I really need to get better at updating. I really hope this one was worth it because it was really hard to keeping. I only own Airi. Song lyrics used in this chapter are "What If" by Kate Winslet and "So Close" by Jon McLaughlin. I own neither of them.

BIG THANKS to my beta for reading and editing. Love you. :)

House keeping. I only own Airi. Song lyrics used in this chapter are "What If" by Kate Winslet and "So Close" by Jon McLaughlin. I own neither of them.

Chapter 59

"Mr Kaiba," an assistant said. "we have an alert saying there is an unofficial duel happening on Kaibaland grounds.

Kaiba opened the alert on his computer and stared at one of the names. Airi? Airi Muto. His Airi Muto was dueling on Kaibaland in a duel. The duel-disk registration was Yugi's, but the cards were the updated Airi deck in his system.

"Seto?" Mokuba appeared at his elbow. "The final show down has been decided. Don't you want to confront von Shroder?"

"Postpone the duel. I have some research to conduct."

Mokuba looked confused but left his brother alone. Kaiba turned back to the computer and pulled up the video feed at the Chinese Restaurant. He had a duel to watch.


Vivian drew. "Using Luminous Clouds, I Sacrifice Master Kyonshee and Kung Fu Nyan Nyan to summon Dragon Lady. I increase her attack points with Lightning Saber. Attack Dark Blaze Dragon."

Airi didn't flinch as her card was destroyed.

"Do you think she has a chance Yugi?" Tea asked.

"When she's that mad." Yugi said. "yes I do."

"And I attack with Dragon Lady again." Vivian giggle like a little kid as Airi's life points fell even lower. "Now I end my turn."

Airi drew. "I summon Dark Witch in attack mode. I put two cards face down and end my turn."

"That's it?" Joey said through a mouth full of sweat and sour pork. "She's going to die."

"She's my sister." Yugi reminded. "She knows what she's doing."

"Really?" Vivian said. "that's all you've got?"

"Your turn." Airi's tone was cold.

Vivian drew. "Dragon Lady, attack"

"I activate Mirror Force." Airi said.

"I play Snowfall Sword, canceling your Mirror Force.". Vivian grinned. "You're just as sneaking as ever. Now my attack will go through."

"I play Giant Trunade which send all the spell and trap cards back to their owners hands." Airi said. "Yep I'm sneaky, and you're a pain."

Vivian glared. "That doesn't change anything. I activate magic card Flying Dragon Whirl, discarding four dragon cards to raise Dragon Lady's Attack to 2600."

"Oh no." Tea said. "That will take out the rest of her life points."

"Dragon Lady attack." Vivian began dancing around. "I win, I win, I win. I get to date Yugi."

"No you don't." Airi said. "I discard Hanewata to negate your attack."

"What, how dare you." Vivian whined. "Why do you always get in the way of my victories."

"You're going to a lot of trouble for Yugi. Didn't you try picking on Mokuba for Seto's attention? It would be easier."

"I'm not that desperate."

"You have standards? Shocking."

"You haven't done any better. You're relationships have been non existent since Kaiba dumped you."

Airi's jaw dropped. "Who said he dumped me?"

"Really girl, you don't keep up with interviews."

"No he didn't. He said he dumped me? Face saving jerk."

"You're turn." Vivian cued.

Airi drew. Now she was really mad. But this was a duel. She needed to channel her fury into her cards. She looked at the combination and allowed a smile to break her poker-face. Time to end this.

Airi's lip curled into a smile. Yugi realized she'd figure out how to win, and from the look on Vivian's face she knew it too.

"I summon Victoria in attack mode. I play pot of greed" she drew two cards. "I activate her special affect to summon one of your dragon's from your grave yard.

"What!" Vivian screamed to see one of her cards facing her.

"With my three monsters I sacrifice them to summon Tyrant Dragon."

The giant brown dragon appeared looking hungrily at the monsters on the other side of the field.

"I activate Dark Pendent, raising my dragon's attack to 3400 attack points. Tyrant Dragon, Attack!"

The monster tore into Dragon Lady, destroying her and taking the rest of Vivian's life points.

There was a long science. Vivian was too shocked, but looked about ready to cry again. The spectators stared. They had never seen Airi pull off a duel like that. Yugi gaped up at his big sister. He'd only seen duels like that when he'd seen her duel on TV. It was amazing.

"Now." Airi sounded like they had just been talking about the weather. "your turn to keep your end of the bargain. Fix grandpa's back."


Seto leaned back in his chair and grinned. He always new Airi was the same girl he used to know. That duel had all the ferocity he used to know. She was still the girl. Too bad she was still a washout, or he'd ask her back right then.


