Many people would consider five-thirty in the morning too early to start their day, but for Reika, having lived a life at sea for the past year, she had an appreciation for how everything felt that early in the morning. It was so peaceful, and it gave her plenty of time to gather her thoughts from the night before.

The only problem with this was preparing breakfast while the rest of the house was still asleep was like walking on a tightrope. With every move she made, she risked waking her cousin or one of his friends, feeling like she was walking on bubble wrap with each step she took, each cabinet she opened and each thing she took out. Starting the water for tea was a nightmare, but in the end, she settled in with a mug of green tea and an apple, looking at the newspaper that had been delivered and snorting slightly at the small photograph of she and Seto splashed on the front page.

"Morning," Yugi said from the doorway.

"Hey. Did I wake you up?" she asked.

Yugi shook his head and reached for a box of cereal. "No, Duke and Tristan's snoring did. Did you know that Dungeon Dice Monsters is popular in the United States? It's where Duke is from. When did you get back last night?"

"Yes I did and I think it was about one in the morning. But I know you, Yugi. You're beating around the bush, so ask what's been bothering you since I left last night," she said. She was trained to lie. Yugi, as much as she loved him, was not, and so she set the half-eaten apple down on the table next to her tea, folding her hands as she waited for the question to come.

"Does Kaiba make you happy?"

She had to admit, of all the questions she expected to come, that one was one of the last, but she was glad he started with that one, and so Reika smiled. "Yes. Very happy."

He smiled. "Well, good. I'm glad. Like I said at Duelist Kingdom, I'm not happy with what he did to grandpa, but I know he's your uh…"

"Boyfriend."

Yugi blinked, clearly surprised by her declaration. "I didn't think he'd move that fast after one date."

"It's been two years since we went on our first date, Yugi. First date happened a few months after Gozaburo… well, you know," she shrugged as she stood and tossed the apple core away.

"Can you… remind me what day that was again?" Yugi asked with a small frown.

She frowned in returned, leaning against the counter. "May 8th. Why?"

"Because… that was the day he kidnapped grandpa… and the spirit of the puzzle said there was a lot of darkness in him that day. He did some mind magic thing to help get rid of it."

She exhaled through her teeth slowly and nodded a little. "He doesn't like to think or talk about it, but Gozaburo has had a bit of a stranglehold on him, not that it excuses him at all. It makes sense that the darkness would be strong on that day. And by the way, I need to talk to your spirit friend. I found some things out last night that he needs to hear."

There was a bright flash, and the Pharaoh sat before her.

"What is it?" he asked.

"You were – you were a Pharaoh," Reika said.

He stared. "A Pharaoh?"

"Yes. And a powerful one at that," Azila said, appearing in the room and bowing slightly. "My name is Azila. It's been a long time. I was a member of your court before you… sealed yourself away."

"What is my name?"

Azila's face fell slightly. "I'm afraid I don't know that. Your name was erased from history and as such… by the time I got to the afterlife it had been forgotten. That's why I've come to help you find your way back to your name… and to put you to rest."

Reika traced the design of the tea cup with her finger, looking between the spirits. "I think we should go to the museum today and look at the exhibit yourself," she told him. "I'm sure there are parts of it I missed."

Pharaoh nodded.

So that was where they found themselves later that morning., with Yugi's gang of friends tagging along with them.

"You know, they didn't get this statue of you quite right," Reika thought to Azila as she stood in front of the small, doll-like figure behind glass.

"The statue is three-thousand years old and a carving. They didn't have those little flashy things like you people have now," the spirit retorted, now a reflection in the glass.

"I'm pleased to see you return to the exhibit, Reika Mutou," a voice said from behind her. "Thank you for bringing the Pharaoh here."

Startled, Reika turned to find a tall woman standing behind her. The thing she noticed immediately was the Millennium symbol on the necklace she was wearing. "Um. Hi. I don't think I spoke to you yesterday," Reika replied.

"We did not, but I knew you would be here today. I am Ishizu Ishtar, the curator of the exhibit. Please, if you all would follow me…"

The group exchanged skeptical looks, but followed the dark-haired woman into a further room, where two large stone tablets hung on the wall.

"Whoa! Those are Duel Monsters!" Joey exclaimed, his blue eyes widening.

"Yes, Mr. Wheeler. These tablets depict Duel Monsters as it was played back in Ancient Egypt. Players used magic to turn their monsters real," the woman explained. "This tablet depicts the friendship and rivalry between the nameless Pharaoh and one of his priests."

"So that's me…" the Pharaoh whispered, taking in the large tablet. "And that's the Dark Magician by my side and… Kaiba? What in the world?"

"Yes. You and Kaiba have been locked in a centuries-old rivalry since Ancient Egypt. He was your successor after you sealed your soul away." There was a bright light for a moment, and when it faded, the Pharaoh's eyes were wide, as if he'd seen something.

