Chapter 15 — With Friends Like These...

"Noël?"

A whisper in the middle of the night brushed my ears. The faint, nervous sound of my girlfriend's voice drifted across the bed. Monday November 15th, three AM. The moon shone through my window, our only light in the darkness. The whole world was a blur to me though, as one thought endlessly paraded through my brain.

I have to win.

"Noël?"

"Yeah," I answered finally.

Rana shifted closer to me under the covers. "Can't sleep?"

"...Nope." A shadow flittered across the ceiling. I glanced over—a dragonfly was buzzing around the window outside. Couldn't sleep either, apparently. As my eyes dropped down, I saw Rana's concerned expression.

"Is it…" Rana took a breath. "Sorry, is it… me?"

My brain skipped a beat. "What?"

"You never mentioned insomnia before. I know some people have trouble sleeping in the same bed with someone, and you're an only child so…" Rana winced. "I'm sorry if I'm keeping you awa—"

"It's not you." I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug. "Not even a little bit."

"Are you sure?"

"I sleep better with you here." I kissed the top of her hair. "It's the tournament."

Rana sighed with relief. "What are you thinking about?"

"I don't think I can refuse," I murmured. "There's gonna be a catch—"

"There always is," said Rana quietly. "You taught me that."

I nodded. "This feels like the time. Like the universe is telling me this is how I get them back."

"I can't refuse either," she murmured.

My eyes widened a little. For whatever reason, it hadn't occurred to me that Rana might enter the tournament too. As I considered though, it was obvious. Of course she would. She still had a wish to fight for. Only a few seconds passed as I processed, very grateful Rana couldn't see my face as my shock gave way to understanding.

"You okay?" asked Rana, not moving from her spot nestled in my arms. Her head lay on my torso, below my chin and atop my breast. Every time she spoke, a warm buzz rippled through my skin. "With me and everything."

"Yeah."

"I have to try," she added, almost apologetic.

"You don't need to explain," I murmured, and kissed the top of her head again. "And you don't need to go easy. I know you have a wish to fight for too."

"I've never told you what it is," said Rana, glancing up at me. Her hair brushed across my face, and I gently pushed it out of the way. "You tell me everything and I still keep secrets from you."

I shrugged. "You'll tell me when you feel comfortable. Or you won't until it's granted. I'm okay with it."

Her lips brushed my neck, sending a shiver through my whole body. "Thank you."

"As long as you didn't wish for a cute girlfriend," I added, grinning.

Rana giggled. "I already have that. It'd be a waste of a wish now."

"Oh, I'm sure the three of us could figure out something…"

Suddenly, we were both lost in a fit of giggles, which held all the way downstairs and into breakfast. Lloyd and Carolyn were waiting for us, fresh golden pancakes and orange juice on the table. After some hesitation and insistence from Rana, Lloyd went back into the kitchen to grill some bacon—he'd left it out to be respectful, but Rana knew bacon was one of my favorites, and it wasn't like I was following halal.

Breakfast would've been a cheerful affair throughout, except that Rana had decided today was the first day back to school for her. She'd already missed four, and while her grades were top-tier, too much would really start cutting into her future. Saturday night and Sunday afternoon had been non-stop schoolwork and studying to catch up.

On top of that, we had another decision to make.

"So…" I started, as Lloyd and Carolyn disappeared back to the kitchen with the plates. "At school today, are me and you…"

Rana finished her glass of juice before answering, staring at the tablecloth intently. "I want to be."

"But?"

"It feels like I'm…" Rana shook her head in dismay. "Like I'm flaunting it. I know word will get back to my parents. There's a few kids from my mosque at school. It'll just hurt them even more."

Screw 'em, I thought, but of course I couldn't say aloud. Rana had lost her parents, in some ways even worse than I had lost mine. "We could deny it. Say the whole story wasn't true."

"I could never deny I love you," said Rana, leaning into me. "Not to anyone."

"We won't make a big deal about it, then," I said, wrapping my arm around her. "And I'll make sure Kyla doesn't either."

She smiled. "I like it when she does."

"We're just another couple at school like any of the rest," I added firmly. "Give-or-take a stupid amount of press coverage."

