Yami awoke to the rays of sunlight on his face, he stretched his sore muscles and got up to pack up his sleeping mat. The others were waking up as well and began to look around the oasis for food.

"What is this?" Malik asked as he held the foreign fruit in his hand (its a date)

"I don't know...I wish Rebecca was here, she would know" ryou said as he examined the fruit himself

Jonouchi ate one of the dates and he smiled as he began eating more of it. The other two neko's shrugged and ate the fruit either way now knowing that it wasn't poisonous.

"Yami aren't you going to eat?" Malik asked his friend

"I'll eat later" Yami said as he readied the horses

"But there might not be another paradise like this for miles" Ryou said in concern for his friend

Yami ignored their concern and saddled up to catch up on lost time. The others looked at their friend with worry before packing up their camp. Ryou filled the canteens with water, Malik picked fruits, and Jonouchi readied their horses for them.

"Lets move" Yami said sternly once the other three neko's got everything ready

They nodded and followed Yami to the desert once more to search for yugi. The man who took yugi was going to pay and Yami knew he and his friends were going to get in trouble when the emperor finds out they left the protection of Japan.

~Meanwhile with Lord Mazaki~

The Lord banged his head on his desk as he kept hearing the baby Neko cry all day and night and he thought the Neko would grow tired of his crying but he was wrong about that thought.

"WILL SOMEONE SHUT THAT CREATURE UP!" Lord Mazaki yelled as he pulled his hair

The servants nodded back in fear and went to calm yugi down but nothing they did would get him to stop crying, yugi ate little since he didn't like the food or milk they gave him. And Mazaki didn't want to give his Pharaoh a gift that cried to much.

"I'll be ruined if I give that creature to the Pharaoh" Mazaki groaned as he placed his hands on his desk in frustration

What he didn't know about neko's is that when you threaten their young, the dominant of the pair will go and eliminate the threat but since yugi's father is dead, his mother will have to save him, himself. Mazaki paced back and forth and knew he would have to leave for the palace soon or else he would cause suspicion. He ordered his servants to pack his things and ready his horse to leave for the palace before sundown.

~With Yami and Friends~

Yami wore his hood and a piece of fabric across his face so only his eyes showed, to keep the bugs from getting in his mouth. Jono, Malik, and Ryou done the same thing but Malik was having a tough time in getting used to something covering his face.

"Malik stop fussing" Yami scolded in his motherly tone

"Yami you're doing it again" Jonouchi said as he received a glare from Yami

"Doing what?" Yami asked with narrowed eyes

"I know losing yugi is taking a toll on you but we will find him" Ryou said in comfort as Yami sighed and turned to look at the desert ahead

Unknown to the four neko's they were being watched by a group of bandits along with their leader the Thief King himself.

"Look at that boys, a few travelers on their merry way" Akiefa laughed as he saw the four neko's in disguise

"Should we attack now my king?" Asked one of the bandits

"Let them believe they are safe for now...but for now we keep following them" Akiefa said as he got on his horse and began to follow the neko's

"Yes my king" the bandit said with forced loyalty to the Thief King

Akiefa knew his men well but the new recruits, he had to keep his eye on them since he knew many wanted his position in power and control.

~Nightfall~

Yami and the others made a fire and began to settle down for the night until they were surrounded by bandits. Ryou immediately hid behind Malik and said Neko was in a defense stance except for Yami and Jonouchi . Akiefa walked up to them while on his horse and stared at the cloaked neko's in disguise and found the one with the brown doe eyes intriguing but he immediately recovered his composure.

"Give us the riches you have and we'll be on our way...no one gets hurt and no fuss is made, Deal" Akiefa asked with a certain look in his eye

Yami glared at the man and noticed that he was wearing a pendant like the man who took his son away from him, he immediately narrowed his eyes and searched the group of bandits who were missing a pendant and he saw the man who took his son. Jonouchi saw the look in his eye and had to restrain Yami from attacking the man.

"You!, where's is he!...where's my son!" Yami yelled as he struggled against Jono's grip

Akiefa was confused but unknown to Yami he dropped the pendant he held in his cloak and the thief king noticed this and glared at his men.

"Bring me Kodak" Akiefa commanded as he glared at the pendant that is now in his hand

Akiefa's men were confused but obliged and caught Kodak trying to run away, they brought him to his knees in front of Akiefa and the neko's were confused but Yami tried to escape jono's grip on him.

"Jono! let me go...now!" Yami said in anger

"No!, then you might do something you'll regret...think about what Yugioh would've have wanted" Jonouchi said as Yami stopped struggling

Jonouchi knew he hit a sore spot but it was the only way to keep Yami from doing the wrong thing. Akiefa cared less for the neko's conflict but more of his expected betrayal by his own men.

