What shall we use to fill the empty spaces
Where waves of hunger roar?
Shall we set out across the sea of faces
In search of more and more applause?
— Pink Floyd
Click...click...tap...tap…
A pair of nimble hands danced across the keys, each sound ringing starkly in the otherwise silent room. Like a lively symphony, the rhythmic tapping heralded victory, the simulation coming to end in a shower of blood and bright light—wings flashing across the bright screen.
"Heh," Ye Qiu chuckled, one hand raising to remove the dangling cigarette from the corner of his mouth. Silver-white smoke continued rising in long tendrils, floating meaninglessly in the air. Ye Qiu glanced over his handiwork, his sharp eyes taking in everything and leaving no stone unturned. Good enough, he thought. He stabbed the still lit cigarette into an ashtray in the shape of a maple leaf, a near silent hiss arising from the motion. His hands returned to the keys, about to start another run, when the door to his room suddenly pushed open with a bang.
"Now?" he asked without turning to look. It felt like he knew this moment had been long coming, had been waiting for it, in fact.
"Now." A voice, soft and feminine, replied to him. Not much was needed to be said; the answer was as simple as that.
The moment had arrived.
"Then let's go." Ye Qiu killed the program with a few simple clicks, shutting down the computer completely and removing a worn flashdrive from the port. He tilted his head to the side, toward his packed things, and Su Mucheng nodded in understanding. With that, he grabbed the coat hanging loosely from the hook and left the room. His hands automatically pulled another cigarette from his coat and lit it with a flick of his lighter. Blowing out a smoke ring, he let his mind wander.
The sun had long since set, the sky darkened considerably, but the lights within Excellent Era's base were still lit brilliantly. Ye Qiu walked to the end of the corridor alone, Su Mucheng having other things to do at the moment before meeting up with him. Located at the end was a spacious conference room; at the entrance, digital display screens completely dominated the walls, showing various rankings, technical statistics, and mission reports.
【 Team Excellent Era — S–Rank Mission | Successful, completion rate 74.56% 】
Ye Qiu glanced over that new status update, a frown barely visible on his face.
For a team known in the first three years of their inception for their perfect mission success rate, barely completely one as simple as a mere S–rank was pitiful, laughable, painful to the eyes. It hung brightly and glaringly on the wall, heartlessly mocking anyone who took pride in the team and their work.
The atmosphere within the room, though, wasn't heavy. On the contrary, it was somewhat lively, everyone a part of Team Excellent Era present and circling one person as if they were the stars surrounding the moon. Most didn't react to Ye Qiu's arrival, and the ones that did simply flicked their gazes over before looking away again, their eyes empty of everything but coldness and mockery.
"Ye Qiu, the team has decided that the newly-transferred Sun Xiang, former ace of Team Conquering Clouds, will take over your position as captain. From now on, One Autumn Leaf will be his, as well as all that entails." The owner of Team Excellent Era, their backer, turned his head to speak to Ye Qiu when he noticed the other's arrival. Callously, without any warning, he delivered this sentence in a brisk, icy manner, as if he was simply flicking an old wad of paper into the fireplace to burn it to ashes.
By this point in time, Su Mucheng had joined the proceedings. She opened her mouth to speak, but Ye Qiu reached behind and touched her wrist lightly. He smiled faintly and shook his head at her, indicating her to leave things be, to let them continue.
"Brother Ye, I'm sorry," a voice tinged with false remorse spoke up. "I took your position as soon as I arrived." According to hierarchy, the seat to the left-hand side of the conference table was exclusively for the captain of Team Excellent Era—it should have been Ye Qiu's seat. Yet Sun Xiang, the newcomer, casually sat there without a care in the world, treating it as if the throne had always been his. He did not even bother to spare Ye Qiu a glance, his eyes more focused on the glass of wine he was fiddling with, the contents sloshing gently in his hand. This was no longer simply a matter of overlooking someone's arrival; rather, it was a form of disregard. When he finally did look away from his glass, his gaze fell upon the body of Su Mucheng rather than the plain-looking man front and center.
