I'm still suffering (yes, suffering) from a nasty writer's block... Or maybe I should call it a 'incapable of writing my already existing stories' as this one almost wrote itself... Except for the fact that I had to recheck some of the cards, but that's beside the point.

So yeah, I was bored when I wrote it. And I wrote it just now without really checking it... (I did check it, just not that well...)

The cards I used are explained at the very end of the story!

Summary: When Yami/ Atemu/ the other Yugi left for the afterlife Seto Kaiba wonders if Yugi Muto is truly as capable a duellist as the other Yugi used to be. He finds out when a stranger challenged Yugi to a duel.

Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Yu-Gi-Oh.

Enjoy!

Duelling Spirit

oOoOoOo

It was a couple of weeks after the so called Ceremonial Duel that everything was finally to how it should be.
The stocks of his company went through the roof after he had launched the newest version of the Duel Disk – one based on the DiaDankh he had seen when he had decided to help Yugi Muto and the Geek Squad during their latest weird trip. It also helped that he had announced that a duel for the title of King of Games stood in the planning.
He had given Muto six months to get over the loss of the spirit that used to be inside of him and already one month had passed.

He had yet to see Yugi duel and he couldn't help but wonder if the boy still had the will to duel after the loss of the one who duelled all the important duels for him. He especially wondered if the boy was as good as he appeared to be when he duelled his other half. Not that he believed that nonsense.
But still, he couldn't help but wonder if the boy would be as much of a challenge as his alter ego had been.

He turned away from the window he had been staring out of – the classes were just too easy and dull for him and since the company was doing well he couldn't even work on that during lessons – and moved his head so he could watch the small duellist.
The boy appeared the same as he ever had: small and fragile looking with big purple eyes, tri-coloured hair that defied gravity and a smile that never seemed to disappear.
But the boy – now a young man – had changed. His eyes had lost the innocence he used to have, his face had lost some of its roundness and he seemed taller and more confident.
But his very character had changed the most. Whereas he used to be naïve, innocent, easily frightened, unsure, childish, timid and friendly to everyone even the people who bullied him, he now was confident, sure of himself and his actions, mature, outgoing to others and not afraid to stand up to people who mistreated him or others.

All in all, he was more like the other Yugi used to be but still different. Both were strong, both came over as the pharaoh one of them used to be, both stood for that in which they believed in and both managed to instil a feeling of confidents in others.
But they were also different. The other Yugi used to be confident to the point of arrogance, this Yugi – the real Yugi – was confident in a more silent and calm way. This Yugi listened to others and cared, the other Yugi had only cared for this Yugi and himself. The other Yugi had been rash and had made almost disastrous mistakes every time someone hurt his pride, this Yugi thought before he did something and didn't care if someone hurt his pride.

His thoughts once again wandered to duelling and he couldn't help but wonder how this Yugi would duel. Would he duel as timidly as he used to duel or would he be as aggressive as the other Yugi. The other Yugi had been as combination of a powerhouse dueller and a strategical dueller: he used monsters to attack, rarely defended and used trap and spell cards to power his monsters, keep others from attacking him if necessary and to completely destroy their hand or their side of the field. It made him both unpredictable and predictable: unpredictable because you never knew what kind of card he would use in a situation but predictable because most of the time he would either attack or stop an attack.

He himself was a powerhouse dueller. He preferred beating his opponents with strong, powerful monsters and he only used spells and traps to either stop the other from attacking or to give his monsters an attack boost.

The only unknown one was now Yugi. During his duel with the other Yugi he had mostly just reacted on the actions of the other duellist until the very end in which he had showed himself to be strategically. But that was only a couple of moves and not enough to show him what kind of dueller the young man truly was.

The other thing he wondered about was the deck of the King of Games. The spirit inside Yugi had a deck mostly based on the Dark Magician. Sure he used other monsters and cards but his deck was mainly build on summoning that monster. He wasn't quite sure if Yugi would base his deck around the Dark Magician like the spirit had. In fact, he doubted it.

But that left him to wonder what kind of cards he would place in his deck. He knew that Pegasus had given Yugi some cards he had just made – as he had given some to him as well – and he wished he knew what kind of cards those were.

oOo

It was a couple of weeks later that he found out what kind of dueller Yugi was and what kind of deck he now wielded. Sort of, anyway.

