XxxBBethBxxX: Hi. Just thought I'd let you know that this is actually my friend's story - I just beta'd it. So when you leave a review, don't comment on the spelling 'cos that'd be my fault. So, this is the last you'll see of me, bye!

Yami: So why am I here again?

Me: * sighs * Like I said on the phone, I want you to do my disclaimer.

Yami: Um… why?

Me: 'Cause everyone thinks you're awesome *passes him a script* now just read this.

Yami: …But why? What use does this serve?

Me: It's basically to say that I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! or the characters-

Kaiba: I do!

Me: No… No Kaiba you don't…

Yami: *reads script* It says here that it belongs to someone called Kazuki Takahashi.

Kaiba: How do you know that's not my alias?

Me: No just, just, no Kaiba. *shakes head* You're going to far now, you do not have an alias, you are just Seto Kaiba – CEO of Kaiba Corp and ultra annoying.

Yami: *thinks* So…. Kaiba lied! Its time for you to see the evil of your ways Kaiba! MIND CRUSH! *mind crushes him*

Kaiba: *falls to floor*

Me: YAMI! You didn't need to mind crush him! Didn't anyone ever tell you that you can't solve all your problems with mind crushing people?

Yami: ….No….

Me: Go tidy up Yugi's mind room as punishment!

Yami: But…

Me: No, no buts. Now, go tidy.

Yami: Fine… *walks off, muttering angrily*

Me: Well…. um…. I hope you like it…. Please review…. well…. bye…. *drags an unconscious Kaiba away*

Summary:

No matter where Yugi goes some mystical adventure follows him, a trip to Egypt with his friends is no different. When Yugi, now twenty-two-and-a-half, meets the Egyptian princess, a descendent of Yugi's old friend Yami, he vows to help keep her safe from the new Thief King, a descendent of the Thief King Bakura, who intends to use her to get what he wants. Yugi and his friends must protect the princess with out the help of Yami as he was sent to the afterlife a year before.

Rating: T

Warning: Has an OC (female). Contains Yaoi (Puzzleshipping, and hints at Tendershipping) and also has YugiXOC. Has mild language. Contains more than slightly mild violence.

Story name: Why Does All The Weird Stuff Happen To Us?

Author: SuperSpecialAwesome

Who Are You, No, Not You, You?

Yugi's POV

In the low afternoon sun Yugi Moto sat on the steps of the Kaiba Dome, fiddling with the buckle of his choker. Every few seconds he would look up and around him, sigh to himself and go back to fiddling with the buckle.

Dammit where are they? If they don't hurry up then we'll never get to Egypt.

Yugi found his eyes slowly closing and couldn't do anything to stop himself drifting off into a light sleep, he'd gotten hardly any sleep the night before as he'd been rushing around packing and re-packing for the trip to Egypt he and his friends were going on. Yugi started to dream.

He was walking around in a familiar place. It was full of lots of stonewalls, steps and doors. Yugi was in the Millennium Puzzle, in the Pharaoh's mind room. A place he hadn't been in for a year. Yugi turned a corner and crashed straight into the chest of someone, before he could fall over a strong arm caught him around the waist and held him up.

"Aibou? Is that you?" A voice Yugi easily recognised spoke to him.

"Pharaoh!" Yugi couldn't help but smile and throw his arms around his friend's neck, "I've missed you so much, Pharaoh."

The taller of the boys laughed, his arms still around the smaller's waist. "Aibou, please don't call me Pharaoh, it's way to formal… And I thought we had gotten past all the formalities" he said with a wink. The words combined with the wink sent a burst of crimson across Yugi's cheeks.

Yugi buried his face in his friend's shoulder, trying to hide his blush, muffling his voice "Y-yami… my Yami… it's to good to be true…" Yugi pulled away to look into the spirit's face, taking in every detail, "but how… how are you here? I thought you'd gone to the afterlife"

Yami's face dropped, confusing Yugi.

"Yami, what's wrong? Tell me what's wrong." Yugi's voice was full of concern.

The five thousand year-old spirit hugged the twenty-two-and-a-half year-old to his chest, and whispered "How could you send me away, Aibou, how could you send me to the next life? Weren't you happy? Was I not making you happy, my little Aibou?"

