"What a night!" Mana exclaims, stretching her hands over her head as she walks alongside Téa with Atem and Yugi following behind at a distance. She hovers her hand over her heels and they magically turn into flats to give her feet a break. After all the chaos, they opted to walk instead of taking the limo back home. Fortunately, they don't live that far away and their houses are within feet of each other.
"I wonder who was behind all that," Téa says, looking up with thought. "That was nuts!"
"I know right?" Mana agrees, clenching her fists, but Téa has a feeling that she is more intrigued about what happened instead of being concerned.
"I'm just glad no one got hurt. But I wonder if those thugs will show up again tomorrow when the park finally opens."
"No clue, but if they do, I'll be ready!" She slams her fists into her palm with a smirk and Atem stops in his tracks, staring forward as the two women walk ahead. Yugi blinks and stops as well, turning to his brother with a puzzled look. Atem can be so hard to read most of the time and currently his eyes are showing no expression at all. It's as if he lost in thought, trapped in the deep depths of his mind.
His mind flashes back to ten years ago when she nearly lost her life. Her body was limp and frail, covered in cuts, bruises and blood. Her arm was outstretched and her wand lay inches away from her fingertips. She was reckless, rushing off to fight a powerful foe on her own despite him and Yugi advising her against doing so.
"MANA! Don't you die on me! You hear me?! Don't you dare!" he recalls himself yelling as he held her in his arms.
"Atem?" Yugi says, waving his hand in front of his face and his brother closes his eyes, shaking his head. "Something is bothering you, isn't it?" He follows Atem's gaze to Mana and his eyes widen in realization. He remembers all too well. Mana came really close to losing her life that day and ever since, it has really affected Atem. Seeing her normally energetic self laying in the hospital on the verge of death, being told by doctors that she had a slim chance of recovering still haunts him to this day. Atem thought he was going to lose her for good.
But she miraculously recovered and surprisingly, she went about life as if having a near death experience didn't affect her at all. Her excitement for displaying her abilities, facing off against foes and saving others still remained. If anything, it has become extreme.
"Atem, don't be upset with Mana," Yugi says and Atem finally looks at him. "That's just…her, you know? She's always been the type to bounce back, even after bad situations. Remember that time in chemistry she nearly blew up the lab and almost got kicked out? We thought for sure she—"
Atem sighs heavily and looks down. "Sometimes…" He hesitates to state his next sentence. He looks up to make sure Mana and Téa are at a further distance before continuing. "Sometimes I wish she would tone it down."
Yugi frowns. "Aw, come on bro. You don't mean that. Besides, you were initially drawn to that aspect of her. You loved her bubbly and carefree personality."
"It's not her personality," he clarifies, looking over at him. "What I'm saying is…you don't have to worry about Téa's whereabouts all of the time or if she is out fighting some goon. But every time Mana walks out the door, I can't help but think she's going to get herself in serious trouble…or worse."
"I see…"
"I just wish she were normal."
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The following morning, Kisara sits on a park bench enjoying the beautiful weather. She wears a blue tank top and dark navy blue shorts and brown sandals. Telling by how the sun is shining with no clouds in sight, it is going to be a hot one for sure. Some friendly pedestrians exchange happy glances at her as they pass by and she gives a slight wave and a nod, managing to make a small smile appear on her face. One woman with long red hair smiles down at her child who holds her hand, looking excited about the events they have planned for the day. A man with short brown hair wraps his arm around her shoulder, pecking a kiss on her cheek as they walk off.
Kisara sighs and looks over to a nearby office building sitting at the back of the park. She recounts the conversation between her and Seto. Due to yesterday's incident, he is on edge. The media had a field day with him this morning and as a precaution, he pushed back the opening to his amusement park.
"Someone as beautiful as you shouldn't be sitting alone," comes a soft masculine voice and she looks over to see a man dressed in a palatinate purple suit with the logo of a purple rose on the left side of his chest, along with patent leather shoes. His eyes are aqua colored and his hair is long and pink. He seems to be quite the fashionable man and rather overdressed for something as simple as walking in the park, not to mention the hot weather. But he doesn't look bothered by it.
Kisara can see his eyes observing her from head to toe. "You're Kaiba's fiancee are you not?"
"Uh…yeah. Can I help you?" Kisara asks, pushing her own long locs of blue hair out of her face.
Sensing her uneasiness, he gives her a warm smile. "My apologies. I was in the area and I saw you sitting here looking quite upset," he explains with a slight bow.
"Oh…I'm fine. Thank you."
He looks out to the park, observing everything from the busy pedestrians to the whooshing cars driving down the nearby street. He then looks over to the Kaiba Corporation high-rise building. "Herr Kaiba has surely outdone himself on his accomplishments," he comments. "But I'm not surprised."
Kisara tilts her head. "You know him?"
He smirks. "Oh yes, we go way back. Are you two meeting up?"
Kisara groans lightly. For a stranger, he is sure is comfortable with asking her a lot of questions. She finally shakes her head. "No, he's far too busy."
"Even for you?"
"I'm sorry?"
