An AU fic that begins with Atem, Yugi, and crew meeting Mana.
Main Characters[]
Atem and Mana in HSA.
Atem - A junior at Domino High and Yugi's older sister. When she was two, she shoved cake into his and Yugi's face as well as his parents'. He meets Mana who recently transferred to the school and she becomes his girlfriend. After the death of Mana's mom, Mana stayed at their house until her brother, Mahad, arrived and only several days later did Atem realize how emotionally wounded she was from her mom's death and offered what comfort he could. Upon a surprise meeting with Kisara's father, Aknadin, he learned that his father's life's work was turned into some big joke after his death. A technological incident accidentally switched his mind with Yugi's and it turned out that he was actually quite jealous when it came to the way Mana treated Yugi (not realizing their minds had been switched since they had both decided not to tell anyone). After their minds were switched back to the correct bodies, Mana kissed Atem on the cheek to make him feel better (because Yugi as Atem had a horrible day the previous day). Atem then realized how strong his feelings for Mana were when he stood up for their relationship while Mahad was grilling him. He also nearly lost Mana when her father, Daiki tried to force Mana to move to his house with him, but Atem, Mahad, and Kaiba worked together to figure out what Daiki was doing and discovered that Daiki was merely interested in the money Mana inherited from her mother, so Mana got to stay, and she and Atem had their first kiss. When Atem was six, his father gave him a copy of his favorite card, the Winged Sage Falcos. He brought the card with him when Kaiba invited him and Yugi to go to the newly re-excavated site in Egypt as a way to feel that his father was with him. While exploring the tomb that his father died in, Atem not only proved his father right, but he had to save Mana from Malik, the evil twin of his friend Marik, with a duel. This duel also gained him three legendary cards called the Egyptian God Cards. Malik then showed them a way out of the tomb as part of their bargain, and when Kaiba was nearly broken during a duel with one of the Big 5 to free his brother, who was left on top and kidnapped by them, Atem encouraged Kaiba, and he won. After returning home, Atem learned that the Ishtars believe that he's the reincarnation of an Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh, and he's destined to fight the reincarnation of his past life's worst enemy, the King of Thieves. He also recently dealt with his mother becoming overly protective of him and Yugi due to a fear of drifting apart and a conveniently placed book commercial. This led to Atem having to deal with rules of filling out a board to let his mother where they are, and it got worse when Mrs. Moto made a rule of everyone having meals in their PJs. Atem looked over the book and realized it was simply designed to make people buy it, so he confronted his mother with Yugi, and they convinced her to go back to her normal way of life, while promising to spend an hour a day with her.
Mana - A transfer student, also a junior, and living with her mom. When she was five, she spent a whole month in a Dark Magician Girl outfit. She finds friends in Atem and the others. She was so devastated by her mom's death from the car crash that she started having nightmares about Atem dying in a similar way and only after some comfort on his part did they cease to trouble her mind. The first day that Yugi's and Atem's minds were switched, she glomped Yugi, deciding that would be her new morning greeting. While Yugi was going through hell at school because of the mind switch, she unwittingly revealed to Yugi that she had good evidence that Tea did like him as more than a friend. After they were back in normal bodies, she kissed Atem on the cheek to make him feel better about the start of the new day. She can be very authoritative when she has to be, like forcing Atem into a completely different set of clothes for dinner with Mahad. She can also be very cunning when she was able to help Mahad get rid of a crazy ex-girlfriend for having her arrested. When she was two and a half, her father abandoned her family, and she was devastated, spending months crying for him to come back. When he does just after Mana's junior year, Mana is ecstatic and introduces him to everybody, but her happiness turns into dread when Daiki says that he's having her move away to his house with him, but Atem, Mahad, and Kaiba manage to figure out that Daiki is trying to get control of Mana's money, and she talks Daiki down and says that she never wants to see him again, she then kisses Atem before they head off to see The Little Mermaid for free, courtesy of Mai. Mana got to go to Egypt with Atem and the others since her brother and her boyfriend were going. She was captured by Malik, and this provoked Atem to duel Malik to save her, and Atem managed to win.
Yugi and Tea on one of their many walks to school.
