Here's my newest fanfic! It kicks off eight years after the events from "This Thing Called Life." You can choose to read that or just start reading this one! There will be a few references, but shouldn't be an overwhelming amount!

YGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGO

A relieved sigh emits from a woman's lips as she sits down in the hot tub, allowing the heated water to warm her body after taking a dip in the pool. Her long blue hair is pinned up so it doesn't get wet and she wears a dark navy bikini that exposes most of her pale skin. It's been awhile since she has been able to relax like this. Her blue eyes gaze up to the dark night sky, seeing the stars twinkle alongside the enormous full moon.

Being at the large, spare cabin owned by her and her husband is one of her favorite things to do. It is a way to get away from the busyness of the city and all of the chaos. In the past 8 years, it has become a tradition for herself, her husband and now her friends to venture out into the woods to this very cabin to relax. And this is very much needed especially after three days ago. An evil foe that she and her friends had to fight nearly brought her and her friends to her knees. But with their combined strength, they were able to push through and win in the end.

"It's perfect, isn't it?" a voice asks and she looks to the other two women lounging in the hot tub. The one who just spoke has shoulder length brown hair and blue eyes. She opts to only put her feet in the water, showing off her red two piece bathing suit that shows off every curve. Her eyes are also toward the sky, taking in all its beauty.

"Yeah," the third woman agrees. Her hair is brown and spiky that jets down sporadically past her shoulders. Most of her body is submerged under the water, with only her coffee-colored shoulders exposed. Her aquamarine eyes glimmer under the night sky, yet show a hint of tiredness.

"How are you two feeling?" Téa asks, knowing they had taken on quite the damage in the intense battle. Her friends possess gifts that are out of this world. Gifts that they use to fight off any evil that threatens them or the lives of others. She, on the other hand, doesn't have any abilities at all, though she always seems to find herself in the middle of trouble due to who her friends are. Not to mention her husband.

"I'm still sore and I have a few bruises left over," Kisara replies, stretching out her arms in front of her before cringing from the pain.

"I'm good, actually," Mana replies with a shrug.

"Well seeing that you have the power to heal yourself, that's not a surprise at all," Kisara mutters, side eyeing the sorcerer.

"Hey, if I could heal everybody from that fight, then I would have!" Mana defends before sighing. "I only had enough for myself and Atem."

Téa frowns with concern. "How's he doing?"

"Physically, he's fine. But…" She looks up to the nearby cabin where their bedroom window is, knowing that is where Atem currently is. "…He had to use the Millennium Puzzle again and…he's been kind of distant since."

Kisara nods understandably. "Yeah…well…I may not understand completely, but I remember you telling me that he doesn't like to resort to using the Millennium Puzzle often."

"I was hoping this trip would help but…"

"Just give him some time," Téa says to Mana who lowers her eyes.

After a brief silence, Kisara looks around before raising her eyebrow, noticing how it's almost too quiet. "Are the girls in bed?" she asks, referring to Téa and Mana's daughters. Eight years ago at this very location, Mana had found out that she and Atem were expecting and months later had given birth to a girl named Cairo. Shortly after, Téa had given birth to a daughter of own, Yufi. Though Téa was more low-key with her pregnancy, Mana was the only one that suspected it at the time as much as Téa denied it initially.

"They were out exploring the woods earlier," Mana replies. "Though I'm not sure if they made it back."

Téa scoffs with disbelief. "You let them go out there alone?"

"They're together," Mana shrugs.

"Don't worry Téa. These are private grounds and I've never run into anything out there at any time of day," Kisara assures the flustered mother. "And they know their way. I'm sure they're on their way back here now."

"You two are entirely way too calm for me right now," Téa says, placing a hand on her forehead.

YGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGO

"It's really dark out here," a small girl with short brown hair says. She looks nearly identical to her mother Téa, having the same colored eyes and sporting pink shorts and a white t-shirt. She looks over to her cousin who's eyes are focused on the handheld video game in front of her. "Cairo, did you bring a flashlight? I don't think the light from the moon is gonna do much good at this point."