"Hey Kisara!" Mana exclaims, waving hello and running over with Atem following close behind.
Kisara smiles and stands up. "Oh hey you guys. What are you doing here?"
"Atem's heading into Kaiba Corp to help mentor some young duelists and I was tagging along," Mana explains. Besides participating in numerous tournaments, Atem's full time job was teaching younger duelists the game of duel monsters. It is something he is passionate about and enjoys doing.
The man's eyes perk up, recognizing the name that Mana has dropped casually. "Excuse me, but did you say Atem? The Atem? Duel Monsters Champion of the World?"
"Uh huh…" Mana replies hesitantly and she leans over to whisper to Kisara. "Who's your friend?"
"How'd you figure he was a friend?" she whispers back.
"Because you two seem to have the same hair regime," Mana giggles, taking note of the man's long pink hair.
"My apologies. I realized I never told you my name. I am Ziegfried Lloyd," he says with a slight bow before looking up at Mana. In the distance he sees Atem walking their way and he straightens up.
"It's a pleasure to meet you sir Atem," he says, extending a hand out. But Atem's arms remain folded and his amethyst eyes slowly scroll over to look at him. "I understand that you're not only champion of the world, but you also happen to be Kaiba's younger cousin as well. Strange that we've never crossed paths."
Atem looks down to his Ziegfried's free hand that is still extended out for a handshake. Then he stares into the strange man's eyes. Mana notices this awkward interaction and frowns. Atem is always on guard, but that's typically toward any paparazzi, not fans. Atem is able to pick up on bad vibes as opposed to her naivety. But as she looks at the man who appears to be well mannered, she just can't seem to understand why Atem is acting like this.
"Kisara, is this man bothering you?" Atem asks, not removing his gaze from him.
"Well…" She can't say for certain. He hasn't necessarily done anything wrong. But he did kind of just pop up on her with no warning.
He finally lowers his hand. "I apologize for making everyone so uncomfortable. I shall be taking my leave now." He bows to the two women and nods his head at Atem before walking away.
"Aww, you guys ran him off," Mana says.
"He said he knew Seto and that they go way back. But Seto has never mentioned someone by the name of Ziegfried before," Kisara says, placing her index finger and thumb on her chin.
"Whoever he was, his hair was exquisite," Mana compliments as she watches him walk off.
Kisara rolls her eyes with a smile and turns to Atem. "Thank you, Atem. He was giving off a little bit of a weird, creepy vibe."
Mana folds her arms and pouts. "How come I can never sense these sorts of things?"
"Not sure. Probably why you always end up in trouble," her friend says with a shrug.
"That's definitely why," Atem agrees, looking in another direction with his arms folded and a slight smirk on his lips. At least someone else other than him sees it.
"Yeah, whatever. You two could learn a thing or two from me you know," Mana says, walking away and twirling around in her pink sundress, breathing in the fresh air.
Atem breathes heavily and Kisara looks over at him. "Everything okay? I'm sensing some trouble in paradise."
"We kinda got into it last night," he reveals to her surprise.
"Oh, that's not good. About what?"
"Well you know Mana has the tendency of unnecessarily putting herself in harm's way. She jumps at any opportunity to take action and she does it recklessly."
"I see."
"The other day we were at a convenience store in the middle of a robbery, and instead of summoning one or both of our monsters, she put herself in front of the gun that the robber was holding, taunting him before casting her spell. He could've pulled that trigger at any moment while she was taunting."
"I guess maybe she just wanted to help, though I would agree that was pretty dangerous," Kisara says with a frown. "I harbor a great amount of strength myself and even I wouldn't put myself in a situation like that. Only in extreme cases do I display my powers." Besides being able to summon the Blue Eyes White Dragon, she also carries its powers as well, being able to shoot the 'White Lightning' attack from her own mouth.
"I wish she had that same mindset."
Kisara chuckles. "Well in her defense, her displaying her abilities is a lot more flattering than mine. She can twirl her wand or wave her hands and still look good. I on the other hand get crazy stares when I shoot blasts from my mouth and summoning my monster is exhausting to the point where I pass out."
"I'm afraid I'm going to lose her."
"Hmm…" Kisara crosses her arms and looks down with thought. She has definitely witnessed this side of Mana before. It pains her to see Atem like this. He has never opened up to her before and he is mostly private, but for him to reveal to her what is going on between him and Mana, it must be bothering him very much. "Have you ever told Mana how you truly feel about all of this?"
"She always changes the subject."
"I just can't help but think there's a deeper reason for her behavior," Kisara guesses, turning to look at Atem. "Like maybe some sort of traumatic experience from her past."
"Come on you guys!" Mana calls out to them from up ahead. "Keep up will ya!"
Atem and Kisara begin walking toward Mana who stands in front of Kaiba Corp. "Be patient with her," Kisara says, staring forward. "There's definitely gotta be a reason behind all of this."
Atem stays silent. Now that Kisara brings it up, it has really got him thinking and searching through his memory banks about any traumatic experience Mana may have gone through. He comes up empty handed. It's hard to really tell with Mana. She always puts on a brave face and just like him, she can be hard to read as well. But he is determined to get to the bottom of it.
