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

[Zai 26]

And so it was that the students of Blue Yonder had found their way into their school clubs and extracurriculars. Friendships began, and bonds were formed. In the months to come, they'd all remember carefree days like this fondly; days when the weight of the world wasn't on their shoulders. Soon, events that they could never have predicted would be set in motion, and the fate of everything and everyone they knew would hinge on the decisions they made, and the cards they played.....

Ending theme

-----

 

 

“Good morning darling. How are you feeling today?” The blonde-haired boy asked, taking a seat on a stool next to her bedside.

“In great pain, reeling from the sting of defeat, and hardly able to stand on my own for more than a few moments. But I can stand, and walk. I won’t be laying like this much longer.”

“A good day, then. Marvelous. I’ve got more news for you if you’d like to hear it.” He shuffled around a bit on the stool, inching closer to her as he did so.

“I would. Please, tell me all about it.”

“I found one of them. Finally. It’s in the hands of one of my classmates.”

“You found one!?” she exclaimed in surprise, sitting up straight in her bed. Her fingers tapped against her legs eagerly, making a set of small clinking sounds on her right side. The look of surprise was only there for a short moment though, before returning to its icy, neutral state. “Good work. I knew I could count on you. So, which school are we looking at in this sad little city?”

“My first choice was the correct one. Blue Yonder Academy, they call it. Wasn’t much of a surprise. They love to duel there.” He paused a moment, then sat up and gingerly grabbed her left hand, holding it in both of his. “But work isn’t really what’s on my mind today.” A tender smile appeared on his face, which conveyed the rest of the thought to her adequately enough.

“A bit of fresh air would be nice, yes. Let’s go, darling.”

He felt his cheeks warm for a moment. It wasn’t very often that she called him that, especially lately. Today was definitely a good day. He leaned over the girl's small frame, tucking one of his arms underneath her knees, and the other behind her shoulders, so as to cradle her body when he lifted her up. She was heavier these days, but not so much that this was a problem for him. He’d made sure to stay in shape. “One day soon, I’ll be holding your hand instead while you walk on your own two feet, but for now this will have to do. I hope you don’t mind too much.”

 

Opening Theme

 

Episode 4: Feather and Flame

 

-------

 

Today was the day he'd decided on. Locating her again wasn't too difficult; just a matter of simple deduction. Now, all that was left was to make an appropriate entrance. One that was provocative enough. The die had been cast, and he couldn't back down now. Thankfully, an opportunity presented itself soon enough as he spied the girl walking alone on campus. With a flourish, Raven descended from his perch, landing rather theatrically but a few feet in front of Kyouko and tipping his hat to her in greeting.

"Ahh the lovely miss Kyouko. I trust you've been preparing for our duel? Or perhaps, maybe, you were hoping I'd forgotten about it over the past week?"  Taunting the girl known for her violent temper perhaps wasn't the best plan, but it was sure to work.

---

 

It had been almost a week since tryouts, and the warm September weather was beginning to wane as October approached. Yushiro had always hated this time of year, very much preferring seeing green on the trees and enjoying the sun. These days though, he didn't have much time to lament the weather. There was a lot more on his mind.

For starters, his deck.

It was clearly inadequate, as his lucky draw with Hiraku and the absolute thrashings that both Elizabeth and Jun had given him plainly showed. Weeks ago, it wouldn't have mattered all that much to him, but recently he'd found himself playing duel monsters for more than just the fun of it, and when something was actually at stake, losing hurt a lot more. He'd been trying to tweak it some in his free time, but the current build wasn't at all satisfying to him. There was more than just the cards, too. His texts to Elizabeth had become less frequent, and he hadn't seen the girl in person since tryout day. Part of it, he was acutely aware, was his own fault. He didn't really know what all to talk to her about over a text conversation, and, embarrassingly, he was too nervous to ask her to hang out again, not without at least improving his game (both duel monsters and otherwise) some. He hadn't told Akira about any of this yet, either. Mostly out of fear that his best friend would somehow make things even more awkward for him, good intentions or no. Still, mulling over it all internally wasn't getting him very far.

All of this was running through his head as he flipped burgers during another shift with Jo at Fast Food. Yushiro was lucky that the lunch rush was over for the day: he wasn't focusing on work very hard and would never have been able to keep up with the volume. Still, even with things being slow, the amount of overly well-done patties coming off the griddle clearly showed that he wasn't focused on his work, and Jo could almost certainly tell that something was up with the boy. At last, things in the food truck came to a head as the smell of charred beef wafted up toward the cash register where Jo was counting her money, and Yushiro snapped out of his train of thought just in time to see his boss glaring at him. He gulped audibly.

 

[yui 576]

Another day, another duel. That was something she'd overheard earlier today. Fitting enough she supposed, since today was supposed to be the Entertainment Duel Club's first meeting. She didn't really have much interest in showing up, but it wasn't like she had much else planned today anyway. There were certainly worse things she could be doing. Like still not finding that stalker freak, because of whom she'd been checking behind corners and stuff far more than she liked. She probably looked crazy. But, two weeks later, there was still no sign of the guy.

Maybe he forgot?

Sure enough though, just after she had that pleasant thought to herself, the man himself jumped down, landing a few feet in front of her.

"Ahh the lovely miss Kyouko. I trust you've been preparing for our duel? Or perhaps, maybe, you were hoping I'd forgotten about it over the past week?" 

"Would've preferred if you did," Kyouko scoffed under her breath. Rolling up her sleeves to reveal her Duel Disk, and fishing into her pocket for her deck - she'd been carrying those around quite a bit lately, in case of precisely this situation - she said "I've got places to be, so let's make this quick. You could have dueled any of the Duel Team's members if you wanted a challenge, so why me specifically? What are you trying to get out of this?"

As she put her deck into the Duel Disk and activated it, she added "Whatever it is, don't expect to pry it out of me so easily."

The club meeting was probably starting about now, too. Of course her mystery stalker had to swoop in just in time to make her late for that.

---

At Fast Food, meanwhile, things weren't looking so peachy either. Jo tapped her thumb on the counter, looking at her part-timer who'd been all out of whack today. This wasn't right.

"Alright Yushiro, out with it. What's got you in such a knot that you're acting like this?"

Edited April 24, 2019 by Yui

[Cappuccijoe 17]

The tan, lacquered floors of the dance studio shined brightly against the fluorescent lights hanging above. There was only one woman there, and as she danced furiously to the sounds of an ancient tune from a world long gone by, the internal struggle of her mind matched the steps in kind. Platinum hair rifled it's way through the air behind her as grace and pain intertwined to an audience of none.

Step Left,

As if there would be any reason to expect anything anyway. We played cards at a coffee shop.

Step Right,

That girl said your pain was etched on your face; who would want to associate with that on a daily basis?

Spin, quickly!

Your efforts aren't even noticed, Elizabeth.

Left!

He hasn't even texted you in days.

Right!

You scraped his card and lost in front of an entire assembly. Crap, what was the next step?

Plie...?

Maybe if you could stop focusing on yourself when talking to people, they would actually like you.

Left!

It's a miracle Ashley even still talks to you. What's the last thing you've done for he-

The self-destructive thought process had come to a screeching halt as her step into the next spin had become too distracted, and her ankles made contact quickly. Elizabeth unraveled like a spool of yarn and her knees collided against the floor with an alarming thud. Pain immediately radiated to her legs, forcing her down to her elbows. Sweat exploded off of her forehead onto the floor. Elizabeth could only clench her fists and fight back frustrated, angry tears. Now not even her dancing was going right. She had done this exact routine hundreds of times, and yet her feet failed her.

She stayed there for a moment in complete mental and physical silence as the ballet continued to play behind her. She could feel though, deep in the back of her brain, a harrowing thought had just begun to sprout: something she had never felt before that had sent a sharp chill up her spine:

What if I really do lose everything?

She looked up at the clock: 12:30. It was almost a relief that to her that it was lunch time; just another reason to dodge the issue that had presented itself, choosing to get lunch instead. She grabbed her bag, headed to the changing rooms, and headed straight outside the second she was finished changing.

---

"I'll take just a hamburger today, Jo. No fries or anything; I've got to be watching my figure. I'm sure you understand." Elizabeth found herself at Fast Food, the most popular culinary spot on campus, and one she was obviously quite familiar with as a Senior student. She hadn't paid much attention to the truck or whomever was in it; instead just taking up light conversation with Jo as she waited for her meal and then quietly taking it to the table she had chosen some 10-15 feet away, choosing to eat alone instead of with the crowds that had gathered or bunched up around the truck or the school building itself.

The truth was she could barely eat after the self-inflicted scare at the dance studio. That, combined with the dry looking patty, had her not particularly excited for lunch time, but she had already paid for it, so she figured she might as well chow down. The sun continued to beat down on her as she picked at her meal, sweat glistening on her exposed upper chest due to her tank top. She could feel her already skin tight jeans becoming more one with her skin; it was that time of year where the summer had started to break, but the humidity wasn't quite gone for the year.

She sighed, exasperated from the heat, and adjusted her ponytail, only to be distracted by the feeling of her phone buzzing in her pocket. Her heart skipped for a moment, hoping perhaps her doubt before was more of a premonition, only to be slightly disappointed by a text from her best friend Ashley:

Hey Beth! WYD? Any word yet?

 Just getting some lunch after the studio. No, nothing. I guess I scared him off or something. Not like we were really hot for anything anyway. Scuffing up his card probably isn't his design on a love story.

She took a bite from her burger, placing her phone back down on the table. One of the things Elizabeth's mum wanted her to do was to be more honest with people, even if it hurt to do so. She figured if anyone would understand, it would be Ash.

Oh Beth. Are you gonna be around for a while? I'm in meetings and class pretty much all day, but I'll reschedule with Mr. Skeiner if you need me.

Elizabeth shook her head in disbelief;  She'd dip on meetings with teachers for me? ... Why?

I appreciate it Ash, but don't be ridiculous. I'll be fine, but I might not be around campus a lot today... I fell at the studio today, I should probably get some ice on my knees at some point today.

Beth!!! Gosh! Take care of yourself will you? It's our Senior year, we won't be able to enjoy it if you're in a wheelchair!!

