The first thing James and Faris see as they come up the stairs is Misty—in full formal attire, no less—beating Ash around the head with his Official Pokémon League hat. The door to the room Starr’s in is shut.
    “You should know better than to talk to girls like that, you little creep!” she roars.
    “What happened?” James asks.
    Misty points to Ash. “When Starr came out of the room to show her dress, THIS thing said it looked like a tablecloth!”
    Faris grins a little bit, but says nothing.
    Starr cracks the door open a little.
    “What’s up?” Faris asks, seeing the nervous look in Starr’s green eyes.
    “I don’t know if I can do this.” Starr replies, looking down. “This is…I mean…this whole party….I don’t know anyone here…and….and…….…”
    Abruptly she flings the door open, asking, “Does it really look like a tablecloth?”
    James shakes his head no. “Of course not.”
    Starr still looks doubtful, turning and going back into the room. She looks in the mirror, pulls her hair back with the rose clip, then leans a little closer and sighs.
    Faris and James walk into the room.
    Starr closes her eyes and sighs. When she opens them again, James is looking over her shoulder.
    “You look pretty. Don’t worry,” he says, smiling.
    “Seriously…” Starr asks.
    James nods. “I’m your friend. I’d never lie to you about something like that.”
    Faris pats Starr’s shoulder. “You’ll do fine.”
    “Are you sure?” Starr turns suddenly, hands clasped in front of her, green eyes big and cute and imploring.
    Faris cracks up. “YES. Starr, you look fine. You will probably have males following you around all evening. As long as you just relax and have fun, you’ll be fine.”
    Starr sighs and smiles. “Thanks. That’s exactly what I needed to hear.”
    Faris says, “Trust me, formal parties are a lot more normal than you’d think. You ready? Martina’s taking all of us to dinner first.”
    “Food is always a good thing.” Starr replies. “I’m almost done. I’m just going to put on what minuscule amount of make-up I ever use, then I’ll be ready.”
    “Okay, then.” Faris says as she’s leaving.
    Misty walks into Starr’s room, pulls out her ponytail, and puts in the hairband. “Don’t worry. I’m nervous too. But we’ll have fun.”
    “I know.” Starr smiles as she faces Misty. “Shall we?” She puts out her hand.
    “Let’s shall.” Misty nods, linking arms with Starr. The two of them stride down the hall and down the stairs, to where Togepi, James and Brock are waiting in the living room.
    “Tada!” Misty sings, doing her ‘model spin’ again.
    Brock blinks. He stammers and blushes before managing to say, “You look pretty, Misty….”
    “Brriii, toge toge!!” Togepi cheers, clapping its little hands.
    Ash is the next one to be ready. He comes down the stairs humming with Pikachu on his head.
    His Pokémon League hat is also still on his head.
    “Aa~sh!” Misty puts her hands on her hips. “You can’t wear that silly hat to a formal party.”
    “Says who? I’m only going to wear this silly outfit if I get to wear my hat.” Ash crosses his arms and looks down at his suit with a funny look on his face.
    “Ash, you look fine. Your tie is even straight,” Starr says.
    Ash stops grumbling and looks proud. “First try, too.”
    “Why Pikachu, don’t you look fancy,” Misty giggles. Pikachu is wearing a string of beads around her neck.
    “Pika.” Pikachu bows.
    “Martina insisted that even Pikachu and Raichu be formal,” Faris says apologetically from the top of the stairs.
    James looks up at her. His eyes go wide for a second, then he blushes a little and looks proud.
    At Starr’s teasing grin, he says a bit defensively, “Well, who wouldn’t be proud to be with someone as beautiful as Faris?”
    “Where’s Jessie?” Misty speaks up. “She’s been up in the bathroom for hours.”
    As if on cue, Jessie appears at the top of the stairs. She’s wearing a long, tight pale-blue dress with fairly puffy sleeves and a low neckline. Her hair is in a high ponytail held up with a pale blue scrunchie.
    “Sorry,” Jessie says.
    Faris shrugs. “It’s all right. Martina still isn’t ready, and if I know my mother, we’re in for a wait before she is.”
 Fifteen minutes later, just as everyone is getting bored, Martina emerges from wherever she’s been. Her normal little red dress has been replaced by a tight red floor-length strapless dress with a long slit up one side.
    “Are we all set?” she says cheerily.
    For once, Faris smiles at her mother. “Ready when you are, Martina.”
    Everyone gets in the limousine that’s pulled up in front of the house, heading for the party on East Cinnabar.

    Surprisingly, Martina doesn’t say a word about IT all through dinner. Rather, she merely gushes about what a cute couple Faris and James make. Jessie seems happier. She sits beside Starr and talks to her about the fashion magazines Martina’s worked with, and Martina might give her a job sometime.
    The night only gets better when they arrive at the party.
    The dance hall is beautiful, with a polished wood floor. Chandeliers like midair castles hang from the ceiling and the mirror walls reflect their light. Ice sculptures of Articuno and the legendary phoenix bird Pokémon Houou grace the punch table.
    Starr is awestruck by this. Misty’s eyes fill with a galaxy of stars.
    “I feel like Cinderella!”
    Even Faris looks impressed. “This really is beautiful. They went all out.”
    When no one is looking, James sneaks a small pink rose and a large white lily from a flower arrangement, giving the rose to Starr and the lily to Faris.
    “For my best friend and my girlfriend,” he says, bowing.
    Misty sighs happily. James blushes a little bit, but at the next opportunity he manages to sneak a little pink carnation for Misty.
    “Thank you!” she smiles. “You’re really sweet when you want to be, James.”
    “Playboy.” Ash pokes James in the arm.
    Brock is busily taking notes.
    Jessie has gone off and is flirting with a large group of guys near the punch table. Starr shakes her head.
    “Jessie’s in her element,” James sighs. “There’s no way we’re going to be able to get her away from there.”
    “Oh well. Let her have some fun, I guess.” Starr shrugs.
    The group separates. Ash & Pikachu, Brock and Misty & Togepi go off to talk to some of the other kids. Misty recognizes Giselle from Pokémon Tech. Faris and James walk off together.
    Starr looks around to see if she knows anyone. Aside from Faris, James, and Ash-tachi, she doesn’t.
    A long, bored sigh escapes her lips, and she leans on the windowsill to watch the stars.
    “Pretty, aren’t they?”
    Starr blinks and turns to see a guy about her age smiling at her. He has blue eyes and deeper blue hair. He’s a little taller than she, about two inches, maybe.
    And he’s cute.
    Very cute.
    He goes on, “Are you interested in astronomy, or you just like the view?”
    “I guess a little bit of both.”
    “Me, too.” He leans on the sill next to Starr, looks down at his hands, and then looks up at her again. “I saw you come in with your friends.”
    Starr nods. “Hmm. All of them are busy, though. So I just figured I do what I used to whenever I had time on my hands at night, watch the stars.”
    The guy smiles. “When I was a kid, I used to be fascinated by the night sky. All those mystical shining things up there. I set myself to finding out as much as I could about the sky. But knowing everything there is to know about the stars takes away some of the mystery and they don’t seem so wonderful anymore. Some things are better left to the imagination.”
    Starr smiles and says, “That’s really beautiful.”
    “You think so?” The guy turns a little pink.
    “Yes…what’s your name?”
    “Michael Corwin. What’s yours?”
    “Starr Evans.”
    Michael’s smile gets bigger. “It figures I’d meet a girl named Starr while I was talking about the night sky.”
    “You like my name then?”
    “Yes.” Michael is turning pinker. He clears his throat twice, looks at the sky again and then abruptly says, “Starr, if it’s okay with you, would you like to dance?”
    Starr nods.
    Michael takes Starr’s hand and leads her out onto the dance floor.
 

