Chapter 2: First Impressions

A comforting warmth settled around her neck. She sighed as a feeling of safety, comfort, and security washed over her entire being. Looking down, she lightly touched the pendant now resting against her breast.

"With this, we'll always be connected," a deep voice whispered in her ear, sending shivers up her spine. Quickly, she turned to try and catch a glimpse of who it was, but no one was there. Instead, a gold object shattered into millions of pieces.

A hole yawned through her. She felt as if she were being shattered.

"No…" she cried, clutching her chest. Suddenly, the ground crumbled underneath her. Her stomach lurched as she began to free fall into the shadows.

"It's futile…" another voice whispered, raking pain across her senses.

She screamed.

Ana shot up in bed, panting, a sheen of sweat on her forehead. She rested a hand on her chest, attempting to slow her pounding heart. That was…different.

Shakily, she got out of bed and made her way over to her desk. Opening the box in which she kept all her duel cards, she picked up her newest one.

'Light of the Goddess', the card she had been searching for for years. On it was a painting of a necklace, the same necklace that she wore in her dream. A beautiful gold piece, with a pendant in the shape of a phoenix wrapped around a gold heart.

For the past couple of years, Ana had been seeing that dream almost constantly, just like tonight. Except, this one was different. Usually her dream ended after watching whatever that thing was shatter into pieces. Never had she felt pain in the dream before. Was that even possible in a dream?

Her temples began to throb. Sighing, she put the card back with her deck. Heading for the kitchen with the intent of getting a glass of water, she tried to put the anxiety and fear the nightmare had inspired in her out of her mind. She had other things to worry about. Namely, the fact that school started tomorrow.

"Well, your registration is all done, now, Atem," the school secretary declared, shuffling a stack of papers in front of her. "Welcome to Domino City High! Here's a list of materials you'll need, though I'm sure you'll be able to share with your brother for today."

"Um, thank you," Atem took the paper and looked hesitantly at Yugi and his grandfather, who were smiling at him.

"Now run along! You too Yugi. I believe first period starts soon, does it not?" she told them, shooing them out of the office.

"Yep! Thanks Ms. Hart!" Yugi cheerfully chirped back.

"Well, now that that's all settled, I'd best be getting back to the shop," Solomon said, "You have fun at school, Atem."

"Uh, sure," honestly, Atem had mixed feelings about attending school. He understood the importance of learning and knowledge, but he was supposed to be searching for the missing piece of the Puzzle so that he could return to the afterlife. Also, being born 5,000 years ago, he was pretty sure he was fairly behind in the curriculum. He doubted his previous lessons on harvest cycles and ancient scriptures would help him now. When he had been residing in Yugi, he had tended to retreat into the Puzzle while Yugi was in class. However, it wasn't like he could try and argue himself out of going to school without seeming immature and ungrateful.

"Come on, Atem! Ms. Hart was nice enough to put you in my class, so follow me." Yugi started to lead him down the hall. As they walked, Atem couldn't help but notice the stares they were getting from the other students around them. He supposed it was because of the novelty of Yugi suddenly having a 'twin.'

When they reached the classroom, they were greeted by Tea, Joey, Tristan, and Duke, who were all in the same class as well, it seemed. Even Kaiba was brooding in the corner, although he briefly looked up when the Muto's walked in. His friends led him to an empty desk next to Yugi's, where he sat down hesitantly and waited for class to start.

"Don't worry Ph- Atem," Joey told him, slapping his back, "School's a piece of cake."

"Oh really? Why don't you show us your grades, then, Joey," Tristan teased, earning a scowl from his friend.

"Well, at least it should be a breeze compared to running a kingdom, right?" Duke remarked, flipping his hair.

Yugi shushed him, "Duke, you don't want people overhearing you."

"Sorry."

"Well, we're all here for you in whatever case," Tea told the former spirit.

"Thank you, everyone," Atem said, giving them a small smile, "But I'm sure I'll be fine."

With that, the teacher walked in, forcing everyone to go back to their seats. Atem took a cursory glance around the room, taking in everything. Now that everyone was sitting down, he could see a long waterfall of raven hair a few seats away from him. He wasn't sure why, but his eyes were drawn to the figure.

"Alright, welcome back everyone," the teacher said, reclaiming his attention. "Before we get started, we have two new students in our class today."

