|| Til Death Do We Part ||

|| Old Buddy ||

Mana: "Old Buddy." Does that mean someone Atem or I know is coming?

JAGartist: Yeah, something like that. But it's not going to be pretty.

Atem: Not going to be pretty? What's that supposed to mean?

JAGartist: I could tell you, but I'd rather you'd read the story instead of trying to get it out of me, if that's okay.

Mana: I don't mind really.

Atem: I bet the readers will.

Mana: Aw you worry too much, Atem!

Atem: (confused) You think so?

Mana: Yup, so don't worry about it!

Atem: (sighs in annoyance)

JAGartist: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its contents

"Hey Mana! Come here a second."

Mana looked up from her notepad.

"Here, I'll take over for you."

"Thanks Diane. I owe you one." She handed Diane the notepad she had been taking an order from and headed over towards the counter where Martha was.

"What's up, Boss?"

"I'll just get to the point. I need you to pick Casey from Lizzie's place."

Mana tilted her head to the side with a confused look on her face. "Why though? Aren't you supposed to do that?"

"Well…" Martha looked embarrassed. "I would, but I've been busy and – "

"Let me guess. You have a pile of files and letters on your desk that you haven't looked at yet so you're making me get Casey while you stay here and work on that heap sitting there in your office. Am I right?"

Martha gave an innocent smile. "You always seem to know these kinds of things."

"Actually, I saw the pile when I went back there earlier to get that form you asked for."

"Oh. You saw that?"

Mana couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah, I did."

Martha sighed. "But since you asked so nicely, I'll do it for you."

"Thank you, Mana. I can depend on you. You can sign out for today and don't worry about helping with clean up since you came in this morning."

"Thanks, Boss!"

"And what are you gonna start calling me Martha?" she called out as Mana rushed past. Of course, the door to the changing room shut before she got an answer. She smirked. "Always in a hurry, that Mana."

"Atem, where are you going?"

"Out," he answered, stating the obvious. Even after ponder things over since his talk with the guys, he was still thinking of Mana and he still couldn't figure out the reason behind it. He figured that if the morning air did him good, then the night air would provide him with what he needed to think matters over with a clear mind. Being just past four in the afternoon, the sun would be setting in about an hour, bringing cool in in the cool winds of November. It was the perfect time to go out when one wanted to clear their heads.

Yugi was persistent though. "But Atem. The sun's going to set in a little while – "

"– and dinner will be ready in an hour." Joey added bluntly. Atem just waved them off. "Tell Mom and Grandpa I'll be late for dinner, Yugi. I'll be out for a couple hours."

Téa turned from her spot on the couch. "Are you sure you should be going out this late alone?"

"Yeah," Tristan added, jumping into the conversation. "Did you hear? There's a gang of prowlers wandering around the city and terrorizing people. Most of them are young girls."

Atem smiled, much to the surprise of his brothers and friends. "I'll be fine. If they come around, I'll just clobber them."

Yugi just sighed. "Just don't overdo it if you do."

Atem nodded. "I promise." He was still smiling. Yugi smiled back. But as he turned away, his smile faded. He knew that Yugi was thinking about what had happened before. He had sworn to never do that again and he intended on keeping it.

"Mana! You're here!" Mana braced herself as the 10-year-old launched herself at Mana and gave her one of her Casey-hugs. "Did you bring me something?" She looked up at Mana with sparkling eyes.

"Is that anyway to greet me? Your mom needs to teach you to have better manners. Not that she has them herself…"

"I was kidding! I know better than that." Casey released Mana. "I'll go get my stuff!" With that, she ran off.

"It's good to see you, Mana. It's been a while since you've visited me." Mana turned to face a red-haired woman. She appeared to be in her mid-20s.

"Evening, Lizzie. It's good to see you too and sorry about not visiting. I've been busy."

Lizzie laughed. "Still haven't told the 'rents about the part-time job, huh?"

"No…" Mana looked downward towards her feet which had begun shuffling back and forth. "You know they'd make me quit at the drop of a hat."

Lizzie smiled. "I know what you're going through Mana, but you can't keep this secret forever. I mean, they're going to figure it out someday. And it'll most likely be sooner than you think."

