Twilight. Another day. Cat sighed. Another day closer to the day Cat was dreading…the day of the competition. Sitting on a bench with a view of the ocean, next to Atemu, usually was a comforting and pleasing thing for Cat. But not today. She bit her bottom lip hard as she made sure she was going to go with her final decision. She knew Atemu wouldn’t like it. “What are you thinking about?” Atemu asked after watching the girl think. Cat was hesitant in answering. How was she going to say it? “Just…about something.” Cat replied. Atemu raised an eyebrow. “Sounds like it’s a bit more important than just “something”.” He said suspiciously. “If you bit your bottom lip any harder, it would probably bleed.” Cat looked up at the dark sky, listening to the waves of the ocean. She focused on a single star in the sky. It was the first one. “I…don’t know how to say it.” Cat said quietly, not wanting to face Atemu when he heard. “Just say it in the best way you can. I want to know.” Atemu said frowning. Cat shut her eyes tightly. “I-I…I’m…I’m going to stop singing.” She said in a voice that leaked agony. Atemu’s expression became shocked. Almost as if Cat had just slapped him across the face. “What?” He asked in disbelief. Cat remained silent and motionless. Atemu leaned in. “Why are you going to stop singing?!” He asked urgently. Cat finally lowered her head and looked at her lap. “B-Because…I…don’t want to…risk it.” She answered slowly. “Cat, what more do I have to do to prove to you that I would never leave you for anyone?” Atemu asked. Cat shook her head. “No! That’s not it anymore!” She said. Atemu paused, staring at her, wondering what she meant. “Oh…” Atemu said after a moment of thinking. “You’d rather not see me kiss or be kissed by another girl…huh?” Cat tensed up a little. “Is that…wrong of me?” She asked. “No, no! That’s perfectly normal.” Atemu said. “And I don’t want to kiss anyone other than you. But…you do realize that I’m still bound by contract, right?” Cat squeezed her hands together. “It’s okay…I’m sure if we tried hard enough, we could get you out of that contract. Also, I’m sure if I quit as a singer, then it might have some effect on it.” She said almost sadly. “But that’s the thing! I don’t want you to quit! To never hear you sing again…I don’t want that to happen.” Atemu said. “Besides, it’s what makes you happy! You LOVE to sing!” Cat finally looked at Atemu with a sad smile. “But…I love you more.” She said. “So much, I’m willing to give up singing so you don’t have to kiss Red Petal if I lose and I don’t have to see it.” “Cat…” Atemu started. “You have to think about it too…rumors around here are created so easily. Red Petal would surly find a way to confuse people and make them think you two were going out. Then there might be a whole fuss that you would be cheating on her with me or vise versa.” Cat explained. “You know what I mean?” “I…guess.” Atemu said. “But you’re making it sound like you’re sure to lose! I believe you have a greater chance at winning than anything else.” “I know. But Akai has pushed me to my limit…and I don’t have any confidence anymore.” Cat said. “So…please try to understand. I’ve made my decision. I’m going to stop singing.” Cat looked at him, nothing but seriousness in her eyes. Atemu didn’t know what to say anymore. The look in her eyes had made him speechless. *** “I heard Egyptian Moon is planning on quitting.” Ms. Shio said as she shut the door behind her. Akai sat on a nearby chair and smirked. “I knew the pressure was too much for an amateur like her.” She said smugly. “I hope she understands what that means now. That means I get to be in the commercial. And it also means I’ve won the King of Games.” “I wouldn’t be too sure about that.” Ms. Shio said while looking through some papers after taking a seat herself. “They’re going to try and get him out of the contract.” Akai didn’t look surprised. “That’s okay. They can try as hard as they can, but I don’t think they’re planning on letting him go. They have ways.” She said. “Besides…maybe he’ll come to his senses and figure out that he wasn’t meant for a plan boring girl like her. She’s lost her “dazzle”.” “You seem confident about all this.” Ms. Shio pointed out. Akai laughed. “Do I have a reason not to?” “Well…what will you do if Yugi does find a way out of the contract? And what will you do if he still is in love with Egyptian Moon?” Ms. Shio asked. Akai paused for a moment. “If he has a lingering attachment to her, then we’ll have to fix that. I’m sure we can think of something.” She replied. “But all I know is that she’ll be depressed for a while. And that’ll give me my chance while she’s away.” Akai grinned. “I always get what I want. And I’m glad I always get the weak and foolish for competition. They give up so easily.” *** “AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHGGGGGGGGGGG!!!” The cry echoed through out the city. “Why is she being so STUBBORN!?” Kay cried, slamming her fist against the table. The other girls had to catch their drinks before they were knocked off the table. “Kay, I’m upset about it too, but I think that was an overreaction.” Kairi said, raising an eyebrow. “But it’s SUCH a STUPID reason to just give everything up like that!” Kay growled. Kate frowned. “I know what you mean. I’m disappointed in Cat too, but we have to take her feelings into consideration too. What kind of friends would we be if we didn’t do that?” She explained. “Yeah, but think about it. What kind of friends would we be if we just let her give up something really important to her because of an extremely small threat?” Kanya said, playing with her straw. “It doesn’t seem so small to Cat.” Revea mentioned. “Of course it isn’t. We’re not in her situation.” Kay said. “That’s where the “considering her feelings” thing comes in. We should probably just imagine how we would feel if we were in the same situation as Cat’s.” Kate suggested. “Kay, have you ever been in a situation like this?” Kay thought for a moment. “Well…it wasn’t the same. But there was a time a year or two ago when a girl named Minako kept trying to steal Seto from me.” She mummered. “Ooohh, I remember that!” Kairi said. “After what you did to Minako, she never came around again!"” Kay grinned and snickered. “She deserved a lot more than that too.” “What about you, Kanya?” Kate asked, looking at Kanya. Kanya thought for a moment. “Umm…nope. I can’t really think of anything. Though the closest may have been when Honda had a crush on Joey’s sister at the time. But we weren’t together at that time.” She said and shrugged. “But we are now and that’s what’s important.” Kate nodded and looked at Revea. “Revea?” Revea smiled innocently. “I have had no problem at all.” She said simply. Everyone stared at her, thinking that there might have been a slight possibility that there was something a bit more sinister behind that innocent smile. Kate sweatdropped. “Okay. Heh, heh. Kairi?” Kairi shook her head. “No, not really. There was one time a girl was flirting with Marik a lot, but we shook her off.” She answered. “I see. Well, for me, I’ve never had a problem like that. When I’m with Yugi, the most I get is jealous glances. And those aren’t unbearable.” Kate said. Everyone was silent for a moment, looking down at their drinks. “Well…we’ve all had similar situations.” Revea said, cutting the silence. “And we were able to handle them.” “Yeah, but you’re missing an important fact.” Kay mentioned. “Cat has no guts.” Everyone said at the same time. Kanya sighed. “I guess all we can hope for is that she doesn’t quit and actually tries. And the most we can do is support and encourage her.” She said. Kairi shook her head. “Honestly, I think she’s taking this too seriously.” She said in an irritated tone. “Probably. But Cat’s pretty sensitive. I’m not all too surprised that she’s acting this way.” Kay mentioned. “That’s true.” Kate agreed. Once again, there was silence in between the girls.