Chapter 3: Mistaken Memories

"That was amazing, Ana!" Tristan said happily as they re-entered the shop. "You creamed Joey."

"Oi, I'm right here." The blonde was still more than a little disgruntled over his defeat. "And I was going easy on her, just so ya know."

"Sure, Joey."

Ana smiled hesitantly at him. "Sorry, Joey. I kind of went a little overboard. I got too excited." She hoped she hadn't soured any potential friendship between them. She was used to only having her sister for most of her life, but after just one day with these people, she was already starting to feel attached. She wasn't sure how she felt about that, yet.

Thankfully, after pouting for a few more seconds, the blonde broke into an easy grin. "Don't worry about it, Ana. I was kind of asking for it. And we had fun, right? That's what matters." He gave a her a friendly pat on top of her head.

Her smile widened with relief. "Yeah, actually, I had a lot of fun. It's been a while since I dueled anyone other than my sister."

"Your dueling was great," Yugi remarked, letting them into the area behind the store. Tea had volunteered to stay up front to keep an eye on things until Solomon came back. "You clearly have a lot of experience."

She shrugged. "My sister keeps me on my toes," she said, grinning at Sarra, who stuck her tongue out in reply.

"Don't bother, sis. I already told them," the younger girl smirked.

"Told them what?"

"That you've never lost an official duel."

To her annoyance, Ana felt herself flush. "Don't make it sound like more than it is. I've never participated in any big competitions."

"Sure, Ana," her sister waved her off, before directing her attention to the King of Games, "Yugi, do you think we could duel, too?" Ana shook her head at her antics – Sarra was practically bouncing on her toes.

"Sarra, we just came back inside," she tried to reason.

"I just want a casual one! We don't have to use duel disks. Come on, please?" She gazed pleadingly at Yugi.

Uh oh. Ana knew that look. Those puppy eyes had gotten them both into trouble countless of times. Poor Yugi.

"Uh, sure, Sarra, why not," he agreed, clearly looking a little blindsided.

Sighing, Ana settled herself on the couch with resignation as they set up a dueling mat on the coffee table. Joey and Tristan went to the kitchen to look for some snacks, while Atem came to sit next to her.

"Good game," he told her in that deep voice.

She smiled. "Thanks – but I know Joey can do better. I've watched a couple of his duels; if this had been a real match I'm sure it would have gone a lot differently."

The darker skinned boy gave a small, indulgent smile of his own. "I wouldn't be so sure of that. I have a feeling you're still understating your skills and your cards. But that would certainly be an interesting match to watch. Are you thinking of joining some larger tournaments? Domino City hosts quite a few of them."

"I certainly had that impression," she said, "But I don't know. Dueling has always been just something fun for me. I've never felt that strongly about competing." She pulled out her deck contemplatively.

"Hmm," Atem hummed.

"That reminds me, you promised to tell me where you found this," she pulled out the Light of the Goddess card. Holding it up to his face, she quirked a brow. "I've been looking for one of these for over a year."

Atem shrugged, "From a card trading store in the city. They sometimes have some really rare stock. This one came in a small set, actually." He plucked the card from her hand to twirl it between his fingers. Violet eyes looked at her curiously. "Why did you want to know?"

Ana chose her words carefully. "Well, there's still something else I'm looking for. I thought maybe the place you got this could help."

Truth be told, she tried not to think about how much stock she was putting in a dream. But when she had seen in a random magazine a card with a picture that looked exactly like the necklace she had been dreaming of almost every night, she knew that she had to find it. She told herself it was in order to find out more about her dream, maybe even make them stop, but a part of her knew it was more because she wanted to find him. The man that would give this necklace to her in her dreams. She was never able to catch a glimpse of him, but something told her that the necklace, the card, would give her a hint. With this, we'll always be connected.

"Well, if you'd like," Atem said slowly, reclaiming her attention, "I could take you to there." He handed the card back to her.

She blinked as she took it. "Really? I wouldn't want to bother you. I mean, you've already given me a really rare card."

"It's no trouble," he shook his head, "Um… I've been meaning to refamiliarize myself with the city anyway. I'd be happy to help you."

