Once again thanks for those who have read, fav/followed, and reviewed! So, I have actually started trying to read the manga and I am pretty excited about it, but of course this story is still set in the "world" of the dubbed anime. So of course the names and references will only be from there. (Especially since that is the version of Yugioh I am most familiar with)

I am actually pretty nervous about writing for Yugi's friends, more so than I am for Yugi and Yami. Joey is pretty well described in the anime, but I am not so sure about Tea and Tristan. Their personalities just didn't seem to really shine for me, so hopefully they are not represented too poorly in my writing. The next chapters will have not only Yugi and Yami, but also Joey, Tea, and Tristan.

Yugi woke up, stretching his arms out above his head. Today he didn't wake up to an alarm. Nor did he rush out of bed to find his school uniform and bag. Today was Saturday, and that meant he could sleep in and spend the day doing something with his friends. Taking a quick glance at his clock, Yugi made note that it was a bit past noon and went to get himself ready for the day.

After preparing himself he headed for the kitchen. He knew his grandfather would already be awake. Solomon was not one to sleep in past the morning hours. "Morning Grandpa", Yugi greeted as he entered the room.

Solomon finished swallowing a bite from his sandwich and laughed at his grandson. "Morning?" he asked, teasingly. "It is noon, my boy!"

"Yeah", Yugi agreed, smiling at his grandfather, "But I just woke up." As he finished his statement a yawn escaped his lips, proving his point. The two Mutos laughed, and Yugi made a sandwich for himself with the almost gone peanut butter that was still on the counter.

Solomon, who had finished his sandwich, all while listening for any customers that may have entered while he took a quick lunch break, headed back toward the front of the shop, but stopped before leaving the room. "That new board game sold out quickly", he commented, bring up the new game that had come out the previous day.

"Really?", Yugi asked as he sat, ready to eat his lunch. He couldn't keep the disappointment out of his voice. "I was kind of hoping to try it out with my friends today."

An almost mischievous smile appeared on the older man's face. "Yep, the last copy we had of the game was bought this morning." Unlike Yugi, Solomon had a store to run. And being that it was a game shop, Saturdays were important for business. As such, he was up early and working while his grandson was fast asleep. He allowed his grandson's disappointment to linger a moment longer before saying his next sentence. "But I do happen to have one copy of the game that wasn't up for sell."

Yugi's eyes instantly lit up with excitement. "Really grandpa?", he asked, smiling brightly.

"But of course, my boy"

"Thank you!", Yugi said as he hugged the man. Solomon smiled at the boy and retrieved the game for him as soon as Yugi let him go.

Then, Yugi's grandpa headed back toward the front of the shop. "Have fun with your friends!" he called out to the boy who was quickly finishing his sandwich.

Yugi quickly stuffed the last bite of his sandwich in his mouth and grabbed the box his grandfather put on the table. It was a game called Battle Monsters. Like many other popular games, it seemed to have inspiration from the monsters in the Duel Monsters trading card game. He opened the box and looked inside. It had a board with squares on it, some card pieces, including some that looked like different landscapes, each the size of the squares on the board, two large boards that folded in a way that would allow them to stand sideways, and some starter monster pieces that were 3D figures of some common and popular duel monster, each with some point values written on them. Yugi knew that there were some other monster pieces that could be bought separately and that the company would be planning on making more monsters if the game caught on.

Yugi also found one special surprise in the box as well. It was a monster that shouldn't be in the starter set of monsters given to each player. Instantly Yugi smiled widely. His grandfather must have place a copy of his favorite duel monster in the box for him, because sitting there in it's own separated wrapping was the Dark Magician. He picked up the piece with care, removing the plastic that it was wrapped in. Looking at the figure more closely, Yugi was a bit surprised at how closely the tiny item resembled the Magician. It looked almost exactly how the monster appeared in the holographic image of him Yugi saw in his duels.

"Look, Yami, it looks just like him," Yugi whispered without thought. And, of course, the spirit quickly appeared next to Yugi, smiling as well. It was no secret that the Dark Magician was his favorite as well.

"Seems like the creators of this game put a lot of care in making these figures," the spirit said as he also admired the detail the game designers put in. He was well aware that this game had come out recently and that Yugi was excited to try it out. The young boy probably would have asked his grandfather to let him see a copy of the game the previous night if he didn't have so much homework that he needed to finish.

Yugi, who actually didn't startle this time, much to his relief, nodded in agreement. Then he placed the game piece down and picked up a booklet made of paper. Quickly, he and the spirit read through the directions and rules of the game. Of course, both of them would be interested in the newly released game. And since Yugi was the game expert in his group of friends, it was his job to really understand how the game worked and to explain it to them, especially Joey.

"Hmm", Yugi hummed as he finished reading the whole booklet and looked up at Yami, who was already looking back towards him. "Sounds interesting, don't you think?" he asked the spirit.

"Yes, it does," the spirit agreed. Yugi could tell by looking at Yami's face that he was already thinking of strategies and ways to win.

"So..." Yugi began, feeling a bit nervous. "Want to play some test runs with me?" Yugi had never actually done anything like this with the spirit of the puzzle before. They were just barely getting to know each other, though they both did feel a certain closeness to each other. Of course that could be attributed to them sharing Yugi's body and to the events that happened at Duelist Kingdom. However, Yugi wanted to spend time with him and become closer friends.

Yami smiled at Yugi, "Of course I would, Yugi." Yugi felt relieved and happy after hearing that the spirit wanted to play with him. He wasn't sure if he would or not. "But how would we play together?" Yami asked, bringing attention to the obvious fact that he could not physically touch anything as he was.

Yugi thought for a bit "Well, you could take over when it is your turn to play. And we can keep our thoughts separate, like we did when we dueled Pegasus. And then we will just have to move around the board so that whoever is playing is where they are suppose to be."

The spirit of the puzzle thought for a short moment. "That could work", he said as a smirk appeared on his face. "But are you prepared to face me in this game?", he challenged Yugi, filled with the confidence Yugi identified him with, confidence that no matter the game or situation he would win. Yugi had to be a bit honest with himself, even though he wanted to play with the spirit, he was a little intimidated by his skill and confidence with games.

Yugi nodded, and with that they started the game.

So Joey and the others didn't make it to this chapter. This just seemed like a good place to stop to me. They will be in the next one though! And of course actual game play will be in the next chapter as well (little nervous about actually writing a game out, even if it is one I thought of).

Inspiration for the game comes from a video game I played when I was younger. I am pretty sure it was called Yugioh: the Duelist of the Roses from Konami. On the image of the title screen of the game from google it is copyrighted to Kazuki Takahashi, 1996. And in the anime it does seem like a lot of games use the same monsters as duel monsters (Dungeon Dice Monster, Duel Monsters, Capsule Monsters [Also the names don't really seem all that creative, so I went with a similar trend in naming the game]).