The drone of conversation and music filled Kaitlyn's ears as she stepped into the crowded atmosphere of Cappy's. Since so many people were still moving in, the cafeteria wasn't nearly as crowded as it could get. Still, at this hour, the mass of students was dense enough to fill up every table in the building.

All according to plan. Perfect.

She scanned her phone at the cashier to pay and stepped toward the tables in question. In her hands sat a tray bearing a fairly simple brunch of eggs, bacon, and a toasted bagel. A simple meal, sure, but not everything had to be a culinary marvel. Especially when she hadn't gotten a chance to stop by the campus market.

I'll do it later today. Not like I really need any of that right now. And besides, it's good to get back to basics sometimes.

Weaving through the room, Kaitlyn headed toward the far corner. There, a brown-haired student dressed in a mint hoodie and jeans sat hunched over his phone and a bowl of mac and cheese. He slowly brought a forkful up to his mouth, chewing absentmindedly as his vision focused on the screen.

She took a deep breath. Alright. Here we go. First encounter of the loop. Time for things to really start moving…

As her steps brought her ever closer to the table, a thrill of nervousness coursed through her. A mounting sense of trepidation whispered in her ear, voicing all of the doubts and failures she'd spent the last loop working through.

What if I mess it up even worse this time? What if… what if I didn't actually learn anything?

With a forceful shake of her head, she banished the thoughts. No. I did learn. I'm not going to make the same mistakes again. This time, I'm going to listen. I'm going to focus on what HE wants, not what I think he should do. This time… things will be better.

The rationalizations helped slightly, but didn't fully assuage her concerns. Knowing what she was supposed to do was one thing, sure. But actually doing it? That was a whole different matter. In this encounter especially, it would take a lot of heavy lifting on her part to keep the conversation flowing. How was she supposed to do that while also not coming off as overbearing?

Part of her knew that it didn't make sense to worry about such things. Even if this encounter went poorly, or even the entire loop, there would always be another chance. Whether she liked it or not. But still. Not to mention that this would also be the first time she'd talked to him outside of a Bash Bros tournament since the bad ending.

…Guess that just means I'm not completely numb to this stuff yet. Don't know if that's a good thing.

Straightening slightly, she cleared her throat. "Excuse me."

Ian blinked, then looked up from his phone in surprise. His deep blue eyes met hers.

"Do you mind if I sit with you?" She continued, gesturing to the spot across from him.

His mouth opened in a silent "oh" before he spoke. "Um! Yeah, of course. Go right ahead. No one's sitting here or anything, I mean."

"Thanks." With a grateful nod, she set down her tray and took a seat. "I'm Kaitlyn."

"Oh! I'm Ian." He smiled at her nervously. "Um, nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too." She kept the wry grin from appearing on her face. "What—"

She stopped herself. She'd intended to ask what major Ian was, just like usual, then launch into a list of questions to establish information she already knew. It was a good way to make conversation, not to mention establish information that she already knew herself. But something on his phone screen caught her eye.

Curious, she snuck a glance at the device where it lay on the table. The screen was a bit dim and hard to read, especially upside-down like this. But she thought she could make out a familiar anime-style character there amid some text.

She tilted her head curiously. "What are you reading about?"

"Huh?" Ian looked up, his expression a mix of surprise and something else. Embarrassment, maybe. "Ah! It's nothing. Sorry, I just thought…"

"No, I'm the one who should be sorry!" She reassured him as he hurriedly tucked away his phone again. "I didn't mean to peek. I just… I thought I saw Jegan from Water Insignia."

Ian blinked. "Er… yeah. You've played it?"

Oh? Did I just find an opening?

"Of course!" Kaitlyn grinned. "Well, it's been a little while. I used to play it at a… friend's house."

"Oh!" The guy relaxed just the slightest bit. He still seemed pensive, but less so than moments before. "That's… cool."

"Have you?" She pressed, not wanting to let the opportunity slip. "Are you reading up on team comps or something?"

"Ah, no. I mean, I have played it, yeah. But I wasn't…" Ian took a breath to collect himself after fumbling his words. "I was reading that… they're coming out with a sequel."

"Really?" She gasped. "That's awesome! When does it come out?"

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"Sometime early next year, apparently."

Kaitlyn struggled to keep her expression from faltering. Inwardly, her heart sank.

That means I'll never get to play it…

She still hadn't made time to explore all of the games this world had to offer. It hadn't been high on her priority list as of late. Still, Water Insignia was a really fun game. She certainly wouldn't have minded spending a loop picking that one up and trying it out.

"Is it gonna cover what happens after Arth becomes king?" She asked. "Er—sorry. Spoilers. I should've asked if you finished it…"

Ian gave her a sheepish smile. "I have. And yeah, it's supposed to. They're also adding a new mode where your troops revive at the ends of fights."

That got her attention. "Seriously? Why?"

"They want to make it more accessible, I guess." He shrugged. "Ah, that's what I was reading about. A lot of people aren't happy about it."

"Of course! I wouldn't be, either!" She crossed her arms. "The challenge is the fun part! Knowing that if you make a mistake, they're gone forever… or that you have to reset, at least. It's what forces you to actually strategize!"