Yugi - A sophomore and just barely surviving freshman year, Yugi is still trying to overcome the bullying he sustained his first year. He's also not-so-secretly in love with Tea, although she's the only one who doesn't see that. Yugi learns from Mana that there's a strong possibility that Tea may like him and that same night, before going to bed, Yugi vaguely hints to Atem that he feels overshadowed by him and that no matter what he does, Atem would always one up him. Yugi recently saved Tea from a perverted class mate. He then saved Tea again from a bomber who had Yugi play a game called "Clock Solitaire". Afterwords, Tea kissed Yugi, and they became a couple... Finally. Yugi went with his brother to Egypt, and didn't do that much. When Mrs. Moto became over-protective of Yugi and Atem, it caused Yugi to vent to Marik and Mokuba how he feels that he always needs someone to help him, including Tea. He ended up promising to spend an hour a day with his mother after he and Atem convinced her to return to normal.
Tea - Yugi's and Atem's friend from childhood and currently a sophomore. Before the story begins, she had just gotten over her crush on Atem but is still almost completely oblivious to Yugi. However, according to Mana, it appears that she's slowly developing feelings for Yugi (or realizing that she has them). When Tea was drugged by a rival classmate, Yugi saved Tea, and Tea began to wonder if Yugi's the man for her. Tea was then saved by Yugi again when she was held captive by the card bomber, and she was able to come to terms with her emotions, and she and Yugi became a couple. Tea snuck to Egypt with Tristan and Mokuba as she didn't want to be away from him... Forgetting to tell her parents that she was doing that. Shortly after coming home, Tea advised Mai about making a choice between Valon and Joey.
Joey when he got ready to go to Egypt... Ala Sam Gamgee.
Joey - The big tough guy as always, Joey is also a sophomore, and keeps trying to convince Yugi to make the first move with Tea. But more often than not, the subject always switches to his own inability to confess to Mai. His favorite hobbies involve card games, picking on Atem and/or Yugi, and annoying Kaiba. He's also talked to Mai again when he and the others went to the park. Joey got to come to Egypt mostly because Kaiba hoped Joey would get hopelessly lost in the tomb, and at least he'd get freaked out by the mummies in the museum, which he was. Joey later helped Mai reconnect with her estranged father. Only a week later, Joey met an Australian named Valon who turned out to know Mai from college, and eventually, the two got into a fight before Mai knocked both of them down and chose neither of them. Joey then apologized to Valon and parted as friends.
Kaiba got a call from Atem while at the business meeting
Kaiba - Still a stuck-up, arrogant jerk with only a soft spot for Mokuba; he too is a junior and is in the same first class as Atem much to his dislike. They shared lunch once in elementary school and Kaiba hates that "the geek squad" considers him as their friend. He hates annoying, clingy, hyperactive, crazy people and yet, ironically, his first girlfriend is Kisara, a girl who has every quality that he hates, or at least Kisara pretends to be like that. After hearing how Atem's father died, Kaiba was inspired to pick up where he left off. Something in his virtual world technology went haywire to such a point that not only were Yugi's and Atem's minds switched but his and Mokuba's as well. While Mokuba goes to his school to fill in for him, he works on fixing the problem from his mansion where he receives news from Mokuba that the error in the virtual system was intentional and that it seems there's somebody who's trying to overthrow him. After finishing the plans to get the virtual reality system fixed and switch all minds to the correct bodies, and handing them to Mokuba, he discovers, through a short conversation with Kisara, that she's not the hyped-up girl that she appeared to be but was actually rather shy and quiet. He made a vow to do everything in his power to get her to show her true personality more often. His life was also recently saved by Kisara when she pushed him out of the way when a light was about to fall on him, and she damaged her ankle in the process. Kaiba returned the favor when he made sure Kisara got back to the limo first before going off to see who had ruined his date. Kaiba also helped Mahad and Atem figure out why Daiki wanted to take Mana to live with him when he went over the will and pointed out that whoever Mana's legal guardian is, her half of her mother's money will be controlled by him or her. He also shows Mahad that the will also says that Mana's supposed to be taken care of in the most convenient way possible. When Kisara got scared of the thunder, Kaiba let her sleep in his room where he got her to show her true side and they almost kissed before he passed out. When he went to Egypt, he left Mokuba, who sneaked on, on the surface in case something went wrong again at the excavation. He then heard that the Ishtars believe that Kaiba is the reincarnation of a High Priest in the Nameless Pharaoh's court, and his successor, believing that it's a bunch of crap. He then ended up having to duel his assistant Lector of the Big 5 when they kidnap Mokuba. Kaiba is nearly broken as Lector reveals how Kaiba took over KaibaCorp, by manipulating Mokuba into going to their step-father, Gozaburo, to take over KaibaCorp. After some encouragement from Atem, Kaiba won the duel and asked Mokuba's forgiveness, which he got.