    The orchestra has begun to play a slow song. Faris looks over at the dance floor and happens to see a familiar person with cherry-colored hair dancing.
    “James, look,” Faris says, putting a hand on James’s shoulder.
    James does, and smiles. “I’m glad she found somebody. I was worried she’d get bored all by herself.”
    Faris looks at the guy Starr is with and smiles. “He looks almost exactly like….”
    “Like who?”
    “Forget it.” Faris shakes her head and laughs.
    James looks out again at Starr and her partner, then turns to Faris. “You know, that looks like fun. Faris, may I have the honor of this dance?”
    Faris only takes James’s hand, smiling.
    The two of them join Starr and Michael out on the floor.
 

    Starr rests her head on Michael’s shoulder as he holds her just a little bit closer.
 

    Faris puts her arms around James’s waist and breathes in the smell of his cologne and roses as he kisses the top of her head.
 

    Misty tugs on Giselle’s sleeve suddenly. “Oh, wow! Look!”
    “What?” She tries to look past Ash to see what Misty is so shiny-eyed about.
    Misty indicates two couples dancing slowly around the floor. “The girl with the red hair is my friend Starr, and the guy with the light blue hair and the girl with the lavender hair is James and Faris! Oh, they look so pretty! It’s so romantic!”
    Giselle and Misty sigh almost in unison. Togepi looks shiny-eyed.
    “Who’s Starr with?” Brock asks.
    “I don’t know,” Misty replies. “But he’s handsome.”
    Ash takes one look at Misty and Giselle and cracks up.
    Misty and Giselle, however, are too busy sighing over the romance of the scene to whap him.
    Ash rolls his eyes, then looks again. For a second, he can almost see what Misty and Giselle are so worked up about. It does seem neat…almost like a fairy tale.
    Suddenly someone remarks behind Ash, “Well, well, if it isn’t Ash the Loser!”
    Ash cringes, grinding his teeth together at the sound of the familiar voice. Collecting himself, he turns to face Gary. “Oh, hi, Gary,” he says nonchalantly, deciding not to lose his cool, much as he wants to clobber his archrival.
    Gary looks a bit shocked—usually Ash would have spazzed by now. “Uh…so, what’s a no-good trainer like you doing in a place like this?”
    “I’m here with my friend,” Ash replies, having fun watching Gary’s eyes bug out at his calmness.
    “What friend?” Gary demands, cool-obnoxious-guy persona flying out the window.
    “Faris Greyweirs.”
    Gary facefaults. “No way! A loser like you knows her?!? A loser like you is FRIENDS with her!?!?!”
    Ash nods smugly, grateful to finally have an edge over him. “Yeah.”
 

    The slow song is drawing to an end. Starr looks up at Michael and smiles. “Thank you.”
    Michael smiles back. “I should be thanking you.”
    Starr blushes and looks down, then looks back up.
 

    Faris looks up at James.
 

    Michael leans in to Starr.
 

    James leans in to Faris.
 

