Disclaimer: Hetalia is owned by Himaruya Hidekaz. The Yu-Gi-Oh! series is owned by Kazuki Takahashi, and the games by Namco. If I owned the series, the Yugi never would have handed over his puzzle to some shady guy in an alleyway... (see Episode 1 of the Battle City duel arc)

Summary of the basis for this story idea: Black Kiku; Black=Yami; Yami=Yu-Gi-Oh!; Hetalia Yu-Gi-Oh! crossover.

This battle was his. His opponent had no monsters on the field, and the bug master's best card was in play. The bespectacled boy grinned. He could practically taste his victory.

"Now! Go, Insect Queen!"

"Trap card activated," the defender calmly stated as Magic Cylinder was revealed. Before he knew it, all of Insect Queen's 2200 Attack Points were redirected and taken out of Weevil Underwood's own Life Points, suddenly leaving him at 800.

Still, his monster was invincible in a normal battle, right? As long as Insect Queen was in play, everything would be just fine...

After his draw phase, it was obvious that the brunette would win this duel. Still, his calm, almost apathetic expression did not change, giving no hint of his imminent victory. Honestly, the combination in his hand was a simple one, but effective nonetheless. 'A simple combination to defeat a simple-minded foe... How appropriate.' He shook his head. Where had that come from? Anyway...

"First, I'll play the Magic card, Raigeki." Weevil's Insect Queen was instantly destroyed, leaving him wide open for a direct attack. "And next, I summon Masaki the Legendary Swordsman in Attack Mode. Now..."

"Noooo-!" Weevil let out a scream of defiance. How could this be? He'd had him cornered! But once again, luck had failed him, and once again the insect duelist knew the agony of defeat.

"Great job, Kiku!" Kiku Honda looked up from reassembling his deck to see his two best friends.

"Veneciano-kun, Ludwig-san," he acknowledged, slightly surprised. "You two were watching?"

"Of course!" his cheerful friend replied. "Hey hey. We're heading to Ludwig's house right now, wanna come? We can make pasta, and-"

"Just don't forget we're supposed to be doing homework," Ludwig cut in, grabbing the Italian's shoulder to stop his excited hopping.

"Ve, we'll do that too." Veneciano seemed all but happy at the thought the large amount of homework they had been assigned, even though it was only the seventh day of school. He perked up, remembering his other friend. "So anyway, are you coming, Kiku?"

"No, I think I'll pass this time. I'm not feeling very well right now..." At his friends' concerned expressions, he quickly added, "It's nothing to worry about, I just have a headache." This answer seemed to satisfy them, and the two turned to leave.

Veneciano waved. "Get better soon, okay?" Kiku waved back and let a small smile touch his lips. Although he had known them only a short time, the three were already close friends. Still, it never ceased to amaze him how energetic Veneciano-kun could be, regardless of the situation.

The next chapter will be a flashback telling how this all got started. I'm not sure how soon I'll be able to update- that depends on when my writer's block is cured. ...Thankfully (or not, I dunno) this condition is mainly affecting Poketalia, so I should be fine, but who knows.

Anyway, I hope that the first chapter was enjoyable. ^^