#they don’t realize sora’s getting a different message than just ‘cheer up’

[daylighteclipsed]

Sora’s stupid but well-meaning cartoon brothers/dads/uncles: don’t be sad :) always stay positive

Sora young and impressionable: I will never let you see me sad again or talk about it with you ever, heroes are always cheerful and you don’t wanna hang out with me if I’m not, my sadness is an inconvenience to everyone, got it, I am internalizing this forever

[yslkook]

IF I GOT YOU (7)

mind of mine masterlist

summary: one month later...and things start to come to a head. you feel more at peace than you've ever felt, but as usual, what remains peaceful is always interrupted.

pairing: “badboy” jk x “shy/reserved” oc

warnings: cursing, alc, excessive use of pet names, HELLA HELLA toxic friendship and dynamics, suggestive content (hooking up and other mentions)

word count: 4066

a/n: if you want to be tagged, send an ask plz. would love to hear your thoughts

Despite a month going by from the last time you spoke to Jungkook in the park and put all of your feelings out in the open, spring air, you feel lighter than ever. Maybe most of that has to do with the simple fact that you’ve finally cut out a toxic, deadweight from your life. Regardless of what ends up happening with you and Jungkook as friends or more than that, at least you are at peace and happy with being yourself.

Besides, it’s not like you don’t ever see him. You see him when you visit the tattoo parlor (but you haven’t allowed yourself to be alone with him and he hasn’t initiated), you’ve seen him at impromptu nights out, at Yoongi’s apartment. Neither of you allow yourself to be alone with each other, since you had both agreed to wait. Even your text message thread with him is dry, though.

You miss him, hoping that a notification of his name with the bunny emoji attached to it flashes across the screen. But it doesn’t.

For all of his bravado, he feels somewhat shy around you on the few occasions that he’s seen you. Jungkook will go out of his way to avoid you, hiding (as much as he can) behind Mina and Mei.

He misses you. Jungkook misses the feel of your lips molding against his, the way you felt in his arms, but most of all he misses your shy smile and your loud laugh. He misses the way your eyes shine when you speak about something you’re passionate about.

Mina had said you were both being stupid, taking time away from each other when you both are denying the inevitable. But it made sense in your mind and his. You want to know what kind of person you were without the burden of Sora’s judgment weighing heavily in every frame of your life. You take the time you need to take to recenter yourself and feel somewhat whole again.

It doesn’t take you long to adjust to life without a former best friend. You quickly begin to notice how different you feel, how differently you approach basic things that you hadn’t really put much thought to before.

It feels so refreshing to not feel like you’re walking in some metaphorical shadow of someone who didn’t really care about you. Well, you think on some level, she did care. But along with the insignificant way she made you feel, it’s not enough to justify it. And you’re really grateful that you don’t need to anymore.

In fact, you’ve already deleted most pictures with her on your social medias. You haven’t quite been able to block her yet, but you think you’ll be ready to do that soon enough.

The ever elusive notion of time really does seem to heal nearly all forms of hurt.

“So,” Yoongi starts, sitting next to you on his new black leather couch and handing you a glass of red wine.

“Don’t start with me,” You say, poking his shoulder.

“I’m not starting anything with you,” Yoongi shrugs, but his eyes twinkle.

“Oh? That’s the voice you use when you have gossip or when you’re about to interrogate me,” You mutter, rolling your eyes with a fond smile.

“Maybe it’s a little of both,” Hobi chimes in, sitting on your other side. He leans back and drapes his legs over your lap, to which you instantly rest your hands over his legs.

“How lucky for me,” You mumble, taking a long swig of your wine. You’ll need it.

“How’s that witch doing,” Yoongi asks bluntly.

“I don’t know, I told you I cut her off and kicked her out of my house like a month ago,” You reply, “Did you forget already?”

“No, I just like hearing that you finally came to your fucking senses,” Yoongi says, “She was awful, but I’ll commend you for sticking it out for this long. Cheers, the witch is finally gone-”

“I believe the phrase is, ‘ding dong, the witch is dead’, but this will suffice,” Hobi says and yelps when you swat his shoulder.

“Don’t be rude,” You say, “But… thank you for helping me see the light. Even if it took a while. And I’m sorry it affected our friendship, too.”

“Ah, well, we’re all here now,” Hobi says, pulling you in for a side hug.

“Yeah. So cheers,” Yoongi says again, raising his glass to you both, “Cheers to you for choosing yourself. And to new beginnings.”

“You’ll make me cry,” You say honestly, offering your friends a watery smile.

“As if we’ve never seen you cry before,” Hobi scoffs. And it’s true- they are two of your oldest friends, and even if you’ve come to the realization that maybe you hadn’t been the greatest friend to them… That bond is hard to sever, and you’re grateful that they’ve always had your back.

“Drink up,” You say with a smile, “Cheers to new beginnings.”

Yoongi has always been a little sly, unassuming but always with several tricks up his sleeve. When he so desires to cause a little mischief and stir the pot a little. And Hobi is all too happy to engage.

Which is how you end up several glasses of red wine and rose deep (yes, you mixed, rookie mistake but who cares. You’re in the presence of some of your greatest friends, after all).

And then Yoongi goes in for the kill.

“How’s our Jungkookie,” He asks, without missing a beat. You choke on your wine and wince when it somehow gets lodged in your nose.

“I don’t know. Think he’s good,” You finally respond, your words sounding slurred, “Ask Hobi. They work together, if you didn’t know.”

“Oh, thanks for the information. I had no idea.”

“Happy to be of service,” You say, leaning into Hobi's side, “Ikindofmisshim.”

“What was that? Didn’t quite catch that,” Yoongi says, a self-satisfied smirk blooming on his lips. He heard you, of course he did, but you don’t seem to pick up on it.

“I said I kind of miss him,” You reply, a dreamy look in your eyes, “Do you think he misses me, too?”

Hobi chokes back a laugh but you hear it and offer him a glare. “Don’t make fun of me!”

“Nobody’s making fun of you, stupid,” Yoongi says poking your forehead, “And yeah. Your man doesn’t shut up about you. Always with those eyes around you.”

“He’s not my man,” You whine pathetically.

“Yeah, that’s a mystery to both of us,” Hobi says, “How long are you both gonna keep this up?”

“Keep what up?”

“This weird awkward dance you both do around each other. Avoiding each other when we’re all together. It’s kinda funny, like we all know you both wanna fuck so bad-”

“Shut up! That’s- that’s not- shut up!”

Yoongi and Hoseok both burst into laughter, drunken giggles loud in the living room and you can’t help but laugh with them.

Clubs were never your most favorite place to unwind, but you make an exception for tonight. For Mina and Mei, you’ll make an exception. The three of you had gotten ready together in Mei’s home, in between sips of cocktails that she had poured out. Mina had done your makeup for you, giving you the sharpest eyeliner you’ve ever seen on your eyelids as well as a bold red lipstick.

It’s not a club night if there is no red lipstick involved, after all.

Your makeup usually looks good when you apply it yourself, but Mina has a genuine eye and skill for makeup artistry. You recall her telling you that she’d always dreamed of going to beauty school but hadn’t pursued it. You had told her that it’s never too late to fulfill a dream and she had only smiled at you.

“Hey,” You say, “Is Jimin coming tonight? How’d your date last week go?”

“It was really good,” Mina says, something sweet in her voice, “He made me dinner and dessert. And then I sucked his soul from his cock an hour later and he even made me squirt. And yeah, he’s coming tonight to the club. We’ll see what happens...”

“Wow,” You nod, listening with wide eyes, “That sounds amazing. I’m really happy things are going well for you both. Including the horny stuff.”

“The horny stuff?” Mei laughs, “You’re cute.”

“Shut up,” You say, playfully shoving her shoulder, “It’s no joking matter that he made you squirt.”

“Yeah, I high fived him after,” Mina says slyly, “It was… a night. Can’t wait to have another night like that. But I’m gonna make him work for it tonight.”

“As you should,” You nod solemnly, “What about you Mei? Are we drinking until we blackout or are you playing hard to get with Seulgi?”

“Who says we can’t do both?” Comes Mei’s muffled response.

“Cheers to that,” You reply, “Are… Jimin’s roommates coming?”

“You think you’re slick, huh?” Mina snorts, “You wondering about Jungkook?”

“N-no, I haven’t seen Taehyung in a while either-”

“Tae’s coming, but Jungkook isn’t. Something about having a long week and wanting to chill at home.”

“Oh, gotcha,” You say, cheeks ablaze as you avoid her eyes. Unable to hold the slight sting of disappointment from your voice.

Mina and Mei see right through it but they say nothing, only handing you a refill of your now empty glass.

Despite the relatively steady stream of drinks in your hand (an illusion, really, you’ve been nursing the same two drinks all night), you’re almost completely sober. In fact, you’re more tired than anything else. It seems that Jungkook had the right idea to stay home tonight. You’re rather benignly jealous of his decision.

You enjoy dancing and singing with your friends, feeling the thrum and excitement of music and your close companions bursting through your veins.But environments like this overwhelm you sometimes. All of the flashing lights, sometimes smoke and all of the people… Tonight seems to be one of those nights.

“Wanna dance?” Comes a rich, velvety voice behind you to the right. It’s Taehyung, and you’d rather dance with Taehyung than anyone else in this club. With the exception being Jungkook, but he’s not here right now.

“Okay,” You nod, taking his hand when he offers it to you. Your thoughts flit to Jungkook briefly.

Taehyung is good company, always keeping you with a smile on your face and filling you up with laughter. He keeps you close with easy, gentle movements as you both belt out the words to whatever song is playing on the speakers. But Taehyung has always been observant.

“You don’t really wanna be here, huh? I’d take it personally, if I didn’t know you,” Taehyung teases.

“No, it’s not that,” You murmur, “Just have never been a big club goer, that’s all. Jungkook had the right idea in staying home.”

“Yeah,” Taehyung muses, “What are you two doing?”

He’s almost as blunt as Yoongi (who’s also in some corner of the club. Usually, he keeps you company at things like this, but conveniently, he’s nowhere to be found.).

“If I knew I was going to be interrogated in this club, I would’ve drank more,” You say dryly. Taehyung laughs at that and squeezes your shoulder.

“You both deserve to be happy. Just want you to know that.”

“Thanks, Tae,” You say, a grin spreading across your face, “I guess you’re not as sleazy as Mina says you are-”

“Me? Sleazy?” Taehyung gasps, pretending to be affronted. You roll your eyes and offer him your hand.

“Wanna dance?”

Taehyung turns you around and holds your hips tightly in his hands, dancing with you to the beat of the music. It’s nice to be held like this, even if it’s a little dirty.

You don’t notice a pair of sly eyes watching you from across the club.

By the time you excuse yourself to catch a breath and grab some water from the bar, you realize that most of your friends are off doing their own thing. It gives you a second to people watch from the second floor of the curb and lean on the railings, taking in your surroundings. Despite stifling a yawn.

You relish in the cool feel of the icy water flooding your senses, waking you up a little more. You wonder if you can convince Yoongi to take you to get fries or tacos after the night ends. At the thought of tacos, you salivate a little.

But your taco fueled fantasies are broken when a few girls try to push past you to get to the bar. You mumble a soft apology, but it goes unheard. The unmistakable sound of a voice, a voice that you’ve only recently been able to put out of your mind, breaks through the barrier and it makes your heart drop.

It’s an angry call of your name. Your stomach churns, and suddenly you’ve never wanted to learn the art of teleportation more.

Sora, in all her bitter glory, stands in front of you with a full drink in her hands. Beside her are two of her friends, looking resigned and trying to plead with her that they should go.

“Missed me so much that you followed me here, huh?” Sora sneers.

“I’m not even going to entertain that with a response. Or you for that matter,” You say tiredly, trying to step past her.

“All your friends left you. Look at you all alone,” She says and you roll your eyes with a dry laugh.

“I’d rather be alone than have anything to do with you, Sora,” You reply easily, “I’m leaving now-”

But she sidesteps you again, gripping your forearm and looking at you with so much animosity that it makes your skin crawl. Had she always looked at you like that?

“I can’t believe you just dropped me like nothing. After I gave you everything,” Sora says, as if you had said nothing at all. She’s clearly a little drunk, telltale signs of her drunkenness clear on her face. Her words are slurred and she stumbles a little on her feet. You cringe. You don’t want to have this conversation with her whether she’s sober or drunk.

“You treated me like I was nothing,” You snap, “I don’t want to discuss this with you. Now let me go.”

“Or what? There’s nobody here ‘cept you and me, babe,” She says, her lips twisting into a cruel smirk. Her friends have disappeared and warning bells start to go off in your head. She’s right, all of your friends have dispersed. But you manage to fish your phone out of your purse while she rambles to you and send a text to the groupchat, simply stating “pls help, Sora is here”.

Dread seeps into your pores. You just want to be done with her presence.

“Sora, just let me go. Nothing you say will change anything,” You say heatedly, “Fucking let go of me!”

You try to yank your arm out of her grip but her nails are sharp against your skin.

“I loved you, you know that? I fucking gave you everything, you were my best friend,” Sora hisses, “I just wanted to you be happy. To see that I’d do anything for you.”

It takes a minute for the dust to settle but you suddenly begin to understand. “You hurt me! That’s not friendship or l-love, or anything remotely close to it. Nothing you say will change that. I don’t want you around anymore. Take a hint, Sora,” Your voice is cold and deadly, nothing like what Sora is accustomed to.

“Please, let me go,” You beg softly, “Why won’t you let me go?”

Tears spring into your eyes, both from the force she’s holding you with and from how much this is exhausting you.

“What does he have that’s worth all of this?” Sora hisses.

“It doesn’t matter what he has. I like him and I enjoy spending time with him, that’s all that should matter, and I’m not explaining Jungkook to you,” You say coldly, “You lost the right to know a long time ago. If you took your head out of your ass for two seconds, you’d know that this friendship was over months ago.”

By now, both of your voices have raised in volume and pitch, attracting the attention of bystanders. This makes no sense to you, your head is starting to hurt from the implications of her words. You just want to go home. By now, Yoongi has seen your text and is trying to get to the bar to rescue you from Sora.

“He won’t give you what you need,” Sora exclaims.

“Shut up! Just fucking stop talking about him,” You shout, “I’m so fucking sick of this, just leave me the fuck alone. Your opinion doesn’t matter to me anymore, just drop it!”

You feel the need to defend him though, “He’s kind, he has a big heart a-and, you know what, I don’t need to explain myself to you. Just fucking drop it! Leave me alone!”

“You are so fucking blind! You’ve always been such an oblivious fucking bitch,” She screams at you and your blood goes cold. You’ve seen her angry, but not like this not when her eyes are blown over with rage.

Yoongi’s heart is beating in his ears as he tries to find you- this club is fucking huge, where the hell could you be? He’s already sent a text to Jungkook, telling him that you might be in trouble at the club and that nobody could find you.

“Where is he then? If he’s so kind, he must be here right?”

“What the fuck is your problem? You’ve always had a stick up your ass about him specifically- I mean you’ve always have a stick up your ass, but with him it’s like something crawled up there and died-”

“You couldn’t even cuff him? You dropped me for him and you didn’t even cuff him?”

“That’s none of your business!”

“What are you afraid of, babe?” She sneers cruelly, “Afraid he’ll find something he doesn’t like? Or are you afraid you’ll find something that you don’t like?”

Frustration and hurt boils in your belly, causing wetness to pool in your eyes. You shut your eyes tightly, willing the feeling to go away. With all of the calmness you can muster, you throw her hand off of you and rub your forearm gingerly.

Before you can say anything, her eyes narrow to slits. You don’t even have time to react before you feel a sudden wetness drench the front of your top. Remnants of her drink are splashed on your torso and you gasp, rage flaring through your veins once more. How dare she throw her drink at you? Before you can do anything though, a pair of arms circle your waist and you’re pulled into a strong chest.

You recognize the scent of his cologne immediately and the feel of his leather jacket. “Jungkook,” You mumble, looking up at him. He immediately gives you his jacket and pushes it through your arms wordlessly.

“Hi,” He murmurs, taking in your wide, nervous eyes and the trembling of your hands. He brushes a thumb over your cheek before standing in front of you and you take his hand in yours. Jungkook squeezes reassuringly.

He offers Sora a long, hard look and a shake of his head. She almost balks at his intense gaze. Almost.

“C’mon baby,” Jungkook finally says, “Let’s get out of here.”

“My knight in shining arm-” You shiver once you’re both outside the club, away from the eyes of strangers. You cut your train of thought off when he pulls you close to him, cupping your cheeks with both hands. Worry dots his eyes and he presses his forehead to yours shakily.

“Jungkook?” You say softly, “Is everything-”

He exhales, a shudder felt against your skin. He seems to be at odds with himself, an internal battle dancing in his dark eyes. But Jungkook makes up his mind and cradles your face again, the gentle pads of his thumbs brushing over your cheeks.

“I missed you,” Jungkook croaks, “Shit, I miss you so fucking much. Can I kiss you, baby? Is it okay if I kiss you?”

You nod instantly, breathing out a soft ‘yes’. Whatever this recent development means for both of you, it makes sense. You want this and you want him.

And then he kisses you as if it was meant to be, as if he’s been thinking about your lips every minute of every day- soft, balmy lips against your chapped, red lips. Jungkook swallows your gasp, somehow brushing against the parts of your heart that missed him. His kiss is sweet and desperate as his tongue traces over your teeth before dipping further into your mouth. Your knees weaken slightly, but he holds you steady with one arm around your waist and his other hand cradling your cheek.

You’re overwhelmed by him and from the events of the night. Whatever wetness had gathered in your eyes clings to your lashes before dropping down your cheeks.

“Baby,” Jungkook says softly. He gathers you in his arms, hugging you tightly. You sink into his hold on you, inhaling deeply. The faint thrum of his heart calms you slightly.

“I missed you,” You reply, voice barely above a whisper, “Fuck, I missed you a lot.”

He kisses your forehead with a small smile, the hint of his dimples making you smile, too. Jungkook looks at you as if you’re transparent, trying to study the reason for your wet lashes and the tear stains down your face. A feeling of understanding passes between you both, calming your racing heart and your nerves.

“Jungkook,” You murmur, “Take me home.”

“Yours or mine?”

“Yours,” You reply, not really wanting to be in your home just yet, “It’s only fair, since you spent the night at my place last time, right?”

“I guess I can’t argue with that,” Jungkook chuckles. He kisses you one more time before adjusting his motorcycle helmet over your head. When you wrap your arms around him, you press a kiss to the back of his neck and behind his ear.

He shivers.

Jungkook can tell you’re in your head a little bit, a little quiet and shaky. Even as you head into his bathroom to change into the clothes he’d given you, you couldn’t quite meet his eyes. When you returned from the bathroom with a bare face, you’re lost in thought, biting down on your bottom lip and chewing harshly.

He’d pulled you into his arms, applied his clear balm on your lips, and chided you for treating your lips like that.

You only smiled weakly at him and meekly asked him to hold you under his covers. He doesn’t deny you.

He’d caught the tail end of Sora’s tirade at the club, and he’d begun to understand. He thinks you had begun to understand, too.

“Hey,” Jungkook whispers into your hair, “Do you want to talk, baby?”

“I don’t know what to say,” You admit softly, pressing your hand over his.

