my friends…everyone...everything!” she said burying her head into her mother’s shirt. Her mother rubbed Mimiki’s hair gently as she started to cry. “I know, I know, but your father is here on business. It’s only for a year. I’ll be over before you know it. Then we’ll be back in Japan. I miss it too, honey. The bright side to this is you’ll learn another language and get to have experiences that other kids haven’t had. This is important to your father, so let’s support him all we can, ok? You know we’re here whenever you need to talk.” She said with a smile. Mimiki looked up at her with her big blue eyes, her mother gently wiped her tears away.

“After breakfast, why don’t we go down to the markets? We’ll do a little shopping. Maybe we’ll find something interesting there. Does that sound good?” Mimiki nodded in agreement and smiled. A girl could always use some retail therapy to clear her mind. “It’s a date!”
“Good, good. There’s that smile that I know and love. We’ll leave soon, so get ready ok?” Mimiki nodded. “Ok.” Her mother left and closed the door behind her. Mimiki got ready and joined her family for breakfast. Her father, Masahiro, helped Sumie serve the meal. Masahiro was the tall, solid tan man of the house. Mimiki’s younger siblings had beat her to the table and the kids slowly ate their meals. Her younger sister, Mika was drained from the move and was drifting in and out of sleep. The middle child, Makoto, was in his own world as he picked at his food. Masahiro noticed the silence and decided to speak.

“So Mimiki, I heard that you and your mother were going to the markets today. That sounds fun! It’ll be nice to explore the town a bit before you start school next week.” he said trying to lighten up the mood.

Mimiki nodded as she took another bite of her food. “Yeah. Mom thinks that we’ll find something interesting there. Maybe I’ll find a nice piece of jewelry!” Her brother let out a laugh that woke Mika up. “You girls and your jewelry.” her little brother chimed in. “Is that you all care about?” Mimiki decided to ignore her brother and continued to eat. She was hoping to get out of the house as quickly as possible. “Of course we care about jewelry Makoto!” Mika spat. “All princesses need their jewelry to become extra pretty, right Mimi?” she asked with a smile. Mimiki returned her smile and patted her on her head. “That’s right, Mika. I’ll make sure to find something to make me extra pretty.”
“If you don’t find anything, you can take something from my box of jewels to make you extra, extra pretty!” Mimiki laughed at her sister’s innocence. “I’ll remember that. Thanks Mika.” The adults smiled at the children. The air seemed a little lighter now.
After eating breakfast, Mimiki and Sumie headed to the market. The stalls were filled many exotic and beautiful products, none that Mimiki had ever seen before. Her mother saw her amazement and smiled. She gave Mimiki some money to add to her allowance. “Thank you mom!”

“Now don’t spend it all in one place.” she joked. “I won’t!” Mimiki said smiling. ‘I won’t try to, anyways.’ she thought. “Now I’m also going to do a little grocery shopping after I take a look around. We’ll meet back here in a couple of hours, ok?” Mimiki nodded and the two went their separate ways.

*~*

Down below the desert sands, someone wanted to experience the surface world. He desired to see it at least once before he assumed his responsibility as tomb keeper. He sat in his bed while he read his scriptures. He sighed as he looked up to the stone ceiling and placed his book on his lap.

‘I wonder what it really is like up there…’ he thought.
When he walked around the tomb and reached a skyline, he could see the blue sky and its various stages. Sometimes it'd be a bit windy and he could smell the fresh desert air. It was like that skyline kept telling him that he was a trapped rat; a rat to forever live in his dark, underground crypt and never being able to reach out to the hope and freedom it held above. Thinking of that made him a bit depressed, but it made his desire to see the surface world grow even stronger. His thoughts were finally interrupted by his older sister.
“Marik,” she called. His face lit up as he looked up at her and sat his book to the side. “Ishizu, sister!”
“What are you doing? Are you studying your scriptures?” she asked as she sat beside him. “Yeah…I’m just taking a break.” he replied as he looked up again. Ishizu noticed his stare. She’d seen that look plastered on his face quite frequently lately. “What are you thinking about?” She had a good feeling about knowing what he was thinking about and she was hoping that it really wasn’t what she thought it was. They’ve had this conversation many times before and she managed to shut him down about it, but his desire seemed to grow more and more. “I was thinking about-”

