YUGIOH: It's Time to Duel!

Chapter 113: The Ceremonial Duel



[Yuna's POV]

"A... A game?" Yugi stammered in confusion upon my sudden offer.

"Yep, just a simple duel." I nodded and placed my deck on the table, "You have your cards with you, right?"

"Uh yeah... Then let me call upon...."

"Hold on!" I quickly stopped Yugi, who was about to reach for his Millennium Puzzle, "Who said I want to duel with Atem? I mean with you."

"Ah, right..." He sheepishly apologised. "I'm sorry. I'm just always used to having my partner duel for me."

"That's fine, as long as you still know how to play Duel Monster." I joked, and he averted his gaze in embarrassment.

"By the way, what's the real reason for wanting to duel with me? I find it strange that you would go out of your way for just a game of Duel Monster."

"That's true." I nodded. Gazing at Yugi, I tapped the table and hummed, deep in thought, trying to figure out the best way to express my intentions.

"Well, it's kind of some preparation?" I answered, and he tilted his head.

"Mutou, now that Atem has discovered his name, what will happen next? I think we all know that your time for goodbyes is getting closer."

"For Atem to move on to the afterlife, you must gather all of Millennium Items before the Pharoah speaks his name in front of the place where all Millennium Items originate, the Millennium Stone."

"But we still haven't gathered all of the Millennium Items," Yugi muttered dejectedly, and I shrugged.

"You already have the Millennium Puzzle and Ring; I will also relent the Millennium Key to you. The Ishtars will give you their items as they serve the Pharoah. With the Millennium Eye, Pegasus will hand it over after some convincing. As for the Millennium Scale, I will try to search for it, but I believe it will reveal itself soon."

Yugi nodded along to my explanation. However, his pupils wavered, and he stared at me in uncertainty. "Sano-san, I know it may sound rude, but I really want to know why you would go this far."

"Please don't misunderstand! I consider us as friends, but it felt like we were taking advantage of you..." He mumbled self-deprecatingly.

"But it doesn't feel that way to me," I reassured with a smile. Even if you might be unaware, I benefit as well. In fact, helping you right now will also benefit me."

"Let me explain... When I recovered my memories, as unbelievable as it sounds, I was able to remember my past lives..."

Laughing softly, I gently played with the Millennium Key while staring into the distance. After briefly losing in the memories, I snapped out of my daze and smiled apologetically.

"You can say Atem was a close acquaintance of mine. I want to at least help him enter the afterlife." I sighed quietly. "So don't think too much of it."

"I think I understand. Nonetheless, that's still really kind of you, Sano-san..." Yugi returned the smile, "Then, about the duel... What do you mean by preparation?"

"Oh yes. I want to help Mutou-san prepare for something called..."

Meanwhile, deep inside Yugi's subconsciousness. I was sharing the same conversation with Atem,, and he repeated my sentence in a confused tone: "The Ceremonial Duel?"

"Well, that's what I named it," I replied nonchalantly. "Think of it as a Rite of some sort."

"I see..." Atem's expression turned faintly sombre at the dramatic naming scheme, "What does this "Rite" entail?"

"There's one last inscription written on the Millennium Stone. For the Pharoah to be truly put to rest, he must first lay down his sword." I said, recounting the words spoken in the show.

"To lay down my sword..." Atem muttered deeply and rubbed his wrist, "What do I have to do?"

"This is merely my opinion, but I think Your Highness would need to be defeated in a battle. Which is the Ceremonial Duel." I said with a knowing smile, and the Pharoah grasped his chin, deep in thought.

"To be defeated..." Atem turned to me with a smirk, "Is that why you're here, to challenge me?"

"Fu fu fu... That sure sounds like a tempting offer, but no thanks..." I shrugged, "Seto would definitely want to take a shot, though."

"Then..."

"But I won't let him. I won't allow this monumental moment to be tarnished!" I grabbed his hands and shouted passionately. To have the most important scene in the show ruined?! Over my dead body!

"So, who else do you have in mind?" Atem asked uncomfortably, "I can't think of anyone as fitting as you or Kaiba."