“I can talk for both of us,” Jungkook says, kissing your temple, “Can I do that?”

“Yeah,” You mumble, threading your fingers through his and squeezing.

“I heard some of what Sora said,” Jungkook says and you tense up but he wordlessly tells you to relax, “I think in some weird, twisted, fucked up way. She loved you and her way of showing you how was keeping you to herself. It’s shitty, but it made sense to her. But you don’t owe her anything, baby. Not a damn thing.”

“Yeah,” You sigh, “I feel really gross and I don’t know why.”

“That’s alright, baby,” Jungkook says, rubbing your arm, “You didn’t know. That’s not love, not really. You’re safe here.”

“I know,” You say, turning to look at him with a small smile, “I trust you.”

You turn fully in his arms, resting your head on his chest and wrapping an arm around his waist. His heartbeat lulls you to sleep, as well as his gentle fingers over your back. It’s so easy with him, and you don’t need to think too much. Just how you like it.

Tags: @kookdbean @codeinebelle

MoM Tags: @tiemeuptogoldenchains @boymeetsparadise @jungkooksseuphoria @kaepjjangiya @drumsofheaven @ppeachyttae @tae-bebe @yiyi4657 @mygscafe @beeeetsandskzreads @maichiverse @hordanhearsawhooo @anonymous2505

[moonlit-manifesto]

Heartbreak Red Takeover 2020

“I’ll make your heart beat again - BA-DUMP!” - Heartbreak Red (Uduki Arata)

It’s April Fool’s Day once again, and Heartbreak Red has taken over the Tsukiuta twitter account (@tsukiuta1)! Only this time - he’s taken over some of the other Tsukino Production accounts as well! If the tweet comes from an account other than the Tsukiuta account, I’ll mark it.

Heartbreak Red responds to some fans’ tweets, and they’re mostly categorized in three ways: Advice, Request, and Other. There’s a lot of tweets, so I’ll only be translating the funny ones because some are just regular advice. There’s also some news announcements like previews of Six Gravity and Procellarum’s new unit songs and a Tsukiuta official instagram account, so check out the twitter account to see those! There’s also some audio recordings too!

Read below the cut for all the Heartbreak Red goodness!

[REQUEST] Since my school is temporarily closed, I want to be cheered up by the goddesses!!

Heartbreak Red: “Hey!! Thousand Sakura Red!! Kannaduki Otaku Red!!”

Sakura Red (Chisa from Fluna):  “Since your heart is beating again, do your best!!!”

Otaku Red (Reina from Seleas): “Do you have a favorite idol? Are you reading a fun manga!? Let’s give our hearts nourishment!!!”

------------

[REQUEST] It’s cold and rainy today, so can I get Curry Rice Genau-san to warm up my heart with a one-liner or joke?

Heartbreak Red: “Curry Redddddd!!!”

Curry Red (You from Procella): “You can only call on me once a year! Go watch the reuploaded video from last year’s April Fool’s Day!!! 💢💢💢💢

Heartbreak Red: “That was his one-liner! Sparking Curry Red!!!”

----------

[REQUEST] I want to ask if Hajime-san has been eating properly!

Heartbreak Red: “Even if you’re busy, make sure to eat enough, okay?”

Hajime: “All right. Thanks...”

Heartbreak Red: “Make sure to tell Heartbreak Purple [Hajime’s ‘Heartbreak’ alter ego] that too.”

Hajime: “...I’ll tell him. By the way, I’m not Heartbreak Purple.”

------------  

[REQUEST] Starting in April I’ll have a lot of difficult stuff going on in life, so can you and Shiki-kun cheer me on with all your strength?

Heartbreak Red: “I-It’s not Shiki-san, but...?”

Dignified Red (Shiki from SolidS): “Next year I’ll have gone around the Earth 30 times!!! And I’m still pushing on!!! I’m Dignified Red!!!!! Overcoming difficulties is a fact of life!!! Good luck!!!!”

Heartbreak Red: “Good luck~”

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[ADVICE] Until now, the only men I’ve dated have been good-for-nothing, and I’m afraid of falling in love again. Please tell me how to distinguish the good men from the bad men.

Heartbreak Red: “Looks like you had a thing for the hopeless ones. But you’re strong because you could tell they were hopeless! Do you have a friend you can trust? You can let them be the judge!”

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[REQUEST] I want to ask what’s on Chef Yoru’s menu for tonight’s dinner?

Yoru: “Katsudon!”

Heartbreak Red: “Juicy~”

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[REQUEST] Does Heartbreak Gold exist?? I want to meet the shining, sparkling Heartbreak Gold (>_<)

Heartbreak Red: “Kake...Gold!!!”

Heartbreak Gold (Kakeru from Gravi): “Gold is always getting his heart broken by lady luck (bright smile).”

Heartbreak Red: “This guy turned into a twinkling star...”

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☆Sorry For the Intrusion☆ (@solids_info)

Heartbreak Red: “Wheeeee!!!! How are you, Blushing Red 2?”

Blushing Red 2 (Dai from SolidS): “You’re here?”

Heartbreak Red: “Now for the intro!! It doesn’t matter which Twitter account - Boundary-Free Hero Heartbreak Red presents: Account Attack!!”

---

Heartbreak Red: “Dai-chan-san, your line when I came in doesn’t fit with Blushing Red 2-san’s character, so instead we’ll replace it later and plan your entrance for then.”

Tsubasa: “Don’t try to protect your weird characters so stubbornly lol.”

Ichiru: “I [Love] Red Red will return, too... Issei will show up later.” [Ichiru doesn’t say the ‘love’ part cuz he’s embarassed lol]

Eichi: “You’re blushing (haha).”

---

Heartbreak Red: “Uhhh so, Happy April Fool’s Day!! Here’s some pork cutlets Yorurun fried. And Purple- I mean - Hajime-san told me to contact him immediately if I run into any trouble.”

Shu: “This feels like you’re on your first outside mission.”

Rikka: “Speaking of trouble, there’s a certain someone who ran out earlier...”

Shiki: “I wonder who that could be?” [it was him]

---

Dai: “Sorry for the wait.”

Issei: “Hello. Whoa, it’s Hearbreak Red-san!”

Heartbreak Red: “What’s up!”

Eichi: “This kind of sketch comedy act makes me nostalgic for those variety TV shows, haha.”

Shiki: “We’re all here now, so let’s start this thing with all of us.”

Rikka: “Yeah, let’s do it! I’ve actually been looking forward to this.”

Heartbreak Red: “Time for the SQ edition!”

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[REQUEST - SQ] Humidity makes my hair messy... What should I do? I need Rikka-san’s advice!! Also, is Shiki-san’s hair still smooth as usual? Lol

Rikka: “When you wash your hair, make sure to properly dry it. You’ll notice a difference the next day. Don’t just leave it half-wet, okay? Using hair care products will yield greater results, too! And Shiki... His hair is so smooth today that I’m angry.”

Shiki: “What can I say, I’m Mr. Smooth Hair Cuticles #1.”

Heartbreak Red: “I’m #2.”

Rikka: “I’m jealous~ (haha).”

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[ADVICE - SQ] There’s a 20cm height difference between me and the person I like! And I’m taller! I hate guys...  ( ;ᯅ; )

Shiki: “No need for that, I think that’s cool. Believe in yourself. The person you like will realize it’s cool, too.”

Heartbreak Red: “It’s a gift from the heavens. I hope the person you like will like you back!”

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[OTHER - SQ] Ichiru-kun♥ I love you ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Everyone: “Awwww!!!”

Ichiru: “Be quiet, all you adults!!!! But thank you for your message! I’m super happy! I’ll continue to do my best!”

-----------

[REQUEST - SQ] Heartbreak Red, what do you think of Dignified Red?

Shiki: “Yeah, let’s hear it! Not that I’m Dignified Red or anything!!”

Heartbreak Red: “He has an amazing force, I’m jealous. And to possess such a grand presence really is the meaning of dignified. Dignified Red’s calm aura is so cool.”

------------

[REQUEST - SQ] Rikka-san!!! Rikka-saaaaaan!! What has made you smile recently?

Rikka: Yoru-kun’s delicious fried pork cutlet made me smile~ I now have a great, big smile on my face ♪”

Dai: “...Just hurry up and finish it.”

Heartbreak Red: “I like you ‘cause you eat until you’re full.”

------------

[OTHER - SQ] Issei-kun, are you enjoying university life?? The juniors are growing up and your horizons are expanding.

Issei: “Thank you for your message! They haven’t decided whether or not to start a new semester [due to current events, aka the corona virus], but me being impatient won’t help anything. I’ll happily wait for a decision (haha).”

------------

[REQUEST - SQ] I haven’t seen much interaction between Okui Tsubasa and Kagurazaka Soushi even though their image colors are both yellow. I’d like to hear a conversation between them. Please help with this, Heartbreak Red~ [originally requested on the Tsukiuta account, but he’s answering it on the SQ account]

Heartbreak Red: “I’m a man of my word, so I called Soushi over.”

Soushi: “Now that I’m here, let’s talk, Tsubasa-san.”

Tsubasa: “This somehow seems forced lolol, but sure let’s talk.”

Soushi: “Then let’s find something to do instead. Like a dance lesson or something.”

Tsubasa: “Oh, yeah. Did you know there’s a dance lesson day organized by the office? People who want to practice on their own, regardless of unit, can go.”

Soushi: “And you’re a kind senpai who treats people to things like ramen afterwards, right~?”

Tsubasa: “What an indirect way to ask for that lolol. Since you have such a big body, I’ll treat you.”

Soushi: “That’s a weird reason (lol). And I hear you always treat Dai-chan-san to things?”

Tsubasa: “That’s because Dai-chan is an eternal little brother!”

Dai: “This turned into such an embarrassing conversation...”

Rikka: “Your ears are red, Dai (haha).”

Heartbreak Red: “That’s all for the yellows’ talk!”

------------

Heartbreak Red: “And so, time is up!!! I’ll be taking my leave now, SQ~!!

Shiki: “He really blew in and out just like the wind (ah, youth)...  What a ‘chill dude’ (ah, youth)...”

Tsubasa: “Shiki, don’t try to use young people slang... (but he sure is a chill dude)”

Shu: “What a crazy time this session was...”

------------

Heartbreak Red: “Pool of Blood-kun is in his green forest. Blushing Red-kun has returned to the sky... Actually that sounds morbid, so let’s say he returned to the bottom part of the blue sky. To everyone here except Ryou-kun and Ren-kyun who are in the middle of changing clothes right now: Happy April Fool’s Day!!”

Koki: “Happy April Fool’s! I’ve been looking forward to this, haha.”

Sora: “We’ve been waiting-!”

------------

[He’s now infiltrated the ALIVE twitter account (@aliveinfo1)]

Heartbreak Red: “Now that I’m here, you know what that means, right? Let’s get to it!”

Nozomu: “Yeah, let’s do it!!”

Kensuke: “Answering real questions and giving advice in a rapid-fire setting is a test of idol power. I’ll do my best!”

Morihito: “I wonder what kind of messages we’ll get.”

------------

[OTHER - ALIVE] Kou-kun, how is your mother doing? (From: a fan of your mom)

Koki: “I didn’t even know my mom had fans (haha). Thank you on behalf of my family. She is doing just fine.”

Heartbreak Red: “This morning my mom left me this supportive message: ‘Red, do your best!’ If you could see it, it would be so embarrassing.”

Koki: “I’m sure (haha).”

-----------

[REQUEST - ALIVE] I love Pool of Blood Red-san so so much. From morning til night, I long to be a tomato crushed and eaten by him. Please, please, please let me be your tomato...!

Ryota: “I’m not Pool of Blood Red [yes he is], but I’ll tell him that for you... You want to be eaten?”

Heartbreak Red: “!!”

------------

[REQUEST - ALIVE] When Heartbreak Red and Nozomu-kun are together, what are some common things you say? I’m curious about what happens when the two energies meet!

Heartbreak Red: “Wheeee~”

Nozomu: “Whee-whee~”

Heartbreak Red: “Weh?”

Nozomu: “Ooweh-ooweeeh~”

Heartbreak Read & Nozomu: “Wheeeeeeeee~ lololol”

------------

[INQUIRY - ALIVE] What does everyone in ALIVE wear to sleep?!

Heartbreak Red: “I am a capable man, so I will gather this information!!”

☆Everyone’s Sleepwear☆

Those in sweats or activewear: Sora, Soushi, Nozomu, Kensuke, Mamoru

Those in Gelato Pique [brand name of luxury sleepwear]: Ryota

Those in pajamas: Morihito, Ren, Koki

------------

[OTHER - ALIVE] Who is the strongest in ALIVE?

Heartbreak Red: “Time to answer with your physical skills! Let’s go!”

Everyone: “Roger!”

~ Please Hold ~

[sometime later]

Soushi: *victorious pose*

Kensuke: “Ryou’s inability to laugh makes him strong in a different sense, but this competition wasn’t about making people laugh.”

Ryota: *annoyed*

------------

[REQUEST - ALIVE] Mamoru-san, tell us about something that happened recently!

Mamoru: “I was thirsty at night, so I had some half-finished water bottle by my bedside. When I woke up in the morning, my face was drenched...!!”

Heartbreak Red: “I’ve never woken up to having water splashed on me, but I feel your pain.”

------------

[REQUEST - ALIVE] Sakuraba-san, please show us your ‘dere’ [lovey] side...!!

Ryota: “One can’t just be ‘told’ to be dere... Did you forget? (laughs)”

Heartbreak Red: “An extra-large serving of dere-------”

------------

[OTHER - ALIVE] Sora-kun! Have you gotten any taller?!

Heartbreak Red: “Good question!!! As a matter of fact!!! They were going to make an announcement later, but!!! All of the official websites will be updating everyone’s height measurements to reflect this year!!!!

Sora: “The results will be online!!!!! (teary-eyed)”

------------

[REQUEST - ALIVE] I want to be charismatic like Nozomu-kun! Please tell me three things I can do to be charismatic!

Nozomu: “#1: Believe in yourself! #2: Believe in those around you!! #3: Make an effort to have faith!! That’s all!”

Heartbreak Red: “Those are all good points!”

------------

[REQUEST - ALIVE] What color is everyone’s lucky underwear?

Soushi: “Mine are black. But that’s because of the color of our stage outfits (SOARA’s costumes are white).”

Ren: “Uh... well...”

Heartbreak Red: “My lucky underwear is red of course! I’m sure all of these ‘sky’ and ‘forest’ people have cool colors, too. Well, if I’m the one saying it then it’s probably true (haha).”

Ren: *relieved he doesn’t have to answer*

------------

Heartbreak Red: “That’s all the time I’ve got!! To all of you sky and forest dwellers - I’ll be taking my leave~!!

Kensuke: “Thank you, Heartbreak Red---!!!”

Sora: “Good luck out there---!!!”

Soushi: “Feel free to abduct me again.”

Morihito: “Soushi (haha). Thank you very much, Heartbreak Red.”

Mamoru: “I had fun!”

------------

☆Red Went Back Home☆

Heartbreak Red: “Now that I’ve accomplished my missions, I’m back home. Happy April Fools Day, everyone! I want to end this at home. By the way, I think I’ll be able to do some ‘Account Attacks’ that I couldn’t do this time around sometime later in April. I hope you all look forward to it~

My last audio greeting is just my final thoughts, haha. Alrighty! Thanks for a wonderful April Fools!! Until next time!”

[sloanerisette]

Jyoumi Challenge Day #14: Studying/Mystery

This took me all day, and I realize it probably could’ve worked better had I set this past the general 02 era I put this in, where Mimi could be back in Japan, but, you know, sometimes you goof up and realize these things too late. I hope y’all enjoy it nonetheless!

---

“Hello?”

“Hello, Mrs. Tachikawa, how are you today?” Joe asked, holding his cell phone close to his ear to hear better, weaving through the foot traffic of Odaiba as best he could given his general clumsiness.

“Oh, I’m wonderful, Joe! How are you? It’s pretty early there, isn’t it?” Satoe Tachikawa asked.

“O-Oh, yeah! Just after six, actually. I was on my way to school and wanted to call Mimi quick, but she didn’t pick up her cell phone, so I thought I’d call to see if she was home,” he explained, bumping into a salaryman and nearly falling off his feet, catching himself on a nearby railing.

“Oh, she’s actually not home right now, I’m sorry. I can let her know you called?”

“Oh, yeah! That would be great, thank you so much, ma’am,” he said, nodding quickly, though Mimi’s mother couldn’t see it. The boy then paused for a beat, before opening his mouth again, “Is everything ok?”

It wasn’t like Mimi to not have her cell phone, after all…

“Oh, yes! I think she’s just busy with something and didn’t want to have her cell phone on. I’ll make sure to tell her you called,” Satoe said sweetly.

“Thank you so much, Mrs. Tachikawa. Have a nice rest of your day!” Joe said.

“You too, sweetheart!”

Joe brought the phone away from his ear, letting out a quiet sigh, before he dropped it in his bag.

There was no reason to think she wouldn’t be ok, but of course, Joe Kido being Joe Kido couldn’t help but worry. But it was fine, surely it was fine, right?”

He ended up getting his answer at lunch, a sigh of relief falling from his lips as he checked his D-Terminal.

Hey! Mama told me you called, sorry! I just got home. How’s school?

The edge of his mouth turned upwards, quickly typing away. Thank God for Izzy making these so he wouldn’t go over on his minutes and texts even more than he already did.

It’s good. Just eating lunch now, and then I have a test later.

It wasn’t long until she replied back.

Good luck! You’re gonna kill it!

Thanks. Was everything ok earlier?

Yeah! Just couldn’t use my phone because of a club thing! But thanks for worrying, you’re the sweetest!

His smile grew, and he nodded to himself as he took another bite of his lunch.

Of course! Lunch is finishing up, so I’ll talk to you later?

Yeah. Love you!

Love you too!

It seemed so open and shut— after all, Mimi herself said it was just a club thing, but even as he took his chemistry test, that question remained in the back of his mind.

It stayed there, nagging at him  that night as he hunched over his desk, finishing up his homework for the night.

He scrunched up his mouth, tapping his pen against his notes, before sighing and reaching for his D-Terminal.

Hey Sora, has Mimi told you about anything going on with her recently?

He tried to pay attention to his homework, but his eyes kept darting back to his D-Terminal every five seconds, before he let out a huff and just waited for a response.

Hey Joe, I don’t think so? I just think she’s had a lot going on at school. Is something wrong?

He slumped in his chair, dragging his hands down his face. He probably just needed to sleep, which he confirmed as he looked at the clock.

No, was just curious. Sorry for worrying you. Have a good night.

You too!

Resigning to the fact that it probably was nothing, Joe pushed his chair away from his desk and got up so he could get ready for bed.

That he managed to drag himself to bed so early (relatively, at least) was a relief, and for now, pushed the thought as deep in his mind as possible. Right now, he’d just be relieved he was getting sleep at a relatively normal hour.

The rest of the week had been similar to that day: not hearing from Mimi as much as he did on most days, with her assuring him that things were fine and that it was just stuff with the clubs she was in, and any and all other questions were shrugged off. Joe had accepted it, not really knowing what to say or think, and tried not to worry about it too much.

