Jump to content
Zai

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

Recommended Posts

give me a text. Or a call, I guess. I won't always be able to help, obviously, but I'll definitely try.

Gabriela reached out for the paper. Her hand was shaking slightly so she covered it up by loudly proclaiming, "Yes, tis only proper for one such as me to have reliable connections in this land. Many thanks to you. I wish I did not have to see you go but mayhaps our fates will cross once more."

She took the paper and, after Melissa left, stared at it for a while. It was the first time anyone had given her their number. That meant they were actually friends, right? Not just people who happened to know each other. But honest to goodness friends? She clutched the paper to her chest and stayed behind Hiraku as they entered the room. She couldn't let them see how watery her eyes had gotten as emotion threatened to overwhelm her. It was silly. Something so small making her so happy. On some level she realized that this was something that was common for most people. Even so it didn't diminish the warmth that Gabby felt in that moment.

A thought struck her.

She needed to get a phone.

---

Taking in a deep breath Gabriela stepped out from behind Hiraku. If one were looking closely they might notice slight puffiness around her eyes, having just wiped away the tears that had threatened to spill out, but it was much easier to notice her sweep her arms to the side. "Hello, I am Gabriella of Romvania. And you all have the glorious honor of being members of my new court here in this school!"

The reaction was much more awkward than Gabby had anticipated and the girl found herself edging slowly towards the wall. Her movement, as well as the uncomfortable moment, came to a stop soon after as the captain made his entrance.

She didn't really catch the first part of what Hitomu was saying. She was far too focused on the boxes that the captain had brought in. Stacks upon stacks of cards just out there in the open like that. She thought to her deck. The only cards she owned. Were these cards for their use?

But could she bring herself to use them? She might find something to help her deck in there. But then she would have to admit that she, the great princess of a rich country, had not been able to afford more than what she had. She couldn't let on to the fact that she had practically nothing. As tempting as the cards were. As much as it may help her efforts. She knew she wouldn't be able to put them in her deck.

It was a rather bitter pill to swallow. But this is what she decided. This is who she had chosen to be. She had to see it through.

The captain began to tell them his tales of glory and Gabby found herself somewhat in awe. He was so successful that he couldn't even keep track of all his victories? Was this what she was supposed to live up to? Did becoming a professional mean winning so much that it became second nature? Gabby thought back to the single tournament that she competed in. Sure, many of the matches seemed easy, but she would have lost that last match if not for....

" I’ll just go ahead and jump right into the mandatory Conduct review we have to do every year.”

"What?" Gabby said. Much louder than she had realized. Heads turned towards her and she hesitated. She hadn't meant to say that. But what did he mean by conduct? Her mind started to connect dots that, in all likelihood, shouldn't have any reason to be connected. Code of conduct. Cheating. Her getting into the school. Did they know? Was this all a trick?

No, stop, they're looking at you, don't freak out. If you panic they'll know for sure. "That is to say what could you possibly need to review? Is this club full of riffraff and scoundrels? I, for one, know my conduct is always top class. I would hope that none of you can say less than that. Otherwise what kind of club did I decide to grace with my membership?"

She could tell she was talking too fast from her nerves. Hopefully the outlandishness of her words would cover for that. It seemed to work for at least some of the members that were gathered around her.

Gabby clutched the paper that Melissa had given her, wishing that the girl was here instead, she could certainly use a friend right now.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

MM6dyYE.png?1

As both Jun and her captain had made their way to the team's meeting area, the girl saw that the one that she had tested had been waiting near building. As he came over to offer his assistance, Jun smiled saying, "Shiro! Well, if you're offering." Jun, despite clearly carrying less than her captain, passed off one of her boxes to her recruit, smiling and humming to herself as she now had a lighter load. Once inside, the the group had placed down their boxes and Jun had taken her spot next to Hitomu as he began the introductions to all of the members. As he motioned to her, Jun merely smiled and gave a few waves to everyone. As Hitomu opened the floor for questions, Jun looked towards Hiraku first. 

Forming an "X" with her sleeved arms, shaking her head. "No can do, Hiku. This is a part of every first day meeting and will continue to be so!" After all, if she had to sit through it for 2 years she certainly wasn't going to let her underclassman get away with less. She then turned to Gabriela saying, "and most are decent enough people," she shot a side glance to Hiraku for a moment before smiling and turning back to the "princess," "but a review is always necessary." Well, it's not like anyone was going to really tune into it during the review, so she hardly doubted that was the case. But as vice-captain Jun couldn't really tell them otherwise. "If you break it's a pretty big deal, so we just have to make sure that all of our members know what they're getting in for." As the girl thought about it some more, she thought to have a little fun with the freshman smiling brightly as she said, "and if you're from a different kingdom, you want to make sure that both codes of conduct are the same right?" 

Edited by Skaia

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

EGWCLdk.png

It had probably only been a few moments, or so she thought, but Elizabeth's hand remained frozen to the door handle. It had seemed as though the second Elizabeth touched the opening to the duel team's meeting place, some mystical spirit had rushed to her place and trapped her feet in cement shoes and shackled her wrist to the door. It was infuriating how conscious she was of her self imposed helplessness; how there would be moments, going on days, going on weeks, going on to a year and 354 days, 18 hours, and 16 minutes (but who's really counting), where her mind and body would be stricken with grief. She would ultimately be left at the mercy of that same grief until someone, anyone, came to break her free of that grief and buy Elizabeth more time until the next.

"Elizabeth." the voice of an angel perhaps? No, but it was a familiar voice. It wasn't quite as sheepish as the time they last met, but it came at what felt like an identical time as last time. Elizabeth was in what some would call "crisis mode" and Melissa was certainly no stranger to how that mode usually went. Then again, the last time Elizabeth was having a crisis, melissa decided to join her. That didn't sound quite as fortunate.

As soon as Melissa's voice touched Elizabeth's ears, it was as if she had been fully released from her shackles. Perhaps this would lead to a good enough excuse, a reason why Elizabeth could, yet again, skirt an attempt at healing and go back to her loneliness.

"Oh, Melissa! Didn't even see you there. That probably looked a bit awkward, what with me just hanging on the door. I promise I've a decent reason for it..." Elizabeth stood up straight, releasing the door and pressing out the wrinkles in her pants, "You see, I've been invited to the duel team meeting as somewhat of an advisor and well, I'm not really sure if I'm meant to be there just yet." She looked up; to some this would just be weather watching, or perhaps a bird had caught her eye, but there was a greater purpose in her stare, as if she were trying to communicate a question to nothing.

"I know we haven't known each other for long, but as someone devout of a certain faith I have to ask..." Elizabeth just continued to stare up into the sky, "Have you ever lost something irreplaceable?" She started to frown uncontrollably as the grief came back, "I mean, how are you ever supposed to know when it's okay?"

The words found their own way out of her. Elizabeth, truthfully, felt badly about always being in crisis mode when she ran into Melissa, "And before you answer any of that, if you even could... I really am rather sorry for being so strange around you. You have a certain timing for these things it would seem. I'm really quite a decent cook; I could at least offer you a meal for all this baggage."

What on earth was she even saying anymore? Lunch? That was her best apology for unloading on a stranger? Disappointment, it would seem, also found its own way out of Elizabeth.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Melissa’s brain was still firing out “call of the void” suggestions even as Elizabeth started moving again (“We really need to stop running into each other like this.” “Oop, let me just sneak right past you.”), so she didn’t quite comprehend everything that Elizabeth was saying. She heard the words, sure, and she got the basic gist, but the complete idea still eluded her. When Elizabeth said, “I’m not sure if I’m meant to be in there,” that was something Melissa could sympathize with, but that didn’t soothe her worry. If anything, it just made things worse.

But then, of course, came the question. “Have you ever lost something irreplaceable?” Elizabeth said. “I mean, how are you ever supposed to know when it’s okay?”


Surely she was allowed to think about it, right?


What was she supposed to say? Everyone was looking at her with this expectant look on their face like the answer was obvious, or worse, that she should think the answer was obvious, but they weren’t her, they didn’t think like her, and it’d be great if everyone would just stop staring at her and let her think about it in peace for even, like, five seconds.

But that was how it always went in Catechism class. Somebody would have an idea, some way to develop themselves and their classmates on a spiritual level; Nick and Katie, eager to foster such growth and big believers in the power of self-discovery, would support it; and everybody else, either out of an obligation to follow the crowd, true piety, or some combination of the two, would readily agree.

Melissa was in that third category, very much not wanting to cause a scene and also frequently interested in the activities the group did together. But that didn’t mean she didn’t want to think about it first.

The choice was always the same. Either she didn’t go and consequently felt guilty for not participating, or she took what could be a massive risk. Like, sure, she knew Nick and Katie and everybody else well enough. She could handle being around them, but other people? Hell was other people. And it could only become more and more hell the more other people there were.

For example, for their latest excursion, they’d all taken a tour of a nearby mosque/community center. Melissa had been apprehensive, but the only “other people” had been their tour guide and they had mostly spoken to the group as a whole. And she’d learned a lot! So yes, there occasionally was something to be said for charging into the unknown. This, though… This was different.


What was she going to do?


Seriously! What a question to drop on someone out of nowhere. Melissa just spent the first few moments taking it in. She hoped Elizabeth would afford her some time to think, at least for a little bit. She even said as much, though it came out more like “Hmm…” or “Uhm…”. But even that was borrowed time. If it was a deep question, it was also an important one, the kind that needed to be answered. There was no “I’ll have to get back to you on that” about it. Elizabeth was clearly looking for an answer and Melissa felt -- no, was -- obligated to give her something.

‘Something’ or ‘someone?’” Melissa said. She knew the answer already. Everyone knew the answer already. It was a desperate lob into Elizabeth’s court, a grab at more time to think. Even then, she felt she had to justify it. “A lot of somethings- A lot of somethings can be replaced. I know you, uh, said- asked, sorry. Um, I know you asked about irreplaceable things, and I’m sure there are, but most, uh, a lot of things- I think a lot of things can actually be replaced.

But you weren’t asking about things, were you?

“What do you do when you lose someone close to you?” That was what Elizabeth was asking. That was what


the question was


“We’re going to Mister Stevens’ funeral, right?”

It was Peter’s idea -- it seemed like it was always Peter’s idea, though that was probably only fuzzy hindsight. He was Melissa’s opposite: always outgoing, always eager. Even when he was being a bit more serious, saying things like, “I think it’d be good for us as students and servants of The Lord to experience the entirety of life’s mysteries,” he always had the slightest hint of a grin. And he was genuine about it, too. If it were anyone else, Melissa might have wondered what his motivations were, but Peter had already laid them out.

It was that earnestness that had brought her other two classmates on board as well, which in turn had inspired Nick and Katie, leaving Melissa as the only hold-out. It wasn’t like they hadn’t been invited. Not even an hour ago, at the beginning of mass among all the talk of Bible studies and the upcoming Vacation Bible School summer camp, Mrs. Gracie Stevens had invited the entire church to “celebrate the life of her husband, Howard, this coming Friday.”

If it had been a regular of the church, if it had been somebody that she knew, then Melissa wouldn’t have hesitated. But Howard Stevens, or “Old Man Stevens”, had been a Christmas and Easter sort of person who left after communion with barely a nod to anybody else as he marched down the aisle and out the door. His wife had a better attendance record but she frequently left early as well.

Melissa, of course, immediately jumped to the worst-case scenario. The Stevens clearly had very busy social lives and Gracie had only invited the church as a formality. There was the expectation of being asked, but not actually one of attendance. Those who did would be surrounded by several close friends and family members, each of whom would ask the same question: “How did you know him?”

