10 July 2010

Yasogami High School, Gymnasium

Afternoon

Although school was out for the summer, certain facilities were open for use by the student clubs. This included the Gym for sports clubs, which Midori had found useful as she scheduled as much time as she could reasonably get for her club.

Of course, a couple of her members couldn't attend everything, given that they were helping with their family farms or the like. She didn't mind, and made it clear that she didn't think less of them for it. Eri and Saki were the only ones who could join her, for regular practice.

"So," she asked as she thwocked the ball against the wall. "I need to know if either of you are coming with me to Tokyo in a month. Gotta get the paperwork filed."

Saki was quick to reply as she volleyed against Eri. "Sorry. Can't. Too much to do at home." She missed the return and walked to pick up the bouncing green ball.

"Eri?" Midori asked as she slammed her racket against the ball, the poor abused thing sailing in a nearly straight line. "What about you?"

"Mom and dad are worried," the brown haired girl replied as she set up a serve. "They don't like the idea of me being in the big city by myself."

"Even though you're going with me, and I know the city, and am staying with some of my daddy's co-workers?"

"I think," Eri paused to return the volley, "that if you dad talked to my parents, they would relent."

"Alright," Midori said. "I'll get that done." She kept pounding at the ball, venting frustrations and emotions into it that she couldn't anywhere else. "Any other issues I need to fix while I'm at it?"

"Well, you could try to get the boys to stop staring," Saki said, nodding with her head toward where a couple of males were tying not top be too obvious about watching the three of them while running around with a basketball.

Midori laughed. "What? Jealous?"

Saki missed the volley with the distraction. "No! Well, I mean, I just wonder what getting a big city boyfriend would be like."

"Probably just the same as a small town boyfriend," Midori replied flatly, "just without the travel time involved."

Eri pointed out the obvious. "Trust Midori-sempai on this, Saki! She lived in Tokyo, remember?"

Saki nodded, setting up the serve. "Yes, then she moved back here, remember?"

14 July 2010

Yasoinaba, Residential Street

Evening

"Come on, big sis!" Nanako tugged at Midori's shirt, wanting to get home sooner rather than later. She was going to help cook tonight! And Daddy and Uncle were going to be there! Everyone was going to be together!

"I'm coming, little sis," Midori replied. "But I don't want to rush or else I'll drop the food." It was quite truthful as the evening's meal was heavy in her bag. That Nanako was carrying some as well was helpful, but the little girl was far more energetic than her honorary sibling, and was also carrying proportionally less.

As they turned a corner, two older ladies who were enjoying their evening of gardening took a small break. "That's nice," one said to the other.

"Sisters like that?" The other replied as she checked her gloves for any insects that may have gotten onto it.

"Well yes. Poor Nanako, with her dead mother."

"Ah yes," the other lady knew, but couldn't remember where she heard it, that Midori's mother had also passed on. "I'm so glad the two halves of that family reconciled."

The first looked at the second. "What do you mean?"

The second looked at the first. "Didn't you hear? They're both children of the same mother! Midori is older, and was raised by her father, while Nanako was born here, to the man she finally married!"

The first was taken aback. "Seriously? Where did you hear that?"

The second's reply was quick. "Oh come on, look at the way those two love each other and tell me they aren't related. They're half-sisters if a yen."

"That almost sounds like one of our daytime dramas. Are you sure you're not going senile?"

"Oh no I'm not! Just you see!"

29 July 2010

Yasoinaba Train Station

Morning

"Nana-chi, let go." Midori tried to pry her off her leg, but the little girl refused to let go. "I'm only going away for the weekend. I'll be back on Monday!" She tried a little harder, but the slight tears in Nanako's eyes made any effort fall flat on its face.

Thankfully, her daddy was there to see her off, and rescue her as well. Mamoru gently pried Nanako away from Midori, and passing her off to her father. "There, big-sis will be home soon. She's just going to Tokyo for a competition."

"And I'll call you every day," Midori tried to explain, knowing now that Nanako wasn't taking this all that well.

"Come on!" Eri called out from closer to the train. "We've got to get good seats!"