"Oh, well, thank you," she said hesitantly. She wasn't sure if it was a good idea though. What was she supposed to tell him, 'I'm actually looking for the man of my dreams?'. Yeah, that definitely wouldn't send him running in the opposite direction. But…she didn't want to say no. She felt…drawn to him, at least to the mystery she still sensed around him. And he had been good company today; she had enjoyed getting to know him. "Alright, then," she finally smiled, "Would this weekend be alright? Say, Saturday?"

He smiled back and nodded.

Joey and Tristan burst back into the room at that moment, briefly interrupting their conversation with arms full of their loot. Noticing the casual duel happening on the table, they quickly settled onto the carpet to watch, stuffing their faces. Ana and Atem observed the game for a moment themselves, still comfortable on the couch. Eventually, Ana asked him, "Say, Atem…Everyone's heard and seen Yugi duel, but I've never heard anything about your dueling. But you had this rare card. Why don't you duel competitively either? I'm sure you have some more rare and powerful cards too."

The boy crossed his arms, a tad defensively, Ana thought. "Well, let's just say I've had… extenuating circumstances. Until now I haven't really been free to duel on my own." He appeared to be choosing his words carefully, as if there was an underlying meaning to them.

"Do you mean your studies?"

"Ah, yes, in a sense. In any case, neither Yugi nor I duel for notoriety. Yugi has always had his own reasons for entering the tournaments he has," Atem grinned, "He's just been very successful when he does."

The corners of her lips turned up. "You sound very proud," she noted.

He nodded. "I am."

"Hmm, well, I'm still interested in seeing you duel, Atem."

He turned his head to face her, eyes glimmering in merriment. "Tell you what, the next tournament you enter, so will I."

She smirked back. "Fine."

"Aww, I lost," Sarra exclaimed, staring at the cards with resignation. "Wow, Yugi, you really are good."

"What else would you expect from the King of Games," Joey grinned, locking his friend in a headlock.

"Joey, stop," a red faced Yugi pleaded, shaking the blonde off. "That was a great game, Sarra. You've got some really good strategies."

"Thanks, Yugi! I guess they just weren't good enough today. And thanks for dueling me, I still can't believe I'm here and hanging out with you," Sarra gushed, her boundless energy already returning. Yugi just laughed, embarrassed.

Ana smiled at her indulgently. She was glad her sister was having fun. And, she thought, glancing at the boy next to her on the couch, I'm glad we came here today.

Ana and her sister had just left with Solomon, who was making good on his grandson's promise to give them a ride home. The rest of gang were still in Yugi's living room, ready to reflect on the day.

"So, Atem, do you think one of them is the girl Mahad was talking about?" Tea asked.

"I'm almost certain," he replied, nodding, "Today, while we were shopping with Ana, something strange occurred." He described the voice he had heard, and the brief vision he had seen earlier in the day.

"Sounds like a memory to me," Tristan remarked.

"Yes."

"The trouble is," Yugi mused, "how are we going to know for sure? And say Ana is the girl Mahad was talking about, what next? We need to find that missing piece of the Puzzle, and defeat whatever this new enemy is. But it looks like what Mahad said is true – Ana doesn't seem to remember anything."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Atem said, "When we talked today… There's more to her than she's letting on. At the very least, she's searching for something, something related to that card we gave her, but I'm not sure if even she realizes exactly what it is."

"Wow, you got all that just from today?"

The darker skinned boy nodded. "Yes, and I'm helping her with her search this weekend, so hopefully I'll be able to learn more."

"What do you mean?" Yugi blinked.

"I'm taking her to the store where we got the Light of the Goddess card," Atem explained, "this Saturday." He grunted as suddenly he was under the weight of both Joey and Tristan hooking their arms around his neck.

"Wow, Atem, and I thought Yugi was my hero!" Joey exclaimed, smirking and mussing the former pharaoh's hair.

"What?"

"Yeah," Tristan said, grinning from ear to ear as well, "Alive again for not even a week and you've already got a date?"

"Date?" A red glow was beginning to emerge on his tan cheeks.

Tea frowned, looking annoyed. "I need more female friends," she mumbled, glaring.

Yugi smiled briefly at the teasing, but it quickly turned into a confused frown. "Store? We never got that card from a store." His comment made the boys stop their roughhousing and look up.