We went to the same church,” she would reply.

They would frown. “I didn’t think he was really all that religious,” they would say.

And then what? The best she could come up with -- it wouldn’t work, but it was the best she could do -- was “It was only occasionally, he wasn’t


someone devout of faith


Elizabeth’s words rang in Melissa’s mind. There was an expectation there. She was supposed to be, if not spiritually wiser, at least slightly more experienced with the concept of loss and salvation. And to be fair, Melissa thought Elizabeth had every right to have that expectation. That was what happened when one of the key events in your religion was the death of a holy man.

Father Gregory would have had an answer by now. He probably got questions like this all the time. Melissa imagined him guiding the questioner, walking through the chapel and up to the altar, or maybe they’d just sit in the front-row pew, side by side. He would explain to them how he understood their struggle, how he never liked “God’s plan” as a response to a tragedy, but the alternative was consigning death into the unknown and unknowable. And he would do it with a quiet, solemn confidence that Melissa could never hope to match.

He and the querent would pray together afterwards, a prayer Father Gregory would end with a single beatitude:


Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
-Matthew 5:4 (NIV)


So went the lyrics of hymns playing in the background as the catechism class somberly entered the funeral home. Melissa was among them, of course. The social pressure that already was there beat out the potential, larger pressure that might not be.

It was a pretty small room. It was smaller than Melissa had been expecting, at the very least. Outside of a rather ornate urn, it was a pretty bland room as well. The walls were a soothing beige with only the occasional landscape photo providing any sort of highlight. Folding chairs -- the metal kind, the kind that probably everyone had seen at one point in their life -- had been set up, though, at the moment, only one person was sitting in any of them.

Gracie Stevens sat with hands folded together in the center front, slowly rocking back and forth. She wasn’t crying, Melissa noticed, nor were their lines on her cheeks indicating she had been recently, though there wasn’t really a non-sadness emotion she could attach to her expression.

“Are we early?” Peter said. They weren’t, but it was still a fair enough question, given how few other people there were. In fact, aside from the catechism group, Father Gregory, and Gracie Stevens herself, the room was devoid of people.

And in a moment of clarity, Melissa finally started to understand. The congregation hadn’t been the last people Gracie Stevens had invited, but the first and only ones. And the only ones who were going to show up already had.

The hymn faded out and everybody was silent. Melissa wondered if that was because everybody else had realized what she had or if they were waiting for somebody else to make the first move. Were they waiting for her? Surely they knew her well enough that-

Melissa took a step forward, then another. If she was guided by anything, it was sympathy, because what else did she have? She could feel the rest of her class’ eyes on her as she kept moving through the quiet, but for some reason, that didn’t seem to bother her at the moment. This -- whatever she was doing -- was more important.

She kept going until she sat right next to Mrs. Stevens, who turned a turned towards her and nodded with a polite, superficial grin. “Hello, young lady.” Mrs. Stevens said. “Thank you for coming.”

I’m sorry for your loss,” Melissa said.


I’m so sorry


Elizabeth. I really am.

Melissa almost didn’t realize how tremble-y her voice was. But she was finally speaking -- she finally had something -- and there was no backing down now. “Um, but that seems like something you’ve heard too many times already,” she said. “No, it’s not an answer, and I didn’t- I don’t expect it to be one. But your first question… I haven’t lost anyone, Elizabeth. Not like- not like you have.

I feel like, because of that, whatever advice- whatever help I can give you is going to feel hollow. All I have is what somebody else told me. I’m so afraid you’re not going to like it, but, um, it’s all I have:


“It’s always going to hurt.”


Father Gregory had stepped aside, allowing Mrs. Stevens to say a few words. Specifically, he had said, “And now, Gracie would like to say a few words of remembrance,” but her opening line made it clear that wasn’t exactly the case.

Gracie Stevens was standing almost straight, addressing the few attendees with an even voice. “It’s always going to hurt,” she said again. “If there’s anything I want you all to take away from this, it is that. I’ve lost daughters. A son. What friends Howard and I did have. It always hurts. It doesn’t get any easier, even if you think it might. Even if you know it’s going to happen. Especially if you know it’s going to happen. That actually makes it worse.

“Howard was, well, he wasn’t the most compassionate man, even I can admit that at times he could be too gruff for his own good. At best, he was liked, but never well-liked, if you can understand that. I admired him, though, well, for a lot of reasons, but most of all I loved how he was always, at the end of the day, worried about other people. If he yelled at somebody or complained, he was always looking out for their best interest.

“‘It’s always going to hurt.’ I remember he said that to me after my mother died.


Don’t let anybody tell you that it shouldn’t, that it’s been too long or anything like that. There’s a void there now, one that can’t be filled or ignored no matter how hard you try,


Melissa said. She closed her eyes, trying as best she could to remember it all.


But if you’re not careful, that hurt, that void, that’ll just swallow you up, too. What you’ve got to do is look at the parts of you that are left and do the best you can with them. It’s hard, oh sweet Mary is it hard. But the alternative, well…


Mrs. Stevens turned around and placed her hand on her husband’s urn. “I’m the last one,” she said. “I’ve put so much into this life, lost so much, sometimes I feel like just a tiny, tiny person. That’s all that hasn’t been taken away from me.”

She paused and took several long breaths. “I’m glad you’re all here,” she finally said.

“Goodbye, Howard. I’ll see you soon.”


...


I don’t know, Elizabeth,” Melissa said as she opened her eyes. “I can empathize. I can pretend I understand. I can even, maybe -- and this is a hard maybe -- talk about the theology- the metaphysics of it all. But that’s all I have. If that gives you anything, I’m glad. I really am.

What else was there? Lunch? Had Elizabeth offered a meal? It seemed like so long ago, Melissa almost wasn’t sure. She agreed with the other part, too. It would be nice to not have to worry about something like this every time she met somebody, if that were possible. It probably wasn’t, but it was nice to think about.

But she couldn’t talk about that now. Now, it was a foreign subject, so far removed that the offer might as well have been in another language. She’d remember it for later, maybe, but now? Right now, Melissa just hoped Elizabeth didn’t collapse on her.

Edited by radio414

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

 

So this is what they call déjà vu, huh?

It sucks. Elizabeth recognized that look of peril on Melissa's face. It was the look of "Well that question was way more than I bargained for when I said hello." Beth, unfairly so, found herself getting angry as Melissa stammered through a phrase that vaguely resembled "I'm sorry," and "Are we talking about something?" as if the answer wasn't apparent. But that wasn't causing the déjà vu; she'd seen the look of someone overwhelmed by her forward misery a thousand times. No, it was this exact moment in time, this exact conversation, frozen in her brain. Only difference now was the weather.

---

"Elizabeth, what are you saying? You're just going to quit dueling like that?? This team needs you!" He stopped, immediately putting his hand out, as if he was trying to catch the words and put them back in his mouth before they reached Beth's ears.

"Ah, what I meant was-"

"No. I know exactly what you meant. And it's not fair, Kyata. How am I supposed to go back in there? His funeral is on Sunday. You think I can focus on a f***ing meeting right now?" her hand gripped the handle of the gymnasium, her knuckles becoming a mixture of purple and white, both from the cold air and the tightness of her grip on the handle.

Snow was falling from the air, but that didn't phase either of the teenagers standing outside of the door. There was a brief silence between them as their heated exchange had taken a pause, both attempting to strategize for their next move. In a way, this was a dance they had done a million times. Things tend to get complicated between two people when you sleep together, and that's not even including that one of the people in this conversation captained the school's most successful duel team season to date, or the recent tragedy that befell the former heartthrob standing in front of Kyata.

"Beth, of course you should take some time... I think any of us would. But you're not like any of us." He motioned towards the gymnasium door, "Neither of you were. Even when we won you would go home and practice like you got FTK'd. You wanting that time off is why I'm worried about you."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" she released the door and took a step towards the captain, "He was my brother, Kyata. Is that not getting through to you? It's bad enough that you dragged me all the way out, but to a duel team meeting? Is staring at his spot supposed to make it hurt less, you goon? He was your friend too. What I can't figure out is how you're able to move so quick. "

Kyata winced; it hurt to see Elizabeth like this. The insults didn't much bother him, it was more the person it was coming from that surprised him.

"I dunno Beth," he scratched the back of his head, fuzzy hair from his buzzcut brushing through his fingers as he pondered his next move.

"Yea, of course he was my friend. I guess the way I see it, the best thing I could possibly do is continue to live my life, you know? I don't know, I think that's what he'd want us to do. The way I see it

It's always going to hurt."

Elizabeth snapped back into focus on the present, where Melissa continued to impart her thoughts to the best of her abilities. Elizabeth found herself somewhat emboldened by the new interaction. It was true that things were not entirely identical; Melissa was seemingly not destined for pro dueling, they hadn't been great friends for very long, and they certainly hadn't slept together, but those details hadnt mattered much now. The scene that had followed just under 2 years ago came back to her as a warning, and she was just now remembering the ending.

"Well that's awfully easy to say as the person that got out of the car, isn't it?" The world fell mute around them. Blood rushed to her cheeks and ears as what was once simply a heated conversation had come to a full boil, releasing words that could never be taken back.

Kyata simply blinked in bewilderment. He opened his mouth once or twice, doing what he could to contain himself, before continuing on:

"...you think it was my fault." He put his hand up to his mouth, stroking the bottom of his chin, perplexed, "I guess that's all there is to it, then." He walked by her, swinging open the door to her left, leaving her frozen near the right door.

"I'll see you Sunday for the funeral." He slammed the door shut, leaving a loud bang in his wake. Elizabeth tried to chase after him, grabbing the right door handle with the intention of opening it, but instead she just froze, as if something was holding her in place.

It was the last time they ever spoke.

 

"That'll just swallow you up, too."

Elizabeth nodded her head, "Yeah... yeah I know. I guess it's nice to hear it from other people sometimes." she leaned against the wall, exhausted by the situation as a whole.

"I really am sorry for dumping on you like this. It's not fair of me." she pointed to Melissa's cross, then Elizabeth's own chest, "My mother would be so proud of you for having the strength to listen anyway, though. I get the feeling you two were a lot alike as kids."

She stood up straight once again, " I know we've only met a few times, but... you've got your baggage too. It's written on your face, the way you looked at me when I opened to you both here and at the coffee shop. she pulled out her cellphone and shook her wrist to the left, then right.

"I want to repay the favors you've done me today... even if it's not a meal of some sort." she snickered a bit, "If you ever need anything... please. It's the least I could do. I'd love to repay you now somehow but..." Elizabeth looked into the windowpane of the door, into the gymnasium hallway, wherein a few brief memories flashed into her brain. She looked back,

"But I can't shake this feeling that I've got to go in there at least once before I leave this campus. It's going to hurt, looking at all the photos in there. But I should try."

She placed her hand on the right door handle once more, and this time found the strength to yank it open, pushing the door to the magnet on the side of the wall, holding it in place.

"Maybe you've got good timing after all." Elizabeth stepped inside, doing her best not to look back and run back to the safety of her apartment. Hell, highwater, or the pain of seeing the last place he stood would not let her let down her friends again. She was worried this may have been her last chance.

As she turned the corner of the hallway and into the room proper, she noticed that there was already some chatter. They had already started the rules and regulations talk, followed by some resistance by the group at large.

"Sorry for running a bit late, captain. Elizabeth set her notebooks and duel boxes down on a table behind the captaincy, "Been a while since I made the hike. Was longer than I thought."

Way longer. she thought to herself.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

6kzOarD.png

"Well, I'll be going now. Here's hoping I never see you again."

