A/N: Revised version uploaded on 12th May. Edited main battle, removed ending. See below for more about the edits.


Rivals

.

"Hold my hand, Gunsou. Not like that, like this! Tighter! You're such a limp fish, I swear."

Gunsou winced slightly as Mikiseki interlaced her fingers with his, and squeezed tightly. Her grip wasn't painful, but Gunsou had never so much as looked a girl in the eyes before, and this was a new and terrifying experience. Mikiseki had finally slowed down her walking speed such that she wasn't dragging him anymore, but they still were out of step with each other; whenever someone passed them, Gunsou would lower his head and look away, while Mikiseki strode past other students and passerbys as though they weren't even there.

"You must be wondering what's happening, hmm?" Mikiseki was saying. "Well, I've got some good news for you; I've got a way for you to Level Up quickly in Brain Burst. Don't worry about where I got it from - he was more than happy to give it to me."

"Well, uh, that's great I guess," Gunsou said cautiously, "But why does this involve a dinner d- Uh...da..." He couldn't say the word. The way Mikiseki held his hand was tight enough to feel like it was one, but the absolute lack of chemistry suggested otherwise. Mikiseki for once paused in her steps and looked at Gunsou, still smiling brightly. "A dinner date? Why, Gunsou, this is only a date if you want it to be," she said.

Gunsou uneasily glanced at a couple across the street. They were sitting on a park bench, and the way their heads were aligned left no doubt about what was going on between them.

"What... What about Jun? Will he get mad?" he said at last. Mikiseki's grip stiffened for a fraction of a second before she replied: "Jun? Jun doesn't matter. He can't do anything to us. Why'd you even ask about him?"

Gunsou shrugged and averted his gaze. "I don't know. I mean... he's your friend, and I've never been in something like this... Maybe I thought it wasn't right."

Mikiseki grinned and took his other hand in her own, albeit more gently. "It's as alright as you believe it to be. C'mon!" Still holding hands, Gunsou and Mikiseki made their way towards the local shopping mall.

It was crowded, as was to be expected of this hour. Swarms of students from other schools roamed its walkways, shopping and eating and browsing the items on display. Mikiseki guided Gunsou to a local coffee joint, and she made her way towards a small, two-person booth. The high walls of the booth cancelled a great deal of the hubbub outside, and Gunsou found that he could hear Mikiseki clearly. A girl only a few years older than them came up to take their order.

"Iced frappucino, please," Mikiseki said, "What about you, Gunsou? This place serves great coffee!" At present, he was baulking at the prices on the menu; a single cup was worth as much as an entire meal! "I'll... I'll have a hot expresso, please. Do you have a student's discount?" With a nod from the waitress, Gunsou finally relented and let her take away the menus. The only things left to look at in the booth were his own hands and Mikiseki's smiling face.

Silence fell as Mikiseki looked at him with large round eyes, clearly expecting him to say something. At last, Gunsou cleared his throat uneasily and asked:

"What brings you here, Mikiseki? I mean, I guess we're here to play Brain Burst later, but this..." he looked around at the coffee joint and realised it was occupied by a fair number of couples. "...Did you have something in mind?"

Mikiseki continued to smile, but perhaps less so. "I like this place," she said nonchalantly. "I used to hangout here with my friends back in Hokkaido, and when I moved here I'd come with Jun and we'd just talk."

Gunsou did not miss the subtle roll of her eyes at the mention of Jun. "Just talk? I see... No, I don't mean anything!" he hastily added as he caught a stare from Mikiseki. "I just can't really imagine a guy and a girl just...talking. I mean... No, maybe it's just me. Things don't really go well when I talk."

Their drinks arrived; Gunsou felt something brush against his leg when he looked up and thanked the waitress. And then he felt it again; a subtle, fleeting contact between pants and stocking-clad leg. He blinked and tried his hardest to not blush, but a giggle from Mikiseki told him he'd failed.

"You're so cute," she commented as she stirred her drink. "Relax! You look like I'm just going to leave you here or something. Don't you talk to people?"

"Misawa, mostly," he admitted, "But no one else." Mikiseki raised an eyebrow at that. "Talking about a girl in front of a girl? One might consider that rude, you know?"

Gunsou felt miffed that she would bring up such a topic, just as he felt his leg being stroked again. Flustered, he glared at Mikiseki, but she merely giggled and took another sip of her drink. She then reached into her bag and pulled out a familiar coil of black cable.

"Shall we?" Mikiseki's gaze invited Gunsou. The cable lay in her hand, waiting for him to reach out and take it. But one question still lingered on the tip of Gunsou's tongue.

"Mikiseki, are you and Jun really friends?"

She blinked. For the first time Gunsou could remember, Mikiseki looked unsure of herself. She glanced from side to side, and coughed. "We... I can't really say that. But what made you think so?"

