Cairo sits down on her bed, hugging her knees up to her chest and resting her chin on her knees. The full moon that shone through her window cast a light down on her as she sat in the middle of her bed in her dark room. Her long, black hair lay scattered around her and her amethyst eyes were lowered in deep thought. Her conversation with Arcana kept replaying through her head. It left her feeling so conflicted. On one hand, Arcana's words about being able to use her powers freely really appealed to her. But her father's and Mana's words warning her not to use her powers in the open also filled her head as well. She sniffles as tears stream down her cheeks, feeling overwhelmed. She wanted to badly to be herself without fear of any harm or danger. If past magicians had that luxury, why couldn't she?

A knock from the door interrupts her thoughts and she quickly wipes away her tears. "Come in," she says, trying her hardest not to make her voice tremble. The doorknob turns and the door slowly opens, revealing her father. He looks around briefly, noting how dark it is in her room as he walks to her bed and sits beside her. "Hi daddy."

"Hi Cairo," he says back. "I received a voicemail from your school. They said you skipped out on the second half of the day."

Cairo turns her head away, hugging her knees even closer. She couldn't possibly tell her father why she skipped school. He would be furious.

Atem notices her body language and starts to grow concerned. "Are you alright? Are you ill?" He places the back of his hand on her forehead to feel for a temperature, holding it there momentarily before dropping his hand when he doesn't feel anything abnormal.

"I'm fine," she says, not giving him any eye contact.

"I find that hard to believe when you're sitting here with all of the lights off. It also appears that you have been crying," he remarks, noticing her red nose and cheeks and the slight bags under her eyes. "Did something happen today?"

"N-No! I'm fine, I promise!"

He raises an eyebrow at her behavior. It seems as if she's hiding something from him, but he couldn't figure out what and it doesn't seem like Cairo is going to budge on the issue.

"Cairo, you do know you can tell me anything, right?"

She nods her head. "I'm just…" She sighs heavily and finally turns to look at him. "I'm just tired."

"I understand," Atem responds. He knew that wasn't her real answer, but he decided not to press the issue for now "Get some rest." He pecks her on the forehead and stands up to leave. Cairo watches as he walks out of the door and she sighs in relief.

After leaving her room, Atem heads down to the kitchen, going into the refrigerator to grab a bottle of water and taking a few sips as he leaned against the counter. He couldn't help but be concerned for his daughter. More and more he has been sensing that something is wrong. She had been bringing up the fact that she can't use her powers out in the open more frequently. Each time he shut her down. It was for her own safety, he thought to himself. But a part of him felt bad.

"You look stressed," comes Mana's voice.

"Mana?" Atem looks from left to right, not seeing her anywhere and he stands up straight with a confused expression on his face. He hears the sound of papers turning from above and his eyes slowly lift toes Mana levitating in the air upside down, her face buried into the spell book she is reading and her legs crossed.

She peers over her book to look at him as he stares at her in surprise. "You alright?" she asks.

"What are you doing all the way up there?"

"A little multitasking is all," she answers with a shrug. "Practicing some spells while reading up on new ones."

"I see," Atem says as she leaps down in front of him, landing lightly on her feet. Her face moves closer to his.

"You were in much better spirits earlier today. What's wrong?"

"It's Cairo."

"Hmm…let me guess. It's about her powers," Mana predicts and Atem nods.

"She wants to be able to use them in the open so badly. But it's just not safe."

"Poor girl. It must be tough. Things certainly were not like this when I was growing up. It's hard when you feel like you're hiding your true self."

"Yes, but she has no choice. I don't want anything bad to happen to her," Atem says and he sighs, lowering his eyes.

"Nothing is going to happen to her," Mana assures him. "She has you…and me."

Atem nods his head in agreement. It was reassuring to know that Mana would be by his side to help watch over Cairo. For years he had to do it alone and it hasn't always been an easy task. Although he had some understanding of magicians and how their abilities function from being with Mana, there were still things that were unclear to him.

