AN: For some reason FF was extremely late on updating when I put the last chapter up, so I'm sincerely hoping that this doesn't happen with this chapter too... anyways, I'm probably not going to do anymore M-rated chapters, and I'm considering just editing the last chapter a bit so I can take the rating back down, I just wanted to experiment a bit though... Either way, let's get on with it, shall we?

Chapter 7

Mariah sighed softly and stretched, her back cracking softly as she did so. She felt very relaxed for a change. There was nothing for her to worry about at that moment. Tea wasn't around, Yugi was sleeping peacefully, and the shop was, hopefully, being taken care of. She got out of bed and got dressed for the first time that day, despite the fact that the sun was going down. She got into her favorite jeans and a comfy t-shirt, before she realized, she was still trapped in the room. Her eyes narrowed slightly and she glanced around. Yugi was still asleep, and she had no idea how long he would be out, and if Atem was down in the shop, there was no way he'd hear her from up in Yugi's room. With a shake of her head, she took Yugi's Millennium Puzzle off of the nightstand and put it around her neck. She sighed in relief as she was able to easily walk through the invisible barrier, the puzzle glowing slightly.

She walked down through the quiet house into the game shop, walking up silently behind Atem, feeling like she owed it to him after all the times he'd snuck up on her. She was starting to wonder whether it was just something he enjoyed doing for the hell of it, "How are things going?"

Atem jumped slightly and turned to face Mariah, his heart racing a bit, "How'd you get Yugi to let you out?"

"Yugi is asleep," Mariah said with an amused look as she held up the Millennium Puzzle. "It's really not nice to try and lock someone up, Atem. I would think that you'd know that, being trapped in a puzzle for five thousand years. Some people get very restless when they're confined."

"Are you really about to complain about the fact that you just had an entire day off?" Atem asked, tilting his head slightly to the side.

"No," Mariah said with a shake of her head. "I'm just saying." She smiled over at Mana, "So how have you two been doing this all day, exactly? Considering, you know, Mana looks exactly like me except for my smirk, and you're Yugi's double except for your narrower eyes, height, and the three lightning bolts that go up into your spikes."

"Mariah, you don't recognize your own twin?" Mana asked as she bounced over to them, wrapping her arms around Mariah's shoulders. "And you should know by now that Atem's Yugi's cousin from Egypt. What's wrong with you?"

Mariah laughed softly and leaned back a bit against Mana, "How forgetful of me," She said with a nod. "By the way, Atem, you might want to undo the spell you put on Yugi's door. He's not going to be able to get out if I'm holding his puzzle down here.

Indeed, as she said it, the yell reached her ears, "MARIAH!"

"Jeeze, is that how I sounded this morning?" Mariah asked with a wince. She smiled guiltily as Atem shook his head and went to go free Yugi. Mariah, meanwhile, got an idea, "Hey, Mana, want to play a trick on them with me?"

Mana tilted her head, "What kind of trick?" She asked, a small smile appearing on her face. Mariah slid out of her arms and turned to face her.

"Switch our appearances," Mariah said, her green eyes sparkling with mischief. She was practically bouncing on the balls of her feet as she spoke, "I want to see how long it would take both of them to realize."

Mana's grin grew, "Sounds like fun to me." She held out her hand, her wand appearing instantly. They both started to glow as Mana recited a nonverbal spell, and Mariah watched as Mana's skin lightened while her own darkened. By the time she heard the footsteps coming down the stairs, she and Mana were copies of each other, both of them standing side-by-side.

"Sorry, Yugi," Mana said right no cue as Yugi appeared, Atem following him. She gestured to the Millennium Puzzle on the counter. "I just got so restless being locked up in our room like that."

"I told you that you shouldn't have listened to him," Mariah added, her eyes on Atem. Despite not being around the two all day, she had a pretty good idea of how Mana and Atem interacted with each other, and it was more likely than not that they would have had such a conversation. She walked up to Atem and slapped him upside the head, "Mariah's perfectly capable of making her own decisions, Atem."

Atem winced as she slapped him and glared at her, rubbing the back of his head, "I wish you would give me a warning each time you're about to do that, Mana. That way I'd at least have a second or two to get the hell out of reach."

"What's the fun in that?" Mariah asked simply.

"Did you sleep well, Yugi?" Mana asked, walking over to him and wrapping her arms around his shoulders, his arm going around her waist almost instantly. Mariah watched carefully, wondering just how Yugi was going to react. Yugi's familiar smile made her heart melt just a bit as it often did. She might not look like herself, but her feelings towards Yugi went a hell of a lot deeper than that.

"I did," Yugi responded with a nod. He smiled and nuzzled Mana's cheek, Mariah making sure to keep her own feelings in check, not wanting to ruin the ruse she and Mana had going on. "I'm feeling great now, actually. I think a day of just relaxing without any other stress was just what I needed. How about you?"

"I think you might have been right," Mana said with a nod. "It was a good day. But what about tonight?"

"Oh, um..." A guilty look appeared on Yugi's face that had Mariah internally arching a brow.

"Something wrong, Yugi?" Mariah asked finally, tilting her head ever so slightly.

"Joey sent me a text while we were sleeping," Yugi said at last. "He kinda asked if I'd go to a guy's night out with him and bring Atem along. Apparently Tristan's back in town and Duke's just bought himself a new house..."

"So why can't girls come, exactly?" Mariah questioned before she could stop herself. As much as she liked Joey, she knew the times that she wasn't invited, Yugi usually stumbled in around three in the morning, drunk to hell because someone slipped him something. Yugi blinked at her, a look of confusion flashing across his face. He looked from Mariah to Mana and back again.