Midori sighed, then shifted her attention to the two adults. "Now, you two be careful. I'll be back on Monday evening." To her father. "Daddy, don't worry about not being home when I get back. Saki's parents have already agreed to pick us up, so don't skip out on work." To Ryotaro. "Uncle, make sure Nanako goes to bed after I'm done calling her. If you're out at work, Saki or Kanako will be willing to babysit. I put their numbers on the phone, just let them know."

The two men nodded. "Time for you to go," Mamoru said as he embraced his daughter. "And don't forget to kick all their butts and win."

"I will. Bye!" She waved at Nanako, who pouted and buried her face in her father's chest. "I'll call you when I get there," she said gently. "It'll be in the afternoon, so make sure you have a good lunch, alright?"

"Midori!" Eri called out again. "Come on!"

Midori took a step back, then bowed again quickly to the trio before rushing to the train. Once she was on board, she went to her seat and looked out the window to wave at the three of them before the vehicle started to pull out.

Then they left the station, and Midori slumped into her seat.

"Wow," Eri commented, "I'm glad my parents didn't react like that."

"Daddy and Uncle Ryotaro didn't either. It was just Nanako." Midori shuffled in her seat, the energy of the departing slowly leaking away, and returning her to her normal morning routine – napping. "Wake me when it's time for lunch." She curled up in her seat, and to Eri's amazement, was gently snoring within a couple minutes.

"Great," the younger member of the tennis club complained. "Now who am I going to play cards with?"

30 July 2010

Tokyo

Morning

Midori and Eri, dressed in their sports uniforms, descended into the Tokyo Metro on their way to the tournament. "You sure we can't take the Yamanote Line?" Eri asked as she adjusted the shoulder strap on her bag. "It would be faster."

"Very sure," Midori replied, having found plenty of reasons to not enter that area even almost a year later. "They're still rebuilding."

Eri didn't want to argue with the girl who actually lived in the city. "So, there's like, a couple hours between registration and the first matches this after noon. Can we do a little shopping before then?"

Midori turned her head without stopping, old habits coming back. "Really? Shopping?"

Eri nodded.

"Good, because it would have been awkward if I tried to bring it up. There's a few places near the stadium that I know of. We can stop by there, get some lunch, and be back in time for the preliminaries."

"You mean your prelims," Eri corrected. "I get a weekend of pickup games and cheering you on from the crowds."

Midori purchased tickets for the both of them, and passed one to her friend. "Sure, but you're going to have to play some games to start with to get to know the people who will go out with you. And there will be scouts out there too."

Eri just laughed. "Scouts? Me? I know I'm on the team and all, but let's be honest here. This is all about you. I'm just along for the free trip into the city with no parents!"

Midori wanted to groan in annoyance, but stifled it as their train arrived. "I do know people," she threatened. "And you are staying with friends of my daddy, so we need to behave."

"You're no fun," Eri said, sticking her tongue out at Midori in the process of boarding the train. "So, know anyone at the meet?"

"Just a couple from Gekkoukan. The Captain, Rio, and their star player, Aigis."

"Isn't Aigis the girl you talk to every Saturday?"

"Yep. She's good. Real good. And to be honest, there's no way anyone could beat her."

"That's some serious competition."

"Tell me about it," Midori admitted. "I'm gonna get beaten left right and center."

Eri put a comforting hand on her Captain's shoulder. "Hey, at least it'll be by the best, right?"

Midori could only sigh. "Sure. It could be worse."

Sports Center

Afternoon

Midori finally left the long line of registrants, number in hand. She waved to Eri, who was hanging out with a group of others who weren't participating. Eri waved back, then apologized to her fellows before coming over to Midori. "How did it go?"

"Oh, the usual," Midori responded, even though this was her first proper tournament. "Waited in line, gave them my name and school, got a card," she waved the last in her hand, "so I don't forget what number I am, as well as acting as a pass for the participant areas."

But Eri had stopped paying attention as she looked over Midori's shoulder. Midori froze, knowing what this had to be. It was only natural. She had been in town for over 24 hours, of course her fans would be coming to see her. "How many?" she asked Eri. Her response would depend on how large a group she had to deal with. Time to be Dolly again!

"Three," Eri replied. "One of them has white hair and... ear muffs? Who wears ear muffs in August?"

