Chapter Five

Compromise in Love

Yusei, Crow, Jack, and Kalin gathered around the table in the Team Satisfaction hideout. I loitered behind Kalin, who smacked the next section of the map. "Today, we're taking on Sector K!"

Crow stomped his boot on the ground. "No, nope, no way. I'm not fighting another gang for eleven days in a row. This waking up early and having no free time is driving me nuts, dude! We need a vacation!"

The reaction from Kalin had me believing Crow uttered a word that could summon a demon. "Team Satisfaction doesn't do vacations!"

"I have to side with Crow on this one," Yusei said. "Our health is important, and we'll suffer if we're forced to give it our all every single day. One day off won't set us back."

Kalin threw up his hands. "Tough luck! Vote's three against two."

"Jack and Rain didn't even vote yet!" Crow countered.

Jack pinned the two of us with a glare. "I vote for vacation."

"Majority rules!" Crow cheered. "If you'll excuse me, I have a bed to get reacquainted with."

"See you guys," Yusei added. Jack left without words. Once the sound of their footsteps faded into the distance, Kalin ruffled his hair and groaned. He picked at the edge of the map and grumbled the word "vacation" in various mocking tones.

"Hey-"

He yelped and flinched away from me. "Jesus! I forgot you were here."

"What's vacation?"

The huff that followed could've blown a tree down. "You'll have to ask someone else. I don't know the meaning of the word."

"Then why does it make you so angry?"

He scraped his hand down his face. "We had a good few days there where the jokes didn't go over your head. Now I'm gonna have to reset the counter."

"Y-you keep a counter?"

"Look, vacation's when you take a few days off from your regular job to relax. Which we would never need! We play card games for Christ's sake."

"What about the parts where we have to wake up early, scout the enemy hideouts, the times we need to tie guys up, searching the-"

"Okay! Okay, I get it," he said. "My policy is that I can rest when I'm dead. I've only got so much time, so I'll change the Satellite all I can with what I have left. If nobody else is joining today, I'm going for a stake out."

The rising sun washed over the calm waves. I rested my hand on the crumbled wall as I watched him busy about. He clenched a pen between his teeth, nabbed a couple of maps, and dug through that box in the corner. He dropped the items on the table and dusted off his hands. I asked, "Can I come?"

"Nah. I can't be sneaky with a plus one."

"Oh."

"Don't say it like that!" he yelled.

"Like what?"

Kalin squinted over his pointed finger. "All sad and… pout-y. Yeesh. I figured princess over there would be fine entertaining herself. Why don't you try looking around the place for a change?"

"The hideout?"

"Satellite," he corrected. "It's your home now. Not by your choice – you're stuck here with the rest of us."

The sea rushed over the rocky shore, leaving pale foam behind. I sat facing it and swung my legs over the wall. "You say that and talk about how important making the Satellite better is. How did it end up this way?"

"A big accident, Zero Reverse, happened-" He counted on his fingers, ran out, and started up the count again. "Fifteen? Seventeen? Something-like-that years ago. The Satellite wasn't always an island. The accident split us off from the mainland, where New Domino City is. The City does whatever they can to keep us trapped here to rot. Even if there was a way to reach New Domino, Security'd lock you up the second you stepped out."

"Are the people different there?"

"I figure they're more uppity. But… nah. They're the same as us."

"Then why do they treat us differently?"

"That's the million-dollar question."

The weary frustration on his face pained me. I was grateful to know the full truth of it but wished I hadn't brought it up. "We'll make this place just as great, right? That's what you said. The Satellite can become a paradise, not a prison."

"You've got big dreams," he said. "There's no keeping the Satellite from being a prison, though."

Sunlight glimmered on the horizon. "I don't feel trapped."

"You haven't grown into it yet. It's part of being a Satellite."

"I wake up every day and get to spend time with my friends. Nothing can stop me from doing that." I tossed a smile over my shoulder. "I can't imagine being freer."

He offered a weak laugh. "You got a nice way of looking at things. I hope you have a great day off, Rain."

Kalin gathered his things in a bundle in the crook of his arm and left. I continued watching the sunrise. Explore my home, he'd suggested. It'd be sort of lonely, though.

The north led to Martha's. I followed the typical route and halted at a fork. The cottage lay in the northeast. The northwest was flat, ruined wasteland as opposed to the suggestions of greenery towards Martha's. I tried the west path.