As days go by, Mana continues to learn about her past with the help of Atem and her friends. It felt like she was learning about herself all over again. Why she reacts when certain things happen, why she has certain interests or dislikes and more. Things were beginning to become more clear and it brought Mana much joy to finally gain some clarity about her past. But in the midst of all of this, something else started to happen.

Mana stares at Atem from afar as he goes through the aisles of a game shop that sold duel monsters cards. She saw a glimmer of happiness in his eyes as he picked up two packets containing random duel monsters. She had rarely ever seen him like this before. He was typically very stoic. It seemed he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. But in this very moment, he was quite the opposite. She felt herself getting lost in her own little world at the sight of him. Everything he did intrigued her. She was so lost in thought that she didn't realize an older woman was standing beside her, following her gaze and watching Atem as well.

"He is quite the looker," she comments.

"Ye…Wait—" Mana whips her head to see the source of the voice to see an older woman wearing a red skull cap, a mixture of her black and grey hairs sticking out on almost all sides. A long brown jacket that reached the back of her knees along with a red shirt and blue jeans is what she wore. She seemed to be in her mid to late sixties.

"So is that handsome young man yours?" she asks with a smile.

"Oh, we're just friends," Mana says, putting her hand behind her head with a chuckle.

"You look really familiar," the woman says, looking at her closely.

"Uh…you might have me mixed with someone else," Mana says backing away slightly toward the exit. She makes brief eye contact with Atem, motioning her head toward the bookstore across the street and he nods before she slips out of the shop. She makes sure the coast is clear to cross the street and heads toward the entrance of the bookstore. As she makes her way down her favorite aisle containing various spell books, she sighs in relief. She wasn't sure who that woman was, but she didn't need anyone recognizing her from the Kaiba stadium incident.

She skims through the many rows of books before her eyes land on one in particular that sparked her interest. Just as she is about to grab it, another hand grabs it before she could. Mana drops her hand before looking to see who grabbed it. She gasps when she realizes it's the same old woman from the game shop. Mana looks around in confusion, wondering how the woman snuck up on her like that.

"W-What in the world?" Mana says, pointing at the lady. "How'd you get here so fast?"

"I knew you looked familiar," the older woman says. "You're the girl from the Kaiba stadium incident."

Mana sighs in defeat, dropping her head and slouching her shoulders. "You got me."

The woman chuckles. "It's alright, I'm not going to cause a scene or anything. I just wanted to thank you."

"Huh? Thank me?"

The woman nods, outstretching her hand and making a ball of energy form in her hand to Mana's surprise. Mana quickly moves her head left and right to see if anyone was close enough to witness this. The woman chuckles again. "Why are you so alarmed, child?"

"Well I…you know…it's…not safe," Mana says with concern and the woman smiles, finally making the energy disappear from her hand.

"You know there used to be a time where we didn't have to live in fear."

"Yes, I know. But times have changed. It's dangerous."

"It's time we stop living in fear," the woman says, her smile fading and her tone turning more serious. "When I saw you fighting against that Bandit at Kaiba Corp stadium, it gave me so much hope. If there are magicians out there as strong as you, maybe…just maybe that person who is behind all the disappearances and killings of our fellow magicians can finally be stopped."

Mana's eyes widen and she quickly shakes her head. "Wait, what?"

"You could be the key to restoring peace for the magicians. We can live without fear again."

"You're really being serious, aren't you?" Mana asks with a blink. She couldn't believe what this stranger was saying. Did this woman really think that Mana could take whoever is behind this down by herself? No, Mana thought to herself. Besides, she had the help of Kisara during that fight and a little help from Arcana. Why was this woman putting it all on her? "I'm sorry. But…I'm not as strong as you think I am," Mana says doubting her abilities. Everyone always thought so highly of her as a magician. And up until recently, she thought she had gotten to a point where she had honed her skills. But with everything going on, from her losing control of her powers and letting her emotions interfere, she still felt that she still had more training to do.

"I can see it in you, young lady," the woman says with confidence. "You're a powerful magician and you have what it takes. I can sense a power in you that is burning so strong within you."