"Ah, wait, before you go." Raven fished into the pockets of his coat, and pulled out what looked like a special little box that could only hold a few cards. From it, he pulled out one card in particular, and held it out to Kyouko. "For your future duels, here's a prize in honor of your victory. May it serve you well."

Kyouko took the card and looked it over. Thestalos the Mega Monarch. Part of Kyouko felt like it was didn't really mesh with her deck, by which she meant most of her. But it was free stuff she'd apparently earned. And hopefully it would get him to leave her alone. "...sure." Maybe Jun could help her figure out what to do with this thing. But for now, she had places to be. Kyouko pulled out her phone, looked at the time, and...

Good morning everyone. This is Kazuraba Souji, and I want to welcome you three to the Entertainment Duel Club! Today, I want to not only get to know you all, but I want to get a gauge at everyone's Dueling styles.

We will be meeting in Room 24 in a few minutes. Don't be late!

She had some texts she hadn't noticed when they were sent out, for one. Ah. I've had it on silent this whole time. More importantly, she was late for the meeting! It wasn't like she particularly wanted to show up, but Kyouko had this hunch. One that if she joined only to do nothing afterward, she'd get pestered by Jun until something changed because this was a golden opportunity to make new friends or whatever. That sounded like more of a pain than going to a meeting once or twice a week or whatever. And so, Kyouko broke out into a sprint, darting toward the school building. She could see Room 24 from here, and the open window. It would probably be faster to just climb up there and go in through the window than go inside, around, up the stairs, back round, then through the door.

And so, that was precisely what Kyouko would do. She jumped up onto a windowsill on the first floor, then up to the awning over the front door, then went back for a bit of a running start. And then, in a near-miss jump, she leapt forward, grabbed the ledge, and pulled herself up and through the window of Room 24. It would have been a perfect entrance if not for the fact that on her way in, her hand slipped and she landed face-first on the room's floor with a distinct thud.

"Kyouko Izumi," she flatly introduced herself with, rolling over onto her back. "I'm late and I missed the introductions, but I'd probably forget everyone's names anyway." She glanced around the room. There was the club prez with the stupid hat, the guy that recruited her, that popular entertainment dueling girl, and... that other blue-haired girl. The one Kyouko joked about joining the swim team to pass off as her to. Is she stalking me too?

Edited by Yui

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

wryYvru.png

"Hmph, it's simple." he said, crossing his arms as he leaned back in his chair. "I'll start us off." and he was off. Sai couldn't believe how Souji was talking, it was like he wanted to give away all his secrets. Seeing as he knew Souji's style like the back of his hand, he just did his best to tune him out. Still, he let out a snort when Souji mentioned "...given that most people hate my guts and I hate theirs...most anyway..."

Finally though, it was time to move on.

"That said...now comes the hard part. I'm opening the floor to you to critique or suggest ways my style could be better. Once the suggestions are out of the way, Hoshiko will explain her style of Dueling."

"What a wonderful introduction!" Hoshiko said with a small giggle. "Critiques, huh..." She said, placing her hand on her chin. She had to think hard about this, as she didn't have any immediate criticisms. "...maybe your duels go by too fast? I can't really think of much, to be honest."

"You really need better opening moves than Nova Master and Divine Wind. Like, really, you have an unhealthy attachment to those two," Sai piped up. "You dress up as Divine Wind," He added, just to drive his point home. "Like, any long time fans you get will notice this. I know I have,"

Then it was Hoshiko's turn. Excitedly, she stood up, doing a small twirl and a flourish, as she turned to the two boys. "My name on stage is Rose, although you are free to call me by my real name - Hoshiko." She said with a bow. "It is a pleasure to be here with you two. My duel style is to set up an elegant dance between me and my opponents. The back and forth action between the two sets the rhythm for the performance." She reached into the box, pulling out a Shaddoll Fusion with some cards behind it. "Much like Shouji here, my deck revolves around Fusion Monsters. Instead of heroes, however..." With some swift hand motions, the cards fanned out, revealing the 6 El Shaddoll Fusions alongside the spell. "...I make marionettes that act as dancers!" She said proudly, before fanning the cards back together into one stack. "The more controlling part of my deck allows me to both set the tempo of the game..." She turned to Souji. "...or play reactionary to my opponent. Either way, no matter who leads the dance, I make sure it is a wonderful one." She put the cards away, pulling out one final one. "To tie into the whole duet theme I like to go, I also have the ability to occasionally use my opponent's monsters for my dancers." She said with a slight giggle, before putting the card away. "Together, me and my opponent, we make a beautiful dance."

Sai rubbed his chin as he mulled over the words presented to him. Her style was pretty genius, to be honest. Still, he had only seen one duel from her... he'd need to see a little more than that to get an accurate reading on what she could fix and the like. Then suddenly, there were four.

“Um, is this the entertainment dueling club?” That girl that was with the scary girl yesterday was here now. She slightly waved as she introduced herself. "I'm Akari Ito, by the way"

"This is the Entertainment Dueling Club, Akari." Souji nodded, clearing his throat slightly. "I'm Kazuraba Souji, this is Sai, and Hoshiko. You actually came in at the best time. I was having the club members here explain their Duel Styles and to get critiques on them. If you wish to join in, then grab a seat and tell us." Well, that was a good sign he supposed. A potential fourth member was always a good thing. Suddenly, Kyouko had entered in a spectacular fashion... only to botch the landing.

"Kyouko Izumi," she flatly introduced herself with, rolling over onto her back. "I'm late and I missed the introductions, but I'd probably forget everyone's names anyway."

"Is that right?" Sai asked, a slight sarcastic tone in his voice as he gave Souji a look. After all, how could they trust a club member to show up if she had no intention of even trying to remember their names? Well, better try to reel the new girl in. "So, Akari, was it?" He asked, turning to the new girl. "As Souji said, we're definitely accepting, but I have to add, do you have a persona?" He motioned to himself and the others. "I play the role of a mystical magician, Souji is a superhero, and Hoshiko is an idol. If you don't have one, we can definitely help both you and Kyouko out, I'll just need---," He reached into his cloak to pull out his handy dandy notebook, only to realize something important...

It wasn't there.

He began to frantically feel around his pockets, before digging into his bag, all the while cursing under his breath. The one time he needed it most and he lost it?! "Okay, sorry to bail, but it seems my notebook is missing, and that thing is full of basically... everything," Costume designs, persona ideas, deck building, that notebook had it all. "I'll hopefully be back before the meeting ends," He said as he stood up and rushed out the door. He needed to find that notebook before it fell into the wrong hands!

Edited by Saikazo May Cry

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The awkward silence that had filled the room was to be expected. Akari had just interrupted them, unannounced, while they were in the middle of whatever they were talking about. At the moment, nobody had really said anyhting, that was until the fedora wearing guy moved his chair slightly over to the robed person, who she could see was the orange-haired kid, and whispered something to him before turning his attention back to Akari.

"This is the Entertainment Dueling Club, Akari." In a weird way, the fedora boy kinda gave off the vibe of businessman, with the way he stood up straight and cleared his throat before continuing. "I'm Kazuraba Souji, this is Sai, and Hoshiko. You actually came in at the best time. I was having the club members here explain their Duel Styles and to get critiques on them. If you wish to join in, then grab a seat and tell us."

Well he seemed nice enough, if not a tad insistive. But considering that this was a new club and all, his insistence was understandable.

Anyways, so they were talking about their Duel Styles, huh? Well her’s was rather simple. Make a wall of monsters, spells, and traps to protect herself until she could get her ace monsters out. In reality, it wasn’t very creative, but it helped her think and assess the situation a lot easier than other strategies. So it wasn’t really the most interesting thing to explain. On top of that, she’d feel rude explaining her own dueling style when Hoshiko had been explaining her’s right before she walked. But before she could get the words out to express this, her eyes locked on some movement at the window as without warning, Kyouko proceeded to climb in. Certainly a weird sight to see, but that wasn’t what had Akari frozen in thought. It was the fact this was the second-story! How did she-

It was then a rather loud thud echoed through the room as Kyouko’s seemingly effortless climb in ended with a not-so-nice faceplant with the floor. Akari probably would have gone to check to see if she was okay if she wasn't still shocked by the fact that Kyouko had CLIMBED IN THROUGH A SECOND STORY WINDOW!! How did she even get up to the window?

"Kyouko Izumi," the beast flatly stated as it flipped itself over on it’s back, "I'm late and I missed the introductions, but I'd probably forget everyone's names anyway."  Running late would kinda explain the climbing through the window. . .if this was the first floor.

"Is that right?" The orange haired kid, who Akari now knew was named Sai, said to Kyouko before turning his attention to her. "So, Akari, was it?"

“Y-yes, that’s right,” she confirmed, just now getting out of her shock.

"As Souji said, we're definitely accepting, but I have to add, do you have a persona?"

Persona?

"I play the role of a mystical magician, Souji is a superhero, and Hoshiko is an idol,”

Akari mentally facepalmed. How could she could she forget that entertainment duelists had persona’s? Her brother literally wore shining knight armor and called himself the White Knight of Ambrosia whenever he dueled.

“If you don't have one, we can definitely help both you and Kyouko out,” That would help a lot, as she didn’t know where to begin when it came to that. “I'll just need---," Sai reached into his robes for something, but a quick change in his face was enough to tell Akari that whatever he was searching for wasn’t there. He then began mumbling to himself as he quickly patted his pockets down before looking in a nearby bag. "Okay, sorry to bail, but it seems my notebook is missing, and that thing is full of basically... everything," he stated as his search deemed fruitless."I'll hopefully be back before the meeting ends," And with that he headed out the door, robes and all.

With all that had happened in the past minute, Akari honestly didn’t know where to start, but decided to go with what Sai had asked her before his speedy exit.

“Well um, I don’t really have a persona or anything,” she said, turning to look at Souji with a shy smile on her face, “I’m kinda new to this entertainment dueling thing.”

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

“Yeah... yeah, I know. I guess it’s nice just to hear it from other people sometimes,” Elizabeth said.

But what did she mean by that? Melissa wasn’t sure. Was this a sort of “I’ve heard that before” sort of comment, like a “thanks but no thanks?” That wasn’t unlikely. After all, Melissa had only parroted something she had heard before and stumbled around the rest, so Elizabeth certainly could have heard it before. But Elizabeth kept going.

“My mother would be so proud of you.”

What did she mean by that?

“You’ve got your baggage too.”

Now hold on -

She almost said it out loud, a sudden outburst that Melissa liked to think seldom happened, though this was the second time in as many conversations with Elizabeth. What was it about her that lowered Melissa’s mental blocks? Like, it was something that probably was fine by itself but, well, the question still remained.

Was it how pointed she was? Each question, no, each statement, each word always seemed to be driving at something, even if neither of them realized it at the time what it was or even that she was doing it. Or maybe it was just Melissa getting used to a new person, though she didn’t have any trouble like that with Gabriela, did she? Or Jun or Yusuji or…?

“Maybe you’ve got good timing after all.”

Elizabeth, wait, what did -

All the other things Elizabeth said, the offer to pay her back (again), the almost-determined statement to face her pain, those things did matter -- Melissa wasn’t about to say that they didn’t -- but it was that final statement that finally prompted Melissa to actually say something. So of course it was also right when Elizabeth crossed the threshold, then around the corner, out of sight.

The irony was not lost on Melissa.

She would have spent more time reflecting, maybe on how easy it would have been to say something sooner, maybe she would have wondered if she’d actually said the right thing at all (it was all she had!), but instead her focus was pulled by a buzzing coming from her pocket. She’d forgotten to silence the group chat.