Cairo lifts her amethyst eyes from the screen and looks further down the dark path. She breathes a heavy sigh before side eyeing her cousin. "We really should have gone back earlier. We are ill prepared."

Yufi chuckles nervously, rubbing the back of her head and Cairo only shakes her head. Yufi is notorious for getting them into trouble and with them being out so late, Cairo knows they will be in for it when they finally make it back.

"My mom is probably freaking out right now," Yufi groans.

"My mom probably isn't," Cairo says with a blank expression, knowing how easy going Mana can be. Her semi-spiky black hair reaches her calves and she is a mixture of both of her parents in looks and personality. For as long as she can remember, she has always been referred to as an old soul though she can also be very carefree and laid back. Yufi, on the other hand, is more outgoing and a daredevil, not backing down from any challenge.

Squinting through the trees, Yufi sees a light coming from nearby. With there being no other houses nearby, she is sure that the light is coming from the cabin they are currently residing at for the trip. "If we keep going in the direction of that light, we should be fine!"

A growling noise causes both of their eyes to go big and they exchange looks before turning around. Out of the bushes emerges a small brown bear, looking around in all directions. Yufi sighs with relief, placing a hand on her chest. "It's just a baby bear. Thank goodness." She begins to approach it and crouches down. "Hello there little guy!"

"Yufi, I don't think that's wise," Cairo says, tugging at her shirt, knowing that where there are cubs, the momma bear is bound to be lurking around too.

Another tiny bear comes out, joining its sibling, causing Yufi to squeal at how cute they are. "Awww! They're so adorable!"

There is another rustle from the bushes, and to their horror it is a larger bear. Yufi quickly stands up and begins to back away slowly. It lets out a loud, deafening roar that sends shivers up their spine, making them wish they had gotten back to the cabin a lot sooner. Without a second thought, Yufi grabs Cairo's hand and they make a run for it.

"You're not supposed to run from bears, Yufi!" Cairo exclaims, flinching when she hears the bear pursuing them, it's claws scraping over the fallen leaves on the ground and letting out another roar.

"I'm not playing dead! What if the bear knows we're playing dead?! I'm not good at acting!" Yufi whines, picking up the pace. She can see the light to the cabin getting closer as they run blindly through the woods, narrowly avoiding trees in the process. "Can't you use your powers and fly us outta here?!"

"I don't know how to fly, remember?"

"We are so doo—" There is another roar and Yufi looks over her shoulder, seeing an additional larger bear on their tail.

Cairo blinks. "That must be papa bear…"

"GAAAAAH!" Yufi's screams echo through the air.

Stepping out of the hot tub, Kisara lifts her eyes when she hears a loud scream and her head immediately turns to some nearby bushes. "Did you guys hear that?"

Téa immediately goes on alert, recognizing the scream. "It sounded like—"

Yufi immediately bursts through the bushes with Cairo following behind and they stop just short of the hot tub, panting heavily. Mana blinks and folds her arms, wondering why their faces are in a panicked expression. "Uh…are you two okay?"

"And what took you so long? We were worried sick!" Téa scolds them both.

"Technically, you were the only worried one," Kisara points out jokingly to which Téa side eyes her.

Before any of the girls can answer, a loud roar causes all of their eyes to go big and out from the bushes comes a large bear.

"I thought you said you never run into anything out in the woods, Kisara!" Téa snaps.

Kisara rubs the back of her head sheepishly. "I guess they got in somehow."

The bear comes charging at them, putting them all on alert. Cairo and Yufi quickly hide behind Téa while Mana and Kisara take a step forward. "You two are gonna face off with a bear?" Téa asks in disbelief, though a part of her knows that she shouldn't be surprised at all. This is just a day in the life of having friends with unique and powerful gifts. Her eyes go to Kisara who stands as back up. Out of all three of them and in addition to Yugi and Atem, she is the only one that doesn't have any special abilities. She is always left on the sidelines. At first it didn't bother her, but as the years go by, she can't help buy feel helpless when danger arises.

