It seemed that the talk about death... or rather, him overhearing what little conversation he wanted to hear still was lingering in his mind. So much so that as soon as he got home he didn't slip into his nighttime wear like he usually did. Instead, as soon as he shut his apartment door he found himself staring at the duel disk on the bookshelf - a duel disk with a deck already loaded. Oh he knew exactly what deck that was; he had that deck built for a long, long time. With the thoughts still swimming in his mind he grabbed the duel disk and headed out, not bothering to let anyone know. This wasn't their burden to bear.
He made a note to never do it at the gravesite; he knew the other would look down on him with either pity or sympathy, neither of which he never felt he deserved. A toxic trait, he was well aware of. It's why he never let it out in the open. But on this seemingly quiet night, while others were doing... who knows what, Atem felt it opportune to slip away to just... let it out? No, he never called it that. Call it... being selfish. That seemed more fitting.
A quiet hill, away from the chaos of the city, lit by a street lamp or two and the moon and stars themselves he arrived, tossing his coat aside and letting whatever winds sting his bare arms as he wore a familiar sleeveless black shirt in place of his casual wear.
The snapping of the arm lock as he placed the familiar duel disk on, the quiet removal of the deck as he looked through the crafted deck, pulling out a card here and there, until he had a handful of cards - about five. It was then that he looked up, a small nighttime breeze beginning to form, before he let out a shaky breath and flipped a switch, the lights on the duel disk turning on.
The first card was set onto the disk.
An orange youthful dragon appeared in front of him, sputtering energetic noises, it was ready to fight!
A clock looking creature, gears and ticking about. The little orange dragon seemed to know this one quite well as it gave an energetic wave the moment it was summoned.
An armored knight, encased in iron, assumed a battle pose... before stopping. It, along with the clock creature and the young dragon, appeared confused and began looking around. They were ready for battle, but... there was no opponent. They turned around to see...
The fourth card. A swordsman draped in red and blue, crossing his arms and just looking forward, out towards the city nightscape. Unlike the other three, this one was still, maintaining a calm expression, almost as if he's been summoned like this before.
Then, finally, the winds began to pick up. The flapping of wings as in front of all of them - the four creatures and Atem himself - a black dragon appeared.
Opening its red eyes it opened its wings, causing a gust of wind to blow through the hills, before turning around to the duelist who summoned it. The duelist who summoned all five of them. All the other creatures followed the black dragon as they too looked at the duelist that summoned them, the young dragon and clock creature looking the most confused.
"I know... I know what you might be thinking." Atem finally spoke, as quiet and as... controlled as he possibly could. He kept his eyes locked in on every single one of the monsters that he summoned with as much steel and resolve as he could, despite his eyes showing the complete opposite.
"I understand the confusion. I get it. I'm... I'm not him. I'm not your rightful Duelist. The True Duelist you all have chosen. I know I could never replace him, and..." He felt his throat tighten a bit as he swallowed it down and placed a hand on his chest to keep him focused... and composed. "... I know you all are probably well aware of how... poorly I've treated my own monsters. Harmed them, betrayed them, corrupted them with dark magics, abused them... but... mark my words..." He could feel his lips start to quiver and his eyes start to water. Hold them back; they don't deserve the pathetic show of weakness. Not now.
"With your True Duelist watching me from above I will never... ever dare to treat you as anything less than the special companions you are! I know he'd want nothing more than to see his precious monsters continue to thrive in the game that he enjoyed. That... I enjoy. Your True Duelist's memory deserves to be honored and remembered, as he entrusted this deck to me I ask you, all of you... will you entrust your strength to me? Will you allow me to be your Duelist?"
There was silence as the monsters seemingly just look at each other, unable to communicate or rather... unable to understand.
A sad smile as Atem let out a dejected chuckle.
"Heh... that's right. I'm not him. I'm not your Duelist. We've barely started our bond so... there's no way you could understand me. Heh... It's okay. I can wait. Just know I'll never use you for combat, not at all. I'd never do that to his beloved monsters. I just... wanted to keep his spirit alive and honor his memory by playing the game both he and I love. I want..." His breath hitched as he just raised his head to look up at the night sky, trying to prevent the tears that formed from falling.
Unfortunately, to no avail.
"I want the monsters he loved to still enjoy the game, even when the Truest of Duelists no longer can! I want his deck and his memory to never be forgotten, even though he's no longer here! I want to show the strength, the passion, and the love of the True Duelist who fought to the end... and how much he meant to me."
"And how much I miss him."
