With the first match of the first round coming to a close, it's time to move on to the next match. It has been a fairly… interesting… week for me, so I hope that chapter wasn't affected too much by that. Having said that, if a chapter would have been affected by that it would be chapter 25 instead, but I digress…
Special thank you to Rider for reviewing the previous chapter, and for ReiTheMegaMawile for catching up to the previous chapter as well.
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.
"Endymion ended up using that skill after all," Moca muttered to herself as she watched Ran defeat Tomoe and Tsugumi. It was a skill that Moca had helped Ran perfect in the days leading up to the tournament with little success. Seeing as the skill worked in completely obliterating Chaos and Peace, Moca could only imagine how Ran must be feeling right now.
There was no time to worry about what her friends were feeling. Moca's fight was about to begin, and she needed to focus.
Moca navigated through her menus until she found the familiar hourglass and clicked on it. The hourglass that had brought Moca and her friends to this place materialized in Lotus' open palm and Moca was about to activate it. But before Moca could use it she was stopped by Amber Moon.
"Lotus-san, when we arrive at the battlefield, we will have a few moments to ourselves to prepare for the fight," Moon began, and Moca voiced her understanding. Moca would have suggested the same thing had Moon not beaten her to it, "There is something that I want to talk about once we are there."
After the blinding light began to fade and disappear, Moca tried to look around her and get a feel for where she was. However, all that she could see was a black void as far as the eye could see.
'Is the game not loading the environment or something?' Moca thought to herself, trying to figure out what was happening. Moca was about to ask Moon to see if the more experienced player knew something that Moca did not when Moca finally realized what was going on.
"We're in space?! How will we breathe?!" Moca cried out in panic, searching her screen for any indication that the lack of oxygen was affecting her. A negative status on her character that would reduce Lotus' effectiveness in dealing damage or make Lotus more vulnerable to damage. Moca was even expecting a gradual decrease in her health.
"Wait… nothing is happening?" Moca wondered out loud, genuinely confused by the revelation. She would be spared from needing to worry about anything else when Moon materialized next to her, "Moon-san, what do you make of this?"
Moon did not respond to Moca's question immediately and Moca could not blame her partner. It took Moca a few moments to take in her surroundings as well, so it was only natural if Moon needed some time, too.
"I was expecting something different, but this is quite the pleasant surprise," Moon mused, and Moca voiced her agreement at the comment. The fight that Ran, Tomoe, Tsugumi, and Kite were in was fought in the desert. Therefore, Moca had expected her fight to be fought in a similar environment. But Moca wouldn't get the chance to ponder on this for too long.
"The battlefield aside, do you remember what I said before we arrived here?" Moon asked Moca in a calm yet surprisingly serious tone. Moca nodded, remembered that Moon wouldn't be able to see what Moca had just done, and told Moon that she hadn't forgotten. This seemed to please Moon as their voice sounded a bit gentler the next time it reached Moca's ears, "There is a skill that I have been saving up for a while now. Kite-san is incompatible with the skill, but I think that maybe you are the kind of avatar I need to make use of it."
"So you want to take advantage of me being here to test out this secret weapon," Moca deduced and, based on the silence that followed, she knew what Moon's stance was. Moca made sure that her microphone was muted so Moon wouldn't hear her before letting out a sigh. Moca quickly unmuted herself soon after when a question chose that moment to pop up in her head, "What do I need to do to take full advantage of that skill?"
"Just play the same way you always do, and I will take care of the rest," Moon responded immediately and without hesitation to the question. Moca, meanwhile, had to cover her mouth to muffle the laugh that threatened to escape her throat. The way that Moon phrased that sentence sounded a lot like a certain person Moca was all too familiar with.
That being said, Moon managed to successfully dodge Moca's earlier question. Moca had no idea what her partner's abilities were or what Moon was planning to do. All that Moca could do was try and believe in her partner and do her best.
