As the weekend of the publicity event approached, Yugi had a lot to prepare. There were travel snacks to acquire, her deck to finalise, and packing to be done, which was why she was mentally miles away as she darted through the store to drop off her school stuff before she did her duty in her family's store.

That was how she missed the sight of the store's newest staff member. She let out a squeak as she impacted with his lilac-clad chest, and the young man staggered as she bounced off. She flinched in anticipation of hitting the floor, only for an arm to wrap around her, preventing her fall.

Looking up revealed that Namu had caught her, concern clear. "You okay?"

"Y…Yeah, thanks, Namu." She grinned at him as she regained her footing. "Sorry."

"Hey, no problem." The foreign student relaxed. He let go and backed off once he was sure that she would not tumble again. "I said hi, I'm guessing you didn't hear me?"

"Oops." She ran a hand through her hair. "No, I was too busy thinking about the weekend."

"It's a big thing." The shrug he gave her helped her feel less silly. "Anything I can do to help?"

"No, but I appreciate the offer. I just need to go shopping before I do anything else. I'll go tomorrow." With a shake of her head she started for the stairs. "Give me five, and I'll be ready to show you how to fill out the inventory sheets again."

"Umm, Yugi?" She paused and looked back over her shoulder at the other teen, noting that her grandfather was watching the pair of them with narrowed eyes. He shifted from foot to foot and bit his lip before asking, "Can I take you out tomorrow?"

Yugi straightened and turned to face him, tilting her head as she sensed her twin's wariness and concern trickle across the bond. "Namu, there's rules…"

"I don't mean on a date. I know you're not allowed to date store employees and we're not supposed to ask." He shook his head and waved his hands, trying to dismiss the idea. "But, like, you promised me that you'd show me where I could get some better work shoes, and I'd like to buy you a drink or a burger in thanks."

She pursed her lips as she thought that over. This week was already going to be busy as it was, but if she got her packing done this evening, she would have the spare time needed to follow through on the promise she had made when Namu had complained that his feet were killing him after an eight-hour Saturday shift.

She glanced at her grandfather, fully aware that there were ground rules to her going out. There had been since the fire at the Black Clown. His lips twisted and his eyebrows furrowed as he considered whether to step in or not.

While Sugoroku had not strictly curtailed Yugi's freedom since the fire, he had been more serious about curfew times and she had to let him know if she was heading anywhere other than just school and home. Plus, he had to okay who she went out and about with and any person she was interested in dating.

Anzu, Honda, and Katsuya had free passes, so if she said she was going somewhere with one of them, it was instantly approved. Amane got approval if one of Yugi's other friends was with them, which meant that their Tuesday evening game nights had been moved to the Kame Game Shop. It also meant that there was now a space for a Monster World board set-up in the basement of the shop, where she and Amane were building one together based on an Egyptian-style setting.

Otogi was a firm no from her grandfather. The Game Developer had offered to take her for a meal to apologise for what had happened between them just once, and he had been told by her grandfather that if he wanted to apologise, he could bring the food to the shop.

That had also been when the rule about dating shop staff had been placed. Though Otogi had since left the shop to focus on Dungeon Dice Monsters, whose popularity was spreading quite nicely, Yugi had exactly zero intention of going out with him. She had forgiven Otogi for everything he had done for his father, but not forgotten, and it would be a while before she could trust an advance from him again.

Namu, however, was a new player on the board, and her grandfather had not laid down any rules regarding him yet.

The elderly man considered Namu carefully before deciding. The young man had clearly lied on his CV to get the job at the shop, and Sugoroku was pretty sure he had an interest in Yugi because he acted more useless than he actually was in order to hold his granddaughter's attention whenever she was working in the store. However, bar that silliness, Namu had been working with them for a couple of months now and he had proved to be a (mostly) useful and reliable colleague. Plus, from everything Sugoroku and the boy had discussed over the last few months, he thought that he could trust that Namu would not risk losing what he had built up here by putting Yugi in harm's way.

"Curfew stands, and don't forget to pick up what you need for the weekend while you're out," he decided finally, turning to his granddaughter. "Let me know if you're going to be late home?"

"Will do."

"I'll come pick her up from here at six, and I'll have her back by nine, promise," Namu swore, standing to attention.

"Be sure you do."