Gunsou took a sip of his coffee - it lightly singed his tongue even though it had been cooling down. "Well, uh... the first time we met in the library with all of us, I thought you were... You looked embarrassed. Or ashamed of something. Like, like I would when I was caught doing something I wasn't supposed to do."

He thought some more and took another sip, more carefully this time. "Something from earlier too, I guess. I'm probably wrong, it's just a guess. But if it was me and Misawa...even if we had an argument, I wouldn't talk about her like that." He recalled the roll of her eyes earlier, and thought of something. "Are you and him..."

Mikiseki sighed and made a slashing motion with her hand. "Alright, alright Mr Sherlock. Yeah, we had a quarrel. It's our worst in quite awhile." Gunsou wisely remained quiet as experience dictated, and he silently waited for Mikiseki to carry on.

"We were probably in love once," she said quietly. "But everything changed after he got Brain Burst. He stopped paying attention to me on dates, and started talking more about the game. Gunsou, d'you know how boring it is to listen to someone talk about something you're not interested in?"

He nodded. "I hear it all the time," he said, and Mikiseki shot him a quizzical glance. "Anyway, I got tired of listening to him all day and asked him for the game eventually. I wanted to see what it was all about. And... And here we are." she shrugged and looked at Gunsou again, and sighed.

"Did you have a fight?" Gunsou cautiously asked. Mikiseki cast her eyes downwards and nodded. She remained uncharacteristically quiet, so Gunsou shifted in his seat and took another sip of his drink.

Mikiseki glanced at Gunsou, and then at the space besides him. "Hey, Gunsou," she suddenly said, "Scoot over." Confused, Gunsou blinked and wondered if he had heard something wrong.

"Oh, never mind. Shift inside! Lemme come over." And before Gunsou could protest, Mikiseki had switched seats, and forced him further inside the cramped booth such that they were now side-by-side. The chair was too small and Gunsou could feel the heat from Mikiseki's presence as she squeezed in. He blushed strongly. "Mikiseki-!"

"Shhh, don't make so much noise," she said. Finding a comfortable position, she put her elbows on the table and leaned against Gunsou's left shoulder. Her hair tickled his cheek and sent her fragrance washing into his head. He breathed in and all he could smell and feel was the pretty girl by his side. He dared not move a single inch, lest he break the magic of the moment.

"Hey Gunsou. Give me a hug." Mikiseki turned to look at Gunsou, and all he could see this close was her face. The faint trace of colour in her cheeks, the depths of her eyes that spoke of a longing for human connection. He slowly put one hand around her shoulder and held her as close as he dared - or as much as he hoped. Surely something was wrong. What if Jun walked in any moment, found them together, and threw a punch at Gunsou?

And then Mikiseki wrapped her own arms around Gunsou. She put one arm around his waist and pulled Gunsou to her, and she placed her left hand right over Gunsou's chest, just below his heart. It was impossible for her to not notice his skyrocketing heartbeat, or the wonderful shade of ruby he was turning. A small smile lit her her face as she inhaled - the warmth and scent brought back old, sweet memories but at present moment was so much more fulfilling. Here was a boy who wouldn't defy her, hurt her, but for intents and purposes was hers. How had she been such a fool to think the world of Jun when there was such a loyal soul besides her?

She separated from him eventually and picked up the cable. As Gunsou began to return to his natural colour, she took the cable and tied it short, so that it was effectively less than half its initial length. She plugged in one end and held the other out to Gunsou - it was going to be so short, it was barely enough for them to remained sandwiched together like this, just the way she liked. "Shall we?"

Gunsou complied. The instant he plugged in his Neuro Linker, she grinned and clicked on Brain Burst, speaking to him via thought-speak as she clicked on another option.

"It's really simple. We just need to earn enough Points for me to reach Level Three, and with the prize I got, you too will reach Level Three without having to spend any Burst Points."

A window appeared in Gunsou's vision: [Spring Renascentia wants to Tag Team with you! Accept? Y/N]

"That's how we're going to fight today," she explained, "People mostly fight together as friends, rather than solo. And honestly, it's more exciting that way! We'll earn Points from both members as well, so this could go pretty fast."

"How many Points are you going to need?" Gunsou asked. "The other day, Ju- he said that he needed five hundred Points to get to Level Four. So..."

"I currently have 198 Points remaining, but going to Level Three takes 300," Mikiseki explained. "But don't worry! Even if we faced opponents who are all Level Two and Level One, beating them both will earn us twenty Points apiece. It's not that hard once you do the math, eh?" she smiled and winked.

"If we don't have any more questions, let's go then! We'll start off by challenging this couple: Cove Fighter and Luka Extinguisher. Okay?"

Gunsou nodded, but apparently Mikiseki wasn't satisfied. "Say it, Gunsou," she tugged on his arm. The boy looked like he might faint from the overdose of physical contact.

"Y-Yes... Mikiseki."

