When I wrote the fic Dark Magic Attaque, it was to counter the image of the fluffy-headed DMG. But something didn't feel right. So, instead of scrapping DMA, I wrote a sister-fiction. In To Life, I EMBRACE the air-headed little magician. And I absolutely love her to death this way. I hope you do, too!

Chapter 1: Ai. And the cat.

"I can too do it!"

Akeifa smirked at his young hikari. "Sure you can. And dogs can fly."

"Um, that's pigs can fly," Yugi Motou cut in politely.

"Whatever. He still doesn't have the power."

Bakura scowled and snatched the Millenium Ring. "I do too, and I'll prove it! Yugi, let me see your deck!"

Atemu rubbed his temple, exasperated. "I would expect this sort of thing out of the Tomb Robber, but you, Bakura?"

"I'm tired of him thinking I can't do anything... But... I am sorry. I shouldn't have summoned her."

"It's not you summoning her that I mind, Bakura, it's you loosing her."

"Well, we found her again, isn't that good?"

Atemu turned to look at the 'her' in question. She was sitting quietly now, not chattering rapidly and bouncing up and down like she had been when they'd brought her to the Kame, singing and holding a cat. Kneeling down, Atemu looked into the wide green eyes. A line from one of Yugi's webcomics popped into his head. Fear the cute ones. Somehow, as cute as this one was, he felt a sense of dread at just the thought of her being part of this world... Atemu turned and looked at Bakura.

"May I at least ask why you chose, of all the cards in the deck, the Dark Magician Girl?"

Yugi stepped forward. "Actually, that was my idea."

"Yours. Why?"

"Well... she looks human, for one. People would panic if they saw, say, Gazelle running around the park."

"True."

"And besides, she looks sorta... innocent. Really harmless," Yugi continued. "She's so cute, you know? It was hard to imagine how she could cause any real trouble..."

"But she did."

"Well... yeah..."

Akeifa smirked to himself. It wasn't often that his gentle light, or Yugi, for that matter, was the cause of their problems. The boy was too meek, too mild, too damn boring to do anything interesting without a little goading first. And the look on stupid Atemu's face made the whining he would have to endure quite worth it. He turned and looked at said former Pharaoh, who sat eye to eye with said magician girl. There was a strange look in the female's eyes, as though she was thinking of something important, as though there was really a brain in that fluffy little blonde head...

Nah.

She knew who this was. She knew him. He was the pharaoh. Her pharaoh. But he was speaking a language she didn't understand, and did not seem to understand her when she spoke. It was frustrating, very frustrating. She looked around at all the people. There was Pharaoh, and a boy with white hair, and another boy with white hair, and a little boy, who looked just like Pharaoh. There was an old man, too, whose hair had turned gray, and he was small, like the little boy was small. He kept making exited noises at her. He seemed to like her, so she smiled at him, and it made him more exited. The little pharaoh turned and talked to him, though, and he talked back, and didn't talk to her anymore. That was all right. She couldn't understand him anyway.

She turned at the sound of a door opening. Three more people were walking into the room. There was a girl with short hair, and a boy with funny hair, and a boy with golden hair like hers. Pharaoh stood to greet them. The boy with golden hair came and sat right in front of her, talking excitedly in the language she didn't know. Suddenly he lunged forward, throwing an arm around her shoulder, still talking excitedly.

A moment later, the air was filled with the acrid scent of black magic...

"Joey!" Yugi's eyes went wide. "Are you okay?"

Joey sat up, rubbing his chest. The girl had pressed her hand to him, and... "What was that? That thing attacked me!"

There was a snort from the figure in the corner. "That's because you scared her, idiot. Look."

Joey turned. The girl was gone. But he could just see the tip of one blue boot poking out from under the table. "She's hiding from me?"

Akeifa rolled his eyes. "Yes, you stupid mortal. If a strange being came at you and grabbed you, wouldn't you try to get away?"

"I didn't grab her," Joey muttered.

"Must be how it seemed to her, though," Tristan said, shooting a glare at Joey.

"Oh, shut up."

Tea, meanwhile, had knelt down by the table. She peeked under, and found herself nose-to-nose with the pretty mage. "Hey, there."