"So that was… a piece of my life?" he asked.

Ishizu nodded slightly. "But this isn't the only reason I've called you back here. There are a group of thieves running around trying to steal cards. They call themselves Rare Hunters."

"I don't want to sound rude, but shouldn't you be going to the police about a group of thieves? I mean, we're sixteen years old. What can we do to stop them?" Tristan asked with a small frown.

"I have, but there is only so much they can do. The Rare Hunters are duelists, so the only way to draw them out is to duel them… and I know you will be the ones to defeat them because I have foreseen it with my Millennium Necklace," Ishizu explained. "There will be another tournament held soon. The end of it will hold another key to your memories, Pharaoh."

Reika couldn't help but frown slightly. What was this woman's goal?

"Well, this has all been fascinating. I'm sorry to bolt on you like this guys, but my dad needs me back home so we can finish putting the shop together," Duke said with a smile as he left the room.

"I'm pleased to know that you will have such a large group of people helping you on your quest, my Pharaoh," Ishizu said with a smile. "And I'll be in contact with you."

The Pharaoh nodded slowly, and the rest of the group turned to leave.

"Oh, and Reika?" Ishizu said carefully when Reika hit the doorway, her cousin and his friends walking further away. "There is a war coming. A war that pits black against white."

She froze, turning slowly on her heels. "What?" she asked, her voice dangerous as she slowly moved back toward the other woman. "What did you just say?"

Ishizu didn't seem fazed by her tone. "In that other world. The losses will be few, but they will be great, and the world as it is known will never be the same."

Her mouth set in a thin line. "Is that all you know?"

She nodded. "I only get small glimpses of the future."

"Miss Ishtar, if you are seeing a war in another world then –"

"I have been in contact with Yume already, but I assumed you should be the one to tell them about the war."

"Why me?"

"Because I saw you and your friends fighting at the center of it."

Reika's blood ran cold, and she quickly exited the room, where Yugi and his friends were waiting for her. They hadn't overheard. Good. The last thing she wanted was to have to explain to her cousin what it was he'd heard.

"Hey Reika, we were going to go get some lun –"

"You go ahead. There's something I need to take care of," she said in a rush, pushing the door open and running down the steps, inwardly groaning when she heard her cousin and friends following after her.

"Wait Reika, slow down!"

"I'll meet you at home!" she called as she practically threw herself into the doorway of T.A.I.D.R headquarters, guilt threatening to spill over her as the door unlocked and slammed shut, relocking just as the group reached the doorway. She mouthed a quick apology to them and slipped further into the building and up to Yume's office.

The older woman looked up and frowned when Reika knocked on the door. "Oh – Reika, I didn't think I had you scheduled to come in today."

She shook her head. "Ishizu Ishtar has foreseen a war, Yume. In the other world."

Yume pressed her lips together in a frown, gesturing for Reika to take a seat, which she did. "She is not the first one to predict such a thing. What else did she say?"

"She said it would pit back against white… and that my crew was at the epicenter of it," she explained. "But she isn't the first? So there is going to be a war?"

"This shouldn't surprise you, Reika. We're a part of the Revolutionary Army after all. But yes, it has been prophesized that there will be a war. That it would usher in a new era. No one ever saw who would be fighting in it," Yume explained. "Thank you for your information. I must inform Dragon at once."

Reika could only nod, a sense of foreboding settling in her stomach as she left the room, carefully making her way back home and hoping she didn't make too much noise as she entered the side door.

"What the hell was her problem?" she heard Joey ask in his loud voice, a can of soda slamming against the table. "I mean, we just wanted to help her! She's helped us out a lot lately. We just wanted to return the favor!"

It was Yugi who spoke next. "I… I don't know. I've never seen her act like that before. She knows she can tell me anything – we made that promise when we were kids. It's not like her to not tell me something, especially if she's in trouble."

Téa was the next to speak. "Whatever's going on, I'm sure she has a reason for doing what she did. What I want to know is what that weird building she went into was."

"Yeah, that too," Yugi agreed. "If Reika's in trouble, we have to help her. She's willing to help the Pharaoh, so I should help her too."

"Why don't we watch her tomorrow? We don't have school!" Tristan suggested.

Well, she couldn't have that happen. She needed to placate them somehow so they didn't hurt themselves trying to tail after her.

"I'm home!" Reika called as she entered the kitchen with a smile. "I'm so sorry for brushing you guys off earlier. It was an emergency involving one of my friends, but it's all good now!"

"I uh – got you some lunch, Reika, if you're hungry," Yugi said, forcing a smile as he looked up at her.

Reika's smile grew. "You did? Oh thanks Yugi," she said, taking a seat at the table and grabbing it out of the bag. "Beef noodles! You remembered my favorite!"

Yugi shrugged and returned her smile. "Of course I did. You weren't gone that long. What was wrong with your friend?"

