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It wasn’t quite what she was expecting, but romance hardly ever was. Elizabeth blindly followed the boy through forests, hills, and all manners of obstacles; there was a slight panic in the back of Beth’s mind as she realized just how far away from campus she was allowing Yushiro to take him while she was on a bum knee, but she suppressed that often intrusive anxiety and pushed forward. Speaking of the bum knee, it felt like it was about to explode off of her body any second now; the pulsing under her brace was fairly unbearable, but Beth simply pushed on, somewhat pointedly ignoring Yushiro’s offers to take a break and allow her to rest. She was already embarrassed enough that she had fallen in the studio in the first place, she was not going to allow it to stop her from being able to see exactly what it was in this bizarre place that Yushiro had taken her to that he wanted to get to. “Heights? Not unless you’re planning to shove me off.” she chuckled, “Assuming this thing is… structurally sound, that is. How did you even find this? ADMIN would have surely gotten here by now, no?” “Yeah it still is. As for why it's still here… I honestly couldn’t tell you. Maybe ADMIN’s sentimental for old water towers or something.” He paused a moment, then continued. “I came up here a lot last year when I was feeling stressed out and needed to get away from campus for awhile. As far as I know I’m the only student who knows about it- I don’t usually see any garbage out here and the stuff I leave up top stays up there, so… yeah.” It took them a few more minutes to climb to the top. Yushiro stopped every flight of steps or so to make sure she was doing alright and warn her about a rusty step or a spot where she might slip. It almost seemed like he had it memorized. When they finally reached the top, which was a balcony that ran all the way around the circumference of the tower itself, he led her past a maintenance ladder and around to the western side, where there was a blanket, a small beach chair, and a wooden box laid out. There was just enough room for a person or two to lay out flat on the blanket, though at the moment said room was taken up by the other two objects on top of it, clearly to weigh it down in case the wind picked up. “Good, it’s all still here.” Yushiro turned back around to Elizabeth. “Well, this is it… though we got here a little earlier than I thought and there isn’t much to see yet.” Elizabeth gingerly stepped into the opening, where Yushiro had his small assortment of things laid out, “Well… certainly beats sitting alone in an apartment. That’s usually what I’m found doing.” she looked around a bit, then forward into the empty area before them, “Oh? Expecting something?” she gestured to the area they were in currently, “This area is rather quaint all by itself...I like it.” she shuffled her feet around a bit, unsure of how welcome she was to make herself comfortable, “But don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me. I’m a bit surprised you’ve shared something so private with me already.” It wasn’t smooth, or romantic, but it was honest, at least to Elizabeth; had she done something particularly special to deserve his trust? Elizabeth’s heart quickened a bit, panicked slightly by that thought. Elizabeth was not the most trusting of people; she had yet to decide whether or not she felt comfortable sharing any secrets of value with Yushiro just yet. He blushed. “N-no it's just... sitting on this old rusty steel’s pretty uncomfortable, so I brought this stuff up here after I moved in.” Yushiro forced his anxiety away for a moment and continued. “But, uhh, thanks. It's not exactly a secret or anything but if more people found out about this place they might just come and tear it down.” He sat himself down on the blanket, leaving the chair open for Elizabeth to sit in if she so desired, and opened up the box. It was empty, save for a small hand telescope- sort of like the kind one would imagine an old timey pirate using to spot ships while up in the rigging. “Besides, it's nice up here, but the really cool part is this.” He offered her the telescope as he spoke. “Because of the angle we’re at up here, if you look through this telescope at the dome wall, you can make out all the holo plates on the sky. They’re kinda like diamonds.” Beth slowly settled into the chair, being careful to keep her knee in place on the way down, simply nodding and keeping to herself while Yushiro gushed about the place; it was clear to her that it was very important to him, regardless of his insistence that it was just some rusty cage he found once. “Wow, that really is something… Sometimes it becomes easy to forget where we are. We’ve always known things this way. Imagine ADMIN making something that looked like this, even.” her right eye tracked the sparkling of holo plates against the lighting in the dome. It was bizarre, how she could