The little magician backed away slightly before dropping a few syllables. Tea shook her head. "I'm sorry, I don't know what you're saying. Why don't you come out from there? No one will hurt you, I promise." The girl under the table didn't seem to understand, so Tea slowly held out her hand. "It's okay. I'm your friend. You can trust me."

Something in Tea's voice seemed to get through to the little mage, because she reached out, timidly taking the outstretched hand. Tea smiled, guiding her out from her hiding place. "That's right. It's okay. You're safe here. I promise."

Solomon Motou had been listening to Bakura's story of how they had almost lost this magnificent little creature when the attack on Joey brought his attention back to the magician herself. He watched Tea coax the childish-looking Duel Monster out from under the table in much the way you would lure out a cat, such as the one that had mysteriously appeared in his favorite chair. It was then that it occurred to him that she was a little like a wild animal in a cage; she was scared, confused, frightened. He walked over and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. Wide eyes turned up to him, and he saw the instinct to flee come and go. Yes, much like an animal, but at the same time very, very human. He sat and looked at her. "You know, that language. I think it's Egyptian."

"Egyptian, Gramps?"

"Yes. Egyptian, but a very ancient form of Egyptian. And if that proves to be the case, I just might have a friend who could understand her. But first, a test." Solomon thought a moment, then started speaking slowly and carefully. After a moment, he stopped talking and nodded to the girl. She stared, and then began to speak as though picking up where he left off. Solomon smiled at her and ruffled her hair. She seemed to like it, and leaned her head against his hand. "I thought as much."

"Yo, Gramps, what did you say to her?"

"I happen to know a few lines from the Book of the Dead, or Coming Forth By Day, as she would know it. I tried a few phrases, and sure enough she picked right up on it." He chuckled. "She's a smart little thing."

"She's not really a thing," Tea cut in. "Look at her. She's a human being. We need to stop calling her a thing."

"Does she have a name? Something the other cards call her? We need to find out," Yugi said.

Akeifa moved then. He sauntered over and looked down at the magician. After a moment, he began speaking rapidly. The girl, eyes widening, replied just as effortlessly. To Solomon's surprise, they spoke back and forth for a moment before the former tomb robber said simply, "No name." Solomon looked up at him, impressed. "Well done!"

"It's my native language, what do you expect."

Bakura looked at him doubtfully. "So you've known what she was saying this whole time?" Akeifa grunted a reply. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"You never asked," Akeifa said simply.

It was good to know she could understand someone, that someone could understand her. The old man's speech had been flawed, but this one spoke perfectly. He was also able to keep up with her speech flow. Somehow, language sounded faster when you didn't understand it.

She looked up at the white-haired boy who could speak so well, and chanced a smile at him.

"She's so cute!" Tea squealed as the magician smiled at Akeifa. "Oh, Yugi, you're going to keep her, aren't you?"

"Um..."

"I even know the perfect name for her! If she likes it, anyway!"

Atemu looked over at Tea. "Oh?"

"Yes! We can call her Ai! Akeifa, ask her if she likes it! Please!"

Scowling, Akeifa looked at the teenager a moment before speaking to the mage in the same dialect he had used before. The girl looked thoughtful a minute before answering back an obvious question, to which Akeifa said one word alone.

The little Duel Monster's eyes lit up, and she clapped her hands happily. Tea beamed. "I think that's a yes."

Solomon nodded, amused. "Ai it is then, and welcome to the family."

Ai. The boy had said they wanted to call her that. It meant love, he said. She liked that. Love. Love was good, although she didn't know much about it personally. She looked around at all of them. They were talking amongst themselves again, and the one who spoke was standing to the side. There was a window beside him, and the sky outside was black. It suddenly occurred to her that she was very tired. First, she had been pulled from her own world and dumped here. Then she'd seen the cat. She liked cats. She had gone after it. She'd caught the cat, but she'd also gotten lost, and it was a very long time before the white-haired boys and the little pharaoh had found her and the cat. And then she'd been brought here, and there were all these people. She needed a nap. Like the cat. The cat was asleep on a chair. It was curled up. It looked comfortable. Pulling off her boots, she curled up against the girl with brown hair, who looked down at her, startled. She looked up at the girl. "I am tired. I wish to sleep." The girl shook her head, repeating words she had said earlier, and she frowned. "I need to sleep. Where may I sleep?" The girl shook her head again, and she sighed. Turning, she tugged on the old man's sleeve. "Please, I want to sleep now. I am very tired." He studied her a moment before he, too, shook his head. Frustrated, she turned to the white-hair in the corner. "Why do they not understand me?"

