A new chapter!!! Yay!!! I'm soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo sorry that I haven't updated in such a long time!!!!! High school, stack of homework, and lack of sleep are taking its toll on me!! So please try to be patient while I type the others!! It's going to take a while for me to finish!! I hope you enjoy this part!!

Disclaimer: I do not own YGO. Mahado's new look belongs to me.

--Meeting Mana and Going Into the Town—

"Mana!! Mana!!! Where is she?! Mana!!!!!!!!!" Atem called. The three had been looking for Mahado's apprentice a while ago and so far they had no such luck. Seto sighed in frustration.

"Atem, we have been at this for at least 2 hours already!! Give it a break!" he sighed. Atem, ignoring Seto, still continued to search for Mana. Mahado was silent. He went over to a rather large vase sitting near a pillar. The vase was big enough to hide two people. Seto and Atem watched Mahado. A few seconds of silence passed and Mahado, without using his hands which were behind his back, knocked the vase down. Seto looked alarm. Before the vase could hit the ground, Mahado interfered its fall with his foot near the very edge of where the vase's curve starts to edge in. At the same time, a bit of hair popped out. Atem blinked in reorganization.

"Mana?" he asked. His answer was a head popping out of the vase.

"Atem? Oh good it's just…you…" she blinked. Seto was with Atem and Atem was across from her. So who was it that stopped her fall? The girl, Mana, gulped and slowly looked into the face of her master, the one who is currently teaching her magic. Mana laughed nervously. Mahado still showed no emotion.

"Are you ready to come out of the vase, apprentice?" he asked. Mana nodded and quickly got out before Mahado could quickly lift it up back to its original position. Mana sighed.

"That was a close one…" she muttered.

"I'm afraid not, apprentice" Mahado said, striding to where his prince was. "As punishment, you will be working twice as hard and long."

Mana groaned. Seto smirked.

"Serves you right for skipping…amateur" he insulted. Mana pouted at him and took out her wand.

"Amateur?!! I'll show you who's amateur Mr. All-Cool-Looking!" she pointed her wand at him and the jewel orb in the front started to glow a pink color. Mana started to chant. Mahado sighed, shaking his head for his apprentice is still not good at magic. In fact, she still had a long way to go before she can even control it. The orb glowed brightly and there was a bright flash that Atem covered his eyes. The flash disappeared and Atem looked to see what had happened. Mana smiled triumphantly, oblivious as to what she had done.

"Well now…still think I'm an amateur?"

"Actually…yes I do" Seto replied. Mana angrily stared at him and pouted.

"Why's that?!" An 'ahem' was heard and the three looked at Mahado. Mana blushed bright red at her work. Atem's eyes were wide and amused. Seto was just himself but was also in awe on the inside. Apparently what Mana had done was "accidentally" bestowed upon Mahado rather than Seto. Mahado's headpiece was on the ground for some odd reason so they could clearly see what Mana had done to Mahado. Mahado's hair had grown longer, probably up to his butt. Instead of his normal walnut hair, it was gleaming silver that seemed to sparkle under the sun and glow white. His slightly tanned skin had turned slightly pale so his skin was both tanned and pale blended together. In other words, he looked and was totally hot if there were any other girls around. Mahado seemed to be a bit annoyed by this "sudden change." Mana looked like she was on the verge of fainting.

"Perhaps you should stop drooling and practice on your magic" he said, still looking quite annoyed. Mana turned even redder. His smooth and rich voice sounded so hot and matched his appearance right now. Mahado sighed, took out his wand, and changed himself back to his original appearance: his silver hair gone and replace with his own light, shoulder-length chocolate brown hair and his skin to his own color. He took his headpiece from the ground, dusted the dirt off, and placed it back on his head. Mana got over her dreaminess and looked away in embarrassment. Seto was the first to break this uneasy silence.

"So…why were you hiding in the vase?" he asked, smirking. Mana glared at him.

"Hiding of course, what did you think idiot?" Seto glared at her.

"Look who's talking, amateur" he remarked. Mana ignored him. Then she got a brilliant idea, in her opinion.

"Hey Atem? You're bored right?" Mana asked, turning to the young prince. Atem nodded, noticing where this is going.