"I know. It's just…" Mana sighed.

"By the way, I meant to ask this the last time you were here. Why are you working at my sister's diner? I know you're not the kind of girl that's there to get spending money. You're parents give you everything you need."

Mana looked towards the stairs. Casey was still in her room gather her stuff. "Actually… I've been saving the money for college."

Lizzie raised an eyebrow. "College? Why though. I thought your parents were paying for it."

"They're paying for the college they want me to go to. But I've made up my mind at another college. You know the one my grandfather works at?"

Lizzie looked surprised. "The one on your father's side. Why there?"

Mana gave a small smile. "He told me it was a great place to go for a degree in art and I want to become a great drawer. Like you are."

Mana watched as her friend blushed. "Oh stop! You're making me blush!" But Lizzie's smiled faded into a frown as quickly as it arrived. This made Mana concern. "What? What is it? Are you worried that I won't be able to pay for it?"

"No, it's not the cost that I'm worried about. It's how your parents are going to react when they realized what you intend to do."

"I know. I even got the acceptance letter the other day, but I'm worried that Mom will find it if she looks in my bag."

"You keep it there?"

"No, I always carry it with me. I make sure to place it in the bag I'm taking with me the night before. You know how scattered I am when it comes to remembering to do things."

Lizzie smiled again. "That's true. Well, if they ever kick you out, you'll have to figure out where you'll stay. You can't stay here since I've got relatives coming in to visit every week."

Mana nodded. That was true. So many came in all the time she had met almost everyone in Lizzie and Martha's family. "I could stay at Martha's."

"Her apartment is made for two people and I doubt her manager will let her take one more person in. What about Diane's place? Isn't she a good friend of yours?"

"Diane's already done so much for me. I can't burden her and her mom more by staying at their house. And I can't stay at Greg's or Luke's either. For one thing, they're boys. The other thing is that Luke sleeps in a dorm and Greg lives in a bachelor's apartment."

Lizzie shook her head. "Well, we'll think of something when that time comes. Hopefully, they'll kick you out after you move into the dorm."

"If I can afford that. The dorms are expensive to live in."

"Don't worry about that. Leave the dorm to Martha and me. We'll make sure you're not living your college years in the street."

Mana looked towards Lizzie with a smile on her face. "Thank you, Lizzie."

"Anytime - By the way, where's Martha? No wait don't tell me. She let a pile of junk gather on her desk, right?"

"Correct. So I'm here instead."

"I thought that was the case."

"Mana! I'm ready!" Mana turned towards the stairs as Casey came running down them, her Dora the Explorer bag on her bag.

"Well, I guess it's time for you to go."

"Yup. I guess so." Mana opened the door to let Casey out and started to follow.

"Mana." She stopped. "Don't forget what we talked about, but don't worry about it either. Just worry about getting that high school diploma and graduating. Okay."

Mana faced Lizzie and nodded.

Atem took a seat on one of the benches in the park. For a few minutes, he kept his eyes closed. When he opened them, he saw couples walking around taking evening strolls. The couples ranged. Old, young; short-term, long-term, they were there.

Atem had seen couples wander around the park at this time of day before and had never cared. But now, he suddenly felt very alone watching them. This was a first for him. And he didn't understand why he was feeling this way. But eventually it came to him.

It's Mana… I still can't get her off my mind… It can't be… It's not that I'm starting to get some sort of crush on her… Isn't it?

He sighed and leaned back. He closed his eyes and suddenly went into a light sleep.

"Mana, can we play in the park?"

"It's almost dark though, Casey. I need to get you to your mom's diner soon."

"Just for a few minutes? And the diner's not far from here."

Mana and Casey had gone a ways after saying their good byes to Lizzie and were only a few blocks from the diner when Casey had spotted the park, much to Mana's grief. If there was one place Casey loved more than anything, it was the park.

Mana thought of her options. If she said no, Casey would just cry until they got to the diner and then Martha would have to deal with it. But it was safer. On the other hand, saying yes would put Casey in a good mood, making things easier for her boss. The problem was that lingering would decrease the amount of light left in the day and the streets were most dangerous at night. And if something happened to Casey, Mana would never forgive herself and she would never been able to look at Martha or Lizzie in the face ever again. What to do, what to do…

"Alright, but just for a few minutes. We don't have much sunlight left and I'd rather you'd be back home before dark."