so clearly make out the artificial nature of her entire life. In a way it was astounding, but another part of her felt as if the hole her heart got just a bit larger; as if it was futile to be feeling anything at all, given the nature of where they were and why they were there. “How do you feel about it, Yushiro?” “It makes me feel safe. Like, when I bombed a test or I lost a big game or something, I’d come out here and look at the dome. It's comforting to know that it's not going anywhere, you know?” He turned back to look at Elizabeth. “I guess it makes me feel a little more secure.” Security. What a topic, especially for someone like Beth, who went from being what she would consider incredibly secure and confident to what she is now, "I suppose that kind of stuff is important. It's never much crossed my mind, personally. Bit wrapped up in other stuff I suppose." Beth squirmed a bit; she wasn't sure what to make of the current conversation. She was feeling rather reserved at the idea of sharing her emotions on a date. Most of the time she did that it ended in some sort of catastrophe, given her tragic nature to overshare. She decided on changing the subject: "So the Duel Team? What made you go for that? Generally you come in as a freshman." Elizabeth thought to her time as a dueling freshman, briefly, "I noticed you didn't pay much attention to the card binders, either." Yushiro felt a wave of anxiety wash over him. What was he supposed to tell her? That he did it on a whim to impress her? Definitely not. “Uhhhh welll….. Honestly I just thought it might be a good way to step up my game some. As for the binders though, It just kinda feels weird to rifle through someone else’s collection. I dunno I just kinda felt awkward about it… and then we got going.” He looked back out at the sky. Just a few more minutes until the light would be right. “I guess it's pretty normal when you’re competing on a team though.” That stopped her for just a moment. She thought back to their first date at the coffee shop; hadn't he said something about just dueling for fun? Why all of a sudden would he have cared about stepping up his game? As two and two came together, Elizabeth smiled a bit. "Well, I hope you get to play. Those games… they get pretty tough." She chuckled, "Those captain types always clutch their pearls when you get near championship trophies. And Hitomu, well…" her smile persisted, "Well he was never my captain, I suppose." She looked out towards the sky, "But I suppose we probably didn't come all this way to talk about the duel team, no?" “We can talk about whatever you want.” Yushiro smiled at her, his cheeks getting a little rosy. “I think, hopefully, if I win my game at Kickoff, I’ll get a shot at playing in a meet. If I can handle it, anyway. Crowds make me nervous.” "Me too." she agreed, "At least, now they do. Didn't used to mind it much, but now that I don't fancy myself a competitor any longer I can’t stomach much of a crowd. But…" Elizabeth also blushed a bit, "I always tend to follow the duel team so, you'll have me there to support you, I guess. I could help you practice at my apartment!" Her apartment. She was inviting him over again? Yushiro’s cheeks went from pink to red. “That sounds fun! I-if you don’t mind my losing a lot. You’re really good, you know.” He glanced back up at the sky again. There it was. “Oh, here. The light’s juuuust right.” Yushiro moved himself very close to Elizabeth, and gingerly, hesitantly, put the telescope back up to her eye so that she would take it. “This is why I wanted to come out here tonight. Follow the horizon out until you’re riiight under the sun, then tilt your head back and look up, past the sun and allllmost to the top of the dome.” When she did, Elizabeth would see more holo plates, but this time, with the way the sunlight was reflecting off them, they would glitter and sparkle with a brilliant, beautiful red-orange hue. Almost like rubies floating in a sea of amber, hundreds of them covering the sky in a dazzling display that was only visible thanks to the angle, magnification, and elevation. “Beautiful, aren’t they?” "Oh come on now, I'm not anything special, I don't even care for my deck mu-" Elizabeth was interrupted by the sudden placement of the telescope into her face again, only this time for a much different display, "I've never seen anything like it, truthfully. I understand why you're so fond of it here." Elizabeth looked over to Yushiro as he took in the lights in the sky; it was like she was getting a deeper look into who he was in real time. He was simple, and trusting. It was nice to her. It hadn't mattered much to him, whatever he knew about her. To Elizabeth, it seemed as if Yushiro was more concerned about sharing this thing he liked with her than any events of the day. She only wondered if he felt the same. “You might be the only other person who’s ever seen that. To be honest, I was kinda worried you’d be a little