Rana shivered. "How do you deal with it? I just want to ignore everything, but…"

"But you can't, because then you get surprised even worse," I said with a nod. "For what it's worth… it gets easier."

She leaned into my hug and closed her eyes. "We'll be late if we don't leave soon," she murmured.

"Just a few more minutes like this."

Rana hummed a sound that was equally content and melancholy, a wistful bliss knowing it would be shattered in mere minutes. In Lloyd's smaller dining room, with the morning sun on us and a delicious breakfast behind us, it was a last moment of shelter before yet another storm.

***

Thank god we shared the first class that day. As Rana and I got out of the car together, whispers were already enveloping us. Amateur reporters clamored behind the line of demarcation, desperate to get a comment from either of us but not willing to risk the lawsuit-ready glare of Carolyn. Already, I could hear their minds churning away.

Rana el-Yassin with that Sullivan girl? Getting out of Lloyd Strauser's car? The possibilities!

I'd offered to show up separately, but Rana refused outright. She wanted me there at her side, no half-measures. Despite knowing how it would set off the press—or maybe because of it, I'll never be sure—I agreed. Taking her hand in mine, I led us straight into school, through crowds that seemed to part ways like I was Noah and she was Aaron.

Class was much the same. Rana apologized to the teacher for her absences. I thought it was a bit much, but our teacher was left speechless. She didn't say a word as Rana ignored the seating chart entirely and took a desk next to me. Her hand reached out and grasped my own. I could feel her trembling under the surface, even as she projected a sort of determined serenity to the school outside.

Serenity was what we needed, for sure. In class and through the halls, the whispers continued. Some were supportive and encouraging, most were just curious. We were news, once again. It was almost comforting how familiar this feeling was, as Rana and I strolled down the hall to her locker. I wished we shared every class, and laughed inside how I'd wished the opposite only a couple months before. Despite our split schedule, Rana managed to find her way over to me after every single period, and shared a brief moment together before splitting again.

As we sat down for lunch at the far end of a lonely table row, I glanced at Rana. "That was something."

Rana smiled. "I decided to take the Noël approach."

"Throw it in everyone's faces?" I grinned. Rana leaned in and kissed me, before starting on her food. I looked around again, but Kyla was nowhere to be found.

Noël: where you at?

Kyla: Sorry, something I gotta do today. Won't be at lunch. Kiss your girl for me.

Noël: i'll kiss her for me thanks

Noël: see you later then?

No response, but at least she'd replied the once. I put my phone away as Rana chewed in silence next to me, staring out the wide doors to the back of the school. Kyla's old hideout was just barely visible, still torn wide open.

"I'm really sorry he did that," said Rana quietly.

I sighed. "He was trying to protect you, even if it was in a really dumb-male-jock way."

"He wasn't…" She trailed off as her face fell, and I winced.

"I'm sorry." I shook my head. "He wasn't dumb… I just—"

"You never really knew him," said Rana. She clutched my hand. "Just like the world never really knew you… they only ever saw you in trauma and pain."

"Like they're seeing you now," I grumbled. "Did you read what's getting said about you online?"

She shook her head. "I've been avoiding the net as much as possible."

"There's a lot of news stories out there… and some seriously awful stuff getting thrown around too," I said, a bit more harsh than I meant as Rana winced again. "People on the other side of the country are mad, and people here get mad at them for empty gestures and being assholes, call them out as racist and homophobic as if there aren't any racist sexist homophobes in Oregon. They're all hypocrites. Yelling at each other online and never actually doing anything about it. "

Rana squeezed my hand, cutting off my rant. She hugged me tight, as curious eyes across the cafeteria locked onto the pair of us. I hugged her back, almost defiantly, but as I closed my eyes all those feelings faded away. I'd been ranting about myself at the end, not Rana.

"Sorry," I murmured.

"You don't need to be," she whispered. We broke away, but Rana didn't let go of my hand. "I know it's awful, and probably nothing good will come out of it. But… if nothing else, remember where we are. It could be so much worse than it is."

Rana glanced around herself, and unlike for me, the many curious eyes darted away in an instant. I wasn't sure whether to call it respect or fear… wasn't sure it mattered either way.

