A/N: It's time again for the next episode of Over the Rainbow and it's festival time!! It'll be all fun, food and games, won't it?

Disclaimer: I only own Izzy and Alyssa. The plot and storyline belong entirely to Waffles4eva. Everything else isn't ours.

Episode Three: Festival- By the Light of the Full Moon!

"Oh, I meant to tell you." Alyssa said one morning over breakfast. "You'll need a furisode."

With that, she went back to eating her breakfast, which, on this occasion, was a bowl of cornflakes.

It was the beginning of October, and despite having been in Japan several weeks- and, indeed, having known Alyssa for years- Izzy still couldn't understand her friend's random outbursts. Her needing a furisode, whatever one was, was news to her. However, while unexplained, Alyssa's outbursts were no longer terribly unexpected. She was just waiting for Izzy to ask. Izzy had yet to decide if she would be better off knowing or not. All in all, she wasn't in a rush to find out.

Quite apart from the non-sequiter of Alyssa's conversation, there were many other things Izzy had found herself getting used to. Already she had gotten the hang of most of her classmates' names and their local slang that had at first defeated her Osakan, formal dialect. She no longer got lost walking around the school or travelling around town. She had caught up in class all the things that had not been on the English curriculum and had even become familiar with superstitions, money, and a diet where everything seemed to come with rice, fish, or both.

Unfortunately, other things were not progressing so well. For example, despite Izzy's best efforts, Alyssa was still refusing to admit her obvious feelings for her fellow treasurer, Marik. If anything, things had gotten worse since the climbing wall incident. Completely incompetent in matters of the heart, the girl had always been shy around Marik; but now she could hardly speak to him beyond their council duties and the poor boy had no idea what he was supposed to have done. Nor did Izzy have any idea what she was supposed to have done, because Atem seemed to be studiously ignoring her even more than he did everyone else. Alyssa's helpful input to this problem was 'He either likes you or hates you. Either way, he's probably sick of your friendship attempts'.

Well, whatever Alyssa thought, Izzy had no intention of giving up. She knew Atem did not really want to be alone. She had been watching him, in the school canteen at lunch and around the corridors. She saw how he watched others, would go as if to join them, to say something, and then silently withdraw. She wondered what he was so afraid of, what he was seeking to avoid. He was mysterious, an enigma, a puzzle, a curiosity- and she hated puzzles. Rubiks cubes, crosswords, sudoku, people, whatever wasn't immediately obvious she had a tendency to want to solve. There was an added riddle, too. Izzy was certain something had occurred in the school the previous year, something that connected Alyssa and Atem and possibly even Marik. The question was what and Alyssa, wary of Izzy's suspicions, was not going to be forthcoming with answers. So perhaps Atem was the way to go- be his friend and get some solutions at the same time.

Speaking of answers, back in the reality of the small East Dorm Breakfast-and-Dinner Only Canteen, Izzy was still none the wiser as to what a furisode was. Or, for that matter, why she would require one. Alyssa was not forthcoming with those answers either, so it seemed she would have to ask.

"Forgive me for not being able to read your mind, Alyssa," she began, sipping her morning cup of tea like a true Englishman. "But what, exactly, is a furisode?"

"Oh. It's a long sleeved kimono worn by unmarried women." She explained. "It's not the most ideal thing in the world to get at short notice, but you can usually hire them from the school shop at this time of year, and Miki-chan said she could lend you one. Seemed pretty excited about finally getting to dress you up, too. Don't worry, I bet it will suit you- Miki-chan is bound to have something."

"And why," Izzy continued calmly. "Do I need this furisode?"

"Because it's too cold to be out at night in yakuta."

For a moment, Izzy was almost tempted to ask what a yakuta was, but knew Alyssa too well and feared the point being lost.

"And why will I be out at night?"

"Because it's sorta hard to view the moon during the day?"

"Moon viewing?" She blinked.

"The festival! At the shrine on Saturday!" Alyssa sighed. "I did tell you..."

"No, you didn't." Izzy frowned.

"Well, everyone's talking about it!" She suddenly looked away. "Anyway, all the girls are either going there on a date or hoping to, so I thought-"

"Marik-senpai might ask you?" Izzy asked with a grin.

"No! I thought someone might ask you!" She answered, hotly. "But it's Thursday already and it looks likely that the two of us will remain single-pringles for at least the next seventy-two hours, so we can go together, right?"

"Well..." Izzy considered. She had never been to an authentic Japanese festival before, but...

"You don't have a choice, by the way." Alyssa smirked. "It's traditional! I just like to give you the illusion of choice."

"You know," Izzy sighed. "You could always ask him, if there's someone you'd rather go with."

"I don't know who you mean." Alyssa said airily, standing up with her now empty bowl. "So it's settled. We'll go together! I missed it last year, I can't wait!"

"Why'd you miss it?" Izzy asked, curiously

"Had no-one to go with." Alyssa shrugged. "But this time I do! The yay!"