Two? Atem wondered, before realizing what was probably going to happen next.

"First, Atem Muto, why don't you stand up and introduce yourself to everyone," the teacher beckoned.

He stood up, taking in everyone's stares. He was starting to get a sense of déjà vu. This wasn't unlike that time when he had first landed in his Memory World, just in time for his coronation.

"Uh…hi."

Nope, not unlike that time at all. This time, though, he could see Joey and Tristan hiding a snicker.

"Come on, tell us a little about yourself," the teacher chuckled, "For example, I'm sure everyone's wondering about your uncanny resemblance to another student in this class."

He blinked. "Oh, right. Um, my name is Atem," it was still a little strange introducing himself as such, but it felt nice, "and I'm Yugi's brother. I've just come back from spending a while in Egypt. Nice to meet everyone?" he couldn't help the last part coming out like a question.

"That's better. You can sit back down."

He did so, gratefully.

"And now, Ana Schuyler, could you stand and introduce yourself to everyone as well?"

To his surprise, the girl with the long dark hair he had noticed earlier stood up. Since she was closer to the front, she turned around to bow to everyone. "My name is Ana. I've just moved here from America. It's nice to meet everyone." When she straightened, Atem's eyes widened in shock.

Storm grey eyes seem to look directly at him. The same grey as that girl in the store the other day. Except this time, the chimes of familiarity rang even stronger.

She was definitely older than Sarra, with more delicate facial features. Her raven hair fell in a silky curtain down her back, and her bangs parted to the side framed a heart shaped face. He had never seen her before, and yet it felt like he had. Grey and amethyst eyes continued to stare at each other for what seemed like forever.

In reality, though, after a few seconds, the girl turned back around and sat down, allowing the teacher to begin the lesson.

Unfortunately, Atem wasn't paying one ounce of attention. Who is she? Could she be the person we're supposed to be looking for? How do I even find out?

Ana tapped her eraser absentmindedly against the desk as the lesson droned on. Yawning, she glanced at the clock. Ten minutes until lunch, thank god. Normally she'd be a bit more diligent about taking notes, but this was an English lesson. As someone who grew up in the US, Ana quickly realized that it was actually better to not pay attention to anything the teacher was saying, so as to prevent the urge for her to correct every little thing.

Casting her eyes around the room, her lips twitched as she took in the state of the class. A handful of students were still dutifully taking notes, but it being so close to the lunch hour, the majority were either antsy for the break, day dreaming, or flat out sleeping. She was pretty sure the blond behind her was snoring.

Since she was propping her head on a hand on her desk, she could look behind her a bit. She couldn't help but let her gaze wander to the King of Game's 'brother'. She had recognized him immediately of course – the hair was pretty distinctive. He wasn't taking notes, but his gaze was far from unfocused. In fact, they were focused on her.

Flinching slightly when their eyes met, she quickly turned back around. Was he staring at her?Maybe he was just staring at her direction to the board. Looking up, though, she saw the board in that line of sight was blank. No, he was definitely staring at me. Maybe I remind him of someone?

Oh! She realized what was probably going on. Many people would often comment on how similar she looked to her sister. He probably was wondering if she and the girl he had given a card to were related.

I should probably thank him during lunch. Decision made, she tried to let her thoughts wander again. However, for the remaining ten minutes, she couldn't shake the feeling of that strong gaze on the back of her head.

The bell finally rang, and immediately students were up and about, either leaving to buy their lunches or gathering around their friends' desks. She stood up and approached the twins and their friends. The brothers were murmuring to each other, it appeared, but Atem's gaze was still fixed on her.

She smiled, trying to dispel the awkward air that settled on the group as they fell silent when they noticed her presence. "Um, hi. Sorry, to interrupt you all, but I just wanted to thank you for the other day." She aimed her words at the taller brother.

He blinked in surprise.

"For giving away that card," she clarified. "That girl you met yesterday? That was my younger sister, Sarra."

"Oh," Yugi exclaimed, "Wow, yes I can see the resemblance."

Ana smirked. "I could say the same to you," she noted, causing him to rub the back of his head sheepishly. "See, she actually wanted that card for me. I've be looking for it for a while," she continued to explain. "So, it's nice to meet you," she smiled at Atem, and offered a hand, "and thank you for your card."