Casey cheered and headed for the playground, leaving her bag behind with Mana. The only thing Mana could do now was sit and wait.

As she watched Casey begin to swing on one of the swings, she began to remember how much fun she had at that same playground when she was a kid. Like Casey the swing had been her favorite. She would sit on those same swings for hours, just swaying back and forth. Sometimes Diane did it with her. Most times she was alone. But it didn't matter to her. As long as she could swing, she was happy.

Without thinking, she got up and went up behind Casey. She smiled as she grabbed Casey's shoulders and pulled her back. "Swing your legs and I'll push, okay?"

Casey nodded with a smile and began moving her legs back and forth as Mana pushed her over and over again. Pretty soon they were laughing and a few minutes became 20. Eventually, the sun vanished, bringing the darkness.

Mana spotted this first and checked her watch. "Whoops. We need to get going, Casey. We should have been at the diner by now."

Casey didn't whine when she had to get off. Even she knew better than to be outside when it got dark out unless her mom or aunt was around and neither one of them were. Just as Mana had grabbed Casey's back from the ground, she heard a twig snap. She stopped. Someone was watching them.

"Come on, Casey. We'd better hurry." She quickly pushed Casey along, away from the park. But whoever had been watching them was now following them. Mana could hear footsteps coming from behind her. She dared herself to take a peek. It was a man, someone she didn't recognize. She quickened her pace only to have the stalker increase his. Then he became they as more young men joined the first. Now there were three or four men following Mana and Casey. This was starting to worry Mana.

Mana tried not to panic and held Casey closer to her, trying to reassure her than nothing was wrong. But Casey already knew that something was up and clutched Mana more tightly in fear. Mana's attempt to keep Casey calm was not working, which just increased her anxiety. As she turned the corner, she saw several more men begin walking up to them with smirk looks on their faces.

Mana started to turn around, only to see the other group walk up from around the corner. Before she could do anything, the two groups had surrounded them. She backed up against the wall with Casey standing behind her. She didn't need an introduction to know who these men were.

They were the same group of stalkers that had been preying on people for the last few weeks now. And she had just become their next target.

Mana quickly counted. There were eight men in total, three on her left and five on her right. Even with numbers, Mana knew that there was no way she could escape, especially since Casey was with her. She was scared, but she knew she had to say something. "What do you want?" She already knew the answer.

The men just laughed at her. Casey hid her face in Mana's sweater. The man standing in the middle stepped forward.

"You should already know that, Miss Mana."

Mana stared with a surprised look on her face. "H-How did you know my name?"

"I'm hurt. Surely you haven't forgotten me?" The man stepped closer into the light, revealing his face. Mana only needed one glance to know who he was.

"You're that man that Martha kicked out!"

The man smirked. "You do remember me. You may call me Dean by the way."

Atem yawned and stretched his arm up above his head as he willed himself out of sleep. The sun had just set and the sudden change in temperature woke him up. He sleepily looked at his watch. He had been sleeping for almost an hour. "I guess I was more tired than I thought." Though I was up at 6:30 this morning, so that makes sense. Atem popped his neck as he continued to try and wake himself up. He was going to bed early tonight. Then it happened.

A headache had started to form. He ignored it like any other headache, but after a few seconds it suddenly got worse. Eventually, it was as if his mind was being ripped apart. He groaned and clutched his head. His eyes shut tightly as the pain continued and he fell to his knees in agony. He crutched over, wanting desperately for the pain to stop. Then he heard her.

Someone, help me!

Just as quickly as the pain came, it vanished. It left Atem aching. But it was fear that was causing him to shake violently. He had recognized the owner of the voice that he had heard a moment ago. And it sounded desperate. For some reason, he knew exactly where to go. He ran as fast as he could.

"Look, you can do whatever you want with me. Just let Casey go! She's just a kid!"

Dean smirked. "And what, leave your little friend there out of the fun?"

Mana sneered. "You're sick!"

He just laughed. "Call me what you like. After all, it is your fault that I'm not allowed at that diner anymore."