"Well…thanks," Mana says with a nervous smile, not really knowing how else to respond. "I really should get going." She backs away slowly until she is out of the woman's sight before making a run for it. She darts across the street, this time without looking both ways, having close calls with cars that narrowly struck her. She swings the door open to the game stop, finding Atem in the checkout line and hiding behind him.

"There you are," Atem says without eye contact, swiping his card and waiting patiently for the associate to process his payment.

"Heyyy!" Mana says with a grin, trying to play off the fact that the woman had kind of creeped her out a bit. "Did you find what you were looking for?" They start toward the door and Mana continues to cower behind Atem.

"Yes. These cards should come in handy for a future duel," Atem says with a bit of excitement in his voice. They finally go outside and Mana peeks over his shoulder to the window of the bookstore to see the woman standing at the window with her trademark smile. Mana shivers and quickly lowers her head to hide her face from the strange woman.

"What a creep…" she mutters.

"Everything alright?" Atem asks, looking over his shoulder.

"The beach!" she blurts out to him suddenly causing him to flinch a little and look at her with a confused expression.

"What?"

"I would very much like to go to the beach!" she exclaims, pointing in the direction that would take them there.

"Uh…okay. Sure."

Mana runs on the hot sand barefoot until she reaches the shore. She stops, crouching down to catch her breath before standing up straight to take a deep inhale. Atem joins her shortly after, staring out in the distance. The blue water glistened and sparkled underneath the sun and the breeze that blew was perfect.

"You're acting strange," Atem says, breaking the silence between them. "Did something happen?"

"Oh nothing," Mana says sarcastically, waving her hand a few times. "I just really…wanted to go…to the beach," she says, noticing Atem isn't buying her story. She drops her head with a sigh.

"Mana," Atem says, folding his arms.

"Okay, okay," Mana says in defeat. "There was this woman. She was at the game shop and she followed me over to the book store. Turns out, she was a magician too! She recognized me from the stadium incident and long story short, she thinks I will be the one to defeat whoever is eliminating all of the magicians."

Atem's eyes widen. "Say what?"

"I know. Crazy right? She didn't even know me and yet…" Mana eyes slowly lift to the sun, a gentle breeze blew through her hair. Her gaze was more serious as Atem looks on, waiting for her to finish. "…she had so much faith in me." She shuts her eyes, shaking her head a few times. "But the sad thing is, I don't even have that much faith in myself."

"Mana…"

She turns her head to him. "I'm just not where I want to be…in any aspect of my life. My abilities have suffered under the weight of my emotions. I've become inconsistent. On top of that, I'm still trying to figure out who I am. I don't have my own place. And don't even get me started on that place I call a job. And she thinks I'm the one to be able to stop whoever is doing this?" Mana clenches her hair, crouching down. "I'm just dealing with too much…" She wraps her arms around her knees and buries her head.

Atem lowers to her level, crouching down on one knee. "You just need to take things one day at a time," he says, causing her to lift her head slightly so that only her watery eyes are visible. "Don't put so much pressure on yourself. You already are a great magician, Mana. But, if getting stronger is what you want, then you can do it. And, I promise I will help you as much as I can to help you regain your memories. And you are welcome to stay with Cairo and I as long as you want."

Mana giggles, revealing her smile. "And what about my dumb job? Any judge positions open at the courthouse?" Mana jokes, causing Atem to chuckle, relieved that she was back to being in good spirits and they both stand to their feet. "Tell me, Atem. What else did you and I do for fun?"

Atem looks up briefly in thought before a memory comes to him. "We would spar."

Mana blinks, pointing her finger at him and then to herself in disbelief. "Spar? You and I?"

"How else do you think you got your fighting skills? They didn't come out of thin air."

Mana folds her arms, squinting her eyes at Atem as she walks around him, observing his physique. He was slim, but nicely built. His calf muscles were defined and his arms were as well. Atem's eyes go from left to right as he watches Mana size him up. After a few moments, she stops directly in front of him.

"Prove it."

"Seriously?" Atem asks, raising an eyebrow. He wasn't expecting her to challenge him right then and there, or at all for that matter.

