Right on to the next chapter, we go~. I think I will be able to push for an update schedule of every other week… starting the next chapter, that is. What can I say? May has always been a terribly busy time for me, and this May has been no exception.
As always, a special thank you goes to Rider who left a review on the previous chapter. Thank you for your kind words and continued support of the series. Shining Sunlight is now officially tied with elder sibling Scarlet Sunlight in terms of the number of chapters, but we still have a bit to go to catch up in terms of word count. At the rate that this story has been going, Shining Sunlight should hit that milestone after the thirtieth chapter goes live.
Disclaimer: I do not own BanG Dream! Girls Band Party, nor do I, in any way, shape, or form, intend to pretend that I do.
"Chaos, Peace. Don't hold back on me in the first round because I won't hold back against the two of you. I look forward to finally getting even with you, Chaos."
Those were the last words that Ran said before she left the group call with her friends and followed Silver Kite to a different part of the waiting room. And although the vocalist's intentions were clear to her friends, it still left them with mixed feelings.
"We're in trouble, Peace," Tomoe muttered once she knew that Ran couldn't hear her anymore. Tomoe's words were met by confusion from Tsugumi, but Tomoe chose to ignore the brunette. Instead of Tsugumi, Tomoe turned to her other friend as she directed her next question to her, "Did you know that this was going to happen?"
"I didn't even know that we would be thrown into a tag-team tournament, let alone what our teams would be or who our opponents are," Moca wasted no time in reminding Tomoe of the fact. After waiting a moment for Tomoe to come to terms with this, Moca decided that she could be more open with the redhead, "That being said, it would only be a matter of time until we were made to fight against each other. I mean, think about it: it's a two-versus-two competition and the four of us are participating. It is impossible for all four of us to be on the same team."
"You're right," Tomoe finally admitted, but by the tone in which she said that Moca knew that Tomoe wasn't happy at all. Tomoe managed to hide this disappointment by the time she spoke again, sounding much more solemn and serious than seconds earlier, "Peace and I should plan on how we're going to fight Endymion and Kite-san. Lotus, shouldn't you plan with Moon-san as well?"
Moca thought this over for a bit and decided that Tomoe made a good point. After wishing Tomoe and Tsugumi luck in their upcoming battle against Ran and Kite, Moca guided Lotus to glide over to where Moon was waiting for her. The two of them talked for a bit and decided to move to a different area in the room.
The departure of Lotus and Moon meant that Tomoe was now left alone with Tsugumi. Both girls opted to leave the in-game voice chat in favor of the Afterglow group call for more privacy from their surroundings.
Once the two childhood friends had confirmed that they were the only two in the group call, Tsugumi wasted no more time and finally spoke her mind.
"I still don't understand why we are in trouble, Tomoe-chan," Tsugumi said, dropping her friend's in-game character name in favor of her real name, "You and I have been playing with each other since the beginning, and Ran-chan has just met Kite-san. Shouldn't we have an advantage against them because we are more used to playing together? We know what we are and are not able to do so we can play knowing how the other will play."
"That would be the case if we were fighting Kite-san and any other player not named Endymion or Lotus," Tomoe began her response with a deep breath to calm down her nerves. Knowing she had to fight one of her friends so early in the tournament was still an uneasy feeling for her, but she had to give it her best shot, "We've played together with Ran, Moca, and Himari since the beginning, so we know everything about their characters."
"But don't forget that Ran has been playing with us since the beginning as well, so she knows everything about Chaos and Peace," Tomoe explained, and it was at this point where Tsugumi was starting to realize where their disadvantage was at. But Tomoe wasn't done explaining her troubles, "And if Ran wants to win as badly as we both know she does, she won't hesitate to tell Kite-san about our strengths and weaknesses to do so."
"On the other hand, we know nothing about Kite-san so they have the element of surprise on their side," Tomoe continued and Tsugumi murmured a soft noise of understanding, "Kite-san isn't even one of the base colors of the game so we are completely in the dark here. Even if we were able to suppress Endymion, we would still have to defeat someone we know next to nothing about."
