Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh Zexal!

All bold cards are ones I created.

"Duel!"

Drawing five cards each, Ami carefully considered her options. Nodding, she looked to Sierra, "I'll go first!"

Sierra just kept her wicked and possessed grin on her face in silence.

Ami continued without a thought, "My turn, draw!" With a brief look at her hand, and a second to let Black Mist see it, she picked a card and set it in defense mode, "I set a monster in face down defense position! I place one card face down and end my turn!"

Black Mist remained silent, showing he had no problem with Ami's moves.

"Rather bland," Sierra mocked but Ami showed no signs of irritation. Sierra continued, "My turn, draw!"

Ami saw Sierra falter a little bit but it was for only a second. 'A bad draw, huh?' Ami thought. To be able to read expressions, and see through them, was an ability Ami had learned.

The possessed girl smirked, "I end my turn."

Black Mist narrowed his eyes, "With nothing?"

Kyoko and Toby, while confused at the duel and the weird marks on the two girls, were even more confused at Sierra's move, or lack of.

"Why would she leave her field open?" Kyoko asked with a tilted head.

"Maybe she has a weird monster in her hand that has an ability that can activate off field," Toby suggested, knowing he himself had such a card.

"Don't let her smirk fool you."

They turned to Ami, who looked unworried. Though, when she was dueling, it was hard to know what she was thinking. "She's trying to make me fear the unknown, something that could harm me or help me. It's a defense mechanism. A bluff."

"Hm, you seem confident," Sierra snorted, "If you think you can win, you have another thing coming."

"My turn, draw!" Ami announced. Black Mist leaned slightly over her to see the card she drew.

"It'd be best to attack her now but use caution," Black Mist advised.

"You read my mind," Ami smirked and slapped a card onto her D-Pad. "I summon Black Beauty – Knight!"

A knight clad in leather armor appeared, a sword on his hip. Instead of the previous female monsters Black Mist saw, this one was a male (Atk: 1600-Lvl: 4).

Ami took a glance at Black Mist and he nodded.

"Black Beauty – Knight, attack Sierra directly!" Ami ordered. With a cry, the knight unsheathed his sword and ran at Sierra. Swinging his arm, he plunged the intangible sword into her chest.

Sierra shouted out as she fell backwards, taking battle damage without a fight.

Ami: 4000LPS

Sierra: 2400LPS

"Yeah!" Kyoko cheered, "Nice move, Ami!"

"You took almost half her life points!" Toby added as well.

"I end my-"

"Ami, put that card down," Black Mist interrupted.

Ami stared at him before saying, "Please."

Black Mist tilted his head in confusion.

"Say please or I'm not going to do it."

Black Mist sweat dropped in affectionate exasperation. Surely Ami was just joking…right? However, with one look at said-girl's face, he saw she wasn't. He sighed, "Please?"

Ami's lips twitched into an amused smile. "You actually did it," she laughed as she took the card and slipped it into the slot. "I end my turn with this face down!"

Black Mist huffed at being tricked. Such a silly action in a number duelwas not appropriate.

Sierra drew a card fiercely, "My turn, draw!" She instantly played a card, "I summon Ghost Mirror in attack position!"

A slightly transparent man (ghost) appeared holding a small, round mirror appeared (Atk: 0-Lvl: 4).

"Eh?!" shouted Kyoko in shock, "There's no attack points!"

Slightly annoyed, Black Mist muttered, "Thank you for pointing out the obvious."

Ami patted Black Mist on the arm in amused comfort. She knew Kyoko was a bit…noisy and she took some taking used to.

"Ghost Mirror's effect activates," Sierra declared. "If my opponent has a monster with the same level as Ghost Mirror, Ghost Mirror can copy its' attack points and remove that monster from play."

Ami clicked her tongue in annoyance as Sierra's monster held up its mirror. In the reflection was Black Beauty – Knight. Ghost Mirrors' attack points raised (Atk: 1600). Ami's knight disappeared, removed from play.

Sierra smirked, "Now, Ghost Mirror, attack her set monster!" The monster obeyed and held its mirror out. It chanted a small phrase and his eyes glowed brightly. A beam shot out of the mirror, targeting Ami.

Ami's monster flipped over, revealing itself. "Black Beauty – Seer!" Ami proclaimed. A man appeared on the card sitting, knees tucked underneath him. He wore flowing purple robes and he had all-seeing green eyes (Def: 500-Lvl: 2).

