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

BANZAI!!!! · May 22, 2018

Episode 1: Hot Blue Sky

'The sun's not even real... how is it so hot...."

Yushiro Midori wiped the sweat and messy bangs of hair away from his brow. It was a futile gesture, but it kept the salt water and fiber out of his eyes for a few more moments. Even in the shade provided by the food truck's awning, the humidity of the day was oppressive, and the heat from the grill inside Fast Food certainly wasn't helping matters either.

"You know, Yush, we're pretty slow right now. You can cut out early if you'd like. Give you more time to get settled in?" Jo Gordon called over, in between flipping a burger patty and making sure she didn't over cook the french fries in her deep-frier. Yushiro visibly brightened at the idea, but shrank back a bit as he thought it over some.

"You sure?" He asked sheepishly, not wanting to seem like he was as eager to cut and run from his job as he was. Jo saw right through him as she turned around and handed the boy the complete meal she'd cooked, ready to go to the student sitting at a nearby picnic table, and let out her playful snicker of a laugh.

"I know you love me, and its sweet of you to want to keep a girl company, but I've got things under control over here." She punctuated her sentence by pointing over to the customer and continued. "Take him his food, then go enjoy the rest of the afternoon, ok? I'll give you a call the next time I need some extra hands."

Had Yushiro's face not already been red, he would have blushed. After last spring, he was pretty used to Jo teasing him, but he still couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed every time she alluded to the fact that he, and pretty much every other male student at Blue Yonder for that matter, found her so attractive. Still, he brushed it away as he grabbed the tray of food, his energy suddenly returning to him. "Alright. Thanks Jo!"

----

As for Blue Yonder itself, campus was abuzz with activity. It was the Sunday of move-in weekend, meaning the vast majority of the student body had begun showing up and moving into their rooms. To celebrate, the school had set up a few events and decorated campus (which was partly to blame for the slow day Fast Food had been having). For his part, Yushiro had already finished unpacking yesterday in expectation of a busy workday today, but now that he had the afternoon to himself, he felt compelled to take in some of the activity around campus. The student council was running an exhibition duel later that day between two students, both of them amateur entertainment duelists, and several school clubs were out advertising in the hopes of picking up new members before the official start of the school year. There was also the option of calling up Akira Hioshi, who by now had probably almost finished moving in himself.

Before he decided on a course of action, however, he had to go get a drink. It was way too hot out...

Hakima · May 22, 2018

“Can’t man, sorry, gotta work today.”

“Can’t make it, sorry.”

“Would love to, but I’m stuck at work. :( Sorry babe. See you this afternoon?”

Hitomu finished responding to the last of his inbox and sighed, leaning against the bar. Coffee Cards was completely empty and had been since the morning rush an hour ago. He loved his job but at the moment he wanted nothing more than to go enjoy the festivities with the rest of his friends, especially since it was the last time he would be able to experience them before he graduated. What he wanted to be doing and what his bank account dictated he should be doing were rarely aligned, however, and because he was one of the few student-employees who had already finished moving he had gotten stuck with opening Sunday.

Not that he was seriously complaining. Coffee Cards paid him more than they did most of their employees because of the business his popularity pulled in, and their uniform wasn’t nearly as bad as some others he had seen his friends wearing. No, Hitomu loved the cafe enough that he spent a lot of his free time dueling at the tables, but even he sometimes had days where he wanted to be anywhere but work. Today was one of those days.

“We’re in for a real treat today! Two Entertainment Duelists going head-to-head, right before our very eyes!”

Hitomu looked up from his cell phone to stare at the T.V. hanging from the wall, which was set to broadcast local duels from the arena when nothing else was on. Entertainment duelists, huh? He didn’t really know all that much about what they did different from a normal duelist, and he had a feeling he knew who the duel was going to be between, so his interest was peaked.

Since there seemed to be no business coming anytime soon, Hitomu made himself a cup of iced coffee and grabbed his sketchbook from beneath the bar, then settled in and cranked the volume on the T.V. up so he could hear it better while he was drawing.

a coffee · May 22, 2018

The car ride was mostly quiet. Elizabeth was always pretty uneasy on long car rides, but the trip to Blue Yonder was always so long, and she had become quite the paranoid passenger after the death of her brother. She would twitch and grip at the plastic handles that hung above the window at every stop too sudden, every animal that jumped too quickly on the side of the road, every stoplight that turned yellow while they were still full speed. It was easier for her to just keep quiet and keep her eyes down during the drive. She brought a book she was doing a report on for school to read on the way there, but her mother insisted on a proper breakfast before she left for her apartment, and the first day of school. The way her mother made potatoes never sat well with her stomach for the next hour or so, and she had become carsick rather quickly.

Like every year at Blue Yonder, her mother had work in the morning and her father called his workplace to go in late so he could drop her off. Neither of them would have time to help her move in, but that was okay with her; she never brought much. A few totes of clothes, a backpack with school supplies and a small crate that contained several decks: her current singles deck: Lunalights, and the Hall twins' tag-team decks: Harpies and Cyber Dragons. They were a bit old school at this rate; a year and a half was a long time for decks to go out of fashion, and support for the cards was already starting to get weaker when Todd had passed.

Liz looked up from her lap to try and take a deep breath and enjoy some of the scenery; the area around Blue Yonder was so beautiful. She only wishes she could enjoy it as much as she used to.

"So sport, what are you going to do when you get on campus? You're not planning on packing everything out immediately are you?" Her father's deep, stern voice broke the silence of what had been at least an hour,

"I'm not really sure, Dad. Ashley probably has something planned. Student council moved in early and well, you know how she is." Elizabeth tried to sound excited; her usually soothing tone had more of a higher pitched twist to it. Truth be told she wanted to be excited about the school year.

Her father sighed as the car went silent until they stopped next, and looked over to his daughter, "Elizabeth, I know how hard it is to go back to the school for you. But this is a great academy, and one you used to really enjoy. Please just try to enjoy yourself at the festival this year. I'm sure Ashley is really excited to see you. She's been your best friend since you both came to this school."

She could only nod; it was hard to look her parents in the face when they talked to her like this; like she had never tried to enjoy herself at Blue Yonder or the festival.

" I know dad, I know. Are we almost at the school yet? I'm getting a little cross from being in the car this long, is all."

"Should only be a few more minutes."

~~~~

Her apartment looked pretty much the same as it did last year; cream-colored walls matched a beautiful chestnut hardwood floor to greet you when you first arrive. It was a pretty open space, with the living room being the first thing you walk into, with no wall separating that and the kitchen, making the apartment seem longer and more open than it was. At the end of the kitchen to the left of the refrigerator was a narrow hallway that led to a bathroom on the right and her bedroom at the end.

Elizabeth had just finished hanging up the remainder of her dresses in her wardrobe when her phone started buzzing. Liz looked around the room, because she already knew who it was on the phone: the only person who could possibly have that kind of timing: Ashley Rendlemann.

"If you're calling me about the festival Ash, I haven't even put on a sundress yet. Still sitting here in my sloppy sweats from this morning. I was just in the car with Broderick for like 2 hours getting grilled about why I'm not hanging out with you the second I get to campus." Elizabeth had grabbed her lighter from her writing desk and removed a cigarette from her cigar case she kept hidden in her dorm; they were not allowed to be kept on campus, and it was a vice she was already not proud of. She lit the small stick up and kept talking to Ashley between short, discreet inhales to try and mask what she was doing from her best friend who already knew all too well.

"Yeah, of course, I'll meet you down at the festival. I heard you booked some kind of duel or something. That's cute. I heard there was some type of party going on tonight too, plan on kissing Jack there again like you did last year?" fierce scolding came in return, but Elizabeth could only smile; she knew what kind of nerve she was hitting.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll meet you down there in 15. Let me get dressed first. Yellow or Blue? Thanks. Yup. See you later." Elizabeth threw her phone onto her bed and removed the short, blue sundress from her wardrobe. She liked this one because it had flowers on it and made her legs look particularly long. After slipping on some white sandals she made her way out of the door and towards the bustling noise of the festival.

~~~

Walking outside had made Elizabeth remember that it was disgustingly humid out, prompting her to look up at the "sun" in disgust and occasionally adjust her hair to disguise the fact that she was trying to remove some of the light sweat from her glistening skin.

Damn, this campus really is buzzing today. How do Ashley and her council always manage to make such a big deal out of the move in day? I'll be lucky if I ever find her in this crowd.

Elizabeth wandered aimlessly around the center of campus, waiting for Ashley to inevitably hunt her down, like some prized prey for a big game hunter. She knew it wouldn't be long, and the faster she made an appearance for Ashley, the faster she could go back to her room and get back to reading her book.

VCR_CAT · May 22, 2018

Hiraku

"That's the best you can do?" Hiraku taunted, eyeing up his opponent's field. While his own was empty, his opponent had only one card in hand and Powered Inzektron in attack position. The scores stood at 6600 life points for himself and 5800 for his opponent. Truth be told, the duel was one of the most boring he had this whole day, and was only putting out the bare minimum to upend his opponent's field, and even then it seemed like they were only just barely making what he would think is a "comeback".

