Chapter 20 – Lessons of a fighter
The morning was young, and the sun was fresh on the horizon. Taijin snapped awake. There weren't any loud sounds or painful stomachaches to hammer him awake. No, he just found himself with his eyes open before he could notice, and by then, it was too late to return to bed.
"You're up early."
Tobias was sitting on his bed, already up and active. A towel was slung around his shoulders and his blonde hair was wet and smelt of jasmine. Somehow, he clearly woke even earlier than Taijin was, and he had even already showered. Taijin ruffled his hair, and then gave Tobias an earnest smile.
"Good morning"
"Hm."
Taijin glanced at the alarm clock by Tobias' desk. It was still 7:00AM. It was earlier than Taijin would normally ever wake up – even for school. But for some reason, he felt that he could not fall back asleep. He felt incredibly rested from the slumber, as if he rested for an entire year. He thought his back and neck should have ached from sleeping on the floor, but they really didn't.
The kitbash they put together the day before was still there on the floor, standing awkwardly. Its posture was tight and its colors were off-putting, but something about it made Taijin proud.
Tobias reached for his phone and after a few swipes, put it right back where it was. It was evident that he wasn't the type to lounge around idly.
"School is still cancelled. We have today, tomorrow, and the weekend off'
Tobias reached for the kitbash, and gave it an appreciative glance. Taijin could tell that he wasn't satisfied, but with the flooding ceasing to die down, there wasn't much else that could be done. Taijin perched himself up from the floor and did a short stretching routine. Tobias took the gundam, placed it on his desk, and then left his room.
"Go ahead and shower. Breakfast will be ready shortly"
Breakfast was short and impactful with toast, bacon and scrambled eggs. Tobias made it himself, apparently because he felt uncomfortable having other people make breakfast for him. "I need to be able to control what I put into my body first thing in the morning. Lunch and dinner is fine, but I need to make my own breakfast." was what he said. A mere hour had passed since Taijin woke, and it was just 8:00AM. Strangely, telling from what Tobias was up to, it was likely that he woke even earlier.
The two were back in the room in no time at all, and with an empty schedule on their calendar, they looked eagerly at the gunpla.
"So, what's the next step, mister ace builder?" Tobias asked
"Take your best guess"
Tobias glanced at the gunpla, as if he expected it to yell out an answer. He knew that this stage was especially sensitive for builders because what happens next determines the difference between a casual player and an ace fighter. Should he keep up the façade and pretend like he's an absolute novice? Or maybe he should give a little hint at who he really was. Taijin didn't seem to notice yet, after all...
"I'd disassemble the gunpla and start painting it"
"Incorrect"
"Huh?"
Taijin reached for the gunpla on the desk, and in a swift motion, put it in Tobias' hands.
"Painting it comes much later. See, when you paint a gunpla, that's your way of saying 'okay, I'm satisfied'. You can't say that just yet, though."
"Why can't I?"
"Because you don't know how it moves yet."
Tobias found himself subconsciously playing with the joints of the gunpla, unknowingly assessing its mobility potential. The shoulders can rotate well until the backpack gets in the way, the elbows lock at 90 degrees. The hips could barely turn before being stopped, and although the knees could bend well, it served little purpose considering its hefty bulk.
Taijin nodded as he watched Taijin play with the gunpla like a little doll. He started to pick some more things up – his care in moving the joints around wasn't ordinary. A kid at the age of Tobias' would normally be much rough and aggressive, but Tobias was treating the gunpla like it was made of glass. It was like he was unscrambling a rubik's cube. No motion was wasted, no movement was unnecessary. This was the moment that Taijin knew for a fact that Tobias was not "just a beginner curious to know about building" His experience lay deeper than Taijin could ever comprehend. Without looking up, Tobias spoke.
"So, like this?"
"I mean, yeah, I guess. You'll get a solid range for the articulation that way. You'll also appreciate the gunpla more as a whole, so I always start playing with a gunpla first"
Tobias stopped shifting the joints around. He looked at Taijin, a little haphazardly embarrassed.
"Isn't 'playing' a little bit of a childish word to use…"
"Is it?"
"I mean, when you think of 'play' , you think of building sandcastles or playing swordfight. Gunpla battle is a little different, isn't it? It's more serious, more mature, more…demanding"
"Is it really, though?"
Taijin looked at the blue sky that shone clearly through the windows. Not a single cloud was present.
