Hey, so update as promised. Also, I think these chapters are getting longer because these past two chapters have been over 4000 words long... But I found the plot! Random statement but I felt I was losing it a bit earlier.

I think I've said this before but I'm really sorry about the jumpiness of the next load of chapters. Since the characters are no longer in the same place it starts getting a bit stilted for which I'm sorry (again). I hope I haven't messed up the transition moments between them, and if you feel I have don't mind pointing it out because that would be really helpful. This is turning into the most challenging story I have at the moment.

Anyway I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Atemu was bored. Seto was busy running his company, Mokuba was in lessons with his tutor and Bakura had been kicked out to Domino High by Roland with instructions to not return on pain of death. Good to know that some things never change but that didn't stop Atemu finding himself incredibly bored in a place that should have been filled with things to do. The problem was, as with many things that he liked to do, you had to have someone else around to participate. Atemu didn't think any of the guards would be available for entertaining a bored nearly sixteen year old prince who wanted nothing more than to leave the house.

Of course, Atemu didn't have to stay in the house if he didn't want to. He was pretty good at leaving places when he wished but he knew that trouble would await him once he returned, more so than if he were at home. There the worst that could happen would be a flogging and at least one day confined to his room at all times. The guards stayed at the edge of the palace and Atemu was fine with that but here the possibilities were endless. Unlike back home, Atemu did not know any of the local thieves, and they were probably a hell of a lot worse than the thief court (of course it did help that he knew Bakura but that wasn't the point). He didn't know his way around and he knew that Seto would report Atemu's wanderings and order his security guards to give Atemu even less privacy than he had now. In the end it was just too much hassle.

And so that was how he found himself back at the paddock of horses, wondering what on earth he could do to entertain himself. Ishizu had taken her brothers out to the museum for the day as an envoy for the museum in Cairo (something they did in general anyway) and so the house was practically devoid of life. He could attempt to see how Yugi was doing by calling at the Game shop but the guards had informed him they were ordered not to let him leave, even under assistance. And so, the day began and ended the way all the other days had begun and ended for the past week. He got up, ate breakfast, wandered through the mansion, had lunch, wandered the grounds, had dinner and then went to bed for want of something to do. Seto didn't even have a library at his house since he spent so much time out of it, it was only there for eating and sleeping (that is, if Seto even went to bed).

Atemu sighed as he fed the horses carrots filched from Seto's kitchen. To make matters worse, he was being forced to attend some party of Seto's that night, one that tried to raise money for the poor and disabled, another brilliantly alien concept. In New Thebes, those who lived in poverty were left to their own devices to raise themselves and none of them would accept help from the palace anyway. It wasn't as if Atemu hadn't tried in his younger years, but Bakura had soon put an end to that. It was a matter of pride for them to get by themselves, rather than rely on being saved by people who didn't actually care, just wanted the good publicity to make them seem all the better. At least Atemu knew that Seto was sincere about helping the poor here. After all he had grown up in an orphanage with no clue as to who his real father was.

It was late when the Ishtars returned and Atemu had long since retreated back to his room in the hopes that they wouldn't try to talk to him. Too late though, since Seto had already sent them to give him the run-down of that evening.

"Prince Atem? May I come in?" Ishizu was always formal in the way she spoke. Formal, polite and precise which was only slightly better than the rest of the Millennium Item Holders back at the court, who were always asking if he was ok and meaning 'your father sent me to check that you're still here'. Ishizu had her brothers to think of though and so treated Atem amongst them (after all, Marik was being trained as a scholar and Odion followed Atem so much that he might as well be the equivalent to a bodyguard).

"Yes, Ishizu, you may enter." Atemu was sitting on the bed, already dressed in the suffocating suit that Seto had left him. His father had ordered that he wear the finery that went along with being a prince and so the golden crown, earrings and rings had been put on as well. Atemu felt weighed down all over again after being practically weightless the whole time in Japan. It was just another reminder that he wasn't normal. Ishizu simply smiled when she saw him and made no comment.

"I noticed you didn't come down for dinner and wondered if you wished for anything to eat?" Her eyes spoke of a constant worry that had been there since Yugi had left the house. Atemu shook his head.

"I'm not hungry, thank you Ishizu." There was a long silence.

"Prince Atem…" Ishizu looked unsure of what she was about to say which made Atem look at her properly. She was dressed as she always was, in a white gown of some description, adorned with golden jewellery. Her hair had small braids within it and had been swept back into a long plait over her shoulder. Overall, she was stunningly beautiful but Atemu only ever saw her as an older sister or mother than anything romantically. She was nearly ten years older than him after all. "Are you sure that you are fine, considering everything that has happened? I am sure that Seto would understand if you did not wish to attend the charity ball." Atemu sighed and shook his head.