The sun was setting and the air was cooling as Yugi stepped out of the shop the following evening. She zipped up her new blue jacket to try and keep warm as she waited for Namu to arrive. The teen in question was a few minutes late, but she did not mind. It had given her an extra few minutes to go through her list of things she needed to buy and make sure she knew exactly what she was picking up on her way home.

The sounds of a motorcycle coming down the road caught her attention. Cars were not an unusual sight on the roads around here, as people tried to find spots in the parking lots nearby so they could visit all the shops in the business district easily. Motorcycles, however, were not that common in Domino. At least not around here. Possibly because a few had 'wandered off' recently, despite being chained to things. Honda was getting one, but she doubted that he would be driving around here, since there were much better places on the outskirts of the city to really let loose. Not that she knew from experience, but she had heard her two male friends discussing it.

The sleek, black vehicle with a curved box on the back pulled up in front of her, and its rider pulled their black and gold helmet off to reveal Namu, who grinned at her as he dismounted. "Hey, Yugi. Need a ride?"

"I… You have a motorcycle?"

"Ukhti bought it for me," He opened the box on the back to reveal a second helmet in dark grey, then turned to offer it to her. "Don't worry, I have a licence for it."

The Queen of Games took the offered helmet and glanced back through the glass. On the one hand, she kind of wanted to ride with Namu; on the other, she was not sure what her grandfather would think. When she saw his eyes narrow, she held up the helmet she was holding. There was a moment where his head tilted, then he nodded his permission.

"I'm guessing we're going for food first then?" she asked as she headed for the back of the bike, slipping the helmet on and flipping the visor up as she went. "Then shoes? You realise I can show you where to get them, but you'll probably have to pick up a pair tomorrow that way."

"If you don't mind, I can get them before work tomorrow. I've got somewhere in mind that blows Burger World's burgers out of the water, but they'll close soon," Namu responded as he climbed onto the vehicle and pulled his own helmet back on.

She could sense her twin's excitement about trying something entirely new as she climbed up behind him, flipping down her visor before holding on tightly to a surprisingly buff chest. As the motorbike shot off, Namu shielded her from the worst of the wind, but she could still feel it as she watched the world pass by.

They shot out of the business district and, much to Yugi's surprise, headed for the section of town that was mostly docks and warehouses. They were only four blocks from where she knew that Honda's family business, the Shooting Star Shipping Company, was based when Namu pulled up outside what looked like a small hole in the wall restaurant.

"If you order to go, I know a really cool spot we can eat at," Namu promised her as he flipped his visor, dropped the kickstand, and dismounted, holding the bike upright so she could join him. Once her feet were on the ground, he headed over to the counter, where Yugi could hear the call of Namu's name, along with an unfamiliar word in what was probably not Japanese.

"Marhabtain, Fujiwara-san," Namu chuckled, confusing the Queen of Games with the first word, which was probably in his native language.

"I think your lady friend is confused, Namu-san." The chef snickered, causing the teen to turn to his companion. "Namu has been eating here regularly for ages, so a few weeks ago, I asked him to tell me what 'hello' was in his language."

Yugi paused, wondering why she had never thought to ask him to teach her some of his language and expected him to learn hers, despite her being aware that he had not been entirely fluent in Japanese when he had first started at the shop. She gave Namu an apologetic glance, only to find him smiling at her.

"Marhaba," he offered, "and the response is Marhabtain. It's kind of a 'hello' back."

"Mahaba and Marhabtain," Yugi repeated, trying to memorise them and having to hide an amused giggle when she heard her twin repeating them over and over, trying to remember them as well.

"So what can I get you, young lady?" The chef's question snapped her back to reality, and she examined the menu, noting that there was nothing on it that had red meat. Everything was either fish or vegetarian. Still, there were a lot of things that looked tasty, and she ended up ordering a tai and mushroom rice dish, while Namu ordered saba with a side of vegetables.

"I don't eat meat," the student explained as the chef started cooking for them. "It wasn't something that we could get easily back home, so I never grew used to the taste."

"Where did you grow up?" Yugi could not help her curiosity, having wanted to get to know Namu better since he had started at the shop, but having never had a chance to talk to him outside of work.

"Egypt," he admitted with a wince, noting the way Yugi's eyes widened, "but a really remote section. Ukhti, Akh, and I never really got to see many people outside of the family until we started travelling."

"It must be really different being here in a big city and an entirely different country."

"It's a very different culture." He snorted, the small smile on his face showing his amusement. "And I'll admit, people have been a lot nicer since my Japanese got better. Thanks for that, by the way."