"Those awful voices are many miles away and hiding behind their screens. Here, they just stare and gossip. If we were somewhere else… could I be sitting next to you right now?" She gestured to her hijab, today a swirl of light blues broken up by lines of white. "Could I even be wearing this right now?"

I shrugged, glancing away. "There's lots of places like this."

Rana smiled. "And I'm lucky enough to live in one of them. The danger's never really gone, but I can live as myself here."

"The faraway voices still have power though… they can make laws that hurt us and the crazy people might still find us." And suddenly I find myself sympathizing with the Cascadia nuts a lot more. "How do you do it?" I asked, glancing back at her. "Live with knowing that anyone might come after you, any day, just because of how you dress? Things you… y'know, you could change if you had to. The Qur'an has exceptions for life-or-death situations."

"It does," said Rana. The ruffles on the back of her hijab fluttered in a breeze from one of the doors opening nearby, proving their artificiality as if to accentuate my point. "But I won't live in fear every day. Not in my home." She hesitated a moment, her eyes glistening. "I just wish I'd been so brave about my feelings. Now it feels like the whole world broke into our living room and set up cameras."

"Hidden cameras you can't get rid of," I agreed bitterly.

She sighed, leaning into me. "How did you do it?"

"At first?" I said, distinctly aware—and just as distinctly not caring about—the stolen stares from a dozen directions. "I didn't really. I was totally numb for the first couple weeks. There was a social worker who basically forced me to eat and drove me to school every day while they tried to figure out what to do with me. I didn't have a phone yet." My voice caught in my throat for a moment and I glanced down at the floor. "My parents were saving up for one… they were going to buy it for my birthday."

"Three days later," said Rana quietly. I glanced at her, eyebrows raised, and she shrugged. "Everyone knows your birthday."

"They did milk a stupid amount of drama out of it," I grumbled. "But yeah… between the beginning of school stuff, the lawyers jumping to represent me pro bono so they could screw over the billionaires, no phone to actually read the news, and my friends…" I shook my head.

"What happened with your friends?" pressed Rana gently.

"I happened," I muttered. Rana waited patiently until I finally worked up the nerve to tell her. "I kinda exploded at them a bit, and they ditched me. It was after my best friend…"

Painful memories weren't easy to voice aloud. Very easy to rant about in my head, alone with my thoughts where nobody could judge me, but to relive aloud? Even with my beautiful, kind girlfriend who loved me, it was like pulling teeth. I'd take a hard-fought duel over this any day.

"My best friend at the time stopped talking to me a week after the accident. Right after I came out to that stupid reporter. Totally abandoned me, and everybody else followed her after I cussed them out."

Rana wrapped her arms around me and hugged tight.

"I never found out why," I whispered. "I mean… there's the obvious, but—"

"There's no good reason for it," she whispered back. "The specifics don't matter."

"Everyone left me." My voice was choking up for real now.

Lips brushed my cheek. "You aren't alone anymore," said Rana. The bell for our final class rang, and I thanked whatever god or spirit or star took a passing glance at me that I shared it with Rana. We helped each other up and walked together every step of the way. She was right, I wasn't alone—and by that same grace, neither was she.

***

The end of school began a promise to myself: I would train hard for that tournament. No entering yet, I didn't want to commit to the potential risk if I wasn't confident, and I had time to think about it. My training was going to be more focused than the random duels I'd been taking on though, and it started that day as I texted Kyla.

Noël: hey, want to come over and play riposte after school?

Kyla: Hmm… I dunno…

Noël: what

Kyla: Oh, just having my deepest desire fulfilled by my best friend. I swear Noël, if you were a hot guy I'd absolutely be swept off my feet

Noël: keep dreaming

Noël: you gonna be done with your thing by then?

Kyla: Yeah. Pick me up at home, mon ami

Noël: i'm sure you meant to type amie

Kyla: ;)

Carolyn and I dropped Rana off first. She wanted to get out of the house for a bit, spend some time in the library—one well-removed from both our school and her home, way out in the suburbs. I'd miss her, sure, but we'd basically spent every waking hour together for nearly a week. A break was probably healthy for both of us… and she'd still be going to sleep with me by the end of the night. I couldn't complain too much.

