Di.M.H; "I hope that you guys enjoy this story, I did this in my head and decided to write it. Please R&R and remember to...LIVE ON!"

Always There

#

"Give that back," a young Mana cried out as she went to make a grab for her doll that the larger boy was holding it into the air.

"What are you going to do, cry," the boy said while keeping the doll out of her reach.

"It's mine," Mana said as tears formed in her eyes.

"You want it back then jump for it."

"Leave her alone," a voice shouted.

The boy looked to see another boy standing there with tri-colored hair and sharp intension violet eyes. Mana had noticed the boy too as he glared at the other boy. The boy walked toward them and smirked before he stood face to face to him.

"What are you gonna do about it," he said with an evil grin.

The boy just stood there showing no emotion. The other boy went to push him but the boy grabbed his wrist and made him drop the doll. The other boy cried out as he felt the boy beginning to squeeze his wrist. The boy had balled his other hand into a fist and slammed it into the other boy's face causing him to fall back to the ground. Mana watched as her bully sat up with tears running down his face.

He burst into tears before running away from them. The boy knelt down and picked up the doll that was on the ground and walked toward her.

"This is yours," he said holding out the doll.

Mana looked up at him. She nodded and took the doll from him as she thanked him. The boy reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a handkerchief. He used it to wipe her tears. Mana stared into his violet eyes that were now soft and gentle.

"Th-thank you," she said.

"Don't mention it; I'm Atem by the way."

"I'm Mana."

"It's nice to meet you Mana."

"Big brother," a voice called, "where are you?"

"I better go, it was nice meeting you."

"You too,"

Atem walked off waving goodbye. Mana looked down at the doll in her hand and then at the boy that had saved her. He was different than most boys that she knew. Where most boys would bully her while this boy just saved her.

Atem,

#

Mana sat there looking out the window. She looked over to see Atem Muto sitting there at his desk beside her taking notes. It had been years since that first meeting and now they were in high school. Mana had fallen in love with him but was too afraid to even tell him, her true feelings. They had become best friends but she wished for more than that. The bell rang and everyone stood up from their seats.

"Oh yeah, lunch time," Jonouchi cheered.

"Could you be any louder," Honda asked.

"Ah shut up Honda."

"Why do we even hang out with them," Anzu asked.

Yugi shrugged before they made their way to the roof for lunch. Mana reached into her bag and pulled out the two bentos that she had made. She hoped that Atem would like it. She had been working hard to make it for him. She was hoping that he would start to see her in a new light and that she would make a good wife for him.

She let out a deep breath as she approached him. Atem was putting his textbook into his bag as she approached. God was he so handsome. Atem looked up at her and smirked which made her face turn a bright pink.

"What's up Mana," he asked.

"Um, I…."

"Oh Atem," a voice called.

They both looked to see the most popular girl in school; Akari Suzuki entering the room. She had been trying to get Atem to go out with her but Atem had no interest in her. She smiled when she saw them standing there. She would try to get in Mana's way since she knew that she likes Atem. Mana's rolled her eyes as she reached them. She never liked this girl; she would insult her for no reason. Akari got between them and wrapped her arms around Atem's.

"I've been looking for you," she said, "I was hoping that we could have lunch together."

"Sorry Suzuki," said Atem removing his arm from her, "but I'm not interested."

Akari stood there with her mouth wide open. Mana thought that flies would end up flying into her mouth at this rate. Atem was the only boy that didn't fall for her beauty. Mana had to turn away as she sneered. Akari heard her and glared at her.

"Let's go Mana," said Atem picking up his bag.

"Okay," she replied before following behind him.

They walked down the hall to head to the roof to meet up with the others. They walked up the stairs in silence as Mana looked down at the bentos in her hands. Would he like this? She wasn't much of a cook but she hoped that he liked her cooking. She would cook for him any time he wanted. They got to the door that led to the roof. Atem opened the door to reveal the others already eating their lunch. Yugi had noticed them and waved them over.

They walked over and sat down with the others. Atem reached into his bag and searched for his lunch but couldn't find it.

"What's up bro," Yugi asked.

"I guess I forgot my lunch again," Atem replied.

"Seriously," said Anzu, "you should remember something like that. You remember your homework but not your lunch. You should try to remind yourself to grab it next time."

"Right," Atem replied.

Mana thought that this was her chance. She gulped as she went to speak but was cut off by Jonouchi; who had noticed that she had two bentos.

"That's a lot of food," he said, "Did you pack that for yourself."

Mana hesitated for a moment. She couldn't just say that she made this for Atem. The gang would tease her for it especially Jonouchi.

"Well, I might have packed an extra by mistake," she replied with a laugh, "Here you can have it Atem."

She handed him the bento. Atem looked at her for a moment before he turned his head away hiding the blush that was on his face. He reached for it and took the bento. The others were watching with smiles on their faces.

"Thank you Mana," he said softly.

