Author's Note: Hello guys and gals. This is my first Yu-Gi-Oh fic. I wrote it as a challenge from a friend. To be honest, I didn't think I could do it, so tell me what you guys think. This story is different from my usual style so it was a bit awkward going off in a different direction, but hopefully I got it alright. Hope you all enjoy it.

Because of Your Ka

Bright. That was the first thought that hit Atem once the door to the afterlife sealed behind him. He had fought and lost to Yugi at Duel Monsters and now he had left behind his friends. He had given up his being as Yami, as the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle. It hurt yes, but he knew that he had to move on. He was five thousand years late to the afterlife and as all good things must come to an end, so too had his time among the living. He had only been in the afterlife for a few seconds and he was already missing Yugi, Joey, Tristan, Téa, Serenity, and Solomon as if he had already been gone for a lifetime. Heck, at this point he'd even go so far as to say he was missing Kaiba. When he'd entered, he'd seen the light but had expected it to fade once the door had sealed. To his dismay, it had stayed and when his eyes adjusted, he saw there was nothing but literal whiteness. It was as if he was hanging in space. Empty space. Where was everybody? All his friends, all those he had seen as he stepped through. Had they really been there or was he just imagining things? Had this place tricked him? Where were they? Ugh, so much for customer support. He fought the urge to shout, to see if there was an echo or out of frustration he didn't know. But then he'd look like an idiot. Then again, there wasn't anyone around, and he could run around screaming like a lunatic for all the difference it'd make. Not that he'd ever do it, of course. If this was the afterlife, he was going to be doomed to an eternity of boredom. Maybe he'd done something bad and this was the underworld instead; a punishment? No, that didn't fit. Atem sighed, wishing he at least had some duel cards so he could duel himself. For eternity.

"Something tells me I got the dull end of the deal." He muttered to himself. From what he saw, he was completely alone, so naturally he was completely surprised to hear giggling.
"Hmm?" He said looking around. "Who's there?" Once more he heard the giggling, a feminine one. And he felt a presence. He turned left, but saw nothing but whiteness. Confused, he turned right only to be greeted by the same sight. He groaned in frustration. In reply, he got more giggling. He whipped his head from side to side repeatedly trying to locate the owner of the sound, finally whipping his whole body around 180 degrees. Still nothing. Rolling his eyes, he turned back around only to be met by someone else, their face mere inches from his. Atem gasped and took an involuntary step backwards. The being before him smiled. She had long blonde hair, sparkling green eyes, and was clad in a blue and pink outfit. She was very beautiful and to his surprise, she seemed to be real as she hovered a few inches in the air to be at his height. Atem immediately knew who she was, though he didn't know where her magician's staff was.
"Oh, it's you Dark Magician Girl." Dark Magician Girl smiled at him, happy that she hadn't been forgotten. "What are you doing here?" In reply, she took his hand and started to pull him along.
"You want me to follow you?" He asked running along as she flew ahead. As he ran, Atem realized that the light was slowly fading and soon he realized he was in a long, dimly lit corridor.
"What is this place?" He asked, stopping. Dark Magician Girl released his hand and hovered a few feet away, giving him a moment to examine his surroundings.
"Atem." A female voice echoed through the place.
"What? Who's there?" He knew that voice, like he knew his own reflection, and yet for the sake of him, he could not place whom it belonged to. Ahead of him, Dark Magician Girl beckoned with her hand for him to follow before continuing on down the corridor. "Hey wait!" Atem called as he took off after her. "Slow down!" After a few minutes, Dark Magician Girl disappeared into the darkness. Atem slowed, looking around.
"Dark Magician Girl, where are you?" He called.
"Atem." Came the same voice again. He proceeded on and soon came to a dead-end. No, not a dead-end. There was a large wooden double-door set in a stone archway before him. The door was decorated with carvings of various Duel Monsters and in the stone archway around it was engraved the images of Slifer, Obelisk, Ra, Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon and Exodia with a carving of the Millennium Puzzle at the very top of the archway. To his surprise, Atem found his old friend, the Dark Magician, standing to the door's right. The purple clad magician nodded to him in acknowledgement. Before Atem could do anything, he heard a sound to his right and saw Dark Magician Girl appear on the door's left. Together, they each grabbed a door handle and opened the doors. Atem stared, confused. Dark Magician indicated with his free hand for him to enter and Dark Magician Girl nodded vehemently. Stepping carefully through, Atem was completely taken aback by the surprising view before him. As far as his eyes could see, there was lush green grass, with rolling hills, trees of every type and size, and several majestic cascading waterfalls. It was beyond beautiful. It was paradise.
"Wow." He breathed. Never in his entire life, as an Egyptian or as a spirit of the Puzzle, had he ever seen such a place.