Elizabeth snickered,  Guess not. She placed her phone back on the table and went back to staring into space, continuing to eat her burger about as slowly as humanly possible.

 

[radio414 906]

Have mercy on me, Oh Lord, a sinner.
Wipe away my transgressions,
    and let me be reborn anew in your glory
Help me turn away from sin,
    and move towards your eternal light.

Are my efforts in vain, Lord?
Will tomorrow be the same as yesterday and the day before?
Am I destined to be pulled apart, 
    torn between service in solitude and spreading your word?
Nevertheless, let it be as you, not I, would have it.
If I must drink this cup, your will be done.

In the name of The Father, and of The Son, and of The Holy Spirit,
Amen

---

Melissa woke up at three-whatever in the morning for no particular reason at all, and, for that same lack of reason, couldn't get back to sleep. It wasn't an uncommon experience for her -- in fact, on multiple occasions, she'd just given up trying and instead was up and out the door before even the crack of dawn! -- but that didn't make it any less of an issue.

There wasn’t a remedy that worked, either. That wasn’t to say she hadn’t tried, though. She knew, for example, to stay off her phone and to avoid eating too close to the end of the day and to breathe in a specific pattern and all sorts of other things, but nothing was consistent enough to matter. Sometimes, her brain just insisted on being awake, lost in its own idle thoughts.

Not that her idle thoughts were very interesting. She hadn’t had any dreams recently to reflect on, it was still too dark to properly look at anything in the room, and getting anywhere close to thinking about the events of the day (outside of a quick prayer, of course! But even then...) was just asking for another breathless trip to the restroom. Instead, she ricocheted off various topics, from a song lyric that just would not leave her head, to listing off obligations she had, to adjusting her position from on her back to her side and back again, all the way back to that persistent song lyric.

What eventually stuck out, though, a line of a poem she’d only heard a few times and was honestly surprised that she still remembered:

At night, turn back your sheets
And climb into your bed
And WHACK! Your little rock
Will hit you on the head

It was that classic of Sunday School syllabi all across Ambrosia: the prayer rock! It was the perfect arts and crafts project for it, anyway. The requisite materials were simple enough: some decently-sized rocks (fist-sized was optimal, but Melissa had seen it done with smaller), some paintbrushes, paint, some ribbon, and small printouts of the accompanying poem. Once you painted your rock with whichever symbol or bible verse you wanted, you got it all tied up with a little poem to remind you how to use it.

Using it was simple. You put it on your pillow so that when you went to sleep, you’d remember to pray. When you were done praying, you’d put it on the floor so that you’d step on it when you got out of bed in the morning and pray again. You’d put it back on your pillow and so on and so on and so on.

It was a useless piece of clutter, really. At that age, children that prayed at sunup and sundown didn’t need any reminders, and the children who didn’t certainly weren’t going to start just because a rock told them to. And yet…

Melissa’s rock, from way, way back, back when she hadn’t yet decided that attending the concurrent adult-oriented Bible study was a better use of her time, had been a dark grey stone, the darkest of the ones available, with a golden yellow cross painted on top. No frills, no accompanying Bible verse, nothing. Just that. She lost it soon after -- she didn’t need it, after all -- but the image had clearly stayed with her. And now, in the middle of some random night, Melissa found herself getting nostalgic for the thing.

Not that she suddenly had a need for it. It was probably for the best that it was just in her memory and not a physical object she could lose somewhere in the dorm, probably confusing whoever eventually found it. But she liked the idea of losing it in her mind, dropping it onto some mental beach where it could only be affected by the surrounding elements, which in turn would grind away at her prayer rock, bit by bit. First, the paint would fade away -- perhaps it would wash off in the rain or the waves -- but the rest of it would slowly follow. Everything her imagined nature threw at it -- from wind to tides to even animals chipping at it with their beaks or claws -- would slowly erode away the stone until there was nothing left.

Dust to dust.

---

Wednesday, September 20, 909 PD
Feast of The Martyrs of Korea

“[Job] said: ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart.The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.’”
-Job 1:21 (NIV)

---

Idle hands were the devil’s plaything, so the saying went, but Melissa still tapped away at her phone for want of anything else to do. If she were doing anything important, it might be different, but no, she just scrolled through old text messages as if she’d glean anything new from them.

From: Melissa
To: Elizabeth

Hey, it’s Melissa. I keep running over that conversation we had yesterday in my head. I’m afraid something I said might have scared you off. I know, I know. It’s stupid. But if I ever do something that makes you uncomfortable, just tell me, okay?

It had taken three or four revisions before Melissa had been content enough to send that message along, and even then she still had some reservations. Like the message said, it was stupid -- hadn’t she refused to send something similar the day before? -- but she wouldn’t have stopped thinking about it if she didn’t.

It took an uncomfortably long time for Elizabeth to respond (something that didn’t help), but she did respond:

From: Elizabeth
To: Melissa

I was going to say the same thing.

So that was how that had gone. There were more messages in that chain, mostly messages like “Hey, how are you?” or the standard response: “Fine, thanks”, but her phone kept buzzing to remind her of the other series of messages she'd have to go over eventually.

Despite her predictions, despite how little interest Melissa herself had managed to generate for the Community Service Club, they'd still managed to pull in six new members for their first meeting the previous day. Six new people! So instead of a small group pushing some desks together to sit in a circle, everyone in the half-filled classroom had to face forward as Connor went over introductions and the general agenda.

Icebreaker question: What’s your favorite icebreaker question to answer?
Answer: None of them please why are you making me do this they’re all the worst.

Melissa didn’t exactly make the best first impression. Even though the classroom was only half-full, she still felt claustrophobic.

The worst part, though, was how Connor had set up a group chat for all ten of them. Because it was ten people, they only really talked about community service matters a tenth of the time at best, and the rest was, well…

Wow its 2 weeks in and classes alreaady suck

Lol I know right? When am I ever going to use this?

Anyone want to meet up? Maybe play some games?

And so on.

Melissa looked up from her phone. The library really was a nice place to be, now that Recruitment Week was over, at least. There wasn’t really anybody else there besides a few of the more diligent students, and none of them were particularly interested in bothering anybody else. All in all, it was a good spot to take a break, and today’s had been, despite the idle stress at the end, a good break indeed.

But she couldn’t stay forever. It wasn’t that Melissa had places to be (she didn’t), just that she decided she wanted to walk around for a bit. She gave a quick nod to the person at the front desk as she headed out, then stepped through the doors out into the open air…

…aaaaand, moments later, also Gabriela, who Melissa barely avoided crashing into by the skin of her teeth. Melissa let out a small “whoops!” as she just caught herself, and stumbled off to the side. She didn’t fall, but she almost did.

“Sorry, your- your majesty,” Melissa said. “Um, we seem to keep running into each other, don’t we?” What else was she supposed to say? She couldn’t exactly talk about the weather with royalty. But she still felt like she had to say something. It was her fault, after all; she could have been paying more attention (right?).

Was her posture off? Melissa did a quick, unpracticed curtsy to make up for it, and thought a quick prayer, hoping she’d be easily forgiven.

Edited June 20, 2019 by radio414

[LordCowCow 840]

Gabby was lost. She knew there was a meeting today. Knew where she was supposed to go. But she didn't know where it was. Her roommate, who always seemed to know how everything here worked, was nowhere to be found so she was on her own.

Of course Gabriela couldn't admit that to anyone. So she just continued to move around in the hopes that a sign would fall upon her from the heavens.

Instead she almost ran into someone leaving the library.

She nearly instinctively apologized but caught herself before she did. Gabriela placed her hands on her hips. "And who dares to attack my royal form?"

“Sorry, your- your majesty,” Melissa said. “Um, we seem to keep running into each other, don’t we?”

Gabriela blinked. Then Gabby looked away awkwardly. "Ah, it is you. Well no harm no foul, I am a just princess after all. You may raise your head this doesn't require a beheading. Do be careful next time. One of my flock mustn't come to harm after all."

She knew she should ask Melissa where to go but...that would go against what she had been setting up all this time.

"I am required at the Duel Team meeting, unfortunately, so I cannot stay for long...how...are you on this day?"

[Chaos Sonic 442]



Souji was in high spirits today, it was club meeting time...and for him and his newly created Entertainment Duel Club, it was time for some real fun. He strolled on into the room they were given to house the club, and removed his hat, tossing it on a nearby table. He looked at his phone and started sending a message to the group chat he had set up for this little club, of course this was after he got everyone's contact information.

Kamen Rider:

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.

Kamen Rider:

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

With those messages sent off to Hoshiko, Sai, and Kyouko, he put his phone back into his pocket and exhaled greatly. He wasn't sure how this whole thing would work, but he was determined to get it all working...and right now he had one goal in his mind: get his Entertainment Duel Club members to go against Hitomu and his Duel Team. That was one thing he wanted more than anything else. Maybe he could talk to Hitomu and get that to be a little friendly competition for them, after all, the Duel Team needed as much practice and training they could for later on in the year.

And knowing my luck, Hitomu couldn't possibly say no to that friendly match. a smirk reached around Souji's face. Then I'll get to have that rematch with him...and show him how far I've come since we Dueled last.

[Cheshire Toon 141]

 

---

 

A Week Ago

Thirty minutes. Tess was already thirty minutes late when Gabriela and Melissa left Coffee Cards, swearing vengeance upon him (in the case of the former) and wishing him a good day (in the case of the latter). 

Hitomu slurped the remnants of his water and watched out the window for anyone approaching, but soon his mind began to wander to the events of the day. Gabriela really was something else; as boisterous and overbearing as his best friend Todd, God rest his soul, though she didn’t ooze self-confidence in the same way he had. It was closer to the opposite really. She had shifted and squirmed her way out of his questions for the most part. In his experience, that meant she was probably hiding something—not that it took a detective to figure that out—but that wasn’t really important. Everyone and everything came with a little bit of baggage. The more important thing was that she had the drive, the desire to improve and hone her skills, to get back up even when she lost and learn from it. That drive was what separated the good duelists from the truly great ones. 