The boys insisted on finishing the food. By the time they returned to the main park most of the duels were over. Airi made Gramps go to the clinic to make sure his back was completely back to normal. Not that she didn't trust Vivian, she just didn't trust Vivian.

Waiting for treatment took forever.

"Maybe everyone is busy watching the duels." Yugi suggested.

"Sounds rather messed up." Tea said. "What if someone really needs help?"

"Well, lets join them." Tristan turned on the TV in the room. The first channel was obviously linked to the Kaibaland network and broadcasting the duels.

"Wait, is that Kaiba?" Joey said.

Everyone leaned forwards and were socked to realize that the person, dueling the brightly pink haired Sigfried was none other than Seto Kaiba.

"He wasn't going to duel." Airi said. "What in the world is he doing?"

"I guess this is how he throws people out of his tournament." Yugi said. "Maybe he doesn't like that fact Lloyd was hitting on you?"
"Why would he care?" Airi hoped her face wasn't turning red. "Someone is crashing his tournament and he wants to personally humiliate them."

"Seems excessive." Yugi said.

"So does dueling because someone was hitting on his ex."

Yugi gave her a look. "Airi are you really that dense?"

"What?"

"It's obvious to blind people that Kaiba still likes you."

"You were listening to Vivian weren't you?"

"I'm not talking about Vivian. He invites you to this tournament, as a contestant, and acknowledges you as a duelist, washout or not."

Airi was silent, staring at the TV image of her ex. She didn't want to admit it. It made her sick thinking about it. She didn't know if it was flattering or infuriating. If Kaiba does still have feelings for her he has an odd way of showing it. Then her heart gripped in her chest. If Yugi could see Seto liked her, could he see she and Yami were . . . whatever their relationship was?

"He doesn't?" Yami said through the link. "I've kept very careful not to let any hint slip through our connection."

Airi wasn't completely convinced, but for now she would believe no one had figured out their relationship.

"Of course he wins." Joey said. "Pink haired jerk had the ego stomped out of him."

"So who does Yugi duel?" Tea said.

Mokuba appeared on the screen to answer the questions.

"The finalist has been decided. Leon Wilson is the victor and the champion of the first KaibaCorp Grand Championship. He is the one who will challenge Yugi Muto for the King of Games title."

"Wow, some one we actually like." Tristan said. "This duel is going to be actually fun to watch.

Airi finally allowed herself to relax. Lloyd was out of the duel and he wouldn't be facing Yugi. That was a relief. Maybe this was going to be a normal duel.

The duel was going to take place at the castle in the middle of the park. Yugi was clearly nervous, and Airi realized that this was a duel to decided who was going to be the King of Games. It had been part of their lives for years and the idea of possibly losing it was weird.

Arriving at the castle they met up with Rebecca. She was upset of her losing to Leon, but covered it up by telling Yugi she was going to cheer the loudest for her Yugi. Mokuba went up to take Yugi the dueling platform. Airi gave him a hug.

"You'll be great. Have fun."

"That will be refreshing." Yugi admitted.

Yugi had barely disappeared around the corner when Roland appeared and asked the group to follow him the special viewing platform reserved for them. The stairs were long and everyone was breathing hard by the end. Pro. Hawkins and Grandpa had to be helped by their granddaughters and the others to get to the top. Airi was ready to give whoever had designed this place a piece of her mind, when she got her breath back.

At the balcony they found a couple chairs and the older men immediately sank into them. The rest looked down at the stage below them. It was high enough to see everything but not too far as not to hear the duelist call out their attacks. Yugi stood on the field with Yami standing detached next to him. Airi was surprised. Why was Yami not taking over? Yugi was doing a good job looking confident, but there was still a hint of uncertainty as he looked towards the mob of cameras focused on them at the bottom of the platform. Airi smiled. Yami must be letting Yugi get used to being the center of the attention without hiding behind another face. At least Yami was next to him. When she did her first broadcast duel it was just her up there.

Leon appeared from the other end of the field. Airi was shocked to see he looked really serious. That few times she'd seen him duel he had been concentrating,but he seemed to be enjoying himself. Maybe he was just nervous about facing the King of Games on live TV. Yugi and Leon shook hands and exchanged decks to shuffle.

"It's been my dream to beat you Yugi." Leon said. "Now I have my chance."

"Good luck to you." Yugi sounded a bit confused.

"I don't need luck." Leon walked back to his side of the field.

Airi was surprised too. They hadn't known Leon that long, but this didn't seem like his normal behavior. "You're imagining things." she muttered. "Don't freak out right now."

"To start the festivities." Mokuba said into the microphone. "Please give your attention to the master of ceremonies. Seto Kaiba."

