to the light

اللى على راسه بطحة بيحصص عليها.

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✖ independent manga canon Malik Ishtar ✖ 15 years+ rp experience, mun 25+ ✖ multifandom, multiship, multiverse ✖ discord for mutuals

Starter for @scarsofra

Panic. Sheer unadulterated panic. It was of a hazy sort. The kind of panic you feel in your dreams. Sticky, syrupy: knowing something was horribly wrong but you simply couldn’t put your finger on it…

He could hear noises. Groans of metal, muffled voices and the steady slapping of something he couldn’t put a name to but sounded familiar.

The man gasped, but it was a clogged thing. Where there should have been clear space; there was salt and sea. He was quick to turn to his side and eject the contents from his lungs.

It burned—the briney water he choked up, and while that certainly was part of his panic…it wasn’t the whole of it.

He had no idea why he was half dead on what he assumed was a inlet of some kind near a harbor? His mind was racing, but he couldn’t find a single thing that would tether it to a solid memory….of well, anything. It was as if someone had laid a shroud over his entire being.

He knew words and what they meant, but as far as the rest of it? Who he was, where he was from, how he had arrived at this particular point in his life? It was all gone as if it never existed and in its place was a yawning cavern of nothingness and that is where the true panic sprung from.

But the man was too tired to move. He ached in every single fiber of his being, and he could barely retain consciousness. He needed help but his voice was too easy wrecked for much use.

The only positive news he'd gotten out of that ordeal was his freedom and yet... he'd barely done much with it at all. He hadn't yet traveled the world like he longed to do. He hadn't done much to better himself aside from learning how to build custom bikes. He sure as hell had no interest in becoming a mechanic as a trade.

It was why he still lived with his siblings. He was at a crossroads in his life, but he felt stuck in the mud. No matter how much he spun his tires, he couldn't move from his spot.

So, maybe what happened on this day was an inevitability; a punishment brought down upon him from the Gods for spiting them time and again.

He had decided to take a walk down to the banks of the Nile River just so he could watch the sunset. As much as living in Egypt could sometimes suffocate him, he couldn't deny the beauty of his homeland.

Malik only made it midway down before he spotted a figure off in the distance half-strewn across a piece of land near the docks. He furrowed his eyebrows at the mysterious figure, deciding to venture closer as curiosity got the better of him.

Was that a dead guy...? What the hell was the idiot doing out in the river to begin with?

Then he saw the person shift and open his mouth to speak. Malik didn't hear the person's voice, but he now had enough information to realize the stranger was very much still alive.

"...goddammit--" Malik groaned. As much as he was tempted to leave well enough alone, something compelled him to rush down to the small bank. "H-hold on--!" he said to the man in Arabic as soon as he was close enough. He bent down and grabbed for the person's upper body before dragging him onto the grass and sand.

Though, when he flipped the man onto his back, all of the color drained from his face immediately. Though the person was wet and disheveled looking, there was no mistaking that face.

"Malik? It's me. Yami. I wanted to give you something for today. I am uncertain if you enjoy desserts, but I made you a semolina cake."

Malik nearly jumped when he heard the sudden knock at his door. Who the fuck was bothering him today of all days?

He hadn't been expecting a package delivery and his siblings were away in Egypt as far as he still knew.

He sat up rather rigidly when he heard Yami's voice on the other side. He had half the mind to yell at him to fuck off and leave him alone but surprisingly resisted the urge. It was just-- speaking face to face with the man whose family was to blame for his birthday being shit...well, it just didn't seem like the best of ideas.

Still, something in him propelled him to answer the door. He didn't even care if Yami saw him with his more disheveled appearance. It wasn't like he had any plans to be presentable for anyone today.

He pulled open the door slowly and glanced briefly between the idol's face and the box he was holding. "You made it yourself?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "...I didn't know you could bake..."

Truthfully, he wasn't on the worst of terms with the man anymore. He wasn't out to murder him like he had been, but that didn't mean they were great friends either. Malik still held him at a distance.

"Nonsense, I did it because I wanted to. Besides, I know how hard today is for you, Malik. I know I can't take the pain away, but at the very least, I hope I can make today a little easier for you."

Malik was honestly touched at how Ryou was doing so much for him. His partner didn't have to do any of it, but he made the effort. Even if he couldn't show his gratitude as well as he normally could've, he wanted to make sure that Ryou was aware.

"Thank you, Ryou," he murmured with a soft smile. "Dinner and watching movies on the couch with you sound great."

"Of course I did. I'm not going to leave you alone today, of all days." The man reassured gently, a large hand moving to rest tenderly atop the younger's head as he spoke. He had taken a few days off work to spend time with Malik, knowing just how hard today was for his little brother.

His free arm wrapped around Malik in a warm, comforting hug, holding him close. That sad, tearful gaze had become all too familiar to him over the years, and he'd be damned if he left the poor young man alone on such a day.

Malik instinctively leaned into the comforting warmth of his brother's embrace. He needed it more than he felt like he needed air at the moment. It felt like a soothing balm over his already agitated scars.

