Yu-Gi-Oh! Skies [IC/PG-16]

Cappuccijoe · September 12, 2019

"Ooh, texting Yushiiiro again? Ashley teased over Elizabeth's shoulder in between wrangling fistfuls of hair into the curling iron, working it gently down her neck with measured, wobbling strokes to create long, loose curls that truly represented light waves in her normally pin straight hair than anything else.

Elizabeth looked back to Ashley and pulled her phone flush against her chest, "Now I know you're a nosy one, but is that really necessary?" Beth pulled her phone away from her skin and looked back to her messages, "Yes, I'm texting Yushiro. I feel bad. I've practically ignored him all day and it's his big duel day. It's just-"

"Wait wait wait, hold on. This is the part where you start talking with your hands and I'm on the last curl." Ashley finished her work in silence, and finished by taking a moment to admire her work. Satisfied, she playfully spun Elizabeth's computer chair around so that she was facing Ashley on the bed in Elizabeth's apartment bedroom. "Okay. Tell me everything. I've been waiting for this all week. But!" Ashley looked down at her watch, "But we should get out of our PJ's and into those dresses soon. It's already 5 o clock."

Elizabeth leaned back in order to shoot Ashley an annoyed but amused look, "As I was saying, Ashley. When we were out the other night, we practically spent half an hour snogging it up, having a blast of sorts, and then had to sneak back into our dorms! It was sort of, you know, hot. I thought I was getting some adventurous daring part of Yushiro I had never seen before. But he's barely even asked me to the dance; he's essentially only asked me if I'll be there to see him. Like, he asked in his way but... I was hoping for a bit more gravitas. You think I've done something wrong? Did I give him the jitters with the foul?" she looked down at her phone, punching in a quick message

To: Yushiro

From: Beth

Of course I'll be there. Can't miss your big duel! Are you at all nervous?

Beth groaned; she hated that text but couldn't think of anything better to say.

"Well..." Ashley paused, tapping her finger to her chin, genuinely thinking of the question at hand, "I guess it's possible, but you had mentioned he seemed pretty shy from the start. I think if I had to guess he's relieved you took the first step. But... he might not have any idea what to do next. I wouldn't worry about it too much Beth. You're right, today is a pretty big day for him. He's probably just distracted. If I knew he was going to be your date I would never have scheduled the duel at the time!" Ashley chuckled, before handing the curling iron over to Beth, "Alright. I know you're better with the flat iron but it's my turn. I'm going to pull it back. Just curl my ponytail real tight the best you can, with those back and forth motions like I showed you."

Beth nodded, switching places with the blonde girl. Just as she was about to get started, her phone vibrated, and she looked over quickly, drowning out the various complaints and groans from Ashley about it.

A little, yeah. I'm feeling a lot better after all that practicing we did last week though!

Oh, good! Just focus on the fundamentals. Then again, if you win, who knows if I'll even get a chance to see you tonight with all the attention you'll be getting

"What? What? Oh yes sorry Ash I was just distracted by something. Do you think he'll win?" Beth inquired

"Against Hiraku? Listen Beth I know he's your fling right now but I wouldn't be taking bets on him if that's what you're saying. Hiraku's really good, he's a starter for the duel team! You should know that. He might end up on the disciplinary list a little too often for the Headmaster's tastes but he is a damn good duelist, Beth. And hey, could you pay attention a little? Ponytails aren't very fashionable with burn marks; I can feel you riding up the roots back there."

Beth stared daggers into the back of her best friend's head as she continued to work on Ashley's hair, "Yeah, I guess you're right. I just hope he wins; if I have to cheer him up who knows where our night is going to go. I'm not what you would call an optimist."

"Yeah, that's great and all Elizabeth but who cares about the duel? Do you like him? Elizabeth stopped for a moment, "What? I don't know, we've barely been seeing for a week Ash. It's only been two dates." Beth continued through her hair, You better keep your hands in your lap, miss. I'm not arsing about with this again."

Ashley squinted, trying her best to stay still while Elizabeth very roughly dragged the curling iron through her ponytail, " Well I don't know. Hot word on campus is that you've been spending a lot more time with the duel team, and with Hitomu being single.." Ashley tiptoed her way around the sentence, but Beth cut her off long before the thought was finished,

"Well that's about enough of whatever it was you were about to say. I'm not dating my dead brother's best friend you loon. He was just doing me a favor, getting me involved with the duel team again and all that. You said yourself you wanted me to get back on the team, Ashley." Elizabeth sighed; she could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks from aggravation; that was always something that followed her and Hitomu, even when Tess and Hitomu were as in love as ever, or at least as far as she could tell from her perspective. She supposed it was only natural that people would look on the outside and assume there was a connection there, but still, she said out loud,

"It's never been like that between him and I. I'd do anything for him but not like that. It's those kinds of rumors though, that history that follows me for one reason or another... I'm pretty positive I'm going to end up really breaking Yushiro's heart at some point. That's why he's not texting me back." with one final wrist stroke, she was done, although her spinning around of Ashley in the computer chair was far less enthused. It was met by an equally confused face on Ashley's end,

"Wait, what?? You never mentioned anything like that. What do you mean? she documented Elizabeth's body language as Beth began to squirm; this was a routine Ashley had seen thousands of times before in the last year and a half, although this time she let Elizabeth fester in it a bit out of her own interests.

"When we were kissing, he told me how he was feeling. And... Well I guess I sort of warned him what he was getting into. I know, terrible idea but... I think I might have been a little scared myself, and it rubbed off on him. I pulled away from him pretty sharply and... well I'm not sure he knows about Todd. A feeling I can't shake."

Ashley frowned slightly, "You have to stop being so scared of these things, Beth. He's a duel team tryout underclassman and you're Elizabeth. Freaking. Hall. That kid's lucky to have you, and if you break his heart, well... it's happened to both of us before too. You remember bawling into our history notes after Kyata? It's a part of growing up, Beth." Ashley stood up confidently, making her way over to her dress that was hanging off of her wardrobe door, "At least you have a date. I was so busy this year I bought this stunner of a dress just to wear it for nobody. I'll guess I'll go to the bar and shoot the breeze with Hitomu for a bit after the duel is finished."

Elizabeth followed suit, running her fingers down her own dress, "What's with that, anyway? I've never known the Student Council President herself to be without a date for some kind of function. Surely you had takers, no?"

Ashley nodded, "I did, I did. I guess I'm just so worried about trying to make all these events happened I couldn't, uhm, what's that word you're always saying? Arsed. I couldn't be arsed to feel out the crowd. Did I use that right?"

She was met with a snicker, "It's not nearly as ravishing without the accent. Well, Ash... You spend so much time worrying about me and everyone else I hope you carve out some time to worry about yourself. These things are going to mean nothing to you later in life if you're not able to enjoy them. Come on, let's get into our dresses, I'll help you look for appropriate suitors while we wait for Yushiro to finish his duel." Elizabeth winked at her best friend and they quickly got to work finishing their preparations for the evening.

----

Some time passed, and the girls were arriving to the dance with some time to spare before the festivities truly began. Elizabeth chose a two piece dress, showing off her complete midriff with an open back top, pairing it with short, black closed toe heels. A normal suite of casual makeup was paired with a bold red lips, giving her normally pale lips a candied apple sheen about them, drawing all attention directly to her face.

Ashley, on the other hand, is all about the bold, and decided to match her normally radiant features with an attractive A-line High-Neck Dress that came up just above her knees. The bloom of the dress gave her a whimsical, alluring aura about her, high pointed silver heels gave her a classic yet formal look. Ashley's smile brought the entire outfit together, and it only grew as they approached the venue, seeing the fruits of her labor come together.

"So! Where should we go first? You wanna hit the bar and say hello to the mystery bartender before he's on the clock?" Elizabeth shot Ashley a look,

"Mystery? Is he hiding his identity?" Elizabeth giggled, being careful not to rub her lipstick on her hands while she covered her teeth, "Sure, lead the way. I'm sure Yushiro would rather be focusing on his duel coming up anyway."

Edited September 12, 2019 by Cappuccijoe

Cheshire Toon · September 12, 2019

Hitomu adjusted his tie one final time before inspecting himself in the mirror hanging above his bathroom sink. A slim fitting black suit vest, complemented by a black-and-white pinstripe tie and a crisp white shirt, that’s what he had chosen to wear. The chain of a pocket watch intentionally dangled from the lower right pocket of the vest—a family trinket that had originally belonged to his grandfather, the first in his family to use a Toon deck, the front of the watch was engraved with the likeness of The Book of Toon. To finish the look, he had tied his hair into a tight bun. Not something he normally would have done, but Tess swore he looked good with it up (not that he was trying to impress her anymore).

“...I’ve gotta be forgetting something,” he muttered, glancing around. The outfit looked great—stylishly formal—but the nagging voice at the back of his mind that insisted something was missing refused to go away.

I don’t have time for this. I’ve gotta start setting up in the next twenty minutes, he thought, after checking the time on his phone. Plus I still need to message Hiraku and Yushiro. Whatever, it’s probably just nerves or something. Short on time, Hitomu pulled open his messages and started to work on his texts as he left his dorm, speed-walking to Maiden Hall.

All the while, his deckbox sat on the bathroom counter, completely forgotten.

Spoiler

Hiraku

Yushiro

Crowds started to meander into the building right as Hitomu finished prepping. He didn’t recognize any of the faces yet, and thankfully, for the first time in ages, none of them recognized him either. Tonight only, Hitomu Amaya was not Blue Yonder’s famous Duel King; no, tonight, he was just a mysterious bartender, all thanks to the mask he had donned before entering the building. It was nice. Not that he hated being in the spotlight, or resented anyone, but he had always been the laidback-type. Stardom was hard to adjust to. Especially after the contract. Overnight, he had gone from famous amongst his high school peers to a ‘talent to watch’ to all those interested in the professional scene.

It was a bit of a hassle. Tonight, for his last ever Kickoff, he just wanted to relax.

Leaned over the counter of the bar, lost in thought, Hitomu almost didn’t notice Ashley and Elizabeth as they approached. “Oh? Two beautiful young ladies, come to visit a foolish jester like me?” Hitomu grinned underneath the mask. “Could it be for alcohol? Hmm, no, the king of this castle doesn’t permit me to give my gifts to anyone who has seen less than eighteen summers,” he said, looking at Elizabeth. He was also doing a weird and somewhat high-pitched voice, different enough from his own for anyone who wasn’t a personal friend to be fooled.

He giggled and pulled the mask off just enough to reveal part of his face, then quickly put it back down. “Hehe. I’m playing; it’s me, Hitomu. You two really do look great though,” he said. “Try not to give Yush too many nosebleeds, eh, Lizzie? I already have my work cut out for me.”

Edited September 27, 2019 by Cheshire Toon

yui · September 12, 2019

Some hours had passed, and the time for the event itself had come. Kyouko would be lying if she said she was particularly looking forward to it. She was only really attending because Jun had asked her, and she kind of owed the girl one for helping with her entertainment dilemma. All the same, she was here, to what seemed to be the surprise of a few students she didn't really recognize. She couldn't really blame them; if she saw herself attending Kickoff without knowing why, she'd be pretty surprised too. Rather less surprising though, was that Kyouko made no real effort to dress up formally. There was no rule saying she had to, after all, so why bother with a stuffy suit or frilly dress that didn't suit her?

Well, she'd at least put some effort into her appearance. It wasn't much, but she'd at least combed her hair, She left her usual orange contacts behind too, showing the more natural brown eyes underneath. Most unusual though was something even Jun had probably only seen enough times to count on one hand. Much to her dismay, Kyouko's eyesight was poor at best, and her contacts were more than just for looks. They served a function too, and had her prescription so she could see what she was doing. Without them, she was instead forced to rely on a pair of glasses to see. Thick ones, like what one might expect some bookish nerd to wear. Generally, she only used them when she lost her contacts, and only for long enough to find them. It was the most significant change in her look tonight, but otherwise she looked mostly the same as always.