"Alyssa..." Izzy said, slowly. "What happened last year?"

But once again, Alyssa didn't give her any answers.

By the time they reached the main school building and were changing their shoes to go in, Izzy had a plan. It was a magnificent plan.

If Alyssa wouldn't ask Marik, Izzy would- then, at the festival, sneak away and leave them alone together. Perfect.

Mulling over the execution of this plan, she stood some distance away from where Alyssa was taking her indoor shoes out of the little locker marked 'Tenutu' in kanji. She just had time to whip her fingers out of the way as someone slammed the door.

Physically, he was not that imposing. He was taller than Alyssa, but no more so than anyone else. Even so, he was intimidating. His eyes held no kindness. His smile, his smirk, exuded a sense of unbearable smugness. Izzy instinctively didn't like him. Alyssa didn't look at him, stared at the shoe locker. She swallowed, and spoke.

"What do you want, Bakura?"

"My, my." He tutted, his tone smooth and unhurried. "You really should call me senpai..."

"Yes, but I don't want to imply I respect you."

"Oh, it seems somebody started to grow a backbone." He answered, his eyebrows raising slightly. He leant in close, smirking in her face. "What a foolish thing to do."

Alyssa sighed and went to open her shoe locker again, but Bakura still had his hand pressed to it to stop her.

"I'm not finished with you." He said, almost playfully. "I'd like to test that backbone. Or are you going to wait for Marik to come and save you yet again? That was a wonderful display on the climbing wall, by the way. If you had possessed the courage to pull, you could have easily freed the rope. You truly embody what it means to be pathetic."

"It- It was you?" Alyssa stammered.

"Of course it was me. Or are there lots of people who want to see you dangling helplessly in the air?"
All this time, Izzy had been waiting to see Alyssa's backbone in action, to see her give some witty retort or start shouting or even just kick him in the shins and be done with it. But none of these things happened. Instead, Alyssa stared at the floor with apparent resignation. Either she was frightened or this had happened innumerable times before. Izzy was furious with this unfamiliar third year. It didn't matter who he was, how dare he treat her friend this way?

"Leave her alone!" She snapped. "Don't you have a hole you can go crawl into?"

"Oh." He said, mockingly, his eyes not leaving Alyssa. "Not Marik, this time? No, this time you're hiding behind a little foreign girl."

Alyssa said nothing, so Izzy tried again.

"Leave her alone!" She commanded. "What the heck is your problem?! Alyssa hasn't done anything, so quit trying to intimidate her! You think you're tough, but you're just pathetic!"

"I'm not the pathetic one." Bakura sneered. "At least I can fight my own battles. This girl has never done anything for herself."

"Alyssa is not-!"

"Izzy, would you please just butt out?!" Alyssa snapped suddenly, changing her shoes in an instant and stalking away. Izzy had no choice but to follow in silence. By the time they got upstairs to their classroom and had taken their seats, form began. At break, she had student council duties and left hurriedly. At lunch they had halting conversation about nothing in particular, and just as Izzy was working her way up to the point, the vice-president of the Student Council came and apologetically asked Alyssa if she wouldn't mind coming back.

"Sorry, Haruko-chan." He said. "I told Takei-kun that break wouldn't be enough, but you know. Do you mind coming to another meeting?"

"No problem. Did you find the others yet?"

"I found the secretaries already. Any idea where Marik-kun is?"

Izzy gave a small smile as Alyssa checked her watch. Of course she would know where he was. She knew everything about him.

"He's probably helping set up for the climbing club."

"Could you go get him? I haven't had chance to buy any food yet..."

"Oh, sure. I'll meet you in the office." She stood up as the vice-president wandered away. Izzy grinned and attempted to return to their usual light hearted teasing.

"Are you going to be able to tell him between all that going red and stammering?" She joked. To her surprise, Alyssa didn't give her normal flustered reaction and feigned annoyance. This time, the irritation in her eyes seemed genuine.

"Just be quiet, Izzy. I'll see you in class."

With that, she left; leaving Izzy feeling that something here was very wrong.

After that, they didn't really have time to talk. Alyssa returned only just before class was due to start, and there was no opportunity for Izzy to ask about what had happened that morning. Izzy, however, couldn't help but notice something rather hostile in Alyssa's aura. She got the feeling Alyssa was mad at her, but couldn't see what she had done except defend her. If Alyssa had a problem, let her say so.

Unfortunately, Alyssa didn't say so, and at the end of the day they headed back to East Dorm in uncomfortable silence. When they reached their rooms, Izzy could no longer take it.

"What?!" She demanded. "What am I supposed to have done?!"

"Huh?" Alyssa said innocently, turning around.

"You've been giving me the cold shoulder all day! What have I done?"

"Nothing."