"Then let's go into town! I heard that today is market day so it might be crowded and there are plenty of things to see!" Mana suggested enthusiastically.

"NO!!!!" Seto and Mahado shouted at the same time. Atem and Mana slightly cowered from their shout.

"Why not?" Mana whined.

"Because, apprentice, my prince is the next heir to the throne and if something should ever happen to him, then we, the six priests, cannot help him outside the castle" Mahado explained.

"Plus, he's not supposed to go beyond the castle walls" Seto added. Atem pouted.

"Seto! I'm old enough to take care of myself even outside the castle walls! And the castle is so boooooooooooooooooring!!!! Let me take a break for once! Besides there's nothing for me to do here!" he complained. Seto shook in frustration. The two young friends turned to Mahado. Mahado slightly took a small step back up.

"Please Mahado?" the two begged, having big, teary-eyed chibi eyes. One of Mahado's thin eyebrows rose up.

"Absolutely not my prince" he stated. The two young ones pouted.

"Why?!!"

"Because, if you were to be in danger, I would not be there to help you and it is my duty and responsibility to aid you, my prince" he explained.

"But can't you come with us?" Atem asked. Mahado was silent for a while.

"Please sensei? Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty please? I promise to study and practice magic even more" Mana tried her big, puppy eyes on her teacher. Mahado's eye twitched. Oh, how he was going to be in a big mess.

"Just this once apprentice" he sighed, defeated.

"YAY!" Atem and Mana shouted and high-fived each other. Seto started to walk away.

"Well, have fun you three. I have some business to atte-" Mahado grabbed Seto by his clothes.

"If I'm going with my apprentice and prince, you're coming with me" Mahado said. Seto groaned.

"Grandpa, I'm going out to buy more food" Yugi said as he exited the house. His grandpa was outside, sweeping the front door.

"Ok Yugi, remember watch out for thieves and come back before it gets late!" he called as Yugi went farther and into the town.

The town was bustling everywhere and very crowded, considering it was market day. People were here and there at every store, buying this and that. Yugi walked among the crowds, a small basket in his hand, looking at the different stores as he went along. He smiled as he spotted something, or rather someone.

"Ryou!! Over here!!!!" Yugi shouted to the white-haired boy, waving at him. The boy turned around and smiled as he saw one of his friends. He waved back and Yugi came over.

"Where are the others?" he questioned as he looked around.

"They're at the usual spot, probably waiting for us" Ryou slightly smiled.

"Then let's go and meet them!" Yugi smiled and dragged Ryou.

In a dark alley, two shadowy figures laid against the walls of two stores, one on one side, the other person on the other. Light showed on one of the walls but it did not hit the person. One of them growled softly.

"Where are those two?! They should've been here ages ago!!" The other person sighed.

"Jeez…calm down hot stuff…I'm sure they're coming right now" his voice had a slight accent.

"Marik!! Jonouchi!! Sorry we're late!" the two turned their heads and saw their two best friends running over. One of them had tri-colored spiky hair and the other had snow white hair. One of the shadowy figures grinned.

"Yug'!! Ryou!!" He locked Yugi's head in a headlock.

"Man where ya guys been?! Marik over there was just about to piss in anger!" Jonouchi joked. Marik glared at him.

"I was not!!! I was just annoyed that they were late!!" he said as he stepped into the light.

He had sun-kissed tanned skin in contrast to his light sun-kissed pale blonde hair. What stood out most were his lavender eyes full of mischief and loyalty. Jou had messy blonde hair and honey golden brown eyes that were full of loyalty and trust. Ryou was probably the most out of place out of the four. He had white hair that compared to the paleness of his skin. He had warm chocolate eyes that were full of love and kindness. His fragile body seemed like it would break down when one touches it. All four shared the same thing: a hard life. They also yearned for the same thing that was out of reach for them: a loved one that can make a difference for them.

"So how's ya gramps Yug'?" Jou asked as the four sat down in the alley.

"He's doing fine as usual…How about Serenity?"

"Well…she's ok I guess…We still send letters to each other but…her writing seemed to be a bit messier lately…" The three looked at him in concern. They all knew how much Serenity, his young sister, meant to him.

"Is she ok?" Ryou asked softly. Out of the four, his voice would be the softest one.

