DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.

The Shadow Library
Chapter 15: The Special Cards
By Shadow's Mirror

Yugi sighed with relief as he finally finished writing the bibliography for his history assignment. He put his pen down on the desk, then stretched, arching his back and closing his eyes in delight at the sudden feel of freedom that came from having completed the task that had been worrying him for the past few days.

"You are finished, Yugi?" Yami's voice held both amusement and an eagerness that made Yugi grin as he turned around in his chair to look at his darker half, who was sitting on the bed.

"Yes, I'm all done! One history assignment, now complete with a list of sources that will pass even the toughest of inspections." Yugi smiled happily. "I'll hand it in to Mr Tyson tomorrow."

"That is good. Well done, Yugi." Yami smiled at him, then his eyes took on a predatory gleam that Yugi knew all too well. "Does that mean...?"

Yugi laughed and nodded as he stood up. "Yes, Yami. I can play a game with you now. We have just enough time for a couple of duels before bed."

The small boy crossed over to the bed. Looking down at the cards spread over the bed in front of Yami, Yugi arched an eyebrow. "Playing without me?"

"No." Yami shook his head and picked up two of the cards set out before him. "I was merely trying to determine how these were different to the others." He sighed and frowned slightly. "Now that I know it is there, I can sense the Shadow Magic in these cards. I cannot believe I did not notice it before."

Yugi put his hand on his yami's shoulder, sensing his darker half's annoyance with himself. "To you and I, and the others, all the cards feel like that. We can sense the connections to the monsters. When I touch the Dark Magician or the Dark Magician Girl's cards, I've always thought the power I sensed in them was as strong as it was because they were my favourite monsters. I just assumed the link was stronger with them than it was with our other cards. It's easy to say that we should have known, now that we know the truth. Before today, we didn't know it was possible for them to be special cards."

Yami smiled and covered Yugi's hand with his own. "That is true, Yugi. Thank you. As always, you have put the matter into perspective for me."

Yugi's cheeks heated, turning faintly pink. "You are welcome, Yami." He gestured to the cards and smiled. "Shall we play?"

- - -

The boys had just started dueling when they heard Grandpa coming up the stairs. "Yami!" He opened the door and peered around it, then smiled. "Ah, good, you're here."

Yami nodded as Grandpa entered the room. "Did you need me for something?"

"A messenger from Kaiba Corp. just dropped this off for you." He handed Yami an envelope.

Yami's eyes widened slightly, the only sign of his surprise. "I see. Thank you, Grandpa." He took the envelope.

"Is it something good?" The old man's eyes gleamed in anticipation.

Yami smiled slightly. "In a way. I believe this might be..." As he spoke, he opened the envelope and extracted the single sheet of paper that was inside. Glancing at it, he nodded. "Yes, it is. Kaiba has sent us a list of the Duel Monsters that have doubles."

Grandpa looked disappointed. Apparently he had been hoping for something a little more exciting. "Ah well, I'll leave you two to it then."

"Wait a minute, Grandpa!" Yugi was looking at the list over Yami's shoulder. "I have a question for you."

"Hmm? What is it, Yugi?" Grandpa smiled at his grandson.

"I recognise most of the cards on this list, but there are two I've never heard of. Guardian Angel Joan and Wingweaver. Do you know them?" Yugi and Yami both looked at Grandpa expectantly.

The old man nodded. "Yes, I do. I have copies of them in the shop, if you'd like to see them?"

Yugi bounced on the bed, grinning. "Yes please, Grandpa!"

Yami looked thoughtful. "Grandpa... Do you have copies of all the cards on this list? Yugi and I have some of them, but I would like to know how our cards stand in relation to the others."

Grandpa took the list and examined it, then smiled. "I should be able to get these together. Wait here and I'll bring them up to you."

- - -

Yugi and Yami looked at each other, then at the cards Grandpa had just given Yami. Yugi bit his lip nervously, then nodded. "Well, let's do it."

Yami nodded in response and began to set the cards out on the bed in front of them.

Although Grandpa had joked that they just wanted another Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl, he had given them copies of those cards too, as well as the other cards on the list that they already had. So they didn't need to break apart their deck in order to see all ten of the cards on the list together.

When the cards were set out, in order of attack strength, Yugi and Yami both frowned at the results.

"Of the ten cards, Fire Sorcerer is the weakest. We know his card is held by that child Bakura and Mokuba know." Yami looked thoughtful.

"Morgan," Yugi helpfully supplied. He studied the cards for a moment. "The next two are identical in both attack and defense. They're even the same level. Spirit of the Books and Celtic Guardian." He picked up the Spirit of the Books card and looked at it more closely for a moment.

Yami eyed his light curiously. "What is it, Yugi?"

"This card... The Spirit of the Books that we met, the one in charge of the Royal Magical Library, weren't his robes a slightly different colour?" Yugi handed the card to his yami, who studied it intently before nodding.

"Yes, they were. So it seems that we met two of the special cards' monsters last night, not one. Fire Sorcerer and the Spirit of the Books." Yami considered that for a moment. "Fire Sorcerer seemed to be in the Spirit of the Books' care."

Yugi nodded in agreement as he put the card back into place. "Fire Sorcerer has the form of a young boy, so it makes sense that he'd have an adult Monster looking after him."

He picked up the next card. "Okay, the next strongest is... Dark Witch." He frowned slightly and looked at Yami. "That's strange. When she was talking about this, Dark Witch never mentioned having a double."