Mana blushed as he thanked her. It felt good to know that did something for him. She turned away with her face red as she smiled. They ate their lunch without a word. Anzu cleared her throat before she jabbed Atem's ribs.

"What," he said.

"Oh come on," she said rolling her eyes, "it's obvious that she made it for you. So say something nice about it."

Atem looked over at Mana as she ate her own bento. He did appreciate her making him a lunch. The food was delicious and it was clear that she put in a lot of work into making it. He took a deep breath as he gathered up the courage.

"It's delicious," he said, "thank you Mana,"

Mana's face went even redder. Anzu smiled at her before she looked back over at Atem. Jonouchi was sneering at the whole thing until Anzu jabbed his ribs hard.

"No problem," she said, "I'm glad that you like it."

Atem noticed her smile and smiled to himself. He loved seeing her smile. It always brightened his day to see her smile.

#

Mana walked down the hall when she bumped into something hard. She yelped as she fell onto the floor. She looked up to see Watanabe the star basketball player standing over her with his friends and Akari. Akari smirked at the sight of her on the floor. Watanabe was smiling down at her. Mana knew that these two together was trouble. Akari clearly hated her while Watanabe would be the kind of guy to force himself onto a girl that he wanted to sleep with and not to mention that he had a burning hatred toward Atem.

"Well, ain't it the weird girl," said Watanabe, "shouldn't you be at the freak show?"

Mana stood up and dusted off her skirt. She wasn't going to give them the time of day. She turned around to walk away when a hand grabbed her hair from behind. She cried out as Watanabe yanked her back toward them.

"You're not going to ignore me girl," Watanabe hissed.

Akari smiled and reached into her skirt pocket pulling out a switch blade. Mana's heart dropped to her stomach when she saw the blade. Akari held it up to her face.

"I don't know why Atem bothers with you," she hissed, "but let's see how he likes you when I cut your face."

Watanabe was smiling down at her. He would jump at any chance to mess with Atem. A laugh escaped his lips as Akari brought the blade closer to her tempo. Mana tried to fight but the other two boys had grabbed her arms keeping her still. Watanabe had grabbed her hip with his other hand while still holding her hair in his one.

Akari sliced the skin just above Mana's eyebrow. Blood dipped down from her tempo as Akari went to cut her again this time slicing her cheek. Mana fought back the urge to scream out in pain not wanting to give them enjoyment out of her torture.

"I wonder how Muto will feel to see his little girlfriend's face all cut up," said Watanabe, "I bet that he'll be pissed."

"Keep her still," Akari ordered.

She pulled back the blade and smiled at her handy work before going to cut Mana's face again. She was about make a third cut when a voice called out catching their attention.

"Don't you dare!"

Mana looked up to see Atem standing there with his fists at his sides as his usual gentle violet eyes were filled with rage. Watanabe smirked when he saw him. Atem ran toward them punching the boys in the face causing them to let her go. He managed to catch her into his arms and titled her head up so he could examine the damage.

"Are you alright," he asked.

"Y-yeah," she replied.

He turned to Akari. She stood there hiding the blade behind her back while she tried to look innocent. Without warning he did something that he never done before and back handed her across the face. He had slapped her hard enough to cause her head to turn to the side with a red mark. She held her cheek as she stared at him in shock.

"I'll only say this once Suzuki," he hissed, "if you come anywhere near Mana again, I'll make your life a living hell. Do you understand!"

Before she could say anything he turned on his heels and grabbed Mana's wrist before dragging her away. Mana was just as shocked as Akari was. Atem never stroked a girl like that. They came into a classroom and Atem pulled out his handkerchief from his jacket pocket. He turned around and gentle placed it to the cut on her tempo.

"I'm sorry," he said, "it's because of me you ended up getting hurt."

"It's not your fault," she replied, "Suzuki is just crazy and Watanabe is just twisted."

"No Mana, they went after you because of me. Suzuki has been making it obvious that she likes me while Watanabe would do anything to get back at me for always stopping him from bullying other students."

"Atem, don't worry about it, I don't care about that."

Atem was mad at himself for putting her in danger. He never wanted to put her in harm's way. Mana was the last person that he wanted to see get hurt. He kept pressure on the wound on her tempo while pulling out a tissue from his other pocket and held it to her cheek. He made sure that the bleeding had stopped before he checked the cuts.

"They aren't too deep," he said, "I'll take to the nurse."

#

Mana sat in the nurse's office with bandages over her cuts. Atem had reported the attack to the principal. She didn't know what would happen now. The door opened and Anzu ran into the room. She looked worried as she looked around until she saw Mana.

"Mana, are you alright," she asked running toward her, "Atem told me what happened."

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied.

"They're calling your brother now," Anzu explained as she sat down onto the bed beside her, "Atem had already finished reporting to the main office what happened."

"Anzu…"

"Yeah?"

"Watanabe said something that I don't understand."

"What?"

"He called me Atem's little girlfriend, why would he say that?"