Even on Sunday, when he got to relax on his day off (or at least, after he went to do a few extra hours of studying bright and early), he was still a bit fidgety about it all.

Getting home and listening to a message from his girlfriend to get on his computer as quick as possible to video chat him.

“Well, what’s the worst that could happen…” he mumbled to himself as he turned on his laptop, lowering himself into his chair, as he was instantly presented with a video chat request from Mimi. He smiled to himself, accepting it as a screen popped up, Mimi sitting on her bed with a wide smile.

“Jooooooe! How are you, honey? Happy Sunday!” she said with one of the sweetest and most excited voices he had ever heard from her. And that alone was enough to start melting the stress from his body, his shoulders falling as he leaned forward, happy to have a real chance to talk to Mimi after what felt like such a long week.

“I’m good, I just got back from the library and got ahead on some of my studying,” he nodded, “How are you? You look like you’re in good spirits?” he teased gently, Mimi giggling.

“I am! I’m great!” she told him, Joe pausing for a moment.

“You had a good week?”

Mimi nodded, “Yup! Though… I need to say sorry for not being entirely honest with you this week,” she said, ducking her head sheepishly, a tinge of pink a few shades lighter than her hair settling across her cheeks.

Joe quirked an eyebrow, “…It isn’t something bad, is it?” he asked, a slew of worst case scenarios flashing through his mind, each worst than the last. He started to hold his breath without realizing it.

“What? Oh my gosh, no! You weren’t worried about that, were you?” she asked, happiness turning to worry in an instant as she leaned forward, looking into the camera and trying to see if she could see anything wrong with her boyfriend.

Joe looked off to the side, scratching his cheek as he sat there, “I mean… a little. At first I was just worried because you didn’t pick up your phone considering you always pick up your phone, but then the more it kept happening, the more… I guess worried I got? You’ve never kept secrets from me— we’ve never kept secrets from each other,” he explained, Mimi sighing after.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I wanted this to be a fun surprise for you but now I don’t even feel good about it.”

Joe turned back to the stream, seeing how sad she looked and unable to stop himself from frowning, “No no, it’s ok, really. What was the surprise?” he asked, his gaze lowering as he saw the paper she was holding.

She turned the paper to the screen, revealing a test with an ‘A’ at the top, circled on it. Joe’s eyes went wide, and a wide smile was on his face.

“Mimi, you aced a test? That’s great! I knew you could!” he cheered. She smiled sheepishly, though he could still see how guilt lingered in her eyes and in her body language.

“I spent all week studying. Do you know how hard studying is?” she asked, and Joe chuckled.

“I have a guess.”

That was enough to brighten up Mimi’s mood a bit.

“I wanted to surprise you with it. I spent all week in the library after school studying and its why I was barely around. I’m sorry, honey, I didn’t know you were so worried about it!” she said, and Joe shook his head, offering her a soft, warm smile that instantly melted her.

“Don’t be sorry, I just overreacted since I didn’t know what was going on.”

Mimi sat up a bit straighter, running a hand through her hair, “So we’re all good?” she asked.

“Of course we’re all good,” he laughed, “Why didn’t you ask me for help? I would’ve been more than happy to help you study.”

“Well, I wanted to show you I could do it on my own!”

“I always knew you could do it. Mimi, I’ve always known you could do anything you put your mind to. School is no different,” he assured her. She rested her chin on the balls of her hands, looking at her boyfriend dreamily.

“You are so sweet.” And seeing him blush, as always, sent her heart racing.

“No… just being honest. And, hey, if you ever want help studying in the future, you know I’d be more than happy to help you out,” he smiled.

“Again— you’re so sweet. And… I would actually really appreciate it! I have an Algebra final soon I could really use help with?” she asked, batting her eyelashes sweetly.

“Oh, yeah, of course! I’ll get my notes right now and we can—” Joe started, before Mimi put a finger up to the screen, as if to somehow stop him from talking despite the distance.

“Let’s… worry about that later and maybe just talk for a bit? With no boring homework or anything to worry about?” she asked, and Joe slowly nodded.

“Yeah— yeah! We can push back studying for a bit.”

Mimi never thought she’d hear him utter the words, but apparently she wasn’t the only one full of surprises today.

[vannahfanfics]

3 a.m. Musings and Cherry Lip Gloss

Category: Mild Romantic Fluff

Fandom: Kingdom Hearts

Characters: Hayner, Olette

With a small groan, Hayner cracked an eye open to peer sleepily at the alarm clock on his nightstand. The bright green numbers depicting 2:28 a.m., the only light source in the inescapable gloom of night, burned into his golden irises. With a louder, more aggravated groan, he rolled onto his back to shove his pillow over his head as if that would make him get to sleep faster. Instead, the neon letters imprinted into his corneas blazed in the dark of his closed eyes. After a few minutes of unsuccessfully trying to lull himself to sleep, he jerked up into a sitting position, shoved the pillow off himself, and just stared out into the dark. 

Hayner didn’t usually struggle with sleep. Hell, normally, he passed out right as his head hit the pillow. It was an infuriating change of pace. It wasn’t like he had anything pressing to do in the morning, but the boy just liked his sleep. It was one of life’s many simple pleasures… one that was apparently going to be denied him tonight. He supposed that at least he could take solace in the fact that it wasn’t just some random bout of insomnia; there was at least a reason his mind was whirling one hundred miles an hour and just refused to shut off. 

Sora was missing. 

The three of them hadn’t been informed of the details. Roxas had just mentioned it in passing because he was depressed about it. There were things about Sora (and the others, too) that Hayner would probably never know- world-jumping and monster-fighting and data-worlds. He was content with that, but what he wasn’t content with was feeling so damn powerless in it all. 

Hayner didn’t have a fancy Keyblade that he could sling around and save the day. All he could do was wish, and wish, and wish. Hayner was pretty damn tired of wishing while everyone else charged in to do the work, though. He sighed deeply as he ran both his hands through his tousled blonde hair. Sure, he resented it, but it wasn’t like there was anything he could do about it. Hayner couldn’t wish some fancy weapon into existence, unfortunately. 

There’s nothing for it, Hayner thought as he rolled onto his belly to grab his cell phone off the nightstand. He plucked it off the charger and tapped the screen, recoiling with a light screech as it blazed to life and virtually disintegrated his eyeballs. Stuffing his face into the mattress to recover, Hayner swiped his thumb across the top of the screen to lower the brightness. After a minute, the scorching pain receded, and he wearily lifted his head to blink at the now-darkened phone screen. He pulled up his messaging app and tapped on his archived conversation with Olette. 

Hey, are you awake? The little bubble made a swoosh sound as it appeared on the screen. There probably was a snowball’s chance in hell that Olette would be awake. He would probably have more luck texting Pence, who was an insufferable night owl who somehow could operate on four hours of sleep and be that same cheerful ball of positivity instead of an irritated zombie. That’s how Hayner got after less than eight hours of sleep. Still, Hayner wasn’t sure he could use Pence’s radiant optimism right now. He was feeling out of sorts, and the one who always comforted him when he was that way was Olette. 

Hayner stared at the screen for a minute, waiting to see if the girl was going to respond. He was actually going to break down and just text Pence anyway until another swoosh alert signaled the arrival of another, differently-colored text bubble. 

I am. What are you doing up so late? 

Can’t sleep. What are YOU doing up so late?  Hayner countered. A faint smile ghosted over his lips as he drew up his legs over his back and laid his cheek against the soft mattress. Man, he was glad that she was awake. Something about that made him feel calmer already. Although, Hayner always got like that when it was just him and Olette- because he kind of had a pretty big crush on her… 

Heehee! I can’t sleep either! A soft sigh left his mouth. He could imagine that little giggle of hers, accompanied by the sweet smile hidden behind her hand that she raised to her mouth when she laughed. God, he was hopeless when it came to her. Want to meet at the usual spot? He sat up on his arm, intrigued. That was certainly a proposition he hadn’t been expecting at the wee hours of the morning. Still, it was a heck of a lot better than lounging in bed wishing he could fall asleep. 

Sure. I’m on my way. 

Within minutes, Hayner had changed out of his pajamas in favor of a pair of jeans, a slim-fit, long-sleeve white shirt, and a black jacket. Now that it was the tail end of summer, the nights were beginning to grow cooler, necessitating such precautions. Indeed, as he stepped out of his house onto the bricked streets of Twilight Town, a cold wind blew through the empty corridors and roadways with a quiet, shrill whistle, making Hayner shiver slightly and stuff his hands down into his pockets. Absently, he wondered if Olette had dressed warm enough. He would offer her his jacket if he thought she hadn’t. Setting a brisk pace, he began walking up the sloped incline that led to their secret meeting place. 

There wasn’t a soul out beside him. Hayner found the atmosphere peaceful; the town was always a-hustle and a-bustle with people walking towards the shopping district or conversing while they waited for the trams or just wandering about looking for something to do. Even far from the tracks, one could always hear the tram cars rattling as they continuously rounded their circuit of the city. Even the forest before the old mansion wasn’t free of noise; the trees always shook with the wind, and the air always abounded with chattering birdsong. 

Hayner, busybody supreme, had always found the noise somewhat comforting and energizing. However, as he strolled under the brilliant canvas of the starry night sky in silence, he found that pleasant and stimulating in its own way, too. 

God, he was going all philosophical. Is this what Pence did every night when he stayed up until the crack of dawn? Scowling, he rubbed at his eyes, feeling the bags that were already forming underneath them. He was probably going to regret this little excursion in the morning. 

In no time at all, his feet had carried him to their secret base nestled behind an unassuming chain-link fence. 

“Olette?” he called as he pulled back the curtain, not wishing to startle the girl if she was there. It was exceptionally likely, considering she lived closer to the base than he did. Sure enough, she perched on one of the overturned wooden boxes that served as their humble chairs. God, they needed to stop spending so much money on ice cream and pretzels and by some real furniture, especially considering that Lea, Isa, Roxas, and Xion were cramming themselves in there now, too. 

Olette cocked her head to the side while giving a little wave and that sweet, sweet smile of hers. It almost made Hayner melt on the spot. It seemed being awake so late was making him all sentimental, too. He was all out of sorts for all sorts of reasons. What a concept. “Hey, Olette,” he smiled back at her as he entered the small nook. 

“What’s on your mind, Hayner?” Yikes, right to the point. Scratching his head with an embarrassed smile, he hovered in the doorway. She waited patiently for him to answer, hands clasped in her lap and green eyes sparkling with pure goodness. God, he loved her, really. Wait. That isn’t the topic of conversation, he reminded himself. 

“I’ve just been thinking,” Hayner frowned as he struggled to put his complicated feelings into words, “how upset I would be if any of you guys just up and disappeared on me.” Wow, that actually came out articulated and cohesive. Not bad for being half-asleep. 

He walked over to sit on the small box across from her, resting a cheek in his hand while the other arm slung across his opposite knee. “I know there’s nothing we can do about Sora, but I can’t help but think about it, y’know? I can’t imagine what the others are goin’ through. I’d be devastated if you vanished, Olette.” 

The words hung in the air for a moment before he realized exactly what he had said. He immediately blushed fiercely, almost grasping upwards to pluck them down and shove them back into his mouth. That wasn’t how things worked, though. He shrunk into himself in mortification as Olette stared at him with owlish eyes. 

Hayner decided then and there not to have any more 3 a.m. conversations with Olette. 

The tense silence that settled between them also made him elect that silence was no longer comforting. “Um… Say something, please,” he asked awkwardly after it became too much for him to bear. 

“O-oh!” she cried while flushing pink and waved her hands about in an apologetic manner. “I’m sorry, I just zoned out?” She laughed with a nervous smile. Hayner frowned lightly as he resumed his horrible slouching posture. It was definitely a weak excuse, but like hell he was gonna question it. “Um, yeah… I totally get what you mean. To be honest, I’ve been thinking about it too… It’s also why I couldn’t sleep. I’m almost afraid that I would wake up, and…” she trailed off to play with her fingers, gaze falling to her lap, “you not being here anymore…” she finished shyly, glancing up through her pretty lashes at him. 

If Olette was really hinting that she liked him as he liked her, well, she was probably questioning it, because Hayner looked pretty stupid with the way his mouth was hanging open as he gawked incredulously at her. Hastily, he shut his mouth and leaned back, unsure quite what expression he was trying to make on his face at the moment. Somehow he managed to form words, though. 

“Well, you don’t have to worry about that, Olette… I’ll always… be here…” The could’ve come out smooth as hell, but he made it sound so awkward and shy. Well, it really was a wonder he said it at all because he sure wouldn’t have if it were a typical time of day. 

For the duration of him saying it, his eyes had been searching the meeting spot for something to land on, only to drift back to Olette. He instantly felt his heart clench in his chest; the way she was looking at him right now, so relieved and happy with just a hint of a demure smile on her pretty pink lips… 

Wait, did she have on lip gloss? Who puts on lip gloss at 3 a.m.? 

His hands flew to the edges of the box underneath him when she suddenly stood up and walked across the room to stand in front of him. He encased that box in a white-knuckled grasp as he looked up at her uncertainly. 

“Promise?" she asked him softly, endearingly, hopefully. With the way the sleep was fogging his brain, he began to wonder if this was all a dream, that he really was asleep after all. Well, if it was a dream, why stop, and if it wasn’t and he really was awake, all the better. 

“Promise. I’m not going anywhere, Olette.” 

Hayner should pull a move. Girls liked moves. The movies all said so. 

He pried one of his hands from the box and tried to ignore the bright red imprint of its rough surface against his palm. He reached out to grasp one of her own, gently rolling circles into the top of it with his thumb. From the way she bashfully looked down at their held hands then up at him, he could tell that it was a successful move. Point one for sleep-deprived Hayner. 

Olette reached up with her other hand to softly brush her fingertips over his cheeks. The feather-light touch sent electricity skittering across his entire face that lingered after her hand had already fallen away. 

“I’m glad.” The way she whispered the words sent an oddly pleasurable shiver up his spine. He got a sudden urge to kiss her. 

Was he crazy? Probably. Then again, he was dangerously close to lunacy already from not sleeping. 

Was he going to go for it? Absolutely. 

“Olette…” Her name crept past his lips without him noticing as he stood up, tilting his head slightly as he looked down at her. He still held her hand while his other rested against her cheek, fingertips just barely threading into her waves of chestnut hair. She styled it every morning, but it consisted of crimped waves of chocolatey locks due to the late hour. Somehow, he liked that even more… It made her look so natural, so raw, so beautiful. 

Without another word, his face drifted down over her own to plant a soft, sweet kiss on her lips. Olette angled her face to respond to him, and as a little of her lip gloss smeared across his mouth, he could vaguely discern the sweet taste of cherries. Point one for lip gloss at 3 a.m. 

Hayner held the kiss for a minute before pulling back, but only just. As her eyes fluttered open to peer up at him adoringly, he smirked playfully. “I guess it’s just a little unnecessary to say that I like you, Olette.” 

She giggled, holding her hand up to her mouth just like she always did, and he swore that he fell even more in love with her only from that. 

“Yes, but a girl likes to hear it anyway.” Her green eyes sparkled up at him like sunlight filtering through a thick canopy of leaves. “Feel better?” 

“Loads.” Just from talking to her, he felt like a great weight dropped off his shoulders. Suddenly, a large yawn split his face, and he rubbed his eyes at a sudden onset of drowsiness. He felt like he could fall asleep on the spot. 

Olette giggled again before asking, “Care to walk a girl home?” He nodded in agreement and Olette grabbed his hand, lacing their fingers together before tugging him out of the secret base. As the chill wind greeted them, she pressed her body against his, and they set off together in the deep of night with the moon and stars as their only company. Hayner really wasn’t sure how he got from point A to B, because his memory faded very quickly after their leaving. 

The only reason he knew that it wasn’t a dream was the faint lingering taste of cherry lip gloss on his lips in the morning. 

Enjoy this oneshot? Feel free to peruse my Table of Contents!

[goodwriterwithbadhabits]

Late at Night pt4

This takes place just before and during my other story Phantom Lover. You may want to read that one to understand what’s really going on.  

Master List

~~

“Hey, Nonnie, what's up?” Seungkwan answered his phone, jogging down the stairs towards the mailboxes. The pair had been together, officially for a month now, having met two months prior.

“Hey Seungkwan, have you heard from Sora? I've been trying to get a hold of her all day.” Kwannie stopped, hand frozen in the mailbox.

“Why? Has something happened?” Worry flooded his system at the concern in Vernon's voice.

“I don't know. I've been trying to get a hold of her about something we discussed a few days ago but she's not answering the phone.” Kwannie didn't like the feeling he got at Vernon's words.

“Have Wonu or Gyu tried?” He asked, snatching his mail and scurrying back into the safety of his apartment. 

“Nothing. Three different times, even her drop phone, nothing.” Kwannie sighed, tugging on the hair on the back of his neck.

“I'll give her a call.” He decided, putting his boyfriend on speaker and double-checking his messages. “My last message from her was at about 4 on Thursday, after that modeling session she did at the college, I was in class, so I didn't respond for a while, but she said she was heading over to GyuNu's”

“She never got there, they say they hadn't seen her since Wednesday night when they took her home.” Kwannie let out a shaky breath.

“Nonnie, do you think something's happened to her?” He could feel tears stinging his eyes as he clenched his teeth to stop them from falling.

“Try calling her Boo, I'm sure she's fine. We can go over to her place if she doesn't answer.” Vernon explained, “She's okay, I know it.”

“Yeah, she's probably stuck on one of her paintings again.” Kwannie tried to reason, but deep down he knew something was different. The last time she had messaged him was nearly three days ago, which was rare because she was always messaging him, even at odd hours of the morning when he was supposed to be asleep.

“Bonjour, this is Lee Sora, leave a message at the tone, or if you're helping me find my phone, hang up and call again.” The voicemail greeted Kwannie seconds later. That meant her phone was off, either dead, or off because she turned it off, and she only ever turned her phone off during finals season.

A feeling of dread settled in his stomach as he dialed Vernon's number again.

“Tell me some good news.” Nonnie sighed as he answered.

“Her phone's off, I don't know if it's dead or just powered down for some reason, but I don't like it.” Kwannie wanted to cry, he had never been so worried about her before and it was beginning to make him feel sick. “Vernon, what if-”

“Don't.” Vernon's voice was surprisingly soft as he spoke, “I know she's okay, she's strong and one of the most dangerous people I know.” Kwannie nodded, despite knowing Vernon couldn't see him. “I'm going to head over to her house, want to join me?”

“Do you even have keys to her place?”

“No, I was just gonna break in.” Kwannie chuckled, able to see Vernon shrug despite the distance.

“I have keys.”

“So is that a yes?” Kwannie hummed in agreement. “Be there in 15.”

All the lights were off when they arrived at her apartment.

“This isn't good.” Kwannie barely had the chance to comment before Vernon was grabbing his chin and turning it to look at him.

“She's fine. I know it. Maybe she's just sleeping, maybe she's at work and just hasn't called yet. I know she's fine.”

“But what if she-”

“No. If you believe in the worst it is always what you will find.” Kwannie nodded, trying to regain his composure.

“Okay, I believe you.” Together, they climbed out of the car and headed up the stairs to her front door. Kwannie searched upstairs, in her bedroom and study, while Vernon searched downstairs in the living room and kitchen.

No signs of her.

