Bands of sunlight streamed through the partially-closed blinds of the dorm's side common room. The thin vertical ribbons sprawled across the furniture and walls, bending and twisting into irregular stripes that gave the entire space a strangely psychedelic feel. Still, the slivers of light were more than enough to illuminate the space entirely.

  Kaitlyn set the last armload of electronics onto the side room's table with a sigh. Straightening, she looked over the collection. A monitor, a pair of controllers, plenty of wires, and of course…

  …My PlaySphere.

  She ran her hand over the console's surface. It really had been a while since she'd touched it, much less played Bash Bros. If not for the resets, the smooth lavender ball would likely have boasted an impressive layer of dust.

  And why not? That part of my life is over. It's not like I'll be doubling with Ian again anytime soon… Heck, I haven't even been to a tournament in ages.

  She shook her head. There were certainly other reasons she might have dug out the old console, of course. There was still an entire backlog of new and interesting games she could theoretically play. Only, with everything on her plate lately, gaming for simple entertainment's sake had lost a lot of its allure. There were other things she'd rather be doing with her time.

  Regardless, here she was. Dredging up old memories once again because Elliot, of all people, wanted to play with her. The idea still felt strange.

  I thought I was done with this game, but apparently it's not quite done with me.

  Pulling away from the PlaySphere, she got to work plugging everything in. The monitor—temporarily repurposed from her work setup—blinked to life as everything switched on. An all-too-familiar main menu screen began loudly blaring tinny chiptune music into the small room before she managed to turn it down.

  Wow. This brings back memories…

  It felt strange to be nostalgic. After all, it didn't seem like that long ago when she'd been frequenting tournaments and dumping untold numbers of hours into this game. But when she actually stopped to do the math, it had actually been a couple of years.

  Where in the world does the time go? It's just getting harder and harder to keep track… At this rate, I'll blink and realize five years have passed without me even noticing.

  Shaking her head, she settled onto the couch and grabbed her controller. Elliot said he'd be on his way over after class, meaning she had a few minutes to herself for practice. Not that she particularly thought she needed it. Still, a bit of a refresher couldn't hurt. And if he complained about her getting a leg up on him, well… it was her console.

  Her thumbs flicked across the controller, selecting Corgo and loading into the game's training mode. The cyborg dog spawned into a plain white box of a map with a few floating platforms scattered around. His red jacket stood out like a high-contrast beacon against the plain background.

  It only took a few warm-ups before muscle memory began to kick in. Soon, Corgo was flying across the screen, moving with impossible smoothness as he transitioned from one technique to another. Once Kaitlyn felt more comfortable, she spawned in a training dummy to practice combos on, sending it back and forth across the stage with impractically long strings of attacks.

  She found herself smiling despite herself. Bash Bros was still incredibly fun, even if it came with plenty of emotional baggage. The sheer satisfaction of feeling her character respond to her commands was enough to remind her of that. Even without the competition, the people, or the promise of earning another route, the game was just good. Playing it felt nice in a way few games did.

  I missed this.

  The stairwell door swung open, drawing her attention away from a particularly long combo. Elliot's flannel-clad figure stepped inside, a backpack hanging loose over one shoulder and his flaming hair bound up in a ponytail. He drew one hand from his pocket to wave in greeting as the door clunked shut behind him. "Hey. I see you're already ready and raring to go."

  "Of course!" She returned the wave. "Figured I'd get a few rounds in before you got here, make sure that everything works."

  "Uh-huh." Elliot crossed his arms and eyed her with suspicion. "Sounds like you're just scared of getting embarrassed."

  She just gave him a quiet smile. Yeah, keep talking. We'll see how your tune changes once I dunk on you a few times.

  The guy dropped his backpack onto the floor by the couch, then settled in next to her. Kaitlyn scooted over to give him a bit more room and passed over the second controller, setting up a game while the guy got situated. "Who are you playing?" She couldn't help but ask as he plugged in. "Do you have a main?"

  "I told you it's been ages since I've played, right? Still… I used to be pretty good with Ray-Chu."

  Kaitlyn's eyebrows shot up. "Ray-Chu? Really?"

  He glanced over. "Yeah. Why? You have something against the little guy?"

  "No, not at all! It's just… I used to play Ray-Chu, too. When I first started, at least. Later on I found Corgo and really got good with him."