"Yeah! I already took out your Siren and Beast!" Hiraku's opponent shot back. "I know they said that you were tough, but man I didn't think you would be this easy!"

"Good grief whatever am I going to do? My next turn hinges on this last draw entirely!"

"Do your worst, Tsukino! I end my turn!"

"Well, here goes..." Hiraku put his hand to his deck and faked shaking his hand before drawing the card dramatically. The crowd surrounding the duel went quiet as Hiraku stared at the card, and then he said with a loud voice. "JUST KIDDING!" And the students gathered behind him exploded in laughter. "Powered Inzektron? REALLY? Someone actually still runs that hunk of junk? THAT'S YOUR ACE??"

"You're one to talk! You don't have any monsters on your field! And your hand is so bad you need a topdeck!"

Hiraku laughed even harder. "I don't even need this card! I was playing you! But please, let me show you how easy it is to win this!" Hiraku placed the card he drew at the front of his hand and took the card from the back. "Here, I'll spell it out for you since you're a little too slow to understand. First, I activate Kourai, Guardian of the Crucible from my hand. He lets me banish one dark monster from my Graveyard so that I can Special Summon him to my field, and I banish the monster you just destroyed, Khalko, Beast of the Crucible." Hiraku pulled the card from his Graveyard and moved it to the banished slot on his disk, then placed Kourai on the field.

In front him, a bright circle traced itself in one of the zones and from it rose an armored demon brandishing a large sword. The counter appeared next to it, reading the stats to be 2300 attack points.

"That's your plan? But he's too weak to beat Inzektron!"

"My my you're a slow one. Let me finish, okay? When Khalko is banished from my Graveyard, I can add one LIGHT "Crucible" monster from my Deck to my hand, and I add Kuanos, Guard of the Crucible." The card ejected itself from Hiraku's deck, and he pulled it gingerly. "Now, while I control a 'Crucible' monster on my field, I can Special Summon Kuanos directly from my hand." A second circle of light traced itself on the field, and from it rose another demon on his field. "And the final cast member? I activate the effect of Talos, Giant of the Crucible from my hand. He's a little like Kourai, except he requires a Light monster to be summoned, so say goodbye to Keledones, Siren of the Crucible from my Graveyard." A dark, smoldering purple hole opened on Hiraku's field, and Keledones rose from inside.

"So you have three monsters! Big deal, they're still not enough to--"

"Do you ever shut up? Please, it's like nobody ever told you it's rude to speak over someone before they're finished. Next I activate Talos's special ability. See, by returning one of my banished monsters to the Grave, I can destroy one monster you control, and I target that pile of garbage on your field you call an 'ace'."

"But Inzektron can't be destroyed--"

"That's on the turn it's summoned, you idiot. Say goodbye." Talos held up its spear and a dark energy surrounded the weapon. The demon then thrust the weapon directly at Inzektron and the point punctured through its chassis cleanly, before the machine erupted in a ball of flame. "Now, just to add insult to injury, I activate Kourai's effect. By returning a banished Light monster to my grave, I can boost a Crucible monster's attack by 800 points, so I think I'll give Talos a nice little present." Kourai thrust its sword in the air and a yellow light radiated from it, then Talos's attack points boosted to 2700 points. "See, I didn't even need to use an effect to destroy him. That's how weak your field was. Now, I think I've wasted enough time with you as it is. Gents? Take out the trash."

All three of Hiraku's monsters sprung into action, and one after another delivered attack after attack until Hiraku's opponent's lifepoints dropped down to zero. Hiraku laughed, along with the small gang of students behind him as his opponent quietly gathered his cards back up. "Did you SEE that scrub? I beat that moron with only my main deck! I swear, these freshmen just get worse the more I duel!"

On the other side was the aforementioned freshmen student that Hiraku's previous opponent sulked towards. Between each of them, they shared either a look of disgruntled dismay, or they glared daggers right in Hiraku's direction. After moving in to his dorm, this is what Hiraku had been up to the whole day; pubstomping the new students out in the front court. It was the start of a new year, and this year was going to be different. No more hanging out on the sidelines or sticking to practicing against AI opponents. This year, he was going for the top, and there was no way to get there without going for metaphorical blood.

This year. This year was going to be different.

"Anyone else wanna take me on? Please, don't be shy, I'm sure SOMEONE has to luck out and watch me brick eventually!" Hiraku taunted towards the small crowd of students that had gathered to watch the match, while his own acquaintances added on with their own chorus of jeering and taunts. "Anyone? I'm taking open challenges if you think you have what it takes!"

radio414 · May 22, 2018

Sunday, September 3, 909 PD
Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Feast of Saint Aigulf

“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.”
-Romans 12:3 (NIV)

“Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord,” said Father Gregory.

“Thanks be to God!” was the response.

Melissa assumed that much of the congregation’s thanks was for finally being granted permission to get out of the poorly-ventilated church and into their air-conditioned cars so they could drive to their air-conditioned homes. This was partly true for Melissa as well; her outfit wasn’t really well suited for any sort of adverse conditions and any sort of relief was a welcome sign. Still, Melissa found herself staying back until almost the entire exit line had wandered off, and then wandered back some more until she was the last one in the queue. It was a position she was used to for a lot of reasons, not the least of which were her conversations with Father Gregory. No amount of sweaty, late-summer heat was going to keep her from those.

“I enjoyed the homily today,” said Melissa.

“Thank you,” said Father Gregory. “How have you been? Has school started for you yet?”

“I moved in yesterday, though I guess the room isn’t fully moved in yet. I think I’m expecting a roommate.”

“Oh? And you’re okay with that?”

Melissa gave a half-hearted shrug. “I had one last year. She was nice. I still have her number, though she never contacted me again after the year ended.”

“So, with hindsight, everything worked out? Everything turned out okay in the end?”

Melissa didn’t know how to respond to that.

“I ask, Melissa, because I remember having a similar conversation about a year ago where the mere idea of a sharing a room with a stranger was so inhumane you nearly passed out in the foyer. So here we are, one year later, and I ask again: Everything turned out okay?”

Melissa knew how to respond to that but chose not to.

Father Gregory understood. “Well, I’m glad you’re well, Melissa. See you at Bible Study?”

“See you at Bible Study.”

She should have predicted this. If she had paid any more attention to the schedule outside of what times she could move in and still manage to get to church on time, she could have actually readied herself, but now that she was here and in the moment, it felt like she had had no opportunity to expect this -- to steel herself for the moment -- at all. Of course Blue Yonder would throw a welcome party, taking up every single area available, leaving no small alleyway available to hide in and pretend it wasn’t happening. She should have seen this coming. She should have seen this coming!

Already, that dreadful fog that came with keeping up appearances was setting in. Melissa wandered through the party in a half-daze. On two occasions she bumped into someone and spilled their drink, and all she could do was half-mumble an apology to nobody in particular. She was looking for any sort of familiar face, someone she could latch onto and use as a shield against the constant din of --

“Melissa!”

She barely heard the call, but when she did finally turn around she was grateful she had. Amidst the long rows of school club after school club was a single hand waving frantically back and forth. Attached to that hand was a body, to that body, a face, and that face was of one Connor Greene. He was a nobody like Melissa, though unlike her he had, at some point in his high-school career, had the courage to make a community service club and manage it for two full years. It never blossomed past four or five members and if she was being honest with herself, Melissa was okay with that.

Obviously, Connor wasn’t, or he wouldn’t have been advertising at what felt like the mother of all parties. “Did you just come from church?” he said.

Melissa nodded. “I, um” -- There was a particularly loud cheer from a nearby dueling field -- “I wanted to get to my dorm but it looks like that's impossible right now.”

“What?” Connor said. Melissa went to respond but a second cheer cut her off. She took out her phone and sent him a message.

“It’s not impossible,” Connor said. “I mean, all you gotta do is walk all the way across campus, past all the- ah, yeah, I guess I see the problem now.”

Melissa sent another text. “Is it alright if I just stay here then? Until things calm down?”

Connor shook his head. “Nah. There’s not enough table space, for one. Also --” He paused to wait out another cheer “-- also, and I hope you forgive me for being ‘that guy’ about this, but this is probably the best opportunity you’re going to get to meet someone outside our little club.”

He ignored Melissa’s frantic head shakes and pressed on. “It’ll be good for you, Melissa. Hey, okay. If you can get one person over here -- yes, just one, and they don’t even have to join, they just have to come over and say you sent me -- then I’ll let you take over for me and you can spend the rest of the afternoon right at this desk. Okay?”

It wasn’t okay, but Melissa knew it was futile to argue. She grabbed some flyers from Connor’s desk and took off, wandering out and around the outskirts of various crowds, hoping -- perhaps for the first time ever -- that she might catch someone’s notice.