“She hasn't been home in a few days.” Vernon sighed when Kwannie joined him downstairs. He pointed to the bowl of incredibly brown bananas sitting on her kitchen table. “And I messaged Wonu, he called her work, she hasn't been in since Thursday morning.” The younger man bore a grim expression, one that didn't belong on his usually cheerful face. “At this point, we can have her legally declared missing, but the Boss says its up to you.”

“Why me?” Kwannie stuttered, both confused and concerned.

“You're the closest person to her. Her parents are far away, her boyfriends are mobsters, you're the only person with no inherent familial connection or violent tendencies.” Boo's hands began shaking as realization dawned on him.

“Sora's really missing isn't she?” He gasped, staring at Vernon wide-eyed. The younger man stepped forward, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend.

“I'm sorry, Boo. The decision is yours, but...” He stopped as Kwannie began to cry, shaking uncontrollably and burying his face in the taller boy's chest. “You don't have to decide right now, let's get you back home and you can figure out your next steps.” Kwannie clutched at the back of Vernon's shirt when he tried to pull away, trying to stop his tears and speak.

“I don't want to be alone.” He whispered. “Please stay with me tonight?”

“Not like this, I'd be taking advantage of you.” Vernon joked, earning a light smack from Kwannie. 

“Not like that, you perv, just, stay with me?” Kwannie looked up at him with big puppy eyes brimming with tears. Vernon caved, kissing Kwannie's forehead lightly.

“Of course, love.”

~~

Lee Sora was declared missing the following day, now three weeks later, and Seungkwan was no better off then on the first day. He kept up appearances at work, every day hoping that she was going to waltz into the shop and order a caramel frappe with extra drizzle, but to no avail.

Today, as the rain splattered down, Kwannie spent most of his free time during his shift, staring up at the gloomy clouds. The bell jingled, alerting him of a new customer and he quickly slapped a smile on his face, only to find that it was only Mingyu.

“Ah, good afternoon, Mingyu hyung.” He greeted, letting the smile drop from his face at the sad look on the other man's face.

“Afternoon Seungkwan.” He sighed. “Can I have an iced caramel latte?”

“Not a problem.” He turned away, focusing on the task at hand. He could only imagine how Gyu was feeling, his love was missing, and he couldn't do anything.

“I know this is sudden, but my boss would like you to join us for something today.” Gyu began. “He has a friend in the police department, they have some information on Sora. The boss thinks you deserve to be there.”

“Who all will be there? I heard there are a lot of you.” Kwannie asked, setting the drink down in front of his boss, who chuckled.

“Only a few of us, the boss, his husband, the other sub-leaders, myself and Wonu, and Vernon.” He listed. “And you, hopefully.” Kwannie wasn't sure, he barely knew Wonu, and he had no idea who the boss even was, it seemed like something that might not end well. “Vernon won't let anything happen to you, and the boss seems to like you, you'll be fine. Besides, the boss won't do anything with a police officer there.”

“Alright, when?” Gyu smiled that weird smile at him, which made him slightly uncomfortable.

“I'm going to drive you back to your place and you're gonna get dressed.”

“Wait right now?” Kwannie gasped, “But I still have to close up and-” Gyu let out a laugh, standing up straight and removing his suit jacket.

“Don't worry, I'll help.” He offered, picking up one of the aprons from the wall and beginning to clean away at the machines. Boo stared incredulously for a moment before getting his mind together and continuing to work.

~~

Gyu pulled up to a large mansion in a part of town Seungkwan had never been. There was a large staircase leading to the front doors and many men in suits standing guard. The door flew open just as Gyu cut the engine, and Vernon jogged down the stairs. He pulled Boo into a protective hug, glaring daggers at the older man behind him.

“Are you okay?” He whispered.

“Yeah, I'm okay. Nothing happened.” Kwannie pulled away, cupping Vernon's jaw and looking him in the eyes. “Nothing happened, I promise.” Vernon nodded, accepting the kiss offered to him.

“Let's go then, the boss is excited to meet you.”

The Boss was a man only a few years older than them known as S. Coups. He sat at the head of the table with his husband, Han, sitting on his lap. To the left of him sat a muscular man in a face mask known only as Hoshi, with a small man called Woozi to the right. Neither of them spoke much when Vernon introduced Seungkwan.

“S.Coups.” A voice interrupted the silence, and an unknown man entered the room a moment later.

“Captain Minseok.” S. Coups greeted. “ I thought you were sending one of your detectives.”

“It would be better if you heard this from me.” The grim tone in the cute-faced man's voice made Boo nervous.

“I'll make tea.” Han offered, standing quickly.

“I have quite a bit of information.” Minseok sighed, sitting at the far end of the table and placing a folder in front of him.

“Anything good?” S.Coups asked.

“Not really. Good for me, not very good for Miss Lee.” He explained. Vernon reached under the table, clutching Kwannie's hand. “We thought Miss Lee's disappearance was a singular event but information that may say otherwise.” Minseok opened the folder, flipping through more than a few pages. “Her disappearance was the first of now 5, all women, all college students, but so far, no other connection. Zhang is ripping his hair out over it.” He slid the folder down the table, right to S. Coups.

“What else?”

“We've found her cell phone.”

“Oh no.” Gyu sighed, dropping his head onto the table. The usually stoic Wonu sighed, rubbing his boyfriend's back.

“What's wrong with it?” He asked.

“Blood.” Minseok sighed. “DNA matches Sora.” Kwannie tensed, gripping Vernon's hand.

“Oh god, is she...” Kwannie couldn't continue his sentence.

“Doubtful, there were only a few drops. Only on the phone, like she did it on purpose.” Minseok offered, “We don't have a whole lot of answers, a lot of circumstantial things, but we'll keep you updated.” S. Coups slid the folder back down the table, and the room fell silent again as Minseok began to leave. Kwannie's heart was heavy, he had so many unanswered questions, so many worries, and nothing had really been answered.

“Captain.” He broke the silence, still staring at the oak table he was seated at. “Be honest with us, don't hold back.” He tore his gaze away, back to the captain. “Are we looking for a body?”

“How dare you-” Gyu started, jumping up and slamming his hands on the table, making Kwannie flinch and Vernon tugs him backward slightly.

“Mingyu!” S. Coups warned.

“No.” The Captain responded immediately. “Sora is strong, if someone has her, she's still alive and fighting. Don't give up hope just yet.” He smiled at the gathered boys before walking away quickly. Vernon tugged at Kwannie's hand, leading him out of the house quickly. Once in Vernon's car, the younger man let out a breath.

“That was dangerous Seungkwan. You're lucky Gyu didn't have a gun on him.” He clutched Kwannie's hand tightly.

“He did,” Kwannie told him quietly, Vernon's head snapped towards him eyes wide with shock and fear. “I watched him check it before he drove over here.”

“And you still said that? Do you have a death wish?”

“I wanted answers! I don't care that he's her boyfriend, she is the closest thing I have to family right now and I needed the truth.” Kwannie snapped. “He needed them too. He doesn't realize it now, but I did what was needed.”

“You'd make a powerful mobster.” Vernon laughed as he pulled away from the house.

“I suspect that’s not going to be the only time I hear that.”

~~

“Do you just not drink coffee?” Seungkwan asked, setting the cup of hot chocolate in front of his boyfriend.

“I used to drink it all the time but I drank something like 48 ounces during finals once and didn't sleep for like 2 days, so Coups made me stop drinking it.” Vernon explained, giving him a grin. Three more weeks had passed, all without any good news.

“I'm surprised that you didn't just die.” Kwannie joked, “My heart probably would have stopped.”

“I'm lucky mine didn't.” Vernon laughed, stopping when Boo's phone rang.

“Hello?” Vernon watched as Kwannie's eyes went wide and he snatched Vernon's pen from his hand, frantically writing on a napkin. “Of course, thank you, we'll be there soon.” He hung up and flew from his seat, collecting his things with a huge smile on his face.

“Babe! What is happening?” Vernon finally managed to ask, stopping Kwannie in his tracks.

“They found her. She's in the hospital right now. You need to text GyuNu.” He ordered.

“I'll take you over there first.”

~~

Room 434 was dark when Seungkwan pushed open the door. Sora was sitting up, eating the food on her tray in the darkness, but she looked up quickly when Kwannie opened the door. A smile erupted onto her features when she saw him, but he felt himself gasp involuntarily. Her arms were completely wrapped in bandages and there was a large piece of gauze adorning her cheek. She tapped a finger to her lips, pointing to the bed next to her where another girl wrapped in bandages lay unconscious. Kwannie moved forward quietly, pulling her into a hug the moment he could. She gripped the back of his shirt, mumbling apologies and crying softly.

“Hey, don't apologize, it wasn't your fault.” He assured her, sitting in the chair beside her bed. “I'm just thankful they found you.”

“It was thanks to her.” Sora nodded towards the woman asleep next to them. “Turns out her soulmate is Detective Zhang, the guy in charge of the case.” Kwannie must have outwardly grimaced at the comment because Sora let out a quiet laugh, “Ah don't worry Boo, I'm sure that even though you don't have a soulmate there is someone out there just for you.”

“Ah, but what if he has a soulmate then?” He asked, pulling the hairbrush out of his bag to hand to her.

“I'm sure the heart is always right.” She winked, making them both smile.

“So what happened to you?”

“I'm not too sure, I figured he chloroformed me when I was walking home. He was obsessed with the idea of girls being modest or something.” She stared down at her hands, watching the bandaged fingers shake. “He tortured all of us. I was the only one who knew how to endure it. I hit him with a rock when he was hurting her, I didn't know what else to do.” Kwannie stood up, cupping her cheeks as he wiped the tears away.

“You did what you had to do. I promise. No one is going to think worse of you a because of that. You helped save their lives, you're a hero to me.” She closed her eyes, trying to steady her breathing. “Now, would you like some of this chocolate I managed to smuggle in?”

“Oh god yes!”

~~ Once visiting hours were over, Seungkwan made his way home, giving himself time to think on the train ride. When he arrived large manila envelope was leaning against this door, which made him suddenly anxious. The only way to leave things at people's doors were to be able to access the building, which meant it was something from a neighbor but with the people Kwannie had recently begun to associate with, he wouldn't be shocked if it was something he didn't want to see.

Sitting on his couch he tossed the envelope on the coffee table, not sure he wanted to open it.

“Nope.” He decided, standing and moving into his kitchen to make a cup of tea. The call of the mystery seemed to prevent Kwannie from thinking about anything else, even as he made dinner and showered.

Eventually, the curiosity got the better of him and he found himself sitting on the couch again, this time, opening the envelope.

He immediately wished he hadn't opened it.

Inside were roughly a hundred photos, photos of him and the people he was close too. Shots from him and Vernons first date, shots of GyuNu and Sora together, and most hauntingly, a photo of Seungkwan looking directly at the photographer as he spoke to someone on the phone and checked his mail. At the bottom of the stack of pictures lay the thing he feared, a note.

Boo Seungkwan.

Thank you for getting so close to them, you have done us a great favor. Now, you are going to follow our instructions carefully and help us destroy Seventeen. If you obey us, we may let you join us in the end.

Do not tell Vernon, or Sora, or the police. Violating this rule will result in your death and others.

We will be contacting you soon.

BH

[blueeyeswhitegarden]

Arc V Anniversary Day 23

Day 23: Favorite duels:

I absolutely love Yuya's rematch against Jack in the Friendship Cup. There was so much buildup for this duel throughout the Synchro arc, but the conflict between the Tops and Commons getting more heated with both Shinji's rebellion and Roger's constant attempts at taking control of City made it more intense than I would have expected. Having Yuya and Jack duel to stop the fighting was such a great idea and really fits with Yuya's goals of ending the dimensional war, as well as becoming a great Entertainment Duelist.

Jack was pretty upset when Yuya was still trying to imitate his father's dueling and was rather blunt about Yuya's relying on his father's words, but I think that was because Jack feels so passionate about dueling and was upset that Yuya hadn't realized the problem of trying to mimic his father on his own. To be fair, Yuya had used his father's dueling style as a coping mechanism, as well as an attempt to reach his dream, for so long that I don't think it would have been realistic if he had figured out the problem on his own, especially when Yuya was dealing with a lot during the Synchro arc. He was frequently doubting himself, questioning if he was strong enough to stop the dimensional war and he would get depressed whenever he dealt with a major setback. I think that Jack was the only character who could have made Yuya realize that imitating Yusho wasn't the solution too. All of Yuya's friends and families knew Yusho and admired his dueling as well, so I don't think that they would see the issue of Yuya being like Yusho as someone like Jack was. He didn't see it as Yuya trying to follow in his father's footsteps. He saw it more as Yuya just using Yusho's dueling as a crutch.

I really loved how Jack helped Yuya to realize that he did have his own way of dueling the whole time. He was so focused on trying to be like Yusho that he never thought of how to be like himself, which is quite fitting given Yuya's emotional problems throughout the series. He realized that Pendulum summon was his own voice. It felt like a continuation of his lesson from Shuzo as well. Due to that match, Yuya understood that he didn't need to be the only Pendulum user in order to stand out among the crowd. He could still stand out as an example to other Pendulum users as the one who first opened its door. Thanks to Jack, Yuya realized that Pendulum summoning is part of his own way of dueling different from what he learned from Yusho and how he could use it to make his own kind of dueling style different from Yusho's. I especially liked the message behind Yuya's strategy as well. Most of the monsters he Pendulum summoned were weak compared to Jack's Tyrant Dragon but by coming together, their attacks, and thus their voices, had an impact. It was a good message that fit with Yuya's dueling style, as well as with the Lancers all helping to stop the fighting throughout the City during this match. I also really appreciate that they didn't have Yuya disregard his father's dueling in order to find his own. Yusho had such a huge impact on Yuya's ideals and goals that I don't think he could have realistically found a way to duel that wasn't influenced by Yusho's Entertainment Dueling.

The entire duel was just terrific from start to finish. There were so many great moments for Yuya, the Lancers trying to fight back against the riots was cool and Jack finally found an opponent who he could go all out against when he summoned Tyrant Red Dragon Archfiend. But that last turn was simply beautiful. After all of the struggles Yuya went through during the season, the entire City was cheering him on. Everyone was fully engaged in this duel and many wanted to be as close to it as possible during its final moments. The people of the City announcing the last attack alongside Yuya was so wonderful. It showed how much both Yuya and Jack's passion had affected everyone in the City. Jack openly accepting his defeat with a smile was just so fantastic. He was happy to finally found a strong opponent that could force him to reach new heights. I was so happy during this last turn when I first watched the episode that I was near tears. Even now, just thinking about the duel and especially that last turn can make me quite happy. Yuya's dueling being able to affect that many people was just so touching and it really showed that his dream of ending the dimensional war wasn't so impossible. It is my favorite duel in Arc V, as well as one of my favorite duels in the franchise.

I also really love the battle against Zarc. It is technically one long duel with different opponents every episode, but it gave the remaining Lancers a chance to shine. Sora's desperate plea to get through to Yuya was so tragic and I still think that Ed's disappointment that Yuya was so far gone that he wouldn't react was still pretty sad. Shun and Kaito had some nice teamwork during their attempts at defeating Zarc. I liked that Shun was focused on both Yuya and Yuto. I thought that they had developed a nice friendship during the Xyz arc. Kaito didn't interact with Yuya as much, but he did respect him after what he did for Heartland as well. Gongenzaka's efforts to protect Jack, along with those flashbacks of the years he, Yuya and Yuzu spent in Standard, all in the hopes of getting Yuya back was truly touching. Jack saying that he would drag Yuya out of Zarc's soul himself is still one of the most fitting ways for Jack to say he cares about someone. Crow's attempts to remind Yuya what he did to help change the City was sweet and even Sawatari tried to remind Yuya of their match in the Miami Championship. Reiji used the monsters from his first duel against Yuya as well and was positive that Zarc using Pendulum meant that Yuya still existed in him. Most of these characters had really good and believable connections with Yuya. It was touching to see that saving a person that they cared about was their main priority. They obviously didn't want Zarc to destroy the world again or for the four dimensions to merged, but I think focusing on saving Yuya gave the duel more emotional and personal stakes involved than if it was just another save the world kind of conflict.

I especially liked how Zarc became more emotional with each match. He barely reacted against Sora and Ed, started to laugh and smile more against Shun and Kaito, reacted to Entertainment and Steadfast Dueling against Jack and Gongenzaka and lashed out in anger when Crow and Sawatari pointed out that he was afraid of losing. This helped to make him stand out more than if he was a more typical hammy villain right from the start. I think that this also made the notion that he was afraid to lose more believable. He went from being fully of arrogance and confidence to anger at this accusation, but it felt like a natural progression given how each match affected Zarc to some degree. There was also a lot of great tension in these matches. Zarc was defeating every remaining character, Yuya was no where to be seen, we didn't know what happened to the Bracelet Girls after they had become Ray for awhile and the dimensions were closer to merged together with each episode. It just helped to make the duel more engaging to watch when every character from each dimension that fans grew to care so much about over the course of the series was in danger.

While I liked the duel from the start, the twist with the En Cards is a huge reason why it became one of my favorite duels in the series. Seeing that all of the monsters Zarc had already destroyed ended up defeating him once Ray and Reira showed up was just amazing and changed everything about the duel for me. The Lancers weren't just defeat fodder used only to hype up Zarc. That was part of the reason for these duels. After all of the buildup Zarc had and knowing that he is the big villain of the series, he needed to defeat strong opponents to back up that buildup and to establish him as a huge threat. But seeing that the En Cards required at least three monsters of the different summoning methods in the graveyard to activate showed that those duels weren't just to hype up Zarc or stall for time. Even Leo's attempt at defeating Zarc helped out in the end. Ray already defeated Zarc before, so she and Reira would have been able to do the same if they were Zarc's first opponents, but given that the dimensions were close to merging together, it would have been pretty difficult for them to pull that off within a short amount of time. Having the other duels allow for Ray and Reira to activate the En Cards really worked. It allowed for everyone to help defeat Zarc, while also having Ray deliver the final blow after they established that only she could defeat him. Instead of having the Lancers just be defeat fodder, this allowed for them to actively contribute to Zarc's defeat. It showed that these characters, their connections to Yuya and their efforts to save him all mattered in the end. I loved the twist at the time, but it's also one of those aspects of Arc V that I just love and appreciate even more over time as well. It's really a terrific duel and easily one of my favorite ones in the series.

[real-life-pine-tree]

Arc-V Aftermath: Dance Do-Over (2/26)

When all is said and done, things have quickly recovered in the four dimensions. But when weird things start happening, the Yu-Salad Boys and the Bracelet Girls quickly realize they have some loose ends to fix. Co-written with @violetganache42​.

WARNING: Dub names will be featured in the story.

Yuri switched back to Yuya while heading downstairs. He knows how Yusho is still having a hard time trusting him, especially after carding him, so he would rather let the son of a Dueltainer talk to him. Besides, Yusho and Yoko would still get filled in on what’s wrong with Yuto now that they know what happened.

Before sitting down to eat breakfast and talk to his parents, Yuya was greeted by En, Core, Kilo, Watt, and all the other pets his mother rescued. Some of them jumped on his legs, wanting to lick his hands and face, while the rest barked and meowed with excitement.

