Mana and Atem stand behind a crowd of people in front of Mana's apartment complex. There were about a dozen of other residences as they watch their homes go up in flames. The firefighters work vigorously to put out the fire, grabbing their hoses and blasting water into the windows where the flames were emitting from.
"It just came out of nowhere!" A resident exclaims.
"What could have caused this?" a female resident asks out loud.
"I have a feeling this isn't just some random incident," says Atem before looking over at Mana. Her right hand that is placed at her side begins to glow. She could literally fix this with her magic if she wanted to. "Mana, don't," Atem cautions her. "You've already used so much energy. And with everything that's going on and not knowing who's targeting you and Cairo, you need to lay low."
"But all of these people will be without a place to stay," Mana replies, trembling with rage. "Whoever did this…" She trails off as her energy leaves her and she begins to fall toward the ground. Atem quickly catches her in his arms, looking down at her worriedly. She had overexerted herself and she desperately needed to rest. But with her apartment up in flames, where would she go? With his free hand, he reaches into his pocket and dials Tea. Maybe she could stay with her for awhile. The phone rings a multiple times before Atem hangs up in frustration. No answer.
"I have no choice," Atem says to himself between gritted teeth.
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A dark wet alley as the rain pours mercilessly on the two people below. The sound of heavy breathing is still audible even with the sound of the rain hitting the pavement. A cry rings out as the woman feels herself being lifted by her hair and her eyes slowly scroll up to those of her attacker. His red, glowing eyes glare down at her with an evil grin before bringing her head to make contact with the brick wall.
Mana shoots to a sitting up position before holding her head. That dream seemed to hunt her every night. It was always the same, but portrayed in different ways. Sometimes it would be the full incident, and sometimes it would happen in fragments. Either way, the images from that night still haunted her. She draws in a breath and her eyes slowly scroll to the left. She sees furniture that she didn't recognize, curtains that she didn't remember ever putting up, and paint on the wall that was totally different than what she was accustomed to.
'Where am I?' she thought to herself before her eyes go to the right, meeting another pair of feminine, amethyst eyes. Mana yelps, flying off the couch she was resting on and landing on the floor with a thud.
"W-What in the world?" she blurts out, staring at an unexpected guest. Cairo tilts her head, looking at her in confusion.
"What are you doing in my house?" the young girl asks, raising an eyebrow.
"I'd like to know the same thing," Mana responds, just as confused as Cairo is.
"So she's staying at your house right now?" asks Tea on the other line.
"Yes," Atem responds, standing in front of the window with his phone up to his ear, observing the people below. It was a bright, sunny morning as the pedestrians went about their daily routine. "Seeing as you didn't answer you phone last night, I had no choice."
"Sorry," Tea apologizes. "I had a long day. Not to mention that Arcana guy came in the restaurant last night."
Atem's eyes widen with surprise. "Are you serious?"
"Yeah. He was looking for Mana," Tea replies. "I don't trust that guy."
"Neither do I. We need to keep Mana away from him at all costs. For some reason, I have a feeling that he and Manic were working together."
"I guess that would make sense. What about those other two idiots you ran into? The ones that you pulverized in the parking lot with one blow?" Tea asks, referring to Lumis and Umbra.
"I haven't seen them since," Atem responds, placing his hand on his forehead with a sigh. "There's just so much going on lately. It's becoming too much."
"I understand. You have a lot on your plate now."
Atem flinches when he hears a shriek coming from downstairs. It sounded like none other than Mana. "Well I think Mana is up," Atem concludes. "I'll catch up with you some other time, Tea." He hangs up the phone before heading down the stairs to see Mana on the floor, looking around in confusion and Cairo standing above her, looking just as confused as she is.
"What am I doing here?" Mana asks, grabbing on to the couch for support before raising herself up to her feet.
Cairo's eyes widen in realization and a mischievous grin creeps up on her face. "Oh I know," Cairo says suddenly, causing Atem and Mana to both look at her with raised eyebrows.
"You do?" Atem asks.
"Yup! I was right all along. You guys are definitely dating," she says, causing the two adults to exchange looks before looking back at Cairo. "Yup, it's obvious. And then dad!" She dramatically points her finger to him, causing him to jump slightly, a drop of sweat appearing on his temple. "You brought her back here like they do in the movies and then you guys hugged and kissed and—"
Atem whacks Cairo on the head before she can continue, an annoyed vein pulsing on his forehead. "Clearly I've left you home alone too much," Atem says between gritted teeth as Cairo rubs her head with a grin.
"Oh yeah," Mana says, remembering the events that occurred last night. "My home…"
"You're welcome to stay here as long as you like," Atem offers and Mana looks away to take in her surroundings. It was a spacious yet cozy home. She could tell Atem kept it clean even with his busy schedule.
"I couldn't possibly…I don't…" Mana takes a deep breath. "I don't wanna cause you any trouble or be a burden." She looks at Cairo who looks at her with slight disappointment in her eyes.
"Where are you gonna go?" asks Cairo. "You can't live outside."
Mana chuckles lightly before closing her eyes and bowing her head slightly. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad to stick around for a bit. It would definitely make it easier to look after Cairo and keep her safe from all of the shenanigans.