Yui · May 22, 2018

Just another day. At least, that's probably how a lot of people felt about today, despite it being the start of the new school year at Blue Yonder. For Kyouko, despite not being the definition of a model student by any means, the start of a new school year was always a welcome thing. That time of year when she could grab her few possessions, stuff them in a large suitcase, and leave home. As much as she would have preferred to show up yesterday, the general environment of her neighborhood was a bit too violent that day for any hope of getting to Blue Yonder with all her things. The voices of her parents yelling at each other this morning without bothering to acknowledge Kyouko leaving for school were still ringing in her ears. She didn't pay much attention to what they were arguing about anymore. It only ever served to make her even angrier.

Except once this school year's over, I'm stuck with those two until I somehow manage to take off on my own. Boy, that'll be FUN. Except by fun, what I actually mean is it's been getting worse and worse back home, so I wouldn't be surprised if somebody ends up killing somebody else. Serves them right. I mean, how can you be married and have a child, and your entire relationship be that awful the entire time? Way to give your kid a safe upbringing, mom & pop. My elbow's still sore from last night.

Kyouko had come to school early to get her things unpacked; it beat staying home by a long shot. She wanted a room with a roommate this year. So rather than the girls' dorms, Kyouko was heading in the general direction of the swimming pools. If she was just feeling kind of steamed - especially on a hot day like this - a nice swim always did her good. Over her shoulder, she carried what was clearly just a disposable shopping bag, but looking closer would reveal that inside the bag was a towel and swimsuit. However, before she could get to her destination...

"Oi, blue jabroni!"

A voice, obviously calling out Kyouko, rang out from behind her. They sounded familiar; it was a distinctly deep and nasal voice; not the kind of thing a person goes forgetting. It belonged to some boy she sent to the nurse's office near the end of the last school year. From what she knew, most people didn't like this guy anyway; he had all the bark of a danger student like Kyouko, but without any of the bite. He sounded pretty mad, and Kyouko heard at least two other pairs of feet walking with him. "I'll pass."

"Don't just ignore me! You think I forgot about what you did to me!? It's payback time!" The boy's hand firmly gripped Kyouko's shoulder, only for Kyouko to firmly grip his hand in return, pulling it away from her bag and body.

"I'm trying not to get into a fight on the first day of school this time. Can we at least put this off until tomorrow?"

"You scared or something!?"

The hand gripped her shoulder again, seeming to grab at her bag this time.

"Have you ever seen what happens when a chihuahua picks a fight with a great dane? Spoiler alert: The chihuahua has a pretty bad day. Go bark at someone else." And with that, Kyouko continued walking. She was trying her very best to do that patience thing today, but she wouldn't be able to handle this guy's presence much longer. She picked up her pace, eager to get swimming and get away from this guy and whatever cheerleaders he brought to bolster his ego.

"We ain't done yet, Izumi!" The next thing Kyouko heard was the handles of her plastic bag being torn, as the bag itself was ripped from her hands. "What's this... a towel? And swimsuit? Going swimmin' or something?"

"Yeah. Give them back."

"You'll have to take 'em!"

"..." One could practically hear Kyouko's anger flaring up after she'd tried so hard to be patient today. She finally turned to face her assailants. If looks could kill, the expression on Kyouko's face would probably constitute a war crime. "My pleasure," she growled. "It's me against you and your buddies, right?" The boy's friends were already scurrying away. "Oh. I guess not."

"And that's what happened," she finished to nobody in particular. As she floated around on the surface of the pool, looking up at the ceiling above her, body adorned with her favorite swimsuit, Kyouko practiced a technique where she verbally recalled the events of what caused her to get mad in the first place then review her actions out loud, which helped bring her temper back down. She was still very obviously angry about the whole ordeal, but not as much as when it had happened. Getting to the pool and going for a swim probably helped. "He was out like a light after only one hit, but I did try to not get violent at first. Do I still get credit for that? I carried him to the nurse's office and everything."

She wasn't even sure if anyone else was there to begin with, let alone if anyone was listening. But it didn't matter; just talking about it, even if only to herself, was helping a bit. After getting the school year off to such a rough start, it probably wouldn't be a good idea to show up to the new year festivities. Besides, why attend some lame festivities under the scorching sun when going into the water was so much better?

Super Chaos Sonic · May 22, 2018

-The Day Before-

-BGM-

The sounds of a motor passing by grew closer and closer to Blue Yonder, just as the artificial sun made it's appearance. He was already packed up and in his dorm room, save a few things he was currently bringing in. Stopping his dirtbike over near the dormitory entrance, he made his way up the stairs straight to his dorm room.

Opening up the door to his room, he walked in and placed his things down on his desk. This was a few things he needed to bring that his parents thought he needed. Couldn't say no to them...not after allowing him to get to this place in order to chase this dream of his. Quickly moving back to attend to his dirtbike, he started moving it towards the garages the dormitories had. No one else, except the teachers, had any vehicles...but they didn't mind him storing this there.

After he stored his bike, the young man stepped out and looked at the artificial sunrise that was now breaking over the horizon of the Blue Yonder Academy building.

This year...this year is going to be a hell of a year. I can feel it. Souji thought, a smile slowly appearing on his face. Right now: he was home.

-Present Day-

-BGM-

Souji woke up bright and early, yawning as he shuffled himself to get ready for the day. It was Sunday of move-in week and it was of course bustling with activity. He remembered the days of when he first enrolled here, it was still just as active as it was back then. But he was thankful that he didn't have to go through all the hassle of trying to do what all the newbies do when getting here: get lost on their way to their rooms.

"Don't really envy them there..." he chuckled, getting himself dressed as he looked in the mirror and adjusted his tie slightly. He glanced out the window and saw how many people were starting to finally get here. With a small shake of his head, Souji looked back in the mirror and then tossed on his fedora. "Now to get out there and at least attempt to enjoy the festivities before too long."

Turning on his heel, Souji left his room with the door closing behind him, as he pulled out the message he got earlier: an invitation...or more like a summons...to be apart of the Exhibition Duel that was occurring later on today as one of the headline Duelists. It was "The Kamen Rider" versus "Rose". Souji knew and heard about the "Rose" idol that was mentioned...but it wasn't much to gone on. She was transferring to Blue Yonder this year...meaning it was her first time here at the school. That and...well...she was an idol. As for how she Dueled...that was a different story.

Idol or not... he thought. It's a Duel nonetheless. Whatever she has to throw at me...me and my HEROs will keep pressing the attack.

👀 REP 👀 · May 22, 2018

Hoshiko was anxious, she still couldn't believe she was actually here! It seemed like it was only yesterday that she was endlessly convincing her mother to let her not only get here but to live on her own. And yet here she was, early in the morning finishing her move into her new dorm. She waved goodbye to the men her mother had hired to help her move in before turning to her mother. Both of them were a bit teary eyed, despite telling themselves they wouldn't. "Be safe, honey." Her mother said, giving the girl a hug. "And don't forget to contact me like you promised!"

"I... I will!" She said, hugging her mother back. The two hugged it out for a while before finally separating. And just like that she was now living away from home. She took in a deep breath, entering the building. Her stuff was still in boxes, after all, and there was no time like the present to start unboxing. She was anxious to start this new chapter of her life, although she'd have to wait until tomorrow for her first day of class

A few days later

Hoshiko woke up from her bed early, excited. It had been a few days since her first day at Blue Yonder and it was everything she had hoped it would be like! She got to meet all of her fellow classmates, including a fan which was a pleasant surprise. More importantly, she was asked to perform with "The Kamen Rider", a performer she had heard about before but never seen in action. Today was the move-in event, which she was a tad embarrassed about since she had moved into the apartment before class had even started. Still, it worked out in the end - after all, it would be hard to perform and move in to her apartment all in the same day. With a smile on her face, she excitedly got out of bed and started getting ready, thinking about which one of her various frilly dresses she was going to wear today. "Live life beautifully and flourish!" She shouted her catchphrase to herself.

She got out of her apartment, having decided to use her signature dress which she had neatly held inside her backpack, instead wearing more summer friendly attire due to how hot it was outside. Her white sundress flowed with the air as she rode her bike to Blue Yonder, excited to face new frontiers.

Upon getting there she saw that it was starting to get populated, as a place does during such an event. "Let's do this!" She said to no one in particular as she placed her bike on a nearby bike rack, making sure it was secured with a lock. Gotta make sure the wind doesn't blow the bike over, after all! As she left her bike, her face was determined. She didn't know all that much about this Souji boy other than his stage name, but she was determined to put on a good show and inspire the students that were coming to Blue Yonder for the first time like her.

Alaina · May 23, 2018

"Aaaaand there we are." With that, Jun had clapped her hands together, having finished unpacking all of her things. The room wasn't anything special, merely a simple room that was just big enough to house both Jun and her roommate's bed, desk and a few other accessories. Neither of the two were particularly big on decorating, and neither of them had much that they tended to bring from home with them. Though, the clear divide in their room was still apparent by notable difference of a hook for Jun's fastened to the wall over her bed and a few paintings done by a close friend of hers; most of them depicting scenery and landscape shots, but one in particular of an abstract collage of the wyrm monsters that Jun used.