To be fair, Su Mucheng was indeed more attention-grabbing, more attractive to the eye, than Ye Qiu. Her auburn locks fell down to her waist in gentle waves, framing her face delicately with bangs styled blunt across her brows. Dressed in a small black number, she well deserved her title of 'femme fatale of Glory.' If she had gone into show business instead, she would still be considered a rare beauty, even if she went au naturel.
Even the Team Excellent Era members who finally took note of her arrival were still somewhat stunned when they saw her this time. They saw her every day, yet her looks could still render them speechless. However, unlike usual where they would shower her in compliments and invitations, they quickly recovered, as there was a more important person who deserved their flattery at the moment.
"Haha, Brother Xiang, with those words, this position definitely suits you." Everyone promptly scrambled for their lines after Sun Xiang spoke, doing their best to establish themselves high up in the rankings. With a new captain, the old would have to give way to the new.
"Right, some people are already old and outdated!"
"One Autumn Leaf should really be Brother Xiang's! Only he can best represent the true strength of the Battle God."
Everyone was focused on this person—on Sun Xiang, the genius that had just been unearthed last year, the genius who had languishing in a middle-tier team like Team Conquering Clouds. Team Excellent Era, seeking to elevate their floundering status as a top-tier team, had instantly sought him out and convinced him to transfer. The sole bright light still lifting Team Excellent Era's name high was the mobile suit—the mecha regarded as the Battle God of Glory, One Autumn Leaf.
Young, inexperienced, Sun Xiang hadn't even been a part of the Alliance for two years, but these Team Excellent Era members shamelessly approached him, calling him their elder brother. Having understood the moment Sun Xiang had stepped foot into the conference room that this would be the future leader of the team, honeyed words fell from their lips as readily as water from heavy rain clouds. It was a while before Sun Xiang was willing to spare a glance for Ye Qiu, his eyes filled with disdain.
"Ye Qiu, hand over One Autumn Leaf's key card to Sun Xiang!" Tao Xuan ordered.
Even if Ye Qiu maintained an expressionless, devil may care attitude on the surface, these words still pierced into his heart with poisoned barbs, tearing through age-old scars and mauling the soft tissue. Ye Qiu, One Autumn Leaf—the relationship between the two was a steel-forged bond through war and blood, through despair and hope. The stage of Glory, the skies and the seas, all of it was defined by the ascension of One Autumn Leaf and its pilot, the one titled Battle God.
Ten years, that had been how long the name One Autumn Leaf struck terror in the hearts of his opponents, how long his reign had lasted till this day. Even if Team Excellent Era had begun faltering, Ye Qiu—the lauded Battle God—had not. A simple flight would send others scrambling, stalking after his suit until they were sure he was not coming after them. Yet even though he painstakingly crafted One Autumn Leaf with his own hands, the materials and ultimately the rights belonged to Team Excellent Era. Ye Qiu had known that things were not permanent, that they might have to part ways one day, that the world was not an endless feast —and so, this long-anticipated day had finally arrived.
His hand dug into the pocket of his coat and withdrew a metallic card, the fluorescent lighting illuminating the network design of brilliant gold lines running from one edge to the other, the silhouette of blood red wings and gear barely visible unless tilted just so. His hands were steady, not a tremble in sight. Still, his mind was whirring with all the speed of a fighter jet, thoughts running too fast for most to comprehend if they were to take a peek inside his head.
Su Mucheng looked away, her arms crossed, hips canted to one side. She did not want to see this farce continue, but she had no right to interfere, no power to help.
Under the gazes of everyone delighting in his misfortune, the key card to pilot One Autumn Leaf was extended out for Sun Xiang to take, the metal card gleaming under the light. Ye Qiu held the card with a tight grip but delicate touch, the edge not touching his palm.