“Whoa!” Yugo exclaimed. “That’s a lot of pets!”

“Mom just can’t say no to strays,” Yuya explained as he picked up En and cuddled the corgi pup in his arms.

He looked over to see his mother in the kitchen—cooking a few more pancakes—and his father, who had just finished breakfast. “Morning, Yuya!” Yoko pleasantly said. “Were you talking to your friends?”

“Yeah,” Yuya answered, setting En down on the floor before taking his seat at the kitchen table. “And I need to talk to you and dad.”

“What about?” Yusho asked.

“I want to host a dance at the LID’s Center Duel Field,” Yuya explained, sensing that Yuto wasn’t present.

“What for?” Yusho asked.

“It’s for everyone who attended the Heartland Duel School dance,” Yuya continued.

This surprised Yoko and Yusho. They were curious as to why Yuya wanted to host a dance at LID’s Center Duel Field, so their son filled them in on what happened that very night. He really wants to give the students who attended the last dance another chance to hang out, sing, dance, and have fun, but more importantly, he wants to bring back the smiles that were taken from them by Duel Academy. He was also determined to make this an extra special night for Yuto and Lulu.

“What a kind thing to do for your friends,” Yoko said.

“And I’ll get everyone in Paradise City in on it,” Yuya continued. “It’s clear that the people of Heartland are still recovering, so they need to be happy again.”

“I don’t see why not,” Yusho said. “I’ll even contact Skip and Declan to see if they could help out.”

Throughout the day, Yuya, his parents, Yugo, Yuri, and Sora worked together to put together the upcoming dance. It was going to be a lot of work, so they need all the help they can get. Yusho called Declan and Skip to inform them about his son’s surprise dance for the students at his duel school and asked if they can help. Naturally, they both said “Yes”. Declan offered to distribute inviations to the people in Heartland City while Skip said he’ll talk to Zuzu to help prepare Lulu for the dance; they also made sure to keep it a secret. Shortly after hanging up, Zuzu and Henrietta came in to see what their respective relatives were talking about.

“What’s going on, dad?” Zuzu asked.

“Great, you’re here!” Skip said. “I need to speak to you privately.”

“Uh… Sure,” Zuzu said. “Okay other me’s. I need you to…go away for a while?”

“No, wait, Rin and Celina need to hear it as well!” Skip corrected.

“Alright,” Lulu said before she disappeared into Zuzu’s shared mind.

“Okay dad, Lulu’s gone,” Zuzu informed.

“There’s going to be a dance for the former students of Heartland Duel School,” Skip explained. “I need you to get Lulu ready for tonight.”

“A formal dance?” Zuzu asked.

“Yes!” Rin cheered. “As a fashionista of the Synchro Dimension, I would be more than happy to help Lulu switch out those old rags for better outfits.”

“I think Lulu can handle it herself,” Celina replied, aware that Rin and Lulu have different fashion sense.

“Don’t worry, dad,” Zuzu said. “I’ll see if Julia can help out.”

“So Declan, is there anything I can do?” Henrietta asked as Zuzu went over to the Krystal residence.

“As a matter of fact, there is,” Declan answered. “Because Yuya wishes to have the dance located the Center Duel Field, I was hoping you can arrange the decorations.”

“Certainly, Declan,” Henrietta replied.

As the day went to, Declan finished working on the invitations. He then scrolled through a list of XYZ residents who attended Heartland Duel School on his computer. After checking, he sent the invitations to the former students’ Duel Disks, except Yuto and Lulu. The gray-haired teen decided to message Shay to head on over to LID for measurements. It was obvious he was going to need a new suit.

Meanwhile, in the XYZ Dimension, life was slowly returning to normal for the people of Heartland. They have been working together to clean up and rebuild the city. Aster Phoenix, the Tyler Sisters, and Mamoru Noro even decided to stay and help the citizens out, continuing to distribute food, drinks, and medical supplies, as well as assist in reconstruction. Just then, a notification alarm went off from someone’s Duel Disk. Followed by a second. No, third. Fourth. Fifth. Now, multiple notifications were popping up from several Duel Disks. This was rather bizarre.

One of the Duelists who received a notification alarm was none other than Sarah. “Hey Alex, are you getting this?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Alex answered as he checked his Duel Disk. “I wonder what it’s for.”

They checked their notifications to see what it was. They received what looked like invitations. This was rather unexpected, but that quickly turned to joy when they read the invitations. They were invited to a dance at the Leo Institute of Dueling.

“A dance?” Alex asked. “We haven’t attended one since…”

Sarah sadly looked over at Alex. “I know,” she agreed. “Hopefully you can wear something than a hoodie and a poncho this time.”

“It was my cleanest poncho!” Alex insisted.

Meanwhile, Aster checked his Duel Disk. “That’s strange…” he noted. “My Duel Disk doesn’t have a notification.”

“Neither does ours,” Gloria said as she and Grace showed Aster their Duel Disks.

Back at the Pendulum Dimension, Zuzu was heading towards the local spa, where she—well, technically Lulu—was supposed to meet up with Julia. The long, dark-haired girl has never met Zuzu’s XYZ counterpart before, so spending some time preparing for the dance in there can also result in the two girls becoming friends. The Fusion Dueltainer also figured this would finally give Lulu a chance to bathe; since she constantly had to deal with Duel Academy, she pretty much earned it.

Zuzu stopped in front of the spa’s entrance and looked through the windows to see if Julia was in there. Sure enough, she was there, waiting near the front desk for Lulu. “You want me to go to a spa so I can bond with a Fusion Duelist?” the dark-haired teen asked.

“Sure,” Zuzu said without hesitation. “You need to know that not all Fusion Duelists are evil. Julia’s a nice person, so you should spend the day with her.”

“Alright,” Lulu said. “If you say so.”

Lulu switched places with Zuzu, still feeling a tad bit unsure about this Julia person. She opened the doors and entered the spa; the sound of the bell grabbed the Fusion Duelist’s attention as she saw what looked like Zuzu but wasn’t actually.

“Uh… Hello?” Lulu told Julia.

The Gem-Knight Duelist walked over to Lulu. “You smell,” she said bluntly.

“Excuse me?” Lulu asked, alarmed.

“It’s your body odor,” Julia explained. “It smells like burnt rubble and blood. If that isn’t enough, your face looks unwashed and your clothes are severely damaged.” She lifted up a lock of Lulu’s hair. “And your hair feels too greasy, even under normal conditions.”

“Your point?” Lulu asked, taking a few steps back to make sure Julia stopped touching her hair.

“Zuzu explained everything to me,” Julia continued. “You need a complete makeover. Thankfully you came to the right person. By the time we’re done, you’ll feel like a new person.”

Lulu felt a little bewildered; she didn’t expect Julia to instantly find out how she hasn’t bathed in a while. It’s like she can detect imperfect hygiene, and you know what? Given that she can detect people’s talent and hesitation, one can consider this to be no surprise that she can also tell when someone is dirty.

Julia directed Lulu on where to follow her. Without any hesitation, she went along with her. The two girls headed to a special room designed for full-body pampering, which is what the XYZ user clearly needed. In it, there was a bathtub with a bathmat in front of it and was in between a couple of tabletops. One of them had bottles of bubble bath soap, shampoo and conditioner, makeup remover, face cleanser, and a facial cleansing brush whereas the other had a couple of candles with a sweet, cherry-blossom fragrance; both tabletops had small cabinet doors that contained towels and facecloths. Not too far away was a chair that had a light yellow bathrobe on it. There was even a smaller room meant for getting changed in and out of clothes. Lulu was astonished at the room she was led to.

“This is amazing!” Lulu exclaimed. “How-”

“I’m a regular customer,” Julia explained. “I was saving a lot of reward points, so I figured they could go to good use.”

Lulu was nearly in tears of joy. “Thank you,” she said.

Elsewhere, Yuya and Yusho were at a local clothing store, planning on getting Yuto a new tuxedo to wear for tonight. Since the tomato-haired boy has the same body figure as his XYZ counterpart, he’ll be helping his father with measurements. While that is going on, Yugo and Yuri were conversing about something; they wanted to figure out how they were going to get a new pair of prescription glasses for Yuto since his first pair was probably destroyed during the Invasion.

“I know!” Yugo exclaimed after a bit of thinking. “We’ll have Yuya go to the eye doctor so he can see what Yuto’s prescription is!”

“Except Yuya, you, and myself all have perfect vision,” Yuri pointed out.

“You sure?” Yugo asked, suddenly standing too close to Yuri. “‘Cause you tend to squint a lot.”

“I can assure you my eyesight is normal!” Yuri exclaimed, shoving Yugo away from him. “I simply have smaller pupils!”

“Geez, I thought that after the whole Zarc thing, you’d stop acting like a jerk,” Yugo muttered loudly.

“The darkness within Zarc’s heart merely clouded my judgement,” Yuri corrected. “That doesn’t mean my personality completely changed when that same darkness vanished!”

“Guess that explains why you haven’t gotten along with Celina yet,” Yugo pointed out.

“Miss Celina simply has a hard time accepting I have somewhat changed,” Yuri insisted.

“She probably doesn’t like how big of a spoiled brat you are,” Yugo remarked.

“Oh, that is it!” Yuri exclaimed. “Now you just got personal!”

As Yuya was about to try on one of the first suits in the fitting room, he overheard his Fusion and Synchro counterparts arguing. He wondered what they were even fighting about; they were supposed to find a way to get Yuto a new pair of glasses, but knowing Yugo’s short-temper and rude remarks and Yuri’s high nobility, disputes like this are bound to happen. Yuya decided to quickly intervene and help them formulate their plan.

“Come on, you guys,” Yuya said. “We’re supposed to be figuring out how to get Yuto new glasses without him finding out about the dance.”

“He started it!” Yugo exclaimed.

“Excuse me?!” Yuri angrily asked. “I’m not the one with a rude attitude!”

Yuya let out a sigh; if those two keep it up, either this day will go on forever or Yuto will end up finding out. Within only a few seconds, he conjectured an idea on how they will carry out their plan. It might be crazy, but it could work.

“I think I know how we can get this to work,” Yuya said. “But I’m going to need Yugo’s help.”

Yugo directed his attention towards Yuya when the latter mentioned his name. He looked rather puzzled; why did he need his help? Heck, why can’t Yuri help as well?

Meanwhile, Shay had just arrived at the LID main entrance. A bit earlier, he received a message from Declan telling him to come meet him inside the institute for suit measurements. He pondered on why he needed to be measured for a little while. Then again, he wore this outfit ever since the Invasion, so it would make sense to try and find something nicer to wear.

Upon entering through the doors, he noticed Declan waiting for him at the main lobby near the front desk. “Thanks you for coming, Shay,” Declan said.

“Why did you want to see me?” Shay asked.

“I have recently found out the Invasion on your home dimension began on the night of a formal event,” Declan explained. “And because of that, you have been wearing the same tuxedo underneath your coat. Correct?”

“Yes,” Shay explained. “When the Invasion started, none of us had time to change outfits.”

“Which is why I asked you to come here,” Declan continued. “Think of it as a thank you gift for serving the Lancers.”

Shay accepted the gray-haired teen’s offer. He hasn’t worn anything else other than his tuxedo and a trench coat since the night of the dance, so this will finally give him a chance to try on something new. Besides, it was the least he can do after being a member of the Lancers and helping them defeat Duel Academy.

Back at the spa, Lulu finished taking her bath. Seeing that it was her first one in a while, she needed it. She even got to bond with Julia during that time. It started when she asked the dark-haired girl what Fusion Summoning was like in the Pendulum Dimension; she and Zuzu are the only two Fusion users who were great people. Julia’s response was it was mainly used for Dueltaining, especially in Zuzu’s case. She continued by explaining how much her friendly rival has improved in this particular special summoning technique ever since they first met. The rest of their conversation involved discussing beauty tips and the different dueling strategies they use.

With Lulu wearing the bathrobe and had a towel wrapped around her head, Julia informed her that she can get dressed in the smaller room; she mentioned about picking a new outfit for the now clean XYZ user. Lulu was eager to see what her new friend picked out. When she walked into the changing room, she saw a long, sleeveless, and really beautiful dress hanging up. It was sky blue with frills at the bottom, had a lighter shade of blue around the chest area, and peacock feathers were attached on the side. Next to the dress were a pair of matching sapphire heels. She was so ecstatic about the new outfit Julia got for her.

Not long after finding the right suit for Yuto, Yuya and Yoko were sitting in the waiting room, waiting for his eye examination. “Wait, why would Yuya need an eye examination?” one may ask. Ah, but there’s a catch. It was actually for Yuto; Yoko being asked and taking Yuya to the eye doctor was part of his and Yugo’s plan. Of course, Yuto still doesn’t know about what’s going on. He was still deep within the shared mind, replaying his memories of his mother like home videos. He couldn’t help but repeatedly watch these memories, from his days as a baby to his gradual appearance and personality change to the last night he saw her. After everything he’s been through, he really missed her.

Suddenly, Yugo barged in. “Hiya!” he exclaimed.

“Not now,” Yuto said, wiping away forming tears from his eyes.

“Nope!” Yugo cheerfully said. “Yuya needs you out right now.”

Yuto was suddenly shoved out of the deep part of the shared mind. What on earth is going on? he wondered. And why does Yuya need me? It can’t be that important, can it? Before he knew it, he and Yuya quickly switched places, with the former taking control. What is this place? He looked around to find himself sitting in a chair in a doctor’s office. An eye doctor’s office.

“What’s going on?!” Yuto asked.

“It’s okay, Yuto,” Yoko reassured. “Yuya wanted to get new glasses for you.”

“But I don’t need glasses!” Yuto insisted.

“Relax, it’s my treat,” Yuya said. “Just sit back and go through the eye exam.”

Yuto couldn’t believe he was going through with this, let alone Yuya and Yugo planning something like this. Yuya did say it was his treat, but he still wasn’t so sure about it. Glasses always looked weird on him, so why do they even bother trying?

A couple minutes later, the eye doctor came in. “Hello Mr. Sakaki,” he said, thinking Yuto was Yuya. “Shall we begin?”

“Fine,” Yuto muttered in response.

Back at LID, Declan was typing down a list of measurements he needed to find a tuxedo that fits Shay. At the same time, Shay was wondering how Yuto and Lulu were doing.

“Does Yuto and Lulu know about the dance?” Shay asked.

“So you figured it out from my message,” Declan remarked.

“You’re usually not this generous,” Shay pointed out. “The new suit is for the dance.”

“Correct,” Declan replied. “And to answer your question, no they did not. Yuya wanted it to be a surprise for them.”

“Can’t blame him for doing that,” Shay said. “Discovering that they and the other counterparts turned out to be the center of the universe must have been hard for them to comprehend. At least my parents understand that Lulu is permanently fused to three other people. They still miss her, though.”

“If it makes you feel better, my father recently informed me that he’s currently working on a way to separate all eight counterparts,” Declan said.

That piece of information astonished Shay.  Leo Akaba, the man responsible for the Invasion, having the Obelisk Force card innocent people and Yuri kidnap Rin and his sister, and fuse all four dimensions just to bring his daughter Ray back, is working on a way to split them back into their individual bodies? This was amazing! That means his parents can see their daughter again! Simultaneously, another question struck his mind. After everything Leo did, why is he suddenly doing this? Is it an act of redemption? Or has he accepted that Ray may never return? Or was it both?

“Why is Leo doing that?” Shay asked.

“He takes full responsibility for Zarc’s return,” Declan answered. “He learned that if he had never tampered with the dimensions, none of this would have happened. Bringing back Zuzu was part of his separation plan. Once he receives a blood sample from each of the counterparts, he can work on separating them.”

“How come he never told anyone about it?” Shay asked.

“He’s aware of any possible consequences that might occur during the separation,” Declan continued. “For all he knows, they might receive permanent amnesia, or even end up with severe mental damage. He fears that the procedure is too risky at the moment.”

What Declan said just now is reasonably understandable. Not every plan is smooth sailing from here on out, especially the fact that the separation plan is still in its early stages. Who knows how long it will take for it to take shape? From the sound of things, it was going to take a while. It was also worth noting that this may be the first time someone is attempting to separate souls back into their individual bodies via blood samples. Shay didn’t think that was possible, but this is Leo they’re talking about; he would do whatever it takes to fulfill any plan he has, no matter how long it takes. The teen wondered if Lulu will be mentally okay or if she will remember anything once the separation is complete. He then decided not to worry about that at the moment; for now, he just wanted to focus on getting ready for the tonight’s dance.

“Thanks for telling me about it,” Shay said.

“You were the closest to Lulu,” Declan replied. “I figured you would understand.”

Elsewhere, at the eye doctor’s, Yuto finally finished his eye examination; throughout the entire exam, he wasn’t very fond of it deep down. Now he just has to wait for the results, but one thing is for certain: there is no way he was going to wear glasses, regardless of what anyone says. He said they look weird on him before and that’s an opinion he was going to stick with. Yuya, Yugo, and Yuri, on the other hand, would all beg to differ.

“What’s wrong with wearing glasses, Yoot?” Yugo asked.

“I told you, I would look weird,” Yuto repeated.

Yuto’s counterpart all agreed he would actually look nice in glasses; as an added bonus, it’ll be their first time seeing him wearing them since they have never seen him with a pair on his face. Yuya couldn’t help but comment they would make him look smart.

“Smart, huh?” Yuto repeated.

“Yeah,” Yuya replied. “Like a sharp businessman.”

Yuto pictured himself as a businessman with glasses on. Not only do they go with the suit, but they also seem to help give off an intelligent impression. This thought gave him a bit of second thoughts about thinking glasses looking weird on him; Yuya was left a bit dumbfounded on whether if that compliment fed his ego.

The eye doctor came out with the results; sure enough, Yuto needed glasses. But the fun part was coming up. One of the best things about getting glasses is choosing a pair that go well with the person. The Yu-Salad Boys offered to help him out pick some, such as choosing the shape and color of the frames. Some time later, they settled on the glasses with rectangular, light gray frames that worked well with his dark gray eyes. With a suit picked out and the examination finally out of the way, they now need to worry about Yuto getting ready without ruining the surprise.

“Thanks for the glasses, Mrs. Sakaki,” Yuto said. “Now I should really let Yuya-”

“Not yet,” Yoko interrupted. “As soon as we get home, I need you to shower.”

“What?” Yuto asked. Did he really smell that bad?

“Every time you take over, your stench makes the whole house reek,” Yoko explained. “It’s for the best.”

Later that afternoon, Yuto and Yoko returned to the Sakaki house and the first thing he did was taking a shower. He immediately headed straight to the bathroom, shutting the door for privacy and taking off his tattered attire. It was clear they also needed to be cleaned; he tossed them in the hamper so that they can get washed. Closing the shower curtains, he turned on the water and adjusted the nozzle until it was set at a comfortable temperature. He stood underneath the shower hose as water sprayed out and rained down on Yuto’s entire body, soaking his hair in the process. It was a miracle how it still maintained its shape despite it being as greasy as Lulu’s; he wondered how his girlfriend is doing right now. Once his hair was all wet, he grabbed a bottle of Yuya’s shampoo so he can lather some in his hair, but there was one problem: the bottle didn’t have enough shampoo for him to use.

“Yuya, please tell me you have more shampoo,” Yuto said, holding up the bottle.

