Chapter Three

Clarity Through Rainfall

Few clouds lingered in the periwinkle sky above the blush of the rising sun. No smog so early, I supposed, and I swore to enjoy it while it lasted. I hugged my knees to my chest. My toes touched the cool dirt beside the garden.

A pleasant, fresh scent drifted from the flowers. Tulips, violets, and goldenrods sprouted in front of me. A majority of the garden held vegetables. Martha used a section for beauty, though. That didn't strike me as being very "Satellite," which reminded me of her warning.

Living to survive meant most people I met would be ravenous to keep whatever power they clung to. Living to thrive meant being at odds with enemies willing to go to any lengths. Martha carved out her own little paradise despite the circumstances.

Kalin, Yusei, Crow, and Jack wanted to do that for the entire Satellite. My first reaction was that they needed the help, but something told me Kalin wouldn't like that answer.

"Dear?" Martha appeared behind me. "I understand you're troubled, but having an extra mouth to feed means I need the extra two hands in the kitchen. C'mon and help out."

I followed her inside and cut vegetables for stew. The strong scent of the onions stung my eyes with tears. Though the knife appeared dull, the blade cut through the potatoes like butter.

"Do you cook?" she asked. "You're deft with the knife."

"I don't remember."

Her bushy eyebrows lifted. She stirred the broth and said, "The kids have a hard time with manners, so I'll warn you now not to take anything they say to heart."

"What kids?"

"This is an orphanage. The children out there lost their parents in one way or another, so it's my job to fill that role." She poured the proper portions of what I'd cut, finishing, "It isn't easy."

"I'll help as much as I can."

Martha eyed me. "You're a simple girl for a teenager. I tell you to cook and you don't even try to weasel out of it. I understand obedience is a positive trait, but I hope you won't allow anyone to abuse it."

"…How do I know?"

"Know what?"

"Who to listen to and who not."

A sigh passed her lips as she poured equal amounts of stew into six bowls. "There's not always a right answer, dear. In time, you'll figure out who to trust. Don't be afraid to make mistakes but also be wary. You'll discover your own right from wrong."

I nodded and said, "Thank you."

"What a pleasant surprise!" She chuckled. "Folks younger than me never listen to my advice. Maybe you can teach those four boys a thing or two. Grab the silver. It's serving time."

Martha went upstairs to round up the kids for breakfast. I heard lots of scuffling and hollering as I set the table. Two boys and two girls marched down the stairs, Martha's firm glare keeping them in line.

They peeked at me and picked the furthest side of the table from mine. Martha rolled her eyes and sat beside me. Whenever they whispered about me, she smacked the culprit upside the head. I definitely caught some comments about me being diseased or some sort of alien, though.

I excused myself the second I finished the stew. Martha said I was free to go since the kids who slept in had the honor of doing the dishes. Their chorus of groans covered my exit.

The rising sun added tangerine to the sky. As I lingered by the garden, I stuck my hands in my pockets. My finger met something cold. I pulled the object: a silver bracelet with a blue gem. A small heart was traced in the sapphire. The sight inspired my smile.

The bracelet fit snug on my wrist. Sapphire. I think it may have been my birthstone. Maybe. A clap had me yelping and spinning around. Kalin approached the garden with his regular grin. He asked, "Got an answer for me?"

Yes. No. Maybe. "Can I go today and see what it's like?"

"Huh. That's a good idea! Alright, we gotta hurry. Taking this detour may have made me late. Got your deck ready just in case?"

I glanced at my left forearm. I could swear my duel disk wasn't there earlier, but it'd shown up. "Yeah."

Kalin stuffed one hand in his pocket and waved me on with the other. He guided me through the maze he called home. On the way, he said, "So. I've been coming up with names for you."

"Eh?"

"You can't go around with no name! I have to call you something. How do you feel about 'Jack's protégé?' Y'know, what with the dragons and how well you two get along-"

I pouted. "No."

He snickered to himself. "You said 'no!' That's a good sign. How about 'Shortey?'"

The crown of my head reached his collarbone at best. "No way!"

His laughter worsened. "Joking, joking. How'd you get along with Martha?"

"Good," I said. "She's kind."