Come to think of it, would the club leader be able to recognize her? Kyouko wasn't bad with faces - in fact, she was rather proud of her ability to recognize faces - but that didn't mean others weren't. Hopefully her height and hair were still good signs of who he was looking for. But with all these people attending, that still left the problem of picking out the right person, didn't it?

Maybe coming here was a bad idea after all.

No, it was too late to back out now. It had already started. People were going inside. Kyouko regrettably and hesitantly followed suit. She'd never actually checked out this building before. It was nice. There was roof access too. As tempting as it was to just spend the entire time up on the roof, away from others, that kind of felt like cheating. Like telling someone you would cook dinner for them, but it was just a cup of instant noodles they could have just as easily made themselves. No. Kyouko would have to bear it down here with everyone else.

And so, like any introvert worth their salt, Kyouko tried to generally avoid the crowd. She made for the bar instead. She'd turned old enough to drink last spring, but never really saw any reason to try alcohol. But she always read that it was a great way to unwind and enjoy a social event. Maybe...? No. Probably not. Maybe. Definitely not. She'd also read plenty of times that different people acted differently when drinking. What would she act like? Would she even remember it? Kyouko was clearly uncertain about trying anything with alcohol in it, and while there were already a couple other girls here - one of whom Kyouko definitely recognized - they already had the barkeep's attention. She didn't particularly feel like intruding on that, especially not when she wasn't even sure if she should try alcohol or not.

So, at least for now, she kept herself more to the side seats, trying her best not to eavesdrop and to sort out all the contrary thoughts swimming around in her head right now.

Chaos Sonic · September 12, 2019

f8OzT6y.jpg?1

Getting ready for the event for Souji wasn't too hard. After all, he was just going to end up wearing something similar to his school uniform, just minus the blazer. Dress shirt, vest, tie...the usual. He fixed his hair and then grabbed his hat, making sure not to bother Sai much. The sorcerer supreme already made mention he wasn't going, so it wasn't too much of a problem.

"I'll be back later, Sai." he said, walking out the door. "Most likely, I'll have a design from Kyouko for ya." With that, Souji closed the door behind him and made his way towards the event and to find Kyouko.

So...time to look for a tall girl, blue hair... Souji thought, walking into the building and immediately began to scour the room. He figured that Kyouko wouldn't be bumming it tonight, then again, that was an assumption on his part. If she was, that would make finding her even easier. But alas, he doubted it would be that easy for him.

Souji kept scouring and looking around, before seeing a girl that fit the height and the hair color requirements of Kyouko over by the bar. The bar thing surprised him, however, especially for something for a high school. Nevertheless, he shrugged and made his way towards the young girl as he waved slightly. "Yo, Kyouko!" he greeted. "Guess I finally found you. Unfortunately, Sai isn't going to be joining us so if anything, I'll deliver that design you have to him. Though I do know Melissa is supposed to be here."

Edited September 12, 2019 by Chaos Sonic

radio414 · September 14, 2019

“The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
-Galatians 5:19-23 (NIV)

“You look so pretty,” Gabriela said. “T-that is you, um, you look fitting to escort one such as I to… a thing… such as this!”

Melissa curtsied. It was a full curtsy this time, not one of those weird half curtsies she’d done before when meeting up with Gabriela. “Thank you, your majesty,” she said. She also let herself take in Gabriela’s appearance. It was exactly as she had remembered it, which was good. That had been the plan, after all. “You look as regal as ever,” Melissa said, paying back the compliment.

Then, of course, came the more important matters. “Where are we going?” Gabriela said, and, thankfully, that was part of the plan too.

“I made reservations at this restaurant called The Warehouse,” Melissa said. “I, um, I know the name is a little un-royal, and it’s not as formal as Le Chef Vagabond or something like that, but, um, it’s good food and it’s not too expensive and I thought you might like it. How does that sound?”

Warehouse? Le Chef Vagabond? Gabriela hadn’t heard of either place. Thinking back on it perhaps she should have looked into things just a tiny bit. Every attempt to do so was met with panic and fretting and she had ended up just leaving it all to fate.

“That is quite alright,” Gabriela said, nodding along. “After all, I did ask you to plan everything. This way I can, ah, better learn the culture of this place. The Warehouse it is!”

“Great!” Melissa said. “First thing’s first, though.” She held up a pair of flower bracelets. “Speaking of culture, I don’t know if you do this in Romvania, but when dance dates meet up they exchange these little flower arrangements. See, they’re bracelets. So we- I guess traditionally we’re supposed to put them on each other.”

Melissa handed a white carnation over to Gabriela, beckoning for her to take it. “Yeah, so you just put it on my left wrist and I’ll do the same with this one to yours.”

Gabriela stared at it blankly for a moment before nodding and taking it. She waited for Melissa to raise her arm and then brought the bracelet to it. Or rather, that was what she was attempting to do.

In reality, she couldn’t stop her hand from shaking as she tried to put the thing on the girl’s wrist. “Ah, haha,” Gabriela nervously laughed. “I, that is, er, I do not usually do such things. You see… yes, that’s right, my servants usually do things such as this. Not the other way around. What a strange custom.” She finished this with another nervous laugh before finally getting the cursed accessory on.

It fit just as Melissa had hoped it would, and even in the late summer sun, the flower showed very few signs of wilting. She gazed at it for another moment, then took the mauve carnation and slid it right onto Gabriela’s wrist slowly, but without hesitation. “I’m sure you know this, um, your majesty, but purple like this has been a symbol for royalty for a very long time. Even- especially in flowers. That’s why I picked this one out for you. I really do hope you like it.”

All that was left was to make sure it fit as well as hers had. She shook her wrist a little. “Just, sorry, could you go like this? I kind of had to guess at your wrist when I bought these so if it’s too loose or too tight…”

Gabriela gave a smile -- a genuine one as far as Melissa could tell. “I am sure it’s perfect,” she said much more softly than one learned to expect from her. Even so, she did as Melissa asked. “Yes, everything is fine… Ahem, good work, you’ve done a fine job today!” she said and slipped right back into her more “normal” state.

It was that praise that made the entire ordeal at the florist’s worth it. Yes, she had done well! Melissa was only experiencing that latent stress that came from the sheer anticipation of a busy night and Gabriela’s comment made it that much lighter.

Dinner was the next step in Melissa’s master plan. She made another gesture, an invitation to accompany her. “Shall we?” she said, and off they went.

The walk to The Warehouse was very similar to Melissa’s walk to Gabriela’s dorm, though of course there was the obvious difference that Gabriela was there this time, and because they didn’t quite know each other that well, that difference alone made the walk filled with small talk. This was an element Melissa was less prepared for; she knew what people said in small talk, and she knew a few icebreaker questions, but she also knew she hated answering icebreaker questions and Gabriela probably would too (because who really liked icebreakers?). So instead, Melissa endured the awkward silence until she could think of something interesting to say.

Or so she thought. But as they passed Maiden Hall, Melissa couldn’t help but break it. “That’s where we’re headed after dinner, by the way,” she said. It also came with a question that, the more she thought about it, the more she wondered about the answer. It was pithy, but…

“How have you been liking campus anyway?” Melissa said. “Um, I know it’s probably different from what you’re used to, but I- I don’t know, I think there’s a lot to like here.”

“It’s…” Gabriela had been about to blurt out ‘amazing’. Because, truly, it was. She hadn’t ever been to a place like this before. But that wouldn’t be in line with what she was trying to build, right? So it was with some doubt that she cleared her throat and started again. “It’s fine, yes, rather common I suppose. But it has enough to be passable. And of course, you’re here, as well.”

Why did she say that? It just slipped out. Certainly, she was grateful for a friend but… “Otherwise today would have been more dull, you see.” Gabriella continued, trying to dig herself out of the potentially awkward hole.

“Oh,” Melissa said. It was the kind of “oh” that had a lot of sub-meanings hidden inside it, like the disappointed “Oh, I’m sorry you don’t think Blue Yonder is as magical as I do” or the more accepting “Oh, I’m glad you don’t think I’m dull.” Whichever it was, Gabriela's response slammed the door shut on that particular line of inquiry.

But, as the saying went, when God closes a door, he opens a window, and it turned out the building on campus closest to The Warehouse, the last building they had to pass was the one the Duel Team had had its first meeting. Melissa pointed out that one out too. “How was that meeting, by the way?” she said. “I never-” She almost said “I never was really interested in that sort of thing,” but then she remembered what club she had attended Wednesday afternoon. So the cutoff stayed, but then, so did the question preceding it.

“I suppose it went fine for what it was,” Gabriela said. “Rather boring, though. I do not understand why there has to be so much talking about something so simple… And then there was that woman. Elizabeth I think? I don’t know what she was doing there. Apparently, she wasn’t even part of the team… Do you know her? Is she the captain’s girlfriend or some such thing?”

Elizabeth. It was a common enough name, but Melissa’s mind still went to the one she’d actually seen enter the building. That Elizabeth. “I do know her- or I’ve met her, at least,” Melissa said. “She’s nice. I don’t think, um- I think Hitomu has a different girlfriend, though. Or had. I don’t know too much about that sort of thing; I just pick things up listening to other people.”

Was she supposed to talk more? Melissa wasn’t sure, but Gabriela’s opinion seemed more than a little negative and she felt obligated to correct that. “She was on the duel team last year but left after -- you wouldn’t have heard this, I don’t think, um -- her brother died, and she took it pretty bad. So that’s- uh, Hitomu probably asked her to show up or something.”

Gabriela paused for a moment upon hearing that. “Ah,” she said. “Well… I-I suppose that is understandable then.”

And just like that, that conversation window shut as well. But this time it was fine. The Warehouse was right there, and the change of scenery was certainly welcome.

The Warehouse was actually nothing like its namesake. It was on the smaller side as far as restaurants went, though it did have a backyard patio with additional space for those who were feeling a little extra adventurous. The lighting was dim, and the predominant color of the place was a deep crimson, but that was to be expected. Melissa almost wondered if there was a correlation between a restaurant’s darkness and its formalness (Was Le Chef Vagabond just pitch black? She’d never actually been…).

The staff at the front podium greeted them both warmly and Melissa reminded them of her reservation. “Reservation under Ashforth?” she said. It turned out she needn’t have bothered. While there was a lively enough early dinner rush going on, there were still a decent amount of unoccupied tables and Melissa and Gabriela were ushered to their patio table almost immediately.

“Your server will be right with you two.” And just like that, they were alone again.

“I actually, uh, I was also at a Duel Monsters-related club meeting Wednesday afternoon,” Melissa said, a little bit hoping that Gabriela would pick up on the continuity of the conversation despite the intervening pause. “Um, there’s- my roommate, actually, she’s an idol and I guess a couple other people on campus want to be entertainers so they managed to get a club started around entertainment dueling. And I thought at the time that, uh, well, someone convinced me to show up. He’s kind of shy like me, so I thought…

“No, I’m rambling, sorry. But I did want to ask you because you seem like an outgoing person, um, your majesty, what is public life like? Do you just- is it just an extrovert thing I’ll never understand or…?”

Gabriela couldn’t stop looking around as they walked through the restaurant. So this was what it looked like? She was so lost in her wonderment she actually forgot to put on an act until they sat down.

She opened her mouth to respond to the person who led them here but stopped. It would be far too embarrassing to talk like that to this stranger…

Melissa, unintentionally and unknowingly saving Gabriela from complete awkwardness, began to ramble about her own duel club adventures. She had heard of the Entertainment Dueling and, truly, she found it interesting. But it didn’t really fit what she was going for. She wanted Melissa to tell her more about it but, as soon as the other girl was getting engrossed in it, she switched subjects. To Gabby’s least favorite subject.

Herself.