"I think that it's still fundamentally a game. Just because adults play it doesn't mean it's suddenly not fun anymore. We're all building sandcastles in our own, gunpla-filled world in our own gunpla-filled way. There's nothing to be ashamed of, I don't think."
A blue bird zoomed across the window, too fast for the eye to identify. It's shadow briefly ran through the floor of the room, catching Tobias' hands in its path.
"We all have our ways of being ourselves. The kids find joy in playing samurai, the businessmen find joy in a casual night out. And us gunpla fighters? Well, we find joy in those small things too. We never stop 'playing', I think. What we 'play' with, though, changes as we better understand ourselves"
Tobias smiled, and continued to move his gunpla around without saying a word.
"I suppose you're right."
"Right?"
"Although such a corny speech was uncalled for."
After examining the mobility of the gunpla from head to toe, down to each joint and hinge, Tobias set the gunpla down. He didn't look too impressed.
"I sort of undertand the range of mobility, but 'sort of' is about it."
"It's fine, there are other ways to understand."
"Like?"
"Like having a test run against CPU opponents just to see how it would fight"
Taijin quickly shrugged after speaking.
"But for that, you'd need a battle machine, and it doesn't seem like that exists here."
Tobias' movements suddenly stopped. He placed the gundam down on the ground once more, and stood up. His brown eyes caught a glimpse of the sun's rays, causing them to glow slightly red.
"Let's head downstairs, then."
"Downstairs?"
"Taijin Sakamoto"
"…Tobias..."
"You don't know my last name?"
Taijin looked away, slightly guilty.
"You never told me after all, so how can you expect me to know?"
"McFarlene"
Taijin looked back at Tobias, who, for some reason, seemed to look slightly more menacing than he ever did before.
"I'm Tobias McFarlene. From Zein Academy. That Tobias McFarlene, yes. The ace pilot in the U14 category. Nicknamed 'the untouchable'. Confirmed S ranking in the school board. Currently on a 84 battle winstreak. I'm sure you've heard of me, at least once."
The two shared a short silence, the kind between warriors. They locked eyes and tried to look into each other's hearts. It was a deep, dense silence that even the spring breeze would not dare interrupt.
"N…No…I haven't heard."
"…Huh?"
Tobias led Taijin down the basement stairs. The handrails were polished and the brightness of the light was still fresh. The room down below was in frequent use.
With a flick of the light switch, white lights lit up what as an immaculately set up battle-room. Like Tobias' room, it was minimalistic, only having a single battle machine, lights, a desk for keeping belongings and an air conditioner. There was only one chair in the entire room, and no drinks. Coming to such a clean and quiet battle room was a stark difference from the loud, club-like battle hubs that Taijin was used to. Without looking back at Taijin, Tobias' worded echoed in the square room.
"This is my battle room. Guess what it's for."
"Making pizza"
"Correct."
Without bothering to correct his sarcasm, Tobias went to one side of the battle station, gunpla in hand. Inserting his GP base into the empty slot, the hexagonal machine lit up blue. The white light seemed to slowly fade into a calmer, blue color, but that might have just been the particles acting up. As the battle machine continued to boot up, Taijin noticed something different.
"Hey, did the battle machine call out?"
"Pardon?"
"You know, the whole – - stuff"
"Ah, no."
Placing his hands on the yellow orbs that had just been formed, Tobias flicked around the menus presented to him on the screen.
"If you've noticed, there's no door to this room. So I customized the machine so the announcer doesn't speak. It makes it easier to play at 2AM"
Tobias reached into his pocket and pulled out a neatly curled pair of earphones. He dangled them in front of Taijin, although he wasn't sure if it was to make a point that he had earphones or to untangle them from resting position.
"I use these. It's not only the announcer that I've muted. Unless you're plugged in directly to the machine, you won't be able to hear anything. Explosions and all."
Without warning, Tobias threw Taijin the pair of earphones. Taijin stumbled a little bit to catch them, but he did. They were a bit heavy and decorated with a sleek gold strip that wrapped around the earbuds all the way down the wire. These weren't any pair of earphones. Before Taijin could even process it, Tobias had left the pilot's circle. Looking Tobias in the eye, all Taijin received as a gesture for him to enter. Without objecting, Taijin entered the battle circle and placed his hands on the yellow orbs.
"You want me to test out the mobility?"
Tobias shook his head.
"No, I'm paying you back."