"And call me Miki. I think you deserve it." Leaving Gunsou to look at her in amazement, she pressed the final option confirming their duel opponents. She couldn't press 'Duel' from here, they had to Accelerate. She held up three fingers and nodded at Gunsou.

Three... Two... One...

"Good luck, Gunsou," she whispered out aloud. Gunsou blinked and turned to glance at her-

"Burst Link!" they murmured as one.

SLAM!

Smoke rose into the night sky from countless burning barrels, serving as meager street lighting. Spectators lept, climbed, and shimmied their way up onto balconies and buildings for vantage points as a pair of glowing circles winked into existence. A stocky light blue robot and a slim, shocking pink duel avatar stepped out from them: Cove Fighter and Luka Extinguisher. Cracking his knuckles, Cove Fighter glanced at his surroundings while his partner scanned their opponents' names and Levels.

"Spring Renascentia and Turquoise...Duro," she murmured. "They're the same as us, a Level 2 and a Level 1. You can beat them, Fighter! Please take care of me."

The one she called Fighter cracked a boyish smile and stretched. "Don't worry, I'll keep my promise to your friend. I'm all fer a good fight! Where are they at? Come on out and show us whatcha got!

[FIGHT!]

A pair of blue arrows appeared before Gunsou as he assumed his alternate persona. Cracking his knuckles and feeling a reliable weight in return, he glanced in the direction they pointed, leading his gaze to settle upon a similarly-built blue duel avatar and a short, pink girl robot in the distance. Unlike himself, the other blue avatar - presumably the opponent named 'Cove Fighter' - was much smaller in height. However, it didn't take away from the fact that he was rather well-armoured and muscular. With the way he walked and waved his arms, Gunsou got a distinct feeling that Cove Fighter was a much more confident person than he himself was.

"Tell me the plan again, Mikiseki," he said, trying to move his lips as little as possible. "What do I do?" The lithe green girl by his side swept her hair to the side and patted his back. "Don't you worry about it, just fight them! I have my own ways of taking care of people. Besides..."

She shook her head, as though she had said something wrong. "Don't be afraid! I believe in you, you're stronger than you think!"

"Hey, you two!" the pink girl shouted shrilly; she was even shorter than Spring Renascentia was. "Isn't time to stop talking and start fighting? We're getting impatient here, you know!"

Gunsou glanced at Mikiseki one final time. "Please... Please take care of me." He raised his arms, spinning the metal plates in place for a second before locking them in place with a satisfying 'clink!'

Cove Fighter seemed to nod in approval. "Yosh, that's the spirit!" He assumed a similar pose to Gunsou, but his diminutive size made him look amusing rather than terrifying. Gunsou paused for a moment, then rushed in, raising his right fist and punched. Fighter easily backstepped his attack, as well as the followup, but then Gunsou spun and kicked out with his right leg- only to be stopped short of its mark by Fighter.

"Hey Duro. You don't know much about fighting, do ya?" Fighter remarked, "For a big guy, you fight like a little kid!"

Gunsou shrugged. "You tell me. I just got the game this week."

"Oh really?" Fighter frowned. "And no one taught you? That won't do, that won't... do!"

An uppercut from nowhere caught Gunsou in his chin, knocking his head back and making him stumble. Fighter twisted - and landed an unopposed back thrust towards his abdomen and forcing the off-balance Gunsou on his can. In a matter of seconds, the brawler had all but subdued his opponent, planting a foot in his chest and holding a fist in his face.

"First rule of fightin', dude," Fighter said, "Never take your eyes off your opponent!" All I need is one mistake, and yer toast!"

Gunso winced at the heavy weight on his chest and swatted his hand aside. Rolling to his left and to his feet, he tried to backhand Fighter as he got up, but he wasn't even there anymore! His opponent had anticipated the move and hopped back - rebounded off a wall and sped at Gunsou with a flying kick! With a loud bang! Gunsou was knocked backwards again into an abandoned car, shaving his Health Gauge down.

"C'mon! If I were you, I won't just sit there and wait for the enemy to come! On yer feet, buddy, get up and fight!" Fighter cajoled. Feeling more irritated than inspired, Gunsou got to his feet and lunged at Fighter - who smoothly sidestepped and landed one punch in his side for good measure. "I'm no stationary target! Think! Anticipate where I'll move!" he said.

Gunsou gritted his teeth. Mikiseki and the pink girl were fighting elsewhere, the sound of shrieks and grunts softer and farther away. He clenched his fists and brought armour forwards to his gauntlets, locking the additional weight into place. Rather than charge his adversary this time, he got into a defensive stance, shielding his face with his hands, and opened his left and beckoned with a 'come hither' gesture. Cove Fighter grinned, and kicked off, practically flying towards Gunsou with his arm already stretching forwards, aiming for his face.

Gunsou tried his best – tried to anticipate the attack, raised armour up to his hand to block. But even as he raised his hand, Fighter twisted at the last second and kicked him in the face!