"You're welcome. Could you teach me your language? That way I'll understand better if you're mixing up your languages."

Namu paused, surprise obvious, then started going over Arabic with her. By the time that their food was ready and safely stored in tightly sealed takeaway containers, it was obvious that Yugi was not going to be fluent in Namu's language any time soon, but she knew a few words, and her new friend seemed proud and happy that she wanted to learn.

They stored the takeaway tubs in the box on the back of Namu's bike and mounted back up again, the sun already well below the horizon. They drove along the roads out of Domino and turned into a small, quiet cove just outside the city borders, where there was already a campfire lit with a couple of people sat at it.

'Imoto!' Yugi did not need the warning. As the pulled up alongside the campfire, she herself could sense the sheer volume of shadows clinging to the young woman who was sat in the dunes. As the black-haired, blue-eyed woman got to her feet, dusting sand off her cream shift and adjusting her golden jewellery, including a golden rod tucked into her belt, one that had a ball at one end with a wing extending from either side and the same Eye of Anubis that the Millennium Puzzle had, Namu stopped the motorcycle and put the kickstand down.

Meisa did not hesitate to jump into control of the body before they dismounted, wondering if they had been led into a trap, especially when the rather robust, bald, brown-eyed young man who had also been sat by the fire got to his feet, too.

Namu dismounted first, took his helmet off, balanced it on one of the handlebars, and offered her a hand. "Don't worry, my Pharaoh. We're not enemies."

The scowl that the Pharaoh in question gave him as she took off her own helmet made the teen flinch back slightly. "No, but you're not who you said you are either, are you?"

"You'll have to forgive us the deception, your highness," the woman spoke, catching her attention. "If you will please join us by the fire, we have a lot to discuss while we eat. You know the food's safe, you saw it get cooked."

The Spirit of the Puzzle could not deny her point and took the hand 'Namu' was offering, though she glanced around and looked for escape routes in case something went wrong, as she dismounted from the motorcycle.

"Who are you all, then? Really?" she demanded as Namu pulled their meals out of the box on the bike.

"My name is Ishtar Ishizu, I am the Guardian of the Millennium Rod. These are my brothers, Rishid,"-She gestured to the broad-shouldered young man, who, now she could get a better look at him, had just enough hair to make a ponytail at the back of his head-"and Marik."

"Marik. Not Namu?" Meisa raised an eyebrow at the teen in question, who glanced away, unable to look her in the eyes.

"The name is a cover, relied on because of what I'm about to tell you." Ishizu's tone was soft and careful, but her eyes were narrowed and her body posture tense, like she expected an attack from the Pharaoh.

"I'm sorry for lying to you for so long." Marik, trying to break the stand-off between his sister and the girl he had tricked into coming, got between the two item holders. "But I promise, the food from Fujiwara is good, and we mean you no harm. I promised your Jid, sorry, Ojiisan, that I'd have you home by curfew, remember?"

Meisa nodded, relaxing a little, which allowed Ishizu to relax, though neither of them sat until after Rishid and Marik had sat down by the fire, and even then they sat at the same time.

"So what's your story?" the Pharaoh asked, able to sense that her twin was torn between curiosity and hurt at having been lied to for so long, as she took her takeaway container from Namu, and the two who had already been here picked up tubs of their own, suggesting that they had been prepared for this meeting.

"My brothers and I are part of the Tomb Keeper tribe, or rather we were until about two years ago," Ishizu started as she opened the lid of her food, "when we left for personal reasons."

"The same tribe Shadi belonged to?" the Pharaoh questioned, opening her own food and only trusting it enough to eat because, as Ishizu had pointed out, her Imoto had seen the chef cook it.

"There are two branches, or there were. The Thief Queen killed off the last of the surface branch recently. That's the one Shadi belonged to." The Bearer of the Millennium Rod grimaced. "We're of the catacombs branch, the ones who are tasked with protecting your body and your tomb."

Both Meisa and Yugi took a sharp breath at the same moment. "So why approach me like this, rather than directly? Why lie about your brother's identity and have him spy on me?"

"Because we are no longer members of that tribe and we have been hunted for the information we bear." Ishizu glanced towards Marik, who flinched. "You are being watched, my Pharaoh, and if we tried to come to you directly, we would have been spotted. The rest of the tribe would not think to look too closely at just another employee of your store, however."

It made sense, even if Meisa did not like it.

