And… we have done it! Shining Sunlight has now officially broken past the 100k word count! Well, technically, because each chapter has an author's note I think we're more like 95k-ish words of actual story progression, but that is beside the point! The official word count has reached above 100k words, making Shining Sunlight my second story to reach this milestone (and I believe the sixth or seventh on this site for this fandom? I have to check that again some other time).
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.
"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?"
The mere presence of Moon in front of her was causing Moca to have second thoughts about speaking up against Moon's wishes. Despite never having seen Moon's face before, Moca could feel the serious and confident look on Moon's face… and it was starting to get to her.
Moca took a deep breath to calm her nerves and think of the right words to begin voicing her thoughts. She had been thinking about this for a few minutes now, but to actually be given the opportunity by the more experienced player was another story. Fortunately for Moca, she realized this fast enough and had the foresight to warn Moon about her imminent silence.
"I think we need to reconsider our strategy for fighting Endymion and Kite-san," Moca finally said in as calm of a voice as she could. Moon didn't respond to Moca's words and Moca didn't want to potentially interrupt the partner. This resulted in a silence that dragged on for a few seconds longer than Moca was comfortable with. Hesitantly, Moca opened her mouth again, "Moon-san?"
"I heard what you said, but I do not quite understand why you suggested that," Moon said slowly, and Moca let out the breath she didn't know she was holding. Learning that Moon wasn't angry with her was a relief, even if it wasn't one that Moca thought she was worried about. But Moon wasn't quite finished yet, "What made you say that? Is it not the logical choice for me to face Kite-san and for you to fight Endymion-san?"
"It is, yes. It makes the most sense for the upcoming fight to end up in two one-against-one fights like you said," Moca answered, giving her more experienced partner the confirmation that they needed to hear. Before Moon had a chance to say anything else, Moca was speaking again, "Which is exactly why we can't do that. Endymion and Kite-san will think the same way. They will likely be thinking that they should face the player they are more familiar with, too. So, by doing the exact opposite of what they think we will do we will have the advantage."
"I also paid close attention to their first fight against Chaos and Peace," Moca continued, knowing that she had Moon listening intently to what she was saying. Moca took a short pause to try and remember any details of the fight she might have overlooked before finishing her explanation, "Endymion cannot break illusions, so Moon-san being a yellow-colored avatar is the perfect opportunity for us to slow Endymion down. And as for Kite-san… they are fast, but I did not notice them having any dangerous offensive skills I would have to worry about."
"You make a good point… I must say, I am impressed by your strategy," Moon praised Moca who took the compliment with a satisfied grin. Moca was certain she heard a degree of shock or surprise in Moon's voice but decided to ignore that to listen to what else Moon had to say, "All right, we will go with your plan, Lotus-san. Is there anything else we should tell the other about our future opponent?"
"Please don't say anything about Kite-san, I want to fight them on a relatively even field," Moca said slowly, knowing that she would have more fun in the fight that way. Moon mumbled their agreement and wished Moca luck. Moca took this as her opportunity to say something else, "In return, I will make Endymion a bit of a secret for you as well, Moon-san. The only thing that I will say is that Endymion will likely figure out what we are planning relatively quickly… so watch out for the long-ranged attacks. You saw how much damage Endymion's final attack did to Chaos and Peace in their first match."
"I will keep that in mind," Moon responded curtly, and Moca smiled. Moca knew this action would not be conveyed properly but she didn't care; she was happy enough that she had come to an agreement with her more experienced partner. All that was left for them was for the plan to be put into action. It would seem that Moon felt a similar way as Moca did as they spoke again a few seconds later, "Do not underestimate Kite-san. I am sure you will be able to defeat Kite-san, but remember that everything is possible in an actual fight. You might be surprised if you lower your guard too much."
'I understand what you were saying earlier, Moon-san,' Moca thought to herself as she watched Silver Kite struggle against the illusory copies of Black Lotus. Watching the fight in front of her, Moca wasn't sure who she was more impressed by: Amber Moon for being able to make duplicates of Lotus appear and fight freely, or Kite for still holding their own in the unfavorable fight for as long as they have. The fact that Moca had yet to defeat Kite was more than enough proof for Moca to confirm Moon's words to be true.
So Moca came to a decision. There was something that she could do to speed things along but doing so might be seen as an insult to her opponent. Moca hesitated, her finger hovering above a familiar key on her keyboard, and in that momentary pause, she saw a flash of light on her screen.
"I take it you have taken care of Endymion?" Moca asked as soon as she saw Moon materialize beside her. When she received no response, neither from Moon nor from Endymion in the form of a long-ranged attack, Moca decided to fill her partner in on what was happening, "It looks like Kite-san is nearing their limit. Your skill is a very unforgiving one to fight against."