“The surface world again?” she asked, cutting him off. Marik looked at her worryingly as Ishizu glared at him. “Marik…” she said in a motherly tone as Marik turned away from her. “I know, I know. I can’t go up to the surface. It’s forbidden for us to go up there . You say it all of the time.” Ishizu smiled at his understanding. “That’s right! You’re a -"

“Tomb keeper. I know.” he said, rolling his lavender eyes. Ishizu’s smile transformed into a glare as she looked at him again. “Marik! Stop -”
“Back talking! I know!” Ishizu gnashed her teeth. It was times like this that he managed to piss her off. Unfortunately for her, because of his desires to go above the tomb, he was becoming more irritating. The two sat in silence for a minute. “Please Ishizu! Just this once! Take me to the surface!” be begged loudly. Ishizu placed a finger over her mouth, giving a quick “sshh” sound. “Lower your voice, Marik!” she scolded. She looked back towards his doors to see if she could hear any footsteps. Luckily, none were heard. “It’s too dangerous! Father will be furious if he found out! You know how much he hates the surface world! We’ll be in big trouble!”

Marik quickly grabbed his sister’s hand with a pleading look in his eyes. “Please sister! Please! Just this once! I won’t ask again!”
“No Marik!” she tried to yell as quietly as she could. Marik quickly looked down, feeling defeated. Ishizu felt sorry for him, but she was doing this for his own good. She knew that he was resenting his role as a tomb keeper at the tender age of 13, especially after he received the tomb keepers initiation a year ago. She could still remember his blood curdling screams during the procedure and felt great sympathy for her little brother. Ishizu couldn’t blame her brother for wanting to see what life was like outside the tomb. She often wondered how it would be as well, beyond the entrance that lead to their home. She would occasionally sneak up there at night while everyone was asleep. She admired how beautiful the desert looked as the moon shined brightly in the sky as she breathed in the fresh air. Ishizu would see the city border in the distance and wanted to visit, but never had the courage to step a few feet away from the tomb’s entrance in fear out being caught by their raging father.

Suddenly, another person interrupted their silence. “Miss Ishizu, please allow Master Marik go to the surface. One trip shouldn’t hurt. I’ll make sure that the Master isn’t aware of your absence. He just retired to his chambers to rest and said that he wished to not be disturbed. Hopefully he will stay in there for a while. I’ll take care of everything. I promise.”
They both turned to Odion as he walked into the room. The two siblings let a out a heavy sigh and was glad that their father didn’t hear their conversation. Odion loved his siblings greatly and especially wanted Marik to experience this. He just wanted him to be happy. Marik was happy that at least one person understood how he felt.

“I don’t know Odion. It might be too risky.” Ishizu replied. “Come on! Please? You promised me a long time ago that you’d take me with you one day! Why can’t that day be today? I just want to live like a normal person for once. Odion said that he will cover for us! We’ll be fine!” Ishizu sighed. She was clearly outvoted and Marik’s pleading puppy dog eye stare started to bore into her soul. “I hope that I won’t regret this.” she thought.
“Fine Marik. Since it means so much to you and Odion has agreed to cover for us, we can go.” Marik’s face lit up as he hugged her. “Thank you Ishizu!”
She gave him an unnerving hug in return. “We’re only staying out for a short time, one hour only. When I say it’s time to return, we have to leave. After this, you have to promise not to talk about this again.” Marik nodded quickly in excitement. “I promise!”
“Come, Marik. We should leave immediately while father is locked away in his chambers.”
Marik quickly jumped up and followed her to the entrance. He couldn’t wait to see how it really was. Odion bid them a quiet adieu and prepared to cover their absence.
‘I’m so happy! Nothing could go wrong! Yes...nothing could go wrong…’ Marik thought.