"Those who went on a scavenging trip...bring them to me" Akiefa ordered as more of his loyal men brought the recruits to their knees before him

Ryou looked at the thief king and wondered what he was doing but he stayed quiet and minded his own. Akiefa had tan skin, white-grey hair, a scar under his right eye, with bright light grey eyes. Ryou noticed he wore a red robe that showed his chest which in his opinion was very muscular with a gold belt holding it together.

"Now, you said you were going to scavenge a village in the boarders of Egypt, around the time Lord Mazaki was looking for a gift for his Pharoah" Akiefa said in distaste

Ryou looked at Malik and he shrugged, neither knew what was going on but Yami listened and if he found this Pharaoh he would know where his son is in this hot forsaken desert. Jonouchi was worried for his friend and he knew losing his husband to a deadly sickness was hard since yugi was only born a month after the entire ordeal.

"So what did my men do to cause you poor sacks to come to Egypt" Akiefa said with a cruel smile which hid anger

"They destroyed our village" Malik said in anger

"They killed almost everyone" Jono said in anger

"They tried to capture us..." Ryou said in realization of why they wanted his people

"Catching on, capture a few foreigners for the Pharaoh to enjoy" Akiefa laughed as did his men except for those who feared their life

Yami glared at Kodak and he just smiled at him, of course he knew what they were and the Thief King would want to sell them for a high amount of money. Kodak quickly took a hold of Ryou and held a knife against his throat.

"Kodak what are you doing" Akiefa said with boredom in his voice

"You don't know what they are do you" Kodak said as he laughed maniacally

"No...nor do I care" Akiefa said as he looked at Kodak plainly

Kodak smiled and pulled Ryou's hood but his ears camouflaged with his white hair. Kodak was shocked but Akiefa was getting annoyed but one look at Ryou he felt connected to him. Ryou looked at the thief king and felt the same, their eyes showed a hint of pink before it disappeared.

"What!, but they have cat like appearances!" Kodak claimed as he stared at Akiefa who laughed along with his loyal men

"Cats?, have you gone mad" Akiefa said as he and more of his men laughed

Akiefa regained his composure and ordered his men to 'take care of Kodak and the men with him', Ryou knew what that meant but didn't bother to feel pity since they brought it upon themselves. He fixed his hood and the fabric that covered his mouth to give him a sense of security. Yami glared at the ground and he got on his horse and rode off leaving Jonouchi , Malik, and Ryou behind.

"He's going to get himself killed" Jono muttered as he stared at the disappearing figure before him

"So whats his hurry to run off" Akiefa said as he startled Ryou

Ryou moved away from Akiefa a little and kept eye contact but found it hard not to remain quiet in the presence of this man.

"The men that you ordered to...they took something close to our friend but we don't know if he's still alive" Ryou said as he looked in the direction Yami went

"So it's a relative, friend, lover" Akiefa asked as he fiddled with his knife

"His child" Ryou said before he could stop it

Akiefa stopped his fiddling and suddenly he boiled in anger. He hid his anger and kept his composure and acted he didn't care at all.

"Your friend is going to get killed, he doesn't know the way to palace let alone all of Egypt" Akiefa said as he petted his horse

Ryou knew what this man was doing and found it amusing for the man to offer his help to locate yugi and Yami.

"And, we can manage" Ryou said as he played along with his little game

Jonouchi and Malik saw the two talking and immediately Jonouchi pulled Malik aside and ran his hand over his face.

"Please tell me he didn't just find his true mate" Jono said as he covered his eyes

"He did and with a thief...didn't see that one coming" Malik said as he pointed at Akiefa

"This is going to be hard now that Ryou found his mate" Jonouchi said as he narrowed his eyes at the two love birds

Ryou finished the game Akiefa played and went towards his two friends near their horses. They looked at him but he shrugged it off and found it less concerning.

"He said he can help" Ryou whispered happily

"Really?, I didn't catch any of that in your conversation" Malik said as he crossed his arms

"Trust me...he may be a thief but he knows what secret messages are" Ryou said with a smile

"Then lets go find Yami and Yugi before something else does" Jonouchi said as he got on his horse as did the other two neko's

The three neko's left and Akiefa ordered his men to hide the bodies of the traitors before they leave for their secret hideout. Akiefa left them as he always did and followed the three neko's at a close but at a comfortable distance. With his knowledge they found their way in Egypt but the real challenge was finding where Yami had gone since they had arrived at the palace a week later.