“Ah, I see, the little lamb has come to get advice from myself,” Gabriela said with a gentle chuckle. “Well, you see, it’s rather exciting. There’s never a shortage of things to see or do for people will bring them to you. Or at least that is how it was for me back home.” She knew she was speaking vaguely but she didn’t know how else to answer.

The waiter stopped by. “Hi, my name is Benjamin, I’ll be your server this evening,” he said in a peppy voice, with a smile one could assume he was told to keep on at all times. “Is there a drink besides water I can get either of you?”

“Water’s fine for me, thank you,” Melissa said almost immediately. Gabriela had clammed up entirely as the waiter approached. She didn’t look directly nodded and, at the question, she just shook her head.

“Water for both of you. Aaaaall right.”

As soon as Benjamin was gone, the conversation went right back. “Right, I get that,” Melissa said, leaning in a little bit and scootching her chair forward. “But, like, I don’t know how else to phrase this, but all that excitement, am I really supposed to ‘take it all in?’ Is that really the secret?”

Oh no. Gabby knew what was going on. She was being asked for actual advice. Potentially important advice. How was she supposed to respond? She had no experience to fall back on. “Aha, um. Well you see…” The girl waffled about for a bit, glancing down at the tablecloth as though the answer would be spelled out in front of her. “Well, you know, I was… raised for such things. It became second nature after a while. Yes, that’s it!” She glanced up, excited she had thought of a plausible answer. “It’s just something you get used to.”

Melissa didn’t know what she wanted to hear, but that certainly wasn’t it. But she let that specific topic drop all the same. It was clear that Gabriela was uncomfortable with the grilling and this was supposed to be a nice pre-dance dinner, not an interrogation. “Alright,” she said. “Thank you.” And she really did mean it. Just because it was a frustrating answer didn’t mean it wasn’t worth something.

She opened up her menu and started browsing its pages. “They make so much different food here,” Melissa said. “I’m sure if you look you’ll be able to find something Romvanian-adjacent at least. But it’s all good, I promise.

“If you want to keep talking, though -- and I definitely understand if you need to go through this, uh, this tome of a menu -- is there a question you’d like to ask me?”

Gabby tried to see if the advice she gave stuck. If Melissa thought it was wise. But she couldn’t really tell. Especially when Melissa went right to the menu after.

Gabriela glanced at the menu and realized she didn’t have any idea what kind of food she intended Romvania to have. She really should write it down sometime, she thought.

When Melissa opened up to questions Gabriela smiled up at her. “Why of course. I’m here to learn things after all! One must always know everything about those under you.” She placed her elbows on the table and cradled her head in her hands as she looked at Melissa. What should she ask? She hadn’t really had anyone close enough to ask about personal things so she wasn’t entirely sure where to begin.

“One as kind as you must have many whom call you friend,” she began. Admittedly, she was partially fishing to see how much competition in that department she had. “Are… are they not jealous you have chosen to spend today with me, who is, even if an incredible one, still a stranger?”

It was Melissa’s turn to freeze up, to the point that it was almost difficult for her to parse Gabriela’s question. And yet, she should have expected something like this, right? She’d opened herself up to questions, after all. Melissa fidgeted with her silverware to stall for time.

“I don’t really have friends,” she almost said. She almost said. But she remembered Hoshiko. And Jun. She’d probably get along with Elizabeth too once Melissa stopped running into each other at the worst possible moments. Even Connor had been nice until he hadn’t been. And Father Gregory, did he count? So that statement would have been a lie.

Instead, Melissa said, “I- I have a couple friends, just a few, but I like them all. Um, that includes you, by the way. We’ve met enough. We’ve acquainted. I don’t think you’re a stranger. But, um, actually, I don’t know what they’re doing for Kickoff. They didn’t ask me about anything if that’s what you were asking.”

A wild Benjamin appeared with a glass of water in each hand. “Aaaaall right, there you two go. Now, what can I get you two to eat this evening?”

Gabriela was blushing. They were friends. They were actual friends. No denying that now. It was said. The words were said as clear as day. The delight at this statement made her eyes light up and she very nearly forgot the rest of the answer.

She didn’t have a chance to respond as the waiter showed up. In a panic, Gabby picked up the menu and started looking through it without actually being able to read it. “Uh. Umm. Uhh… Er… yougofirst,” she blurted at Melissa.

Melissa looked up at Benjamin, half because, well, that’s what you’re supposed to do when you’re ordering (right?) and half because she’d noticed Gabriela’s blush and felt like giving her some space was probably the best course of action.

“I’ll have the, uh…” her eyes immediately went back down to her menu, searching for the right item. “I’ll have the fish? With the side salad, and, uh, yeah.”

“Excellent,” Benjamin said. He turned to Gabriela. “And for you?”

Gabriela, half-panicked, continued to scan the menu over and over until her eyes noticed something she recognized and, more importantly, something that reminded her of the good times at home. “Er… Chicken dumpling soup,” she said.

The waiter hesitated. “Is that all? Just the side?”

“Yes, of course, that’s all,” Gabriela said, doubling down. “I don’t need anything else.”

“Aaaaall right!” Benjamin said. “I’ll go put those in right now. Next time you both see me, I’ll have your soup and your fish and your salad.” And he was gone again.

“Are you-” Melissa started, but stopped herself from saying anything more, seemingly either conflicted or concerned or both. But instead, she said, “Is that a traditional Romvanian dish? Chicken Dumpling Soup? Or is that from somewhere else?”

“Ah, um, no,” Gabriela said. Truth be told it was simply the dish that her mother would make when they had money to eat decently well. It was something of a comfort for her. “I merely… thought it sounded pleasant is all.”

“Oh,” Melissa said. “What is Romvanian food like then? I remember you said something like sugar being poisonous so it can’t be all that sweet, but that’s just one type of taste, right? So what’s it taste like?”

Right, she had said that, hadn’t she? Glad that Melissa had reminded her, the girl nodded. “Yes, sugar is… bad. But, um, there’s other things that can make stuff sweet there! Yes, like, um…” she glanced away, clearly thinking, before coming up with “Like honey! Rivers of honey!” Wait, no, that was dumb. “Not literally of course, haha, but you understand my meaning I’m sure.”

Honey. The word clicked with Melissa for a number of reasons. The first was, well, that was the exact other sweetener she’d brought Elizabeth at the exact time Gabriela had mentioned Romvanian sugar’s particular qualities. But it also brought to mind a particular phrase: “Land of milk and honey.” That was God’s promise. She wondered… No, it wasn’t important.

Benjamin came back quicker than expected. “Aaaaall right! Here’s your fish, and heeere’s your soup! Is there anything else I can get either of you?”

Melissa smiled. “No, thank you, everything looks lovely,” she said. Then, as Benjamin left (with one final “Aaaaall right!” on his way out) she said to Gabriela, “Do you mind if we said grace real quick?”

She bowed her head:

Lord, thank you for this meal and the hands that prepared it.
Thank you for friends and dances and please bring peace and happiness to everyone tonight
whether this be their first Kickoff or their last.
Guide us on, Lord, so that we may know the everlasting truth of your love,
Amen

“You’re welcome to some of, uh, some of this if that soup isn’t enough for you. I’m sure there will be snacks and things at the dance, too.”

A thought wormed its way into Melissa mind. “I assume Romvanian Princess School taught dance, right?” she said. “There’s bound to be one or two slow dances tonight.”

At the offer of the food, Gabriela shook her head. Sure, it was much less than she expected, but it felt wrong to take food from another.

The question about the dance, though, froze her in place. She stared at Melissa without answering for a bit. She knew this was coming. She knew. Yet it hadn’t really stuck in her mind until now. “A-ah. Well. O-of course… n-no, er.” Gabriela stirred her soup as she tried to get her words back on track. “That is… we don’t have dancing in the same way as you do. Of course, there’s certain, ah, Romvanian dances. It’s a lot like here I’m sure, but with some differences. Er… perhaps it best you show me this land’s dances o-once the time comes.”

“Sure!” Melissa said as she started cutting up her meal. “It’s no problem. You, ah, the one thing to keep in mind -- I’ll tell you this right now -- is there’s a temptation to get really close to your partner. There’s, ah, because one person’s hands are at the hips and the other’s are at the shoulders.” She gestured to her own hips and shoulders to demonstrate. “You don’t- people tend to get antsy if you get too close to them. I’ll get antsy.”

She laughed. “We Catholics call it the ‘Leave room for Jesus’ rule.”

There was a hint of something on Gabriela’s face at what Melissa had said. Perhaps disappointment? Whatever it was it didn’t last long as Melissa soon reminded her about the food in front of her. “How is your soup?” she said. “You said it wasn’t Romvanian so if you’re not used- if you don’t want it we- you could probably order something else.”

Gabby had only taken a few bites but even that sent a warmth through her body. It was still unusual to her thinking about how easy it was to get food like this. It made her appreciate it even more. “No, no not necessary!” Gabriela said in a hurry. “It’s… rather good.” Then, under her breath, “Really good…” She glanced up at Melissa and followed up. “Ah, yes, is yours acceptable? I hope they provided you with something to your liking.”

Melissa took a few bites, smiled, and nodded.

The silence was different this time, as each girl ate their respective meal. The previous ones had been awkward, the dead air only serving as ellipses in the conversation. This one, though, this one was a full stop, a nice comfortable end as Gabriela and Melissa just appreciated each other’s presence.

And just like that, it was time for the dance. As soon as the tip had been added and the receipt had been signed, they were out the door and back on campus headed towards Maiden Hall. Just before they went in, though, Melissa paused to ready herself.

As much as she hyped it up in her own head, as much as she put it on a pedestal as the crowd to end all crowds, it still had its more predictable moments, right? The first thing on the agenda was the duel, right? That was manageable; she’d already been to, what, two duels already this school year alone? And she knew how to dance and she was fully prepared to teach Gabriela and tolerate her missteps as she learned how to dance. And yet…

The fear was still there, and instead of diminishing with every passing thing done right, it seemed to increase. Something was going to go wrong. She could feel it in her bones. In her soul. And while she did have those contingencies she’d set in place, that same fear made her wonder if any of them were going to matter.

Melissa took a few extra deep breaths, just for that. But she also knew she couldn’t keep Gabriela waiting, and went in after her, hoping she continued to not disappoint.

Edited September 15, 2019 by radio414

LordCowCow · September 14, 2019

As the dinner went on Gabby began to feel more and more relaxed about the night. It really seemed like it was going well. She was certain it wouldn't, and certain questions about her "homeland" still made her feel queasy with worry and guilt, but things seemed to be...good. Really good.

It was going to be a nice night. She didn't know why she thought this but she just felt it in her bones. As that thought crossed her mind she thought about her deck and the unintentional, if a stretch of one, pun made her giggle slightly on the way to the hall.

She noticed Melissa beside her giving a quizzical glance and she shook her head. "No, it's just...bones, skeletons...ah...nothing, nothing, never mind." She should feel embarrassed by the awkward statement but she just felt really good at the moment. Which just caused her to laugh again. "Tonight is a lovely night isn't it?"

Upon entering the Maiden Hall Gabby was rather astonished. So much so she let out an audible "Whoa." When she remembered who she was supposed to be she cleared her throat. "T-that is, it's passable I suppose. For such a small gathering." Even so she couldn't keep away the shine in her eyes as she looked around. It was so big! Is this what rich people lived in?

She noticed the platforms on the second floor and remembered that a couple of her teammates -or was it clubmates?- were supposed to duel up there to start things off. "Ah, yes, there is to be a battle to commemorate this night. Between two of those lucky enough to share a team with me. We should find a good place to watch. I must show support to those beneath me, yes? And it would be good to see what level of duelist they are."

She took Melissa by the hand and led her up to the second floor and to one of the balconies.