Supporting/Minor Characters[]
Good old Tristan.
Tristan - Doesn't really make that many appearances yet. He's a sophomore and is friends with Yugi, Atem, Joey, Tea, and by extension, Mana. He's usually the one who stops Joey from trying to punch Kaiba in the nose. He's also fairly tough as several people beat him up when Tea "confused" him for a masher, and he didn't get anything worse than a few bruises. He now has a love interest named Miho and is willing to do whatever it takes to win her love since he doesn't want to be the only single guy left. He snuck onto Kaiba's ship with Tea and Mokuba as he wanted to help out where he could, but all he ended up with was a sleepless night with an oral sneak peak into Joey's dream world. (Brr...)
Mai says hello to Joey.
Mai - A 19-year-old woman just out of high school and working at the local theater. She had helped Mana get to school when she had wandered in, asking someone for directions to get there since she was hopelessly lost. She's also Joey's love interest. She and Joey ran into each other at the carnival one day, and they had a good time until they found out that there was a bomb there. She stayed home from the Egypt trip as she couldn't get off of work. When she was three, her father left her after not being able to take it anymore. Mai's mother made a cover story that he was shot down as he helped with the Gulf War. He came back shortly after the gang returned from Egypt and told her the truth, and Joey helped Mai reconcile with him. When Mai's friend from college, Valon, arrived, and Mai noticed the two competing for her affections. Liking the attention, she kept them going for two weeks until a talk with Tea. Mai then went to talk to them and found them fighting. She then knocked both of them down and decidely picked neither of them at the moment.
Kisara in Egypt.
Kisara - A hyperactive girl bordering on insanely crazy lived in China and first met Kaiba when he and her father were discussing a business deal. She's so smitten by him that she actually followed Kaiba to Japan and became a student at his school, self-declaring herself to be his girlfriend. She loves her father very much, and she also loves dragons and ice skating. Though unaware, she shows Kaiba through a light conversation with him (as Mokuba) that she is actually more shy and reserved but puts on an excitable demeanor to make people like her more. She recently broke her ankle when she saved Kaiba from a falling light fixture. Kaiba returned the favor when he made sure Kisara and Mokuba were save in his limo first before going off to find out what was going on. Kisara slept in Kaiba's room to get away from the thunder and she showed her shy side to him and promised to try and be herself after Kaiba passed out from his insomnia. She went with Kaiba as her father was already there. She was shocked when she learned from Lector how Kaiba took over KaibaCorp, but she forgave him.
Aknadin after he lost his eye.
Aknadin - Kisara's father. He thinks so highly of Kaiba that he allowed his daughter to live in the Kaiba mansion. He used to be good friends with Atem and Yugi's father, Aknam. He lost his left eye in the cave-in that killed Aknam. He also did an accidental split once while skating with his daughter several years ago. He and Kaiba have been working on re-excavating the site where Aknam died, and Kaiba and the others will be able to arrive in a week. When they arrived, Aknam was proven right, and he witnessed both Atem's duel with Malik and Kaiba's duel with Lector.
Mokuba is captured.
Mokuba - Kaiba's younger brother and the only person who doesn't think Kaiba is a total jerk (besides Kisara). He's the only one in the world that Kaiba shows that he cares for. Kisara cares for him too, and she's the only one that she opens up to in Japan. Before he and Seto switched minds on accident, he was the only one who knew what Kisara was really like. He snuck onto Kaiba's plane with Tea and Tristan, and he stayed ont he surface per Kaiba's instructions to keep him safe. This proved faulty as Mokuba was kidnapped by the Big 5, and he heard about how Kaiba took over KaibaCorp by manipulating Mokuba, but he was willing to forgive Kaiba after he apologized for it when he beat Lector in a duel.