Two penguin soldiers walk into a bar then one flips out and they both go home

It was a step up from insults, at the very least, but still, just… why? Like, she expected some amount of off-topic discussion in the group chat -- she could barely hold a conversation with one person, let alone ten -- but the ratio of on-topic comments to off was literally zero. That was to say, as soon as it had been created it had devolved into complaining about school and easy jokes.

How could that not be at least a little disheartening? Melissa was already in a down mood after her surprise weighty conversation, but it was a little difficult watching one of the few places she could express herself (if only a little) disappear into, well… this:

just gonna rush recklessly into puns huh

Melissa started wandering again, even cutting through the patches of green between paths on campus in an effort to get to nowhere in particular even faster. She couldn’t enjoy herself that much, though. Even after silencing her phone and putting the Community Service Club as far away from her mind as possible, that only invited Elizabeth’s last remarks back in.

“You’ve got your baggage too.”

Like, maybe, sure, but did she really have to say it like that? At best, Elizabeth had compared her own trauma to what, a little anxiety? At worst, it was a flippant remark designed to hurt and their relationship wasn’t as developing as Melissa had perceived it.

The “At worst”, or close to it, seemed more likely, if Melissa was being honest with herself. Elizabeth was an upperclassman, after all, while Melissa was a lowly sophomore. Melissa providing a distraction from whatever ailed Elizabeth at the moment was just that: a distraction It wasn’t like Melissa was the best judge of relationships, anyway, so who knew how far off the mark she really was?

No! She had to be better than that. There had to be some sort of mutual trust there, there just had to be! People didn’t ask people questions like that without at least being acquaintances first, and not the kind of acquaintanceship that would break if a question like that had been asked. Or her outburst a week ago at CoffeeCards. That, too, could easily have soured first impressions to the point of no return. But it didn’t, and neither did this. Neither would this.

But what if…

Forcing herself not to think about it was difficult because what else was there to think about? Or do besides continue doing what she was doing, which was wandering and having self-destructive thoughts? She could look around and explore campus, but what was there to look at besides- oh hello, what was this?

Lying on a park bench just off the path was a small red notebook. It wasn’t an unusual place for a notebook to be, all things considered, though it was unusual for there to not be a human with it. And when Melissa looked around, she didn’t see anyone who was looking for it or coming back or anything to that extent. It was just a curious little notebook.


“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?”
-Luke 15:8 (NIV)

Melissa held the notebook in her hands and took a closer look. It had certainly seen better days; the cover was a little scratched and a lot worn, there was a little water damage on the fringes, and the binding was falling apart. That was a good thing, though. That meant it was well-loved, that it had an owner that was looking for it.

She went to flip through it, looking for a name, and found one right on the inside of the front cover. “PLEASE RETURN TO SAI KAMEZOOKA” was written right there in, well, it was legible scrawl, at least. Melissa tried not to read more, but on the opposite side, there was a drawing of a ninja. Oh, was that supposed to be based on a card?

Melissa didn’t know any Sai Kamezookas (or was it Sais Kamezooka?), but she was pretty sure they didn’t want her flipping through what could be deeply personal to them. But at the same time, what was she supposed to do with it? They could be back at any minute looking for it, and if she wandered off, even to a lost-and-found of some kind, who was to say when they might get it back?

No, the best plan was waiting around. If Sai Kamezooka didn’t show themselves by the end of the day, then she’d figure out what to do with their notebook. Until then, she sat down next to it and tried wait and watch the world go by.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

mqYjeXr.png

“Sorry about the wait. First thing’s first, we’ll probably have an old friend dropping by here at some point during this, so don’t freak out if someone you guys don’t recognize comes in. With that out of the way… How we all doing today? Excited to get back to the best part of school?”

The best part of school? Well, hopefully Hitomu was right about that.

“Okay, okay, I’ll get to the point. For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Hitomu Amaya, Captain of this merry band of misfits. Anyone who was on the team with me last year though knows I use the term ‘Captain’ very loosely. Usually you’ll see and hear more from my vice-captain, Hattie, way more than me.” Hitomu nodded towards Jun. “She’s great by the way. If you every need any help she’ll be your best bet.” Yushiro grinned, remembering the duel he had against Jun during tryouts. She was an interesting girl, that much was certain, but he was happy he'd gotten to play against her. With everything he'd been thinking about lately, Yushiro had almost forgotten that he played duel monsters for fun, and she had reminded him of that.

“What else… I’ve been a member of BY’s Duel Team since my freshman year, when I was fifteen. I was a part of all three of the Relay Teams that won regionals the last few years, and then a bunch of individual tournaments that I can’t remember. I think I mostly recently competed in the Talent Cup that Industrial Illusions hosted for high school students. I’m not really sure, but if you’re curious, you can just look the records up on one of the holo tables over there. I think that just about covers it though. Any questions any of you want to ask me? If not, I’ll just go ahead and jump right into the mandatory Conduct review we have to do every year.”

"Yeah, can we just skip right to the conduct review and get it over with?"

Oh. Right. He was here too. The albatross across Yushiro's neck, who coincidentally only came up about to about that height on him. Their duel was this weekend, and the thought of having to contend with Hiraku's deck and his skill at using it wasn't something Yushiro relished.

"What? That is to say what could you possibly need to review? Is this club full of riffraff and scoundrels? I, for one, know my conduct is always top class. I would hope that none of you can say less than that. Otherwise what kind of club did I decide to grace with my membership?"

This girl again. She was a strange one alright. Kinda cute, but really weird.

"No can do, Hiku. This is a part of every first day meeting and will continue to be so!" Jun replied, then turned toward Gabby. "and most are decent enough people, but a review is always necessary. If you break it's a pretty big deal, so we just have to make sure that all of our members know what they're getting in for, and if you're from a different kingdom, you want to make sure that both codes of conduct are the same right?" 

Before anyone could respond to Jun though, the door opened, and in walked Liz. She looked really good, too, though Yushiro quickly banished the thought; he was here to focus on dueling.

Sorry for running a bit late, captain. Elizabeth set her notebooks and duel boxes down on a table behind the captaincy, "Been a while since I made the hike. Was longer than I thought."

Yushiro gave her a wave, then turned back to listen to whatever else the captains had to say.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

wryYvru.png

This was not good. No matter where he looked, he couldn't find his notebook. The classrooms were a bust, his dorm was the same (unless he somehow missed it as he turned the whole place inside out), and even the lost and found turned up nothing.

He didn't even know where else he could look. All he could do was completely retrace his steps. The cafeteria was empty... the bathroom was as well. There was only one other place left.

With a sigh, he headed back to the bench in the park he was in earlier today. If it wasn't there, well, he just wasn't sure what he was going to do. He could get a new notebook sure, but he couldn't replace the hours of work he put into the book itself. He had a lot of ideas he just didn't want to remake from the ground up... Still, he just had to be optimistic. It had to be there now, right?

Then when he approached the bench he sat at, he saw a girl sitting there. Well, that didn't seem good. And to make things worse, he actually recognized her. It was that girl Melissa, from the duel Souji had. He kept her in the back of his mind ever since they met, thinking that maybe trying to make her an entertainment duelist would help her, like it... kinda helped him. Still, that wasn't what was important right now. He mentally prepared himself, keeping a calm look as he walked up. He was in costume after all, and needed to keep in character.

"Excuse me, but have you seen a notebook around here?" He asked. He only hoped that the answer was a yes.

Edited by Saikazo May Cry

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.
-Romans 5:3-4 (NIV)


She tried. She really tried. But even with the knowledge that she had one-hundred-percent for sure set her phone on silent, Melissa still felt the occasional buzz emanating from her pocket, and try as she might, she couldn’t help but check. She was disappointed every time.

Watching the world go by was no easier. The “take it as it comes” attitude could only get her so far. She kept alternating between hoping that she didn’t have to talk to another person -- she was in that sort of mood right now, even more so than normal -- and not wanting the notebook to be further lost in the bureaucracy of the lost-and-found system. Which one would even be best? The library’s, surely, right? Keeping things organized was basically a librarian’s job, so surely it wouldn’t become more lost. But what if Sai Kamezooka didn’t use the library, or never thought to check there? No, she’d have to put more effort into it than that, like going dorm to dorm and inquiring about their residents. And it wasn’t like Melissa didn’t trust anyone who was working at the front desk, but it probably only took a few shift changes before everyone involved forgot about it, meaning even if someone she spoke to later saw Sai Kamezooka, the notebook would still be lost in the shuffle.

A slight breeze, rustling leaves, and chirping birds had nothing on her internal back-and-forth.

Melissa picked the notebook back up and stared at it. She pondered again whether she was allowed to go through it in more detail, combing through for any more clues that might return it to its owner. And again, she couldn’t. Or wouldn’t. Or… whatever. Melissa was in possession of the notebook, but that didn’t mean that it, nor its contents, were hers to peruse.

No, she just had to wait. Sai Kamezooka probably wasn’t going to show up, but she had to wait it out anyway.

“Excuse me, but have you seen a notebook around here?”

And Elizabeth told her she had good timing. That was a laugh.

There was something familiar about the boy now standing in front of her. There had to be. Not too many people went around in costume, especially in late summer/early fall. Yes, Melissa included herself in that dwindling number; her nun outfit, important as it was to her, was still a costume. But the other people?

There was only one person she could think of, and even then she wasn’t sure. She didn’t really think of the Masked Magician, that odd stranger who joined her group way back on the first day of classes. She didn’t even know his name. Though if he was asking…

Melissa held the notebook out in front of her. “I found this right here but I didn’t know what to do it,” she said. “It says it belongs to someone named ‘Sai Kamezooka’. Is that you? I promise I just looked at the inside cover, nothing else.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

wryYvru.png

 

“I found this right here but I didn’t know what to do it,” Melissa said. “It says it belongs to someone named ‘Sai Kamezooka’. Is that you? I promise I just looked at the inside cover, nothing else.”

Oh, ouch. Sai had to admit, having his secret identity revealed just like that was both anticlimactic and a blow to his own pride. He managed to go a long time without people finding out. Oh well, he should be more thankful about her finding his notebook. “Y-yeah, that’s mine… thanks for finding it,” He said as he held his hand out for it, a bit unsure if he was supposed to grab it or if she would hand it to him.

Melissa did the latter, getting up from her spot on the bench and walking it over to Sai. There was a long pause afterwards, like she wasn’t entirely sure what to do next, but she eventually said, “You weren’t- you weren’t missing anything else, were you? I’m not doing anything right now if you needed help looking.”

Well, that was nice of her for offering, but sadly, no, he wasn’t really missing anything else, at least nothing that he knew of. “Um… no, a-as far as I can tell, I have everything I need,” He answered. “Besides, I really should really be like… thanking you instead of bothering you more, you know…?” He paused, thinking to himself. He didn’t really have much in ways of thanking her, honestly… unless… “You… you wouldn’t just so happen to be looking for a club to join, would you?” At the very least, he could help her join a club if she didn’t, right? Right...

Initial impressions were poor. Melissa didn’t jump for joy or smile with a twinkle in her eye or anything like that. Instead, she looked down at her shoes- no, that was her pocket and kind of just… stared at it. “Sorry,” Melissa said. “I’m, um, I’m not great at meeting new people. Especially a lot of people all at once. Um, actually the one club I am in just got five or six new members so that’s not been going great.

She looked back up at Sai. “I guess the answer is, I don’t know, maybe?” she said. “I mean, I guess I’m trying, I’m trying to be social. It’s just hard, you know?”