"You're absolutely right Cairo," Mana says, reopening her eyes and looking down at the girl with a smile. "I guess I'll be sticking around then."
Cairo flashes a huge grin before running up the stairs excitedly as Mana looks on with a smile. Atem couldn't help but feel a small sense of relief at the fact that Mana would be staying with them for awhile. It would almost be like old times.
Almost.
He knew he still had some ways to go, but he knew this was a step in the right direction and that he had come a long way. Before, Mana didn't feel comfortable being around him at all. The mere sight of him would cause her to panic. But now he could see that she was lightening up and that she no longer felt threatened by him.
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"So you're gonna be staying with Atem, huh?" Tea asks as she and Mana wash dishes side by side at Burger World. It was one of the few times they were stuck doing kitchen duty when business was a bit slow. "You sure you don't wanna stay with me? I know how you feel about Atem and all."
Mana shakes her head as she places a cleaned plate off to the side after drying it. "No, it's fine. Besides, I don't feel that way about him anymore." Tea raises an eyebrow, pleasantly surprised at Mana's response.
"Oh?"
"Yeah," Mana replies with a confident nod. "I finally feel like I'm getting somewhere. I know I initially I didn't want to be around him, but I know deep down he's the key to helping me regain my memories. I just don't know how."
'Oh, but I do, Mana,' Tea responds in her head, cracking a smile. She was so relieved that things were finally starting to look up. At first it seemed like it would be hopeless.
"Oh great," Mana says with a sigh of relief after checking the time. "Our shift is finally up."
Tea looks up at the clock on the wall as well and she places the last plate that she was cleaning on the rack and she rubs her forehead. "I don't ever want to be on kitchen duty again," she says and Mana nods in agreement.
"Yeah, my hands look like big fat juicy sponges," Mana says, looking down at her puffy hands with her eyes dimmed low in annoyance.
"I swear, what did we ever do to deserve a shift like that?" They both swipe their cards to clock out and head out the back door. Mana chuckles and opens the door as Tea goes on a rant. Regardless of how crappy the shift was, Mana was just glad they were finally off. They wrap around the building to get to the main sidewalk to head to their destinations. Tea continues to rant about the condition of her newly manicured nails and how it's always a waste of time for her to get them done with such a hands-on job as hers.
"You're gonna bust a blood vessel if you keep fuming like this Tea," Mana laughs, seeing her friend's face turn red with annoyance. Her laughter slowly fades and the smile disappears from her face when she notices two hooded figures standing in their path. One figure was significantly taller than the other and the other was significantly wider than the taller and slimmer one.
"Ugh…" Mana says, growing agitated.
"Um…excuse us," Tea says. "You're blocking the sidewalk."
The shorter, hooded figure points his finger at Mana. "The magician comes with us."
Mana rolls her eyes. "Who are you guys anyway?" she asks as they both reveal themselves. Mana was about to put herself on guard until she realized who they were. "Oh…" she says in slight relief.
"You know them?" Tea asks.
"Vaguely."
Flashback (from Chapter 10)
Two hooded figures stood in the middle of the lot, blocking Atem's path. In both of their hands, they each held a duel monster card and it came to him as to why they were standing there. But he didn't have time to engage. The last thing on his mind was getting into a duel with these thugs.
"Out of the way!" Atem yells.
"Why don't you make us?" says the shorter one with a snicker.
"Don't try em," warns ATem. He narrows his eyes and growls. He could feel the rage rushing through his body and at this point, his eyes saw red.
"A tough guy, eh?" the taller one teases. Both of the hooded figures cross their arms over their chest as they prepare to summon their two monsters.
"I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!" Atem exclaims, catching the two off guard and putting a halt to their process. A bright purple light starts to glow from Atem's body and he raises a card in the air, bearing none other than the Dark Magician. A huge beam of light crashes down into the pavement and the hooded men shield their eyes. When it had finally died down, they were shocked to see that Atem had summoned his monster so quickly. Its green staff was extended out as it prepared its attack.
"W-Wait a minute! We're not ready" yells the shorter man in a panic.
"This is not what we had planned!" shouts the taller one as sweat appears on his face.
"DARK MAGIC ATTACK!" A ball of energy forms at the end of the magician's staff.
Mana who was at a further distance, stops in her tracks when she sees a huge explosion. "What in the world?!"
Running into the direction of the blast, she gasps when she sees two men lying on the floor in a daze. 'Did Atem do this?' she asked herself. She continues forward, hopping over the two meet with ease as they grown at a failed attempt to get in Atem's way.'
End Flashback
"You're those two weak duel masters that Atem defeated," Mana recalls, causing the two men to turn red with embarrassment.
"Oh…so these are the guys that Atem told me about from that past incident," says Tea.
"Hey! We are not weak!" wails the short man.
"Yes. I am Umbra and this is Lumis and we are elite duel masters!" says Umbra.