Yugi's voice caught in his throat. Why would the spirit bring that up now? They had just been reunited, why bring up that? Yugi couldn't find the right words, he felt so terrible inside. In truth he'd only just started getting over losing his other self, only just started to move on with his life after sending his Yami to the afterlife. Yugi pressed his face into Yami's strong chest wrapping his arms around his waist and started to sob.

"I-I'm so sorry, I-I thought it would make you h-happy. I-I thought y-you'd prefer to be with y-your Egyptian family a-and friends. I-I thought it w-would please you…" Yugi sobbed harder, making it impossible for the Pharaoh to make out his words.

Yami rubbed Yugi's back trying to soothe him "Shhh, its ok, my little Aibou, we're together now, shhh, that's all that matters, I wont ever leave you again, I promise."

Yugi looked up into Yami's eyes, tears rolling down his cheeks "Forever and ever?" his voice came as a small whisper.

A smile broke out on the spirit's face, he kept an arm around Yugi's waist and wiped the tears away. Then slowly, very slowly, he leaned forward and kissed Yugi's forehead. A second before the kiss it looked like he might aim lower on Yugi's face but seemed to decide against it. Yugi smiled, it had been a long time since he had felt the taller boys soft lips against his skin.

Yugi felt himself be lifted up, he frowned. He'd told Yami never to pick him up, at least not with out asking first. His eyes slowly opened and he saw that it wasn't his other self picking him up it was Joey. Glancing around, Yugi's heart dropped. He wasn't in the maze of the Millennium Puzzle – he was outside the Kaiba Dome, and he was freezing.

"Don't ya know not to sleep outside on the ground, Yug?" Joey asked, looking down at the small hikari in his arms.

Yugi groaned, he wanted to be back in his dream with his Yami. Yugi was so cold he didn't care it was Joey picking him up, he snuggled closer to his blonde friend. Yugi's body started to shiver violently; he'd been asleep on the hard ground for what felt like hours now he was awake and his body all stiff. He didn't protest when Joey started carrying him inside, he was glade he didn't have to walk; he doubted his legs would hold him they were shaking so badly. He hardly noticed Joey carrying him onto Kaiba's privet jet and putting him into a seat. Yugi feel into a dreamless sleep as the jet took off.

Aria's POV

As the Egyptian sun rose Aria ran through the town. She wore a dark blue cloak with its hood pulled over her head. She knew that if she was spotted by one of the guards that were looking for her then she'd be forced to go home and the fun day out she had planned would never happen. She glanced over her shoulder and saw her friend and guardian or as she liked to call him her 'babysitter' running after her.

Shit, I have to lose him.

She spotted a group of people getting off a jet, immediately she hid behind the group. The group gave her confused looks but didn't have time to ask her anything as a moment later her 'babysitter' caught up.

"Hey, have you seen a girl near here?" he asked, looking around.

"A little bit more of a description would be helpful, buddy." One of the group said in an accent Aria didn't recognise.

"Oh sorry, I forgot you wouldn't know what she looked like." It confused Aria with how casually he spoke to the group.

"Why don't you start by telling us who she is." This person had an accent Aria did know, he was British.

Her 'babysitter' was still looking around trying to find her, "I'm looking for the princess. She's only twenty and loves to run off… but right now it's not safe for her to go off on her own…" he broke off his sentence quickly. This intrigued Aria, she knew her father was going through a difficult time what with all the threats the palace had been receiving but she didn't know how they affected her, she didn't even know who had been sending them.

Stepping out from behind the group she asked "Marik, why isn't it safe for me? What are the threats fathers been receiving? Who's sending them?" she released her mistake in coming out of hiding immediately as her friends brow creased into a frown. Aria looked at her feet, her cheeks burning red, "Sorry for hiding from you, Marik, its just I wanted a fun day out and father never lets me. I wasn't going to give in easily and let you take me back, you should know by now that that's not like me."

When Marik spoke a few minutes later his voice was strained as if he was trying to resist the urge to shout at the young princess, "Yes, I know giving in isn't like you, but not thinking before you act and running off on your own is very much like you and can put you in lots of danger. But I guess your reckless nature is what made me wish to be your guardian, it is after all a lot like an old friend of mine's." He finished with a smile.

