Chapter 1: The Door of Darkness has Opened...

Yuugi sat alone in his bedroom. He was doing his homework, wishing he had a dog in which to feed it too. Yuugi was brighter than he let on, but found himself struggling with most basic maths sometimes. His thoughts started to drift off.

All the things he had done with his life, and what little they meant to people outside the ever growing circle of Duel Monsters players and its fans.

He also thought about how Yami had come into his life. Yami had been a blessing, abet frightening and confusing at first, but a blessing none the less. Yami had thought him so many things, about life, death, friendship, and of course games, and understood him more than anyone ever could. At first, it seemed as if Yami was just Yuugi's own desires and ambitions turned on at full force with higher confidence and maybe just a hint of malice. Yami became his own person, but with Yuugi's good intentions along the way.

Yuugi sighed. He stared at the algebra homework on the desk. The problems kept warping themselves before his eyes. He rubbed them trying to regain focus, but couldn't. He pushed away the book and took out his biology text. Maybe this would be easier?

"Name the types of cells in the blood stream," he read out loud. "Um... White, red and midichlorians?" He scoffed in frustration. Homework was alluding him. He shoved the books to the floor.

The door creaked. Yuugi whipped his head around to the bedroom door.

"Jii-chan?" Yuugi's grandfather wasn't expected to be home until next Monday, having gone to a game-sellers convention in not-that-close-but-still-kinda-far-away; Baika City. Yuugi would be alone for the week, but that didn't mean his grandfather didn't come back for some reason or another.

Yuugi kept staring at the door, thinking it would burst open at any moment and his grandfather would loudly proclaim that he found a new game that was already popular in America/China/Egypt or wherever, and that Yuugi should take it to school and make is popular in Japan. (A/N: No, seriously, I think that's Yuugi's Grandpa's whole plan about living with a high school student. His parents are like, MIA or something. Even though his mother showed up in the manga, but that's not the point.)

The door didn't budge.

Maybe I imagined it. He thought turning back to his desk and picking up his books and papers, sighing at his own stupidity for throwing a fit in the first place.

The closet door slammed open. Yuugi fell out of his chair in surprise. He stared at the man in the door way.

"Yami...?" Yuugi said cautiously. It wasn't possible. He and Yuugi still shared the same body, their souls intertwined.

Cold crimson eyes stared back him through the endless black that was the closet. Yami was dressed in all black, a tight fitting tank top and leather pants. He wore the chunky dog collar and the heavy chain with the Millennium Puzzle dangling from it. He was, however, barefoot.

"My name is Pharaoh Atemu." His voice was gruff, not the way Yuugi had heard Yami's voice over and over. "I want to play a game with you, Mouto Yuugi." Atemu raised a hand and pointed at Yuugi. "If you lose, there will be a Penalty Game."

Yuugi was shocked.

"W-what if I win?" He squeaked. He hadn't felt this kind of fear since before he had discovered his Other Self. In fact, this was worse than getting beaten to an inch of his life and his lunch money stolen. A lot worse. Being challenged to a game with Yami that was definitive going to be a Shadow Game. He knew what Yami had done to others who lost Shadow Games. He could loose his life and his soul. Yuugi was far less than confident.

Atemu smirked, the crimson eyes getting darker. He ran his fingers over the puzzle.

"You'll get to live on with your life," Atemu laughed darkly.

"Wh-what did you say, Yami?" Suddenly he became angered. "This isn't like you at all!"

The man in the doorway glared. He appeared in front of Yuugi without so much as taking a step, at least not one Yuugi had noticed.

"I am not Yami," Yuugi could hear every ounce of distaste in Atemu's voice. "Play the game with me, Yuugi, or you are forfeit."

Yuugi froze. His blood turned to ice. He couldn't believe he was trembling.

"Fine! But if I win, you bring Yami back!"

The Pharaoh only smirked. "But of course, Yuugi."

Yuugi pulled off his school jacket, already dripping in ice cold sweat. There was a glimmer in Atemu's eyes that Yuugi didn't like.

"What's the game? Duel Monsters? Dice Monsters? Capsule Monsters?" Yuugi was fairly competent at all of those, but truth be told he really only won more than half his games because of Yami, but he did know the rules.

"Of course not, those are children's games, mockeries of greater powers."

[A/N: I really wanted to add "So we shall play Monopoly!" But that feels like Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged Marik.]

"No, this game will be something you have never played before."

The room darker, and Yuugi's bedroom vanished. In front of them was a table, as if light could only shine on it. Yuugi looked about him, only to see Atemu's red eyes staring at him.

"S-Shadow Game!" Yuugi gasped.

"Of course," The Pharaoh said smugly.

The air felt heavy and stale, smothering Yuugi. He tried to stay strong in front of this Atemu, but was having trouble keeping his game face.

The table had fourteen holes burned into it, six facing Yuugi and six facing Atemu and two large holes on the ends of the rows. Three white stones sat in each one of Yuugi's holes, and three black stones in each of Atemu's.

"Hey, wait, I know this game!" Yuugi said. "This is Mancala..." Yuugi felt some his strength return. He had been playing this game with his grandpa since he was little. The game was simple, have no stones left on your side and have more stones than your opponent. If you where the one to have zero stones left on your side, you almost guaranteed to win since any left over stones on your opponent's side would be minus points. There was also the trick of getting another turn. If the last stone in your hand landed in your Mancala Pot, the larger holes on the end your's being the one to your right, you got an extra turn. Yuugi almost always won. Anzu was better than him some times, Jounouchi was terrible, and Honda was about average.

"I thought you said this was going to be a game I never played before, but I've played this game hundreds of times." Yuugi protested, not that it mattered much. An easy Shadow Game with an unknown opponent would be a piece of cake, right?

"Wrong." Atemu stated bluntly. The cake is a lie. "You may have played Mancala before, but the rules of this game are different. In order to take a turn in this game, you must punish yourself."

Yuugi was confused.

"Punish myself?"

"You lean on others to do all your hard work. Whether is Honda or Jounouchi being your muscle or even Yami being your brains, you may think you have become a better person, but you are only hiding behind your friends!" Atemu's voice stayed even-toned throughout everything he said. "Look at the stones."

Looking down Yuugi saw that stones had become sharp pieces of glass, fangs, scorpion tails, needles and various other amounts of sharp and deadly looking things.

"Prove to me you can play this game on your own and take your own blows, or suffer a Penalty Game."

This isn't fair! Yuugi thought. Either way, I'm going to end up punished!

"Fine!" Yuugi shouted. "I can do this on my own!"

Ametu smiled. "Then begin!"