Only once there did a thought cross her mind. "Ah, but you aren't all that interested in the duel team are you? I did not mean to force my desires upon you. After all I may be of royalty but tonight I am also your companion."

radio414 · September 15, 2019

It really was amazing what a group of high-schoolers (and maybe some faculty? Melissa didn’t really know who all was on the Kickoff Planning Committee) could do when they were properly motivated. Melissa had heard stories from the year before but even then there was something breathtaking about being there in person. It almost made one forget everyone-

Nope! She could feel herself getting dizzy and quickly put a stop to it. Not tonight, or, at least, not now. There was wonder in Gabriela’s eyes (even she couldn’t hide a “Whoa”) and Melissa wasn’t about to take it away from her.

She wasn’t quite sure where to go next, though. Her mental picture of her plan was starting to fade, and only general details really remained. Was that where the ominous feeling -- that something-will-go-wrong feeling -- was coming from? Maybe, but “Entertain Gabriela. Keep her happy” was still a pretty solid overall goal. Plus, now that she knew Gabriela a bit better, it was hopefully easier than ever.

The first item on the Kickoff agenda was the duel, right? Some sort of grudge match between members of the duel team? Maybe Gabriela wanted to-

Gabriela was already on it, interrupting (and confirming) Melissa’s thought process with “We should find a good place to watch. I must show support to those beneath me, yes?”

She didn’t wait for an answer. Instead, she took Melissa by the hand and lead her up the stairs to a pair of balcony seats neatly overlooking the soon-to-be duel arena. In fact, one could see quite a lot from where they were. That also meant that quite a lot of people could see her, but she- she almost didn’t care.

The fact that Gabriela seemed to care as much about Melissa’s happiness as Melissa did Gabriela’s certainly helped. “Ah, but you aren't all that interested in the duel team are you? I did not mean to force my desires upon you,” Gabriela said. “After all, I may be of royalty but tonight I am also your companion.”

“No! No,” Melissa said. “No, this is good. This is good.” She smiled, hoping that communicated a little extra emphasis, a little extra sincerity in her words. “I do- I probably need to meet up with some other friends at some point, just to say hi -- I think you’ve met some of them too, so it shouldn’t be too awkward, I hope. Um, but we can stay here for now. There’s a whole night ahead of us to do all that other stuff.”

There was another reason she rathered they didn’t move. Melissa didn’t say it, though. If she said it, it had a chance of spoiling the moment, and it was such a good moment.

They were still holding hands.

“Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
-Mark 10:9 (NIV)

Cappuccijoe · September 17, 2019

Ashley rolled her eyes immediately; trying her best to hide a smile, “This is not exactly what I had in mind, but given that I DEFINITELY have no idea who you are I’ll have to let it slide.” Ashley giggled, gesturing suggestively to Elizabeth, “Isn’t she smoking hot?! Beth wanted to wear an a-line like mine because she was showing ‘too much gut’. The nerve! I’ll be lucky to get any attention at all standing next to you.”

Elizabeth blushed; Ashley was always so forward and somewhat vulgar about her appreciation for Elizabeth’s hard earned figure, it was almost a little embarrassing. She adjusted one of her straps nervously, “Now I know you’re looking to rip your dress off as fast as you can Ashley but can you keep your hands off of mine? You two make it sound like I’m wearing this for only Yushiro. I probably won’t even see him for much of tonight, what with the duel and all that. I know he’s taking the piss when he says he’s not nervous; anybody would be with this sort of crowd. I was never fond of it.” she looked over towards the general direction of where the duel would be taken place, thinking briefly of the times she’d been up there herself. Her focus, however, was quickly snapped by the blonde to her left,

“Then go see him now! No better chance than right now; the duel isn’t for a while still, I’ll keep our mysteriousbartender company while you’re out and about, we’ll meet back up later!” Ashley smiled brightly, leaving Elizabeth slightly relieved, yet anxious.

“A-are you sure? You’ve been talking all week about how much you’ve been looking forward to this with me and with the florist near-call I had thoug-”

“Yes yes yes, it’s fine. I can’t have you to myself all the time, I guess. Go! I’m a big girl, Beth.” Elizabeth silently nodded in response, waved at the fingertips to Hitomu, and made her way up towards the duel arena, where she knew Yushiro would be waiting in the wings.

Ashley waited until Beth walked away, and then let out a huge sigh of relief, spinning back towards Hitomu, “That girl is such a handful sometimes, I tell you. We’ve been doing this dance all day. Ready for your big job today? I know there are only so many 18 year olds in the school, but hopefully you’ll be kept busy enough.”

She leaned against the bartop, looking over the area; it was then when she spotted Beth’s clutch purse, Ashley sprung up quickly and looked around alarmedly for Elizabeth, but she was long gone. She laughed loudly, looking back to Hitomu, “I guess that means she’ll be back! I just hope it works out between those two. You think Yushiro is a good fit?”

---

“You should focus on your game, Yushiro. Your girl can wait.”

Yushiro shook his head. He was still of two minds about things, and it wasn’t going to do him any good to be dis- wait, when had he started referring to Liz that way? They weren’t… dating dating yet, were they?

“Liz, then. Better?”
“Yeah that’s better, I wouldn’t want to…” He trailed off, realizing that he’d begun to have a full-on conversation with himself both internally and aloud. Maybe the stress was getting to him.

“No, it isn’t.”

“Ok, what?” He’d answered himself back again, sort of. It was as if thoughts were entering his head involuntarily. Words, images, things he could interpret as if he’d thought them himself, but… they were clearly responses.

“It's about time you noticed. Speaking to a wall is tiresome.”

Yup. That confirmed it. There was a voice in his head. Maybe he’d gone crazy.

“I assure you, you are perfectly sane. I’m no figment of your imagination. Can we move on? There’s a lot I have to talk to you about.”

“O-ok…” maybe it was best to play along?

“Yes. It is.”

“So, you can hear-”

“Your every thought. Concrete or otherwise. Count us both lucky that I can’t, however, delve into your subconscious. The horrors that are sure to dwell in the deep recesses of a teenage boy’s mind would make us both sick.”

“So what… are you?”

“Zetsuei is my designation. As for what I am, the short, comprehensible answer is that I am an Artificial Intelligence, and my home happens to be in the solid vision circuit of that card in your hand.”

“Wait, if you’re… data?-”

“Not exactly. Far too complex for me to explain to you in a short period of time- as I said. If your curiosity requires that you inquire further, well… Duel Space has many, many uses. Does that satisfy you?’

As “satisfied” as he could reasonably be, at least.

“That’s too bad. You’re stuck with me for the foreseeable future.”

“Right. Every thought means every thought. Can you do us both a favor and stop sassing me every time I feel an emotion, at least?” This was absolutely insane- easily the strangest thing that had ever happened to Yushiro in the history of… ever. Annnnnd he could hear that one, too.

“Yup. Now the kid gets it.”

“Didn’t I just ask you to stop with the whole wise guy thing? It's not like I can stop myself from thinking you know.”

“While I’m glad we’ve moved past the whole ‘I must be crazy’ routine in record time, I too, can’t quite help myself. I haven’t been able to speak to anyone in… many, many years.”

“I’m not here to indulge the guy who just hijacked my brain!”

“Ooooohhhhh testy testy. Keep that up and I might just lock this card out of your duel disk. Wouldn’t want to go into our big game without the secret weapon, now would we?”

“I’ve known you for five minutes, and I already hate you.”

“Exquisite. I would say that the feeling is mutual, but frankly I’m in such a good mood that your idiocy hasn’t fazed me at all. Wonder how long that’s going to last, mm?

Yushiro groaned. Why did this have to happen to him, and now, of all times?”

“More of that vaunted luck of yours, I would imagine. Speaking of...”

---

Elizabeth walked around the corner to hear Yushiro’s voice, speaking aloud to something… someone? She paused; could he have been here with someone else?

She quickly did a 180, and began pacing as quietly as she could while Yushiro continued to rant to someone.

He never did ask me specifically to be his date to the dance. Perhaps he had already had someone; but why would he have kissed me then?! He even said he was hoping to see me, or had he? she reached for the clutch she had slung over her shoulder prior to the dance: missing. She must have left it with Ashley. And wouldn’t you know, the time she was without her clutch is specifically the time she could really go for a cigarette right now.

The usual monologue began; he didn’t like you anyway, you’re being weird, no self-respecting senior is thirsty for a sophomore, you’re a washed up duelist getting handouts, etc., until she paused, looking at the room she heard Yushiro’s voice from.

If he’s here with another girl, the only way you’re going to have time to enjoy any part of this night is if you get this part over with now. If anything, you can just guilt Hitomu into feeding you high alcohol drinks to get through the pain and then you can rebound on some poor sod that looks worse off than you. It’s a perfect plan.

She marched into the room trying to play it as casually as possible, only to discover that Yushiro was actually all by his lonesome.

Elizabeth couldn’t help but ponder, Who the hell was he talking to? Seemed like a pretty intense conversation for just himself…

“Hey Yushiro, hope I’m not barging in on anything,” Beth continued, looking around the room for perhaps a hidden visitor, “But I arrived a tad early, I was hoping to wish you good luck before you went on. Are you sure you’re feeling well? You look a tad on the pale side.”

“Lucky is certainly the word for you, Yushiro.”

Yushiro stood there for a moment, a combination of terror, embarrassment, and awe keeping him firmly in place for juuuuust long enough to make things awkward. But thankfully, he regained control of himself in enough time. “I-i-i-i’m doing alright. I think the nerves are just getting to me, is all.” He turned his head away slightly, trying in vain to hide the fact that his cheeks were going from pale to rosy. She looked, well… beautiful was certainly an applicable word, but considering the situation at hand, stunning was probably the more apt term. And she was here to see him? He still couldn’t quite wrap his head around Elizabeth’s interest in him, especially now when she was as attractive as he’d ever seen her.

“Not the best save, but props for the effort, my young friend.”

“Could you NOT?”

“Look at that, you remembered to use your brain instead of your mouth this time. You’re quick on the uptake, my young friend.”

“We are not friends.”

“Companion, then. Tell you what, I’ll be quiet for now. Consider it a good will gesture.”

Yushiro pushed Zetsuei out of his thoughts for the moment. “Actually…. I’m really glad that you came to see me.” He meant it, too. More than he could really express to her; he was eager for something to keep him grounded.

Elizabeth carefully walked over to Yushiro, continuing to measure him for signs of distress; something about his body language made her nervous. She could tell he was lying about… something.

"Well… whether you like to admit it or not I know these duels can feel pretty enormous. Besides, my makeup wont look this good forever, you know." Elizabeth continued, dryly. It was a joke, but perfectly within her nature to be a bit flat about the whole thing.

"Have you made any changes to your deck?" she was now just about within arms reach of Yushiro, albeit still seizing him up.

“Just trimmed out a card or two, nothing major.” He replied. He was still sticking to his plan. Even if he desperately wanted to tell her what had happened in the last couple of minutes, Yushiro had promised himself that he’d keep Clear Wing a secret until he was ready to use it, both for strategy’s sake, and because, admittedly, he wanted to impress the girl in front of him. He took a step closer, relaxing just a bit when he realized that Zetsuei was actually keeping his word and staying silent. “I don’t think there’s anything else I can do to make it better right now. If I lose, it's not gonna be on the deck, that’s for sure. Thanks for helping me practice, by the way.” He forced a smile and tried to keep his eyes focused on hers.

"I suppose that CoffeeCards date had its purpose after all." she smiled, "Ashley felt miserable about the whole match when she realized you and I were wanting to see each other." she paused, "Were you even aware she and I are best friends? I suppose you two haven't been in the same place other than the single time when she roped you into all this." Elizabeth was rambling, but he still seemed panicked beyond belief, and she was just as puzzled as to what to do in this position. He was far from forward about his feelings; he hadn't even taken the time to compliment her dress! She gave him another out,

"I like your tie, Yushiro." It felt bad, fishing for your own compliments, but what was a girl to do?