"His effect activates!" Ami shouted, "If he is attacked, his effect allows you to draw one card. I have to guess whether it is a monster, spell, or trap card. If I guess right, the attack is cancelled. If I guess wrong, the attack proceeds."

Sierra smirked and drew a card. Ami stared at it, thinking of the best answer.

"Do trap card! It's always a trap card!" shouted Kyoko confidently.

Ami sweat dropped. Black Mist just sighed. Ami turned to him, "Hey, you pick."

Black Mist picked one, "Spell card."

Ami nodded, "Spell card!"

Sierra rolled her eyes, "Lucky guess." Ghost Mirror moved back to his spot on the field.

Toby sighed in relief. "Ghost Mirror…" He blinked, "Speaking of ghosts, I'm still pretty confused about the ghost rumor."

Kyoko agreed, "Yeah, what's that all about, Sierra-san?"

Black Mist growled lowly, "Do they not understand this is a number duel? Could they not wait until after to ask questions?" The faster they won this duel and collected the number, the faster Ami would be safe.

Sierra cackled loudly, "Oh, there is a ghost."

Ami stared at her, "There is?" she asked distrustfully.

"Of course," Sierra looked to her hand, "Would you like to meet her?"

Before Ami could reply, Sierra activated a card. "Spell card, Two-for-one Deal! With this, one Xyz material counts as two."

"Xyz summon!" Black Mist shouted, "She's summoning the number!"

Ghost Mirror suddenly had a duplicate on the field with it. Sierra threw her hand out, "I overlay level 4 Ghost Mirror and two-for-one deal! With these, I create the overlay network!"

An overlay network formed and Ami could see Sierra's number mark glowing brightly in response.

"Come forth, No.5 Ghost Goddess!"

A pale, slightly transparent lady with overlay units orbiting her appeared. She wore a tattered, short, white dress and small black white shoes. She had dull, blank, grey eyes and pure white, long hair. Her number was on her left cheek (Atk: 2400-Rank: 4). She was really a ghost goddess.

"Numbers…?" Toby breathed, "Are those cards new or something?"

"It's a ghost," Kyoko blinked.

"She's a number," Ami corrected.

"I was hoping for us to summon me first," Black mist noted, studying the number. "Either way though, we need to summon me on our turn."

"About that…" Ami said nervously.

Black Mist turned to her, "What is it?" he asked, puzzled at her suspicious tone.

"Well…" Ami looked away from Black Mist. "I only have two level 2 monsters in my entire deck…"

To summon No.96 Black Mist, you needed three level 2 monsters (Dark-attribute). Black Mist twitched, "You only have two level 2 monsters…"

Sierra interrupted, "With this monster, I end my turn!"

Ami, thankful for a disruption, drew a card, "My turn, draw!" She didn't get the card she wanted. Not letting it show on her face, she took a card and put it on the D-Pad. "I set one monster in defense position. End turn."

Black Mist stared at her, not understanding what she was doing.

Sierra smirked, "Aw, just like that?" She drew, "My turn, draw!" She didn't see any need to do anything and just commanded harshly, "No.5, attack Black Beauty – Seer! Ghost Ray!"

Ghost Goddess raised her hands and a black beam shot out from them. It hit Black Beauty – Seer.

Ami could do nothing as that monster was destroyed. When Ami looked at Ghost Goddess, their eyes met. Cold and unfeeling eyes looked deeply at Ami before flying back to her spot on the field.

"Ami?" Black Mist called, looking at her strangely.

Ami was shocked but it did not show. 'She looks…pained…'

"I use one overlay unit to activate Ghost Goddess' effect!" Sierra declared. "Using one overlay unit, if Ghost Goddess attacks a defense position monster, the difference in attack points and defense points is dealt to you! Wailing Scream!"

Ghost Goddess closed her eyes and her mouth opened in an agonized scream. Ami's eyes widened at the anguish in the monsters' voice before she was thrown backwards.

Ami: 2100LPS

Sierra: 2400LPS

"Ami!" Toby shouted worriedly.

"You okay?" Kyoko asked.

Ami sat up and nodded, "I'm fine." 'Shit, already a bit of damage.'

"I activate a trap!"

