Destined to be Yours

Chapter 73: The Ishtar Tragedy

Akia decided to return to Mai's room to check on her first before going after Marik and Bakura. When she did get there, she was surprised to see that all of her friends had just gathered to see Mai's condition as well.

"Akia-chan... I guess we all felt the need to see Mai-san," Anzu whispered to her friend.
Shizuka was sitting by Mai's bedside, looking very distraught.

"Mai..." Jounouchi whispered, hoping she could hear him, "wait for us, Mai. We'll beat Marik and get you back."

"Big brother..." Shizuka mumbled, "I know you tell me to be stronger, but I can't take much more of this... People keep getting hurt..."

"Shizuka..." Jounouchi muttered.

"This isn't the world I wanted to see!" The girl retorted.

Anzu went and put a comforting arm around her troubled friend's shoulder, "Shizuka-chan..."

"I'm sorry, Shizuka, "Jounouchi apologized.

Ishizu then walked forward, "no matter what happens, we mustn't turn away. Miss... Even if our world is full of sadness, there are those who reach out with open arms with hopes to merely catch a glimpse of it. Dating all the way back to Ancient Egyptian times, us Tomb Guardians have had countless losses in order to protect our mission. To protect the great power held within the Millennium Items!"

"Ishizu-san," Yugi asked, "you're Marik's sister, right?"

The Egyptian woman nodded, sadness clear in her eyes.

"Please tell me... Why does Marik want to kill me?" The young man inquired further. "Why does Marik's dark side want to take everyone's lives?"

"Pleas, Ishizu-san," Akia pleaded, "I need to know too. I want to understand why he's changed so much."

Ishizu looked to the side, contemplating whether she should reveal everything or not. Once she reached the answer she closed her eyes in resolution, "all right. I will tell you the tragic past of the Ishtar family. We, the Ishtar clan, are the descendants of the Tomb Guardians who protected two Millennium items and the pharaoh's memories. We lived deep underground, away from the rest of the world. The eldest sons of the clans had to undergo the Rite of the Tomb Guardians and have the glyphs of the pharaoh's memory carved into their back. That was the life imposed on my younger brother, Marik. The tragedy took place five years ago, one year after Marik underwent the ritual."

Ishizu started recounting how, one day, Marik had insisted on going outside, which was against their laws as Tomb Guardians. Even though Ishizu tried to dissuade him, he could not wait any longer. Against their father's wishes they both planned their outing, while Rishid covered for them, and executed their plan come morning.

"For the first time in his entire life, Marik felt the light of the sun wrap around his entire body," Ishizu conveyed, "we then went to the nearby town where we planned to spend at most an hour. Just as we were planning to go back, it was as if it was written in destiny for Akia to appear at that very moment before us along with a man carrying the Millennium Ankh."

"Akia?!" Honda, Otogi, and Jounouchi exclaimed.

"Akia-chan, you've met Marik and Ishizu before?" Anzu inquired.

The red-eyed girl nodded, "I did, for only a moment. It was during the same time that grandpa took me on the expedition where I got my Millennium Scale."

"That's right... the whole way back, he was talking about how nice and how pretty you were," Ishizu smiled gently, "he even asked if one day he'd see you again."

Akia felt tears well-up in her eyes as she remembered their first encounter, "Marik..."

"Before you appeared, however, that man warned us that a fate of bloodshed and tragedy awaited us, saying it was the pharaoh's will. He told us to seek out the pharaoh," Ishizu continued recounting the events that had unfolded that day. "I broke the laws of my clan by exposing Marik to the outside world. Our family was fated to walk on a road of destruction. We quickly headed back, but I realized that there was a contraption on the back of the door that alerted our father if anyone were to leave."

The Egyptian woman told them how, when they rushed down to Rishid, he was being wiped by their father until he fell unconscious from the pain. Just as his father was about to whip him next, Marik's evil personality resurfaced. He took the Millennium Rod, used its powers to incapacitate his father and stabbed him with its blade. Just as he was about to kill off his sister and Rishid, the latter woke up, suppressing Marik's dark personality, making the real Marik resurface. Marik, not aware of what he had just done, saw his father's dead corpse and started to panic, until the wielder of the Millennium Ankh appeared once more. He told them again that this destiny was caused by the soul of the great pharaoh and that he will revive soon. He then urged Marik to find the pharaoh.

"So this is why... he's after the pharaoh's soul? He thinks it's the reason for his father's death? He was not aware that... he had killed his own father?" Akia uttered those words with great difficulty, feeling overwhelmed by all that information.

"No matter the reason, I still can't forgive him! Mai's life... she's fighting in the darkness all alone because of that man," Jounouchi exclaimed, "if we don't defeat him, she could lose her life...!"

"If I entrust the cleansing of Marik's personality to you, maybe there is still hope to save him from a future shrouded in darkness. Please, use your strength to help Marik. Please help my brother," Ishizu sincerely pleaded.

"Everyone, the ship lights will close at 12am sharp. Please be in your rooms by that time," Isono's voice sounded through the intercoms.

"Akia-chan, go get some rest, we'll stay with Mai-san for the rest of the night," Anzu said to her friend.

Akia nodded to both Anzu and Shizuka. Before leaving, Ishizu handed her Millennium Necklace to Yugi, claiming that he needed all items to uncover the pharaoh's memories. Through Anzu's eyes, the fragment of Marik's memory that was left there, listened to the full truth about how he was actually the one who had killed his father.

As everyone left, Anzu ran after Ishizu, asking her what would happen to the other Yugi once his memories are restored.

"Miss... All souls have a place to return to..." Ishizu answered her before turning around and going back to Akia's room.

"A place... to return to..." Anzu whispered, fearing what that meant.

Akia, instead of heading back to her room, had decided to run up to the dueling platform where Marik and Bakura's duel was still going on. She knew for sure now that she needed to save Marik at all costs. She would be the one to cast away his dark personality and pull the real him out of the darkness.