“O-oh yeah, I know that feeling way too well. Too many people gets overwhelming..., your voice gets lost in the crowd, and it’s just… it’s awful…,” Sai found it strange that he was the one being the social one here, that never happened. Maybe Entertainment Dueling was helping a lot more than he first thought. “W-well… actually, you know… the E-Entertainment Dueling Club just opened and well, it’s looking for members and… well… entertainment dueling helps me with… ya know… that problem with crowds and being social with people…,” Was he really trying to pitch this to someone else? “Like… it doesn’t solve problems immediately… b-but, if you want some help with your confidence… w-well, it’s helped me… I’m actually talking to you… probably couldn’t do that a-about six months ago…,”

God, he sounded dumb right now.

“You want me to what,” Melissa said. It sounded more like a statement than a question. But it wasn’t deadpan like that phrase normally implied, no, Melissa’s eyes had widened with just about every word Sai had said. “The size of dinner plates” was an overused expression, but it was certainly fitting here. And if it had been a question, it had been a rhetorical one. Melissa was still talking. “I don’t- I mean, I have what, uh, some people would call a costume already -- you’ve seen it, I think. It’s that, uh, It’s that nun habit and… and some other stuff -- um, the point is, I don’t think that really helps. For me, at least. I’m glad it’s helped you.

“I don’t know what I would do with myself anyway. Like, I just want to help people. That’s all I want. The club I’m right now, um, that’s what that one’s about, or-” Melissa’s tone swiftly changed from frightened to bitter. “-I guess was about now.”

“I-I… well…,” Sai paused to think about this. He didn’t have to push this. Even if Kyouko dropped, they seemed to have perhaps found a fourth member already. Still… he didn’t want to leave her with her own problems -- which she seemed to have with her own club -- especially since she helped him in such a big way. “W-well, there’s more to entertainment dueling then just a costume, you know? It’s also… well, a lot of things, synergy between yourself and your deck, b-but, anyways, what I think is more important is that maybe…,” Well, here went everything. “Well, i-if you have issues you wanna talk about, or just want to help people, entertainment dueling is a good way to go about it… as you do better and get more fans, you get a wider audience to raise awareness with, you know what I mean? You can even weave your message into the way you play. Your style can reflect your beliefs, you know?”

Melissa frowned. Either she was lost in thought or she was trying to find a way to let Sai down gently, he couldn’t tell. And he didn’t find out for what felt like forever, though it was probably only like thirty seconds. Eventually, though, Melissa said, “I guess I can- I could probably attend one meeting. Were you headed there now? Is that why you’re in costume?”

“Well… it’s more like I was in a meeting before realizing my notebook was missing… we… well, it might still be going on if you want to come now… or you can just… you know… just wait for the next meeting.”

“Like I said,” Melissa said, “I’m not doing anything right now. I could just tag along if that’s okay.”

“Yeah, that’s fine,” He said with a smile, tucking his notebook into his cloak. “Well, then, allow me to show you the way!” He said cheerfully as he began to head off back to Room 24.

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

9Ur8wBU.png

 

“Um, is this the entertainment dueling club?” She slightly waved as she introduced herself. "I'm Akari Ito, by the way" A new member! Hoshiko excitedly waved at the girl as Souji let her know that she was in the right place. It was then that another girl came into the room - not through the door, but through the window! It was honestly impressive that she had managed to come in through there, considering how high up they were. Rose gave Kyouko a small round of applause as she stuck the landing.

"You must be Kyouko then!" Hoshiko said, offering the girl a hand, both as a handshake and to help her get off of the ground. "My name is Hoshiko. Don't worry if you forget my name - I won't forget yours~!" She said, giving the girl a wink. As Sai went out of the room, Rose turned to Akari. "It's ok, that's what this place is for, right?" She said, making her way towards the blue haired girl once Kyouko was taken care of. "What type of deck do you use? Your persona doesn't have to relate, but it's a good place to start and-" She stopped herself, realizing something. This would be a perfect time to try and get Melissa to socialize more - there weren't that many people here, and Hoshiko would be there to help her friend out if she got herself in an awkward pickle. "Hold that thought, I just thought of someone to invite over." She said, turning away from the group and pulling out her phone.

From: Me! ♥
To: Meli ♥
heyyyyy melissa!! i wanna ask you something in person. meet me at room 24 wehn you got time, kk?? (´-ω・`) ♥

Without thinking much of it, she sent the message, turning to the group eagerily waiting for her roommate's response. She could only hope Melissa would get here soon.

Edited by REP

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

“Remember this, keep it in mind, take it to heart, you rebels. Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.”
-Isaiah 46:8-9 (NIV)


So! To recap the events of the day so far, because wow had it been a busy one, Melissa had:

One: Nearly crashed right into Gabriela who, miraculously, had not particularly minded and, in fact, was welcoming of both the attention and the escort as they proceeded to wander about Blue Yonder’s campus in search of the rest of the duel team, something they likely wouldn’t have found (or, at least, found in time) without also coming across Hiraku who defied Melissa’s expectations by not shooing them off like a waste of time but actually helping.

Two: Only moments after she left Gabriela and Hiraku at the duel team meet, Melissa came across Elizabeth who, seemingly out of nowhere, presented Melissa with a question she’d likely been pondering for some time (otherwise, why would she ask it when she did?) and, in addition to the anxiety, also gave Melissa a, what was it called, a Madeline moment? It was something French, Melissa knew that much.

Three: While trying to take a break from, well, from other people, Melissa had found Sai Kamezooka’s notebook and, while in the process of returning it, she’d somehow gotten herself roped into attending a club meeting for the one occupation she’d pretty much definitely crossed off the list.

Well, the word “somehow” was a little extraneous there. She knew. She could still remember what was going through her head as Sai pitched it to her. It was a mix, a whole cocktail of emotions, ranging from elation at finally finding an outlet that could be made specific to her, to terror for, well, the obvious reasons, to, secretly -- and she’d never admit it to anyone -- a little bit of spite aimed directly at the five, maybe six Community Service Club members whose names she barely even remembered.

It was a terrible feeling, actually, and she hated herself for it (like, actively hated and not the normal passive self-loathing), but the good bits in there kept her going as she followed right behind Sai and his hooded cloak. Occasionally she’d get too close, step on it, and have to utter a string of apologies, but she still kept going.

They didn’t talk much on the way to… to wherever Sai was taking her. Melissa certainly wasn’t going to start any conversations and she got the impression from the conversation they did have that Sai wasn’t about to either. She tried to remember their first encounter, way back during Rose and the Kamen Rider’s duel. Was he the same then? Surely not, right?

Maybe there was hope for her after all.


Melissa felt another phantom buzz right around the time Sai and she entered the building. “You muted your phone,” she mumbled to herself. “Don’t you dare check.” So she didn’t. She stole a glance or two down at her pocket, but her phone stayed in it. 

Well…

Putting her phone -- her entire phone -- on silent had been a knee-jerk reaction to a problem that now had the possibility of solving itself. And it wasn’t like she’d wanted to isolate herself entirely from the world (this time, at least), just put some distance between her and other club members and being absolutely sure that she was doing it. Other people- She was fine texting other people, she just didn’t want to be disheartened opening a group chat and seeing a lot of messages with, well, not a lot of content.

As Sai and Melissa went up the stairs to the second floor, Melissa set her phone back on vibrate and made extra extra sure any group messages were muted. That was it. That was all she had to do. She nearly threw her phone down the stairs (in shock? In frustration?) when it buzzed before she put it back in her pocket, but it turned out just to be a message from Hoshiko.

From: Hoshiko
To: Melissa
heyyyyy melissa!! i wanna ask you something in person. meet me at room 24 wehn you got time, kk?? (´-ω・`) ♥

Room twenty-four of where?” Melissa said. She didn’t type anything back just yet; she didn’t want to get too distracted and step on Sai’s cloak again, especially not on the stairs. But right there just outside the stairwell was her answer. Sai went through the door first, and when it swung back closed the number on it was plain to see: 24.

There was no turning back now. Melissa took a deep breath and pushed through the threshold after Sai.

Hi,” she said. “Um, what did you want to ask me?

Edited by radio414

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

6kzOarD.png

"You must be Kyouko then! My name is Hoshiko. Don't worry if you forget my name - I won't forget yours~!"

This girl was sickeningly peppy. Kyouko - without taking the hand - got back up to her feet, brushing herself off as she glanced around at the other members of this bumbling little club she'd stumbled her way into. Among them were the hat guy Kyouko had happened upon before, the boy who recruited her, this peppy girl, and the other blue-haired girl. Looking at her again, she was quite a bit shorter than Kyouko. Maybe trying to pass herself off as Kyouko wouldn't have worked after all.

"As Souji said, we're definitely accepting, but I have to add, do you have a persona?"

A what? Like those guys with the red suits, the goofy masks, and the wings?

"I play the role of a mystical magician, Souji is a superhero, and Hoshiko is an idol. If you don't have one, we can definitely help both you and Kyouko out, I'll just need-... Okay, sorry to bail, but it seems my notebook is missing, and that thing is full of basically... everything. I'll hopefully be back before the meeting ends."

Oh. Like that. It seemed that the magician had lost his notebook though. He left, and Ms. Peppy Idol took to bombaring Kyouko's not-quite-double with advice and questions about setting up a persona of her own. Although the questions weren't directed at her, they did prompt Kyouko to give her own deck a more thorough look. However, it wasn't long before the boy came back. With another girl in tow, even! Some tiny girl Kyouko was pretty sure she recognized from somewhere, but the exact place she couldn't quite put a finger on. As Kyouko started looking around in her deck again - having to stop each time she passed the Thestalos she'd been given just earlier because it was weird that it was just sort of there - she tried thinking of persona ideas.

...

...

Isn't she that girl that's really popular for some reason?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

f8OzT6y.jpg?1

iU8EggM.png

"Kyouko Izumi, I'm late and I missed the introductions, but I'd probably forget everyone's names anyway."

A smirk appeared on Souji's face, the moment Kyouko entered the room, though failing on the landing. He turned towards Sai and chuckled, before mouthing, "And you said she wouldn't show up." He turned towards Kyouko and nodded firmly. "Glad to see you make it. Entrance was phenomenal, if the landing was a bit to be desired."

"As Souji said, we're definitely accepting, but I have to add, do you have a persona? I play the role of a mystical magician, Souji is a superhero, and Hoshiko is an idol. If you don't have one, we can definitely help both you and Kyouko out, I'll just need-... Okay, sorry to bail, but it seems my notebook is missing, and that thing is full of basically... everything. I'll hopefully be back before the meeting ends."

Souji watched as Sai ended up running out of the room, which caused the young man to sigh greatly. "Sai Kamezooka, ladies and gentlemen...Master of Forgetfulness..." he shrugged, before turning to address Akari, but Hoshiko was already on the ball.

"It's ok, that's what this place is for, right? What type of deck do you use? Your persona doesn't have to relate, but it's a good place to start and-"

"Hoshiko is on the money with that." Souji continued, as Hoshiko seemed busy and/or preoccupied with something. "For us Entertainment Duelists, I believe that having some sort of persona...or...let's use a different phrase...choosing the mask you wear, is something that many people will definitely remember. If you take the guise of a hero, as myself, you want to portray yourself in the manner...being heroic and courageous. If you take the guise of an idol, such as Hoshiko, then you do what you can to dazzle the audience with a lovely performance. In short, it all depends on how YOU yourself feel you want to entertain the masses. You get what I mean?"

Hi...Um, what did you want to ask me?