'Might as well. Moon-san isn't ready to reveal their secrets yet, and to be fair… neither am I. We've only just met so I shouldn't expect Moon-san to tell me everything they know," Moca thought to herself as she replayed Moon's words in her mind. The longer Moca thought about it, the more convinced she was of what she had to, 'Black Lotus is a character who works best on their own, and if Moon-san wants to stay away then it's just up to me.'
"Then I am counting on you to cover my back," Moca announced, only to hear Moon reassure her that Moca had nothing to worry about. Moca felt at ease with this knowledge, but there was still something that was bothering her, "Shouldn't our opponents be here by now?"
Almost as if on cue, a flash of light in the corner of her screen caught Moca's attention. The light was too bright for Moca to make out what was hidden within, but she didn't need to see. She already knew that her first fight in the tournament was about to begin.
Two characters that Moca had never seen before stepped out from the light. One of these was a tall avatar with a weirdly shaped head. When Moca squinted her eyes to try and find the reason for this she was shocked to learn the reason for this. A small but still noticeable crescent jotted out from the character's head. Moca then noticed the crescents on their arms where their elbows would normally be located.
A thick and sturdy tail trailed behind it, the two lobes at the end seemed to be similar in size to one another. These lobes, as well as its lower arms and upper legs, were of a dark sapphire blue color while the rest of its body was colored in a faded sky blue.
The other character standing beside it was significantly smaller, almost a head shorter than the imposing avatar that had caught Moca's attention first. At this distance, Moca could not discern a lot of its features other than its color, which seemed to be a dark red color. A pair of thin but long antennae sprouted from the top of its head and Moca was left to wonder what their significance was. The final thing that Moca noticed was the pair of wings on the avatar's back.
'I wonder if that red-colored avatar can fly and if I have to worry about any attacks from the sky,' Moca thought to herself as she took in the smaller of her two opponents. None of the players that Moca knew of were limited to fighting on the ground. Granted, Moca only knew of four other players besides herself so the sample size was rather limited.
"Aqua Shark-san and Burgundy Moth-san, I see," Moon's words caught Moca by surprise, not so much because Moon identified their opponents, but that Moon seemed to recognize the pair. Moca was about to ask Moon for more information in preparation for the fight when Moon spoke again, "Do you know either of them, Lotus-san?"
"I… thought that you did," Moca admitted with a sheepish chuckle, unwilling to admit that she didn't see the names of her opponents showcased on the top of her screen until now. Desperate to shift the focus away from her, Moca asked, "A blue-colored avatar and a red-colored avatar… does this change your plan on using that new skill of yours at all, Moon-san?"
"Not at all. Just play like you usually do and I will give you the opening you need to land the finishing blow," Moon said in a calm voice. Almost too calm for Moca's liking. It was as if Moon was already used to being in these situations or had something else to push her forward.
Moon's next few words would confirm Moca's suspicions.
"Us yellow-colored avatars are always underestimated for our lack of direct offense or immense defenses," Moon muttered softly, their words barely audible to Moca who wasn't even sure if Moon had intended for Moca to hear them as well. After contemplating whether she should say something to Moon or not, Moca ultimately decided to remain quiet and let her partner continue voicing their thoughts, "This is the time I show you what I—no, what we are capable of!"
Ran didn't need to look at the destruction her attack had caused on the battlefield to know the result of the fight. Ran didn't need to hear Kite voice their surprise and admiration to know the result of the fight. Ran even didn't need to read the words that had magically appeared in the sky.
But Ran felt a small sense of pride well up in her heart when she took the opportunity to read those words anyway.
"Winners: Red Endymion and Silver Kite"
Ran let out the breath she didn't know she was holding when she saw the words floating above her. The fight was over, she didn't have to hurt her friends anymore, and Ran was through to the next round of the competition. The feeling of pride at her victory should have been enough to keep Ran's spirits up, but something was still gnawing away at her from the back of her mind.