It was also plenty apparent that her roommate had already moved in as well, but wasn't currently in. Jun couldn't believe that she was actually out enjoying the festivities at the moment, which was her loss, though that wasn't going to stop Jun from enjoying herself. Making sure her hat was on tightly and securely, the girl marched her way out of her room and out of her dorm to see all that was going on.

While her immediate interest was going to check out the upcoming duel between Souji and the new idol she had heard about, Rose, there was still some time to burn before it started. Jun didn't exactly understand why Souji dueled in a strange costume all the time, but it was always fun to be a part of the crowd's energy when he did. And if there was someone like that coming to school, the fun was probably only going to be twice as large! All the same, the girl was busy walking around, grabbing a snow cone that people were handing out to help beat the unbearable heat that was today.

While the girl was having fun watching all the new students come in, helping some find their way to where their dorms were, the girl figured it would be better to go along with a friend. Taking her phone, the girl scrolled through her contact before typing up a message to one such person.

From: Jun
To: Paintsuji

just finished moving in, don't know if your back yet
if you are wanna paint the town?
well, party
school isn't a town
it's almost big enough to be one though
parties arent towns either

After hitting send on her phone, the girl continued to walk outside, focusing on her snow cone and biting into it before from the cold of it. As she was, however, the girl didn't notice a more demure girl carry papers walking in her path and had accidentally knocked into her. As the two bumped into each other, Jun merely let out a surprised, "oh." Opening her eyes back up, she moved to pat the girl on the back, smile on her face saying, "sorry about that, didn't see you there." Jun was fairly sure she had seen the girl before, but could't place a name to it. Her attention was then drawn to her papers, and with a curious expression on her face the girl leaned in closer saying, "oooh, are you handing something out? Whatcha handing stuff out for? Oh, do you need help with it? Can't be fun having to hand out stuff in this weather." Jun shook her head, before looking back with a smile at the girl, giving her a thumbs up.

Dova · May 23, 2018

A rolling landscape of blue. Muddy mountains rise from the waters beneath, while fluffy clouds coalesce from the skies above. One of them probably looks like a rabbit, while the other...let’s make it a duck. No, both should be ducks. Ducks like water right? And water is blue, everyone knows that, and everyone also knows what always has to go with blue; bunnies. So, a rabbit under the tree, here...wait, she actually had to paint the tree first. Right. What color were trees ag-

“Yusuji!”

Yusuji snapped back to reality with her thumb held up to a student’s bemused face, while Hazel’s own hand was at the business end of a snap, with her face locked in a sincere attempt to look cross. Again.

The other girl cleared her throat as Yusuji retreated hurriedly behind their erected stand. “Well, as I was saying, this is Yusuji, one of our most prolific artists. Although she tends to get a little, well,” Hazel winced, nodding her head at the now-beaming apron-plastered painter, “distracted, she’s good fun!”

She gestured around to the watching boy at the various artworks dotted over their stall, mostly sunny landscapes with an occasionally more abstract piece a little to the back of their Rainbow-Eyes Art Dragon Club stand. It hadn’t really been hard for Yusuji to grab a selection of pieces from her past collections; well, the actual grabbing had been hard, due to the complete and utter mess of her room from last year, but grab them she had, and now the little booth was lit up almost as brightly as Yusuji’s face at the moment. Even now, she had done exactly one and two thirds worth of paintings, with her most recent yet still unfinished piece still wet from her paint. Whatever those clouds were designed to look like, they weren’t ducks OR rabbits.

“Hi, nice to meet you!” Yusuji jumped forward now that Hazel had finished her little spiel, resting on the table so that she didn’t immediately topple over into the still unsure fresher on the other side of the table. “I’m Yusuji, and -wait, she already told you that, er-” she paused, suddenly noticing a beautiful scene behind their guest where the light caught on a glass of something just right and-

“Yusuji.”

This time the reprimand was a lot softer. Yusuji refocused her mind, this time staring at a jumbled yet completed painting of the celebrations around them. She’d obviously painted people as they’d appeared in her line of sight, and the end result was rather a mess. A good-looking mess, with distinct people layered on top of one another, but a mess nonetheless. Surprisingly, the middle scene she’s initially latched onto was mostly intact.

“Yeah, Kaito and a few others tried to keep the scene stable once you started painting again. They were really impressed,” said Hazel, resting on the back of Yusuji’s chair and catching sight of the artist’s confused look. Then, before Yusuji could ask the inevitable question, “Kaito, the guy whose personal space you got all up in. As I said before, pretty impressed with your work, and we actually got a few more names down.”

“Really?” Yusuji glanced down at the list of people interested in their art club, and Hazel was right; there was at least a full page of applicants this year. “I can’t wait to work with them; it’s going to be such a great time!”

Hazel laughed. “Tell you what, since you’ve done such a good job at attracting potential members, I’ll let you go off early to see the duel.”

“What duel?” Yusuji asked, brow furrowing as she continued to examine at her most recent work.

“Oh my GOD Yusuji, the one you won’t stop`-”

“ROSE!” Yusuji suddenly screamed, knocking over her various paintings and splattering Hazel with paint as she charged off, barely pausing to grab her bag of supplies and various other odds and ends.

“Wait! She’s not on until later!” Hazel called after her, then sighed. Might as well let her have her fun; in the meantime, Hazel had a stall to run.

A couple hundred meters away, Yusuji suddenly realized that the duel wasn’t on until later. She would have to wait to see her beloved idol duel right in front of her! If only Hazel had reminded her before her grand exit, but whatever; she now had the rest of the festival to have fun in!

A few cotton candies later, Yusuji was greeted by a buzzing from her phone. She struggled to pry it out from her pocket under her apron while holding the various candies as well, but in the end, she finally managed to read the messages, if at an angle.

just finished moving in, don't know if your back yet
if you are wanna paint the town?
well, party
school isn't a town
it's almost big enough to be one though
parties arent towns either

A message from Jun! How lovely. Yusuji had completely forgotten to catch up with her because of Hazel’s assigned supposed “responsibilities for you being a member of our art club”, but it looks like they’d get to meet up in the end. She quickly typed a response.

From: Yusuji
To: NiceHatJun

Yeah I’m back, and good to hear you are already too! Sorry about the quick leave, art business an’ all :P Also, so up for painting the party! Ready when you are, if I can even find you through this crowd XP
Oh, and for painting the town too, if you change your mind. Both could be an adventure ^^

One catch-up scheduled, Yusuji decided to go on an adventure of her own. These normally involved wandering about aimlessly until something happened, and today would be no exception. She paused for a moment to decide whether to start it off going through the left or right opening in the surrounding throng of people, chose left, then headed right into the sun!

Well, moreso headed into the somewhat bland shaded passage, but there was a light at the end of it that if she squinted really hard she could pretend was the sun, and so Yusuji strode forward confidently, occasionally stumbling into others on the way due to the fact that her eyes were basically shut.

"And that's what happened."

Yes, that was indeed what happened! Yusuji had made her way into what seemed to be the pool area. In fact, it seemed to be the pool area because it quite definitely was the pool area. There was something on the young artist’s mind that she couldn’t quite get out of her head, which made focusing on the beautiful ripples adorning the surface of the water rather challenging. It didn’t help that someone was floating in the middle of them.

It took awhile for the penny to drop. In fact, if it hadn’t been a metaphorical penny, its painstakingly slow descent would’ve caused several physicists to turn in their graves.

“I carried him to the nurse's office and everything.”

“That’s very nice of you!” Yusuji commented brightly, then, when the penny finally hit the floor. “Oh, Kyouko! Nice to see you! What’s up?”

The Frost King · May 24, 2018

Earlier this morning

“Thank you for helping me move in, brother!” Akari Ito said with a smile as her older brother, Reo, carried two large luggage bags into her new, second-story room at Blue Yonder.

“No problem.” Reo replied, his voice sounding a bit strained as he carried the bags into the bedroom and dropped them onto the bed, breathing in a deep breath as he did so. ‘What the heck are in these things?!’ Turning to face his little sister, Reo flashed a smile and clapped his hands together. “So that’s everything, right?”

“Yeah, it is.” Akari’s smile wavered for a bit as she spoke.

Reo seemed to notice this and his expression shifted to a more serious one.“What’s wrong, sis?”

Akari let out a big sigh and sat down on the bed. “To be honest, I’m kind of nervous.” Sure, she was certainly excited to be back at Blue Yonder, but she couldn’t help but feel nervous. It was a new school year after all, meaning new chances to make it or break it. If she didn’t do well enough on her grades, then she’d probably get expelled and her dream to become a pro duelist would crash and burn.

“Hey, don’t be nervous. You’re gonna be alright.” Reo assured her, placing a hand on her shoulder. “You’re an amazing duelist and student. Sure, you’ve made mistakes every now and then but heck, who doesn’t? Now promise me you’ll study hard like you did last year.”

“I promise.”

