"Where did you come from?" He looked down at her, shadowed by the bright sunlight. He was dark, wearing white with a long cape trailing from his shoulders. The light obscured his feature, making him a dark silhouette against the bright sunlight.

"The Moon," she replied, staring up at him.

"The Moon?" he looked up at the sky. "That's quite a fall."

"Can you help me?" she asked him. "I need to get back to the Moon."

Usagi jarred awake, the sound of her alarm blaring in her ear. That was such a strange dream. Why did it make her feel happy? She rubbed at her face, feeling herself blush. Why was she having dreams about a man that wasn't Mamo-chan?

She quickly hid under the covers, rubbing at her face. She was asking that stranger for help to go back to the Moon. Was this some sort of memory that she'd forgotten when visiting Earth in her past life? She did like to visit often, to find Endymion and to feel the breeze in her hair. Perhaps one time she'd gotten lost.

"Usagi-chaaaan." Luna pressed against the bedsheets where Usagi had burrowed. "Usagi-chan! You'll be late again!"

Usagi threw the bedsheets in surprise, knocking Luna off the bed. "Oh no!" She was in high school now. She could at least be on time.

Maybe.

Probably not.

"I'm sorry, Luna!" She picked up the moon cat, placing her back on the unmade bed before pulling her school uniform and falling down the stairs. Luna sighed as she heard Usagi bolt out the front door.

Usagi ran down the street, her mind still on the dream. It was strange. The dream was so foggy, but it felt somewhat familiar, as if she'd met the mysterious man with a cape before. Maybe it was Mamo-chan. He did like capes even as Endymion after all, but he was never that dark-skinned...

She wasn't watching where she was going, colliding into someone, knocking both of them down. Her cards fell from her bag as it fell out of her hand dramatically. "Owie owie owie!" she rubbed her butt. Looking up, she gasped. She'd run into a kid! He looked young but was about Usagi's height with peculiar hair that looked like a starfish. "Oh I'm so sorry!"

"No, it's my fault," the boy apologized. "I wasn't looking where I was going." He stared at the cards scattered on the sidewalk. "We've made a bit of a mess, didn't we?"

Usagi shook her head before suddenly gasping again. "Oh no! I just bought those cards! Motoki-kun said it was the newest game to play!"

"Duel Monsters?" the boy noticed the cards, looking over them fondly. "You'll need to take care of them." He quickly gathered the cards up, handing them off to her. "They can be very precious to you."

Usagi found it an odd thing to say. Perhaps people were more into this game than she thought, but the boy's enthusiasm caused her to smile anyway.. "Ah, thank you!" She took the cards, slipping them back into her bag. "Do you play, too?"

"I do!" the boy seemed to light up. "I really love this game."

"I just started," Usagi admitted. "I don't really know much about it yet."

"Make sure to build your deck with cards that speak to your heart," the boy suggested. "I'm Yugi, by the way. Mutou Yugi."

"Tsukino Usagi," she introduced herself. Then reality sunk in. "Oh god, I'm late for school!" She leapt up, grabbing her school bag. "Maybe we'll duel sometime!" she shouted over her shoulder as she dashed down the street. "Go easy on me!"

...

"Late again, Usagi-chan," Ami chided. "We're in high school now!"

"But Ami-chaaaaan!" Usagi whined. "I ran into some kid accidentally! It wasn't completely my fault this time. He helped me pick up my cards."

"So you did get some," Minako pushed her way into the conversation.

"Some what?" Naru peered over curiously.

"Duel Monsters cards," Minako filled her in. "It's all the rage after this huge city-wide tournament called Battle City. Didn't you see it on TV?"

"They flew a blimp over the Domino prefecture!" Umino butted in unexpectedly. "It was all over the news. The winner was this kid named Mutou Yugi."

"W-what?!" Usagi exclaimed. "You're kidding! That's the kid I bumped into today!"

"No way," Umino pushed up his glasses. "He was just walking down the street?"

She nodded. "He was really nice," Usagi admitted. "I told him we should duel sometime. He seemed really happy about that, even if I don't know much about the game."

"You should really study up on the rules then," Ami pointed out sternly, "especially if you wish to challenge a champion."

"When did you suddenly get into Duel Monsters?" Minako prodded her friend.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about!" Ami protested. "I like the statistics and the strategy."

"Leave it to Ami-chan to make a fun game sound boring," Minako sighed. "Whatever, let's see your cards, Usagi-chan!" She grabbed for the deck that Usagi had placed on her desk, shuffling through the cards. "Magician of Faith, Shining Friendship, Happy Lover, Fairywitch."

"That sounds just like what I'd expect for you to have, Usagi-chan," Naru admitted. "Cards of friendship and faith."

"Well Yugi-kun said to build a deck that spoke to my heart," Usagi recalled. "I guess he was pretty right with the cards I picked."

"I want to meet a champion!" Minako fawned a bit. "Is he as cute in person as he was on TV?"

"He certainly had a unique look to him," Usagi recalled. "I really only think Mamo-chan is cute."

Minako frowned, defeated. "Usagi-chaaaaaan!"

Ami snatched the cards from Minako's hand as the blond crumpled into a chair. She flipped through a few of the cards, one by one. Usagi certainly had a preference for light cards, which made sense for her. She was the embodiment of light and hope herself, after all. But there was still a rather obvious problem. "They're all low-level cards."

"What? But I thought they were good!" Usagi whined.

"How can you plan to duel a champion with low-level monsters?" Ami reiterated.

"It sounds like you're into this game, A-mi-cha~n," Minako teased.

"I'm interested in the statistics," Ami protested. She thumbed through the cards, burying herself in the math and the strategy of the cards. Usagi certainly had picked cards that seemed like her, but they wouldn't get far in any tournament.

Except for one card. "But this one would do." She turned the card over.

"Ooooh!" Umino marveled. "A Black Magician card! Those are pretty rare."

Usagi stared, taking the card. "This isn't mine." She stared at it some more before the realization hit her. "This must be Yugi-kun's card! It must've gotten mixed in with mine when we bumped into each other! I need to return it to him!"

"How are you going to find him in the entirety of Tokyo?" Minako pointed out.

"Well he's in high school like us, right?" Naru pondered aloud. "What uniform was he wearing?"

"It was a pretty bright blue with white lining," Usagi recalled. "Similar to Juuban's boy's uniform, but no zippers."

"Hmmm," Umino pushed his glasses up his nose. "That sounds like Domino High's uniforms. You might find him there."

Usagi nodded. She had to get this card back to him.

...

Author's musings:

A new year, a new story! I've been wanting to write a SM x YGO fic for some time! Prepare yourself for a duel!