Without warning, a desert battlefield was rapidly generated in the machine. Cliffs, dunes and a light sandstorm were manifested in a matter of a few seconds. And there it was, in all of its glory, the slightly awkward but usable Hakim Gundam, as the display said.
"Paying me back? What do you mean?"
"I'm going to teach you how to fight. Like never before."
"Huh? I thought me teaching you how to build was my way of saying 'thanks' for letting me stay here! I didn't ask for any sort of payment"
Tobias sighed and shook his head. Under the yellow sand of the battle machine, Tobias looked a little scary with the light shining from underneath him, shadows enveloping his face.
"Here you are, with one of the best fighters in the city offering to train you privately, and you're turning him down?"
"No, I mean, sorry! I mean, thanks?"
"I take that as a 'yes, I'd love for you to train me'. This'll also help me identify the range of articulation on this Gundam Hakim"
"Yeah, about that…"
Taijin glanced down at Tobias' GP base, and found that it looked awfully familiar. The scratches on the bottom left corner, the slightly brown stain from a curry dinner that went a bit wild, the small dent in the top right corner due to a clumsy drop…without a doubt – this wasn't Tobias' GP base. This was Taijin's.
The gunpla name was set as "Hakim Gundam". Taijin wasn't even sure when Tobias came up with the name, let alone put it in his GP base, but he was curious to know.
"I believe it means 'Sage' in Arabic. I figured it'd be a good name"
Taijin didn't even want to think about how Tobias had that sort of information to pull out of the air in only a single night, and he didn't bother pressing on the issue of how he put that data in his GP base. What kind of insane depths did Tobias' knowledge even extend to? More impressed than confused now, Taijin strengthened the grip on his handle.
"Well, you caught me. Like a mouse in a trap."
"Caught you? You came here voluntarily"
"The best traps are the types where you first think you're free"
"I suppose you could say that."
Lesson 1 : Aiming is important in melee, too!
"I've set the AI to medium, and there are going to be five of them. The Hakim Gundam currently has no weapons, and none will spawn in this battlefield. So, the first thing I'm going to teach you is weapon-less combat"
"You sure don't waste any time, do you…"
Planting its feet into the sand, Taijin commanded the Hakim Gundam to take a fighting stance. He tried to imitate what he saw when fighting against Yuta back in the tournament, but the joints of this newly constructed kit failed to completely emulate the feeling. Clearly, the gunpla was almost pitifully stiff.
A green mock unit charged towards Taijin through the desert. Its movements were rigid, slow and predictable. Barely hovering above the ground and generating a sound as loud as a chainsaw's, it was near impossible to miss this gunpla. Truly, this was a mock meant for practice. Tobias' chestnut eyes observed carefully from behind the particle walls.
"What's your immediate response?"
Taijin followed his instinct, and rotated the Hakim Gundam to face the Mock. With the full thrust of its limited boosters, Taijin rushed at the Mock.
"This, of course!"
With a single punch from his left arm, Taijin thrust through the body of the Mock. The palm of the Hakim Gundam emerged on the other side of the Mock, and upon pulling back, the green practice mech exploded into pieces. Taijin looked at Tobias, expecting him to be impressed, but his response wasn't what he expected.
"Never do that again."
"Huh?"
"That's going to form some bad habits"
Tobias walked to the machine and pressed a button, which set all the walls to yellow, pausing the game. Taijin let go of his controllers to hear out Tobias' explanation.
"It looks cool, but it's not a good move to make. It forms some bad habits."
Walking over and phasing into the pilot's field, Tobias pointed at the skeletal layout of the Hakim Gundam. Its entire left arm was highlighted a slight orange – indicating light damage.
"You took a bit of unnecessary damage here."
"It was in exchange for the kill, right?"
"You're going to have to be more efficient than that"
Tobias walked out of the cockpit, giving Taijin a bit of space. He leaned his back on the battle machine.
"Think about it this way. Putting your hand through the body of a gunpla will indeed take it out immediately, but what about a case where the opponent's body is even slightly armored? Your arm will break. Or what if you don't have enough momentum and your arm gets stuck? Too many things can go wrong"
Taijin let go of the controllers and sighed.
"Do you mind demonstrating then?"
"Sure."
Tobias walked back into the pilot seat and placed his hands on the yellow controllers. Taijin took a few steps back, and instinctually found himself standing right where he would be if the operator seat were active. With a few clicks of the controller, the battle resumed.
