Disclaimer: What is it with these pesky things? Always popping up at the beginning of EVERY story... It pains me to say it, but I remain the non-owner of Yugioh.

Author's note: Aw, forget the Author's note. Just read the story! I had a lot of fun writing this one. You're going to hate me for torturing you. Enjoy!

The Lotus Garden

The Afterlife looked much like the surface world, Atem thought. Many cities, many people, a blue sky and clouds. The only difference, he thought, was probably how large it was, and the amount of culture. It held every era known to man—and the people lived under a ruler in each province. Atem ruled one of these provinces—all of Ancient Egypt.

The palace was the same as he remembered. The people cheered wildly at the sight of him, chanting: "Pharaoh, Pharaoh!" Somehow, he remembered the feeling and waved as he passed, gaining sighs and cheers alike.

He sat now in a conference room, windows on either side, and beams of sunlight streaming through them. At the head of the table, he waited comfortably for his father and Shimon to begin. His Guardians were there as well, but Mana and his mother waited outside. That nearly drove Mana to insanity.

"Atem," he father boomed, "You have a duty to fulfill."

"Yes, father," Atem agreed. "What must I do?"

Shimon was the only one who stood, and he took it from there. "You must take your place in the Afterlife," he said, "As King." Atem waited, suspecting more. He knew as much. When Shimon didn't continue, he asked a question.

"King of what, exactly, Shimon?"

"As King of the Spirit world," he replied. "Your place in this world is High King of the Afterlife and Spirit world."

"High King?" he asked, slightly alarmed.

"Yes, Pharaoh," Shimon agreed seriously. "There are many rulers in the Spirit world, but no one to govern them. We have awaited your return for five-thousand years so you could accept your position. There must be one ruler over the others to govern the basic rules of the land. You are that ruler. You are the Chosen King, are you not?"

"Well, yes," Atem agreed, "But High King? What exactly does that entitle?"

"It will be simpler than your job as king of Egypt," Shimon assured him. "There are rarely, if ever, any problems in this world. If any arise, you are to address them. You are to create the basic rules of the Afterlife. You command the other kings and rulers, as High King."

Atem contemplated the idea. It would give him something to do, he thought, as he so hated being idle. Slowly, he accepted. "Very well, I accept if it is my duty."

Shimon bowed, "Thank you, my Pharaoh. It will be announced immediately."

Atem held up a finger, "Ah, Shimon," he stopped him, "Couldn't it wait a day? I'd like some time. A little peace, just for today. Time to settle in."

Shimon bowed again, "My apologies, Pharaoh. Of course, very wise. It will be announced tomorrow, then."

"Thank you," Atem said. He took a deep breath. "Now, I'd like to take a walk." He rose, and the others rose with him. "You may do as you please," Atem told them. "I think I can look after myself."

"Might I come with you, Pharaoh?" Mahad asked. "I wish to talk with you."

Atem had to smile. "Certainly, Mahad."

Mahad and Atem exited the conference room, the others dispersing out the other doors. As soon as Atem was out of the room, he was pounced on by Mana. She hooked her arm through his, staring adoringly into his face. Atem's eyes softened and he smiled. Secretly, Mahad had to smile too.

"Let's go to my favorite garden, Mahad," Mana said. Mahad nodded, the corner of his mouth upturning slightly.

They entered one of the courtyard gardens through a pair of glass doors, intricately decorated with Egyptian symbols. "This, is the Lotus garden," Mana beamed, looking up to see Atem's face.

It was beautiful, he thought. It was understandable why it was Mana's favorite—lotus flowers had always been her favorite flower in Egypt. There were two rows of long pools dotted with different color lotus blossoms on lily pads and growing up from the water—there were even lotus trees sprinkling the entire garden, hanging over the lifted, rectangular pools.

"It's beautiful, Mana," he said breathlessly, eyes wandering over the garden. Surrounding it were the golden walls and pillars, somehow enhancing the beauty.

They set off down the sparkling stone pathway that moved down the center. Mana kept her arm in Atem's, sighing contentedly. She had always wanted to walk through this garden with Atem.

Mahad and Atem talked about Atem's life in the modern world, and Mana listened animatedly. He talked of a man named Pegasus, who had possessed the millennium eye and tried to take his and Yugi's puzzle—of strange technology and duels with a man name Seto Kaiba, who was the present version of Priest Seto. He mentioned the names of people who had been his friends: Mai, Duke, Marik, Ishizu, Odion, Rafael, Dartz the King of Atlantis. When they settled down at a bench, Atem's arm draped around the bench behind Mana, and she leaned contentedly into him and listened to him talk about a strange seal that stole souls, duel tournaments, the Thief King and an evil Marik. He told them how he defeated each enemy and how baffled he was when he returned to his past life without his memory.

