"Damn it... Yugi and everyone else left already and I'm stuck here in detention!" Akia thought to herself.
It had been already an hour since Akia started her detention session. Only half an hour to go. She was taking this opportunity finish some late homework. Despite having the indifferent reputation, she actually cared about her grades to a certain degree.
"Well, that's it for your detention, Akia," the teacher informed her, "don't be late tomorrow!"
"Yay! Done with this useless waste of time!" The troublesome girl yelled out as she quickly packed her stuff.
The teacher sighed as Akia ran out of the classroom.
Back home, Akia saw that Yugi had his door closed.
"That's strange. He doesn't normally close his door. Teenage crisis?" Akia wondered internally.
Akia put on an evil grin as she opened Yugi's door suddenly.
"Yugi!" She yelled out.
"Aaaah!" Her twin screamed as he fell off his chair due to Akia's loud entrance.
"What are you doing?" She asked innocently.
Akia noticed the Puzzle box and Puzzle pieces on Yugi's desk.
"Still trying to solve it?" Akia inquired out of curiosity.
"Yeah," he answered her as he rubbed his back where he hit the floor, "and be more gentle with the door next time... You nearly gave me a heart attack."
"Sorry!"
She grinned as she left Yugi to his Puzzle. She understood his obsession with the item. After all, she was also very attached to her Millennium Scale, even though she didn't quite understand why.
The next day, Yugi tried once more to wake his sister up in the morning.
"Akia! Wake up!" He yelled out to her at the top of his lungs.
"Later..." She muffled into her pillow.
"Come on... You don't want another detention now..." Yugi sighed.
At the word detention, Akia bolted out of her bed.
"No! Please! Anything but that!" She pleaded.
"Well now I know how to get you up," her brother laughed.
After they both got ready, they said goodbye to their grandfather and went on their way to school.
"Are my eyes playing tricks on me or did Akia just leave for school early?" Sugoroku asked himself while blinking a few times, to make sure he wasn't dreaming.
On the way to school, Akia kept complaining.
"My reputation will be ruined!" She dramatically whined.
"It wasn't such a good reputation to start with," Yugi replied to his twin sister in a monotone voice.
"I was seen as the only person who could come late everyday but still manage to somehow pass," she kept going, "how is that not good?"
Akia continued whining to Yugi until she bumped into Ushio Tetsu, the head hall monitor.
"Sorry, whoever you are..." Akia started apologizing until she saw who it was that she bumped into. "Oh. I take back that apology. Watch where you're going, Ushio-senpai!"
Ushio never really appealed to Akia. On top of his enormous stature freaking her out, he was the type of guy that was more of a bully than a hall monitor. All in all, she really didn't like him.
"You should watch what you say considering who you're talking to, Akia," Ushio warned her.
"Whatever, you're just way too full of yourself," Akia scoffed at him.
"Akia..." Yugi whispered to her.
"Typical..." Ushio snorted, "Yugi, come with me. I have something to show you."
As Ushio dragged Yugi with him, Akia started following them. She knew that Ushio would be up to no good and she wouldn't let Yugi go with that brute by himself.
Ushio finally stopped in front of two beaten up students. Horrified by the sight, Akia and Yugi recognized Jounouchi and Honda.
"I took care of your bullies for you. You should thank me," Ushio told Yugi while grinning.
"What? I never asked you to do this!" The short boy retorted.
"Jounouchi, Honda!" Akia yelled out to them as she ran to where they were laying.
"Are you guys alright?" Yugi joined his sister and asked the two guys.
"Are you satisfied now, Yugi?" Jounouchi grumbled while gritting his teeth from the pain.
"I never asked for this!" Yugi yelled out in his defence, "Ushio-senpai, why did you do this to my friends?"
"Friends? You call those guys friends?" Ushio ridiculed Yugi, "well for all the trouble I went through, you'll have to owe me 200,000 yen."
"You have no right to do this!" Akia chastised him.
"It's either that or you pay with your body," an evil grin spread on Ushio's face as he revealed what he was scheming, "in Yugi's case, a beating."
"I won't let you touch my brother or those two idiots," Akia said firmly.
"Like a scrawny girl like you can do anything..." he paused, contemplating what else he could take advantage of in this situation, "maybe you could..."
"I already declined all your date offers," she quickly cut him off, "this situation won't change that."
"Have it your way. I want that money by tomorrow, Yugi," he replied dismissively and walked away.
When Ushio was gone, Akia turned to Jounouchi. She hated seeing him in this state. Even after all the times he tormented Yugi, something made her blood boil with rage when she saw him all beaten up. At the same time, she knew that if Yugi didn't pay that freak, he'd beat all of them up.
"Jounouchi, can you get up?" She softly said to him.
"Yeah, no problem," he replied while hoisting himself up and helping Honda as well.
"Yugi..." Akia called out to her brother, "I think there's only one easy way to solve this without any violence."
"There is?" Yugi asked her.
"I'll just go on a date with him," Akia put on a fake smile as to not worry anyone, "I mean, how bad can it be?"
"No way," Jounouchi firmly refused.
"Look, it's none of your business," Akia replied, surprised that he rebuked her.
"It is! I'm involved in this!" Jounouchi was getting worked up.
"Why do you care anyway?" Akia asked, confused as to why the blonde was fighting her so hard on this decision.
"I don't know!" Jounouchi truthfully didn't know why he cared. Akia was probably one of the most annoying people he ever met. He just couldn't accept the idea of her dating a freak like Ushio.
"Akia," Yugi addressed his sister, "I won't let you do that either."
"Well, what else can we do?" Akia cried out.
Before anyone could answer, the bell rang and all four of them headed for class.
"Is the world about to end? How come you're on time, Akia?" The teacher shared his shock when he saw his most rebellious student arrive in time for class.
"Don't rub it in!" Akia retorted.
After classes ended, Akia noticed that Yugi looked preoccupied about the whole Ushio issue. She couldn't help but worry. She was seriously thinking of just going out with Ushio for her brother's sake.
"Akia," Yugi called out to his sister, "you're not coming home with me?"
"Well... I have some stuff to ask the teacher about," Akia replied with a slight shaking voice, "you go on ahead, I'll be home a little later."
"...Alright, be careful on your way back," Yugi told his twin, a bit suspicious of her intentions, but opting to trust her anyway.
"I will!" She answered cheerfully.
Akia hated lying to Yugi, but if she told him what she was about to do, he wouldn't have let her do it. She was going to go talk to Ushio and get him to change the deal. When Yugi left, she searched all over the school, trying to find Ushio. Without her being aware of it, Jounouchi and Honda spotted her and started following her.
"Honda..." Jounouchi whispered to his friend, "isn't it weird that Akia is not with Yugi?"
"It is, but why are we following her?" Honda asked, confused as to why Jounouchi was so interested in Akia.
"She might be getting herself in trouble..." Jounouchi replied.
"And why do you care?" Honda questioned his blond friend.
"I don't know!" He shouted back in frustration.
Back home, Yugi was worrying about the money he was supposed to pay. He took out his Puzzle box, and, for some reason, he felt that he was going to be able to solve it this time. Somehow, he was able to fit all the pieces together, as though something or someone was guiding him. He was almost done solving it, when he realized that there was a piece missing.
"No way! Did I drop it at school? Right when I almost solved it!" Yugi yelled out in dismay.
Yugi took his bag and put his Puzzle inside. He then rushed back to school to look for the missing piece.