"Nice one, Mai-san!"

Mai smiled triumphantly when her Harpie Lady Sisters shredded her opponent's monster with their claws.

Mai: "Your Life Points are now down to 0. Your Star Chips are mine."

After she took the Star Chips from the duelist she was against, she went back to Akia.

"Now we both have ten Star Chips. Let's get to the castle."

Mai: "Already? Don't you want to have some more fun, Akia-chan? We could go around dueling some more."

"Oh come on, that's all we've been doing for almost two days. Besides, we have to be at the castle by sunset."

Mai: "You got a point."

They both then started heading towards Pegasus' castle.

"I wonder if it was a good idea to eliminate that girl when I didn't even need any more Star Chips."

Akia took out five Star Chips out of her pocket and looked at them.

Mai: "Why not? The less competition, the better it is for the final round. If you hadn't eliminated her, someone else would've instead; she wasn't exactly the most skilled of duelists. I mean, come on, it took you only two turns to win..."

Akia closed her hand on the Star Chips and smiled.

"I guess you're right! I mean, maybe those Star Chips will come in handy for Yugi or Jounouchi."

Mai: "Doubt it. Those two can handle themselves pretty well."

"Then, should I just throw them out?"

Mai: "No! Keep them! I said I doubted it, but I didn't say that for sure they wouldn't need it. Especially Jounouchi..."

"Jounouchi? Even though he beat you...?"

Mai: "Hey! He just got lucky."

Akia knew that Mai was mentioning Jounouchi because she was just more fond of him. That is why she felt like teasing her a lot about it.

"Sure... Don't you think he's actually quite handsome when he gets all serious?"

Mai: "W-W-What are you talking about? That kid? No way! He's just stubborn and rude!"

A slight blush showed up on Mai's cheeks. She didn't know why Akia was mentioning these kinds of things.

'Hehe she's blushing! I didn't know it would be so much fun to tease her!'

"Whatever you say..."

Akia grinned at Mai and gave her a teasing look.

"We're almost there! Only a few stairs to climb..."

Mai: "This thing is a real workout... What was Pegasus thinking? He could've at least added some kind of elevator or something. I'm sure it wouldn't cost him much with his kind of money."

They kept climbing until they finally reached the top. There, the scene that unfolded in front of them left the two girls in a state of confused shock. Jounouchi was holding Yugi by his collar.

Jounouchi: "Dammit Yugi! Snap out of it!"

Mai: "What are you guys doing here?"

Mai interrupted them before anything serious happened.

Anzu: "Mai-san, Akia-chan!"

"What's happening? Why does Yugi look so down?"

Akia felt that her brother wasn't all there. She went up to him. He didn't even acknowledge her presence. She then turned to Jounouchi.

"Jounouchi, tell me what's wrong with him?"

Jounouchi: "He had a duel with Kaiba. He was about to win, but Kaiba was so desperate that he stood on the ledge, saying that he would commit suicide if Yugi won. Yugi still attacked, but Anzu was able to snap him out of it."

'So the Spirit inside Yugi's puzzle also has some malice. To think that he wouldn't hesitate to cause someone's death for the sake of winning a card game... But then again, he probably felt the same intense desire as Yugi to save grandpa.'

Akia turned to Mai. Mai nodded, understanding what Akia was trying to say. She went up to Yugi.

Mai: "How can you be defeated without even entering the castle? I won't accept that!"

She had her hand closed in a fist and then she thrust it in front of Yugi. She then turned her hand around and opened it to reveal some extra Star Chips that both she and Akia won.

Jounouchi: "But... aren't these yours?"

Mai: "Are you kidding? Those are just extra Star Chips that both Akia and I collected."

Yugi remained unresponsive to the Star Chips that Mai held in front of him.

"Yugi..."

Akia knew that Yugi was probably feeling guilty. He was feeling that way because of what might've happened if Anzu wasn't there to stop him.

Bakura: "Akia!"

Bakura rushed to Akia's side. He really missed her. He wished that she had went with them instead of going their separate ways.

"Ryou!"

Jounouchi: "Yugi, just accept them! Let's go in the castle together."

Yugi didn't even budge. Mai was getting impatient.

Mai: "Looks like I overrated you. Just because you lost one duel, you lost your morale! You're not so great after all!"

Akia looked at Mai, confused by her attitude. When they made eye contact, Akia understood that Mai was only doing this for Yugi.

'Mai-san... I hope you get through to him.'

Anzu: "That's not it...! Yugi lost because I..."