*~*

Ishizu and Marik had finally reached the markets. Marik stared in amazement. He had never seen so many people at once before. Ishizu was also amazed at the amount of people and the hustle and bustle of the stalls, but she tried to hide her emotions from Marik. She didn’t want to risk getting him too excited. “Wow! Look at all the people Ishizu! I’ve never seen so many people before!”
Ishizu’s features didn’t change. “I can see that Marik. Remember, this isn’t our world, so don’t get attached. Keep on walking and don’t touch anything!” she scolded. “I won’t!” he said in a disregarding tone as he kept peering into various stalls. Ishizu let out a heavy sigh of regret. ‘What have I agreed to?’
As the two siblings explored the market, Mimiki had just purchased a necklace with a blue moonstone pendant and a bottle of Egyptian lotus perfume. They had caught her eye immediately, noting that the stone almost matched her eyes and the perfume was to her liking - fresh and light. She quickly sprayed some on her and then continued to walk as she examined the pendant more closely, unaware of where she was walking.

‘I should’ve bought that other one, too. I had enough money left...maybe I’ll wait until I get my next allowance.’ she thought. All of a sudden, her concentration was broken by a sudden yelp. She stepped on something hard, yet firm. She looked down to find a tan hand under her black flat. “Ow!”

Mimiki shrieked and quickly moved her foot. Marik quickly retracted his hand and rubbed it. “I’m-I’m so sorry! I didn’t see you! I didn’t mean to -” Then she noticed the magazine that was under his hand. “And I stepped on your book! I’m so sorry!”
Marik stood up, looked at her and gasped. All of a sudden, he felt heat rush to his cheeks. ‘Wow...she’s beautiful…’ he thought. Mimiki saw that his magazine was dirty. “I’m sorry! Are you ok? I’m sorry that I soiled your magazine! I’ll buy you another one! Is that ok with you?” Marik kept staring at her, unable to look away. He wasn’t used to seeing other girls, especially around his age. Her blue eyes, long dark brown hair and the scent of her perfume had him smitten. He also found her foreign clothes interesting and colorful. “Um...hello? Is that ok with you?”

Marik quickly snapped out of his trance. He fidgeted around in nervousness, not knowing how to react to her. “Um...um...well...eh…” he muttered as he became quiet. ‘Come on, Marik! She’s just another girl, just like your sister! Talk to her!’ Mimiki looked at him weirdly. No boy that she’d ever known had acted like this around her. He was nothing compared to the boys that used to pick on her back home. Silence fell between them and time seemed to stop for Marik until Mimiki spoke up. “Are you ok?” Marik instantly became more nervous and stammered again. “I-I-I…I’m ok!” Mimiki handed him the dirty magazine and he quietly took it from her. “I could buy you another one…”

“No, it’s ok. It’s not mine. It was on the ground and I was just picking it up.”
Marik then looked into the magazine, admiring the exciting articles and photos.
“Wow this isn’t like my scriptures at all! This thing looks cool! What is this? Do you know?” he asked pointing at the picture. Mimiki stood closer to him and looked at the picture and then stared at him in confusion. How could he not know what a motorcycle was? “It’s a motorcycle...it can go really fast. This one looks like it’s a brand new model. You’ve never seen one before? Not even on TV?”
“What’s a TV?” quickly asked in confusion. “I’ve never heard of that before.”
Mimiki was really confused now. “Where has this kid been living? Under a rock or something??” she thought. She decided not to ask him that in such a rude manner.

