Chapter Seven

A Simple Smile

"Team Dirty Works," Kalin announced to the team, "rulers of Sector C. They hide out in an old bowling alley. We're storming the entrance together. Yusei and Rain will search inside while Crow, Jack, and I guard the entrance. Let's head out!"

We were gathered in the hideout's main room, and I lingered in the corner. He… paired me with someone else. Kalin sprinted out. Crow ran after him. Jack struggled to keep up, grumbling all the while.

Yusei hung back. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see him watching me. He asked, "Something on your mind? You're usually right behind Kalin."

"I'm just… a little confused," I muttered, "but it's not as important as this. I'm your partner today, and I have your back."

Yusei grasped his chin. "You sure you don't want to talk?"

"Maybe later," I said. I started towards the exit and paused. "Um, thanks. For asking."

"It's what friends do."

I was able to smile at his words. We had to be silent the rest of the way to not attract attention. The old bowling alley was tucked into a corner of Sector C, which took up a large chunk of northwest Satellite. The area must have been an entertainment district way back when. The big signs and worn adverts, most displaying women wearing little clothing, showed as much.

Crow waited outside and waved us in. A lobby with worn carpet held arcade machines. Most had fallen and the glass displays were busted. Jack nodded towards the next set of doors, which were thick and heavy. Yusei and I shoved one open each.

The massive room past the lobby contained rows upon rows of bowling lanes, their wood long since rotted. I watched Yusei's back as he traversed a lane. A silver glint caught my eye.

The whistle of the triggered tripwire spurred my movement. I dove at Yusei's waist, and we crashed onto the wooden floor. A boom sounded behind us. Concrete debris scattered where Yusei had been standing. "You- you saved me, Rain! Good eye!"

He looked like he had something else to say, but another voice cut us off. A man stood from behind the counter up front. "Dammit, the shadow came! You see that? She's got s sixth sense to go with her demonic powers!"

"No shit," another one said. He crawled out from the darkness at the end of the middle alley. "I thought Kessler's shadow was a myth."

What's with the whole shadow thing? Wait a second. These two tried to kill my friend, and they only complained about how I ruined it. I grit my teeth, and my upper lip jumped. Yusei palmed his cuffs and said, "I'll take the entrance. You take the alley."

I slipped out one of my cuffs, attached it to my disk, and risked a running start along the creaky boards. I tossed the other end at the Dirty Works member's arm, and it clicked into place.

"DUEL START!"

I commanded, "You first."

"Why'd the demon have to pick me?" he murmured as he reluctantly drew his cards. "Whatever. It's easy. I just won't take damage! I activate the Field Spell Umi! Now, I summon Kaiser Sea Horse in attack position, set one face-down, and end my turn."

The card I drew was heavier than the rest. The power it leaked felt as familiar to me as the duel disk on my arm. The Field Spell slot cut open from beneath the card zones. "I activate the Seal of Orichalcos!"

"Don't think so. Mystical Space Typhoon!" The wind whipped up, but the Seal wasn't blown away. It continued to set up and destroyed his Field Spell. "The hell?"

Ghastly green light emanated from the symbols on my duel disk. The reaction told me this card was an important piece of me. The Field Spell was a six-pointed star inside a ring, and the outer ring held symbols matching my disk's. The Seal's neon green augmented the sickly look of my pale skin.

I said, "I summon King of D. in attack position. I'll discard this trap to add Flute of Summoning Dragon to my hand and activate it. I can special summon two Dragon-types from my hand, like Prime Material Dragon and Magna Drago!"

Gold shimmers rained from Prime, and cinders shed from Magna's scales. King's 1200 attack increased to 1700, Prime to 2900, and Magna to 1900. I said, "Prime attacks your Kaiser Sea Horse, and my other two monsters attack directly."

Prime's golden beam ripped through his monster and left him gripping his stomach. Magna's fiery breath singed his skin. King of D. hopped over to his field and bashed his instrument over the guy's head, knocking him out cold. The 4800 total damage decimated his life in a single Battle Phase. Black smoke buffeted from his destroyed duel disk. My cuff snaked back towards me.