"Lucky you! I got a crash course on how to treat girls in all caps!" We emerged on the coastline at the same structure from the previous evening. "While we're here, I'm gonna grab you an extra pair of cuffs. You don't have to bother coming up. I'm just telling 'em we're ready."

The ocean was rough today, and clouds gathered on the horizon. I heard Crow's yell from the second floor. "What the hell, man? You tell us dawn and show up an hour late!"

"He's never been late before yesterday," Jack said, "so I have a good idea with whom the fault truly lies. Where is she?"

"Look, I didn't time it right! You don't have to be an asshole to her," Kalin said. The clinks I heard must have been him rummaging through that box. "Let's hurry."

The many pairs of feet running down the stairs had my heart thumping. The day just started and I'd already messed up. Kalin exited the building first, sprinted to me, and handed me the exploding cuffs. With a wink, he said, "Just in case."

The other three filtered out. Crow appeared grumpy, Jack angry, and Yusei neutral. Yusei said, "Good to see you made it."

"Thanks," I whispered.

"Gotta be quiet from here on out, so I'll lay out the plan now. Yusei, Crow, and m-" He focused on me for a split second. "And Jack will clear out the inside. Us two'll take care of the outside, got it?"

I gave a thumbs-up. The rest followed his lead. The streets we took led opposite Martha's place, which was further north. The goal was closer to the factories spitting black into the already cloudy sky.

We knelt beneath a wall of thinly stretched, green plastic. The black lettering on the wall was too worn to be read. The five of us peered over the top. The target hideout appeared to be an abandoned construction site. Stacks of rusted steel beams filled the concrete yards.

What once were piles of dirt had washed to mud and crusted over hundreds of times, creating packed, red clay for walking. We'd leave footprints. Kalin didn't seem to care. He dashed forward and opened the front door silent as a practiced burglar. Yusei, Crow, and Jack headed in. Kalin quietly shut the door, scanned our surroundings, and laxed. "What're you doing that for?"

He nodded towards my hand; I'd wound my hair around my finger again. "Nervous, I guess."

"Pfft. We'll be fiiine." A boom sounded from inside. I showed concern while Kalin grew excited. "See? They already got one!"

Stomps rounded the building. A man wearing an orange tie around his elbow halted once he spotted us. He clicked his tongue, commenting, "The Satisfaction squad picked us. I'm insulted. We're that low on your list?"

"Sure are!" Kalin exclaimed while tossing his cuff towards the guy's disk. His accuracy stunned me. His snap ended in a flashy finger gun, and his grin never left. "Watch how easy this is and tell me you're still nervous afterward."

"Um. What about that guy?"

"What g-" He followed my line of sight to the flat roof. The fellow perched over us like a watchful gargoyle and spoke into a device. Kalin muttered, "Oh, goddammit. I only brought one cuff, and he could be calling more- hey! What're you doing?"

I scaled the ladder attached to their hideout and said, "Just in case!"

Crackling static played from the man's spot. He hadn't noticed me behind him. I twirled my cuffs like Kalin had and threw them towards my opponent. The other end went horribly off course and flew off the roof. The steel cable slithered after it. I stared at my empty hands and wondered how it could possibly get any worse.

The guy's eyes shifted from the falling cuffs to me. He rose to his full height. "If a duel is what it takes to get you to leave, I can spare a few seconds."

Ouch.

My disk activated, and I reached for my cards.

"DUEL START!"

I winced at his intense shout. Was that something people said? I thought Jack did it for flair. I exclaimed, "Um, duel start!"

My opponent said, "Not the quickest draw in the west, are you."

I tried to ignore his jab. A bead of sweat rolled down the back of my heated neck anyway. I focused on my hand. Like yesterday, familiarity struck me when I saw the cards. I knew what I was doing. Probably. I ordered, "You go first."

He drew a card, and a grin flashed. "I summon The Six Samurai – Yariza in defense mode. I set one card and end my turn."

I drew and frowned at the card. The Eye of Timaeus? It had no description. How was I supposed to use it? I shoved it out of my mind and focused on the others. "Okay, first I use Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your face-down!"

A tornado swept up and destroyed his set spell. It had turned out to be Swiftstrike Armor. "I summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4 and destroy Yariza!"