The crowd collectively groaned as Gunsou hit the floor, Cove Fighter's boot grinding him down into the dusty ground. "Give me… A break…" he tried to say, but it came out as a mouthful of dirt as he tried to talk with his mouth closed. Fighter laughed cheerfully and took his foot off, allowing a grateful Gunsou to roll to a sitting position and spit to clear his mouth of sand.

A light blue hand reached down and seized Gunsou by the scruff of his neck – "C'mon, dude, you think tha's a break? We just warming up!" No sooner had he finished speaking did Fighter throw a punch, then another. One fist smashed into his nose, and Gunsou howled in pain. Fighter then sank a knee into his stomach – with Gunsou preoccupied with the feeling of a broken nose, no armour was there to protect him. Slowly, Gunsou's health was shaved down bit by bit as he succumbed to a flurry of punches and kicks, until Fighter evidently got bored and swept his feet out from him. With a resounding crash! Gunsou hit the ground with less than 40% Health, pitiful in comparison to Fighter who hadn't even a scratch on himself.

"Fine man, I guess you really don't know how to fight. So on your feet! No more fancy tricks, no more shows of strength. Just gimme your best shot - or go home!" Fighter smashed his fists together, creating sparks as he shouted. Gunsou glared at Fighter, but got to his feet anyway and lashed out with a kick. Not even breaking a sweat, his adversary hopped up and dodged it.

"Grr! Stay still!" Gunsou yelled as he threw a punch. It was far too easy to read, and all Fighter had to do was to step backwards for his fist to meet empty air. Gunsou punched twice more, then spun around trying to aim a kick at Fighter's legs; instead, Fighter swiftly caught his foot. A devilish grin lit up his face – and he picked up Gunsou, swinging him like a rag doll, and then bodily threw him into a pile of cars!

"No!"

Gunsou briefly experienced flight without wings before he hit the ground with a crash and tasted blood in his mouth. Clambering over to where he lay, Fighter took hold of his right hand, stepped on his shoulder and pulled with a strength that belied his size. Gunsou's eyes popped as fire travelled down his shoulder and back, and no matter how hard he tugged, Fighter did not let go of the arm lock. Red sparks began to leak from his shoulder as his Health Gauge visibly began to fall in the corner of his vision. His arm was definitely going to break-

Thunk!

"...what the hell?" a very familiar voice said. The vice grip on his arm slackened for a fraction of a second, long enough for Gunsou to twist together with his arm and stagger to his feet. He looked up at Cove Fighter-

An iron pipe bent over at a comical angle on his head where it had been used to strike him; Mikiseki clutched the other end, staring in utter disbelief. Cove Fighter, on the other hand, simply shrugged it off as though she had hit him with newspaper. "Whatsa matter, never hit someone with a weapon before?" Fighter reached over and jerked the weapon out of Mikiseki's loose hands. He examined it, then tossed the ruined pipe aside emotionlessly. "Man, it's going to take more than one pipe to stop me-"

Mikiseki lunged, catching his free hand in hers and attempted to pull him away. "Let go of Gunsou!" she yelled, "Stop hurting him!" To which, Gunsou swore he could see Cove Fighter roll his eyes: "You his friend, little lady? He should really know how to fight by now, don'cha think?"

"I'm not little and I'm not a lady!" Mikiseki screeched. Giving up on her fruitless attempt to pull away Cove Fighter, she hopped over to where Gunsou was bent over with exhaustion, and put her hands on his shoulders. "Aria," she whispered, and half her Special Gauge immediately disappeared; her hands and eyes began to light up with green sparks. "Mikiseki, what are you-?" Gunsou began to speak.

Everyone fell silent the moment the green sparks began to flow into Gunsou's body. A heat, stronger than the warmth from her palms, filled his body, and Gunsou felt an intense relief. The sound of a bottle being filled with water accompanied the rise in Gunsou's Health Gauge – he himself was dumbstruck as it filled from one-third to more than 70%.

"You can heal?" he gasped. A self-satisfied Mikiseki grinned and removed her hands from his shoulder. "Just help me out here, stop them both!" She said that just as she backed away from him slowly.

"Aww, come on…" Nearby, Cove Fighter put a hand to his temple and groaned. "All that hard work, gone in an instant…" Suddenly, his eyes lit up with a flame of determination. "If that's what it takes - UWOH!"

And he dug his feet into the ground, taking great strides like an Olympic runner – but not at Gunsou. With a jolt of realisation, Gunsou turned just in time to see Cove Fighter tackle Mikiseki to the ground. He raised a fist and punched her head in, dropping her Health rapidly as a web of cracks covered the ground where her head was hitting.