No such restraint for Kyla, though. "Geez, watch it," she grumbled as we rolled across the gravel outside her home. Behind her, I could just make out Kyla's mother and stepfather, glaring at us through the kitchen blinds.

"Watch what?"

"Nothing." Kyla glanced out the window away from me. "...Car this fancy should avoid shit roads like my place. Gravel might scratch up the paint."

I shrugged. "I'm sure we could fix it."

"Yeah." She shrugged and kept staring, leaving an awkward air to settle in the backseat.

We rode in silence for half the town. Kyla finally lightened up over one of the bridges, pointing out a ship coming in down the river laden with rich partiers, ripe for a few choice insults. We found plenty of other odd sights to mock as Carolyn weaved us up into the hills toward Lloyd's home. She enjoyed lambasting the excess of the rich, and as someone with wealth who still found it all excessive, I was more than happy to join in.

By the time we arrived at Lloyd's, Kyla seemed back to normal. We darted upstairs through the empty house, straight to my room and my collection of Riposte cards. No small talk, just straight to the game. It surprised me—Kyla loved to go on about this and that, but today she seemed as determined as I was. All the better, since I had the tournament hanging over my head. It was time to train.

"Hey, so I had a thought," I started as we dug through my cards. Thanks to Lloyd's cash, I'd bought a sizeable number of new duelists to fill out the gaps in Kyla's library. "Can you play someone besides the Captain?"

Kyla raised an eyebrow, her treasured Captain Winter already halfway down to the table.

I shrugged. "I feel like I gotta start dueling a whole bunch of characters if I want to get better. I need more experience."

"Huh…" She frowned, glancing at her duelist again, then back at me with a suspicious look. "...Okay, but you should do the same."

"What?" I asked, taken aback.

"If I'm switching up who I'm playing, you should too."

"Doesn't that kinda defeat the purpose?" I asked. "I want to learn how to win with Check against everyone."

Kyla shook her head. "You already know how to play Check. It's about knowing what the moves can do in a bunch of situations. There's as much to learn about a fighter by playing them as much as playing against them. Trust me."

Something was off, but I couldn't put my finger on what. Kyla wore a very stony look, sitting across from me at the little table. A faint breeze blew in through my window, drifting a few cards around. I got up to close it, and when I sat down again, Kyla had swapped out both our duelists. Check sat up on the sill next to Captain Winter, gazing down at our new duelists.

Reylon's Cynthia stared back at me. It no longer held the shine of commitment like Check, but I felt a chill down my spine nonetheless. Kyla tapped impatiently on Ling Hao. She glanced over at me, raising an eyebrow.

I frowned. "You sure?"

"Just siddown and play," said Kyla, rolling her eyes. "Time to get out of your comfort zone a bit, Noël."

True to her word, Kyla put me seriously out of my zone. I used to have a solid bead on what she'd do in any given situation. Today was something else. No matter what I tried, I just couldn't get any real momentum going. Half her moves seemed born out of some alien moon logic. Don't get me wrong, she wasn't exactly winning either. Most duels came down to the wire. The difference was, I never seemed to know when I had a solid grasp, or when things were spiraling out of control.

We dueled for a couple hours straight. I played more duelists than I'd seen in the League so far, but still it wasn't enough for her. Kyla wanted more, and she was starting to get rough. I knew Kyla could throw a fiery rant or two when the need arose, but I'd never been the subject of one.

"Why the hell would you play a recover here?" she growled as I flipped my card. She rolled her eyes and flipped over her Charge. "I deal enough damage that it did literally nothing. You just wasted a whole move."

"And so did yo—" I started, intending to point out the obvious, but Kyla barreled right on through.

"Idiotic moves like that get you killed. I swear, you gotta watch your entitlement. Thinking you can get away with whatever just because…" Kyla trailed off, glaring at my card like it had personally insulted her.

I waited a few moments for Kyla to chill out, just biding my time in the abrupt silence. Finally she sat back, tearing her eyes away from the cards. "I burned my Recover to make you lose the Charge for free. It's not used in Hawkson's special, but you need two Charges for Mo'Gar's."