underwhelmed or too tired from the hike up here. But, it's really nice to have company this time. I don’t usually get to do stuff like this.” "Have you ever kissed anyone, Yushiro?" Wait. What? Elizabeth caught herself off guard, even. Why on earth was she asking that on a second date? She even told Ashley she wouldn't! Some habits never die, she supposed. Nevertheless it made Elizabeth's rather pale complexion burn up to more of a pinkish color, embarrassed by her own forwardness. Yushiro’s heart started racing, and he could feel the heat in his face- he was probably beet red. Of course he’d never kissed anyone. Heck, this was only the second date, like, with a girl and everything, that he’d ever been on. A kiss? Holy crap. Did he even know how to go about it? “N-never.” Internally, he weighed his options. He was nervous. Really nervous. Really, really nervous. But, she was asking him, right? “C-can I, u-h-h-h…….” Jesus he was really going to ask her, wasn’t he. His voice was shaking a bit. “Can I kiss you?” His heart felt like it was going to burst right out of his chest. What if she said no? What if he misinterpreted what she was saying?! What if, what if, what if? He was so caught up in the myriad ways that this could go from awkward, but kind of romantic, to just plain awkward, or embarrassing, or worse. Yushiro was so preoccupied that he almost forgot he’d asked her aloud for a moment. Elizabeth felt terrible. In that moment, there was one persistent thought alone that stayed in her mind: You're going to ruin this poor boy. If you kiss him and run like you used to, it'll ruin him. She saw him begin to get rather nervous, intimidated, even. But as he went through his stage of fear, she knew an answer would have to come eventually. Best to be polite and not lead him on with a question she asked. "Of course you can." She was blushing, despite her internal hesitation. Beth leaned forward, brushing her bangs to the side as she became increasingly close to Yushiro's profile. She pursed her lips and closed her eyes slowly; the rest was up to him, and she considered her actions for one last moment, allowed herself to enjoy whatever came next. Yushiro closed his eyes, and slowly leaned in until he felt her lips on his. It only lasted a few moments, but during those few seconds all of his nervousness seemed to evaporate. It wasn’t what he expected, not that he really knew what to expect, but as he pulled back and looked into her eyes, he felt at once at ease and thrilled. They had both lazily reached for each other's lips after they disconnected; Elizabeth found herself surprised: Yushiro's lips were soft, and she had noticed his details a little more clearly after the fact… Beth shot up, stopping herself abruptly, "But, uhm… Yushiro. You should know, before we uhm… before we muck about." She shifted uncomfortably, fixing her bangs and a variety of other common anxious tics she had adopted after her brother's death, "Things have been, I suppose, easy to this point but… I'm far from easy. I won't be so forgiving if you leave me hanging for a week again, right?" What was she doing? Intimidating him? She looked at him, switching her strategy, "But if you wanted to see me between classes...I have privilege between courses on Wednesday, and I think there's a dance this weekend." Yushiro’s face stayed red, though this time it was more from embarrassment. “I’m sorry about that… As lame as it sounds, I kinda got in my head that you uhh, maybe wouldn’t be interested in me.” He covered his eyes with his hand for a moment- Yushiro didn’t want to make eye contact with her while he was saying it. “I dunno, I’ve never been good at this sort of thing, clearly.” He shook his head, obviously to break the string of negative thoughts. “Look, Liz, I like you, and not just because you’re pretty. Most people just sorta… write me off. But, ever since we started talking, its always felt like you’re actually listening; like you care, even if its just me gushing about cards. And I dunno if its just because I’m different from guys you usually hang out with or you think I'm cute or I’m a distraction or what, but, I wanna keep doing this… whatever this is.” He looked away again, taking in the sunset for a moment. It was weird, opening up to someone like this. Even Akira didn’t normally hear Yushiro voice his insecurities like he just did. Part of him was worried that he would scare Elizabeth away, but he continued. “So, I promise I won’t leave you hanging anymore. We can see each other whenever you want.” Elizabeth stopped, if only for a moment: he was venting to her? She couldn't help but snicker out loud, as rude as it probably sounded. He was in for so much more than he thought, but it just reinforced how she had felt about him: he was simple, and for once, she could just focus on what she had with Yushiro, instead of what she had lost… at least until Sunday. But there was a problem: to her, this sounded like