“That should be enough,” Yuya pointed out.

“For you,” Yuto corrected. “Didn’t you notice my hair is longer than yours? I need more shampoo to get it fully washed.”

Realization hit Yuto. “Oh…” he said. “Right… There should be more in the bathroom cabinet.”

“Thank you,” Yuto said, turning off the nozzle and wrapping a towel around his waist. “But I hope you actually have Spike and Curl.”

“Eh… Come again?” Yuya asked.

Yeah, there was one slight problem with that. Actually, make that two. Yuya may have a crazy hairstyle, but it’s not as spiky as Yuto’s; he also hasn’t even heard of this “Spike and Curl” brand, so…that could be an issue.

Yuto let out a groan. “Why do I even bother asking…?” he muttered out loud.

Meanwhile, with Lulu, she was all ready for tonight. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and was amazed at what she saw. The dress and heels Julia picked out looked elegant on her; the loose braid added an extra nice touch to complete her appearance. It was as if she was a completely new person.

“Don’t start crying on me,” Julia said, taking out a makeup kit from her bag. “I still need to help you with the finishing touches.”

“Sorry Julia,” Lulu said, wiping away tears. “I haven’t felt this beautiful in months.”

Julia took out some blush, mascara, and some makeup brushes from her bag. Since Lulu was already beautiful, she only needed a light coat of makeup. Julia examined the assorted shades of blush to see which one would go with Lulu’s skin tone. She took one of her brushes, brushed it in the pale pink blush, and applied it on the latter’s face. Once that was done, she grabbed the mascara and used it to add a black coat on her eyelashes. Now completed with the finishing touches, Lulu looked at the mirror again, having a much nicer appearance with the added makeup; she was as beautiful as a princess.

“Thank you,” Lulu said, beaming with pure happiness. “I…” She couldn’t say anything else due to being so happy.

“Anything for a friend of Zuzu’s,” Julia happily replied. “Now I just need to bring you to the Center Duel Field.”

The Center Duel Field? At LID? Why there? Is anything special going on over there? Before Lulu could say anything, Julia led the way to the duel school; as a student of the Fusion Summoning course, she happens to know how to get there from the spa. A curious Lulu followed her, wondering what is happening.

Back at the Sakaki residence, Yuto had finished showering and is almost done getting ready. The black suit Yuya and Yusho bought fit him well; now all he has to do is put on his tie. He looked at his reflection in the mirror to put it on and make any adjustments to it, but he started fumbling. Something nearly caused him a trigger; he could have sworn he experienced this before, almost like a déjà vu, but what was it? He soon remembered what had happened back at Heartland City. He remembered checking his reflection on the night of Heartland Duel School’s dance. He remembered spending the night with the dueling club and having fun. He remembered Duel Academy suddenly invading and wreaking havoc in the city. He remembered…seeing Lulu and Shay’s parents getting carded…and his own mother getting killed by an attacking Chaos Ancient Gear Giant…as a way to protect her only child…

Yuya quickly heard sobs coming from his XYZ counterpart. “Is something wrong?” the tomato-haired teen asked.

Yuto heard Yuya’s concerned voice, startling him a little. He wiped away the tears as fast as he could before answering, but up to no avail; his Pendulum counterpart already figured out why he was sobbing. “The last time I wore a suit…it was when…” But Yuto choked up before he could finish.

Yuya could determine what he was going to say—because of the flashback he was told about earlier that morning—and comforted him. “Don’t get all sad now,” the Pendulum Duelist said. “Look at how far you’ve come since then. I can even help you get more clothes for you to wear so you can stop wearing those old rags.”

“S-Sorry,” Yuto said, stammering a bit.

“You can apologize later,” Yugo said. “Now you better head downstairs so Mrs. Sakaki can take you to-”

“Yugo!” Yuri exclaimed.

“Oh… Right…” Yugo said, feeling embarrassed. “Never mind.”

Wiping away the excess tears, Yuto finished adjusting his tie; he was all ready to go, except one thing was missing… His new glasses! He grabbed them off of Yuya’s nightstand, but before he could them put on, he stared at the pair. He couldn’t believe he was going to wear glasses again. This would make tonight the first time he has ever worn them in quite a while. Letting out an exhale, he finally put them on his face and checked himself in the mirror once more. What Yuya said earlier today was true; with the suit and the glasses, Yuto did look like a sharp businessman. He couldn’t help but smirk at his appearance. The Yu-Salad Boys loved the glasses Yuto was wearing… Well, Yugo and Yuri were in awe; Yuya was more stunned at the fact that his earlier comment is feeding his ego again.

Yuto headed downstairs and saw Yoko near the door, waiting for him. She told him Yusho and Sora had already left to go to the Center Duel Field, so they’ll catch up with them.

“I’m ready to go, Mrs. Sakaki,” Yuto said, bracing for impact.

Yoko turned her head to see how nice Yuto looked in his tuxedo and glasses. “Well someone knows how to clean up nicely,” she said.

Yuto blushed a little at her comment; he told her it took a while to get himself ready, especially when he was in the shower. He was more used to his mom being around. He thought back to when she was so proud of how much he has grown and attending his first dance. She even hugged him tightly, so he was kind of hoping Yoko would do the same.

Yoko asked him if he was okay, with him responding that he wished his mother could see him once more, especially considering how well-dressed he is for the night.

“I understand how much you miss her,” Yoko said. “You have every right to mourn, especially since she died to protect you. But you shouldn’t wallow in sadness. Focus on the now and how much you accomplished since then.”

Yuto nodded and thanked her for not only the kind words, but for today as well. Yoko smiled back and accepted his thankful compliment. They both left the house to head on down to the Center Duel Field.

Meanwhile, back at LID, the Center Duel Field was all decorated for tonight’s dance. Streamers were hung around the walls with balloons were scattered and tied up in various places. There were a couple tables located near the Field’s entrance that were set up with a variety of foods and drinks. The center included a stage with the band finishing setting their gear up. Declan walked towards Henrietta, who was holding baby Riley in her arms, to say how impressed she did with decorating.

“I’m impressed, mother,” Declan said.

“I used leftover materials from previous company parties,” Henrietta explained. “Unfortunately I couldn’t find any working festive lights.”

“Not to worry,” Declan said. “As we speak, Skip Boyle of the You Show Duel School is managing the lighting using one of Yuya’s cards.”

“Smile World?” Henrietta asked.

“Not quite,” Declan answered.

Up in LID’s Solid Vision machine room, Skip used one of the machines to activate a card Yuya gave to him earlier; it was called Smile Universe, a retrained version of Smile World. With a click of a button, the devices underneath the Center Duel Field began to illuminate planets, galaxies, and stars across the night sky, with the planets and galaxies having smiley faces on them.

“Not bad,” Henrietta remarked.

“What else would you expect from the son of Yusho Sakaki?” Declan asked in response.

Out of all the former students that were invited, Shay was the first to arrive; then again, he practically spent the day at LID helping Declan with suit measurements. His tuxedo was similar to the one he originally wore, except it looked brand new, was dark gray and the shoes were black instead of brown. Shortly thereafter, a lot more people started showing up. He could recognize them as students who used to attend Heartland Duel School. Among the crowd, he saw Sarah, Alex, and Kite and headed towards them.

Sarah was in complete awe over the scenery. “This is incredible!” she exclaimed.

“No kidding,” Alex replied. “First Leo Corporation hands out invitations to a dance, then they offer the students free makeovers, now this!”

“Guess this was their way of apologizing to us,” Kite guessed.

As the three continued to admire the decorated Duel Field, they noticed Shay, who was just about to meet up with them. “Hey guys,” Shay said, walking up to his friends. “Glad you could make it.”

“Why wouldn’t we?” Sarah asked. “We received these unexpected invitations for a dance, then Leo Corporation provided hot baths and new outfits to anyone who received an invitation. I haven’t experienced such comfort in months.”

“Although not all of us accepted the makeovers,” Kite said.

“I bought this shirt with my own money!” Alex exclaimed, gesturing to the tuxedo t-shirt he was wearing along with his usual pants and boots.

Shay, Sarah, and Kite all chuckled at Alex’s response. It’s been months since their last dance and he still doesn’t follow the dress codes. Kite wore a proper suit instead the one his father gave him whereas Sarah had a long-sleeved, aquamarine and white princess gown with a pair of diamond flats.

After a few minutes talking to each other, two girls entered through the doorway. They all looked over to see who they were. Shay recognized the dark-haired girl, who was about to surprise the other one, which he was more focused on. Who was that? She had her eyes closed, but something about her seemed familiar. He then spotted her long, loosely-braided, dark purple hair, lilac side tails, and her now open magenta eyes. It was his sister Lulu! He has never been this overjoyed before and he was extremely happy to see her again.

“Lulu!” Shay exclaimed, so glad to see his sister again.

Lulu heard someone calling her name. She looked to find out where that voice came from, leading her to see Shay running towards her. A small gasp escaped her mouth; she couldn’t believe she is seeing his older brother and was immediately filled with glee.

“Shay!” Lulu happily cried out, knowing she hasn’t seen him since the dimension crisis.

Shay ran up to her and they gave each other the biggest hugs they have ever gotten. “I never thought I would see you again!” Shay exclaimed.

“The feeling is mutual,” Lulu replied.

Kite, Sarah, and Alex saw Lulu as well and caught up with Shay so that they can also hug her. It feels like it’s been too long since they last saw their friend and they are thrilled to be reunited with her.

“You’re alright!” Sarah exclaimed once the group separated from the hug. “And you look absolutely amazing!”

“Thanks Sarah,” Lulu replied. “You look great as well.”

Kite smiled softly. “So how about that?” he asked. “The dueling club of Heartland Duel School is finally reunited. Funny how a dance hosted by Leo Corporation brought us together.”

“Leo Corporation did this?” Lulu asked.

“Sort of,” Shay explained. “It was actually Yuya’s idea. Yuto must have told him what happened when the Invasion began, so this was probably his way of saying thanks.”

For Lulu, this was quite the surprise indeed; she was amazed that this entire event was all Yuya’s idea. They now have another chance to bring back the fun and shared smiles that were taken from them by Duel Academy. However, someone was missing, but who? Lulu realized that the dueling club wouldn’t be complete without Yuto. She was right; he was an important member of the club, where (according to Shay) he underwent a big change ever since he joined.

The five members of the reunited dueling club searched all over the Center Duel Field to find Yuto, but none of them had any luck. Suddenly, Lulu saw two more people enter through the doors, but more particularly, the masculine one. She recognized that spiky, black and light purple hairstyle anywhere; it was Yuto, who was accompanied by Yoko Sakaki. The loosely braided-haired girl stared at the outfit he was wearing. Last time she saw him, his usual clothes were practically his ruined suit on the night of the dance; instead, he now wore a clean black suit with a new pair of glasses. He looked really handsome.

At the same time, Yuto was astonished at what was happening. It was no wonder why his counterparts and Yuya’s parents wanted to help him get ready; this dance is amazing. Before he knew it, his eyes stumbled upon someone staring back at him. The person standing across from him was none other than Lulu and she was dressed beautifully. He found himself blushing at the sight of seeing his girlfriend in person once again.

“Uh… Guys?” Yuya asked Yugo and Yuri as Yuto walked over to Lulu. “Do you feel a weird thing in your hearts?”

“Yeah…” Yugo answered. “Weird.”

“Sort of,” Yuri admitted. “But I do feel something off.”

This was a strange feeling indeed; it has never happened before when Yuto and Lulu were in Yuya and Zuzu’s shared minds respectively. But now that they’re controlling their Pendulum counterparts’ bodies, this feeling was emitting onto the Yu-Salad. Even Zuzu, Celina, and Rin sensed they were also feeling weird.

“Yuya…?” Zuzu asked, concerned why she was suddenly feeling certain things towards the tomato-haired teen.

“Please tell me I’m not the only one getting this weird feeling,” Rin said, almost as if she could swoon.

“Trust me, you’re not,” Celina dully replied.

What on earth is this feeling they’re experiencing? They soon discovered why they were feeling this peculiar emotion: Yuto and Lulu were the reason. Their love for each other must have indirectly transferred to them. For Yuya, Zuzu, Yugo, and Rin, this was understandable, but what about Yuri and Celina? They have been rivals ever since Zuzu returned from the ARC-V machine. For the two of them, this was more unusual than what their counterparts were perceiving.

At the same time, Yuto walked over to see Lulu. Of all the times she was beautiful, this one tops them all. Everything from her attire to her loose braid to the touch of blush and mascara empathized her elegance and beauty. Likewise, Lulu can’t stop staring at his handsome features. His gravity-defying hair, his eyes, his suit. Everything about him was perfect; this was also the first time since the last dance that she got to see him wearing glasses. Although she liked his dark purple glasses, she knew the light gray glasses suited him more.

Once the two were right next to each other, they were so overjoyed to see each other. “You look beautiful,” Yuto said. “Absolutely beautiful.”

“Thanks,” Lulu replied, smiling softly. “You don’t look so bad yourself, especially since you stopped squinting.”

Yuto blushed a little at her compliment; maybe wearing glasses isn’t so bad after all.

Kite, Shay, Sarah, Alex were wondering where Lulu has gone off to until they saw her with Yuto. They ran towards them to give him a huge hug.

Yuto let out a small chuckle. “Good to see you too,” he said.

He was very glad to see his friends. They also comment how nice he looked and thanked them, saying he had some help getting his outfit together from a certain family. He turned around to see Yoko, who was with Yusho, giving him a thumbs up; he smiled back at her and gave her a thumbs up as well.

Now the dueling club was officially reunited.

Declan checked his Duel Disk to see what time is was. 8 PM. It was time for the dance to begin. He took a microphone so that he can make a special announcement to everyone attending the dance.

“Attention everyone,” Declan said. “I would like to thank you for attending tonight’s dance. I’m sure a lot of you are wondering why Leo Corporation is doing this for all of you, but wonder no longer. As you are probably aware, I have only invited former students from Heartland Duel School.”

He explained how their last dance was interrupted by Duel Academy when they invaded Heartland City. During that time, students realized he was right about what he was saying. During the Interdimensional War, people from Leo Corporation were turned into cards because the XYZ Dimension were confused as to who attacked them. Their confusion led to a grudge against the company because various members of LID were carded all because they were in the Fusion Summoning course. They all felt guilty about their past actions, but Declan reassured them it was okay; he knew how sudden and unexpected the Invasion was for everyone, especially for the former students.

He then went on to mention that putting the dance together was all Yuya’s idea; the Pendulum Duelist felt bad about what happened that fateful night and how Leo Corporation helped him set everything as a way to revive the lost smiles. Everyone cheered, applauded, and thanked Yuya for making this event possible. Although he wasn’t there physically, he saw how happy they were about attending the dance and was flattered with their thanks.

“There’s more,” Declan continued. “As we speak, my father, Leo Akaba, is currently working on making amends, as he takes full responsibility for causing the near destruction of the four dimensions. That is why I am pleased to announce that everyone in the XYZ Dimension will receive new clothing courtesy of Leo Corporation.”

Everyone’s faces were filled amazement; it felt like forever since they got to wear different clothes, especially since the clothing stores were pretty much destroyed. They all got excited after hearing the news.

Once all the announcements were made, it was time for the dance to officially start. “So Leo takes full responsibility for Zarc’s resurrection?” Yuya asked.

“Well I did give in as soon as I felt RinRin disappearing,” Yugo admitted.

He wasn’t wrong. If Leo hadn’t abducted the Bracelet Girls and fused them back into Ray, the whole Zarc incident wouldn’t have happened. But what matters now is everyone having an enjoyable time at the dance.

The band started playing music and everyone began to spend the greatest night of their lives. Some ate and drank, others danced to the songs, and the rest chatted with their friends. The dueling club talked about how they have stuff they should catch up on; after the whole Invasion fiasco, it would be nice to find some time to hang out with each other.

“Then Rella kicked that Ancient Gear Hound with her glass slipper-covered feet and reduced the Obelisk Force soldier’s life points to 0!” Sarah concluded.

Lulu laughed in amusement. “He must have been surprised that you defeated him using your Fairy Tails,” she said.

“He was,” Sarah said. “You should have seen the look on his face when I creamed him!”

Although Sarah rarely dueled, she uses a Fairy deck, consisting of not only Fairy Cheer Girl, but also Fairy Tail cards, with the XYZ monster Fairy Tail - Queen as her ace monster.

“So what have you been up to lately, Yuto?” Alex asked.

“Yuya wanted to give me, Yugo, and Yuri a tour of Paradise City a while ago,” Yuto explained. “One of the stops was a local museum, where I noticed an Egyptian exhibit featuring an ancient puzzle…or at least I think it was supposed to be an ancient puzzle. The only thing that was on display was a golden box.”

An ancient Egyptian puzzle? How odd. Rumor has it that the puzzle once belonged to a great pharaoh who was best known for sealing away the dark magic that caused special kinds of duels called Shadow Games. And now that magic hasn’t been on Earth’s surface for 5,000 years. Yuto remembered seeing something written in hieroglyphics on the golden box. It read: “The one who solves me shall gain the powers and knowledge of darkness…” He figured who that person could have been if they solved this puzzle. Perhaps a shy, game-loving high school boy who would’ve been destined for greatness…

“Has anyone tried to solve it?” Lulu asked.

“According to Yuya, a team of archeologists who discovered the puzzle mysteriously fell ill,” Yuto answered. “Since then, no one has dared to even touch the box containing the pieces.”

That piece of history didn’t sound too good. The gang pondered on what will happen if someone did try to solve the puzzle. Lulu didn’t like the thought of it; dealing with the Fusion Dimension after the Invasion was bad enough. The last thing she needed was someone unlocking the powers of darkness and bringing back these “Shadow Games” five millennia later. Yuto reassured her and the others that as long as the puzzle remains in the museum’s Egyptian exhibit, nothing bad will happen. Besides, they should focus more on enjoying this dance, which is exactly what they did.

“Then I guess it’s a good thing no one has solved the puzzle,” Lulu said, snuggling close to Yuto.

Yuto couldn’t help but lovingly look at his girlfriend snuggling next to him; it was really adorable to see her all snuggled up. He reached out his hand to pull her in close when something rather atypical happened. Instead of having it on Lulu’s hips, it accidentally went and touched her butt. A yelp escaped her mouth and an embarrassed Yuto quickly apologized; she forgave him, but mentioned it was unlike him to do something like that. She was right; Yuto is more of a gentleman and even he knows it, but what could’ve caused this unusual action? …Or who? He had a thought on who was responsible for this, and he is within Yuya’s shared mind.

“That was Yugo, wasn’t it?” Lulu asked.

Indeed, it was Yugo. But why did he do something like that? Yuto might need a moment with him. Whatever he did might lead to some new and awkward issues.

“Oopsie…” Yugo said. “Didn’t mean to do that.”

“Don’t be sorry, you moron!” Yuri exclaimed. “Can’t you see-”

“-you’re ruining the moment?!” Yuto immediately covered his mouth.

Whether it was accident or not, Yuto was clearly mad at Yugo for doing something so perverted. He was just having a nice time with his friends and girlfriend. Of all the times for a stupid “accident” to occur, it had to be tonight. Before he could scold at him more, the Synchro Duelist blurted out that he just saw Rin instead of Lulu less than a minute ago. That was oddly surprising to hear; actually, it was more odd than surprising. Yuto asked him to explain what he meant by that. This action may be the beginning of what could spell bad news for all eight counterparts in the near future.