"Yeah, whatever," said Kyla with a bitter frown.

"Look, we've played every single duelist we have. Why don't we take a break?" I stood up and held out my hand. After a few moments, Kyla took it and helped herself up. As she stood, her expression faded away. "I never showed you around the place. There's secret passages and everything."

"All the better to sneak in your concubines?" Kyla grinned, a twinkle of her old self back.

"Sneak out, more like," I grumbled. "Lloyd doesn't worry me half as much as the press."

So began our tour. Kyla did seem a great deal happier as we roamed up and down the halls, staircases, secret passages, and offices. We took a break in my office to show off my computer setup—which Kyla didn't find nearly as interesting as Rana had… or maybe Rana had just been humoring me—which, of course, naturally led into showing off Lloyd's setups.

My patron's office was a techie's dreamland. The place was a neatly-organized barrage of screens and servers. Desks lined each side with two rolling chairs set in the middle, presumably for Lloyd and the partner he never found. A custom air-conditioning system had been built specifically for this room, low-profile vents so well hidden, I had a hard time pointing them out to Kyla. It was seamless and cutting edge, and I knew every inch of it.

Or… I thought I did.

"Whoah," said Kyla, as she poked her finger into one of the keyboard trays at the far end. A nearly-invisible circle of wood depressed as she did. Paneling popped out, and a drawer slid open from what I had previously assumed to be a solid part of the desk. Inside… "Dude, your not-dad plays Riposte?"

I bounded up next to her, shocked. Sure enough, the drawer was stacked to the brim with cards. More duelists than either of us owned, some support cards we'd never seen, and what looked like every single dueling ground that existed. As far as I could tell, this was a complete set. More surprising, they were very well used. The art was faded and peeling on quite a few. I squinted, and as I looked closer, my jaw nearly dropped.

One of the cards was outlined in a faint glow.

Warily, I sifted through the cards, doing my best not to draw Kyla's attention. Sure enough, buried toward the bottom was a duelist card, thicker and with the same vague sheen as Check's commitment. The Raven of Westhalm stared back at me, scarred face and raven silhouette more ominous than ever—and I'd fought the guy in person. My hand shook slightly as I lifted it out of the drawer.

"What?" asked Kyla, glancing over. "You wanna play him or something?"

Lloyd was in the League. "Nothing," I said quickly, dropping the card back into the pile. I forced my hand to steady itself. "Thought it looked holographic or something."

"Nah, they never printed any holos," said Kyla with a shrug. "Said they didn't want the game to be a trading market. Not that it stopped them from making promos like Check."

She kept talking, going on about some piece of the game's history and the creators, but I'd tuned her out entirely. My mind raced like a bullet shot from Check's pistol. I had earth-shattering news to consider here. Kyla would have to wait for a minute.

Lloyd had been in the League. Did he win? Lose? Clearly he hadn't lost three times, since he was still here—assuming that was the limit anyway. The Moderator had said it was when the bond broke with a duelist… maybe I was reading too much into the 'three strikes' idea. This was all wild speculation. Rana and I would have to dig into it more when we had some alone time.

...Both of us had our commitments at breakfast every morning. We had them the night Rana first came to our place. Lloyd would have seen them glowing through our bags. He knew I joined the League. He had to have known the whole time. Not a word? My resentment for him was growing a bit. He could have warned me, should have warned me. My legal guardian let me stumble into some seriously dangerous stuff.

Unless he'd never actually dueled. Maybe he'd been too afraid to go through with it. I could see that. Lloyd was so timid half the time. Without Carolyn, he'd have never made it anywhere in selling his tech. A grin crossed my face as I considered Carolyn might have joined the League instead, but I brushed it aside. It seemed even more far-fetched. This card hidden in his personal desk was Lloyd's, no doubt about it in my mind. Hidden well, too—light strips placed around the desk for mood lighting also cleverly hid the outline of the card from anyone who might have seen it through the wood. Lloyd wouldn't have put so much care into its hiding spot if he hadn't used it, and known how serious the League was.

What would he have wished for?

"Noël!"