He looked like he was still processing things, but reached out to take the proffered hand. When their fingers touched, they both jumped slightly. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well," he said hesitantly. The back of her mind itched, as if she was supposed to make a connection to that deep voice, but she chalked that up to the weird jolt she felt earlier, and ignored it.

"So you were the one who wanted 'Light of the Goddess'?" Yugi asked.

She nodded. "It goes really well with my deck," she said. No way she was going to explain her weird dreams to people she just met. "But it's a really rare card, so I was having trouble tracking one down."

"So I guess that means you're a duelist, huh?" their blond friend interjected with his accented voice.

"No shit, Sherlock," a boy with fancily styled dark hair deadpanned.

"Can it, pretty boy. Alright, then Ana, I challenge you to a duel!" he pointed an accusatory finger at her. She blinked at it, taken aback. I guess the friends of the King of Games is really into dueling?

Thankfully, before she could make a response, the only girl in the group dug a fist into the blonde's skull. "Don't be rude, Joey," turning to her apologetically, the girl said, "Sorry about that. He's a knucklehead. What he means is 'his name is Joey, and he thinks it's nice to me you, too.' And I'm Tea."

The rest of the group introduced themselves as well, since they all already knew her name. "It's nice to meet all of you," she smiled, "Thank you again, Atem. I guess I'll see you all later." She started to turn to go back to her desk.

"Wait, Ana," Yugi stopped her, "Why don't you join us for lunch? We were going to head to the roof. It's a nice day."

Ana looked back him in surprise. They had seemed like a close-knit group, so she wasn't expecting an invitation. But they were all smiling at her welcomingly. Well except for Atem, who was again just staring at her. Okay, what's his problem, anyway?

Finding no reason to say no other than that, she agreed easily. She hadn't expected to make friends so quickly at this new school, but it was a pleasant surprise.

On their way up to the roof, Yugi nudged Atem with his elbow. They had fallen to the back of the group. Joey was still trying to get Ana to agree to a duel later. "You have to stop staring at her. You're going to creep her out," he told his 'brother'.

Jerking, Atem glanced guiltily back at him. "I know. It's just…"

"I know you feel like she's really familiar. That probably does mean she's the one we're looking for. But how can you know for sure if you don't get to know her? That means you have to actually talk to her," Yugi grinned, "I know you're out of practice, but that shouldn't stop you, right? Or did you not talk to any girls in Egypt?"

Atem glared, "You're one to talk. How's it going with Tea?"

Yugi flushed slightly. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I talk to Tea all the time."

"Uh-huh," the former pharaoh smirked.

"Yo, Yugi, Atem, you comin'?" Joey called. The rest of the group, including Ana, had already found their usual spot by the fence.

"Yeah, Joey," Yugi called back. He and Atem sat between Tea and Joey, completing the circle. Atem made a conscious effort to eat normally and pay attention to the conversation, instead of letting his eyes constantly wander back to the grey-eyed girl. He was pretty successful, if he did say so himself, even contributing to the conversation a little, until the topic shifted to focus on the very girl he was trying not to 'creep out'.

"So, Ana, what brought you to Domino City?" Tea asked.

Ana swallowed the bit of rice she had been working on. "My aunt and uncle decided to move the majority of their business operations here. They're our primary guardians, so we came with them." She smiled at the curiosity that was apparent on everyone's faces. Best get the awkward conversation over with. "To save you all from asking, yes, my parents passed away a long time ago. I doubt Sarra even really remembers them."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Tea said, looking remorseful. Several sets of eyes looked at her sympathetically, including a strong pair of violet ones.

Ana shook her head reassuringly. "Like I said, it was a long time ago. Anyway, I've lived in Japan before. Briefly, when my aunt and uncle were just starting to expand here. So it wasn't too bad of a transition."

"It sounds like you've moved a lot," Atem commented. There was an air of experience behind her words that he could tell had grown from more than a potential past life.

She nodded. "Yeah, my aunt and uncle have a pretty international business. I don't mind though. I owe a lot to them. And they've at least promised me that they won't move me anymore, so that I can apply for college and finish high school."

"Do you know what kind of school you want to go to?" Tea asked. It was something that was on her mind too.

"Well, I've got an interest in medicine," she said contemplatively, "It's way early for me to make that type of decision though. But I'm definitely going to a university."