I removed the Seal of Orichalcos from the Field Spell slot and pouted at the circle. I murmured, "That'll teach him."

"D-did you kill him?"

Yusei's opponent stared at me with wide eyes. The blue sparks hopping from his desk suggested Yusei had already won. He threw his disk aside and bolted out the front entrance, hollering, "He's dead! The shadow's real!"

Meanwhile, my partner for the day kept an unwavering stare on me. "He's talking about your psychic powers, right?"

"Yeah, and I know I'm not supposed to use them, but they tried to kill you! And, and I didn't kill him, either! My monster went overboard a bit, so he's knocked out."

"It makes sense," Yusei said, grasping his chin. "If I were in your position, I'd be emotional, too."

"…Emotional?"

"That's how I understood the powers as working," he explained. Huh. I hadn't put two and two together before, but he had to be correct. "Let's see how the others are faring."

We entered the lobby to find two guys I didn't recognize tied up. Jack stood next to them with his arms crossed. Kalin held Yusei's opponent down and wrestled with the rope's knot.

Someone slapped me on the back, and I staggered forward. Crow said, "Nice work, you two! We rounded 'em all up. They had triggers for nasty traps around, but I disarmed 'em like I do."

"I wasn't so lucky," Yusei said. "If Rain hadn't pushed me out of the way, I'd be in trouble right now."

Jack thinned his eyes. "You know, we can keep them a little longer than we need to."

"Please, no!" one begged. "I'm sorry about the trap, okay? We didn't mean it!"

Kalin finished tying the gang member's wrists and shoved him against the floor for good measure. His grin was malicious. "A little late for that, isn't it?"

"Cut it out," Yusei scolded. "If we do something like that, we're no better than them. We're here for unity and unity alone."

Crow said, "Yeah, c'mon, guys. Let's celebrate! Forget these jerks. All that matters is Yusei's okay."

I muttered an agreement because Yusei's argument made sense, but a feeling nagged at me.

Like they hadn't gotten what they deserved.

"I'd love to, but I have some things I need to take care of," Kalin said. He brushed at his shoulder, and I swore I caught a quick glance at me. "I'll come back and take care of them later. For now, I have to go."

"I have to go."

Kalin was gone, running away through the bleak Satellite streets. I wound hair around my index finger and stared at my feet. They carried me outside while my mind drifted.

"What's up with him?" Crow lingered beside me. His stuffed his hands in his pockets. Yusei was right behind him, and Jack stormed off in the direction of his theatre.

Yusei asked, "Is this what you wanted to talk about?"

"Um, yeah." I grasped my elbow. "I think he's avoiding me."

"Ohhh, duh-rama!" Crow sang.

"That's odd. He's usually the one to run into things, not away from them," Yusei commented. "What happened?"

"Is this about the cat thing?" Crow asked.

Yusei frowned. "We're not supposed to bring up the cat thing."

"You guys know about the cat thing?"

"We all saw the cat thing!" Crow said. "Kalin beat that dude's ass! It was awesome! Er, not what happened to the cat, though. Not awesome."

"Was it okay?" Yusei asked.

"Yeah," I mumbled. "Yeah, the cat was okay."

Crow grumbled, "There's nothing I hate more than a sore loser who takes it out on someone – or something – else. Like, it's only one step further until he loses a duel and beats up a kid because of it."

"Or he could have targeted Rain instead," Yusei said.

Crow flopped his hand, saying, "Pffft! He wouldn't dare when Kalin's standing right there. Rain's practically his-"

His mouth shut abruptly. Yusei sighed, cupped his forehead, and shook his head. I said, "His what?"

"His, uh, his- his shadow! That's what I meant! What I was saying. Yeah, that. They're calling you as much, aren't they?"

My head tilted. "Why am I called that?"

"You and he were inseparable," Yusei said, "and you don't talk much. Anyway, I'm sure Kalin will come around. Give it some time."