"Could've fooled me," Mana says with a shrug. "Let's go Tea." As they are about to continue about their way, the two men move closer together so that they are completely block Tea and Mana's path. Mana breathes heavily, placing a hand on her forehead, feeling quite fed up with everything that has been happening lately. Why were all these people after her all of a sudden? And who was this "master" they all kept referring to? Tea and Mana turn around, attempting to go the other direction when Tea's arm is suddenly grabbed by Umbra.
"You're not going anywhere," he says.
"Hey! Let me go!" Tea yells, trying to pull away but to no avail.
"What do you guys want?" Mana asks, clenching her fists, a pink aura emitting around them. She could easily pulverize them, but didn't want to put Tea in harms way.
"We'll let her go if you come with us," Lumis says with a grin.
Before Mana can respond, Umbra's face is suddenly met with a fist, causing him to let go of Tea and fall to the ground. Lumis gasps in shock before looking up to see who it is.
Mana's face goes blank, a drop of sweat going down the side of her head as the glow around her fists slowly flicker away. "Well shoot. He beat me to the punch. Literally."
Tea smiles upon realizing who it is. "Joey!" A blonde haired man wearing a white tshirt with blue graphics and blue jeans stands above Umbra as he massages his fist. It stung a little after landing such a massive blow, but he was ready to land one more to the shorter of the two if he had to.
Lumis kneels down to his companion. "Let's get out of here," here whispers. "We'll just have to try again when she's alone." He helps Umbra up and they both make a run for it.
"Yeah, you better run!" Joey calls out after them, raising his fist in the air.
"Joey!" Tea exclaims, rushing over to give him a hug. "Long time no see, stranger!" She wraps her arms around his neck tightly, not realizing that she was cutting off his airways and causing him to turn a different color.
"Nice to…see you too, Tea," Joey gasps. "Can you let me go now?" He sighs in relief when Tea finally lets him go and he pats his chest, trying to regain the air he lost. He finally sets his eyes on Mana who stands at a short distance away from him. Her eyes seemed to be studying him, as if trying to remember who he was.
Joey leans over to whisper into Tea's ear. "Is her memory still fuzzy?" he asks, shielding his mouth so that Mana could not read his lips. Joey had been living in another country while everything initially went down and Tea would fill him in with updates to Mana's progress. Before, there were no signs of progress at all. But recently, things seemed to be taking a turn for the better.
"Yup," Tea replies with a nod.
"Hey, what are you guys whispering about? So rude…" Mana mutters with a pout on her face.
Tea chuckles nervously. "Uh…Mana, you remember Joey right?"
Mana tilts her head, raising an eyebrow. She observes Joey's features from the blonde hairs on his head, his brown eyes and his casual clothing. She then looks over at Tea briefly and then back to Joey, dimming her eyes.
"What kind of question is that? Of course I know who Joey is. How could I forget after he got gum in my hair and I had to chop most of it off," Mana responds, folding her arms and muttering her last statement.
"Ah, but look at how much hair you have you now!" Joey exclaims, wrapping his arm around her neck as she cuts her eyes at him in disbelief. Tea smiles. She was glad that Mana still had memory of Joey. It seems that Mana vividly remembers everything up until high school. Anything after that is either a blur or completely forgotten. It's no wonder why she has no memory of Atem since they met in high school.
"What are you doing back in Domino City? Feeling homesick?" asks Tea. Joey had been residing in Tokyo, participating in various card game tournaments. It was his means of making a substantial amount of money due to the prizes that were rewarded. He resided there for years.
"Eh…I guess you can say that," Joey responds, scratching the back of his head with a shrug. "Yugi and I both agreed it was time to come home and take a little breather."
Tea's eyes widen at the thought of Yugi being back. She could feel her heart pounding and she felt a huge amount of excitement overcoming her.. "YUGI?" she exclaims, clenching her fists, causing him and Mana to jump at her sudden burst of elation.
"Y-Yeah. Yugi's back too," Joey says as Mana tilts her head in bewilderment.
Atem walks through his front door, tossing his keys on a nearby table before plopping down on the couch. It had been yet another long day at work. His days were never the same being a judge. It was always full of all sorts of surprises. And yet, he still like he was stuck in this predictable routine. At the end of the day it was always the same. Come home from work, eat, sleep and do it all over again. He didn't like to get out often nowadays. Before Mana's accident, his life was full of adventure. It was hard for it not to be with him being married to someone like her. He was the laid back one in the relationship, going along with anything Mana could think of. But he had fun every step of the way.
A ring from the doorbell causes Atem to sign in frustration. The last thing he wanted was any visitors. He reluctantly gets up and stands in front of the closed door.
"Who is it?" he asks dryly.
"It's me," the voice says from the other end. Atem gasps at the sound of the individual's voice. Could it be? He quickly opens the door to reveal none other than his twin brother Yugi. They both looked nearly identical, but it was easy to tell them apart. Atem's eyes were sharp, narrow and serious looking while Yugi's eyes were softer and more innocent, even in his adult age. Atem's voice was deeper and commanding while Yugi's voice had a slightly higher tone and sounded more gentle.
"Yugi? Is that really you?" Atem asks in disbelief. He wasn't expecting Yugi back in the city.
Yugi smiles. "It's good to be back."