"Then stop acting like I have!" She sighed. "All I did was defend you-"

That hit the spot. Alyssa suddenly fired up. The only thing Izzy couldn't understand was why she hadn't done it to Bakura. "Defend me?!" She spat. "All you did was make things worse! Now he thinks I won't stand up for myself!"

"Oh, yes." Izzy rolled her eyes. "Because you were doing such a good job of standing up for yourself. Why didn't you tell him where to stick it if you didn't want me to?"

"Because it won't help! He lives off the attention! If you rise to it he'll just turn it up!"

"So you're afraid of him?"
"No! I just know how he works!" Alyssa threw her hands up in frustration. "This is just like with Atem-senpai! You just can't help but interfere! You see something that doesn't match up to your standards and you just have to fix it! Only you don't, you just annoy everyone and make things worse!"

"It's better than doing nothing!" Izzy yelled back, turning towards the door to E203.

"It is not!" Alyssa thundered as she opened the door to E204. "You should try it sometime!"

"Fine!"

"Good! Leave me alone, Izzy!"

"Fine, see how long you last!"

The doors slammed at the same time.

Five minutes later, Alyssa stood outside the door to E203 with a sigh. She supposed Izzy had only been trying to help, she wasn't to know she was being stupid. She should apologise for yelling. But Izzy had been stupid, no doubt about it, so why should she apologise? Angry again, Alyssa went back inside her own room instead.

Seven minutes later, Izzy stood outside the door to E204 with a sigh. She supposed Alyssa could have a point. After all, she didn't really know the situation- if she really had made things worse, she should apologise. Then again, she had been trying to help, and Alyssa didn't seem to be able to see that. Alyssa was the one being stupid about it, so why should she apologise? Angry again, Izzy returned to her own room.

Ten minutes later, both Izzy happened to be taking a little walk in the direction of each other's rooms and happened to meet in the corridor. They stared at the floor.

"Listen-" Izzy began.

"Look," Alyssa said at the same time. They both stopped and stared at the floor again.

There was an awkward silence. Then Alyssa suddenly started laughing.

"We're useless at this arguing thing. Let's give up."

"Fine by me." Izzy agreed. "Can we go see Miki-chan? I still need a yakuta."

"A furisode." Alyssa corrected, and they headed over to S311. All was well.

As such, Izzy could return to her plan. She had to somehow convince Marik to accompany them to the festival and she did not yet know him well enough to have any real idea of his schedule. She could ask Alyssa, but then Alyssa would be suspicious. She would have to find someone else to ask.

Thankfully, her opportunity came at break the next day. Alyssa excused herself, saying she had some errands to run and Izzy knew she had to work fast. She had worked out the structure of the Student Council already. There were four third years, Takei the president, Ichijo the vice president, Nodoka served as a secretary, and of course, Marik himself, a treasurer. Alyssa was a treasurer from the second year, while Imatsu and Jonji served as the other two secretaries. These three would form the basis of the council the following year. Below these seven was the broader student council, with the class reps and vice reps almost like the civil servants to the student body. It was a well-oiled machine; and it meant there was one person who might know where Marik would be.

"Honeka-chan." She said, having been taught that calling her 'Class Rep' wasn't done in Class 2A. Mostly because Hachiro, who had known her for a decade and a half, refused to do any such thing. "Would you know where Marik-senpai is?"

"Marik-senpai? The treasurer?"

"That's right." Izzy nodded. "I need to speak to him."

"Izzy-chan." Honeka sighed. "You're not trying to play matchmaker on poor Hako-chan, are you...?"

"Well..." Izzy wanted to lie, but found she couldn't to someone as honest as Honeka. "Yeah."

"Good girl!" Honeka beamed. "He's usually down on the playing fields when the weather is nice."

"It's October."

"But it isn't raining."

As such, Izzy found herself heading down to the playing fields. There was an oak tree next to the running track, and underneath it a group of boys were sprawling. There was no mistaking Marik, even from such a distance, given his distinctive hair. He didn't seem to be involved in the talk and laughter, and drawing closer to him, she saw that he was engrossed in a book, his back leant against the tree. She walked over, and the other boys looked up. Feeling slightly self-conscious, she tried to get Marik's attention.

"Um... Marik-senpai?"

There was no response. Taking pity on her, one of his friends nudged Marik with his foot.

"Marik. Guest."

"Hmm?" He looked up. "Oh! Izzy-chan! Is everything okay?"

"Fine." She answered, looking at the book he was reading. "...Isn't Alyssa reading that one?"

"Oh, yeah. I saw her reading it and it looked interesting, so I got a copy out of the library..." He looked away sheepishly. Izzy had to hide a smile. These two would be the sort of couple that would read to each other on park benches. They were ridiculously cute and too stupid to see it.

She decided to cut to the chase. "Are you going to the festival? Down at the shrine tomorrow?"

"I hadn't really thought about it yet..." He said, sounding a little uncomfortable. Izzy suddenly realised how much this would sound like a date and decided to quickly educate him.