"As much as I would love to say that I don't want to go, I don't really have a choice. Father ordered that I go and Seto will be in trouble if I don't." he paused and looked back at his hands. Only a few hours ago they could have belonged to any other child from Japan. Now they obviously belonged to a person of high standing. "And anyway, it'll be different from wandering around the house all day." He tried to sound upbeat about it like 'it'll be a challenge and you know how much I love challenges' but it only made him think about Yugi and how much his brother would light up when he tried to take down one of his monsters in their duels. Ishizu seemed to realize that he meant the total opposite but didn't comment and left the room.

Atemu took a deep breath and prepared to enter hell in Japan.

Yugi hadn't touched the box full of Atemu's letters since the night he received them. Instead he had thrown himself into school and homework, trying to distract himself from the inevitable truth. He really was much better off than Atemu in the end, even if he didn't have the riches and money that his brother did. In order to avoid this, however, took a great deal of strength and so he focused on other dilemmas that were bothering him. Number one being Bakura.

The letters baffled him (of what he had read) as to what role Bakura played in Egypt. From what he could glean, palace thief and Atemu's friend, which didn't seem like a good enough reason to be hanging around Japan. Why fork out so much money to educate Bakura when he didn't really have a function anyway? And what was with the references to Bakura's brother? Yugi was curious about this Ryou Bakura (and the fact that 'Bakura' was a surname still baffled Yugi as he couldn't really put a different name to Bakura without it seeming stupid. Bakura was a name everyone feared. Akhefia just sounded… weird. And different) but he didn't have a clue as to how to find him. And if Bakura didn't know, what chance did Yugi have?

Yugi passed off the magic mentions as nothing but pure fantasy on Atemu's part. After all, the oldest he had been in writing those letters was twelve, and in that last letter he had been more irritated by Kaiba's presence (something that Yugi could relate to since Kaiba could be an asshole when he wanted to be) than feeling the need to explain stuff. Of course, it could be possible since there was some random Ancient Egyptian city still in existence but the idea that magic could be real was still a little too far-fetched for Yugi at the moment. In the end he just gave up trying to get things to make sense and moved on.

The letters were more of a diary than anything else and Yugi felt like he was violating his brother's privacy when he read them. Of course they had been sent and it was clear that Atemu had meant them to be read since he continually asked questions to which he never had an answer. That thought just depressed Yugi because it made him realise how lonely his brother must have been, always waiting for an answer that would never come and being left alone for most of the time.

It wasn't until the Friday that he realised a week had gone by which was strange considering he was still freaked out by the fact that Daisuke would just not leave him alone. While he was at school, the man would wait outside the school gates (he even shifted aside slightly whenever Bakura came too close which worried Yugi. A lot) and when he wanted to return home the man would force him into a specially loaned Kaiba Corporation car with blacked out windows and escort him home. Grandpa had never questioned any of Daisuke's actions, nor his reasons for being there, which made Yugi suspicious as to what exactly he needed to be protected from. It wasn't as if the rest of the world knew he was a prince.

Tonight was the night of the Kaiba Charity Ball though an event that Yugi knew Atemu would be attending. He didn't want to go but he did wonder about his brother. After all, it was hard not to. How would he cope? Did he have a choice? What restrictions was Atemu under? Did his brother think about him? The last question in hindsight was easy to answer: yes, Atemu would be thinking about him. He always was in the end. The other questions were harder and were not something Yugi wanted to think about on a Friday night out to the arcade with his friends. Daisuke tagged along behind them quietly.

"Err, Yugi, do you think we could ditch the security guy?" Tristan muttered as they made their way down the street. "He creeps me out." He creeps me out too Yugi thought but kept that to himself.

"Sorry, Tristan but I can't. My Dad ordered him to be here," Yugi said apologetically and switched topic quickly. "How's Serenity doing?" he asked Joey, who was flicking through a booster pack he had bought off Grandpa earlier. Joey looked up and grinned.

"Great. I guess your brother kept his promise," Joey said, his eyes darkening slightly at the mention of Atemu and yet also confused. Yugi knew that Joey's view of Atemu was muddled since he had seen two extreme sides to Atemu and he couldn't blame Joey for being confused. Atemu was a complicated person who made even Yugi's head hurt and he was his twin!

