Name code: Edo Phoenix-Aster Phoenix, Asuka Tenjoin-Alexis Rhodes, Judai Yuki-Jaden Yuki

Asuka and Edo activated their duel disks as they stood across from each other on the grass near the shoreline where Edo's yacht was, each of them determined to win.

"DUEL!" Asuka and Edo both shouted simultaneously.

"Well, then. Let's see if your dueling skills are as strong as your pride. Ladies first!" Edo said with a confident smile.

"Alright, here I go! First, I'll summon Etoile Cyber (1200 Atk. 1600 Def.) in attack mode! Then, I'll set one card facedown! That ends my turn." Asuka said.

"My turn! I draw! Now, I summon Destiny HERO Decider (1600 Atk. 1000 Def.) to the field in attack position! Next, I activate my spell, Destiny Draw! I'll use its effect to send one Destiny HERO from my hand to the cemetery to draw two cards. And now, I attack Etoile Cyber with Decider!" Edo said.

Since she left such a weak monster in attack position, that must mean that she wants me to walk into her trap. It is better that I get her to use it up now instead of waiting. Edo reasoned to himself.

"I activate my trap card, Doble Passe! It stops your monster's attack, but in return, I take direct damage that is equal to my monster's attack points that was targeted!" Asuka groaned in pain as Doble Passe's effect damaged her life points.

Edo frowned slightly. "That seems like quite a risky move. Was Etoile Cyber really important enough for you to put yourself at a disadvantage this early in duel?" He asked suspiciously.

"I'm glad that you asked that question! That isn't Doble Passe's only effect. It also allows the monster that I used its effect on to directly during my next turn, so you could be in for a rough time if you aren't careful!" Asuka warned Edo with a smile.

"Thanks for the heads up on that one! Not that I'll need it, of course! I set three cards facedown. And before I end my turn, I activate Destiny HERO Decider's effect to bring back one HERO monster from the cemetery and add it to my hand. I end my turn." Edo said.

Asuka- LP 2800 Edo- LP 4000

Edo is good. Not only was he not afraid to walk into my trap, but he also just gave himself a huge advantage with Destiny Draw while managing to not even feel its drawback thanks to Decider's effect. This isn't going to be easy… Asuka thought to herself as she eyed Edo's three facedown cards warily.

"It's my turn now! I draw! I activate my spell card, Pot of Greed! It lets me draw two cards. And now, I play my field spell, Ritual Sanctuary!" Asuka exclaimed.

The field around the two duelists changed into the interior of a wedding chapel, complete with stained-glass windows and an altar.

Edo laughed lightly in amusement at the new surroundings. "Easy, there. It's not like I'm signing up for that once this is over!" He said jokingly.

Asuka couldn't stop herself from blushing in humiliation. Since she had always only been interested in dueling, it was always embarrassing for her to use this card. The card's picture of the little bride and groom figurines was bad enough, but the visual field effect had always been a great source of annoyance to her. To have to use this against Edo-the guy that just might end up being her new boyfriend-was too much. Asuka did not know what the creator of Duel Monsters had been thinking when he designed this card, but right now, she fervently wished that she could kick him for this.

"You won't think it is so funny now when I activate its effect! I discard one spell card from my hand to add one light attribute ritual monster from my deck to my hand. Now, I activate my spell card, Sprite's Blessing! By sending my level 8 monster to the graveyard, I use this card's effect to ritual summon Cyber Angel Dakini (2700 Atk. 2400 Def.) in attack mode! And now, I activate Cyber Angel Dakini's effect! You must choose to send one monster that you control to the graveyard. Although I suppose that there isn't much of a choice for you since you only have one monster. Cyber Angel Dakini, destroy Destiny HERO Decider!" Asuka said.

Edo's monster blew up in an explosion of light, but he was ready for it. "I activate my trap card, Destiny Mirage! Since a Destiny HERO was destroyed by a card effect, I can now special summon it and any others that were sent to the cemetery this turn. So, welcome back, Decider!" He said as Decider returned to the field.

"You're just stalling to buy yourself some time. But it won't work! I activate Doble Passe's second effect now! Etoile Cyber, attack him directly! When she attacks directly, Etoile Cyber gains 500 attack points!" Asuka said. Her monster soared through the air to deliver a swift kick to Edo, causing him wince as he lost life points.

"It's about to get worse! Cyber Angel Dakini, attack Destiny HERO Decider!" Asuka commanded.

Instead of attacking, Cyber Angel Dakini simply stood there on the field, unable to move.

"Why isn't she attacking!?" Asuka asked in confusion. She had a bad feeling about whatever was going on here.

"It's Decider's effect. Monsters that are level 6 or higher cannot target him for an attack. This means that all of your work to summon Dakini was for nothing!" Edo taunted Asuka.

Argh! No wonder he was so desperate to bring back Decider! He knew all along that I would try to use a high level monster! Asuka thought to herself in frustration, realizing that once again, Edo had been one step ahead of her.

"I set one card facedown and-" Asuka started to say.

"Wait! I activate my facedown card, the spell card, Cosmic Cyclone! By paying 1000 of my life points, I use its effect to banish your facedown card!" Edo interrupted.

Asuka watched as the trap card that she had just set, Hallowed Life Barrier, was banished from her field outside of the graveyard.

He waited until my last chance to set a card instead of just targeting Ritual Sanctuary. He probably figured that a facedown card would be more dangerous since Decider doesn't have much to worry about with its effect protecting it from a lot of high level monsters. Asuka reasoned to herself.