"Stop it!" Gunsou cried. He reached them and grabbed Cove Fighter, trying to peel him off Mikiseki; but then a fist came out of nowhere and smashed into his tender nose. Stunned for an instant, Gunsou didn't summon any armour to defend himself, and could only look on as Cove Fighter arched back and slapped him full in the face with the force of a raging bull. Reeling from the impact, Gunsou staggered into a pile of rubble and collapsed. His head was swimming – how could one slap be that powerful? Someone spun him around, and then a light blue arm lithely snaked around his neck and squeezed. Gunsou gasped for breath as Cove Fighter doubled down, ignoring his waving arms and half-choked cries.

In the corner of his eyes, green sparks came to life again, invaded his avatar and refreshed his Health again. But he felt no better the second time, only more dread at the thought of facing more pain. How much more was he going to have to take?

"Hey!" Cove Fighter shouted, "Take you and your healing elsewhere! This is bullcrap to fight!" And then in a lower voice, clearly meant for Gunsou alone, "Kid, don't you think something is wrong here?" He loosened the chokehold enough for Gunsou to breathe and open his eyes briefly: Mikiseki was standing there with outstretched hands, smiling grimly as she spent her Gauge on healing Gunsou.

"Mikiseki…help me…" he groaned. He needed something, anything, to get out of this, or he was going to lose, healing or not. But then the girl in green shook her head: "I can't! He'll beat me up too!"

"See what I mean, buddy?" Cove Fighter gave Gunsou a little shake as he tightened the choke further. "You're in trouble, but she ain't doing bull to help. Lemme ask you, would you do the same in her place?"

"I- won't!" Growling in frustration, Gunsou's feet finally found purchase on solid ground; he twisted as hard as he could, until he was facing the side and the chokehold less effective. Straining with all his might, Gunsou began to force armour plates between his neck and the arm keeping him prisoner, shoving them into the cracks. Cove Fighter struggled to keep his grip while Gunsou tugged at his arms – and then in a last, desperate burst of strength, Gunsou dug an elbow into Cove Fighter's chest, denting it slightly and finally breaking the lock. Massaging his throat, Gunsou stumbled and staggered his way back to Mikiseki, where she sighed with relief. "Finally! I was worried you weren't going to make it!" she said.

"Don't mention it," Gunsou muttered. Cove Fighter continued to stare at him accusingly as Mikiseki healed him once more and brought his Health back up. He raised a hand and made an exceedingly rude gesture towards Mikiseki:

"Is that all you going to do for him, little lady? Huh? Stand back and watch from the sidelines? Dude, this girl is baaad news," he turned to Gunsou, dragging his words for emphasis, "Some 'friend' she is! That's Rule Number Two for ya: Don't trust anyone! Fend for yourself!"

"I'll think for myself, thank you very much," Gunsou snarled, though albeit half-heartedly. He pushed everything to the back of his mind; he had opponents to defeat.

Opponents…

"Look at me!" A girl screamed shrilly, "I want in on the action!" Sporting an impressive egg-sized lump on her forehead, Luka Extinguisher rounded the corner and rejoined Cove Fighter. She pointed a finger at Mikiseki, declaring: "I'm going to pay you back double for that! No, a million times, a zillion times more pain!"

"Two can play this game too. Give them everything, X!" Fighter yelled. His pink partner seemed only too happy to oblige - with a flourish of both arms, a nozzle appeared on her wrists, attached to hoses which lead to a small tank on her back. Her shining blue Special Gauge fell from half-full to zero as she stiffened her back-

"Debilitating Haze!" she shouted. A heavy-looking dark cloud sprayed forth and enveloped Gunsou and Mikiseki, who covered their mouths and noses. But the gas didn't smell any different than the surrounding air, which meant...

"...Oh no, we can't see them!" Mikiseki realised. She herself could barely see Gunsou, and only because he was right besides her. The thick haze enveloped them and completely obscured all sight of their surroundings and their opponents. "They could come from anywhere! Protect me, please!"

She crouched and took cover under Gunsou's thick arms. With that understanding, Gunsou doubled the thickness of his arms' plates and covered her. He tried his hardest to spot something, anything that would show his opponents through the smokescreen, but it was like a giant grey blindfold that completely covered his eyes and ears. Even his sense of hearing seemed to be muted...

Smash! A fist collided with his nose and threatened to smash his face in. As Gunsou groaned and clutched his head, someone else smashed what felt to be a large sheet of metal into his unprotected back. Without being able to see or hear his opponents, he felt like he was fighting ghosts, swinging his arms blindly and meeting nothing but air. "Mikiseki! Help me!" he growled in frustration. As unseen blows rained upon his back, he twisted around and again grabbed nothing but whispers and dust.

"Stay still!" she hissed, and laid both her slim hands on her chest. As Gunsou took a particularly painful blow to his legs, Mikiseki closed her eyes in concentration; green lines from her heart criss-crossed her arms and over to Gunsou's chest, where they glowed bright blue. His Health Gauge rose from half-empty to just under 75% - an unbelievably large amount.