Gozaburo after Kaiba takes control.
Gozaburo - Kaiba and Mokuba's step-father. He lost KaibaCorp when, during a takeover attempt, Kaiba drove Mokuba to Gozaburo, but Mokuba still proved loyal to Seto and used the two percent he had to give Kaiba 51 percent of the company, and Gozaburo disappeared... Some say he killed himself.
The Big 5 - KaibaCorp's former board of executives. They allied with Kaiba to take KaibaCorp from Gozaburo, but Kaiba's transformation of the place into a gaming company. They tried to force control by rigging Kaiba's Virtual World, but Kaiba easily foiled the plan, and they then hired Malik to kill Kaiba, but that plan failed, and when a member named Lector tried to duel Kaiba, and emotionally tortue Kaiba, Kaiba won in both fields, the emotional one thanks to Atem and Mokuba, and he then fired them.
Mahad when he dressed up as Dark Magician.
Mahad - Mana's older brother. He moves to Domino after his and Mana's mom was killed in a car accident and he now takes care of his little sister. He's very overprotective and not real comfortable with the idea of Atem dating his sister, but he accepts it along with the fact that she's no longer a little girl and that he needs to let her grow sometime. When Ishizu came to work at the Domino Museum, Mana teases Mahad about being in love with Ishizu, to which he flatly denies it, even though he's not convincing anybody. He also dated one of Mana's teachers, Ms. Chono, once, but he broke up with her when he found out she was crazy. After getting rid of her, with help from Mana and the Japanese government, Ishizu came to console Mahad, and they ended up kissing. His and Mana's father left them when he was only eleven and a half and it was when he tried to stop him from leaving that he learned how Daiki really felt about him. When Mahad's father left the second time, he had to use most of his time helping make Mana, who took it the worst, feel better.
Malik as he duels Atem.
Malik - An assassin hired by the Big 5 to kill Kaiba while he and the gang's in Egypt. He's Marik's older twin brother, and he considers himself betrayed by his family since his father ordered one of the twins to be killed, and Odion used the fact that they both looked perfectly alike to save the smiling twin, Marik. Malik was given to a woman named Grace to kill, but she couldn't and hid him. When Malik heard about his birth, he murdered Grace and then went on to murder his father, getting his fill in doing so. He then grew up to become an assassin and gained the Egyptian God Card, the Winged Dragon of Ra. He used a bomb to cause a cave in while Atem, Kaiba, and the gang were in there, and Malik became lustful for Mana, and she ran from him until he caught up with her, and just as he was about to have his way with her, Atem and the others came, and Atem challenged Malik to a duel; the stakes: If Atem won, Malik would lead them out of the tunnels back to the surface but if Malik won, he would get Mana and kill Atem. Malik repeatedly used his God Card and Ra's special ability, but Atem used his own God Cards and Ragnorok to survive and destroy Ra for good. When Malik was defeated, he gave Ra to Atem, claiming he had stronger cards at his disposal.
Ishizu reunites with Mahad.
Ishizu - A friend of Mahad's from Egypt. Ishizu moved to Domino after getting a job at the museum Mahad worked at. She was only four when Marik and Malik were born. When Marik was eleven, he convinced Ishizu to let him go to the outside with her, and they returned to find they had been found out and was just in time to witness Malik kill her father. She brought her step-brother, Odion, and her younger brother, Marik. She tried to console Mahad after his first girlfriend was a crazy person, and they ended up kissing.
Marik in the sun.
Marik - Ishizu's younger brother. He and his siblings grew up in a part of Egypt that wasn't very technologically advanced, so he didn't know about several things like amusement parks. He was the younger of two twins, and the only reason he wasn't killed, possibly, was because Odion preferred Marik to his brother, Malik. So Marik was made the heir of the Ishtars, which he hated, and he begged Odion and Ishizu for a chance to see the outside world. Ishizu took him out, and he was fascinated by everything, including motorcycles and TV. They returned when they realized that there was a strong chance that the Pharaoh, who they waited 5,000 years for, had finally been reborn, so they returned home, but they realized that their father had figured out they were gone, and Marik rushed to save his elder brother when he saw Malik talking to Mr. Ishtar. Marik's view of his father's murder was blocked by Odion, and when Malik left, they left for the surface too for a new life. Despite his naivety about technology, his mind still works the way many teenage boys do as he was ogling many of the women at the pool in their bathing suits. He's in the same grade as Yugi and admits that he finds Tea attractive much to Yugi's dislike. When Tea and Yugi became a couple, Marik accepted it and congratulated them. He also recognizes Ishizu and Mahad's mutual crush on each other. He also ends up as the unwilling love interest of Miho.