"Well, there's a rumor going around that you and Atem are a couple and you how Watanabe is; he'll do anything to get under Atem's skin and well the one sure fire way to piss him off is to mess with you. I think that's how the rumors started. Atem is aware of them but doesn't do anything about it."

Mana wouldn't mind being Atem's girlfriend. She wondered what he thought about the rumors. He probably thought that it was pointless to even try to fight them or deny them. Atem said that people will believe what they believe and there was no point in arguing against them. Mana wondered if he thought they were just harmless rumors. If he did ask her to be his girlfriend then she would accept.

The door opened and Atem entered the room. Anzu and Mana looked to him. He let out a sigh before walking toward them.

"How are you Mana," he asked.

"I'm fine," she replied.

"Good, Anzu could I have a word with her alone?"

"Sure," said Anzu, "I'll see if I can't find the gang and tell them that she's okay. I know that they're worried about her."

She stood up and walked out of the room. Atem watched her leave before he sat down onto the bed beside her. Mana looked at him as he sat there with his hands in his pockets. He let out a sigh as he stared up at the ceiling above them.

"Mana…"

"Atem are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

He crossed his arms over his chest as he stared down at his feet. He seemed to be avoiding making eye contact with her. She reached and placed a hand onto his arm. He looked at her with pain in his eyes. Was he still beating himself up inside for not being able to protect her sooner? Atem has been protective over her since they were kids and when they met on the playground years ago had been the beginning of it all. After that day he would be there to protect her. She never understood why that was though.

"I'm sorry,"

"Stop that, you don't need to keep blaming yourself. It's not your fault. You have reason to feel bad about it."

"I do,"

"No, you don't,"

"Mana…"

"I'm serious Atem, don't beat yourself up anymore."

He sighed again as he placed a hand on hers. There was more to it than she realized. Akari had being targeting Mana because of the rumors and because he had admitted to his friends when she happened to be in the room that he was in love with Mana but was afraid to ask her out. Watanabe had been threatening Mana's life to get under his skin and to fight him. Watanabe had learned quickly to never threaten Mana's life in front of him.

When the rumors went around school; the others would jokingly ask Atem if they were going out on a date. Atem would smirk and say that they planned on seeing a movie or going out to dinner that night. Of course they were just jokes even though he wanted it to be true. They gang had already known at this point that he loves her.

Anzu would try and get Atem to confess but he would say no or find a way out of it. Otogi had told him that either he tells her or say that the rumors were just that rumors. Atem never put a stop to the rumors thinking that they would die down sooner or later but some reason that seemed to be everyone's favorite topic around school.

It seemed that Mana had no idea of the rumors so they never brought it up to her. Mana could be clueless when it came to stuff like that. Atem was glad that she wasn't aware of them. He had been careful of revealing his feelings for her. He knew that if they really did started dating for real then Watanabe would go after her while Akari would try to get her out of the picture so Atem would be hers. Atem would never date her; after all his heart was Mana's and hers alone. He sighed as he thought about what had been holding him back.

He believed that he couldn't be a good boyfriend for Mana and that she deserved better than him. She deserved to be with someone that could give her the world. As much as he wanted her to be happy it pained him to think of her with another man. He had been in love with her since they were kids. He wanted to give her everything that he could.

"Mana…"

"Look, they're insane and they would hurt someone sooner or later."

"Probably,"

"Anzu, told me about the rumors; well ya know."

He froze before he turned to look at her seeing that she wasn't facing him with her cheeks red. He reached and gripped her hand. She looked at him with her cheeks still red. Atem couldn't help it and without thinking he leaned forward capturing her lips. Mana's body went stiff from shock not expecting him to do this. He wrapped an arm around her waist pulling her closer. She placed her hands onto his chest before she closed her eyes returning the kiss.

She moved her arms around his neck as she pulled herself up to get at a better angle to kiss him. They pulled back to allow air to enter their lungs. They didn't move or pull away but just sat there holding each other. They kissed again this time there was no hesitation. He moved his hand to her uninjured cheek cupping it. She could feel his thumb rub against her cheek as he did this. They pulled away again staring into each other's eyes.

"I love you Mana," he whispered in her ear.

"I love you too Atem," she whispered back.

#

Mana sat at her desk as class came to an end. She looked out the window when the bell rang. She stood up and reached into her bag pulling out two bentos. She felt arms wrap around her waist from behind. She didn't bother to turn around but still she smiled. She felt lips on her fully healed cheek. She turned around in her boyfriend's arms. Atem smiled at her with his violet filled with love for her. She kissed his lips happily.

"Are you ready for lunch love," he asked when she pulled back.

"Of course, I've made you lunch," she replied holding up the bento that she had made for him.

Atem smiled and kissed her lips. They had been dating for a few weeks now and everyday she made him lunch. Atem loved her cooking.

"You're an amazing cook Mana," he whispered.

"You're just saying that."

"No, I mean it. I love your cooking."

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her forehead. Mana smiled up at him. They made their way out of the room and headed toward the roof where the others were waiting for them; both holding a bento in their hands.