Aria wondered who this old friend could be, Marik had never told her about his life before coming to the palace. She never got a chance to ask as one of the group loudly, and rather rudely, cleared their throat.

Marik looked at the person who had, a blonde male. "Ah yes I should introduce you all."

"Wait you know them, Marik?" she looked up at her guardian.

Marik nodded before turning to face everyone. "My princess I would like you to meet my friends; Ryou Bakura, Téa Gardner, Tristan Taylor, Joey Wheeler, Seto Kaiba and Yugi Muto." He pointed to each one in turn. Aria couldn't believe her eyes when she looked at Yugi, his eyes, his hair. They looked so familiar to her. Marik spoke, making her eyes snap to him, "Everyone this is Princess Aria, Aria why don't you take your hood down and show your self to them properly."

Aria nodded and did as he'd said. She heard gasps from the group and tilted her head to the side. "She looks like you, Yugi…just ya know female…" the blonde one, Joey, said. He was the one with the accent she didn't know.

She found herself intrigued by his accent and way of speaking, looking at him she asked, "What accent is that? I don't recognise it."

Marik laughed at the princesses' curiosity, making her blush. "Joey's accent is from Brooklyn."

The princess nodded to Marik, her cheeks still tinted red. She looked at the group and blushed deeper when she found them all staring at her. They looked at her from head to toe, taking in her tanned skin, her amethyst eyes shaped like their old friend the Pharaoh's and lastly her hair.

Aria had always liked her hair, it consisted three parts and three colours. First there was the main part, as she referred to it, it was just longer then shoulder length and was black with magenta tips, then there was the seven black spikes with magenta rims, and lastly her fringe which consisted of a few blonde zigzag like bangs that went to past her chin with one that only went to between her eyes and three strands that stood up. She suddenly released why Yugi had looked so familiar to her, he had the same colour eyes as her and his hair was very close to what hers looked like.

Marik laughed making everyone look at him, "Aria is a descendant of Atem, as I'm sure you can tell from how much she looks like him… and of course that also explains her resemblance to Yugi."

Atem? Where have I heard that name before… oh I remember now, Marik told me stories of how he was once a great Pharaoh of Egypt and how he saved the world many times…but why would he mention him now, I doubt these people will know anything about him.

Aria couldn't take her eyes of Yugi, it confused her as to why he looked like her, confused her as to how he knows Marik, confused her as to why he was staring at her.

Wait! Why's he starring at me! Do I have something in my teeth…on my face…on my clothes…

Aria frantically started checking her clothes, brushing her tongue over her teeth. This made Marik laugh again, his laughing was started to bug Aria. She stood still and looked over at him, a slight frown on her face.

He gave her an apologetic look, suddenly seemed to release the time and grabbed her wrist "We have to leave now. Yugi, everyone, why don't you come to. You can stay at the palace tonight and look for your hotel tomorrow."

Before waiting for a reply he started dragging Aria back towards the palace. "Ow! Marik that hurts!" He didn't slow or even check to see if his friends were following, Aria heard their footsteps so knew they were but was surprised that Marik hadn't waited for a response, he normally was politer then this. Aria struggled, he was making her wrist hurt and she didn't like it.

"Why don't I take that troublesome princess off your hands, Guard Boy?" a voice called, Aria didn't recognise it, but it sent a shiver down her spine.

Marik skidded to a stop and moved so Aria was behind him; he glared up at the man who had spoken. The man was sat on a small cliff, his white shirt was open showing his tanned, well toned chest, his hair was white and stuck up at odd angles all over his head, his eyes were as hard and cold as steel. Aria shivered. She did not know the man, she didn't want to know him, but she knew she did not like him.

She felt someone take her hand, she guessed it was Yugi for it was him that whispered in her ear "I'll get you away from here and to safety, trust me, I will protect you."

Aria nodded, she did trust him.

But why..? He is a stranger… Why do I trust him..? No there's no time to doubt him… I must trust him… I have to…

Aria let Yugi lead her away from Marik, when he broke into a run so did she. She heard his friends follow, but she knew Marik had not. She knew he would talk to the stranger, he would provide a distraction so she could get away.

Tears started to roll down Aria's face as she ran; she gripped Yugi's hand tighter and let him lead her. She let him lead her away from Marik, away from the palace, away from everything she knew and into her now uncertain future.