"It would appear so," Moon mumbled out a response, and Moca had to use every bit of her willpower to not chuckle upon hearing it. The nonchalant way that Moon had said that had caught Moca by surprise. Moon, blissfully unaware of what was going on inside Moca's head, chose to speak again soon after, "That being said, Illusory Moonlight scales in strength based on what it is copying. The stronger the target, the more effective my skill becomes."
"It is a testament to your strength that Kite-san is being pushed back so much," Moon praised, and Moca felt a warmth fill her stomach after hearing that compliment. Hearing that from Moon who had played the game for so much longer than she had was a very nice thing for Moca. Unfortunately for Moca, she wouldn't have the chance to appreciate this moment for long, "I think we should move on and finish this. It is clear that Kite-san and Endymion-san are unable to keep up with us, so there is no need to extend their suffering or struggles."
"I agree. All right, I will go deal with Kite-san," Moca announced as she switched her focus to her vict—opponent. As to be expected, Kite was still fighting against the doppelganger Black Lotuses, but Moca was noticing something. Kite's movements weren't as fluid and responsive as they were a few minutes ago. Instead of being able to keep up with their three opponents, Moca saw Kite make more and more simple mistakes.
"It looks like Kite-san is starting to get tired from this fight," Moca noted as she watched one of her copies land a slash on the silver-based avatar. Moca knew that the damage would be minimal thanks to Kite's resistance to slashing attacks, but she saw an opening. An opening she could use to land what would hopefully be the final blow. Without wasting another moment so the opening wouldn't disappear Moca reached for the other end of her keyboard, "Sorry, Kite-san, but this fight is over now."
The skill that Moca had just activated was one that she hadn't used too many times yet. Moca had only recently learned how to properly use it, so what better time to show it off than in the tournament? She would have to sit down and explain everything to her friends later, but that was an issue for the Moca in the future.
The Moca in the present watched with a small sense of guilt and regret as Lotus gathered an orb of dark purple energy in front of its right arm. After a second or two of charging up the attack, Lotus pierced through the ball and had the blade coated by the energy she had created before.
With her attack ready, Moca set her sights on her only target: Kite. Moca knew that the next hit would be the last thanks to the extra power provided by the energy around the blade. Lotus dashed forward the exact moment when Moca ordered her avatar to do so, aiming to end this fight for Silver Kite.
A flash of light on the edge of her screen forced Moca to change her trajectory at the last second. And, fortunately for her, Moca's reflexes were good enough to protect Lotus from taking the blast directly.
But the blast succeeded in doing one thing that annoyed Moca: because Moca moved away from her target in an irregular manner, the energy that Lotus had condensed around its blade was fading before disappearing a second later. Moca had lost her chance to finally defeat Silver Kite thanks to the momentary distraction that caused her to lose focus.
"I won't let you do things at your pace any longer, Lotus!" Ran's voice was strained as the words left her mouth, but despite this Moca was instinctively on edge. She knew that tone, she recognized what it meant if Ran used that tone on her. But Moca stood strong and didn't let it affect her… too much, at least.
"Really? From where I am I don't think there is much that you can do to try and stop me," Moca remarked in her usually teasing voice, but the voice sounded foreign to the guitarist. Moca shook her head to rid herself of any unnecessary thoughts before she attempted to taunt her friend again, "You might be a long-ranged fighter and all, but you're still heavily affected by Moon-san's skill that immobilized you for the duration of this match already. You weren't even close with your attack just now."
Despite her blunt and direct manner to describe the situation, Moca had a point: Ran's blast that should have been intended for Lotus had missed… by a lot. Much more so than the usual margin of error that naturally came with Ran's attacks. And Moca had a strong hunch that she knew the reason behind this.
"Moon-san, what is going on?" Moca asked her partner, turning her attention away from both of her opponents in the process. Naturally, Moca had played the game for long enough to realize the big mistake she was making right now, but Moca didn't care anymore. She wanted answers and there was only one person who could give her what she desired, "I thought the plan was for you to take care of Endymion so we could fight Kite-san undisturbed."
"Endymion-san must have broken out of my illusion. Quite impressive, but very inconvenient for us at the current moment," Moon's words annoyed Moca at first, but upon realizing that the more experienced player was complimenting Ran, Moca let it slide. It was impressive of Ran to return to the fight so quickly after Moon had tried to immobilize her, and Moca knew that, "What is the plan now?
"Why are you asking me? I am the one who started the game later," Moca noted before she could stop and think about how her words might be interpreted by Moon. After quickly apologizing to Moon for the way that she had phrased her response, Moca took a deep breath.
'It's okay… even if Ran can break free from Moon-san, it's already too late,' Moca thought to herself, finding herself smiling as she tried to comfort and calm herself. Just disengage from the fight emotionally, scan the battlefield for anything she could use to her advantage, and… be the bearer of bad news.
"What did you just say?" Ran's voice sounded different this time. Distant, softer, almost as if she couldn't believe what one of her closest friends had just told her. When Ran voiced her question again Moca could hear just how much Ran's voice was trembling. How furious Ran was with Moca.
