I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!, nor do I own most of the characters in this project.

Disclaimer: No slash, no hentai. It's a project involving dueling. If you don't like it, that's entirely your problem. I just don't see the appeal in having Kaiba nail Yugi, or whatever the fad is right now.

Chapter 1

Yugi Mutou reached over and hit the snooze button on his alarm clock for what had to be the third or fourth time this morning. As his eyes drifted shut again, he wondered what would prompt him to set his alarm on a Saturday anyway. Right before his eyes closed fully, they fell upon his deck of Duel Monsters cards, and that triggered the memory that shot him into full awareness.

Yugi practically leapt out of his bed. The clock said that it was about 10:30, meaning that he had a half-hour to get to the convention center and sign up for the tournament. He got dressed in under a minute, grabbed his deck and ran down the stairs. Before he could get out the door, he heard his grandfather call his name from the kitchen. Yugi stopped, and then turned to the kitchen to talk to his grandfather.

Yugi's grandfather was sitting at the table when Yugi entered the kitchen. Yugi sat down across from him, leg twitching a little. He had to get moving, and fast, if he wanted to make it to the tournament. His grandfather smiled at him.

"Can we make this quick? I've got to hurry if I want to make it to the tournament. It's kind of a big one, and I don't want to miss it."

"You'll make it. I just wanted to give you something. Think of it as an early birthday present."

Grandpa handed Yugi a small box. Yugi opened it and found that it held a bunch of Duel Monsters cards. Yugi began looking through them, and then stopped suddenly when his brain started to recognize them.

"Grandpa, you're . . . you're giving me your deck? But-"

"Yugi, I retired from Duel Monsters after my last championship. I decided that I'd rather have you play it instead of selling the cards. Now, how about getting you to that tournament"

Yugi nodded; his grandfather's gift had left him speechless.

_____________________________________________________________

Yugi finished signing in and went to mingle with the crowd. As he was walking through, someone bumped into him. He turned to see who it was, and found himself looking not quite in the eyes of Tea Gardner, one of his friends from school and a passable duelist in her own right.

"Yugi? I didn't think you were going to make it. What took you so long?"

"Well, it's kind of a funny story, but I'll get into it later."

Tea looked like she wanted to hear the story now, but any conversation was cut out by the tournament official addressing the players.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Domino City Duelist Kingdom qualifier. As you know, the top two duelists in this tournament will receive invitations to the Duelist Kingdom tournament held next month. Also, the top eight finalists will receive an exclusive card printed for this tournament season. Now, pairings will be posted shortly. Good luck, and have fun."

_____________________________________________________________

Five rounds later, Yugi moved over to watch Tea. He'd won his last round, and three of the four rounds before that. Tea had already lost one round as well, and was currently tied with her opponent, each having won one game out of the best-of-three match. Yugi was starting to figure out who was winning this game when a pair of arms wrapped around him from behind.

"Yugi! Aw, man, I was wondering where you were!"

Yugi wormed his way out of the hug and found himself staring at Nikita Sasami. Nikita was another friend of his from school. She was pretty good at Duel Monsters, and desperately wanted to make it big on the international tournament circuit. This meant that she did a lot of research online, and played the game almost non-stop. Her presence here didn't surprise him one bit.

"Hey, Nikita. How are you doing so far?"

"Five wins! The invite's mine, I can tell! How about you?"

"I lost the first round, but won all the others. It doesn't seem like a lot of people care about winning the invites, though."

"Yeah, all the big names have theirs already. Underwood, Howards, Roba, Crowler, even Kaiba. Granted, Kaiba got an automatic invite for winning the world championship last year, but still, not a lot of them left to make this tournament matter. Just the local players hoping for a free card."

A whoop sounded form behind them, and they turned to see Tea jumping out of her seat, arms raised, while her opponent slumped back into his chair, defeated. Now, all they had to do was see how their standings were.

_____________________________________________________________

Yugi looked at the machines set up in the parking lot. They looked like small arenas with overlooking platforms set up on either of the short sides. He recognized them immediately. These platforms were used in the final rounds of larger tournaments. They generated holographic images of the monsters and magic of Duel Monsters, allowing players to live out the battles somewhere other than their imaginations.

"Attention, all players in the final round. To prepare for the upcoming Duelist Kingdom tournament, the final rounds of the tournament will be played on these Duel Platforms. The final match-ups have been posted. Report to the Duel Platform to which you have been assigned in five minutes."

Yugi went over to the listings. Nikita was playing Koji Tohiko, a vaguely popular player who had obviously not qualified for Duelist Kingdom yet. He recognized two of the other names, Joey Wheeler and Tristan Taylor; both of them went to his school. His name was at the bottom of the list, next to . . . Tea. He heard her swallow behind him. Obviously she was just as nervous about dueling as he was.