"That's your own fault. You shouldn't have tried to have your way with me."

"You should have just said yes and none of this would be happening. I always get what I want in the end anyway." He quickly walked up to Mana and grabbed her wrist. "Come on, let's have some fun."

Mana's reflexes took over. Her free hand had formed a fist and came in contact with Dean's face. The impact forced Dean back, releasing Mana. Unfortunately, he had pushed her away when he was hit. The push caused Mana's hand to go behind her to prevent her head from hitting the wall, only to feel pain when her hand was pulled back. She clutched her wrist as she attempted to prevent tears from falling. She figured it was better than a cracked skull though.

Dean wasn't as accepting about his injury as Mana was. His left cheek was slowly starting to swell and show signs of black and violet. Some blood was coming out of his mouth. He felt it and hissed when he did. He looked back at Mana with murder in his eye. "You bitch!"

He rushed towards her in a rage. Mana covered Casey with her body to act as a shield from the attack. It never came.

Next thing Dean knew, his left arm was grabbed from behind and held against his back in a painful position. Mana looked up and was surprised to see who the new arrival was.

Casey looked up when the attack didn't come and smiled when she saw who it was. "It's Atem. He's come to save us!"

Atem hardly gave a glance at the two girls as he continued to pull Dean's arm upward. "Care to explain what you had planned to do to these fine ladies, sir?"

Dean just spitted. "It's none of your business, punk! Let go and get loss before I let the guys go after you!"

"Am I supposed to be scared or something. You're threats mean nothing to me."

"I mean it. You'd better let go before I get angry!"

Atem was losing his patience. "If you think you're mad, you don't want to be around when I get angry. It's not pretty." He swirled around, lifted Dean in the air, and tossed in a ways away. Dean landed on his back. Mana swore she heard something snap. Atem then stood between the girls and Dean's gang. Mana took a good look in his eye. There was determination and anger in his eyes. She also swore she saw some red in them as well. He turned his head.

"They're going to come after me. As soon as they do, make a run for the diner and don't look back. Get Casey away from here."

She would have argued, but the look in his eyes brought reality to her first. He was more worried about Casey than her. She didn't blame him.

Dean got to his feet. He wasn't happy. "What are you standing there for? Get him!"

All eight men charged at Atem, believing they had the advantage with the eight-against-one strategy. They were wrong.

As they charged, Mana grabbed Casey and ran for it. She didn't stop like he said, but she did look back. Atem punched, kicked, and head-butted. In other words, he was clobbering all eight men without even trying. She smiled to herself as she turned another corner out of sight.

Pretty soon, the men in Dean's gang realized that they were fighting a losing battle and started to run off one by one. Pretty soon it was just Dean and Atem. Atem smiled at the expression Dean had. He was shocked that Atem had managed to face eight full grown men by himself and have only a few scratches.

"Care to take me on, or do you wish to run away in humiliation just like your friends did."

Dean growled. He had murder in his eyes and they were set on him. "Never!" Before Atem knew it, Dean had charged at him and gave him a direct punch in the stomach. The impact knocked the wind out of Atem. Dean followed the punch with a kick to the head. Atem was knocked off his feet and landed hard. His head was pounding, but it didn't hurt quite as badly as the headache from earlier.

Dean just started laughing. "And you were so full of yourself too! I guess the guys were awfully weak for you to get beaten so easily by me."

Atem spit blood that had gotten into his mouth and wiped it with the back of his hand with a chuckle.

"W-What are you laughing about?" Dean asked as Atem got to his feet. Atem just smiled at him.

"I have to say that was pretty good, hitting my diaphragm before kicking my head to knock me out. It was good except that I'm still conscious." He popped his knuckles. "Now let me show you my skills." As quick as lighting, Atem got behind Dean and hit him at a point just below his skull. The strike hit a pressure point and Atem watched as Dean collapsed unconscious. Atem was breathing heavily and the red in his eyes faded away. His hands fell to his pockets as he pulled out a cell phone.

"Mana! Where have you been?"

"Do you realize how dark it's gotten?"

"There's a gang roaming around here!"

Mana, hidding her injured wrist, just answered, "Well it's already too late to avoid them..."