    Then, suddenly, the moment is shattered when someone says, “James! What on earth ARE you doin’?”
    James freezes.
    He twitches a little.
    Faris turns to see what’s disturbed him so much, and sees…
    A girl in a ridiculous pale yellow Nanami-esque dress. Complete with huge gold and pink bows.
    The girl resembles Jessie, but her hair is pulled back from her face in two ringlet ponytails.
    “And just who is this gal you’re dancin’ with?” the girl goes on, her southern accent getting more pronounced as she does.
    James squeezes Faris’ hand and says determinedly, “Jezebel, this is my girlfriend, Faris Greyweirs.”
    “Girlfriend?!?” Jezebel exclaims. “But James honey, y’all and me are engaged! Y’all can’t have a girlfriend, toooo!”
    “We broke the engagement off,” James says firmly, though his voice shakes a little. After all, this IS the girl who’s terrorized him for most of his natural life.
    “Jezebel? What’s goin’ on over there?” someone calls from the crowd.
    “Oh no.” James drops his head as a woman with purple hair in a bun and a man with blue hair and a mustache comes over.
    From across the room, Michael watches. “Who’s causing the ruckus?” he wonders.
    Starr looks. “Oh, great, someone’s bothering my friends.” She starts to head over. Michael follows.
    James looks at the floor as his mother asks, “James, who’s this girl y’all were dancing with?”
    “Mom, this is Faris. Faris, meet my mom and dad,” James says with a complete and total lack of enthusiasm.
    “James, you should know better than to just dance with any old girl. Our family has a reputation to keep up, and if our son goes off dancin’ with some stranger, what will people think?” James’s father pats his son’s shoulder.
    “Faris isn’t a stranger. We’ve been going out for more than a week.”
    “What’s going on?” a girl’s voice comes from behind him. Peeking past his dad, James can see Starr and a guy with sky blue hair.
    “James, what’s going on?” Starr repeats.
    “This is James’ parents,” Faris explains. “And his former fiancée, Jezebel.”
    “Former fiancée? James, honey, what have you been telling this girl?” James’s mother scolds gently. “Y’all know you an’ Jezebel are still betrothed.”
    “Not anymore,” James replies firmly. “It’s been broken off.”
    “By who?” Jezebel demands.
    “By me!” James retorts.
    “James, y’all know you probably didn’t do it right.” Jezebel shakes a finger at him.
    James’s mother nods. “James, we only want what’s best for you.” She puts a hand on Faris’ shoulder and delicately shoves her away from James. “Don’t take it too hard, darlin’, but as much of a delinquent as our son is, we can’t have him marryin’ a commoner.”
    James turns red. “Faris is not a ‘commoner’. If you’d listen, you’d have heard when I said her name is Faris GREYWEIRS. As in Martina Greyweirs’s daughter.”
    James’s parents blush. His mother puts her hand over her mouth. “Oh, dear, what a faux pas.”
    James’s father turns back to Faris. “Forgive us, we had no idea…”
    The two of them hurry off.
    Jezebel, unfortunately, stays, determined to get this not-engaged-to-James-anymore business straightened out.
    Faris chooses to ignore her and turns to Starr. “Starr, who’s your friend?”
    “Michael Corwin,” Starr’s friend replies, extending his hand. James and Michael shake hands, then Michael smiles at Faris.
    “Faris Greyweirs…right?”
    Faris nods.
    “Neat,” Michael smiles.
    Jezebel can’t take being ignored anymore. She watches the back-and-forth introductions for about five seconds more before stomping in between and shrilling, “Ah can’t take this anymore! James, y’all had no right to go behind mah back and break off our engagement!”
     “Yes, he did,” Faris says levelly.
    “Y’all STAY OUTTA THIS!” Jezebel demands, glaring at Faris.
    “Why should I?”
    “Y’all had no right to encourage him!” Jezebel huffs, trying to grab James’s arm. “He’s MAH betrothed, and y’all better keep your hands off him! He belongs to ME.”
    James jerks his arm away.
    “I. Am. Not. Yours,” he says in a low voice.
    Jezebel laughs. “Why, James, silly, of course you are!”
    “I don’t belong to anyone.”
    “James—”
    “I am not a possession!”
    “But—”
    “I am a human being and I am NOT going to change and do what you say just because you want me to. The only part of me that belongs to ANYONE is my heart, and that belongs to Faris Greyweirs!” James announces confidently, standing up to Jezebel for the first time in his life.
    And for the first time in her life, Jezebel looks up….
    Swallows…
    And steps back.
    Starr looks levelly at Jezebel. “I think you should probably go before you make a bigger idiot of yourself,” she says calmly.
    Jezebel gasps and faces Starr. “Y’all can’t tell me what to do.”
    “Just the same as you can’t tell James what to do,” Starr reminds her, smiling sweetly.
    “James is MINE,” Jezebel insists, glowering at Faris and Starr.
    “You wish,” Faris states simply.
    Jezebel stands there fuming for a second, then points at Faris and screams, “Y’all aren’t gonna walk away from this! You and I are gonna settle this once and for all, y’hear?!?!!?”
    “How do you propose to settle it?” Faris inquires.
    “I might have a solution,” Michael speaks up. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small white card embroidered with blue and gold, then hands it to Faris.
    Faris reads it over. “‘Pokémon Duels…’”
    “Some friends of mine and I have been running formal Pokémon battles (we call them duels) for about eight months now here on Cinnabar.”
    Faris nods. “That sounds reasonable.”
    “Yeah! And the winner of the duel gets James!” Jezebel declares, crossing her arms over her chest.
    Faris gives James’ hand a don’t-worry squeeze, and he relaxes a little.
    “I can schedule your duel for next week at the East Cinnabar Arena,” Michael says. “Between then and now, we can set up the time frame. The number for our office is on the card, so you can contact me at your leisure. Will I see you all then?”
    “You’ll see me,” Starr replies.
    Faris nods. “I’ll be there.” She then turns to Starr and James. “Do you three want to come get some fresh air? It’s a little warm in here.”
    “Sounds good to me,” Starr nods.
    As the four of them start outside, Jezebel screeches, “Y’ALL BETTER NOT WALK AWAY FROM ME!”
    Michael turns to face Jezebel, producing a small piece of a certain green herb garnish from within the void.
    “And why shouldn’t we? You’re as meaningless as a sprig of parsley.”
    The door closes behind them.
    Much to Jezebel’s embarrassment, almost the entire hall of people busts up laughing.
    Martina wipes a tear from her eye with a hankie given to her by one of her many male admirers. “I haven’t had so much fun in weeks!” she laughs.
    James’ parents shake their heads.
    “Sugar, I’m beginnin’ to have second thoughts about Jezebel,” his mother frets. “Sometimes she’s even more of a delinquent than our James.”
    “Maybe we could arrange to have James betrothed to Miss Greyweirs,” James’s father muses. “Now there’s a girl who’d be good for him.”
    That settled, the two set out to find Martina.
 

    “As meaningless as parsley.” Starr grins and leans back on the bench. “Michael, that was hilarious.”
    Michael shrugs. “She was annoying.”
    “She always is,” James snorts.
    Faris leans against James. “You handled that really well. Most other guys would have run screaming in the other direction.”
    “There’s a girl like her at my old school,” Michael smiles faintly. “She’s the younger sister of one of my friends who runs the Pokémon duels. So, after years with having to deal with her, I know how to handle people like that.”
    “Someone exactly like Jezebel?” Starr cringes. “Somehow I have trouble picturing two of those.”
    “Sometimes she’s okay,” Michael explains, “but when she puts her mind to it she can be even louder…”
    Suddenly James looks terrified. “Faris, what if my parents ask your mother if she’ll betroth you to me????”
    Faris blinks. “James, my mother gets hives if you so much as mention commitment within one square mile of her. She’ll never agree.”
    James lets out a happy sigh of relief.
    Michael looks out at the bay. “They’re finished setting up the barge for the fireworks display.” He pulls a stopwatch out of his pocket. “If I’m right, they should be starting right about….”
    POW*chik*.
    A burst of golden and red sparks showers out across the sky.
    “Now.” Michael grins and pockets the stopwatch.
    Starr looks at Michael. “You’re good.”
    Michael only grins more and holds her hand as more coloured starbursts paint the night, reflecting on the bay and glittering out across the dark water.
 

    From the window, Misty and Giselle can see the two couples silhouetted in the rainbow fireworks’ light.
    Jessie can also see, and wonders who Starr is with, but soon turns her attention back to the lavender-haired, green-eyed guy who’s currently hitting on her.
    Martina sighs, thinking that this just may be Faris’ big night.
    James’s parents think of how perfect Faris will be for their son.
    Michael gives Starr a tiny kiss on the cheek.