"Thanks," I muttered. "Really. Thanks, you guys."

"Enough yapping!" Crow said. "I said we'd celebrate, and I meant it. Cup ramen for everyone! I'll load up the TV, too. It can pick up waves from the City, so we can watch some duels. It'll keep the kids busy and not begging us to duel them, in any case."

"Um. What's ramen? And… TV?"

Crow laughed and clapped my shoulder. After watching my unchanging expression, he said, "You're serious? Ramen's a noodle dish. A super common one. TV's are, like, entertainment. Both of em are so common, it's easy to get a hold of 'em even in the Satellite. I don't get you, Rain. You remember dueling perfectly but somehow you let ramen slip by."

"Could be she never knew about them in the first place," Yusei said.

"…Why do you two keep talking as though I'm not here?"

"Weeell, you don't have much of a, er, presence," Crow said. "Oh! Shadow. I totally get it! Anyway, let's get going."

They started towards the Daedalus Bridge, but I was rooted. "What about Jack? Does he like rah-min?"

"Ramen," Yusei corrected. "Jack loves the stuff, but he's going through a loner phase right now. It happens on and off for him. He'll go long stretches without wanting to spend time with anyone then go back to normal."

"You know a lot about him," I said.

"The three of us grew up together," Yusei said. "We were fosters at Martha's. Kalin told you about the Zero Reverse, right? The natural disaster that separated the City from the Satellite? Our parents were all caught in the blast, so we were blessed to have Martha pick us out and raise us like her own."

"I wouldn't exactly call her a saint, though." Crow raised his eyebrows and nudged me with an elbow. I laughed, and he joined me. When we reached his place, Louie pleaded for duels like Crow had predicted. Crow set an odd device on the counter, and a holographic screen appeared. Two duelists raced duel runners along an oval track in a massive duel arena. Their monsters flew next to them. The sight left me longing to taste the wind.

Annie demanded now was the time for the nail painting. I remained statuesque as she dashed the brush down my fingernails. The messy job left much of the coral-colored paint on my skin, but she said, "Beautiful!"

"Sure is," I agreed. Her giggle was gleeful; she asked me to do her next so we could match. I obliged. My nail painting was less messy than hers but still imperfect. I had to scrape off excess by the end of the second coat.

Annie observed her fingers like I'd just painted them with pure gold. "Thank you! Thankyouthankyouthankyou it's so pretty!"

She ran around to everyone in the small apartment to show them. In the meantime, Yusei appeared at my side. He held a cup of Styrofoam marked with bright colors in one hand and a napkin in the other. "It's probably hot, so you might need this. I wouldn't know because of my gloves."

I wrapped the napkin around it and said, "Thanks."

Yusei returned a moment later with a cup of his own. I chowed after he sat next to me. The flavors were wonderful and strong, but the salt was a bit much for me. Crow slid out in front of us, slurping from a cup, and said, "Great, right? I made it all myself! I'm quite the cook."

"You literally just poured water in a cup and stuck it in the microwave," Yusei stated.

"Sure, yeah, but I did it all myself!"

I giggled. "It's amazing. Could I have another?"

"Coming right up!"

After he served me a second round, I made an excuse about having to leave. Crow promised to make it for me again sometime, and Yusei once again assured everything would turn out alright with Kalin. I thanked them both and wound through the Satellite streets.

I slipped into a structure draped in ripped scarlet carpets and banners. Rows of worn, wooden benches faced a dais. Atop the highest point sat a throne. I approached the gentleman sitting in it with his eyes closed. One of his fists clenched. "What are you doing here?"

"Um, hi, Jack." His violet eyes opened and sharpened on me. I held out the cup I had brought. "Crow made you some rah-min. Well, okay, not you, technically, but I thought you'd want some. They said you like it a lot."

His gaze remained pinned on me. I managed to properly regret every moment of my life up to that point in the seconds he stared at me. Jack Atlas rose from his throne, swiped the cup from my hands, and sat again. "You can go now."

"Oh. Well, I was also wondering if-"

"You can go," he repeated with force.

