What do you think about living plastic model?
Well, not like that.
We are made of plastic, mainly polystyrene, with a side dash of ABS to ensure soft movement. We are mass produced, molded into a runner to be cut off and assembled. We are molded in various color, sold and priced accordingly to the size and complexity of final product.
Our very concept and design are taken from this military science fiction anime franchise called Mobile Suit Gundam, as well as numerous sequel and Alternate Universe Spinoff.
The most attention always been given the humanoid vehicle called "Mobile Suit"
"Zaku IIC, Launch!"
"Geara Doga, intercept!"
Early in the 21st century, a new breakthrough in technology gave us a new life, literally. Plavsky particle, this specific particle will form a holographic lattice given enough stimuli. Manipulated, Plavsky particle will also, for yet unexplainable reason, move us plastic model as if we're actual machines.
And even fight each other.
From that point onward, a new trend born and grew phenomenally.
Gundam Plastic Model Battle –usually simplified to Gunpla Battle, everyone put their plastic model at stake, and control it using plavsky-made virtual cockpit console.
Millions of gunpla enthusiasts… each have their own story.
This is just one of such story.
Gundam Build Fighters
-Colorful Rhapsody-
Disclaimer:
Bandai-Sunrise own Gundam
I buy mine from them
Chapter 3: From twilight till dawn
The participant is less than expected, combined with few teachers who joined for the hilarity; there are only 79 participants, tops. Though, it doesn't surprise Tamaki, since Tachibana decided he won't joint as a fighter, despite class rep bugging him for it.
As the result, the auditorium is actually less crowded than expected, much less crowded.
"For the spirited fighter, welcome to Kanbara High School's first Gunpla Tournament"
"Whatever machine you bring, Zephyrantes is effectively made for you" Tachibana said confidently as he lend him gunpla casket, "Just don't forget to give me credit for it"
"I know, don't worry" Tamaki nodded "Class rep, do you best"
"That would be my word" class rep pointed thumb in response.
"Kyoji, don't strain Dendrobium too much, and don't use it in the presence of gravity at all cost"
Class rep, who had know Tachibana far longer than Tamaki did, just nodded "I know dude, I know"
The gundam geek pushed his two friends forward "Go, both of you"
With two caskets and two GP base in his hand, Tamaki made his first step as true gunpla fighter.
Watch me, Aoi.
Tamaki's first opponent is an upper classman he didn't familiar of, regardless, he decide to simply politely introduce himself "Azuma Tamaki, class 2-4, nice to meet you"
"I never seen you around here to be honest" the upperclassman said "Whatever, dude, let's don't waste our time"
Tamaki just smiled serenely, disregard the blatant thrash talking.
"[Field 1, space]"
The battlefield is filled with high speed asteroid and debris, otherwise known as shoal zone of Thunderbolt sector. In the gundam canon itself, it's said to be the remnants of destroyed colonies in the side 4 'Mua', though the origin of the concept came from a rather recent manga.
Tamaki don't know about the details, either.
This means high mobility maneuver will be dangerous, and Tamaki can only rely on his rather small physical shield so…
"Zephyrantes, take off"
"Dynames, go"
He was all but handicapped in this match, but no matter what, he'll press forward.
Full awareness at the density of debris around him, he had to divide the attention between the holographic screen and radar ones.
Sensor warning blared; he burst downward to evade a precision attack from the enemy. Small rocks the size of human hand smacked right into his backpack made it shudder.
Dangerous, utilizing full thrust of Zephyrantes is nothing but suicide. It's either get a taste of enemy fire, or crash into large rock.
"Over there" he muttered and tapped the fire button, high energy plavsky particle blast a small chunk of rather massive asteroid, and indeed, reveal enemy's sniping position.
"Well, tough luck you're using high mobility close combat unit" the upperclassman said, "But mine is better in this terrain"
Dynames is a sniper unit, Tamaki realized. So long range, low caliber/high penetration beam rifle is expected. Once again, Tamaki had to conserve movement into such a precision it tires him out just by thinking about it.
Charging in with melee is downright stupid, so either it's one time chance or he had to rely on long range combat, which is disadvantageous at best.
Tamaki continue to fire constantly, knowing that his thruster will not require much particle to operate. Even then, his aim and evasion began to wither, partly to fatigue, partly to his rifle overheating.
