Marik glared at the jackal plushie on Yugi's bed.

"Yugi...why do you have a jackal plushie on the bed?"

"You mean Anubis?" he said cheekily. Marik glared at him darkly. "Well I would have gotten a real one, but I would have to get an actual house so..."

"Yugi..." he growled.

"Pegasus did offer to help me get a permit to own one, but I declined," said Yugi.

Pegasus had gone from "former enemy" to "eccentric rich uncle" by this point.

To make matters worse (in Marik's opinion) the jackal plushie looked rather similar to the form he had taken during the accident.

"...You told Isis about what happened."

"I did. I also sent pictures and video," said Yugi grinning like a fox.

"You utter bastard."

His grin grew wider as he said in a sing-song voice...

"You certainly didn't say that the last time we went drinking and I..."

Marik lunged at him, mostly to shut him up, his face red as a tomato.

"Gods, I can't wait for that damn dragon to realize she likes you enough to make it official," complained Marik.

"Said the guy who is still trying to talk Ryou into your pants."

Marik snorted.

"I'm fairly certain Bakura has been giving him all sorts of 'ideas', because his face was rather flushed."

"...We are so going clubbing next weekend," said Yugi.

Marik perked up at that. It had been weird, being closer to Yugi than his original friends, but he had gotten used to it a long time ago. Yugi was rather adamant of keeping them in the loop, but not to the point they were dragged into danger like last time. He'd rather have competent people around him when he was in trouble, and leave the others as emotional support.

Jounouchi would likely get dragged into it, but Yugi had already gotten him into self-defense classes, so he would at least be able to defend himself properly.

Yugi love being old enough to actually enjoy clubbing. And that he was financially stable enough to properly enjoy it.

Odion usually came with them and often acted as the designated driver. He didn't particularly like drinking, but he was game enough to go to make sure Marik didn't get into trouble.

It had happened once. Never again...paying off the bail was a pain and a half because they then had to explain to his sister what happened and deal with the elders bitching them both out.

At the club...

Anzu was out clubbing with her girlfriends when one of them mentioned a 'hottie' over by the bar.

It took exactly five seconds for her to register who they were talking about and gape.

"Yugi?!"

"Oh, hey Anzu," said Yugi waving.

"I didn't know you went clubbing too," said Anzu.

"Anzu, you know this hottie and his friends?" said Michi.

Yugi waved, a wicked gleam in his eyes.

Anzu was mortified, as she had always seen Yugi was more of a little brother than date material.

Anzu felt like sinking into the floor realizing the guy she used to treat like a little brother was a total charmer...he had her friends eating out of his hands, and it was only the fact he was there with Marik (who kept making subtle signals he was with Yugi) that kept them from sharing their numbers.

She had never been happier to leave a club than she was at that point. The moment she saw Yugi she slightly glared at him.

"Does your grandpa know you are out clubbing?"

"Grandpa sat me down after I brought Marik in and flat out told me he doesn't want to know so long as he doesn't have to come to court," said Yugi.

More like he stated flatly that Yugi was practically a grown man at this point and that he expected his grandson to exercise some form of responsibility and that he had better not have to visit Yugi in jail for doing something stupid that could be later pinned on him or could be used against the family. Mostly because he knew Yugi was a young man who had enough money to get into some major trouble without meaning to, and he wanted to let his grandson know he was there for him if he really needed it. That being said, he didn't want to know what Yugi was up to in that apartment of his unless he genuinely thought Yugi was into serious trouble...like drugs or worse.

Yugi came over regularly for dinner since he didn't feel like cooking some nights, so they were kept well appraised of how he was doing.

Anzu still had to deal with the other girls gushing about what a hottie Yugi was and how it was a shame he was apparently gay. Anzu really didn't want to hear too much more about it, so she kept her silence about him actually being bi.

Mashiro was upset about Marik and the fact he was obviously involved with Muto in some way.

That is until she finally confronted him about it.

Yugi sighed.

"Marik's clan is very traditional...as in coming out would end up with him being thrown out, no exceptions. He's skating on the issue by acting as a bodyguard, but we're not in a relationship or anything. More of a...mutual understanding of sorts."