A second Mock trudged towards the Hakim Gundam. This time, Tobias stood, waiting patiently. The green bulky test unit lunged at the Hakim Gundam, and just as it did, Tobias commanded the Hakim Gundam to extend its arms and swing upwards. The motion was strange. It sliced instead of struck, and the fingers of the Gundam seemed to channel the wind into some sort of blade. With a reverse karate chop, the grey joint that connected the Mock's shoulder to the torso burst like a balloon.
The green mech stumbled over the collision, and fell past the awkwardly colored Gundam. Just as it did, the Hakim Gundam turned around again, and with the other arm, swung once more. This time, the grey knee joints that held the legs of the mock together exploded into dust with the sound of a firecracker, and just like that, the green mech was incapacitated.
Tobias left the pilot's cockpit, and has he did, Taijin returned to his original station. Ruffling his blonde hair, Tobias continued to advise Taijin.
"Aim for the joints. If you strike those areas, you'll ensure that the enemy won't be able to move while you maintain damage efficiency."
"Right."
A third mock approached the Gundam, and eager to try, Taijin prepared himself. He aimed his reticule right at the Mock's left arm joint, and as it prepared to strike, the Hakim Gundam lunged forward. Fist clenched, the Gundam punched the Mock square in the elbow, indeed cracking the joint, but not bursting it to Tobias' extent. Tobias shook his head, although a bit less vehemently than before.
"You're too focused on making blunt trauma. We are in a gunpla battle, not a fist fight."
"And what does that mean?"
"It means that you need to move like a mech and not a human."
Struggling to understand what Tobias meant by that, Taijin had no choice but to ready himself for his fourth incoming mech. He readied himself, clenched his teeth, and aimed his reticule at the joint once more.
"Move like a mech, huh?"
Right as the Mock began its upswing strike, Taijin used his thrusters to accelerate the soles of the Hakim Gundam. With the combined speed from his boosters, the Hakim Gundam's cutting hand sliced right through the shoulder joint of the mock. Although it didn't explode, Taijin thought he could hear a faint popping sound.
"Like that?"
"You're getting there."
Lesson 2: Optimize your controls!
"I've noticed something, Taijin."
The thirty sixth Mock unit was just destroyed, this time with a clean chop to the waist. With the assist of the boosters, Taijin was practicing aiming his chops at more precice areas. He found that he would sometimes hit barely too high or slightly too low, and that didn't result in a clean cut. The Hakim Gundam barely suffered any damage at all – over half of it was due to Taijin's first kill. Tobias walked into the pilot cockpit, but when Taijin started to move out, Tobias gestured for him to stay.
"Execute that move one more time."
"The one where I use the boosters?"
"Yes."
With a complicated flick to the wrist and a specific sequential button-press, Taijin performed the combo, hitting nothing but the specks of sand caught in the wind. Tobias shook his head for what felt like the twentieth time.
"I see, that's going to be an issue."
"What will be?"
"Your GP base remembers your settings so that they aren't lost when you move around and use diferent machines. The fact that you need to press so many buttons means that you've still got the default settings on."
Taijin couldn't help but let out a small yelp. That's right, of course, how could he forget?
The classic bindings were absolute garbage. The yellow orb only had so many buttons, and one of them was dedicated to using the pea-shooter head Vulcans. To contrast, using thrusters in a certain direction mean jerking your arms in a weird way, and if the timing was even a little off, the gunpla would just do an awkward forward half-step.
Without even hesitating, Taijin opened the setting screen and immediately rebound his keys. Left buttons and right buttons for each yellow orb were totally reprogrammed, only keeping the fundamentals the same. He hopped back ingame, jumped around for a few seconds, and then hopped back into the settings. This cycle repeated for a few times until Taijin finally settled ingame. Another green mock was approaching.
With only a slight movement of the hand and a few simple button presses, the Hakim Gundam slid forward and cut down the mock in what felt like a few seconds. Clearly staggered by the difference in quality, Taijin was slightly taken aback.
"W…wow…to think that it makes this much difference…"
"Yeah. Since you aren't wasting your time using controls that aren't suited for you, you've spent more time aiming with care and timing yourself properly."
Taijin opened the settings screen once more, only to find many more settings he had yet to explore. Tobias smiled.