"I was wondering why you didn't recognize me," Mana remarked, remembering.

"But I did remember your name," Atem said. "As soon as I saw you, I remembered."

Mana grinned, her heart thrumming in her chest. "I would hope so," she smirked.

The sun had begun to fall as he spoke and finished his story. So there was night here, too, Atem thought.

"Pharaoh," Mahad said. "I never imagined you would go through so much. I only knew parts of your story, having been there as the Dark Magician for parts. Mana should have known later parts," he added.

Mana nodded quickly. "I did!" she exclaimed. "I remember!"

"Good," Mahad said, folding his arms. "I was beginning to think your memory was fading." Mana just rolled her eyes.

Mahad looked at the sun. "I will leave you now, my King."

Atem nodded and watched him go. After a moment of silence during which they both stared after their friend, Atem realized that he had his arm around Mana and his face reddened. He stood and turned around to look at her, smiling softly.

Mana rose with him and stared at his face for a long moment. "What?" he asked gently.

She stepped closer, taking his hands and staring into his amethyst eyes. "I…" she blinked, and a tear escaped the corner of her eye. "I missed you."

Automatically, Atem's finger touched her eye to wipe the moisture away. "I missed you too, Mana," he said softly, his heart aching to comfort her. Blinking, she stepped in and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face into his shoulder. His arms encircled her and his face went to her hair, breathing in her presence. He hadn't realized how much he had missed her until now.

"You don't know what this means to me," she murmured, so quietly that he had to listen carefully to hear her. "All those years, when I saw you and worked with you and you didn't remember me…" she said, and Atem remembered with guilt the times during the Orichalcos when he had worked with the Dark Magician Girl, not knowing it was her. "Being without you," she added, her throat growing thick.

Her grip on him tightened, and Atem's with her. "Shhh," he comforted. "It's alright, Mana. I'm here now." He ran his fingers through her hair, murmuring soothingly to her. "And I'm not going anywhere."

Mana brought her face to his, touching their foreheads together and gazing into his face. Atem's heart raced as he realized they finally had a moment alone together. But they had time, he thought. Time to be together.

"I don't ever want you to go away again, Atem," Mana whispered.

"I won't," he promised, smiling. "I don't want to. My life is here now, where I belong."

Gently, Atem wiped away another tear, and she smiled a watery smile. "Didn't expect to be the High King, did you?"

Atem laughed, "No, not at all. Though I think it's a welcome position. You know how I hate to be idle."

Mana leaned into him, drinking in his laughter. Her face in his neck, she clutched at him, closing her eyes. She murmured something under her breath, not loud enough for Atem to hear. Her breath tickled his throat and he felt a strange sensation up his spine. "What was that?" he asked.

She squeezed him tighter before looking up at him. "I'm just glad you're here. I feel happier than I've felt in a long time."

Instinctively he cupped her cheek, smiling and feeling happier and more at peace himself than he had in years. "Me too, Mana," he breathed. His hands on her waist, he brought her close and pressed his lips to her forehead.

Mana closed her eyes in bliss, surprised at his boldness. She breathed out heavily, struggling to control her desperate heart. In a spike of passion, she found she wanted him more than anything. Her fingers knotted in his shirt, making an honest effort to hold back. She bit her tongue, held her breath, squeezed her eyes tight shut, anything to organize her thoughts.

"Atem," she breathed, touching her cheek to his.

Atem was so confused. His heartbeat was skyrocketing. His breathing came deep and arduous. There was a new stir in his gut and chest that he had never felt before. He knew he had always liked Mana a bit more than friends, but never this much. "Mana," he murmured.

Finally, it was too much for Mana. She had never felt such strong feelings for Atem before. She wanted a distraction, anything to help her sort her thoughts into something that made sense. "Atem, look," she managed softly, gazing into the lotus flower pools.

The sun had fallen considerably, and in the darkness, the lotus blooms still retained their light, glowing softly under the falling sun. Atem followed her eyes, feelings a sense of wonder. Everything seemed so perfect here.

"It's so pretty," Mana muttered. "Isn't it?"

"Beautiful," Atem agreed, gazing into her aquamarine eyes. What Mana didn't know was that he wasn't just talking about the lotus flowers.

You like? This was one of my favorites to write. Hope I'm not OOC or anything... the usual, R&R, ConCrit... you know the drill. If you don't review, I don't know if you like it! PLEASE, Read and Review! Writers hate it when you don't tell them how you feel about it.

-Anevay