The white-hair looked at her. "They do not understand you because they do not speak our language."

"How do I tell them I wish to sleep?"

He raised an eyebrow. "You sleep?"

"Yes, who does not?"

He just shook his head, and began speaking to the others in the strange tongue that Ai did not know.

Half an hour later, the gang had left. Yugi stood arranging blankets for the little mage Ai to sleep on. It was decided that she would stay in the living room for now, but the couch was too narrow, so they were making a bed on the floor while she watched. When they finished, Atemu smiled and nodded, and Ai took it as a cue to lie down. She smiled up at them sleepily, murmured what Yugi assumed was a "good night" of sorts, and closed her eyes. The sleek gray cat, waking, hopped off its chair and curled up beside the girl. Without opening her eyes, she hugged it close, and fell asleep.

Studying her resting, Yugi realized that Ai looked a lot older than they had thought. When she was awake, she moved so much and talked so childishly that they had all assumed she was fairly young. But when she slept, it was easy to see that she was at least their age, if not older. At the same time, she was so delicate, so pure, that she seemed to have this ageless quality that puzzled him. He looked up to see Atemu studying her in much the same way. "So," he ventured, "Can we keep her?"

"She's not a pet, Yugi."

"I know... But can we anyway?"

"Yugi..."

"Well, then, can we at least keep the cat?"

Atemu just turned to look at him, exasperated, before going in to bed.

Before he went to sleep that night, Solomon Motou placed a long-distance call to America. After an hour, he hung up the phone, satisfied, and went to bed.

The next morning, Yugi woke to the sounds of a small catastrophe and a flushing toilet. Rushing into the bathroom, he found a clawed-up mage and a soaking wet cat. Ai was curled in the corner sniffling while the stray ran in circles around the bathroom, howling. He shook his head, grabbed a towel, and cornered the animal, wrapping it up tight, at which point it seemed to calm down. Then he turned to Ai. Her eyes were wide, her hair was a mess, and her arms were covered in claw marks. "Yami!"

Atemu trudged in, half-asleep, but at the sight of Ai and the cat he stopped short, his eyes wide open. "What in the name of Amun happened here?"

Yugi studied the water around the toilet and the claw-marks on Ai's arms. "I think she tried to give the cat a bath. In the toilet."

"Oh, dear Ra..."

Yugi knelt next to the frightened girl, taking her arm gently to examine it. The scratches weren't deep, so he got a wet washcloth and ran it over the light wounds. Ai stared at him, eyes wide, while he applied bandages to a few of the deeper cuts, all the while gently reassuring her that it was all right, she hadn't done anything wrong, they weren't mad, she would be fine. Finally, he finished, just as Atemu finished drying the cat, which proved to be glossy white instead of gray. Ai looked at the cat and spoke uncertainly. In reply, Atemu sat the animal before her. She reached out to pet the little feline, and it purred. Ai was happy again.

It was just as the two boys finished cleaning the bathroom that Solomon Motou came upstairs, beaming. "We have visitors," he announced. "Yugi, you remember Rebecca and her grandfather? Arthur is going to try and help us with out little friend."

Arthur Hawkins stood in the doorway, his young granddaughter peeking out from behind him. When he saw Ai, he shook his head. "If it was anyone but you, Solomon, I wouldn't have believed it."

Solomon laughed. "I hardly believed it myself! But here she is, big as life!"

"Solomon, this proves my theories! It proves it!"

"I know. That's why I called you."

Ai, meanwhile, had apparently decided that she was bored, and had begun to roam around. Yugi and Atemu found her in the kitchen, pushing buttons on the microwave to make it beep. Yugi frowned. "Ai." She looked up from the microwave, and he led her instead to the television and turned it on. A morning talk show was on, and Yugi managed to get Ai settled watching it while Atemu explained the cat, Ai's scratches, and the fiasco in the bathroom. Arthur laughed, delighted. "She's incredible!"

