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

[Alaina]

 

In spite of Souji's pace as he checked his phone and the shout he made for her to slow down, Jun did no such thing, merely walking forward with a smile on her face as she continued her pace forward. With the text that she had received from her friend, the girl knew where to go from there and lead Souij to their usual hang out spot. It didn't take long for the duo to get to the room, and once they were there, the girl was about to give a loud greeting to both of her friends. However, as Yusuji already seemed to be in the midst of her painting with Melissa just watching, the girl held herself back and put a finger to her mouth, signalling for Souji to be quiet. 

 

After a few moments of watching her friend paint, the girl found the opportunity to finally make her greeting. With a large smile on her face the girl said, "hey there 'Sujii. And hey there 'Lissa, nice to see you so soon again. Like I said, I brought over Souji and - oh, you probably don't know him. Here 'Lissa, this guy right here is Souji," she pointed to the male next to her. "And he's- well-" the girl paused and stopped herself as she tried to think of what to say before merely shaking her head with a smile saying, "well, I'm sure he'll be fine. So, what were you guys in the middle of painting?" The young girl moved to peer at the canvas over Yusuji's shoulder. 

[VCR_CAT]

Katsu, the Strong

 

"Dunno if you know this or not, but I don't parade around the school looking for trouble. If somebody can't pick their fights wisely, that's their problem, not mine," Kyouko had responded tursely to Katsu, who simply exchanged the words with a narrowing of her eyes.

 

Meanwhile, Yushiro had stepped up and placed him between the two. "Heeeeeeyyyyyy Katsu, no trouble at all, actually. We were just talking. I was actually waiting here for Akira, but he hasn't shown. We were gonna hang out for a bit. You can come with us if you want, I'm sure he won't mind." Yushiro looked back at Kyouko for a moment, then turned back to Katsu. "So do you guys like, know each other or something? I can't imagine you being confrontational without a good reason, but you don't need to worry. Kyouko's been nothing but nice to me."

 

"You could say we know each other," Katsu growled. "Provocation or not I, Katsu, the Strong, do not stand for unnecessary violence! Strong people should use that strength to defend others, NOT persecute others!" Without realizing it, Katsu had taken a rather dramatic stance, and with a quiet "hmph" relaxed her position. "As for Akira, it would seem he's late, as usual. I need him to help sort out the Martial Arts clubs with the school. Principle says there aren't enough interested students to warrant so many different clubs and suggested they merge. As if our styles are similar just for being 'Martial Arts'! The nerve of that man."

 

"As for you," Katsu turned back to Kyouko, adopting her dramatic stance once again and pointing past Yushiro. "If a student is poking a fight them be! Or if you have to, at least not injure them! If I hear of one more broken bone I will not hesitate to shut you down! I, Katsu the Strong, would like to strive for a peaceful year this year!"

[Yui]

---

"Heeeeeeyyyyyy Katsu. No trouble at all, actually. We were just talking. I was actually waiting here for Akira, but he hasn't shown. We were gonna hang out for a bit. You can come with us if you want, I'm sure he won't mind." Her name was Katsu? Kyouko tried to take note of it. Either way, the boy looked at Kyouko, then at the other girl. Was he trying to defuse a situation or something? Was there even a situation to begin with? "So do you guys like, know each other or something? I can't imagine you being confrontational without a good reason, but you don't need to worry. Kyouko's been nothing but nice to me."

 

"You could say we know each other."

 

"Mmm," Kyouko grunted in agreement.

 

"Provocation or not I, Katsu, the Strong, do not stand for unnecessary violence! Strong people should use that strength to defend others, NOT persecute others! As for Akira, it would seem he's late, as usual. I need him to help sort out the Martial Arts clubs with the school. Principle says there aren't enough interested students to warrant so many different clubs and suggested they merge. As if our styles are similar just for being 'Martial Arts'! The nerve of that man."

 

In retrospect, maybe Kyouko could almost remember the name "Katsu" because the girl kept saying it. Kyouko never understood martial arts though. Maybe that was another reason she didn't get along with this other girl? She was very enthusiastic about them, but to Kyouko, it was simply a matter of "Why bother memorizing all these fancy punches, kicks, and stances, when a well-timed swing to the face could have the same end result?" It just sounded like unnecessary steps to her.

 

"As for you," she continued, looking at Kyouko directly. "If a student is picking a fight them be! Or if you have to, at least not injure them! If I hear of one more broken bone I will not hesitate to shut you down! I, Katsu the Strong, would like to strive for a peaceful year this year!"

 

"Yeah, about that," Kyouko started, procuring from the brown paper bag at her side, a second taco. Her foot was tapping against the floor faster than it had been when this conversation started. She took a rather small bite, and crunched down on the food in her mouth only once before swallowing and continuing, "I've been trying that whole 'hold back, protect people, be peaceful, yadda yadda' routine. It doesn't work. Sometimes people just can't learn without a few beatings. I'm not proud of it, but that's just the way the world works. Not like you can shut me down anyway. You've tried it before, right?"

---

[BANZAI!!!!]

 

"You could say we know each other," Katsu growled. "Provocation or not I, Katsu, the Strong, do not stand for unnecessary violence! Strong people should use that strength to defend others, NOT persecute others!"

 

That.... barely answered his question. Usually when someone asked "Do you know each other?" the other person should elaborate on how. Guess she was too fired up to bother.