Yami nodded, his eyes narrowed. "When Bakura summoned her here, I sensed something strange. I am not entirely sure what it was. It felt as if..." His frown deepened. "As if Dark Witch and Bakura were somehow connected."

"Bakura seemed to be on pretty friendly terms with her. Maybe that's formed some sort of link between them. Like we have with the Dark Magician." Yugi smiled.

Yami considered that for a moment. "Perhaps." He did not seem convinced.

"You think Bakura might have the special Dark Witch card, don't you, Yami?" Yugi looked thoughtful as his darker half nodded in silent confirmation. "But if he did, surely he would have said something."

"Not necessarily." Yami frowned slightly. "It would be like him to keep it a secret, if he did know. He seemed to know considerably more about this matter than he should have."

"Mmm... Yes, he did, didn't he?" Yugi looked thoughtfully at the other cards spread out in front of them. Talking about Bakura had reminded him of something. "Yami... if you and I have two of the special cards, then perhaps Bakura and Ryou have two as well." He picked up the only non-Monster card on the list and held it so Yami could see it.

Change of Heart.

Both boys remembered their duel against Bakura during the Duelist Kingdom tournament. Ryou had named Change of Heart as being his favourite card before the duel, but it had also been the card that the dark spirit had trapped Ryou's soul in, during the game. It was the card Ryou was most connected to, in the same way that Yami and Yugi were connected to the Dark Magician.

Yami considered his light's idea carefully. "It is a possibility." He looked at the next strongest card and smirked. "But I know for a fact that this card is not in Bakura and Ryou's deck."

Yugi giggled and nodded. Since Bakura and Ryou played a Fiend deck, consisting of mainly Dark Monsters, the Soul of Purity and Light card would have been very out of place. "Grandpa once told me about that card. He said it's a good card, but very difficult to use."

"Which could explain why it has never been used during an official duel. Either that, or it is in the hands of someone who does not duel in official tournaments."

"Maybe." Yugi studied the card for a moment longer before putting it down again. "Next?"

Yami frowned slightly as he looked at the remaining cards. "We hold the Dark Magician and the Dark Magician Girl cards, which leaves only two." He studied the last cards carefully, one eyebrow arching as he noted the strength of the two Monsters. "They are impressive."

Yugi nodded. "Grandpa once told me that Wingweaver is one of the strongest cards there is, in terms of combined attack and defense points. Guardian Angel Joan is only fifty points stronger in attack and weaker by four hundred in defense, but its effect means that the player using it increases their life points each time they defeat one of their opponent's Monsters."

Yami looked very thoughtful. "It is a powerful card, but it would only be effective in the hands of someone who knew how to use it."

He smiled slightly as he turned to look at his light. "At least now we know that these special cards exist and which cards they are. If we come across any of them in the future, we will not be caught unprepared."

Yugi smiled back at his darker half and nodded in agreement. "Hopefully the other cards are in good hands, so we won't have to worry about them at all."

"Yes, Yugi. Hopefully that is indeed the case." Yami stretched and sighed softly, his mind already busy with tactics and strategies to use against the cards concerned.

"Yami..." Yugi's voice was soft and hesitant, his eyes troubled as he looked at his other self. "Even though we know these special cards exist now, nothing has really changed, has it?"

"What do you mean, Yugi?" Yami frowned slightly in confusion.

The boy looked down at the cards set out on the bed. "Well... it is good that we know they exist, of course. If they're ever used against us, or in a bad way, then we'll know what's going on. But... unless that happens, do we need to worry about them?" He bit his lip and frowned slightly. "It seems to me that our knowing about them doesn't change anything at the moment. I think we should work out how to deal with each of the cards, in case we ever need to, but beyond that..."

Yami smiled and nodded. "I agree, Yugi. There is nothing more we can do. Unless the cards are used openly, we have no knowledge of where they are or who holds them. I will admit, that bothers me more than a little, however I am confident that we will be able to face whatever the future holds." He lightly rested a hand on Yugi's shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "After all, there is nothing that you and I cannot do, as long as we are together."

Yugi's answering smile lit up his face and made his eyes sparkle with happiness. "I agree, Yami. If the cards are ever used against us, we'll be ready for them. Together." He looked down at the cards again. "For now though, let's put these away. We can work on strategies another time."

Yami agreed, then watched as Yugi gathered the cards and crossed the room to put them safely away in the drawer of his desk.

They had made an important discovery that day, but Yugi was right. As long as the cards remained in unknown hands, there really was no point in worrying about them. If anything happened, they would be ready and they would deal with it. Just as they dealt with every other challenge that came their way.

With that matter put aside for the time being, the dark spirit's mind began to wander onto more pleasurable activities. He looked hopefully over at the clock, then sighed softly. It looked like he was out of luck. "It seems we have spent so long looking at those cards that we will not have time to duel tonight."

Yugi tried to ignore the disappointment he could hear in his yami's voice, but his tender heart gave in. "Well... I guess one quick duel would be okay. But just one! I have school tomorrow." He eyed his darker half warily as he returned to the bed, trying his best to look stern.

Yami did his best to hide his amusement over how funny Yugi looked when he was trying to be strict. "Of course, Yugi. One game."

As Yugi smiled and sat down opposite him on the bed, preparing to play, Yami smiled serenely.

He hadn't promised the game would be a short one.

To be continued...