“It's the only one I own.” He chuckled. Even Yushiro found his own ineptitude funny occasionally. “You look….” he paused for a moment, trying hard to find a word that wouldn’t sound too lame or come out too strong. After a bit though, he gave up. Best to swing for the fences. “Absolutely beautiful, Liz.” This time, he managed to have enough courage to keep his face level with hers, even though he could feel how much he was blushing.

“Well I would hope so! I have a lot to live up to, what with being on the arm of the new Duel Team recruit and the star of tonight’s show. Elizabeth Hall is old news, now.” she resigned to saving her feelings for later; he was clearly bothered by the duel, and it was selfish of her to expect his attention at this moment in time, or so she thought.

“You’re not old news to me. To be honest, I haven’t really stopped thinking about you for the past couple of days.” Yushiro buried the thought of how cheesy he sounded- he was telling her the truth, wasn’t he? “And right now, honestly, I could care less about being in this duel.”

“”W-what?!”she reeled back, a tad shocked; even someone as defeatist as Elizabeth Hall was foreign to the concept of not caring about the fate of a high profile duel; sure she had thrown her fair share of matches, but never something like this, “What do you mean? This could be your chance to really make a mark on the school! You do want to be a top duelist, don’t you? Isn’t that why you joined the duel team?” Elizabeth, of course, had no idea that there would be reasons for joining the duel team other than wanting to be a top duelist, despite being a former beneficiary of such things; the way she had seen it, those were all bonuses to being a great duelist, back when she cared about such a thing.

Yushiro shook his head. He would have to be more to the point. “Of course I want to get better. I wouldn’t have tried out at all if I didn’t. But… making a mark on this dumb school? Being a top player? Nah. I’m going out there because I want to prove myself. To me, and, well… also to you. Look, I don’t know how you feel about me, heck I don’t even know how I feel about you, but… What’s most important to me right now, is going out there and showing both of us that I’m worth sticking around for. Win or lose.”

Elizabeth paused, it was becoming a bit clear to her that perhaps he really was as lost as he seemed, and, in being brutally honest to herself, she was not really positive she was prepared to be that emotionally vulnerable with someone as open and innocent as Yushiro. It was the same fear she felt before they kissed. “Well, I can’t say I had the same experience but, if that’s what this means to you then… I hope you get what you were looking for.” It never felt good to be told, ‘I’m not sure how I feel about you,’ but she agreed it was fair; she wasn’t sure of the answer herself. She distanced herself slightly, albeit naturally.

Yushiro sighed softly. He knew he wasn’t going to be good at this, but swinging and missing still didn’t feel good.

“Did you ever stop to consider telling this girl, oh, I don’t know... that you like her? Aloud?”

“I thought you said you were going to stay quiet.”

“Do you want my help, or not?”

Well, what was there to lose? “Look, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be acting all weird. The last thing I want to do is scare you away. I know I’m rambling and I have a lot on my mind and I’m probably not making sense, but. All I really want you to know is that I like you.”

Elizabeth waved her hand a bit, dismissing the conversation as a whole, “It’s alright Yushiro, I don’t want you feeling bad before your match. We’re both new to each other, yes? It’s okay to not be sure. I just wanted to come up here and tell you I’m rooting for you.” she smiled a bit, softly, and leaned in, pecking his cheek.

His face went red again. “Thanks. It means a lot.” He took a deep breath, and exhaled, banishing whatever negativity he felt was lingering in him. “I’m a lot less nervous now, at least. And hey, when this is all over, how’s about I meet you out on the dance floor? If you’ll have me.” Too little, too late, he realized, but he at the very least owed her asking her to dance, in lieu of asking her to the dance. Properly.

Elizabeth laughed, “Daring of you, Yushiro, to ask me to a dance. Not many men can keep up.” she winked, “I’ll be happy to lead if you can follow, though. See you later Yushiro, best of luck in your match later, and remember those fundamentals!” Elizabeth nodded and excused herself from the room, walking somewhat confidently, despite what had just happened behind her. There was something genuine about Yushiro that she was still attracted to, but all the same it was just the same as she sensed their upcoming dance would be: Elizabeth leading, followed by a series of innocent enough mistakes by Yushiro that left her waiting on him to take the next step.

Maybe Hitomu will let the age rule slide just once. I'm almost 18 anyway. And I really need to get a smoke. It's been all damn day.

Cappuccijoe · September 19, 2019

~~bump~~

Elizabeth wandered slowly down the hall, her feet only kept moving forward by the fact that dragging her feet in high heels would cause her nose to meet the tile below her with some considerable force. At this point in her life, at this point in the depression cycle, she could tell when an episode of sorts was about to occur. She was feeling sorry for herself, no matter how selfishly it may be. She didn't feel particularly encouraged by Yushiro's actions, nor did she feel like she was really being fair to him in not knowing what to say when she posed some intentionally vague questions. The truth was, Elizabeth hard hardly convinced herself that she was even emotionally or mentally prepared in the first place for a dance of this size and splendor, and her actions had only made that doubt worse. She felt stuck. Stuck between the expectation that she was to have a wonderful time with Yushiro: he would win his duel and sweep her off her feet in a dance, the expectation that she was to be the old Beth around Ashley: the femme fatale duo who would crush and reward the parched, thirsting souls of single men bowing at their feet, and the feeling that she was not even close to being either of those people for either of those people. Not even close.

And then, naturally, there was Todd right down the hall staring at her- Wait a minute, when the hell did that get here?

Elizabeth found herself sitting on a wooden bench, staring across the hall to a single, memorialized picture of her late brother Todd. It was actually rather large, and captured some of his more defining features in the middle of what appeared to be a duel. She recognized it now: it was the photo taken of him on the day they won their last National Championship together. Elizabeth couldn't recall them placing a memorial there; they had asked what seemed like an endless amount of questions about her twin's memorials; where they would be placed, how large they would be, if it was okay to include pictures of the both of them, if she wanted to keep any of the memorabilia, et cetera.

I guess this one was brought up around the time I just stopped reading the details and signed off. Sorry mate. You look good, though. she sighed, brushing her bangs to side again. She distracted herself for a moment, thinking about the duel that day, That's right. You held Cyber End Dragon to the bitter end that game to outlast the removal. It was bloody brilliant. 100 LP and you reveal a three card fusion. Absolutely maniacal. It was never easy enough for you to just win. She smiled, but it faded quickly.

You know, Todd. It's not very fair of you to be forever immortalized in pictures of our happiest moments while I get to sit here and talk to framed photos of you at a dance where people hope I get enough dopamine to avoid going home and offing myself. The least they could do is show a picture of you with a zit or something, you duffer. Ugh, I really need to stop doing this to myself. Elizabeth leaned back into the bench, looking straight up to the sky to avoid looking at the picture, still silent.

She scoffed, loudly, now advancing quickly towards the picture, the clack of her heels ringing out loudly into the hallway. She got real close to the picture, observing every detail, letting the thoughts roll around in her brain before relenting again, Am I making a mistake right now, Todd? She still hadn't spoken aloud, but she remained silent mentally as well, waiting for an answer that would never come. She pursed her lips, looked to right, and walked down the hall,, feeling no better than she did moments ago. It felt to her like every waking moment of every day on this campus as of late had her past follow her, nibbling at her ankles as if she had dipped her feet into piranha infested waters. The constant, pervasive thought of "I just want to be better." was often interrupted by the goings-on of people who had simply moved on, or forgotten enough about Elizabeth entirely that there was no natural progression for her. She thought, briefly, that perhaps that was why she liked Yushiro so much. She wasn't even sure if Yushiro knew Todd, and if he did, he certainly didn't know enough to have brought it up, and almost everyone does by now.

The hardest part, to Elizabeth, wasn't the fact that Todd was dead, no. She had accepted that a long time ago; it was more that there was no future for her that didn't involve constantly bringing it up, constantly rebuilding relationships with the caveat that she would be roughly half as interesting or exciting as she used to be because she was no longer one half of "The Incredible Hall Twins", or whatever their nicknames were, Elizabeth couldn't even remember anymore.

"Nope, now I'm just Elizabeth Hall, and everyone looks at me like they were expecting me to be in the car too." as she finished her walk down the hall, the massive crowd's noise started to pick up, and she could see the outline of the bar from the doorway she was standing in. She looked back towards the general direction of both Yushiro and Todd's picture.

"Kind of wish I was."

Despite her sulking, Elizabeth took a moment to refresh her mental and make her way back over to the bar, not that it would help; Ashley would read her like a book guaranteed and Hitomu likely wouldn't be far behind, but she would try her best to bring herself back to the mental state she was in before she went to go see Yushiro, and before she had her doubts about even coming here in the first place. As she approached, however, she noticed a familiar head of hair: it was Kyouko's. They had peer mediation session together during the school year, and Elizabeth remembered she allegedly had some sort of anger problems she needed to sort out, but Elizabeth always found her to be a pleasant conversation. She was embarrassed; with all the commotion that had come already with this school year, she hadn't even had a chance to stop by and say hello to her.

Elizabeth slid in to the left of Kyouko, tapping her shoulder lightly, being careful to keep about a fist length's distance; she did have some anger issues, anyway.

"Cheers Kyouko, I haven't gotten to see you all year! I'm a bit surprised you've made it out; you never made things like this seem like much of your occasion... are you well this year?" she half-shouted to Kyouko, to attempt being out the rapidly increasing noise coming into the venue.

yui · September 19, 2019

More people were coming in. How many students attended this school anyway? As the volume of people increased, naturally, so too did the volume of the noise in the event. Maybe she could just... sleep through the whole thing. It was worth a shot. And so, Kyouko folded her arms over the bar, rested her head in them, and...

"Yo, Kyouko! Guess I finally found you. Unfortunately, Sai isn't going to be joining us so if anything, I'll deliver that design you have to him. Though I do know Melissa is supposed to be here."

Be met with the club leader instead. "Right. That." Kyouko reached into a hoodie pocket, pulling out a roughly-folded piece of paper and handing it to the boy. "There you have it. Tell him he can do what he wants with the design, but that's roughly what I had in mind." She wasn't here to have a pleasant chat though. Just to deliver that and because Jun asked her to show up. Kyouko shooed the club leader away, before trying again. Arms folded, head in arms, and Kyouko...

Felt something tap her shoulder, lightly. On reflex, Kyouko's arm snapped back, to grab at whoever or whatever it was, but the something had already pulled back. Pretty quickly, or at least fast enough to know Kyouko would react that way. This person knew her, then. But did she know them? Kyouko checked the seats adjacent to her, to find a face she did indeed recognize.

"Cheers Kyouko, I haven't gotten to see you all year! I'm a bit surprised you've made it out; you never made things like this seem like much of your occasion... are you well this year?"

"Oh, it's only..." Lacey? No. Was her name Linda? That's not it either... Beatrice? Definitely not. At least she knew who this girl was. "...it's you," she concluded. Kyouko straightened herself back up, into a more proper sitting posture. She took a moment to check her phone. In a noisy place like this, it wasn't exactly easy to hear it go off when she got a text, so checking for herself every so often seemed like a good idea. No new texts. Before putting the phone back in her pocket, she checked a second time, to find the same result. As she tucked her phone away, Kyouko replied "I don't want to be here, actually. But Jun asaked me to in return for a big favor she did for me, so my hands are tied on showing up or not. I'll probably just try to avoid mingling for as long as I can, but other than that? Could be worse."

Come to think of it, her former peer meditation buddy didn't seem like the type to show up to these either. At least, not the way Kyouko remembered her. "I could say the same to you, though. Doesn't really seem like your kind of thing to show up for. Did you get roped into it too?"

She was oddly popular today. Two whole people started conversations with her, back-to-back.

Chaos Sonic · September 19, 2019

f8OzT6y.jpg?1

"Right. That. There you have it. Tell him he can do what he wants with the design, but that's roughly what I had in mind."