"I do," Aigis said from behind Midori, shocking her younger friend into dropping her plans. "Hello Midori."

"AIGIS!" Spinning, Midori threw herself at her friend. Aigis was able to easily take her momentum and embrace. "HowareyouhowareyoudoingThat'saniceuniform!"

Prying Midori off of her, Aigis smiled. "It's good to see you too." She looked up. "You must be Eri. Thank you for helping Midori," Aigis bowed politely.

"Oh, no problem!" Eri returned the gesture. "You're Aigis? You're prettier than I expected."

From beside Aigis, Rio coughed. "What? No love for your Captain?"

Chidori huffed, "She's not on the team."

Midori looked back and forth at the three of them. "Hello, Rio-sempai." She bowed formally. "Hey Chidori! I don't see Junpei." She made an exaggeration of looking around. "He here?"

"He wasn't allowed on the floor," Rio replied, "so he's waiting in the stands somewhere."

That explained it. He wasn't a competitor, or on the team in general. "Ah." Midori looked around at everyone. "So, how about we go get something to eat before the first rounds start." She looked up at the clock. "We have about an hour. Enough time to catch up with everyone."

"Midori," Aigis said, "We talk every week."

"What makes you think that's enough time?"

Food Court

The place served cheap food, so no one ordered much. Aigis naturally declined. Sitting around the white plastic table in the uncomfortable chairs, the five girls talked casually. Eri was busy talking to Aigis and Rio about their club, while Midori was trying to prevent Chidori from panicking at the lack of Junpei.

Months of work, and she still clung to him like every moment was their last. While cute and endearing in moderation, she felt that Chidori still held it far too close to her heart. "He must have stopped by a washroom," she said, reaching out to the red haired girl who was looking around anxiously.

"Maybe he got lost. Or hurt. His shoulder could be acting up." Chidori wasn't about to lose it exactly, but she certainly wasn't holding it in either.

Eri saw this, but ignored it. There would be plenty of time to find out what was going on there later. "What do you do with your hair, Aigis-san?" She couldn't use a more casual honorific with her captain's senior.

Self consciously, Aigis touched some of her white hair. She had been asked this before, at school, but the fascination others had with her physical structure was something she still wasn't used too. She doubted she ever would. "Nothing unusual. I wash it. Clean it. It just comes that way." The technically accurate response also avoided mentioning her artificial nature.

Eri pouted. Another typical response. "I wish I had hair like that. You're lucky."

"Iori!" Rio called out, waving one hand in the air. "Over here!"

The group turned to face the young man, who approached with several bags over his shoulders. "Hey. You all left your stuff behind, and I didn't want to risk any of it." He came closer and smiled when he saw Midori. "Hey there, long time no see. I grabbed your bag too." He indicated one under his right arm. "And you must be Eri. This one has your name on it, and was on top of Midori's so I felt safe in grabbing it."

Chidori stood and started to grab at the bags. "Put them down," she hissed. "You'll hurt yourself."

"No, I won't." Junpei still set down the five sports bags gently before greeting Eri. "I'm Junpei."

Eri looked at Chidori, amazed and worried. "You brought your boyfriend?!"

"No, she didn't." Junpei said as Rio and Midori reacted poorly. "Well, yes, I am," he admitted to the relationship, "but I'm actually in town for other reasons, and the timing was too perfect."

Eri nodded in understanding as Chidori pulled over a chair for Junpei to sit in beside her. "You could have called," she said, worried still. "You needn't have done all that by yourself."

"So, Eri, if you're not in the tourney, would you like to stick with Chidori?" Rio asked of the youngest person at the table. "This is both your first time in Tokyo, I think."

Eri nodded. "But I don't want to get in the way of anything..." Her voice trailed off as Midori rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry." The pointed at Chidori and Junpei, who were sitting with seats touching, "those two won't do anything improper. Will they?" She asked sternly, making certain there would be nothing untoward happening away from adult supervision.

They at least had the decency to blush.

31 July 2010

Tokyo

Lunchtime

'Lunch' wasn't at a set time, but rather whenever someone had a break from the constant matches. Due to the necessity of trying to fit in so many players and matches in 3 and a half days, the games were not played to the international standard.