The decay in the architecture became more and more apparent the further I went; where the central Satellite structures may be missing a wall or have a caved-in roof, these buildings were razed to their foundations.

A single individual posted up in the middle of the street. The other persons I'd passed lurked in alleys or clung to corners. The bold man folded his arms over his broad chest. Red trimmed the dark cloak on his shoulders.

The oddest trait I noted was in his eyes. Black like his pupils continued beyond his silvery blue irises. He smiled in a way that said he knew something I didn't and strode toward me. His grubby fingers gripped my chin. The scent of rot and decay radiated from his bloated, dark flesh. I tore my face away because of the awful stench.

"Docile as a doe," he said with a chuckle. "Follow me, Rain."

Hm. He knew my name. I hadn't told anyone besides Team Satisfaction and Martha. By process of elimination, he must have been an ally. The man in the cloak led me to the last building on the street. The rest opened to flat land spotted by piles of garbage in the distance.

He waved to the single double door left. "You'll find your items within. When your memories return, I hope you remember what I did for you here. Oh, and – no one needs to know about our meeting."

His cloak flapped behind his exit. I had a hundred questions and lacked the composure to ask a single one. The wide, flat structure was topped by a small dome. Crumbled portions of the dome allowed for daylight. Knowing there shouldn't be shadows for anyone to hide within, I entered.

The structure appeared to be an abandoned concert hall. Worn, wooden boards formed the raised stage to the front. A grand piano rested atop the stage. Sunlight spilling through the dilapidated ceiling unveiled the dust wafting through the air.

Something sparkled behind the instrument. It looked like a motorcycle. Its frame was made of dulled gold plating sheathed one on top of the other like stacked scales forming a dragon's armor.

Duel runners. Yusei talked about them often. The proper way was to place your duel disk inside when dueling. This runner, however, had one already attached below the handlebars. The disk's design was similar to mine but without an arm strap.

The edges were wickedly sharp. It was a lighter blue than mine, and the lining was a duller navy. The card zones were yellow and lit up a bright green when in use. I noticed a deck inside the holder. When I skimmed through, I was amazed to see it resembled my deck. The spells had a small "SS" mark in the bottom corner of the artwork.

Stacks of boxes backstage caught my attention. Beyond the huge, black curtains, a cot was set out. I peeked into a couple of the boxes to find packaged food. A layer of dust had settled over them. This place hadn't been touched in years. I scanned the runner. Some dirt was caked on the frame, but it wasn't dusty.

The man with the dark eyes had called them "my items." Had he known me before whatever happened to my memories? I spread my fingers over the frame. The metal was icy to the touch.

If only I could say I recognized it. Everything in this world was foreign to me. Maybe something stronger would jog my memory. I straddled the duel runner and revved the engine.

The hum was quieter than the few Satellite junkers I'd heard raging through the streets. I tucked my hair into the helmet, which had matching bronze color and black eye guard. I kicked off, hugged the frame with my thighs, and zoomed off the stage. I wove through alleys and took tight curves like a practiced cyclist. Considering my usual poor performance when it came to attempting new skills, I assumed I'd ridden before. I drove in a loop around north Satellite and parked on the stage.

Removing my helmet left my sweaty hair spilling over my shoulders. I frowned at the shreds of sunlight apparent in the frame's misty reflection. Nothing, not even a ghost of a memory made an appearance. The brush of the wind on my skin was exhilarating, sure, but it wasn't quite what I wanted the most.

I placed the helmet on the seat and observed the backstage area. I rolled out a cot and left it next to the piano. A black bundle rested on the flat pillow. The dark glove was missing its fingers. A device fell out of the inside.

Two buttons adorned the small, rectangular object. The green and red circles were labeled in the same manner of symbols that decorated my duel disk. I slipped the fingerless glove onto my right hand. A strike of the light revealed three etched runes once again in the mysterious language. Ignoring the unknowable, I pressed the green button on the device.

Agony spiked in my cranium. I groaned and gripped my forehead. Something rumbled nearby. When I opened my eyes, my runner had parked beside me. My brows hopped. I tried the red button. The runner started up and stopped at its place behind the piano. I mashed green again.

The pain was less impactful the second time. I could keep my eyes open to see the runner drive itself to me and park itself. Useful. Very, very useful. I dropped the remote into my pocket and walked towards the duel runner.