Mai cut her before she could continue.

Mai: "I know. If you won't suck it up and enter, how about we have a duel right now?"

Everyone looked at her in shock, except for Akia. Spending all that time with Mai, she knew a bit of the true intentions behind her words.

Mai: "You'll agree to that much, won't you? Now!"

Yugi didn't show any reaction, causing Mai to become even more frustrated. As she was about to let out her anger, Anzu interrupted her.

Anzu: "Wait..."

Mai looked at her in surprise.

Anzu: "Mai-san, I'll duel you!"

"Wait what...?"

Now that was totally unexpected to everyone who was standing there.

Anzu: "If I win, those Star Chips are mine!"

Honda: "Wait a second, how can you win?!"

Anzu: "It's my responsibility to get Yugi into that castle! Mai-san, fight me!"

Mai smiled at the situation.

Mai: "Ridiculous... You really think you can defeat me?"

Anzu took out her deck.

Anzu: "I will surely win. I have to win!"

Mai looked at Anzu, surprised by her determination. She then let her gaze fall upon Akia's. They nodded to each other.

'That's right. If this will get Yugi to wake up, then you should go on with this duel, Mai-san.'

Mai: "Alright, I accept."

Everyone headed towards a dueling platform, but Bakura held Akia's wrist, keeping her back. She looked at him in confusion.

"What is it, Ryou?"

Mai and Anzu were already starting their duel. Akia wanted to see it, but Bakura seemed like he had something important to say.

Bakura: "Akia-chan, why did you leave without saying anything?"

He looked at her with sad eyes. He was really feeling disappointed that she didn't at least tell him.

"Well... I just thought that it would be better not to cause a commotion... I was pretty sure you guys wouldn't have wanted me to go."

Bakura: "You don't know how worried I was."

"Oh, come on, you shouldn't worry about me..."

Bakura: "Why shouldn't I?"

Bakura's voice sounded firm for the first time. Akia only knew him to be the sweet and kind Ryou, but this was the first time she saw that side of him. She knew it wasn't the Spirit of the Ring either. This was the real Bakura.

"Ryou..."

She dropped her head low.

"I'm sorry I worried you."

She then felt herself being enveloped in Ryou's arms. Her head was resting on his chest and she could hear his heartbeat. It was racing. Hers must've been going at full speed too. She felt the blood rush to her cheeks.

"R-Ryou...!"

Bakura gently hushed her.

Bakura: "Please... Let's stay like this for a bit."

He started caressing her hair with a soft trembling hand. His other arm was wrapped around her waist. His sudden closeness made Akia feel lightheaded from all the blood that filled her cheeks. She felt a tight lump in her throat, similar to what one feels when they are about to cry. However, this was very different. The feeling was much more positive than sadness. She didn't know what it was, though. Her stomach felt tight and her breathing was short.

Bakura felt the same thing. He kept thinking about how soft Akia felt in his arms. She smelled so sweet and he felt like he wanted to keep her close to his heart. He... really liked her. He wanted her all to himself. He didn't know if she felt the same, but he just didn't want to let her go.

Akia was starting to feel a little uncomfortable. She didn't know if she had any feelings for Bakura, but he didn't leave her indifferent. However, for now, she just couldn't take much more of the closeness. She slowly tried to get away from Bakura. All that accomplished was to make him hug her tighter.

"Ryou, please... I'm not ready for anything like this."

He then reluctantly let go of her and looked at her with a pained expression. She reached for his hand and held it in her own. She smiled at him.

"I still didn't dislike that, though."

Bakura's heart fluttered at Akia's words. He had a chance. He knew for sure that he did now. He'll just take it one step at a time from here on out.

The two of them then headed back to where Mai and Anzu were dueling. By the time they arrived, the duel was already over. Akia went over to Mai to ask her about the details.

Mai: "I surrendered. I wanted Anzu to get the Star Chips any way possible so that she could give them to Yugi."

"Thank you so much, Mai-san. I'm happy that you care about my brother's well-being."

Mai blushed slightly at Akia's praise.

Mai: "I-I was just making sure to have him in the finals so that I can duel him."

Akia giggled at Mai's expression. She then went to see how Yugi was doing.

"I see you're all better, Yugi."

Yugi: "Akia... I'm sorry about my immature behaviour."

"I'm just glad you're back on your feet. Now we can both go save grandpa together."

Yugi: "Yeah, let's go."

The group then started heading for the castle, where the main battle would take place.