Another fifteen minutes passed. Hitomu fished his sketchpad and pencils out of his bag and flipped to the first empty page. He had been stuck on what to work on for a few weeks. Everything he did start on just ended up torn out, crumpled up, and throw in the garbage bin. He had been meaning to go and talk with Yusuji since that usually helped him break out his artistic ruts, but something about Gabriela had struck a chord in him. 

He stopped watching the clock after that. At some point the bell above the door jingled and a cool breeze swept across the cafe. “Hitomu! You’re still here!” Tess all but wheezed. She was bright red and her hair was a windswept mess, but her face lit up and she smiled when she saw her boyfriend sitting at the table. “I meant to call you to tell you I was going to be late but I got caught up talking to Mrs. Ellis and… That’s not an excuse I just--”

“Hey,” Hitomu interrupted. He set his pencil down. “Slow down and breathe. You look like you’re about to pass out.”

Tess sighed and slipped into the seat opposite of him, dropping her book bag onto the floor with a ‘thud’. “I seriously expect the floor to crack every time you drop that thing. How do you even carry it around ? I can barely pick it up,” Hitomu said. It wasn’t his best joke, but it was worth it to see her frown twist into a begrudging smile.

Tess slumped back in her chair. “Stop trying to make me laugh, Hitomu. You’re supposed to be mad at me right now.” 

“Am I?” Hitomu said. “Guess I missed the memo. You know how bad I am about checking my messages.”

“Hitomuuuu,” Tess groaned. “I keep messing everything up. I missed your first duel with Elizabeth in ages, and then when I try to set up a lunch to make it up to you, I’m almost an hour late to that.” She buried her head in her hands. “I’m the worst.” 

“You are not,” Hitomu insisted. “You’re at least better than Hitler.” 

Tess shook her head. “You really don’t have a problem with the fact that I see the school librarian more than I see my boyfriend?”

“Not really?” Hitomu smirked, a grin that Tess knew all too well meant he was about to say something that he thought was hysterical. “Mrs. McCarthy is a beautiful lady, don’t get me wrong, but she’s in her seventies and she’s been married since before my Dad was born. Not really stiff competition.”

Tess wasn’t laughing. “Would get serious? Please?” she said, biting the corner of her lower lip. “I’ve put a lot of thought into this lately, but it seems like you don’t even care whether we see each other or not.” Hitomu’s heart dropped into his stomach. No good conversations started like that.

Hitomu’s smile faded for the first time since Tess had entered the café. “That’s a little unfair, don’tcha think? You know I care. I move my whole schedule around every time you say you have a few spare minutes.” The moment the words left his mouth he knew he had chosen the wrong thing to say. He rushed to amend what he said before Tess could respond. “Not that I mind. I don’t. Hattie can handle the Duel Team and you know you’ll always come before any other plans. Just… I don’t know what else I can do.” Open mouth; insert foot. He was terrible at these kinds of conversations. 

“I don’t think there’s anything you can do.” The sheen of unshed tears welled up behind her eyes. “It’s been my fault most of the time, but that doesn’t change the fact that we never get to see each other. That’s not a relationship Hitomu.”

Hitomu struggled to talk through the lump forming in his throat. “By whose standards? You’re getting ready for college, Tess. I knew you were going to be busy -- you’ve always been busy. We just gotta last until you have more time. Things are bound to slow down eventually.” 

Tess looked away from him. She couldn’t look at him and say it. “Not for a long time. I’m going of to college next year and you’ll be in the professional circuit, traveling constantly. We can’t even keep in touch while we live on the same campus, how would we do on opposite ends of Ambrosia?”

Hitomu refused to acknowledge how valid her concern was. “We can figure that out when it comes up Tess.” The sinking feeling in his stomach was getting worse, and the stone in his throat had become a boulder that weighed heavier on him with every words. “Where’s this comin’ from? So you missed one duel. It’s not big a deal. I duel all the time!”

Tess shook her head. “Hitomu, when was the last time we were even in a room together for longer than an hour?” 

“You helped me practice for the duel with Elizabeth,” he answered immediately. 

“For maybe two hours. We went to lunch after that and I had to leave before we had even finished eating to go work on a group project.” The dam silently burst and tears slid down Tess’ face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do this today Hitomu. I know you have the Duel Team starting and… I’m just sorry.” She started to get up and grab her bag.

Hitomu wanted to get up and follow her but his legs felt like lead. She was almost at the door when he finally managed to call after her. “Tess, wait!”

She didn’t stop. “I’m sorry Hitomu!” she called over shoulder, then sprinted out of Coffee Cards. The bell over the door jingled as it swung closed her behind her. 

Hitomu collapsed back into his chair. He was struggling to process what had just happened. He felt numb, the same way he had felt the day he found out his Mom had died. “Are you alright?” a hesitant voice called from behind the counter. Julie, the barista working at the moment. He had forgotten she was there. “That sounded rough.”

He shook his head. “No. Maybe? I don’t think so. I don’t really know what I am right now.” 

Julie nodded softly. “I understand. Breakups are tough”

The word ‘breakup’ knocked the wind out of them. Was that what it was? Were they broken up? He couldn’t begin to imagine a life without Tess in it. She had been with him since they were fourteen. She had been his rock when his Mom died, the only thing that stopped all that anger and hatred for the world from completely taking him over when he so desperately wanted to let it. She had been there the morning he got the news his best friend was dead, had held him when his knees buckled and he couldn’t do anything but bawl. How was it she thought a few missed dates mattered in comparison to that?

Hitomu never went back to the Duel Team. He spent the rest of the day in Coffee Cards, looking at all of their old messages to see where he had gone wrong. The last thing he did that night before heading home was to change her contact in his phone. What had once read “Cartoon Queen” was now “Theresa Holden”. 

 

Episode 4: Feather and Flame

A week dragged on painfully slow. Rumors had circulated around campus by the next day (damn it Julie), so Hitomu had dealt with pitiful stares from strangers and random texts from friends who never talked to him constantly. As for his own emotions, he ran from them as much as he could, volunteering for all sorts of extra shifts he normally wouldn’t have taken before because he was trying to keep his schedule clear. 

That didn’t really matter now. 

At least today he had the Duel Meet to keep him busy. He had done most of the work for it this time; their time in the gymnasium was scheduled, new uniforms had been ordered and sized, and he had pre-planned his presentation for once. That had all been done by Friday. Saturday he had accepted a challenge from an upperclassman whose name he suddenly couldn’t remember, but he had won that in a few minutes too. He had burned up all his recreational activities in the first week of being single. He still hadn’t heard from Tess, which probably meant she was serious and they were over.  Tess. Hitomu. Over. Even just rolling the words around in his head felt wrong. 

Hitomu ended up going for a walk around campus to preoccupy himself. Too lazy to actually fix his hair, he just shoved it into his Chasden Chopper beanie and threw on a light jacket on his way out of the door. He still didn’t know what he wanted from the walk, but whatever it was, he didn’t find it; he just wandered until he wound up at Jo’s food truck. 

His appetite was gone, but his stomach rumbled, so Hitomu bought a burger. He was halfway through eating it when he spotted a familiar face seated at one of the tables. Hitomu walked over to her. “Is this seat taken, Lizzie?” he asked. “You look like you could use a friend.”

---

 

Edited April 27, 2019 by Cheshire Toon

[reparoni 161]

Hoshiko was especially excited today. Today was club meeting day and, despite her only knowing about this not too long ago, she felt like she had been waiting for years for this day. With a spring in her step, she joyfully made her way out after getting ready and headed towards where they were meeting. Souji had sent them all a message to meet at room 24. She was surprised by how sudden it was, but loved the enthusiasm shown by Souji. "Wouldn't expect any less from you, Rider." She said softy to herself, speeding up as she made her way towards the club room.

Not too long after Souji had sent the message, Hoshiko came through the door, a smile on her face as she looked around. It seemed that, outside of Souji himself, she had been the first to arrive. "Good morning Souji~!" She said, taking one of the nearby seats. "I'm sooo excited for today, you don't even know!" She exclaimed, placing her hands on her lap. She leaned in towards the boy. "Sooooo, what do you have planned for today~?"

 

[radio414 906]

Two things stuck out to Melissa and she wasn’t entirely sure how she was supposed to address them, or even what order they were supposed to be addressed in the first place! The first (because one of them had to be -- there wasn’t a specific reason why one was a greater question than the other) was, well, where was the Duel Team Meeting? Melissa didn’t know -- how could she? -- but she was pretty sure the library wasn’t it.

“Do be careful next time,” Gabriela had said.

“I’m trying,” Melissa said.

Melissa's second concern was: were they really doing the whole small talk rigamarole? After she'd already decided that they shouldn't? Sure, it was mostly a lie she told herself -- that the other party wasn't interested in chit-chat so why bother? -- but it was certainly a comfortable one. Besides, it wasn't like she couldn't, especially with someone she'd talked to before, she just, well, you know, she'd rather not.

“How… are you on this day?” Gabriela had said.

“I’m- I’m actually very well right now, thank you,” Melissa said. “How are you?”

But that didn’t really resolve the first concern which, now that she thought about it more, certainly seemed like the bigger one. The library was, what, basically on the opposite side of campus from the gymnasium and most of the related duel arenas, right? So what was Gabriela doing here?

“Are you-”

“Lost?” was the third word Melissa wanted to say, but she managed to catch herself in time. The question was too incendiary, and Melissa knew she didn’t have the requisite social skills to defuse the conversation once it was set ablaze. But at the same time, she stumbled over the pivot, which in turn caused her to alternate between frankly awkward silence, the standard “uhms” and “ahs” and repetition of those two words until it wasn’t actually clear there was actually going to be anything after them.

As always, the moment was probably shorter than it seemed, but also as always, that was only because the moment seemed to stretch on forever.

Melissa eventually did stick the landing, at least, as well as she could manage. “Are you- Are you going to your team meeting now?” It was a start, at least. “I was actually going in that direction if you don’t mind the company.”