"I don't know…she hasn't written anything about it when I asked her…All she's written is 'Don't worry about it, it'll pass shortly' But I guess I'll have to trust her on this one" Jou grinned.

"Well, Ishizu's doing fine I guess…She doesn't write much…Because she's a high priestess, she can't visit much so I can't say much about her…" Marik rested his head against his interlinked hands.

"Amane is doing ok…Father is still not around a lot…So I guess you could say it's the same…" Ryou said.

"Well at least you guys have it off easy…I'm stuck with two spoiled and bossy princesses" Yugi said sarcastically, leaning against the wall.

"Have it off easy? I think dat would be Ryou…At least ya don't have a drunken abusive father around" Jou said.

"Same here, except the old geezer's not drunk…A bit abusive I must admit though" Marik said.

"It's not like I have it easy either…I have to care for the house and you know how Amane gets sick easily…And with Father not being around, I'm almost like the mother…" The four teenage young ones sighed simultaneously.

"Do you think palace life is better than this?" Yugi asked.

"Probably better than ours at least" Marik said.

"But doesn't the prince have it harder? And servants too" Ryou said.

"Hey, could it be any worse dan ours?" Jou asked.

"I'll catch up with you guys later. I've got to do some grocery shopping" Yugi stood up and went out into the big crowd.

Atem looked at everything in amazement. He had never seen so many people in one area, having spent his life locked up in the palace. There were so many things to see! Everywhere, he stared with excitement. Seto sighed. Mahado was just himself. They had dressed themselves in peasant clothes. Mana needed little changing. Atem had all his ornaments and his crown taken off and replaced his palace clothes with everyday peasant clothes. Seto just had to change clothes and his Millennium Rod was hidden from sight. Mahado had also changed clothes, didn't wear his head piece and his Millennium Ring was under his shirt. Mana didn't need to really change clothes but her wand was out of sight. Atem was surprised that no one even noticed that he, the prince, stood out of place.

"BTW, where do those two live?" he turned his head around to look at the two priests. Mana was standing next to him.

"Why are you asking us? We've never been into town before" Seto slightly glared at him as if it were the obvious answer.

"Hey Yugi!" Atem turned to see a kind looking man waving at him. He looked at his sides, and then pointed to himself as if asking 'Are you talking to me?' The man laughed heartily.

"You never cease to amaze kiddo! Say, have you grown? You seem a bit taller than when I last saw you…" he said, looking him up and down (get your mind out of the gutters!!!) He narrowed his eyes and leaned forward. Atem slightly took a step back, nervous. Seto looked ready to massacre a village. Mahado had to restrain Seto so that he wouldn't murder anyone.

"You seem to look different…You have more gold in your hair and your eyes seemed to be a bit darker…Are you feeling ok?" the man asked. Atem was nervous.

"Um…I'm very sorry sir…but I think you've confused me with someone else" he said politely. The man laughed heartily again.

"My mistake! It's just that you look so much like a kid that I know! I can see now that you're not Yugi!! His voice is not that deep and sounds much softer" the man smiled apologetically.

"But it was nice to meet you!!" he said. Atem slightly smiled and nodded as he walked away from the booth. At the same time, a smaller identical prince had come to the booth.

"Hey Akhet!!" Yugi greeted. Akhet looked over his shoulder and he had a shocked expression.

"Why Yugi!! Don't give me a heart attack!!! I could have sworn you just left!!" Yugi had a confused look.

"What do you mean? I just got here" he said. Akhet looked thoughtful and then he looked like he remembered something.

"Oh, that's right!! It was another young man that left…Did you know he was your look alike?" he softly asked. Yugi looked shocked.

"A-A look alike? Me??" Yugi pointed to himself. Akhet nodded.

"Th-That can't be possible…There's no way someone can look like me…" Yugi said.

"Well…he was very different from you in a lot of ways…If you don't believe me, then you should wander around the town and you'll probably see him…I even mistaked him for you! He looked so much like you until I got a closer look at him…So, the usual?" Akhet grinned. Yugi smiled.

"Yes please."

"How dare he do that to the prince!! I should behead him when I get back to the castle!!" Seto had kept mumbling colorful and kind things after Atem left the booth. The other three sweated.

