[Story + Closed Event]

[longingfreesia]

[Story]

Silently, Kotori flicked through the photos on her D-Pad, one after the other. They were photos of her with her mother, photos of her friends... photos taken way before the devastating attack on their home, which took them all away from her. Looking though them always gave her a strange mix of both nostalgia and... guilt. She felt guilty that she survived and they didn't, she felt guilty for things she never did, or things she said... though she knew those were much smaller than her head was making them out to be, things that didn't mean anything.
She didn't really understand what happened to them, what being turned into cards really meant. Did it mean they died that way? Or were they still alive somehow? It was all so unclear.
Either way, she'd tried her best to move on, to carry on living her life, while still giving time to remember them. She'd settled in a new home, the Tsukumo's were now a permanent part of her family to her, she'd made friends here and she'd started building a career here.

But she'd always had that fear that those who attacked Heartland could very well attack Domino City and now... the fear of that possibility had been confirmed and it seemed like Yuma was going to get dragged into it.
She didn't want to lose everything a second time. Her home, her friends, her family... she just couldn't go through that again.

A light knock on the door sounded and Kotori quickly wiped the tears from her eyes as Yuma peered his head around the door.

"Hey! Sis says dinner's nearly done."

Kotori looked over at him and gave him a small nod. "Alright. I'll be there in a moment."

But instead of leaving, Yuma lingered at the door a little, a look of concern appearing on his face. Slowly, he walked fully into the room, closing the door behind him and went to sit by Kotori on the bed.
He was silent for a moment, as he glanced down at the photo of Kotori and her mother displaying on her D-Pad.

"...kind of a heavy day, huh."

Kotori gave him a silent nod, keeping her eyes on the photo for a moment.
She then eventually spoke.

"Yuma. Can I ask you something?"

He looked curiously at her. "Sure."

Taking a deep breath, she looked up at him.
"If those people do attack here, are you going to have to fight them?"

Yuma let out a sigh as his eyes trailed off to the floor.

"...I don't know." he replied. "I really don't like dueling being used as a tool for fighting, but..."
He looked back up at her, giving her a solemn smile, before resting a hand against her face. "... I have things I want to protect. Sis, granny, my friends, this city... you... I'd fight to protect all of that if I had too."

That was the reply Kotori had expected from him. She remembered the guilt he'd admitted feeling over Heartland, over not being there to do something and she knew it was something he still carried on his shoulders, the same as her.

"Sweet, I know things are super difficult right now, but ... we'll get through it, I promise. No matter what happens."

Kotori gave him a tiny smile and a nod, which made Yuma smile more tenderly at her. Slowly, he leaned forward and gently pulled Kotori into a kiss, which she quickly deepened. She wanted to just forget about their worries and concentrate on something else, if only for that one moment.
When the kiss broke, the two rested their foreheads together silently, just enjoying the small moment with each other.
After a bit, Kotori spoke.

"Let Akari-san and Haru-san know I'll be ready for dinner soon."

Yuma pulled his head away from hers and gave her a smile. "Okay. I will."

With that, he got up from the bed and left the room, looking back and giving Kotori one last smile as he did.

Once Yuma had left, Kotori looked over to the other side of the room where her handbag was hanging from the back of a chair. She carefully placed her D-Pad down onto the bed and walked over to it, opening it up and taking out a card.
It was the business card Mr. Heartland had given her on their last meeting. He'd offered to help with her dueling and told her to show that card upon her arrival to the address listed.

Just like Yuma, she wanted to protect what was dear to her too. She wanted to help him protect their family, their friends and their home. She didn't want to be weak, she wanted to be prepared.
She NEEDED to be prepared.
As she looked at the card, something niggled in the back of her head. Euphie's reading, her warning... but Kotori shook it off. She couldn't dwell on things like that right now, not when so much was at stake.

She knew what she had to do.

---------------------------------------------

[Closed Event Post]
*Standing outside a rather large and fancy building, Kotori looked at it in awe, then at the card that she held in her hand in order to double check the address.
Well, this was the place.
Taking a deep breath, she began to slowly walk up to the building.*