"Really?" I sighed exasperatedly, "Can you really not think of anyone else? Maybe someone short comes to mind? Spiky hair? Can't take a hint, no matter how much a girl was expressing her interest in him?"

"G... Got it..." He nodded and awkwardly cleared his throat, "And by that girl, you're not referring to Téa, are you?"

"Oh dear, Your Highness can't tell either..." I muttered while giving him a look filled with pity.

"Just to have you know, my life came to an untimely end, and I wasn't able to experience things like relationships!" Atem tried to justify his lack of awareness but only incited more of my sympathetic gazes, "Stop looking at me like that!"

"Yes, yes," I laughed while Atem covered his face in a mixture of shame and embarrassment.

"So you're saying Yugi is the most suitable to be my opponent..." Atem muttered while staring at the ground, lost deep in thought. Eventually, his face broke into a small smile, "That does sound more fitting..."

However, his expression seemed a little complicated, and I could sense his doubt.

"Are you worried?" I asked, and Atem sighed.

"No... It just feels strange. If Yugi manages to defeat me, he will be able to send me to the afterlife. However, my pride as a duelist won't allow me to give him the win."

"But you're also worried that he will fail?"

When I asked him directly, Atem gritted his teeth in frustration and averted his gaze. "I know

how disrespectful it is to admit this, but yes..."

Despite thinking he might be rebuked, I smiled and said, "You wanted Yugi to succeed, but

you also feel concerned that he will lose. Doesn't that mean you care about Yugi?"

"If Yugi really did fail, he can just try again," I continued and thought about my own

situation.

Deep down, I realised that if Seto weren't able to win the duel that day, I would patiently wait for him until he succeeded, and the thought of it made my face slightly heated.

"A...Anyway, Yugi isn't the type of person to be wallowing in his defeat. Sure, he may feel disheartened, but he won't be giving up that easily.

"Yes, you're right," Atem muttered with a chuckle. He stood up and stared into the distance.

I also stood up, and with a wave of my hand, our surroundings suddenly changed to the Domino High School rooftop, where my physical body was still duelling with Yugi.

The battle has already reached its conclusion. My Starving Venom Fusion Dragon defeated his Dark Magician Girl and depleted his remaining life points.

"Ah, I lost..." Yugi groaned in frustration.

"Would you like to call it?" I proposed, and Yugi stared at the table before carefully shaking

his head.

"Now that Sano-san has told me about the Ceremonial Duel, there's no way I can be lazy. I have to get stronger." He insisted before staring at me apologetically, "Please let me try again. You're the only one I can ask to do this."

"Of course, we still have a bit until lunchtime ends," I replied, reshuffled my deck, and said,

"I will go first this time."

When the duel restarted, Atem hummed with interest before turning to me standing beside him, "By the way, how are there two of you?"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Since the Millennium key allows me to travel into one's subconsciousness, I can maintain a state of equilibrium where I can remain awake in the physical world and the mind world, albeit my abilities are limited in the mind world," I explained with a strained smile.

"It was a bit tiring, but it's not like I'm doing anything crazy in here. Right now, I'm just borrowing your and Yugi's connection so we can project ourselves like this."

"I see," Atem nodded, and his thoughts returned to the duels. Unfortunately, Yugi failed once more as the strategies he implemented were countered.

"All these moves are from Atem." I pointed it out in the physical world, and Yugi blushed.

"After watching my friend duel, I picked up a thing or two. But no matter what I do, I can't seem to get past you, Sano-san."

"Well, like you said, they're Atem's strategies instead of yours. So it's much more obvious, and it didn't help when you're using a deck that's not yours."

"Yeah, maybe you're right." Yugi nodded, convinced.

"I can help you, Mutou-san." I suggested, "But I can't tonight, so let's do it next time."

"Sure, thank you, Sano-san." Yugi smiled brightly, and we both stood up from our seats, "I

will definitely win."

Watching Yugi leave, Atem crossed his arms and chuckled to himself. "Then I will be waiting..." he said, despite the fact that his friend couldn't hear him.