"Atem." He froze. There was that voice again. Atem took off running in the direction it had come from.

"This time." He thought. "This time I'll find you." He soon found himself running along a clear stream. Coming to a pool of water, he halted suddenly. Before him was a beautiful girl. She looked around his age, perhaps a bit younger. She had tan skin, like someone who lived in the sun, much like himself, with bright blue eyes, and sharp brown hair. The girl wore a light brownish-beige tunic and skirt with a headdress. Her resemblance to the Dark Magician Girl was striking. Speaking of who, the Dark Magician Girl appeared before him, became translucent like a spirit and seemed to merge with the girl behind her. Atem took a tentative step forward. He recognized her from his memories.
"Mana?" He asked. The girl smiled which caused his heart to do a somersault.

"Hello Atem. It's about time you got here. I've waited for you for five thousand years."

"I'm sorry, Mana. I had to wait that long for someone to reassemble the Millennium Puzzle and free me." Mana walked up to him and embraced him in a hug. This caught him off guard and he stood there for a moment before returning her embrace.

"I'm so glad you're here." She said into his chest. "I missed you so much." Atem felt the heat rise to his cheeks. He held her close as if afraid that she'd disappear if he let go.

"I missed you too." He whispered to her. "Are-are the others here?"

"Uh-huh." She said nodding. "They're around somewhere. This place is bigger than any we've ever known. I chose to stay in this area to wait for you."

"Thanks."

"How did you find your way?" Mana asked after awhile, pulling back slightly, but not letting go.

"It was because of your Ka." Atem replied. "The Dark Magician Girl led me here." Mana smiled.

"We always did manage to find our way back to each other." This caused Atem to chuckle.

"Yes we did." They stared at one another for awhile, but soon Atem noticed a sad look fall upon Mana's face and she turned her head away, so as to not let him see her sadness.

"What's wrong?" He asked concerned. She looked back at him and smiled.

"Nothing. Everything is perfect. You're here and it's like a hole in my heart has been filled, like my existence has meaning now." This caused Atem, Pharaoh of Egypt, King of Duel, and ex-spirit of the Millennium Puzzle to blush furiously. "But…"

"But?" He asked curiously as she looked down. After a second, she looked back up, looking him straight in the eyes.

"In life I made a mistake. I never told you how much you meant to me. And not just as my Pharaoh or as my friend. You mean more than that; so much more. I…I love you." Atem blinked, stunned to silence. His mouth hung open and he knew he looked like an idiot, though frankly he could care less. He was completely frozen, rapidly replaying her words in his head to make sure he'd heard her correctly. At the same time, it was like his mind was having the biggest celebration in the universe. Mana, however, took his silence to mean that he didn't reciprocate her feelings and turned away in embarrassment, fighting back tears. To her surprise, she felt a pair of arms encircle her and Atem put his face by hers. The instant she turned her head to look him in the face, he captured her lips with his in a tender kiss. When they finally separated, Atem turned her around to face him, cupping her chin in his hands. Now it was Mana's turn to blush furiously.

"I've waited five thousand years to hear you say that." He said. Mana chuckled embarrassed.

"Sorry." Atem shrugged.

"Better late than never."

"Definitely." She replied. The two leaned in for another kiss. Just before their lips met, Atem whispered to her.

"I love you too, Mana." When they finally kissed, both had a smile on their faces. They were both going to enjoy eternity.