She didn't need a genius IQ to read between the lines of that.

"Basically his situation is very similar to the one you had with your...father...and why you're still hesitant about showing your actual gender."

He could see her thinking that one over, and coming to her own conclusion.

"So...you're not dating?"

"I'm one of the few people who understands his full situation, won't judge his preferences or habits, and someone he knows is 'safe' to mess around with that won't hurt him," explained Yugi patiently. "He likes someone else, but they haven't quite come around to the idea just yet. He knows if I did get an official boyfriend or girlfriend he won't be able to get away with half of it."

That seemed to satisfy Mashiro. They weren't dating, which was all she cared about.

"How hasn't he been outed yet?"

Yugi winced.

"One, he avoids them whenever he can save for when he visits his sister Isis. She is partially aware of his preferences, but so long as he's not too public about it she keeps quiet," said Yugi. "It doesn't hurt that he spends most of his time around me in general, so any behavior is likely being seen as keeping the parasites from attaching themselves to me. After all, it's rather hard to get anywhere if the person in question appears to have someone."

Which was the excuse Marik had used before and Isis had politely kept up with the clan elders. It was a flimsy lie, but so long as appearances were kept and he didn't shame the clan they kept their mouths shut. Add in the fact he was so much happier around Yugi than he was around the clan, and she was more than happy to look the other way.

"What the other reason?" asked Mashiro.

"His clan is so traditional they view mental conditions as shameful and to be hidden, rather than treated. His brother has been helping him acquire the medications necessary. Since he lives with me he can get the treatment and therapy directly without having to hide it."

Which was all the information he was willing to divulge. He had been the one to push for Marik to at least try therapy, and after trying the medications for a week, he decided Yugi was right and never looked back.

Coincidentally it was because of this that the second Marik realized that yes, he had apparently been dumped in his younger self, that he was not going to suffer a second time and sweet-talked Odion into helping him.

Sure it meant having to find a shady therapist willing to let him attend sessions without adult consent, but so long as he was getting his proper medications he could care less.

Mashiro looked at Yugi, then seemed to come to a decision. What she said next threw him for a moment.

"Muto, be dressed formally for Friday for around six in the evening," she told him before leaving.

It took Yugi a second to realize she was staking her claim on him and that she was being possessive in her own domineering way. Clearly she didn't like the fact Marik was encroaching on the only male she had deemed worth her time, and wanted him to back off a bit.

Friday

Yugi had to admit, she cleaned up good when she put her mind to it. They had a nice dinner date, a fun duel after, and at the end of it Yugi had a nice, long cold shower. Did not help that Yami had the ability to share images of what she could look like in an Egyptian outfit that did not leave much for the imagination.

He still kicked his older brother in the shin for that one.

He did not expect Mashiro to stop using her usual methods of hiding her still developing chest. It didn't take long for the media and the duelist community to notice the change and the news to spread faster than a wildfire.

Yugi sat back and enjoyed the chaos, as wild speculation of "Seto Kaiba" having a sex change or what was going on ran rampant. He made sure to record as much as he could for teasing material later.

It took all of a month and the soon very public image of Mashiro Kaiba going into a pharmacy and openly buying feminine products and Midol for people to slowly start realizing that one of the world's top duelists was actually a woman.

It got even more heated when their next date was in a rather public spot and she made a point to duel him. As usual, Yugi kept the god cards locked up in a safety deposit under a pseudonym because he wasn't a complete idiot.

On the plus side, Mashiro came out a lot sooner about her gender than she had the first time.

If someone was to look into the warehouse, they might be tempted to call the cops immediately, because it looked like a fight to the death.

They would be half right. Yugi had learned a long time ago that the best way to learn how to fight for your life was to actually do it against opponents that knew what they were doing.

Bakura was all for cutting up the other teen in the name of a good fight, and Marik enjoyed it for similar reasons...except it was less for spite and more to get the blood pumping.

Firearms were not permitted in this fights, only old school weapons like knives, staffs, and the odd sword. Oh, and the odd martial arts, but that was to be expected and Yugi was pretty happy that his self-training was enough to keep him from ending up in the hospital with a broken rib.