"You should come with us. I know it would mean a lot to Alyssa if you did."

"Alyssa's coming?" He asked, and his friends laughed at some inside joke. Izzy had a good idea at what it might be. She nodded. "Oh..." He continued. "I'm not sure she'd want me there."

"Are you kidding?" Izzy raised an eyebrow. "I think she'd rather go with you than anyone else."

"Oh, um, I-I don't know about that..."

"Just come." Izzy sighed. "It'll be fun!"

"Well, if you really don't mind..." He smiled slightly. "I look forward to it."

"Me too." Izzy said, her smile more of a smirk. Phase one was complete.

As she sat with Alyssa eating lunch, Izzy couldn't help but feel a little smug. Alyssa was probably going to strangle her for this. Izzy was still deciding what to tell her- on the one hand, if she was surprised to see Marik he might think it was odd and she really didn't want him there; and she might even put a bit more effort into her appearance. On the other hand, if she knew what Izzy planned to do in leaving the two of them alone, she might refuse to go along with it, or to go at all. It was a conundrum, but eventually Izzy decided to tell her Marik was coming but not of the plan to abandon the two of them. The truth was, she was feeling too pleased with herself not to share it. Alyssa had noticed too.

"You're grinning like the cat that got the cream." She said suspiciously. "Somehow, it makes me nervous when you seem so pleased with yourself."

"No, I'm just happy." Izzy denied. "These things are always more fun with more people."

"What things?" Alyssa asked, nervousness increasing.

"Oh, festivals and stuff." Izzy said, lightly. "Marik-senpai's coming with us. Hope that's okay."

For a moment, Alyssa was paralyzed in apparent horror, frozen in pre-emptive embarrassment. Izzy expected the screaming to start, but to her surprise she could almost see Alyssa mentally calming herself down as the girl took a sip of her drink.

"That's okay." She said, eventually, picking up a sandwich. "It means I won't get lonely when you and Atem-senpai are lost in each other's eyes."

"W-What? He's coming with us?!"

"Uh-huh."

"...We won't be 'lost in each other's eyes'!" Izzy snapped, and having got that out of the way, got to the more pressing issue. "But... how?! He's allergic to people! He hardly even speaks to you! How did you convince him?! How?!"

"Trade secret." Alyssa smirked. "Maybe I'm just more persuasive than you."

This wasn't actually true. At break, Alyssa had gone to track Atem down and events had unfolded in the following fashion:

"Atem-senpai!" Alyssa said cheerfully, bounding up to him. "I found you! I knew you'd be in the library."

Actually, this wasn't true. She had searched at least ten other rooms. But he didn't need to know that. He glanced up from his work, but that was all the acknowledgement he gave her.

"I wanted to ask you something." Alyssa persevered. "You know the festival tomorrow? I'm going with my friend and I want you to come too. You will, right?"

"No thanks." He answered, not looking up.

"Please?" She pouted, but the puppy dog eyes weren't going to work when he wasn't looking at her.

"No, I don't want to. Sorry." He grunted.

"Oh..." She said. "I see... I'm sorry I disturbed you, I-I j-just..."

Some catch in her voice made him look up. She was hiding her face.

"...Are you crying?" He said, surprised.

"I'm s-sorry. It's s-stupid." She sniffed, wiping her eyes and trying to stop the tears.

"Stop crying!" He demanded, horrified.

"It's... it's just..." She sobbed. "I never thanked you properly for last year and... my m-mom always told me you had to pay off your debts or it's a sin... and I tried s-so hard to t-thank you properly and be your f-friend and a-all... all I've d-done is be a bother to you... I'm sorry! I'll go!" Still covering her face, she turned to leave. People were staring, Atem noticed uncomfortably. He touched her arm, gently.

"Um... please, don't cry."

"I'm n-not..." She lied.

"Look..." He said, slowly. "I'll come. So stop crying, please... it's al-"

"You will?!" She said, turning round with a huge grin. "Great! So meet us at the gates to the dorms at 5PM tomorrow, okay?!"

With that, she ran off and left Atem with the suspicious feeling that he had been duped.

Back in the canteen that lunchtime, having been greeted with the fact that Atem as well as Marik would be joining them at the festival, Izzy supposed it was all for the best. Assuming that her friend had more self-respect then to fake tears to blackmail him, it never crossed her mind that this is what Alyssa had done. Quite frankly, she had no idea what Alyssa had done to convince him. Somewhere deep inside she felt a little resentful that Alyssa had apparently succeeded where she had failed in befriending him, but she quickly quashed the feeling. Alyssa had obviously done this to give her the chance to become better acquainted with Atem, and that was just what she would do. While leaving Alyssa and Marik to become better acquainted. Honestly, if one of them hadn't confessed by the end of a romantic night under the stars, there was little hope for them. Now all she had to do was wait.