"Come on, Tea. We can still stay friends, no matter what happens in this game, right?"

"Yeah, sure. Let's just get this over with."

Both of them walked over to the Duel Platform to which they had been assigned. When they were both at the playing areas, the judge began the round. Both of them drew their five cards, and then Yugi, who had been chosen to go first, drew another card.

"I start by summoning Horn Imp in Attack Mode!"

Yugi placed the card on one of the monster slots on the platform. In the central area, one of the squares on the grid lit up. A brown humanoid with orange eyes and a short horn jutting from the center of its forehead rose up from the lit square. Yugi almost jumped a little; he wasn't used to seeing his monsters come to life. Tea backed up a little too, but both players' shock was quickly swept away.

"All right, let's do this. Doma the Angel of Silence, in Attack Mode! Attack Horn Imp!"

A grey-skinned humanoid covered in dark red and green armor rose out of a monster slot on Tea's side of the field. Spreading its wings, it shot forward, striking the Horn Imp with its spear. Yugi's monster shattered like glass, and his Life Points dropped by 300 (Yugi: 1700; Tea: 2000). Yugi drew his card.

"I play Mystical Elf in Defense Mode, and play one card face-down. Your turn."

Yugi's elf, a blue-skinned creature in a green robe, took a knee as soon as it was formed, This should hold her off long enough for me to get something that can retaliate. Tea made a face at Yugi's monster, and then drew her card.

"I'll play a monster face-down, and switch Doma to Defense Mode. Your turn."

"I play Rude Kaiser In Attack Mode, and attack Doma the Angel of Silence!"

Yugi's reptilian warrior rushed forward, slashing with the blades on its arms. Doma dissolved into a staticy haze. Tea drew another card.

"I summon Airknight Parshath in Attack Mode, and attack Rude Kaiser! And, thanks to his effect, I get to draw a card whenever he deals battle damage to you!" (Yugi: 1600; Tea: 2000)

Yugi looked at his hand. Silver Fang, Sun Shower, Eye of Truth and Beaver Warrior. Nothing that would help him. He drew his card, and smiled. He'd just drawn a killer card, one that just might win him the game.

"I summon Silver Fang in Attack Mode, and then play the spell card Full Moon!"

Silver Fang appeared on the Field a few seconds before the holographic moon appeared in the space above the Duel Field. Silver Fang raised his head to the sky and howled.

"Wait, what does that do?"

"Full Moon doubles Silver Fang's attack. Now, Silver Fang, attack Airknight Parshath!" (Yugi: 1600; Tea: 1500)

Tea actually rocked back a little as Silver Fang destroyed her monster. She drew her card, and then let out a little chuckle.

"It's game over for your little doggie there, because I summon my Wingweaver in Attack Mode! Wingweaver, attack Silver Fang!"

The six-winged angel raised its hands to launch an attack, but it stopped partway through. The cause of this was a circle of glyphs and runes that expanded from its waist.

"What? Attack! Blow Silver Fang away!"

"She can't, thanks to my Spellbinding Circle. Wingweaver can't attack, and it loses 700 attack as long as my trap card stays on the field. Now, Silver Fang, counter-attack!" (Yugi: 1600; Tea: 1150)

Tea looked at her cards, and then set her hand on top of her deck.

"Forfeit by Tea Gardner! Winner, Yugi Mutou!"

The holograms faded, and both players got down from the duel platforms. Yugi rushed over to talk to Tea.

"Hey, Tea? Why did you give up back there? You still had a fair amount of Life Points left, we could have-"

"You beat my biggest monster, and you probably had something bigger in your deck in case I beat Silver Fang. My losing was inevitable."

Before Yugi could try and argue the point with Tea, someone shoulder-checked him. Yugi almost hit the ground before Tea could catch him. Yugi turned to see Joey Wheeler laughing as he walked away, his lackey Tristan following behind.

"That jerk! Someone should teach him a lesson."

"It's all right, really. He didn't actually do any damage. Come on, let's see who made it to the semifinals."

_____________________________________________________________

"Both of them? No way could they both have won. Joey, maybe, but Tristan's basically a shaved monkey. He had to have cheated. That's the only way-"

"Look, I know you don't like them, but that doesn't really matter. Besides, you're going up against that 'shaved monkey'. Yugi's the one that's got to face Joey."

"Beat him down, little dude. If he beats you, you will never live it down."

Nikita went for the Duel Platform farthest from the posted brackets. Yugi went for the closest one, where Joey was already waiting. Joey burst out laughing when he saw Yugi.

"Come on, how lucky can I get? I'm gonna mop the floor with you, little man!"