My foot landed in something wet. I frowned at the damp, wooden boards at the front of the stage. Rainfall stained it from the crumbled dome above. Beyond the hole, a touch of goldenrod dusted the clouds. My joyride must've cost more time than I thought.

Kalin may have been back to the hideout by now, which wasn't a chance I wanted to miss. Normally, I'd find my way to Martha's because it was the easiest. I took his suggestion to explore to heart and attempted to reach the hideout straight from the stage.

Which went horribly, horribly wrong. The stretching of the shadows outsized me as I frantically searched for familiar locations. I entered what I thought was the same church Kalin and I used for cover in the rain.

Wrong. The rows weren't pews but rather seating for a different sort of theatre than my stage. The drama-style theatre led to a throne on a dais, and the man upon the high chair glowered at me.

"Get out," Jack demanded.

"Um, I, I'd love to, but I'm sort of lost."

The smirk on his face gave me chills. He leaned forward and asked, "Did your owner lose you?"

"My what?"

"Kalin," he said. "You're uncharismatic enough to be inhuman, so I assume you're his pet with how you follow him around."

I winced, my heart twisting. I chewed the inside of my cheek to prevent the stinging behind my eyes. No luck. I bit down hard on my lower lip, but the tears still flowed. Jack bellowed, "What in the devil are you doing?"

"I- I'll just go. I'll figure something out."

"Rain, wait." I skidded to a stop, mostly because I'd never heard him say my name before. He stood on the edge of the dais. His movements had kicked up a cobweb from the red carpet. "What have you done to Kalin?"

"Eh?"

"Kalin!" he repeated. "I've known him for years. He never showed up late, showed a modicum of patience, or spoke with volume less than yelling before you showed up."

"Why is any of that my fault?" I shut my mouth in a pout because the last words had come out as a squeak due to my sobs. In a quieter voice, I said, "I didn't do anything to him. I mean, I didn't ask him to do any of those things."

His eyes searched mine. I couldn't hold the stare. The sigh through his nostrils showed frustration. "If that's the case, I owe you an apology. You've shown emotion for once, too."

I glanced up sniffling. He turned his back on me. "Go south a street and follow it east. That'll take you all the way to the coast. Ignore whoever tries to haggle with you on the way. Once you see an incomplete bridge, you'll have reached your destination."

That he did not turn back around or address me again urged it was my time to go. I hustled down the street he mentioned, which was busy with barterers. I ignored their offerings though, honestly, some of the shinier baubles intrigued me.

The salty scent of the sea told me I was close. I held my flat hand over my eyes as I searched for the bridge. I broke into a sprint and stopped at the base. The half-finished structure reached towards a coast across the bay.

"Lost?" asked a familiar voice. I whirled around to see Crow grinning at me. Jack must've sent me to his place on purpose. Crow linked his fingers and stretched his arms towards the sky. "I dunno about you, Rain, but I've had the guhreatest day off a guy could ask for!"

"Wish I could say the same," I murmured.

"Huh? Aw, geez, have you been crying? What happened?" I twirled hair around my finger as I recounted my run-in with Jack. Crow drank in the info with extreme interest. By the end, he burst out laughing. "You gotta be kiddin! I knew Jack was preeetty dense when it came to people, but, God! I have to tell Yusei about this."

My head tilted. "What's so funny?"

"Don't worry about it. Honestly, I'm jealous. Jack's never apologized to me! I shoulda tried the waterworks."

"…It wasn't on purpose…"

"I've got it!" he exclaimed. "You need a bad day popsicle!"

"A what?"

Crow ducked beneath an awning and called for me to follow. A quaint apartment was tucked by the unfinished bridge. Crow rummaged through an ice chest and said, "Louie! Annie! We have company. Be nice!"

The feeling of being watched tickled my spine. Two pairs of eyes peeked from the bedroom. The more feminine of them dashed out from hiding. The child shrieked, "Ah! Finally! Another girl!"

She rounded me, scanning me up and down. I said, "Hi. I'm Rain."

"Rain!" The boy ran out of the bedroom next. "Crow talks about you a lot. You're a duelist, right? I'm Louie. Duel me!"

"I said be nice!" Crow scolded. He laid a few items in a row within the ice chest. "Rain's had a bad day. No pestering."

"Aw. I can hold your hand!" the girl, Annie, offered. "Then I can tell you what nail polish you can wear! Hey, Crow! Have you found any more of that?"

"No dice," he lamented.

At her fallen expression, I said, "I'll keep an eye out, too."