I snapped back to reality. Kyla had shouted in my ear, and she looked pissed.

"Awake now?"

"Yeah," I said, annoyed at her interrupting my train of thought. It wasn't exactly fair—I'd been totally ignoring her for a few minutes and I invited her over after all—but I felt it all the same. "What's up?"

"Oh nothing," said Kyla sarcastically. "Sorry, forgot I don't exist til you're looking at me. I'm Schrödinger's goddamn cat."

"...That's not really what that mea—"

Kyla cut me off with a glare. "I know it isn't. You're smarter than me, congrats, let's move on."

"What's up with you today?" I asked before I could stop myself.

"Nothing. Want to go play some more duels? You gotta get your practice in, right?"

I shook my head. "Talk to me. Please."

Kyla sat down in one of the chairs. She spun a circle idly, glancing up at the ceiling… where even more servers hung, and arrays of ethernet cables were zip-tied in neat color-coded channels. "...Think this room is worth more than my entire house four times over."

"Probably," I said, not sure where she was going.

"Fancy house, fancy computers, hidden drawers and passages, a personal chef, fancy car, even an assistant who seems like a former spy half the time. You got it made, Noël."

"And?"

"Nevermind," said Kyla with a sigh. "Seriously, can we just drop it? I don't want to make you hate me."

"Why would I hate you?" I asked, frowning.

"It's nothing."

"You know this is gonna be weird one way or the other…"

Kyla rolled her eyes. "Fine, okay. I wish you hadn't driven such a nice car to my parents' place."

My mind skipped a beat. "Huh?"

"I've seen your garage. You could've picked something cheaper, or at least more subtle." She sighed again. "Now my parents are gonna ask about my rich friend. They just figured you were street trash like me until now."

I winced. "Gee, thanks."

"I don't talk to them, okay?" Kyla shot back. "Now they're gonna get on me about money. It sucks. My life sucks, okay? I read comics like Captain Winter to get away, I play escapist garbage, but I still handle the crap. Sometimes I wish I could be the Captain, shoot my parents in the face and go command an army, but I deal with it, and with this crappy world. I deal with them."

"Tell them to back off."

She barked a mirthless laugh. "You tell them to back off. See where the bottle sticks to your skull. God, Noël, sometimes you're so entitled."

"None of this is mine," I snapped, gesturing around. "I didn't want to live here."

"But you do," said Kyla. She got up and walked past me out into the hall, gazing out over the railing to the foyer. "And you're turning into a rich girl. You don't think about the rest of us. I'm just another thing to use and throw away when you're done."

"What?" I asked, seriously taken aback. "That's not true, I don't—"

"Like hell you don't. Yeah, you've got some awful crap in your life," said Kyla, turning back around to face me. "What happened to your parents blows, and Rana's got it even worse. I was there for you, I get it. Just don't forget who your friends are, Noël. Or what friends are."

She started to walk away. I stood there dumbfounded for a full minute, gazing at the spot she'd vacated. Where had that come from?

"Kyla, wait!"

The words tore unbidden from my mouth as I sprang into motion. I rushed down the hall, but Kyla was already down the stairs and at the front door. She glanced back up at me, hand on the knob. waiting expectantly. I desperately tried to pull together something to say, anything. Apologize? I wasn't sure what I needed to apologize for, just that I needed to. An 'I'm sorry' sure wasn't going to cut it with Kyla though. She didn't care for empty platitudes. Something had gone horribly wrong and my brain was still trying to pick up the pieces.

"Carolyn's not back yet," I stammered, at a loss for anything else.

Kyla rolled her eyes. "I can get home without a chauffeur, thanks."

With that, she turned and vanished. The door snapped shut behind her, and suddenly I was alone in a house that felt far too large, and far too empty, a withering husk where only that morning had been life and joy. Kyla had torn it out and scattered the ashes into the wind, and I was left alone to wonder why.

***

After another few minutes of dumbfounded staring, I went back into Lloyd's office and packed everything away again. The hidden drawer snapped back into place, seamless as if I'd never opened it. I could still see his commitment shining through the wood, barely visible amidst the lights, but it stood out like a sore thumb now that I knew where to look. I wasn't the only one keeping secrets around here.