He tried to circle the area but failed to navigate properly, Dynames is equipped with rudimentary shielding in form of foldable wings, and more than that, it's been apparently reinforced further. Dynames can go full speed without much concern about micrometeorites.
"…in every way, he has machine advantage"
Then he saw something.
"Let's go!"
This is the one moment where Zephyrantes' monstrous engine can be useful.
He pushed a passing ship husk, which is actually the front half of a Musai. The derelict move slowly but surely toward the asteroid, and he hides behind it.
"What are you planning?" his opponent mumbled.
Dynames fired several times at key structure points of the dead wreck, tearing the ship husk apart in the process.
But Zephyrantes wasn't there, not even the pieces.
"The hell? Show yourself, coward"
"Sure" Tamaki said, his gunpla popping out from the fragment entirely separate from the bait ship, and without doubt, stabbed the green-colored sniper gundam on the back of its head, letting it float harmlessly.
"Winner of Elimination match No.3, Azuma Tamaki from class 2-4!" the announcer yelled.
Tachibana rushed so hard that he almost tripped; the short guy jumped and raised a high five.
"Awesome show, man"
"This is just the beginning" Tamaki said.
That's right, as he climb, the battles will get harder and harder, and he have a little doubt that he could even reach big 16 even with Tachibana's top grade gunpla, let alone win.
He had seen few battles of international caliber, his show just now is a far cry from world class player whose gunpla and piloting skill has been honed up, that they could navigate in Shoal zone like their own turf.
"Class Rep?"
It was a green, crablike mobile armor with multiple arms fighting what essentially a baseline gundam-type unit.
Unlike Tamaki, Class rep fought in what essentially void space with only a colony segment as terrain feature. Dead colony segment, if he may add.
And it was pushed back constantly; superficial damage began to show up around the green mobile armor despite Class rep's effort.
"Fighting Murata sensei" Tachibana said "Murata-Sensei used to be regional veterans, he will get shit done… poor Kyoji"
"Wow"
"Still, choosing Neue Ziel is good choice, Dendrobium would be too fast to fight in single panel arena, and its area-of-effect assault would backfire easily."
So it's called Neue Ziel huh…
Tamaki learned few months ago that Tachibana and Class Rep is childhood friend who always been in the same school since elementary.
Had Aoi still alive… would Tamaki do gunpla battle at all? He dismissed the thought, concentrating on finding his reason, and Aoi's reason.
"In gunpla, there's more than skill and build quality" a soft, female voice said "Luck also a big factor here"
"Amami-sensei?"
"Rie-chan, what are you doing?"
The woman forced the two students to bend over and began to smother them "Is there's a problem if I want to see my cute students crying in shame and despair?"
"So many things wrong with that sentence… ukh" Tamaki deadpanned.
"Chill, son. What I mean, terrain, opponent style, all outside factor decide the winner" she smiled "Right?"
Indeed, by coincidence the gundam tripped on giant cable extending from the destroyed colony, unable to move. Class Rep took the chance to finish it once and for all with full power particle cannon blast.
"See what I mean?" Amami-sensei raised a can of soda "Cheers"
"[Winner of Elimination matches No.7, Hirai Kojima from Class 2-4!]"
"Kyoji done it! Don't lose to him, Tamaki!"
"Yeah"
"Yo dawg, did you see that? I beat friggin Murata-sensei"
The three shared a high five.
"That was lucky of you" Tachibana kicked him playfully, much to Class Rep's amusement "Indeed" he nodded.
"You got an hour or so to fix your machine, especially you, Azuma. You had an extra match"
"Yeah, I know" Tamaki nodded.
…
"You can't defeat my upgraded Dom in this field"
Jaburo base, the giant tunnel network that has always been iconic to anyone who watched Gundam is the current field. It's a giant cave, large enough to contain entire city by itself, as well as improbably extensive military facilities housed in.
In this fight, once again Tamaki experience terrain disadvantage. This doesn't count that his current enemy is a really good pilot as well.
"…frame damage close to 45%... this is not good" he muttered.
Beam lance surge forth, but the Dom just danced around dodging it using leg-mounted hover jets. The amounts of cover in the field do not help at all, rocks; buildings… the Dom enjoyed all the advantages while Takumi unable to. Hes' too unfamiliar with the layout of this map.