It was just after the last lesson of that day and Yugi and the Geek Squad had just made their way out of the school when they were stopped by a young man a couple of years older than them. He was pale, had dark blue eyes and long, light brown hair with red streaks. He wasn't the most handsome guy out there but he wasn't ugly, just plain. He wore some casual cloths and sneakers and around his waist rested a belt with a holder for a deck and on his arm was a Duel Disk – an older model.
It was clear why he was there to everyone and a small circle appeared around the group almost immediately.

"I challenge you to a duel for your title!" the young man told the King of Games with an arrogant smirk on his face and a gleam in his eyes.
"I accept," Yugi said softly though his eyes were narrowed and something unreadable had appeared in them, "but not right now."
"Why? Scared?" the other taunted him.
"No," Yugi replied calmly, "I already have other engagements this afternoon."
The young man laughed at his words as he looked him up and down, "I still think that you are afraid. You look like the type that would hide behind others while they fight for you."

Yugi stiffened at his word and Seto couldn't help the clenching of his fists and the narrowing of his own icy blue eyes. He was the only one that was allowed to taunt the smaller one with the fact that he had led someone else duel his duels for him.
"I seem to have hit a nerve," the other duellist said with a nasty smile on his face, "I wonder if the other duellists were as strong as they were always made to seem if a weakling like you could beat them! Or maybe they just went easy on you. Or should I say: on the one who fought for you?"
Yugi's hand went to the studded, leather belt that housed his deck before he said in an almost deadly, soft voice, "fine, I'll duel you here and now."

Yugi turned to Wheeler, "can I borrow your Duel Disk, I left mine at home."
Wheeler was about to respond – probably an affirmative – when Seto interrupted them, "You can have mine."
Yugi turned to him with a raised eyebrow, "It's the newest model and the King of Games using it to beat some weakling is always good of publication."
Yugi nodded in agreement before he silently accepted the Duel Disk. It was a beautiful piece of technology. The player still held the cards but the lay-out of disk was completely different. Instead of a blade that was almost the length of the arm it contained a deck and Graveyard slot on top of five foldable wings. The five card slots were also thinner and more graceful and the cards – especially the monsters – would appear more lifelike. He was actually quite proud of it even though he had stolen the form of the DiaDankh.

Yugi studied it briefly – and shot him a knowing look – before he put it on and shuffled the deck he had taken out of its holder before he placed it in the slot. The Duel Disk activated itself as soon as the cards touched the Duel Disk and folded itself out as the wings of the DiaDankh used to do.

"Let's duel," he said calmly as he took some steps back to make space for the cards.
"That shouldn't take long!" the other crowed as he drew his own deck, shuffled the cards and activated his own Duel Disk – the Duel Disk 2 – before he drew five cards.
Yugi silently did the same and both their lifepointbars filled until they read 8000.

"I'll start of!" the challenger said and drew the sixth card. He quickly studied his cards before he picked two cards, "I summon Berserk Gorilla and place it in attack mode and place one card face down. Your turn!"
A red-brownish ape had appeared in front of the young man and it glared at Yugi as it beat itself on its massive chest. One card had appeared behind it but it had only eyes for Yugi.

Yugi stared briefly at the monster the other had summoned before he drew his own card. He placed it with the others before he picked one of them.
"I summon Silent Magician Lv 4 in attack mode," he said calmly as he placed the card on the first slot. A tiny magician appeared before him and stared fearlessly back at the gorilla. Yugi nodded briefly at his monster as it turned to look at him before he took two others, "and I place two cards face down. Turn end."

The other scoffed at the monster Yugi had summoned and swept his hair out if his face, "what a pathetic weak little thing. It actually reminds me of you. My turn!"
He drew his card only to blink as the Silent Magician gained 500 attack.
"What happened?" he asked clearly surprised.
"Every time you draw my Magician gains 500 attack," Yugi explained patiently.
"That may be so but it still isn't strong enough to beat my Gorilla," the other said smugly, "and it will get help! I summon another monster: come forth Gemini Elf!"
The twin Elves appeared on the field on the right of the Gorilla and both of them stared emotionlessly at the slight – though larger than he had been – magician on the other side of the field.
"And now, Berserk Gorilla, attack that weakling!" the other ordered and the ape made his way over to the small Magician.
"I flip one of my cards," Yugi said as he did just that, "I play Rush Recklessly. My Magician gains another 700 attack which makes it strong enough to beat your Berserk Gorilla."
The ape – which had tried to beat the slight Magician – was suddenly cut down by the Silent Attack of the Silent Magician Lv4. The other duellist blinked as he lost 200 lifepoints.
"I end my battlefase, place two cards face down and end my turn," the other said with a glare at Yugi.

