The apartment feels bigger now. How long has passed? Days? Weeks? Months? Why didn’t he say goodbye. I sit by the phone fiddling with my blue Egyptian jewel almost every day. Why did he leave me? We’re partners! We’re a team! Bakura always tells me when he’s leaving. I swear if he has gone to Egypt again, I would debate skinning him alive. He’s going to be with Marik. I bet he’s with Marik.  Marik is my violet eyed friend from Battle City. He and his siblings are Tomb Keepers who travelled to Domino City when Marik’s darker side, Melvin began to manipulate everything he did. Marik is the only person who Bakura knows in Egypt, so if he was to be there, he would be with them. I scowl, dialling the number for Marik’s mobile.

“Marmalade! What a surprise.” He greets brightly after two rings.

“Marik, I swear to God if Bakura’s over in Egypt with you, you had better tell me now because if I find out he was with you then I am going to steal Kaiba’s jet and fly there myself just to kick you in the nuts.” I snarl.

“What are you talking about? He told me that you knew he was here.” Marik stammers.

“Give him the phone.” I demand.

“I can’t Marmalade.” He replies.

“Why not.” I roar.

“We dropped him off at the airport so he could come back a week ago. Hasn’t he shown up?” Marik asks, worried.

“Marik didn’t want to let him go at the airport!” Odion yells with a laugh.

“You did?” I ask, ignoring Odion’s comment.

“Yeah. And he’s not back?” Marik asks for clarification. I nod.

“I haven’t heard from him in a long time Marik. How long was he with you?” I ask.

“Three days. Bakura stayed with us for three days.” My blond Egyptian friend replies.

“Has Ishizu seen anything about Bakura?” I ask.

“She doesn’t like to pry.” Marik replies. His older sister was born with the gift of foresight. It was enhanced with the Millennium Necklace. Ishizu has assumed that either Ryou and I or Bakura and I are in a relationship when she became aware that we live together. She has become very distant since I duelled to protect her brother. Odion, Marik’s older and adoptive brother sees no harm in me living in an apartment with Bakura. It’s not like it’s a one bedroom apartment!

“Ask her to Marik. This is serious.” I beg.

“Hold on. Odion! Can you talk to Hadley for a minute?” he calls.

“Yes Master Marik.” I hear the deep toned reply of Marik’s older brother, owner of the most kick ass face tattoo I have ever seen!

“Hello Odion.” I greet.

“Hello Hadley, it has indeed been a while.” He replies.

“It really has been.” I agree.

“You want to know what I know right?” he assumes.

“Yeah. He hasn’t spoken to me for a while. I don’t know who is influencing the absence or for what reason.” I state.

“That makes no sense, he told us that you send your kindest regards but were too sick to travel which of course made Ishizu assume…” Odion begins.

“No way in Hell Odion.” I smirk.

“That’s what I said.” He groans sarcastically.

“Brother, may I speak with her?” I hear Ishizu ask of Odion.

“By all means sister.” Odion hands his younger adoptive sister Marik’s phone.

“Hello Hadley.” Ishizu greats cautiously.

“It’s not like that. He never told me he was traveling.” I babble.

“Oh?” Ishizu asks, baffled.

“I mean it; we have never been like that. Bakura never even said goodbye…” I begin.

“I see something!” she announces. “He’s deliberating. Bakura is unsure about what to do now, he can see something of greater power, out of the hands of his own manipulation, but he still has not fulfilled what he had intended to do.” Ishizu informs me.

“Is that all you see?” I ask.

“Yes.” She replies.

“It was great to talk to you, I really do have to visit don’t I?” I grin.

“Yes.” Marik yells. Who put me on speaker phone? I frown.

“Marik would you like to talk to Hadley now?” I can almost hear the glare that she gave her brother!

“Well yeah. I haven’t talked to her for a while…”Marik begins.

“No duh.” I laugh “You only just got your own mobile phone!”

“Ha! Hadley he’s really going insane now!” Odion chuckles.

“Odion shut the [EFF] up!” Marik snaps.

“Okay I think I’m going to hang up now.” I tease to shut him up.

“Hey!” my blond friend moans.

“She was kidding.” Scoffs Odion.

“No duh.” I smirk.

“Thank Ra!” Marik sighs. I roll my eyes.

“So how are you?” I ask.

“I’ve turned speaker phone off Hadley. Talk to me.” he hisses.

“What do you know about Bakura’s visit?” I ask.

“He’s close. He thinks he can finally avenge those innocent village folk.” Marik replies quietly.

“That’s great... but why didn’t he tell me. We’ve been in this together from the start.” I blink, taking in how I am feeling. Alone, rejected, weak. I hate being weak. I grab the empty coffee mug and hurl it at the wall.

“Are you okay?” the blond Egyptian asks.

“Yeah, just the TV.” I lie.

“Thank God.” Marik sighs. “I thought that someone had broken in to hurt you.”

“Marik this is Japan. Card Games are law. If people wanted to hurt my pride then they would have to beat me at a children’s card game.” I laugh.

“Okay. Let me answer your question now. Well Bakura might not want you hurt. He’s meddling with the works of more than a handful of Egyptian Gods.” My friend points out.

“If I could face the chicken then I could face any other God.” I scowl.

“Even Anubis. That’s right Marmalade, Anubis. Egyptian Lord of the dead.” Marik states.

“But he hates the Pharaoh.” I whine.

“It’s still too risky. He’s a very manipulative God from what I have read in the legends.” Marik cautions.

“Bakura is willing to risk it.” I point out.

“No Zorc is.” She hisses. She is my ‘Yami’ apparently, making me the weak defenceless ‘Hikari’ but since it’s only the opinion of Shadi, there is a slight chance that she is just imaginary.

“He will risk it all.” Marik replies.

“What else do you know?” I ask.

“He’s very good at reading Egyptian. He’s not even rusty. Bakura was reading scrolls from the Pharaoh’s time by the dozen! When he was done, he went to the airport and left.” Marik compliments. I nod.

“Yes…” I encourage him to continue.

“Have you realised Bakura has like a double personality?” he asks.

“Bakura and Ryou of course.” I shrug off his question.

“Fine a triple personality. When he was talking to me, he would be friendly for one minute and hostile the next. He would talk about you as if you were a God and then friendzone you like five minutes later.” Marik presses.

“He’s always been like that.” I insist. He honestly has always done that. Bakura was always hard to read and was constantly contradicting himself. I just considered that it may just be because he never wanted to me close to him. Who or what is Zorc anyway?