Where?! Where was she going? A good portion of Melissa’s brain was screaming at her, begging her not to go through with this. The worst-case scenario -- the most likely scenario, even -- was that they’d just both get lost together. She felt obligated to Gabriela, yes, but that didn’t mean - no, she didn’t want to finish that sentence. The sentiment was there, and Melissa hated that it was, but still…

She was a good person! Why was even a simple act like this so hard? The only investment was time, which Melissa had plenty of. If she had an obligation to Gabriela, that was because Gabriela was in that rare category of people Melissa had gotten to know without any external factors. This wasn’t like Jun and Yusuji et al. -- as nice as their friendship was -- where even an accidental meeting meant you were friends with all of them, nor was it like Connor or anyone else in the Community Service Club where Melissa associated with them out of a common interest, no, Melissa met Gabriela fully because of Melissa’s own actions. That had to mean something.

It was that latter, thankfully larger part of Melissa that smiled and offered her hand out, beckoning Gabriela to follow her. It seemed neither of them knew exactly where they were going, but maybe they could find out together.

---

“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’”
-Isaiah 30:21 (NIV)

Edited May 23, 2019 by radio414

[Cappuccijoe 17]

"Is this seat taken, Lizzie?" a familiar deep voice rang in her ear drums. Elizabeth snapped out of her haze to discover it was Hitomu, who looked... well he's looked better, she thought to herself.

"The Duel King himself wants lunch with little old me? Well I would be honored." she snickered and gestured to the empty seat across from her. It was only until after she offered the seat did she realize what sort of trouble she had just gotten herself into. If Ashley was anyone to believe about the hot gossip, and she certainly was, Hitomu and Tess had just had something of a breakup. Shocking as it was to Elizabeth, she was confident it paled in comparison to how Hitomu felt. Elizabeth had never gone through a large scale breakup; she had had her flings here and there, maybe a few months at a time when things were really hot or when the partner was... providing things she enjoyed, but never anything on a deeply emotional level. The closest thing she could imagine was the death of Todd, and if it was anything like that, Elizabeth felt deeply sorry for him.

She thought about asking him how he was doing; after all, that's what any decent friend would do right? After all, Elizabeth and HItomu used to see each other daily. She could vividly remember a time when Todd, Hitomu, Ashley, and herself would all be in the same room, dueling game after game, talking about their dreams and aspirations, the people they were seeing that week, and whatever else bright-eyed high schoolers talked about with each other. It remained to this day that one of her deepest regrets was not staying closer to Hitomu after Todd passed; it had just become so hard to see him after the event because of how much he reminded her of Todd.

At the same time, Elizabeth also knew that she hated talking about Todd, and that was what eased her regret; it was easier to pretend this sort of thing never happened than confront it, and it would make her nothing but a hypocrite to push him to answer now.

"I heard you signed with a dueling team. That's excellent, Hitomu. You've always adored Chasden, although we could never quite figure out why." Elizabeth had another small laugh, "Especially with the rumors that Andover wanted to groom you." she placed her burger down in the small paper tray they were served in, "I'm happy that you seem to be putting it together professionally. Not that any of us ever had any doubt you would make it there."

The infrequent breeze swept through the campus, breaking the humidity and brushing Elizabeth's ponytail to the top of her exposed right shoulder, "What brings you here, anyway? I thought the duel team was meeting today. Is that later in the day?"

[Skaia 578]

Adjusting her hat, Jun was already making her way from one end of the campus to the other. Sure she had been bummed not too recently, as classes seemed to have started giving out a great deal of "mandatory readings" already, but that had all changed in light of other recent events. It was the first day of clubs, which also meant it was the first day of their team meeting up. Getting ready to start her third year, Jun was all the more excited to finally feel like a real upperclassman to all of the new members joining this year. And with her becoming vice captain, she could feel like one even more so! The girl's mood then suddenly took a downward turn as she realized what was most likely to happen. 

They were supposed to have a team meeting today. They were supposed to tell all the team members about what to expect, what to prepare for and then do some practice and advising. Of course, most of this was on the captain and his duty. And it was for that very reason, Jun's mood had dropped. "Knowing him," she started mumbling to herself, "he'll probably go like, 'oh sorry Hattie, but I got a hot date with a coffee machine that gets ornery when I don't brew with her. You can take over right? Hahaha' tch!" The last part came out much louder than the rest as the girl seemed upset, only to seem to level out again. 

Regardless of the work she'd have to do, Jun was still happy to be able to go and see the new faces there. And so, with a spring in her step and a smile on her face, Jun continued to make her way to the across campus to the team's meeting place.

[LordCowCow 840]

Conversation starter...success? Gabby wasn't so sure. Not only was Melissa so quiet, thus making it harder to read how she was really feeling, but the girl had an air about her that made Gabby wonder if she just wanted to leave.

Had she come at a bad time? Did Melissa have something to go to that she was stopping her from?

Before the girl could go too deep into it Melissa countered with a “How are you?”

"I am doing wonderfully, as always, don't you fret!" Gabriella announced. "I have a feeling that today, like all other days, will prove to be most rewarding to me."

“Are you- Are you going to your team meeting now?”

The time it took to reach this point made Gabby worried. She had an uncomfortable feeling that this kind girl was onto her somehow. Able to see through the front that she was putting up. But how? Gabby tried so hard to convince even herself that this was her natural self. In the end the girl simply was asking where she was heading. Making Gabby feel foolish for thinking that the girl meant to unmask her.

"Yes, and I would love the company of course. I'm used to a horde of companions traveling with me so this is simply the natural course!"

Melissa offered to lead and Gabriela simply shook her head. "Oh, no, never fear, I shall take the lead! It is my duty to be at the head of any progression."

Why? Why would she do that? She didn't know where they were going so she should have just let Melissa go first and figure it out from there.

And so it was that the two girls, not knowing where they were going, both unwilling to admit to it nor ask if the other knew the destination, meandered their way around the campus.

[Chaos Sonic 442]



Souji wasn't waiting too long, though he was at first expecting a response to his messages, but nevertheless...the door to the club room opened and the first to appear was Hoshiko, the idol. Always on time, as expected.

"Good morning Souji~! I'm sooo excited for today, you don't even know! Sooooo, what do you have planned for today~?"

"Hoshiko." he said nodding at the idol. "Once Sai and Kyouko get here, we're going to get to know each other...as well as the Duel styles we're dealing with." He took a seat and leaned back in it, propping his feet on the table and throwing his hands behind his head. "Myself and Sai know about each other and our respective styles already, but I want everyone here to know what their clubmates and teammates are dealing in."

He snickered slightly, waving his hand in the air dismissively. "What I'm going to hope to accomplish is to figure out where everyone needs assistance in working with. Each one of us can help another to perfect our own styles of Dueling, therefore, effectively making the Duels we're in a lot more entertaining and enjoyable to watch and be apart of. You get what I'm saying?"

[radio414 906]

“Then Jesus told them this parable: ‘Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?’”
Luke 15:3-4 (NIV)

---

Letting Gabriela take the lead was a surprisingly difficult task. Her version of “I shall take the lead!” seemed to be staying just a half-step ahead of Melissa, constantly looking back to make sure that Melissa was going the same way. If Melissa deviated even slightly from a straight line, Gabriela would tsk and beckon her to continue onward.

The very first place Melissa and Gabriela checked -- almost on a whim more than anything because, you know, they found themselves in the area and they might as well -- was Maximilian Crawford Arena. Melissa almost brought up that this was where they had first met. The key word there, of course, being “almost”. It was such a cheesy line, and what was the point anyway of reminding her of something that happened what, two weeks ago at most? So instead they wandered the area without any of that small talk and, of course, didn’t find much of anything.

Their next attempt took them to the surrounding dueling zones. A few of them were in use, drawing attention from the occasional group of spectators None of them looked familiar to Melissa, though, and when she asked Gabriela, she scoffed. “I have only been in this realm so long. There are scant few whose faces I've come to know on sight… these are not them.”

What other places were there? They hadn’t quite checked all the dueling zones -- the remaining ones were pretty far apart from each other. It wasn’t impossible, but… -- nor had they actually gone over to the gymnasium. Gabriela was still in the lead, though now that Melissa was more used to the arrangement, she didn’t seem to check on her procession as much. So when Melissa stopped in her tracks, it took Gabriela a good five more steps before she noticed.

“I don’t want to- Not mentioning this would be a lie by omission, your majesty,” Melissa said. “Um, I do know that person over there is on the duel team.” She gestured over to a silver-haired boy. “But it’s Hiraku Tsukino, and if it’s all the same to you…”

There were so, so many reasons Melissa never had an interest in joining Blue Yonder’s acclaimed duel team, and Hiraku -- or, at least, Hiraku’s reputation -- was at least seven of them. If Melissa were the exact opposite of the sort of person she was, she imagined they’d get along really well. But she wasn’t, they’d never met, and she really really hoped that for the remainder of his time on campus, they never -

Gabriela was already on her way. “You! The loud one!” she said. “Why have you not come to escort me to the meeting? It is improper to make one such as me go anywhere without company.”

Oh no.

They’d already met. Of course they’d already met, he was probably signing people up last week. How could she be so stupid! Melissa continued to berate herself, but she still chased after Gabriela. Whatever was about to happen, it couldn’t be good.

[The Warden 33]

On the morn of lunch, so to do the Seekers of the Beyond gather in their Realm of Night, so that they may commune with the spirits. In laymen's terms, a quartet of students are meeting in an unused classroom with the curtains drawn so they can play with an Ouija board. "This is boring" Marcus complained. "Seriously, we do a Ouija every day, so how about we do something different?"

"Like what?" Alison inquired, removing her hands from the board. "Do you feel we should sacrifice a few students to summon Jinzo?" she facetiously quipped. "Again?"

"Oh come on, that time was a complete accident and you know it" Marcus shot back.

"I mean, he's got a point Alison. Ouija is fun and all, but we aren't really doing much occult stuff these days" Toni added.

"I'm aware, but until weird happenings are afoot there is little for us meddling kids to do. It doesn't help that the club got only a fraction of a budget due to there being only four of us" Alison explained.

"And like, that's not all bad is it?" the fourth member spoke up.

The fourth member of course being a rather pretty girl with her blonde hair done up in ribbons and pigtails. "No Saison, it isn't. But I will admit I cam growing tired of this tedium" Alison admitted.

"Then how about we have some duels then? I got myself a brand new wicked witch deck, and I'm itching to use it to take the leadership from you" Saison smirked.