"Typical." Joey said. "Making all this about him."

"He did pay for everything." Airi pointed out.

"Yeah, but this is all about his company's image."

"Shh." Mokuba hiss, pointing to another balcony above them.

Kaiba stood up there, looking down on the cheering crowd below them. He raised a hand for silence.

"This duel has one goal." his voice echoed around the field. "To find out who, beside me, deserves to be the greatest duelist in the world. Now we will see who has the right to be the king of games. Begin the duel."

The crowd again erupted in applause. Airi gave a polite clap, but it was a short one.

"I'll begin." Leon drew. "I summon Forest Wolf in attack mode."

"What is wrong with his deck?" Joey said. The wolf had appeared in what looked like a nightgown and nightcap.

"He has a fairytale deck." Rebecca said. "Don't laugh at it. It's really tough."

"I end my turn." Leon said.

Yugi drew. "I play Polymerization, fusing Gazelle the King of Mythical Beast and Berformet to summon Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast in attack mode." The first two monsters appeared and fused together until they formed one monster. "Attack!" Chimera attacked Forest Wolf and destroyed it.

"Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?" Joey cheered. Tea groaned at the pun.

"My turn." Leon drew a card. "I summon my most powerful card. I summon Little Red Ridinghood in defense mode."

"Is his whole deck like this?" Tristan said.

"She's cute." Tea said.

Airi kept watching Leon. Something was definitely something wrong. But she didn't know what. His attitude was really close to Siegfried. Her eyes widened. They did look really similar. But that was impossible. They couldn't be brothers.

Back on the field, Yugi summoned Celtic Guardian. With one swipe he took out Little Red Ridinghood.

Rebecca tensed. "I hope this one doesn't have a twist."

"When Little Red Ridinghood is destroyed I can summon any level 4 monster to the field from my hand. I summon Forest Hunter. Forest Hunter also has a special ability. His effect allows me to remove one Beast or Beast-Warrior monster from the game. Good bye to your Chimera."

Yugi removed the card from the game. "Quick question Leon." he said. "If you always wanted to duel me, then why are you acting so miserable?"
Leon looked embarrassed. "I am excited, Yugi, but I can't have fun because I have a job to do."

Behind Yugi, Yami stiffened. Airi also looked around to see if any monsters or shadow realm people were going to show up. While looking around Airi realized Kaiba had come down to their balcony.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, startled by his appearance.

"Closer look." Kaiba said. "Something is odd about this kid."

Sound of footsteps made them look around. One of the suits appeared, gasping, and handed Kaiba a paper.

Kaiba grabbed it. Airi looked at it and her mouth fell open.

"Leon is a von Shroder?" she said. The others looked around confused.

"Tell me this is a joke." Kaiba demanded.

"Tis no joke." a familiar voice said from behind them. Siegfried stood in the doorway, looking very calm and smug.

"What do you want?" Joey demanded.

Siegfried walked to end. "I should let my helper explain. Leon, you may reveal why you're here."

"What ever you say brother." Leon said.

"He's your brother?" Yugi said.

Leon nodded.

"I knew you would discover who I am eventually, Kaiba." Siegfried explained. "While you were trying so hard to chase me down, my little brother was climbing the ranks."

"Are you really trying to sabotage everything to sell you lousy games?" Kaiba said.

Airi was confused. She should have kept up with KaibaCorp information after leaving.

"When my brother wins your silly tournament then the von Shoder family will be the leading producer of duel monsters hologram games."

Airi sung her arm toward Siegfried's head, but Kaiba grabbed it to keep her from hitting him.

"You're using your brother because you couldn't do it yourself?" Airi spat. "Arrogant jerk."

Siegfried didn't look intimidated. "Takes one to know one."

Airi yanked her arm out of Kaiba's grasp. "It isn't over yet. You'll have to beat my brother."

"What is wrong with your girlfriend, Kaiba?" Siegfried said. "She's loosing her composure."

Kaiba glared at him. "She means the only one who can beat Yugi is me."

Airi rolled her eyes. "When did that ever happen?"

"Shut it." Kaiba hissed at her.

Airi turned back to the duel. Leon and Yugi both looked up at the balcony not sure if they were supposed to continue. Leon's gaze met Airi's and she saw he looked apologetic. She remembered him talk about helping siblings and being there no matter what. She gave him a smile.

"Continue the duel." Kaiba said. "We'll see who is the real duelist is."

"Crush Yugi Leon." Siegfried said. "You promised to help me bring back the honor of our family."

Leon looked serious again. "I summon Iron Hans, which allows me to also summon Iron Knight." The monsters attacked and Yugi's life points fell to half.