The door creaked open so slowly, it was almost scary. Izzy wondered if they were going to do any better this time. The previous occasion they had visited S311 it had been just a few minutes before Miki's favourite idol show, the Pink Princess, was due to start. So, she had simply looked Izzy up and down, compared her with some colours- leaving Izzy feeling like a carpet sample- and thrown them both out. Alyssa had just laughed and promised Miki would have something ready by Saturday. However, tonight, even she seemed slightly nervous. Perhaps it was just the prospect of meeting Marik.

When she had come to meet Izzy, she had already been dressed in a furisode. It was a fairly plain affair, a sort of lime green that didn't really suit her and a handful of small white flowers embroidered at the hem. Still, it was Izzy's first time seeing Alyssa in traditional dress, and like any good friend, she had laughed. And then complimented her. Alyssa had just replied to wait to see what Miki had lined up for her and lead the way across to South block, navigating the stairs awkwardly in the wooden zori that were the appropriate footwear with kimono. They had knocked, and here they were, watching the door open creepily.

"So you came back." Miki said. "Come in!" She added in delight, grabbing Izzy by both wrists and dragging her inside. Alyssa hurried in before the door slammed shut and just laughed as Izzy was pushed behind a changing screen, a furisode pushed into her hands. Miki bounced in a mixture of excitement and impatience as Izzy was changing. It was taking some time.

"What's the hold up?" Alyssa asked, eventually.

"I've never put one of these on before." Izzy complained. "Give me a chance to work it out. Anyway, I think I'm done."

She emerged from behind the screen, for all of half a second. Alyssa caught a flash of red but that was all; Izzy was even more surprised as Miki all but rugby tackled her back into hiding.

"We're not done yet!"

It was then Izzy noticed that her classmate was armed with brushes and make-up. Resistance was futile, though the screen was almost knocked over in the process.

Finally, Miki walked back over to Alyssa and knocked her hands together in a crude imitation of a drum roll. A little embarrassed, Izzy emerged like a butterfly from the cocoon. Alyssa smiled.

"See? I said Miki-chan would do a good job!"

"Mmm..." Izzy said, looking away. She wasn't used to it yet, though she admitted the kimono was beautiful. It was coloured a brilliant red, the golden under robe and obi given an impression of the sun. The pattern embroidered across the robe was of flowers and leaves, picked out in gold and black and twirling around each other. Miki had also provided her with what she called the necessary accessories, a folding fan and a small drawstring purse that could hang from her wrist or be tucked into her hanging sleeves and their secret pockets. Miki had not stopped there, attacking her hair and face too. At least her make-up application was more subtle than her personality, accenting what was already there rather than trying to make something new. It seemed a little too much effort for a festival, but it looked good at least. Her hair, too, had been tried in about five different styles before her dark brown hair was allowed to fall naturally down her back and the sides of her face, bar the two small plaits that lay down either side. All of her was red and gold and brown, apparently to reflect the season. That didn't matter to her, and she didn't like to think of herself as vain, but she admitted Miki had done a good job. "What do you think?" She asked Alyssa.

"I think you look like you're about to play Quidditch for Gryffindor."

Izzy scowled. "Thanks."

Alyssa laughed. "Oh, come on, I'm just teasing. Atem-senpai won't be able to keep his eyes off you, okay? Shall we go?"

"Hold it right there, Alyssa Haruko Trent." Miki said in an evil voice. "Where do you think you're going?"

"The festival." Alyssa answered, sounding worried.

"Dressed in that?"

"Yes." Alyssa said, defiant.

"Dressed in that, the same one you've been wearing since Middle School, the one with spring colours that don't even suit you?"

Alyssa decided the sensible thing to do at this stage would be to run. Unfortunately, Izzy turned traitor and grabbed her, shoving her away from the doors and into Miki's clutches, who then sent her off grumbling behind the screen with a furisode of her own.

"I've been waiting for years to dress Alyssa up." She said, happily. "Thank you for your help."

"No problem." Izzy said, smirking. "She has to look her best for Marik-senpai."

"Shut up!" Alyssa yelled from behind the screen. "I told you, it's not like that!"

"Of course not." Miki snorted. "You've been in love with him since you met." She turned to Izzy to explain. "He transferred while she was in England with you. She ran into him in the halls her first day back. It was love at first sight."

"It was not!" Alyssa fumed. "This is why I hate being in the same class as you every year!"

"Just be quiet and get changed." Miki said. "It's Izzy's turn now. What was that Alyssa said about you and Atem-senpai...?"

By the time they escaped their grilling, they were almost late to meet the other two and had to dash down to the gate. This was an infinite relief to Marik, who had been attempting to make awkward conversation with Atem:

"I'm glad the weather held."

"..."

"I mean, it'll get cold later but at least it shouldn't rain."

"..."

"...Did you do the homework for maths class yet? I thought it was pretty tough-"

"No."