 

 "As for Akira, it would seem he's late, as usual. I need him to help sort out the Martial Arts clubs with the school. Principle says there aren't enough interested students to warrant so many different clubs and suggested they merge. As if our styles are similar just for being 'Martial Arts'! The nerve of that man."

 

Merging them was probably a good idea, since if one or the other didn't garner enough interest, the club might fold. That'd only make her and Akira's bickering more intense.... On second thought, that might be a good thing. It would at least make confrontations like this less frequent, maybe.

 

"As for you," Katsu continued, looking at Kyouko directly. "If a student is picking a fight them be! Or if you have to, at least not injure them! If I hear of one more broken bone I will not hesitate to shut you down! I, Katsu the Strong, would like to strive for a peaceful year this year!"

 

Did she really have to keep calling herself that? It just felt so unnatural coming from anyone other than Akira.

 

"Yeah, about that," Kyouko started, procuring from the brown paper bag at her side, a second taco. Her foot was tapping against the floor faster than it had been when this conversation started. She took a rather small bite, and crunched down on the food in her mouth only once before swallowing and continuing, "I've been trying that whole 'hold back, protect people, be peaceful, yadda yadda' routine. It doesn't work. Sometimes people just can't learn without a few beatings. I'm not proud of it, but that's just the way the world works. Not like you can shut me down anyway. You've tried it before, right?"

 

Normally, Yushiro would have been rather incredulous about a remark like that coming from such a skinny, unassuming looking girl. Especially directed at Katsu, who he knew for a fact could throw most people around. But every part of Kyouko's body seemed to just ooze pent up tension, like she could go off at any time. He could easily picture this girl provoked, wailing away on someone like a wild animal. It wasn't a pretty image, and the thought of it was enough to convince Yushiro that she meant what she said. Worse, it sounded like she was picking a fight now.

 

"Hey now guys lets not go picking a fight on the first day of class, eh?" Best to nip this in the bud before either of them got the idea to start swinging in their heads. "Know what?" He turned around to face Kyouko again. "If you're not busy Kyouko, why don't you come hang out with us this afternoon? You two obviously have some issues with each other, sooo why not talk it out over a trip to coffecards or something? Assuming Akira ever shows up, that is." Hopefully something this audacious would distract them from their enmity for a moment, and on the off chance it worked, maybe he could actually help the two of them talk through it.

[VCR_CAT]

Katsu, the Strong

 

"Yeah, about that," Kyouko started, pulling a second taco from her bag. Her foot was tapping against the floor faster than it had been when this conversation started. She took a rather small bite, and crunched down on the food in her mouth only once before swallowing and continuing, "I've been trying that whole 'hold back, protect people, be peaceful, yadda yadda' routine. It doesn't work. Sometimes people just can't learn without a few beatings. I'm not proud of it, but that's just the way the world works. Not like you can shut me down anyway. You've tried it before, right?"

 

"If you are suggesting that I, Katsu the Strong, are weaker than you, then you are mistaken," Katsu growled. "I would have bested you in that fight before, had the faculty not interrupted us, but I will not hesitate to show you what would have happened if I need to." She pulled her stance in, her legs wide and and hands on her hips. "But if you need someone to keep you accountable on staying on the straight and narrow then you don't need to look to much further!"

 

"Hey now guys lets not go picking a fight on the first day of class, eh?" Yushiro stepped in between them once again. "Know what?" He turned around to face Kyouko again. "If you're not busy Kyouko, why don't you come hang out with us this afternoon? You two obviously have some issues with each other, sooo why not talk it out over a trip to coffecards or something? Assuming Akira ever shows up, that is."

 

"Hmph," Katsu folded her arms in tightly. "Fine, I will not fight for now. And why not, I had to miss yesterday's duel and the duel Student Council advertised today seemed interesting enough, I was hoping to not miss that."

[Yui]

---

"If you are suggesting that I, Katsu the Strong, are weaker than you, then you are mistaken. I would have bested you in that fight before, had the faculty not interrupted us, but I will not hesitate to show you what would have happened if I need to. But if you need someone to keep you accountable on staying on the straight and narrow then you don't need to look to much further!"

 

Kyouko shoved most of the remainder of her taco into her mouth, getting up to her feet after a few quick chews and a swallow, ready to fight. However, that Double Down boy put himself between them again. He was really insistent on playing peacemaker. At least one of them was trying.

 

"Hey now guys lets not go picking a fight on the first day of class, eh? Know what? If you're not busy Kyouko, why don't you come hang out with us this afternoon? You two obviously have some issues with each other, sooo why not talk it out over a trip to coffecards or something? Assuming Akira ever shows up, that is."

 

"Hmph. Fine, I will not fight for now. And why not, I had to miss yesterday's duel and the duel Student Council advertised today seemed interesting enough, I was hoping to not miss that."

 

After devouring the small bite left of her food, Kyouko shrugged. She indeed didn't have anything to do today. "I'll give it a shot," she said, though it was hard to tell by her tone of voice if she was sincere about it or not. Her next statement seemed to have a bit more sincerity behind it, though. "The less people I have to worry about slugging it out with, the better." Kyouko sat back down, crumpling up the bag near her and tossing it into the trash bin at the end of the bench. That was settled, at least. Now they just had to wait for that other person to show up. What was his name again? It had escaped her memory when she was getting up to fight, since it didn't matter anymore at that point. There was a K in there, right?

 

...Kevin?

 

"What's this friend of yours like, anyway? Is he always late or something?" Her eyes shifted back and forth between that girl she was about to fight, and the boy. "For that matter, how do you two know each other? Seems like an unlikely pair to me."

