Follow Up too the last one. I hope you enjoyed this little opener, because the story gets a lot faster and more intense as it goes on from this point.

II. Saru Versus The King Of Games

Atem scoured his hand after drawing one card. He'd gained a Pot of Greed. Now all he needed was a strategy. He has one card face down and a card with 300 defense on the field, and no traps or spells too worry about, Atem thought. The only thing he did have to worry about was his face down.

He'd just have to do a play by play right now.

"I start by playing Pot of Greed! Now I can draw two cards!" Atem drew the two cards and looked them over. He knew just what move to play now.

"Now I play one card in face down defense position, and then end my turn!" Atem said in a finishing tone.

"Now I draw!" called out Saru, and he felt as if he was actually playing a world series match with Yugi. He picked up a Pot of Avarice. Better save that for later thought Saru.

"First, I'll play another card in face down defense position. Then, I'll switch my Man-Eater Bug (450atk, 600def) to face up defense position!" Saru flipped it over. "And when Man-Eater Bug is flipped over from face down position, it can destroy one monster on the field, regardless of it's position, and I think I'm selecting your face down monster card!" Saru said, and Atem flipped over his Sangan.

"You've activated my Sangan's effect! When Sangan is sent from the field to the graveyard, I can pick one monster with 1,500 attack or less from my deck and add it to my hand!" Atem said as he moved the card to the graveyard. He sifted through his deck until he felt he was content with one card, and then added it to his hand.

"I end my turn…" said Saru in a defeated tone.

"And I start mine by drawing one card!" Atem said, and picked up Watapon. "I'll start by playing Monster Reborn! This card allows me to bring one card from my graveyard and play it in either attack position on my side of field! Now I bring my Sangan (1000atk, 600def) back to the field in face up defense position!" Atem said and moved Sangan back out to the field.

"Next up, I'm going to summon Obnoxious Celtic Guard (1400atk, 1200def) out to the field in face up attack position!" Atem called out, and he placed the card down on the table. "Now, Obnoxious Celtic Guard takes out your Man Eater Bug!" Atem said, and Saru moved Man Eater Bug to the graveyard.

"Then I end my turn. You're up!" Atem said. Saru picked up one card.

"I start off by tribute summoning Witch of the Black Forest (1100atk, 1200def) on my side of the field too summon Bitelon (2400atk, 1000def) in face up attack position! And now because of Witch of the Black Forest's effect, I can choose one card from my deck with 1500 defense or less and add it to my hand!" Saru said, moving his face down to the graveyard and then sifting through his deck, just like Atem, looking for a card. After finding one, he continued his turn. "Then I flip Crimson Ninja back to face down defense position. Now I end my turn, and your Swords of Revealing Light ends and is destroyed!" Saru said triumphantly again.

Atem moved his card to the graveyard. This battle was getting heated up he thought. He drew one card. He looked at the Trap Hole, and decided against playing it so Saru's Crimson Ninja wouldn't just destroy it when it was sent to the graveyard.

"I play one card in face down defense position, and then have Obnoxious Celtic Guard attack your face down Crimson Ninja. Then I end my turn." said Atem. Saru moved his card to the graveyard, saddened that he couldn't use it's effect again.

"My turn! I'll start by drawing one card!" Saru said, stating the obvious. "Now, I'll summon Volcanic Slicer (1800atk, 1200def) to the field! And now, I activate it's ability, which deals 500 points of damage to your life points. Now your down too 3,500!" said Saru.

"Next up, I'll have my Bitelon destroy your Sangan. And my Bitelon's special ability is that when it attacks a defense position monster, the difference between Bitelon's attack and your monster's defense is subtracted from your life points! And since my Bitelon's attack is 2400 and your Sangan's defense is 600, the difference is 1800, so your now down to 1700 life points!"

"Don't forget my Sangan's ability!" said Atem, sifting through his deck and drawing another card.

"Don't worry, I didn't. Now I end my turn!" Saru said, getting giddy with excitement. He might actually win a duel with the king of games!

"My move!" said Atem, and then looked at his new cards in his hand. "And I'll start by summoning Queen's Knight (1500atk, 1600def) to the field! Then I activate Brain Control, and by paying 800 life points, taking my life points to 900, I can take control of one of your monsters for one turn, and I think I'll take control of your Bitelon!" Atem said, and moved the card over to his side of the field.

"Now, Bitelon attacks Volcanic Slicer, which takes your life points from 2300 to 1700, and then I attack you directly with Queen's Knight and Obnoxious Celtic Guard, finishing you off!" Atem said, and then picked up his cards.

"Damn it!" said Saru, upset. He picked up his cards and put them back into a deck, returning them to his pack.

"Saru, it's nothing to be upset about! If I hadn't drawn that Brain Control, you would have won, not me. I actually thought I might lose, but I believed in the cards and it was a nice payback. You're a fine duelist Saru, and you're already an equal to me at your age." Atem said, a smile on his face.

Saru refused to look up for three minutes.

"Thanks… Yugi…" said Saru, happy to know that Yugi thought of him that way. And then Atem switched back to Yugi.

"Saru, I want you to have these…" said Yugi, holding out three cards. Saru looked at them and couldn't believe his eyes.

"These were cards I won from the tournament in the U.S. I'm sure they'll improve your deck drastically. Keep dueling, and I'm sure you'll become a pro like me. Just remember to always believe in your cards!" Yugi said, giving that cheesy thumbs up sign that they did in all the movies and manga Saru read.

Saru laughed hardily, reading over the cards. Paladin of Whit Dragon, White Dragon Ritual, and Dandylion. They would definitely help Saru out in the future.

"Keep stopping by here and practicing with my grandpa, and I'm confident you'll get better. And whenever I get in town, I'll stop by your place and duel you, okay?" Yugi asked, and Saru smiled.

"Definitely!" Saru said, and then walked too the front desk, said bye to Soguroku, and then headed out the door, where the rising sun predicted it to be almost noon.

"So, how was he?" Soguroku asked Yugi, and Yugi just smiled.

"The duel was fun, and he is a strong duelist." said Yugi as Saru ran out of sight…

Thanks for reading, hope you review.

Next Chapter: Chapter III - The Time Warp