"So how'd you get into Duel Monsters, Ana? You don't really look like someone who plays a lot of games," Joey asked.

Ana laughed. "Hey, I do like having fun, thanks. Since we moved around a lot, Sarra and I didn't often have a chance to make friends. We mostly had each other. So we learned all sorts of games. Duel Monsters is both of our favorites."

"Have you ever played competitively?" Duke wondered.

"That was more of Sarra's thing," was all she said. Atem couldn't help but think there was something cryptic about her smile though.

"She did seem very enthusiastic when we met her yesterday," Yugi agreed. "She asked if we could duel sometime."

Ana rubbed the back of her head, chuckling. "Yeah, she can be…energetic. She told me that she burst in while your store was closed. Sorry about that, by the way."

Yugi waved her apology off. "It was no problem. I told her she was welcome to come back. You should come, too. In fact, you're both welcome to come over after school today. We tend to hang out there in the afternoons."

She smiled at the invitation. "Thanks, that's really nice of you. But unfortunately, I've actually got some errands to run after class today. We're still not quite settled in at our new place. But maybe next time? Sarra would be ecstatic to hang out with the 'King of Games'. She's kind of one of your biggest fans." She winked.

Yugi flushed, embarrassed, making Atem grin. His partner still wasn't that used to the respect and admiration his skill and character earned him. "You're welcome anytime," Atem said for him.

Ana looked visibly surprised. Atem supposed he really hadn't made the greatest first impression. He tried to make as pleasant and reassuring an expression as he could. It seemed to work, for her smile widened, making her eyes sparkle. "Thank you, Atem."

The rest of lunch passed very agreeably. Ana reveled at the fact that she had managed to find such a nice group of people. They were all so genuinely welcoming. She could tell, though, that they had been through a lot together. They all possessed a depth and maturity of character (yes, even Joey) that surprised Ana, especially considering they were all high school students. It made her wonder what they saw in her.

One person especially intrigued her. Atem had acted so strangely when he had first met her. She hadn't been sure if he liked her at all. Although, from what Sarra had told her, it had sounded like he had been awkward on their first meeting as well. Maybe he was just shy, and not good with strangers. But he had seemed to warm up to her quickly, and acted a lot more normal during lunch.

Ana hadn't been able to help comparing brother to brother. Sure, they looked very similar, which made sense seeing as they were twins, but anyone would quickly be able to see how different they were as well. Yugi was a well of cheer, optimism, and gentleness. Atem, however, felt like a river, deep and powerful, brimming with confidence and strength. It was almost like looking at day and night.

But strangest thing about them was that however different they were, they were perhaps even more similar. Underneath Yugi's gentleness was a different kind of strength, just as deeply rooted. And woven into Atem's confidence was a kindness that swam just under the surface. The two brothers were very close, Ana could tell. Probably as close as she was to Sarra.

Now, Ana was aware that she had an unusual knack for reading people. But even with all of that, Ana couldn't help but feel like there was a lot she wasn't getting. There was still a shroud of mystery surrounding Atem, and she couldn't help but be intrigued by it.

Shaking her head as she contemplated all this, she continued trekking her way down the streets of Domino City. It was after school, and she was on her way to the shopping center. Although it was only midafternoon, there were plenty of people bustling about. She checked her phone to make sure she was heading in the right direction – at least, she hoped she was. Maybe she should have gone with Sarra when she had gone exploring through the city.

Luckily, the shopping center was a relatively easy-to-find target. She bought some necessities they still needed for their condo – kitchen and bathroom stuff, some extra sheets, etc. When she felt like she was probably at the limit of what she could reasonably carry back, she decided to do some personal shopping.

Stepping into a relatively popular clothing store, she started perusing some summer wear. Not really paying attention to her surroundings, and a little awkward with the bags she was already carrying, she managed to bump into someone's chest as she was backing up to make room for a passerby.

"Oh, I'm sorry about that –"

"Ana?" a deep voice rang.

Speak of the devil. She turned around. "Oh, hi Atem."

Violet eyes blinked in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

She quirked her brow and gave the fairly obvious answer. "Shopping, you?"

"Um, I'm also shopping, apparently," he answered, before noticing her bags. "Here let me hold some of those." Without waiting for a response, he took a couple off her hands.

She smiled, "Thanks. And what do you mean by 'apparently'?"

He grimaced. "This wasn't really my idea."