"I knew he wouldn't fail me." Siegfried said.

Airi gritted her teeth to keep from retaliating. Another duel with ground breaking stakes. She and Yami exchanged a glance. She saw he wasn't pleased about this either, but she saw he was calm and collected. She made herself breath. It was going to be OK. The duel wasn't over yet.

"I end my turn." Leon said.

"Great job." Yugi said. "You really are a talented duelist. And your cards are cool."

"Yeah, I know. I've always like Fairytales." Leon said, and seemed to go back to himself. Then he looked up and saw his brother and went back to his serious expression. "But I'm not here for fun, I'm here to regain my family's honor."

"Sorry to hear that." Yugi said. "I was looking forward to dueling a great duelist like you."

Leon looked at the ground.

Yugi drew. "I summon Queen's Knight in attack mode. Attack Forest Hunter." The other monster was destroyed. "I place a card face down and end my turn."

Leon drew. "Now it's time for your Queen to become Sleeping Beauty. I play Spinning Wheel Spindle which sends your monster to the grave yard for three turns. Now that your open, I attack with Iron Hans."

"I activate Mirror Force." Yugi said. The blast sent back destroyed the other monsters.

Leon looked impressed, but not for long. "I activate the magic card Water of Life to bring Iron Hans back from the graveyard. I activate his specially ability to summon another Iron Knight to the field.

"Will those things stop coming back?" Tristan said.

Yugi drew. "I play Pot of Greed." He drew two more cards. "I had drawn Watapon and that action I can special summon it to the field. I sacrifice Watapon to summon Dark Magician Girl."

"Cool." Leon said. "I get to see her up close. This is awesome." then his face fell. "Now I have to destroy her."

"It's still my turn." Yugi reminded. "Attack Iron Knight." Dark Magician Girl blasted the other monster away. "Now it's your turn."

"Stop playing around Leon." Siegfried called from the balcony. "We've wasted enough time. Finish him."

"Oh shut up." Airi said.

Leon drew. "I also play Pot of Greed." two more cards and Leon gasped. Zigfried grinned.

"For my family." Leon said.

"I activate the card Golden Castle of Stromberg." A giant gold castle appeared behind Leon towering over the field.

"What is that thing?" Tristan said.

Kaiba turned on Siegfried. "How did you get that card?"

Siegfried just smiled.

Airi gaped. She'd heard of that card, but it was supposed to have been too powerful to be released into mass production. Then again, no one should have made the God Cards either.

"The special affect of Golden Castle allows me to summon any monster with four stars or less. I summon Cinderella in attack mode. I also summon Pumpkin Carriage."

"Look out, Yugi." Rebecca said. "That princess is dangerous."

"When Pumpkin Carriage is on the field, Cinderella can attack your life points directly." the shoe launched through the air, nearly hitting Yugi in the head. His life points dropped.

"And your monster's strength goes down." glass slippers appeared on Dark Magician Girl's feet, making her attack points going down by 1000.

"That castle isn't an official card." Grandpa said. "It shouldn't be allowed to be played.

"It's working on your equipment, right?" Sigfried said.

"It must have been tampered with." Airi said.

"I'm cheating?" Leon looked horrified.

"It's not our fault." Siegfried said. "Your computers are just too weak to catch any problems with the card."

"That doesn't excuse the fact your brother has an illegal card." Kaiba said.

"Then cancel the duel." Siegfried said.

Kaiba turned away. "It will continue. We're going to have a winner no mater what."

Airi wanted to tell him not to be so proud but knew he wouldn't listen.

Leon looked even more conflicted than he had before. He looked at the castle and then at his duel disk, obviously trying to convince himself that this was a legal match.

"Keep going Leon." Siegfried said. "You're making the family proud."

"Stop lying to him." Airi rounded on him. "You show up back in his life just because it works for you and expect him to take the fall for you. Your a coward and a scoundrel. You're making everyone realize Seto Kaiba is a better person than you."

Siegfried's hand swung forward to hit Airi's face. Kaiba's arm came up and knocked it out of the way. The opening allowed Joey to clock Siegfried right in the face. The next moment Joey and Siegfried were rolling around on the ground in a flailing pile of limbs.

"Get them out of here." Kaiba shouted. Security appeared and separated the two of them.

"I'm not a cheater." Leon said. "I want to win against Yugi, but not cheating." he drew another card. "I play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Golden Castle."

Nothing happened.

Crazed laughter sounded behind them. Siegfried, still being held by the Kaibaland security, was laughing. "Don't any of you know that Golden Castle is impossible to destroy? It will still be a victory even if that kid is too weak to go for one."

"Get him out of here." Kaiba ordered. The still laughing von Shroder was escorted out.