  "Ah, makes sense." Elliot nodded sagely. "I suppose not everyone's enlightened enough to appreciate Ray-Chu's complex playstyle."

  She rolled her eyes at him. "I would agree with you, if I didn't think you were messing with me."

  Internally, though, she tensed up a little. Ray-Chu was nowhere near a top-tier character, but he wasn't exceptionally bad, either. She knew from personal experience that he could be a bit of a pain in the right hands. The question was, did Elliot fit the bill?

  Even if he is secretly a master, then I should be ok, Kaitlyn reassured herself. I know that character inside and out, so I doubt he'll catch me off-guard with any sneaky tricks. It'll be a good matchup for me, too. The Corgo matchup in particular was half the reason I switched mains.

  The pair loaded into the map and started. Kaitlyn focused in, rocketing toward her opponent with aggression on her mind. She wanted to get in past Ray-Chu's defenses before he could start to wall her out.

  Corgo dashed backwards as the mouse shot a pillar of fire skyward—his down-special. The dog leapt into the air, timing a kick so that it just avoided the hitbox sailing upwards—

  —only to be met with another pillar of fire.

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  She gaped, backing up and staring. The fiery mouse proceeded to shoot another gout of flame into the air, then another. Over and over, reddish-orange fire lit up the sky in endless repetitions.

  Slowly, she turned to look at her opponent. Elliot was grinning mischievously. "What's wrong? Weren't ready for my incredible tactics?"

  Kaitlyn just stared at him with absolute horror. I should have known. This guy's an absolute casual. No, not just a casual—the worst of the worst. A spammer.

  She'd expected Elliot to come in with some kind of game knowledge. Maybe not a lot, but enough that their battle would actually look like a battle. But this…

  Shaking her head, Kaitlyn reorganized her plan of attack. "Wow. I didn't realize I was playing against a military tactician. Did it take a lot of practice to get this technique down?"

  "Oh, like you wouldn't believe." Elliot continued spamming the same attack as he spoke. "Endless hours of practice. But I've perfected it."

  I'd bet. I'm suddenly seeing why Esme didn't want to play with you anymore…

  Chuckling, Kaitlyn edged her character forward. "We'll see about that."

  Patiently, she waited for just the right moment between gouts of flame. Then, she sent Corgo forward, dashing in to knock the mouse backward with a light kick. Before he could recover, the dog was on him, comboing the mouse mercilessly and keeping him from getting another attack out. As her opponent went flying back further, she held back, waiting until he inevitably used the move again before capitalizing on the mouse's recovery.

  Elliot began to mash more frantically. As the flaws in his strategy became clear, he blew out a breath. "Dang. I really thought this would work better…"

  "If that's all you've got, then you're in for a rough time," Kaitlyn goaded him as she dunked the mouse offstage. "Maybe you should try to change it up a bit?"

  To her surprise, he actually did. Once Elliot began to change his strategy and start playing the game for real, it became clear that he wasn't bad. Not good, of course. But he might be able to avoid going 0-2 at a tournament if he was lucky. That was no small feat.

  A victory screen signaled the end of the game not too long after it began. A rather proud-looking Corgo hefted his laser pistol in triumph, tongue lolling out comedically as he stared into the distance. The defeated ginger leaned back on the couch as he shook his head. "Dang. You weren't kidding."

  "I tried to warn you," Kaitlyn grinned as she turned to face her felled opponent. "I will say, you're not too bad though. You could probably get pretty good if you practiced a bit."

  "Yeah? How much practice are we talking?"

  "...A lot," she admitted. "At least, it took a lot for me. I didn't get this good overnight, you know."

  "You didn't? Given your other talents, I half expected you to be some sort of prodigy. God's gift to Bash Bros and all that."

  Kaitlyn rolled her eyes. "You couldn't be more wrong. I wish there were shortcuts to getting good for me. Unless that's another rich people thing I don't know about?"

  Belatedly, she kicked herself for the comment. She half expected him to push back or clam up at the joke. Instead, Elliot just snorted and shook his head. "I wish. Having a rich dad can't buy you skills, unfortunately… Still, if this is what you're like rusty, then fighting you in your prime must've been like trying to dig through stone."

  She gave a noncommittal shrug. "I mean, it's not like I'm the best out there. There are people better than me, you know. I couldn't even tell you how many times I got stomped at tournaments before I started figuring things out."

  Elliot snorted. "Not many, I'd imagine."