"This is nonsense!" Gunsou heard Luka Extinguisher yell, "What's the point in fighting if she can just heal everything back!" Gunsou glanced at Mikiseki, who merely swept her hair aside and smirked with self-satisfaction. "Why… Why didn't you tell me this earlier?" he finally asked.

"Would you have fought just as hard if I told you that?" she threw the question back. "There's no time - keep fighting!" She pointed at a pair of hazy outlines that weren't there before - Cove Fighter and Luka Extinguisher. Gunsou nodded deeply and raised his fists again.

Even with the advantage in Health, there was surely still some way for the battle to turn in their favour; Gunsou wasn't about to bet that Luka Extinguisher didn't have some trick up her sleeve, and Cove Fighter hadn't even revealed his own skill yet. But if there was anything he had learnt from watching those fighting games, it was that the skill Extinguisher had just used wasn't going to be used again for some time. If even Mikiseki could beat her, he definitely could. No, he should defeat her.

He lowered his hands and charged at Cove Fighter, digging his heels into the crumbling asphalt to build up speed. At the last second, he changed direction with an earthshaking stomp, jumping at Luka Extinguisher and aiming his reinforced leg at her chest - but his kick was body-blocked at the last second with a solid whump! Cove Fighter had jumped into the way at the last possible moment, and threw Gunsou's balance way off. All three of them collapsed to the ground in an unceremonious heap of limbs and curses.

Fighter was first to recover. "This is a team battle; we protect each other!" he yelled, driving his fist into soft, unprotected parts. Gunsou grunted and shifted armour to cover up; just as he did so, a bright green eye lens right in front of him opened wide and blinked.

"Get off me, you fat punk!" Extinguisher snarled. She wriggled a hand free from the pileup and slapped Gunsou as many times as she could, until a reliable blue-green plate slid up his face and shielded him from further abuse. It quickly became insufficient, however, when Extinguisher managed to extricate herself and rolled Gunsou over. The two of them rained blows on him; his hands and feet couldn't block everything, and his Health Gauge began to fall…

"Aria." Mikiseki simply said. Again, Gunsou's Health rose to 65%, hardly any different from the last heal.

Cove Fighter stopped attacking Gunsou, and jerked a thumb at Mikiseki. "You see that? Does that look like the face of a loyal friend to you, who stands by the side and watches everything?"

In the lull, Gunsou quickly got to his feet. If Mikiseki could keep up her healing, all he had to do was answer attack for attack, and eventually they'd win when both Fighter and Extinguisher were out of Health. "She's a friend," he said evenly, "And if she's healing me, isn't that enough? She didn't abandon me at all!"

Both his opponents scoffed, but this time it was Luka Extinguisher who answered. "Friend? Your 'friend' packs a punch, mind you! She's lying to you if she says she can't fight, because she caused this!" She pointed towards the lump on her duel avatar, and numerous other dents where she must have been hit with by the iron pipe.

"And friends don't leave the other for dead, or watch from the sidelines," Fighter continued, "They should teach each other how to stand up for themselves, not let you tank their bull for them. Don't you see, Duro? You're being used!"

"Don't listen to them, Gunsou!" Mikiseki urged him from a distance, "Just finish them! We can win!"

It was that feeling again. Gunsou closed his eyes and shut out everyone – Cove Fighter, Mikiseki, everyone and everything. Why did everyone turn to him for everything, but gave him nothing in return? His mother, his friend, his best friend – what obligation did he have? Couldn't they just leave him alone? He clenched his fist tightly and tried to count to ten. Maybe everything would go away if he counted. Maybe everything would be fine if he let them go.

"One…" he could barely move his mouth. Every muscle in his body was in lockdown, unwilling to move even a single inch. Even his armour stayed frozen to their spots, when they'd normally move around and change places in battle. He was dimly aware that they were still talking to him, trying to get him to listen to them.

"Two…" Someone was tugging his arm, was it Mikiseki? Was it Misawa? He could barely see anything with his eyes shut. Someone slapped his arm now, practically yelling in his ear-

"Listen to good advice when it's being given! Fighter is just telling me what he told me to do, and now you should listen to him! He never says anything wrong!" Luka Extinguisher urged.

But had she been expecting Gunsou to just listen to her like that? In his private space, when he just wanted to be left alone? She failed to notice his trembling hands, nor did she see his teeth grinding against each other. Instead, she took his silence for agreement, and continued: "How about you grow up and realise your mistake?"

Blue eyes lit up from within Turquoise Duro and blazed with agony. Lifting one hand high above his head, Gunsou barely felt himself as he tripled the amount of armour surrounding his fist – and brought down on his tiny opponent like he was squashing a bug.

[LUKA EXTINGUISHER HAS LOST!]

With a gentle sound of shattering glass, Luka Extinguisher's body disappeared into a storm of glittering polygons - and reformed a second later at the edge of a faraway balcony, still screaming curses to anyone who would listen. Her Health Gauge had gone blank; instead, the word "SPECTATOR" appeared in place of the blue bar.