The bronze hatchling pecked apart my opponent's monster. I said, "I set one card face-down and end my turn. Since Horus destroyed your monster, he levels up!"

My LV4 monster upgraded to LV6. His bright feathers elongated, and wings stretched out. Horus LV6 had 2300 attack. My opponent said, "That's beginner shit. Try to keep up with this combo. I summon Legendary Six Samurai – Enishi. I'll use the effect of Grandmaster of the Six Samurai in my hand, special summoning him since another Six Samurai is on the field. Now that I have two Six Samurai monsters, I can special summon Great Shogun Shien!"

A green-armored warrior wielding a fiery blade sprouted in front of my opponent. Next to him, an older samurai with black robes folded his arms over his chest. A giant, harrowing warrior rose behind them. The crimson of his steel plates and katana blade was reminiscent of blood. Enishi's 1700 attack boosted to 2200 thanks to his effect. The Grandmaster had 2100 attack and Shogun 2500.

The hair wrapped around my index finger twirled tighter, swelling skin. He'd summoned three powerful monsters in one turn. My opponent said, "Regret coming up here yet? Shogun, destroy Horus!"

"I activate Waboku!" The holographic trap card flipped up to reveal three men wearing light blue robes. "For the rest of this turn, my monster can't be destroyed by battle, and I take no Battle Damage."

"I don't need attacks to destroy your dragon. I end my Battle Phase and activate my spell card, Smashing Ground! The monster on your field with the highest defense is destroyed!"

A yellow cloud gathered above us, and a huge fist descended from it. Knuckles slammed the roof. My dragon soared above the strike. My opponent growled, "What the hell? Why wasn't it destroyed?"

My smile only lasted a second since I was at a clear disadvantage. "Horus's special ability. Spell cards can't affect him."

"It won't make any difference in the end," he assured. "I end my turn."

At least he had no cards in his backline. At least. I drew and hesitated to look at what it was. When I did, I was surprised by how giddy it made me. "I activate the Ancient Rules spell! This lets me special summon a level 5 or higher Normal Monster from my hand, like the Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

The shining white dragon appeared out of a scroll. He and the bronze dragon at his side growled in unison. Blue-Eyes' 3000 attack looked down on the samurais. My opponent commented, "How'd you get your hands on a card that rare?"

"I'll also summon Exploder Dragon in attack mode," I continued. "First, Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6 battles Grandmaster!"

Black fire lit along Horus's bronze feathers. A wingbeat buffeted my opponent with a storm of ebony heat. Grandmaster shattered under the pressure, sharp feathers tore through the fabric of my opponent's clothing, and his life points fell to 3800. He grunted and muttered, "The hell was that pain?"

"Blue-Eyes attacks Enishi! White Lightning!" Sparks crackled behind the dragon's fangs before firing. Enishi's 2200 attack had dropped to 1700 due to the absence of one Six Samurai. Blue-Eyes' strike blasted through and dealt 1300 damage, lowering my opponent's life to 2500. His chest heaved, and he placed a hand over the tears in his long sleeves.

"Am I going nuts?" he asked no one in particular. He shook out his arms and said, "Chick, you must be as dumb as you look. You left my strongest monster on the field!"

I ignored his insult. Let my actions speak for themselves. "Exploder Dragon battles Great Shogun Shien."

He laughed. "Your monster only has 1000 attack to mine's 2500! Is math not a strong suit? Guess I should've expected it from a chick."

The shogun's scarlet katana sliced the black dragon in half. A red ball of fire in the shape of a ticking bomb was left behind. I said, "Exploder Dragon's effect activates. I take no Battle Damage when he attacks, and the monster who destroys him is also destroyed."

My opponent sneered at his empty field. I said, "My turn is over. Since Horus destroyed one of your monsters, he levels up again! Horus LV8 takes the field!"

Horus's final iteration matched the Blue-Eyes in size and attack strength. A sapphire formed at the crown of his head, and ruby aura surrounded him. His signature black fire oozed from his mouth with each exhale of breath.

"Two with 3000 attack," muttered my opponent. He drew and was expressionless. "I summon Legendary Six Samurai – Kageki in defense position. By his effect, I can special summon another Six Samurai from my hand. I choose The Six Samurai – Zanji in attack mode and end my turn."