"Well someone's cheery today…" Mana said and Seto glared daggers at her.

"Relax Seto" Atem said. "He just mixed me with someone else; it's not a big deal…"

'Still I wonder how he could have confused me with this…Yugi boy…There's no way someone could look like me…' he thought.

"Besides, remember, we're in the town so we have to keep low…You can't get mad at every little thing Seto…People make mistakes" Atem looked at the still glowering Millennium Rod holder.

"Better not make a scene Seto…" Mana joked. Seto gave her a death glare. Atem tried to conceal his laughter but was failing miserably. Even Mahado chuckled a bit. Atem looked forward and blinked. In front of him, he saw a flash of silver-white-light purple hair and a bit of red cloth before it disappeared into the mob of people. He blinked again and grinned.

A tall figure was leaning against a wall in the shadows (déjà vu anyone?), waiting for the expected person to come here. Apparently, the person was late. The shadow figure sighed, frustrated.

"Yo! Mariku!!" The figure turned to see his rather late friend slightly running over. His friend had short spiky silver-white-light purple hair that reached to his shoulders. He wore what looked like a red jacket that had a white hood in the back and was opened so he could see the man's well-toned and tanned chest and stomach. He wore a dark blue tunic that almost reached to his knees. He had a scar under his right eye with two small slashes through the long one on his handsome and masculine face. He had narrow grey-blue-obsidian eyes and the slightest hint of a smirk was graced on his handsome face. The figure, Mariku, glared at him.

"You're late……..again" he hissed, apparently annoyed when his friend was next to him. He smirked and shrugged his shoulders casually.

"So?" Mariku narrowed his eyes.

"You know you're always supposed to be here at least at the expected time Bakura" The said man rolled his eyes.

"Jeez…you make it sound like it's a job we're taking from some 'acquaintances'…Besides, the King of Thieves should always make a late entry" Bakura grinned and slightly posed. His head was in one of his hands as that elbow was against the wall and his other hand on his hip that was slightly bent out. Mariku snorted. Apparently, he thought the pose was stupid and made him looked like some wannabe model that was posing for the audience or a slut who was at the door of a hotel greeting her man or some other dude.

"King of Thieves my ass…" Bakura glared at him.

"Better than you at least" Mariku rolled his eyes.

"Pshh…As if…We work together, dumbass" he remarked. Bakura stuck his tongue at Mariku, childish if you ask him.

"Why do you keep standing in the dark? Get your ass out and feel Ra touch your skin!" Mariku grumbled but nonetheless he stepped out only to be met with Ra's warmth. Bakura looked at him. Mariku had light sun-kissed blonde hair that was a bit spiky yet it went straight down and reached a bit past his shoulder. Like himself, Mariku was also tanned, maybe a bit darker than him. He wore a black sleeveless shirt that showed his muscular arms that had gold jewelry. He had two gold armlets and had what looked like gold bands that reached halfway from his elbow on each wrist. He wore dark khaki pants and black shoes. He had a long dark cape to match his shirt. His narrow dark lavender eyes were outlined on the bottom with kohl on his rather attractive and masculine face. He had gold earrings that were mostly hidden by his long and outstretched bangs. Bakura smirked.

"Still going with the shadows and the dark side ne?" he asked slyly. Mariku scoffed.

"Like you aren't" he countered.

"Least I don't wear dark clothes all the time" Bakura smirked.

"You guys bickering like an old couple again?" Both guys turned sharply to the owner of the voice. The said figure was standing in the shadows.

"Who are you?" growled Bakura. Mariku narrowed his eyes. The figure feigned shock, placing his hand on his chest as if he had been stabbed.

"Why…I'm hurt…Don't you two know your own brother?" he asked, pretending to feel sad. Mariku rolled his eyes, knowing who it is. Bakura scoffed, folding his arms in front of his exposed chest.

"Bullshit…We don't have a brother…Get your ass out of the darkness already" he said. The man stepped out to reveal their last friend. He had wild tri-colored hair with a few golden blonde sticking the same way, upward like a lightning bolt. He had gold bangs that revealed his tanned handsome and attractive face. He had narrow dark amethyst eyes and a smirk graced his face.

"Well if it isn't his royal highness coming to pay the thieves a visit" Bakura said, smirking. Atem glared at him.