“Good, now I have to go.” Reo checked his watch quickly before heading for the door. “I’ll call you in a day or two to check up on you, alright?”

“Alright.”

“See ya!”

“Bye.”

And with a shut of the door he was gone. As Akari sat there in the silence, she thought about what her brother had said. He was right, she just needed to study hard like last time. That was the best she could do after all. And besides, school didn’t even start until tomorrow, so she could just relax until then.

But first she needed to start unpacking.

Present Time

“Annnnnnnnnnndddd done!” Akari announced happily as she finished packing up everything she had brought for her second year at Blue Yonder. Having had time to unpack, she felt more relaxed than she had been earlier today. While unpacking, she had thought about the good times she had had here. Sure, she had made some mistakes along the way, but like her brother had said, everyone made mistakes.

Finally being able to sit down and relax, Akari heard a commotion outside. Looking out the window, she was a bit surprised to see a large crowd of students hanging around outside until she remembered what was happening today. In celebration of the students moving in, the school had set up some events and stands for them to enjoy. There was even going to be an expedition duel, although that wouldn’t happen until later today. As she began to think about what she should do first, a loud groan interrupted her train of thought. A groan which had come from her stomach. Oh right. She hadn’t eaten since this morning. It was a shame that she didn’t even any snacks or food, as she hadn’t had time to stock up yet. Meaning if she wanted to get some food, she’d have to go somewhere. Luckily for her, she had the perfect place in mind. But first she had to make sure she was ready to go outside.

Going into the bathroom, she looked at herself in the mirror. Her current outfit seemed alright. A light blue blouse patterned with bright orange flowers and a simple pair of white shorts. There wasn’t really a need to change. Her hair was alright too, so she didn’t decide to mess with it. Walking back into the bedroom, Akari grabbed a small leather purse and her duel disk, just in case she wanted to duel. Taking one last look in the bathroom mirror to make sure she looked alright, she headed out in search for a certain food truck.

. . .

Trying to navigate through the crowd of students was a slow and slightly annoying process with the harsh sun above making the experience that much worse. She wouldn’t be surprised if she had a sunburn by the time it took for her to arrive at her destination. But luckily for her, she wouldn’t have to suffer for long as the crowd got smaller and smaller the closer she got to where she was going. When she finally left the sea of students, she could get a clear view of a food truck not that far away.

Just seeing the food truck brought memories flooding back to Akari. During the previous school year, she had been a bit of a regular at the fast food truck. With the great food and lots of people around, it had been a regular place where she’d hang out to take a break from the hard school days. She had chatted with friends there and even talked to the owner of the food truck a few times, although their conversations had been kind of short.

As she approached the truck, she spotted the just-thought-about owner working inside. “Hey Jo, long time no see.” She said with a friendly smile, hoping that the food truck owner remembered her. “I’m wondering if you could make me a burger. I’m a bit on the hungry side.”

a coffee · May 24, 2018

A few moments passed, and still no sign or call from Ashley. It was sort of unlike her to wait so long before blowing up her phone, but it was a busy day on campus, so Elizabeth knew she would be a bit slow to the draw today. She meandered around for a bit before taking a seat on a bench underneath the shade to try and shield her briefly from the unrelenting sun. People watching was always sort of fun for Elizabeth, especially on days like this. There was a certain energy in the air on days like this; it was bright, sunny, and everybody was outside enjoying the beginning of the year festivities. Students had set out with new goals, plans, ideas to make new friends or see ones they've spent time away from. Some were chasing love, others were seeking a fresh start, some were even promising things like dethroning Hitomu. The feeling was so genuinely optimistic even Liz could not resist the urge to crack a small smile under pale, lightly glossed lips.

Dethroning Hitomu. Hah. Now there's a thought. Has that kid even lost since our sophomore year? She snickered to herself thinking about the prospect of being the last one to beat him, whether it was true or not she wasn't sure, but it entertained her regardless.

To think I used to be that damn good at this game. Time sure has passed... Elizabeth looked down at her handbag, which had her cell phone in it, lip gloss, a few cigarettes. her lighter, a credit card, some cash, and of course her Lunalights deck, sleeved and boxed. The smile she had just a moment ago faded; who was she kidding? Even if she did muster up the will to duel in a competitive manner, she would be rightly creamed by Hitomu. After all, he was well-practiced against the best Blue Yonder had to offer all the time, and Liz hardly even picks up her deck anymore. But maybe if she just asked him for a duel as friends, there would be something inside of her after all...

Liz sighed and looked up again, to the sight of Ashley standing practically on top of her, Liz's face almost making contact with Ashley's stomach. Elizabeth was so shocked that she nearly threw herself off of the bench, which was met by a roaring laugh from her ambushing friend.

"Are you out of your mind Ashley? Why do you do this so much? I almost jumped out of my skin!" Elizabeth scowled at her and stood up, brushing out her dress with her fingers to keep it straight and from revealing more than intended.

"Oh don't be such a tightwad Liz. I just couldn't interrupt you while you were in your little zone over there girl, so I wanted to come over and see what you were staring so intensely at!" Ashley nodded with a matter-of-fact tone accompanying her statement before quickly turning and gesturing to the festivities behind her, "Isn't this festival lovely?! We did such a good job this year with the increased budget they gave us! Did you do anything yet?! Oh my god who cares I'm so glad you're here Liz, welcome back to Blue Yonder!" Ashley quickly hugged Elizabeth around the shoulders, which Elizabeth was glad to return.

" Yeah well, I couldn't just leave during my graduation year. Good grades or not I have to at least get something out of this cursed place." Elizabeth detached herself from the much peppier blonde and continued, "Although I have an appointment with the Dean next week. Can't imagine that'll be too good. Probably has something to do with the smokes again. You know how the Dean can get with 'my future' and 'my safety' and all that. Blegh." Elizabeth mimicked air quotes in addition to her mocking, rolling her eyes practically into the back of her skull by the end of it. She watched as a few students ran by, screaming and cheering about some sort of 'entertainment duel' that was to be taking place soon.

"Hey, you guys got some sort of entertainment duelists? What's that all about?"

Ashley's jaw nearly dropped off of the side of her skull, "Well first Beth, the Dean is right about 'your future' and 'your safety' and you know it too. Second of all, we got some great duelists to sign up and do a show of sorts as one of the main attractions here! Are you gonna go?! We can totally get right front and center if you stick by my side, and these two really seem like some pieces of work. It's gonna be great!" Ashley didn't so much wait for an answer, and she continued to plow on with her own little monologue, as she's one to do, "Plus we're going to have some musicians, and all the buildings are open, I think most of the student body is here- oh my god have you met the Freshman yet?! Some of them are such little cuties!~ They were all so nice and some of the boys even blushed a little bit I think; they would probably drop dead right on the spot if they caught a look at you and those curves of yours. Hey are you hungry? Maybe we should grab lunch at the plaza before going to see the duels and then we ca-"

Elizabeth occasionally interjected or at least tried with an answer of some kind, and at some point, it had just become "Ashley. Ashley. Ashley no, Ashley. Ash. Ash. Ashley. Rendlemann. Ashley." while she continued on and on with who knows what. Elizabeth loved Ashley; they were very close friends and during her tragedy she would not have traded her for anything in the world, but the one thing she did best was shut Elizabeth's brain off completely with a never-ending monologue about how exciting the day was and all the plans she has and all the things she has done. It was never in a gloating manner, but rather that Ashley just had about a million thoughts and only one mouth to get them out with.

"Oh and by the way you are really going to have to show up to more student council meeting this year, I really think you could have a position if you wanted one. You know so many people just want to see you succeed an-"

"ASHLEY RENDLEMANN PLEASE SHUT YOUR GOB FOR LIKE THREE SECONDS." she placed her hands on Ashley shoulder's to emphasize that it was time to come up for air, "No, I'm not going to the silly entertainment duel you have booked. Those duelists run scripted duels, don't they? No thank you. Dueling isn't some weird television show where everything is determined beforehand. It should be live action, down to the wire. No interest from me in the theatrics. Besides I'm going down to CoffeeCards. I'm looking for Hitomu and he's been posting on social media all day about how he's stuck down there instead of up here. I need to ask him something, and I could go for a cappuccino before going up to the studio to dance. You don't mind, do you Ash? We can always grab dinner later." Elizabeth dug through her bag, briefly considering a cigarette before thinking better of it in a crowd and especially near Ashley.

Normally, Ashley would have most definitely been upset by her friend going off and doing something alone or dancing in the studio again, but the prospect of Hitomu was truly interesting to the council president, and she stopped for an extremely rare second, "Hitomu? What on Ambrosia could you want from Hitomu? You two have barely talked in the last 2 years and now all of a sudden you want to grab coffee with the guy? I mean he's cute I guess but it's probably pretty weird of you to be dating your late brother's best friend."