"Marik was not meant to be spying on you: he was looking for an opening to allow the pair of us to talk and find out, together, how we can move your path forward so you can move on and we can be free of those hunting us."

"Why did you leave the Tomb Keepers if you knew you were going to be hunted?"

Ishizu's body language tensed again and the Shadows started swirling around her. "Because we were betrayed. For you."

"What?!"

"Marik, please show her." The teen in question flinched but put his dinner down and turned his back towards Meisa before lifting his shirt, revealing deep scars where hieroglyphs and imagery had been carved into his back.

"I'm… I'm so sorry…" Shock and horror coursed through Meisa as she recognised enough of the text from her lessons with her grandfather to realise that the painful-looking scarring was carrying knowledge from her past, including her true gender and that she would need something called 'Divine Avatars' if she wanted to reclaim her history and defeat Zorc. The revulsion and dismay that Yugi felt merged with her twin's emotions and allowed them to fuse in perfect synchronicity, eyes shifting to a more magenta colour as purple and red mixed together. "This… this should never have happened."

"Well, it did. As it did to every leader of the catacombs half of the Tomb Keeper tribe," Ishizu bit out, a little appeased by how horrified the Pharaoh was by the damage done to her brother. "I tried, I tried so hard to protect my brother from this when I found out your little secret, but…"

The Pharaoh's attention snapped back to the Bearer of the Millennium Rod as the power around her grew and the young woman's hands tightened so much, the plastic of her takeaway tub started to snap. Marik lowered his shirt and got to his feet, moving around the fire to put his hands on Ishizu's shoulders. He muttered something quietly in Arabic to Ishizu, who glanced at him, took a deep breath, and visibly forced down the anger before looking back at the girl opposite.

"I saw my Abi's…Otosan's?" She shared a quick glance with Marik, who nodded. "I saw his back when I saw helping my Umi, I think Okaasan in your language, through an illness."

The Pharaoh nodded, noting that she was leaning into Marik's hands like they were a lifeline or keeping her grounded. "And knowing Marik was not suited to the life of a catacombs Tomb Keeper, I demanded that I carry your secret. After all, if a woman could save Egypt, could one not carry the key to unlocking her powers?"

"Sorry…" Marik's whisper as he flinched made both Ishizu and Rishid turn to him.

The way the older boy got to his feet and rested his hands on the younger brother's shoulders made the Pharaoh realise that this was a very tight family unit who had each other's backs.

"It is not your fault, Marik," Rishid rumbled quietly, his deep voice barely carrying above the crackling of the flames, most likely deliberately.

"It's Abi's," Ishizu agreed with a nod of her head, hurt and disappointment rolling off her wavering voice, "not yours. He's the one who Challenged me. Supposedly to prove that I had what it took. And I won. I WON, damnit. The weight of your secret and the Millennium Rod were to be mine to bear."

The last was directed at the Pharaoh, who grimaced and pursed her lips, disgust evident. "But he hurt Marik anyway."

"He told me that I would be collected for the ritual at sunrise. He lied." Ishizu's voice echoed slightly as the Shadows rose again, responding to her anger and frustration. "I woke in the middle of the night to find them…"

She trailed off, mind flickering back to the night she had woken to the sound of her brother's muffled, agonised screams.

The night she had taken a heavy wooden plank and attacked those who were engraving the Pharaoh's secret into her brother.

The night she had seized the Millennium Rod from her father and driven its hidden blade deep into his chest, then used its magic to rip the souls of her father's high priests out from their still-breathing bodies.

The night she had taken her still-bleeding blood brother and always-loyal adopted brother and fled the catacombs for good.

"I don't know if there's any way I can fix it, but I promise, I would never have wanted this," the Ancient Pharaoh swore.

"Leaving was not enough to free us." Ishizu put her food down at the sounds of another crack from the plastic and glowered at the ruler her tribe had been through so much for. "We've been chased across the globe by fanatics your legend spawned because of what they did to my brother. There's only one way we can be free of them. Only one way you can 'fix it.'"

"What is it?" the merged soul asked, wanting to help if she could.

"Kill the Thief Queen, get rid of the demon, and leave," the other item holder hissed out, "like you should have done thousands of years ago."

There was a brief moment as the Pharaoh processed that, then her shoulders sank and her eyes closed for a moment, before sad purple eyes opened again, sympathy clear as Yugi quietly murmured, "We can't, not right now."