"I should have used 'him' instead"
However, Tamaki still vastly unconfident about the performance of the machine he built, barely considered 'average', it's a lot more inferior to Zephyrantes, so he doubt it would perform as he expected here.
"If that's the case, ZEPHYRANTES"
He zoomed in with beam saber unleashed; hoping that Dom's inferiority in close combat can help mitigate the terrain advantage.
"Don't be an idiot" the chest of the Dom began to glow, and a blast of unfocused particle went their way toward Zephyrantes.
Tamaki resort to sacrificing the right arm, but he managed to do it.
The first attack missed, so is the second. Tamaki realize that the pilot behind the Dom has the skill to compensate against the machine's weakness. The Dom responded by attacked the gundam with heat axe, which managed to cleave Zephyrantes' left foot.
Unfortunately, it's just a feint.
Vulcans blazed, delivering a hail of bullets toward the unsuspecting Dom. Lens shattered and beam gun exploded, the machine is effectively crippled.
Using the momentum still left and Zephyrantes' powerful thrusters, Tamaki deliver a strong kick that threw the Dom outside Arena.
"Winner of phase 3 elimination matches No.1, Azuma Tamaki from class 2-4"
Tamaki dropped hard on his seat, he had to fight extra match due to unlucky seeding. Thankfully, he managed to complete second phase without a hitch.
"Fuck man you're awesome" Tachibana said "Get a grip, champion"
Tamaki just deliver a wry smile.
How the heck everyone can enjoy this?
Well, that's the reason he joined anyway. He wanted to know what made Gunpla so enjoyable. But before he can get the answer, he's finding himself as the semifinalist despite his initial doubt and sheer amount of skill difference between
He wondered if the entire universe conspired against him to play gunpla, and dismiss it as utter joke.
"It's a matter of luck" Tamaki modestly said.
"Its round robin tomorrow, let's prepare Knight Unicorn for the next bout"
"Wait a minute, round robin?"
"Yep, the winner will not be decided by elimination but round robin, which mean regardless the result, you will fight Kyoji"
The class rep approached him, managed to win his own match.
"Give it all, bro" he winked "Anyway, shall we see the last match?"
Meguru's match...
Yes, Meguru Airi had reached quarterfinal, just like him. Currently, she faced Ryota from Class 3-5
Her machine stood cockily, weapons still on their rack. The battlefield already destroyed, but the machine remains unscratched. On the other hand, they can see that her enemy suffered superficial but widespread damage.
"Whoa, so that's how she modified it" Tachibana need to make sure and wipe his glasses "It's been painted so well, and the original booster pack has been modified to be mounted on the unit's waist. Instead, additional back weapon rack is added to held it's weaponry. Truly a high class custom...it's probably superior to my Zephyrantes"
"We can't be sure about that" Class rep shook his head "No matter how extensive the customization is, if it's not done correctly a straight build would be superior. Also, Destroy Gundam is really powerful. it doesn't have the speed some Mobile armor have, but it's truly a versatile machine of mass destruction, having the best traits of Big Zam and Psycho gundam combined"
"Well I know, but look at that? She didn't even drop a sweat" Tachibana went into panic state "Unless she's actually that hax as a pilot"
Takumi refuse to comment, instead, he watched the fight without fight was done on the surface of a giant space station, while it's not entirely happen in zero gravity, the gravity from the station itself is miniscule.
"You... don't be disrespectful! Just go all out already!"
The girl didn't change her serene expression at all.
"Shit, I'll destroy you and your pathetic machine!" The massive black gundam changed it's form, into two legged saucer configuration. Massive pillar of light streak across the arena, toward the direction of the smaller machine, and Airi need to avoid it else her machine will get obliterated
Three particle cannon fired in sequence while the mobile armor sweep the terrain clear of every destructible object."Heh, pussy" the opponent chuckled "Just give up, gunpla is man's hobby"
Tamaki smiled "Fool"
"Huh?"Akatsuki's position remains the same as before the sweeping began, it saw some damage but nothing considerable at all beyond requiring extra coat.
"YOU! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Beam needle rain upon Destroy Gundam with no mercy, chipping it's armor little by little. If anything however it just made the player even more angry. Looking at the battlefield, Tamaki and company just laugh their asses off.
"What! Outsider need not to interfere!"
"Pay attention to your opponent" Class rep yelled.