"Relax Téa. We won't cause them any harm," Kisara assures her.

Another large bear comes out, followed by the cubs and Mana grins anxiously. "Looks like the whole family is here."

YGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGO

In a dark room, a man with spiky tri-colored hair sits on the edge of the bed with his arms folded and one leg crossed over the other with his amethyst eyes lowered, deep in thought. It is supposed to be a time for rest and relaxation, but he has barely done that. No matter how much he tries to forget recent events, he just can't. It makes him feel bad that he hasn't been able to be in this present moment, enjoying this time with family. He has tried putting on a brave face, but he knows Mana can see right through that.

A knock comes from the door and he lifts his eyes.

"You in there bro?"

Recognizing the voice belonging to his brother Yugi, he stands up and opens it, standing across from a man who looks nearly identical to him. Yugi looks over Atem's shoulder and frowns, seeing the dark room behind him. "I take it you're not doing any better, huh," Yugi assumes and Atem sighs.

"It's not very often that I use the Millennium Puzzle," Atem starts off. The golden pendant is a powerful item that allows him to summon powerful monsters such as the Egyptian gods along with using shadow magic. His mind goes back to their most recent battle where he had no choice but to use the puzzle to summon the gods. "But ever since I did a few days ago, I haven't been feeling like myself. And I've been having strange dreams that almost seem real."

"Like visions?"

Atem nods. "Yes. And they are very disturbing in nature…" He sighs. "I was afraid of this."

"What do you mean?"

"I just thought that after all these years, I would've had a better grasp on the powers of the Millennium Puzzle. But the more I have to resort to using it, the more I…"

Yugi frowns even more. "Maybe you should pay grandpa a visit when he gets back from his trip," Yugi suggests, knowing their grandpa has made many travels to Egypt and has a lot of knowledge in that area.

Atem sighs. "I'm not sure if he can help in this case."

"It's worth a shot. I just don't like seeing you like this." He places a hand on Atem's shoulder. "At least consider it."

After pondering it for a moment, Atem finally nods his head. "Alright." Noticing how quiet it is in the house, he looks from left to right. "Where is everyone else?"

"Well Seto is locked in his office as usual…" Yugi looks over his shoulder to the closed door that contains Kaiba's office. Although he did make some sort of attempt to relax throughout the trip, being a CEO of one of the largest companies in the world doesn't give him much opportunity to wind down without a care in the world, much to Kisara's dismay. "…And the girls are—"

ROAR.

Hearing the loud noise coming from the outside, both brothers glance at each other before running over to a nearby balcony to see where the source of the roar came from. Yugi's eyes go wide. "A bear?!" He looks further down to see Téa and the others standing at a distance while Kisara and Mana are on the defensive. "Not good."

"What is all this commotion?" an irritated voice asks from behind them and they turn to see Seto approaching them with his arms folded. He catches sight of the family of bears that stand across from Kisara and Mana and he shakes his head, feeling even more annoyed that this is the reason for the noise. "I'm going back to my office. Keep it down out here."

"You're not worried about—"

"There's literally nothing to see here," he says, feeling even more agitated. "What will more than likely happen is Kisara and Mana will turn this into some sort of game or competition like they always do and then things will go back to normal. If anything, you should be telling Téa to go inside with the two brats since they're just in the way."

Atem sends over a warning glare. "Watch it."

"Whatever. Tell them to keep it down." And with that he turns away to return to his office.

Téa runs toward the house with the kids, getting them to a safe distance while the mama and papa bears both charge at Kisara and Mana who scatter in different directions. As Kisara runs in one direction, she eyes the two cubs who huddle next to each other and an idea pops into her mind.

"Kisara, what's the plan?" Mana yells out as she dodges a swipe from a bear's claw.

