Upon hearing Yugi's request, Youyu was momentarily bewildered.
Honestly, Youyu had gradually gotten used to these kinds of "sudden card challenges." After all, since becoming the Duel King, anyone who played cards was interested in him.
...But Yugi, with those thick eyebrows and big eyes, what are you joining in for?
Who isn't a Duel King now, right?
Moreover, the main issue is, when playing with others, Youyu doesn't mind getting in a few more games for experience and reputation.
But when it comes to Yugi, to be honest, he wasn't really confident…
The last time at Duel City, he only managed a draw thanks to the almighty "Forceful Draw," coming in to save the day. When in doubt, blow up the table, even if you can't win, at least overturn the table.
But as the saying goes, the same trick doesn't work twice on a Saint. This might apply to the Duel King as well.
Even if he uses the same methods against Yugi, it might not work this time.
Yugi smiled and said, "But this time, it's a bit different. It's not the other me dueling, it's just me."
Youyu took a sharp breath.
It's you… then that's an even bigger problem!
Uh, how about we discuss it... care to swap in the alternate player?
Thinking about Yugi during the end of "Yu-Gi-Oh! DM," who could even take on the Three Egyptian Gods, Youyu thought he would prefer facing the King's divine draw combo…
"Yugi, you want... to duel?" Anzu was surprised too.
Even the King, who shared his body, was surprised: "AIBO, you want to duel Youyu?"
"Yes." Yugi laughed heartily, "Don't worry, it's just for fun, purely a casual duel. And I don't plan to use our usual deck."
He said this while bringing out a deck from somewhere behind him.
"Recently, my grandpa's shop got some new cards. I saw a few that interested me, so I put together a deck to try... thought it would be a good chance."
"I see." The King nodded in understanding in his spiritual form.
So it's just playing around, winning or losing doesn't matter.
Though dueling seemed to have become a serious affair for them, with them always having to bear all sorts of responsibilities, at its core, it's still a card game.
Playing games is about having fun. Sometimes, it's good to play without worrying about winning or losing.
"But why didn't AIBO tell me beforehand..." The King pouted.
Whether it was creating a new deck or preparing to duel Youyu, he was completely unaware beforehand.
A new deck, huh...
For some reason, when Youyu heard Yugi innocently say that, he couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding.
He even vaguely felt a big red word popping up on his forehead.
Danger!
...
The duel ended up taking place in the shop.
They cleared some space in the basement to serve as the venue.
Since both were Duel Kings, dueling in public would inevitably attract too much attention. No matter the outcome, the media would surely make a fuss about it, potentially causing a huge impact in the Duel World.
It was just a private game between friends, and neither cared about winning or losing. They didn't want the duel to be complicated by outsiders.
"Duel!" x2
[Yugi, LP 4000]
[Youyu, LP 4000]
Anzu watched from the side, feeling curious.
As far as she remembered, she hadn't really seen Yugi earnestly duel anyone. Every time there was a need to duel, it was the King who took over.
She was curious about what Yugi's dueling style would actually be like.
"I'll go first, draw!" It was Yugi who won the first move.
"I'll set a Monster Card on the field!"
He slapped a card face down on the Duel Disc, and a card floated horizontally in front of him.
"And I'll set two more Set Cards." Yugi said, "My turn's over."
Youyu looked at the three dark face-down cards in front of the opponent and couldn't help but feel the pressure increase...
"My turn, draw."
Youyu added the drawn card to his hand and then pulled out another card from his left.
"First, I'll summon her... Chocolate Magician Girl!"
The Magic Array opened, and a cute little magic girl fluttered out with devil-like wings, flashing a mischievous smile, and a wave of her magic staff sprinkled stars, gently landing in front of Youyu.
[Chocolate Magician Girl, ATK 1600]
"A Magician Girl?" Yugi asked.
"Since it's a lighthearted duel, I thought this deck would suit the atmosphere better than my Hero Deck."
"Oh, is that so?" Yugi nodded with a smile to show he understood.
"Chocolate Magician Girl's effect." Youyu sent a card from his hand to the graveyard, "Once per turn, discard a Spellcaster-Type Monster, then draw a card from the deck."
After drawing the card, Youyu hesitated a bit, glancing at Yugi's two face-down cards in the back row.
There was no response at the moment of monster summon... so maybe the trap triggers during the attack declaration?
"Battle." Youyu announced, "Chocolate Magician Girl, attack the face-down monster!"
The Chocolate Magician Girl shouted "Hey," her Magic Array activated, releasing dark magic that gathered at her staff's tip, forming a power sphere that was launched forward.
The covered monster on Yugi's field quickly flipped under the surging magic. A cute, soft white little creature appeared on the field, fragile in appearance but surprisingly sturdy, solidly withstanding the Chocolate Magician Girl's attack.
[Marshmallon, DEF 500]
"Marshmallon's special ability!" Yugi announced, "Marshmallon won't be destroyed in battle. Also, when Marshmallon is attacked while in face-down Defense Position, the opponent takes 1000 effect damage!"
The little Marshmallon paused, its elasticity maxed out, reflecting the magic girl's attack back at Youyu's face, exploding with a "boom" sound.
[Youyu, LP 4000 →LP 3000]
Youyu raised his arm, taking the reflected effect damage.
So, the trap wasn't in the two face-down cards in the back row; the covered monster itself was the trap...
"I'll set a card face-down, and end my turn."
"My turn, draw!" Yugi said, "Activate the Magic Card - Spellbook Inside the Pot, both players draw three cards.
Then I'll summon 'Green Gadget' in Attack Position!"
The small Gadget appeared on the field, its parts rubbing together, gears turning and meshing.
[Green Gadget, ATK 1300]
"When Green Gadget is summoned, you can add 'Red Gadget' from your deck to your hand."
Youyu looked at the small gadget that appeared in front of him.
Gadget Monsters... gives me a bad feeling.
"Next, I'll activate the effect of 'Machina Fortress' in my hand! This card can be Special Summoned from the hand or Graveyard by discarding Machine-Type monsters whose total Level is 8 or more!
Plus, when using this effect to Special Summon, Machina Fortress itself can be discarded!"
Yugi revealed two cards in his hand.
"I'll discard the Level 4 'Red Gadget' and the Level 7 Machina Fortress itself to the graveyard! Come forth—
—Machina Fortress!"