Rather, they were best of three, each set to 6 points, no advantage. The top players with the most wins or the best win percentage would advance to the single elimination rounds of 16 players for the last day and a half. Tiebreakers determined by point differential.

Midori had already played two games today. 6-5, 3-6, 6-2 with the other being 6-4, 6-4. To keep things a bit fairer, at least half a person's matches were random draws of people who were ready and available, while the other matches could be agreed upon by the competitors, who would wait for an open court.

In short, it was chaos, but somehow working. Looking at the master board, she saw that she was currently 62nd out of the 80 participants. Rio was ranked 37th, while Aigis was 2nd. First place was currently held by a person who had a one-game advantage over Aigis from yesterday.

At least the pickup casual games outside were a lot easier to deal with, though none of the competitors would go out there.

Midori gulped down her water, then tossed the bottle into the recycle, ready to return to the organizer's table to put her name in for the next round of draws.

"Midori," Aigis said, coming up from behind. "I was looking for you."

Midori looked around. "Not many people with blue hair," she commented. "Couldn't be that hard." She was so glad that she had tied her hair back so it wouldn't go flopping all over the place. Fashion was hard enough as it is without looking like you had a cape attached to your head.

"No, but it was polite to say," Aigis replied. "Do you have time?"

"Time for what?"

"Us to have a match."

Stunned at the offer, Midori could only stare slack jawed. "Aigis, I will lose. You're better than me. Heck, you're better than everyone here!" She gestured at everyone else around them. "So, why me?"

Aigis looked hurt, really hurt. "Because you're my friend, and I don't think we'll get another chance for some time."

Midori had to give in. A sad Aigis was impossible to resist. "Alright, fine. Just... if you're just using me to pad your score to beat that girl in first, I'm not going to make it easy on you."

Smiling, the robot bowed in thanks. "I would expect as much." She straightened up, a thoughtful look on her face. "Actually, I would like to talk to you this evening, after the matches are done."

"Team supper?" Midori suggested.

"Acceptable. But this is something that I need to talk to you about personally." Aigis was serious, which rolled off Midori's awareness. "I will let Rio know to make proper plans."

Tennis Court #17

Midori wound up with the divider net behind her after the coin toss. 20 courts had been set up, enough for half the competitors to play at once. They hadn't had to wait long for an open spot as apparently Aigis' performance meant that people wanted to see 'this white beauty' play.

Bouncing the ball on the floor, Midori judged the distance to Aigis, as well as her options. Truth be told, she had played this match out in her head many times, always with the same response. Aigis was faster, didn't tire, and a lot more accurate than she could ever be. She had heard some whispers about why Aigis had challenged someone in the bottom quarter, but those were hushed when Rio made it clear to the rumour mongers that they were from the same team last year, and Aigis' actions went from her picking on someone below her skill level to a match against a rival from last year.

All this went through Midori's head as she tried to not think about what was coming next. But she couldn't delay any longer. She slammed the ball down, then flicked it into the air on the rebound and drew back for the serve. Watching the ball, she knew the exact moment to strike and her racket whistled in the air as she hopped up and smashed the ball forward.

Aigis knew that Midori was a power player. There was no hiding it. All things considered, Midori played best from the back of the court, and delivering to the back of the court. So that was where she waited for the serve. And true to form, Midori simply delivered an impressive amount of power into her shot, one that was simply too fast for most people to respond too at first.

Aigis wasn't most people. She waited for Midori to actually hit the ball before running to the side, watching the angles and trajectories as she readied the return volley. It was aimed for the back corner, a traditional opening that played to Midori's strength, both stylistically and physical.

She got to the corner in time to swing a back-handed shot at the ball after it bounced. Knowing that the typical response was another long shot into the back of Midori's side of the court, Aigis instead angled it precariously at the top of the net near the right side, hoping to float the ball over into the close court, where Midori couldn't smash it back.

Midori had already moved to the center of her side as soon as her feet touched the ground. With no way to know what Aigis was going to do, it was the best place to react from. She watched as her friend made a perfect return, both hands gripping the racket in textbook form, and as the ball started to sail to the corner farthest from where she began.

Typical Aigis, making her do all the work.