Once more the door to the club room opened and he saw not only Sai back...but a familiar girl. It was the girl he was sitting beside during Hitomu's Duel: Melissa. "You? Huh...didn't take you for a...well, color me surprised yet again, Sorcerer Supreme. You've brought in another candidate for the Entertainment Dueling Club." Souji began to chuckle, before looking sharply at Sai and his eyes narrowing...remembering that there was something he brought up that Souji HAD to address.

"You really need better opening moves than Nova Master and Divine Wind. Like, really, you have an unhealthy attachment to those two. You dress up as Divine Wind. Like, any long time fans you get will notice this. I know I have."

"Also...I didn't get a chance to address this...but..." Souji stood up quickly. "You said I 'dress up as Divine Wind'. I'll have you know, that my outfit is NOT Divine Wind." He took out a small notepad from his back pocket, flipping it open and holding it up towards Sai. "IF you were versed in the lore of the Masked HERO Duel Monsters, you'd recognize that the outfit of the Kamen Rider is based on a monster that hasn't even been released: Masked HERO Gust! Hmph..."

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hitomu was used to groans when it was time to review their book of conduct. No one actually needed the refresher. Still, the school required it be done every year for what he could only assume was legal reasons, so he had no choice in the matter. “It’s just like Hattie said. I’m pretty sure me and the rest of the seniors here have this little book memorized,” he said, patting the cover, “but in the heat of the moment even we could make a mistake. Yearly reviews help prevent that, or so the school tells me, so grab yourself a copy and get comfortable. We’re going to be here awhile.” 

And so they were. After an hour of discussing rules and regulations, Hitomu started just summarizing what the chapters said to everyone, and it still took another thirty minutes to reach the end of the book. “... and most importantly, have fun duelists!” he finally finished, snapping his book closed. “Whoooo. Looks like we made it team. Don’t worry, it gets better from here on out.” 

Hitomu tossed his copy of the handbook back onto the table (he had three more at home) and stood up to stretch. “Hattie, do you mind passing around the clipboard to get everyone’s signatures?” He gestured at a box on the coffee table. “Should be in there. All it’s saying is that you’ve all read and agreed to follow all of the rules laid out in the book, that way the school can hold you accountable.”

Jun flashed a thumbs-up, though it was covered by her sleeves, then set about her task.

“Thanks Hattie,” Hitomu said. “While she’s doing that… I said a friend was gonna show up to this meeting, so I should explain that before I forget.” He looked pointedly at Elizabeth. “Wanna introduce yourself to all the folks who don’t remember you?”

Elizabeth had been semi-attentive during the presentation; she'd sat through it enough times to know when she had to focus again, and she did, although no amount of attention truly could have prepared her for the curveballs sent her way in introducing herself. Elizabeth had imagined it was implied that she was there in an advisory role somewhere along lines, before or after a few panic attacks on the way here. Nevertheless, Elizabeth stood from her chair and did a half bow towards the group of duelists, trying her best to be graceful and collected. Truth be told, she didn't do very much public speaking anymore; she hardly volunteered for class and she wasn't in any clubs, but Beth remembered enough of the usual shtick:

"Evening, everyone. If we've not yet met, my name is Elizabeth Hall, I often do a good bit of tutoring down at the shop, but I also used to play anchor for this team during Hitomu and I's first two championships. I, uhm.." she paused for a brief second; it hadn't really occurred to her that she would have to explain why a duelist that won two consecutive championships as a part of an illustrious academy's premiere program would have left the team, yet here she was. After a brief, but not awkward, pause, she continued, "I don't really do as much dueling as I used to, it's more exciting for me to teach others the strategy these days. I used to play Harpies quite a lot, though. Now I play Lunalights as a change of pace, and so that I can learn more about aggressive playstyles." A lie, but a logical and convincing one, at least. She took a step back towards her chair, "I look forward to working with the lot of you, whenever Hitomu or Jun here decide that I am of service to the team." She nodded, and sat back in her chair.

“Which is the reason I invited her here. You can look around and probably see we’ve got more new faces than we do old ones,” Hitomu told the team, “meaning we’re gonna need all the help we can get whipping you guys into shape before the big duel next week. Not to mention…” he rubbed the back of his neck while he laughed. “I'm pretty good at dueling, but I’m a terrible teacher. To tell you the truth, I really don’t have a clue why I’m the captain of this team. I’m humble enough to admit that and seek help where I fall short, though, so… yeah. Hopefully with Lizzie here now, Hattie won’t have to pick up all my slack.”

“Other than that… there’s some binders full of cards on the table. Feel free to flip through them and take a playset of whatever you think might help you, I’ve got tons more back at the dorm. Your uniforms also got here last night so if you wanna come up here and pick them up, hopefully they got the orders right and you all got the sizes and styles you put on your papers.” Hitomu gestured to the largest boxes, the ones he had sat on the ground upon arrival. “Jackets and shirts are in the big box, pants and skirts are in the small box, and any accessories you all ordered should be in your lockers over there. That goes for any of the badges returning members won in tournaments last year too; special mentions to Hattie and Hiraku for having such an outstanding season.”

“Other than that… You all are good to go. Feel free to text me or Hattie with any questions.” Hitomu sat on his stool for a moment, chewing his lip and helping people find uniforms, when he suddenly recalled that he was supposed to promote something. “Oh! One last thing--Kickoff is this weekend! If you don’t know, it’s a big party we have every year before the Duel Team’s first match to celebrate the start of the season. We’re not required to be there, but it’s a good way to meet new people, since students from all sorts of schools turn up to size us up. Plus two of our very own, Hiraku and Yushiro, are dueling on the center stage during it so we should make sure to come out to support them.” Seeing that some of the first years suddenly had a very antsy look about them, Hitomu added, “dates aren’t mandatory, but it’s a semi-formal event so just make sure to dress nice. And if you ever get lost or nervous, I’ll be running the bar all night, so feel free to come hang out with me.”

“Now, for real this time, you’re good to go. We’ll meet again at the same time next Monday.”
 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

With Sai’s absence, Hoshiko was the next one to talk to Akari, and all it took was one glance at the the peppy girl to sum up her personality: Bubbly optimism.

"It's ok, that's what this place is for, right?" She said, making her way over after a failed attempt of trying to help Kyouko off the floor. "What type of deck do you use? Your persona doesn't have to relate, but it's a good place to start and-" Hoshiko froze then, clearly seeming to have some sort of idea as her face lit up.  "Hold that thought, I just thought of someone to invite over."

As if on cue, Souji swerved by as he picked up the conversation, while Hoshiko had pulled out her phone as she franticly texted someone.

"Hoshiko is on the money with that," Souji continued. “For us Entertainment Duelists, I believe that having some sort of persona...or...let's use a different phrase...choosing the mask you wear, is something that many people will definitely remember. If you take the guise of a hero, as myself, you want to portray yourself in the manner...being heroic and courageous. If you take the guise of an idol, such as Hoshiko, then you do what you can to dazzle the audience with a lovely performance. In short, it all depends on how YOU yourself feel you want to entertain the masses. You get what I mean?"

“Yeah, sort of.” Her brother fell into the hero category without a doubt. His persona was a daring knight after all, set on slaying monsters and defeating evil, all while wooing the crowd. But this wasn’t about how her brother entertained people, this was about how SHE wanted to entertain people, and that was kind of hard to answer. She wanted to make people smile, to make them happy, that was for sure, but how did she want to do it? She couldn’t really see herself as a hero or an idol, and to be perfectly honest, she didn’t know what she COULD see herself as.  But that’s what this club could help her with wasn’t it? And even if that didn’t work out, she could always brainstorm with her brother later.

With that thought in mind, Akari turned to Souji as he seemed to be winding down from a little rant about HERO cards or something. “Well, what I mainly want to do with my dueling is to make people happy, but I honestly don’t know what kind of persona I could be, or maybe I should say, want to be? As to answer what Hoshiko asked, I use Crystal Beasts in a sort of defensive way. Basically using a large assortment of cards to stall until I can bring out Rainbow Dragon.” As Akari waited for a response, she took a glance around the room.

 Kyouko seemed to be looking through her deck, but also deep in thought? Most likely thinking about what cards to put in it. Hoshiko was no longer texting and oh, Sai was back with his notebook, and had brought with him the helpful girl who Akari had met a while back. Melissa was the name that came to mind. She sent a small wave Melissa’s way before turning her attention back to Souji and Hoshiko.

Edited by The Frost King

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Gabby was slightly reassured by Jun's words. There wasn't anything to worry about. There was no way that they knew anything about what happened. And Jun even gave her a good way to brush off the situation while staying true to her character. "Very well, in that case carry on, I have no issue."

And so she sat, attentive, as Hitomu began. Despite the length of the discussion and the amount of time spent going over incredibly boring material the girl didn't fidget much and stayed at attention throughout. She knew she had to remember all of this for her future. She was determined to memorize every bit of it that she could. She felt fairly confident about it by the end.

Then the clipboard came. As it got closer to her she started to grow nervous. Her signature? But she didn't use her real name among classmates. She had had to register her real name with the school when she came here but...if she signed that then they'd know something was wrong. But what happened to someone who signed a false signature? Would she be arrested? Kicked out?

She almost fumbled the clipboard as it came around to her. It felt uncomfortable in her hands. The pen felt heavy as she hovered it above the paper. It wasn't until the tip touched the paper that she thought of what to do. So she signed her name G A B and then finished the rest with an unintelligible scribble. That should be good enough right?

"I look forward to working with the lot of you, whenever Hitomu or Jun here decide that I am of service to the team."

Gabby's head snapped to attention as she handed off the clipboard. Who was this girl? Had she completely missed her speech while worrying about the signature?

Hitomu thankfully explained it afterwords. "That won't do!" Gabriela said, as Hitomu said he wasn't sure why he was a captain. "A true captain should be confident and speak with authority!" She stood up, and gestured to herself. "You best be careful, lest someone usurp your authority!"

The response to this, however, was unimportant. At least when stacked up next to what Hitomu said next. “Oh! One last thing--Kickoff is this weekend! If you don’t know, it’s a big party we have every year before the Duel Team’s first match to celebrate the start of the season."

Kickoff? A party? What was this? Was this like...a school dance? Did that mean that...did that mean that people would be bringing dates? Vaguely Gabby heard Hitomu say it wasn't mandatory but that couldn't be true right? She had seen the movies. Dates to dances was an important part of school life. If she didn't have one she'd just stand out. People would question who the girl who couldn't find a date was. She'd be an outcast right from the start of the year.

It was with a nervous heart that Gabby made her way out of the club room. What was she going to do? She didn't really know many people. And many people didn't know her.

It was this weekend so wouldn't people have already gotten dates? Why was she only told about this now?

Okay.

She knew what she had to do. She just had to find someone, anyone, and ask.

Gabriela raised her head and moved towards the first person she saw. With her mind a whirl she didn't even realize who it was until she had stopped right in front of them.

Melissa.

She wasn't sure if it was good or bad that she found someone she actually knew already. But she had decided so this is what she had to do.

"M-Melissa!" Gabriela called out, pointing at the girl. "My most loyal of s-servants. I d-demand you to a-accompany me to the K-Kickoff this weekend!" Her hand was shaking. Her heart was pounding. And her face was a bright red. She looked a mess but she had to try and keep her composure.

This could determine her entire school year after all.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

f8OzT6y.jpg?1

iU8EggM.png

After his tangent, Souji was prepared to deal with Melissa, offering her a chance to join the club. However, Akari spoke up about her deck and Dueling style. However...this was one turn out he didn't expect.

“Well, what I mainly want to do with my dueling is to make people happy, but I honestly don’t know what kind of persona I could be, or maybe I should say, want to be? As to answer what Hoshiko asked, I use Crystal Beasts in a sort of defensive way. Basically using a large assortment of cards to stall until I can bring out Rainbow Dragon.”