And other such awkward niceties. Eventually, the girls came running up. They couldn't help but stare. They were just in their normal shirts and jeans, but to such events a lot of people wore traditional dress, including, it seemed, Izzy and Alyssa, the former glorious in red and gold, the other more subdued in deep yellows, browns and greens, like the fallen leaves. Izzy had felt a lot of eyes on her as they crossed the complex, which had bemused her and amused Alyssa as she had grown more and more self-conscious. To her immense relief, however, Marik was looking at Alyssa. Or rather, at anywhere but Alyssa now he had seen her. Izzy felt satisfied for all of a minute until she realised that Atem's eyes were fixed on her. She stared back, determined not to drop his gaze.

"Hey." Alyssa said, eventually. "If you two are done getting lost in each others eyes, can we get this show on the road?"

So they did.

Izzy had always had the impression that Japanese temples were quiet, reflective places and that even the festivals would be about beauty, peace and contemplation.

In fact, the whole thing felt like a carnival. Stalls and games lined the pathways and were spread across the grounds, obscuring the carefully maintained gardens. Strings of fairy lights and paper lanterns hung between them, punctuated here and there by braziers to ward off some of the chill of an October night. Snatches of conversation and laughter passed by on the breeze, along with the smells of the different foods. For a moment, they stood near the entrance and looked around at everything that was happening.

"Neon heart, day glow eyes, city lit by fireflies." Alyssa sang suddenly, just to break the silence that had fallen over the group.

"Um... what?" Izzy asked.

"Oh, you, look, so, beeeeeautiful toni-ight, in the cityyyyyyyyy of blinding lighttttttt..." Alyssa sang exaggeratedly. And loudly. Thankfully, she got distracted then by a food stall. "Oh! I want takoyaki!" With that, she ran off. Apparently hungry to, Atem followed, leaving Izzy and Marik to fight their own way through the swelling crowd. Not feeling ready for the crush just yet, Izzy looked to the sky instead, watching the stars. The sky was clear and even with all the light, the stars seemed bright. She exhaled loudly. This was nice.

"You don't want takoyaki?" Marik asked her.

"Fried octopus doesn't really seem worth twenty-three elbows to the face." Izzy replied. "Don't you?"

"I'm not hungry." Marik answered, watching the people go by. From the way he fidgeted, Izzy knew he was trying to summon his courage and decided to help out.

"Something on your mind?"

"No, no." He denied.

"Thinking about confessing to Alyssa?" She teased.

"No!" He said, hotly. "I don't know where you got such an impression, but she and I..."

"Should be dating already." Izzy sighed irritably. "Are you really trying to tell me you have no feelings for her at all? I think you're lying."

"I don't see why you're trying to play matchmaker." Marik said, an edge of annoyance in his voice to cover his embarrassment.

"Because you like her and she likes you and you're both stupid." Izzy said, matter-of-factly.

"I don't think she likes me that way. I think you're mistaken." Marik said, firmly. "I've seen how Alyssa-chan behaves around you and her other friends. She runs round and jumps about and is so happy. She's never like that with me. She's always so quiet and uncomfortable..."

Izzy stared at him for a moment, amazed that such stupidity could be found on this earth. She opened her mouth to explain, but unfortunately Alyssa returned and stuffed a takoyaki piece into her mouth.

"Tastes good, doesn't it?" She laughed as Izzy chewed furiously and tried to glare at the same time. "Oh... here, you should try one too, Marik-senpai." She held the bag out as Atem caught up. He wasn't eating anything. Maybe he didn't like eating in front of other people. Izzy wondered where this extreme shyness came from. There was something so guarded about him. Something must have hurt in the past.

"Is there a game you'd like to try, Atem-senpai?" She asked, trying to involve him.

"Not really." He muttered, but she saw him glancing towards a stall just off to the left.

"How about that one, then?" She asked, pointing at it. "...Kingyo-sukui?"

"Goldfish scooping." Alyssa translated the unfamiliar words quickly, before switching back to Japanese. "I'm not very good at it, though."

"How do you play?" Izzy asked.

"Well, the aim is to scoop as many goldfish out of the pool and into the bowl as possible." Marik explained as they made their way through the crowd. "Only it's made harder because the scoop is made of paper. Basically, you have to see how many you can catch before it completely disintegrates."

"Which for me is about two seconds." Alyssa said, gloomily.

"I'm not very good at it either." Marik confessed. Atem said nothing, just examining the notice on the side of the stall. Alyssa went to join him.

"It looks like if you catch twenty-five you get a goldfish to keep." She said. "That would be so cool."

"You should win her one." Izzy whispered teasingly to Marik. "It would be romantic."

He blushed violently and took a determined step back. "I'm going to stop talking to you now." He said, and she laughed.

Alyssa had already paid for her turn, and, as promised, she wasn't very good at it. She thrashed madly, chasing the fish around their small pool, but by the time she was finished there were only two in the bowl. She just shrugged and said that was a good day for her, and handed over to Marik, who did little better with ten.