Yugi inclined his head," my turn."
He drew a card and placed it in the spell slot, "I play Pot of Greed which lets me draw two cards."
He drew another two cards which he quickly placed by the rest of the cards before he placed the used spellcard in the Graveyard.
"And I summon Mystical Elf in defence mode," he added, "Turn end."

The other stared at the chanting elf before he drew another card. The Silent Magician gained another 500 attack but the young man didn't seem to care as a triumphantly smirk played on his lips and his dark eyes lightened to a lighter blue.
"You are going down," he said as he chuckled as he took a card from his hand, "I summon another Berserk Gorilla in Attack mode and equip him with United We Stand. My Gorilla gains for every monster on my side of the field an additional 800 attack! Which means it gains 1600 attack!"
The ape grew until he was almost twice its size.
"Attack his pathetic magician!" the young man said and the gorilla growled and beat his chest before he ran towards the Magician.
"I play Waboku," Yugi said and he turned his card face up. Berserk Gorilla hit the Silent Magician but his attack did nothing. It kept hitting it until the young man growled and ordered it to come back.
"Fine, Turn end," he said as he folded his arms over each other.

"I draw," Yugi said still calmly and he quickly drew his next card, only to place it with the rest and to pick another card, "I summon Hand of Nephthys only to sacrifice it and my Elf to summon Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys from my deck."
"I attack your Gemini Elf with my Phoenix," he continued.
But the others smiled and flipped one of his facedown cards, "Mirror Force!"
The attack of the Phoenix hit the barrier and turned back on the monsters on Yugi's side of the field, destroying them both. Yugi placed a hand for his face as his monsters were blown to pieces and both cards were rejected from the field. He seemed calm – almost too calm – as he placed both monsters in his Graveyard and placed one card facedown.
"Turn end," he said softly.

"I win," the other duellist said smugly, "seems I was right about you being weak!"
He drew one card and summoned it, "I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight in attack mode. Since I placed a new monster in the field my Gorilla's attack will go up with 800 points! But that's not all. I equip my lovely elf twins with the spell card Mage Power. Now she gains 500 attack and defence for every trap and spell card I control. And I control four cards on the moment so they gain 2000 attack!"
"You are done for," he cried out, "Gearfried, attack him directly!"

Seto watched as the knight rushed towards Yugi, wondering if the boy had won his duel against the other Yugi rightly so if he couldn't even beat a weak duellist like the one in front of him. Not that Wheeler could have beaten the young man that had challenged Yugi.

"I activate my facedown card," Yugi said once again, "Negate Attack!"
The young man sneered at him, "you might have stopped me this time but on my next turn you are done for! Turn end!"

Yugi laughed softly, "I don't think so. My turn. I draw."
He placed the card with the rest in his hand, "seeing as how you destroyed my phoenix with a card effect it returns from the Graveyard. But that's not all. It burns every single trap and spell card played on the board."
The young man looked horrified as the phoenix returned in a flash of fire and all of his trap and spell cards simply burned away.
"And that's just the beginning. First of all I summon Skilled Dark Magician, "Yugi said as he placed on of his four cards down, "then I activate Monster Reborn to bring back my Silent Magician. This means my other Magician gains one counter. But I'm not finished yet. Like you I've the spell card Mage Power and I equip it to my Silent Magician before I place another card face down."

The other stared almost horrified at the monsters in front of him while Seto couldn't help the vicious curl of his lips. It seemed as if Yugi duelled almost similar to the other Yugi, the only difference was that he was more strategically.

"Skilled Magician, attack his Knight, Phoenix attack his Gorilla and Silent Magician attack his Elves!" Yugi commanded and the monsters did as they were told. The young man's monsters were quickly destroyed and he lost 600 points, "Turn end."

"My turn," the other growled as he drew. Yugi's Magician gained another 500 points.
"I summon Big Shield Gardna in defence mode and end my turn."