---

[a coffee]

Elizabeth stopped in her tracks if only for a moment; he was just as standoffish in tone as she had remembered from their last time they met. She had briefly considered that perhaps this was a mistake, but she was already too deep in to back out now. Then again, he did sound fairly inconvenienced by her call… she continued anyway.

 

“Oh, well if it’s an inconvenience to you to have a chat I don’t mind…” she checked, making Hiraku aware that she did, indeed, catch his tone, “But you sounded awfully perturbed by the thought that I could perhaps beat Hitomu, and I wouldn’t want to harbor bad feelings with a stranger I’ve only just met.” she took a sip of her coffee, allowing Hiraku to digest that information. She looked behind her briefly, noting the feeling of eyes on her back; something she had felt all day. There was indeed, somebody staring, but not someone she recognized. Elizabeth turned back to Hiraku, “What I mean to say is, I would rather take a rain check on the duel than have some sort of earned target on my back, were I to win today. This duel is simply something for me to do so I can start my year off on the right foot. Making an enemy of you in the process doesn’t really serve that for me.” She tucked her hair, similar in color to Hiraku’s himself, behind her ear.

 

To be plain about it, she was nervous and perhaps even afraid of his reaction. Elizabeth was never the confrontational type, but it had become particularly anxiety inducing after her year alone. The last thing she ever sought to do was push people away, especially strangers.

 

Hiraku sighed. “Look, none of this is against you, and I’m not asking you to forfeit or postpone or whatever.” Hiraku placed his drink down on a nearby table and looked Elizabeth in the eyes. There wasn’t any anger or hostility in his gaze, but it was piercing and determined. “Last year he got lucky and stole a tournament out from under me in the semi-finals. From the start I’ve been gunning for the number slot, and I’m not going to let something like that slide. This isn’t anything against you or me, and I’m not holding this duel against you. But if I want to be number one and you win, that means I have to beat you too.” Hiraku looked over the crowd of the coffeeshop and could spot one or two other students that would frequently steal glances at the two of them. His expression turned somewhat sour for a fraction of a section but Hiraku had managed to compose himself soon after.

 

“I’m not asking you to finish the duel. I know I’m not the nicest guy here, but my goal is to make top spot, and I don’t plan on doing so with any underhanded tactics. That means I’m not going to stop any competition from competing. If I want people to see that I’m strong, then I have to show them.” He looked back at Elizabeth, but with how his eyes had shifted to somewhat more of a neutral expression it only made his temperment more inscrutable. “Look, I’m not one to apologize, so don’t go spreading this around that I said it, but you caught me in a bad mood yesterday. If any of that was taken personally… I didn’t mean it like that.”

 

“I’d wish you luck in your duel, but I mean no offense when I say I don’t find the idea of rooting for either side very attractive. Just play your best.” Hiraku said, turning to join the rest of the outside crowd that steadily gathered, waiting for the duel to start.

 

Elizabeth nodded; she stayed mostly silent during Hiraku’s speech, mostly just allowing him to reassure her with the words she was looking to hear. She did reply at the end, however, when he was offering somewhat of an apology: “Well I appreciate that gesture, but I haven’t taken anything personally yet. I’ll be more personally offended if you were to come take me from the mountaintop before I’ve truly gotten to appreciate it.” She shot a small, reserved, smile at Hiraku; just enough to reveal her resplendent teeth and assure him that all was good between the two of them. Despite her coffee addiction, Elizabeth was truly dedicated to dental care. Something about her ancestry’s lack of care for proper teeth and all that.

 

“In that case, it's getting closer to the duel. I think I'm off to go reach a good headspace before it. I'll see you around, Hiraku.”

 

With that, Elizabeth made her way out of the coffee shop and towards main campus, where her duel would be taking place. She groaned in between sips of her drink; the anxiety of having to wait with nothing to do was absolutely eating her alive.

 

Just then, as if her feeling of anxiety had been broadcasted, her phone began to ring: it simply read “Mum”.

 

A call from Mum? At noon? Isn't she supposed to have lunch at this hour?

 

She answered quickly, grinning at the chance to speak with her, “Mum, what's got your call at this time of day?”

 

“Well, darling, Ashley texted me saying you were nervous about your match. I can always do my work later.”

 

Elizabeth looked around her again, rolled her eyes and lightly lifted her coffee holding hand up in defeat before letting it fall, “How on earth could she know that? Shes not seen me all day.”

[King K. Azo]

 
Akira was muttering curses under his breath. He really disliked how late he was, and while it wasn't really his fault, he still blamed himself. He shouldn't have let himself be cornered by that person... he should have just decked them out the moment they attacked. Sadly, the man Akira was too honorable for that. He took the blows, the strikes against him, until the person was satisfied. Still, it made him very late, and he did not like it.

Which is why he was even more annoyed when he saw that the woman Katsu was with the man Yushiro. He knew he'd get an earful now... she always gave him one. And then, there was the woman that confused him for a teacher... the woman Kyouko, if he remembered correctly. 
 
"What's this friend of yours like, anyway? Is he always late or something?" Damn, there it was. Yesterday, it didn't click, but earlier today, he realized he was going to attempt to try to hook up the man Yushiro with a girl the woman Katsu didn't like. He really dodged a bullet there... "For that matter, how do you two know each other? Seems like an unlikely pair to me." Akira managed to quietly get behind her, and bracing for the sure to come punch, the man began to speak.