"What kind of sorcery is this? I am certain I got her"
Meanwhile, the three boy shared the same trains of thought."Although she dashed left to evade the first salvo, she quickly turn her direction to the right and utilize her DRAGOON to create a beam barrier, that can hold long enough to protect her from direct strike and explosion effect of the cannon. The dust helped a lot to hide her position"
"Power is not everything" Meguru softly noted as he pushed the raker forward, her machine danced around the mobile armor's field of fire excellently despite the amount of barrage delivered. Truly a combination of top class fighter and customized gunpla.
"What are you"
"WHAT ARE YOU?!"
"Meguru Airi, Class 2-8... please remember my name next time"
Destroy dashed backward and transform into Mobile Suit form again. Both it's hands detached, become remote controlled gunpod that deliver even tighter salvo than none managed to hit Airi's Akatsuki, the pilot was too distraught to aim properly, as such, Airi was able to predict where the shot will , slipping around the beam shield those hands deployed, Airi delivered a fatal strike to the vulnerable chest cannon of the gargantuan machine. Calmly evade the resulting explosion from reactor breach, the modified Akatsuki stood proud once again, almost untouched.
"[Winner of Third phase Elimination matches No.8, Meguru Airi from Class 2-8]"
Tamaki's eyes widened, though it comes to him as plain surprise instead of shocking reveal.
And strange warmth sensation he never experience before.
"Is that a still burning old flame I see?" Amami-sensei winked at him teasingly.
"Whoa hold on, you actually DATED Meguru Airi?" both Tachibana and Class Rep is genuinely shocked.
Tamaki asked neutrally. "Is there a problem with that?" there's no use of hiding it now.
Class rep raised his eyebrow in confusion "Yes man, she was like, famous. Do you know how many times she had been courted?"
Tachibana made the classic 'all those curves' gesture, like a horny 13 year old brat, Tamaki noted mentatly. "Real hot shit, bro. Lucky punk, too bad she changed badly-"
Famous, hot, and Meguru doesn't seem to mix, at least not her current self. She could easily blend with most students and no one will notice. Well She's is kind of beautiful, and attractive, and… well, Tamaki smacked his face in shame. He never actually appreciated her physically, not by much anyway.
Tachibana stopped abruptly; his short neck creaked dramatically as he looked at Tamaki with horrified realization.
"Wait wait wait, I don't like where this is going… are you implying Meguru changed after you two separated?" Tachibana pulled Tamaki's collar "Come on, spill it!"
"The hell if I know, yesterday is the first time I met her since long" Tamaki said annoyed "You're the one that made that conclusion, asshole"
"Well yeah figures, considering how passive you are" Class rep rubbed his chin sagely, whilst watching the girl in question disappear into the crowd "That's seems to be the likely case"
Looking at the impending conflict, the homeroom teacher intervened "Damn it, let's leave this place first"
Indeed, this place is full of people, and teen gossips can be really dramatic.
"Fuck man what are you doing?" Tachibana wailed.
"Clam your tits; she's the one asking for a breakup" Tamaki protested.
Class rep decided to separate these two "Like I said, Azuma is a bit passive; perhaps Meguru actually didn't mean it? She just wanted to know your reaction? Instead, you did let her go."
Tamaki tried to remember that memory he tried to suppress back then, not that he's particularly attached but still…
What he done isn't exactly noble either, it's a brutal, painful honesty he spilled.
Amami sensei sat on the bench near the automated vendor "Well, you know these hormonal, spineless teenage girls… she probably too afraid to clarify it and as the result, things fall apart and she still feel guilty about it"
"I wouldn't exactly call her 'spineless' mind you" Tamaki don't know why he even bother defending the ex-girlfriend, perhaps, out of courtesy? Still, she does look different even though he only caught a glance.
Meguru Airi always been cheerful, friendly, and putting everything on top of it, big fan of sport. Her family owned a dojo, Tamaki watched her training a lot, and few of their dates involve local matches in the stadium.
Tamaki knew that, deep down, she's a sensitive person that easily get hurt, but when they date each other, she tried hard not to burden him with her problem.
The teacher decided that the angst and unnecessary drama is really unneeded in a time like this, so she decided to switch the conversation.