Yugi tried to ignore Joey's taunts as he got to his platform. Once he got to the platform proper, he set his deck in its appointed spot while Joey did the same, taunting all the while. Yugi tuned it out as soon as he heard the judge begin the round. Joey had won the right to the first turn, and so drew his card.

"I summon a monster face-down, and end my turn."

Yugi drew his card. Nothing stellar, but, if he remembered correctly, Joey didn't have anything in his deck with a decent defense. He had a couple monsters that he was sure would break through Joey's defenses.

"I summon Koumori Dragon in Attack Mode, and attack your monster!"

Joey's monster turned out to be a Rock Ogre Grotto, a creature made of solid stone with a miserable defense. It shattered under Yugi's attack. Joey thought this was funny.

"I knew I'd lure you out with something weak. Now, I summon my Sword Hunter in Attack Mode. Sword Hunter, attack Koumori Dragon!"

Joey's warrior leapt forward, slashing at Yugi's dragon with his drawn sword. Yugi's dragon evaporated when the sword struck, and the blade turned deep purple, like the color of a bruise. (Joey: 2000; Yugi: 1050) Yugi was a little stunned. Joey had obviously reconstructed his deck for this tournament, and Yugi had made an amateur mistake in assuming that he hadn't. That was an easy situation to remedy.

"I summon the Dark Magician. Attack Sword Hunter!"

A purple-robed human with a green staff rose from the ground and unleashed a torrent of shadowy energy. The Sword Hunter raised his sword, causing the energy to split across his blade. As the spell dissipated, Sword Hunter charged in, slashing at Yugi's magician. It too was absorbed into the Sword Hunter's blade. (Joey: 2000; Yugi: 900) Joey laughed.

"You don't even know what it does, do you? I'll let you in on his secret. Whenever Sword Hunter destroys a monster in battle, he absorbs their soul, increasing his attack by 200. He's already as strong as some of the toughest monsters around, and all you can do is make him bigger. Game over, man!"

Yugi looked at his hand. Joey's monster had 2850 attack, and the closest thing he had to that was his Red-Eyes Black Dragon, and that was about 500 points too low. As he looked through his hand, he came across another card, Polymerization. A bell went off in his head. If he could draw Summoned Skull, he could use Polymerization to create a monster big enough to beat Sword Hunter. The only problem was, he needed to draw Summoned Skull, and he had no idea how deeply that particular card was buried in his deck. Drawing his card, he found that he had a way to stall.

"I play Swords of Revealing Light! Now, your Sword Hunter can't attack for the next three turns. Next, I play one card face-down, and summon Griffore in Defense Mode."

Joey grumbled a little at this play, but quickly found a way around it.

"I play Battle Steer in Attack Mode, and attack Griffore."

Yugi drew. Not Summoned Skull. However, he could go a little on the offensive.

"I summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon in Attack Mode. Red-Eyes, attack Battle Steer!"

Joey's minotaur-esque monster dissolved under the attack of Yugi's dragon. (Joey: 1400; Yugi: 900) Joey was beginning to get upset. He was more likely to make stupid plays at this point, and Yugi was hoping that he would. If he got really lucky, Joey would make a large enough mistake that Yugi wouldn't have to rely on drawing Summoned Skull. Unfortunately, Joey didn't make that critical mistake.

"I play Leogun in Attack Mode, and play one card face-down."

Now Yugi had some thinking to do. The likelihood was that Joey had played a trap card, and was hoping for Yugi to attack him so he could trigger it. Of course, he could be bluffing. Either way, this was the critical point of the game. Yugi decided that Joey was indeed bluffing, and went all-out.

"Red-Eyes Black Dragon, attack Leogun with Inferno Blast!"

Joey looked furious, but didn't trigger his face-down card. His Leogun shattered when the flames began to consume it. (Joey: 750; Yugi: 900) Yugi placed another card face-down and ended his turn. Joey, who was looking extremely put out, played a monster face-down and ended his turn. Yugi drew, but it wasn't Summoned Skull. He had his Red-Eyes attack, and ended his turn. As soon as he did, Joey let out a whoop.

"Oh, man, you idiot! You're wide open now, and no dragon is gonna save your sorry hide. Sword Hunter, attack!"

Yugi's Red-Eyes was cut in half before Yugi's eyes. (Joey: 750; Yugi: 450) Joey laughed, but stopped when he saw that Yugi was actually smiling.

"What's so funny? I've toasted your two biggest monsters, and my attack is way too high for anything to beat it."

"You've walked right into my hands. First, I play Mokiou Mist! Now, watch as the weapons in which my monsters are stored rust away."

Joey watched as the Sword Hunter's weapons did indeed rust, dropping his attack to its original 2450.