"I apologize that I, the man Akira, am not usually this late," He said, folding his arms. "But my English teacher had cornered me to give me a lecture on how that the man Akira refers to himself as the man, Akira, and how it is not proper English," He shook his head. sighing. "The man Akira has never met such a nagging person... well, then again...," his eyes darted over to Katsu nervously before looking back to Yushiro. "So, what's the plan the man Yushiro has today?"
 

---

 

 

Sai ran a hand through his head as he looked at the computer screen. He was too curious to find out what Double Down did, so he went to look it up in the card archives in the school library... but when he did, all he got was a message telling him that the card didn't exist. He had asked a librarian to help, but when they looked at his screen...
 
"It looks like the card you're searching for doesn't exist," She supplied. Sai shook his head as he stared at the screen.

"Impossible. Perhaps the archives are incomplete," Apparently that was the wrong thing to say, as the librarian an indignant look.

"If an item does not appear in our records, it does not exist," She said with a tone of finality. Sai sighed to himself. It seemed there was no use arguing against her, so he stood up, taking out his phone, seeing that Souji had texted him.

 

From: Souji

 

To: TheWizardingSai

 

Yo Sai. If you aren't busy right now, let's hangout. Jun says she's going to to see some of her friends and offered for me to come with. Extending the invite to you too...after-all, you both are on my ass about making friends...so I'll TRY.

 

Sai sighed to himself as he texted back, rubbing his neck as he did.

 
To: Souji of the Turbulent Wind
 
From: Sai Salamander
 
Hey man, I'm sorry, but I don't feel up for it. I'm just gonna grab a drink at CoffeCards and go home to play video games and sketch up some cosplays.
 
With that done, Sai went out, bag slung over his shoulder, ready to grab a drink. He just needed some rest after today.

[Super Chaos Sonic]

 

 

Surprisingly, to his requests, Jun didn't slow down. Souji did keep up with her without any problem, but still, least she could've done was wait up a slight. However, he felt himself get a message back. So while catching up with Jun, he fiddled around to pull his phone out.

 

It's from Sai...alright buddy, what's up?

 

To: Souji
From: TheWizardingSai
Hey man, I'm sorry, but I don't feel up for it. I'm just gonna grab a drink at CoffeCards and go home to play video games and sketch up some cosplays.

 

His demeanor dropped slightly, as he sent a quick thumbs up message back to him. Well...didn't hurt to try. Souji thought, sliding his phone back in his pocket, seeing that Jun finally stopped at her hangout spot. And it seemed more than just Yusuji was here...awesome...

 

"Hey there 'Sujii. And hey there 'Lissa, nice to see you so soon again. Like I said, I brought over Souji and - oh, you probably don't know him. Here 'Lissa, this guy right here is Souji. And he's- well-well, I'm sure he'll be fine. So, what were you guys in the middle of painting?"

 

Souji simply tipped his hat slightly, giving off a bit of a smile. "Hey." he said quickly. "Hope you don't mind that I tagged along." The introductions were now out of the way...now what? sheet...I actually didn't think I'd get THIS far!

[radio414]

“Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.”
-Hebrews 13:2 (NIV)

For as much as Yusuji had wanted Melissa to stay and watch her paint, as much as Yusuji had asked Melissa on her input (a harrowing process that nearly made Melissa hyperventilate just thinking about it), she didn’t really leave much of the canvas visible as she dashed around turning this way and that, turning the canvas this way and that, so if any paint had gotten on the canvas (as opposed to, say, the splatters of paint all around the base of the easel) outside of that original blue brushstroke, Melissa was none the wiser. She almost wanted to take out her phone and watch that instead, but she decided that if Yusuji had invited her up here to watch her paint, she should probably watch Yusuji paint.

And it wasn’t like that was a boring option! Again, Yusuji moved around the art room with a fluidity that even if Melissa did switch to her phone her eyes would probably still have been drawn back up to the girl dancing around with brush and palette. So intense was this dance that Melissa barely noticed Jun come in.

“Hey, ‘Lissa, nice to see you again so soon.”

She didn’t jump out of her chair, which was good, but she did jump. If Jun noticed, though, she didn’t say it.

“Like I said, I brought over Souji and- oh, you probably don’t know him. Here, ‘Lissa, this guy right here is Souji.”

“Souji” was not somebody Melissa recognized, so she was happy for the introduction. He didn’t seem to be as happy about it, which was something that she could sympathize with. But still, he gave a slight nod and a “Hope you don’t mind I tagged along,” so he certainly was more confident in himself than Melissa was.

All she could offer was a nod and a slight grin. Maybe she mumbled a “Hi” in there. Maybe.

“He’s, well,” said Jun, pausing a little mid-sentence, “well, I’m sure he’ll be fine. So what were you guys in the middle of painting?”

Melissa wasn’t sure how to take that. Maybe it was just the pause, like Jun had more to say and didn’t know how to say it, but all it did was throw her off (as if being in a conversation didn’t throw her off already!). What was Jun trying to hide about Souji?

But she’d been asked a question. “I, um, I think there was something to do with pigeons but I haven’t- I haven’t gotten a good look in a bit,” she said. She kind of hoped they didn’t ask more about the pigeons thing. It would mean they associated it with Yusuji, which Melissa felt was awfully close to a lie she didn’t want to tell, but the alternative was drawing all six eyes in the room towards her.

And that wasn’t something she was about to do.