Souji took the roughly-folded piece of paper Kyouko handed him and nodded. "Well given the sorcerer supreme, he'll be able to meet the criteria on this paper and maybe even more." he said with a chuckle. "Dude's got a hell of a gift when it comes to costume making...such a shame he hides off in the room for ample moments at a time and doesn't get to fully utilize that gift...oh well, means us in the Entertainment Dueling Club get all the benefits of it."

After being shooed off, and quickly getting something to drink, Souji slunked off to a small secluded area to which he could snag a peek at what Kyouko was giving Sai to work with. Just a quick look...cause we got an idol, hero, and wizard...what's next in this merry little band? he thought, snagging a quick peek at the drawing and design in question from the paper.

Needless to say, Souji was surprised to see what the design was, so much so he spewed his drink some to the side. W-Whoa... he thought, taking another good look over the rough design that was provided. ...so we go from idols to heroes to wizards...to a dark knight. Man, this is pretty decent looking design... He immediately put the paper back in his vest pocket, drinking another swig as he shook his head.

Heh, Sai's gonna have a hell of a time with this one...I can just tell. Souji thought, returning back to "attempting" to mingle with everyone else.

LordCowCow · September 25, 2019

Melissa smiled. Which caused Gabriella to smile. In a wonderful contagious effect. It seemed she didn't mind being dragged along as she was. Which was good because Gabriela didn't really know any other way to go about this.

“I do- I probably need to meet up with some other friends at some point, just to say hi -- I think you’ve met some of them too, so it shouldn’t be too awkward, I hope. Um, but we can stay here for now. There’s a whole night ahead of us to do all that other stuff.”

Something about the idea of "meeting my friends" made this whole thing feel a bit more...intimate to Gabby. In a nerve-wracking, but exciting, way. What would her friends think of her going to this place with another girl? And could she keep up her front while being watched by a group who no doubt would be closely watching her. If they're her friends they must be worried about anyone that had gotten close to her right?

"Ah, that would be no issue. Indeed the more who get to meet my royal self the better. I must get examples from all sorts of people in this land after all. And...I would have to meet them eventually, anyway. If we are going to have, er, extended...correspondence." Her attitude trailed off into a more awkward realm near the end.

Trying to distract from it she looked towards where the duel was going to be held. "Do you know much about those two that will be dueling? They are in my club but I only briefly met them. Hiraku and..." She didn't actually know the name of his opponent. She had seen him, surely, in the club. A rather common face and a hazy presence was all she could remember. "and the other one."

Cheshire Toon · September 27, 2019

Ashley waited until Beth walked away, and then let out a huge sigh of relief, spinning back towards Hitomu, “That girl is such a handful sometimes, I tell you. We’ve been doing this dance all day. Ready for your big job today? I know there are only so many 18 year olds in the school, but hopefully you’ll be kept busy enough.”

“I’m sure tonight won’t have anything a lunch rush at Coffee Cards, especially this time of year. Ever had to tell a teenage girl you were out of her favorite drink mix?” Hitomu’s facial expression was obscured by his mask, but from the way he was shaking his head, the intent was clear enough.

Ashley leaned against the bar, scanning the crowd. Hitomu intentionally turned his focus away from all of the students pouring into the room. He didn’t want to see her; more than that, he was scared to see her, to confront a reality he wasn’t really ready to accept yet. She always said she didn’t like these things. She probably didn’t even come. Still… what if she did? What if she brought a date? Could I handle seeing her with someone else? He tried to imagine Tess, escorted into the dance by a man who, in his imagination, didn’t really have a defined face. Hitomu’s stomach twisted painfully. He’s probably some kinda math guy. Or maybe a lawyer? Doesn’t matter. He’s probably smarter than me.

No, no, he couldn’t think like that. It didn’t matter. Tess had made her decision. If he cared about her as much as he said he did (and he did, painfully so), the only thing to do was to respect her choice. He had to get over it. He had to get over her. For both their sakes.

Ashley suddenly lurched forward and snatched a purse off one of the stools. “Huh?” Hitomu sputtered. It was an expensive looking bag, one that he recognized as belonging to Lizzie.

Ashley laughed loudly, turning around to face him. “I guess that means she’ll be back! I just hope it works out between those two. You think Yushiro is a good fit?”

Now that was a question he was hilariously underqualified to answer. He knew next to nothing about the whole ‘experimental’ dating phase--he had completely skipped over it. Hmm… Yushiro’s not… bad looking, I guess. He doesn’t seem like a bad kid either. Kid. Why do I think of him as a kid? It was true that Yushi was his junior, but he wasn’t exactly a kid. He just seemed young. Inexperienced. They say that opposites attract. Maybe it’ll work out in that case? Hitomu rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. “Don’t think I’m in a place to be judging. If I had to answer, though, Yushiro seems like a good kid. Patient. Liz needs that sort of influence. What about you? What do you think?”

“Well… I’m not so sure.” Ashley took the bag and placed it in front of her, making sure to keep it from disappearing. She reached in real quick to see if Liz had her phone; nope. She pulled out the pack of cigarettes instead, “I have half a mind to tell you to throw these in the wastebasket behind you. Anyway,” she placed them back inside, “I think Yushiro is a sophomore that just made the duel team, is seeing a lot of new faces, and would never say no to a girl like Beth. I’m not really sure he’s ready for a girl like her. I do agree he’s plenty patient. I’m worried when Beth starts to… well, you know, do what Beth does, he’s going to get overwhelmed.” Ashley looked over her shoulder; she felt like Hitomu was looking through her the whole time. Ashley had her guesses as to who it was he was looking for… that is, if it wasn’t just anyone other than her. She turned back around,

“Looking for someone, bartender? I’m sure Beth will be back any minute; we have all sorts of plans tonight. I have quite some time until I need to announce the duel, anyway.”

Hitomu slumped forward. “That obvious, huh?” People still hadn’t really arrived at the bar yet, so he could afford to let the act slip for a little bit longer. “Yeah. I’m just worried about her. Losing Todd, I didn’t really handle it well. I wasn’t there for her like I should have been, and I’m trying to change that.” It wasn’t a lie. It’s not the whole truth either, Hitomu reprimanded himself, but coming clean about his struggles with his love life wasn’t something he wanted to do with the most famous gossip on campus.

The students were starting to really arrive now. A girl Hitomu recognized as a fellow senior with blue hair approached the bar, and not long after that, Souji arrived. Hitomu glanced at Ashley and said, "Gotta go. Enjoy the dance, Ash," waving two fingers in a salute before heading off to do his job.

“Hello there, ye merry folk of Blue Yonder! I am the Mysterious Bartender. I’ve traveled from a far away land to peddle my alcoholic wares, the likes of which are free for your consumption, so long as you present me with a scroll of age verification that proves you’re eighteen! Your King was very strict on this rule, so no exceptions will be made.” The Mysterious Bartender stared at Kyouko with his unchanging, smiling face. “So? Is a fair lady such as yourself interested?”

Edited September 27, 2019 by Cheshire Toon

Cappuccijoe · September 28, 2019

"Right... 'Lizzie' is who you're worried about." she threw up air quotes and shot him a nasty look the second he turned his back from her. This was just what she had come to expect from Hitomu over time. The only place she EVER got information on Hitomu was from Todd, the resident blabbermouth, Elizabeth, her best friend, or Tess, his future wife... or so everybody thought. Ashley was still curious about that one; how could trouble in paradise turn into a downright disaster so quickly?

She looked around, and noticed Elizabeth had already returned, but she was already in conversation with someone… it looked like Kyouko. Troublesome, that one, but she seemed to remember them being in some sort of mediation group together for troubled teens. It was good for Elizabeth to talk to others, get back into the swing of having her own life again, Ashley thought. As for herself…

She checked her phone. She had tons of texts and emails, but most of them were just operations. Confirmations, schedules, and pertinent information regarding today's dance, her stage directions for introducing the duel, Oh, hey a free pedicure with my next manicure and gel treatment. That's a nice coupon, maybe I should see if Beth wants to get her nails done with me next week.Grades for her latest essay- an "A", of course. Ashley didn't "do" B's and C's. It didn't look good on college resumes… nothing else.

"This is what you get for booking yourself tight the week before the dance Ashley, everyone is with their dates. But it's fine, we have plenty to do today!" she spoke to nobody in particular in between responding to a few emails.

Ashley got up from her stool, grabbing the belongings that she was in charge of, and swiftly dropped Beth's purse off next to her friend, "I gotta go get ready to introduce the duel Beth. Text me and we'll meet up after I'm done, okay?" she turned her head and gave Kyouko a small wave and a "Hello" in order to avoid being rude and made her way out into the quickly forming crowds, deciding, as usual, to bury her head in work and leave the personal life to the side when she had the time. It was the sense of accomplishment she was after, and this dance had to go off without a hitch.

---

"Haha, well… it was mostly Ashley. You know, the student council president. She's my best friend, it always means I find my way to these events one way or another." Elizabeth paused in confusion of Ashley quickly dropping by to give Beth her back and zip off; she didn't even have time to say anything, especially while Souji was popping in.

Still, she recognized the face… enough. Beth had never really interacted with the Entertainment Duelists. Despite her penchant for dancing and love of art forms in general, the performance art of Entertainment Dueling strangely never struck her as engaging.

"Well, you're just full of surprises today Kyouko. Entertainment dueling too! I would have figured you to show interest in the Duel Team proper, what with your relationship to Jun and all. What've you considered for the character?" Elizabeth was inquiring to be polite, but she was expecting the question to be dodged; she had always taken Kyouko as the type to keep those details for herself.

Edited September 28, 2019 by Cappuccijoe

radio414 · September 29, 2019

This is what the Lord says, he who made the earth, the Lord who formed it and established it -- the Lord is his name: “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”
-Jeremiah 33:2-3 (NIV)

It was Gabriela who first came close to breaking that entrancing spell they both shared, though Melissa didn’t mind. There was no conflict, no reason to snap back to reality when it really wasn’t necessary. The first half of it was just Gabriela’s assent anyway, and while Melissa noticed her date’s drop off near the end of that particular segment, she was able to put it away, hiding it away in her mind.

The second half was all a question, and it was one that Melissa actually knew the answer to, too. So in addition to being able to answer right away, Melissa also allowed herself a hint of confidence, even if she still stumbled a bit through her delivery. “It’s, ah, I think I mentioned this maybe on Wednesday -- it’s okay if you forgot -- but, um, I only really know Hiraku by how people talk about him. He’s…”

She hit her first stumble. Despite having had Hiraku’s reputation ingrained into herself through word of mouth throughout the entirety of her freshman year, her one physical interaction with him had been a positive one. She didn’t want to lie to Gabriela -- she didn’t want to lie to anyone, of course -- and poorly represent someone. But public opinion mattered too, right? What if she was in the wrong?

“People tell me he’s not the nicest person,” Melissa said, landing right in the middle. “He’s certainly made a name for himself on the duel team, though. He’s pretty high on the roster.

“The other one, um, Yushiro Midori? I think I pronounced that correctly. I don’t know much else about him. I’m sorry. I know he’s new to the team, so it’s alright that you haven’t met him. It’d be alright no matter what, but, um, you know what I mean, right?”

Melissa was on the home stretch now. She paused a moment to allow Gabriela to catch up, or at least make sure she was nodding along before she revealed the last of her grapevine knowledge. “So, on move-in day, there was that big festival, right? Hiraku and Yushiro got into a duel that ended in a draw, and Ashley Rendleman -- she’s the student council president -- decided this would be the place for a grudge match.

“Um, yeah. Sorry if that was a lot, um, this is only stuff I heard.”

Now that she had said it all out loud, Melissa actually felt a little excited for the duel, and she couldn’t place exactly why. Maybe now that she was in a dueling club, no matter the differences between competitive and entertainment dueling? Was Gabriela’s enthusiasm rubbing off on her?