"Right. Okay. See you!"

At the exit, Jack called, "Rain."

"Yeah?"

"…I appreciate it."

I grinned on the way out and pumped a fist in the air when I was sure he wouldn't see. I figured I'd visit the stage again and see if I could find any more nail polish. The sun dipped, and by the time I was near my street, night had fallen. The full moon and accompanying stars lit my way.

A peculiar clang came from an abandoned building a few blocks from the stage. The road was usually silent as a crypt, so I decided to investigate. Moonlight penetrating the decrepit roof served as the only illumination.

A tinge of fright heightened my pulse as I stepped forward. No movement among the shadows caught my eye. I said, "Hello?"

A sharp pain exploded against the back of my skull. I collapsed. A voice said, "Too easy. Those rumors aren't true. The shadow's a joke."

I pushed myself to my hands and knees and crawled to the nearest wall. I tried to pull myself up. Looking back didn't provide any details due to my corroded vision. I focused on his voice as he laughed. It resembled the man I had dueled earlier today.

Shitshitshit. They must have escaped. I glanced at my left wrist, but my duel disk wasn't there. The thing had a mind of its own. A wave of nausea threatened me, so I lowered my head. Rough hands grabbed me by the shoulders and thrust me against the ripped wallpaper. I squirmed but couldn't break free.

The wolfish gleam in his eyes had me fighting harder to no avail. "You 'n' those Satisfaction roaches'll pay."

His friend's grunt stole his attention. His grip on me loosened. I tried to pull away. Queasiness kept me from moving far. I heard a crack, and the guy who attacked me ragdolled.

Kalin caught me before I fell. He held me in his arms so my head pressed against his chest. The rapid beats of his heart filled my right ear. "Are you okay? You're shaking. I took care of them. You'll be fine. I swear it."

"Y-you saved me," I murmured. "You. I th-thought you hated me or something."

"That's not it at all," he whispered. "I've been a complete jackass. This is my fault. If I hadn't run, they never would've had a chance to come after you. I'm so sorry."

The strength and warmth of his embrace struck awe. Despite what just occurred, I felt completely safe. I mumbled, "W-when the cat thing happened, you s-said hugs are weird."

"Yeah. You don't think so, though, and that's what matters the most to me."

My breathing hitched. "You're like- my guardian angel."

"Tch. Not after I…" His hold on me tightened ever so slightly. "From now on, I will be. I swear it, partner. I'll protect you from anything, everything. You can count on me."

I craned my neck to meet his eyes despite the splitting pain in the base of my skull. "I will. Which means you have to carry me home."

"Carry you? Is that, like, okay?"

"Yes, it's okay! Why else would I ask you?"

"Okay, Jesus. You don't have to be so brutal about it." He hooked his arm under my knees and hoisted me up. "Like that?"

I wrapped my arms around his neck and said, "Just like that."

"We going to Martha's?"

"Nah. Take me another street down to the big building with the dome."

He carried me past the threshold. One black door remained where a set of double doors used to be. He ascended the steps to the stage. Silver light filtered through the broken ceiling. Kalin gently lowered me onto my cot and asked, "Where were you hit?"

"Uh, on the back of my head."

"Goddamn cowards, only way they could keep you from kicking their asses." He stormed towards the exit. "That's it. I'm going back, and I'll show them what-"

"Oh."

Kalin stopped in his tracks. "What was that?"

"What?"

He spun on his heel and crossed his arms. Moving would entice pain in my spine, so I lay still on my back. I had to watch him with one eye. He said, "Your 'oh' sounded awfully sad."

"I… guess I was kind of hoping you would stay."

Kalin's hand covered his mouth as he stared at me. The limp way his arm dropped gave a sense of defeat. He strode forward and sat with his back against my cot's legs. He draped his forearm over his knee.

Slanted moonlight from the dilapidated dome shifted the color of his hair to silver. He scratched under his headband, and his fingers fidgeted with the holes in his jeans. I asked, "Are you angry?"