"Who would win in a foot race? You or me?" Kisara answers back to Mana's confusion, but she answers nonetheless.

"Uh…not to toot my own horn, but I have you beat, there," Mana replies, managing to create space between her and the bear. "Why?"

Kisara smirks. "Perfect." She quickly scoops up the two cubs and drops them in front of Mana before running off.

Mana's jaw drops and horror fills her eyes as the bears growl at the sight of her holding onto their precious babies. "HEY! Why did you—"

"Better get a move on!" Kisara giggles.

"You are so dead when I get back!" Mana yells, taking off with both cubs under her arms. The larger bears take the bait and chase after her, leaving the premises.

Kisara sighs and wipes the sweat off her brow. She doesn't anticipate it will take Mana long to find an area to place the cubs where they will be safe and more importantly, won't find their way back to the cabin. At least for now.

YGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGO

"You two seriously couldn't have found something else to do than to roam the woods all day?" Téa scolds the two girls with her hands on her hips, standing beside Yugi and Atem. Cairo and Yufi sit side by side on the couch with their legs crossed, not giving Téa any eye contact as one twiddles their thumbs and the other twirls her fingers through her long locs of hair. "It's not safe for you guys to be out there like that, especially so late at night.

"I just wanted to play video games and go to sleep…" Cairo mutters with her eyes fixated on her hair. She doesn't know how she always allows Yufi to drag her into doing things she doesn't want to do. But a lot of it stems from the fact that she wants to make sure Yufi is okay, so she hardly ever says no to any of Yufi's requests to tag along somewhere.

"We were on our way back, but then these little bears showed up and they were so cute!" Yufi explains, clenching her fists and smiling at the thought of the little cubs, even now. "But then the mommy and daddy bears showed up and…yeah…Is aunt Mana gonna be okay?"

Kisara flings her hand as she leans on the counter in the kitchen nearby. "She'll be fine!"

The door swings open, revealing Mana whose hair is unruly with twigs and leaves sticking out of it as she pants heavily. She glares over at Kisara who chuckles nervously. "You…" Mana growls lowly.

"Oh hey! You made it!" Kisara chuckles once again. She quickly makes a run for it and Mana rushes after her, their screams audible until they run further into the house and out the front door. Atem only shakes his head. This is pretty typical behavior for the both of them whenever they're together, practically acting like children themselves.

"Don't be too hard on them, Téa," Yugi says, rubbing the back of his head with a smile. "I'm sure they were just trying to get in their last bit of fun before school starts."

Téa exhales. "Just…try and use better judgement next time okay?"

"Sorry," Yufi apologizes, lowering her eyes with remorse.

Atem looks down to Cairo who yawns silently and continues to look bored. He decides not to say anything at this current moment, wanting to address his concerns with her at a different time. He has a lot on his mind and Téa has already said enough already. There's no point in repeating it.

"It's getting late. You two should head to bed," he suggests instead of continuing to lecture them.

"Finally. Something I want to do," Cairo says, walking with her hands behind her back while Yufi follows behind her looking disappointed that their night is coming to a close.

"I'll be up there shortly to make sure you're both in bed!" Téa calls after them as they walk up the stairs. "Those two…It's gonna be a long school year with them being in the same class." Though Cairo is older by several months, she will still share a class with Yufi due to her having a late birthday.

Yugi smiles. "I don't know, I think it's comforting. They'll be able to look out for each other."

"I guess you're right." She stretches her arms over her head and begins to go up the stairs too. "I'm heading off to bed soon once I make sure the girls are in bed. Good night guys."

"I'm calling it a night too," Yugi turns to his brother. "You should try and get some rest too."

Atem only nods his head, not wanting to cause Yugi any further concern. If only his brother knew that he had already attempted to go to sleep, but to no avail.