"What do you mean, Yugi? We got Light of the Goddess from that card trading store," Atem said, furrowing his brow as Tristan and Joey let him go.

Yugi shook his head. "I don't remember ever getting it from that store. In fact, I don't even really remember how we got that card at all. Which is why I thought it was weird when you said you would tell her."

"Are you sure? I could have sworn I remember finding it in the same pack we got our Lightforce Sword trap card."

"Yeah, that's really weird. Hmm," Yugi mumbled, tapping his chin, "Well, I feel like this just confirms that there's something strange about that card, and Ana is involved somehow."

"Yes," Atem agreed. Hopefully, we'll find some answers this weekend.

"So, sis," Sarra had a mischievous smirk on her lips as she set the table for dinner. "You and Atem looked pretty cozy on the couch. I told you he was cute, didn't I?"

"Sarra!" Ana chastised, slapping her sister on the shoulder, "Stop."

"I'm just saying, he seemed pretty into you, especially after he watched your duel." Grey eyes winked at her.

Ana narrowed her own stormy eyes, desperately attempting to fight off the blush trying to emerge on her cheeks as she removed a casserole from the oven, "I thought you liked him."

"Well sure," Sarra said, shrugging, "I mean, have you looked at him? The guy is hot – he's got the whole exotic, mysterious persona down." The younger Schuyler giggled.

The older girl sighed, placing their dinner on the table, "You're impossible."

As they sat down to eat, Sarra looked around. "Aunt and Uncle aren't joining us today, either, huh?" she noted, a hint of sadness lining her voice.

Ana sighed, "No." Ana was used to it, and had stopped being bothered by their guardians' lack of presence in their lives a long time ago. But she knew that to Sarra, their aunt and uncle were the only parents she had ever known. She couldn't help but crave their presence.

However, her sister quickly shrugged the sadness off. "This looks delicious, sis. As always. Someday you have to teach me your tricks in the kitchen."

Ana quirked a brow. "Sure, as soon as you figure out how not to burn water."

Her sister stuck her tongue out. "Maybe I will, as soon as you figure out how not to get hopelessly lost in an open field."

"Humph," she pouted.

"Dammit," Ana cursed, wandering uselessly around the school halls. "It's got to be around here, somewhere." As she looked around, the warning bell sounded over the PA system. "Shit." She'd been at this school for almost a week now, and she was still getting lost. Why couldn't they invent GPS for the inside of buildings?

Breaking into a jog, she decided to try a turn she hadn't taken before. Unfortunately, the world seemed to have other plans, because she ended up running into a solid brick wall. Barely keeping herself from falling, she rubbed her nose. "Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going."

"That was obvious, idiot," a disparaging voice responded.

Looking up, she grimaced. "Polite as ever, Seto," she chided, glaring at the taller figure.

"Hn. Where do you think you're going, anyway? Our class is in the opposite direction." A smirk worked its way to the young CEO's lips. "You're lost, aren't you? I see you haven't changed either."

"Shut up, Seto. What are you even doing here? Don't you have a company to run?" she accused, annoyed at being found out.

"High school drop outs don't look good on KaibaCorp's repertoire," he said simply. "In any case, I'm a genius. I can do both at once." With that, he brushed past her and continued to stride down the hall. Grumbling to herself, Ana started after him. At least she had found someone to follow to class, even if she had to put up with Seto Kaiba's snark.

They entered the classroom together, drawing some attention. However, they ignored both it and each other, and quickly separated to go to their respective desks. On her way, she caught Yugi and Atem's eyes. They were looking at her curiously. She gave them a friendly smile before sliding into her seat, just in time for the day's first lesson.

"Alright guys, today we're going to start our lessons on Ancient Egypt," the teacher said, shuffling some papers in front of him. Strangely, there were several coughs around the classroom at his words, coughs that sounded suspiciously like snorts.

"Something funny, Wheeler?" the teacher glared at the blonde behind Ana.

"No, sir, not at all," he responded with an easy grin. Ana watched as, for some reason, he cast a knowing glance at Atem, who sighed.

"Oh, that's right," the teacher realized, "Atem, you just spent the past few years studying in Egypt, correct?"