[VCR_CAT]

Katsu, the Strong

 

"What's this friend of yours like, anyway? Is he always late or something?" Her eyes shifted back and forth between that girl she was about to fight, and the boy. "For that matter, how do you two know each other? Seems like an unlikely pair to me."

 

"Hmph! It's not like that at all, for I, Katsu the Strong, know Yushiro through a mutual 'acquaintance'. As for Akira, he usually has a way of messing something up. For example, one ti--" Katsu had started to say before Akira himself managed to seemingly appear from thin air.

 

"I apologize that I, the man Akira, am not usually this late," He said, folding his arms. "But my English teacher had cornered me to give me a lecture on how that the man Akira refers to himself as the man, Akira, and how it is not proper English," He shook his head. sighing. "The man Akira has never met such a nagging person... well, then again...," his eyes darted over to Katsu nervously before looking back to Yushiro. "So, what's the plan the man Yushiro has today?"

 

Akira was soon met with a stiff chop to the top of his head. "For you information, I, Katsu the Strong, keep you on track! If it wasn't for me you wouldn't be here right now!" Katsu said sternly-- the accuracy of this claim very much in question, however. "While you were gone, I had to meet with the faculty regarding our clubs! They claim that neither have enough members to warrant separate martial-arts clubs and are standing to combine them!"

[The Frost King]

"Oh no that's quite alright. I wouldn't want to waste any more of your time, Miss Akari. Besides, now that I can see it i'm sure I'll be able to make my way over there on my own. Though, if you should happen to also be going that way I would be glad to go with you."

 

“Um yeah, I am actually. My dorm room is in this direction and I was planning on dropping off these papers there.” This was a total lie as her dorm room was actually in the complete opposite direction. To be honest, she didn’t like telling lies. In fact, lying was against her moral code. After all, honesty WAS the best policy. But many things about Kazu had piqued her curiosity; one of those things being his uniform.  And besides, there was nothing wrong with telling a little white lie. So she started to walk in the direction of the science building, thinking of things to ask Kazu in the short time she had.

 

Deciding to go with the number one thing on her mind at the moment, she looked over at Kazu with a bright smile. “Your uniform looks nice. Although, it isn’t the Blue Yonder uniform.” Akari paused for a second or two before she continued. “I’m guessing you haven’t gotten yours in yet?”

 

[👀 REP 👀]

 

---

 

As Hoshiko walked away from the counter, her drink in hand, she glanced over to the others. Two of them seemed to be talking about something, and seemed to be very into it. Her eyes drifted across the room, resting onto a girl who had a deck in front of them. Not of Yuigoh, but a different kind of deck. Hoshiko was curious as to what these cards were, making her way to the table where Alison was.

"Hello... mind if I sit with you?" Hoshiko said, softly smiling at Alison with her hand on the seat. She turned her direction to the other two, their conversation still going. She managed to catch that it was about a duel of sorts, and something about getting to the top. "It'll definitely be fun to see everyone try and teach the top..." She thought out loud.

[The Warden]

"Hello... mind if I sit with you?"

 

Alison gently offered the seat that Elizabeth had left, allowing RJudgment to take a seat. "It'll definitely be fun to see everyone try and reach the top..." She thought out loud.

 

"Indeed it would, but then it would have to be a rather large top in order to hold everyone" Alison commented as she gently shuffled her tarot deck, and laid out three cards on the table face down. "Though you might need a little more work I find, given how reactive you were in the duel with the Moon miss topsy-turvy Judgment" she added, flipping over the three cards so Hoshiko could see them.

 

The Moon and an upside-down Judgment were the first and third cards, while the middle one was the Tower standing tall. "It was unfortunate for you that you could only react without attempting to take the duel for yourself."

[Yui]

---

"I apologize that I, the man Akira, am not usually this late."

 

Kyouko flinched at the sudden voice behind her. Her hand very clearly curled up into a fist to strike him with, and even was raised up a bit, but it seemed that in the end, Kyouko was able to avoid the reflexive reaction of "punch everything that comes out of nowhere and spooks you." Kyouko's fist opened back up, and fell back lazily to her side where it belonged."But my English teacher had cornered me to give me a lecture on how that the man Akira refers to himself as the man, Akira, and how it is not proper English. The man Akira has never met such a nagging person... well, then again..., So, what's the plan the man Yushiro has today?"

 

Kyouko only briefly glanced behind her. That was the tall guy from yesterday, right? Kyouko put a bit of distance between herself and him, though not so much to look as if she was abandoning the conversation entirely. Even if she was regretting it just a little bit, she did say she'd try to hang out with this group. Even if she didn't particularly like all of them.

 

"For your information, I, Katsu the Strong, keep you on track! If it wasn't for me you wouldn't be here right now! While you were gone, I had to meet with the faculty regarding our clubs! They claim that neither have enough members to warrant separate martial-arts clubs and are standing to combine them!"

 

"Is it really that big of a deal if they get combined?" Martial arts was martial arts, right? "All the different art stuff is all part of the art club, and the duel team has all kinds of duelists with really different playstyles. I'm not really seeing why there has to be two martial arts clubs, especially if they're both having a tough time with membership."

---

[Dova]

---

A dash of azure here, a chocolate splash across purest gold...

“Hey there 'Sujii.”

“Hi Jun…” Yusuji murmured distractedly, still focused on her canvas as she danced about the room. The three pictures provided by Melissa still swirled through her imagination, occupying her mind even as the others in the room kept talking.