"So I take it round robin, you will fight her"
"…I suppose that's the case"
Failing his long arm humorously, class rep smiled "Welp, I'm boned. Did you see how she defeated that Destroy? That's a pro right amongst us"
"She's using Modified Akatsuki right? I remember it's used to be gold originally"
"Yep, It's a Shiranui, and most of the modification is done on the head to make it resembles Flag or Enact from 00" Tachibana nodded sagely, shortly before blinked in realization "Hei! Sensei, you seem to know a lot about gunpla, don't you?"
The teacher lazily threw her empty can into the trash bin "Just the story of dead relationship, don't mind"
Oh, must be an ex-boyfriend too. They decided that asking further just begging for her wrath.
"You know, it's a great coincidence that girls around us are into gunpla too" Tachibana smiled "At least we have something to talk about"
"More like you don't know half shit about girls" Tamaki snorted while looking aside.
Tachibana balked "And you did? Well screw you, traitor"
Of course, it has to be Kojima the class rep that had to intervene "Oi, they already broke by the time we meet, give him some lenience"
And therefore, hilarity ensues as it breaks into mass of brawling student, though no one got injured.
~333~
"You came after all"
Today's share of fight was over, most people left the school with wither satisfaction of watching such intense selection, or excited of what will happen in tomorrow's round robin final.
Meguru was amongst the last one to leave, prefer to doublecheck her belongings, no, triple check it before she left for home.
But that's mostly excuse to avoid certain someone.
Said someone is, instead, waiting near the front gate, warm and delicious looking canned tea in hand.
He really knew her favorite, and she's too weak to reject the offer.
"Azuma-kun is really strong"
"Not as much as you... no" Tamaki took a sip of his can "Meguru-san still as strong as ever"
"I'm not strong"
The fact that she accidentally crushed her drink open said otherwise, Tamaki noted. Not that he mind, but she's really embarassed by accidental show of strength, especially after her statement just now.
"I don't know about that" the boy laughed heartily as he left "Let's give it all in the match tomorrow"
"Azuma-kun... can I... can you answer one thing?"
"Yes?"
"Why gunpla? What do you seek in fighting?"
he stopped.
"...I want to find it myself, that's why I'm standing here... to find the answer for that question... what about you?"
"I... seek for an end in battle, a honorable end"
"Honorable end huh?"
Indeed.
Meguru wanted it all to end, all the false hopes, and all those sweet dreams.
And this tournament would be the perfect choice for that.
She looked at her hands, her fragile looking hands had been ruined through and through with so much sparing and research. But will she be satisfied? Would this made her late sister and her beloved husband smile?
Meguru don't know.
She will find out tomorrow.
"MEGURU-SENPAI!"
Tamaki almost leaving, but stopped that thought when a black haired girl called Meguru with such hostility he actually worried. The girl was drenched in sweat, indicating that she ran with all her might all the way here.
"Imai, is that you?" the bespectacled girl asked.
"Good thing you still remember me" the girl growled "Why are you slacking off, you never came to the dojo since forever"
Hmm? Interesting. So Meguru had stopped training too... perhaps this is why her father looks so devastated, Tamaki thought.
"And before I knew it, you've became gunpla fighter too" the girl, Imai, pulled a gunpla out of her casket "I, Alice Imai, will defeat you and drag you back to the magnificent world of martial artist"
"Try as you might, Imai, it's up to my decision whether I should train or not"
"Looks like tomorrow will decide it" Imai bit her lips "I'll show you that I'm not joking, and that my words are not empty"
Tamaki gulped, considering how passive Meguru is usually, she is downright PISSED right now.
But at any rate, tomorrow will be interesting
...
The standoff between four players are tense, the players with highest amount of victory will be declared the winner of Kanbara highschool gunpla tournament. Circling around the gymnasium, even the spectator can feel the heavy atmosphere and stood quietly, waiting for the matches to begin.
"First match, Azuma Tamaki, Class 2-4"
"Meguru Airi, Class 2-8"
Meguru is shocked.
While Tamaki smiled like no one business.
Tachibana was nervous enough that he began to rattle his teeth until class rep stopped him "Quiet, you"
"There be shitstorm a brewin" Tachibana panicked and cried "This is no qunpla! Gunpla should be fun!"
Amami-sensei bopped his head twice with paper fan to calm him down "Don't be a wimp, Azuma will give his all in this fight, wasn't it you who pushed yourself to half death to complete his new machine?"