"That's brilliant Joey! When's the operation due?"

"Next week. I'm gonna go see her after we've been to the arcade although…" Joey paused for a moment, seeming to think things through a moment. "It'll be weird seeing Mom again." Yugi didn't say anything. Joey's mother was something they didn't talk about. He hadn't forgiven her yet for tearing him and his sister apart.

They arrived at the arcade in silence, always a few steps ahead of Daisuke but Joey seemed to brighten at the sight of all the games and Yugi dug out the money Grandpa had given him. It was spare change really, float money they didn't need for the next day although Yugi did feel concerned using it up but Grandpa had reassured him there was nothing to worry about. Joey and Tristan had bought their own and somewhere in the arcade was Tea, probably already in the DDR machines.

"Last one to the Whack-A-Mole has to pay!" Joey shouted and rushed off, Tristan in hot pursuit. Yugi was following when he felt someone crash into him. Daisuke turned his head towards him but seemed to decide the kid wasn't any danger although Yugi saw from the corner of his eyes that the man also looked a little confused. All Yugi could make out was a blue and white striped shirt and a pair of wide brown eyes.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! That was my fault!" a voice spoke up somewhere above his head. Yugi blinked as the face came into focus. Pale skin, brown eyes, white hair… White hair? Yugi blinked again, verifying what he was seeing. A boy, perhaps a couple of years younger than himself, looking like an albino, kinder version of Bakura. Creepy.

"Uh, that's alright. Nothing broken," Yugi said, offering the boy a smile. He beamed back, holding out a hand to help him up. Once Yugi was back on his feet he went back to trying to figure out who this kid was. He hadn't seen him before. "I'm Yugi," he said hoping that friendliness would get him some answers. The boy nodded and smiled.

"I'm Ryou," he said, pronouncing his words precisely. Whatever school he went to it was certainly better than Domino High. Yugi's brain caught up with him, alarm bells ringing. It couldn't be who he was thinking could it?

"Are you new around here? I've not seen you before," Yugi said, shouting internally at the little voice yelling he looks like Bakura and his name is Ryou! Tell someone! To shut up. It was really annoying. Ryou carried on smiling looking a little embarrassed.

"Not really. I live close to the museum where my father works, but I don't usually come here. Father thinks that places like this are…" he stopped seeming to become uncomfortable. Yugi felt awkward, wondering what he was supposed to do. Other than the creepy resemblance and name, this boy was as far from Bakura as possible. There was no accent, not even the trace of unfamiliarity with Japanese, and he certainly didn't look like he was from another country. Perhaps it was just a coincidence?

"Oh. My Grandpa runs the Game shop so I and my friends come here all the time. It's great fun!" Yugi tried to put all thought of Bakura and Egypt and Atemu out of his mind. Tonight was games night at the arcade. He was not going to stop enjoying it for this.

"Hey, Yug' what's taking so lo…" Joey's sentence drifted off as he caught sight of Ryou. Yugi could see him staring unashamedly at the boy, confusion written all over his face. "Who are you?" he then blurted out once thought kicked back in. Yugi felt the urge to hit his head against a brick wall in embarrassment. Joey was a good friend but lacked tact and subtlety. Thankfully, Ryou didn't seem all that annoyed, merely amused.

"My name is Ryou Bakura. I go to Brooklander Preparatory," Ryou said politely, hand held out toward Joey who stared at it like an alien from another planet. Yugi internally nodded. Brooklander Preparatory School was the most expensive and high class private school in the city, designed to turn out CEOs like Kaiba. In fact, Yugi had been surprised Kaibab had gone to Domino and not Brooklander.

"Did you say Bakura?" Tristan said, having caught up with them.

"Yes?" Ryou looked very confused now.

"That's creepy. You don't suppose…?" Tristan was looking at Joey who was looking at Yugi, who felt under the spotlight now. On the one hand he could say yes, but he didn't know whether or not this really was the Ryou Bakura in his brother's letters. On the other he could say no and tell them later. So he shrugged. Ryou just looked warily at them.

"What?" he asked. Joey just shrugged as if it didn't really matter anyway.

"Nothing. It's just that there's a boy in our school called Bakura who looks a hell of a lot like you," Joey said. Ryou blinked and then laughed.

"Well, I suppose I've found my doppelganger. I guess this is weird for you then?" Ryou just looked shy now, unsure of whether to stay or go. Joey looked a little guilty then and shook his head.

"Nah. You're much nicer than him anyway. Wanna join us for a game of Robo-Blasters?" Ryou nodded and Yugi decided that he wouldn't question it for now. After all, tonight was supposed to be fun.