They were all talking. The old man and Pharaoh and little pharaoh and a girl and a big old man. And while they were talking, they were not paying attention to Ai. So she turned instead to the magic box in front of her. The box had pictures in it. Pictures that made sounds and moved around. She reached forward and pushed a button. The picture changed to birds. She pressed it again. People. A house. Puppies. She watched the puppies a while before getting bored and changing the picture one last time. A horrible monster appeared in the box...

Atemu turned at the sound of the yelp, but was too late to stop the following explosion as the TV was blown up. Ai's coiled staff was still aimed at the screen. He groaned. "Yugi..."

"I didn't know she would blow it up! It's not my fault!"

Rebecca wrinkled her nose. "She's not very intelligent, is she."

Yugi jumped up. "That's not true! She's just confused! She doesn't know anything about our world!"

Atemu was startled by the vivacity with which Yugi defended the young monster. Yugi wasn't usually one to stand up to people so tenaciously. But Yugi stared at Rebecca, unwavering, until the girl looked away. "Sorry."

Ai, meanwhile, had retreated under the table again. She had undoubtedly thought the yelling was meant for her. Atemu watched as Yugi went and sat by the table. "Come on, Ai, it's all right."

Strange, Atemu thought. He seemed so attached to her already.

Ai crept out of hiding and looked at the blown television anxiously. Yugi reached over and caught her chin in his hand, making her look at him. "Listen to me, Ai," he said. "You cannot do that again." Ai babbled a reply. "That is not good. You have to stop." Ai tilted her head to the side. She obviously didn't understand, but Yugi held her chin until she nodded anyway. Yugi smiled, and ruffled her hair. "Good girl."

It seemed nice to Atemu that Yugi should find something he could care for that way. As far as he knew, the boy had never had a pet...

No.

This was not an animal.

This was something altogether different, and could not be kept like a cat or dog. They couldn't cage this creature in, no matter how human or inhuman she was. Atemu sighed. Eventually, they would have to send this girl back to the shadows she came from.

Arthur Hawkins spent that morning talking to Ai. At first, Atemu noted, she was reluctant to talk to him. And then when she did, she did so slowly and deliberately. At first, Atemu was puzzled. And then he realized what was going on. Ai could tell that Arthur had never heard her language spoken properly before. She was trying to make it easier for him to understand by carefully pronouncing each word. Yugi's right, he thought, amused, she is a clever one. And very considerate.

When Tea woke up that morning, the first thing she did was go through her closet. It had occurred to her as she drifted to sleep that, aside from the clothes on her back, Ai had nothing to wear. And the clothes on Ai's back were hardly appropriate, either. And, as it was highly unlikely that Yugi or Atemu would ever think of this, she supposed it was up to her to provide decent clothing for the girl. She sat for a while, assessing her options. Ai was shorter than she was, but her bust was larger, and her waist was very tiny. Finally Tea grabbed some sweatpants and a tee shirt and resigned herself to the fact that Ai would have to be taken shopping. Grabbing her credit card, she steeled herself for the task before her and headed to the Motou home.

When she got there at eleven, she had to ring the bell a full five minutes before anyone answered. It was Atemu, looking frazzled. He mumbled a greeting and stepped aside to let her in. Tea stared at him. "Are you all right?"

"She's destroyed the TV, she's almost flooded the bathroom, she set her hair on fire playing with the toaster, and every time I turn around I seem to step on that cat's tail."

"Oh..." Tea wasn't sure she'd ever seen Atemu look this worn out. Then again, he'd been over-stressing himself ever since he'd obtained a body of his own. Tea assumed it was all catching up to him. "So, where is everyone?"

"Upstairs," Atemu said, leading her through the Kame and up to the house above. Tea understood a bit of why he was so tired when she saw Ai. The little monster-girl was hunched over next to the couch, meowing loudly. Yugi looked up and sent a cheerful "good morning" and a smile at Tea, who replied, "What is she doing?"

"The cat is under there."

"Oh..." Ai pulled back, hugging the cat, and Tea blinked. "I thought it was gray."

"She gave it a bath."

"Oh."

"In the toilet."