Outside of the Yu-Salad’s shared mind, Sarah and Alex both wondered what their dark, dual-colored haired friend was up to. They knew it involved his counterparts, but they didn’t fully understand it; they were still new to this merge after all. It was a good thing Kite, Shay, and Lulu had a grasp on it, seeing they were more tangled in the Interdimensional War than the duo. They decided to have the rest of the dueling club help them answer the questions that left the two a little confused.

“Yugo…saw me?” Rin asked, amazed.

Zuzu noticed her blush wasn’t fading away. “I still feel weird,” she admitted.

Celina huffed in annoyance. “Give me a break,” she said. “There’s no way Lulu’s feelings for Yuto are actually transferring over to-”

But they were. It was indirect, but the signs were evident on the other six counterparts’ faces. Although Yuya, Zuzu, Yugo, and Rin like it, Yuri and Celina didn’t. Having feelings for someone who aided Leo in his conquest to fuse the dimensions by carding people? Preposterous! She couldn’t bear the thought of being in a romantic relationship with him; if it did happen, disaster would be waiting around the corner. The closest thing to a relationship she’ll ever have with him is a rivalry and it’ll remain like that.

The thoughts, however, couldn’t leave their minds. The thoughts of the other counterparts wearing formal wear was impossible to not think about. Zuzu with her hair down, donning a sleeveless, purple dress with several frills below the purple belt and a pair of flats. Rin having her short, apple green hair curled and wearing a two-piece pink dress—a sleeveless top exposing her midriff and a floor length bottom that splits near the knees—with white flats. Celina without her yellow-orange ribbon tying her hair back and having on a long and simple looking gray dress with a thin white ribbon tied around the lower torso and some heeled boots. The Yu-Salad sporting suits reflecting their personalities—Yuya having on a red tuxedo that gives off an impression of entertaining the audience, Yugo with a white suit based on his Turbo Dueling style and rather impulsive behavior, and Yuri wearing a more luxurious, purple suit that highlights his nobility. They were impossible to not think about.

Yuri chuckled a bit. “You’re trying to seduce me, aren’t you Miss Celina?”

“Celina?” Shay asked, sounding a bit concerned. The indigo-haired girl who saved him after his duel with Sora and rebelled against Duel Academy by joining the Lancers? Why would Yuto mention her all of a sudden? Unbeknownst to Yuri, he unintentionally made his XYZ counterpart say his line out loud.

That was when Yuya had an idea. “Yuto, you brought your deck with you,” he recalled, remembering how Yuto placed his deck in his jacket pocket before heading over to the dance. “Can you check it?”

“What for?” Yuto asked.

“I want to try a small experiment,” Yuya answered.

Yuto took out his deck and checked it like Yuya asked. He wondered what this “small experiment” is until he noticed his cards were jumbled, baffling him. Instead of a Phantom Kinghts deck, he now has a Performapal/Phantom Knights/Speedroids/Predaplant deck. How did Yuya, Yugo, and Yuri’s cards get mixed up with Yuto’s? This night feels like it keeps getting weirder and weirder.

“Whoa!” Yugo exclaimed. “Not bad.”

“Not bad?” Yuri repeated, getting miffed. “What are my lovely, elegant Predaplants doing with such pathetic cards?!”

“This happened once before,” Yuya explained, recalling how Yuto’s love for Lulu caused him to duel with Phantom Knights. “Our conflicting feelings for the girls are causing our decks to get mixed up.”

If that’s the case, then does the girls’ feelings for each boy also result in their decks getting mixed up as well? Yuto asked Lulu if she brought her own, but she said “no.” Of course, with Yuto’s jumbled deck for reference, it’s safe to assume this may have happened to the girls as well.

Yuto put his deck back in his jacket pocket. “But we shouldn’t worry about this problem now,” he said. “We should just enjoy the dance.”

He was right; the night was still young and the former students were enjoying themselves, so the best thing to do is to have fun as well and resolve this peculiar issue another time. Besides, they can’t let this night go to waste. Leo Corporation worked really hard to put Yuya’s genius idea together. The other dueling club members agreed to discuss this issue after the dance and proceeded to spend tonight having fun.

Some time later, everyone continued to celebrate with one another. It was also the perfect opportunity for them to reconnect, share past fun memories and create new ones. At one point, the band was taking their break as the students socialized, except Shay. He couldn’t stop thinking about what happened to Yuto and his counterparts earlier. He knew his friend and his younger sister were in love with each other, but he didn’t expect their love to be that strong. Did it inadvertently result in the rest of the Yu-Salad and Bracelet Girls to be put in some kind of trance? Whatever’s the case, he has to help them out. And he has just the song to fix it…

Shay checked to see if no one was looking, albeit the band since they were probably in their breakroom. He walked casually in order to make sure people became suspicious; a few seconds later, he snuck behind the stage. He looked at the main stage to find the speakers and saw them plugged in with the band’s musical instruments. Checking once again that no one would notice, he quickly unplugged them. He then took out his Duel Disk and a connector to plug it into the speaker. He went online to look up Yuto and Lulu’s song; it was called “Close To You” by The Carpenters. Found it, he thought once the first video in the search results showed up. He clicked on the video and—for a brief moment—the song played through the speakers. This will hopefully help all eight counterparts out.

Lulu let out a small gasp. “Yuto, this is our song!” she recalled.

“Indeed it is,” Yuto agreed. He placed one hand behind his back and he bowed slightly as he held out his other hand to Lulu. “May I have this dance, Ms. Obsidian?”

Lulu smiled softly. “Of course, Mr. Osaku,” she answered, intertwining her fingers with Yuto’s.

Together, Lulu Obsidian and Yuto Osaku danced to the melody of their song. Their gracefully fluid movements and well-timed choreography captivated the attendants. In the two XYZ users’ shared minds, the song seemed to have snapped Yuya, Zuzu, Yugo, Rin, Yuri, and Celina out of whatever trance they were in, mostly due to how each dimensional duo has a song that best suits them.

“Man, this song is too slow!” Yuya complained. “I’m outta here!”

“Me too!” Yugo said. “Besides, RinRin acts too much like a mother. There’s no way I can be attracted to that!”

“I was never attracted to Miss Celina in the first place,” Yuri agreed.

“Well…this is awkward,” Zuzu said, blushing hard. “We better give these two some privacy.”

“Yeah,” Rin replied. “I don’t even know what I was thinking. Yugo’s loud, rude, and disgusting. Why would I fall for that?”

“I’d rather go on a date with that Sylvio guy than fall for that cabbage-haired jerk,” Celina said in utter disgust.

And with that, the six counterparts retreated back into the shared minds, leaving Yuto and Lulu to spend the rest of the night with each other. Shay’s plan was a success. The two danced to the rest of “Close To You,” and everyone around them clapped and cheered for them; they pulled off one heck of a dance. Shay unplugged his Duel Disk from the speaker, plugged the instruments back right where they originally were, and exited through the backstage, with only a couple minutes to spare before the band returned from their break.

Even when the song came to an end, Yuto still held Lulu in his arms. “You smell nice,” he said.

Lulu responded by placing her left hand on Yuto’s cheek, her fingers briefly touching the stray light purple bang that hung in front of his eye. “And your hair feels a lot softer,” she replied.

Their eyes stared lovingly at each other as they embraced their cleaner features. Within a few seconds, their faces moved closer and closer until they locked lips, with Yuto’s hands on Lulu’s hips and Lulu still having one hand on Yuto’s cheek while the other rested on his shoulder. They were finally sharing their first kiss.

The rest of the former dueling club watched from a distance, with Kite smirking. “Well it’s about time,” he remarked.

Yuto and Lulu’s lips slowly moved apart after spending a few seconds locked up in their kiss. They looked back into their eyes before Lulu embraced Yuto in his arms.

“It’s been a long time since we had moments like this,” Lulu remarked, embracing Yuto’s warmth. “But you know this can’t last any longer.”

“I know,” Yuto agreed. “We’re each stuck with sharing a body with three other people.”

“But even though we were once whole, why does this feel so wrong?” Lulu admitted.

Yuto realized she was right. Several years ago, they were once Zarc and Ray; ever since the ARC-V incident, the souls of all eight counterparts were permanently fused into Yuya and Zuzu. Everything hasn’t been the same for them, especially for Yuto and Lulu. Despite having a great time at the dance, it doesn’t change the fact that they may never get a true happy ending.

Shay, while walking away from the stage, noticed overheard the duo’s conversation. Feeling bad for the two, he told them that Declan told him that Leo is currently working on a way to split them back to their original bodies. He said it requires a blood sample from each counterpart, but mentioned that it is still in progress and negative consequences may occur once it’s complete, so it was too soon to actually separate them.

“What?!” Yuto asked, releasing Lulu from the embrace. “Leo might be able to actually separate us?!”

“Declan told me it’s still in the works,” Shay repeated. “There’s a high risk of permanent memory loss or severe mental damage.”

“Then why don’t we just give Leo our blood samples?” Lulu asked.

“I don’t think it’s that easy,” Shay said. “Leo is probably using Arc-V, so he has to rewrite the machine-”

“I don’t care!” Yuto exclaimed, grabbing Shay by the throat. “I can’t stand being fused to three people! Let us speak to Leo, or I will break you in half!”

This was rather sudden. Yuto would never do something like this and that shocked Shay and Lulu. Veins started appearing on his face and his eyed turned yellow. Is Zarc trying to take over again? Lulu tried to calm her boyfriend down, but Declan arrived to explain what just happened. Apparently, this fit of violence is one of the side effects of being fused with the other counterparts. This worried Lulu, but was informed that this seemed to only happen with the Yu-Salad. The rest, however, applied to all of them. Their jumbled decks was also another side effect, as well as speaking in place of whoever was in control and the unexpected swaps.

Realizing that, Yuto recovered, his eyes changing back to grey and the veins disappearing. “Sorry,” he said, letting go of Shay.

“So can he actually do it?” Lulu asked. “Can Leo really separate us?”

“If this gets any worse, I’m afraid I will have to bring you to him,” Declan said. “Hopefully we can fix this before any mind merge occurs.”

“Mind merge?” Yuto asked, sounding concerned.

“Meaning that Zarc and Ray will gradually take over, erasing you eight from existence,” Declan explained.

The last bit of information was very worrisome. All eight counterparts each had different dreams for the future: Yuya and Zuzu want to continue their paths of being Dueltainers, Yugo and Rin also have similar paths as their Pendulum counterparts, but they want to be professional Turbo Duelists, and Celina and Yuri want to help improve Duel Academy. Lulu wants to be an actress, but Yuto is still unsure of what his dream is. Regardless, if nothing is done about this, Zarc and Ray will return, erasing the two’s incarnations from existence and their futures forever.

Lulu was in tears. “I hope Leo’s happy!” she exclaimed. “This whole mess started because he was too selfish to care about the lives of other people! If it wasn’t for him, I would have stayed in Heartland and worked on my dreams of becoming an actress!”

Yuto looked back at Lulu, who was on the brink of crying. He felt terrible that this was happening to the both of them. Suddenly, he thought of an idea; he was considering about remaining fused with Yuya while he, Yugo, and Yuri separate. He lost everything back at Heartland City that night, so this will give him a fresh new start. Living with the Sakakis and Sora already felt natural to him because Yoko reminds him a lot of his mother. The best part is with Yugo and Yuri splitting back to their own bodies means the risks of Zarc returning is reduced to zero.

“What if I said no?” Yuto asked.

“I beg your pardon?” Declan asked in response.

“I never considered any plans for my future,” Yuto explained. “And I ended up becoming an orphan with no home to go back to because of the Invasion. If I was to stay with the Sakakis, stay fused to Yuya, I can start fresh with a new family.”

“Are you crazy?” Lulu asked.

“Being fused to Yuya feels natural,” Yuto continued. “But with Yugo and Yuri being separated, Zarc won’t come back since all four of us are needed for the mind merge.”

“But Yuto, won’t you miss being in Heartland?” Shay asked.

“There’s nothing left for me there,” Yuto insisted. “No family, no house, no-”

“You could live with us,” Lulu bluntly suggested, carefully wiping away her tears to avoid smudging her makeup.

Live with the Obsidians? Even though they have to rebuild everything they lost, that idea is similar to Yuto’s, in terms of starting fresh with a new family and preventing Zarc’s return, but that means living with his girlfriend and having plenty of time to decide his dream for the future. Yuto actually liked her idea better than his own, although he admits that he will miss being fused with Yuya.

“She’s right,” Shay agreed. “Mother and father heard about you and they’re considering hiring you once ObsidianCorp is rebuilt.”

ObsidianCorp is a corporation led by co-bosses Kameron and Astra Obsidian, where they specialize in maintaining the nature of the city parks. Prior to the Invasion, the family wealth came from how the corporation did a fantastic job at keeping Heartland beautiful. Yuto was honestly not surprised about the Obsidians being wealthy because it could explain Shay and Lulu having rare and powerful cards, due to how powerful the Raidraptors are and how Assembled Nightingale can result in a one-hit KO for the opponent, and wearing incredibly fancy formal attires at their previous dance. Of course, restoring the company is essential for Heartland’s restoration; once that is complete, Yuto getting a job there can help out with figuring out his future.

“Really?” Yuto asked. “You’ll actually help me out?”

“You’re a friend,” Shay said. “And mother and father approve of how great of a person you are.”

“Plus ever since I told them about you, they started to work on wedding plans,” Lulu added.

Yuto officially decided to have his soul separated from Yuya’s once the time comes so that he can start anew back in Heartland. It sounds nice to be living with his friend and girlfriend’s family, especially knowing that they highly approve of their soon-to-be marriage, and working for their corporation.

“Alright,” Yuto said. “I’ll separate from Yuya.”

“Excellent,” Declan said. “I will inform my father that you know about his plan. I do suggest that you tell your counterparts about it.”

As Declan headed back to Henrietta, Yuto and Lulu informed the rest of the Yu-Salad and the Bracelet Girls in their shared minds about what has been happening and how Leo will try to fix it. They were gleeful about how they will finally be split back into their original bodies. They were also informed about the risks of severe mental damage or amnesia, but reassured them that their friends, family, and even Leo will be there to help them out. With that, the dueling club and the rest of Heartland Duel School’s former students spent the rest of the night enjoying the dance.

Looks like they may be getting their true happy ending after all…

[advocatewrites-blog]

Simple/Clean Chapter 6

Simple/Clean: An Original Character’s Story

Fandom: Kingdom Hearts (1, with mentions of other installments)

Synopsis: There are many worlds, but they share the same sky. One Sky, one Destiny. And when that destiny is threatened, the universe calls on one hero to save the day. Or, more like, five. When the Earth is consumed into Darkness, Danielle Scott and her friends are given the Keys between light and darkness. If they are going to save the worlds and find her brother, they are going to have to go on a multiverse-wide road trip to find the Door to Light. If only they had a better weapon than keys.

Rated: +K for violence and occasional language

Disclaimer: The Kingdom Hearts series was created by Tetsuya Nomura and owned by Square Enix. The Final Fantasy series was created by Hironobu Sakaguchi and owned by Square Enix. The films depicted were created by the Walt Disney Animation Studios and owned by the Walt Disney Company. Any other work mentioned or homaged are property of their respective owners. This is a non-profit fan-based work that only seeks to entertain. Please support the official releases.

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Chapter 6: About Two Arabian Nights

 The sloshing noise of walking through water filled the caverns of the sewer system.

“Yoo-hoo!” Yuffie's voice echoed through the walls, too cheerful to ever be perceived as menacing. “We're back!”

She appeared in the gateway, followed closely by Sora, Donald and Goofy. She stopped as she realized that, however cold the sewer was, it was a lot colder around the table.

“Wassup?” Yuffie said. “You're even gloomier than usual. And that’s saying a lot.”

She hopped over the fence without a second's thought. Sora looked surprised for only a fraction of a second, and settled for breaking it open with his Keyblade.

“Maleficent's in town.” Cloud repeated his message.

Yuffie's demeanor broke almost instantly, which told Dani that something was really wrong.

“Cloud?” Sora asked. “How did you get here?”

“I have my ways.” Cloud said, not so much as cryptically as much as he didn't want to get into it.

Dani looked up from her tea. “No, seriously, how did you get here? Cause we have a spaceship and...”

“That's not important right now.” Leon said. “We need to focus on Maleficent.”

“Right!” Katie said. “And...who is she?”

“She's a witch!” Cid snapped. “And things that rhyme with that that I can’t say in front of you kids!”

“She is the one that controls the Heartless.” Aerith said more helpfully. “We lost our world, thanks to her.”

“Oh.” Dani said.

The sewers, if possible, grew colder. Dani shifted in her seat as she tried to think of something, anything that could fix the problem.

“Hey, Miss Aerith, this tea is great!”

It didn't work.

“It's possible she's looking for Ansem's research.” Leon said. “But we haven't had those for years.”

“Sorry, who is Ansem?” Sora asked.

“He was our ruler,” Aerith said. “Back in the word we had before Traverse Town. He dedicated his life to studying the Heartless. If anyone knows any weaknesses, it's him.”

“We lost them when the world was destroyed.” Leon said, bitterness thick in his tone. “She probably has most of them back.”

“Well, then let's get them back!”

All heads turned to Dani.

“Why not?” She continued and stood from her seat. Cid’s eye twitched, but she couldn’t figure out why until much later. “It can't be too hard!”

“Right!” Sora said.

They continued to stare at her, as if she had grown a second head, grown a third head, and the third head ate the other. Still, Dani didn't flinch.

Finally, Cloud broke his gaze. He buried his face lower into his cowl. “I don't know why I expected anything different from you seven.”

Dani thought that was a compliment. She took it as one, at least.

“I don’t know. I mean, she’s perfect, you know? Why would she want to go out with someone like me?”

“Well, if you keep putting her on a pedestal like that, definitely not.” Katie said.

“She's right.” Nadine continued. “If you keep thinking she's some unattainable goddess or something, you're never going to get enough courage to ask her out.”

“Yeah...” The man said. “Yeah, yeah! You're right! Thanks! It means a lot to get that off my chest.”

“No problem!” Donald said. “Now, can you GET US OUT OF THIS QUICKSAND!”

The man's eyes shot wide open as he realized the situation.

“Oh! Sorry!”

Just as the sand was going up to Katie's chin, the man dug out an oddly shaped lamp from his pockets.

“Come on out Genie, and save these guys from the quicksand!”

Sparks of blue and smoke spilled from the tip, forming a great creature.

“AND A BIG CONGRATULATIONS TO TODAY'S CONTESTANT, A-LA-DDIN! RUB-A-DUB-DUB OF THE LAMP AND HAVE YOUR DEEPEST WISH GRANTED!”

“WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR YOUR INTRODUCTION!” Dani shouted before her mouth was filled with sand.

“Oh, alright!” The creature sighed.

It snapped its fingers, and Katie found herself collapsed on the very solid ground.

“Thanks,” Sora said as he scrambled back to his feet. “You're a life saver.”

“You're lucky we came by when we did.” Aladdin said. “Caravans almost never come out this far.”

“Yeah,” Nadine said. “What were you doing out here again?”