    Faris raises an eyebrow. “‘The Ends of the World Arena’, you call this place?”
    “Yeah,” Michael replies. “The Ends of the World Arena: revolutionizing Pokémon battles!”
    Starr and Faris both give him strange looks, then shake their heads.
    “So, anyway,” Misty cuts in, eager to take a look around (she wanted to duel too; it sounded cool, and Michael said that a group can fill a day for duels), “where are your other friends who help run the duels? Umm… what did you say their names were again, Michael?”
    “Briii... toge...” Togepi says in awe as it looks around from Misty’s arms.
    “I remember Nancy Cunningham…” Ash says (he also wanted to duel). “Wasn’t there a Thomas something-or-other?”
    “Pika pichu?” Pikachu speaks up.
    Raichu shakes his head. “Rai, rai…”
    “Nathalie Cunningham,” Michael corrects him. “Yes, and Thomas is her older brother. He’s in charge of the duels when Orion Abraxas, the founder of Ends of the World, isn’t around or is too busy to take care of things. Juliee Allenson and Kevin Sanders are the other two. You’ll meet them all in a minute; Orion’s in town at the moment, so he’s here too.” With that, he lets them all in.
    “Of course, I’ll win all the duels!” Gary Oak boasts (he’s been dying to battle Faris, so he found a way to get into the duels, even though none of this really concerns him). “But I’m sure you’ll give me a tough fight, Faris,” he adds quickly.
    Faris only rolls her eyes (discreetly).
    “Hey! Don’t forget, you’re gonna duel me, too!” Ash snaps.
    “You’re hardly worth noticing,” Gary smirks. “I bet $10 our duel will be over in less than thirty seconds!”
    Ash growls to himself for a moment, then manages to remember that he’s going to keep his cool around Gary and smiles very falsely at his rival. “I’d take that bet, except I’ve got too much pride to win such easy money.”
    Their argument is cut short by an acute Southern accent. “Who cares ‘bout you two! These duels are between me an’ Faris!” Jezebel states hotly (of course she’s here, she’s the other Duelist, remember?).
    “Faris and I,” Faris corrects her absently, looking around the Arena. “Nice digs, Mikey. Do we get Duelist uniforms to go with everything?”
    Michael looks startled. “How did you know?”
    Faris gives him an equally startled look, then shakes her head. “Don’t ask.”
    Meowth pokes Batts. “Hey, what’s with Faris?”
    Batts regards him coolly. <You shouldn’t ask.>
    The kitty-like Pokémon gives him a cross look. “Why shouldn’t I?”
    “You’re the group of eight dueling on Thursday, right?” an indifferent, feminine voice sounds from behind them, cutting Meowth off. The group turns about face to see a young woman with tightly curled strawberry blond hair, green eyes, and a beautiful but cold face leaning on the wall behind them. “Michael told me about you.” Her eyes slide over to Starr. “Especially you.”
    Starr and Michael blush slightly. “Th- this is Julie Allenson,” Michael stammers.
    “The group of eight includes Faris Greyweirs, Jezebel Delany, Starr Evans, Jessica Langley, Ash Ketchum, Misty Harbrook, and Gary Oak as the seven Duelists, with James Dupont acting as the Rose Bride,” a cool, male voice recites. The group turns again to face a young man with long, wavy forest-green hair, violet eyes, and a hardened face. “Is all this information correct?” He turns his gaze to Brock, who doesn’t want to duel, but wanted to come anyway. “You’re not on the list. What are you doing here?”
    “Kevin Sanders,” Michael introduces quickly.
    “I’m here with my friends, so I’m just going to watch the duels,” Brock says quickly, not wanting to get on this weird guy’s bad side.
    “I don’t like being called ‘Jessica’ by anyone other than close friends,” Jessie states flatly, pointedly adding extra pronunciation to ‘close’. “Call me Jessie.”
    “In the duels, you’ll be referred to by a codename,” another male voice, deep and smooth, sounds. “So it doesn’t matter what name you go by.” With long, silky vermilion hair with a light-red bang, and deep blue eyes, the final man is tall and gorgeous. His smile is both charming and dangerous, and his stride is filled with self-confidence. Standing next to him is a much shorter girl with blue-gray eyes and light blond hair which is held back by a braid. She adds, “The codename you choose goes with the Duelist uniform you wear. If you’re lucky, you’ll get ‘TOUGA’ or ‘NANAMI’, the best ones.”
    Ash grins and whispers to Misty, “A codename.... Cool...I feel like James Bond....”
    Meowth mutters at his feet, “Jaaaaaaaames Bond…”
    Pikachu and Raichu giggle, “Chu, chu, chuu…”
    Faris smiles a little at them as Michael coughs and introduces them. “Everyone, this is Thomas and Nathalie Cunningham. Er, Thomas, where’s Orion?”
    As if timed, the sound of a roaring engine and screeching tires grinds in the parking lot of the Ends of the World Arena. All heads turn towards the glass doors as footsteps approach, a dark-skinned man with a red shirt, white slacks, a purple tie, and lavender hair held back in a long ponytail. With the grace of a prince, he coolly enters the Arena. He nods to Thomas, who nods back, before stopping at the end of the hall to face everyone in the room. “I apologize for my lateness,” he says a bit formally. “The traffic was terrible. I worried all the way here that I wouldn’t be in time to meet the newest Duelists.” He faces Faris-tachi. “Please forgive my rudeness. I am Orion Abraxas, the owner of the Ends of the World Arena.” He smiles, his verdant green eyes friendly. “It’s a pleasure to meet you all.”
    Starr and Faris are both getting the major heebie-jeebies from him. “I swear, he’s freakin’ Akio!!” Faris hisses.
    Starr nods vehemently, staring at the Akio-lookalike with wide green eyes. “I believe we’ve dived headfirst into the Twilight Zone here.”
    “Dived?! We’re DROWNING!!!”
    “Is something the matter, ladies?” Orion queries politely.
    The two jump. “Um, nothing,” they chime nervously. (Everyone is giving them strange looks by now.)
    Orion smiles pleasantly, then nods to Julie. “S’il vous plaît, Julie?”
    She nods back, then walks over to the crowd. “Follow me,” she states/requests/orders. “Kevin and I will instruct you on the Rules of the Ends of the World. Once we’re done briefing you, Thomas and Michael will show you the list of codenames available to you, and Nathalie will bring out the Duelist uniforms.” Without another word, she and Kevin begin to walk off. After a couple seconds of hesitation, Faris and Starr follow them, and the others take their lead.
    Orion and Thomas watch them go. Thomas then turns to Nathalie and Michael. “Michael, get the computer ready for the time setup. With a group that large, it’s going to take some time to arrange all the duels. Nathalie, get the Duelist uniforms; this is the first time we’ve had people so young duel, so you’ll have your work cut out for you getting uniforms for them. I’m counting on you two to make sure everything’s ready once they’re done.”
    Nathalie and Michael nod. “Leave it to me, big brother!” Nathalie smiles courageously before striding to the dress room. “You can count on me,” Michael adds. “I’ll be waiting for you, Thomas.”
    Thomas and Orion watch them go.
    Thomas turns to Orion. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it.”
    Orion turns to Thomas. “Since someone like her has shown up?”
    He nods. “I won’t lose this time.”
    Orion smiles pleasantly in return. “We’ll see how you fare, Thom. For now, we’ll just have to wait.”