Elizabeth shook her head in bewilderment; "Date him? For Ambrosia's sake Ashley, get a grip. No I don't want to date him. I'm... well I'm thinking about asking him if he'd like to take a few exhibition duels, y'know? Just for fun or something I guess. It's sort of been a while since anyone gave him a challenge and the very small part of me that's feeling manic from all the happy people around me has me thinking maybe I could take him. Maybe it'd get me back into things. Maybe not."

Ashley gasped, "Holy s*@&! Elizabeth Hall wants to duel Hitomu Amaya?! Liz this could be the event of the dang summer and you didn't tell me you were thinking about it?!"

She could only scowl in return, " Could you like, I don't know, at least let me ask Hitomu if he would be willing to duel me and give me some time to practice before you start freaking out about it? It won't even be that big of a deal, why would anyone even come to see me duel anyway? It's just for fun. Cut it out with the constant promotion for Blue Yonder, would you? Anyway, I'll see you later. I want to get over there and to the studio before it gets too much hotter outside."

"Fine, fine, go make your little playdate with Hitomu then in a boring cards cafe." she winked at Elizabeth, "Bye Beth, love you. I'm gonna call you later for dinner okay? We can meet up with some of the other girls from the class!"

With that, the two girls parted ways, Liz with her eyes set on trying to right her track, and Ashley starting something just a bit more sinister in that regard...

@: PrezAshley

o. m. g!! #BlueYonder students, I just got the #craziest scoop! Elizabeth Hall is challenging Hitomu Amaya to a duel in a few days!! Details coming soon for this *must see* #duel!

<3

In truth, Ashley felt a little bad for pimping out her best friend's attempts to reignite her fire for some publicity, but what gets someone more fired up then a rabid crowd cheering on their favorite duelists and a crazy redemption story? She knew she would hear it from Liz, but she was not about to let this colossal moment slip away without at least a little bit of fanfare.

---

Elizabeth came up to the steps in front of CoffeeCards; a quaint little coffee shop that the students were always buzzing in and out of looking to test their new strategies and favorite decks. She was here all the time tutoring students who needed the help improving their play or watching some friends take on all challengers. Of course, Elizabeth was a sucker for a good caramel cappuccino, and Hitomu was pretty much always there to serve a hot one. She took a deep breath at the front door and walked inside.

Geez, it's freezing in here. Or is it just me? Get it together Liz; now is not a time to get nervous.

"Hey Hitomu, hope you enjoyed your summer. You got a second? Was hoping to ask you a question or two."

Welp, too late to chicken out now.

radio414 · May 24, 2018

“Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.”
-Ecclesiastes 7:9 (NIV)

“Oh.”
“Sorry about that, didn’t see you there.”
“Oooh, are you handing something out? Whatcha handing stuff out for? Oh, do you need help with it? Can’t be fun having to hand stuff out in this weather.”

That was… that was a lot of words. Or perhaps it wasn’t, but the sheer density of them all made it certainly feel that way and Melissa needed to take a few seconds to just parse what was being said to her, not to mention recover from the bump she had just taken. “Um,” she said. “It’s- it’s alright.”

The pat on the back that came after wasn’t as alright, but Melissa was too busy trying to respond to what this girl had already said to properly flinch. She could feel her body tense up a little, but that was it. When her thoughts finally cleared, she’d already forgotten the feeling.

“I’m a- are you okay?”

“Yep! Right as rain and fit as a fiddle!”

“That’s good. I, um, I’m handing out flyers for our community service club. If you want to he- Actually…” Melissa grabbed the girl by her wrist, “Sorry, I do have a favor to ask you. Could you just come with me?”

Melissa didn’t wait for a response. Maybe there was an “Oh! Okay,” but she didn’t even entirely register what she was doing until she was halfway back to Connor’s booth, so she definitely wasn’t paying attention to anything else. And when she did realize what she was doing, she half-concluded that there wasn’t anything to be done at this point anyway. So instead they wove in and out through the various clusters of people until they finally were face to face with Connor.

“I’m going to be honest, that was faster than I expected,” Connor said. “Who’d you manage to find?”

“I’m Jun! Nice to meet you. I asked what the fliers were for and was just kind of pulled over here so,” the girl shrugged.

Connor put both elbows on the table and both hands to his face. “Oh my God. So- no, I’m not apologizing, Melissa. Can’t you have a conversation for, like, one tenth of a second? Did you even know Jun’s name before she said it just now?”

Melissa opened her mouth to respond but both she and Connor knew no sound was going to come out.

“I’m not letting you near this booth, Melissa,” Connor said. “Just... just grow up why don’t you?”

There was what seemed like a long time where nobody said anything. Melissa spoke up first. “Do either of you know where the nearest porta-potty is?”

“Oh, I can show you!” said Jun.

Melissa locked herself in the porta-potty and screamed into her hands for fifteen full seconds. Some part of her -- a large part of her, actually -- wanted to just stay in the square-yard space until the end of the event, but as always, there was that small part of her that suspected -- no, that knew -- that Connor was right.

New years were for new beginnings, Melissa resolved. Not changing because it was a new school year and not a Gregorian one was just a poor excuse.

Jun was still hanging around when Melissa came out. “I feel like I have wronged you and I apologize,” Melissa said. She extended her hand. “My name is Melissa Ashforth. It's nice to meet you.”

Hakima · May 24, 2018

Hitomu was just beginning to really lose himself in his sketching when his phone vibrated. The distraction caused his hand to go slightly off-kilter and mess up the line he had almost finished penning out, blurring an otherwise perfectly clean line with the inky splotches of a shaky hand. “... Hnng,” he sighed, admitting defeat and pushing his sketchbook to the side so that he didn’t have to stare at the failed project.

He picked up his phone and read the newest notification at the very top to see what had deigned to steal away his focus.

@: PrezAshley

o. m. g!! #BlueYonder students, I just got the #craziest scoop! Elizabeth Hall is challenging Hitomu Amaya to a duel in a few days!! Details coming soon for this *must see* #duel!

<3

Well… That was… Damn. Hitomu stared at the message for a minute while he chewed on the inside of his cheek. Was Lizzy going to challenge him to duel? The thought of dueling her again was really nostalgic. It was akin to opening a floodgate of memories from his freshman and sophomore years; most people didn’t remember that he hadn’t been the undisputed best in the school back then. He tried not to think about the way things used to be very much anymore, but he would be lying if he said he didn’t miss the competition. More precisely, he would be lying if he said he didn’t miss his best friend.

Hitomu was jostled from his ruminations by the sound of the bell over the door ringing. He instinctively put on a welcoming smile and turned the television down so as not to risk ruining the laidback atmosphere that he strove to keep in the cafe. “Hey there, welcome to Coffee Cards. Anything I can do for you on this fine Summer morning?”

“Hey Hitomu, hope you enjoyed your summer. You got a second? Was hoping to ask you a question or two." Speak of the Devil and she shall appear.

Hitomu chuckled and raised his phone so that she could see the alert he had just received. “Good to see you again Lizzy. I don’t suppose any of those questions have something to do with the latest post from our local student council president, do they?” He turned around to begin working on her drink as he said this. “I know you usually get the caramel cappuccino, but can I recommend one of our iced drinks? They go with the heat a lot better than piping hot coffee.”

Yui · May 24, 2018

“That’s very nice of you!”

Hmm? So somebody was here after all. Kyouko turned her attention toward the source of the voice. Small girl, glasses, Jun's friend, her name was on the tip of Kyouko's tongue...

No it wasn't. Kyouko had absolutely no idea what this girl's name was.

“Oh, Kyouko! Nice to see you! What’s up?”

Kyouko soon moved from her comfy position floating on her back, to submerging herself beneath the pool's surface. Through the water, Yusuji would be able to see the blue-haired girl dart through the water, before turning upwards at the edge of the pool. Her head popped out from the water, and she rested her arms on the floor in front of her. "Hey there, you. Brought my things from home today, got in a fight if you can even call it that, so I decided going for a swim was a good plan. I never cared for all that start-of-year stuff anyway. What about you? Paint anything new lately?" She liked painting, right? Kyouko wasn't thinking of some other shortstack, was she?

“Hey Jo, long time no see.”

"Hi!" Other than the girl who had just approached Fast Food, there weren't many other students gathered around. Perhaps three at the most. As much as making money was a good thing, Jo didn't mind these slower business hours either, since it made it easier to chat with the customers while she worked. The students here always had interesting things to tell, and a convenient side-benefit was that it kept Jo up-to-date on all the latest school news.

“I’m wondering if you could make me a burger. I’m a bit on the hungry side.”

"Sure thing, I'll get started in just a bit." Jo put down another burger - unrelated to Akari's order - onto a small foam plate, and brought it to a table where a student looked at the burger eagerly. The woman then promptly returned to her truck, getting started on the newest order. "Anything you particularly want or don't want on this burger? I can't keep up with what the entire school does and doesn't eat, so sorry if I've asked this before." Outside of part-timer Yushiro and a handful of students of particular note in the school, come to think of it, Jo couldn't really keep up with names and faces, let alone food preferences. How did deans and principals do it?