He sniffled a few times before reluctantly pulling back. He managed the smallest of smiles before shaking his head. "Of course not," he assured the older man. "You're probably the only person I'd want to celebrate it with besides our sister."

"Oof--" Ryou gave a slight grunt as Mariku landed so heavily on top of him, though of course he didn't mind in the slightest.

Still, it didn't take more than a moment for a soft smile to appear upon his face, a gentle hand moving up to run through Mariku's hair as a soft chuckle left him.

At Malik's revelation, Siegfried jerked his arm away from his shoulders. Was resting his arm there irritating his back? Was Malik enduring pain every time whenever Siegfried grasped for him in throes of passion? It did explain why Malik always wore some kind of shirt whenever they had sex.

"I'm... so sorry. I don't know what to say- that doesn't feel like enough, but..." Siegfried fumbled over his words. "That shouldn't have happened to you. No one should have to go through that."

Something haunted him though, from Malik's explanation. Something about the ritual-

"Your own father?"

Malik blinked, nearly flinching when Siegfried abruptly drew his arm away. He opened his mouth to ask what was wrong when he was suddenly met with an apology.

He never knew how to deal with sympathy from other people. He'd told so few people about his past. In his younger years, he likely would've lashed out on impulse, claiming he didn't want anyone's pity. Now, it just felt like an oddly textured blanket being draped over him. It made his skin itch.

"...it shouldn't have happened," he agreed quietly but sounded subdued. What else could be said about it at this point? The cruelty had already happened.

When his father was mentioned, he tensed for a moment before nodding and letting out a slow breath. "Yes, my father did it," he murmured. "And my grandfather did it to my father before me, and so on..."

"Yo, Malik!"

Considering Jounouchi's track record for making friends out of former enemies, he thinks this is the most interesting case of them all. Mostly because he feels a kinship to Rishid in particular— how could he not after that heartstopping duel they had?

He can't put to words how exactly he feels about Malik.

But he's going to be friendly anyway. Figure it out as he goes.

"On break now, so let's hang out!"

The Kaiba Corp cafe can live without their best server for a good hour. So he pulls up a seat with his lunch, happily munching away without a thought.

Malik was just minding his own business when he heard the familiar voice calling his name. He'd made it to the last outdoor table of the cafe before abruptly freezing up and turning his head.

Well.

Honestly, it was only a matter of time before he had to deal with these bastards again. This was what Malik got for moving to Domino.

"Uh..." He spotted Jonouchi practically grinning at him and felt his gut twist into knots. He knew they'd ended on good terms previously, but much of it was an act on his part. A diplomatic one at that, but still... not genuine effort. "...hey, Jonouchi," he finally said, sounding about as awkward as he probably looked.

Malik's family? He hadn't said much about them either, at least that Siegfried recalled. That he understood more, however. He didn't like talking about his family either, except maybe to complain.

Still the mysterious connection between Malik's family and the magic he'd only recently learned of left him with a feeling of dread in his stomach. Gone was his excitement, the glint in his eyes. His face became resolute.

Malik suddenly got a faraway look in his eyes but found himself leaning against Siegfried regardless once he was sat next to him. "...to eliminate the threat of a great evil, the Pharaoh sealed away that evil's soul and his own into Millennium Items," he began.

"The Pharaoh's descendants then entrusted the protection of these items to my people; the tombkeepers."

"We were tasked with guarding not only the Millennium Items, but protecting the secrets of Shadow Magic until the Pharaoh's revival," his eyes darkened. "And since the Pharaoh was locked away, he lost all of his memories of his past, including his name. We were also tasked to guard the secrets of how he could retrieve his lost name once he was resurrected."

"The tombkeepers resorted to extremes to preserve these secrets. One of these things was to lock many of them underground for the duration of their entire lives."

"As part of guarding these secrets, the heir to the head of the tombkeepers had to undergo a terrible ritual on his tenth birthday called the Initiation Ceremony." He sucked in a deep breath, briefly closing his eyes. "...his father carved open his back with a scalding hot knife and inscribed these secrets onto it."

"These things happened for thousands of years in the darkness until Yuugi put together the Millennium Puzzle and revived the Pharaoh."

"I do," he smiled and gave a sweet little kiss to his lips before taking his hands to gently pull him up. "Now don't judge me too hard okay? I haven't tried making some of these recipes so I just hope I did it right!" He said as he lead him to the kitchen.

Malik readily returned the soft kiss with one of his own. Once he was pulled to his feet, he followed after his boyfriend with a squeeze to Yugi's hand.

"Well, I can tell you that it smells pretty accurate..." he commented. Then, amazingly, his stomach grumbled the moment he saw all of the food in front of them.

He blushed faintly, staring wide-eyed between his stomach and the table. He hadn't had an appetite for much of the week, only eating when Yugi coaxed him to do it. "...apparently, my stomach is eager to try your cooking..." he mumbled, sounding a bit flustered.