Odion at the tombs.
Odion - Marik and Ishizu's older step-brother. He was present at Marik and Malik's birth and indirectly chose Marik as the twin that would survive. When Marik longed to see the outside world, Odion agreed. The plan was found out, and Odion was whipped by his master for his insolence. He was only sparred death or worse when Malik arrived. Odion then blocked a returned Marik's view of Mr. Ishtar's murder. Odion got a job at the pier after he, Ishizu, and Marik moved to Japan.
Hank - Hank Ishtar is the father of Marik, Malik, and Ishizu. He and his family have waited 5,000 years for the Pharaoh's return. When Marik and Malik were born, Hank forced his wife to choose one of them, and Odion indirectly chooses for Hank's wife. Over the next eleven years, Hank becomes more secluded until Marik takes a trip to the outside world, and Hank whips Odion as punishment. As it begins to get really bad, Malik appears. After proving that he was the older twin, he killed Hank with a very bloody knife.
Veronica after learning she has to let one of her twin sons die.
Veronica - Veronica is Hank's wife, the mother of Marik, Malik, and Ishizu, and the step-mother of Odion. When she gave birth to Marik and Malik, Hank demanded that she choose which twin would live, and Odion indirectly choose for her. Her body never fully recovered from Marik and Malik's birth, and that, combined with a broken heart over losing one of her children, led to her death a few years after Marik was born.
Mrs. Moto (Ashita) - Yugi and Atem's widowed mother. She is very protective of Yugi and very aggravated with Atem's late night sleeping habits. She was devastated when her husband, Aknam was killed. When Yugi and Atem returned from Egypt, Ashita grew afraid that the two were drifting apart from her, and a TV commercial convinced her to buy a book that made her think she was at fault and do several odd things like make a billboard for the family leaving the house and a "PJs at meals" rule. Atem convinced her that their family was already fine before she did all this, so Mrs. Moto agreed to go back to her old parenting style, and Atem and Yugi promised to spend an hour a day with her.
Grandpa's usual happy self.
Grandpa - Yugi and Atem's paternal grandfather. He used to own the fourth Blue-Eyes White Dragon, but he gave it to Kisara after a duel with Kaiba. He also runs the family game shop where the gang often hangs out before and after school.
Aknamkanon - Called Aknam for short, he's the son of Grandpa, the husband of Mrs. Moto, and the father of Atem and Yugi. When Atem was 6 and Yugi was 5, Aknam went on an excavation trip with his close friend, Aknadin. There, they saw evidence that Duel Monsters began in Ancient Egypt. Shortly after this discovery, there was a cave-in, and Aknam died making sure his friend got out first. After his death, the archeological society laughed at Aknam's findings, and the only legacy he left were his sons, and his favorite card, the Winged Sage Falcos, which he gave to his elder son.
Anru - The mother of Mahad and Mana. Her husband left her when Mana was two and a half. She was very kind and cheerful, but not as energetic, and she was by no means a pushover. She worked to support her family and even brought Mana to work one time. She moved to Domino after the company she worked for transferred her. Shortly afterwords, she was killed in a car crash on her way to lunch.
Miho as vacant as always.
Miho - A girl in Tristan's apartment. She has lived next door him for a while but only recently has he noticed. She could easily pass off as a dumb blond and instead of liking Tristan, she falls for Marik at first sight. She also has toddler-like tendencies as she waved at butterflies after seeing Toy Story 3.
Valon - An Australian who knows Mai from college. He met Joey and once he realized that Joey had a crush on Mai, the same as himself, the two became rivals. Two weeks later, Joey and Valon got into a fight before Mai knocked them both down and decided on neither of them. After this, Valon apologized to Joey, and they parted as friends.