Turning to me, he nodded resolutely, "I'm leaving it to you..." With a small wave, Atem followed after Yugi before vanishing back into his subconsciousness. The Millennium Puzzle on his neck briefly shone, a faint reminder of the magic that had happened earlier.

"I sure have my work cut out for me..." I muttered to myself when I was left alone in the

rooftop.

However, a strange feeling settled in my chest. After all this time worrying about the events that will happen, it's finally time for the last event. While I will need to deal with Dark Side of Dimensions, that's still quite a while compared to now.

"A break... That doesn't sound so bad..." I hummed playfully while drumming my fingers on

the railing. Time seemed to have gone past in a flash, and before I realised it, lunchtime had

ended.

Suddenly, I heard a strange gurgling noise, and I blushed slightly. I had completely forgotten about eating, and I patted my empty stomach wistfully.

Looks like I'm skipping lunch today...

With a heavy heart, I left the roof and proceeded to my next class. But unbeknownst to me,

when Seto found out that I didn't have time to eat, the entire school committee was turned

upside down. That day, Domino High School's lunchtime was forever extended by fifteen

more minutes...

A few months later...

Many months have passed since the conversation on the rooftop. I have spent my time

helping Yugi with his deck and giving him advice based on what I remember from the show before testing his deck against mine.

With each duel, I could feel Yugi getting stronger, and I found myself working harder for each

win. Eventually, Yugi defeated me multiple times, making me happy that my effort wasn't in

vain.

Other than Yugi, I also tried to help Atem on several occasions. Although the pharaoh was more prideful compared to his counterpart, he still gratefully accepted my assistance. With my intervention, it's safe to say that the two were both more than ready for their last

duel...

When the preparations were ready, all of us travelled to Egypt. However, due to the massive sandstorm on the path towards the Valley of the Kings, we must travel by ship instead of

plane.

Standing at the dock waiting for our ship to be ready for boarding. I stood beside Seto, and we stared at the sea.

"I still don't understand why we should attend this gathering of idiots," Seto commented

while staring at Yugi and his friends in the distance. "Our time is too precious to be wasted

like this."

"Don't say that. It will be nice to greet the Pharoah one last time," I replied while holding his

arm.

"Such formalities are all in the past," Seto said quietly, his face showing a slight hesitance at

my suggestion.

"Then, instead of greeting Atem as his subjects. Treat him as our old friend," I suggested, and Seto's cold expression briefly softened.

"Alright..." He nodded, and I felt a small kiss on my forehead.

Rubbing my forehead with a blush, I didn't hear the footsteps approaching us until Seto

blocked my vision as he snarled. "Kaiba-boy, if you only showed an inkling of that sincerity towards our business relationship, then we probably would have gotten along much better!" Pegasus joked, and he laughed, causing Seto to scowl.

"I would rather die." He muttered through gritted teeth. Ignoring his blatant hostility, Pegasus shrugged and smiled before turning to me and asking,

"Miss Sano, how are you doing?"

"I'm well," I replied casually while appearing on the side. Staring at the right side of his face,

which was covered by his hair, I apologised, "Also, I'm sorry for asking something of this magnitude. I felt like merely allowing you to attend the Ceremonial Duel is not enough."

"It's quite fine since it's Miss Sano who's requesting it. The Millennium Eye was never really mine in the first place, and I have had enough of my supernatural encounters anyway." Pegasus answered and glanced at Yugi not so far away.

"If even in the slight chance I'm able to see my Cecilia during the opening of the afterlife... I

will take it." With a smirk, he took out the Millennium Eye from his pocket and flicked it towards Yugi as the boy caught it in a panic.

As Pegasus and I continued to talk, Ishizu and Marik arrived and informed us that the ship was

ready. When everyone finished boarding the transport, Ishizu led me to a private room, where we sat across from each other.

"These are the Millennium Necklace and Rod that Miss Sano requested," she said, placing the objects on the table.

"Thanks, I will give them to Yugi later. How about the Millennium Scale?" I asked curiously.

"We were able to contact Mr Shadi, and he agreed to meet us at our destination," Ishizu

answered, and I nodded in satisfaction.

