Zypher: Just to tease you all, here is the last chapter before the lemon! Now all I need to do is get my lemon factory up and running. -cries- It shut down on me and if I don't get it back up and running, you'll probably be getting a lime next chapter, but a good lime! Anyways, glad you like the last chapter and I present to you with the next chapter on a silver platter! Would've had a gold one if my doggy muse didn't run off with it and sold it just to get a present for his master.

Jou: -pouts-

Zypher: -gives him a raspberry- It's your fault.

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Yami no Game: Death's Awakening

Chapter 33

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Yugi and his friends were at the game shop, sitting up in his room and waiting for Jounouchi. "Wonder what's taking him so long?" Keara questioned. No sooner than her saying such, the door burst open and a happy blond pranced inside. "You guys won't believe what I got!" he cried excitedly. "What? What did you get?" Zella asked. "I'm going to be on TV!" he told them, shocking them. "Really, Jou?! You're going to be on TV!?" Yugi exclaimed.

"Yep! It's a new show called "The Get the Million Game!" If you win all the challenges they give you, the grand prize is 1,000,000 yen (about 10,000 US)!" he explained. "One million yen! That's great, Jou!" Zella spoke, smiling brightly. Jounouchi nodded just as enthusiastically. "After this, I won't have to work at part time jobs anymore!"

Honda sweatdropped. "Jou, you haven't won the money yet. Don't go making choices before the event happens." he mumbled. "He's right, don't want to quit your jobs and then something happens on the show." Aqua added. Jounouchi pouted but knew they were right. "I've gotta win! I know that much!" Jounouchi responded. 'If I win this, I can pay off my old man's gambling debt and liquor store tab! I won't have to run from the collection agencies anymore and probably get a new place to live than my shabby apartment! It's gonna be a new life after that day!'

"You've been working to put yourself through school for a while, haven't you, Jou-kun?" Yami asked and Honda nodded to his questioned. "Yeah, he worked a lot. He had help from his sibling Kaiser before he left Domino to find another job that would give them more money." Honda explained before turning to Jounouchi. "Remember that paper route in middle school? Everyone called you the "Lone Paperboy!" Jounouchi snorted. "Yeah, I remember. I hate being called that."

Yugi then got an idea. "Hey! Let's be in the audience so we can cheer Jou-kun on!" he offered and they agreed. Aqua pulled him over with his tail and nuzzled him. "You come up with the greatest ideas, love." he purred and Yugi blushed before smiling. Jounouchi smiled widely that he would be getting support from his friends. 'One million yen...I put all my hopes on that postcard to the TV people...and they picked it! The dude who chose it must be a god for granting me this chance for big money!'

But at ZTV broadcasting, they weren't thinking about Jounouchi's hopes...

"So, what sucker are we having on the "Get the Million Game" today?" A voice asked. "Well sir, we selected this young man from the entry forms...his card had been decorated with rainbow colors to make it stand out." Another spoke as he handed a picture of Jounouchi to the producer. "We've done a thorough background check on him. His father is an unemployed alcoholic with a gambling addiction! The boy works part time to pay back his father's debts while his sibling is supposedly out of the district to find a high paying job to help. He's honest to goodness, 100 percent poor!" The man said as the producer gazed over the photo.

"All right! He's perfect! Dead-end working-class guys like him will do anything to get a million yen! They go money crazy! The public loves it!" The producer commented before chuckling. "Of course, no matter how hard he tries, he'll never actually win..." he said before laughing again.

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The day of Jounouchi's appearance on the show finally arrived and he was all too happy. Yugi and the others were sitting in the crowd, waiting for Jounouchi to come on stage. "Hey out there to all the fans at home! It's time for the Get the Million Game!" The announcer spoke. The audience clapped and cheered as Jounouchi finally walked out, looking determined. "Today's challenger is this strapping young man! 16-year-old Katsuya Jounouchi from Domino City!" Jounouchi grinned and waved to his friends in the stands. "Hey! Yugi! I'm on TV!" he exclaimed. "That's the spirit, Jou!" Zella called.

"Go for it! Get the million!" Honda added as they waved back to him. In another area, the manager and the worker of the program were watching. "Camera 2, move in closer!" The worker spoke as the cameraman on camera 2 got a close up on Jounouchi. "Ok! Now add the caption to his close up!" he spoke once more, getting a confirmation from another. The producer smirked. "Ok! Now the audience knows how pathetic this kid is! Nothing like a good sob story to boost the ratings!"