That brightened her. She took my hand in both of her smaller ones. In the meantime, Louie huffed and plopped down on the couch. The cushions wheezed. Crow asked, "What flavor you like, Rain? Grape? Orange? Blue?"

"Is blue a flavor? I thought it was just a color."

"Iunno! It's blue! Orange is both! Why can't blue be?"

"O-okay! I'll take blue!"

I reached for the white wrapping. Crow snatched it back and pinned me with a serious look. He waved his hand over the popsicle, saying, "It's enchanted now. It'll make everything better."

He lay the item in my open palms like a scepter displayed to a king. Annie's eyes sparkled like she viewed an item forged of solid gold. "You got a magic one!"

I smiled, saying, "Sure did."

And, you know? It did make everything better.

The second I took the last bite, Louie leapt up from the couch. "You can duel now!"

"She said 'no,' dude! You gotta respect people when that say that! No bugging!" He grumbled regardless. From the corner, Crow apologized for him with a shrug. "Okay, you two, say good-by. Rain and I have a meeting to get to."

The tones of their good-byes were different as night and day. I waved as we left. During our walk towards the hideout, I asked, "Who are they?"

"Dunno. They were left behind, so I figure they gotta be a part of somebody's flock, even if that somebody's gotta be me. There are too many kids like that in the Satellite. That's why I agreed to Team Satisfaction. Every kid should have a childhood."

"That's an honorable cause."

He scoffed. "Honorable? You make it sound all stuffy."

I clasped my hands behind my tailbone. My long hair brushed my forearms. "Say, Crow. What's up with the bridge sticking out by your house? Looks like it's reaching for the mainland, but Kalin told me nobody wants Satellites there."

"Oh, you're talking about Daedalus Bridge! Y'see, a long time ago a mysterious man came to the coast. Every single day, without fail, he would gaze across the water. One day, he stopped coming… and returned weeks later with materials for a bridge – one that would connect the Satellite with the City.

"At first, people laughed. They said that he would never finish. He ignored them and kept going. His conviction inspired them to help. That's when Sector Security noticed and ordered them to stop building the bridge. Their threats got to the Satellites. The man, though, kept on.

"He became a wanted man but dodged Sector Security easily. He got caught in a jam once, though. Securities cornered him by the bridge. He had two choices: rot in the Facility… or become a hero. He got on his duel runner and raced along Daedalus Bridge. Then, when he catapulted towards the sea, wings spread from his runner. The mysterious man soared to the other side and escaped into the City. Now he's a legend, a symbol of hope for Satellites!"

I gasped. "His runner had wings? That's so cool!"

"Hell yeah it is! Hey, don't tell anyone, but." Crow's gray eyes bounced around the empty street we walked. He lowered his voice, saying, "I'm working on making one like his."

My mouth dropped open. He seemed to enjoy the response. I said, "Is he your hero?"

"Aw yeah! I've wanted to be like him since I was a lil' hatchling."

"I bet you'll get there one day."

"Oh, yeah?" He smiled. "Jack's a dunce. You're as human as anyone I've met. Don't let what he said get to you, 'kay? And, you didn't hear this from me, but- Kalin only does that stuff 'cause he really, really likes you."

Butterflies waltzed in the depths of my stomach. "…Really really?"

"Don't hold onto that high too hard! He's about to chew us both out."

"Huh? Why?"

Crow dug a wristwatch out of his pocket. We'd stopped beside the alleyway opening to the coast, where the hideout perched. Crow said, "We're about, eh, an hour and a half past the meeting time he told us."

The adrenaline of panic rushed through my veins. I instantly broke into a sprint into the hideout and up the flight of stairs. I shut my eyes, dropped my hands on the table, and announced, "Sorry! I'm sorry, I totally forgot-"

"Er, Rain? What're you talking about?"

I glanced around. Nobody was present except for Kalin, who'd been busy putting away his maps from this morning. I blinked. We never talked about meeting again today. I bit my lip as heat flushed my face. I caught the distant sound of Crow laughing. Damn him.

Kalin was just staring at me like I was a crazy person. I tried to think through what to say, but my mind wouldn't unlatch from the last thing Crow had told me. The only option left was to wing it.

I opened my mouth to speak. An awkward bout of laughter spilled out instead. I clapped my hands over my mouth. The heat harshened.

Kalin just laughed, saying, "You alright there, princess?"