him asking her to commit. She had to be honest. "Well, I'm certainly intrigued by your dueling style if nothing else. I might have looked up your SRS after that spat with Hiraku." She looked out to the sky, trying not to embarrass the boy, "But I'm not in a rush to stop...this." she grew tired of the pussyfooting of sorts that usually came about at this time, but did her best to be sensitive. They stared out into the sky for a few moments, mutually silent at the sheer awkwardness of the moment itself. Elizabeth slipped her phone out of her pocket next to her thigh, stealthily texting Ashley a text that simply read: 'foul' A code which they had developed some time ago to indicate that they had initiated the kissing before the man. It was, admittedly, something Elizabeth had received far more often from Ashley, but she was positive her best friend would know the meaning behind the one-word text. Naturally, only a moment later Elizabeth's phone was vibrating to the point of liftoff, causing her to simply silence it and place it aside. Strangely, Ashley's concern emboldened the typically private girl through the silence: "If you're willing though… I would hate to waste the moment on awkward small talk." She slipped off of the chair and at his side, seeking to continue the exercise. “Me too.” And they did, until roughly the point of dusk, wherein the dormitory attendants would begin to inquire about both of their whereabouts, and they had decided to make their way back. --- ED --- OP Episode 5: Kickoff Crunch time. Kickoff was today, and Yushiro had spent the whole morning tearing his deck apart, optimizing as much as possible. At last, it was ready; fine tuned to make the summoning of his new secret weapon as easy as possible. Yushiro just hoped Clear Wing Synchro Dragon would be enough to give him an edge against Hiraku's army of powerful monsters. He took a moment to look over the card one more time, holding it in his hand next to his scratched Nitro Booster. "Why are you so nervous?" Yushiro didn't quite have an answer to that question. He was definitely as ready for this game as he was going to be, and truthfully he felt prepared for it, but he couldn't shake the feeling of uneasiness that had been lingering with him since the other night. Maybe what had happened at the water tower with Elizabeth was still bugging him. He'd told her how he felt, at least as well as Yushiro could articulate at the time, but when he had, it was almost like Liz pulled back a bit. He was worried that he'd come on a little too strong, somehow. It wasn't like he'd asked her to be his girlfriend or anything- Yushiro knew better than to expect to jump headfirst into a committed relationship, but he definitely got the impression that, rather than encourage her, he'd made her worry about something, and he didn't like the implications of that. Yushiro sighed. It was about time he got someone else's perspective. To: THE MAN Hey dude, sorry I've been so busy lately, but can we hang out for a bit today? There's some stuff I wanna talk to you about before the duel. Kinda important. He hit send, hoping that Akira would be open to seeing him. He wasn't worried so much that Akira would be mad at him, after all the guy never held anything against anybody for long, but moreso that his best friend would be busy with something else today. He was gregarious and never had much trouble finding someone to spend time with or something to do. Or, worst case, Katsu had dragged him off somewhere. For once at least, Yushiro didn't feel that slight pang of jealousy at the thought. He flipped through his contacts and went to the next order of business. To: Liz Morning! Hope your knee's in good shape for later. Still planning on being there to cheer me on later? Was thinking maybe after its over we could han No, no. She would probably want her space later. Best leave it for a little while. Besides, if he was lucky, he'd get a chance to dance with her after his duel. Yushiro wondered what she'd be wearing... To: Liz Hey, hope your knee's all better. Still planning on coming to watch me play?" He hit send. It was a better draft: short and simple, with no room for for her to get offended or misinterpret something. Yushiro sat there in silence for a moment, then pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Why am I always so darn scared?!" --- As for the rest of Blue Yonder Academy, campus was notably empty and quiet, even for a saturday. Most students were busy resting or getting ready for the night's festivities. Some of the more romantically inclined were already with their dates, while others were taking the opportunity to catch up on some rest or schoolwork. Whatever they were up to, very few of them seemed to be out meandering on campus. It would be noon soon, and the air was crisp, but warm- one of the last genuinely beautiful days they were likely to have before the fall season really hit its stride. Seven hours to go.