"Do you believe it's your fate to lead this sainted club from this day forwards?"

"Come now Alison," Saison grinned, "you and I don't believe in fate."

[Cheshire Toon 141]

Elizabeth knew. Hitomu could tell from the way she tensed when she saw him, mentally preparing herself for a conversation that she didn’t want to have. "The Duel King himself wants lunch with little old me?” It wasn’t hard to tell she was joking by the way she laughed while she said it, yet there was a bit of truth to the implication of unfamiliarity behind the joke that bothered him to think about. He couldn’t remember a single time in the last two years they had meaningfully interacted before the recent duel. 

Hitomu slung his legs over the bench across from Elizabeth and sat down. “C’mon Elizabeth,” he groaned, laughing softly. “Not you too. The first time I heard someone call me ‘Duel King’ I really thought that they were talking about someone else. It’s so edgy.” He took another bite of his burger and shook his head. “I prefer Cartoon King; it’s way less overdone.” He didn’t continue the conversation any further than that. It was a moment of silent eating as they both finished up their food and he braced for the question he knew was coming.

Elizabeth thankfully avoided it. "I heard you signed with a dueling team. That's excellent, Hitomu. You've always adored Chasden, although we could never quite figure out why." Elizabeth laughed briefly. Hitomu couldn’t help but smile either, thinking back on all the evenings he spent in the dorms cheering on a team as infamous as the Choppers. "Especially with the rumors that Andover wanted to groom you."

He shrugged, reaching up to grasp the plastic card sleeve that dangled from his necklace without realizing. “My Mom was from Chasden, so I was raised rooting for them.” Not to mention Andover had expected him to pack up his bags and finish the last of his final year in school online. They had wanted him to start boot camping as soon as they could get him to sign the papers. “Besides, Todd would have killed me if I signed with Andover. He hated them. Remember how mad he used to get every time they won a series?” Hitomu was sure his ears were still ringing from all the shouting that went on when Andover was on the television.

The conversation lulled again. A cool breeze swept over the courtyard, punctuating the silence that hung between them with a soft chill. Their conversations were always like this these days; awkward and full of pauses, phantom pains left behind by a mutually shared ghost of their past. Elizabeth was once again the one to eventually break the silence. "What brings you here, anyway? I thought the duel team was meeting today. Is that later in the day?"

“The meet doesn't start for about an hour,” Hitomu confirmed. “I was just going for a walk to try and clear my head and stopped for some food. How have you been though? I tried to catch up to you after our duel but the crowd kinda swarmed me.” He flashed a sly, if half-hearted, grin. “A little birdie told me you went out on a date with one my new rookies.”
 

Edited May 5, 2019 by Cheshire Toon

[VCR_CAT 19]

Hiraku

“You! The loud one!” Hiraku heard a semi-familiar voice call out as he made his way to the next Duel Team meeting, and he stopped in his tracks, turning around slowly. “Why have you not come to escort me to the meeting? It is improper to make one such as me go anywhere without company.”

"Oh, it's the Chuuni," Hiraku said, eyeing the other girl that had run up beside her for only a brief moment, but it was nobody that he had recognized, so he returned his attention to Gabriela. "Why do you need an escort, aren't you supposed to be 'all powerful and unstoppable' or whatever?" Hiraku said in a slightly mocking tone. "Or are you just lost and don't want to admit it?"

This upcoming meeting was something he had not been looking forward to. On top of one of the new recruits being loud and annoying, the other just happened to be you-know-who. If it were up to Hiraku, he would have them both kicked out of the team, but he wasn't in any sort of position to do anything like that. Also, if he tried to voice this sort of grievance, he would either be subject to Hitomu's apathy, or Jun giving him an earfull for his attitude. Again.

Edited May 9, 2019 by VCR_CAT

[The Frost King 6]

 

“Excuse me!”, Akari blurted out as she bumped past someone, giving a meek wave back as she continued down the hallway in a hurry. As she neared yet another classroom door, she did what she had done with the past several doors, stopped and peered inside.

 Empty

 With a sigh, she kept going on her way. Where was this club?! She knew it was a brand-new club and all, but considering she had been in two different buildings and still hadn’t found any sign of this entertainment duel club, she was starting to get a little annoyed. Of course, her strategy for trying to find the club probably wasn’t the best, but it was better than nothing. As she came across another empty room, she thought back to how she had gotten to this point.

 After stocking up on club flyers on the first day, she had spent following days deciding on which one of the clubs she should.  For most people, they would have probably decided on what club to join within the first three days, but Akari wasn’t most people.

 She didn’t like making rushed decisions, as doing so usually resulted in her making the wrong choice. So she took her time on picking what club to join, whittling down the number of clubs until she had two remaining: The duel club and the duel entertainment club. In the end, she picked the entertainment club. Because while her family were known for being competitive duelists, she had always wanted to be an entertainment duelist ever since her brother had became the first one in the family. And with her choice made, she went to look for the club. But she wasn’t able to find any sign of the club, nor did anybody seem to know if such a club existed. She couldn’t even find Kyouko or the orange-haired kid who had been looking for members for the club. So with her search being fruitless, she came up with a new plan. She’d find the club when they met up.

 And so here she was, aimlessly making her way from door to door, hoping to find the room where the entertainment duel club was meeting. As her search continued, she mindlessly started counting the room numbers as she went.

 20

 Empty

 21

 A board game club

 22

 Some sort of book club

 23

 Empt-

 Huh? Was that the floor?

 THUD

 “Ow.” With a gentle hand, Akari started to rub her hurting head while slowly picking herself up from the floor. She had tripped, that she was certain of, but what had she tripped on? A quick scan around revealed the obvious culprit: An untied shoelace. Letting out a sigh, she started to quickly re-tie it. Hopefully she found this club soon, cause today was starting to look like a bad day.

Edited May 9, 2019 by The Frost King

[LordCowCow 840]

"Oh, it's the Chuuni,"

That wasn't the first time someone had called her that. What did it even mean? She hadn't heard the term before. Perhaps she should look it up sometime...

"Why do you need an escort, aren't you supposed to be 'all powerful and unstoppable' or whatever?" Hiraku said in a slightly mocking tone. "Or are you just lost and don't want to admit it?"

Yes.

"No!" Gabriela said with as stomp of her foot. "The fact that you even suggest something like that is absolutely unacceptable. I don't know how things are in your country but it is the most natural thing for a princess such as I to be given an escort. Normally it would be more than this but I graciously offered you and Melissa the honor of doing it yourselves."

She was incredibly embarrassed. Gabby hadn't been prepared to talk with someone who disliked her so much. She didn't know what to do to change that, either, beyond completely changing course. Which wasn't something she was willing to do after she had so solidly made her name and attitude known.

The only thing she could think was to appeal to Melissa. The girl was awkward, sure, but Gabby felt that the girl wasn't the type that was easy to yell at. "Is that not right?" Gabriela said, turning towards the girl. "This is simply the proper way to do things, yes?"

 

[Cappuccijoe 17]

Elizabeth Hall

Elizabeth could only chuckle at the mention of Todd going barmy over another Andover victory; the way he used to swear, stomp, and sometimes throw small objects was almost frightening at times, but was always, always followed by a speech to the effect of:

“We're gonna beat those guys when we go pro! They won't know what to do when these Blue Yonder chaps take the scene by storm! Harpies, Toons, and Cyber Dragons… we are gonna reinvent dueling bruv, I swear on it. Bet my whole lot of cards we're going to be the best. Andover will be a footnote.”

“I guess you're right Hitomu; he would have f****** hated that. You'd be world champ by the end of the year though.” She shrugged, “It'll be two years in just two more months. Delia and Broderick miss seeing you two around the pantry, I think. More food than they'd know what to do with these days. I think they probably just throw it in the wastebasket.” She snickered.

Conversation went silent for some time after that, as it always did. Inside, it made Elizabeth want to scream; she wanted to find something, anything to say. Something that would snap the universe back into focus for the both of them, where they could laugh about how Elizabeth's hair looked sweaty or something. About how clumsy it was of her to fall in the dance studio while dancing her favorite ballet. About how Todd was going to fail his biology lab, again, if he didn't beg and plead Tess or Elizabeth to “help him out with it”, which really meant he would buy some pizza for the apartment and the girls would spend the night studying RNA samples. About… being alive again. If only it were that simple for the latter.

“I tried to catch you after our duel… How are you anyway?” Hitomu, mercifully, broke the silence.

“Ah, truth be told I stormed off like a child. I was mad at myself for taking the duel; I wasn't even close to ready for it. Then when Ash put me up to it I felt like I couldn't really say no, you know? She was right. I mean, look at us right now. You would think we've never met before.” She looked up at the sky; a dark cloud loomed off in the distance, but showed no real signs of danger.

For once, she told the absolute truth: “Things haven't been the same. I'm trying really hard this year to get past it and be myself again, and… yeah I went on a date trying.” She laughed, both nervously and genuinely, covering her mouth with her thumb and forefinger to stop any spit or remnants of burger from flying out, “But I uhm, I don't think it's going anywhere. He doesn't really seem all that interested. It's a shame… I liked our night out. We just played cards all night and talked about school.” Elizabeth smiled from ear to ear, despite trying to hide it by looking down, “I don't think he won a single game. He was trying so hard but, he really needs a lot of work.” The smile, however, faded quickly.

“It was the first time in a long, long time someone looked at me without… well, y'know, guilt.” she tapped her phone quickly: No New Messages.

It was about then that Beth realized how selfish she was being; Hitomu had just broken up with Tess and she had the nerve to complain about her love life. She looked up to Hitomu, and if he had a loose hand on the table, would place hers on top of it, squeezing lightly. She felt it was inevitable that she at least brought it up, and she wanted to make it quick, but memorable.

“I know you don't want to talk about it… I'm familiar with that feeling. But when you're ready, or if you're ever hurting, I'm not exactly a therapist but I'd be glad to cook you a meal and cry with you.” She smiled softly to the man she considered part of the family. As she let go of his hand, she could only hope he took her offer seriously.

Silence fell over the lunch table once again, and a cool breeze swept through the campus.