The crowd was restless, not sure what was going on, but intrigued. Leon stood trying to hold on to his emotions after the reveal of his creep bother. From the balcony she could see Yugi leaning towards Yami. She really hoped the spirit had some answers.

"What do we do, Yugi?" Leon said.

Yugi turned back to the field. "We keep dueling. Every card has a weakness. We'll find it."

"Seto!" Mokuba had been on his communicator since the castle had shown up. "Our files are being deleted. We think it's connected to the card." Kaiba disappeared down the steps.

"We've got to get rid of it." Leon said. "Please, Yugi do you know how?"

"It's my turn." Yugi drew. "What?"

Dark Magician Girl was forced to attack Leon. The attack was reflected, from what seemed to be the castle and she was destroyed.

Leon looked at the instructions on the card. "Oh no, each player is forced to make their monsters attack each turn.

"Good to know." Airi muttered.

"And there is more." Leon said. "you must give up half of your deck to keep the castle on the field."

Yugi split the deck and half and discarded. "you're turn."

Leon drew. "I summon Forest Wolf in attack mode. And now I have to attack."

"No." Tea said. "There are no monsters on Yugi's side."

Cinderella attacked first, taking Yugi's life points down to 400. Forest Wolf, followed, but this time Yugi activated a trap Dark Magic Retribution, allowing him to bring back a spell caster to the field. Dark Magician Girl reappeared. Leon's monster was destroyed.

"She can only stay this turn." the monster faded away.

"This is horrible." Leon said. "I can't control any of my monsters."

"Calm down." Yugi said. "Three turns have passed, and now my Queens Knight can return to the field." The monster appeared. "Now it's my turn." Yugi drew. "I play card of Sanctity, allowing us both the draw Six cards. I now summon King's Knight, and now I have two knights I can summon Jack's Knight."

"That's not going to take out the castle." Joey said.

Yugi continued. "I activate Royal Straight, which allows me to summon a high level monster to my hand. I sacrifice all of my knights to summon Royal Straight Slasher. I activate his special effect which allows me to send monsters from the first five levels to the grave yard to destroy a card on your side of the field."

Yugi sent the cards to the grave yard. On Leon's side, all of his monsters disappeared. But Golden Castle didn't.

"It is unbeatable." Leon sounded near panic.

Yugi glanced back and Yami and gave him a small smile. Airi couldn't see what was so great. They didn't know how to destroy it. Or did they?

"My turn." Leon drew. "You have to discard half your deck."

Yugi smiled. "Sorry, but I can't." he motioned to his deck. "I can't give away half of one."

"No way." Leon gasped.

Airi cheered with the others as the Golden Castle faded from the field.

"Still your turn Leon." Yugi reminded.

"Right. I summon Cinderella and Pumpkin Carriage to the field. I sacrifice them to summon Hex Trude. I end my turn."

"How is Yugi going to win?" Rebecca asked. "He only has one card and he'll be done for if it's not the right one."

"Come on." Airi muttered. "Heart of the Cards, work. Please."

Yugi drew his last card. "I activate my face down card Necromancy to bring your monsters back to your side of the field."
Most of Leon monsters came back to his side of the field, decreasing Hex Trude's attack points.

"Now, I activate my other face down card Diffusion Wave Motion. By paying 1000 life points I summon Dark Magician from my graveyard. And because of this I can wipe out all of your monsters. Dark Magician, attack."

All the monsters were taken out by the Dark Magician's attack. Leon's life points fell to zero.

"Yugi Muto is still the King of Games." Roland announced to the crowd.

The audience went wild. Yugi and Leon shook hands. Leon seemed to be apologizing over and over, but Yugi was trying to tell him it was alright. Airi leaned against the stone railing.

"That's it," she told herself. "No more tournaments for a while."


Airi wished they could have gone home right after the duel, but there was going to be an official celebration dinner and dance and everyone was already excited to go. Yugi was exhausted from the last duel, but wanted to go to see what a formal reception was like. Airi finally gave in, but was worried on what they were going to wear. They didn't have anything super fancy.

There was enough time to get everyone cleaned up and a few hours to relax. Yugi passed out on the bed and didn't wake up until 30mins before. Airi managed to clean up and give advice to Tea about what was appropriate in the small selection of cloths she had. They were arguing about if the slacks were clean enough and if they had enough time to get them ready when there was a knock on the door and a valet appeared.

"Excuse me, but these were sent up from management." he said, behind him Airi could see a cart with garment bags and shoe boxes in which she assumed were formal cloths for the whole group.

Airi glanced at the cart and recognized Mokuba's hand writing on the instructions.

"Thank you."