"Yeah! Let's spar right now!"

"I'm not doing that," he says, turning his head away.

"Aw come on," Mana replies with a pout and a look of disappointment before grinning mischievously. "You chicken?"

"Excuse me?" Atem dims his eyes, not believing that she would really do the old taunting approach to try and get him to spar with her. He refused to give into her. He turns his head with his nose in the air.

Mana shrugs with a smirk. "I see. You know I'd beat ya."

"Wrong. I could beat you with or without your magic."

"Oh?" Mana stands defensively in front of him, spreading her feet wide and placing her fists up, guarding her face.. "I won't even need to use my magic."

"That's what you think." He takes the same stance to Mana's surprise. Everything from the way he stood to the way he held up his fists was identical to her stance. But she doesn't let that distract her for long. She was determined to win

"Brace yourself!" Mana exclaims as she charges him as he stood calmly, waiting for her first move. She throws a punch directly for his face and he quickly moves to the right, dodging her fist with ease. But she wouldn't let that failed attempt stop her. She starts throwing a barrage of punches and kicks, using everything that is within her to land a blow. But Atem kept dodging with little to no effort at all. It had gotten to the point where he got more relaxed and started dodging her attacks while his hands were in his pockets. He moved from left to right and up and down, sensing the frustration building up in Mana.

"You just gonna keep dodging my attacks or are you gonna hit back?" Mana taunts, sweating starting to drop down the sides of her face.

"Sure. When you actually land a punch," Atem taunts back with a smirk, sending a large rush of irritation in Mana. She jumps up and attempts to land a roundhouse kick, but Atem blocks with his arm. But Mana wasn't done. She bears more weight on the arm that Atem is using to block one of her legs, to give her leverage to swing the other leg to finally land a hit. Or so she thought. The other hand that was in Atem's pocket, was now out, catching her foot in the palm of his hand. Mana yelps as he uses the grasp on her foot to slam her down, causing a dusting of sand to fly up as her body made contact.

"Give up yet?" he asks, looking down at her as she starts to sit up on one of her elbows, her hair hiding her face. "We can stop here." Mana clenches her fist, a pink aura surrounding it. Atem takes this time to stand more defensively, sensing that Mana is about to take it up a notch. She takes a quick glance of her surroundings, making sure that there was no one else in sight for a few miles.

"I'm not through yet," she says, quickly standing to her feet and throwing a magic filled punch to his surprise. He quickly crosses his arms in front of him as the blow from her attack causes him to skid back through the sand and into the water as he holds his balance on his feet. When he finally uncovers his face, to his surprise, he sees Mana charging at him again, her eyes glowing pink with determination. She starts another barrage of glowing punches and Atem dodges each to her dismay. She growls in frustration and jumps back at a further distance to prepare for another attack.

"You're letting your emotions get the best of you again," Atem observes to Mana's frustration.

"No, I'm not!" she pouts, rushing at him again, her legs splashing through the water with each step. He stands defensively, preparing for her next set of attacks. But, they never came. A branch that was hiding beneath the water hits her shin, causing Mana to trip.

"Eeek!" Mana shrieks with surprise as the trip sends her flying toward Atem who grits his teeth and attempts to catch her with his arms outstretched as they collide into each other, landing in the shallow cold water near the shore with a splash.

Atem grimaces as he attempts to sit up. His head felt like it was pounding from the impact and his body felt weighted down. After giving himself a few seconds to focus, he realizes Mana is laying on top of him out cold, her head face down into his chest and her legs straddling his hips. He slowly raises up, using one hand to support Mana's head, and the other on her back. There was a small bruise on the right side of her forehead. He slowly lifts his hand up to his own forehead before hissing as his fingers touch the bruise that is on his forehead as well.

"Mana. Mana, wake up," he says looking down at her with concern. She groans and her eyes flutter open in a daze. "Are you alright?"

Her eyes scroll up to the greenish bruise on his forehead and she gasps. "Oh no, I'm sorry Atem!"

"It's fine."