"Oh? Then whose was it?"

As if in answer, Yugi came up to them with an armful of clothes. "Atem, what do you think of these?" he asked his brother, "Oh, hi Ana! Imagine bumping into you here! You getting some clothes too?"

She nodded. "Well, I'm more window shopping now. I'll probably come back later when I've got more free hands," she gestured to the bags. She looked at the pile of fabric in his arms. "Is Atem getting a fashion upgrade or something?"

To her amusement, the taller brother flushed under his tan.

Yugi laughed, "No, he just needs some clothes. He, uh, he didn't really bring much back from Egypt." His eyes flicked to his twin's for a moment, and once again Ana was under the impression she missed something. Maybe it was a twin thing.

"Since the rest of the guys were busy this afternoon, we decided now was as good of a time as any. So I brought him here," he continued.

"Don't you mean dragged," Atem muttered, making Ana suppress a laugh. Clearly, he was uncomfortable.

Yugi ignored him. "So, what do you think of these?" he shifted his arms, bringing attention back to the clothes they had gathered. Ana noted that most of the choices were black. It was funny, Yugi would have been one of the last people whose style she'd expect to fall toward the punk/goth style, but apparently, it worked for him.

Atem seemed fairly indifferent though. He shrugged. "Sure."

Yugi frowned. "Come on, you're going to have to wear these, you know. Don't you want clothes you actually like?"

He shrugged again.

Yugi sighed. "I'll put these back." Then his eyes lit up, "Hey, Ana, maybe you could help him pick some stuff while I'm gone?"

"Huh?"

"Just try, otherwise he's just going to stand there," he gave his brother a knowing look.

Ana blinked. "Uh, okay," she found herself saying. Yugi smiled gratefully before taking off. She turned back to face Atem, who appeared to be giving a betrayed look at his brother's back.

Well, this should be interesting.

"So…what kind of clothes do you like?" Ana asked, making Atem turn his gaze back to her.

He shrugged again. "I'm not sure. I've never really had a choice before," he said. It was true – for the last year or so he literally had to wear whatever Yugi was wearing. Even in Ancient Egypt he didn't get much say in what he wore, as a member of the royal family.

"Well that's silly. You would think the crown prince would have some say in his wardrobe."

Atem started. "Did you say something?" he asked Ana. She had taken his answer at face value and was examining a rack of men's tops.

The gaze that turned toward him was confused. "No?"

"Sorry, never mind."

She looked at him curiously for a few more seconds, before shrugging. Picking out a burgundy tee, she held it up to him, chest level.

"What do you think of this, then? I think red would look nice on you," she tapped her chin thoughtfully.

His head suddenly throbbed. For a brief moment, he started seeing flashes of a more tanned arm holding a deep red cloth up to him. He raised a hand to massage a temple.

Grey eyes filled with concern. "Are you okay?"

He immediately dropped his hand. "I'm fine," trying to mentally shake himself of the strange vision, he forced himself to focus more on the shirt she was holding. "Oh yes, um, I like it?"

Her lips twitched. "You really don't care, do you?"

His shoulders dropped guiltily. "Sorry," he admitted. "I really am fine with anything."

Ana smirked. "Oh? Even a dress? Because I can go tell Yugi we're shopping in the wrong section."

His jaw dropped a little. "No, wait! I mean – Actually, that shirt is very nice. I'll take it."

She threw her head back in laughter. "You've got good taste, after all," she joked.

He grabbed the hanger from her, his own mouth turning up into a grin. "Why, thank you."

With Ana's prodding and gentle teasing, he actually managed to pick out a few outfits. Yugi appeared pleased when he finally rejoined them, after leaving the two of them alone for a suspiciously long time. His sly smile reminded Atem of that time he had been tricked into spending that day with Tea, although that hadn't been that bad at all. Neither was this. Atem found himself growing comfortable in Ana's presence very quickly.

Yugi then brought them over to the accessories section, and Atem couldn't stop himself from selecting a few gold arm bands, rings, and even some earrings. Interestingly, this body still had all of his old piercings. Maybe he did care about his appearance at least a little.

After they were all finished, Yugi checked his phone. "Oh, it looks like the others are done and want to hang out. They're meeting us at grandpa's store," he told Atem.