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In an old abandoned gym, a battle ensues between one teenaged boy with snow white hair that reaches his shoulders, and a girl with spiky, brown hair. The windows on all four sides are shattered, the already damaged basketball rims are hanging off their hinges, and there are multiple holes and craters throughout the court.
The teenager with white hair grasps onto his shoulder with a grin. He wears a blue uniform that consists of blue pants and a long sleeve button up with a high collar. His monster, a large demon like figure with a long tail and a snake at the end of it, lies behind him, weakened.
The girls places her blue and pink wand on her shoulder and she walks over to him as he pants heavily. The battle was fierce, but it looks like she will be the victor. There had long been suspicions that her classmate was up to no good, plotting to destroy all of Domino City. But not on her watch. She was determined to stop him at all costs, even if it meant doing it alone.
Her friends had advised her not to go alone, but she was feeling confident. Her skills as a magician had greatly improved and she was so sure that she could do this alone. She wasn't looking at having any type of glory that would come along with defeating someone as dangerous as Bakura.
Not only was Bakura planning on the destruction of Domino City, but her issue with him became personal when he killed her best friend Mahad. This wasn't the first battle they had. The first one included not only her and Mahad, but Atem and Yugi as well. An attack originally intended for Atem was intercepted by Mahad when he threw himself in front of Atem. He paid the ultimate price and when it was all over, he magically sealed himself within Atem's Dark Magician card.
"It's over!" Mana says looking down at him with disgust, her blue pleated skirt and pink blazer stained with dirt and a little bit of blood.
Bakura chuckles and his grin grows even bigger. "Not quite…" he mutters to himself. His monster suddenly gets up to Mana's shock and horror and she crosses her hands protectively over her body as the monster by the name of Diabound, shoots a powerful attack at her. She cries out in pain as she is sent flying back and she hits the bleachers with a grunt.
She shuts her eyes, grimacing as she attempts to stand, but she cannot after such a powerful blow. "D-Darn it. I let my guard down…" She feels herself being lifted up and she gasps, her face only inches from Bakura's.
"Just as I thought. You're just as pathetic as Mahad." He throws her down to the ground and slams his foot into her back repeatedly as she screams. "I think I'm going to enjoy making you suffer."
With each slam of his foot, she can slowly feel herself losing consciousness. Her energy begins to fade and she finds herself praying that it will be over. He sucks in his teeth and kicks her over at a distance. She rolls a few times, coming to a complete stop right in front of his Diabound that awaits his master's next command.
"Diabound, destroy her now!" The monster obeys, preparing its sharp claws to unleash its final attack.
"Not on my watch! Celtic Guardian attack!" yells another voice and all of a sudden, another monster wearing green and sporting pointy ears and a sword, swipes down on Diabound's arm, slicing it off completely.
Bakura holds back gasps as he clenches his own arm, looking to see who the source of that voice is. At the doorway, he sees two identical figures with spiky hair and a third one that floats in the air. His eyes widen with horror when he realizes that it is none other than Mahad in the form of the Dark Magician, levitating alongside Atem whose eyes are filled with rage.
"YOUR REIGN OF TERROR ENDS HERE BAKURA!" Atem yells, pointing at him with narrowed eyes. "MAHAD, FINISH HIM OFF!"
Mahad flies into the air and points his wand at the severely weakened Diabound and Bakura clenches his teeth. It is bad enough that his battle with Mana has already weakened him and the recent attack from Yugi's monster has put his Diabound in bad shape.
"DARK MAGIC ATTACK!" Mahad yells, shooting off a large green blast that ultimately defeats Diabound, causing Bakura to collapse, landing motionless on the floor.
Atem's eyes land on Mana, who hasn't made a move since he arrived and he rushes over to her aid, carefully lifting her up into his arms. "Mana!" He gives her a light shake, but she doesn't respond to his cries or attempts to wake her. Yugi runs over as well, kneeling down and lifting up her wrist to check her pulse.
"It's really faint. We need to get her to a hospital now!" he exclaims with worry.
"MANA! Don't die on me!" His eyes begin to water up as he stares at her frail body. Why did she have to run off and face Bakura alone? Didn't she realize from the first time they battled that she couldn't defeat him by herself? "You hear me?! Don't you dare!"
Mana's eyes shoot open that night and she quickly sits up, breathing heavily, her heart pounding. She lifts her hand to wipe the sweat off her brow and looks out the window. It is well into the night and the streets are seemingly quiet. Her head then turns to the right to see Atem sound asleep.
That same dream seems to haunt her almost every night. She remembers the feeling of powerlessness and being helpless. Having to have someone save her even after training so hard for that moment. Though they ultimately defeated Bakura, she still felt like a failure. She vowed to herself that she would never feel like that again. She would never allow someone to make her feel so weak.
She swings her feet out of bed, slipping some clothes on, taking one last look at Atem before leaving out into the night.
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Here's another chapter! How are you guys liking it so far? Leave me a review and let me know!