Right on to the twenty-fifth chapter we go. I don't know why, but somehow… I don't know, the fact that this story has hit this chapter count feels like a great milestone has been achieved. The fact that Shining Sunlight is now officially my second longest story in terms of word count is great as well. And do you know what's even better? Shining Sunlight is nowhere near the end yet! When I started planning this story's plot, I thought of several… let's call them "arcs" for lack of a better term. Generic story ideas and milestones I want my characters to reach by the end of each "arc".

I am not going to reveal how many arcs I already planned (although I did just confirm that it was plural), but I can say this: we're still in the first of those arcs.

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.

"Play and have fun, whoever ends up winning is just the one who happened to have won today. I will see you in the upcoming fight."

Moca had regrouped with Amber Moon and the two of them made their way to the next battlefield. Their next round, one where Moca would have to face Ran and Silver Kite, was mere minutes away now.

'This must be how Ran, Tomo-chin, and Tsugu were feeling like before their first match,' Moca thought to herself as she took a deep breath. This was no time for her to start getting cold feet, especially since she was talking such a big game only moments ago, 'Just focus… have fun… and win.'

"Is everything okay, Lotus-san?" Moon asked Moca calmly, the more experienced player was standing a few steps away from where Moca was. It didn't take Moca long to realize that Moon had continued walking, and when Moca wasn't beside them they stopped and waited for her, "Are you worried about having to fight Endymion-san now? You already knew that you were going to fight at least one of your friends in the second round, though."

"That's not… actually, maybe a part of it is exactly that," Moca admitted after she took a second to think about what it was that she wanted to say. Moca knew that deep down, she didn't want to fight any of her friends. And Moca knew that none of her friends felt the same way, either.

Just as Moca was about to try and change the topic, she realized something. Something that was so apparent and obvious that she could barely believe that it took her this long to figure this out.

Moca wasn't the only one who had to fight a close friend in this upcoming round.

"How about you, Moon-san?" Moca asked, watching with a smile on her face as Moon stopped in the middle of a step. After Moon had requested for Moca to elaborate on what that question was referring to, Moca did, "How do you feel about having to fight Kite-san?"

"I was under the impression that I had already told you," Moon offered the simple response to Moca immediately after Moca had asked her question. Moca, in turn, was unsatisfied with the things that Moon had said and made sure to voice this. After a bit of bickering between the two players, Moon finally relented.

"All right, if it can make you stop distracting me from the fight at hand: I am uncomfortable fighting Kite-san as well," Moon admitted in a hurry and Moca nodded in understanding. As Moon fell silent for a moment, Moca started to theorize why Moon was in such a hurry to blurt those words.

But try as she might, Moca couldn't tell if this was because Moon was embarrassed to say those words out loud or because Moca's partner was annoyed by Moca's pestering nature. It could very well have been both…

"Perhaps not as much as Lotus-san is uncomfortable fighting Endymion-san," Moon added after a short pause, to which Moca responded with a noise of confirmation, "I had hoped that Kite-san and I would both be able to make it through the competition. It is unfortunate that this will not be the case and one of us will be eliminated soon. Lotus-san, I am sure that you feel the same way."

"You read me perfectly," Moca let out a sheepish chuckle, hoping that the praise could lighten the mood enough for the two players to shift gears. After giving it some time, Moca decided to take a risk by opening her mouth again, "Moon-san, with all due respect, if you feel uncomfortable facing Kite-san then we can try something different. We don't have to go with our original strategy here."

"Then what do you suggest?" Moon asked Moca, sounding genuinely curious to hear what Moca had in mind, "I know more about Kite-san than I do about Endymion-san, while the reverse applies for you, Lotus-san. Would it not make the most sense for us to fight the opponent we know the most about?"

"You make a point, but how would Kite-san feel if you were to suddenly show off your full potential?" Moca queried, to which Moon fell silent. It was at this point that Moca realized that she found an opening she could use to get through to Moon, "Don't you think that Kite-san might feel disheartened or anything after that?"

"Be that as it may, I already made up my mind to face Kite-san with everything I got. If Kite-san cannot handle accepting the difference in our abilities then that is just the extent of Kite-san's strength," Moon responded, sounding surprisingly defensive at trying to explain her reasoning to Moca. But Moca wouldn't have a chance to think about this as Moon was already speaking again, "This is a tournament. What other purpose does a participant have than to try and win?"

'To have fun and enjoy the fighting?' Moca wanted to answer but managed to hold herself back from uttering those words. Moca had joined the tournament to have fun and test her strength against the other players, but Moon was nothing like Moca and her friends. Moon was serious in wanting to win, much more serious than Moca ever was going to be. Much more serious than she thought a human could ever be.

That is why Moca begrudgingly swallowed down her pride before muttering a few words to Moon.