“You’ve never heard of a TV before? Do your parents not allow you to watch TV? You have to at least have one TV in your house. How would your parents watch the news? Do they at least let you watch that?”
Marik started to panic at her questions and didn’t know how to answer them. He didn’t expect to meet anyone his age on the surface and if he did, not this quickly either. She quickly started asking him more questions. “You said earlier that you read scriptures? You mean like Egyptian hieroglyphics, history books or something? What rock have you been living under? Or is that just a hobby of yours?”
“What do you mean? No I’ve never seen a TV before and I don’t live under a rock. I live underground.” Mimiki couldn’t believe what she was hearing. This kid was acting too weird for her, but she was becoming a bit intrigued with his answers. “Are you serious…? You live underground…?” Marik smiled playfully. “Why yes! I have a role as a tombkeeper and -”
“No Marik! That’s our family secret!” Ishizu called out to him. She quickly appeared behind them and was slightly winded. The two turned to her and saw the look of anger on her face. Marik cursed mentally. ‘I think that I’ve said a little too much...please don’t be too mad at me, sister!’

“Marik! I’ve been looking everywhere for you! You’re not supposed to run off like that!”
‘Ok...she’s only a bit angry. I can handle that.’ he thought. “I’m sorry Ishizu. I was just talking to this girl and - “
“And I think that our time is up! We need to leave now Marik. I think that you have said too much!” she said dragging him away from Mimiki. He kept looking back and forth between the two girls in despair. He didn’t want to leave just yet. “But sister - “ he protested.
“But no Marik! We’ve been out long enough! It’s time to return home!”
Mimiki watched as Ishizu dragged Marik away. Her curiosity was officially sparked. She had never met anyone like him before. The way his sister dragged him away and his talk about being a tombkeeper added to her curiosity. “It must be a big secret if she yelled at him like that. What’s a tombkeeper and why would he keep a tomb?” she thought. After a minute or so after they left, she started to follow after them.

At the end of the market, Ishizu finally released Marik’s wrist from her grip and faced him angrily. “Marik you’re impossible! You’re not supposed to say things that relate to our lives as tomb keepers!” she said harshly.
“I’m sorry sister, but she seems so nice and pretty...and I like her. I want to be friends with her. Can’t I have a friend, even if it’s just one? I promise that I won’t tell father!”

Ishizu stopped for a minute and analyzed him. He was already getting attached to the outside world, which she anticipated there would be a slight attachment, but didn’t anticipate him meeting a girl his own age that he’d start to take a liking to.
‘Now he’s starting to get attached to that girl. We have to get home!’ she thought. She ignored his plea and started walking towards the tomb. “Walk faster Marik.” she commanded. “Wait Ishizu!” he called out as he caught up to her with the magazine in hand. “If I can’t have a friend, then can I at least take this picture of the motorcycle home with me? I promise that I’ll hide it from father.” Ishizu didn’t feel like arguing with him. She was panicking that their time was running short and that their father might leave his chambers soon. She didn’t want to put Odion in any more danger that he could potentially be in if they were caught. “Ok, you can keep it, but just keep on walking!”

Marik tore the picture out and placed it in his pocket. “Thank you sister!” he said happily. Suddenly a tall man in a turban had appeared before them. We wore an item that appeared to be an ankh with a key-like design around his neck. His blank stare sent chills down their spines. “Tomb guardians...you have strayed off your path. Your fate has caught up with you. Soon blood will spill upon blood and your clan will be torn apart in tragedy. It is the will of the Pharaoh…” The two siblings looked at him in shock and then at each other. “Who...are you? How do you know about us?”

When they looked again, he was gone. Ishizu quickly turned to Marik in frustration. “Marik! Forget everything that you saw today! Just forget that today ever happened! That man too and especially that young girl!”
“But sister, what was that man talking about? And what about that item around his neck? I looks like one of the items that our family protects…”

Ishizu looked at him in frustration. She should’ve never agreed to bring her brother here.
“Didn’t I just tell you to forget everything you saw and heard today?! We’re going home now!” Marik looked at her sadly. “Yes sister…I’m sorry...”

Mimiki kept a safe distance away from them. She saw them walk back into the desert towards some ruins and looked back to the market. She glanced at the clock on her cell phone and back and forth at them again. ‘It’ll just be for a little while…I’ll be back before I have to meet up with mom. This is just too interesting to pass up. Afterall, they say that knowledge is power!’ she thought as her excuse to be nosy.

‘ I’ll just take a quick peek and leave...it’s no harm…right?’