"Uh, yes," Atem said hesitantly, clearly suspicious of where all this was leading.

"That's perfect! Why don't you be one of our class's committee reps for the upcoming school festival; we could do an Ancient Egyptian-themed activity."

"Wait, what? I mean…" the boy's violet eyes widened in shock. Unfortunately, the rest of the class appeared to be already getting excited about the idea. As the enthusiastic clamor began to grow in the room, he threw a panicked look at Yugi, who could only shrug back at him helplessly.

"Uh…" Atem could only say.

Ana bit her lip, trying to think of an idea to help him out, the pour guy. "But, sir, um," she spoke out, "Atem's only just joined this school. Don't you think it would be a little overwhelming to suddenly put him in charge of something like this?"

"Hm," the teacher pondered, "Good point." Atem looked at her gratefully, and she started to smile back, until the teacher continued, "Why don't you help him, then, Ana. I think this would be a great way for the both of you to get to know the school."

What?!

"Will anyone second their nominations?" Ana glared at the instructor. Did that even count as a nomination? Unfortunately, the class was apparently gung-ho about this idea now, so seconds were called from all around the room.

Now, two pairs of eyes grew panicked.

Shit.

Although he had grown close to all of Yugi's friends during his tenure in the Millennium Puzzle, Atem had always felt a special bond with Joey. They had fought together countless times, and helped each other save the world on many occasions.

But right now, he just felt annoyance.

The blonde was laughing so much, he actually wasn't even eating his lunch. Luckily, before his patience ran out, Yugi intervened. "Come on, Joey, that's enough. It's not funny."

"Oh yes it is!" Joey wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. "I can't believe Atem is going to organize our class's school festival activity. And Ana, too!" He burst into hysterics again, practically rolling on the floor. Until a rolled egg struck him straight in the forehead.

"Shut it, Wheeler," Ana glared, "This is all your fault anyway." She sighed, tilting her head back against the fence. "I can't believe this is happening. I've never even been to a Japanese high school festival."

Neither have I, Atem wanted to say.

"Don't worry, Ana," Yugi reassured, "We'll help you two out, right guys?"

Tea nodded, "Yeah, we'll help you out."

Ana smiled, "Thanks, everyone. We haven't even started and I can't wait for this to be over."

"So, what does being a 'class representative' even entail?" Atem asked, resigning himself to his fate.

"You two are going to have to stay after class for the next couple of weeks, and go to committee meetings," Yugi explained. "Just tell them neither of you have been in Japan for several years, and the rest of the committee should be willing to explain things more clearly to you."

Atem sighed. For some reason, things seemed simpler when all they had to worry about were duels, shadow games, and evil ancient spirits. He wasn't sure how he was going to navigate this new challenge.

"Come on, Atem," his 'brother' piped, "Look at the bright side. The teacher was right – this will be a good way for you to get to know our school. And get accustomed to the city!"

The former pharaoh frowned. It was starting to sound like Yugi was forgetting their mission. Worse…he was forgetting that eventually, after they completed their mission, Atem would be returning to the afterlife. He wasn't here to stay.

"I guess I have no choice," was all he said aloud, though, with Ana present. Speaking of, he supposed this would be another opportunity to get to know her more, at the very least.

"Yeah, I guess we'll just have to make the best of it," Ana agreed.

"By the way," Duke spoke, "Ana, did you come to class with Kaiba this morning?"

Ana shrugged. "It was just by coincidence," she said, averting her gaze. She appeared to be hiding something, Atem noted. He wondered if she somehow already knew Kaiba in the past.

"Well, you're going to want to stay away from him," Joey warned, "He's a jerk."

The raven-haired girl snorted. "I got that, but thanks for the warning."

The rest of the day passed fairly benignly, and soon, it was time for everyone to go home for the weekend. Almost everyone that is.

"You ready, Atem?" Ana asked, approaching his desk.

He looked up to her and smiled. "Yes," he replied, standing up.

"Have fun, you two!" Yugi called, waving, as they made their way out the room.

"Why do I feel like everyone's getting more enjoyment out of our predicament than us?" Ana mused as they made their way down the halls.

"Probably because they are," he replied with a small smile.

"I still can't believe this happened to us."

