Season 0-17 – Last Minute Match! The Invited Model
“A Last Minute Match – The Model that Invites”
“Girigiri Shōbu – Izanau Moderu” (ギリギリ勝負 誘うモデル)
Aired JAPAN: July 25, 1998
It’s a dark and stormy night outside. Hundreds of people stand near the window at an airport, as they watch a plane land. A girl walks in through the doors and everyone greets her. Her name is Aileen. A bunch of reporters are interested in knowing why she came to Japan. Aileen walks past them, and they all follow her. Aileen slightly turns around, and everyone takes a picture of her. Then Aileen walks out the doors. A car pulls up to her. The guy in the car tells her to get in, and she does. As the people rush outside, the car takes off. One of the reporters notices that the guy was the soccer player, Hirada.
Hirada offers that they go eat. Aileen declines, stating that there’s some place she wants to go to. She lights up her cigarette and tells Hirada to just take her there. Hirada asks if she called him just to be her chauffeur. Aileen says she’s looking to play a game with someone. Hirada offers her to play one with him. Aileen says she didn’t know he was good at games. Hirada boasts off his skills and offers they play at his mansion.
At the mansion, Aileen and Hirada set up their game. Aileen explains that the game is called Raijinhai, a game similar to Shogi. Hirada demands to know the rules. If he wins, Aileen goes on a date with her. Aileen accepts, but if she wins, Hirada will lose something important to him. She takes off her sunglasses and smiles.
The scene then switches to Kaiba’s office. Aileen walks in, and Kaiba comments on her tardy. Aileen says she had to play a game with a boring opponent who was no fun at all. Aileen then states that Kaiba promised to introduce her to a tough opponent. She wants to know who it is. Kaiba turns on the TV. On TV, the reporters state that Hirada has been hospitalized. Aileen doesn’t care about the news, so Kaiba switches to his special video. It’s a video of Yuugi playing a game with an opponent. Kaiba explains that Yuugi is Aileen’s new opponent. Aileen stands up and tells Kaiba that she’s a Shitennou for a reason and that’s because Kaiba introduces her to smart or famous people as game opponents. She thinks it will be a cinch to crush a child like Yuugi. Kaiba tells her that Yuugi is no ordinary child. Aileen looks at the TV screen and notices that Yuugi has changed, almost like he’s a totally different person. Kaiba explains who Yuugi is; when Yuugi plays games he gets stronger. Already two Shitennou have lost to him. Aileen is getting excited by the situation. Thinking that Yuugi might be a worthy opponent, she wants to crush him. So Kaiba orders her to do just that.
At Yuugi’s game shop, Anzu shows Yuugi something she just got: Aileen’s Super Exercise video. She’s really excited about it. Yuugi asks who she is. Anzu jumps up and down, stating that Aileen is a nineteen-year-old supermodel. Yuugi is still a little confused. However, Grandpa has heard of her. He knows that Aileen has come to Japan for some reason, and apparently she has escaped the press. Anzu tells Yuugi that even his Grandpa knows who she is. Yuugi insists that Grandpa has too much free time, so he watches those variety shows. He can’t believe Aileen is that famous. Anzu says that Aileen originally was a dancer and appeared in Broadway musicals. She’s like Anzu’s idol! The video that Anzu holds shows how Aileen does her dancing. She spins around in circles in excitement.
Suddenly, the doors to the shop opens, and Aileen enters. No one recognizes her because of her sunglasses. Yuugi thinks it’s a foreigner, and Grandpa hopes she can speak Japanese. Anzu notices she is very fit. Aileen walks up to the group and sees Anzu’s video. She takes it and autographs it. Then she takes off her sunglasses. Anzu immediately recognizes her and becomes speechless. Then Aileen walks up to the counter and asks for any rare games. Grandpa asks what kind of games she likes. Aileen replies that she likes the ones where the opponents trick each other. Grandpa is stumped. So Aileen asks Yuugi what kind of games he likes. Yuugi says he likes all games. Suddenly, Anzu asks Aileen what she’s doing in a place like this. She walks up towards Aileen and says she’s a fan. Aileen asks Yuugi if Anzu is his girlfriend. Yuugi stutters, saying that she isn’t. Aileen smiles and hands Anzu her card. The card shows the location of Aileen. Since Anzu is a fan, Aileen wants to show Anzu around. She tells Yuugi that he’s invited too and to bring an exciting game when he comes. Then Aileen waves goodbye and heads off. Grandpa knows that Aileen is rich. He wonders if she will buy an overpriced game that he can’t normally sell.