Ami looked to Black Mist. He was holding his arm out like he was the one dueling. Ami rolled her eyes, "I'm dueling, Black Mist."

"You're taking too long. If you want to just sit on the ground, you can."

Ami stared before smiling. She flipped onto her feet and repeated Black Mist, "I activate a trap!" The card flipped up. It was the one Black Mist had asked to put down. "If I take more than one thousand points of damage from battle, I can gain one thousand life points. The cost is that you get to attack once more."

Ami: 3100LPS

Sierra: 2400LPS

Ami smirked, loving the feeling of getting lost life points back.

Sierra nodded, "I attack your other set card! Ghost Ray!"

Ghost Goddess shot another beam and the card flipped up to reveal itself. "Black Beauty – Summoner (Def: 1600-Lvl: 4)!"

Sierra paused, wondering if she should use No.5's effect. 'Nah. I'll use it next turn, I'll be sure to finish the duel then.'

Ami watched sadly as her Summoner was sent to the graveyard. Once more, Ghost Goddess flew back to her original spot.

"I'll end my turn with this," Sierra ended.

"This girl does not like setting trap or spell cards," Black Mist noticed.

"It's better for us then," Ami spoke as she put her hand on her deck. 'I just need that card…'

"Ami, we need to win this turn or we'll lose to this number. When that happens, I'll be given to them, one way or another."

Ami glanced at him.

Black Mist stared at Sierra blankly, "And to be honest, I'd rather stay with you for now. I believe we need this card, you'd better draw well."

"Thanks for the pressure," Ami said sarcastically.

"You're very welcome."

Ami sighed, "No, it's sarcasm. It's fake appreciation. I'm making fun of you." She just decided to get to the point.

"…So you were mocking me."

Ami smiled at him tiredly, "It's just a joke. Don't take it seriously."

Black Mist nodded slowly, assuring himself Ami was just being lighthearted. "So…you do not like pressure?" he asked, momentarily fascinated by Ami again.

"No, it's hard to duel with it," Ami answered honestly.

"Observation #5: Putting pressure on someone is very regretting."

Ami looked at Black Mist, "Don't worry about- wait. How did you get to number 5…?"

Black Mist smirked at his partner's cleverness, "It was a test. That was actually Observation #4. True Observation #5: My partner is very observant."

Ami smiled, "Is that so?" she said, flattered.

"Ami, stop being wrapped up in your own world!" Kyoko shouted.

Ami blinked, looking to her.

"Come on, hurry up and draw!" Kyoko yelled impatiently.

"Great…more pressure…" Ami mumbled. She put her hand on her deck. Her hand was shaking though. 'Damn it…I should be able to draw!'

Black Mist watched her. "How does one…take away pressure?" Black Mist inquired.

Before Ami could answer, Toby cheered, "Ami! You can win!"

"Yeah, I'm sorta tired but I know you're going to win soon," Kyoko said as well.

Ami smiled lightly, stress coming off.

Black Mist blinked. 'So, simple cheering and praising helps…' Black Mist patted Ami on the head, like he had seen a teacher do to a student.

Ami looked to Black Mist, confused at the motion. Black Mist had patted her on the head…? A little harshly but nonetheless, he did.

"Something as simple as drawing a card isn't hard," Black Mist spoke. He smiled at her, "I believe in you."

Of course, the smile looked like a wicked grin or a smirk but Ami could see the genuine care in it. Feeling herself blush, she looked away. Smiling and feeling her confidence coming back, she drew, "My turn, draw!"

'Observation #6: Praise is helpful when trying to lift one's spirits.' Black Mist perceived.

Ami glanced at her card and her smile grew. 'Perfect.' She slapped a card onto her D-Pad, "I summon Black Beauty – Villager!"

A black being wearing a rather bland, brown dress appeared. Her brown hair reached her mid-back (Atk: 800-Lvl: 2).

"And using her effect, she can bring back a monster card in my graveyard. The monster is returned to the field without attack points though. This is fine with me."

Black Beauty – Villager glowed and beside her a monster appeared. "Come back here, Black Beauty – Seer!"

The seer returned (Atk: 0-Lvl: 2).

"We need three level 2 (Dark-Attribute) monsters, right?" Ami asked, though she knew the answer.