“Not at all.” She wasn’t even sure what she said this in response to. Probably the friend Jun brought. Still, there was something nagging in the back of her mind. Something she ought to do instead of finishing of touching up a pigeon in the corner, and tinting the glass just right.

Pigeon. Friend. Painting.

“So what were you guys in the middle of painting?”

Painting. Color. Trees. Wood. Log cabin. Dorm. Paintings.

Paintsuji.

Suddenly, it clicked.

“Jun!” she squealed, whirling around and dashing towards her best friend. “I knew you'd come!” She stopped short about half a second away from a hug, realizing her apron was covered with enough paint to be considered an artwork of its own. “I’ll just...um...one second!” The offending article of clothing flew across the room, catching a nearby hook just as Yusuji seemed to take to the air herself, almost flying back to her workspace. A few seconds passed, wherein the various pieces of equipment she was still holding were placed back into waiting receptacles with surprising deliberation, and then returned with even greater speed to embrace Jun tightly.

“How are you?” she asked earnestly, “It wasn’t the same without but, it’s still just been wonderful here with Melissa! She’s so nice, and SUCH an inspiration.” Letting go, she gestured towards the drying canvas . “It’s not finished, but...”

It was a scene bathed in silver moonlight, although not from above. Instead, the celestial orb was visible below what looked like an open-air library. Shelves overflowing with books filled the available space, held motionless in the air by each other, well-placed ladders, and wooden stairs, coming and going seemingly as they pleased. Despite the lack of a discernible floor, the view stretched on downwards into the deep blue of the coming night, with the many constructions spiralling almost out of sight toward the immense moon beneath.

And all around were pigeons. Swirling around in flocks, roosting on the many stable ladders, or even being formed from the many shapes made by the shelves or the markings around them. Even the lone chair on the otherwise empty platform which seemed to be the focus of the room featured wings on either side, surrounding the many blue cushions present as well, soft in both their color and design.

But it was patchy. Portions of the shelves lacked refinement, several pigeons were little more than white blobs, and the further one’s eyes were drawn towards the edges, the more blurry it seemed to be.

“I was thinking of doing something more abstract this time, but it kind of...fell apart.” Yusuji said, grinning. “It just needs a little more work, and then it’ll be completely completed.” She frowned, not liking the end of her sentence, but then noticed the one guy in the corner.

“And you brought Souji too! Hi!” She waved at him over Jun’s shoulder. “Nice outfit! Good duel yesterday, although that other costume could use some brightening up. Wait, no, actually, it works perfectly with Rose, forget I said anything. Except hi, and...probably the rest of it. Never mind.”

Yusuji wasn’t quite sure how she felt about the admittedly dapper guy. He had taken on Rose, true, but they’d both been so much fun. And even now, talking to him face to face...he really did look nice.

“So, Melissa!” The return to reality was prompted by remembering the third person in the room, and so the paintress performed another excessive twirl towards her original companion. Yusuji was delighted to see a slight smile on her face, and so, gestured towards the artwork. “Thoughts so far?”

---

[radio414]

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”
-1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NIV)

“So, Melissa! Thoughts so far?”

Yusuji had asked a question. Yusuji was expecting something out of her. And yet, Melissa felt less terrible about that than a remark Yusuji had made just moments prior.

“It wasn’t the same without,” Yusuji had said. And that could have been true in a number of ways. For example, it could have meant “It’s always better when you’re here, Jun.” And given the context of the second half of Yusuji’s sentence, that was probably the correct interpretation. But it also could have meant “Thank you for saving me from this impossible, mute mess of a human being.” Again, it probably wasn’t, but it could have been.

Yusuji had asked Melissa a question. It was a simple enough question, the kind of question she probably should have expected after providing the inspiration for the piece. The implicit contract those three questions had formed between them had yet to be completed, though Yusuji had done most of her part already simply by doing what she (presumably) did best. If Melissa were to contribute her part, she’d have to do the opposite. She’d have to do what she did worst.

And she was running out of excuses. Yusuji being too focused on her canvas was a fine enough distraction until Jun and Souji arrived, and once they had, they were distractions of their own for at least a little bit. But now, called out with a full view of Yusuji’s creation, all the focus in the room was on Melissa.

Yusuji had asked Melissa a question, so she should probably answer it.

Even though Yusuji had admitted the painting was incomplete, something even a novice like Melissa could tell at a glance, the vision was still there. The moon, the ladders, the stairs, the towering bookshelves, even the pigeons were all there. Every feature was there, it probably just needed touching up. And there was something soothing about the imperfections still present in the piece, too. Maybe that was because it was constructed out of Melissa’s own head.

The first words out of Melissa’s mouth were, “That’s a lot of pigeons,” which felt in her mouth like one of those stupid observations people made when they were trying to be funny, but she wasn’t! She really was trying to be sincere, trying to put her best effort into her half of the social contract. Her attempt to course-correct came out as, “No, I like it. I really like it,” which somehow felt even worse. The course-correct was too obvious! Of course it was! Why should she expect anything different out of herself?

Melissa did manage one phrase she didn’t feel terrible about, though. “Can I buy it from you when it’s finished?”

 

If she was going to end on anything, it might as well be that.

[Super Chaos Sonic]

 

 

Souji stood there, in the quiet of the location, hearing a mumbled 'hi' from the individual that Jun designated as "'Lissa". He assumed that was short for Melissa, but he kept that little assumption to himself, lest he get himself corrected right then and there.

 

“Jun! I knew you'd come!”