Sun Xiang's eyes lit up with greed and excitement; who wouldn't desire to pilot One Autumn Leaf, to claim the title of Battle God for themselves? Even if Team Excellent Era had been forecasted to fall from the top-tier due to their declining performance, he had willingly transferred here solely because of this. He had been told of how its original owner, Ye Qiu, had been in conflict with the rest of the team, to where mission performance plummeted whenever it was a team mission. Sun Xiang was one hundred percent confident that he would be able to drive Team Excellent Era back to its original height and then beyond.
"Mine!" Sun Xiang's hand reached out to grasp it, only to grasp thin air. His brows began to furrow together in confusion, his gaze about to shift toward Ye Qiu's face—only for him to collapse like a puppet without strings.
A flash of silver—
A droplet of blood dripped off the sharp edge of the card, splattering against the floor.
Ye Qiu looked down at the teen, a cold look in his eyes. His hand held onto the card with deceptive strength for a moment more before dropping it back into his coat. The growing pool of blood began to lap at his shoes, but he paid it no mind. For this brief moment, he would give the kid his respects, to acknowledge his sudden and truly unnecessary death.
Unfortunately, Sun Xiang had gotten too close to the sun and got burned.
Slowly, a smile grew on Ye Qiu's face, sharp, dark, acerbic.
"Did you really expect," he began, speaking up for the first time, "things to end so peacefully?"
Like a bomb, his words sparked everyone into action, only for the several more to fall over, dead, a bullet piercing them right between the eyes and leaving red-rimmed, smoking wound behind.
Behind Ye Qiu, Su Mucheng blew off the smoke from her machine pistol, a teasing smile on her face. "Hmm~ seems like this clip is done." She let the used magazine fall to the floor with a clatter.
Tao Xuan sprang up from his seat, fury etched across his face.
"Ye Qiu, you dare—!"
No other words left his mouth.
Ye Qiu withdrew the dagger from Tao Xuan. Blood sprouted out of the gash to the stomach, to be met with an identical yet lesser fountain when the dagger was slid parallel to the body, puncturing and slicing through the space between the ribs until it pierced through the heart. Ye Qiu let the dagger stay there, discarding it.
He turned his head to the side, eyeing the others in the room.
"I made my point clear."
With that, he walked toward the exit, his back seemingly defenseless, his cigarette discarded on the floor without a second thought.
Su Mucheng followed, her dagger stiletto heels tapping sharply against the floor with each step.
No one resisted, all too stunned and, in fact, weaponless to retaliate.
Ye Qiu glanced back, gold eyes darkened to a near pitch black. "Without me, there is no Excellent Era."
The door slammed behind them, the walls rocking from the force.
Or, perhaps, rocking from the force of the C4 hidden within the discarded magazine when it was finally ignited.
"What shall we do now? Where to?" Su Mucheng asked, a flick of her wrist sending a pair of keys to the other man.
"To our roots," Ye Qiu breathed out, exhaustion suddenly lining his form even as he caught the keys with ease and stowed it away. "To before we got caught up in this technology phase."
"They all forgot." Disappointment seeped into her voice, her gaze suddenly distant as she stared out into the snowy night.
"We'll remind them," Ye Qiu replied. "It's time to bring back the Lord of the Night, the Grim Reaper every mortal fears."
"Shall I continue being the rain that washes away your opposition?" she contemplated.
"I think it's time you hung up Muqiu's legacy and began your own," was all Ye Qiu said.
"Like you and this identity?"
"...Yes."
Ye Xiu allowed a snowflake to fall into the palm of his hand, the crystal melting the instant it touched his warm skin.
"It's indeed a new start, no—a return to the start."
Su Mucheng simply smiled and took his hand into hers.
"Yes, it is."
Together, the two walked deeper into the shadows of that snowy night, One Autumn Leaf and Dancing Rain never to be seen again.
Cross-posted to AO3 under MTKiseki