"Yes!" I said quickly. I placed my flat hand over my tummy. "Yep. How'd the stake-out go?"

"Boring. I didn't learn anything new. We're going in blind tomorrow. But I was thinking of doing the plan where we use Crow as bait."

"You guys do that?" My alarm rose my pitch a few octaves.

"You worry too much! The plan's never failed before!"

"How many times have you done it?"

"…Once."

His smile was apologetic in response to my firm frown. I said, "Why don't you let me? I'll at least have my monsters if-"

"First of all, you're not supposed to use those, and second of all…" He scratched beneath his headband. "You won't catch me using this excuse any other time, but in this situation, being a girl would make it a hundred to a thousand times worse."

"Okay," I said in a quiet voice. "I hope nothing bad happens to him."

"It'll go perrrrfect. You'll see! Anywho, need a walk home?"

"Sure." The sun set at our backs as we walked. I thought through the day, from the man with the black eyes to the run-in with Jack ending with Crow's help. I said, "Hey, partner?"

"Yeah?"

My mouth went dry when my mind returned to what Crow said. "Nevermind."

"Somethin' the matter?"

"Nope."

His laugh was nearly silent under his breath. "You don't have to lie."

Was I that obvious? I wrung my hand around my wrist to keep myself from playing with my hair. Kalin stuck his fingers in his front jean pockets and said, "Here we are. I can't hang out or anything 'cause I'm starving, so I'll catch you tomorrow."

"Wait! You should have dinner with us!"

"I would, I really would, but Martha and me don't exactly-"

I clapped my hands together as though in prayer and said, "Please?"

His focus darted between me and Martha's house. His mouth opened and shut. He ran a hand through his hair. "Alright."

My smile spread enough to show teeth. I ran up to the front door instead of the usual back entrance and knocked once, twice. Upon opening, Martha grumbled, "You've lived here long enough, dear. There's no need to knock- oh. Did you need something, Kalin?"

"He's joining for dinner!" I exclaimed.

Her bushy eyebrows lifted. I noticed he avoided meeting her eyes. I followed her for my usual job in the kitchen. The instant Kalin stepped inside, the four orphans surrounded him and peppered him with questions about Team Satisfaction and Duel Monsters cards. He seemed overwhelmed at first but handled the fame in stride.

Martha set out carrots and asked, "How did you convince him to come?"

"Huh? I just asked. Is it so amazing?"

She chuckled as she mixed liquids. "The last time Kalin Kessler stepped foot in this house, he swore he would never need help from me again. This was after I got onto him because I had to wrap him up, the result of a nasty fight he picked, mind you. I never imagined someone stubborn as him would let that go."

The steady thunks of the knife on the cutting board stopped. I stared at the still knife shaking in my hand and muttered, "Not again…"

"What's wrong?"

"Everyone keeps saying he acts differently around me. He told me, once, just to be myself, and it meant a lot to me. I'd hate it if I was making him feel like he couldn't be himself."

"You're too considerate for your own good, dear. It's not something he's throwing away; it's something he does for your sake. Similarly, my husband wasn't very comfortable around children. He swapped between seeing them as wicked demons or fragile as glass. Regardless, he helped me with my work because he loved how passionate I am. It's a mark of caring, Rain, to make some sacrifices and compromises for those you love."

The knife slipped from my grasp. I squeaked, "What?"

Martha leveled her spoon at me and scowled. "You better not be slacking off."

The corners of my mouth twitched down. I sliced whatever she handed me and brought the pot to a boil. We whipped up the stew in record time despite my mishap.

The children, who normally picked the opposite side of the table from mine, were amazed by Kalin's choice to sit beside me. He nudged me and asked, "You got rabies or something?"

"They say I'm an alien."

He broke down in a fit of laughter. I giggled a bit myself. Martha's involved stare bounced between us, which unfortunately reminded me of how nervous I was. Kalin finished the whole meal and even complimented Martha. She said, "You'll be visiting more often now, won't you?"

"Don't push it," he said.

She rolled her eyes. "You should be grateful I'm here for you, boy!"

"Well! That's my cue to leave." He tossed a wink my way, adding, "Was fun, though."

I was rooted in place as he darted outside. Martha grumbled something about teenagers, stupidity, and defiance. In the meantime, a trembling smile spread my lips.

End of Chapter Five

A/N: & have a Happy New Year + Decade! Hope all your dreams come true :D I am SOO excited about the Master Rule changes in April!