It was something to ponder as the duel’s scheduled time ticked ever closer.

yui · September 29, 2019

“Hello there, ye merry folk of Blue Yonder! I am the Mysterious Bartender. I’ve traveled from a far away land to peddle my alcoholic wares, the likes of which are free for your consumption, so long as you present me with a scroll of age verification that proves you’re eighteen! Your King was very strict on this rule, so no exceptions will be made. So? Is a fair lady such as yourself interested?”

That mask was giving her the creeps. Kyouko didn't like that she couldn't tell who was behind it. That's rich, coming from me. The whole idea of my entertainment costume was "hide my face from the crowd." Still, it wasn't like hers had a fake face on it. With this guy here, being approached by two different people so soon, and the knowledge that this was indeed a social event and so she'd probably see plenty of others... yeah. Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea. She could at least have enough to not remember coming here in the first place.

"Sure," Kyouko finally answered. She reached into her hoodie pocket, pulling out her student ID and handing it over to the mystery man. "I'll just take whatever's cheap." It wasn't like she knew much about this stuff anyway.

"Well, you're just full of surprises today Kyouko. Entertainment dueling too! I would have figured you to show interest in the Duel Team proper, what with your relationship to Jun and all. What've you considered for the character?"

"If I wanted to join something to compete, I would've signed up for the swim team by now." She'd have much better odds there than in the duel team. "I joined the club so that I could get them to stop bothering me, actually. I'm already in a club now, so stop asking. I shouldn't feel as satisfied as I did about seeing the captain's face when I told her later that day, but it was nice to get them to finally stop breathing down my neck."

And as for the character...

"I'd like to keep quiet about the character though. I'm not really taking it that seriously, but I'd rather not get kicked out of the club and be left to the vultures from the swim team again."

LordCowCow · September 30, 2019

Gabby blushed, realizing that Melissa had already answered her question, or at least in part, the other day. She didn't want her to think Gabriela wasn't listening to her. Though it seemed that her chance to explain, or apologize, or whatever it was she was supposed to do in that situation, passed her by quickly as Melissa moved on to answering her question.

"I see. A classic tale. A young knight comes to challenge the local tyrant. In tales this usually involves the knight besting the tyrant. But in this case...I have my doubts. If Hiraku is as good as you say then surely Yushiro will fail."

She thought on it some more. She hadn't had much chance to talk with Hiraku but didn't he help her when she was lost earlier? She pondered it for a moment then, "I think I would rather see the tyrant win in this case. He is the only one who really talked...er, that is, he's the one who was able to handle being in the presence of myself! That's a very important trait you know. Many would falter if they were faced with those of the higher class."

She smiled at Melissa. "I suppose that puts you on an even higher level in that case."

Gabby refocused on the stage where the match was to take place. It shouldn't be long now. She hadn't had much chance to watch duels before. Not like this. And especially not with...a friend.

Zai · October 14, 2019

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" Ashley spoke loudly into the microphone, drawing the attention of the entire building. Once the vast majority of eyes were on her, she continued, though she spoke with slightly less energy- her presence (or her looks) were enough to keep the audience interested now. She was in her element. "It is now exactly 7:00 pm, which means that Kickoff, and by extension our school year, has officially begun!" They'd been in school for three weeks already, of course, but symbolically (and as far as the workload in most courses was usually concerned) the fall semester never really started until the week after Kickoff. "As is tradition here at Blue Yonder Academy, every year we begin this event with an exhibition duel- where two of our school's most promising duelists go head to head for glory, bragging rights, and of course, your entertainment! But that's not all!" From underneath the podium, Ashley produced what appeared to be a locator card, though it was very unlike the cheap plastic things most duelists would be familiar with. It appeared to be made from some sort of solid white marbled material, engraved with ornate markings in blue- the academy's colors, and the only part of it that could actually be seen through was the precision cut slot where the card was located. Those who had been to Kickoff before knew what this was, but the freshmen, as well as students like Yushiro who had neglected to go in previous years, were in for a bit of a surprise.

"The winner will also receive this: a copy of our school's mascott, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon! A rare and powerful monster from days gone by, here at Blue Yonder Academy they say getting one of these bad boys means there's great things in store for your future. Will it bring fame? Fortune? Good Grades? Well, whatever Blue-Eyes has in store, it'll be coming to one of these two competitors!" With a flourish, Ashley stuck her arm into the air and waved it in the direction of one of the balconies. On cue, a spotlight shined down on Hiraku.

"Over here we have Hiraku Tsukino, a second-year student and one of the Aces of our duel team! His Crucible deck features an array of powerful and terrifying fiend-type monsters capable of utterly crushing the opposition! Will he be able to maintain his spot as one of Blue Yonder's top duelists? Or will he be taken down by..." Another flick of her wrist, and the spotlight was now on Yushiro. "Yushiro Midori! Also a second year, he's one of the duel team's newest recruits, but does his Speedroid deck have what it takes? There's only one way to find out. Now, say it with me everyone!" It was a bit corny, sure, but the phrase never failed to get people hyped, especially at a Duel Monsters-obsessed school like Blue Yonder.

"IT'S TIME TO DUEL!"

And with that, the game began. Hiraku and Yushiro stepped out onto their platforms and activated their duel disks, and the night sky abopve maiden hall took on the familiar magenta tinge of Duel Space.

“Well, considering rank I think it’s safe to say that you’re the challenger here,” Hiraku said, shuffling his deck. “So I’m going to be generous and let you decide who goes first.”

Yushiro tugged on his tie, fighting to stifle his nerves. Hiraku looked less short (and consequently more intimidating) standing across from him with nothing to compare his stature to.

“Relax. Just do your Yushiro thing.”

“I thought I told you to shut up.” Yushiro took a deep breath, then pulled his yen coin out of his pocket. “Alright then, we’ll let lady luck decide. Call it!” He flicked the coin into the air with his thumb, then caught it as it fell without taking his eyes off of Hiraku. Yushiro kept his fist clenched, waiting to reveal the face the coin landed on until after Hiraku called it.

Hiraku shrugged. “Fine. Heads.”

Yushiro opened his fist- the coin was heads. “You’re up. Make it count.”

“When wouldn’t I?” Hiraku said with a smirk as he drew his hand. He took one glance at his hand and looked up. “So you’re a synchro player, then? I think I’ll start things off by testing your mettle. First: while I control no monsters, I can special summon Khalko, Beast of the Crucible from my hand.”

A ghastly creature with snakes for arms and the legs of a spider spawned in the middle of Hiraku’s field-- a level 3 tuner monster.

“Next, I will normal summon Keledones, Siren of the Crucible. When she’s Normal Summoned I can send a Dark monster from my deck to the grave and gain 800 lifepoints. I choose Talos, Guardian of the Crucible. Now, I tune the level 3 Khalko with the Level 4 Keledones.”

Khalko transformed into three rings and circled around Keledones, who turned to four stars and vanished in a beam of light. “Synchro Summon! Level 7, the Scrutiny of Daedalus!”

DEF: 2900

The great, winged creature hovered over the field, its size so big it vanished into the walls of the building, like a monster peering through.

“And I will end my turn by setting one card. Now then, show me how you deal with this.”

“Are you sure that was the right call? That thing’s pretty gnarly, kid.”

“Yeah. It was the right call. I’m gonna do this my way, win or lose.” Yushiro drew his hand, then took his first draw. “You wanna test me? Fine. First off, I’ll Special summon Speedroid Terrortop. You’ve seen it before so I’ll spare you the explanation, and move right on to activating its effect, which lets me add a Speedroid monster from my deck to my hand.” Yushiro moved his hand to call for a card, then stopped. “Got anything to say about that?”

“Just hope it’s worth it,” Hiraku said with a sinister smile.

Yushiro shot him a glare. "I’ll add Speedroid Taketomborg to my hand, then. And he’ll be my next special summon!” Taketomborg took its place beside Rerrortop on the field. “And now I’ll activate his effect- tributing him to special summon a Speedroid tuner from my deck.” Taketomborg gave a very theatrical thumbs-up, and then disappeared, to be replaced by… “Speedroid Den-Den Daiko Duke!”

A three foot automaton dressed in medieval royal garb appeared on the field. “Know what’s next?”

“You’ll summon some bargain-bin common synchro from ten years ago, right?”

“Hmph.” Yushiro smiled. “Actually, I’m gonna overlay both of my level 3 monsters! I Xyz summon Number 75: Bamboozling Gossip Shadow!” This time, Duke was the one to give a thumbs-up, and both it and Terrortop faded away, transforming into two green twinkling stars, which began to orbit an inky, black cloud of what appeared to be gas. The number 75 appeared on it and began to glow red as it took on a humanoid shape.

DEF: 2600

“If you think this is going to go the way our last game did, you’ve got another thing coming.” As if to punctuate Yushiro’s bravado, Gossip Shadow gave Hiraku a wink and a diabolical smile.

“Oh don’t worry, I think this is going to end very differently. Now get on with it!”

“Yeah I don’t think you’re gonna be able to psych this guy out, kiddo.”

“I don’t care how he takes it. I’m not gonna take his attitude lying down.” Yushiro looked over his hand for a moment. Just like last time, he was going to have to jump through hoops to get around whatever crazy monstrosities Hiraku pulled out of his extra deck. Not exactly the best situation to be in. “Let’s not forget- I still have my normal summon. And I’m gonna use it to play this: Speedroid Pachingo-kart.”

ATK: 1800

“I activate its effect. Know what that means?”

“I do, but I don’t think it’s going to work out in your favour. I’ll chain Scrutiny’s effect in response. By banishing Khalko from my Graveyard, I can negate your effect and inflict 1000 damage.”

The Scrutiny of Daedalus lifted one of its hands, and the portal set in the palm started to glow a deep purple.

“No, actually. Scrutiny’s effect makes us both draw a card. Or at least, that’s what its effect becomes when I activate Number 75’s effect!”

Hiraku’s expression went unchanged, however. Even as he drew a card and his Synchro monster was shattered before him, he had an unwavering look. “Now, let’s see the consequences. First, Khalko’s effect for being banished: I get to add a LIGHT Crucible monster from my Deck to my hand. I choose Kourai, Guardian of the Crucible.” Hiraku’s duel disk spat out the card and he plucked it gingerly. “Next, I activate the effect of the Scrutiny of Daedalus. When he’s sent to the Graveyard, I get to Special Summon a Fiend monster, and I choose Talos, Giant of the Crucible.” From where Scrutiny was rose a halberd-weilding demon.

DEF: 2300

“Now, was that all?”

“I’ll set two cards, and end my turn.” Not the best outcome, but at least Yushiro had some field presence now. Still, he grimaced. The disparity between their decks was obvious, and Hiraku was right back in a position to press his advantage when he gained it again.

“Sad,” Hiraku said, drawing his card. “First thing’s first, I’ll activate Talos’s effect and target Gossiping Shadow.” As quickly as it had appeared, number 75 disappeared, letting out a cackle as it faded away. “Then, I return Khalko to my Graveyard. But he won’t be there long, as I’ll banish him again to summon Kourai, Guardian of the Crucible from my hand.”

ATK: 2300

“You know the drill with Khalko. I use his effect to add Kuanos to my hand. Now, you think that’s Xyz Summoning then I’ll show you another thing or two. I’m going to overlay my two Level 5 Crucible Monsters.” Both fiends vanished into their respective orbs, one yellow and one purple, before spiraling into the same galaxy shape in a flash of light. “Xyz Summon! Rank 5, The Will of Daedalus!”

ATK: 2300

"Joy. Another one."

"And he's just getting started." Yushiro replied as he stared down the newest monstrosity before him.

Edited October 14, 2019 by Zai

radio414 · October 18, 2019

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
-Isaiah 43:18 (NIV)

“That puts you on a higher level, in that case,” Gabriela said.