"Thanks, Ishizu. I will definitely repay you for this favour." Smiling, I carefully placed the two Millennium Items in my bag.

Sipping on her tea, Ishizu stared at me, "Once it's over, let's talk soon as friends instead of associates."

"Yes, I quite like that." I readily agreed, and Ishizu chuckled.

"Then you may tell me more about the relationship between you and Mr Kaiba. I'm quite

interested in such gossip."

"Ah, yes," I blushed and nodded bashfully. Of course..." Unable to handle the lingering embarrassment, I quickly left, leaving Ishizu laughing by herself.

For the rest of the journey, I spent my time anticipating the ceremony. I also checked in on

Yugi and Atem, as both were extremely tense. By the time we arrived, Yugi was practically

silent.

Stepping off of the boat, what greeted us was a wide desert. Unbothered, Ishizu appeared at

the front of the crowd and gestured for us to follow. After walking through the hot sand for fifteen minutes, we spotted a cavern.

Observing the old structures that remained after thousands of years, I knew we were at the

right place. Without hesitation, I followed Ishizu into the cave with everyone else close

behind.

As soon as we entered the cavern, the torches on the side suddenly lit with a loud woosh. For

the next few minutes, the only noise was the lighting of the torches and the sound of our footsteps on the stairs.

When we reached the last floor, we were greeted by a wide, empty room. In the centre of the room was a large temple, and on top of it was a gigantic stone carving. The carving was shaped like a human sarcophagus and featured thousands of intricate hieroglyphics. Each section of the carving contained slots for the Millennium Items. As I admired the view, a

flash of light glistened beside me, and an Egyptian man appeared. Quickly hiding my surprise, I greeted Shadi.

"Good afternoon, Miss Sano." He said, "I like to apologise for the sudden exit. The tomb has quite a number of traps that even stop a spirit from accessing it."

"It's alright, but besides that, do you have any idea why I called you here?" I asked rhetorically,, and Shadi nodded.

"I assume you wanted the Millennium Scale," Shadi answered with a smirk. Holding out his

palm, the golden scale magically appeared in his hand. Before I realised what was happening, Shadi flicked his hand, and I caught the Scale in the air.

"I have no reason to stop you," he said, staring at the Millennium Stone in the distance. With

this, my duty will be complete. I must thank you again, Miss Sano. It seems like you are helping me once more."

Taking the Millennium Scale, Yugi and I slowly made our way to the top of the temple.ple, "Are you ready?" I asked, and Yugi gulped nervously.

"Please do it," Yugi muttered, and I began inserting the artifacts into the Millennium Stone.

One by one, I carefully placed the Millennium Items into each slot, and I could feel the energy resonating in the stone intensifying. When I put the final Millennium Item, the scale, in the carving's lower body, its eyes suddenly opened.

*BOOOOM*

A golden shockwave burst forth from the stone, and I was thrown off my feet.

"Yuna!!" I heard Seto's scream, and I quickly gathered my bearings in the air. "Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand!" I shouted, and the dragon was summoned below me. In one

swift movement, I fell onto Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand's back, and the dragon landed on the ground, sending dust flying in all directions.

Getting off, I stared at the top of the temple where Yugi's figure stood. As he shielded his eyes from the bright light, his body began to warp, and we saw another figure forming beside him.

"Atem..." I muttered under my breath as the light faded, and the two turned to each other in

shock.

"Partner..." Yugi mumbled with a complicated smile, and Atem chuckled.

As the stone rises face up, a golden barrier forms around them. Seeing this, Atem smirked,

walked to the barrier's end, and crossed his arms, "This is it."

"Yeah..." Yugi muttered.

"Good luck, friend," Atem said before activating the Duel Disk on his arm, "Show me the

result of your effort here today!"

"I won't disappoint you!" Yugi yelled back before activating his own Duel Disk. This was it; my eyes gleamed, and I excitedly shook Seto's arm. As the two friends gazed at

each other, both smiled eagerly and screamed in unison.

"It's time to duel!" x2

The Ceremonial Duel has begin...

I hope you enjoy it. Sorry for the delay. I got very sick last week.