"You're hurt!" she frantically raises her hands to his face, surveying him to see if he had any other injuries before pulling her hands back to her chest, looking at him remorsefully.

"I'm fine Mana. Really I am. It's just a bruise," he tells her reassuringly.

"Let me heal you!" she raises her hand to begin the process and gasps in surprise when Atem holds her wrist. She gazes into his amethyst eyes with a hint of panic and confusion. She never meant for things to go so far, even if it was an accident. She wanted to heal him so badly that she forgot about her own injury. Her head also swarmed with many thoughts. What has been going on with her lately? She had always been clumsy, but this was ridiculous. She had made many strides in her pursuit of becoming a great magician, but lately it felt as if she was taking steps back. A simple trip had caused her ultimate defeat.

"Mana," Atem says, sensing that she was getting into her head. The sound of her name snaps her out of her thoughts and brings her back to the present. There they were. In the water. The small waves brushing against their bodies. Her eyes slowly scroll down and the realization that she had been straddling him this whole time hit her all at once. Her stomach drops, feeling a wave of embarrassment and she quickly tries to stand, but her lack of balance causes her to fall over once again and Atem catches her as they both fall back into the shallow water yet again. Her head shoots up and she frantically tries to stand once again, splashing about as she tries to use her hands and feet to stand, but she falls once more with a splash, leaving her in the same position as before.

Atem slowly sits up, wrapping his arm around her waist as he did so to get in a seated position. "Are you alright?" he asks. She tries to stand once more, but this time, she is stopped by the strong arms wrapped around her waist. His eyes showed concern and he knew she was beating herself up internally. She looks into his eyes briefly before her attention is brought back to the bruise on his head. She raises her hand in another attempt to heal him, but he stops her once again. They look into each others eyes as Atem lowers her wrist. Even in the cold water, Mana's felt her body getting warm and her stomach fluttering as she gazed into those eyes of his. Despite her frantic actions, he remained calm as he always did and in that moment, she slowly felt herself beginning to relax. He always made her feel so safe. He always remained her calm during the storm. He was always helping her. When would she ever be able to make it up to him?

"Atem, I'm—"

"It's alright Mana."

She raises her hands to his face, still wanting help him and she studies the bruise. He places his hands on her wrists in attempt to stop her and she looks down at him. "Please," she pleads and he loosens his grip on her wrists, but still continues to hold them as her hands glow to heal his forehead. They stare into each others eyes as their bruises simultaneously start to disappear until they are completely healed. She continues to cup his face, looking into his eyes as he looked back. Her body seemed to move on its own as she slowly closed her eyes and leaned forward until her lips pressed against his. Atem's eyes widen in shock and his heart begins to beat faster. Was this really happening? It had been so long since they had kissed, since he felt her body pressed against his, her legs straddling his hips and his hands around her waist. He felt himself getting lost within this moment, closing his eyes as well and waiting for her to make the next move. She moves her lips once more over his and he takes this opportunity to kiss back, wrapping his arms even tighter around her waist. That motion almost made Mana melt into his arms as she felt even more secure within his strong arms. She didn't know what had overcome her, but for some reason it just felt right. But at the same time, it felt wrong. Her mind flashed to the conversations they had about his wife who had gone missing and her heart drops. What had she done?

Her eyes open in realization and horror and she pulls back. "Oh no."

"What's wrong?" Atem asks, growing concerned at the expression on her face.

Mana stumbles to her feet, taking a few steps back. "I-I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have…I didn't mean to…I gotta go." She turns to leave and Atem jumps to his feet.

"Mana, wait!"

"I'm sorry Atem. But…I've got to go!" she exclaims and she takes off, sand kicking behind her with each and every step. Atem takes a few steps, outstretching his hand in her direction before stopping himself.

"No…" He lowers hand and he shuts his eyes, refusing to let the tears that were forming in his eyes to fall. In that moment, he felt like he was losing her again. Things had progressed between them so much. And in an instant it seemed like things were going backwards. "Mana…" his voice trembles and his shoulders begin to shake as he drops to his hands and knees.