"Now look who's being risky. You've lost a lot of life points now, Edo. And it is only a matter of time before I get rid of Decider with another monster. I end my turn." Asuka said.

Asuka- LP 2800 Edo- LP 1300

"Life points are not everything. At least until they are gone, that is. A true professional like me knows that. I would not get excited about your lead if I were you. Trust me when I tell you that the worst is yet to come for you. It's my turn. I draw!" Edo warned Asuka.

Perfect! Now the stage is set! Edo thought to himself as he looked at the card that he had just drawn.

"I'm really sorry, but this duel is about to end now. I wish that we could have gone on longer, but I've just drawn the card that will ensure my victory. I play my field spell, Dark City!" Edo said as the field space around Ritual Sanctuary transformed itself into a towering nighttime city landscape.

Asuka gazed around the field nervously. She remembered all too well what Dark City's effect was from watching Edo's duel with Judai.

"Now, I summon Destiny HERO Celestial! (1600 Atk. 1400 Def.) Come, on! Next, I activate my facedown card, D-Chain! I'll use it to give Decider 500 extra attack points. Decider, attack Cyber Angel Dakini! Since his attack points are lower than Dakini's, Decider gains 1000 attack points when it attacks it thanks to Dark City's effect. With that and D-Chain, Decider can now destroy your monster! And that's not all! When a monster equipped with D-Chain destroys my opponent's monster, they will lose 500 life points!" Edo said.

Asuka watched in horror as Cyber Angel Dakini was destroyed. If only she had been able to keep Hallowed Life Barrier!

"Now it's time for the grand finale. Celestial, will attack you directly! But before that happens, I activate his effect to destroy one face-up spell card on your field, while causing you 500 points of damage. And of course, I choose to destroy your Ritual Sanctuary!" Edo said.

Asuka watched in a mix of horror and relief as Ritual Sanctuary's wedding cake and chapel shattered into pieces in front of her from Celestial's effect.

"It's over. You never stood a chance against me, Asuka. But don't worry. I will more than make up for this now that I have you right where I want you… Celestial, attack her directly!" Edo said triumphantly as he dealt the final blow.

Asuka yelled as she was knocked off her feet from the force of Edo's attack.

Asuka- LP 0 Edo- LP 1300 Winner- Edo

I lost… But at least I feel better now for being able to go through with the duel and not being afraid of it. But now… Asuka thought to herself, more than a little nervous about what was to come.

"Are you okay? Here, let me help you up." Edo said kindly as he pulled Asuka to her feet.

"Thanks. That duel was…wow. I didn't stand a chance." Asuka said sheepishly.

"Most people don't against me. But I will admit that that was one of the more enjoyable duels that I've had in some time." Edo said with a smile.

What an ego. I'm going to at least try getting him to work on THAT. Asuka thought to herself in annoyance.

"Yeah, it was a good duel." Asuka admitted.

"I'm glad that you enjoyed it. Now, as per our agreement, I thought that we should keep it simple for a while and just hang out here for a while. And you don't have to tell anyone right away that we're seeing each other." Edo said.

Asuka looked at Edo skeptically. "Is that what you would prefer? Keeping this secret for now?" She asked.

"Well… Since we didn't start this in a normal way, I imagine that it would seem pretty strange to people that we had started dating after we had only spoken to each other once today. And it's going to be a nightmare once the press hears about this. I thought that it would be more comfortable for you if we just had some time to ourselves to talk first before the whole world knows finds out about it." Edo explained carefully.

Asuka felt even worse after hearing Edo's explanation. She had almost forgotten about his celebrity status. Eyes from everywhere were always on him, and now she would be a part of the equation. Would television reporters start hounding her, too? And what Judai and the rest of her friends think once they heard about this. Not to mention her brother…

"I had almost forgotten about all of that. You're right. It makes more sense to keep it secret for now. I certainly don't mind that." Asuka admitted ruefully.

"Good. Then why don't you come over at about 6:00 tomorrow night? Does that work for you?" Edo asked.

"Sure. 6:00 is okay." Asuka said.

"Okay, good. You can just let yourself in once you get there. I'll leave the door open. So it's a date!" Edo said with false cheeriness.

"Yeah...a date it is." Asuka said with a nervous smile.

"Alright. I have to go now, but I'll see you tomorrow, Asuka. I'm looking forward to it." Edo said as he tried desperately to turn on all the charm he had.

"Okay, see you." Asuka said as she turned and left, eager to escape before things became even more awkward.

Great! Just great! I've practically scared her to death with this. It's like she sees a date with me as the equivalent to walking over a carpet of needles barefoot! I don't know how long I can keep this up until she sees that I'm a fraud and I don't even know what the hell I am doing! Saio better be right about this! Edo thought to himself hopelessly.

AN: I'm sorry if the duel sucked. I'm not very good at writing them, so feel free to let me know if I made any mistakes here.

Edit: Annd...a year later, I realize I did make a mistake. Ritual Sanctuary is a field spell, NOT a continuous spell like I listed here before. Unfortunately, I've had to fudge the rules here a bit since in the GX era rules, one field spell can only exist at a time, so playing Dark City would have cancelled out Ritual Sanctuary. But I'm just pretending that we aren't going by those rules from then here just to get the duel done like it was. Anyway, I'm sorry! There probably won't be anymore duels in this story, thank god!