"No," he said immediately. "Well, not at you. I am at them, obviously, but mostly at myself."

"I don't think it was your fault," I whispered.

"It's all my fault. I was such an idiot to rope you into this. It hit me when I saw you in pain yesterday, and now I've made it worse. It hurts me, too. It hurts so goddamned much to see you like this. So. I had some trouble coming to terms with the fact it only happened to you because of me."

The black fabric of my shirt bunched up in my fist over my stomach. "I'm here because I want to be, not because you made some mistake."

"You wanted to be nearly knocked out?"

I pushed up on my elbow. Stars flashed behind my eyes after the pain, but I grit my teeth and rolled to my side. My white hair spilled over my shoulder and onto the pillow.

After my breathing steadied, I said, "That's not what I mean, and you know it. I like being on Team Satisfaction. I like dueling other gangs and helping the Satellite. I like hanging out with Jack, Crow, and Yusei. Most of all, I like being close to you. I like being your partner. I like it when you look at me as if I can do anything, and when you lead me places, and when you go forward like nothing in the world can stop you. So- so there's no way I'm letting a couple of scrapes keep me down. You taught me better."

Silence settled. Kalin was still as a statue. His shoulders began to shake. I almost asked if he was okay before realizing he was quietly laughing. He threw his head back, and moonlight illuminated his grin. "Learning from me should be the last thing you wanna do."

"H-Huh? That's all you have to say?" He just kept laughing. I couldn't help but smile. "I missed you."

"It was only a day."

"A long one!"

"You're pretty dramatic, aren't you?"

I pouted. "This coming from the guy who literally ran away from me."

"Hey, I never said I wasn't."

"…Kalin?" He peered at me. My mouth was set in a thin line. I knew exactly what I wanted to say and how I wanted to say it, but the words refused to find freedom or breath. I swallowed air, shut my eyes, and blurted, "D-did you really mean it when you said you loved me?"

The ensuing quiet worsened my cowardice. Finally, he sighed. I risked cracking an eye open. His head was ducked. A light blush colored his cheeks. The way he barely lifted his head and met my eyes through his bangs came off as shy. Except this was Kalin, so the trait didn't add up.

"Look." His voice was as quiet as the whisper of the breeze through the flowers' stalks. "I blurted it out because what you kept saying made no sense. Like, why would you hate yourself when you're hilarious, nice, and kickass rolled together? Why'd you act like I'd think you were worthless when you're the person I most look forward to spending time with?"

His grasp on his elbow and faraway stare expressed a kind of hurt I didn't expect to cause in another person – like my lack of self-worth somehow pained him. He spoke through his teeth. "But. Yeah. Yeah, I really meant it."

My touch on his jawline brought him back to the present. I tipped his chin up so he could see my simple smile. I leaned over my partner and pressed my lips to his. My hair fell as a curtain around his face. His fingers laced through the locks up to grasping my temple, and he held my cheek with his other hand. I lifted my head, leaving less than an inch separating us. I whispered, "I love you, too."

Kalin broke out in a laugh and ran a hand through his hair. His grin was wider than any I'd seen. "Wow. I just- wow. I mean, I never imagined it upside-down. Not that I- shit. Forget I said that."

I giggled and reached for him again. The ache in my head forced a grunt out of me. I fell flat on my stomach. Kalin was on his feet in a millisecond. "Hey, can I get you water or something?"

The spiking pain forced me to bury my face in my pillow. I said, "I probably need to sleep. I don't want to, though."

"Oh." I saw what he meant about the sad-sounding "oh." He went on, "Can I do anything to help with that?"

I tilted my head the slightest amount so I could see him. My vision blurred again. My arm hung over the side of the cot. "Y-yeah. It's kinda dumb. Could you- um. W-would you hold my hand?"

His mouth opened, closed. "Of course. Yeah, of course I will."

Kalin dropped to the floor and intertwined his fingers with mine. The strength of his grip and heat from his fingertips were an unimaginable comfort. Sleep soon enveloped me in its dark arms.