Tea just shook her head. "Look, I brought some things for her to wear, and if it's all right, I'd like to take her shopping later today. My stuff won't all fit her, so she needs clothes of her own."

Yugi looked ecstatic. "That's a great idea! Why don't we all go, though? She might be a little much for one person to handle alone."

"That's what I was just thinking," Tea said, looking around. The house was in shambles. Ai's bedding was strewn about, the television had been blown up for sure, and Atemu seemed so tired that Tea got the feeling he'd been the only one trying to keep the over-active creature in line. She looked around, having lost track of Ai, only to find the girl sitting right at her feet, looking up at her innocently. Tea grinned in spite of herself. "Well, come on," she said, "Let's get going."

She didn't know why they wanted her to put the funny clothes on, but she did anyway. She didn't like them, though. The tall man spoke to her, but all she really understood was clothing. He didn't speak well. She wished the white-hair that could speak were there. But she wasn't sure he liked her anyway.

As they walked, they took turns teaching her their names. Tea was delighted that Ai picked up on hers first. Of course, it was the easiest, after all. It was also the only one she managed to get quite right. Somehow, Ai had a hard time pronouncing the 'Y' at the beginning of Yugi and Atemu's names, so they came out "Oo-gi" and "Ah-mi," which caused much laughter. So they had her try saying "Atemu" instead of "Yami". She got it. Rebecca she shortened to "Becca," which the little girl didn't mind, and Arthur she pronounced "Artur," having a hard time with the 'th' sound for some reason. When she got to Solomon, she jumbled it so badly that the poor thing hid her face in her hands, and refused to speak again for a good while.

When they got to the mall, Tea noted that Yugi promptly warned Ai to stay close. Of course, Ai promptly didn't understand a word he said and went running to look at a window display. Yugi chased after her, while Atemu moaned that this was a mistake. Tea turned to look at him. "Do you really dislike her that much?"

Atemu turned. "No, it's not like that. She's just so clueless. You can't talk to her. You can't explain how to behave. So she does what she wants. If she at least knew how to act, it would be nice having her here. But she doesn't, and it's not."

Tea smiled. "Well, then, it's up for us to teach her."

"It's going to be difficult. She can't understand us."

"That doesn't mean it's impossible, though!"

The ancient spirit sighed. "Tea, simply stated, she doesn't belong here. Sooner or later, we'll have to send her back to where she came from. I'm worried that Yugi will grow too attached to her, because it will make it that much harder for her to go home."

Tea turned to look at Ai. She and Yugi were looking at clothes in a window. "I never thought of that," she said softly. "It just never occurred to me that Ai couldn't stay here."

"It hasn't occurred to Yugi, either. That's why I'm worried."

While Solomon and Arthur headed to the food court to talk, Tea and Rebecca had the time of their lives picking out clothes for Ai. Yugi tried to help to, but most of what he chose didn't want to fit right. Atemu just sulked. So eventually, the two boys were shoed away with the promise to meet in two hours.

Tea turned to Rebecca. "Well, are we ready to get serious about this?"

Rebecca looked past Tea scornfully. "I am, but I don't think she is."

Tea turned. Ai was sitting in the middle of the aisle, playing with shoes. Tea shook her head. "We've got a big job in front of us."

"No, you've got a big job. From here on out, I'm just here to watch."

"Gee, thanks." Tea walked over and helped Ai to her feet. "Come on, now, we're going to find you some nice things to wear."

The next two hours passed slowly for Yugi. He already saw Ai as a dear friend, but he was well aware that she could be... troublesome. The poor, confused little thing. He could picture her getting lost in the big mall, and wandering anxiously about, not understanding what anyone said, not knowing where she was, not having-

"Yugi!"

Yugi looked up. "Yes, Atemu?"

"I said, it's time to meet the girls at the fountain."

"Oh."

The girls were already there when they arrived, and Yugi sighed in relief. Everyone seemed to be in one piece, and Ai looked as normal as anyone did now. They'd dressed the mage in a pretty pink top and little white shorts and tennis shoes with floppy pink socks. Her hair was back in a ponytail and if it weren't for the spots under her eyes, you'd never look at her twice. Well, maybe you would. If you were a boy.