"You can," Ishizu snapped, only not getting to her feet because Marik's hands were on her shoulders. "We have waited for thousands of years, and so many of our tribe have suffered! All so you could do your job! You just need the God cards!"

"And our name, we can't access our full strength without that," the darker half of the Pharaoh seized control to point out, eyes shifting sharp and red. "We're not ready. Right now, we can't win. And I won't kill a friend."

Even Marik's attempt to restrain his sister could not contain her in her fury, and Ishizu shot to her feet and backed off, both wanting and not wanting to smack the Pharaoh. "You won't… She's a traitor. She destroyed Egypt! She would kill you!"

"Ba-Khu-Ra was betrayed just like we were!" Yugi shot back into control and rose to her feet, wanting to defend her friend, "and Amane wasn't around back then! She's innocent!"

"'Amane' IS the Thief Queen, just like you, little vessel, ARE the Pharaoh." The Bearer of the Millennium Rod stalked forward and towered over the much smaller teen, who did not back down an inch. "She is just as guilty of the crimes of the past as her other self. And she's bound to the demon! You can't get rid of him without getting rid of her! My people have served you loyally for thousands of years. How is the life of a traitor worth more than ending our suffering and freeing us from this hell?!"

"We're. Not. Ready," Yugi tried, her voice wavering as she realised she was not going to be able to defend her friend and gain any ground in this conversation. "We need to find out the truth of what happened in Egypt to make sure it doesn't happen again. Plus, we can't win the way we are. The last time we faced Zorc, he nearly killed us and we ended up in hospital for almost a month. We need to be stronger. Even what's on Marik's back says we need the 'Divine Avatars' and our true name if we want to win. We're not ready yet."

"You want to be stronger?" Yugi finally took a step back as Ishizu's voice rose in pitch slightly and her face briefly gained warped, over-extended features, which settled down into a sharper, more vicious looking expression. The young woman's hair flowed in the power she was letting off as her aura shifted into a mix of Ishizu's own and the terrifyingly familiar aura of the demon. Ishizu's eyes took on an amber hue as she pointed the Millennium Rod at the target of her anger, just as Ba-Khu-Ra's had changed colour in the fire. "I can make you stronger, and then you will complete your destiny and…"

She trailed off, giving Meisa time to switch in, just in case of an attack, as Marik got between the pair of them and put his hand on his sister's arm. "Hanaq, not like this. Not here. I made a promise."

There was a moment where the Pharaoh was concerned that Ishizu was going to smack her brother as her other hand, the one that Marik wasn't touching, shook badly. Then it balled up and the young woman took a deep breath, her facial features went back to normal, and the demon's influence faded away. Blue eyes still glowered at the Pharaoh, though, as she hissed out, "You WILL complete your destiny soon, or I WILL make you."

"I will not fight Ba-Khu-Ra again until I am ready." Meisa's glare was just as intense. "We plan on doing what needs to be done, but I will do it when I am ready and not a moment before."

"You're making a massive mistake, Pharaoh. I will do anything, ANYTHING, to protect my family. If that means forcing your hand so we can be free of those hunting us, so be it." With that she looked down at Marik. "Feel free to join us at home once you've dropped her off. I think this parley is over."

With that she stalked towards the exit of the cove. Rishid rose to his feet, nodded to Meisa with very little to give anything away in his expression, and followed her.

Silence fell for a few moments between Meisa and Marik, broken only by the sounds of the waves and the crackle of the fire, before the boy murmured, "That did not go how I thought it would."

"Marik, please take me home now," the Spirit of the Puzzle asked, her tone sharp.

"S…sure," he stammered, noting that the food she had picked out had barely been touched. "I'm sorry… If you want me to quit the shop…"

"I'm not going to blame you for the threats your Oneesan is laying out." The Pharaoh scooped her helmet off the seat of the motorcycle. "But I am going to discuss this with my friends and Jii-san, so I suggest you come clean about your true identity to them tonight, or they're going to hear it from me, and that will be worse."

"O…Okay." He nodded, grabbing his own helmet and putting it on before climbing up on the bike. Meisa donned her own helmet and they rode back to the shop in silence.

As they dismounted outside the Kame Game Shop, Marik hesitated for a moment before saying, "Yugi? I am sorry, I didn't think…"

"What's done is done." Meisa, her tone heavy with upset and frustration, shrugged. "Now we have to see what comes of it."

Marik just nodded as he chained up his bike around the back of the shop and the pair headed inside to talk to those within.