"Draw!" The pharaoh started the first turn of the duel. Everyone was holding their breath, wondering how this duel would go. "I summon Queen's Knight (1500/1600) in attack mode. I'll also set two cards facedown and end my turn."
"My turn, draw!" Akia looked at the cards in her hand thought about her next move.
"What did I miss?" Jounouchi walked up to Mai and asked.
"Oh, you're back! And I see you got Bakura, too," the blonde woman glanced behind and saw the white-haired young man standing next to Honda, his eyes looking a bit red. "I guess not everyone had a pleasant night..." She whispered.
"Yeah, he was passed out when I went to get him. Probably didn't sleep a wink last night," Jounouchi replied.
"I guess it's understandable... It's hard seeing the person you're into happy with someone else," Mai sighed and glanced at Marik who was now standing next to his sister and Rishid.
"I use my spell card, Heavy Storm! This will destroys all spells and traps on the field. I gotta be careful when I'm playing against you," Akia grinned at Yugi.
"I'm glad to see you're in top shape," her opponent smirked back.
"You haven't seen anything yet. I activate my spell card, Soul Absorption! I'll then place one card facedown and summon Kycoo the Destroyer (1800/700)! Attack mode! You know what's next. I'll attack your Queen's Knight with my Kycoo the Destroyer, destroying your monster and inflicting 300 damage to your Life Points!" The red-eyed girl declared.
Queen's Knight was destroyed and sent to the graveyard, bringing Yugi's Life Points down to 3700.
"That's not all! My Kycoo the Destroyer's special effect activates. When it inflicts battle damage to my opponent, I get to remove two cards in your graveyard from play," Akia explained.
Looking at Yugi's graveyard, she decided to remove the two cards she had destroyed with her Heavy Storm, Spellbinding Circle and Exchange, since they would be troublesome if Yugi recovered them from the graveyard.
"Ah! Her Soul Absorption is activating!" Jounouchi exclaimed as Akia's Life Points went up to 5000.
"The two cards she removed with her monster's ability triggered it," Mai stated.
"Big brother, who do you think will win this? Both Akia-san and Yugi-san are very good duelists, right?" Shizuka asked her brother.
"Yeah, I don't think anyone can predict what's going to happen," he answered.
"Shizuka-chan, if you have any questions, I'd be glad to help you understand what's happening," Otogi got closer to Shizuka, irking Honda.
"I-I'll be fine, thank you..." She said as she took a few too many steps backwards, bumping into Bakura. "Oh! I'm so sorry, Bakura-san!"
Bakura smiled weakly at her. "Don't worry about it, it's all good."
"You don't look too good..." Shizuka asked worriedly.
"I... I'll be fine. Thanks for worrying," he answered. "You seem uncomfortable, though."
"I-It's just that I don't really know how to react with all the attention that Otogi and Honda keep giving me... I mean, I care for them, but sometimes they're too much," Shizuka stuttered.
"Ah, I see. You can stay next to me and pretend to talk. I doubt they'll intrude while we're conversing," Bakura suggested with a sweet smile, which made Shizuka's heart skip a beat.
"We don't need to pretend... I'd like to talk more to you, Bakura-san," Shizuka said softly.
"Sure," Bakura replied, not noticing her change in behaviour, since he was still quite hung up on Akia. He looked back to the duel, specifically at her.
"Draw!" Yugi started his next turn.
"I'll stop you right there to activate my trap card, Macro Cosmos!" Akia interjected to activate her signature trap card.
"There it is! Akia's Macro Cosmos!" Honda exclaimed.
"Along with her Soul Absorption, it's a very effective combo," Mai said.
"I knew it wouldn't be long before that card is out," Yugi said before continuing his turn. "I'll activate Monster Reborn to summon back Queen's Knight (1500/1600) in attack position. To join my queen, I will summon King's Knight (1600/1400) in attack position. This allows me to special summon Jack's Knight (1900/1000). Attack mode! Now the three knights have united. I'll use my Jack's Knight to attack and destroy your Kycoo the Destroyer. Then, I will attack your Life Points directly with King's Knight and Queen's Knight!"
Akia's Life Points first went up by 1000 due to the removed cards, then plummeted down from 5900 all the way down to 2800.
"Damn..." Akia gritted her teeth.
"She'd be a goner without her Soul Absorption," Otogi said.
"It is essential to her main strategy," Marik specified.
"Exactly," Mai agreed. "She knows how to build a good deck that can cover her ass when she needs it."
Yugi set a card facedown and ended his turn. Akia started her next turn, drawing her card. She set a monster in facedown defence position. She then played Graceful Charity, drawing three cards and discarding two. Her Life Points went up to 4300, making up for the damage she took the last turn. She then set a card facedown.
"And now, I end my turn, which means you will get to find out which two cards I discarded!" Akia said with a smug grin as her D.D. Scout Plane (800/1200) was summoned to her side of the field in attack position, by default because of its effect, and her D.D. Survivor (1800/200) was summoned in defence position, which was the chosen position by Akia.
"But her monsters are still too weak compared to Yugi's!" Honda observed.
