Zypher: And once again, here we are with another chapter to one of my most progressing stories. Glad you all loved the last chapter so I hope you will enjoy this one.

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Yami no Game: Death's Awakening

Chapter 19

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A few weeks later at the airport, the top model, Ailean Rao, was visiting Japan for personal business. Many reporters were already there, trying to interview her and ask questions about why she left the fashion show in Paris for this important reason. She didn't bother to answer the questions and instead enter the car that belonged to her good friend and left the airport. As they left, a reporter notices the car to be that of the famous soccer player named Heda. "Thanks for picking me up, Heda. Do you mind taking me somewhere?" she asked.

"I'll do that if you'll go out on a date with me." Heda spoke, looking to her. She refused the invitation since she had something more important to do, to play a game against someone. "Play a game? I can do that. I'll be your opponent if you wish." he told her. "I can play any game. Chess. Poker. You name it." he continued as he changed direction and drove to his condominium. "Ok, if you are sure. Then I will go against you in a game of Rijinhai. Its's quite similar to a chess game." she explained and he nodded. Once they were there, they left out the car and went inside. Ailean set up the board and pieces and sat down along with Heda.

"Ok and if I win, I want to take you out on a date."

"Fine by me and if I win, you will lose the most important thing to you."

He agreed and the game started.

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The game was easily won by her and she left Heda to head to the Kaiba mansion. Once she was there, she headed up to Kaiba's room and he was there, waiting for her while watching out the window. "Why were you late, Ailean?" he questioned softly, his back still turned to her. "I had to play a boring game with a stupid guy." she responded. "You mean him." he murmured, turning the TV on which showed a report about Heda who was now in the hospital because of a serious injury that would keep him out of games for quite some time. The reporter also spoke of her visiting last night at the airport.

"That's nothing interesting." she spoke, looking to him. "Oh, but it is. I have something I wish to show you." he said, now holding a tape in his hand that showed Aqua's duel with the first game master and placed it in the VCR. It was blank for a second before the picture showed, starting from the beginning of the duel when Yugi was up against Sheldon. "You must be kidding me. You want me to go against him?" she questioned.

"No, keep watching." Kaiba spoke as she turned her gaze back to the TV and gasped when she saw Aqua appear from thin air to help Yugi, continuing the duel and defeating Sheldon easily. She wasn't shocked because of his skill but of his demonic features and the love he held for Yugi. "So, this is the one you want me to go against?" Ailean spoke softly, still in awe.

"Yes, him or the one that looks like Yugi here. They normally show when someone puts Yugi into danger but I'm sure they will also do the same if one of Yugi's friends are put into danger as well. However I want you to avoid the one called Jounouchi. I have some interest for him and I deal with him when I get the chance." Ailean nodded, now getting a bit excited about her new opponents. 'If they are tough as he says, this will prove to be a challenge. A challenge that I'm all too excited for.'

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The next day, Zella was talking animatedly about her new Ailean Rao aerobic video to the three at the shop. Yugi, Yami and Aqua listened as she talked before Yugi spoke up. "How famous is she, Zella?" he questioned. "She's very famous! She's known as one of the world top models!" she said happily. "She is also and very great dancer and I admire her abilities!"

"Wow, she must be great like you said!" he spoke before looking up to Yami. "I can bet if Anzu was still here, she would be like Zella but brag about her excellent dance skills." Yugi whispered. Yami snorted. "Don't worry about that wretch, she's gone and I'm glad she is. I despise her mostly for the way she treated you when you tried to console her when her pet was taken." Yugi looked at them suspiciously. "You and Aqua didn't happen to be the reason why she's gone so mysteriously." Yugi spoke.

Yami flinched and looked down before nodding. "Yes...with Dae Raca's help, we took her flesh and soul and that's what completed our forms." he whispered. Without catching Zella's attention, Yugi walked behind the counter and stood by Yami's side. His eyes were shadowed over by goldenrod bangs and Yugi lifted his head to face him.

"Yami, don't be sad. Then, I probably would've thought it was wrong for you two to do that but I don't care now. If someone like her granted you enough power to give you a body to be here beside me, I could care less of the consequences for her. She was mean and I rather have her out of my life then to have her still living and devaluing my generosities for no reason but her own." Yugi said, stroking his cheek and he smiled.

Yami smiled as well and leaned down to kiss him. It was short but it always means a lot to Yugi. "Hey, are you three paying attention to me?!" Zella huffed. Yugi smiled, wrapping his arms around Yami's neck and nodding. "Of course, Zella! We're paying attention." Yugi cooed, making her pout but it was with mirth in her eyes. While she was still talking, someone came into the store. Aqua looked over to her and noticed she looked to be rather intelligent. 'Very much so. Wonder why she could be here? Perhaps an expert brain teaser or puzzle.' he thought. She walked over to Zella and looked to her video before singing her name out on it and Zella gasped when she realized who it was.