"Forget about that. What happened to your wrist?" Diane had popped up from behind her and had noticed how swollen it was.

Mana was grateful that there were no customers around to see the state she was in when she and Casey finally came in through the door of the diner. She was very grateful indeed. As Luke bandaged her wrist up (Martha was too busy comforting a crying Casey), she explained everything that had happened since leaving Lizzie's place; it slipped her mind to mention that it was Atem that had helped her escape. At the end, she bowed her head in shame.

"I'm sorry, Martha. If I hadn't been so careless, none of this would have happened. Casey wouldn't have been put in that situation." Mana couldn't even look at Martha. She knew that staying at the park was a bad idea and it was costing her. To her surprise, Martha took her into a hug.

"What matters now is that you and Casey are safe and out of danger. Your first priority was to protect Casey and I'm very proud of you for that. So thank you." Mana looked up at her boss with tears in her eyes. She wiped them away with a smile on her face.

"By the way, who was the one that saved you?" Diane asked.

"Oh… Well, it was – "

Mana never finished answering as the door's bell rang, turning everyone attention to the newcomer.

"Atem!" Martha was the first one to reach him.

Atem just gave one of his assuring smiles. Mana managed to look around Martha and saw that the red she had seen before was gone. Had she just imagined it? She also noticed that he seemed pale and that there was fear in his eyes.

"What brings you here?"

"Some ladies got into some trouble and I was just helping them out. I came over to check up on them to see how they were doing."

"Atem!" Mana watched as Casey rushed up and hugged Atem around the waist. "Are you okay? Did the bad guys hurt you?"

For a moment, Mana couldn't figure out why Casey was acting so friendly towards him. Then she figured the obvious. If Martha knew Atem, then it was obvious Casey would know him. And there was no doubt Lizzie knew him and his family too.

"Not really. A small punch in the stomach, but nothing more." Clutching his waist tightly, Casey looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

"So you are hurt! Does it hurt at all?" Atem sighed with a smile on his face and got down on his knees so that he was at Casey's eye level.

"You don't have to worry about me, Casey. Your safety is a bit more important that mine right now. I wouldn't worry about my wellbeing. Let's worry about yours, okay?"

"Okay." Casey hugged Atem again, who hugged her back with hesitation. Mana was completely stunned by what she was seeing. She was witnessing a whole new side of Atem. The side that loved kids, the same way she loved them. He knew exactly what to say to them and how to act towards them too. He was a natural at it. Diane leaned over towards her in a whisper.

"So this is Atem. He's cute, isn't he?"

Mana blushed. "D-Diane. Now's not exactly the best time to be checking a guy out."

"Well he is! And who said I was checking him out for myself?" Mana turned to look back at Atem again. He was kind of cute…

Atem got to his feet. "I called the police and they were taking the leader away when I took off. An officer will be here to do questioning, if that's okay."

Martha looked stunned. "I'm surprised you were able to."

"So am I. But I did what I had to."

Mana was confused. Martha was surprised that he was able to call the police? What was so surprising about it? She looked towards the others and saw that they were just as confused as she was, but they didn't seem to be curious about it like she was. Then she remembered the fear she saw in his eyes and the realization hit her like a boulder.

"Well, they can question away. The soon we get this behind us, the better." Martha finally said, shaking her head. Atem nodded. A sudden shot of pain made him clutch his head in agony. When he pulled it away, he saw blood on it. Next thing he knew, he felt woozy and his vision began to go blur.

Mana stared at Atem with concern. Why did he look pale all of a sudden? Unless…

"Ah!" She quickly rushed over and grabbed him as he collapsed. She fell to her knees under his weight.

She heard the others shouting, but she didn't hear them. She was more worried about Atem, who was out cold. She felt his forehead to check for fever only to come in contact with something cold and wet. She pulled away surprised; she had to bite her tongue to prevent herself from screaming. There was blood on her hand. She reacted.

"Somebody call an ambulance! He needs help!"

Atem: You knocked me unconscious?

JAGartist: I had thought about doing this differently, but I thought this way would be better.

Atem: By having me go out cold?

JAGartist: To put it simple: yeah pretty much.

Atem: (sighs)