Two brown-suited warriors stood with spread stances opposite me. The defensive samurai tinged blue and showed off its 2000 defense. The other had 1800 attack. Why would he choose to summon it in attack position? He must've been baiting me. I peered at my drawn card. "Blue-Eyes White Dragon, attack Zanji!"

"You fell for that one easily," my opponent mocked. "Zanji's effect destroys the attacking monster after battle, and instead of having him destroyed, I can choose to sacrifice Kageki instead! Both of your powerful monsters are doomed since you won't have enough attack strength to wipe out my life points!"

Right, his 1800 attack meant each of my 1200 points worth of damage would leave him with 100 life points and me with no monsters. However. "That makes no difference. I use the Quick-Play Spell, Blind Spot Strike! This adds the points of your defense position monster to the attack of one of my monsters. Kageki's 2000 defense boosts Blue-Eyes to a grand total of 5000 attack!"

"What?" he shouted. Blue light swarmed around his samurai and melded into White Lightning. Blue-Eyes White Dragon's powered up attack wiped out my opponent's life points. Electricity engulfed the gang member. His agonized screams reverberated from within the blinding beam.

Black smoke billowed. When the fog cleared, my opponent was gone. My breath hitched. I flew down the ladder and ran into Kalin. The guy I'd faced lay unconscious at his feet. The smoke came from his busted duel disk.

Kalin stretched his and my cuffs, which he must have retrieved from the ground. "That's one way to do it. Bonus points for creativity!"

"But I… totally messed up."

His ice blue locks spun with the shaking of his head. "You accomplished the same exact thing we did. You did great. To be honest, I'm surprised you didn't talk mad shit back once you started winning."

"You heard?"

"Short building! I cleaned up my guy in one turn and saw the whole thing. I was a little worried because, when we have these gangs backed into a corner, they pull some nasty tricks." He nudged the unconscious man with a toe. "Looks like you can handle yourself."

"You're not surprised I won? I mean, uh, I am."

"Nah, not to someone who can kick Security ass like you do," he said with a wink. The easy confidence in his statement relieved my jarred nerves. "'Sides, these guys were too easy!"

"It didn't seem easy to me…"

He set a fist on his hip and shot me a glare. "Think again. You didn't take a single point of damage that duel, which is exactly what I'd expect from a member of Team Satisfaction."

The way he said it with such pride made my heart swell. I couldn't keep a smile from slowly spreading. "H-hey, wait! You called me a member! I thought I was supposed to think about it!"

He coughed into his fist. It did not strike me as a real cough. "I may have gotten a little ahead of myself."

"Hey! Having too much fun without me, huh?" Crow marched out with a smirk plastered on his face. He gave a thumbs-up, saying, "Mission success!"

"Nice work!" Kalin exclaimed. "And the others?"

"Agh, they're taking too long!" Crow threw up his hands and looked to the dark sky. "Huh. Looks like rain."

A raindrop fell on my nose, rolled to my chin, and burst on the concrete. Footsteps dragged up my focus. Yusei removed his cards from his deck slot and placed the stack into a pouch at his belt. "Inside's clear. Jack's holding up the last guy because he has to make 'the perfect win.'"

Crow shrugged his shoulders. "That's Jack for ya."

The sparse drops increased to a drizzle. Water bounced off Yusei's gloved palm. "Hey, rain!"

I snapped to attention and said, "Hey."

Yusei's unwavering stare made me uncomfortable. Kalin and Crow gave the same weird look. Yusei asked, "Something the matter?"

"What? You said my n-" My mouth snapped shut, and my eyes widened. I lifted my head and smiled at the water dripping down my skin. "My name. I remember my name. I'm Rain."

Crow broke into a grin, threw his arms around my and Yusei's necks, and pulled us close. "Rain! That's a great name!"

Yusei untangled himself from Crow with less amusement. My smile was probably bigger than Crow's, though. Yusei said, "Agreed. I'm glad to properly meet you, Rain."

I looked to Kalin. My composure fled. His eyes crinkled upward the tiniest bit, and a shine caught in his hazel irises. His smile was as miniscule as the tilting of his head.

Jack's voice boomed, "Well, that takes care of him! That was the most amazing win to date. Really, I don't know how I'm going to top myself. You should have been there!"

