Disclaimer: Every little bit of Yugioh belongs to Kazuki Takahashi. Even if I said I owned it, no one would notice—it's not like anyone reads these anyway!

Author's note: sorry I haven't updated sooner! First the site was acting up and then I had homework :P as much as I procrastinate it for you guys, I've gotta do it at some point! Alright, here's the next chap.

And thanks to jgrl68 for the review! I'm glad you liked the fluff! :)

Spell practice

They were practicing at the pool now. It was already two o'clock—Mana glanced around hopefully, but Atem wasn't there yet.

"We must begin, Mana," Mahad called from the other side. Sighing, Mana nodded in consent and held her wand at the ready.

"Ready, Mahad," she called back.

Holding his staff before him, he closed his eyes. Mana copied him, breathing out and letting her magic flow through the wand. Stepping in sync, she and Mahad moved their arms out gracefully, and the water rose on a ribbon of dark magic.

Swirling elegantly through the air, the two strands of water and magic combined while Mana and Mahad twisted their bodies with them, eyes closed. The water was flung into the air with a splash, remaining there for a fraction of a second before crashing back into the pool, sending droplets cascading everywhere.

Together, Mana and Mahad cried, "Dark magic attack!" and the two dark purple spheres collided, nearly spinning out of control, but Mana and Mahad quickly cast spells to contain the blast so that they exploded in a protective sphere. The dark purple swirled lazily around the globe until it dissipated and the bubble sank into the water.

As the water closed over the clear bubble, Mana sprang into the air, spinning. The water grew up around her, encasing her in it's watery embrace. Mahad channeled the water around her form, twisting his staff. The water fell away and Mahad led Mana gently down to skim across the water, leaving a ripple of a trail. She landed gently on to solid ground, beaming.

Before either could speak, someone applauded. Mana's beaming smile, if possible, grew bigger. "Atem!" she cheered, bounding forward and wrapping her arms around him.

Atem, smiling, placing an arm around her waist, "Hello, Mana, sorry I couldn't make it here earlier. You seemed to be doing just fine without me."

"Yeah, but now that you're here, I can really show off," Mana grinned, her eyes alight with excitement. Atem chuckled as Mana pranced away, looking to Mahad expectantly, who was smiling slightly.

Mana held her wand at the ready. Mahad folded his arms and closed his eyes, stepping forward towards the pool. Mana's wand lit with a light blue glow and the water, along with blue and purple light, made a pathway for Mahad to walk along.

Mahad's feet walked along the path that ascended up to meet him and fell from behind him. He made an entire round around the pool before turning towards the center, where the water moved around him on all sides like a triangle and twisted in a double helix. Dark purple streamers intertwined with them, making a tall pillar. After a moment it expanded around Mahad in a dome. Water moved with it to create Egyptian symbols through the dome—holding it for a moment, the Mana let the water go so that it fell back into the pool.

There wasn't a drop of water on Mahad, and the pathway continued under his feet as he stepped from the pool. He set his hand on Mana's shoulder, smiling, "Well done, Mana."

"Thanks, Mahad! You didn't do too bad yourself," she grinned.

"Pharaoh," Mahad greeted. "Now that you're here, how about being our test subject?"

Atem raised his eyebrows, "Test subject?"

Mana jumped up and down beside him, holding his arm, "Oh, would you, please?"

Both Mahad and Atem knew that with Mana begging him, the Pharaoh was going to give in. Atem laughed, "Alright, Mana."

"Yay!" Mana cheered, pulling him towards the pool. "Okay, just close your eyes and relax, Atem. We'll do the rest."

Atem did as he was told. Moments passed and when he opened his eyes, he found himself encased in a sphere of swirling water and purple magic. Outside, Mana and Mahad caused the dome of water to continually rise, bringing more and more water with it. When it had surpassed even the palace walls, they allowed the water to fall away from around the Pharaoh so that it made a platform.

Atem looked around, turning in a circle. He could see for thousands of miles, see the gardens in the palace and servants walking along them. He even spotted Seto, and amazingly, Seto saw him. Atem waved, and Seto seemed to wave hesitantly before hurrying in his direction.

The Pharaoh laughed. Slowly, everything began to sink below him until the water was back in the pool and he stood beside it, smiling. "That was incredible!" he told his magicians. "I could see everything from up there!"

"Whoo," Mana said gustily, "Wish I could have been up there and you had been the one down here doing all the work!" She shook herself and yawned, "I'm tired."

"Not too tired, I hope?" Atem asked.

"Oh, no!" Mana assured him, but she looked pretty tired to him. Mahad even yawned. "I'll be fine," she grinned, blinking.

"You may run on an endless flow of hyperactive energy," Mahad said, "But I'm going to take a little nap before I get back to work."

Mahad gave a little bow to Atem before leaving, and Mana yawned as soon as he was out of earshot. "Don't tell Mahad, but I'm really tired," she said, closing her eyes. "We've been practicing since six this morning."

"Then you should rest," he suggested, taking her hand.

Mana immediately protested, "But we were going to play tag today!"

"We can play when you're rested," Atem grinned, "Right now, I think its best if you take a nap like Mahad suggested." When Mana yawned again, Atem moved in front with his back to her, glancing back, "Get on, Mana, you should rest."

Mana squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath. She was tired… and sleep sounded so nice.

She didn't protest like Atem thought she would. Grabbing his shoulders, she jumped onto his back as he bent down slightly, gripping her legs. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned against him, her eyes closing without her consent.

"Thanks, Atem," Mana murmured.

Atem carried her to her room without a problem, setting her down on the edge of the bed and tucking her in when she rolled onto her side. He closed the curtains to her window before sitting at her side, leaning down to kiss her forehead.

Mana, half conscious, curled her fingers around his arm. When Atem pulled back, he looked down. His cheeks flushed a little and he grinned sheepishly, but Mana's grip was firm. He sighed and laid down beside her, pulling the covers over her and putting a hand behind his head while Mana snuggled into his side, already asleep.

He didn't find it strange to lie beside her, though his gut tingled. He had known Mana for thousands of years (literally) and in the past they had slept together before—but it was more of a in the same bed almost siblings kind of thing, nothing more. Mana would get nightmares when she was younger, and she would go to find Atem in the night when she woke up scared. There were other times, too, like when Atem's father had died. Mana had stayed with him to give him comfort.

They were closer than almost anyone knew. Closer, probably, than even they knew.

Looking over at Mana's peaceful face, he knew she didn't have those nightmares anymore, and that pleased him. It also pleased him to be home, with all his family and friends. He may have missed Yugi and the others, but he was where he was supposed to be, thanks to them.

Atem reflected on his relationship with Mana. They were best friends, the closest of friends, but there seemed to be something more between them. That much he knew.

If he hadn't had Mana, he thought, if he didn't have Mana, his life would have been awfully dull.

As it was, he had actually had a more enjoyable childhood than most princes. Princes were royalty, of the high esteemed, privileged and so much more, and yet Atem had been allowed to play with Mana. Because of her, he had become the person he was. Without her his life would have been and would be vastly different.

Smiling at Mana, he closed his eyes and drifted into sleep.

Lol, hope you guys liked it—this is another one of those minimal fluffers. Like, don't like…? The chapters get better, I promise.

-Anevay