The former pharaoh nodded, and turned to Ana a little hesitantly. "Would you like to come with us?" he asked. He was slightly embarrassed to admit it, but he didn't want to lose her company yet. And since he was almost certain she had something to do with his missing memories, he was eager to get to know her more.

The girl smiled at the invitation. "That sounds nice, but I really should get these back home," she said, gesturing to the bags, some of which were still in his hands.

"If you come over, my grandpa can give you a ride home. I know he'd be happy to. Besides, his shop is really close by," Yugi piped in.

Ana looked at him in surprise. "Really? Are you sure? I don't want to be a bother."

"No bother at all," Yugi waved her off, "He's always happy to help out our friends."

She still seemed hesitant, "I don't know…"

"If you come, I'll tell you how I found that 'Light of the Goddess' card," he didn't know what made him say it. He didn't even know why he thought that would be an incentive. Even Yugi was looking at him in confusion.

But it worked. "Okay," she said. Looking at her in surprise, Atem noted that her face was carefully blank. However, he got the feeling it really did have to do with his offer. Curious. Outwardly, though, he gave her a pleased smile. She returned it with a small smile of her own. "But is it okay if I invite my sister, too? Her school should just be getting out, and she was eager to see the store again."

"Of course!" Yugi answered happily. Nodding her thanks, she shot off a quick text to Sarra.

The three of them chatted more as they walked back to the shop. Ana asked Yugi about their adventures during the Duelist Kingdom and Battle City tournaments. She was suitably impressed, although they obviously left out the parts involving soul stealing, Shadow world banishing, and magical gold items.

"Atem, what was Egypt like? What were you doing there?" she then asked.

Atem started, and nervously shifted his gaze back and forth between her and Yugi. His 'brother' looked a little panicky as well. They probably should have nailed down a stronger story before this. "Um, I was studying…"

"Studying what?" Grey eyes blinked at him in innocent curiosity.

"Archaeology."

"Law."

The twins looked at each other, silently cursing to themselves. Really should have discussed this before. "Both," Yugi quickly covered.

Ana looked at the former pharaoh with surprise, although suspicion started to creep into her gaze. "Wow, really? That's impressive. I didn't realize high schools even offered those fields of studies."

Uh oh.

"Um, it was a special program," Atem quickly blurted out. "Our grandfather is used to work at the university there, and he was able to pull some strings."

Yugi nodded. Nice cover, his look clearly said.

The suspicion in her expression cleared, and now she just looked impressed. "You must have been really interested in those subjects, to study abroad this early."

"Well," Atem scratched a cheek nervously, "You could say I have a…long standing personal attachment to them."

Yugi stifled a laugh with his hand.

"What about you?" Atem quickly countered. "You said you were interested in medicine?"

"Ah, yeah," Ana looked ahead contemplatively, "I'm not a hundred percent certain. I'm very aware of the fact that I haven't actually had much experience in the field. It's just always felt like the right path to take."

"Sounds like fate," he couldn't help but observe.

This made her turn back her strong gaze at him and grin challengingly. "I believe in deciding my own destiny, thanks."

Something about the way she said it wasn't as inflammatory as when Kaiba would. Atem actually chuckled instead.

By that time, they had reached Grandpa's Muto's Game Shop. "Grandpa, we're home!" Yugi called out as they entered and headed toward the back.

"Your grandpa stepped out to do some errands, Yugi," Tea stood up from behind the counter, holding what looked like a shipment box. "He asked us to mind the store. Oh, hi Ana!"

"Hey, Tea," she said. "Yugi, do you mind if I stow our bags behind the counter?"

"Sure, go ahead." Both she and Atem dropped her bags and tucked them into a safe corner. Then he took his clothes bags from Yugi and briefly went upstairs to put them away in his new room. By the time he came back down, Joey and Tristan were out in the store area too. Joey was apparently back to pestering Ana for a duel.

"Come on, I just wanna see how you play! I haven't had a new opponent in a while!"

"Uh, well…"

"I know it might be intimidating, seeing as I was a finalist at both Duelist Kingdom and Battle City, but I promise I'll go easy on ya."

That made her quirk her brow. Atem started to smile. He had a feeling there was more to her dueling skills than she had let on.

"Fine," she acquiesced.

"Yes!" Joey pumped his fist, "Yugi, would you mind lending Ana your duel disk?"