"Watch your mouth tomb robber, I am the prince after all" he said. Bakura did a mock bow.

"Most very sorry, highness, please accept my apologies" he mocked, smirking at the prince. Atem rolled his eyes.

"Dumbass…"

"No shit" Mariku smirked. Bakura glared daggers at him.

"Hey! Whose side are you on?!"

"No one's" Mariku slightly smirk, eyes filled with amusement. Turning to Atem, he asked something.

"So, what made you decide to jump out of the window and visit us?" Atem shrugged.

"Oh, I was just walking around the town and I saw a bit of Bakura's details so I followed him…I almost lost him too" he explained. Mariku and Bakura looked at him as if he had sprouted wings, a tail and small horns.

"What?!" he asked nervously.

"Walking around town?" Mariku repeated as if he had heard wrong. Atem nodded.

"FYI princes don't walk around town…hell they don't come out at all unless there's a special reason" Bakura said, still staring at Atem. Atem shrugged again.

"You know how I get bored…" he said.

"Yea but still…you rarely visit us…It's mostly us that visit you" Mariku said.

"Well, Mana and I finally convinced Seto and Mahado to let us go to town and here we are" Atem said, indicating his clothes.

"You mean the others are with you?" Bakura asked. Atem nodded.

"But I think I lost them because I was following you" he said.

"It would seem that way…" Mariku said.

"Where do you guys live?" Atem asked. Suddenly Bakura eyed him warily, looking suspicious.

"Why? Are you going to steal my precious babies? You are aren't you? Never!! I'll never show you!!! I won't let you take them back!!" Bakura growled. Both Mariku and Atem sweated.

"What the hell Bakura…I just want to know where you guys live so if I need you then I can find you at home unless if you're out on a 'job'…" Atem said.

"Whatever…Follow me" Mariku said and led the way.

The trio arrived at the two thieves' home. It was only one story seeing as how they were thieves and don't get much money.

"Great, you know where we live, now shoo!!" Bakura said. Atem sweated.

"Dude, chill!" he said.

"You know how possessive he is" Mariku said, shaking his head and making his bangs sway back and forth. Bakura glared at him.

"Am not" Mariku smirked.

"Is that a challenge?" he asked.

"Both of you shut up before all hell breaks loose" Atem said. Both thieves glared at him.

"Shut up" Bakura glared. Atem smirked and crossed his arms and leaned against a wall.

"What? I'm only speaking the truth" he said.

"Bullshit" Mariku said, looking at him. Atem placed a hand on his chest and looked sad.

"Why Mariku! I'm shocked and heartbroken" he emphasized on 'heart'. "You wouldn't think I'd lie now would you?" Mariku rolled his eyes and smirked. He folded his arms and leaned against the wall of the house, looking at Atem.

"Actually…I do think you would lie…And I highly doubt you're really heartbroken" he said. Atem looked sad.

"Why Mariku, I am heartbroken…How could I not? And I would never lie to you" he said. Bakura smirked.

"Are you sure about that?" he asked. Atem looked at him.

"Of course I'm sure" he said.

"Now that's bullshit right there" Bakura said. Atem smirked.

"Then tell me tomb robber…Name one time that I have lied to you guys" he said. Bakura opened his mouth to say something but no words came out. Atem raised a slim eyebrow, his smirk never leaving his tanned face.

"I'm waiting Bakura…" he taunted. Bakura started to sweat.

"G-Give me a second" he nervously said.

"I should say tomb robber…I don't think it should take you that long now can it?" Atem taunted even more, still smirking. Mariku slightly smirked, filled with amusement.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say that Atem won this" he said. Bakura glared at him.

"Shut up!!!" Atem laughed as Mariku snickered. Bakura huffed. This was going to be a looooooooooooong day.

Yugi walked through the crowd of people. He was almost finished shopping, probably needed one or two more items and then he was done. He sighed.

'When I'm done with the shopping I can do anything I want…But…I have to go home…Back to the only place that I can call home…and what's left of my family' he thought the last part bitterly. 'Their royal princesses are probably going to have more chores for me to do…I never have free time…Grandpa says that I can but…' Yugi sniffed. He sighed. 'If only he was here…then I can have someone that I can talk to…The others probably went home already…'

"Atem!!" Yugi perked and looked to see two-no three people running towards him.