But Gunsou was no longer paying attention to minutiae. With the disappearance of Luka Extinguisher, he needed someone, anyone to vent his rage and frustration. Wasn't it convenient then that Cove Fighter was right before him? Cove Fighter quickly slid a foot back and raised a fist in a 'come hither' motion.

"Gunsou, no!" Mikiseki screamed, "Don't attack him now!" But her words never reached him: he drew a fist back and felt every plate on his body shift; his Special Gauge fell as he finally activated his Special Move for the first time. There had been no time to use Vault Breaker before, but there was no better time than now. He felt a raw energy flow through his body from his head to his toes. Beyond, Cove Fighter stared silently.

"Ahh!" Gunsou let it all out – his frustration, his anger, everything was channelled into one shout and one punch as he screamed forwards –

Cove Fighter spun out of the way. Gunsou was going too fast to stop – as soon as the dash was over, all Fighter had to do was to kick him in the back, sending him into a messy tumble into the dirt.

"Ha ha ha! Was that his Special Move? It missed!" Laughter echoed from all around Gunsou. The Specators had seen it all – his outburst, his attempt to kill Cove Fighter, and now his spectacular failure. He was useless, wasn't it? He couldn't even win a single fight… He remained in that undignified pile of limbs and armour, hiding his face from everyone.

"That'll do, Gunsou. I'll take it from here." With the crunch of metal of gravel, Mikiseki walked past him and towards Cove Fighter. He tucked his chin into his chest, far away from the sounds of battle. He watched the Health Gauges impassively as they rose and fell. Well, only Mikiseki's was rising at regular intervals. As the Timer ticked down, eventually Cove Fighter's Gauge hit zero, and the duel reached its conclusion:

[YOU WIN!]

Gunsou blinked. They were back in the coffee place, with couples, his espresso, and...

"That was awesome!" Mikiseki gushed. She turned and hugged Gunsou enthusiastically, burying her face in his chest. "Oh, did you see that look on Luka Extinguisher's face after the battle? It was so satisfying! Take that!" She pumped her fist excitedly. "...Gunsou?"

Gunsou had turned away and buried his head in his hands. "...yeah, w-we did it, Mikiseki," he said softly.

Her face seemed to fall slightly, but she recovered quickly and beamed. "Another one! Let's go!"

Gunsou took another gulp of his remaining espresso. "How many more Points do you need?" he asked. Mikiseki ignored him and continued to scroll through a list. "Who cares, haha! That was a great one, let's keep going!" She bounced in her seat and inadvertently rubbed herself against Gunsou, who opted to look away and pretend nothing had happened. Mikiseki had to tug his hand to get his attention back.

"Hey, look at me when I talk to you! We're taking on this team next: Auroral Gazer and Plasma Horizon. Are you ready?"

Gunsou took in a deep breath - trying to forget about the phantom aches and pains. How many more battles would he have to fight? Mikiseki was already counting down towards that world of duelling again.

"Burst Link." they murmured together.

In the end, they fought six battles in all that evening, winning five of them and hundred and fourteen Burst Points. After their final battle, they had waited for the Spectators to disappear before Mikiseki took out the Experience Boost Card - adorned with glittering sapphire gems in its corners - and raised Gunsou to Level Three. Instantly, a congratulatory message appeared, followed by another one with less fanfare:

[You have accumulated two Level Up Bonuses! Pick your Level Bonus now? Y/N]

"Mikiseki, what's this?" Gunsou asked. His finger hovered over the buttons, but then Mikiseki seized his wrist and instantly mashed the 'YES' icon.

"Hey, what-" he began, but Mikiseki grinned and shushed him. "These are really important! They determine which part of your avatar gets stronger. You could improve one of your current skills, learn a new skill, or choose to receive an Enhanced Armament! As for Armament, uh," she added, catching Gunsou's confused look, "You remember the weapons Auroral Gazer and Plasma Horizon used? Those are Enhanced Armaments: pieces of equipment separate from the duel avatar. You could still fight without them, but of course it'd be much, much more difficult."

"Look at your choices!" Mikiseki prompted. Gunsou examined them in turn, scrolling down the list, albeit a short one:

He could learn a new skill called Frozen Gauntlet, which empowered his kicks and punches periodically with extra 'ice-attack affinity,' it said, and gain immunity to ice attacks. But it honestly sounded like a gimmick.

He could also pick up an Enhanced Armament called 'Hunter's Crossbow,' an arm-mounted item that let him shoot metal projectiles at enemies from medium range. It sounded particularly tempting - but when he remembered the ease at which Guardsman Railgun had demolished him, what good was little metal arrows?