"Mariah?" He asked, looking directly at her. Mariah sighed and moved her fingers through the dark hair that normally belonged to Mana. At that point, Atem too was suspicious. He moved away from her and looked carefully between both Mariah and Mana.

"Looks like they really pulled a switch on us," Atem said after a moment. He snapped his fingers and both Mariah and Mana returned to normal, Mana stepping away from Yugi as Mariah's eyes narrowed.

"Mariah, I-"

Mariah held up a hand and stopped Yugi, "Go then," She said simply. "But remember, if you come home at three in the morning and are stuck bent over a toilet tomorrow morning, I have a shop to run." Mariah turned her eyes on Atem, "As for you, if you go with him, keep an eye on him, will you? His friends have a habit of slipping him something other than alcohol."

"You know, you could trust me once in a while, Mariah," Yugi said before he could stop himself, the emotions behind his words hitting Mariah hard. Mariah's eyes flashed with pain and almost instantly she disappeared up the stairs, taking them two at a time as Yugi himself winced. Mariah was back within a minute, her iPod in hand, her running shoes on her feet. Without a word or a look at Yugi, she was out the door of the game shop, the door slamming behind her.

"I didn't mean that," Yugi said with a soft sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I think the problem is that you did mean it," Mana said in a soft voice, a frown on her face. "I'm pretty sure that's what Mariah felt and why she left. She likes to run?"

"She was the captain of her high school's track team," Yugi said with a nod. He pointed over to a cabinet that held several of his dueling tournament trophies, along with some trophies that showed people in different running poses. "There's not many people who can outrun her. It's her own way of escaping."

"Escaping?" Atem asked. It was then that he realized, as well as he knew about Yugi's family, he didn't know a thing about Mariah's. "Yugi, does she have any family?"

"She has parents and siblings," Yugi answered with a nod. "But they wanted different things for her life than what she did. Moving in with me after my grandpa passed away was one way of escaping for her, but before that, she ran. Sometimes farther than she should have. She used to turn up around here late at night with bruises and cuts from times that she wound up in the wrong neighborhoods. Grandpa actually used to think it was her parents abusing her, until he saw her run one day."

Yugi sighed softly and sat on the stool behind the counter, "I wish I would have kept my big mouth shut about going to Joey's in the first place now. But I'm damned if I do go and damned if I don't. If I go, Mariah's going to be in a bad mood for the rest of the week, and if I don't go, Joey and the rest of them are going to start on me, saying that I'm letting myself be controlled by her."

"I think you should go," Mana piped up. Yugi gave her a confused look and she went on, "Both of you. Everyone deserves to enjoy time with their friends. And who knows how much longer Atem and I are going to be here? May as well enjoy it."

"What about Mariah?" Atem asked. He thought Mana had a point, but at the same time, he didn't want to be the reason that more friction was caused between Yugi and Mariah.

Mana smiled, "We'll go out tonight too," She said after a moment. "When she comes back I'll suggest it to her, maybe we'll go to a movie or something."

"I don't know," Yugi said with a frown, rubbing his forehead.

"Don't worry!" Mana said with a grin. "Just leave everything to me!

By the time Mariah returned, the sun had already started to set. The fact that the game shop was closed gave her an obvious answer to what had happened in the time that she had been gone. She unlocked the door and made sure to not trip the alarm. She climbed up the stairs slowly, her muscles aching slightly as she did so.

"There you are!" Mana chirped as Mariah entered the living room. She had been sitting on the couch, using her magic to change the television channels."I was starting to wonder if you were ever coming back."

Mariah shrugged. She was in a pretty bad mood and the last thing she wanted to do was talk, "I'm going to take a nice, long, hot bath and then I'm going to sleep. Good night, Mana."

Mana frowned and dashed after Mariah, "Wait," She said, causing Mariah to pause. "I was hoping you'd go out with me tonight. Since Yugi and Atem are both out, why can't we go have some fun too?"

"Mana, I love you, but I'm really not in the mood to go out tonight," Mariah said with a soft sigh. "I just pushed myself a hell of a lot further than I should have, and you know I'm not happy about the fact that Yugi went out tonight."

"Atem's with him though," Mana said with a reassuring smile. "Atem will make sure nothing happens to Yugi while they're out. Come on, Mariah. I'm not going to be here forever. I want to see more of what the Twenty-First Century is like."

Mariah sighed softly, "Fine, Mana," She said at last as she turned around to face her ancestor. "What do you want to do tonight?"

An hour later, Mariah and Mana stood in line at a movie theater, waiting to buy tickets for Batman Begins. Mariah was still in a pretty bad mood, but she tried to conceal it as Mana seemed genuinely excited to be going to her first movie. Mariah paid for the tickets and led Mana into the theater, "Come on," She said with a small, forced smile. "I want to get some popcorn and something to drink before we go find our seats."

Mana nodded and followed Mariah. She could tell that Mariah still wasn't thrilled to be out, but she was thankful that she was at least making an effort for her. While they stood in line to get the snacks, someone caught Mana's eye. A man who stood a few feet away looked extremely familiar to her. She couldn't understand why; the only people she knew in this time were Mariah and Yugi and their group of friends. The man was tall and muscular, and his hair both dark and long, reaching just to his shoulders. She found it strange that the man wore his hair long, but was it really so different than any of the other weird customs of this time? Then it hit her, as the man looked up at her, she didn't know him, but she might now someone related to him.

"Mahad."