"Between you, you have half a fish." Izzy pointed out cheerily, to which Alyssa told her to stop behaving so smugly and try for herself. Determined to prove it couldn't be too hard, Izzy paid and took up the scoop, which the man told her was called a poi. She had realised the strategy of chasing the fish just disturbed them and soaked the paper, weakening it, so she chose a different tactic of being gentle and sneaking up on them. When she was done, the bowl seemed to be full.

"Hey, maybe you won one!" Alyssa said, admiringly. Izzy just smiled. The truth was, she had always been the master of games like this. She was sure, with a little practise, she could probably have caught all the fish. Still, for a first time, she was quite happy with the result. On counting, she found she had only caught twenty-three, which was somewhat disappointing, but she didn't have anywhere to put one anyway.

Atem took his turn last and caught twenty-seven seemingly without any difficulty at all. She supposed it was because he was so still. He picked out a fish with some splatterings of red amongst it's orange and the stall owner handed it over in a bag of water he assured them would keep the fish alive for the rest of the night.

"What are you going to call it?" Izzy asked, hoping to engage him in conversation.

"You can take it." Atem answered, handing it over. "I'm not really interested in keeping it."

Izzy accepted without thinking. She was preoccupied with Atem's own preoccupied look and the hint of sadness in his eyes, some unspoken extra sentence, like he thought it would only die around him. She wanted to ask, but couldn't find the words. It didn't seem right to pry anyway.

Alyssa and Marik had not noticed anything, already discussing where to go next. They eventually just decided to wander around the stalls and do things as they came. They had good fun on the various carnival games- despite the fact the rank order was always the same as it had been for Kingyo-sukui, Atem seemingly incapable of losing and Izzy determined to beat him- and eating the food. Finally, they came to a large pond, surrounded by fortunes of various kinds. Izzy spied one in particular, and smirked as she had another good idea.

She headed over to the stall, where it seemed that all the fortunes were written on pieces of paper, mixed together in a box, and picked out at random for each person. She had a little chat to the woman running it, who seemed disapproving at first, but eventually smiled and handed over a slip of paper. Izzy was just setting pen to paper when Atem spoke seemingly from nowhere behind her.

"I don't think fortune telling is self-service." He said.

"Ahh, don't do that!" Izzy jumped, almost hitting the goldfish bag that she had set down on the table. "Anyway, it's not for me, it's for Alyssa."

"Sabotage?" Atem raised an eyebrow.

"Just giving her a little help." Izzy smiled conspiratorially at the woman before handing the slip over and calling Alyssa.

"You should get yours told too."

"I don't really believe in this stuff."

"Come on, it's just some fun." Izzy said. "Besides, it might come true."

"Fine..." Alyssa sighed, and gave some money to the woman, who picked a fortune 'at random'.

"Tonight you will be lucky in love." The woman read, perfectly straight faced. "Find your courage and set the voice of your heart free."

"W-what is that supposed to mean?" Alyssa stammered.

"Well, it means tonight might be a good time to confess any romantic feelings." The stall owner explained, lowering her hand. Unfortunately, this allowed Alyssa to see the slip of paper.

"Izzy." She growled. "Why is that fortune written in your hand writing?"

Izzy decided to answer that question in the form of running, and Alyssa tore off after her. Atem and Marik looked on in confusion, although Marik had some slight idea. He felt his face heating up slightly as he wondered if Alyssa had said something to her friend... girls talked about that sort of thing, didn't they?

Meanwhile, the stallholder was watching Atem warily. "How about we pick one for you two?" She said, eventually.

"No, that's alright, thank you." Marik said, shaking his head. "We're just waiting for our friends to... um, come back." Just then he heard a muffled 'ouch' from somewhere on the other side of the pond. It sounded like Alyssa had finally caught up with Izzy. Or, more likely, had fallen over in the pursuit. Izzy was the faster of the pair and not stupid enough to stop.

Meanwhile, the fortune teller had already shaken the box and pulled out a piece of paper.

"Beware of green or brown eyed monsters." She said, perfectly straight faced.

"Um... thank you?" Marik said, confused. The fortune teller just shrugged and shook her box again.

"And you." She said to Atem, pulling out a piece of paper. She turned it over. Both sides were blank. She didn't seem unduly surprised. "You... may still choose. Your back can be turned to the light or to the dark."

"Who would turn their backs to the light?" Atem snapped. "That means nothing."

The fortune teller smiled, and turned to her next customer.

By the time Alyssa caught up with Izzy- or rather, Izzy decided her friend's rage must have abated by now and stopped- they had travelled around the edge of the pool and into a small spinney of trees that ran along the temple site's border. There were no more stalls here, as the trees grew so close together, but there were still strings of lights in the branches and a path just about wide enough for two.

"You." Alyssa growled. "Is it your mission to embarrass me?"