'What do Tomoe and Tsugumi think of me now after I used that move on them,' Ran thought to herself. Ran's worries were also stopping her from processing the many words of praise that Kite was throwing her way. Ran's ears managed to pick up the words, but Ran's brain would not cooperate by telling her what they meant.
After a moment of hesitation, Ran decided that it would be best to leave the battlefield and make room for the next set of participants to fight for a spot in the next round. With her choice made, Ran used the all-too-familiar hourglass that had found its way back in Endymion's hand.
Ran watched in silent wonder how the environments morphed and shifted around her before Ran was spewed back out into the waiting room of the tournament. Of the four players who fought in the most recent round, Ran was the first to materialize in the room. But Ran's time in solitude wasn't meant to last as Silver Kite would appear beside Endymion soon after.
"That was an incredible skill, Endymion-san!" Kite exclaimed as soon as they were able to talk to Ran again. After Ran thanked her partner for the compliment, Kite spoke again, "Was that why you did not disagree with my plan to rely on you for landing the finishing blow?"
"Yes, but I wasn't planning on using that skill. Not against those two, anyway," Ran responded in a sullen and dry voice, adding the last bit hurriedly. She would have explained more but saw, much to her horror, that Tomoe and Tsugumi were approaching her, "Chaos, Peace, that was—."
"Amazing!" Tsugumi cried out, and Ran had to quickly mute herself in the in-game voice chat to prevent the others from hearing the sound she had just made. Ran had expected her friends to be upset that they lost, angry that Ran had kept such a skill secret for so long or a variety of different reactions. Fascination was not the response that Ran had anticipated from Tsugumi.
It then took Ran the better part of a minute to regain her composure, which resulted in her missing what Tsugumi was saying next. Even so, Ran still managed to successfully pick up on the question that the brunette had thrown in her direction.
"The skill's name is Chaos Flare, and as you two saw it shoots a big beam of energy to damage everything that it hits," Ran explained to her friends, feeling reassured that Tsugumi did not seem to be hating her for being knocked out of the tournament by Ran's hand. Tomoe, on the other hand, was remaining suspiciously quiet, which was something that Ran was trying to ignore, "And, thankfully, I managed to get it before the tournament began."
"To think that Chaos-chan and I thought that we had you! It was all to set up for that one big attack, wow!" Tsugumi's stream of praise was starting to get the better of Ran. The vocalist was at a loss for words and would have liked to create some distance between herself and her friend. This wasn't a possibility for her right now, so Ran was forced to sit there and endure the embarrassment of listening to the brunette's words.
"That was indeed an impressive victory. Congratulations, Endymion, Kite," Tomoe's voice shook Ran out of her train of thoughts, leaving the vocalist speechless at her friend's words. Ran's brain even needed a few moments to fully process what Tomoe had said. By the time it finished doing that, however, it needed to focus on the next words to come out of Tomoe's mouth, "But don't get too comfortable yet, Endymion. Now that you've beaten Peace and me, I won't forgive you if you lose the next round!"
"Easier said than done, you know who Kite-san and I have to fight in the next round, right?" Ran rebutted, wondering if Tomoe had been paying attention to the tournament's bracket at all. Tomoe's lack of response to Ran's question was enough of an answer for Ran, who let out a small sigh before adding, "Let's move to a better spot where we can watch their fight. Maybe Kite-san and I can learn something about those two in their fights."
"If I may… please follow me, I saw a nice spot from where we can observe Lotus-san and Moon-san," Kite muttered softly, almost too softly for Ran to hear what her partner had said. Or even that her partner had said something in the first place. Kite then turned around and started walking to the edge of the room, clearly hoping that Ran, Tomoe, and Tsugumi would follow along. But when nobody seemed to be following them, Kite stopped and asked in a meek voice, "Is… Is something wrong?"