 

Ashley Rendleman

“You and I both know we can't just host a school spirit event on a weekday for no reason, Ms. Rendleman. The budget will never endorse that sort of plan.” A balding, elderly man looked upon the student board with a familiar frown. It wasn't often the teacher sponsors agreed with the board initially.

Ashley's mind snapped to a boxing ring, her other board members in her corner, frantically wiping sweat from her brow and coaching her after taking the last big punch at the end of the round. She shook her head and continued back into the ring.

“To say we're proposing a school spirit day with no purpose is short sighted at best. It's the Duel Team's first meet; it's important to have the school in their colors to support our most fiscally profitable organization, especially after our captain just got signed to a professional organization!”

Gut punch! The enemy boxer wobbled back, sucking for air, but this fight was destined to go through every round from the very beginning.

“If the students want to wear their colors for the Duel Team, a simple PA announcement will do. There is no need for merch tables, the cheerleading team, the school band, AND the student board all at the front of the academy.”

Her imaginary boxer had just dropped to a knee. The PA announcement was the kiss of death for student board ideas; it was cost effective, showed an increase in attendance, and could be done twice a day. When combined with something, it was lethal, but alone… there was a chance this fight wasn't over just yet.

Ashley adjusted her bun, straightened her back out, and brushed the wrinkles out of her platinum skirt, matched, of course, to a blue blouse, to prepare for what would likely be her last chance at getting approved: she busted out a simple folder, and removed a few charts from it, then continued,

“Once again, I disagree. Attached here is the cost-benefit analysis of band and cheerleading involvement, prepared by our treasurer. You can see here that the chart clearly states a direct positive causality between student attendance and aggressive performance based advertising. When students show up, students spend money, and when students spend money, the school can afford the next month of events.” Ashley smiled confidently, “Ones we most certainly have already prepared charts for, Sir.”

It was a knockout! The imaginary boxer howled in defeat as he crashed to the canvas, coinciding with the disgruntled man disapprovingly stamping the sheet, ironically approving the event to go through. The school board bowed respectfully and collected their belongings, exiting the room quietly.

“YEEEEEESSSSSSS!!” Ashley proclaimed, hunching over and wiggling in excitement, stamping her half inch heels back and forth. The rest of the school board followed in kind with their own unique celebration of sorts, where that be hand shakes, high fives, or awkward fists in the air.

“Great win team! We're off to a great start this year, and I think the school is really feeling it! This pep event is going to be LEGENDARY!” she looked down at her wrist watch after celebrating and talking with the team for some time, only to be quickly grabbing the top of her head in shock, “Oh!! Oh no! I'm going to be late for history! Okay, see you on Friday everyone for our board meeting. Take the rest of the day off, you all earned it!”

Ashley scampered away, smiling from ear to ear. She knew that, from a personality standpoint, she wasn't always the student body's favorite, but there was a certain joy she got knowing that the school was benefiting as a result of something she helped to create. She loved watching people make new friends at events, even if it came at her personal expense. Her daydreaming came to a halt as she burst into the lecture room, apologizing profusely.

“You're late Ms. Rendleman.” Stating the obvious was a voice she was all too familiar with. Ashley could only groan as she knew what was coming next from the same balding, elderly man:

“Should I make a chart to show how this will affect your grade point average if you continue to be tardy?” He returned a confident smile, pointing to her chair.

“And can you believe it folks?! After taking an uppercut like that, the boxer has stood up! We're on to the next round and Rendleman looks stunned!”

Edited May 11, 2019 by Cappuccijoe

[Cheshire Toon 141]

Hitomu hadn’t even thought about how Todd and Elizabeth’s parents were feeling. Another few pounds of guilt stacked themselves onto his already encumbered shoulders when he remembered all of the summers he had all but lived at their house; it was nothing for him to go two, sometimes even three weeks without ever going back to his own home the year he lost his Mom. He and his Dad had needed space and Todd’s parents were more than understanding, and how he had repaid their kindness? By ghosting them when it was his turn to try and return the favor. 

It was only in the past week he had really started to reflect on his own actions. Whenever he was hurting, he took and took and took from anyone who offered him emotional support, but whenever it was someone else hurting, he did nothing. A few words of support, a promise he was there if they ever needed him, but never anything concrete. Enough to ease his consciousness but not enough to actually require him to ever put any real effort in. That was going to change, he decided, as he listened to Elizabeth reluctantly reveal her insecurities about not only her life but her recent date. 

He was caught off guard when she suddenly took his hand in her own and gently squeezed. She was cold as ice (or maybe he was just warm? Tess was always complaining that he was like a heater), so at first his reaction was to pull away, but when he looked up and met her gaze he hesitated. The line that divided pity and sympathy was a thin one, or at least that’s what he had always thought, but when he looked at Lizzie’s soft and vulnerable expression, there was no doubt in his mind that she just wanted to comfort him. “. . . I know you don’t want to talk about it. . . I'm familiar with that feeling. But when you're ready, or if you're ever hurting, I'm not exactly a therapist but I'd be glad to cook you a meal and cry with you.” She smiled after that. A small, warm thing, a thousand times more genuine than the twisted and ironic smirk that she had taken to so much in the last two years. 

The weight on his shoulders eased slightly and Hitomu returned the smile with one of his own. “... Thanks. It means a lot,” he said, and was surprised to find that he meant it. She was one of the few people that he really thought could understand how much Tess meant to him. Elizabeth was one of the only friends that he still had who had been there since the start, before he was Blue Yonder’s famous Duel King, back when he was just another loudmouthed student with a dream and a deck.

“Hey, this might seem kind of random so feel free to say no, but… I was thinking that maybe you wouldn’t mind giving us a hand today? We’re just going over deck comp and theorycrafting, so it wouldn’t be very much work,” he said. “Plus I figure these days you prefer coaching over actual dueling, and you know I’ve never been good at explaining the technical side of this stuff to people. Whaddaya say?” 
 

Edited May 11, 2019 by Cheshire Toon

[radio414 906]

The very first plan, the very first impulse Melissa had as she chased after Gabriela, was to grab her -- by anything she could get her hands on -- and pull her away. It was a dumb plan. It wasn’t the worst, but it was close. It wouldn’t have worked anyway; Hiraku already knew they were there.

Well, he already knew Gabriela was there. He was already looking around, but his eyes glazed over Melissa. If she left now, just disappeared from the scene, she’d escape whatever terrible fate Gabriela had gotten herself into- No, that wasn’t a good idea either. It just… did she really need to justify that one again? To herself or anybody else? It was just a tiring process, and it wasn’t an option at this point anyway. It just wasn’t!

“Oh, it’s the chuuni,” Hiraku said. Which, from what Melissa had heard, was probably him pulling his punches a little bit. She couldn’t imagine anything worse, but she wasn’t Hiraku. “Why do you need an escort anyway?”

That was her: “The escort.” It wasn’t how Melissa would have put it -- “escort” had at least one usage that she definitely wasn’t -- but there was no way she was going to say that out loud. Not to anybody, especially not Hiraku. If she could just get through this with the knowledge that he could only attach a title to her at best, she’d consider that a success.

“Normally it would be more than this but I graciously offered you and Melissa the honor of doing it yourselves.”

Well, now he knew her name, so that was- that sure was something. Gabriela even turned to her for a follow-up question, so there was even the association between the name and the face. What was left? That he just wouldn’t remember her afterwards? Melissa, almost unconsciously, let out a tiny squeak. That seemed like too small of something to hope for.

Gabriela’s question still echoed in her mind. “This is simply the proper way to do things, yes?” she had said. And yes, Melissa did suppose that anyone of importance would have multiple people following them around, but that wasn’t really why she’d been following Gabriela. It was a minor distinction, but she hadn’t been following Gabriela because Gabriela had wanted her to, but because she -- Melissa -- wanted to.

---

You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
-John 8:44 (NIV)

---

Hadn’t she just said she didn’t want to lie by omission? Agreeing here seemed just like that, the only obvious difference being that Gabriela wanted her to this time. Her obligation to not lie wasn’t to her, of course, but it felt like there was some weight there. So she was just stuck. And even if she did make a decision, what was she supposed to say?

Melissa made a few noncommittal gestures. A nod, a shrug, a whatever. It was better than just standing there with dinner plates for eyes and a bit lip. I didn’t work, of course. Gabriela was still staring at her expectantly and Hiraku… she didn’t want to even think about what he was thinking. Time had long since run out for this to be anything but awkward, but she still had to go for something.

“I would expect as much, but…” Melissa said. An “um” came out soon after, but there really wasn’t a follow-up to that “but” for a good while. Even then, it was, “No, never mind. Um,” which was probably worse.

“I’m sorry I’m not much help.”

[The Warden 33]

Alison smiled tentatively. "That is true. Well then, let us see who will become the next leader of the Occult Club" she declared, drawing her deck from her bag.

"Ha! Come on Ali, don't be so serious, I was only kidding" Saison answered, poking her tongue out. "I could never beat you anyways."

"Well, with a brand new deck you are unfamiliar with, I have no doubt you'd lose quickly" Alison remarked.

"Hmm, true" Saison nodded, tapping her lips and smiling. "Oooh, but I have a fun idea~!"

"And what is that?"

"How bout we duel with each other's deck instead? Just a fun little duel" Saison suggested.

"Intriguing, but isn't that a little unfair since you are familiar with my Fortune Lady deck, and I have no idea what your deck even is" Alison pointed out.

"Oh I know that, but it's not like I have any idea how your Fortune Ladies even work anyways. Not as well as you anyways. Besides, you're really clever, so I think you'd be able to figure out my Hecate deck pretty well."

"So that's it? You wanna see how your deck is used so you don't have to figure it our yourself? Also nice deck choice."

"Thanks! And well yeah, you're pretty clever Alison, so I figure you'd be able to figure out the basics of my deck so I can learn from there."

"Well, we have a little time to kill, so why not?" Alison smiled, albeit weakly.

"Awesome. Now you boys, how bout you referee to make sure we don't cheat?" Saison said to the background characters.

"Oh yes, thanks for noticing we exist" Marcus sassily responded.