Rana got back an hour later, and found me on my balcony staring out into the trees. She didn't say a word, just sat down and put her arms around me. I don't know how she knew I was in pain. Maybe I just projected it like an aura. Whatever the case, it was plain on my face that something had gone wrong, and within minutes I'd retold the whole story, as accurately as I could.

She didn't take sides one way or another. Rana just listened, and held me, and let me work through my anger and frustration. I loved that about her.

Our conversation turned away from Kyla soon enough. I think Rana knew that talking more about my friend's sudden exit wouldn't do me any good, only compound on the confusion already wracking my brain. Instead, we turned our thoughts to the intrigue that had sprouted in our midst.

"He must have known this whole time," I said, glancing down at the patio. Lloyd was there, just barely visible from this angle, two stories below through the kitchen window. No way he could hear us from this far, quiet as Rana and I usually were.x "Do you think Carolyn knows?"

"I don't know," murmured Rana. She settled her head on my shoulder, gazing out into the dark sky. "They clearly don't intend to share."

"What did he wish for?" I speculated aloud. "Money's the obvious answer, but… he's actually good at tech. So he could have just earned all this. I don't think he just wished his software into existence, he has to maintain and update it." And if someone had to come grant his wish like I did for the Liebowiczes, how does that work?

"Maybe not the software, but he could have wished for the sale," said Rana thoughtfully. "Plenty of programmers have great ideas that never take off because they can't market, right? You told me that."

I nodded. "So maybe his fortune came through someone putting him in contact with the right people?"

"We're assuming he even received a wish," she pointed out. "A commitment doesn't prove anything. We don't even know it's his."

"It's his," I said firmly. "I'm sure."

For all our speculation, dinner was a wholly uneventful affair. Both Lloyd and Carolyn didn't seem to notice a single thing had changed, despite the looks both Rana and I couldn't hide. Carolyn took us to school, chatting idly about an upcoming play she thought we might enjoy. It sounded interesting, but honestly, we were both too distracted to notice. I felt kinda bad about it, especially after all Kyla's points about not paying attention to my friends. I resolved to change things… but Kyla was nowhere to be found.

Oh, to be clear, she was in class. I didn't have to worry about another friend vanishing into the aether with a blood-curdling headline. Kyla just wasn't talking to us. Total cold shoulder. After a few vague attempts at talking to a brick wall, I gave up trying to get her to join us at lunch. I figured she'd tell me when it was time.

Meanwhile, I had to keep going. The tournament was coming up, and Kyla wasn't there to train with me anymore. Reluctantly, I started taking online matches again. I didn't want to give away too much to potential opponents, and I sure as hell didn't enjoy the idea of inflicting penalties on people… but what else was there? Drizzle opponents had dried up completely, and I didn't enjoy dueling Rana at all (nor she me). Unless I wanted to go after people I knew, Rana's friends, I had to dive into the anonymous matches again.

A week later, I'd played four more matches and won all four. It was November the 25th, and I had one day left to decide if I was entering the tournament. No Thanksgiving dinner for us… I hadn't had one since my parents left, and I think Rana avoided mentioning it to avoid any thoughts of her family. I spent the evening on my balcony as usual, listening to Rana praying in the other room. Sometimes I wondered if this was my own kind of prayer, stargazing and hoping for some sign from above. If only the stars were brighter—living atop the hill with Lloyd made it easier, but the light pollution from the city still wiped out most of my view.

Would I regret entering the tournament? There was always a catch. Penalties, transposition, even the way wishes were fulfilled… the League never played things straight. Something was going to happen here. Were my parents worth the risk?

Noël: i'm in. put me in the tournament

The Moderator: Excellent! Just on time, dear Noël, as we have reached our entrant cap. You will receive your bracket and further instructions soon. Good luck!

Well, there was an unseen bullet dodged. I went back to double-check my old messages. Sure enough, not a word about an entrant cap. As I scrolled through my phone, Rana came out and sat down beside me. She leaned in, eyes closed.

"I did it," I murmured.

She nodded. "I knew you would."

"You?"

Another nod.