Ryia was definitely taken off guard by what it was that Keres's usual diet had consisted of. The girl wasn't quite sure what to make of it, but she was fairly certain fungus were usually inedible? Beyond that, the choice of animals were far more unique and exotic then anything that Ryia herself had ever eaten, making her wonder where the water chosen even found all of these things to begin with. "That's um, certainly more varied, then uh, what I'm used to." Even beyond simply being exotic to the girl, Ryia's usual diet back home had consisted more or less of bread and chicken and that was about it. However, as Keres had mentioned something about a pie, Ryia said, "oh, that sounds um, interesting. Do you um, bake?" Keres gave a stiff nod. "I know many forms of cooking. Had to. Living on my own." "That's unfortunate..." She was only now more curious of the life that Keres had lead before becoming a Chosen, though it didn't sound any bit happy so far. Of course, thinking that she might've just said something poorly, the girl doubled back saying, "not that you can cook, or um, anything. That's wonderful. I uh, I don't think I've ever really had the talent for it. Do you um...enjoy, cooking?" Keres didn't seem to know how to answer that. Instead she just repeated. "Had to." "Ah." Ryia wasn't really sure what to make of the response. It didn't sound like she did, and more like she was just forced to to make it around wherever she was from. As such, she doubted it could possibly be fun. Still, all the food around them and the topic had made her curious about what Keres's cooking was like. And for that matter, if anyone else in the group had any knowledge. As such, pressing on the matter just a bit more she said, "would you...like to get things here, that would help you cook...on the road and stuff?" Keres turned towards Ryia. "Wouldn't it be better to get more general supplies?" "I suppose so, yeah." Ryia turned her head away, a bit awkward and embarrassed by how eager she must've seemed for something, ultimately unnecessary for them. After all, all of their food was already covered for and it would simply be better to save their gold for things that they actually needed. As such, the girl tried to shift topics back to what they were originally here for, saying, "well, I think they're further into the marketplace so, um, shall we continue?" Keres nodded but followed along slowly. After a bit she stopped. "Um. Did you. Want to?" Stopping as well, Ryia was caught off by the question saying, "oh well...I just thought it might be something fun to learn or do, or well...help the group out and stuff." Keres's face appeared blank as she watched Ryia. Then she turns. "Let's get some then." Ryia's face seemed to be surprised by this, her saying, "oh. Well. Um." Her expression then going to excitement as she realized what Keres had said, she smiled and nodded saying, "alright. Let's." And with that, she began her search for cooking supplies.

Melissa didn’t do, well, she didn’t do anything when she arrived home. She was exhausted. She didn’t take her shoes off or turn on a light or anything, she just flopped down on her bed face-first and tried not to think about anything. Which was difficult, given the day she had just had. It was like a leaky dam in one of those old cartoons, where plugging a hole in one area just meant another hole somewhere else opened up, maybe even three or four at once. So she could try, she could contort her metaphorical body this way and that trying to get everywhere, but it was a fool’s errand. She couldn’t help but think. But that wasn’t exactly a good thing. Melissa’s mind poured over the events of the day, pointing out the little things she should have done better. She shouldn’t have hesitated in accepting Gabriela’s offer. She could have made sure Elizabeth was okay. She could have talked with Hoshiko more at that club meeting. And on and on and on. The absolute flood of “what could have beens” was only interrupted when the dorm light finally flicked on and Hoshiko entered the room. Even then, she pretended not to notice Hoshiko as she went about the room, yawning rather loudly and, well, doing whatever else she liked to do whenever she got back. It wasn’t like Melissa could see, lying how she was. Though after a few moments she felt a gentle prod on her back and heard the loudest whisper she had ever heard. “Psst,” Hoshiko said. “Are you awake, Melissa?” “I’m awake,” Melissa said, rolling over onto her back as if that was demonstration enough, though once she managed eye contact with her roommate, she added in an awkward wave and a “Hi, see?” “Sorry you didn’t get to ask that question, by the way,” Melissa said after another moment. “I don’t- I think I got caught up in, uh, introducing myself and everything that came after that. Was that what you wanted to ask? If I wanted to join the Entertainment Club?” “Oh, don’t worry about it!” Hoshiko said, giggling a bit. “Honestly I was really proud of you back there. I was sure I was going to have to help you talk, but you went and did it all by yourself!” She laid back down on the bed, rolling over to face Melissa. “Yeah, I was going to ask you if you wanted to join.” She winked. “I think I know what your answer is, though.” “Proud of me,” Melissa said, repeating Hoshiko’s words back at her. “I guess.” She was about to say, “At least someone is,” but she wasn’t that self-loathing, was she? No, instead, she sat up in her bed, turning to hang her feet over the side, kicked off her shoes, and said, “I don’t know, Hoshiko. I mean, I guess I felt okay in that moment, and yeah, I did okay, but, like, I don’t know how I could deal with that sort of spotlight all the time, if that makes sense. Like, you’re