    “I’ll say this once,” Julie announces before the eight potential Duelists. “If you speak while we are, Kevin and I will throw you out, and you will be penalized during the duels if you break a rule just the same as if you had known them.”
    Her deadly serious tone and face convince the crowd. They all shut up and listen.
    Kevin steps up next to Julie. “There are seven rules for Ends of the World, and all the original rules from the Pokémon League apply as well. Break any of the rules, and you will automatically be thrown out. Rule One: Only three Pokémon may be taken with you to the Duel Arena. With these three Pokémon, you are only allowed to duel three times, using one Pokémon per duel.”
    This news causes some discontent among the Duelists until Julie silences them. “Rule Two,” she states. “Once you have sent out your Pokémon, you MUST duel with it, no matter what your opponent’s Pokémon may be. Recalling a Pokémon counts as an unconditional surrender. Once you have sent out your Pokémon, you may not send it out again. If you wish, once you’ve used a Pokémon, you may give it to us for safe-keeping to ensure you do not accidentally send it out again. Sending out a Pokémon twice, even if it’s by accident, will cost you the duel, so it would probably be in your favor to do so.”
    Kevin continues, “Rule Three: You are allowed to duel with the same person twice, either separately or in a row, granted that neither of your duel schedules are filled. A third time, however, is not allowed.”
    Ash glances at Gary for a split-second before Julie speaks again. “Rule Four: You must register as a Duelist, then be given the Rose Seal as authorization and a Duelist’s uniform to identify you as an official Duelist before you will be allowed to duel. This is to prevent third parties who simply want to duel for dueling’s sake from interfering.”
    Faris gives Gary a pointed glance. Kevin smirks slightly at this, then recites the next rule. “Rule Five: Cheating is severely prohibited. If caught cheating, you will automatically lose that duel and be thrown out of the duels altogether. Our definition of cheating includes breaking any of the rules as well as using any outside force to help you win.”
    “Rule Six: You must be on time for your duel,” Julie continues. “If the time scheduled for the duel comes and goes without you, your opponent will win by default—providing that they aren’t late either.”
    “And the last one, Rule Seven: All the Pokémon you use must be in their Pokéballs from the beginning of the duels to the moment you send them out. They are NOT allowed to roam free,” Kevin concludes. “Are there any questions?”
    Ash raises his hand, much as if he was in class.
    “Yes?”
    He stands, nervously petting Pikachu, who’s sitting on his shoulder. “About that rule about Pokémon not allowed to be outside their Pokéballs when the duels start… what if they don’t like being in a Pokéball?”
    “PI pika chu!” Pikachu follows up, crossing her arms.
    “Then use another Pokémon that doesn’t mind being in a Pokéball,” Julie replies fluidly. Ash reluctantly sits down.
    “Anyone else?” Julie’s gaze sweeps the room. Tentatively, Jezebel raises her hand in the same fashion as Ash. She stands.
    “Ah was just wonderin’… Mr. Sanders, you said that James was gonna be actin’ as the ‘Rose Bride’? I jes’ wanna know, what’s the Rose Bride supposed to be?” she queries.
    “The Rose Bride is the prize of the duels,” Kevin replies, not smiling. “It seems the reason all of you are dueling is because you are vying for possession for the Rose Bride.”
    “HEY!” Misty, Gary, Ash, and Starr yell in unison. “WE don’t want the Rose Bride!!”
    “Then you shouldn’t be dueling,” Julie states, giving them THE Look.
    Everyone looks at their feet, saying, “……”
    “Anyway, why a Rose Bride? Since James is a man, wouldn’t it be Rose Groom?” Jezebel continues.
    “Oh, but James would look so much better in a dress,” Faris comments dryly. She slides her eyes over to Julie and Kevin. “Just like Mikage thought Mamiya would.”
    Julie and Kevin glance at each other for a split-second, but otherwise pay no heed to this comment. “Traditionally, a woman plays the role of the Rose Bride,” Kevin states. “This has been going on for so long that, even if a man is in that role, he is still referred to as a Bride.”
    “He’s not going to wear a dress, is he?” Jezebel queries dubiously.
    Julie and Kevin glance at each other and smirk a little. “Not if he doesn’t want to,” is their answer.
    “Oh, good,” Jezebel says, relieved. She sits down.
    “What colors does the Rose Bride dress come in?” James queries.
    “Red with white stripes, or white with indigo stripes,” Julie replies smoothly. “It depends on your own innocence.”
    “James will be wearing white,” Faris states. Her tone of voice says she’s not going to argue over this.
    “JAMES! You’d willin’ly wear a DRESS???” Jezebel demands, her face scrunching up with disgust.
    “You don’t know the half of it, lady,” Ash mutters under his breath.
    “I happen to think I look cute in dresses!” James says defensively. “So there!”
    Faris busts up laughing at the look Jezebel gives him. “God, I wish I had a camera!” she grins.
    Julie and Kevin exchange a glance, and shake their heads.
    A knock comes at the door, and Michael enters. “Hey, are you guys done?” he asks. He views the general chaos ensuing inside, and sweatdrops. “Erm…”
    The chaos comes to an abrupt halt. “Yeah, what is it?”
    He says slightly meekly, “The scheduling and register system are both ready…”
    “Oh, good, this was getting boring,” Faris smiles, standing. “I claim codename UTENA.”
    Julie, Kevin, and Michael all look startled. “How did you know UTENA was a codename?” Kevin demands.
    “I’m psychic,” Faris says dryly. “Let’s go already!”
    Julie and Kevin exchange their third Look in that room today, then usher the potential Duelists out of the room.
 

    “Hrm….” Ash mutters, biting his lip. “I dunno which codename to choose…”
    “Yeah, there are so many,” Misty agrees. Togepi reaches wildly for the screen, entranced by the glow.
    Faris smirks slightly. “I’m glad my decision was so clear-cut.”
    Thomas steps up next to them. “You don’t have to decide your codename yet,” he informs them. “The codename you choose assigns you to a Duelist uniform, so if you’re having that much trouble, you could just look at the uniforms, pick out the one you like best, and take the codename that goes with it. My sister Nathalie is in charge of the Duelist uniforms, so if you’d like to look them over, talk to her.”
    “Really? Gee, thanks!” Ash smiles. He and Misty leave to seek out Nathalie, leaving Faris and Thomas alone at the registration table.
    Thomas turns his attention to Faris. “Faris Greyweirs… it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m curious. You seem to know quite a bit about how the duels work. Have you done this before…” he pauses slightly for effect, “…elsewhere? I don’t recall ever seeing you here before, and I never forget a pretty face.” He smiles charmingly. “Especially one as lovely as yours.”
    “I’ve never dueled before,” she replies flatly, eyeing him suspiciously.
    “Really…” Thomas leans in a little. “Never? Not even once? Have you seen any duels, then?”
    Faris raises a delicate lavender eyebrow, remaining silent for the time being. She contemplates her answer, and after a moment, she quietly answers, “I’ve seen several duels.”
    Thomas leans against the table. “Is that so? What kind of duels?”
    “Sword duels,” she states flatly, reverting to her old tone.
    A ghost of a smile flickers onto his lips and stays there. “How fascinating…” He runs a hand through her hair. “Faris, you’re absolutely marvelous…”
    Faris steps out of his reach with a cold deliberance. “I bet I am, Mr. President.” With that, she walks off to the outfit rack in the other room, where all the others are trying to decide on their Duelist uniforms.
    Thomas’ smile remains and grows slightly, with a certain knowing. “Take it easy, Tenjou-kun,” he murmurs, eyes following her until she walks out of sight.
 