"And now! For our first game - Darts of Fortune!" The announcer spoke as Jounouchi looked to the giant roulette board that had a giant portion marked with 100,000 and a small portion marked Lose. "If you win, you get 100,000 yen (about 1,000 US) and you can go on to the next stage! The rules are simple! When we spin the wheel, just throw the dart into the 100,000-yen zone! Can you do it Jounouchi?" Jounouchi nodded as he took the dart from a helper on the stage. "You can do it, Jou-kun!" Yugi called as another helper spun the wheel.

"Leave it ta me! This is a cinch!" Jounouchi claimed as he threw the dart. It hit the board and it soon stopped, showing the dart just a short way from hitting the Lose mark. "You win! You get 100,000 yen!" The announcer said and Jounouchi let out a breath. "That was close..." A medal was put around his neck, 100 etched on it and he grinned. Yugi and the others continued to cheer from their seats, glad to see Jounouchi make it past the first game.

"Now, the stakes go higher and so does the risk! Can you get 500,000 yen (about 5,000 US)? For our second game - The Electric Helmet!" Jounouchi was handed a helmet with a metal pole sticking from the top and he placed it on. "The rules are simple just like in the last game! Before time runs out, the contestant must run between these high voltage wires while wearing this helmet! But don't touch the wires! The slightest bump and the metal helmet will conduct a devastating electric shock!" he explained and Jounouchi gulped before nodding, already being through enough dealing with electricity.

"Then let's start the game!" he called and Jounouchi started through the course. His steps were hesitant and knowing time was wearing down, he didn't have much time to be careful and started to speed up his steps until he was close to the end. "I'm almost to the goal! No time left! Gotta run!" he whispered to himself as he dashed to the end and made it out without hitting the wires. "Success! He wins! The challenger successfully clears the second game! He wins 500,000 yen!" The announcer spoke as he was given another medal with 500 written on it. 'I did it! I got 500,000 yen!' he thought, grinning.

"Good job, Jounouchi!"

"That's the stuff!"

"One more step and you got the million!" Honda called along with the other cheering audience members. "We'll be back with the final round, right after this word from our sponsors!" The announcer spoke and Jounouchi smiled. 'Pops...if I win the million yen...I'll put all of the past behind us. We'll be a real family again! Just you wait!' Jounouchi thought. "This is really tense. I hope he can make it through the last game." Yugi nodded before standing up. "I'll be back. Need to go to the bathroom." he said and walked off. As he walked through the halls, Yugi looked around, trying to spot the bathroom. "I wonder if I'll meet a star while I'm in the studio?" he wondered.

The violet-eyed teen finally spotted the bathroom and headed inside, coming past a worker and the producer. "How are the ratings?" The producer asked. "Looking good, sir!" He nodded. "Good. So in the next round, is the wheel rigged to lose?" he inquired, catching Yugi's attention. "Yes sir! Everything's ready!" Yugi stopped but he didn't catch their attention. 'Huh...that's not right. Why would they have the wheel rigged...unless they want Jou-kun to lose!' he thought and listened in to their conversation as they continued to walk off.

"If there's one thing better than seeing a poor person struggling for money - it's watching them fail at the last minute!" The producer spoke, bellowing in laughter. "Suffering always turns a profit! What a joke! Who would give money to a poor person anyway? But who cares, as long as I get paid!" he spoke, laughing more. Yugi was in shock at what he heard and clenched his fists. 'All along this game show was rigged! How dare he use Jou-kun's desperate hopes to gain money? I'll never forgive him and neither will Yami and Aqua!' he thought before he quickly ran back to the show to tell the demons what he heard.

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Back at the game, the next round was starting. "Now! It's time for our final round! If Jounouchi clears this game, he will go home with one million yen! Bring out the Wheel of Fate!" Two women brought out another wheel, this time only one portion had the one million yen. Three other portions of the wheel had Lose written on it while the last four had lesser prizes. "Well, Jounouchi? Either you win the million yen...or you fail and lose all the money you've won so far?" The announcer said, looking to him and Jounouchi was more determined to win the million yen.

"I'll do it! It's as good as mine!" he announced with confidence. "You can do it, Jou!" Zella called. "Don't give up now, Jounouchi!" Keara urged on before she spotted Yugi running back towards them. "Yugi? What's wrong?" she asked. "Yami, Aqua, this last game is rigged. I heard the producer speaking to someone about making Jou-kun lose this last game. You have to do something." he explained.

"Now! The wheel has started spinning! It will stop when Jounouchi says 'Stop'!" The announcer spoke and Jounouchi looked to the wheel, hoping that he will be able to stop it on the right one. "The game's already started but it looks like Jounouchi isn't going to call stop just yet. I'll deal with the producer." Aqua whispered before he slipped away with no one from the audience noticing and went towards the backstage.