"No need," the girl said before Yugi could answer. She opened her backpack to reveal a pristine KaibaCorp duel disk lying innocuously in the bag. Opening a separate pouch, she pulled out a deck of cards. At least definitely more experienced than she's letting on, to carry a deck and duel disk around like that.

"Alright, then, guys, take it outside," Yugi urged. "Grandpa's shop isn't made for indoor duels."

They agreed and left the shop, strapping on their duel disks as they went. The others, including Atem, followed them to watch.

"Ready Ana?" the blonde grinned, activating the device.

"Sure, Joey," she responded, powering on her own.

"I'll let you go first then," Joey said, an awful note of condescension to his words.

"How gentlemanly of you," Ana replied, "I'll set a monster in defense mode." The large holographic card appeared in front of her, not revealing the monster she had set. "Then I'll place two cards face down and end my turn."

"Not bad!" Joey said. "Alright, here I go! You ready, Ana? Don't worry, I'm a man, and I'll keep my promise to hold back a little."

"I have a feeling that if Joey keeps talking like that, he's going to really regret it later," Yugi couldn't help but say with a sigh.

"I agree," Atem nodded, "He's being overconfident. And I can tell – Ana is no novice at dueling."

"I summon Alligator's Sword [1500/1200] in attack mode!" the blonde declared. The reptile sparked into view. "Now, attack!" The monster stabbed the holographic card. Briefly, an image of some sort of ship flickered into existence before shattering into pieces. "All right! But good job putting it into defense mode, Ana! Now your life points are safe."

The peanut gallery sighed, before gasping slightly as Alligator's Sword suddenly shattered too.

"Wha? What happened?"

"Sorry, Joey," Ana said, smiling slightly, "But my Yomi Ship [800/1400] has a special ability – if any monster destroys it in battle, that monster is destroyed too."

"Argh, what?" he exclaimed, before huffing, "Fine. Then I set a card face down and end my turn."

"Alright, I draw." She looked at her hand contemplatively.

"Yes, definitely no novice," Atem commented, "Since she had the first move, she couldn't attack. So instead she set it up so that Joey wouldn't have any monsters on his side of the field for her next turn."

"Wow, I see," remarked Tea.

"I summon my Gora Turtle of Illusion [1200/1400] in attack mode," Ana called out, placing the card on her disk. A medium size turtle with glowing eyes appeared on the field. "Attack Joey's life points directly, please!"

"Now, hold on a sec!" the blonde interrupted, "I play my magic card, Energy Drain*! Now I get to draw a card and your monster's attack points become 0!"

"Sorry, Joey," Ana said once again, "But spell and trap cards don't work on my Gora Turtle."

"What?!" He grunted as he took the hit from the luminescent reptile [LP: 2800]. "Argh, you're better than I thought, Ana."

"Why, thank you." Her stance was casual, even while holding a duel disk in front of her. With her smile, she was the picture of confidence.

"Uh guys, why do I have the feeling Joey is about to get his butt kicked," Tristan deadpanned. No one watching bothered to respond.

"It's your turn, Joey," the raven-haired gird called out.

"I know that!"

"Wow, who got my sister to duel?" a new voice piped from next to the group. They all turned to look at her in surprise.

"Sarra!" Yugi exclaimed, recognizing her.

"Hi Yugi! Atem!" the younger girl chirped, waving. "Thanks for inviting me! I couldn't believe it when Ana said she was in the same class as you!"

"Yeah, well we were surprised to find out she was the one you wanted the card for," Yugi smiled. Sarra shrugged, grinning lightly. He made quick introductions for the others, before they all turned their attention back to the duel. Joey had summoned Axe Raider [1700/1150] to the field and even equipped it with Legendary Sword, raising its attack and defense points by 300. "I guess Joey finally started taking this duel seriously."

"Ooh, was he underestimating Ana? She's gonna steamroll him then," Sarra said, shaking her head. "She tends to go a little overboard sometimes when she's trying to prove a point."

"Sarra, tell me," Atem requested, "What's your sister's true experience in dueling?"

The younger girl snickered. "Oh she avoided telling you guys, huh? Well it's true she doesn't compete as much as me, but when she has, she's never lost."

"Never lost?!" Tristan and Tea exclaimed, although Yugi and Atem looked unsurprised. They watched as Joey destroyed Ana's Gora Turtle with his Axe Raider [LP: 3200].