"Except that they will keep returning to her field at the end of the turn that they are destroyed," Marik explained. "This guarantees her two automatic lines of defence."
"Let's not forget how her play-style is mainly defensive," Mai further informed. "She rarely leaves herself defenceless."
Yugi drew his next card. He knew he had to get rid of some of her monsters to make it harder for her to summon her god card. Since her D.D. Scout Plane was in attack position, he could dish out some damage as well by attacking it, even though it would end up coming back at the end of the turn.
"I'll attack your D.D. Scout Plane with my Jack's Knight!" Yugi declared his attack.
"Not so fast!" Akia interrupted.
"What?!" The pharaoh's eyes widened as he realized that she was about to activate her only facedown trap or spell card.
"I activate my facedown trap card, Draining Shield! This absorbs and negates the attack of your monster and adds it to my Life Points!" The red-eyed girl exclaimed as her Life Points went up by 1900 points, then 500 because of her used trap getting removed from play.
"I'm not done with my turn! I will attack your D.D. Scout Plane with my King's Knight, dealing 200 points of damage more than the 500 Life Points you will recover from it being destroyed and removed from play," Yugi continued.
Akia's Life Points went down by 700 from the attack, then back up 500 from D.D. Scout Plane being removed from play.
"And now, I will attack your facedown monster card with my Queen's Knight!" The pharaoh said. He then let out a small gasp as Akia's monster was revealed for a split second before being split in half by his Queen's Knight.
"You've just activated my Needle Worm's flip effect!" Akia grinned. "Now you have to discard the top five cards of your deck, which are removed from play because to my Macro Cosmos! Which means, more Life Points for me thanks to Soul Absorption!"
Akia's Life Points went up to whopping 9400, earning gasps from the spectators.
Yugi's eyes widened in realization. "I see what you're doing. You want to accumulate as much Life Points as possible to transfer to your Winged Dragon of Ra when in Phoenix mode!"
"You figured that out so early on," Akia commented. "As expected from you. However, now that you know, can you really stop it?"
"Hmph, not a bad strategy," Kaiba mumbled. He was still quite annoyed at losing in his own tournament, but he wanted to see if his rival, Yugi, would prevail or be defeated. Yugi had to win, though. Kaiba couldn't be third best.
"I see... Her strategy to gain Life Points is definitely more consistent than what my dark half did," Marik observed.
"Knowing the intentions of your opponent can prepare you for what's to come," Yugi countered.
"I will end my turn for now."
When Yugi ended his turn, Akia's D.D. Scout Plane was summoned back to her side of the field in face up defence position.
"This is already not looking good for Yugi," Anzu stated.
It was now Akia's turn. Seeing how Yugi had kept his three monsters on the field, she knew he was about to summon one of his god cards anytime soon. She had put a special card in her deck to protect her temporarily when that happened. Looking at that card that she now drew, she knew that this meant that it was the time to lay her trap.
"I summon my D.D. Warrior (1200/1000) in attack position! I will set one card facedown and switch my D.D. Survivor to attack mode. Now! D.D. Survivor! Attack Yugi's King's Knight!" The red-eyed girl knew that she needed to get rid of one of Yugi's monsters, even though she had a backup plan.
"Not so fast! You're not the only one proficient with traps," the pharaoh interjected. "I activate my trap card, Negate Attack, cancelling your monster's attack and ending the Battle Phase."
Akia frowned slightly. She then let out a sigh. "I should've known... I'll end my turn for now."
The black-haired girl glanced at her facedown. It was now her only hope in the eventuality that Yugi would summon one of his god cards.
"It's now my turn," Yugi announced. "Draw!" A smirk appeared on his face and Akia felt her heart drop slightly this was it.
"It's time," the pharaoh declared. "I will sacrifice my Queen's Knight, King's Knight, and Jack's Knight to bring forth the Sky Dragon of Osiris!"
"Osiris!" Kaiba exclaimed.
Akia gasped as the clouds in the sky split, a bolt of thunder hitting Yugi's side of the field. The majestic red dragon materialized in all its glory, wings spread out, tail wrapping around the blimp. It growled menacingly at Akia, who looked frozen in fear. Bakura looked up at the scene, remembering how the red-eyed girl fearlessly shielded him from the god card's attack. Her disregard for her own well-being when it came to the people she cared for was one of the things that made him fall for her. But now, she was wholly out of his reach.
Marik clenched his fists, worried about his girlfriend. At this point, he knew that the god cards had some sort of grudge against her, as if she was seen as their enemy. He also knew that any attack from a god card was going to hurt her, even though it was not a shadow game, since a part of the very essence of the gods was sealed in the cards. The young Egyptian man wanted to go shield her from all of it, but he knew that she would never forgive him if he interrupted the duel. All he could do was wait and watch, hoping that she'd be able to withstand the gods' wrath.
The Sky Dragon of Osiris' attack and defence points went up to 2000, since Yugi had two cards in his hands thus far. It was stronger than all of Akia's monsters and she knew that, even if it attacked her D.D. Warrior, which was her weakest monster in attack position, it would not be affected by her monster's effect. It was a losing situation for her. She gulped, pondering on her next move.