"Yes," Black Mist confirmed. He looked to the trap Ami had set on her first turn, "That is…"

Ami smirked, "I activate my trap card, Spell-stealer Beauty! If I have at least one Black Beauty monster on the field, I can take a spell card from your graveyard."

"What?!" Sierra screeched.

"I choose Two-for-one Deal!" Ami grinned as the spell card appeared. "I choose to use it on Black Beauty – Villager." The monster doubled. "I overlay my two Black Beauties and Two-for-one Deal! Now, I create the overlay network!"

A large overlay network appeared. Ami could feel her number mark radiating with warmth. Grabbing the number card from her deck-box, she kindly put it on the D-Pad.

"Come forth, the darkest brilliance, No.96 Black Mist!"

No.96 Black Mist appeared on the field. Ami noted that the monster looked like the one on the card. It looked like a black beast and it had giant, metal claws. Flames erupted from its chest and the number was on him. Surrounding it were overlay units (Atk: 100-Rank: 2).

"Whoa!" Kyoko gasped, "When did you get that card?"

"I've never seen Ami-chan use that before…" Toby admitted.

"Darkest brilliance?" Black Mist repeated Ami with a smirk.

Ami stuck her tongue out before asking, "So…is that you?"

"My true form," Black Mist explained. "This form you see me in right now is just my physical embodiment."

Ami nodded slowly. She looked to the beast on the field, "Let's attack." Eyes shining brightly, she commanded her monster, "No.96, attack Ghost Goddess!"

"What are you doing?!" Both Kyoko and Toby shouted.

"What an idiot," Sierra snorted.

"Effect activate!" Ami shouted just before the monster touched Ghost Goddess. "By using one overlay unit, the attack of one of my opponents' monster is halved, and that halved amount can strengthen Black Mists' attack!"

"Shadow Gain!" Black Mist declared.

No.96 Black Mists' attack rose to 1300 while Ghost Goddess' decreased to 1200. No.96 continued and destroyed the number.

"Yes!" Ami smirked.

Ami: 3100LPS

Sierra: 2300LPS

"We destroyed the number, a very crucial part of the path to victory," Black Mist mused. He nodded to Ami, "We'll win on our next turn by attacking."

"I can duel you know," Ami said amusedly. She slipped a card into a slot without Black Mist seeing it, "I put this card face down and end my turn."

"That's an awesome card, Ami," Toby complimented.

Black Mist threw his head back and laughed. Ami raised an eyebrow but didn't question him.

"Yeah!" Kyoko agreed, "Mind if I borrow it?"

"NO!" Ami shouted pretty loudly.

Awkward silence followed.

"Uh…sorry?" Kyoko said uneasily.

Ami just laughed nervously, "N-no, it's fine." Sure she trusted Kyoko but giving away Black Mist…She didn't really want to.

Sierra drew, "My turn, draw!" She was angry that her number was destroyed. "I summon Ghost Partners in attack position!"

Two twin girls appeared on the field, ghostly smiles on their face (Atk: 1800-Lvl: 4).

Sierra, blinded by her annoyance, attacked without a thought, "Attack No.96!"

Ami smirked at this and watched as the twin girls came to attack. "I detach another overlay unit! Shadow Gain!"

"Eh?!" Sierra shouted, "You can't do that!"

"I can and I will." Ghost Partners continued as their attack power was cut in half (Atk: 900). Black Mists' rose to 2200.

Ghost Partners was destroyed on impact.

Ami: 3100LPS

Sierra: 1000LPS

"And even if her attack went through, No.96 wouldn't have been destroyed," Black Mist proclaimed. "Only numbers can defeat numbers, after all."

Sierra growled, "I set a card face down and end my turn."

"Her last resort," Ami muttered. "My turn, draw!"

"Ami, let's win this."

Ami glanced at Black Mist with a smirk, "Alright." She held her hand out, "No.96 Black Mist, attack her directly!"

"Trap activate!" Sierra interfered. The card flipped up, "Xyz protection! If I am attacked directly with an Xyz monster, I can summon an Xyz monster and cancel the attack. Come back, No.5 Ghost Goddess!"

The cold-eyed ghost girl appeared on the field (Atk: 2400-Rank: 4). No.96 was forced to remain in his spot.

"Damn," Black Mist spat. He was hoping to defeat this girl already.

"I activate my trap card, Postponed!"