She exhaled, twirling the noodles around in her take-out container as she tried to think of what she could tell him. She couldn't tell them the full truth, but maybe she could fudge some things and they'd accept it. "My friend is a private detective. I… I asked him to look into what happened to my parents."

Yugi inhaled sharply. "You what?! Does grandpa know?"

"No, and you're not going to tell him until he finds something. I don't want to give him false hope. Anyway… Ishizu – the woman at the museum – she saw something with that necklace that I needed to tell him."

"What did she see?"

Reika swallowed tight. "She saw a war."

"Are your parents in trouble?" Téa asked with wide eyes.

"I don't know! That's why I had to run to tell him. He gave me a keycard to his private office because he doesn't like too many people to know what he does for a living. I don't even want to get my hopes up until I know for sure what happened to them. I'm sorry," she said, looking around. "For all I know, the war she saw was something involving those Rare Hunters she talked about. But if there is a war coming…" she looked at Yugi directly, but she couldn't find any more words.

Yugi looks at her with wide eyes. "You don't have to protect me anymore, Reika. I can fight on my own now."

She sighed and nodded, forcing herself to smile. "I know I don't, Yugi, but that's not going to stop me from worrying."

He returned the smile. "I don't know what destiny has in store for us, Reika, but I'm glad we get to go through it together."

Reika chuckled and put a hand on his. "Me too, Yugi."

She tried to ignore the twist of guilt in her gut.

"The latest intel says the Marines took credit for taking down Baroque Works," Akio said a couple of weeks later with a snort as she dropped into the chair next to Reika and dropped a stack of paperwork in front of her. "They're giving Smoker a promotion and everything."

Reika rolled her eyes as she scanned the files. "Of course they are. They can't possibly admit that a pirate crew took down a gang that operating under someone that had the protection of Marines…" she shook her head. "I can't believe the first Marine I met in that world was that guy. He really has it out for Luffy."

"Smoker never saw your face, right?"

"What kind of spy do you take me for?" Reika asked with a grin. "The only time I didn't have a wig on was when I was alone with the crew. Or in the hospital right before I came back to Domino." Which reminded her, she needed to find time to fix her wig so it was ready whenever she got called back to work in the field.

Akio laughed. "Sorry. Have you been adjusting okay to being back home? I can't imagine what it's like coming back here after a year."

"Eh, it's fine. Considering I've had to deal with a two kidnappings in the last couple of weeks since I've been back, it's like I never left the other dimension. I swear, things weren't nearly this exciting here before I got my orders," she said, shaking her head.

"Well, the Shadow Games hadn't begun yet when you left, and now every bad guy who has an item is after you. And Yugi. Speaking of, you've talked to him about how dangerous things are, right?"

Reika scoffed around the lip of her water bottle. "That wasn't exactly a conversation we needed to have. But we're both on the lookout for Rare Hunters. Apparently the spirit of the puzzle is going to be key in taking them down or something so… yeah Yugi's aware that things are going to get worse before they get better."

"Well good. He's such a nice kid it doesn't make sense that he was pulled into something like this," Akio said with a small frown.

"We were all nice and innocent kids once, weren't we? And then destiny decided to give us all a wake- up call by throwing other worlds, missing parents and ancient Egyptian artifacts with souls inside of them at us," she said.

"I think that just makes life more exciting," Akio said with a sad smile. "But I hope you know that I'll always be here to help you out with any of this. That's what best friends are for, right?"

Reika smiled. "You have no idea how much you sound like Yugi's friends right now. But yes, of course I know that." They had been friends since they were kids, Akio had helped her mourn Noah's loss and they'd ended up being selected for T.A.I.D.R together.

Her phone buzzed, and she sighed when Téa's number popped up. "Here we go again. Hi Téa. What's up? Yugi and Joey didn't show up at the hospital? Okay, I'll look around the business district. Let me know if you find them."

Akio's eyebrow was raised as she ended the call, and Reika sighed. "Want to help me out? Yugi and Joey are missing. They went to Burger World while Serenity was in surgery and haven't made it back yet."

Akio nodded, and with a quick heads-up to Kenji and Yume, they were off.

Minako Fujia liked working at Kaiba Corp. It paid well, she'd met her boyfriend, and Mr. Kaiba wasn't nearly as terrifying as people thought he was.

The only thing was when Mr. Kaiba had a meeting, no one ever was supposed to bother him (especially with this meeting, since it was about the new tournament he was planning), and the phone call she'd gotten, well… it was an emergency that he needed to know about.

Minako paused outside the meeting door, her heart pounding against her chest anxiously, before she took a deep breath and knocked on the door. At the gruff "enter" from her boss, Minako poked her head in the room.

"Mr. Kaiba?"

"This better be good, we're nearly done," he said, his gaze hard as he looked at her.

"Solomon Mutou called. It's Reika. She's in the hospital."