"So…" I said, putting an arm around her, "what happens if we get matched against each other?"

Rana hesitated. Her eyes drifted skyward, opening like the gates of a fortress to a new dawn. She didn't answer for a very long time, and I didn't prompt her. It was a question with no proper answer. How could I ask her not to fight for her wish? How could I want anything less than my parents' return to life? Could I ever duel her in a real match, knowing I might give her a penalty… or worse?

"Inshallah," she said finally.

"If Allah wills," I translated aloud.

Rana glanced at me with a slight smile. "Have you been studying Arabic?"

I shrugged. "Maybe."

Her knowing smile grew, and she leaned back into my shoulder to settle more comfortably. After a few moments of silence, she whispered, "I won't hold back."

"Okay." I hugged her, doing my best to show her I was okay with it. She seemed uncomfortable, and I felt a bit awkward myself. Yeah, I'd love to say I meant it, but… I'm selfish, okay? I'd prefer Rana just let me win. Better yet, not be in the tournament at all. It was my parents on the line. Rana probably had just as important a wish, but… as much as I loved her, I'd only known her a few months.

My parents had been in my life for nearly thirteen years, until they weren't. I had to get them back. Once I did, everything would get better. I could be friends with Kyla again, Rana would have a real home with people who cared about us, and my life would be back on track. No more press, no more secret underground life-or-death battles, no more whispers in the halls and crowds of students fascinated by the angry tragic lesbian kid.

Just… normal.

***

We didn't talk about the tournament again all week, or even about Riposte. I didn't play a single match either. No point in risking more penalties atop the one I still had lingering, if the tournament would grant my wish all on its own. I studied duelists and trawled the forums for any hints I could get on my competition. A few people were open about their entry to the tournament, but most kept it quiet.

Most… except my first opponent.

As the clock struck midnight on the 30th, both Rana and I were hunched over our phones in the backyard. Right on time, a chime of the bell echoed in the distance. Twin buzzes erupted in our hands. The bracket was out. Most of it was anonymized, but we could see where we fell in the layout, and the name of our first opponent. Attached to the bracket was a brief message:

The Moderator: Welcome one and all aspirants to the eighth Tournament! Your first opponent has been revealed. Tomorrow you may begin your first match. Feel free to duel in any locale you see fit. To contact your opponent, simply tap their name on the bracket. You must complete this round's duel by next Wednesday the eighth. Good luck!

"I'm up against Robin?" I groaned. On top of being the first person I'd lost to, he was just a kid. I didn't want to give him a penalty. Maybe Rana was right, and tournaments didn't give penalties… but I doubted it. Or if not, there might be an even worse punishment waiting. Nothing was ever free.

"...In a way, I'm glad," said Rana. Her own opponent was someone neither of us knew. "At least he'll be beaten by a friend. Someone safe."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence."

A moment later, my phone buzzed again, startling us both. As soon as I opened the message, it buzzed again. Rana giggled as she read over my shoulder.

Robin: Yay! I get to duel you Noël!!! It's gonna be so much fun :D :D :D You're so cool!!! <3

Robin: Let's do it tomorrow! :)

Robin: What do you think :O It's a holiday so there's no school!!!

Robin: Oh are you asleep??? D: I'm so sorry I didn't think! >.<

I rolled my eyes as Rana kept giggling. "Least someone's happy."

"Aww… He likes you," said Rana, finally calming down. She poked me in the cheek. "You'd better reply before he explodes, poor kid," she added as my phone buzzed yet again.

Robin: Let me know >.< I'll stop texting you now! ;-;

Noël: i'm not asleep don't worry. i'm not busy tomorrow. same place in the park after lunch? like 2pm?

Robin: Oh yay! Sorry again! ._.

Robin: Yeah!!! The park is awesome :) Let's do that :D

Robin: See you tomorrow! <3 <3 <3

"Yeah," I replied aloud, a swirling mixture of excitement, fear, melancholy, anxiety, and too many other emotions to name filling my voice. Rana hugged me as I stared down at the phone, crickets echoing through the woods to mark the battleground where my tournament would begin, with a rematch against my very first opponent. This time, I had to win.

"...See you tomorrow."