  She didn't reply to that, instead starting up another game. Now that she had a better grasp of Elliot's skill level, she opted to switch over to Lieutenant Sparrow. She could have gone with Pom Puff and reciprocated the ginger's cheesy strategies in kind, but… well, she wasn't that spiteful.

  They played game after game, both of them swapping between characters every few rounds. After steamrolling the ginger in the first game, she brought her intensity level down quite significantly. Treating their games as teaching opportunities instead of real competition helped to ensure she didn't outright scare the guy away. She even offered pointers when asked. All of this made for a pretty relaxed time, and Kaitlyn found herself enjoying herself as they alternated chatting and playing.

  This might be the most relaxed I've seen him in a while.

  The realization felt true, strange as it was. Though Elliot never was the type to seem stressed or tense, there was always a certain guardedness about him. A kind of distance that he put between himself and others.

  It's not gone, not entirely. But… it feels like it's a little less intense than it was before.

  She wondered at that. But before she could make any real progress, a low growl sounded from her stomach. Elliot looked over at her with amusement. "Wow. Beating me up's made you work up an appetite, huh?"

  "I guess so," Kaitlyn admitted. "Are you hungry?"

  "Not too much yet, but I could eat. Wanna put this stuff away and head to Cappy's?"

  "Sure. Sounds good to me."

  After finishing their last game, the pair stood and began gathering Kaitlyn's PlaySphere setup. Elliot insisted on helping out by carrying the monitor and an armful of wires into her room. As they stepped inside, he let out a low whistle. "Dang. You really made this place homey, didn't you?"

  Kaitlyn spared a glance around the room. Heather's side remained as it usually did, all done up with fairy lights, posters of boy bands, and a fluffy lavender rug. However, Kaitlyn's side was different. Her latest spending spree had it decked out with an assortment of yarn wall hangings and plants in decorative little pots. Additional pillows and a new set of unbelievably soft sheets adorned her bed, while a collection of space-efficient storage spaces tucked into every nook and cranny held her extra kitchen equipment. It made her side feel a little bit smaller, but not as much as she'd feared.

  She scratched her neck abashedly. "Yeah. I, uh, I'm not usually one much for decoration, but… I kind of wanted to see what I could do if I tried. Get a little change of scenery, too."

  "Sure, whatever floats your boat…" Elliot nodded at the corner of the room by her desk. "Is that yours?"

  Kaitlyn followed his gaze. Her new top-of-the-line electronic keyboard leaned against the wall, tucked away neatly behind her stored takeout containers. "Yup. Though I'm still getting used to this one. I learned on an old hand-me-down."

  "Nice. Mind if I take a look?" He gave her a glance. "Ah, it can wait. I don't want to stand between you and food."

  "No! It's fine," Kaitlyn insisted, already pulling the keyboard out. "Despite what my stomach says, I'm not that hungry yet…"

  Her words trailed off as she looked at the PlaySphere stuff they'd just deposited on her desk. "Er… Let me just clear this off…"

  "Nah, don't bother." Elliot moved towards her bed. "I can just sit on here, if you don't mind."

  "Oh! Yeah, that's easier."

  In a moment, the guy was settled on the edge of the bed with the keyboard laying across his lap. Kaitlyn sat next to him, showing him how to turn it on and pointing out the different functions. He gave a few experimental taps at the keys before launching into some basic scales.

  "I didn't know you played piano," she confessed.

  He shrugged. "I don't really. I just know how to play a few things. It's not my favorite instrument… This one's pretty nice though."

  He began playing a song, its notes ringing through the otherwise quiet room. Only, the melody sounded oddly familiar. Kaitlyn's eyes widened slightly as she recognized it.

  That's… Isn't that Organic?

  She shouldn't have been surprised. The guy was likely more familiar with Dream Lizards songs than any others. Still, with how cagey he always seemed about the band, hearing him play their music like this caught her completely off guard.

  Elliot glanced over. "Something wrong?"

  She opened her mouth, unsure of what to say. "I—"

  The door swung open with a flourish, cutting her off. Golden curls swept inside in a flurry of lavender and denim that threatened to bowl over any in their path. A faint smell of flowery perfume trailed right after.

  Heather strode confidently into the room, then paused. Her crystal blue eyes took in the scene in a moment, locking onto the pair sitting on the bed.

  "Hi, Kate! Omigosh, who's your friend?"