"I cannot argue with you on that note," Moca admitted, although her voice sounded foreign even to her ears. It was as if it was someone else who was saying those words instead of Moca. Moca quickly shook her head to get rid of any unnecessary thoughts and took a deep breath to calm her nerves, "But before we enter the second round's battle, I want to say something real quick."

"I am listening. What do you have in mind, Lotus-san?"

"Ready or not, Lotus, here I come!" Ran announced before she rushed after Kite to prepare for her second round's battle.

Ran looked up and stared at the countdown shown on the top of her screen. Two minutes were left before she was supposed to enter the next battlefield, but Ran's sense of time was distorted. She wasn't sure if this waiting period was gone in the blink of an eye or crawled on for an eternity. In Ran's mind, it could very well have been both.

'Even though I want to beat Moca this round, am I really able to?' Ran thought to herself, finding that, much to her surprise, she was feeling hesitant. 'Why am I hesitating when I had already decided I would face Moca seriously? This… this doesn't make any sense.'

Despite the many thoughts swirling around in her head, Ran couldn't help but notice that her partner was being unusually quiet as well. This was a terrible mood for them to start the second round, and Ran knew that she had to do something about this atmosphere. If not, something was going to give.

"So, um… Kite-san?" Ran began, trying to simply grab her partner's attention at first. This step of her plan worked, but since she didn't plan far enough ahead Ran had to scrounge for an idea to talk about, "What do you think we should do?"

"I… do not know," Kite admitted after taking a moment to think of a proper response. A response that Ran didn't want to hear at all, but Kite was already speaking again before Ran could say anything, "I met Moon-san when I just started playing this game… and Moon-san has helped me improve ever since then."

"But in all the time that I have known and played with Moon-san, I do not think that Moon-san has shown their full potential to me at all," Kite thought out loud, and Ran could only assume that Kite was trying to remember anything of note. After a few seconds of silence, Ran heard a soft sight from Kite before Kite turned to Ran, "And what about you, Endymion-san? Is there anything you can tell me about Black Lotus-san?"

"Unfortunately, there isn't a lot. I played the game with Lotus, Peace, Chaos, and one more friend who isn't here today, but Lotus was always on a different level," Ran said, trying to think of anything that she could say to help Kite in the upcoming fight without selling out her friends again. Despite her best efforts, Ran couldn't think of anything to prepare her partner for what was to come.

'Moca was always ahead of us, and even if she tried to hide it by holding back around us… I am sure that everybody knows that Moca is the strongest among us,' Ran thought with a worried frown. Sure, the early days had a rough and bumpy road for Moca and Black Lotus, but since overcoming those obstacles it had been purely uphill for the guitarist, 'The only thing I can think of to warn Kite-san about is…'

"Lotus is fast. You saw how fast Chaos was in the first round, and Chaos could never keep up with Lotus," Ran said slowly, and Kite made a small noise that Ran could only interpret as Kite's way to show that they were listening to Ran. Feeling more confident knowing that she had Kite's attention, Ran picked up where she left off, "And that was while Lotus was holding back and hiding what that avatar can do in front of the rest of us. Chances are that Lotus is much faster than even Chaos was. You might be fast, but don't underestimate Lotus' speed or you will get overwhelmed."

"With all due respect, Endymion-san…" Kite began, trailing off slowly as they tried to think of a way to continue their train of thoughts. After a handful of false starts were attempted and abandoned, Ran heard an audible sigh before Kite finally spoke again, "I do not think that Lotus-san is the one we should worry about."

"I had a feeling you would say that, and you might be right. Lotus is strong, but unless Lotus is hiding something from me it should not be a one-sided battle at all," Ran said as she tried to recall the fights that she saw Moca in. It was obvious that Moca was holding back her true skills and that Ran wasn't sure as to the extent of Moca's abilities should she play with everything she got.

'But Moca has no reason to fight me without holding back, right?' Ran wondered to herself. Moca told her to just play and have fun, so why would Ran need to worry about these things? 'Whether Moca plays with everything that Black Lotus is capable of or not, there's a bigger obstacle in front of us.'

"That means we are in agreement in that we should focus down Moon-san," Ran announced and paused for a moment to wait for Kite to disagree with Ran's suggestion. When this never came, Ran accepted Kite's silence as their form of acceptance and agreement, "Even if Lotus is faster than you, I think the two of us combined can win. The condition is that we need to immobilize Moon-san before then."

"Right… so we should rush Moon-san as soon as the fight begins. Speaking of the fight, I think we should be able to move to the battlefield now," Kite added the last bit in a hurry, and Ran saw, much to her surprise, that Kite was right. After a bit of fumbling around, the two of them found their hourglasses resting comfortably and peacefully in their open palms.

