Sarah: Sorry for the wait! I have had a SEVERE case of writer's block and I've been under a lot of stress with graduation junk. But I'm okay now, so here's chapter 25! BTW, Shadi no Go translates to "Shadi's Game"! Enjoy!
Koujo got to the roof at the time designated, Yami and Jou following her. Sorcerer had given Seto his body back and the elder Kaiba went in search of his younger brother. Jou had sensed Koujo's emotions and come to her aid… aid that she respectfully declined.
"Thank you, Jou," she said, genuinely smiling for the first time all day. "But this is my game- I have to play it on my own." Jou nodded, smiling as well.
"Play it to the bone, Princess."
Koujo stepped onto the roof, only to see her beloved morning glow in more danger than ever. Between the two of them was a chain link fence and the young child was standing on a plank that was hanging out over the side of the roof, her stuffed dragon still in her arms. The only thing holding the plank up was four ropes. These ropes were strung through Shadi's Millennium Key, through the fence and tied to four strange looking statues. A fifth statue was above the rest, the Millennium Key tied to it. Koujo looked over at Shadi, the fear she had inside staying right where it was.
"You bastard." Shadi smirked.
"You said you would play a game, Princess." Koujo nodded.
"And play I shall- anything to save her from you! Name your game!"
"Gladly." Shadi pointed to the statues. "Do you see those, Princess?" he asked. Koujo nodded. "They are called Ushebti- their name means "Those Who Answer." Whenever you show weakness of heart, your four Ushebti will respond- they will break one by one." His smirk widened. "As you can see, the statues are what keeps little Saya alive. If mine breaks, the Millennium Key will slide down to Saya's hand and restore her. If all yours break…"
"I have four and you have one," Koujo said bluntly. "That hardly seems fair."
"All's fair in love and war, Princess," Shadi replied. "Trust me- mine will not break so easily. Now… for the first stage of the game!" The floor below Koujo began to rumble.
"What's going on?" Jou asked. Yami shook his head.
"I don…"
"What in Ra's name?!" Yami looked up at Koujo, horrified. Zombies… there were millions of zombies on the roof… all of them clinging to Koujo.
"Princess!" Shadi called. "What lies on the ground but clings to the pillar? Answer it quick... or it will be the death of both of you!"
"Hang in there, Princess!" Jou called. "You can beat this." Koujo didn't respond… she couldn't hear him.
"Oh man," she thought. "Lies on the ground, clings to the... wait a minute... I know this!" Koujo found herself remembering back to when Saya was younger…
"What are you doing, Saya?" she asked her light side. Three-year-old Saya looked up at her, smiling… she rarely was without her smile.
"None of the other kids'll play with me, cause I always win," Saya said. "So I'm playing with my shadow!" Koujo chuckled.
"You're shadow, huh? What kind of games do you play with him?" Saya bit her lip.
"Well," she said. "We were playing tag, but he kept creeping up on the ground from behind me. Then we tried hide and seek, but he always hid up on the pillar, where I couldn't reach..."
"It's my shadow!" The zombies vanished and Koujo was standing alone, a triumphant grin on her face. "What now, cross dresser?" she asked, smugly. Shadi glared at her and snapped her fingers.
Koujo felt something grab her from behind, clamping tight on her arms. Koujo looked behind her- her captor was a large crocodile monster. A horrified look covered Koujo's face, forcing Yami to look over at her Ushebti…
"Not one has cracked," he thought. "All this strain… and her heart remains strong?!"
"Princess," Shadi said. "This is Ammit- feeling her bite means losing your soul." Nine stone plates suddenly appeared in front of Koujo, all of them with a question mark on them. "Here are the rules, Princess…"
"My name is Koujo!" Koujo said heatedly. "I only allow one person to call me princess." Jou smirked slightly.
"Fine, Koujo- the rules are that you must figure out what the middle tile is… but you can not flip any of the tiles over."
"What the hell kind of rules are those?!" Yami yelled. "Koujo, you can't win this!" Koujo acted as though she couldn't hear him… for good reason. Koujo couldn't hear him. Shadi had made sure of this.
"I'll give you a hint, Princess- the tiles are a mirror of Ammit." Shadi expected the hint to throw her off, to shake her… it didn't. The Princess looked to calm for his taste. "Are you afraid, Princess?" Koujo shook her head, smirking.
"You need to learn the rules of gaming, Shadi," she said. "Number one being act like you have the upper hand, no matter what." Koujo closed her eyes, concentrating.
"A mirror," she thought. "One odd tile… Oh my god, where does this guy get his games from?"
"Shadi!" she said aloud. "The middle tile is his mouth!" Ammit vanished and Koujo just smiled. "Rule number two- stay cool at all times." Shadi rolled his eyes.
"Well," he said. "Onto the last game..." His fingers snapped again and Koujo found herself standing on a small platform surrounded by a bottomless pit. She was in the middle of the platform… and Yami was standing in front of her.
Koujo's eyes widened as she looked at the man in front of her… as she looked at her father. Where had he come from? He hadn't been up here earlier… at least she hadn't seen him, not since the game had started.
"Dad?" she asked, uncertainly, not sure if it was really him or not. Yami narrowed his eyes at her, scowling.
"Don't call me that." Koujo let out a gasp. Seconds later, three of Koujo's Ushebti statues showed the true weakness of her heart- they shattered, all the pieces falling to the street below.