The man bowed and left.

"Wow," Tea had already opened a bag and was holding up a black dress. "This is for us?"

"Looks like your size." Airi pulled out her dress and gaped. It was a jade color sleeveless Chinese style reaching to the knee. She could tell it was the right color to match her jade pendent.

"Well, put it on." Tea said. "We have less than half an hour, and then we have to check on the boys."

Airi couldn't believe how well the dress fit. It was a bit concerning that Mokuba some how knew her measurements. But the relief of having something was stronger than suspicion. All the fabric was in place and it fit like it was made for her. Her hair fell loose behind her and the highlights complimented the dress perfectly. The shoes fit too. She was going to have to talk to Mokuba about how he got his information.

They were right about the boys not being ready. Tea went into Tristan and Joey's room, after a long argument about them not needing help despite all the thuds coming from inside. Airi went inside her room. Grandpa had enough excitement and was passed out on the bed. Professor Hawkins also said he was feeling worn out from all the excitement and was going to turn in. the bathroom door was closed.

Airi knocked on Yugi's door. "Yugi, time to go."

"Almost ready." Yugi called.

Airi went back into the hall and waited, listening to the arguments coming from the other room. Rebecca bounded down the hall in her red dress with matching shawl, demanding to know where Yugi was. Airi had to hold her in place before she went into the room looking for him. Joey and Tristan finally appeared, an exasperated Tea behind them. They looked very smart, but it didn't do much to change their behavior.

Finally Yugi appeared. His customary uniform was replaced by a blue suit.

"You clean up well." Airi told him.

"You too." He looked at Tea and his eyes widened. "Wow, you look amazing."

"Thanks." Tea blushed. "Is the spirit coming?"

"No, he said he needs to rest." Yugi said.

"How do I look Yugi?" Rebecca demanded. "Do I look grown up?"

"I guess?" Yugi glanced at Airi for help, but she shrugged.

"Come on. They'll start without us." Tristan said.

"Yeah, we'll miss the food." Joey said.

"Oh, the horror." Airi said.

The ballroom was lit up with dozens of chandeliers. It was magnificent. at the small red carpet part of the doorway. Rebecca grabbed Yugi's arm and escorted him into the room. The scene was hilarious, and Tea's angry expression made it even funnier.

"Some one watch her," Tristan said. "She's still a kid."

"She's a pain, that's what she is." Tea followed after the other couples into the room, Tristan behind her.

Airi took a calming breath to make sure her nerves were at least under control. Thing things were even more stressful than the opening social, she could see the reporters just out of sight reading to talk about whoever wore what and who was dating who. Going in alone was terrifying.

Airi felt a light tap on her shoulder. She turned to see Joey standing behind her. He did an awkward sort of bow, obviously not something he was used to.

"May I have the honor to escort you, my lady."

Airi smiled. "Are you afraid of being matched up with a washout?"

"Nah, I'm already third duelist. My reputation can only go up."

Airi slipped her arm in his and they entered the room. Of course the reporters went nuts. But quickly dispersed when Mokuba and Kaiba entered from their own privet entrance. Airi forgot how well Seto looked in his black suit.

They quickly located the others. Tea made sure to sit between Yugi and Rebecca, but it didn't do much since Rebecca kept leaning over her to talk to Yugi anyway. Yugi was more than happy for him to join and it gave him an excuse for someone else sitting between him and Rebecca. The boys were excited about the food until they realized it wasn't a buffet and they had to wait for the servers to come to the table for their small portions of food.

The dinner went on for a long time. Leon asked timidly if he could sit with them, braced as if they would tell him to get lost. Airi did her best to enjoy the meal, but was constantly aware that Kaiba was often looking their direction. Yugi's statement that Kaiba still cared for her pounded in her head, no matter how much she pushed it away.

At long last the floor was opened for dancing. Mokuba was handed a microphone and announced to the assembled crowd that they invite the King of Games and the Champion Leon Wilson/von Schroeder to open the dance.

Applause greeted this statement and Airi waited to see which of the other two girls at the table Yugi would ask to dance. To everyone's surprise, including her own, Yugi walked over to her and extended his hand. She looked up at him. Muttering erupted around the room. King of Games asking his washout sister for the first dance? Unheard of.

"You're supposed to ask one of them." she whispered.

"Come on, sis." Yugi said. "Please?"

Throat feeling tight, she accepted and walked with her brother to the floor. Behind her she heard Rebecca's surprised splutters when she realized he wasn't getting asked by Yugi. She was too distracted to respond to Leon, so he ended up asking Tea, though the height and age looked a bit odd.

The music started and Yugi lead his sister in a very simple box step.