"Oh my god! It's you! It's really you! Ailean Rao!" she squealed with happiness. Ailean smiled softly and nodded. "Yes, it's me. Ailean Rao." she confirmed before walking over to the counter. She looked to Aqua and asked for his suggestion on a game that used strategy, not luck, which they might sell in their shop. "There's so many of those Ms. Rao but for us, that's a pretty difficult purchase order." he responded. She nodded then looked to Yugi. "And what about you, what's your favorite game?" she asked. "Well, I like all games really." Yugi replied.

Getting rid of her shock, Zella bounded over to Ailean, eyes shining. "Oh, Ms. Rao," she started but Ailean told her to call her by her first name. "Ok, Ailean! But really, I am one of your biggest fans!" Zella stated, almost looking like she was ready to jump up and down happily. She laughed softly and looked back to Yugi. "Well, she is a happy girl. She wouldn't happen to be your friend. Perhaps more?" she questioned and Yugi blushed.

"Oh no, we're just friends. These two here are my one and only." Yugi said, moving an arm to wrap around Aqua's neck and brought him close, making him laugh softly as he nuzzled the younger. "More like your two and only, little koi." he whispered and Yugi laughed. "I can see." Ailean murmured, smiling still. 'I still wonder, how could he have such demons as those two as his partners? It's pretty much impossible for supernatural creatures to show and yet he proves that with them.' she thought before taking a card from her pocket and handed it to Zella.

"Well, how about this, I invite you four to come to my home today. It would be a pleasure to have such guests like you to come over." Ailean spoke. "Really?! You mean it!" Zella exclaimed. Ailean nodded and Zella whooped in joy, dancing around the game shop happily. Ailean started to walk off but looked back to Yugi. "And if you don't mind, don't forget to bring games so we could play some." she said and Yugi nodded. The woman soon left, Zella starting to beg Yugi if they could go now and he agreed before Zella went insane with the luck she gotten in not only meeting Ailean in person but being invited to her home.

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Later, after a quick change and packing a few games, the group of four arrived at Ailean's condominium. Zella was dressed very beautifully and held a bouquet in hand. Yami and Aqua kept a hold the games that Yugi wanted to bring. They walked inside when Ailean opened the door and headed to her room. When they were inside, Yugi was in awe with many of the ancient Indian culture artifacts she had in her room. Zella already knew that Ailean was Canadian Indian so she knew that the woman would have many memorabilia from the Indian culture that she was a part of.

Yami and Aqua placed the games on the table and Yugi introduce Ailean to them that she never heard before. "Such wonderful games you have, Yugi, and I can't wait to play them but first I want to teach you something, Zella." she spoke, looking to Zella who was now hopping up and down. "My god! Really?! I feel like the luckiest girl in Japan!" she gasped as Ailean led Zella out to her dancing room, telling Yugi to set up the puzzle for when she got back. While he was doing so, Yami and Aqua went to examine the artifacts, not knowing what they were getting themselves into.

When they were in the dancing room, Ailean was giving some instructions to Zella and when she was in position, Ailean charmed her to stop posture and movement and left her there, coming back into the room and closing the door, locking it behind her with a key. Yami heard the faint click of the door being locked and turned to her. "Alright, enough games." she murmured, stepping forward. His eyes narrowed and called Yugi to his side. Confused, the smaller teen walked over and he placed a hand onto his arm. "What's wrong, Yami?" he asked.

"Something's wrong about her now. Who are you really?" Yami hissed. "I'm Ailean Rao, one of the four Game Master Kaiba hired to defeat you two. I challenge one of you to a game and if you lose, you will lose something important to you." she explained. Yami growled as Yugi looked out the window that showed the dancing room and saw something gleaming from the wall. He looked closer and gasped. "There's a tiger in there! If you lose, she will have the tiger attack Zella!" Yugi cried and Aqua snarled.

"A low trick, just like all the other Game Masters. Kaiba will pay for this soon enough."

"Well, will you play my game?"

"Yes, to save Zella." Aqua spoke, stepping forward. "Good. We'll be playing Rijinhai. Allow me to explain the rules to you." she said, taking the box that held the game and pulled out the pieces. "There are ten pieces in all. 2 Soldiers, 2 Knights, 2 Elephants, 1 King, 1 Queen, 1 Warlord and 1 Lightning God, Indra. The Soldier is the lowest level while the King is the highest. The Queen can beat a King, Knights beats Soldiers, Elephants beats Knights and Soldiers and Warlords can beat Soldiers, Elephants and Knights. The Lightning God, Indra can beat all but can only be used for one turn." Ailean looked to crimson eyes as a small smirk played at her lips.