Black Mist whipped his head around to look at Ami, "What?"

Ami looked ahead, "Thanks to this card, if an attack is cancelled, I'm allowed to attack you directly." Ami smirked, "You lose."

"Black Mirage Whip!" Black Mist shouted. No.96 appeared in front of Sierra and slashed her.

"AHHHH!" Sierra cried out as she was thrown backwards.

Ami: 3100LPS

Sierra: 0LPS

Ami is the winner!

All the cards on the field disappeared except for No.5 Ghost Goddess. The monster looked up, eyes looking blankly at Ami.

"Black Mist, what do we do now?" Ami questioned, glancing at the number.

"…I suppose I could force the number to come to us," Black Mist suggested. His arms turned into tendrils as they grew slightly. Ami watched as he whipped his tendrils and they wrapped around Ghost Goddess.

Ami saw Ghost Goddess' eyes fill with fear and she was shivering slightly. "Black Mist, stop!" Ami shouted immediately and said-number let go.

"What's wrong?" Black Mist asked, tendrils turning back into his regular arms.

Ami carefully walked over to Ghost Goddess. Ghost Goddess wrapped her arms around herself and floated backwards a bit.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Ami soothed. Ghost Goddess still looked uncomfortable. 'Wait a minute…she's shivering, not out of fear, but out of being cold!'

"Ami!" Black Mist hissed, wanting her to come back.

Ami ignored him and stopped walking once she was right in front of Ghost Goddess. Ami gently put her hand on the numbers' cheek. "You don't have to worry, Ghost Goddess," Ami whispered, "I understand."

Black Mists' eyes widened as he watched Ami hug the Ghost Goddess. His eyes then softened, "How kind of you, Ami."

"Warmth…" Ami whispered as she held Ghost Goddess, "All beings crave warmth. Even a ghost such as yourself must crave warmth." The Ghost Goddess, with tears in her eyes, tightly wrapped her arms around Ami.

"Now then," Ami spoke after a moment. She let go of Ghost Goddess and looked her in the eye, "Please let me collect you."

Seeing the warmth in her eyes, Ghost goddess nodded and closed her eyes. Her body dissolved and Ami smiled at her hand. Ghost Goddess had returned to her card form. "No. 5 Ghost Goddess…" Ami read with a smile. Her first number duel was won!

She gently put the number away into her deck-box and finally took off all of her equipment.

"Nice work, Ami," Black Mist approved.

"Thank you," Ami said, flashing him a smile.

"Oi, Ami!"

Ami blinked as an arm was put over her shoulders, "That was a cool duel," Kyoko grinned.

"You were great," Toby added as he walked over as well.

They all heard a groan and turned to Sierra. She sat up and blinked, number mark now gone, "W-what happened?" she asked, confusion on her features.

Ami and Black Mist looked to each other. 'She can't remember?'

"You and Ami just dueled and you lost!" Kyoko said confidently. "What were you doing here in the first place, Sierra-san?"

Sierra looked to her hands, "Um…I heard about the ghost rumor and went to check it out. When I came here, I called out the ghost. It showed up in front of me and I saw some sort of number and…then I woke up here."

Black Mist then said, "Numbers possess their owners and amplify their owners' emotions."

Seeing the time on his watch, Toby gasped, "We should go home soon. It's already pretty late."

Everyone nodded and went their separate ways.

Ami yawned as she opened her front door. Locking it, she yawned once more.

"Go to sleep," Black Mist told her.

She raised her arms childishly, "Carry me~"

She blinked once she felt herself lifted off the ground. Black Mist was carrying her bridal-style and he flew up to the bedroom. He dropped her on the bed harshly but Ami knew he didn't completely understand how strong he was. Too lazy to change, she just lay down.

Black Mist lay down beside her, staring at the ceiling. Right before she fell asleep, Black Mist suddenly asked, "Can I…?

Ami looked to him. She smiled sleepily, "What is it?"

Black Mist wrapped his arms around Ami's waist. He moved lower and dug his head in Ami's stomach.

Ami let Black Mist do what he wanted. She let her eyes close, "Good night." She finally succumbed to sleep.

Finally done with the duel! Sorry it took a bit long to get up, I just can't write duels. So~ Ami's won her first number duel AND got a number. I'll hopefully get the next chapter up soon and thank you for reviewing!