Dashing into the corner, Midori wound up, ready to deliver another long shot. She watched with one eye as Aigis stayed at the back, another eye on the ball. If it got too low, she would wind up lobbing it back over the fence, where Aigis could hit it anywhere she pleased. If she hit it too high, it could sail over the end of the court, loosing her the serve. She would probably never get it back at that point.

So at the point she felt was right, she swung, Aigis already ready to receive the hard hit.

At the moment of contact, Midori forced herself to stop the swing, aborting most of the follow-through. The supposed hard strike strained her arms, but the effect was what she hoped for as the ball took nowhere near the momentum she could have put into it, and it slowly flew over the net, touching the floor twice before a running Aigis could get her racket under it.

Rolling her shoulders, Midori grinned at Aigis. "Told you. Not easy." Behind her, the scoreboard advanced one point, and the watching crowd made their appreciation for her feint known. Playing to them, she bowed and spun at the same time, plucking a fresh ball out the air as the ball-girl tossed one at her. "You ready?"

"Yes." Aigis replied, deciding to take Midori a bit more seriously now.

Locker Room

60 Minutes later

Midori groaned. Every muscle felt like metal as she lay face down on the bench. One of her hands held a bottle of sports drink, and she sipped at it through a straw. "Six-One. Six-Zero." Of course, taunting Aigis like that was sure to get a response. And the response was her complete destruction.

"Yes, that was the score," Aigis said as she wrapped a wet towel over her shoulders. While the robot was fully capable of proper heat regulation, the limits imposed by the sports uniform as well as the necessary deceptions meant that this was the best way to cool off after an intense match.

"I think I'm done," Midori complained. "Too much energy used."

"You need to ration yourself more," Aigis commented as she adjusted the towel around her neck. There were other people in the change room, so she couldn't remove her shirt.

"Easy for you to say." Midori pushed herself into a sitting position, taking another sip. "You're better."

"As were you." The robot returned the compliment. "Your deceptive swings were your best strength."

"Still not enough to avoid getting trounced."

"I... may have taken this match more seriously than I should have," Aigis apologized, nodding to one of the other competitors who looked like she was in awe at Aigis' presence. "And as near as I can tell, that was the longest two-set match in the tournament so far. You did not go down without a fight."

"You got that right," Rio said as she came into the locker room with more water for the two of them. Aigis set the bottle aside while Midori moved her straw over. "Sure, you lost, but there's a lot of people talking about the match as the best of the day by far." She shook her head back and forth, dreaming of better things. "I wish you were still with us, Midori. The two of you working together would be unstoppable on the Doubles court."

"Still, I was hoping for a couple more points." Midori loused as she started to stretch. "I even almost had them."

"Yes, you did." Aigis agreed as she put aside the now dry towel. With her heat under control, she could get ready for her next game. "I will see you this evening."

"Yes!" Rio agreed. "Food in Tokyo! And not the stuff in the hotel." She stuck out her tongue in disgust. "You're paying, right?" She poked Midori with a finger, earning a light slapping of it away. "I kid! I kid! Well, when you're ready, I think you've got yourself some fans out there," Rio pointed at the door. "Apparently you made an impression."

"More fans?" Midori was incredulous. "And me without my autograph book."

"Get used to it. You're popular!"

Evening

Midori didn't have time to even read the name of the restaurant they were eating at before she was shuffled into it. Apparently someone had read that it was an amazing place, and the word had spread like wildfire through the tournament participants. So much so that the entire restaurant was full up of chattering teenagers, which those who stepped back and thought about it, wouldn't have been something that the people who worked there could have been expecting.

The six of them had gotten into a private booth. Aigis and Junpei wound up against the wall, with Midori and Eri beside Aigis, Chidori against Junpei and Rio filling out the last seat.

"You know Aigis," Midori said as she leaned over to be heard over the din of other conversations, "sitting back there isn't going to stop your fans from coming over."

"I am aware of that, but I hope my desire for privacy, and keeping you between me and them will be sufficient to reduce the number of admirers to a limited amount." Aigis reported her logic coolly.

That had been a running theme as the day advanced. Aigis' performance in the tournament, combined with her appearance had generated a lot of interest in her, both from professional scouts and from other competitors who looked up to her as a good example.