Anzu has now arrived at Aileen’s mansion-like place. She’s amazed at it. Yuugi trails behind, carrying a bunch of bags. He asks Anzu to help her, but Anzu says the flowers that she’s holding would get crushed if she did that. They ring the door bell, and Aileen answers it. She welcomes them into her home. Anzu compliments on the room. Aileen responds that her tastes are very different and that the room was specially made for her. Yuugi asks where he should put the bags, and Aileen points to a table. Then Anzu hands the flowers to Aileen.
Yuugi unpacks the bags, which are full of games. Yuugi points out a game that Grandpa recommended, but putting it together would take some time. Aileen asks him to put it together, so Yuugi gets to work. Knowing that it will take some time, she invites Anzu into the next room, the dance room. In the room, Anzu performs a dance pose for Aileen. Aileen asks her to hold onto that pose, and then suddenly Anzu’s face goes blank.
Aileen walks out of the room to meet up with Yuugi, who is done putting together the game. Aileen locks the door to the dance room and says that Anzu is a good kid. She is so good that she immediately took her suggestion, which was to hold the pose. Yuugi runs towards the transparent wall of the dance room and sees Anzu. He calls out to her, but Aileen tells him that the walls are soundproof. Anzu can’t hear or see anything! Yuugi wants to know why. Aileen tells him that if he wants to save Anzu, he will have to beat her in a game. With that, Aileen reveals herself to be one of Kaiba’s Shitennou. She challenges Yuugi to a game of Raijinhai. Yuugi has never heard of it, but Aileen insists that the rules are simple. However, in this game, the loser loses something important to them. In Yuugi’s case it’s Anzu. Yuugi looks back at Anzu and sees a blankness in her eyes. Suddenly, the Millenium Puzzle activates, and Yami Yuugi comes out. Aileen is excited that Yuugi has shown his true self. Yuugi asks Aileen what she will sacrifice if she loses. Aileen, having never lost before, agrees on freeing Anzu. Then she explains the rules.
Each player has ten pieces: two soldiers, two cavalry, two elephants, one shogun, king and queen, and finally one Raijin Indra. The soldier is the weakest and the king is the strongest. She tells Yuugi to pick a piece. Yuugi chooses the elephant and sets it on the field. Each player will pick a piece and battle it out. Aileen chooses the shogun, which happens to be stronger than the elephant. So the elephant loses. If a piece wins, the player of the winning piece can return the piece back to his/her hand. Yuugi asks about a draw. Aileen explains that both pieces lose in the case of a draw. There are only two exceptions: the queen can beat the king and the Raijin Indra is invincible, but it can only be used once. Yuugi then asks how the match is decided. Aileen says there are several variation, but the simplest one is the first player to lose their king loses the game. Finally, Aileen shows Yuugi a device that the game board has. With the push of a button, a gate is set up so that each player cannot see their opponent’s move. Aileen has finished explaining the rules, and the game begins.
Aileen sets the gate up, and each player chooses a piece. Aileen has decided to go with the elephant. Before she opens the gate to reveal Yuugi’s character, she makes a guess as to what it is. She guesses that Yuugi has a cavalry. After opening the gate, she is right! The elephant beats Yuugi’s cavalry, and Yuugi loses the piece. Yuugi is surprised at that move. The elephant returns back to Aileen’s side of the field. Aileen suspects that Yuugi thinks she is somehow cheating. They play another match, and Yuugi loses again, as Aileen uses her king. Aileen explains that this is her room and game, so she has the advantage. The gate closes, and they both choose their pieces. Then the gate opens. Aileen has chosen her king again, knocking out Yuugi’s second cavalry.
Now Yuugi has no more cavalries or shogun left. Yuugi wonders how Aileen is doing it. He wonders if he’s giving off any hints to Aileen as to what pieces he’s choosing. They play another match. This time it’s two soldiers, so Yuugi finally gets a kill. The next match, Yuugi loses his queen, making Aileen’s king safe. Yuugi knows he’s just one step closer to losing. He must avoid simultaneous loses. He questions why he’s having such a hard time with the game. Aileen tells herself that she will give Yuugi a chance to prove how strong he is.
They play another match. It’s another draw! Yuugi stares at Anzu again, who still can’t move. Aileen decides to make a change to the “draw” rules. In a situation where both players lose, the one that has more pieces will actually win. However, the queen and Indra do not count. Yuugi agrees. Then Aileen introduces Yuugi to her pet tiger, which is blocked off by a door that leads into the dance room. Each time Yuugi loses a piece, a part of the door will open. The tiger only likes Aileen and would probably attack Anzu. Yuugi tells Aileen to stop, but Aileen doesn’t listen. She wants to continue playing.