'Atem??' Yugi thought confusedly when the three were right in front of him. The one with brown locks and icy blue eyes glared at him. Yugi shivered under his gaze, his wide amethyst eyes staring fearfully at the man.

"By Ra Atem!! Going off like that and then ditching us!! Dear Horus WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!!" Yugi flinched and tears welled up in his closed eyes. The girl next to the man blinked and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. Yugi flinched.

"Hey Atem are you ok?? Look what you did Seto!! You made him cry!!" the girl glared at the said man. Seto scoffed.

"Please…he's faking it" he said. Yugi looked at the two.

"U-Um…I think y-you have the wrong person…" the two people stared at him.

"What the hell are you talking about? Quit the act already" Seto said. The last person blinked.

"…Yugi?" Yugi looked at the third person, the second male. He blinked and his eyes widened. Instantly he was hugging the man's torso.

"Mahado!!!!" he exclaimed. Mahado chuckled.

"You still have not changed my friend" he said as he hugged the small figure back. Yugi buried his face into his clothes.

"It really is you!!! I missed you soo much!!" he exclaimed.

"I missed you as well" Mahado slightly smiled. He gently took Yugi's shoulders and pulled the boy off his waist and crouched so he was eye level with the innocent boy.

"You haven't changed a bit my little friend" Yugi pouted cutely.

"I am not little!!" Mahado chuckled.

"I'd say the height to my hips is little" Yugi turned slightly red.

"I am NOT little!! And I'm not at your hip height!!! I'm at least at your stomach level!!" he complained.

"That's still little I'm afraid" Mahado chuckled as Yugi pouted.

"Meanie…"" he muttered. Mahado raised an eyebrow.

"You do realize I heard that right?" Yugi turned away. Mahado chuckled and stood up. He looked at the two whose jaws had dropped to the ground literally, eyes wide that it looked like it was going to pop out of its sockets. Mahado raised a brow.

"Is there a problem you two?" he asked. Yugi immediately came back to reality and fearfully hid behind Mahado. Seto was the first to snap out of it.

"What the hell Mahado?!!! Why are you acting like you knew him a long time?!! Isn't that Atem?" he asked.

"If you have not heard properly, Seto, his name is Yugi" Mahado said.

"And if you look closely you can see he is not Atem…As usual I am the first to notice these differences" Seto glared at him and looked at the small boy. Yugi cowered behind Mahado.

"The boy does seem to be a bit too short…and his eyes are much wider and brighter…his skin is a bit pale and there aren't as much gold in his hair…" Seto observed.

"Yugi right? I'm Mana, Mahado's apprentice! I hope we can be good friends!!" Mana smiled and stuck her hand out. Yugi hesitantly shook her hand.

"Don't worry Yugi. She's perfectly harmless unless if it deals with magic…I must warn you that she is a bit of a klutz though…" Mahado said. Mana pouted.

"Mahado!!!" she whined.

"All you need to look out for is this glowering person over here" Mahado jerked his head to Seto who glared at him.

"Don't worry! I won't let that big meanie over there harm you" Mana said and Seto's glare turned more malicious.

"Mana?"

"Hm?"

"Shut up" Seto whispered dangerously. Mana stuck her tongue at him childishly. Mahado sighed.

"What are you doing in town Mahado?" Yugi asked.

"My prince and my apprentice wanted to…" he said wearily.

"Where's the prince then?" Yugi asked. Mahado sighed.

"That's the thing…We lost him in the crowds after he ran off…We were looking for him when Seto spotted you and assumed that you were Atem" he said.

"I didn't think we would meet someone that looked exactly like the mirror of my cousin" Seto said.

"Do you know a place where we could talk more?" Mahado asked. Yugi nodded.

"My house…Come on…I'm almost done with the shopping so please wait for a bit more" Yugi said and began to walk again. Mahado blinked.

"Shopping? When did you start to buy groceries Yugi?" he asked as he and the others followed the small boy. Mahado noticed his friend's depressed look.

"I'll tell you later" Yugi gave him a small smile but being Mahado, he knew that behind that smile was grief and sadness. What had happened to his friend all these years?