"Yep," Sarra popped her lips on the 'p.' "She keeps to small tournaments, because she doesn't like too much attention. But she's incredibly good – she's always had a natural talent, even. I hardly ever beat her, even casually."

"Hmm," Atem murmured, intrigued, keeping his eyes on Ana. She was setting another monster face down in defense position.

"Alright," Joey murmured, "Time to get serious. I summon Rocket Warrior [1500/1200] in attack mode!" The little green monster appeared on the field, sword in hand. "Now, attack her face down!"

A purple-haired woman wrapped in green appeared from the card.

"I activate the spell, The Reliable Guardian!" Ana shouted, "It raises the defense points of my Element Magician [1500/1200] by 700. Now your Rocket Warrior is weaker than it."

"Fine," cried Joey, "But I still don't take damage cuz of Rocket Warrior's special effect. And, your Element Magician is still weaker than my Axe Raider! Attack!"

"I activate my second face down!" Ana responded, holding out her hand, "Magical Arm Shield!" A purple card flipped up, revealing a box with a grabber tool extending from it. It grabbed Joey's Rocket Warrior and moved it to Ana's side of the field. "Now your Axe Raider has no choice but to attack your Rocket Warrior instead. And since it's still your turn, your Rocket Warrior can't be destroyed." The attack bounced uselessly off of the monster.

"Grr…" Joey growled in frustration.

Ana merely smiled as she drew. When she saw the card, her smile grew, and a dangerous glimmer appeared in her eye.

"This is probably the last turn," Sarra remarked, sporting a smile of her own.

"Last turn? So quickly?" Tea exclaimed, looking at the smaller girl in astonishment.

"Yep, just watch."

"First, I sacrifice your Rocket Warrior to summon Tethys, Goddess of Light [2400/1800]!" A beautiful armored woman with wings materialized to the field, briefly blinding the spectators. Still gripping the card she had just drawn, Ana grinned, "Alright Joey, I've been itching to try this card out, so I'll let you be the first one to see it in action."

The blonde gulped nervously.

Next to Yugi, Sarra sighed. "See? Overboard."

"Since I have a Goddess on the field, I can summon this!" Ana slapped her final card from her hand onto her duel disk, "Light of the Goddess!"

Atem's brows rose as he watched the card he gave her glimmer into existence. Since he and Yugi had never played it before, he was interested in seeing it in action. The monster looked just like a necklace. It had both 0 attack and defense points; however, it immediately moved to hang around Tethys's neck. "Light of the Goddess forces any spellcaster or warrior of my choosing to submit half its attack points to my Tethys," she explained. Her monster's attack strength grew to 3400, while Axe Raider's decreased to 1000.

"Uh oh," Joey blurted, flinching.

"Now, Element Magician, destroy Axe Raider!" The monster sent out a glowing whip of light, shattering Joey's warrior [LP: 2300]. "And finally, Tethys, finish this off by attacking him directly!" The winged monster began to gather light in her hands, it's brilliance almost blinding, before hurling it at Joey.

And with that, the duel was over.

The holograms began to disappear as Joey whined in disbelief. Ana only stood there, long hair whipping around her, that enigmatic smile still on her face. Her stormy eyes sparkled with the sunlight, as if they were clouds themselves.

Atem was entranced.

A man wrapped in dark robes watched as the basin of liquid suddenly lit up to illuminate the dark room. Ancient carvings on stone walls were bathed in the harsh light, making the etchings appear shadowed and sinister. The man smiled. So, it has finally appeared.

A/N: Whew. Wow, and that was supposed to be a short duel. It was easier to write than I thought it would be – probably because I refamiliarized myself with the game through YuGiOh Duel Links. I have to admit, I'm enjoying myself. I'll go ahead and admit that a number of the cards Ana will use will be purely because I have experience using them myself. But she's also got several special cards of her own, a preview of which appeared in this duel.

Also, I know Joey can be a better duelist than this. Don't get me wrong, I love the guy. But he was being a blockhead in this scene, and Ana has a vindictive side, haha.

By the way, if you haven't been able to tell already, I'm a huge fan of Atem's awkward side. (That coronation scene. "Uh...hi." HAHA) So expect it to come out a lot. It's just so precious and adorable!

So things are slowly starting to move along. I hope your interest is piqued! Please leave a review if you can!