Souji looked at Akari for a good long moment, before letting out a sigh as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "...you play Crystal Beasts...and run Rainbow Dragon?" he asked, turning around and heading back over towards the chair he originated from. "...okay, well since we're giving advice on how to better one's style, allow me to give my opinion." Souji then proceeded to slam his hands on the desk in front of him, looking at Akari. "Rainbow Dragon, just don't run it."

He knew he sounded a bit harsh when he said it, but he immediately put his hand up. "It is my opinion, you can do what you like...but I'm being frank about this. This requires you to run all seven of the Crystal Beasts, when running a few is better. Why? Cause only a certain amount of the Beasts effects are good...Eagle, Pegasus, and Carbuncle are a few general candidates of good effects." he continued. "Further, Rainbow Dragon itself, while also being difficult to summon by needing all the Beasts in play or in Graveyard, it's effect is essentially you can get an extra boost in attack by sending your Beasts to the grave...so at the very least, you'd have a heavy hitter on the field."

A pause was made as Souji held up one finger. "However, its the other problem that can really be a hindrance. Banish all...not some...not a few...ALL of your Crystal Beasts from grave to essentially send all cards on the field back to the deck and shuffle them. In theory, it works...but this also includes...Rainbow Dragon. So it'll go back to the deck, and if a good portion of your necessary cards are banished...you won't be able to summon it again." With a heavy sigh, Souji shrugged. "Again, that's my personal opinion. I am not having you divert from your set Dueling Style, only giving a thought. Anyway...back to you..."

Souji then moved back towards Melissa and looked at her. "Well, since Sai here brought you along...care to join the Entertainment Duel Club? Fairly certain that's what Hoshiko over there was planning to ask...just a hunch if anything."

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Melissa had already braced herself for suddenly having to deal with four or five or six people. That was the part she knew about. And she knew that Hoshiko was one of them. The other ones, well, she might have been able to guess Souji if she thought about it a little bit more, but the other two? It was nice that she’d met them before and all, and she really didn’t want to judge people more than she already had that day (as if there was some “judgment quota” that she couldn’t pass!), but Kyouko and Akari were not the people she’d been expecting.

Akari had been the one speaking as Melissa walked in the room, saying things like “I honestly don’t know what kind of persona I could be” and “Stall until I can bring out Rainbow Dragon.” She waved at Melissa as she finished speaking, and Melissa returned the favor with a smile and a nod. Her focus was on Hoshiko, though.

Hoshiko, her roommate. Hoshiko, the one who’d always ignored Melissa’s failed grasps at handing a normal conversation. Hoshiko, the one who’d texted her saying she had “something to ask her in person.” It wasn’t Hoshiko who asked the first question, though. Souji had stepped in, and his question was a simple “You?”

Melissa knew what he meant. If anyone was surprised that she was joining a club like this, it was herself. But that single word also erased any sort of hope of being accepted quietly. Kyouko, for example, hadn’t even seemed to recognize her, she was just that good. But to Souji, and therefore, the group at large, now it was a surprise. A spectacle. All eyes were on her.

To Souji’s credit, he did have a follow-up question as well. “Care to join the Entertainment Duel Club?” he said. “Fairly certain that’s what Hoshiko was planning to ask.”

I think I am,” said Melissa. She still wasn’t sure, like, she wasn’t actually sure if she’d ever be sure sure (the word seemed to lose all meaning when she thought about it like that), but saying it out loud did give her a little bit of empowerment. Even if there was officially no turning back now.

I even- I even think I know who I’d be.

Well now she was just saying things she hadn’t entirely thought through yet. What was she doing? She’d just walked in, already probably (definitely!) causing some sort of scene, and now she was trying to command the spotlight? The part of her that was all for it -- a very small part of her, as Melissa kept reminding herself -- was very much pushing for “better now than later, while they’re already paying attention to you. But it was like ripping off a Band-Aid. Doing it so fast…

Sorry, um,” she said. She was backing up (socially, of course (though a little bit physically as well?)). That was good? Maybe? “I think I recognize everybody here, but, um, my name is Melissa Ashforth. Uh, yeah. Hi. What else would you want to know about me? Sorry, I’m terrible at icebreakers.

She was still going. Why was she still going? “I have a deck, um, doesn’t everyone? It’s Darklords. You know, fallen angels, or what I guess the lore says are fallen angels. I think they’re just based on a bunch of different angel-like things. I recognize a couple of them, I think, but, uh. I’m sorry. I don’t even duel very often.

“You?” Souji had said. The word still dug into her, begging her to justify her presence. And she knew she wasn’t doing a very good job at it.

When I do duel, I don’t know, I guess I’d rather not?” Melissa said. “I just- it usually means -- or meant, I guess -- that somebody else was challenging me and I wanted to get away as soon as possible. So, you know, I take risks. I get my Life Points dangerously low. Win or lose, either way, the duel's over, right?

It’s funny,” Melissa said, though she didn't laugh or smile or anything like that. “I know a lot of people who are really reckless going through life, uh, driving especially, like, speeding or weaving in and out of traffic or stuff like that. Their excuse is always ‘Whatever happens, God willed it to be so,’ and, uh, I don't think I live my life like that, but I do duel like that, I guess.

“You?”

I'm sorry,” Melissa said. “I should have led with something else if I was going to say something like ‘I think I know who I'd be.” It turned out backing up had not been a good thing. “I do, though. I think. Um, I think most of you have seen my, ah, ‘Sunday finest.’” Her nun outfit. That one was supposed to be funny -- she even laughed to herself -- though nobody else seemed to. “It’s not that, though. Kind of related, but, um... okay.

Melissa took a deep breath. She wasn’t sure if she was on the final stretch or not, but she took a breath all the same. “I- when I was younger, like, elementary -- maybe even kindergarten, I’m not sure -- I wanted to be an angel. Like, uh, you know, appearing before shepherds announcing the good news or, I don’t know. This was before I started learning the theology of things, you know, seraphim over cherubim over thrones, um, sorry, the point is that I didn’t realize saints were under even the lowliest of angels.

I don’t know. Anyway, uh, I did look up what angels there were there, and, like, I guess there’s only one with a female name. Like, there’s Michael and Raphael and Uriel and all the others, but there’s only one Lailah. She’s in the Talmud, even, and I think the verse is in the Bible, too. Um,


“And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan. And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.”
-Genesis 14:14-15 (KJV)


Some interpretations of the Talmud, anyway. The ‘by night’ bit, that’s, uh, that’s ‘Lailah’ in Hebrew. I’m rambling, I’m sorry. Um. So I think if I was going to dress up as anything, it would be her.

That was it. It was a lot, and a lot of it probably hadn’t been necessary, but she was pretty sure that was going to answer all the questions they’d inevitably have sent her way anyways. Yes, that was her reasoning: she just wanted to get them out of the way now. And now that she’d done so, she was free to melt into the background for the time being. Or perhaps…

Sorry, I haven’t been in this building in a while. The restroom’s just around the corner, right?


She wasn’t freaking out. She was fine. She just needed a moment, that was it. A drink from the water fountain outside, maybe some extra water splashed on her face. That was it. She was fine.

“You?”

Okay, maybe she wasn’t fine, but she felt better than she thought she was going to going in, or even during her whole spiel. It didn’t mean she didn’t need some time to recharge, but she still took pride in the fact that she had managed to do it at all. She stared at herself in the mirror. She didn’t feel any different than she had that morning, whatever that feeling had been, but, well, would she have done that even a few weeks ago? Melissa wasn’t sure.

What was next? Well, she had to go back in there, of course. And she’d probably missed a thing or two. Her duel skill, for example, did she need to talk about that right away? Or was general style enough. And if she had missed it, was that a black mark on her? Souji’s single-word question still rang in her mind and she-

No! Not now. Not when she was doing so well. Melissa splashed more water on her face. It didn’t help as much as before, but it was enough for the time being. Today, she was fine. She was okay. Tomorrow, the day after that, Saturday even, that was all in the future. Right now, though…

Melissa walked back to Room 24, trying her hardest to just have a pleasant smile on her face, and re-addressed her fellow club members, “Sorry about that. Um, any questions? Anything I didn’t address?

Edited by radio414

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

wryYvru.png

"You? Huh...didn't take you for a...well, color me surprised yet again, Sorcerer Supreme. You've brought in another candidate for the Entertainment Dueling Club." Souji seemed impressed, and honestly Sai had no idea why. He brought all of two people, one that may not stay, and one that may not even join. But hey, if Souji was going to praise him, then whatever. "Also...I didn't get a chance to address this...but..." Souji stood up quickly. "You said I 'dress up as Divine Wind'. I'll have you know, that my outfit is NOT Divine Wind." He took out a small notepad from his back pocket, flipping it open and holding it up towards Sai. "IF you were versed in the lore of the Masked HERO Duel Monsters, you'd recognize that the outfit of the Kamen Rider is based on a monster that hasn't even been released: Masked HERO Gust! Hmph..."

"Oh, you mean that little monster is green like Divine Wind, wears the same clothes as Divine Wind, and upgrades into Divine Wind, plus isn't actually even real. I apologize, I'll be sure to get it right next time," It wasn't like Sai didn't understand the indignity Souji was feeling, but he also thought the Kamen Rider loving otaku was being really pedantic right now. Then he did something horrible, the absolute worst thing he could do...

He started giving bad advice.

"Rainbow Dragon, just don't run it." He then began to list off reasons of why she shouldn't run it, which basically boiled down to the point of "It's not optimal, wah wah," Well, she could just take out Rainbow Dragon, but there was a better way.

As Souji began to talk to Melissa, Sai whipped out his notebook, taking a pencil and drawing a small chart, one divided into two. On one side was Akari's name, and on the other's was Melissa's. He began jotting ideas for their costumes. Akari was a bit hard... what would go well with Crystal Beasts...? A knight covered in gems? No, no, that was more for Gem Knights...

As for Melissa... she played Darklords, which were fallen angels, and she wanted to be an angel... that might work, but it would be odd if the duelist was a pure angel while the others were fallen... A lot of ideas were building in his head, and he had to let them out, lest he burst. He hated it when he got like this, but he still wanted his creativity to come out.

And then Melissa left to go to the bathroom. That was good, he could talk to Akari without interrupting her.

"So, Akari you mentioned you used Rainbow Dragon? Now, you hear everything Souji said? Totally disregard it. He's a competitive player disguised as an entertainment duelist. However, I do believe you shouldn't use it in every duel. You should find some other wincons, and slowly build up to Rainbow Dragon. Keep it in your back pocket, keep alluding that your deck has greater power, things like that. And then when you think the time is right, unleash the dragon and completely dazzle the crowd!"

He then turned to Kyouko, who seemed to either completely lost in thought about her persona or just daydreaming. "So... u-umm...," He didn't want to anger her, so he had to word this carefully. "Hey, Kyouko... you... got any i-ideas for your persona...?"

Sorry about that. Um, any questions? Anything I didn’t address?” Ah, looks like Melissa was back. Good, good, then Sai could ask her a question... although he did his best to reel himself in. He knew she wasn't comfortable, and he knew from experience getting in her face and overwhelming her was the worst thing someone could do.