A flash of light later and Ran found herself in the field of her next fight. Her first-round match against the pair of Tomoe and Tsugumi was a painful and challenging one that could have easily ended with a different result. Ran knew that her victory had been only just, and now she was about to face a pair of even more dangerous and skilled opponents.

'Focus, Mitake Ran!' Ran chastised herself mentally as she realized that her mind was going to a dangerous place. Moca might have been stronger than she was in the game, but there had to be something Ran could use. Something, anything at all, that could tip the fight in their favor.

And then it hit her. There was something that she could use, but that was only if Moca could be taken by surprise with Ran's strategy. It was a long shot but Ran knew that this might very well be their only chance.

"Endymion-san?"

Kite's voice surprised Ran; the vocalist had almost forgotten that she wasn't alone out there. Hearing Kite's voice was enough of a reminder for Ran to remember where she was.

"Sorry, Kite-san, I must have zoned out a bit," Ran admitted sheepishly before she could even consider concealing the truth. Now that the cat was out of the bag, Ran scrambled for a way to pick up the pieces, "But I think I have an idea how we can fight this upcoming match and win."

"What do you have in mind?" Kite asked immediately, and Ran could visualize the shiny look in Kite's eyes despite never having met her partner. Kite had apparently noticed that they had said something in a weird way as the sound of a throat being cleared reached Ran's ears soon after, "What do you suggest we do, Endymion-san?"

"Lotus knows my playstyle, and I assume that Moon-san has deduced that I am a long-ranged fighter by my avatar's color," Ran began, and Kite mumbled that they were following Ran so far. After taking a second to think of a way to pick up where she had left off, Ran finished explaining her plan.

"That would indeed be enough to throw off most players, but how about you?" Kite asked, and of all the things that Ran had expected the silver-based avatar to ask her about, this was definitely not high up her list. After Ran had asked Kite for an elaboration, Kite was only much too happy to give it, "What I mean is that Endymion-san is a red-colored avatar. If you are forced to fight at close-ranged throughout the match, would that not mean that you are not fighting at full capacity?"

"It will be fine. It will just work for catching our opponents by surprise and then we can face them with our usual playstyle," Ran said in an effort to reassure Kite. Kite fell silent after hearing Ran's words, so either Ran successfully eased Kite's worries or she added fuel to the fire. But Ran knew that she didn't have the luxury to ask Kite about it when she saw a flash of light on the other side of the battlefield.

"It looks like our opponents are here already," Kite noted, and Ran knew that her partner was correct. As if to erase any lingering doubts that remained, the number thirty floated on the top of the screen before quickly morphing into a twenty-nine. As the number continued to creep ever closer to the fated zero, Kite spoke again.

"I will trust your judgment, Endymion-san. But if Lotus-san or Moon-san take the fight to you in a close-range battle and start to overwhelm you, I will jump in," Kite announced, and Ran was left speechless at Kite's determination. But what surprised Ran even more was that Kite wasn't done talking just yet, "Endymion-san, you are a long-range fighter, and I am a close-ranged one. It is only natural for me to have you watch over my back, not the other way around."

Realizing that there was no convincing her partner otherwise, Ran reluctantly voiced her agreement. But something else was still plaguing Ran's mind.

'I can't run… I am not running away, not this time. Moca and Tomoe would never let me live it down if I were to run again,' Ran thought to herself, all the while pushing away the imagination of how much her friends would make fun of her should she run again. This was Ran's chance to prove to not just her friends but to herself that she could stand her ground, 'All I have to do… is fight Moca and Lotus at a close distance and deal as much damage as I can. All right… let's do this, Endymion!'

As soon as the number floating above her head turned to a zero, Ran reached for the familiar key that would activate the Double Impact skill. Ran knew that her chances to hit her opponents at this distance would be difficult, but she had to at least try.

It was a shame that Ran's finger never reached the correct key.

A blur of movement appeared on Ran's screen and Ran made the mistake of hesitating while trying to figure out what was happening. By the time she realized her mistake, it was already too late.

Moca's Black Lotus had managed to close the distance between her starting point and Ran's Red Endymion in an instant. The two friends were now face-to-face not even two seconds after the fight had begun.

Ran's eyes widened at the display of Moca's strength; Lotus had never been this fast or looked as intimidating before today, but now… now there was nothing Ran would rather do than run away.

"Hello, Endymion~ fancy running into you here, wouldn't you say?" Moca asked in her usual playful and cheerful tone yet something about it sounded surprisingly eerie to Ran's ears. Moca wouldn't stop there, however, as Lotus had already raised its right arm high into the air, "Careful, you just let your guard down. You could get hurt if you're this defenseless, you know?"

And then Lotus launched a slashing attack in a downward arc.

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!