"That isn't it, we'd love to join you, it's just…" Tomoe trailed off for a second, and Ran couldn't help but wonder what the redhead was planning. A few seconds of silence followed which was only broken when Ran heard Kite let out a gasp. Ran was about to ask her partner what was wrong, but Tomoe's next few words solved the mystery, "I know that it's sudden and I know that there is no reason for you to accept it, but you worked really well with Endymion earlier. Endymion, Peace, Lotus, and I have been friends for a long time, so if you can get along with Endymion you're all right in my book."
Ran had to bite her tongue to stop herself from commenting on the indirect slap in the face she received from Tomoe. She knew that the redhead was just trying to be open and friendly with Ran's partner in the tournament. Ran had only interacted with Kite for half an hour at most, but even Ran could tell that nobody she knew was timider than Kite was.
"Ah, um… in that case, can I… accept it?" Kite asked in a voice that was barely audible to Ran's ears. Ran was feeling bad for what she was about to do but she knew that it had to be done. The vocalist of Afterglow opened her mouth to ask Kite to repeat what they had just said only to be beaten by Tomoe.
Tomoe took a moment to reassure Kite that yes, since Tomoe had sent the invitation to add Kite to her friend list, Kite was allowed to accept it. This provided Ran and Tsugumi the perfect opportunity to voice their agreement before the two childhood friends sent their invitations to Kite as well.
After the four players had registered each other in their friend list, one of them remembered that the fight featuring Black Lotus and Amber Moon was about to start. Tsugumi was the first to try and hurry to the nearest monitor to try and find Moca's fight. Tomoe would run after the brunette soon after, something that Ran wanted to do as well.
But seeing Kite remain rooted in place forced an abrupt halt in Endymion's movement.
"Kite-san? Is everything okay?" Ran asked her partner, electing to not follow after her friends in favor of waiting for Kite's response. Ran's worries would soon subside when Kite spoke again and broke the silence. But much to Ran's surprise, the words that left Kite's mouth weren't what Ran had expected to hear.
"This warmth from Endymion-san and Endymion-san's friends… it's so nice," Ran heard Kite mutter under their breath. Ran wondered if she had to ask Kite about it, but before she had made up her mind the opportunity to do so had already passed. Kite seemed to be back to normal and even asked Ran the same question that Ran had asked only moments ago.
"Yeah, don't worry about it. Let's hurry and catch up to Chaos and Peace," Ran opted to try and ignore what just happened in favor of not embarrassing her partner. Kite voiced their agreement and waddled after Ran.
It did not take long for the two of them to catch up to Tomoe and Tsugumi. Tomoe had never been someone to easily be overlooked, and this distinction held even in the game. Ran stopped at Tomoe's right, and Kite moved to stand by Ran's other side.
"How's Lotus doing?" Ran asked her friends as soon as she knew that Tomoe and Tsugumi could hear her. While waiting for a proper response from either of them, Ran looked up at the monitors displayed to try and find Moca.
Neither Tomoe nor Tsugumi were responding to Ran's question, and this was worrying her. She didn't think it was that difficult of a question to answer, so why was she being ignored?
The answer to Ran's unvoiced question came in the form of an announcement on one of the monitors.
"No way…" Ran breathed out as the words on the screen finally made sense to her. Ran knew that Moca's fight started right after Ran's fight came to an end. Since leaving the battlefield, Ran figured only a handful of minutes had passed.
"Lotus-chan and Moon-san won. Chaos-chan and I weren't even able to see Lotus-chan fight," Tsugumi admitted in disbelief, the brunette's words barely reaching Ran's ears. Ran was too focused on suppressing her shock at what she was seeing.
'I knew that Moca was good, probably better than any of us, but was she really that good?' Ran wondered to herself with a frown plastered on her face. But this frown was not meant to last as Ran's brain chose that moment to remind the vocalist of a crucial fact.
The next fight that Ran had to get through would be against Moca.
And that is all for today! I hope you enjoyed the chapter, please leave a review telling me what you thought, and until next time! Take care!