"What you'll have to do is place a piece onto the board and a screen will be up so you can't see the piece the other plays. When it goes down, whoever wins can keep their piece to be used again while the other is removed from play. There are many ways to win this game but I will use the simple rule set." she explained. "And what's the simple rule to winning this game?" Aqua questioned. "That would be to see who can knock out the other's king first." she acknowledged and he nodded before they started the game.

Once the screen was up, Ailean placed an Elephant piece onto the board, admiring Aqua's ability to not show any emotion which could possibly let her know of which piece he placed down. "You are very good at not showing any emotion but I'm going to make a guess and bet you placed down a Knight." she said. When the screen went down, Ailean was indeed right and he removed his knight from the board.

She then asks him if he wonders anything about her trick. "Just continue the game, Ailean." he spoke, eyes narrowed as the screen went back up and they place their pieces on the board. The screen opened again and while Aqua's chessman was a Warlord, hers was a King. 'Hmm, why did she play her King so early in the game?' he wondered as he removed his Warlord from play. "Hopefully you aren't thinking that I'm cheating just because this is my room and my game." she spoke. "You must think I can read your mind."

"If you were truly cheating, our powers would've notice. You would be dead for unsporting behavior unless Yugi begs for your life. We are merciless in our games but his wish is what we grant so if he wishes for you to be alive, we will grant him that wish." Aqua hissed as he places another piece onto the board. She placed a Queen onto the board but thought about it and changed her mind, placing a King instead. When the screen opened, it revealed Aqua's Knight and her King. Aqua removed the piece without a word as the screen closed again.

'I wonder, could she be commanding me to place down these pieces like she wants?' Aqua places a Queen down while she placed a Knight. She removed her Knight once the screen opened, revealing the pieces and once it closed again, they placed their next pieces up. 'If I want to win, I must end this at an even.' he thought, placing his King and she did the same. When the screen opened, it revealed both pieces making them both remove the pieces and end the game. "Hmm, with this rule, it will be hard to determine a winner. So why don't we up the stakes now.

"If our Kings meet each other again, whoever has the most pieces remaining, excluding Indra and the Queen, will win. To make this a little interesting, as you know of my tiger back there, for each chess piece you lose, that door will open little by little. If you lose, your friend will be dead." Ailean stated and Aqua snarled. Yugi gasped and buried his face into Yami's arm. "Please Aqua, don't let her die. Please don't let her die." Yugi whimpered. "Don't worry. She won't, little one. I won't let her."

Yugi lifted his head and looked to her. "Why? Why did you have to threaten lives?" he asked softly. "Because, I wanted to see this demonic power they held. Not only that but in the past, Rijinhai always put his life on death and dignity as well." she explained and he only turned his head back to Yami, burying his face back into his shirt sleeve.

The next game started and Ailean placed a King down while Aqua placed a Warlord, causing him to lose the turn. The door holding the tiger opened a little and it stuck a paw out, trying to claw its way from behind the door. 'Why did she have to put Zella in danger? She didn't have to as we would not back down a challenge from a Game Master. Kaiba thinks they can win against us but they never will. She must have a personal reason for doing this.' he thought as the screen closed again and he got ready to set the next piece.

Little did he know, the more he worried, the more Ailean can read his thoughts through his actions. 'That's it, time to start playing this game my way.' Aqua thought once more and closed his eyes, choosing his piece and placing it on the board. Ailean placed her piece on the board and Aqua looked to her with piercing crimson eyes. "And I'm going to guess you placed down an elephant, didn't you?" he said and she was shocked to know he was right.

"I can understand your technique, Ailean. Remember at the shop when you said you liked games of strategy, not luck. Rijinhai is a game of strategy and possibility. So you conduct the opponent's thoughts by giving them a condition to follow. With that, that's how you can read the other's thoughts. You tried the same idea with me by placing Zella in a dangerous situation so you can read how I feel and somehow figure out my chessman." he explained. Ailean bit her lip slightly, seeing that he figured out her strategy and somehow made to counter it, amazed he figured it out so soon.

The screen opened and like he said, her chessman was an Elephant while his was a Knight, even though he lost, he knew what she was doing now. "Even if you do know my strategy, you still won't be able to win." she said as the door outside rose out a little more, the snarling of the tiger being heard now and Yugi flinched, gripping Yami's sleeve more and he soothed him by rubbing his back. "Oh really? Do you think so? I'm using luck instead of strategy so there's a 1 in 8 chance that I will choose my King. You're using your strategy along with the possibility of my choice." Aqua spoke.