They play another match. Aileen chooses her king, and Yuugi chooses his shogun. The king defeats the shogun. Yuugi wonders how she is doing it. He wants to know how she is making those decisions. Aileen has noticed Yuugi’s change of behavior. She is completely interested. Suddenly, a portion of the door witholding the tiger opens. The tiger’s paw stretches out from beneath the door. Yuugi promises to save Anzu. He asks himself why Aileen took Anzu hostage. If she is Kaiba’s Shitennou, then he would have faced her at any time. So what’s the purpose of putting Anzu at danger? He thinks hard and wonders if this is all a trick.
Aileen asks him what’s wrong. Yuugi finally states that since he can’t seem to be winning, he will leave the rest of the game to luck. Aileen insists that Yuugi is already at a disadvantage, and playing by luck isn’t the best way to win the game. Still, Yuugi decides to play by luck. They both choose their pieces. Before the gate opens, however, Yuugi guesses that Aileen has chosen the elephant. Aileen is shocked to hear Yuugi’s answer be correct. Yuugi now knows Aileen’s trick. Aileen wonders if Yuugi is cheating or not. Yuugi tells her that she remembers her saying that she likes games where the players read and trick each other, not games that rely on luck. So Raijinhai is a game based on probability and reading your opponent’s mind. However, the problem is when you limit your opponent’s way of thinking. Then it becomes easier to read their mind, and that’s exactly what Aileen did. She limited Yuugi’s thinking by putting Anzu in danger.
Aileen opens the gate and states her victory. Yuugi reminds her that he guessed she would pick the elephant based on probability. Aileen can’t believe Yuugi has been reading that far into her thinking. However, Yuugi did end up losing a piece, and the door containing the tiger opens up some more. Yuugi says he has a strategy to beat Aileen and that is to read her mind. Aileen can’t believe it! No one has ever read her mind before.
They play another match. The gate opens, revealing the two pieces. It’s Aileen’s Indra against Yuugi’s soldier. Although Yuugi lost his piece, Aileen lost her Indra as well to the weakest piece in the game. Aileen suspects Yuugi is reading her mind. Yuugi says he’s not cheating or using any sort of supernatural power. All he’s doing is calculating the probabilities and strategies to make the best move. However, Aileen tells him that he doesn’t have an established tactic to the game. Raijinhai has 2000 years worth of tactics in it.
The gate opens again, and Yuugi wins with his king. Yuugi replies that the origin of games comes from ancient Egypt. Aileen is in shock. She realizes that Yuugi is much different from her other opponents. The gate opens one more time. Yuugi wins again, causing Aileen to lose the entire game. Aileen walks to the window and opens up the drape. Yuugi says there’s still one mystery left. Although Raijinhai does have a long history to it, it does not give Aileen the right to manipulate people. He asks Aileen if she used hypnotism on Anzu. Aileen responds that she just used words to dig deep into people’s hearts. Confused by those words, people who lose the game lose something. They lose to the weakness inside their own heart. Yuugi now understands that even though Aileen lost the game, she really didn’t lose anything. It was all just a good strategy. Aileen says she did in fact lose something. She walks to the door and asks Yuugi that when he closed his eyes to pick a piece, was it really random? Yuugi replies that it was the only way to defeat her. He tells her that out of all the opponents he has faced, she was especially strong. Aileen thanks him.
Yuugi runs into the room and to Anzu’s side. Anzu slaps him. Little Yuugi appears again and falls to the floor. Anzu scolds Yuugi for interrupting a lesson that Aileen was teaching. Aileen reminds her not to forget the basics. Yuugi gets back on his feet and thinks it was mean for Anzu to hit him. Anzu apologizes.
Later on, Kaiba finds out from Aileen that she lost to Yuugi. Aileen admits that Yuugi was strong. Kaiba tells her that she’s no longer worthy of being his Shitennou. Aileen is fine with that and turns over her necklace. Then she says that Yuugi is stronger than Kaiba. Kaiba is angry by that comment and orders her to get lost. As Aileen walks away, Kaiba swears that the end is not over yet.
Aileen takes off in the airplane back home. Yuugi and Anzu wave goodbye to her as she leaves. Anzu promises to work hard. Aileen watches the two of them from the window. Next time they meet, Aileen wants to play another game with Yuugi, only this time it will be a game of love.
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