    “Ne, ne, so have you guys chosen anything yet?” Faris queries, peeking at the clothes the potential Duelists are considering.
    Jezebel clutches a yellow and black uniform to her chest. “Ah’m takin’ THIS uniform, so yew better not try to take it away!!”
    Faris spares her a withering glance. “If you’re this grabby with everything else, no wonder James doesn’t want to be near you,” she mutters under her breath before saying in a louder voice, “Keep it. I don’t want it. I never liked Nanami that much anyway.”
    “Why not!?” Nathalie demands, overhearing.
    “Because she’s petty, obsessive, and a spoiled brother-obsessed brat,” Faris returns smoothly. As an afterthought, she adds, “And she has HORRIBLE fashion sense.”
    “Are you kidding me?!” Nathalie argues. “She’s certainly got better taste than SOME dykes I could mention!”
    Faris grants her a serene smile. “One word: Cowbell.”
    “HMPH!” Nathalie growls before turning away. Jezebel, puzzled by this outburst, wanders over to the women’s dressing room.
    Starr, in the meantime, sweatdrops. “I am not getting involved in this insanity.”
    The lavender-haired Rocket grins at her. “Smart girl.”
    Starr grins back. “Glad you think so.”
    A wai-ful gasp directs their gaze to Misty, who’s obsessing over a uniform with light blue pants. “I love this uniform… I SO want it!!”
    Ash, standing next to Misty, isn’t nearly as resolute. Biting his lip, he keeps flipping through uniforms until he finally picks two he likes. “I dunno which one to pick...” he says out loud. “The dark blue one or the green one?”
    Misty glances over at them. “Wear the green one.”
    Ash stares at her. “Why?”
    “‘Cause I’M wearing blue!!”
    Ash grumbles a little at Misty’s tone, but concedes and puts the dark blue Duelist uniform back on the rack and heads to the men’s dressing room. Misty in turn walks to the women’s dressing room with her find.
    Faris and Starr glance at each other, then break into grins. Starr then turns her attention to the uniforms left on the rack. Her gaze switches from the white Duelist uniform with red lines to the orange one, and back and forth and back. “Hrm. Faris, opinion needed. I really like pink, but...” She makes big cute eyes at the white one.
    “There are no pink uniforms. Probably the closest you’ll get is Touga’s uniform,” Faris muses.
    Nathalie immediately swivels her blonde head to stare straight at Faris. “Touga’s?”
    She nods over at her. “Yeah. The white one with red.”
    The Nanami-lookalike stares. “How did you know that one was Touga’s????”
    Faris smiles. “I’m psychic.” She turns to Starr. “Besides, I don’t think Juri’s uniform would suit you very well... you’re too damn cheerful.”
    Starr smiles over to Nathalie. “If you’d rather I didn’t wear it, it’s okay.” And her smile gets even warmer and friendlier, if that’s possible.
    “....”Nathalie scowls and fidgets a little.
    “It’s settled, you’ve got Touga’s uniform,” Faris announces, taking it off the rack and giving it to Starr. “Here, go try it on.”
    “Thank you,” Starr says as she heads for the girls’ changeroom.
    Gary, who’s just joined Faris on her side, looks pensive. “Let’s seeeeee....” he mutters. Looking respectfully up at his superior (he’s smart enough to not be obnoxious to HER, he’s heard too many true rumors about her to do something as stupidly dangerous as that), he queries, “Faris, you know about this kind of thing. What one of these uniforms do you think would suit me?”
    Faris bites her lip a little. “Herm.” She flips through the remaining outfits, mostly comprising of Kurobara duelist uniforms, which aren’t really that great for a serious Duelist. “Hmmm...” She catches sight of a blue and red one with white slacks, and an Evil Grin slowly grows onto her face. “Oh, I know the PERFECT one for you.” She takes the outfit from the rack and offers it to the young trainer. “This one is superb.”
    Gary looks doubtful, but seems to decide to trust Faris’ judgement and takes it anyway. “Thanks.”
    Finally, Jessie enters the dress room after a bout of flirting with Kevin (which had failed miserably) and Thomas (who simply asked too many questions about Faris for her liking)... and facefaults. “Damn... all the good uniforms are gone...” She frets, “Now there’s only an orange one and that white one!” She approaches the white one and pulls it off the rack; Faris can see there are dark blue lines on it. “Hmmm, this one isn’t so bad...”
    “Take the orange one,” Faris immediately states. “Juri is cool. Ruka’s a jackass.”
    Starr pokes her head out of the changeroom. “Ruka is gay.”
    Jessie shrugs, replaces Ruka’s uniform, takes Juri’s, then heads into the changeroom with it.
    “How gay could he have been if he screwed Shiori?” Faris counters.
    Starr shrugs. “I know. I just thought I’d insult him a little since all guys are scared of being gay.”
    “Except for Touga and Akio.”
    “True, true. Speaking of Touga...how does this uniform look? (The red’s not bugging you, is it Faris?)” Starr queries as she steps out, showing off her Duelist uniform.
    Faris smiles. “Nah, there’s too little red for it to bother me too much. It looks cool on you. ‘Sides, I like Touga.”
    Nathalie flashes Faris a DEATH GLARE, but she ignores it. Gary finally exits the men's changeroom, feeling rather conspicuous.
    Starr grins and cheers, “WAI!” and poses a la Sailormercury. “Tee. I always wanted to do that.”
    Faris raises an eyebrow, a strange smile crossing her lips. “It looks exceedingly strange when you’re dressed up like Touga.”
   She smiles and looks down at herself. “This does look kewl. Now all I need is a sword....”
    “Too bad Anthy’s not around, we could borrow the Dios no Ken from her.”
    “Oh well. As it is...” Starr grabs a blue plastic sword from out of the void. “Break the world’s shell! For the sake of revolutionizing the world!!!!” she announces, and she and Faris laugh insanely.
    Jessie exits the changeroom wearing Juri’s uniform and akimbo arms. “Excuse me, but what the hell are you two talking about?”
    Starr completely ignores that and instead chooses to reply, “That uniform looks good on you, Jessie.”
    Before Jessie can say anything, Thomas enters the dress room. “Have you all chosen your Duelist uniforms?” he queries.
    Faris rewards him with a cold look. “It’s not very gentlemanly to walk in on girls changing their clothing.”
    He grins, winking a little. “Sorry, but I thought that the changing room was behind a curtain. I didn’t think that the construction of the dress room would have been adjusted without my knowledge.”
    Starr faces Thomas and crosses her arms. “Even if it is behind a curtain, you should knock.”
    Thomas bows, though whether it’s sincere or not, they can’t tell. “My sincerest apologies. But my question still stands: are you ready to schedule the duels?”
    The cherry-haired Rocket looks to the others. “I am if everyone else is.”
    Faris nods. “I am.”
    Jessie shrugs. “I guess I am.”
    Misty, wearing Miki’s uniform and dragging Ash along, announces, “We are!”
    Ash, blushing and wearing Saionji’s uniform, mutters, “I feel silly...”
    Jezebel declares proudly, “Ah’m gonna win in this uniform!”
    “Guess that means she’s ready,” Faris smiles faintly.
    Gary crosses his arms and smirks. “Of course, I’m ready too.”
    Starr looks over at Jezebel and shakes her head.
 