Poor Aigis had no idea how to deal with that, hence using Midori as impromptu armour.

"So, how did things go with you two?" Junpei asked Chidori and Eri while Aigis and Midori talked, and Rio looked at the menu.

"It went well," Eri said as she played with the table setting in front of her. "Tokyo is big, you know?"

Junpei nodded. "Well, I hope you didn't spend the entire day out on the town."

"No!" Eri objected. "Chidori and I played a few games, and chatted with people!"

Looking at her, Junpei said the first thing that came to mind. "You talked to strangers?"

Chidori looked away. "They talked at me. I only responded when I needed too, and how I needed too."

"She's so cool!" Eri exclaimed, the small part of her that was in wonder at being surrounded by such wonderful people leaking through. "If she didn't already have you, I'm certain boys would be throwing themselves at her!"

The comment earned her tight looks from Chidori and Junpei, as well as a warning glance from Midori. "What?" She objected. "It's true." Her voice started to fall.

"She is right," Junpei said calmly. "I'm certain that you'd be fighting off hordes of admirers if I wasn't doing that for you."

Chidori blushed slightly at the compliment, only for Midori to raise a question. "You're not actually beating people up now, are you?"

"No!" Junpei said, raising his hands defensively. "Well, not after the first month or so. Now people tend to leave us alone." He lowered his hands.

"They never told you?" Rio exclaimed. "Really? I thought you guys talked a lot!"

"We do," Midori said, eyes narrowing. "What didn't you tell me?"

"Nothing serious." Chidori said, obviously not wanting to to talk about something in the past like that. Which only made Midori dig deeper and with great fervour.

"Tell me," she commanded, staring at Chidori.

Rio watched the interplay with interest, knowing full well that Chidori could completely stonewall anyone, and had. Even teachers had fallen before her utter imperviousness.

And Midori smashed right through it with two words.

"It's nothing," Chidori repeated as the waiter brought the water and the appetizers that Rio ordered while everyone else was talking. "You don't need to ask questions."

"You know she was going to find out," Junpei said as he reached for one of the rice balls, breaking it in half and passing one piece over to Chidori. Taking a bite first, he looked Midori straight in the eye. "Quite a few people at first thought something was wrong after I came back," he was careful in choosing his words, what with the two people there who didn't know the truth. "And they thought that they could... force an answer out of her. Not by anything physical, you know." He added that last bit as he saw the warning signs of Midori about to demand who so she could deal with them personally.

"They failed," Chidori said in her usual 'I am your better' tone of voice.

"Yeah, they did. After Yukari, Fuuka and Mitsuru talked to people."

"Wait, Mitsuru got involved?" Midori was not completely surprised, but the thought of her coming back to school like that was... well... she couldn't see it.

"Yep. After a particularly annoying person who shall go unnamed decided to harass me on the way home, Mitsuru found out because she's... well, Mitsuru, she went to the school, and the next day everything stopped." Junpei admitted.

"I don't know what happened," Rio added in her observations, "but I saw her go into the Teacher's lounge."

"Excuse me!" Eri said, raising a hand. "Who is Mitsuru?"

"President Kirijo Mitsuru," Aigis explained, "graduated from our school this past year. She was Student Council President, and is the current head of the Kirijo Group."

"Who?" Eri was still confused.

Midori sighed. "Really powerful person. Her family owns the school I went too." She gestured at everyone except Eri and Rio. "We all shared a Dorm with her last year, in addition to some other people. And she doesn't like it when people aren't nice to her friends. At all. Very scary when she wants to be."

"Yeah," Junpei agreed. "Except only you and Akihiko could really get away with getting in her face."

Midori felt a rush of heat to her face. "Don't say that! I only put my foot down when she was going past her proper limits."

Chidori picked up a dumpling with some chopsticks, and offered it to Junpei. The other three humans watched with stunned silence as he let her feed him the piece of food before serving one for herself.

"Oh. My. God." Eri said, causing Midori to wince on the inside at the reference. "You two are pretty much married!"

And that caused an explosion of arguments, comments, and general gentle bickering between friends both new and old that didn't stop, merely slowed when the food arrived.