"So what? You missed somethin' amazing! She remembered her name: Rain!" Crow said.

"Ah," he said, "fitting for how much of an inconvenience you are."

And he left. I twirled hair around my finger and dropped it once I realized how wet it was. "Um. I don't think he likes me."

"Stellar observation!" Crow said. "Don't take it personally."

"How?"

Yusei explained, "Jack hates change in general. You could be anyone. He'd still act this way."

Crow nudged my rib with an elbow. "He'll warm up to ya eventually! He did to me. We got into scraps every five minutes when we first met. Look at us now! Aaanyway, I'm heading home before the storm gets too bad. Later!"

Yusei said the same and left in the opposite direction, leaving me alone with Kalin. He wiped the back of his hand across his mouth as though to physically erase his smile. "Guess you need a walk home, huh?"

"Sorry."

"Why're you apologizing?" He crossed his arms behind his head as he walked. "It's nice."

Rainwater filled the cracks in the street. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," he said, his eyes never leaving mine, "I'm sure."

The sentiment gifted me a smile. Kalin made his way toward Martha's at his usual pace. The rain caused his hair to cling to his face, and his soaked red shirt darkened to maroon.

A boom of thunder deafened me. I clapped my hands over my ears. Kalin waved me towards a church building; two spires remained while the other three had fallen. We slipped between fallen columns and huddled beneath the shelter the stone above the front doors provided. The rightmost wooden door stood strong. The other of its pair lay inside the church, its hinges busted.

Kalin rested his back against a broken column, untucked his shirt, and squeezed out water. Passing wind tossed rain, but we were far enough from open sky for it to touch us. He said, "We'll give the worst of it some time to pass."

"Mkay."

He removed his brown vest, twisted it in his grip, and watched the water puddle on the floor. "Have you figured out whether you want to join?"

His assumption from earlier came to mind. "The others don't seem as involved as you are in my answer."

"'Course not! They're just members. I'm the leader!"

"You are?"

"Hey!" he shouted. "You don't have to sound so surprised!"

"S-sorry."

"I didn't mean-" He scratched beneath his headband. When he next spoke, his volume lowered from his typical, loud voice. "I was just kidding around. You don't have to say 'sorry' to everything."

"S-" I clamped my hand over my mouth before the word escaped.

"Close one," he said, his amusement adding a lilt to the phrase. Embarrassment flushed my face, and he laughed. "Hey, you dodged my question!"

My fingers intertwined. Water slipped from my bangs to my chin and dripped onto my knuckles. "What you said yesterday about me having no personality really bothered me. Every time I duel, it feels like I'm taking back a piece of me. I want to join because I want to keep dueling, and this way, I can accomplish two things at once."

Kalin gasped and placed a hand over his heart. "And not because you believe in our cause? I'm insulted!"

Noticing my visible panic, his grin dropped. He tacked on, "That was a joke. You're totally in!"

"Oh. I… thought it'd be a lot more difficult."

"It woulda been. You standing up to those Securities when we met and rushing up that ladder today says everything, though. Your first instinct is to help those in need, so this is exactly where you belong, Rain."

My breath caught. The careful way he enunciated my name combined with that same smile from earlier-

I blurted, "There's one other thing that's really been bothering me."

"What's that?"

I pushed forward so I sat on my knees in front of him. I reached up, grasped his soaked headband, and shifted it higher to hold back his loose hair. I whispered, "That's what it's supposed to be for."

He blinked, his eyes nearly crossing as they looked up. He tugged it back down. The locks closest to his part stuck straight up while the rest flopped down to their usual spot. My grin widened. He said, "Iiii like it better this way."

Speaking through my smile was difficult. "Can't hold it against you."

Kalin threw his vest over his shoulder. "So! Looks like the storm's clear."

Aside from a few droplets here and there, he was right. He guided me back to the flowers, their open blossoms happy to drink in the rain. He explained what time he'd show up tomorrow.

I waved good-by and observed Martha's gleeful garden. The day replayed in my head. I grinned, crouched, and announced to a tulip, "I am a member of Team Satisfaction!"

A bout of laughter stole my attention. Kalin watched me from the edge of the estate. Horror drowned my excitement. I sprinted inside, sank to the floor with my back against the door, and covered my red face with my hands.