 

The silence was then cut through by the squealing voice of Yusuji, the painter girl. It was obvious that she had been in serious concentration about the piece in question. And truthfully, he did know of Yusuji's painting pieces of inspiration here and there. She was pretty much famous for them, so it wasn't surprising that she'd be working for more inspiration in paintings. Nevertheless, Souji decided to also take a nice look at the painting in question.

 

Silver moonlit night in an open library with plenty of pigeons... he thought, squinting at it and tilting his head to the right some. That's how people judged art, right?

 

“And you brought Souji too! Hi! Nice outfit! Good duel yesterday, although that other costume could use some brightening up. Wait, no, actually, it works perfectly with Rose, forget I said anything. Except hi, and...probably the rest of it. Never mind.”

 

Souji let out a small sigh, before smiling some. "Thanks, Yusuji. I'm glad I was able to put on an entertaining Duel yesterday. Though I wasn't exactly expecting quite the similar Dueling style from Rose. Still, even though the Duel was a hit, still didn't get to the point where I was forced to use my Duel Skill." he shrugged slightly. "Oh well...oh, before I forget, it's a nice painting there. I mean, I don't really get the significance of it noooooor the symbolism if there is any, buuuut it's nice nonetheless."

[BANZAI!!!!]

 

"Hmph," Katsu folded her arms in tightly. "Fine, I will not fight for now. And why not, I had to miss yesterday's duel and the duel Student Council advertised today seemed interesting enough, I was hoping to not miss that."

 

"I'll give it a shot. The less people I have to worry about slugging it out with, the better." Whew, that was close. The last thing Yushiro wanted was to have to deal with a catfight. For now at least, things weren't going to get out of control. "What's this friend of yours like, anyway? Is he always late or something? For that matter, how do you two know each other? Seems like an unlikely pair to me."

 

"Well....." Yushiro thought a moment, considering how to phrase his answer.

 

"Hmph! It's not like that at all, for I, Katsu the Strong, know Yushiro through a mutual 'acquaintance'. As for Akira, he usually has a way of messing something up. For example, one ti--" Katsu beat him to it, but before she herself could finish, THE MAN himself appeared.

 

"I apologize that I, the man Akira, am not usually this late," He said, folding his arms. "But my English teacher had cornered me to give me a lecture on how that the man Akira refers to himself as the man, Akira, and how it is not proper English," He shook his head. sighing. "The man Akira has never met such a nagging person... well, then again...," his eyes darted over to Katsu nervously before looking back to Yushiro. "So, what's the plan the man Yushiro has today?"

 

"I saw that, Akira..." Yushiro stifled a small laugh, hoping not to clue Katsu into it. "Nothing in particular dude. I just figured we could-"

 

"For your information, I, Katsu the Strong, keep you on track! If it wasn't for me you wouldn't be here right now! While you were gone, I had to meet with the faculty regarding our clubs! They claim that neither have enough members to warrant separate martial-arts clubs and are standing to combine them!"

 

Is it really that big of a deal if they get combined? All the different art stuff is all part of the art club, and the duel team has all kinds of duelists with really different playstyles. I'm not really seeing why there has to be two martial arts clubs, especially if they're both having a tough time with membership."

 

And there they went again. Yushiro could already feel a tirade from Katsu coming on. "Wellllll its not quite that simple, but on the same token Katsu I can't see how combining membership is a bad thing. It'll expose more people to your style if all the clubs' members are in the same place right? Besides. MMA is pretty big these days."

[👀 REP 👀]

 

---

 

As Hoshiko took her seat, she noted that the girl with the deck had seemed to recognized her. She nodded in agreement at the notion of the top, before letting out a sigh. "Yeah..." She leaned on the table a bit, taking a sip of her iced coffee. She didn't quite understand the words she was using, but she had a general idea of what she was talking about. The duel from the other day. 

 

As she listened to Alison, Hoshiko watched as the other girl flipped over cards. Her eye's widened as she watched the art on the cards - they were gorgeous. They were also rather vague, being mostly illustration. "Only react? You sound just like my manager." The idol said, chuckling softly as her eyes shifted from the cards to the girl on the other side of the table. She slowly nodded her head. "I've never been very proactive when dueling. It's probably one of the biggest complaints about my dueling I see online." She put down her cup on the table. "It's part of the reason why I wanted to come here. I figured I could learn more out here rather than in the comfort of a studio."

[The Warden]

"I've never been very proactive when dueling. It's probably one of the biggest complaints about my dueling I see online." Hoshiko put down her cup on the table. "It's part of the reason why I wanted to come here. I figured I could learn more out here rather than in the comfort of a studio."

 

"That makes sense" Alison said thoughtfully. "But of course, you always do have to be reactive when playing a deck designed for control like the Shaddolls."

 

Carefully reaching for the deck, she lifted half of it up and took a card from the middle. Placing it before Hoshiko, the girl gestured it to the idol. "Go ahead, flip it over."

 

The idol did so, and she did seem a little bit surprised to be faced with the 6th Major Arcana, better know as The Lovers. "Bit reactive, wouldn't you say?" Alison commented mystically. "Thing is, your deck seems to be stuck between a twilight of proactivity and reactivity, but when the chips are down it's clear which way you swing" she added, rotating the Lovers card. "It's best to be one first, then the other, but not both at the same time. Choose to be reactive and controlling to cripple your foe early, or find a way to make Shaddolls more proactive by taking the lead in duel by being proactive, then using the reactionary powers offered by the Shaddoll fusions to keep your opponent lagging while you take the lead. You lost to the inverted Moon because he had the duel in the palm of his hand the entire time and refused to let you play with it."