The Warden · May 25, 2018

My, it certainly was quite busy today, what with the students all arriving and getting settled in. It was much like a holiday, in a ways. Holidays can be quite lucky, though some are quite mysterious, much like Old Hallow's Eve from many moons ago. A powerfully occult day that was, pity it was less celebrated in a world that had long since forgotten the soil it once sat upon. Regardless, the Occult Club was doing its usual shtick when it came to finding new members for the new year.

While most clubs had a stall, the Occult Club had its usual black tent with Occult Guardians guarding it, while the de facto leader waited inside. Truth be told black was a terrible choice for this unseasonably warm day, but appearances mattered, especially when a freshman just ran out screaming blue ~~yonder~~ murder. The two Occult Guardians stared at each other knowingly, before one spoke up. "Maybe ease up on the Ouija Board" they said to the inside of of the tent.

"WITHOUT OUIJA WE ARE NOTHING, Guardian of the Blackest Magicks" a sinister voice returned from the depths of (sweaty) darkness.

"Yeah, but without recruits we have no club" the Occult Guardian spoke back.

The Darkness Within considered this. "Alright, I'll just stick to the tarot cards and the crystal balls. It's not my fault these freshmen are such cowards" The Darkness Within conceded.

It was always the same really. Everyone always ran out squealing like a stuck pig whenever the board starts answering by itself with oddly specific revelations. It's like they failed to understand what the occult actually means. Not a lot; lot of old hoo ha really, but it was a very important aesthetic nonetheless. "Minions! I am going for a drink run" TDW announced grandly. "Would you like anything?" it questioned in softer tones.

"Just water" the courageous of the two answered.

"Cold, please" the other minion answered.

"I'll grab a couple bottles" TDW stated as she stepped out of the stall. Having ditched the cloak, TDW proved to be a very short and rather frail looking girl. With ponytail resting on her shoulder, Alison Collidge glided through the fete, a wistful smile on her face as she took in the other stalls, a small satchel resting on her shoulder. It was lovely to see some new clubs this year, though some seemed a bit odd, like the Taste Testing Club. Perhaps guinea pigs for the Cooking Club? And then afterwards most likely patients for the Junior Physicians Club.

Drinking it in, the girl's mouth shrank as a feeling went up her right arm. Grimacing, Alison did her best to appear subtle until the tremors passed. She had gone too long without her medication, it would seem. Passing it off, she no longer smiled as she passed the stalls and the dueling areas, noting one rather rude sore-winner among the bunch. "Did you SEE that scrub? I beat that moron with only my main deck! I swear, these freshmen just get worse the more I duel!"

After observing them challenge the other freshmen, Alison meandered to the popular hangout for most the students: Coffee Cards. While one of the infinite on-campus vending machines would be a good source of bottled water, Alison knew best that she'd get it colder from the drinks fridges. And also a good rest as well before returning. Taking each step tentatively, the girl pushed aside the door to find one person on staff engaging in conversation with what appeared to be a senior. Ignoring whatever they had to say, but naturally keeping an ear out, Alison approached the drink fridges to find some modestly priced water bottles.

a coffee · May 26, 2018

Hitomu had chuckled at her, something she was not expecting, at least until the worst had come:

“Good to see you again Lizzy. I don’t suppose any of those questions have something to do with the latest post from our local student council president, do they?”

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow, mostly confused at first, "A post from Ashley? No, I don't think so, why? What did she post? No I just came to ask you about-"

Her face went pale as she went over the text, and her voice went silent. At first, it was that twisting, anxious feeling you got when something dreadful had happened. As if you were just broken up with or discovered you did not get the job. This was quickly followed by a cocktail of anger and embarrassment. Her face and chest had both become flush. Tears had not come to her eyes, so there were no waterworks to be had, but she was sufficiently set off before they had really even begun to talk.

Staying focused on herself, and keeping her emotions in check, Elizabeth did was she always does: she repressed them. The color had faded ever so slightly, and she swallowed the lump in her throat back down to her chest, where the heart belongs. She slid the phone back towards him while he was in the back gathering materials for some sort of drink. She thinks he offered something with ice.

"Yeah, something cold sounds good. Heat must be getting to me anyway. Even my chest is starting to feel a little hot." This was, of course, a lie; the only drinks she ever took iced were water and tea, but it provided a good out as to why she was getting so red. She grabbed her card out of the clutch at her hip, placing it on top of the phone as her form of payment.

"Go ahead and tip yourself 20%. This is all Broderick's money for the time being until I start tutoring again anyway." She fixed one of her bangs to the side of her face, behind her ear.

Elizabeth cleared her throat and waited for Hitomu to come over so she could look him in the eye, "Anyway, the coffee isn't the point, Hitomu. I'll take care of Ash because I specifically told her I did not want this to turn into a blasted circus, but, well..." she shook her head; No chickening out. She thought to herself, Delia and Broderick are going to kill me if they find out I actually thought about going back to dueling and then backed out of a duel with Hitomu of all people, the one person who would always say yes.

"I want to take a duel with you. I'm trying to put some serious effort into taking my life back after Todd's passing and not only are you my greatest challenge but also the only person who would understand." Liz looked down, as was her reflex when opening up in any fashion, even though she felt like there was no reason to be ashamed of this in front of Hitomu, who mourned the loss and faced his battles all the same, "But I need time to practice; you would kill me in a duel right now. The first day of classes. At the dueling grounds, I was thinking... And you better treat me like a real, serious opponent, you hear me?" She was now suddenly feeling Brazen, the mixture of emotions swirling together with a burgeoning desire to be right about all of this, that a duel with Hitomu would really fix her once and for all, "Don't pull any punches, okay?" her voice had come down a bit now; it was unclear to her whether or not she had been talking louder than normal, she imagined that was not the case as she was never much of a loud person.

As her spat ended and she waited for Hitomu to respond to what was likely somewhat of an outburst, her eyes caught the iced drink. It looked better than she thought it would...

"Oh, can you put whipped cream on that? Today's my fat day."

Hakima · May 26, 2018

Hitomu wasn’t surprised that Elizabeth hadn’t known about the post. Ashley had a reputation for being an intelligent and efficient woman; she was also a busybody who would do anything to drum up a good story for Blue Yonder’s student council to exploit.

Elizabeth was apparently not as nonchalant about what had happened. All the color drained from her face down into her chest and she bit her lip. “Gotcha, one caramel frappuccino coming right up!” he said before ducking into the back.

Hitomu took his sweet time gathering the ingredients. He made sure that everything he grabbed was fresh and then meandered around in the back, to give Elizabeth some time to regain her equilibrium. Working as a barista for four years taught had taught him a lot about conversation; one of the most important lessons was that you had to know when to give a person space.

He emerged from the back after a moment and quickly whipped up her drink. The caramel frappuccino: ice, caramel, and coffee blended together in a precise ratio to create a sugary bomb of sweetness and sunshine. Hitomu presented it to her proudly, and pushed her card back towards her with a wink. “Don’t worry about it this time. It’s on the house.”

Elizabeth looked like she had something she wanted to say after that so Hitomu leaned up against bar to wait. She took a moment to gather herself before she started, but once she did, it all came spilling out rapidly. Lizzy wanted to challenge him to a duel to try and take her life back. She also wanted whipped cream.

Hitomu reached behind him and grabbed a bottle of whipped cream out of the mini-fridge, tossed it up into the air where it flipped end over end a few times, then caught it and made a foamy spiral on top of the frappuccino.

“There ya go,” he said. He pushed off the counter and rose up to his full height, rubbing the back of his neck. “I mean… I’ll duel you Lizzy, no problem, but… I’m just not sure that it’s gonna--” he was cut off by the bell above the door ringing again, signifying the entrance of another customer.

Hitomu was quick to straighten up. “Hey there! Welcome to Coffee Cards, anything I can help you with?” He had the speech memorized by that point. While waiting for a response from the new customer he nodded toward Liz. “Yeah, yeah I’ll duel you. First day of class, dueling grounds, I’ll be there.”

Alaina · May 27, 2018

Jun raised an eyebrow as she could hear what sounded like screaming coming from the portable bathroom stall. She stared it for a moment, wondering what to do as the time kept passing by and there didn't seem to be any change in the situation. As she was about to start to check up on the girl, she eventually came back out of the stall, seemingly fine now. Jun didn't really pester her about it, nor did she dare to actually look into the stall, as the girl began to speak to her. Jun merely looked to the girl with her ever present smile across her face, making some amount of effort to hear the soft spoken girl over the crowd. Grabbing the girl's hand and shaking it, she said, "well nice to meet you Melissa. My name's Jun, which you probably already knew." The girl tipped her hat slightly to Melissa before looking at her curiously saying, "so uh, those papers you were handing out? What were they for? Were they for that table guy?"

The Warden · May 27, 2018

Alison turned her head to the staff, his face looking rather familiar, now that she got a good look at him. "Oh, I'm just looking for some bottled water for my club members, as it's quite hot today, which doesn't agree with black robes" Alison responded politely.