"Try increasing your sensitivity, it might help. Oh, and disable the option that says "recalibration". It does some extra calculations to make sure the movements of your arm are smooth, but it slows you down loads. Ah, and turn on "red alert". It lets you know when you are low on ammo and when a certain part of your gunpla is low. Also, turn on "autopurge", which will immediately eject a part of your gunpla's body that's going to explode."
Taijin felt slightly embarrassed. He was an operator, totally responsible for overseeing his team's wellbeing, and yet there were so many things that he missed in the settings screen.
When he clicked on "save settings", he felt like a whole new fighter, even though he hadn't even really done anything all that new.
After what was few hours, Tobias clapped his hands. Taijin had taken down ninety nine Mock units by now, each one smoother than the last. He had started to develop a muscle memory that learned the best way to react to sudden attacks, counterattacks, and even three on one battles. He even spent a whole 30 minutes against a Mock doing nothing but dodge. Tobias finally showed signs of visible approval
"Nice work, Taijin. I didn't expect you to be such a fast learner, but you've picked up on my technique rather quickly."
The one hundredth Mock approached, and as it lunched in the air, Taijin used the Hakim's palm to smack away the Mock's fist. It seemed to move faster than humanely possible, and the fist of the green Mock shattered like glass. With a swift kick, Taijin cut down the Mock's shoulder, and it collapsed behind him, exploding into dust. Taijin sighed a sigh of relief.
"Now that you mention it, do you have a name for this technique?"
"A name?"
"Yeah, a name for this style of melee combat that emphasizes speed and joint damage?"
Tobias started blankly at Taijin, as if contemplating his next words carefully.
"I never really thought about it. Like I said, I think gunpla battle isn't all that childish."
"Well, who said that naming things is childish? Just give it a name! You did name the Hakim Gundam, so clearly you can do it."
"It's not like I'm the first ever person to aim for the joints with melee..."
"You're the first person I know of who does it so well. Even Yuta isn't this sophisticated in his technique – and the guy specializes in melee combat."
"…I suppose so…"
For some reason, Tobias thought of the raindrops of the day before. How it they the ground so violently yet fell from the sky so gracefully. It was a little bit gentle, and slightly underappreciated, but given the right time, care, and effort, even the simplest chop can yield breathtaking results. The rain was uncontrolled, falling everywhere simultaneously. But something about it comforted Tobias in its imperfection…
"Gentle rain style."
"Gentle rain? How does this even relate to rain?"
"Nevermind."
"Is…Is something bothering you? Miss Kosetsu?"
The young blind girl tugged on Kosetsu's shirt. They were simply sharing some tea on a rainy morning in a private room, but Ming Nuan seemed to mistake the silence for disappointment.
"N..no."
"Are you sure, Miss Kosetsu?"
"Yes"
"Are you possibly angry because I'm staying over?"
"Why would I be angry?"
"I…I don't know. I just…got that feeling"
Kosetsu put down her cup of Earl Grey. She smiled gently at Ming Nuan, even though she could not see it.
"W…what's wrong…? I heard the clinking of a teacup…is the tea not to your liking?"
"No, it's made well. I made it to my preference, after all..."
"O…oh…that's good to hear."
Brushing her cream hair aside as to not get any in the tea, Kosetsu mustered her inner extrovert to try and make conversation. Talking was something she disliked doing in general, even less so to someone she had just met, but seeing this blind girl worry over every little detail was a little much, even for someone as awkward as Kosetsu.
"So, what brings you here?"
"I wanted…to talk to someone like me…"
"Well, I'm right here"
"Oh crap" she immediately thought. That might have been a bit too aggressive, right?
"I mean, I'm right here, open to talk about anything"
Okay, that was better.
"T…Thank you…Miss Kosetsu"
"It's alright. You can drop the formalities. Just call me Kosetsu."
"Is that really…really….reaallllyy okay?"
"Yeah. I don't mind."
"Okay then…In that case…you can call me Ming Nuan!"
"I never called you Miss Ming Nuan to begin with" was Kosetsu's initial blank thought, but she swept that aside for something more appropriate.
"Thank you. Ming Nuan."
The blind girl smiled gleefully. She brushed her long, red hair aside. For a 12 year old girl, she had incredibly long hair.
"I don't get to talk to many people at all…so…it's always good to make a friend!"
"Yeah, I agree."
"Usually I talk through Gunpla Battle, not words…"
Kosetsu's eyes widened. For some reason, she felt a well of her esper power bubble up, but she kept it contained. If she randomly passed out now, it would do nothing but worry Ming Nuan.