"I'm sorry. If you hadn't tried to help me you probably wouldn't be in this mess, too," Atem apologized.

Ana waved him off. "I couldn't leave you stranded. That was really uncalled for by the teacher, anyway. So don't worry about it. We can just keep blaming Joey." She winked.

He smiled in response, "Sounds like a good plan to me."

Happy with their pact, Ana asked, "So, are we still on for tomorrow?"

"Of course," he nodded, "What time would you like to meet?"

"I'm pretty much free all day."

"Then how about 10 am? We could meet in front of Domino Station?"

"Sounds good!" They continued to make their way to the meeting room in comfortable silence, though Ana made sure to stay a half step behind Atem so that she wouldn't accidentally end up lost. When they entered the room, many of the other committee members were already there, and all eyes turned to them. Ana was starting to feel some déjà vu from this morning, except she realized most of them were staring at Atem this time.

"Did you get a tan, Yugi?" One girl asked, revealing the reason behind all the curious gazes.

"Oh, uh, I'm not Yugi. I'm his brother, Atem," he held a hand up in greeting.

"And I'm Ana," she introduced herself, "We're the representatives from class 2-1?"

"Great, we're just waiting on a few more people, but we'll get started in a couple minutes," another boy came up to them. "Go ahead and take a seat."

At first, the meeting was somewhat overwhelming for both Ana and Atem. They had no idea what to expect, or really what was even going on. But they felt bad about interrupting the proceeds just to ask for explanations. Eventually Ana picked up that their main duty was to be a go-between for their class to the student council. They had to get their class's activity for the festival approved to get a budget to spend, and they would pass on messages from the council to the rest of their classmates.

"Does any class already have an idea for their activity?" the council rep asked.

Ana and Atem shared a glance, but Atem still looked a little lost, so Ana raised a hand. "Our class was hoping to do an Ancient Egyptian theme."

The meeting leader looked at them quizzically. "That's an unusual idea."

"Well, we have a transfer student who just came back from Egypt, so I think everyone went off of that," the raven-haired girl explained, flicking her eyes to Atem.

"That's fine, then," the senior nodded, "Did your class agree on a specific activity?"

"Yes, actually," Ana continued, "Since we have the King of Games in our class, we thought we would do a game activity. People could come and play various board games for prizes. Duke Devlin agreed to lend us some games from his business, and Yugi said he would ask his grandfather as well." Kaiba had refrained from offering anything, but that was no surprise.

"Sounds like a solid plan," the council rep scribbled some things down on a paper and then gave it to Ana, "Give that to the office on Monday and they'll give you a voucher to buy supplies with. You two are good to go."

She bowed and thanked him. Since the other classes were still deciding on what to do, the meeting was wrapped up. She and Atem gathered their things again and were making their way to the exit, when they were stopped by the girl from earlier. Mizuki, if Ana remembered her name correctly.

"Hi, Atem," she said shyly, "I just wanted to say, um, I'm sorry for confusing you with your brother before. I was in the same class as him last year but hadn't seen him in a while, you see."

The olive-skinned boy blinked. "Oh, um, that's quite alright."

"So, um, how are you liking our school so far?" she was still looking at Atem shyly, but with a more purposeful smile. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

Ana realized what was going on, and quickly began to feel uncomfortable. The girl clearly was trying to flirt. Question was, did Ana have to stick around for this?

Hell no.

Sidling away as quietly as she could while he politely answered the question, Ana ducked out the door to freedom. That was awkward, she thought to herself, striding toward the stairs. She supposed it made sense for Atem to be popular. Even though she hadn't admitted it the other night, Sarra was right; he was attractive.

And you've practically got a date with him tomorrow.

Feeling herself blush, Ana grimaced to herself. She wasn't usually self-conscious, but now she was feeling a little weird about their plans for tomorrow.

The next morning, Ana thankfully found the station with no hiccups. When she arrived, Atem was already there waiting for her, standing in front of the entrance. He appeared to be deep in thought, although Ana noticed that he was attracting some attention. She quickly saw why.