Tea considered the shopping trip a success. They'd found enough new clothes to last Ai the summer, she hadn't maxed out her credit card, nothing had been blown up, and they'd even remembered to pick up supplies for the cat. Soon, Arthur and Solomon returned from places unknown, and the group set off back to the Kame. While they walked, Tea coached Ai in the proper pronunciation of their names a bit more.

"Yugi."

"Yu..."

"Yugi."

"Yu-GI!"

"No, YU-gi."

"Yu-GI!"

"Okay, let's try another one. Yami."

"Yam... mee... Yami?"

"Very good!"

The cat was waiting in the window when they finally reached their destination. Ai ran in to hug it, and it sniffed her suspiciously before hopping into her lap. "Mieu," Ai announced suddenly.

"Mieu?" Tea asked?

Ai nodded and pointed to the cat. "Mieu!"

Arthur stood next to Tea. "You've taught her, Tea. Now she's teaching you."

"What?"

"Mieu is Egyptian for cat."

"Oh... oh!"

Arthur laughed. "I suppose it's her way of saying thank you."

Tea grinned. "Yeah, I guess so."

Ai beamed up at them, knowing somehow that they had understood, before settling down to play with her little feline friend.

That night, Yugi had the strangest dream. He dreamed he was in a world of swirling colors. Ai was standing beside him when suddenly she faded away. He searched and searched for her, but could not find her in the world of shades and hues. When he woke, he was clutching his pillow, drenched with cold sweat. He got up silently and went into the living room. There was Ai, curled up in her blankets, with the beloved cat asleep on her pillow. He sat next to her to watch her for a while, and the cat woke. He looked at it. It blinked wide, blue eyes before settling back to sleep. With a sigh, he turned his attention back to Ai, and to the sudden certainty that somewhere, somehow, someone out there was missing her very much. After all, it hadn't been him Ai was with in the dream. He knew it because when Ai looked at him, she looked up, not down.

When Atemu trudged out of bed the next morning, he was so tired that he made it to the kitchen before hearing the voices.

"Ai... shi..."

"Aishitieru."

"Ai... shi..."

"Ai. Shi. Tie. Ru."

"Ai... shi... tie... ru..."

"Aishitieru."

"Aishitieru!"

"Very good, Ai!"

Atemu shook his head. "Yugi."

"Yes, Yami?"

"Why are you teaching the duel monster to say 'I love you'?"

"Because it's cute."

Atemu sighed and turned on the coffee maker. In the living room, the lesson continued.

"Konnichiwa."

"Kon..."

"Konnichiwa."

"Konnichi... konnichiwa!"

"That's right!" Yugi reached over to ruffle Ai's hair. "Very good, Ai! You're learning well!"

Ai giggled, and Atemu rolled his eyes. "The girl doesn't even know what she's saying. She's only mimicking. She won't learn."

In the living room, Yugi picked up the cat. "Cat."

"Cat?"

"Cat," Yugi said, taking her hand and resting it on the cat's head. "Cat."

"Cat..." Ai stared at the kitty, then pulled it close and hugged it. "Cat!"

Yugi grinned. "See? She can, too learn!"

Atemu swore softly to himself. Ai tilted her head, hearing him from the next room, and repeated the swear. Yugi's eyes widened. "Yami!"

"Told you. She has no idea what she just said."

"That doesn't matter! We still do not teacher her words like that!"

"I wasn't teaching her anything! I said it and she copied me!"

"Then don't say it! You shouldn't say that anyway!"

Ai reached out and tugged on Yugi's sleeve, wide-eyed, and Yugi didn't need a translator to know what she wanted, her eyes said enough. "It's okay, Ai. You didn't do anything wrong. It's Yami's fault." She didn't look re-assured, so he reached over and tousled her hair, and she relaxed. She really likes that, Yugi thought. He sighed. "You know, Yami, I was thinking."

"Yes?"

"School starts in three weeks, and I know Ai can't stay here forever... So why don't we keep her here until the end of vacation? That way, we have enough time to give her some good memories to take back with her."

Atemu smiled to himself. "That's a good idea, Yugi. That's a very good idea."

Now, before this updates, I'm going to post another chapter of Dark Magic Attaque. Read them both and tell me which you like best! Arigato!