First Move, Last Word (Part 3)

DIMENSION: MANGA (The One That Saves the Day)

Atem watched the final ones walking forward. Honda was the longest. The longer a soul lingered in the afterlife, the harder it was to adjust back. His own adjustment had been quite harsh.

He had grown weary enough in his waiting, he had answered some of Hanasake's questions. Hanasake was also having trouble adapting. He had not even spoken to anyone the entire time until now. His situation had been more disturbing though. Closer to Ryou Bakura's.

"When he played the dragon game and vanquished me, I didn't know if I was happy or sad at first," Hanasake said. "He stole my life, and he gave me nothing. I could feel his every move, and I couldn't stop it. He did so much. Even my own wife, I could feel my own wife, but he was the one holding her." He grabbed his head. "Stuck in my own body, I had no choice. I touched my family, but I couldn't touch my family. I touched my friends, but I couldn't touch my friends. I couldn't warn them and I couldn't do anything."

"Hanasake," Atem said to him. What could he say? Ryou Bakura might be able to help him, they were in the same situation. Yet, not quite. Bakura let him have his life most of the time, and Ryou Bakura never had even a girlfriend Bakura had bothered. "Your family is back, and you should take a step at a time with them to recovery."

Hanasake didn't say anything.

"I think it's best if you return home," Atem said. "Are you ready to go home?"

"Ask Bastet to erase his memory, Atem," Masika insisted. "It's better not to remember everything."

"It is best not to mess with memories or the mind," Atem disagreed. "He said it was a feeling of hate and love. He has been gone for some time from control, he would lose more memories than any other that was here. Bastet?" He called. "Please send Hanasake back to his personal home."

As he left, Masika just sighed. "Memories," Masika uttered. "We don't need all of them. I'm happy not to have all of them. We are better off with just a few."

"Speaking of memories? If you stay with me," Bakura said to her, "I can't give you riches, but I can treat you in the way you were accustomed to back then. No complicated modern thinking. We can play, ride the city streets, ride each other, or do anything in between."

He then changed back to Ryou Bakura. "To a degree. This could get very complicated with me here too." Ryou Bakura glanced toward her. "Right?"

He changed back again to Bakura. "Not really, and you would feel better getting actual action every day. You or I. She wouldn't be choosy like Anzu."

"Anzu would miss you terribly." Atem found himself saying that at a higher pitch than he meant to. How dare Bakura pull this when Anzu wasn't even here?

"You would see her, just as you will make time for visits with Mokuba," Bakura told her. "Come on, Ryder, you are my muddy ragtag-"

"Currently an egyptian wife to a Pharoah," Atem interrupted.

"Modern life is complicated," Satiah repeated, "but it is life, and it is better." She shook her head. "I may ride the city streets with you at night, but only when or if I want to, Bakura."

Bakura sighed. "Fine, but I'll be here for those city nights." He looked toward Atem. "At least, for a little while."

Why was he staring at Atem like that? "Are you ready to go home, Bakura?"

"I suppose so," he agreed. "Don't go too far with my Ryder."

"She's not even-" Atem stopped. "Bastet. Send Bakura back to his home."

She granted the wish.

Now, one last thing. "Satiah. I have been calling you that because of the confusion of the whole Masika," he said. "Had this happened to me or Yuugi, I'm pretty sure I'd just be called Spirit or Other Yuugi again. Now that the whole is gone, are you fine with Masika again?"

"Masika." She nodded. "I don't mind. You are always free to call me Satiah or Ryder too.

"Oh, I will call you Satiah a thousand times before I call you Ryder," Atem said with certainty. "Masika? I wanted to ask you something before we left. When Zorc let you speak for yourself, what did you mean by 'I'll do my best' and you bowed to me? Did you have some sway over small actions of him?"

Masika simply raised her eyebrow. "We were in the borders between afterlife and here. We were here briefly, and then I awoke in this golden dress. I don't remember at any time saying that."

Then a silly trick by Zorc, just to keep him thinking. "Fine then." At least he knew. "Are you ready to go home?"

"If by home you mean the Game Shop," she said wearily. "No trying to return me to the afterlife this time."

Atem just smirked. "Yes, to the Game Shop. Bastet? Last trip. Us, to the Game Shop."

Later at the Game Shop . . .

"Yuugi." Atem called for him as he and Masika arrived in the middle of the shop.

Yuugi greeted him from a small game he was playing with Anzu. "Are the wishes we wanted sound now? What happened with the others?"

"Some punching, shouting, cursing, proposing, backstabbing and trauma." Atem shook his head. "It's over."

"Did you just say proposing?" Anzu asked. "By whom?"

"Honda," Atem said. "It didn't end the way he thought it would. He left with Miho. Shizuka left with the Kaiba's."

"Kaiba?" Anzu was confused. "I am missing more still, aren't I? Yuugi's been trying to fill me in since I wasn't here."

If Masika didn't remember, then was Anzu's a trick too? "Anzu? Do you remember having a moment where Zorc did not have control over you in the duel?"

"No," Anzu answered. "I was taken away next to Zorc, and then I never said or felt anything since I was put in this pretty golden dress." She stood up by Masika and smiled. "Look at us, we're practically twins in these." She touched her hair. "If I added some cool highlights to my hair, we would be twins."

"But?" Yuugi looked at Atem. ///Yuugi: I know Anzu. That was Anzu.///

Memory might not stay after Zorc is gone from them I suppose. At least, it's over. Whatever else happened, the day was over. Saved, over, and the next would come.

The world was saved. Atem looked out toward the game Yuugi and Anzu were playing. "Duel monsters?"

"We never played the real game without strife in a long time, and I realized a lot of cards had come out since I last played." Yuugi laid down a card in front of Anzu.

Anzu shrugged. "Yuugi hasn't played Duel Monsters with me in a long time. Since? I mean, I'm sure we must have had a duel at some point. Right?"

"Doesn't matter, we are dueling now," Yuugi said as Hikaru cried from his bassinet that was nearby. "In between."

Satiah walked over and looked down at the bassinet. "The brat is cute. It seems to have a suntan." She smiled. "Much more Egyptian, but I am glad I didn't have one."

"It's this golden glow that made us think Hikaru was a god," Anzu said as she put down a spell card. "I could see what you mean. I think there was a lot of tans back in those days. No need for tanning beds. Yuugi, come on, I just laid down that spell card you blew away. Can't you give me a little break? I'm not good at this game."

"Did you feel anything at all after the game?" Atem asked her. "The demigod's power should have been felt in some way."

"I had a cough that I felt more than any kind of sensation from my stomach," Anzu said. "Whatever it was, it wasn't any kind of pregnancy. It must have really been like some fusion card I guess? Which is good to me, I'm still learning life with Hikaru."

"Yeah, but there is still time to fit in some games with me," Yuugi smiled as he laid his card down.

"You should get good at all games. You never know what you have to play to save the world or fight a monster." Atem looked toward Satiah. "You should learn to play too."

"Me? Duel monsters?" She asked.

"Yes. Sit down," Atem said. "Usually when it comes to major villains trying to take over the world? It's not won by Connect Four."

Masika shrugged. "I did not ever think I would be the one playing this game," she said as Anzu handed her a deck. "I'm a better English reader."

"Excuses," Atem smirked as he finished setting up his cards. "I will allow you the first move."

"With you," Masika said, "I would rather have the last word."