Backstage, the producer and the worker watched Jou. "All right! When he says stop, you press the button! Got it?" The producer commanded. "Yes sir! I get it!" The worker spoke. "I painted the button red to be sure! There are a lot of buttons, but there's no mistake this way! When I press this button, there's 100 percent no chance that the wheel will win for that poor punk!" Aqua slipped out from the shadows and let out a low snarl, catching their attention. "W-What do you want? Only staff is allowed back here!" The producer growled, pointing threateningly at him.

"Tell me...are you feeling lucky? Because if you are, then why don't we test your luck?" Aqua whispered and the manager was stunned silent. "What're you talking about?" Aqua smirked and motioned to his left. "Look over there...what do you see?" he murmured as the manager looked to his left before looking up. "There's a paint can on the scaffolding, right? And here are two ropes...one is tied to the handle of the paint can!" Aqua spoke, two ropes appearing in his hands. "We each choose one rope and tie it to our arm! On the signal, we each pull our own rope! It's a game of chance! The odds are even!" he spoke. "What are you talking about?! We're busy! We don't have time to play with you!" The producer hissed angrily.

Aqua's eyes narrowed, a smirk still on his face. "You don't want anyone to find out your little game show's rigged, do you, Mr. Producer? About the "100 percent no chance" wheel?" The producer sputtered when he told him about that. 'How did he learn about that secret! Th-There's no choice!'

"All right! You! Pick a rope!" he demanded to the worker. "Y...Yes sir!" he spoke as he stood up and looked to Aqua. "Ok...I'll take the rope on the right..."

"Then I'll take the left one!" Aqua handed the right rope to the worker and started to wrap the left one to his wrist. The worker did the same and looked back to him. "You all set?" he asked, and the worker nodded. "Ok then...ready...set..." Aqua gave the signal and they pulled their ropes. The one tied to the worker's wrist was tied to the paint can. The can fell onto his head and the producer backed away with a grimace.

"You moron! You'll get paint all over my clothes!" he snarled with a huff then looked down. "I have to push the button myself...huh?!" He realized that paint now covered the switch box, coloring all the buttons red. "I can't tell which the right button is! If the wheel stops on the winning space...that shiftless bum will get a million yen!" Aqua snorted in anger and disappointment. "Now you're showing your true colors! It's time for your judgment!" Aqua hissed as he walked to him. "Normally, I would kill the person as my meal but that won't keep this charade from continuing on even with you gone! So suffer in this penalty game! Mind on Air!" The demon hissed before black, magical flames engulfed the producer.

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"Now, at the contestant's call!" The announcer spoke. 'Please, let me win!' he thought. "Stop!" Jounouchi called and soon, the wheel came to a stop, hitting the one-million-yen space. "He...He wins the million yen!" The announcer spoke shakily. 'No way...this never happens...' he thought. 'Yes! I did it! I'm a mill-yen-aire!' Jounouchi thought with elation. "C-Congratulations! Here is your check!" The announcer stuttered, handing him the check. "Thanks!" Aqua slipped back out into the audience and Yugi looked to him with a smile before hugging him. "What did you do with that producer?" he asked. "I gave him a penalty game." Aqua replied. Jounouchi was still happily looking at his check before he turned, hearing frantic shouts from the back.

"Someone shut him up!"

"Cut the broadcast!"

A worker dashed out onto the stage and looked to the announcer. "What in the world is going on?" he asked. "L-Look at that!" he whimpered, pointing to the producer who came running out, laughing madly. "Gimme your money!" he said with greed lacing his every action before grabbing the front of the nearest camera. "Hey all you broke, lazy couch potatoes! Get away from the TV just long enough to send me your cash! Checks! Money orders!" he cackled, gaining shocked cries from those in the audience. "We're done for!" A worker spoke and Yugi chuckled softly. "Apparently true poverty lives in the soul. Right, Aqua?" he questioned, looking up to him who nodded. "And now his ploy is ruined."

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Several days later, Jounouchi was sulking as he walked with Yugi, Yami, Keara, Zella and Honda. "What's wrong with him?" Honda asked. "That TV production company went bankrupt. Now his check is nothing but a worthless piece of paper..." Keara explained and Honda winced. "That must be hard on him." he mumbled. "You don't know the half of it." Yugi whispered as Jounouchi let out a frustrated cry.

"All that money! Gone!"

"Don't worry, Jou. I'm sure you'll get another chance." Zella said and he only whined more.

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Zypher: And that's all for this chapter! And now the big finale! Lemon chapter coming up next! Or at least pray for one. See you soon anyways! -bangs on lemon factory- Work darn you! -takes wrench and starts working on the factory-