In his casual clothing, he appeared even more exotic than usual. He was wearing the burgundy fitted tee that she had picked out for him earlier that week, and like she suspected the color offset his olive skin nicely. He had coupled it with dark wash jeans and a heavily studded belt that contained what looked like a card pouch. To top it all off, he had accessorized. Gold bands curled around his toned biceps, and more gold dangled off of his ears – apparently he had several piercings to show off. Together with the large gold pyramid hanging off his neck, Atem was certainly eye catching.

Realizing she was staring, Ana quickly shook her head. Come on, Ana. You've always known he was handsome, get over it. He's just helping you out today.

"Hey, Atem," she called, waving.

Her greeting appeared to jolt him out of his thoughts. He turned to smile at her. "Ana. Good morning."

"Good morning," she smiled back. "Thanks for helping me out today."

"Of course," he said pleasantly, before his lips dropped into a slight frown. "What made you leave so quickly yesterday? I would have walked you home."

"Oh, well," she blinked, "I, uh, didn't want to get in the way of you making a new friend."

"You weren't in the way."

She shrugged. "Shall we get going? Lead the way."

His gaze bore into her for another second, before his smile returned and he nodded. "Follow me," he beckoned, leading them out of the square. As they walked, he pointed out various landmarks and points of interest, which Ana took in eagerly. Since she hadn't gone with Sarra that time she had accidently discovered the Mutos' Game Shop, this was her first time really exploring the city. Atem was being a very thorough guide, telling her little tidbits about the places they passed. He would also share some stories of the antics he and his friends had gotten into across the city.

"And that's where the Battle City tournament was first announced," he remarked, gesturing to the city square.

She nodded thoughtfully, before letting her brow furrow in confusion. "Atem, how long were you in Egypt?"

He blinked, looking a little hesitant. "For a couple years, but I came back for vacations. The Battle City tournament happened to be during one of my breaks."

"But you didn't compete."

"Er, no," he averted his gaze away from her, "But Yugi and Joey were, so I came to support them."

She nodded. "It sounds like you kept in close contact with your friends while you were away."

"Uh, yes."

By that point, they had started walking down smaller, less popular streets, with fewer people around. "How did you find this store in the first place?" she asked, looking at all the non-descript building facades.

"I came across it by chance when it was just opening," he explained. "I was impressed with their selection. It's why I brought some of my cards with me." He patted the pouch on his hip.

"Hm, maybe I'll update my deck while we're there, too," she mused, shifting the weight of her tote.

"Was what you're looking for not a card?" Atem flicked his gaze over to her carefully.

"Uh…no, it's…something else. I just want to find out more about that card," she said, pushing the memory of the voice in her dreams aside.

"Hmm," he hummed. Ana wasn't sure if he bought her weak story, but before she could worry about it too much, he said, "We're here."

They opened the door, setting off the chime. There was one other man shopping around, but there didn't appear to be anyone behind the counter, although they could hear some rustling from the back room.

"Let's wait until store worker comes back out," Ana said, "I just wanted to ask him where they got the card, or if someone traded it in."

Atem nodded in agreement. "Then why don't we have a look around."

They took some time to peruse the card selections. Ana found some good magic cards that would complement her deck, but she was admittedly more interested in observing Atem. Since she had never seen him duel she had no idea what his deck was like. Based on the cards he was interested in, he didn't seem to have a particular theme to his deck, though. However, for some reason, Ana just knew he was a strong duelist. It's strange he's never competed, or that no one's heard of him. Being that his twin is the King of Games, and he's a duelist, you would think he'd compete at some point. Especially since it sounds like he was able to make it back in time for the tournaments Yugi was in.

They each settled on a pack they were willing to trade for and approached the counter. An older man was now behind the register, looking like he was doing some inventory. He looked up. "You folks ready to make a trade?"

They made the appropriate exchange, after which Ana made her request. "Um, before we go, I was hoping you could help me out with something. Would you be able to find out where this store got this card?" She held up the Light of the Goddess card.

The man scrutinized it. "Hmm, let's see what I can pull up." He entered the card name into the computer. "That's funny. Are you sure you got that card from here? Because we don't have any record of ever having it in stock."

Atem furrowed his brow. "That can't be right. I was sure I got that card when I traded for Lightforce Sword. About half a year ago? Right before KaibaCorp's Battle City Tournament."