"I have a question," Sai said as he raised his hand, keeping his voice soft. "But first, wh-why don't you sit down at the table with us?" The first step was to make sure she didn't feel like an outsider, standing in the corner. Whether she did or not, he would open his notebook to an empty page, spinning his pencil as he thought to himself. "Now, you mentioned you had an idea of being an angel, Lailah, if I'm pronouncing that correctly. Now, do you know how you'd like it to look? More traditionally angelic, or like, more like the Darklords you play, or maybe something inbetween?" He then stopped spinning his pencil as a thought came to him. "Actually, it might be possible to jury rig a system... like... your costume having angel wings, and the less lifepoints you have, the darker the feathers become, going from white to black or something...," He said as he wrote down the idea.  "That'd take a bit, but I can pull it off...," This was his favorite part. He loved making the costumes. "B-but yeah, just if you have some ideas, just let me know, and if you join the club, I'll have some designs sketched out by next meeting," he turned to Akari and Kyouko. "Um... s-same goes for you two to...,"

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

6kzOarD.png

"So... u-umm...,  Hey, Kyouko... you... got any i-ideas for your persona...?"

In a sea of irrelevant comments and banter, that question stood out as important. Uh-oh. She hadn't really thought about that yet. Some part of her didn't really expect it to come up as early as the first meeting, "Er... not really." Kyouko took a seat near the rest of the club, scooting the chair she'd grabbed as needed as she listened in on the wizard's explanation of all the things he could do with May's(?) costume. There sure were a lot of tricks you could do with costumes, huh? He sounded real enthusiastic about that kind of stuff. Kyouko would be lying if she said she was super into playing dress-up herself, but she did have to admit, it was good to know what you were passionate about.

What would a good persona be, anyway? She had to admit she wasn't exactly the creative type, but even then, nothing really clicked. Her first thought when she looked at her deck again was some sort of knight, but the idea of her dressed in plate armor acting all noble was laughable at best. She didn't want anyone to see her face either, so it had to be something with a helmet or something like that.

Kyouko caught herself reaching for her phone, only to pull away from it. Normally if there was a problem she couldn't think her way out of, she'd see if Jun had any valuable input. But she wanted to figure this one out herself. After all, would it really be her persona if someone else came up with it? While the wizard continued sketching and talking, Kyouko laid her Phoenix Gearfried on the table, spinning it around as one would a pencil in the middle of a boring class. Maybe looking at her ace card long enough would give her some ideas.

"Um... s-same goes for you two to...,"

"Something that covers my face would be nice." She still wasn't sure about going on a stage and dueling in front of a bunch of people in the first place. The idea that everyone would know it was her while she was doing it gave her stage fright just thinking about it. Picking the card up for the others to see, she continued "I thought about a knight for a bit since it would match my ace card, but I can't imagine going up onto a stage and acting all noble. Maybe we could figure something out from there?"

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.”
-Psalm 32:8 (NIV)


Melissa hadn’t actually realized she was still standing. Like, she knew she was standing, obviously, but she hadn’t quite parsed that she was standing just in the doorway while everyone else was sitting down until Sai had called her out on it. “Why don’t you sit down at the table with us?” he’d said.

Melissa could only respond with a meek, “Oh, yeah, okay.” She grabbed one of the many empty chairs around the room, maneuvered it next to Hoshiko, and sat down.

Sai, meanwhile, had kept talking, going on about how one could make an angel costume. Which was fine and all, but- no, it was great, actually. Melissa had spoken a lot but she hadn’t actually put more effort than that into the actual appearance, so it was nice that someone else could take her idea and run with it. There was just one little niggle. “I don’t- I don’t think I want the wings to change color, I think. Um,” Melissa said. “I don’t know. I- yeah, sorry. I don’t have a reason, just a gut feeling.

Or, um…” Again, Melissa backtracked the conversation. Sai was going through the effort of including her, shouldn’t she at least try and express herself a little more? “I guess I like the idea of ‘redeeming’ them through play? So I’d just have white wings and…

There was supposed to be more. Surely she had more, right? She wasn’t going to just end a thought like that, was she? But the only other thing she could offer was an “I’ll- I can show you I guess next meeting… or later or whenever, if that works better.

Sai nodded as he looked at his notes. “Alright, that sounds good,” he said. “I'll keep doodling some things for you in the meantime, alright?”

Alright,” Melissa said, and that was that.


From Melissa’s point of view, the rest of the club meeting passed without incident. Sure, not everybody was done talking just yet, and it wasn’t like Melissa just zoned out entirely for the rest of the meeting, but nobody after Sai directly addressed her, so she was able to be a simple wallflower, neither grabbing attention nor getting in anyone’s way. Which was good, because she hadn’t quite realized how exhausting holding the spotlight like she had would be. She assumed it got easier with practice, but for now, all she wanted was to be alone and recharge for a moment. Her room was probably the best place for that, but she had to get there first.

And standing between her and her room was Gabriela.

“M-Melissa! My most loyal of s-servants! I d-demand you to a-accompany me to the K-Kickoff Cup this weekend!” Gabriela said.

At that point, Melissa was used to not really seeing Gabriela until she was already upon her. That wasn’t the problem. Nor was the problem that she was getting shouted at; she imagined worse scenarios all the time, so she was used to that too (to an extent, anyway). No, the problem was the question itself. Or the implied question. Or… yeah. Because she remembered what Connor had texted her earlier:

Just go have fun!

The Kickoff Cup was something Melissa had made sure to have other plans for last year. She hadn’t expected to be asked or anything, but just in case, you know? This year, she’d had no such luck but had been confident enough that she’d made it under the radar that nobody would mind if she no-showed again. No such luck, though.

The choice was simple: Yes or no. But instead of answering, Melissa made a noise not unlike a sharp intake of breath through the nose and just froze there like she didn’t realize those were the only two options. There were variations on different themes, sure. She could let Gabriela off gently or with a terse “No.” She could enthusiastically say yes or she could be reluctant about it. But each variation started out with the same crossroads, and that was where the real indecision lay. And each passing moment only made it worse.

I’d…” Melissa said. “Love to” and “can’t, sorry” were the only two follow-ups in her mind. Melissa wanted to say no. She wanted to say no because, well, because it was the Kickoff Cup! Whatever progress Melissa thought she might have made, the Kickoff Cup was still Melissa’s antithesis. There was going to be a very publicized duel, there was going to be a dance… I was going to be one thousand voices, all talking over each other in a dreadful cacophony of gibberish for an entire Saturday.

I’d…

But on the other hand, Gabriela had come up to her directly. She hadn’t texted or called -- and Melissa knew she’d given her her number! Not only that, but she also could guess from how Gabriela had asked that this was something important to her. Was she so selfish that she’d deny a good weekend for her friend just for some personal happiness?

No. No, she wasn’t. There were bigger fish in the sea, other parties to avoid in the future for any number of reasons. Right now, though…

I’d love to,” Melissa said. She only hoped she wouldn’t regret it.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.

  • Similar Content

    • By LordCowCow
      Premise
      World
      City
      Magic
      Races
      Major Families of Froura
      NPCs
      Locations
      App Format
      Accepted Apps
       
    • By LordCowCow
      "You have been Chosen"
      As you hear these words your thoughts immediately turn towards the myths. A prophecy that states that, when the world needs them most, 9 heroes will be chosen by the Elemental Spirits to fight evil itself. In the form of Demon Gates hidden throughout the land. Wicked contraptions that connect the world of Fantalius to the Demon Realm. For the past two-hundred years Fantalius has been dying. Monsters, evil humanoids, and worse have control of the land. The common folk are forced to cower in their cities, traveling only by protected caravans. While adventurers can travel as long as they keep their wit about them, it's a constant struggle against death just to make it to the next city. However you, and 8 others, have been given a chance, and a destiny. If you take it upon yourself it is guaranteed to be an adventure full of risk. However if you succeed in destroying the Demon Gates and bringing peace back to Fantalius you will be hailed as heroes.
      You are The Chosen. Now step forward, brave adventurers, and embrace your destiny!
      Rules
      What is this?
      Races
      Spirits and Elements
      The World
      Map and Info
      What I expect from you
      Application Format
      Accepted Applications
      And as mentioned it would be limited acceptance. Only 8 others will be chosen (I will fill out the last Chosen myself after the rest are picked). But don't let that scare you. It will be a time and quality based choice on my part. If you write a character that's really amazing you'll likely get a slot early but other than that I will review all of them best I can to find the ones that work the best.
      This doesn't mean super long and detailed either. Something short but understandable and well made is perfectly great.
      There can only be ONE character for each Element.
      Unofficial Theme
      Equipment
    • By Skaia
      [Logo Logo] 
      Host: Skaia, me
      Introduction 
      Rules
      Setting 
      Character App

       
    • By Skaia
      OOC
      May 1st, Sunday, 3:13 PM 
      Though the forecast was showing it would be a dark and stormy night, the skies seemed to only be overcast at the present mid-day time. And yet in spite of these bleak looking skies it did little to abate the activities and excitement of the people of Camellia. Though the big city didn't know much in way of rest today was especially abuzz with activity as the people had all filed into the new - several year old - Aspect Stadium, the main hub for all things Blue Rose would be broadcast. The reason was simple. Today was a day for introductions, for promotion and for showcasing. Each and every duelist partaking in the Blue Rose tournament had been called to the new - though in reality five year old - Aspect Stadium; the building where all duels for Blue Rose would be held. All thirty two of them were to listen to the announcer for the event tell them all that was expected for the tournament. The rules, code of conduct, the long and storied tradition and history of the both the tournament and the sport. And finally for the viewers at home a short introduction of each of the players, simply stating all of their names, decks and what province they were representing. When all was said and done, the group was dismissed from the tournament hall and free to go about their business. 
      Upon exiting the stadium proper, they would see a crowd of people who had all been waiting for them, some fans of the sport and some reporters and journalists looking to interview the duelists. Naturally some of the participants were more popular than others, last year's third place being swarmed the moment that she had left the building, and they would deal with their fans and crowds in their own way. The group of tournament participants would be able to spend the rest of their free time however they wished for the day, knowing full well that tomorrow was the start of the games proper.
      Iris, for her part, didn't particularly feel in the mood to do any press for herself as well. Smiling and waving to all the people who had called out to her, Iris merely continued her way forward and managed to get past all of them. Looking up to the sky the girl frowned, thinking that the gray skies wasn't the best of omens for the coming tournament. Not to mention it was neither sunny nor raining, making her ever present parasol nothing more than a fashionable accessory. Sighing to herself, the girl continued to walk into the unfamiliar city proper, thinking that surely there was something to pass the time with. 
       
    • By LordCowCow
      Hello......hello. Again? No, that's not right. Hello for the first time, for you at least, everyone. I hope this message gets through. You see...there have been some problems in my universe. Oh, right, there's multiple universes. Don't worry you'll understand eventually. Anyway something has gone horrible wrong. And the only hope we have is...all of you.
      No pressure. Well. Perhaps a small, just a tad, a smidgen really, bit of pressure.
      I, we, really need your help. You won't be alone and, even if you find yourself in the unfamiliar, take heart that you have comrades. You will fight together. Live together. Argue with. Forge bonds. Perhaps even more. At least...I hope so.
      Perhaps you'll just kill each other. This isn't an exact science. It's not even science at all, not really, actually.
      But that's enough from me. There's plenty more to say and I, while I'm a wonderful orator, would take far too long to explain it all.
      Rules
      Premise
      Setting
      Applications
      Accepted Apps
      If you do join please be able to stay dedicated to somewhat frequent posting. I want this to work and not just be a "fun thing to play around in for a month then leave" so be sure to pick your character carefully. They're gonna be with you for a while. If you're unsure about anything let me know. I'll try and point out anything I see as problematic but don't feel down if I do it's kinda just my nature.
      Lastly I won't have a solid limit on number of players but if I feel it's too much I'll make a limit.
      Well...there you have it, let's get this going!
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...