[👀 REP 👀]

 

---

 

"That makes sense" Alison said thoughtfully. "But of course, you always do have to be reactive when playing a deck designed for control like the Shaddolls." Hoshiko nodded, paying close attention to the girl. Alison gestured it to the idol. "Go ahead, flip it over." With a nod, Hoshiko slowly flipped over the card, excited to see the art on the next card.

 

The card that was flipped over depicted what looked like a couple. Hoshiko wasn't sure what this meant, although it clearly had meaning as Alison continued to "read" the cards. She wasn't entirely sure how she was doing this, as the cards themselves had no words. She decided to sit on the idea that Alison was a magician, as she continued to read. She also kept calling The Rider "inverted Moon", which confused her. It took her a second to process the information, before clasping her hands. "Oh! Sort of like partner dancing?" She said, grabbing her cup and taking a sip. "In the 'dance' between me and The Rider, he was the lead." She thought a bit about the duel. "He was in control the whole time... and I followed him to a tea instead of trying to take the game for myself." She placed her hand on her chin. "So I need to either be more proactive or more reactive..."

[The Warden]

"Oh! Sort of like partner dancing?" Hoshiko said, grabbing her cup and taking a sip. "In the 'dance' between me and The Rider, he was the lead." She thought a bit about the duel. "He was in control the whole time... and I followed him to a T instead of trying to take the game for myself." She placed her hand on her chin. "So I need to either be more proactive or more reactive..."

 

Alison laced her fingers together gently, and smiled. This girl was a bit of a ditz, wasn't she? Well, when you're reversed Judgment it makes sense. Although, now that she thought about it, her arms still hurt from the tremors last night and she should probably put them down, so she did. "Yes, something like a dance" she nodded, smiling to let the other girl feel something smart. "But the better way to put it is that you can be proactive and build combos to give you a staggering lead, or, play control and constantly deny your opponent. That is how the Shaddoll series can work, you see? Their fusions are quite remarkable for that" she explained, reaching for her Tribute Box and removing a copy of El Shaddoll Winda.

 

"Think of things like Winda here. She denies additional summons, so imagine if you could have protected her more? She would have denied the Mask Change tactic used by the reversed Moon to make multiple attacks. Or, perhaps you could have played with this" she explained, reaching for the box again and removing a copy of Shekhinaga.

 

"You used her aggressively when you could have stalled for a little longer with her staggering defence. If I recall, you had to fuse her immediately, did you not? To escape a trap card? Would it not be fitting to say you were the Construct present in the card image? Caught in a trapped and only able to escape by changing" Alison said, taking one more card and revealing El Shaddoll Anoyatyllis.

 

"Perhaps it is fitting that you use Shaddolls, given how often you had to keep coming back like Construct did, but nonetheless you kept losing regardless."

[Alaina]

 

"Pigeons huh?" Jun seemed curious, looking past Melissa towards Yusuji while she was painting. While the girl didn't quite seem finished yet, the speed and detail with which the young painter worked with never failed to amaze Jun. And there were indeed a lot of pigeons. As the girl watched, eventually Yusuji had seemed to realize that there were other people in the room, getting up to enthusiastically greet them. Jun seemed to brace herself, expecting that she would need some kind of change of clothes after the hug, though thankfully the painter had managed to stop herself and throw the apron to the side. With a much brighter smile on her face the girl embraced her painter friend as well saying, "hey 'Suji! Day's been so so so far, but I'm sure it's about to get way better." 

 

As the girl talked about Melissa's aid Jun gave her a friendly pat on the back saying, "well thanks for giving 'Suji such a great idea to work with." Jun couldn't help but giggle to herself as Melissa then seemed to go from making observations to offering to buy the painting within half a minute. The girl then rolled her eyes at Souji's comment on the duel yesterday saying, "yes yes, we all know the great Kamen Rider was soooo much better that he didn't have to try." Jun's voice seemed to have a great deal of sarcasm to it, though this became a bit more playful as she said, "but, maybe you should take up 'Suji's offer. After all, you could do with more colors then just green." 

 

Looking back to her friend she said, "but great job on the painting, as always, 'Suji. Didn't think someone could make pigeons so...dynamic. Definitely plentiful though." Nodding to herself, she then gestured over to Melissa saying, "but once its' done, I'm sure it'll be even better, so you should figure out a price tag for your newest customer here." 

[👀 REP 👀]

 

---

 

Hoshiko gave Alison a rather proud smile in response. Her expression when from proud grin to a bit of shock as she watched Alison pull out her own El Shaddoll monsters. "Wow... do you play Shaddolls too?" She let out an excited gasp. "Is that why you know so much!?"

 

"I think... I think I get what you're saying though." She said, calming down a bit. The way she had used her Fusion during the duel were less than optimal, is what she was getting. Indeed, she had been mostly reactive when summoning it and, upon thinking about it, she didn't really put much thought as to which one she actually summoned. "I didn't really put much thought to which fusion I was summoning, mostly using them to react to my opponent... when I should have been trying to deny him from making those plays in the first place." 

"Alright, I'll have to learn how to control the game with my fusions better!" Hoshiko proudly declared, before nodding towards Alison. "Thank you so much... er... oh!" She blushed a bit, rubbing the back of her head. "We haven't properly introduced each other yet. My name is Hoshiko~!" She said, extending her arm out for a handshake.