The employee nodded. "That would have been when we first opened. But even then we kept meticulous records." He continued tapping away at the keys, "I'm sorry but I don't see it. In fact, I've never even heard of this card, I'll admit. And I've been in this business for a while."

Ana frowned. That was odd, she herself had seen this card in a well-known Duel Monsters magazine.

Suddenly the man's jaw dropped. "Wait, it says here that there's only one copy of Light of the Goddess in existence. You definitely didn't get that card from here. I would have known if we had something like that in stock."

"The only one in existence?" Ana exclaimed, her eyebrows shooting up. She turned to Atem, about to say 'You gave away a card like this?', but she could tell he was just as surprised.

"Are you sure about that?" he asked, "I also would have known if I had something like that in my possession."

The store worker nodded. "We get our card database straight from Pegasus's own company, Industrial Illusions. It's funny though – for such a rare card it hasn't received much publicity. A card like this would usually be given away at a special event or as a prize."

"But I first found out about this card in a magazine," Ana insisted, "It's received plenty of publicity." She whipped out her phone, pulling up her internet browser. Typing in the name of the card, her search came up with nothing. She even went to the website of the magazine she had seen the card in. Nothing.

"Ana?" Atem's voice gently called to her.

"That's so weird," she mumbled, "I was so sure…"

He hesitantly put a hand on her shoulder. "I was, too. I'm sorry, Ana."

She looked up. "Don't be. It looks like both of our memories were mistaken."

His gaze became deeply contemplative. "Yes, it appears that way…" They thanked the employee and left the store, both still processing what they had found out.

Back outside, Ana stared at the Light of the Goddess card for a long moment, before reluctantly holding it out to him. "Did you want this back? I'd understand if you did, now that you know how rare it is."

He shook his head and smiled. "It's yours, now," he insisted, "I'm not one to take back gifts."

She smiled back and held the card to her chest, relieved. She would have given it back if he'd wanted, but she was already feeling attached to the card. Not because of its newfound rarity, but because of what it had come to mean to her. And just like her dreams, there appeared to be more to this card than she originally realized.

They started walking again, and Ana tucked both the Light of the Goddess and the new cards she'd just obtained with her deck in her tote.

"It's about lunch time," Atem noted, "Would you like to get some food?"

Ana smiled. "Sure, that sounds great. Do you have a place in mind?"

"I think so. Let's go back to the square," he replied, leading the way again. "So, what are you going to do about your search now?"

"Hm, I'm not sure," she pondered, tapping her chin. "You really can't think of another place you might have gotten it?"

He shook his head. "No, I'm sorry. It's strange, it's not even that I feel like I can't remember. I was so certain that it was from that store. In fact, the memory still seems so clear to me."

"I know exactly what you mean," Ana sighed, "I really had thought I'd seen it in a magazine. But I couldn't find record of that online, and now that I'm thinking about it, if a card like that had been in a magazine there definitely would have been more information and hype about it. It's hard to argue with the facts, but the memory is clear to me, too, and I can't think of any other way I would have found out about i— Ah!" she grunted as someone roughly bumped past her shoulder.

To her horror, she felt her tote being pulled off. "Hey!" she shouted as the perpetrator shot off before she could properly react. He was running away with her bag! Quickly, she began to pursue.

"Ana!" Atem called after her, but she ignored him.

I've got to catch this guy!

A/N: There we go! Another chapter. And did I just use the standard trope of lumping the female and male leads together as class reps for a school festival? Yes, yes I did.

If you haven't realized it already, although I'm going off the English version of the anime mostly, I still set Domino City in Japan. It just made sense to me – they wore classic Japanese school uniforms for most of the show, and it's hard to pass that off as American. In my head, though, there's a mix of Japanese and American names because this is slightly in the future and there's been a lot more international culture mixing. (Obviously, this is so far from reality it's not even funny. But hey, my story).

Because of this, I'm using some standard Japanese school traditions. Including a school festival. From what I know, each class picks an activity to do, and it's a chance to showcase the school and make a little money. Common things that are done are haunted houses, café's, etc. Now I'm getting all this information second hand, so if you are more familiar with this kind of thing, please let me know.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! Please drop your thoughts in a review!