"So what? I've still got-"

"I'm not finished. Second, I play Monster Reborn, bringing my Red-Eyes Black Dragon back to the Field. Third, I play Summoned Skull!"

Purple muscles rippled beneath the exoskeletal bones on the massive demon as it rose from the ground. Together, it and the Red-Eyes looked like true monsters bearing down on the warrior on the other side of the field.

"This changes nothing! You only get one attack per turn! You'll never get enough damage through to win!"

"I will with this. I trigger Polymerization, combining my Red-Eyes Black Dragon and my Summoned Skull to create the Black Skull Dragon!"

Yugi's new monster stood head and shoulders above his previous two. A set of black bones held its muscles in place, same as the Summoned Skull. A massive set of wings coming off its shoulders made it look all that much more imposing.

"Now, Black Skull Dragon, finish this! Attack Sword Hunter!"

Yugi couldn't tell what happened to the Sword Hunter; his dragon blocked his view of the attack. He did, however, see Joey's Life Points dial all the way down to 0. Joey looked stunned; obviously, he had expected to walk all over Yugi. Yugi offered his hand for Joey to shake, but was blown off. Yugi walked over to Nikita's duel, which wrapped up almost as soon as Yugi arrived. Nikita whooped and pumped her fist in the air as Tristan's Life Points dropped to 0. She jumped off the Duel Platform and wrapped Yugi in a bearhug.

"I did it! I'm going to Duelist Kingdom! How'd you do, Yugi?"

"I beat Joey. Looks like we both get to go. All that's left is to finish this tournament. Good luck!"

_____________________________________________________________

Yugi stared across the Duel Platform at Nikita. Honestly, he didn't care if he won or lost this game; both of them had qualified for Duelist Kingdom, and the only real difference between first and second place was bragging rights and a few Duel Monsters boosters. He figured he could play it a little lightly this time. He nodded to Nikita and drew his first card.

"I start out with Celtic Guardian in Attack Mode. Your turn."

Yugi's guardian, a pale-skinned elf in green and brown armor, stood holding his sword. Nikita snorted as she drew her card.

"You want to take it easy? Fine, I'll just blow you away. Twin-Headed Fire Dragon, attack Celtic Guardian!"

A craggy-skinned creature with wings, a tail that terminated with a massive claw and two reptilian heads rose out of the ground and spat twin infernos at Yugi's elf, incinerating it. (Yugi: 1200; Nikita: 2000) Yugi jerked a little. He'd thought this duel would be a little laid back, just the two of them trying out new tactics for fun.

"Come on, Yugi. I don't want to beat you like this, but I will if I have to."

Yugi looked at his hand in a bit of a panic. Nothing there could help him right now; too many weak monsters and two trap cards that wouldn't do anything. He threw Feral Imp in Defense Mode and put both trap cards face-down as a bluff. Nikita drew her card.

"I play Dark Magician Girl in Attack Mode, and equip her with Fairy Meteor Crush. Dark Magician Girl, attack Feral Imp!"

Yugi's little green fiend dissolved, and, thanks to Nikita's spell, Yugi took the leftover Attack Points as damage. (Yugi: 600; Nikita: 2000) Nikita finished her turn by playing a card face-down. Yugi drew, and found himself with a good card.

"I play Beaver Warrior in Defense Mode, and play one card face-down. Your turn."

Nikita laughed as Yugi's rodent-esque monster rose out of the ground.

"All right, time to end this. Dark Magician Girl, attack Beaver Warrior!"

"Not so fast! I turn over my face-down card, Shift! This allows me to return Beaver Warrior to my hand, and then replace it with another monster. And I choose my Dark Magician!"

Yugi's magician appeared on the field, absorbing Dark Magician Girl's attack and firing back his own attack. (Yugi: 600; Nikita: 1500) Nikita was stunned for a second, but recovered and drew her card. The smile that blossomed on her face looked a little cruel.

"Time to end this. I play Mystical Knight of Jackal in Attack Mode! Next, I turn over my face-down card, Axe of Despair, which increases my attack by 1000 points. Now, Mystical Knight of Jackal, finish him!"

A jackal-headed man in ancient Egyptian garb stood up. A single-bladed axe shimmered into existence in its hand. The Anubian monster shot forward, raising its axe to strike. Yugi just grinned.

"And with your spell you have lost this game. I trigger Mirror Force! This trap reflects your monster's attack back at all of your monsters in Attack Mode! And your Knight now has 1500 more attack than your dragon, meaning that you lose."

Nikita watched helplessly as her Mystical Knight of Jackal and Twin-Headed Fire Dragon dissolved under the attack. (Yugi: 600; Nikita: 0) Nikita shook her head a little, and then went over to shake Yugi's hand. Yugi was beaming as he did so. This was certainly a good day.