"That's interesting. I'm the same."
"Maybe we can talk like that later, but for now, there's…something I really want to say"
"What is it, Ming Nuan?"
"It's more of a warning actually."
Ming Nuan cleared her throat with a few high piched "ahem's" .
"You see, PPSE are searchi…no…hunting… for the god esper. Miss Kirami."
"You're aware too, I see."
"Miss Kirami met me in a red ocean in my dreams"
If anybody else were in on their conversation, they'd immediately think the blind girl was insane. Thankfully, Kosetsu was not "anybody else".
"I know. I met her myself too."
"See, see!"
Ming Nuan started fidgeting in her seat in joy. Clearly, this was not the first time she had told someone this story, but the first time someone took her seriously on it.
"Anyway…she's recently went back into hiding after...appea…appearing here."
"Is that why you're here, Ming Nuan? Are you worried for her?
Kosetsu smiled, although she was unsure if it was for Ming Nuan, who appears to finally have someone to understand her, or for herself, who finally can speak in a more sensitive manner.
"N…No. I'm sure she is okay. I'm here because I'm worried for you."
"Me?"
"PPSE want to find the god esper, so they are going after the two espers who were last there. Namely, you and…"
"Taijin"
"Yes, Mister Taijin."
Kosetsu looked out the window, at the cloudless, blue sky. A bird quickly swooped past, casting a brief, black shadow on Ming Nuan's blindfolded eyes.
"They are sending out 'esper hunters'."
"Sorry?"
"T…They…are sending out..E…Esper Hunters."
"What does that mean?"
"I … I wish I knew. They are people specialized in hunting espers…a…although...I don't know what that means…"
Kosetsu glanced downwards. The tea in her cup seemed to ripple in response. Ming Nuan continued speaking.
"I'm here because the country that I came from….d…doesn't have anybody like Cinder. They still see the entire thing with Pilot Errors and Espers as some sort of urban legend…s…so..I haven't been able to find any safety."
"Treatment for your eyes?"
Kostesu tried to catch the words as they came out of her mouth, but she couldn't. She was worried if she might have come across as insensitive.
"N…No…I was born blind…"
"I'm sorry for bringing it up"
"Not at all, Miss Ko…no…Kosetsu. In fact, my blindness is one of the reasons I am here."
"One of the reasons you are here?"
"Y..Yeah…A..after all…"
Ming Nuan reached around her bandage that wrapped around her eyes, as if to unravel it.
"The only time I can really see in in gunpla battle."
"What do you mean...?"
Ming Nuan stood up from her seat, and for the first time, she did not seem like the timid 12 year old she always came across as . Although there were bandages around her eyes, Kosetsu could tell that she was omniscient, at least to some sense.
"I'm also here to assist you in channeling your esper powers"
"My esper powers?"
"The one you used unintentionally in the battle royale, from what I hear."
Kostesu recalled the time she was transported back to a world where she recalled Elisa's past from a third person perspective. She wondered if that was the root of her power – or if it was somehow related. It didn't serve much use at the time, and she was left totally exhausted earlier, so she wondered what Ming Nuan was on about. If that was her power, she wondered what would come of it.
"And you're going to teach me?"
"Yes."
"So that means that your blindness..."
"I may have been born blind, but I was also born an esper.
Kosetsu failed to hide her surprise as she realized what that meant.
"You were…born an esper?"
"Yes. You may be older than me by 4 years, Miss Ko….Kosetsu…but you've only been an esper for 3 years. I've been an esper for 12. And that's why I can stand here and say this:"
Ming Nuan reached down to grasp her black gundam box holder and pushed aside her green robe. The fabric swayed in the air like a superhero's cape.
"I am Ming Nuan, Pilot Esper and user of Esper Power : Videns."
A.N
How long has it been? How many times have I said "Oh I'm going to come back and start writing?"
Anyways, after a strange rise in popularity of this story recently, I was reminded of its existence, and I felt pretty uncomfortable with the idea of leaving it undone. I'll be returning to update infrequently to ensure that, at the very least, this story will wrap up eventually.
It seems like Sunrise has closed the doors on the Build Fighter's series for good, so I'll be taking many liberties on the story. They left many plotholes and unanswered questions, but I won't let them bother this story much. This is fiction after all, so I think I reserve the right to fill in gaps with what I see fit.
Have a nice day!