“It wasn't entirely optional.” Aladdin said. “But hey, I managed to get this pretty cool lamp out of it.”

“Not to mention the prize inside.” The blue creature said. “Anyone of your deepest desires granted; three wishes courtesy of the one and only, GENIE OF THE LAMP!”

It leaned in close to Goofy, but Katie could make out the words anyway. “Somerestrictionsapplyofferwhilesupplieslast.”

Maybe Katie imagined it, but she thought she saw its eyes light up a little when she and the others laughed.

“So you're a djinni?” Nadine asked.

“No, didn't ya hear me, kid? G-E-N-I-E.” The djinni said. Letters appeared next to him as he wrote it.

“Yeah, but djinni is spelled D-J-I-N-N-I in a Latin alphabet.” Katie said.

“Yes, but that's not my name.”

“So you're a djinni named Genie?” Sora asked.

“Sure, let's work with that!” Genie said.

The djinni shifted the nebulous blob it had of a body to sprout a second head, and turned its attention to Aladdin. “So, what'll be wish number 2?”

Aladdin hummed in thought. “Well, you said I could have any wish I wanted?”

Genie shifted again getting rid of his second head.

“But of course! Well, you can't force anyone to love yourself, and ooh—whatever God you believe in help you if you try to wish for infinite power--”

“No love...” Aladdin mumbled. “Well, let me think about it for a minute.”

“Not a problem!” Genie said. “Gives me more time to enjoy this fresh Agrabah air!”

Katie wasn't an expert, but she could tell that the fresh Agrabah air smelled a lost like camel poop and felt a lot like dying.  “Don't get out much?” She asked.

“Oi, kid, I'm lucky if I get out every century or so.” Genie said.

“Sounds rough.” Sora said.

“No kidding. INFINITE COSMIC POWER! Itty bitty living space. Completely at the mercy of whatever smuck finds the lamp. Like you, Al.”

Aladdin tilted his head in thought. “Well, what if I fixed that?”

Genie, for the first time in possibly his life, froze. “What?”

“Can't I use my last wish to set you free?”

“A-Al...you would really do that for me?”

“Sure. But let's focus first. For my second wish, I want you to make me a wealthy prince!”

“You've got it!”

“Alright, alright, Prince Ali is getting' ready for his walk down downtown Agrabah! LET'S DO ROLL CALL! 75 golden camels, 150 golden camel carriers, 53 peacocks, 10 peacock gurls, 95 white Persian monkeys, 95 white Persian monkey carriers, 60 elephants, 10 drum camels, 24 bell carriers, 18 swordsmen—CAREFUL WITH THEM SWORDS!--5 dancers the original animators had a little too much fun with, 12 flag carriers, 4 fanning gurls, 12 carriers manning the giant gorilla balloon, 20 guys ta carry the needless plates of riches, 3 llamas, 3 bears, 3 lions, 6-piece brass band, 40 fakirs, 3 cooks, 2 bakers, 4 bird carriers, 40 tropical birds who warble on key...alright that's all of us! Ya sure this is necessary, kid?”

“Of course!” Aladdin said. “Gotta impress her somehow.”

“Yeah and nothing impresses a girl more than needless plates of riches.” Genie muttered under his breath.

However, Genie was not going to break character that easily. It was too long since he was able to practice in front of an audience, and even if the kid from fantasy land Persia would not recognize a modern worker from Queens, he wasn't going to lose his chance.

“Alright then! Just like we practiced, people! Abu, you're an elephant now, act like one. LET'S MOVE OUT!”

 Aladdin left the palace with a grim look on his face. The once proud Ali Abagwa now stood with his shoulders hunched in and his eyes cast to his feet. It was easy to remember him now as someone who wished for all these riches.

“So,” Katie said in a near sing-song, smiling widely. “How'd it go?”

“Terrible.” Aladdin said. “She hates me.”

Genie conjured up two office chairs and a long plush couch. Aladdin flopped head first onto the couch, not at all concerned that it was not there two seconds ago. Hanna, sensing where this was going, left her game of chess to sit on the second chair.

“Now then, Mr. Din,” Genie spoke in a thick German accent. For just a second, he changed his form to have a white beard, balding hair, and thick glasses. “Tell me about your mother.”

“Oh, she has nothing to do with it.” Aladdin said with a dejected laugh. He rolled over onto his back, so he was watching the sky. “Jasmine doesn't want to talk to me. Apparently she hates the rich princely type.”

“So this was completely pointless?” Hanna asked.

“How else was I supposed to talk to her?” Aladdin asked. “Only a prince can marry a princess.”

“Wait, this was about marriage?” Nadine asked. “How often have you talked to her, again?”

Aladdin legitimately had to think about it. “Twice?”

“Don't think too much about it. These things always happen here.” Genie whispered in close to her ear.

Hanna wasn't sure if she wanted to believe him.

“Listen, Al.” Genie said. “I'm gonna put this as simply as I can.”

He removed the therapist décor, causing Aladdin and Hanna to fall. He conjured up a chalkboard, already written on, and graduate cap for himself.

“Tell, her, the,” He read along. He flipped over the chalkboard, where a neon sign hung. “TRUTH!”

“What, and make her hate me even more?” Aladdin said.  He beat the illusion away with his hat. “She's never going to fall for some...street rat like me. She'd laugh at me.”

“And what's wrong with that?” Genie asked. He morphed his face onto Aladdin's hat. “Who doesn't appreciate a little bit of humor in a guy? Look at me!”

“He has a point!” Hanna said. “And if you do marry her—which is very unlikely and kinda dangerous—but it you do, you're going to have to be honest with her eventually. Why don't you try to be yourself?”

“That's the last person I want to be.” Aladdin said.

Hanna didn't know what to say to that. Neither did Genie, apparently. The flying carpet might have, but he wasn't equipped to do so.

“I'm heading out.” Aladdin said. “Try to make another impression on her. How do I look?”

Genie sighed. “Princely.”

That was exactly what Aladdin was looking to hear. It wasn't what he needed.

Aladdin flew off on the magic carpet. The two left waited until he was just out of sight.

“He's an idiot.” Genie said definitely.

“I'm rooting for him.” Hanna said defensively.

“Oh no kidding, he's the best master I've had in the last 500 years by boy does he need some serious help with the ladies.” Genie said.

“Well, why don't you try to stop him?” Hanna asked.

“Kid, there's a hierarchy to all this. Master makes his three wishes, I grant them. No room in-between for debating or interfering.” Genie said. “Now, do I have any relationship expert impressions? Ruth Westheimer, maybe? Nah, too obscure…”

“Okay, why do you keep doing that?” Dani finally asked.

“What, my impressions?” Genie asked.

“Yeah! You're from this world, so why do you know so much about Earth pop culture?” Dani continued.

“And while we're on the topic,” Nadine continued. “Are other worlds like Earth, or are we just projecting?”

Genie shifted. “Well, you see kids--”

“Guys!” Sora burst through the palace gates. “We have Heartless trouble!”

“Oh thank Allah a distraction!” Genie said. In a rush, he conjured up an entire 100-piece Civil War-era cavalry. “TALLY HO!”

 Nice of you to come.

Ugh…I’m going to die anyway.

I won’t have to be afraid anymore.

But I’m not going to die alone. You’re all coming with me!

His skin was white as snow. Tendrils of muscle fibers covered his body and held him in place. Yet he still looked humanoid. A chill ran down Dani’s back when she saw him, the same kind she saw when she saw the other mysterious Heartless.

It was another ghost Heartless.

Hanna looked around the crowded streets of Agrabah. “Maybe this isn’t the best place to get involved in a fight to the death—”

The ghost Heartless raised his hand, and a set of fireballs hurled themselves towards the group. Dani and Sora jumped up and batted them back.

“Do you think any of you can use your cool Keyblade bonus powers?” Sora asked.

Katie thought for a minute, summoning her other keyblade and batting another fireball back.

“Yeah we’re good!”

More spells came flying their way. Spells that weren’t quite fire and weren’t quite Darkness, but looked and acted enough like it that Dani did not care for specifics. Hanna raised her Keyblades and reflected them back.

“I’m going to try and get close.” Nadine said. “It shouldn’t be too hard if I hover like before.”

“I’ll keep you covered.” Hanna said.

It took Nadine few steps before the magic took effect and lifted her off her feet. Hanna ran right beside her, blocking the incoming magic spells with her Keyblades and her shield.

“And what do we do?” Dani asked.

Katie looked around the narrow streets of Agrabah. “I have an idea!”

She jumped onto the awnings covering the shops. It bounced under her, giving her enough of a boost to get onto the building’s roof. The others followed.

Katie jumped from rooftop to rooftop, until she stood just above the ghost Heartless. She jumped down, dragging both of her Keyblades through the thing’s face. Dani came next. Sora was right behind her.

Dani caught herself on the next awning. It gave under her weight like a trampoline. It let her bounce back and attack the ghost again. The others followed suit.

The ghost Heartless tried to bat them away with more spells, but it was hard for him to focus with three humans in front of his face and stabbing him in the eyes. He hardly noticed the other humans and the large Fire spell they sent straight towards him.

When the smoke cleared, he was gone.

“That was quick.” Katie said. She remained bouncing on the awning, unsure of where to go from there.

“Let’s be thankful for that.” Nadine said. “The less time we spend in a life-or-death battle, the better.”

Katie hummed in thought. Her jumping didn’t stop.

“Oh!” She called. “Hi Donald! Hi Goofy! Where were you guys!”

Donald was only momentarily distracted by the destruction caused by the magic. Goofy hardly noticed it, and gave Katie a wave.

“Never mind!” Donald said, mostly to himself. To the rest of the group, he said “Genie’s gone missing!”

“My first wish, djinni, show me the Keyhole!”

“Hey, Al, what's the big deal, I thought we agreed on the last wi--” Genie froze as he saw who he was talking to. “Oops. Uh...wrong guy.”

By some miracle, the magic carpet had managed to drag all nine of them through the desert toward the opening of the Cave of Wonders.

It was kind of hard to miss.

“Key-bearers...Diamond in the rough...” A booming voice came out of the mouth-shaped opening. “You know why you are here. Save the Princess, and seal the Keyhole. Take nothing but the lamp.”

The cave opened wider, allowing the passage.

“Wow.” Katie said. “Our caves don't talk to us. And they're much less impressive. The best we have is that mountain carving shaped like a bear in California.”

“Let's not waste any time.” Aladdin said as he led the group.

The second Dani took a step into the Cave, it became clear that it was big. It was a lot bigger than the opening gave it credit for. However, it also appeared very small due to how much stuff was in it. Piles upon piles of gold and treasure were stacked through the cave, reaching as high as the ceiling. Only a few small paths had been carved out through the floor.

And it stretched on for literal miles.

“She could be anywhere at this point!” Donald complained.

“This way!” Sora called. He was already halfway through a path.

“Where are you going?” Dani asked.

“I don't know why...but I know to go this way!” Sora said. “I think they Keyblade might be telling me!”

“Well I also have a Keyblade and I have no idea what you're talking about!” Nadine called after.

Sora turned over his shoulder. He was giving them a look. On any other person, it would look almost childish. Sora, precious ray of sunlight incarnate, on the other hand…

They ran off after him. The Cave of Wonders turned out to be even bigger than the last room, alternating between rooms of treasure, rooms full of death traps, and both. Just as Dani was beginning to doubt Sora, she started to hear something.

Maniacal laughter. “Excellent work, Genie! If you keep this up, we can rule the world together!”

Genie muttering under his breath.

“Why Jafar, are you intending to strike out on your own?” This voice was a lot different. Feminine. Cold. Sinister. Dani fought the feeling of the hairs on the back of her neck rising.

“A-ah! Maleficent! I was only--”

“Try me. I can easily find a replacement for you.”

Very awkward silence followed.

“Never mind. I'm taking the Princess.”

They were getting close now. Dani turned the corner, and found herself in another room. Three people—or at least one person, one djinni, and someone...thing else—stood at the far end of the room, right in front of a large Keyhole.

“Where's Jasmine, Jafar?” Aladdin demanded.

Jafar sneered. “I'm afraid I can't tell you that.” His attention turned to the...person standing next to him.

Genie conjured up as many neon signs and arrows as he could to point toward the jar.

“Wait a sec...” Sora said. “You're Maleficent, aren't you?”

The person sneered towards them. In a blink of an eye, she and the jar beside her were gone.

“Djinni!” Jafar turned his attention towards Genie. In a flash, the arrows disappeared, and Genie whistled inconspicuously. “Crush these sewer rats for me!”

“That's a terrible waste of a wish!” Katie said.

“Sorry kids.” For the first time, Genie was unnaturally quite. “The one with the lamp calls the shots.”

Genie grew. The big hall suddenly became very small as it was filled with all-powerful djinni. Power and magic crackled about Dani, causing her to grip her Keyblade a bit more.

“ALRIGHT, FIRST BLAST OF LIGHTNING COMING THAT WAY!”

Genie pointed vaguely. A bolt of lightning hit nothing.

“OAKIE DOKIE, NEXT BLAST COMING TO YOUR...RIGHT!”

Katie had to jump out of the way of that one, but just barely.

“NEXT UP, ON YOUR LEFT!”

That one hit Goofy dead on. Nobody worried, because they knew he would be okay.

“What are you doing, djinni!” Jafar demanded.

“Why, sir, I'm fighting them just like you asked.” Genie said casually.

“That is not fighting! If you won't fight them, Djinni...”

Jafar seemed to think to himself. His eyes lit up in a wonderful, awful idea. “Djinni! My last wish! Make me an all-powerful djinni just like you!”

Genie made a face Dani couldn't read at Jafar. He and Aladdin exchanged a look.

“Yes.” Aladdin and Katie said in near unison. “Do that.”

“You've got it, Master!” Genie said. He snapped his fingers.

The power Genie had imposed was nothing compared to Jafar's. The air grew thick with magic. Red smoke filled the room, sending sparks flying erratically at them. Through shadows, Dani saw Jafar's body shift; from one of bone and blood to one of magic and smoke. He grew, nearly twice the size of what Genie had been at his most menacing. Dani felt the Keyblade slip from her grasp, too afraid and distracted to keep it summoned. The djinni laughed manically. The room shook with the vibrations of his voice.

“NOW YOU'LL ALL SEE….JUST HOW--”

Aladdin dove to grab the newly formed black lamp that had appeared in the confusion. The smoke, including the djinni inside, was pulled inside. And in seconds, all signs that Jafar had been there at all were gone.

“The one with the lamp calls the shots, Jafar.” Aladdin said.

“Well that was anticlimatic.” Dani grumbled.

“Hey! Gift horse! Mouth! Less time we spend in a battle to the death the better!” Nadine said.

Genie snatched the lamp from Aladdin's grasp. “Man, I've never been more happy to get rid of a master than that one! I'm gonna take this lamp and...BURY IT! IT'LL NEVER SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY AGAIN!”

Dani watched Genie conjure up some gardening supplies for himself for a minute before she realized the room was now being filled with a bright golden light.

“Sora!” Donald called. “The Keyhole!”

“Right!”

Sora turned toward the large keyhole at the end of the building. A tip of light expelled from his keyblade. A soft click noise filled the air.

Then the room started shaking.

“What's going on?” Katie asked.

“The Cave doesn't like to stay open for too long.” Genie said. “The whole thing's gonna collapse in on itself!”

“Then let's not talk about it and get out of here!” Nadine shouted.

Ten people scrambled to the magic carpet. That left Aladdin.

“Al, did you not notice the building's about to fall apart?”

“Jasmine's still missing!” Aladdin said. “I don't want to leave without her!”

“Aladdin, she's gone!” Dani replied. “You're not going to find her here!”

“I have to try!”

“She's probably on a different world by now! If you stay here, all you'll find is death!”

Aladdin froze. Dani only kind of realize what she was saying but was distracted by the bits of ceiling falling out of the ground. Genie settled on grabbing Aladdin by the collar and snapping his fingers.

The next breath Dani took was one of fresh Agrabah air. They were back in the desert, just as the sun was rising up. All eleven of them watched in silence as the Cave of Wonders closed its mouth and submerged itself in the sand again.

Genie broke the silence first. “Congratulations Katie, you got your first wish of not dying.”

“Hooray!” Katie said.

“What do you mean she's on another world?” Aladdin asked. It took Dani a minute to realize his attention was on her.

“Way to go.” Donald said.

Dani opened her mouth to defend herself to Donald, but thought better of it. “About what I said, honestly. Maleficent probably took her to another world. We can try and find her for you, but...”

“Take me with you! Let me look for her with you!” Aladdin said.

Dani tried to avoid making eye contact on that one.

“We can't.” Donald said for her. “We're already interfering enough as is.”

Aladdin took a shaky breath. His shoulders slumped. Dani was fairly certain that if she didn't do something now, he would start crying on her.

Fortunately, she didn't need to. Genie got back up and hovered closer to Aladdin. “Earth to Al? You still have one last wish!”

“But I thought--”

“Hey.” Genie's cheery disposition hadn't faded, but the smile seemed unnaturally forced. “Just say the word, Al. Ask me to find Jasmine for you.”

Aladdin was lost in thought. After what felt like a very long time, he picked the lamp back up again.

“Alright. Genie...I wish for your freedom!”

“Alright, snap of the fingers and—wait what?”

Magic swirled about him again. Blue smoke filled Dani's line of vision, obscuring Genie from view. Unlike Jafar, however, this felt almost pleasant. They were breezes in the otherwise scorching desert. The magic flashed, and the smoke faded…

All that had changed about Genie was his gauntlets were gone and he now had legs.

“Al!” He exclaimed.

“Hey! A deal's a deal!” Aladdin said.

Genie looked to be at a loss for words. He settled on pulling Aladdin in a tight hug.

“Ah, heck! All of ya! Group hug!”

The group hug was crushing but Dani couldn’t feel quite bad about it.

“Oh man, do I have a multiverse I wanna explore!” Genie said. “Sorry Katie, but you’re two wishes are up! I serve no man!”

“Dangit…” Katie mumbled.

“Don’t worry about it kid.” Genie said. He took the lamp from Aladdin and handed it to Genie. “That place’s still my home, you know? Whenever you feel like you need the help of an all-powerful djinni, just give me a little rub and I’ll come running!”

Genie continued to ramble about his trip preparations, but Dani didn’t listen. Her eyes were on Katie as she carefully pulled out crumbled pieces of paper from the lid.

“The Reports of Ansem the Wise…” She read aloud.

“How are you feeling?”

He was pretty sure that was meant to be a rhetorical question. Nobody answered, at any rate.

“It's pitch black in here. Why don't you turn on the lights?”

“I feel more comfortable in the dark.” The other one in the room said.

He shrugged. If it made the other comfortable, he could bear it.

“I see...then are you ready to become a member of our team?”

That one really did not want to be answered.

He decided to speak. “I'm just here to find my sisters. If you can help me do that...then sure.”

Author’s Note: Aladdin will always be one of my favorite Disney movies. What really sold it to me was that my copy came with the Diamond in the Rough special feature; a 2 hour long panel with the animators of the film talking about how the movie was made and the animation process. If you are an animation buff, try and hunt it down. It is absolutely worth the watch.

Cid just wants you to sit your ass down and drink your goddamn tea. Why won’t you listen to him?