"One should be glad you are noticeable, less you non-existent like ghosts" Alison spoke as she and Saison exchanged decks. Unfurling them, she raised a brow at the significant expanse of green card pervading the deck, and a distinct lack of traps as well. "You have an awful lot of spell cards in your deck."

"Oh, the guide told me that the Hecate archetype need a lot of spells for stuff, so I built the deck with a lot of them" Saison explained, looking through Alison's deck. "Man, how do you even keep up with all these search effects?"

"I should say the same. All these Hecate spells search" Alison noted.

"Look, why don't you guys duel to find out what these cards do?" Toni spoke up.

"Yeah, he's right. You ready to duel Ali? You can have the first turn, so you can do the wicked witchy stuff without interruption" Saison said.

"You are most generous. Well then, let us begin!"

With both decks shuffled and on the desk, both players drew their starting hand.

~~Alison: 8000 || Saison: 8000~~

Looking over her starting hand, Alison was met by a whole hand of spell cards. Taking one, it was placed onto the field. "Okay, i'm going to start with Hecate's Poison, which does 1000 damage to you, then let's me add a Hecate monster from my deck to my hand, then send a Hecate card from my deck to my grave" she announced.

"Oof, already going for some quick damage Ali?"

"It seems most efficient" Alison answered, looking through the deck. The number of different monsters she had available amounted to four choices total, with plenty of discard fodder. "Okay, I am going to add Yellow Hecate to my hand and, hmmm, I guess I'll send Red Hecate to the graveyard."

"You're not gonna send a spell?"

"No, I'm not. Because now I'm going to use Hecate's Vengeance to bring Red Hecate back from the graveyard, and then I'm going to send Violet Hecate to the graveyard because of Vengeance" Alison explained, taking the red witch and placing it onto her field while the violet (and much younger and beautifuller) witch to the grave.

Saison was scratching her head at this. "Shouldn't you be filling up your graveyard full of spells so you can do stuff though?"

"I'm seeing how well I do with monsters first. But you are right, which is why I'm using Hecate's Coven, which lets me add any Hecate card to my hand at the cost of of sending one, which all the cards appear to do. Well, magic has its price doesn't it? So I'm going to add Hecate's Boon to my hand, but then send Hecate's Key to my graveyard. .... You know Saison, I don't quite think this deck is for you. It requires a lot of thought going into doing what I perceive to be very long turns" Alison observed.

"Which is why I'm having a smart girl like you test things out silly~"

"Right, well, I will use Hecate's Boon to cast out Yellow Hecate from my hand to draw two cards, then I'll send another Hecate's Key from my deck to the graveyard. Then I'll, hmm. Oh right, I'll use Red Hecate's effect. So I'll banish a Hecate's Key from my graveyard, then discard Hecate's Herbalism so I can revive Yellow Hecate from my graveyard. And with the exhausting turn out of the way, I think I'll end it for now" Alison decided.

"Okay, but like, don't those spells have extra effects? When they're in the graveyard during the End Phase?"

"Do they? Oh right, it says here I can banish them and another Hecate spell to... reuse their effect? That's unique. So, let's see, this turn I've used Hecate's Vengeance, Hecate's Coven, Hecate's Boon-"

"You've also used Hecate's Poison" Toni pointed out.

"Thank you, so I've also used Hecate's Poison. So I have four spells I can potentially reuse, but I have only six total spell cards. Well, poison doesn't matter to me much, so I'll reuse Boon, Coven, and Vengeance by banishing Poison, Key, and Herbalism respectively."

"So you're going to discard for Boon?"

"Well, with the way this card is written, I only have to apply the effect, and not the discard cost, so no, I don't. I must say Saison, if you can get a handle of these cards you'll come out on top in duels, provided your opponents don't have anti-spell cards. Either way, in order I shall now draw 2 cards, and send Hecate's Gateway to my graveyard. I will then add Hecate's Spiritualism to my hand at the cost of another Hecate's Gateway. And finally I shall revive Violet Hecate while sending Hecate's Poison to the graveyard. And that, I believe, concludes my turn."

Saison just sat there, quietly. "Wow, I kinda overestimated this deck huh? Maybe I should've dueled you using it instead if they can so much whacky stuff" she giggled.

 

Alison: 8000 LP
Hand: 6 (Hecate's Spiritualism + 5 unknown)
Field: Red Hecate, Yellow Hecate, Violet Hecate
Graveyard: Hecate's Gateway x2, Hecate's Poison
Banished: Hecate's Key x2, Hecate's Poison, Hecate's Vengeance, Hecate's Coven, Hecate's Boon, Hecate's Herbalism

 

Spoiler

Hecate’s Poison
Normal Spell
Inflict 1000 damage to your opponent, then add 1 “Hecate” monster from your Deck to your hand, then send 1 “Hecate” card from your Deck to the GY. During the End Phase of the turn you resolved this effect: You can banish this card and 1 other “Hecate” Spell Card from your GY; apply the above effect. You can only use this effect of this card’s name once per turn.

Yellow Hecate
DARK
*******
Spellcaster / Effect
You can Special Summon this card (from your hand) by discarding 1 “Hecate” card. Once per turn (Quick Effect): You can banish 1 Spell Card from your GY, then discard 1 Spell Card to apply 1 of the following effects;
*For the rest of the turn, “Hecate” monsters cannot be returned to your hand or sent to the GY by your opponent’s card effects.
*Destroy this card and 1 card your opponent controls, then add 2 “Hecate” cards from your Deck to your hand.
You can only use each effect of this card’s name once per turn.
ATK: 2500 / DEF: 2300

Red Hecate
DARK
*******
Spellcaster / Effect
You can Special Summon this card (from your hand) by discarding 1 “Hecate” card. Once per turn (Quick Effect): You can banish 1 Spell Card from your GY, then discard 1 Spell Card to apply 1 of the following effects;
*Apply the banished target’s effect.
*Special Summon 1 “Hecate” monster from your hand or GY.
You can only use each effect of this card’s name once per turn.
ATK: 2500 / DEF: 2300

Violet Hecate
DARK
*******
Spellcaster / Effect
You can Special Summon this card (from your hand) by discarding 1 “Hecate” card. When this card is Summoned: You can banish 1 Spell Card from your GY, then discard 1 Spell Card to apply 1 of the following effects;
*During this turn you can Normal Summon 1 Level 7 “Hecate” monster (except “Violet Hecate”) without Tribute as an additional Normal Summon/Set.
*During the End Phase of this turn, you can add up to 3 Spell Cards you discarded this turn from your GY to your hand.
You can only use each effect of this card’s name once per turn.
ATK: 2500 / DEF: 2300

Hecate’s Vengeance
Normal Spell
Target 1 “Hecate” monster in your GY; Special Summon it, then send 1 “Hecate” card from your Deck to the GY. During the End Phase of the turn you resolved this effect: You can banish this card and 1 other “Hecate” Spell Card from your GY; apply the above effect. You can only use this effect of this card’s name once per turn.

Hecate’s Coven
Normal Spell
Add 1 “Hecate” card (except “Hecate’s Coven”) from your Deck to your hand, then send 1 “Hecate” card from your Deck to the GY. During the End Phase of the turn you resolved this effect: You can banish this card and 1 other “Hecate” Spell Card from your GY; apply the above effect. You can only use this effect of this card’s name once per turn.

Hecate’s Boon
Normal Spell
Discard 1 “Hecate” card; draw 2 cards, then send 1 “Hecate” card from your Deck to the GY. During the End Phase of the turn you resolved this effect: You can banish this card and 1 other “Hecate” Spell Card from your GY; apply the above effect. You can only use this effect of this card’s name once per turn.

Hecate’s Herbalism
Normal Spell
Gain 1000 LP, then add 1 “Hecate” monster from your Deck to your hand, then send 1 “Hecate” card from your Deck to the GY. During the End Phase of the turn you resolved this effect: You can banish this card and 1 other “Hecate” Spell Card from your GY; apply the above effect. You can only use this effect of this card’s name once per turn.

Hecate’s Gateway
Normal Spell
Shuffle 5 of your banished “Hecate” cards into your Deck, and if you do, add 1 “Hecate” monster from your Deck to your hand, then then send 1 “Hecate” card from your Deck to the GY. During the End Phase of the turn you resolved this effect: You can banish this card and 1 other “Hecate” Spell Card from your GY; apply the above effect. You can only use this effect of this card’s name once per turn.

Hecate’s Spiritualism
Normal Spell
Target 2 “Hecate“ monsters in your hand or GY; shuffle them into your Deck, and if you do, add 1 “Hecate” monster from your Deck to your hand, then send 1 “Hecate” card from your Deck to the GY. During the End Phase of the turn you resolved this effect: You can banish this card and 1 other “Hecate” Spell Card from your GY; apply the above effect. You can only use this effect of this card’s name once per turn.

 

[Zai 26]

 

"Alright Yushiro, out with it. What's got you in such a knot that you're acting like this?

Busted. Still, Yushiro made a last-ditch effort to throw his boss off. “Oh, you know… nothing really. Just kinda… daydreaming.” Totally bogus. Quite possibly the most transparent lie he’d ever told.

“Daydreamers don’t muck up their work this badly. So I’ll ask again, what’s bothering you?”

He sighed. “Sorry Jo, I just… I’ve got a lot on my mind lately, and to be honest, I don’t know what to do about it.” Being that frank about it didn’t make him feel any better, but Jo had a talent for prying honesty out of him.

“That so?” Jo leaned onto the counter, an intrigued look on her face. “I don’t mind listening if you want to talk about it.”

Want to talk about it? He hadn't even told his best friend about Liz yet. Liz. When had he started calling her that? Like they were good friends or something. No, better to just talk about something he knew Jo could help him with. “So I kinda got myself roped into a duel at the Kickoff Cup this weekend and, well… I’m pretty sure I’m toast. It’s gonna be in front of basically everyone, too.”

“Then you need to train a lot, and just play your best.” Jo turned her attention away for a short moment, to deal with a customer that had come up looking for something to munch on. She took note of the order, and wrote it down. Turning to get started on the pretty simple meal, Jo continued “I used to get nervous before tournaments myself, when I dueled competitively. I still remember my first one like it was yesterday.”