Atemu was fairly sure that he was supposed to be enjoying himself but he couldn't find it anywhere within himself to do so. A Chinese dualist by the name of Vivian Wong had introduced herself to him almost straight away and now refused to leave his side. It was a little creepy in all honesty. Seto was somewhere out of sight, talking to a bunch of corporate businessmen and the Ishtars had left a couple of hours ago. Even Bakura seemed to have left, although it was probably due to the fact that Vivian had practically glued herself to Atem's side.

"So what is Egypt like?" she asked him for the umpteenth time. Atemu had spent the entire evening passing it off that he didn't speak Japanese, getting Seto to translate Wesret to her but since his cousin was out of sight he decided that acting confused might get at least one bodyguard to remove the girl. Considering the amount of alcohol being passed around, he doubted that would be hard.

"Excuse me? I don't know what you are trying to say." He replied to her. Vivian nodded as if he had contributed something worth note.

"Oh really? What are the pyramids like? I've always wanted to go." She battered her eyelids at him and he refused the urge to shudder in disgust. It wasn't that Vivian was ugly, more that she had covered up her beauty with a copious amount of garish make-up which made her seem more like a hooker than a dinner guest. Thankfully it was nearing midnight and she would be forced to leave soon.

"Please, I must find my cousin. If you would excuse me?" he said, shifting away from her ever so slightly in a movement towards where he could see Seto finishing up a conversation with a severe looking woman who was nodding vigorously.

"Oh of course Prince Atem. I'll go anywhere you want."

"Does that mean you will leave me alone?"

"The garden? That sounds wonderful." Atemu wondered if this girl had any common sense.

"I'm sorry miss I really don't think about you in that way. Please let go of me." By this point, Seto was nearing where they were and Atemu shot him a look, telling him that if he didn't get this girl off his arm right now it would be a repeat of three years ago. Seto winced at the sight and quickly wandered over, just as Vivian began to drag a resisting Atemu towards the garden.

"Excuse Miss Wong, I believe your courier is here to take you home," Seto said, taking a hold of Vivian gently and steering her towards one of his bodyguards. The girl frowned a moment and shook her head.

"But I and Prince Atem were about to view the gardens," she said stubbornly, ignorant to what he had been saying for the past five minutes. Seto raised an eyebrow.

"Actually he's been politely asking you to let him go so that he too can go to bed. There is quite a considerable time difference between Japan and Egypt and I am sure he is tired." Neither of them mentioned that Atemu had been in Japan for nearly a month now. Vivian went quiet after that and let the guard drag her away without any resistance. Atemu turned to Seto and quietly said,

"I think you broke her." Seto sighed and shook his head.

"You were too nice. Vivian is obsessed with being seen with the most powerful man in the room. Normally she tries to latch herself onto me but you were an easy target." Seto then offered him a rare smile, something that seemed to shock the woman, who Atemu now realised he had seen around the Kaiba Corporation Headquarters. "You did well. Everyone seemed very impressed by you."

"Even though none of them could understand me?"

"Having Isis translate for you always helps." Atemu tried not to think of how creepy a statement that was. He was aware that Isis was an attractive woman; he just couldn't stomach the thought of some of the crusty old men here staring at her. It made him feel ill just thinking about it.

"And I meant what I said to Vivian. I'm sure you're tired from everything and we don't want any accidents tonight. Go home. I'll get Roland to take you." Atemu blinked but couldn't stop the yawn that confirmed everything that Seto had just said.

"What about you?" he asked, refusing to allow his eyes to droop just yet. Not in front of all these people anyway.

"I'll be going too. Just need to finish giving my goodbyes to people. Mrs Reed will organise the clean-up of all this later," he said, gesturing towards the woman he had been talking to earlier. Atemu nodded, allowing Roland to lead him away. It was surprising how comfortable the limo could be after several hours of standing, talking, smiling and generally avoiding people that he only wished to speak to once. Atemu wasn't used to the way that people expressed themselves here. He was used to that kind of attention although here it wasn't as subtle and people weren't trying to kill him. At least, he didn't think so.

Seto joined him a while later and within an hour Atemu was back in his room, ready for bed, the crown he had been wearing lying quietly on the desk across the room. The Eye of Wedjet winked at him in the dim light as he drifted off to sleep.

Burning… The world was burning. Atemu stood in the middle of a nearly ruined city, people cowering in doorways, too frightened to move as they watched a hulking dark shape approach them. He was dressed as he usually was in New Thebes although the white tunic and blue cloak were covered in grime; the cloak tattered at the edges. And something heavy hung around his neck. The Millennium Puzzle.