Selecting six bottles and loading them in her satchel, Alison glided over to the counter, her delicate nose picking up the captivating scent of the caramel frappuccino. "My, that certainly looks rather tasty, doesn't it?" she commented as a water bottle was placed on the counter. "I am purchasing six of these" Alison informed Hitomu before taking notice of Elizabeth.

With her usual penetrating look, the girl regarded her fellow closely, taking note of the bridge of her nose, her forehead, her eyes, but most notably the scent of tobacco and nicotine that clings to most smokers. "I overheard that the two of you are dueling. The Emperor versus the... hmm...." Alison paid closer attention to Elizabeth, noting how she carried herself, how she was dressed, and the clear look of discomfort on her face. "The Hermit! The Emperor versus The Hermit. Why, that will be quite an interesting duel won't it?" Alison commented with a mysterious small smile.

BANZAI!!!! · May 29, 2018

About fifteen minutes and a glass of ice water later, and Yushiro was feeling much better. The oppressive heat was still omnipresent of course, but at least now he was hydrated, and had no obligations for the rest of the day: a good feeling, all things considered. Next on the agenda was seeing what Akira was up to.

From: Yushiro
To: AkiraTHEMAN

Yo, out of work early. Finished moving in yet? We should chill before classes start tomorrow and you know who starts monopolizing all of your time :P HMU I'll be out on campus checking out clubs and food stands.

Oh, and tell THE MOM I said thanks for letting me crash the other week, forgot to thank her for that delish kamonanban!

And now that that was taken care of, it was off to the races. It felt good to know his way around campus for a change, especially compared to the disaster that had been his first day the previous year, in which he'd meandered around campus for nearly an hour in the rain, luggage in tow, before a helpful upperclassman directed him to his dorm building. Most of the school clubs were out advertising today, and Yushiro could also pick out a few faculty members that he remembered in the throng. There was of course the packed club Duel Team stand: the closest to Blue Yonder's varsity Duel Monsters squad that many of the freshmen were likely to get. Like last year, Yushiro decided to pass on it. Games weren't exactly hard to find, and having club activities take up a scheduled block of his free time every week didn't appeal to him. Other notables included the Occult Club, with their usual black tend and robes that were sure to be terrifically uncomfortable on a day as hot as this, and the READ Club, which was not in fact the literature club, but rather the Rainbow-Eyes Art Dragon Club, with their adorable sign featuring the aforementioned dragon (modeled after Blue Yonder's own decidedly more monochromatic mascot) holding a painter's palette and wearing a beret. Yushiro thought it could use a mustache to go with it.

Still, nothing really stood out, and so Yushiro, like last year, decided that he'd be better off having more time to himself and a free schedule for work. Had to pay for those duel monsters packs somehow, after all. Speaking of work, the next thing that needed addressing was his stomach. It was only just now that Yushiro realized he was hungry, and there was a good chance that Akira wouldn't text him back for a little while yet. Besides, Yushiro was mostly sticking around to catch the move-in day exhibition duel. Supposedly one of the duelists was also an idol, which meant she was bound to be cute. Always a plus. As he meandered his way through the crowd, however, a large cloud of dust caught his eye. Yushiro looked up, and sure enough, the sky in that direction was a deep, familiar shade of reddish magenta. Duel Space, which meant someone was playing a game. Time to go check it out.

By the time he'd gotten there though, it was all over, as evidenced by the return of blue to the dome above. Whoever this was had drawn something of a crowd though. Maybe they had fans or something.

"Did you SEE that scrub? I beat that moron with only my main deck! I swear, these freshmen just get worse the more I duel!"

Or maybe flunkies was the more apt term. His curiosity piqued, Yushiro forced his way through the thinning crowd to catch a peak at who'd been playing. The voice was coming from a rather diminutive boy who seemed to be around his age. Yushiro didn't recognize him though. The loser, meanwhile, had the characteristic lost look of a freshman (which Yushiro himself had worn quite often the previous year), combined of course with the frown that accompanied a bad loss.

"Anyone else wanna take me on? Please, don't be shy, I'm sure SOMEONE has to luck out and watch me brick eventually! Anyone? I'm taking open challenges if you think you have what it takes!"

"Shorty must be picking on freshman who don't know any better. What a jerk, going after easy targets like that." Yushiro thought aloud. Unfortunately for him, he was also close enough for the players to have heard them, if they were listening.

radio414 · May 29, 2018

“For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I with them”
-Matthew 18:20 (NIV)

It took a second for Melissa to even remember the pamphlets Jun was asking about. A good five or six of them were probably flitting around in the wind, lost after their initial run-in, and the rest were (maybe? Hopefully?) stacked back up neatly at the Community Service Club booth with…

“I’d, uh, I would really rather not talk about Connor right now, actually,” said Melissa. “I think I’m still mad at him. But if you’re interested in community service, uh, mostly we just pick up litter and maybe help an animal or homeless shelter. I can give you my number to keep you in the loop.”

Aaand breathe. Four sentences in a row was hard! Melissa didn’t know how Jun did it what seemed like all the time. But in this instance, so had she, and for that, she allowed herself a brief moment of pride. But she wasn’t done yet. If she was going to follow through with this resolution, she had a whole, inevitably long day ahead of her. And while she wholly expected to renege on it tomorrow the next day or the next, she wasn’t about to go back on a resolution minutes after making it.

“Anyway, were you on your way somewhere before I, uh, pulled you over? I obviously don’t have anywhere to go right now, so, um…”

Dova · May 29, 2018

"Hey there, you.”

Yusuji beamed down at Kyouko; it was always nice to be greeted back. She’d rarely interacted with Jun’s friend in the past, with it normally being only one of the two hanging out with their joint friend, but occasionally the so-called “Bishfish” would walk in on one of their grand adventures. Actually, there had been this one time where Yusuji had been desperately trying to show Jun one of her beautiful interpretations of the innocence of man, or something along those lines, and she’d ended up splattering the swimmer with still-wet paint. Kyouko had gone very quiet then; probably trying not to laugh or something, but she was actually still talking now so it would be a good idea to actually focus on the conversation

“What about you? Paint anything new lately?”

“Oh yeah, loads of stuff!” Yusuji responded brightly, starting to count on her fingers. “There was a simply BEAUTIFUL view out of the window this morning, like framing the sun and everything. Did something for Jun too...” She trailed off before thoughtfully turning back to Kyouko. “The real question is what are YOU doing all the way out here? Well, actually, it could also be what I am doing here,” she added as an afterthought, ”considering in order to ask you what you are doing here I have to be here, which I am…” Another pause, this time with Yusuji wincing at how convoluted her simple question had come. “Anyway, yeah, why not come with me? I’ve barely started to takepart in the festivities!”

Alaina · May 29, 2018

Jun hadn't quite caught the first part of what Melissa had said, as the girl seemed to be using her very indoor voice while they were outside, and so the girl leaned in closer to hear her better. As she went off about her second part, Jun pulled out her phone, saying, "sur- oh." She looked to see she had an unread message from Yusuji and seemed to be all the cheerier as she did. Looking back to Melissa she continued, "sure! You can never have too many contacts after all. Unless your phone is filled of course. Here you go!" The girl displayed her phone number for Melissa to copy.

Jun wasn't actually overly crazy about the prospect of doing community service. In fact, the thought of regularly spending her free time doing that kind of stuff revolted Jun a bit. Yet, she enjoyed making new friends and getting someone's phone number was the first step to making said friends. So, with a smile on her face, once she got Melissa's phone number sent her a text.

From: Jun
To: Mute-issa

hey there melissa
its June, the girl right next to you.
test text

From: Jun
To: Mute-issa

*Jun

After sending both texts, the girl then said, "well, I wasn't really going anywhere special. But I was probably going to meet up with a friend. And she likes meeting new people too. Probably looking at them more than meeting, really." Nodding to herself, the girl then looked at her phone and sent another text.

From: Jun
To: Paintsuji

awesome! what if we met up by the food truck
i havent eaten anything yet
also made a new friend
shes very quiet but youll probably like her

After sending the text, the smile was still present on Jun's face as she said, "come on, let's go to the food truck. With all of these things going on today, it can't possibly be as busy as usual and the best way to beat the heat is with a full stomach, or so I've heard." She had never heard that.

👀 REP 👀 · May 29, 2018

Hoshiko stared off at all the club activities happening around her, her eyes in awe. It was everything she had hoped it'd be like and more; a slight shame she wouldn't be able to visit all of the stands right now, seeing as her big duel was coming up. She still needed to get properly prepared for it, after all. Her attention shifted from all the clubs and people to finding a nearby restroom to change in. With this goal in mind, she made her way through the crowd, waving at the few that recognized her.

The next time anyone would see Hoshiko, she would be in her almost bridal-styled dress, the ribbons on her bow flowing in the wind alongside her hair. She had contacts on, making the title of starry eyed idol a bit more literal. With her being in her costume, and her face content with how she looked, she made her way to the stage that their duel was going to be on.

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

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