Melissa wasn’t entirely sure what to make of that, but it felt and sounded nice and Gabriela was smiling so she didn’t push it more than an “Mm.” The other part, the “I’m cheering for Hiraku” part, that was something she could at least try to engage with. “I don’t know, I like rooting for underdogs,” she said. “I don’t really have a reason or anything, I guess I just like hoping.”

“Um-” Melissa was about to start another thought, but whatever it was, it was interrupted by Ashley Rendleman taking the floor, her voice booming from every corner of the hall. That was a scary thought, Melissa pondered, Ashley being everywhere at once, but thankfully, she was just there to emcee.

She already knew a lot of the introduction bits. Hadn’t she just talked to Gabriela all about this? But the stakes, especially the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, she hasn’t known about any of that. Should she have known? And their respective decks -- Gabriela was on the duel team with both of them, right? That was probably pertinent information that she could have looked up earlier and relayed onward, but only once Ashley had mentioned it had she even -

She swallowed, and Melissa tried her best to swallow her fears down, too. It was such a nice night; it certainly wasn’t one she wanted to ruin by leaving Gabriela behind. Still, when everyone cheered “It’s time to duel!”, Melissa’s cheer was significantly quieter than all the others. But that was normal (right?). It was fine. She was fine.

Melissa squeezed Gabriela’s hand a bit tighter, though she had to let it go to applaud the start of the evening’s festivities. She went back for it as soon as she could.

The duel started and it was already hot as an oven. Or maybe “hot as a crucible” was more in-theme, not that either phrase deserved much comment. One question did pop up, though. “What do you think so far?” Melissa said. “I don’t- You probably think you could take both of them, don’t you?”

LordCowCow · October 19, 2019

“I don’t know, I like rooting for underdogs,”

It wasn't something Gabby really understood. She knew from watching her father that all that underdogs got was debt and trouble if they tried too hard. There were many times when he'd talk about betting on the underdog because of "higher profit" but it usually just meant they'd lose it all. The few times he won like that he'd use to justify the rest, even if it was a net negative, so Gabby had learned to not trust such things as "underdogs".

But would it be rude to say that? "That is kind of you." Gabriela said. "I am sure they would appreciate your support."

There was no more time to chat as some loud girl (Was she from the student council?) announced the start of the match. With a rare blue-eyes as the prize. Gabriela let out a soft "Wow." Then she coughed "u-uh, I see that the people here are motivated by wealth, interesting!"

The girl jumped a bit as everyone let out a shout. "Was...that some sort of battle ritual?" She asked. Was she supposed to cheer too? It was too late now but had she made a mistake by staying silent? The best she could do now was play it off.

Gabriela tried to focus on the match but there was something else on her mind. Melissa's hand. She hadn't expected this much...contact, so soon. It made her wonder what the other girl expected of the night...unless this was normal? She had no basis. And no one to ask. So she merely had to go along with what the other girl decided was appropriate.

“What do you think so far?” Melissa said. “I don’t- You probably think you could take both of them, don’t you?”

Gabriella usually would respond immediately. With a confident and certain "of course". That said Gabby couldn't stop herself from thinking about it more seriously.

Yushiro seemed to be somewhat haphazard. He had tried to pull something off but his opponent just ended up in a positive situation anyway. That being said she wasn't sure what Hiraku was planning on doing with all those resources. As it stood...

"They seem rather slow, don't you think?" Gabriela said. "It doesn't feel like either side is pressuring the other yet...Perhaps this next turn will turn things around."

She paused.

"Oh, and as for your question, of course! I don't think there's anyone I couldn't defeat as it stands. Well, except..." her voice trailed off. The captain. She was still unsure why he let her in the club after she lost to him. And then there was this duel. She hadn't even know it was going to be a thing...was there some other reason she was let into the club?"

radio414 · October 22, 2019

“They seem rather slow, don’t you think?” Gabriela said.

She supposed? “I guess…” Melissa said. “I never- um, I always try to get my duels -- when I have to duel, which isn’t often, um, I try to get them over with quickly so I guess so.”

Melissa could feel the question coming. She imagined Gabriela whipping around, looking her dead in the eyes and asking, “Well, why are you in the Entertainment Dueling Club if you don’t like dueling?” and she mentally scrambled for an answer.

Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
-Proverbs 28:13 (NIV)

The answer -- like, the actual answer -- was that, well, that was why she laid awake each night struggling to sleep, desperately trying to find a way that both got her out of unwanted commitments and also left her not feeling like she didn’t just let everybody else involved down. What was this, night three? She’d hoped being with Gabriela would help it go away.

The closest “good” answer, though, was “Well, I wanted to try something new.” And that was, well, it was still far enough away from the truth that she couldn’t justify to herself using it as an excuse. The phrase “Good answer”, then, was a misnomer. There were no good answers, and it was pointless to even try.

Well, she didn’t have to justify herself if she didn’t have to, right? And maybe Gabriela wouldn’t ask? Maybe if she avoided the conversation entirely she wouldn’t have to do any justifying at all.

Thankfully, Gabriela was way ahead of her, jumping ahead to answering the other question Melissa had already asked. “I don't think there's anyone I couldn't defeat as it stands,” she said. “Well, except…” But she didn’t finish her sentence.

Melissa waited a bit longer to make sure that she wasn’t about to, and jumped in. “Except who, Hitomu?” she said. “You had that duel against him at the coffee shop, right?”

She squeezed Gabriela’s hand again. “You don’t have to hide that from me, I was there too. And don’t worry too much about that. Beating everyone is kind of his thing.”

A thought. “At cards. He beats everyone at Duel Monsters.”

Chaos Sonic · October 22, 2019

f8OzT6y.jpg?1

After snagging himself a drink from the mysterious masked bartender, who Souji swore up and down reminded him of someone, the young man found his way into the area, just in time for this Duel to start. It was Hikaru versus Yushiro. This Yushiro, he really didn't have much clue about, while Hikaru on the other hand...was more of a jerk than he was, a know it all and just a generally popular with everyone else. Still, Souji didn't see the appeal of him.

Regardless, he sat down and prepared to start making both mental notes and record the Duel itself. After all, this was a good opportunity for the Entertainment Duel Club to get some views on how others Duel, aside from just dueling others within the club.

Within the first two turns, Souji could tell that these decks were something else. Hikaru had his Crucibles, which were pretty formidable from he remembered seeing here and there, while the other guy was using Speedroid. Speedroid...that's generally a Synchro based deck. Though it's sort of strange to see him just Xyz when he possibly could've summoned something in Synchro department. he thought, watching Hikaru take his turn and watch it end up bringing out Will of Daedalus. From Scrutiny to Will...so, what's the play the other guy has in mind?

LordCowCow · October 23, 2019

“I never- um, I always try to get my duels -- when I have to duel, which isn’t often, um, I try to get them over with quickly so I guess so.”

Gabriela almost sighed in relief. She was glad to know that Melissa also preferred short duels. She was worried the girl would think her usual duel style was unusual. Gabby enjoyed fast paced duels. Dealing mass damage all at once. There was something thrilling and oddly comforting about such a thing. In the back of her mind while watching the duel she wondered if it was more common to take more time to get things going.

“Except who, Hitomu? You had that duel against him at the coffee shop, right?”

Ah, she had seen that. How embarrassing...it wasn't a defeat that sit well with her. Her first duel in this new school and she had lost. It frightened her. If she couldn't be good at dueling then she might not last here. It wasn't as though she had money, or knowledge, after all.

Melissa squeezed Gabriela’s hand again and the girl felt the blood rush to her cheeks. “You don’t have to hide that from me, I was there too. And don’t worry too much about that. Beating everyone is kind of his thing.”

Well, that was-

“At cards. He beats everyone at Duel Monsters.”

It took her a moment before she realized what the girl said and she gave a sudden laugh. One that was more like a snort. She covered her face as she continued to laugh for a bit. "You're....quite funny." Gabriela got out. She hadn't even thought of the other possible meaning of the phrase beating everyone. It was pretty clever actually.

"Well, it is of no import." Gabriela said, smiling wide and puffing her chest out. "I shall bring him down yet. If he is the best then that just means he is the most suited to serve me!"

She looked over at Melissa. "Perhaps we could have a duel sometime. I would like to see which of us is faster." A fond smile followed.

Cappuccijoe · October 24, 2019

"Well, you know me. I'd be rich to pry for information from you. Hope the entertainment club serves you well. It was never my game, but I suppose neither was the duel team."

It was about then when Ashley had drawn everyone's attention, announcing the duel, Blue Eyes and all. She had never had the chance to win one herself, and it would appear her high school career would pass her by without a chance, but she hoped the others knew how prestigious it was to be on that stage. The duels she had in this building were never of the main event or grandeur type that this duel held, and there's only a handful of events that even warrant a prize such as that. Did Hitomu have one? She couldn't recall; most things from back then have started to become a blur, aside from the sharp, painful memories that are as clear as crystal to her still.

"You think you ever could have done anything different to get up on that stage for that kind of a trophy? I find myself wondering from time to time if I ever could have."

This, of course, ignored the obvious answer that if Todd hadn't passed away, it was almost certain that Ashley would have booked some sort of epic showdown between the two twins, but ironically Elizabeth felt as if that would be crying over spilled milk, especially when her date was on the stage fighting for his life and likely a life's worth of embarrassment if he were to get blown out for whatever reason.

She just hoped he was remembering to stick to his fundamentals; that's what she would have done, in his position, with that deck. Board priority would be a must win for him.

To his credit, a somewhat aggressive start seemed like the plan for him, and it was refreshing to see him attempt to move cards off of Hiraku's board to set up the typical high percentage, chip damage plays that won you games more often than not. It was more a question, to Elizabeth, if it would work. She didn't know his dueling style that well; Beth had excused herself from the duel team early on in his tenure in Blue Yonder, but she could sure read a chart, and Hiraku's ascent up the SRS chart had made an impact on her impression of him.

He was confident, with a well built deck, and he had the natural smarts to take it to an opponent when they made a mistake. It was intimidating, certainly.

"Are you at all close to Hiraku, Kyouko? I've never much talked to him. Seems like a bit of a thorn, but I'm not sure I'd like to much take a chance on dueling him. I've heard he's rather accomplished."

Skaia · October 25, 2019

MM6dyYE.png?1

"Oho? Well, you have a long way to climb to reach his throne, o'princess of darkness." This would be the thing that both Gabby and Melissa would hear coming from behind them, as a the smiling cheery face of Jun had seemed to interject itself between the two. Leaning between the two, giving a small wave with a, "hi hi," the girl then pulled back and sat back upright in her seat. As it had turned out, the girl had been sitting behind them since the duel had started, though elected to silently watch both them and the match.

The duel had been going, for the most part, as expected. That Yushiro was able to bust out some new tricks, as well as that his confidence didn't seem entirely rattled yet was certainly a plus in his favor. Of course, she figured it was a moot point given his opponent. Especially given how he was at the moment. As such, the girl was, at present, much more interested in her two newest friends that were sitting in front of her. "Oh, but I'd love to see the two of you show off in a duel." Both to judge them and, "after all, nothing says true friendship like a friendly duel between friends. Friendly." The girl then gave two thumbs up, albeit covered by her sleeves and a bright smile to the two of them.

Sign In

Yu-Gi-Oh! Skies [IC/PG-16]

Recommended Posts

Cappuccijoe 17

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Cheshire Toon 139

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

yui 574

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Chaos Sonic 442

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

radio414 903

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

LordCowCow 839

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

radio414 903

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Cappuccijoe 17

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Cappuccijoe 17

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

yui 574

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Chaos Sonic 442

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

LordCowCow 839

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Cheshire Toon 139

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Cappuccijoe 17

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

radio414 903

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

yui 574

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

LordCowCow 839

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Zai 26

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

radio414 903

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

LordCowCow 839