Title: Free (or, Ishizu's First Motorcycle Ride)

Pairing(s): None

Rating: K+

Word Count: 911

Author's Notes: We can blame Netflix for getting me started on watching the Yu-Gi-Oh! dub again and blame the yugioh website for having every episode available because Netflix does not. While it is my goal to eventually watch the subs, for now I'll be basing my stories on the dubs so I'm sorry if that bothers anyone. That being said, I love sibling relationships and I wanted to write a quick thing about these three (though, Odion isn't really featured like Ishizu and Marik are, but maybe I'll write another about him, too.) and this was born. I hope you enjoy, and if you're on AO3, I'll be posting it there as well (under the same username)

Ishizu doesn't like motorcycles. There was never a use for them in her world. But her father is gone and the Pharaoh has come, so the tomb-keepers' mission has been fulfilled. The evil in her brother has been defeated, and Marik's looking up at her with his big eyes and smile, a smile she hasn't seen on her little brother's lips in so long.

Odion is beside her, his own smile looking as though he's holding back from making it a smirk, as though he knows she's going to give in. She tries to not focus on that, instead looking back at their little brother and his contraption.

"Come on, sister, just one ride. Even half the Pharaoh's friends ride these, how bad can they be?"

His voice sounds a lot more like her baby brother, happy and free, and she wants to say no but she can't bring herself to. She gives a sigh of defeat and then nods, and the look Marik gives her makes her hope this is worth it. She's never been in a fast vehicle before, never mind on one, and since she no longer has her necklace, she can't even tell if she's going to be sick on this thing or not.

She doesn't have to look at Odion to know he's given into that smirk, she can tell by the glance Marik gives him before he holds out a helmet to her. "Okay, put this on, and when I lean, you need to lean with me. That's very important, Ishizu, if you don't lean with me on turns, we'll lose our balance and fall."

Ishizu wonders to herself if he's ever shared a bike with someone and if that's happened, or if he's simply just read about it happening. She doesn't ask, instead just fastening the helmet as he does his own, and takes a deep breath before fixing her outfit and getting on the bike. "I'm going to regret this, brother," she says quietly, but the laugh he gives lets her know he's heard. She instinctively holds onto his waist as Marik starts up the motorcycle, biting her lip as it takes off.

He starts at a decently slow pace, and she's seen him ride before and knows this isn't his usual speed. It's not long before he starts to go faster, out on an almost empty road that is clearly not a main one. She can feel the wind in her hair, blowing back all of it that is left out of the helmet. She closes her eyes as he swerves to avoid a pothole, remembering just in time that she's supposed to lean with him.

"Isn't it freeing, sister?" she hears him ask, and her blue eyes slowly open to look ahead. Somehow they'd gotten to a strip of road that borders the water, and the setting sun is turning the water a beautiful blend of colors. She looks to the other side of her, watching as they speed past cars going the speed limit and Marik moves to swerve in between the two that are ahead of him.

For once in her life, Ishizu feels as though she's not worried. Worried about crashing, yes. Worried about her brother losing control or herself forgetting to move with him. But she isn't worried about the world ending, about Marik's dark side, about Odion being stuck in the Shadow Realm. She isn't worried about the Pharaoh who doesn't remember himself or the High Priest who refuses to acknowledge anything. She's not worried about destiny or card games or even what awaits her family now that they'll be living free of what had been their family duty for millennia.

"It is," she admits, smiling despite herself. "It's very freeing." She can understand it now, she thinks. Her brother doesn't like this for the pure sense of it looks cool. They'd been birds trapped in a cage for so long, never allowed to even see the light. She shudders, remembering the one time they'd gone against that rule, the harsh consequences that had followed.

"Don't be scared, Ishizu. It's my turn to protect you." She almost doesn't hear him over the engine, but she is more calmed by his words than she wants to say. He believes her to be afraid of being on the bike, and she lets him, not wanting to bring up the real reason for her discomfort. "We can turn back now, if you'd like."

Ishizu thinks for a minute. This may be the last time she gets the nerve to do something like this, and she never would have allowed herself previously. She knows she's probably going to have duties again, soon, just different ones than she had before, and she'll probably need her brothers' help to fulfill them once more. "A few more minutes," she tells him, and he takes that as a cue to speed up.

This time when she closes her eyes, her lips are back to that smile. She doesn't know if she'll admit it to her brothers that she actually enjoyed the ride, they're likely to want to push for a repeat if they know she didn't hate it, but she'll worry about that later.

She's tired of worrying; she doesn't want to anymore. At least for right now, she'll enjoy the fun she has with her brother, enjoy the wind in her hair and the sun on her skin. For now, she is free.