He later finds himself alone in the pool, floating on his back and gazing up at the stars. There's nothing he wants more than to have a peaceful night's rest. But that hasn't come easily lately. And if he does go to sleep, what sorts of things will his mind be subjected then? He has only had to use the Millennium Puzzle a handful of times, but there were no major adverse affects, even after tapping into its shadow magic. Until now.

Unbeknownst to him, Mana enters the pool area through the back gate after chasing Kisara. Initially she doesn't know that he is there until she walks further and sees him standing in the middle of the pool with his back facing her. Her heart jumps and she inhales and exhales. She goes back and forth with herself as to whether or not she should bother him. She has been giving him so much space, wondering if he'll approach her first about what's going on with him. But so far he hasn't.

She silently walks toward the pool until her feet hangs off the edge. She then stretches out her foot and it hovers right above the water. Then her other foot leaves the hard surface as she levitates over to him. As she gets closer, she floats right over his shoulder and looks down at their reflection. His eyes are closed in deep thought. Normally he would be able to sense her presence, but not this time.

Slowly she descends behind him into the water until her feet touch the bottom. She hears him draw in a breath and flinch slightly when she wraps her arms around him and rests her head on his back. His eyes are now wide open and he looks down to the pair of arms that are around him. Even after realizing who it is, he still does not speak initially, standing there in silence.

"I guess you want to be left alone, still." She begins to release her hold on him, but he quickly raises his hands to overlap hers to keep them in place.

"How long have you been watching me?"

"It's unlike you to not sense my presence," she replies, knowing how observant and aware her husband typically is.

"I know you're worried about me…but you don't need to be."

"How long are you gonna shut me out?" she asks to which she gets no response. She sighs and gently releases herself, turning around to walk to a nearby wall to let herself out the pool.

"Mana," he calls out to her just as she is about to get out.

She reluctantly turns back around with her eyes lowered to her reflection. She leans her back on the wall and watches him approach her through the reflection in the pool until he is only mere centimeters away from her. "I just want you to be okay."

He cups her chin, lifting her head so that their lips meet in a kiss and he feels relieved that she kisses back. His hands travel down to her waist, bringing her closer to him so that their bodies press up against the other.

If he's doing to this to get her mind off things and keep her at ease, then he is certainly doing a good job, no matter how much she tries to fight it. She finds herself getting flustered as the kiss becomes more passionate and he has her bodied trapped between his and the wall. At least with his eyes closed he can't see how red her cheeks are getting. And as long as she doesn't moan…

His hands travel further down to a more sensitive area and she gasps lightly before he captures her lips again. It's almost as if he is making up for lost time, even if it has been three days. But three days without barely having any interaction or physical contact is long enough.

Three days.

Her mind goes back to why she approached him in the first place. She had given him a few days to be alone to see if he'd eventually come around on his own, but he never did. Communication hasn't been one of their strong suits lately.

"A-Atem…" she groans, barely able to get his name out of her mouth while he works on her neck. "How can I…? How should I…? I just...want to you help you."

He stops planting kisses on her neck to look her in the eyes. "I'll be fine."

"Why can't you just tell me what's going on?"

He shakes his head. "There's nothing you can do."

"You don't know that," she replies, her voice slightly raising as she gently pushes him back.

He sighs. "This is something I need to figure out on my own, Mana."

She closes her eyes and begins to back away. "Fine."

"Please. I just need you to understand."

"I understand just fine."

And with that, she lets herself out of the pool and leaves him alone with his thoughts once more. Breathing in deeply, he places both hands up to his face, letting out a long exhale.

YGOYGOYGOYGOYGO

AN: Hope you guys enjoyed this first chapter!

A little backstory about Atem and the Millennium Puzzle— in the final chapter of "This Thing Called Life," after having a battle in which Atem had to resort to using the puzzle, he expresses his concerns to his grandfather about the 'dark side' of the puzzle and not wanting to use it often for that reason. Thus, is where the idea of having a sequel came from!

Anyway, leave a review and let me know what you think!