    “JAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMES!!! WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING???!?”
    James almost leaps three feet off the ground at Starr’s insane screech.
    “Have they scheduled the duels yet?” he asks once his heart stops pounding.
    Starr calms down and nods, then asks again, “What are you doing?”
    James follows her gaze around the rose garden he’s found. True, it is a little oddly shaped (birdcage-shaped, to be exact) but otherwise it’s the nicest rose garden he’s ever seen. Best yet, none of the roses are red. He was thinking of taking Faris here later when Starr ran in.
    Speaking of Starr, right now said Rocket is very out of breath and sprawled very flat on the floor.
    James helps her get up, then asks, “What’s wrong?”
    Starr shakes her head. “Nothing. Just I’ve been exposed to a bit more weirdness that I prefer during the past little while and this just clinched it.”
    James nods. “Yeah, I noticed too. You know that Orion guy? While I was on my way here, he asked me, wasn’t Faris really something special? The he said I had nice hair...he was talking like Faris’s friend Ianthe when she had green eyes!” James looks genuinely rattled. “This place is weird...but I like it here. There’s not much you can do to roses to make them weird.” James pulls a white rose off the bush and strikes a pose.
    Starr laughs. “Thank you for allowing me to totally stop taking this seriously at all. It is serious,” she muses, sitting down on a bench and pushing a stray strand of cherry hair behind one ear, “but it’s nothing to completely stress over.”
James is about to agree when suddenly out of nowhere Starr asks, “You know I’m not dueling Faris.”
    Though surprised by her suddenness, James nods. “I guessed you wouldn’t. You two are too good friends to be dueling.”
    “That…and something else.” Starr looks anxiously at James. “You know why?”
    “You aren’t in love with me anymore since you’ve met Michael?” James guesses.
    “Close, but no fromage,” Starr replies. She shifts one sneakered foot around before looking up at James again and saying, “It isn’t that I don’t like you—I do, you’re my best friend—but I don’t love you like a boyfriend anymore.”
    James blinks.
    “Don’t be insulted!” Starr says quickly, holding up her hands. “You’re a wonderful guy, and I would be happy to be with you...but I’m happier that Faris is with you. You guys deserve each other.” She smiles. “I’ll be happy if you just tell me we’ll be best friends, like we were.”
    James’ grin grows until it matches Starr’s. “That’s what I wanted anyway. You’re almost like a sister. Right from the beginning, I knew you cared a lot about me. You really helped me out, and I’ll always be thankful. Starr, you’re my best friend.”
    Starr hooks pinkies with James. “The symbol of a solemn oath when I was a little kid. Best friends?”
    James nods again. “Um, Starr? Can I ask you a favor?”
    “Anything.”
    “Tell Faris where I am and tell her I invited her here?”
    “No probbies.” Starr stands and starts to leave, then turns. “By the way...you saw the look on Jezebel’s face when you said you looked cute in dresses, right?”
    James gets his evil grin. “Yes, as a matter of fact.”
    Starr giggles then smiles. “You do look cute, though.”
    She leaves.
    James blushes.
 

    To one standing in the halls of Ends of the World at that moment, a certain Rocket would resemble a pink and cherry-red blur as she dashes though the halls, propelled by a very good mood and a minimal amount of sugar.
    Okay, perhaps a mid-size amount of sugar and a good amount of caffeine, since there was a pop machine and Starr practiced the ancient Chinese art of Five-Fingered Discount (it’s a Ranma-type Chinese art—is Cat-Fu fighting any less weird?) to obtain a Jolt.
    The Starr-esque blur speeds down the halls and into the main lobby, spies Faris, and…
    GLOMP.
    “HI, FARIS!!!!!!!!!!”
    Faris is thrown a little by Starr’s abrupt jumphuggle, but she manages to stay standing.
    “What are you so happy about?” she inquires.
    From Faris’s back, Starr grins. “I just talked to James.”
    “And?” Faris prompts when Starr dissolves into giggles.
    “Oh. I told him what I wanted…just for the two of us to be best friends. We promised that any time either of us needs someone, the other will be there.”
    A faint look of relief crosses Faris’ face. The four-way love triangle has just decreased to a normal, run-of-the-mill three-pointed one.
    Then she remembers Jezebel, but this elicits more of a smirk than a frown.
    Starr peeks over Faris’ shoulder, trying to read her expression.
    “Hey, you’re throwing me off balance!” Faris protests.
    Suddenly Starr goes silent, then utters, “eep.”
    “Eep?” Faris inquires, walking forward a few steps.
    Starr abruptly lets go of Faris and lands on the floor with a resounding thud and a yelp of, “OW!”
    “What was that all about?” Faris inquires, raising her eyebrows.
    “Nothing beats crashing down off a sugar hit at the realization that you’re turning into Wakaba,” Starr replies.
    “As long as you aren’t crushing on Kevin, you should be all right,” Faris deadpans.
    Starr stands up. “This is too weird for me… James is in the rose garden—he wants you to join him there, by the way. I just latched onto you and you managed to carry me a few steps. And I could have sworn I heard Thomas call you Tenjou-kun once…”
    Faris shakes her head. “I know. It’s bizarre. But I don’t think it’s serious.”
    “It takes a lot to impress you, though.”
    “True…”
    Starr sighs. “I’m going to go find Mike. No accepting rose crests from princes while I’m gone, okay?”
    Faris smiles at the half-serious tone of the last sentence. “I promise,” she tells Starr, who smiles back and wanders off.
 