She sneered and the screen closed again and she put out Indra while Aqua chose his Soldier. The screen opened and even though he lost his Soldier, she would lose her Indra since it only stands for one turn. They both removed their pieces and the screen closed again. 'He must be trying to use the same strategy I'm using on him to read my pieces from my feelings. I won't believe this. The Rijinhai game has various strategies for over 2,000 years.' she thought as she placed her Elephant piece onto the board.

Aqua looked to her for a second before taking a piece and placing it onto the board. The screen opened and it was her Elephant against his King which gave him the win. She was shocked to see that he can read her strategy. "You should know, this game was originally founded in Egypt so I know this game as well as many others like the back of my hand." he said which made her even more shocked at the fact. The game continued on and Aqua finally beat Ailean using his Queen against her King. With that, she lost the game.

She lowered her head but then raised it again, smiling. "You are truly a great gamer. No wonder it was easy for one of you to defeat Kaiba. I truly accept my defeat, glad to have this chance to challenge one of you even if it was at the risk of your friend's life." she said. Aqua nodded and stood and so did she. She went over to the door and unlocked it, the door with the tiger behind it lowering back down. Yugi, seeing that the game was over and Aqua won, quickly left Yami's side and ran out into the dancing room and saw that Zella was alright.

"Ok Zella, you can release your position now." Ailean said and she nodded, standing upright again. Yugi hugged Zella as Yami and Aqua walked over to them, Ailean smiling to the four of them.

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Later that night, Ailean returned to Kaiba's and returns her title as Game Master. "Even though I lost, I can see that both Yami and Aqua are very great gamers. No wonder you lost against one of them." she told him and he snarled in anger. As she was leaving, she stopped and looked back to him. "And you know, they probably are greater players than you and Ruby. Think on that instead of wasting your time in trying to get revenge." she said before leaving.

He snorted and looked back out the window as usual, contemplating the last of his plans to defeat them.

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The next day, Ailean was on her plane to return back to Paris and the small group of four were there to send her off. As her plane left, they waved goodbye to her and she waved back to them until they were out of sight. 'One day, Yugi, I will return and maybe I can play another game with you instead of Yami or Aqua. Perhaps a love game.' she thought then laughed softly, knowing that the chances of that may not happen. 'But either way, if I do, we'll play again.'

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As they left the airport, Zella had to leave them for something else to do and they nodded, having to get back to the shop. She waved goodbye to them as she left and they started making their way back to the shop. Another person came up from behind and took hold of Yugi's shoulder, causing him to gasp and both demons ready to attack if necessary. "Calm down, you two. I'm not going to hurt him." The girl said, releasing his shoulder and he turned to look up at her. "Who are you?" he asked.

"I'm Keara. Decided it was time for me to introduce myself to you, Yugi." she said.

"How do you know my name?"

"I've been watching you and the demons here for a while. I have been a protector of Egypt for a long time and noticed that you completed the puzzle and freed them." Yugi placed a hand over the puzzle and she laughed softly, waving her hand. "Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything to it or them. Just want to become friends and help you three out when you need it." she said.

"And what can you do to help us?" Yami questioned. She led them into the alley nearby so they would be away from prying eyes and then backed away, shifting into her dragon form and looked down to their surprised faces. "Because, I'm a dragon of a different breed in comparison to you, Aqua. Not only that but I have magic as well so if something happens, I can protect you." she said before shifting back and they left out. "Well, we're glad to meet you then, Keara. I'm actually happy to meet a fellow dragon." Aqua said and she smiled more.

"Glad to meet the two infamous demons of the Sennen Puzzle myself. I'm happy to know you both found someone to love and loves you back just as much." she spoke, ruffling Yugi's hair a bit and laughed as he pouted. Yami nodded, wrapping his arms around Yugi and soon swept him off his feet, holding him bridal style then looked back to her. "How about you come over to the shop for a bit? We can talk and learn a little more about you." Yami suggested and Yugi nodded in agreement.

"Sure, I would be delighted." she spoke warmly and were soon on their way back to the Game Shop.

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Zypher: And that's all for this chapter. Now we're onto the final Game Master and ever so close to Death-T. Might hold it off for two more chapters just for two more people to introduce. Mokuba and Hanasaki (cause I want to). Now here's my question to you, just like how Laryna6 let someone continue on from her story, should I continue on with the YnG: DA story to go through Duelist Kingdom, Dungeon Dice, Battle City, Virtual World, Alcatraz Tower, KC Grand Prix and Memory Arc (which will be different from the series since Yami and Aqua has a totally different past which I need to think on a little more) and if you do, should I continue those parts in the story itself or place them as separate stories that might just be one big story that is a saga in a way?

Tell me in your reviews and I'll get to work on the rest of these chapters. And remember, whoever catches the 100th review, most likely in the next chapter, note me or say so in your review and give me your request while you're at it and I'll get to work on it in between stories. See you soon.