“That’s kinda why I’m worried about it. I’ve been training and well, I’ve lost pretty much every game I’ve played since.” He paused a moment. “I don’t know why it's bothering me so much, either. I never used to care about winning like this. Guess it's different when you’ve got a big audience.”

“Hmmm… not as much as you’d think. Obviously you’re there to win, but as long as you treat it like just another duel and do your best, you can at least go home saying you tried if you end up losing. But don’t forget to train! You are training for this, right?”

“Yeah. I am. Went out for duel team and everything. Got beat pretty bad during tryouts too.”

“How bad are we talking here? I saw your duel the other week and you played to a tie. That’s a start.”

Yushiro’s face went flush. “You saw that?” His tie against Hiraku wasn’t a game he was particularly proud of. “But uhh, I got decked. Totally outplayed.” Yushiro leaned back against the counter, awkwardly looking toward the roof of the truck for a moment. “I don’t think I’ve got the skills or the deck to cut it, honestly.”

“Let’s see it then,” Jo insisted, holding out one hand as the other kept working on the food. “I’ve got a few extra cards lying around that might help you out if you need them.” Old cards from an old time. Jo didn’t duel enough to justify keeping them anymore anyway, though her actual deck wouldn’t be leaving her side quite that easily.

He fished around in his pockets a bit before producing his deck box. “Jo you don’t need to do this, you know.” Stupid thing to say. Of course she didn’t need to help him out. The fact that she hadn't just fired him on the spot was a small miracle.

“It’s fine; I don’t really duel all that often these days you know.” Jo thumbed her way through the deck, looking the cards over. “Mhm, mhm, mhm… I think I see the problem. You need something to win with.” Jo handed the deck back to Yushiro, before opening the little red box at her side, pulling out her own pile of cards. She went through, looking for something particular… there! She slid the corner of the card out a bit more, holding the pile out to Yushiro so he could pull the card out. “Try this one on for size.”

Yushiro gingerly pinched the corner of the card and pulled it out. What immediately stood out to him was the name text: Gold in color. This thing was rare. “You sure you want to give me something like this?” he said as he read it over. Clear Wing Synchro Dragon, a level 7 dragon-type. It was sleek and fearsome looking; the kind of thing Yushiro expected Jo to keep in her extra deck back when she was a pro.

“Even when I had it, I didn’t summon it that often. You’ll get way more mileage out of that card than me, so take good care of it."

He nodded. “Thanks. You think this’ll be enough?” He came off a little apprehensive, despite his attempt to hide his nerves. Card games were usually what he used to de-stress, and one being the source of some of his worries was making it difficult to cope with everything else that was bugging him.

“As long as you’re good about training and keeping the right plays in mind, yes.”

“Here’s hoping it works.” He replied.

Jo's eyes narrowed, and with a swift motion, snatched the card back out of Yushiro's hand. "Alright kiddo, spill it. What's really got you all out of sorts?"

Yushiro blushed. Jo always saw right through him, or maybe she was just really good at getting him to drop his guard. Either way, there wasn't much point in hiding it. "Well.." he paused, trying to figure out a way to word it that didn't make him feel so embarrassed. "I started talking to this girl, and-"

"Called it." Jo interrupted him, a coy smile appearing on her face. "So my little Yushiro's in looove is he?" She dragged the word out a little longer to tease him.

"L-love?" His face was bright red now. "N-no its nothing like that-I-I m-mean i-it kinda is but its not that serious we only went out one time and it was just sorta casual you know we just dueled at coffecards it was no big deal."

Jo giggled. "Don't be silly. Its a big deal to you if she's got you so flustered, right? So what's the matter? She turn you down for a second date?" Again, Jo was playing with him. Revenge for his poor performance this shift.

"It went really well, actually." Yushiro looked away. The conversation was too awkward for him to make eye contact. " We dueled for like, three hours, and it was a lot of fun-even if she did beat me almost every time. Its just... She's way out of my league. I don't really know what I can do to impress her, so I've been trying this competitive dueling thing, but you know how that's going. So we haven't been talking to much for the past few days. I don't really know what to say to her."

"Yushiro, you already did."

"What?"

"If this girl's so far out of your league, and she went out with you anyway, and you both had a good time, then you've already impressed her."

"I... don't really follow you Jo."

Jo groaned. "She's interested in YOU, dummy, not your dueling skills. You're a sweet boy, and believe it or not that's something girls actually like. I guarantee if you just ask her to hang out again, she'd be delighted. You giving her the silent treatment because you're nervous is only going to make her think you don't like her."

Yushiro stayed quiet for a moment, mulling it over. Before he could speak again though, Jo put Clear Wing back into his hand.

"And if you're still worried, let this guy give you some confidence." She gave Yushiro a reassuring look. "I know that whole heart of the cards thing's a big cliche, but telling myself that my deck had my back always helped me get over my anxieties before a game. Trust your cards, and trust yourself, ok? If you do that, you're gonna be just fine. No matter what happens."

Yushiro nodded, his boss's point having gotten across. He gently slipped Clear Wing into his deck box, then went to get back to work.

"Oh no you don't. I can't have you burning anymore food. You're free to go for today."

'You sure?"

"I'm sure. Now get out of here before I decide to dock you an hour's pay, lover boy." The last comment was enough to shoo Yushiro out of the truck. A minute or so later, he was walking past the tables that were arranged in the vicinity of Fast Food when he heard a familiar voice saying something.

"I know you don't want to talk about it… I'm familiar with that feeling. But when you're ready, or if you're ever hurting, I'm not exactly a therapist but I'd be glad to cook you a meal and cry with you.”

It was Elizabeth, and from the sound of things it looked like she was having a heart-to-heart with... Hitomu- her opponent from the other week, and Yushiro's new team captain. Best to keep moving so as not to interrupt them.

"Just do it, you idiot."

The words rang out in his head as Yushiro felt himself almost automatically begin to walk toward them, and before long he was in plain view; there was no backing out now. Quickly, he came up with a way to insert himself into their conversation. "H-hey guys. Sorry if I interrupted something. Mind if I sit down? I uhh, actually wanted to ask you both some things."

 

Edited May 15, 2019 by Zai

[Cappuccijoe 17]

Somewhere, deep in the pit of her stomach, she knew something like this was coming. This was the sort of duality she had come to expect when she interacted with someone from her past. At some point, it would always come back to, in some way, bringing things back to the way they used to be.

With Hitomu though, it was different. It was part of the reason they barely spoke meaningfully anymore. Hitomu isn't a part of her past. For as many anniversaries of Todd's death there will be until she joins him, Hitomu will always be there. Hitomu was, quite literally, the fifth mouth at the table. He had coffee mugs hanging above their sink, he had his preferred spot at the table, there were even nights where Todd would go out and sleep on the couch so Hitomu could get a night's rest in a bed. Elizabeth would never admit it, far be it for her to judge people on the way they mourned someone's death, but there was always a part of her that wanted to scream at him every time she saw him. 

Why didn't you ever come back for supper?

It was stupid. Elizabeth knew she was being irrational and yet, when Todd died it felt like she had lost both brothers. There was a canyon-sized divide driven between the both of them when he passed, because neither of them were old enough, mature enough to process what happened. Now it had been nearly two years, and it felt too late to reconcile on what happened. She should be over this by now, he clearly is, and it's as simple as just helping a friend out you've known since you wore duel monsters pajamas to sleep with his meeting. And yet...

"Oh, I don't know Hitomu. " she straightened up on the bench, quickly retying her ponytail while mulling over the question, "You really think someone like me has any business even being there? My rating has been in a free fall for years now." It was a flimsy excuse; she knew Hitomu could care less about her rating, and he also knew exactly why her rating had fallen so severely over time. The truth was still there: she would be a perfect fit for what he was asking for, but there was this rock in her chest that felt like it was crushing her heart and closing her throat, just from the anxiety of putting herself back in that spot.

Still, there was a part of her that yearned to be with the team again. It had always been that way. She wore her blue yonder duel team shirts every meet day, and she never missed a date. She knew the standings down to the percentage, she even tracked the opposing decks, like she used to when she dueled in the three spot on the lineup. There was a part of her that still felt like she never left the team.

"Maybe just this one time. It's uhm," Elizabeth continued to nervously fidget in place, clearly beginning to crack a bit under the question. "It's just a lot of time commitment, you know? The last duel team function I even went to was right befo-"

"H-hey guys. Sorry if I interrupted something. Mind if I sit down? I uhh, actually wanted to ask you both some things."

Elizabeth was thankful to have been interrupted...that was until she realized who she had been interrupted by. The anxiety in her stomach from Hitomu's question had just rushed straight to the top of her chest and into her cheeks. 

Oh NOW he wants to talk?! I'm not wearing any makeup, and my hair's a mess from this humidity, I'm practically walking around in bloody gym clothes!! Why did he have to see me like this NOW?

Elizabeth looked to her left for a moment, both avoiding eye contact and checking to see if there was any more bench, scooting over a bit to make room for him,

"Oh, Hi Yushiro. It wasn't much of anything. Take a seat." She looked at Hitomu, a slight panic in her eye; things were about to get infinitely more awkward, she could feel it. What Yushiro had on his mind bewildered Elizabeth; it could be anything from "It's not working out" to "I hate you and your ugly face" or a "I would really love to ask you out", or if he was a tad crazier than she had pegged him for, perhaps a "Let's elope!" Part of her hoped it would be something innocuous; a "sorry your burger is overcooked". That type of cherubic naivety was what made Yushiro so attractive in her eyes; he didn't have this soul-crushing weight that loomed over him. He was so full of life and eagerness to take a duel he had no chance of winning and try anyway because: "Hey! Can't lose them all right?" But she knew there was no chance of that happening. She had done something dumb to ruin it and asked him out on a date. Now he would always see her in a different way; same as it ever was.

The last thing she wanted right now was for Hitomu to walk away and leave the two of them alone right after she had dug up emotions with him and looked like a sweaty mess. But all the while she hoped Hitomu would stay with them and make things a little easier before they left for the duel meeting,  she had this sinking feeling. 

It's happened before. Was all she could think, and as much as she wanted to lash out internally, she hated herself more for thinking that's how it went down.

Edited May 15, 2019 by Cappuccijoe