"You did forget most of what I taught you." Airi teased.

"Lot on my mind." Yugi said.

Others joined them on the floor and it seemed normal.

"Where's Yami?" she asked.

"Don't know. He said he was tired, but I think he just wanted some alone time."

"Don't blame him. With our luck we'll get another duelist showing up to challenge us."

"Please don't jinx it."

The song ended and everyone clapped. Airi hugged her brother.

"Thanks Yugi." she whispered.

He offered her his arm again and they walked off to the side of the dance floor while others were finding partners for the next song. The next dance was a faster tempo and Yugi looked like he was going to sit this one out. Tea suddenly appeared, looking a bid nervous.

"Umm, Yugi, would you like to dance?"

"Huh?" he said. "Oh, uh, yeah, but I'm not that good."

"Me neither." she lead the red faced boy onto the floor, passed the ticked off Rebecca who looked angry for not getting to him in time.

"Airi?" Leon stood next to her, looking very sheepish. "I want to apologize in person for all the trouble today."

"It's OK, Leon, everything turned out alright." Airi said. "How's your brother?"

"He's, um, well he's explaining things to the authorities tonight. I don't think he's going to want to see me, but I'm going to talk to him tomorrow."

Airi put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry about all this Leon. You've had quite the crazy dueling experience."

"Yeah, I know." He glanced over towards the still fuming Rebecca. "Do you think she'd dance with me?"

"I'd probably ask now before Yugi get free again."

Leon squared his shoulders and headed over. Airi didn't wait to see what happened.

Airi made her way out onto the balcony. The cool night air felt good on her face after the crowded ballroom. Below the dark grounds of the hotel stretched out with lights dotting the black landscaping leading towards the entrance to Kaibaland.

"Always having to be the loner." a voice came behind her.

Turning around, she found Seto standing behind her.

"Showing up only when you want, as usual." Airi snapped.

"You were startled." he chuckled. "That's a first."

Airi turned her back on him. She heard him walk up next to her.

"I saw your duel with Vivian Wong."

Airi glanced at him. "You do have cameras everywhere?"
"It's my job to know what goes on in my park."

Another moment of silence.

"You're still an excellent duelist."

"Thanks."

"You deserve to try again."

"I'm not asking for another chance. Besides, you know how everyone else feels about my being here. Who would give me a chance?"

"You'd have to start at the bottom again, but being Yugi's sister will help you and under the KaibaCorp brand you'll be in the spotlight in no time."

"Wait, why would you want to support me?"

His face was suddenly close to hers. "You are really dense sometimes."

"Then spell it out." she whispered. Instinct made her lean closer to him. It felt normal.

"Be my girlfriend."

That phrase snapped her out of her trance.

She leaned back. "Again?"

"You were fine with it the first time."

"That was a different."

"You're the same girl. I've seen you duel."

Sighing, she turned away. "So I can duel like that while I'm upset. That doesn't mean I want to go back that life."

"What's wrong with it?" Kaiba snapped. "I'm on top of the world."

"Constantly looking behind you and having escape doors all over you buildings."

"Today doesn't describe my whole life."

"I've jumped out of a buildings, escaped exploding islands."

"Most of those were caused by your brother."

"Oh right, it's always our fault. You manipulating Yugi by threatening to jump off a castle wall to get what you want was totally his fault."

"I had my reasons."

"Do you have one for all the other ways you've manipulated us? I can name them off if you want."

"Darn it Airi." Kaiba said. "I'm not asking you to like what I do. I'm asking you to come back."

Airi studied his face. "You really want to deal with me again?"

"You don't have to manipulate everything I say."

"You wanted an answer."

"I'm still waiting for one."

"No."

"What is wrong? I know you still care for me."

"Caring that you stay alive doesn't mean I love you like I did. Mostly it's helping your brother that brings us together. What do we even have in common anymore?"

"Duel monsters."

"Besides that."

"We have brothers."

"Really? You could date Siegfried with that logic."

"You're mocking me now."

"What do you want me to say?" Airi ran her fingers through her hair. "I've given my answer, but you won't listen to it."

She turned away, looking back over the dark grounds.

"There is someone else isn't there."

She didn't look up. It might be true, but he wouldn't believe her anyway.

"It's not Wheeler is it."

"Excuse me."

"No, it's not, that would be too crazy even for you."

Airi tried to bite back the giggles but they slipped through. "Really, Seto? Me and Joey?"

"You'd have to be desperate enough to have a reason to find someone else to spite me."

Her laughter turned to light sobs. "Just stop, please."

Seto's phone went off.

"We'll continue this later." Kaiba said.

