Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh? Belong to me? Funny.

Author's note: so sorry, guys! I had to do my book report and then I was super tired and well… sometimes I have to put homework before FFnet. Here we go!

Here are the thanks/responses:

Thanks to: dragonic devil,YugixaibouxYami, HeartXCrossbones & Afrolady114! for favoriting/alerting this story!

For reviewing: Aqua girl 007, Doragon-chan, fan person, HeartXCrossbones, Angel's Riot, xMocha, Nick-Arach & me!

Nick-Arach: another, as of late, faithful reviewer/reader! Thank you so much! XD I've gotten that complement before, which tells me I must be consistent with it, and I'm so glad it's a constant fact! I do my best! And I do agree—I miss the old gang too!

xMocha: Ah, glad you kept that in mind! The mark on Atem's wrist—we'll get to that momentarily, my friend. All in due time. Hehe thanks, I like the ending too.

Angel's Riot: I love the brotherly love! But yes, of course Yugi would know hahah. Atem's gotta catch up. Thank you for reviewing whenever you can ^o^ I have come to very much enjoy reading your reviews.

Fan person: All good! Glad you're liking it ^O^

Forward, soldiers!

A dark intruder

In the morning, Yugi usually stayed around the areas of the Palace he knew how to navigate. He'd jump on the trampoline the Pharaoh had shown him and he went swimming after noon.

From around three-o'clock to five, Atem was free. It was during these two hours that he and Yugi would catch up.

Starting at five, however, the Pharaoh had to listen to complaining nobility and the wealthy. Depending on how many there were in waiting, Atem was almost always busy until nine or ten—once, even midnight.

By that time he was exhausted and crashed in to bed with Mana.

Yugi sighed. He only saw his friend at meals and the two hours of Atem's break, which were sometimes dedicated to training or sending messages—or dealing with appearances of Soul Collectors in the city. Atem never let him tag along for those kind of outings.

He wouldn't even let him stay in the throne room during the day. Sometimes there were a few servant boys to talk to, but most of the time he was rather bored.

Atem had told Mana to spend time with Yugi one day while he was busy, and Mana had—because she liked Yugi. He reminded her of Atem in a lot of ways, and he was fun to hang around.

But the whole day, Mana had constantly worried about Atem. Figetting, thinking, constantly worrying. It was her job to protect him, and it felt strange not to be doing it.

She had enjoyed keeping Yugi company, but Yugi could tell it was too nerve-racking for her to do it all the time. Yugi had said as much to her, at which Mana had quickly disagreed, but they both knew it was true.

So Yugi was mostly alone.

The hammock he laid in, in the Plum Courtyard, swung side to side, lulling Yugi to sleep.

It was only when he heard what he thought was a loud, aching crack that he shot up n alarm—right out of the hammock.

He uttered a cry of surprise as the hammock swung out of control and he rolled right out the side and on to the grass. He grunted at the impact. "Ow," he muttered.

"Are you alright, Yugi?"

Yugi looked up to see the Pharaoh standing over him with the suspicion of a smile lingering on the corners of his lips.

"Yeah," Yugi said, pushing himself into a sitting position, "What time is it?"

The Pharaoh got down on one knee beside him and glanced out the canopy, up at the sun. "Two-thirty," he determined.

"Did you get out early?" Yugi wondered.

The Pharaoh nodded. "Odd, isn't it?" he grinned.

"It's great!" Yugi grinned back.

They both got to their feet and set off a bench beneath the shade of one of the plum trees. "I have a bad feeling, Yugi," the Pharaoh began.

"I do to," Yugi said. "I've felt it ever since I got here." He frowned, "A… man in the waiting room triggered it, and it's been growing ever since."

"A man?" the Pharaoh wondered, "What man?"

Yugi shrugged, "He must have been wealthy or noble or something, but I got a bad vibe from him."

"Strange," Atem murmured.

"Maybe he's still here," Yugi suggested.

"Maybe," the Pharaoh agreed, "But how would we know it was him?"

Yugi shrugged again, feelings for his hair and remembering that it was in his headdress. Atem grinned. "I'm surprised it fits," he joked.

Yugi laughed, "It's weird!"

"If your hair was showing, they might have mistaken you for my long lost younger brother," said Atem.

Yugi grinned, looking up at the branches, they brought back a memory from what had woken him.

That sharp, aching crack.

"What is it, Yugi?"

"Did you hear a weird cracking noise a while ago?"

"No," Atem replied curiously.

"It was what woke me up," Yugi continued, "What made me fall out of the hammock."

Atem frowned, "I don't know, Yugi. Maybe you dreamt it."

"Maybe."

The Pharaoh was back in the throne room, listening to complaints—poor guy.

Yugi was doing some sleuthing.

He had been given a room of his own, so he wasn't in the guest house anymore. He snuck back in through the back door. He prowled the halls for that feeling, just hoping to feel it and find the man. He would be helping the Pharaoh—protecting him.

On the second floor, he stopped.

He was here. He was sure of it.

Slowly, he paced down the hall, carefully sensing the feeling he had inside him. The feeling of darkness.

Half way down hallway, he stopped.

He hesitated.

The door burst open. A man stood in the doorway—the same man Yugi had seen when he arrived. Jagged hair and a jagged face, he smiled. It wasn't a pleasant smile. "Well, well, who is this?"

Atem suddenly sat ramrod straight on the edge of his chair. A sudden sense of panic ran up his spine.

Yugi, he thought immediately, eyes wide.

He jumped to his feet, interrupting the wealthy man before him. "I'm sorry," he said quickly, before the man could speak, "But an emergency has come up."

Without waiting for the man to speak, he jumped down the steps before the throne and ran from the room. Mana was right on his tail, with the other Guardians soon behind them. They followed him to the guest house, which he ran through, straight to the second floor.

Atem found the man pushing Yugi against the wall, trying to see his wrist and crying: "Are you him? Are you him?"

"Get your hands off him!" a baritone voice bellowed, and the next thing the man knew he was flying to the ground with someone pinning him down. The two went into a scuffle, one which Yugi was keen to help in.

The man, richly clad in deep brown, battled the Pharaoh hand for hand. The Pharaoh pinned him against the wall, but the man seized him by the wrist and ripped off his gold bracelet with one hand. With the other he pushed Atem in the chest, up against the wall. The hand on his wrist clamped around it tightly.

Just as the Guardians burst in to the hall, the Pharaoh cried out in anger and pain.

"Pharaoh!"

Yugi, closest, felt the pain on his wrist that Atem felt and clutched at it, hissing. Automatically, he pounced on the man holding the Pharaoh down. He pulled his arms under the man's chin, jerking him back and away. Atem fell to the ground, grabbing his wrist.

Mahad and Seto jumped in then, pushing him to the ground while Mana sprung in front of Atem, crouching down before him protectively.

Mahad spoke a spell and the struggling man went out cold.

Everyone breathed rather heavily. Mana turned to Atem, reaching for his wrist. He held it out, breathing deeply, while Mana carefully inspected it. Yugi met Atem's eyes: "You alright, Yugi?" he breathed.

Yugi nodded, "You?"

"Could be better," he cracked a smile and Yugi grimaced.

"A djed?" Mana wondered, carefully fingering his wrist. A djed was the representation of a human backbone, symbolic stability and strength. "Atem…" she muttered, and looked up at him with hard eyes, "This has been reopened."

Ooooo Mana found out… whats gonna happen…?

Sorry I didn't update yesterday :P homework, being tired, school... blah, blah blah. Another chapter coming in a bit. Hang tight!

-Anevay