    “Hey, you aren’t supposed to be wandering around here.”
    Starr turns to face the person who’s just spoken. When she does, she sees a slightly disapproving Julie studying in the middle of the hall.
    Starr looks down. “Ehe…. Sorry. I just needed some time to collect my thoughts.”
    Much to Starr’s shock, Julie looks as though she sympathizes. “All right. Just as long as you’re quiet.”
    “I will be,” Starr assures her seriously.
    An invisible smile crosses Julie’s face. “Michael’s practicing, if he was the one you were looking for.”
    “Oh…Oh! Thank you for telling me,” Starr smiles.
    Julie leaves with a ‘don’t mention it’ shrug.
    For a while after, Starr just stands in the middle of the hall wondering.
    From the experience she’s had with the strawberry-blonde girl, informing Starr as to Mike’s whereabouts was a rather un-Julie-ish thing to do. Maybe the world is sane after all.
    Suddenly her ear twitches a little bit. She thinks she hears slightly off-key piano music coming from somewhere. Starr debates whether or not to go see who’s the impresario, and decides she’s going to when she affirms that whoever it is isn’t playing Hikari Sasu Niwa.
    Wandering down the hall, she comes to a fairly large, cheery, modern-looking lounge of some kind. Near one wall is a grand piano, and seated behind this is a guy in a white T-shirt and jeans studiously playing the beginning theme of all the Final Fantasies as a finger exercise.
    “Hey!” Starr whispers, smiling. “Mike!”
    Mike doesn’t hear; he just starts again, going up and down the scale.
    Halfway through his finger slips, and he plays a rather whacked note. He flinches, stops, and looks annoyed.
    “Rats,” he mutters under his breath, though he looks like he originally wanted to say something a lot worse.
    Starr knocks on the doorframe and calls a little louder. “Michael, you busy?”
    Michael jumps and his hand hits the piano keys.
    *BONG*
    Both of them jump.
    Michael recovers and then blushes. “How long have you been waiting there?”
    “Only a little...”
    “You heard me mess up.” The blue-haired musician looks glum.
    “I can’t even play the piano,” Starr says. ‘‘Don’t feel bad. Do you mind if I come in and watch you?”
    “Only if you promise not to laugh at my mistakes,” Michael smiles.
    He moves over on the bench so Starr can sit down. “Any requests?”
    “D’you know ‘Interrupted by Fireworks’ from Final Fantasy VII?” Starr smiles.
Michael nods. “First thing I learned to play from that game. My sister gave me the sheet music for my birthday...which is also her birthday since we’re twins.”
    “Neat. Where is she now?” Starr asks, feeling a little uneasy. If Michael’s sister is anything like Kozue, Starr’s in for it....
    “She left to study at Cerulean City Collegiate a while ago. It’s been slow here since Orion’s sister and her friend left, and Chloe was bored.”
    Starr nods. Michael holds his hands over the keyboard, moves his fingers a little, then starts into it.
At first the song is simple and pretty. Halfway through the first run-though, Michael looks over at Starr with an amazed smile. Starr smiles back, humming a little to the music.
    Michael’s smile gets huge and he goes at the keyboard with everything he has, throwing in improvisations and flourishes. The song sounds absolutely gorgeous by now.
    Starr moves a little bit closer, swaying back and forth, eyes closed, smiling happily.
    Michael stops abruptly and smiles at Starr. “That’s so weird....I was sucking until you came here.”
    Starr blinks. “You sure as heck don’t suck now.”
    Michael blushes lightly. “Thanks...but...that’s not the point....Starr....there’s something really special about you...I though so ever since I saw you at that party, but now I’m sure of it.”
    Now Starr is blushing. “Something special....?”
    “Almost something...almost something shining,” Michael blurts out. Then he really blushes, staring at the keyboard.
    There’s a long silence, during which Starr begins picking out Chopsticks with one finger.
    Michael looks at her from under his bangs and starts playing the other part.
    “Hey, I thought this was supposed to be serious practice,” Thomas says from the doorway.
    “It is.” Michael grins at Thomas and immediately starts playing the main Final Fantasy theme again.
    Thomas actually looks impressed, even smiling a bit. “Hey, that sounds much better than yesterday...” He looks from Michael to Starr with a slightly wondering expression, then grins at Starr again. “Don’t distract Mikey too much.”
    “Sir, no sir.” Starr salutes.
    Thomas goes, leaving Michael and Starr to their music.

    “Three?” Nathalie inquires hopefully of her big brother as Thomas walks back into the room and sits down, picking up his cards.
    Thomas hands her the card in question, then turns to Kevin. “So, what do you think of the new participants?”
    Kevin shrugs. “They seems normal enough. Younger, but what can you do.”
    “The ‘we don’t want the Rose Bride’ bit was interesting.” Julie fans out her cards and looks them over.
    “Some of them have another motive,” Thomas shrugs. “But the ones who matter are dueling for the Bride.”
    Kevin looks sideways at Thomas. “You’re falling for Faris Greyweirs, aren’t you?”
    Thomas responds with a smirk. “Don’t jump to conclusions. I just want to see if she’s returned.”
    Julie glances at Thomas over her cards. “Don’t use your lady-killer methods on her. It’s obvious she’s in love with the Rose Bride—James—and although I agree that she looks like her, she’s not.”
    Kevin nods. “You can’t hang onto the past forever.”
    Thomas shrugs. “We’re all here, aren’t we? Now, what about the others?”
    “The young girl seems to be taking this whole matter pretty lightly. The two boys are serious.”
    Nathalie nods emphatically, light blonde curls bouncing. “I had to break up a fight between them only half an hour ago. They’re so loud, and at first they wouldn’t even listen to me! It took that little red-headed girl hitting them both over the head to make them stop.” Her lower lip quivers. “They’re terrible!”
    “Those two girls who look almost exactly alike are serious,” Julie puts in. “The ones going by NANAMI and JURI.”
    “What about the last one?” Thomas inquires lightly.
    “Starr, her name is?” Kevin asks. “Something unusual like that.”
    “It was Starr,” Julie nods. “Michael seems to like her.”
    Thomas’ smile becomes dazzling. “I always knew someone as cute and agreeable as Mikey would find a girl someday.”
    Julie’s gaze drifts to Nathalie. “Why did you let her have TOUGA as a codename? Usually you have Thomas reserve that for someone you like, or don’t let him give it out at all.”
    Nathalie turns pink and fidgets. “I don’t know. She smiled at me and she seemed so nice and I just couldn’t help it!”
    “It’s not a big issue,” Thomas reassures her.