an idol, right? How do you deal with all that?” “How do I deal with it?” Hoshiko said, turning towards the ceiling. There was an eagerness in her voice. Melissa had gotten used to Hoshiko’s general mood in the short time they’d shared a living space, but this was something more, like she had been waiting for this question for a while. “Well, whenever I’m in the spotlight, I honestly kinda forget it’s there,” she said with a chuckle, turning back towards Melissa. “Whenever I’m performing, most of my attention is on the performance itself. Sure, I know people are watching me, but at the moment that’s not where my whole attention is, ya know?” “That makes sense,” said Melissa. “But like- sorry, I don’t quite know how to phrase this, um…” She lay back again, only popping up when the words finally came to her. “I guess, I don’t know, I guess I was asking about all the other stuff. Like, when you’re not performing, you’re still Rose the Idol, right? People whispering, pointing fingers like ‘Hey, is that Rose?’ or ‘Do you have anything she could sign?’ or… I admit I’m not super experienced with how people talk about famous people, but stuff like that. “What I’m worried about is having to be always on like that, or the spotlight’s always on. The performance, I figured other people were involved in the performance and stuff like that. People who could help me get through it. But all the other times…” Melissa rubbed the back of her neck. “It’s the other times I guess I’m worried about the most.” “Ah, I think I get it now,” Hoshiko said, placing a hand on her chin. “Most of the time, I don’t mind getting the extra attention from people like that. Honestly, it makes me happy to see them get excited like that. But I don’t think me telling you that helps you that much…” Her words faded away, Hoshiko losing herself in her won thought. Not that she didn’t seem eager to answer, of course, though even that enthusiasm, to Melissa’s eye, seemed to be dissipating away. “Of course, it’s not always like that,” Hoshiko eventually said. “Sometimes I do overhear things that… aren’t so nice about me… or read about it online.” Hoshiko frowned a bit, although it was a short bit as she sat up on the bedside, her eyes drifting down to her shoes before lighting up with a glint of realization. She smiled again as she kicked off her shoes gently. “...so what I do then is focus on the positive!” She pointed her thumb towards herself. “For me personally, I think about whatever event I have coming up or, if nothing like that is happening, I think about the adoration of my fans!” Hoshiko gestured towards Melissa. “Of course, whatever it is that makes you happy is probably something different, but you get the idea right?” “Mm,” Melissa said, nodding along. “Sure, I think I get it.” She stood up from her bed and started collecting her various toiletries, trying to start the getting ready for bed process. Once she had them all she turned back to her roommate. “Thanks, Hoshiko,” she said. “For the talk, I mean. I feel a bit better about it now.” “No worries at all!” Hoshiko said, tossing herself back onto her bed. “You can always come and talk to me about any problems you have! I’m all ears.” Melissa could tell she meant it, too. There as something different about the spring in her step as she got up and headed over to the lightswitch, something Melissa had sometimes noticed herself doing when she’d managed to help someone. She was just about ready to turn off the light when she paused and laughed to herself. “Oh, I need to change!” A few minutes later, after both of them had finished their nighttime routines, Hoshiko returned to the lightswitch. “Goodnight, roomie,” she said, flicking the switch off as she did so. Melissa waited until she heard Hoshiko’s head hit her pillow before echoing the sentiment. “Goodnight, Hoshiko,” she said before she laid back in her own bed and closed her eyes. Have mercy on me, Oh Lord, a sinner. Wipe away my transgressions, and let me be reborn anew in your glory Help me turn away from sin, and move towards your eternal light. Oh Lord, I thank you for lending me your strength today. I thank you a thousand times over and I would thank you a thousand times again if a day like today never happened again. But I also fear that may not be possible. I fear that I know my path, one that will have me borrowing your strength for a while now until I reach my eternity and can return it to you with joyous celebration So please, grant me your strength again, Lord. Grant it to me until I no longer need it. In the name of The Father, and of The Son, and of The Holy Spirit, Amen Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. -Mark 11:24 (NIV) But she didn’t sleep. Not yet. In that darkness, so similar to the one she’d made for herself before Hoshiko had come home, her mind wandered again. There were differences this time, of course. She was lying face-up and under her covers, for one, instead of smothering herself with her pillow. Not to mention the light sound of Hoshiko breathing on the other side of the room, which exuded a comforting atmosphere over the whole area. So instead of fussing over the events of the day, instead her mind went further back. To the previous Sunday, and before that, to her Bible study meetings. And her times spent in a confessional booth. And on and on, all the way back as far as she could remember. Melissa’s church had a poster. It was supposed to be for the children to read after Sunday School or while playing in the halls waiting for the service to end. But it was placed at a corner turn right before the narthex, where one couldn’t help but pass it while heading in. Melissa herself had seen it countless times, and even in the pitch