"So how do we fight them?" Tsugumi asked the girl who had assumed leadership between them. Tsugumi knew that the redhead was the better player between them, so she allowed Tomoe to take the lead in their planning. After a moment's hesitation, Tsugumi added in a soft and shaky voice, "Do you really expect Ran-chan to tell all of our playstyles and weaknesses to Kite-san?"
"I don't think she will go that far. Or at least, I sure hope that she doesn't," Tomoe muttered softly to herself. Tomoe avoided saying that she felt that Ran could definitely be tempted to do so if the vocalist's desire to win was great enough. Tomoe had beaten Ran in their first and only fight against each other, so Tomoe couldn't hold it against Ran if Ran wanted revenge. But worrying about that would lead them nowhere, and Tomoe knew that she had to stay focused, "Anyway, we should think of a strategy. Ran is easier to strategize against, so do you have any ideas?"
"Chaos is a blue-colored avatar, so Chaos prefers to fight opponents as close as possible,"
Ran explained to her partner as soon as the two of them had created some distance between them and their soon-to-be opponents. A few seconds of hesitation later and Ran decided to tell her partner a vital piece of information, "But I know from experience that Chaos has at least two attacks that work at greater distances, so be careful about that."
It did not take long for Ran and Kite to begin talking about their opponents and attempting to figure out a strategy to try and beat them. With Kite remaining silent, Ran took the initiative in sharing strategies, "Peace is a yellow-colored avatar, so expect a lot of disruption-based and illusion-based attacks. Your friend is a yellow-colored avatar as well, so you should know what they are capable of."
A part of her felt guilty about revealing her friends' strengths and weaknesses. At the same time, however, Ran also knew that what she was saying was relatively common knowledge by now. All she did was explain the basic strengths and weaknesses of the different colors.
"As you can see, I am a red-colored avatar. I can help by attacking Chaos and Peace from a distance, but I won't be very good in a close-ranged battle," Ran admitted the last part rather reluctantly. Ran felt uneasy revealing Endymion's weaknesses, even if it was a well-established fact that red-colored avatars struggled in hand-to-hand combat. But Ran knew the importance of information in this situation so she wanted to give Kite all the information that she could give, "What about you, Kite-san? You're not one of the five colors listed in the beginner's manual, so what's your battling style like?"
Ran's question was followed by a period of silence caused by Kite's inability or unwillingness to answer the question. Seconds quickly turned into minutes, and Ran had to use every bit of her willpower to not show any signs of annoyance or frustration.
'So this is what it feels like to be Himari,' Ran thought to herself with a small frown. It was during this time that Ran made a promise to herself to try and respond more actively to her friends' messages. Right as Ran felt that she had to ask her question again, Kite finally responded.
"Think of me as… a blue avatar, I suppose. Kite is a close-ranged attacker," came the response, a lot more withdrawn than Ran had expected Kite to sound. Ran, however, managed to keep her mouth shut; and just in time, too, as Kite was talking again, "I can keep your friends away… and then you can attack them from a safe distance."
"Probably. And Chaos will likely expect me to focus on Chaos, so if you can keep Chaos distracted… that should shake up their strategy," Ran thought out loud, taking Kite's silence as a way for Kite to show their agreement. Ran was satisfied with the strategy they had come up with, but something else was still bothering the vocalist. Something very important that she couldn't believe she hadn't thought about until then…
"Hold on a second. If you and Chaos are fighting at close range and you want me to attack from a safe distance, wouldn't you risk being hit by the blast as well?" Ran asked Kite, already feeling a sense of guilt for having forgotten this key detail until now. Unsurprisingly, Kite did not respond to Ran's question, so Ran decided to elaborate, "My attacks are not exactly what I would describe as 'accurate'. You might be caught in one of those attacks if you engage Chaos in close-ranged combat."
"Please do not worry about that, I will be fine," came the simple reply, which caught Ran by surprise a little. In her earlier interactions with Kite, Ran noticed that the other player seemed rather unsure of themselves and their abilities. This time, however, Kite sounded full of confidence.