"Well yeah but still"
Unicorn are completely different beast than Zephyrantes, and that's even experienced builder like Tachibana had to do a crash course in upgrading it beyond standard build... without completely changing the machine's combat style altogether. Not to mention Azuma's unreasonable request...Tachibana managed to complete it in two days.
Class rep snorted "Have faith, win or lose, this will be epic match we can't miss"
14 panel arena, such arrangement was never seen before. Each panel are 1.5 meter across, made the whole complex looks absolutely gigantic. In this sacred arena, the fighter and builder's pride is at stake.
Lattice foundation and pillars rise from thin air as both fighter put their respective GP bases, warm sensation washed out the fighters' skin through, it was like an entire city constructed in seconds, spanning more than a kilometer in 1/144 scale.
"[Field 5, City]" the computer announced "[Please, set your gunpla]"
Both Tamaki and Meguru walk forward to set their machine, control spheres began to form in front of them.
"Unicorn Jet Striker, let's go!"
"Oowashi, here we come!"
Like yesterday, Airi's machine is based on Akatsuki Gundam, this one is oriented for atmospheric combat, having larger surface control and forward propulsion. A perfect choice to fight inside the scope of gravity. It's also painted metallic purple, like the one before, with orange visor covering it's gundam face completely.
A pair of large swords strapped on it's back, with gun holsters strapped to it's waist hanger.
"Looks menacing" Tamaki muttered "I know it'll perform as good as the one before"
"Your machine... it has been upgraded as well" Airi retorted.
The Unicorn didn't change much superficially, it's been painted with lighter shade of gray on some armor panels. It's equipment has been expanded slightly, with a Japanese sword set aside it's bazooka.
if one squint however, one will notice the sheer amount of thrusters had been added to each of it's limbs.
Unicorn charged... no blasted forth with such speed that it earned the collective gasp of the spectator, crossing the sheer distance between them in seconds. But what made them even more hyped is the reaction of purple gunpla, it's waist mounted booster blared and it began to dance around the crowded urban environment, unhindered by multi-story buildings around it.
"Hmm, Akatsuki originally have back mounted rockets right? What is the advantage of moving them to the butt like that"
"Center of gravity and thrust direction" Class rep answered with Tachibana conveniently show a simplified engineering sketch to the teacher "By moving the heavy backpack to the waist, unique movement and maneuver never seen in average Mobile Suit can be executed smoothly"
"I seems to recall such design... it was definitely outside gundam-verse" Tachibana muttered, "But where? Where did I saw it..."
Freeing the upper body of the massive burden granted the gunpla upper notch in flexibility, reacting faster to Tamaki's relentless assault without breaking a sweat. The intensity of battle is enough to shatter the windows around the battle site, partly thanks to the battle system's ability to simulate realistic atmospheric condition.
Beam saber clashed, both gunpla pushed each other hard but all they do is straining both the joints and thruster.
"What's wrong, still gauging my ability? Just go all out already" Tamaki taunted "Maybe you're really afraid?"
But this doesn't affect Meguru Airi at all, she kept her poker face throughout the skirmish whilst deflecting each and every attack delivered by her ex-boyfriend.
"The hell is he doing? Unicorn's limiter is not even turned off" Tachibana gritted his teeth.
"Psychological battle" Amami-sensei said, despite her eyes set on the arena, one can tell her mind is elsewhere "Azuma is acting out of character to provoke a reaction out of Meguru, who logically know him more than casual acquaintance would. However, she knew he's doing it deliberately, and therefore able to keep her current rhythm just fine"
"What a despicable coward" Imai sneered.
"Who?" Tachibana and Class Rep raised their eyebrow in response.
"I will defeat Meguru-senpai and drag her back even if I have to lose an arm and a leg doing it"
"Alice Imai, class 1-5, the only Freshman managed to reach this round robin huh" Amami-sensei scoffed "No one told you you need to be respectful to your senpai?"
"I know that... but... you won't understand, it's all about fighter's pride"
"Imai huh, so we're going to fight next" class rep said with a grim face "Show me that pride of yours"
"Sure thing"
Back to battle arena, the current exchange of strike remains constant that, despite the intensity, feels kind of boring. It's all too scripted, too hollow. There's no fighting spirit shown, at least not from Airi.