"No." Izzy defended. "I just want to know there will be someone to look after you when I go back home. And to embarrass you."

"You-" Alyssa started again, but then, looking at something behind Izzy, stopped abruptly. Izzy saw her stiffen and turned, seeing Bakura sauntering down the path towards them. She scowled, having not forgotten the argument of the day before. He ignored her again, however, and went straight for Alyssa.

"Well, look at you, all dressed up." He sneered. "What a pity Marik still won't ever notice you."

"Go away." Alyssa muttered, looking at the floor.

"Go away." Izzy echoed, far more sternly.

"No." Bakura replied, suddenly shoving Alyssa back and pinning her against a tree. "I want to have a talk with you."

Alyssa struggled, but he held on.

"Let go!" Izzy yelled.

"No." Bakura smirked. "Isn't it about time, Alyssa, that you felt some pain in return? Some fear?"

"You..." Alyssa started, angry. Even so, she couldn't shake him off. Izzy booted him hard in his shin, but he didn't seem to care.

"Isn't this fun?" He smiled, laughter hanging on his words. "I haven't been able to play with you for some time, Alyssa. Maybe I don't want to hurt you. Maybe I just like seeing the fear in your eyes. Or maybe I will..."

"Let go of her!" The voice was so furious that for a moment Izzy didn't recognise it as Marik's as he and Atem ran over. Atem took a much less subtle approach, grabbing Bakura by the collar and hauling him off. Bakura wrenched out of his grip, and stumbled back into Izzy, who fell into a tree herself, dropping the goldfish bag as she did so.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Marik yelled. "Did you come here just to cause more trouble?! Let it go!"

"Ha. Maybe I enjoy it." Bakura snarled, eyes narrowed. "What are you going to do to stop me?"

"I don't recommend you find out." Atem said icily.

"Oh, I'm so scared." Bakura said, picking up the goldfish. "Did you give this to her earlier, Atem?" With that, he ripped the bag open. Water spilt over the floor. The goldfish flapped uselessly on the ground. No-one moved, but the tension was at it's peak.

"Oh, poor thing." Bakura said, with mock sympathy. "Let's put it out of it's misery."

He stamped down hard.

"You-" Atem started forward, but as he did so, all the lights went out. This was not lights going out as when a switch is flipped, nor as in a power failure. The lights exploded, one after another, shards of glass falling like snow as the shadows of the night and of the trees engulfed them.

For another moment, nobody moved from where they had instinctively covered their heads. Atem straightened first and slowly looked around them. Apart from a far-off glow from the other side of the festival, all was dark. Without a word, he turned and bolted. Marik watched after him.

"Maybe he's afraid of the dark...?" He wondered aloud. "Hey, wait-!" he reached out, but Bakura had already passed him and disappeared. He turned to Alyssa. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah." Alyssa said quietly, turned around, and hurried away. Marik went to go after her, but Izzy put out a hand to stop him.

"Leave this to me." She said. It was time to get some answers.

She found Alyssa just back within the temple grounds, sitting on a bench overlooking the pool, staring not at the pool but at the sky. Izzy sat down next to her.

"So, ready to tell me why Bakura has it in for you?" She asked.

"Are you going to keep nagging me if I say no?" Alyssa replied.

"Pretty much."

"Fine." Alyssa sighed, dully. "I'll tell you."

Atem ran. Even when he got to the light, he carried on running. He turned his back to the light and ran. How could he have been so stupid as to be around people? If they had been any closer to those lights when they exploded...

He ran, because he could do nothing else.

A/N: (Waffles4eva) This is probably the longest episode in the whole thing, or at least of the ones I've written so far. It was one of my favourites too. As the length/timing of Izzy's transfer is only September-March, I didn't have any room for a summer/beach episode and I knew I definately had to have a festival one. My favourite line in this was the one about Gryffindor, but I don't think anyone else found it funny. Sad times. :(

A/N: (scooby2408) *sigh* I don't suppose that this could be considered a 'hight school drama' if there wasn't at least one person trying to play matchmaker, and now they're both at it... oh boy! Oh, and if anybody can spot the reference in this episode to my favourite game Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, they can have a virtual cookie from me. Thanks for reading and I'll leave you with the preview for next time:

"One year ago..."

"Wait, are you actually doing it for once?!"

"If you stop inturrupting me, yeah. One year ago-"

"Hmm. Apparently you're not in this one, Izzy."

"I'm not?!"

"But aren't you the main character?"

"If you two actually READ the scripts... This one is MY episode. So, one year ago-"

"Wait, how come you do proper previews for your episodes and not mine?!"

"Because I'm not interested in yours."

"... Maybe we should stop them hitting each other."

"If you want to get yourself involved in that, be my guest."

"Maybe we should do the preview, then."

"Alyssa is using the script as a weapon."

"We could make it up... Um..."

"... Next time on Over the Rainbow... Over the Rainbow Episode Four: Thief- The Problem of Bakura."