"Give it up Pharaoh. Your time approaches as does that of your kingdom," the thing ahead growled, glowing red eyes forming a part of the hulking darkness that was its shape. "You and your people will know suffering as you never have before."

"Never!" Atemu shouted, defiant to the last. "I will not let you destroy this land!" The thing laughed.

"And what are you going to do about it oh mighty Pharaoh? Your priests are gone, your monsters defeated and you yourself are barely able to stand!" the creature mocked, the red eyes alight with dark mirth. Atemu wanted to cry out against that but it was true. Despite his outward appearance, inside he was trembling. Soon, he wouldn't be able to stand but there was something he had to do first.

"I may not be able to defeat you Zorc," he said, kneeling on the ground, placing his hands upon his knees and pulling out the Millennium Ring, the Item which had belonged to Mahad before he fell. "But I can prevent you from causing further harm!" And with that he began to chant. The creature seemed to understand what was happening, even if Atemu wasn't really all that sure himself. As he continued in the spell, Atemu could feel his energy waning, his strength leaving him as quickly as he rushed along the enchantment, binding himself and the creature together. As he finished and raised the Puzzle over his head he offered one last prayer to the Gods.

"Please spare my kingdom…" With that he bright the Puzzle down, smashing it against the ground. And as the pieces shattered, he could hear the creature screaming but he couldn't concentrate upon that as pain exploded from within and he screamed right along with it…

"Atem! ATEM!" Someone was shouting his name above him and Atemu wrenched himself from the sheets, panting and sweating from the nightmare. It took a few seconds to work out where he was and why there was only Seto hovering over him. He could see Mokuba peering around the door looking worried but he couldn't concentrate over the pounding in his head. "Atem…" Seto sounded concerned, putting a hand on his cousin's shoulder. Atemu couldn't stop shaking, feeling incredibly cold and hollow. "You're burning up." Atemu blinked wearily up at his cousin wondering what was going on. Seto's eyes hardened slightly as he turned to Mokuba.

"Mokuba, wake up Roland and tell him to call the doctor. Something's wrong with Atem," he ordered and the boy nodded, scrambling off to do as his brother asked.

"I-I'm fine," Atemu stuttered as Seto pulled him up and helped him back into bed. Now that he mentioned it, Atemu didn't feel quite right either. The room was spinning and his throat felt sore but he thought that was residue from the dream. "Just a nightmare."

"I knew that from the screaming," Seto said wryly and he disappeared into the en suite, coming out with a towel and a bowl of water. Atemu protested as the towel was placed over his head, soaked in icy water. "Atem," Seto said with a scowl as he tried to pull it off and burrow under the covers, "you're running a fever. We need to keep your temperature down, even if you don't feel hot yet."

"If you already know what to do why call a doctor?" Atemu croaked, wondering what was going on. He rarely got sick, if ever. He hadn't been ill in a long time so why now? He had felt fine earlier.

"Because I want to make sure it is only a fever and not something worse. For all I know someone at that party worked for my father and was trying to do you off."

"Don't be stupid," Atemu said, although he knew Seto wasn't. It was quite possible that someone had tampered with the food without their knowledge. There had been over a hundred people at the ball and no one would have known everybody. Anyone could have been an imposter. Seto just looked at him in an unimpressed manner before shaking his head.

"Try and get some rest. The doctor won't get here for a while yet," Seto said, soaking the cloth in the water again and re-applying it. Atemu nodded and was about to get back to sleep when something ran through his head which had been bothering him.

"Where's Akhefia?" Seto looked confused for a moment before blinking and shrugging his shoulders.

"Probably run off to feed his kleptomania." Atemu smiled a moment before drifting into a thankfully dreamless sleep.

Ah, the plot ran me over getting back here! And Ryou, how did you end up in this story...? Oh well, he's here now for a bit. Sorry to Aqua Girl 007, you're still going to have to wait a bit for Mana to appear but I swear, she will appear as soon as Atem gets his butt back to Egypt.

Also, random note from the last chapter, in one of Atem's letters he calls Seto an 'ass'. I live in England and so I meant 'ass' as in the rude word for donkey. It did use to be 'arse' which is how we say it in rather than the American 'ass' pronunciation. It probably doesn't make much difference but I just wanted to point this out.

Anyway thanks to Aqua Girl 007, angiembabe and a for reviewing this. You're all brilliant! :)