"I mean, you don't have to use it. It's an optional mode. But…" Ian hesitated for a moment. "...I agree. It's a big part of the game's identity. Some people are less worried about that, though, and kind of afraid of what other changes they might make along those lines. What if they make it easier to level and find items?"

Kaitlyn grimaced. "Shoot. You're right. I mean, I wouldn't mind a bit more leeway on experience stuff, but still… Do you think they'd really do that?"

"Hard to say. The way they talk about it makes me think something's up, though…"

As they talked about the pros and cons of Water Insignia's proposed changes, Kaitlyn watched Ian relax and open up in real time. His usual hunched posture straightened bit by bit, his hesitations becoming less and less frequent the longer they spoke. It was the easiest conversation she'd had with Ian this early.

Wow. I mean, I always knew that talking about games was a good choice. But I guess I just didn't do it enough.

Eventually, he glanced down at his phone. "Ah. It's getting late. I guess I should go…"

She looked down. Their plates and bowls had been scraped clean for a while, now, their contents scarfed down between breaths. They'd been sitting here for a bit longer than she'd intended.

"No problem. I should go, too." Kaitlyn agreed. "Maybe I'll see you in class sometime?"

"Oh! Yeah," he agreed. "What classes are you taking?"

It was all she could do not to pump her fist in the air. Oh. My. Gosh. He's asking ME that?! This is progress. It HAS to be.

"I'm a Bio major, so a lot of stuff in that genre," she waved it off. "But I'm also in Intro to Programming."

"Oh! I'm in that one, too. Maybe we have the same professor?"

As they dropped their dishes off and headed for the door, Ian seemed just a little more upbeat than usual. It wasn't as through he was entirely comfortable with her, of course. That wouldn't come for a long time yet. But even this much was more than she could have ever hoped for.

Maybe I really am doing things right for once.

They stood just outside the doors to make their final goodbyes before walking in the same direction. Apparently, Ian was also trying to head back to the dorms as well.

"Oh." He chuckled awkwardly, scratching his head. "Well. Uh…"

Kaitlyn gave him a sheepish shrug. "Well, if we're both going that way… want to walk back together?"

His eyes met hers, then skittered sideways. "Sure. Might as well, right?"

With that, they set off.

***

Kaitlyn's sneakers squeaked as she marched down the long hallway, fluorescent lights illuminating the beige walls and tile brightly. Doors lined either wall, and though they remained perpetually closed, she knew quite well where each led.

Today she wore her usual red hoodie and black pants. In other loops, she'd tried dressing up for the coming encounter, but it had never seemed to really matter much. If anything, the casualness of her current approach made her seem like a little less of a tryhard. Not that it really changed the outcome either way, but still.

She shifted the composition notebook tucked under one arm, then reached out to knock at one of the doors.

"Come in!"

At Professor Adams's invitation, she stepped inside the cramped and cluttered office. The frazzled woman smiled at her tiredly.

"Yes? What can I do for you?"

She offered her hand. "Professor Adams? My name is Kaitlyn. I was wondering if I could work in your lab."

"Oh! I see," the professor nodded. "Well, we could use some more hands, especially for everyday tasks… have you ever worked in a lab before?"

Kaitlyn nodded. "Yes. I'm more than happy to do what you need—pour plates, make media, run gels, genotype plants… I'm pretty experienced at all of that."

"Goodness," the woman's eyebrows raised slightly. "Well that's good to hear. I'm sure my postdocs would be happy about that. Do you know what our lab works on?"

"I do. That's the main reason I'm here, actually. If you have some time, I have a project plan that I'd like to run by you…"

Professor Adams waited patiently as Kaitlyn opened her notebook and began explaining her project. As she talked, Kaitlyn watched the woman's expression turn from politely interested to genuinely surprised. Eventually, the tiredness disappeared and her brow furrowed in thought as she began to seriously consider the proposal.

The shift in demeanor still brought her a bit of satisfaction. The project proposal had been honed over countless loops by herself, Adams, and Christa as well. It combined aspects of what Kaitlyn had already done with avenuses she had yet to explore. Each loop, she put the focus on a different angle to ensure she was able to cover everything and make progress on different aspects of the research.

Though there's some things I just have to do first. I mean, I need to do a baseline peptide response titration to show that the protein is even immune-related in the first place…

Still, actually getting into the lab had proved easier than expected. Kaitlyn didn't even have to attend class or mention that she was in Adams's Genetics lecture. Not with a plan like this.

"…So, that's what I'm interested in working on," Kaitlyn finished. "Of course, only when there's spare time. I know the bulk of my work would be maintenance. But I'd love to contribute to the research if I can."

The professor leaned back in her chair, lost in thought. She'd asked a few questions over the course of the presentation, but not too many. After it had become clear that Kaitlyn did in fact know what the assays she mentioned did, they'd mostly turned to higher-level queries about her experimental design choices and other possible avenues of investigation.

"That's… hm." Professor Adams seemed to struggle for words. "That's more well thought out than I expected."

She grinned widely. "Thank you. Like I said, I really am interested in your work."

"I can tell," she chuckled. "Well, if I had any questions about bringing you on board, this has just about settled it. I'd love to have you work on this. Welcome to the team, Kaitlyn."

She shook the professor's offered hand with a grin. "Thank you. I'm looking forward to it."

She gave a genuine smile. "As am I. Now, let's show you the actual lab…"