Knowing that thrash talk will not do, Tamaki destroyed his charade and return to his usual, serene expression "...Meguru-san, stop already"
"Pardon?"
"... don't do something you will regret" Tamaki begged "If you want a fitting end, then decide how it would go"
"... Azuma-kun..."
With a single click, Akatsuki's true strength unleashed, thrown the taller Gunpla away with incredibly powerful strike.
"Thank you, Meguru"
Unicorn's limiter also removed, it's visor-like eyes glow from higher level of plavsky infusion, the removal of auto balancer and power regulator allow gunpla to perform to it's engineering limit, straining them and caused them to be much harder to control.
But that's no longer a problem for both fighter, for they no longer have doubts.
"It begins" class rep smiled, while Imai only stared at the scene in utter shock, meanwhile, Tachibana ashamed of himself... unable to feel what everyone else felt right now, regardless he will see it till the end.
Akatsuki unleashed one of it's heavy blades, after ditching the beam saber "I will end it here, right now"
The battle stance of the machine also changed, now it's a lot like that of traditional Japanese swordsman's. Both Imai and Takumi recognized the stance, it was Meguru-style iaijutsu.
Airi put everything she had, for the sake of this one battle.
And so will Tamaki, he removed the sword on the back and remove the scabbard, revealing a glistening katana.
"So instead of flashy beam, they're using physical blades now" Amami-sensei commented "What gives?"
Both Unicorn and Akatsuki charged at speed beyond people's expectation, and their blade clashed with such force that some people need to cover their ears from the intensity of the noise.
"Wow"
Akatsuki deliver a subsequent combo strike comprised of smooth yet powerful swing and slashes, a movement that will fit human more than it is to gunpla normally. And yet, it performed so well it earned collective gasp. Meanwhile, no parry is executed afterward, Unicorn dodged left and right instead of blocking those attacks. Both gunpla fight so ferociously that if even a single attack connect, the parts will be destroyed almost instantly.
And both Tamaki and Airi knew it.
Meanwhile, Imai can only watch the battle unblinking "Meguru-senpai..."
"You have to understand... Imai" class rep said "They have a special bond no one else can share, but their feelings, their passion is intense enough that we can feel it ourselves"
"I can feel it" Imai nodded "Meguru-senpai... is crying"
"She is?" Tachibana ignorantly asked, caused both his teacher and childhood friend to slap his back.
Akatsuki's blade finally managed to hit it's target, Unicorn's combat shield sliced in two. Instead of pulling back, Unicorn retaliated with severing the connection between Akatsuki's arm and it's own shield. Losing what essentially their only disposable parts, the pace of combat increased even further, caused even the loud spectator to watch in deafening silence, enthralled by the beautiful match.
"Damn it"
Since the beginning, Airi is a superior pilot, and Tamaki understood that well. Now that Unicorn lost a single arm only cement that as a fact, and he's losing ground to the immense pressure she unleashed.
He managed to cut one of Akatsuki's elbow, rendering it inoperable. Even then, soon he lost another arm.
But he won't give up.
He smiled "You're strong, Meguru-san... and I always know that fact won't change"
Airi shed a single tear in response "Thank you for trusting me so much...Azuma-kun"
Unicorn kicked the blade away and then use it's intact shoulder to smash Akatsuki to nearby building, heavily damage it's main thrusters. Tamaki hit the throttle to maximum, crushing Akatsuki deeper into building and let the virtual construct to collapse.
But in the resulting dust cloud, purple Akatsuki still stood proudly like a true warrior, it's visor had been destroyed, revealing signature gundam face beneath it. It's damaged arm now severed completely, but it's working arm raised strongly, unleashing another blade.
Meguru removed the rubber band that tied her hair, letting it loose. She also folded her now fogged glasses, no longer constrained by her sorrow.
Despite tears flow like river from the corner of her eyes, her lips stretched wide, irradiating undiluted happiness. "With this sword of mine, I'll carve the path to the future"
Unicorn stood out again, armless, yet it's pilot's determination remains intact "That's the Meguru-san I know!"
Both of them ran forward for the last blow, uncaring that they have no rocket or vernier intact to increase their speed. Regardless of the desperate situation, everyone held their breath in anticipation, to see what kind of ending will result from this climatic moment...
I'm such a fucking troll...
See you next chapter ;)