Residence

Night

Midori wrapped the jacket around her a bit tighter at the unseasonal weather. Eri was inside with the friends of her daddy while Midori and Aigis were outside. If the Robot felt the cold, she didn't show it. "You wanted to talk to me?"

"Yes." Aigis said, though she faltered as she wasn't sure how to best go about expressing herself. "I don't know if I should keep participating."

"WHAT?" Midori rejected the idea soundly. "What makes you say that?"

"To put it simply," Aigis looked around to make sure they didn't have undue attention, "I am super-human in my strengths and because of that, I feel that my participation is hindering everyone else."

Midori understood instantly, an oddity where Aigis was concerned. "You think that because you're a..." she rolled her hands for a better description that wouldn't accidentally reveal Aigis' nature, "you're you – that you have some sort of advantage."

Aigis nodded. "Yes. My scores indicate that I will easily win the tournament."

"Then do so!" Midori almost yelled. "Aigis, you are yourself. You don't need to pretend to be sick or whatever to make others feel better."

"But I am not human in body," Aigis said, pointing out the source of her concern. "No matter how much I emulate one in mind and soul, there are differences that I... I feel guilty about exploiting."

Midori sighed. "Aigis." She hugged her friend dearly. "If I was concerned about that at all, I would have never gotten you to join the club.

Aigis refused to speak her first response – that Midori hadn't thought of that at all. Instead, she went with still trying to speak honestly. "And it's not just this," she said as soon as Midori gave her room to speak. "But what about the future. I cannot hide my nature forever."

"You're thinking about that too much," Midori rejected Aigis' concerns again.

"I cannot help but think."

"Then be yourself!" Midori said cheerfully. "Don't be arrogant about it, don't you know, make people feel bad for loosing against you. Just be yourself."

"Easy for you to say." Aigis sounded a little down. "You don't have to hide your very nature to be with people."

Memory clicked in Midori's head. "Is this why you want that fake skin thing you were telling me about?"

Aigis nodded, not needing to say anything.

"Well," Inspiration struck Midori. "Maybe you can ask Mitsuru if any of your sisters can be reactivated. If there are more of you, then you won't feel so alone."

"I am not alone," Aigis objected. "I have you and many other people I can call friends!"

"It's not a matter of friendship. It's a matter of having more people you can relate too. Even if all your... sisters can't be brought back, who is to say that you won't be the big sister to another generation?"

"More Anti-Shadow weapons..." Aigis' eyes grew distant as she thought about that.

"No, they, like you, need to be more than just weapons! You can be their big sister, and to do that, you need to experience winning and loosing, and competing and everything in the world!" Midori let her emotions ramble on. "You can't worry about the little things like this, because you have to experience it, the good and the bad, to pass along to your little sisters!"

Aigis was quiet, which meant she was thinking. After a few minutes, she bowed slightly to Midori. "Thank you. You are right. I need to think some things over." Midori smiled, Aigis mirroring the action. "You should go inside. You look cold. Do not worry about me, I can return to my dorm without hassle."

"I don't feel sorry one bit for any guy who tries anything on you." Midori hugged her friend again, then ran for the warmth inside the house.

Inside, she found Eri waiting for her. "So, your friend's gone back?" She offered her captain a cup of hot chocolate. "Here."

"Yep," Midori took a moment to let the warmth of the cup seep into her hands. "Man, it's really cold tonight. It isn't usually this bad for August."

"So everyone keeps saying," Eri looked past Midori at the darkening sky. "Hey, I got a question for you."

"Sure, go ahead."

"What is up with Aigis? Those headphones of hers... she never takes them off, they don't slide around on her head while she's playing the game." Eri looked at Midori as she began to react to the question. "You know something. What's up?"

"Aigis..." She struggled to lie without lying. "Aigis has a complicated medical history. Even I don't know all the details, except to say that those headphones of hers help her hear." She tried to be dismissive through a shrug, but somehow, her heart wasn't in it. "Look, just don't worry about it. Think of it as a... fashion point." With that, she dismissed the rest of the conversation by focusing on drinking her still warm drink.

She would also have to talk to Aigis tomorrow about this. Hopefully she wouldn't take it the wrong way.