Almost as if Kite could read Ran's mind, Kite decided that it was important to elaborate, "Kite has several skills that will help me avoid being hit by your attacks. I will do my best to distract Chaos-san, and so I will be relying on you to land the finishing blow."
"That sounds like a solid plan," Ran voiced her agreement, feeling more at ease knowing that she didn't need to worry about hitting Kite anymore. But this feeling of reassurance would soon be replaced by a feeling Ran was all too familiar with: embarrassment, "Um, Kite-san? How or where do we move to the stage for the first round?"
"According to Moon-san, we won't be able to participate in combat at the same time as all the other players partaking in the tournament. Which makes sense considering how many stages the developers would need to keep up to do so," Kite muttered the second sentence under their breath and Ran barely managed to pick up what Kite was saying. By the time Ran managed to piece together what her partner had said she had to focus on paying attention to their next words, "It looks like our stage should be vacant soon. The previous participants are wrapping up their round right now."
Ran, wondering where Kite was able to know all these things, looked around her to try and find out. It did not take long for Ran to realize what Kite was saying; the screen that had been showing the tournament bracket to the players had changed. The names shown on the screen had reduced in number and Ran quickly realized why.
Matches were already being held and some of them had even concluded by now. The names not shown anymore had to be of the players who were eliminated from the tournament. And based on the pattern of disappearing sets of names, Endymion and Kite's match against Chaos and Peace was set to begin in mere moments.
"Endymion-san, let's move to the battlefield. We might get disqualified if we are not there yet by the time our match is supposed to start," Kite explained, and Ran did her best to suppress a shudder. The one thing she knew that could be worse than losing to Tomoe again would be losing to Tomoe by default.
Because Ran was focused on preparing herself to fight Tomoe and Tsugumi, she didn't hear what Kite said next. Ran even barely registered that Kite had said anything so asking Kite to repeat the question was an embarrassing act for Ran to endure.
"I don't think it's too difficult for any of us," Ran responded after taking a second or two to contemplate what her answer would be. Finally coming to terms with how she felt about the tournament, Ran continued talking, "We started the game together and have been playing together ever since, so we've had plenty of opportunities to fight against each other."
"I would have liked us to participate in and enjoy the tournament for longer, but if we are set to face each other in the early stages then so be it," Ran announced, although she wasn't sure who she was saying those words to. Was it to reassure Kite that Ran would be okay facing off against her friends? Or was Ran trying to convince herself that this was the best course of action for her to take? Shaking her head to get rid of any unnecessary thoughts, Ran added, "I am not going to hold back just because our opponents in the first round happen to be my friends."
"If that is the case then I will do my best to help Endymion-san get the win," came Kite's declaration, and Ran was taken aback by the amount of determination she heard from her partner. Kite didn't seem to notice this, instead took the opportunity to pull out the hourglass that they had received and holding it in their right hand, "Looks like it is about time. Let's go."
Ran nodded before she could stop herself from doing so; Kite couldn't see what Ran was doing so the action would prove to be meaningless. Hiding her embarrassment, Ran looked at the screen to confirm what Kite had said. The fight between Kite and Endymion against Chaos and Peace was next.
Of course, this knowledge released the nerves that had managed to hide away somewhere. Ran had to take a couple of deep breaths to calm herself; she had to remain calm if she were to emerge triumphant against Tsugumi and Tomoe.
Once Ran felt like she wouldn't pass out anymore, she mirrored Kite's actions. The hourglass gently landed in the open palm of Endymion as innocently as it had appeared in Kite's hand.
And a bright light enveloped Endymion and Kite.
The next thing that Ran saw confirmed her earlier suspicions: she was teleported to yet another area. This time, it looked like she was in a desert area. Sand, sand, and more sand were all that Ran could see around her, and this was concerning to her. There was nothing other than sand around her; no trees, no cliffs, no boulders, nothing to hide behind and use as cover. There was nothing that would allow either side of the upcoming fight to sneak up on their opponents. Was this really the battlefield she had to fight her friends in?