She heard his footsteps fade into the music coming from the other room. This was a crazy day. What was going on? Seto did care about her and wanted her back. She should feel flattered. She was wanted by one of the richest men in Japan and this should be a great opportunity. So why did it make her feel sick.

"He's not that bad." she muttered to herself. "I mean, you've seen worst men during the past few years. Why can I just give him another chance?"

she tired to picture her life with Seto. Each time she tried all she got was a haze. They had so many good times together when they were kids. But they weren't kids anymore. Why was this so hard to picture? She'd been a relationship before. He couldn't have changed that much.

The song changed. It flowed out like a wave.

Here I stand alone
With this weight upon my heart
And it will not go away
In my head I keep on looking back
Right back to the start
Wondering what it was that made you change
Well I tried
But I had to draw the line

And still this question keeps on spinning in my mind

What if I had never let you go

Would you be the man I used to know
If I'd stayed
If you'd tried
If we could only turn back time
But I guess we'll never know

the song's lyrics echoed inside he head. Had she made a mistake leaving Seto? Was she going to have to face him and discuss this over and over until he finally understood there was nothing between them anymore. Tears refused to stay down and slid down her face. Face burning she looked for a way off the balcony. She didn't want anyone to see her cry. Especially not Yugi. Seeing the side stairs, she hurried down the steps into the grounds. No matter how far she got the lyrics still repeated over and over inside her head. Music could be head all over the grounds. She found a bench and sank down on it.

After a while she realized she wasn't alone.

"You always show up in the strangest times." she said to the figure standing beside the bench.

Yami sat down next to her. "You're going to get lost one of these days if you keep wondering off when you cry."

She wiped her eyes. "I'll keep that in mind."

They sat in silence. Finally the song changed to a lighter and happier j-pop song, but it didn't help her mood.

"You were listening in weren't you?" Airi said.

"How did you know?"

"You didn't ask who made me cry. And Seto stumbled when he went back into the ballroom."

Yami gave a low chuckle. "Two trips in one day. I should keep score."

Airi managed a smile. They listened to the song in silence. It was a beautiful night.

"May I point something out?" Yami asked.

Airi stiffened. "I guess."

"I advise not rushing to a decision on pushing Kaiba away. He might be arrogant, egotistic, and a pain in the neck, but he is not horrible."

Airi turned at looked at Yami's translucent face. Looking at his expression she could tell he didn't like any of his reasons.

"You really believe that?"

He nodded. She could see he was still lying.

Airi looked down at her hands. "Then answer me this. Can you give me an honest reason why I should go back to Seto that doesn't include he's alive?"

"That's a real reason."

She closed her eyes. "There has to be another reason."

"I'm not alive."

"I know." she said quietly.

"You deserve someone living, not some one who can't promise you anything but good bye."

"I know. I know." she covered her face with her hands. "I know."

She felt his arm around her shoulders.

Another song began to play. A slow one.

"Airi." Yami's voice was gentle. "Will you dance with me?"

She looked up brushing the tears out of her eyes. Her throat was tight so all she could do was nod.

He helped her up and lead her to the path. Taking her hands he began leading her in a very simple dance steps.

She suddenly started to giggle.

"What?" he asked.

"I wonder if there are any cameras in this garden."

He laughed. "We'll give them something to look at."

The song ended, but neither of them stepped away. The next song began.

You're in my arms
And all the world is calm
The music playing on for only two
So close together
And when I'm with you
So close to feeling alive

They again stepped slowly to the music. This song also washed over Airi and pulled at her heart, but she couldn't pull away. She couldn't depend there would be another moment like this.

So close to reaching that famous happy end
Almost believing this was not pretend
And now you're beside me and look how far we've come
So far we are so close

They stopped at the same moment. Red and violet eyes locked.

How could I face the faceless days
If I should lose you now?

The two of them stopped moving. Airi rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes. She felt Yami wrap his arm around her and rested his head on her's.

They heard someone coming and they separated. Wiping her eyes Airi turned towards the sounds. Joey appeared in the light.

"Oh there you are." Joey said. "What are you doing out here alone?"

Alone. The word stabbed her in the heart. That is all anyone ever saw.

Airi did her best to make her voice even. "It was getting warm in there. I'll be back in a minute."

"Yugi was wondering where you were, but Rebecca insisted they dance this one."

"I'll be in a moment."

Joey retreated back up there path.

Airi turned back to see Yami standing there. They're eye met.

Let's go on dreaming

for we know we are

So close, so close
And still so far


A/N So much cheese, but i like it. YAY, no i'm finally in the ancient egypt part of the season. about time. I'm reworking a lot of that season, so if i'm really late with that one, this time i have a reason.

Please review. this one was really hard to write.