So that left the last and most basic - increasing the power of Saint's Fist, which would boost his defensive strength. He glanced at Mikiseki, but she held up her hands in a gesture of 'I-don't-know.' Sighing and feeling a familiar sensation of finality, Gunsou hit the last option and felt his armour plates quiver for a brief moment as they were...upgraded?

The second Level Up Bonus was decided in a similar fashion. Gunsou eschewed the options of additional brass knuckles and a rocket-powered punch in favour of increasing Saint's Fist strength again. Besides, he had finally gotten the hang of Vault Breaker, in the last battle: after a brief charge, it propelled Gunsou's fist forwards at incredible speed and power until he had hit something or had travelled a short distance. No need to repeat what I've already got, he thought to himself. Mikiseki was decidedly quiet about his choices, but she kept her thoughts to herself as Gunsou made his choices and felt his armour vibrate and thicken noticeably.

"Are you done? We can Burst Out and quit anytime now," Mikiseki said. Gunsou was about to nod, but then a question struck him.

"Mikiseki, don't mind me asking, but what did you pick for your Bonuses?" he asked. "If it's a secret, it's fine then..."

She giggled and covered a hand with her mouth. "It's alright! I just opted to strength my healing ability, that's all. Do you mean, why wouldn't I choose something that'd help me fight?"

Had he been read that easily? Gunsou nodded guiltily and clasped his hands. "Yeah... I mean, the battles we've fought have only gotten tougher. Why don't you think about yourself?"

"Silly Gunsou," she dismissed with a flick of her hair. "I've got you, don't I? You'd always protect me if I ask you to, right?"

She's...got me? Gunsou wondered if she had another meaning to those three words. Nobody had ever told Gunsou they needed him before. In the end, he shrugged his shoulders and said: "...Yeah, I guess so."

With his head tilted down, he didn't see Mikiseki's broad smile. "Well then, c'mon! Let's go get dinner. Aren't you hungry by now?" she asked.

Gunsou nodded in agreement. With a chorus of "Burst Out!" they returned to the coffee joint again.

The combined exhaustion of six continuous fights took their toll on the young man's psyche. Too tired to unplug the cable, Gunsou untied the knot Mikiseki had made with some difficulty and immediately keeled over, resting his head on the cool table. He had finished his espresso before the sixth fight, but it felt like an eternity ago that he had ordered the drink. Just how much time had passed?

"Aww, you must be beat! You really gave it your all, huh?" Mikiseki cooed from somewhere above. Gunsou turned to face the other side: Mikiseki was smiling brightly as usual, as though six duels in a row was small change for her. Either that, or he was just too busy looking at her beautiful eyes...

"Otsukaresama deshita," she whispered, "Thank you for your hard work, Gunsou."

And then she leaned in and kissed his cheek. Too tired to even move away, Gunsou laid there and closed his eyes, feeling her amazingly soft lips and her intoxicating warmth on his cheek. She parted after a tense moment, leaving a blushing and confused Gunsou.

When he regained control of his senses, Gunsou said, "Wha... Why'd you kiss me for, Mikiseki? Isn't a kiss... Well, something you save for... For lov..."

Mikiseki looked at him as though he had three heads. "Are you that dense? I'd give anyone I like a kiss. And what's wrong with that-?"

They both realised it at the same time. Gunsou's eyes widened, while Mikiseki blushed and looked away for a moment. Finally, she turned back to look at Gunsou, her cheeks slightly flushed. "Uhh... I..."

No way, Gunsou thought, no way this can be true. No girl would love me. No one would want me. Those thoughts slowly ground to a halt, as did everything else in his brain as Mikiseki leaned in towards him. He could feel her breath on his face now.

Mikiseki's eyes fluttered and her lips opened slightly-

...

to be continued.

...

Author's notes:
I made a mistake. A mistake that contradicted the aim of writing Mirishira Accel World in the first place - to not write a wish-fulfilment story. Why should Gunsou, an untrained and new player, win his first real fight when he doesn't know anything about fighting, and his opponent has the word 'Fighter' in his name?

A large portion of this chapter was completely rewritten; only the first part covering about 2000 words was untouched. The vast majority of the chapter - everything after the point when they first accelerated - has been completely rewritten to reflect new insights into writing a character who doesn't get everything he wishes for. It ties in closer with the theme of 'Rivals' - what makes your enemies your enemies, and how can you tell who are your friends? There's a lot more clues now and I hope you can catch most of them.

And then I deleted the last part too, which involved Railgun meeting Apprentice and then giving an offer of the Sudden Death Duel Card. I talked to Optimura, and while I don't necessarily agree with him that it's too early for one to take place, it's hard to answer the other question: Why is there the need for the Sudden Death duel at all? If it's just to create tension, there are other ways. Isn't it to kill someone? But Gunsou is in no state to kill anyone!

Basically, this is what happens when you write in a hurry and don't double check at every step, from planning to writing to editing. I think I learnt a very valuable lesson here.

Here's to you, Optimura. tips hat

-Tusjecht