"Kite-san? Are you seeing what I am seeing?" Ran asked her partner as soon as she realized that the silver-based avatar was standing beside Endymion. Despite knowing that there wasn't a lot around them Ran still waited a moment to give Kite the opportunity to take in their surroundings, "This area might make it harder for you to close the distance with our opponents."
"On the other hand, they will not have a lot of options to hide from your ranged attacks," Kite thought out loud, and Ran knew that Kite was making a good point. In their previous fights, there was always something that provided Tomoe and Chaos just enough protection from Ran's attacks to survive the blasts. Or, better phrased, to not be completely obliterated by Endymion's onslaught of attacks. It would be much harder for her to do so in an open area such as this one. Almost as if Kite could read what Ran was talking, they echoed Ran's very thoughts, "So we will go with the earlier plan, right? I will try and distract your friends and give you the opening you need to attack them."
"Be careful," Ran said, knowing that that was the only thing she could say. By the time Ran thought of something else to say she was alerted by another, smaller flash of light on the edge of her screen. Turning her camera in the direction of the distraction, Ran could see the faint outlines of her friends' avatars.
'This is it. Tomoe and Tsugu are here as well which means that there is no escaping this,' Ran thought to herself as she psyched herself up. There was no running from what was about to happen. Either she would knock her friends out of the tournament, or she will find herself as one of the first players to be eliminated.
Ran was so engrossed in her thoughts that she barely registered that something was happening. A big number thirty appeared on the top of Ran's screen, but by the time the vocalist had realized it was there the number had morphed into the number twenty-nine.
Far too soon for Ran's tastes, the floating number one turned into a zero, and the fight began.
Kite saw the opportunity to close the distance to Ran's friends and took it, breaking off into a sprint in the direction of Chaos and Peace. Ran, knowing what the maximum distance she could be at to be an effective damage dealer, hurried after Kite. But no matter how fast Endymion was pushed to run, the gap between her and Kite only grew by the second.
'How is Kite-san so fast?' Ran wondered, all the while searching for a way to speed up her character. Finding none, Ran gave up and looked up at her screen again. And just in time, too, as a blue blur shot straight at Endymion's face.
Reacting instinctively, Ran attempted to dodge to her right. Ran's experience of having played with Tomoe since the two girls were first introduced to the game had given Ran something invaluable: a deep understanding of Chaos' attack pattern. Ran knew that the sidewards movement should give Endymion just enough room to avoid being blown away by a speedy assault of Chaos.
But Ran was unprepared for what was about to happen next.
Before Chaos could land its fist in Endymion's face, another blur jumped in between Chaos and Endymion. Ran barely recognized the silver shine in front of her before Chaos' attack landed. The impact of the attack forced a thick cloud of dust to be kicked up, obscuring Chaos and Kite from Ran's view.
Endymion took a couple of hasty steps back, creating some distance between herself and Tomoe's avatar. Now that she was at a safe distance Ran could afford to worry about something else, "Kite-san! Are you all right?!"
"I will not let you touch Endymion-san, Chaos-san," Kite's words were filled with a level of confidence that Ran hadn't heard before. As the dust began to settle Ran could see what Kite had done: the silver-based avatar had unsheathed a pair of daggers and, holding one in each hand, intercepted the punch from Chaos.
It was at this moment that Ran was grateful that Kite wasn't her opponent. At the same time, however, she couldn't begin to imagine how Tomoe would feel in this situation.
"Move. This is my chance at a rematch with Endymion," Ran heard Tomoe warn Silver Kite's player as Chaos tried to put more pressure against Kite's blades. Kite did not give in; if anything, Ran had a feeling that Kite's response to Tomoe trying to push her way through was to put in more strength as well.
"That is unfortunate…" Kite muttered before a swift motion forced the two combatants to disengage. Chaos and Kite jumped a step or three away from each other before sizing each other back up. After a second or two of this, Kite made sure that there was no mistaking their intentions.
"Your opponent, Blue Chaos-san, is me!"
And that is all for today's chapter! I hope you enjoyed it, please leave a review telling me what you thought, and until next time! Take care!