black, she could still conjure its image in her mind. It was a simple thing, both in material -- the creases in its paper were likely older than Melissa, and it was tattered all around, especially near the edges -- and in design. The poster depicted a beach scene, the tide going out and dozens of starfish scattered around the foreground shore, continuing off into the horizon. In the distance, the poster had the image of a human of indeterminate gender, posed like they were about to attempt the world’s longest skipping stone throw. Splayed on top of all this was a simple story, and like everything else about the poster, Melissa knew it well. One day, the poster said, a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy, in quick but practiced and smooth motions, picking up things and throwing them into the ocean. He got closer and said, “Young man, what are you doing?” The boy looked at him and said, “I’m throwing starfish into the ocean. The tide’s going out and the sun is up. If they don’t make it back, they’ll die.” The man laughed and threw his arm back, gesturing to the thousands of starfish he had already passed on his walk. “Look, boy, at all these starfish. This beach stretches for miles and miles. You can’t possibly make a difference.” The boy was undaunted. As if to reply, he got down, grabbed another starfish, and threw it into the ocean as hard as he could. Then, he looked back at the man and said, “I just made a difference to that starfish!” The author, according to the poster, was unknown. The author always seemed to be unknown on posters like that, like the designers were always afraid of a little attribution. That part never really bothered her, though, until she was much older. Loren Eiseley. That was the author’s name. And even then, not really. Melissa had looked that part up, too. Apparently, his story had been twisted, stripped of subtext until only the twee short paragraphs and punchline on the poster remained. The original short story, as far as Melissa could gather, was more interested in what happened after, as in, what happened to the man on the rest of his walk. Eiseley’s original story did not have that final retort, that punchline the poster seemed to adore so much, nor were the man and the boy the only ones on the beach that day. As the man continued walking along, he saw others scrabbling around, grabbing at whatever clams or crabs or starfish they could find, putting them all in buckets before waddling away from the ocean, buckets in hand. The man, here much more clearly a stand-in for Eiseley, muses that they are likely taking them home to boil and consume, leaving only the seashells behind for their collection. The man is disgusted by this but does nothing, instead continuing home, and only then does he consider the star-thrower’s actions. “‘Love not the world,’ the Bible says. ‘But I do love the world,’” Melissa whispered, quoting one of the few lines of the original story she could remember before her mind began to wander elsewhere. Melissa’s thoughts rushed back forward in time until they arrived again at the scene at the park bench, the one that started with Sai asking for his notebook back and ending with Melissa making the first of a series of decisions that she was sure she was going to regret. The worst part was she remembered being aware of them at the time, too. The later ones could be explained away by the same “in for a penny in for a pound” mentality that had gotten her closer to Gabriela, or possibly Elizabeth or Jun before that, but that first decision, that was something different. “If you have issues you wanna talk about, or just want to help people, entertainment dueling is a good way to go about it,” Sai had said. “As you do better and get more fans, you get a wider audience to raise awareness with, you know what I mean?” That was the moment that had doomed her. Sai had offered a way out from the Community Service Club she’d held in so much contempt, and Melissa had jumped at the chance. “Just for one meeting,” she had said. As if she didn’t know what that would mean. She’d be asked for another, and another after that, and she would say yes because, well, it was just one more, right? Melissa’s breath began to accelerate. She’d been aware of the lure, of the fishing line attached to the bait dangling right in front of her, and she gobbled it up all the same. She didn’t even have a “cause”, she’d just accepted the idea that she might have one. Did anyone else in that club have “a cause?” Did the already established duelists -- Sai, Souji, and Hoshiko -- have anything they were fighting for, championing above all else? Should she have asked? She nearly bolted upright in her bed. She nearly got out and went over to the restroom where she was very much prepared to just spend the entire night, or at least however long it took for her to calm down. The only reason she didn’t was, well… It was stupid. It was so, so stupid, and it shouldn’t have worked, but Melissa managed to start thinking about starfish again. The poster had a simple moral: “Even the smallest effort matters.” Despite its simplicity and the knowledge of its distance from the original Star Thrower, Melissa still thought it was good and valid. But that didn’t mean Eiseley’s wasn’t better. Eiseley’s message was about the choice, how one piece of good could inspire others to make the same decision the boy- the star-thrower had made. “I understand,” Melissa whispered into the void, quoting Eiseley once more. “Call me another thrower.” She could do good. She would do good. And it was that final resolution that relaxed her enough to let her close her eyes, for now, at least, a little more at peace.

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