Yugi hummed and drew his card, "Silent Magician attack his guardian!"
The Magician did as he was told and Yugi lost 100 of his lifepoints as the attack came back to him.
But, just as he had intended, the guardian stood and changed from defence position to attack position.
"Phoenix, attack the guardian!" he told it and the it didn't take long before the monster was destroyed. The young man shielded his face as his monster was destroyed and his lifepoints dropped with 2300 until his bar read 4900.
"Now Skilled Magician, attack him directly!" Yugi commanded and the young man quickly raised his Duel Disk in front of his face to protect it from the attack. His attack points dropped once again until they hit the 3000.
"Turn end," Yugi said.

"My turn," the other duellist growled as he quickly drew the card only to groan in annoyance as he saw the card.
"I forfeit," he said after almost a minute and he placed his hand on his deck, his head bowed.
The Duel Disk shut itself of and all the cards were ejected from his disk. He quickly took them as his blade retreated back towards his arm and placed them back in his deck holder.
He quickly turned and shouldered his way through the throng of people after that.

Yugi stared after him but he made no move to follow the arrogant boy – he was not worth the title of man. He carefully retrieved his cards from the Duel Disk and like the boy placed them back in his holder as his Duel Disk deactivated itself.

He kept watching for a couple of seconds – in which the boy had long disappeared in the group of people that surrounded them – before he turned towards Seto and looked at him.
And it was then that Seto knew: he might not have fought against Yugi before but he knew that he would be as much of a challenge as the other Yugi had been.

He was actually looking forward to that duel.

The cards used:

Berserk Gorilla = attack: 2000, defence: 1000. Level: 4. Effect monster = If this card is in Face-up defence position on the field, destroy this card. The controller of the card must attack with this card of possible.
Silent Magician Lv4 = attack: 1000, defence: 1000. Level: 4. Effect Monster = Each time your opponent draws a card(s), place 1 Spell Counter on this card (max. 5). This card gains 500 ATK for each Spell Counter on it. During the Standby Phase of your next turn after the 5th Spell Counter is placed on this card: You can send this face-up card with 5 Spell Counters on it to the Graveyard; Special Summon 1 "Silent Magician LV8" from your hand or Deck.
Gemini Elf = attack: 1900, defence: 900. Level: 4. Normal monster.
Rush Recklessly = Spell card: Target face-up monster gains 700 ATK until the End Phase.
Pot of Greed = Spell card: draw 2 cards from your deck.
Mystical Elf = attack: 800, defence: 2000. Level: 4. Normal monster.
United We Stand = Spell card: The equipped monster gains 800 ATK and DEF for each face-up monster you control.
Hand of Nephthys = attack: 600, defence: 600. Level: 2. Effect: You can Tribute this card and 1 other monster; Special Summon 1 "Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys" from your hand or Deck.
Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys = attack: 2400, defence: 1600. Level: 8. Effect: During your next Standby Phase after this card was destroyed by a card effect and sent to the Graveyard: Special Summon this card from the Graveyard. When you do: Destroy all Spell and Trap Cards on the field.
Mirror Force = trap card: When an opponent's monster declares an attack: Destroy all Attack Position monsters your opponent controls.
Gearfried the Iron Knight = attack: 1800, defence: 1600. Level: 4. Effect: When an Equip Card is equipped to this card, destroy the Equip Card.
Mage Power = Spell card: The equipped monster gains 500 ATK and DEF for each Spell and Trap Card you control.
Negate Attack = trap card: Activate only when a target opponent's monster declares an attack. Negate the attack and end the Battle Phase.
Skilled Dark Magician = attack: 1900, defence: 1700. Level: 4. Effect: Each time a Spell Card is activated, place 1 Spell Counter on this card when that Spell Card resolves (max. 3). You can Tribute this card with 3 Spell Counters on it; Special Summon 1 "Dark Magician" from your hand, Deck, or Graveyard.
Monster Reborn = Spell card: Target 1 monster in either player's Graveyard; Special Summon it.
Big Shield Gardna = attack: 100, defence: 2600. Level: 4. During either player's turn, when this face-down card (and no other cards) is targeted by a Spell Card: Change this card to face-up Defense Position, and if you do, negate the Spell Card's activation. If this card isattacked, change it to Attack Position at the end of the Damage Step.

I hope you guys liked this one-shot!

Anyway: Don't hesitate to leave a review to tell me what you think!

~Marwana