Moca, however, chose to leave this issue for a later time to be solved and decided to focus on the things she could be doing.
"I'm sure you heard what I just said. This fight is over," Moca said in a calm and steady tone. She knew that the calmer she said it the clearer her message could be and was now simply hoping for Ran to pick up on that. When she didn't see the victory screen, Moca let out a soft sigh before resigning herself to her fate of needing to explain the situation, "Look, Endymion… I don't know how to say this in a way that will make you understand, but this fight is over. Moon-san and I have overwhelmed the two of you and there is no way for you to defeat us now."
"We're friends, so I don't want to have to make you endure this losing battle longer than you have to," Moca hoped that these words would be enough to get through to Ran. For Moca, the difference in her skills and Ran's was obvious so extending the fight would only be forcing Ran to suffer. Of course, Moca was trying to convince one of the most stubborn and hard-headed people she knew that her efforts were in vain, but a girl could hope.
It would soon become clear to Moca that her efforts were in vain. There was no sign that Ran was even considering pressing the forfeit button, so Moca had to think of something else. And fast because Endymion was already charging up another attack.
"You haven't been able to land a significant blow on us yet and Kite-san has been overwhelmed for the past ten minutes," Moca pointed out calmly to her friend. Ran would fall silent, and therefore so did Moca, and this period would last until Moon decided to correct Moca's earlier statement. After thanking Moon for this, Moca turned her attention back to her friend, "I'm sorry, Endymion, but this fight was over before we got to this battlefield. I thought we had already learned to not force ourselves to keep fighting a losing battle?"
"You also taught me not to give up so easily in this game and that we can still find chances to win a fight we thought were impossible," Ran rebutted, and Moca had to swallow down both her reflexive would-be response as well as her pride. Ran was right: Moca was the person who had motivated the members of Afterglow to keep going when the going got tough. But before Moca had the chance to say anything to Ran, Ran was already making her intentions crystal clear to the world, "Endymion is still standing and I am not eliminated from this tournament yet. I will keep fighting, Lotus!"
There were a lot of things that Moca wanted to say to Ran right now. How delusional Ran was thinking that she could win a fight where she had yet to land a single hit on her opponents. How pointless it was to continue the battle after being so clearly overwhelmed. How proud she was to be Ran's friend and seeing Ran stand up to her problems rather than run away from them.
But all these thoughts would remain unvoiced as another person chose that moment to say. That moment to finally let their voice be heard.
"But I will not."
Four words. Four simple, soft-spoken words were all it took to stop all motion on the battlefield. Moca froze upon hearing that voice, not expecting to hear it during her little chat with Ran. Ran had fallen silent, probably because hearing someone other than Moca respond to her had left her speechless. Even the illusionary copies of Black Lotus had stopped their onslaught of attacks.
Seconds? Minutes? Moca didn't know how long the silence would last as nobody seemed to know how to properly break it. Moca had a couple of ideas, but she had yet to open her mouth to try and give any of them a shot.
When Moca had finally decided upon the words she was about to say, she was already beaten to it by Ran.
"What do you mean?" Ran asked slowly, the game's voice changer doing little to hide the distress and disbelief in the vocalist's voice. Moca could imagine the look on Ran's face and had to quickly mute her microphone. This was not the time to burst out laughing, and Ran would have her head if Moca would have done so.
Moca took a couple of deep breaths to rid her urge to laugh and tried to focus on the conversation between her two opponents.
"I apologize, Endymion-san, but Lotus-san is correct. We are no match for them… we can't win," Kite admitted softly as the silver-based avatar dragged its feet towards the area where Lotus and Moon stood. Any other day and Moca would be on her guard seeing an opposing player trying to approach her like that.
But this time was different. Kite wasn't moving the same way as they did earlier. It could have been that the fight with the Lotus copies had drained them or that Kite had given up all hope. Whatever the reason may be, Kite did not show any signs of wanting to fight them… quite the contrary, even.
"Thank you for this fight, Moon-san, Lotus-san. The two of you were incredible and I am completely powerless to keep up with either of you," Kite said as the avatar was within striking distance of Lotus but refused to try and land a hit. Moca understood what her opponent was trying to do and voiced her understanding. Kite took this as the signal to turn to Ran, "I am sorry, Endymion-san, but I am forfeiting from this tournament. I hope you can forgive me."
Moca turned to look at her friend and wait to see what her response was going to be like. If it was only Moca to dissuade her from continuing the fight then Ran might not take it seriously, but if someone else said the same thing then there might be a chance—.
"No, you're right, Kite-san. We were in over our heads. I thought I had Lotus figured out, but I was always two steps behind," Ran finally said with her reluctance audible in her voice. Moca, upon hearing her friend's admission, let out a sigh of relief. The fight was all but over now that Ran had admitted defeat, all that was left was for Kite and Ran to hit the forfeit button.
"And if Kite-san is withdrawing from this match I know that I won't have a chance if this turned into a one-versus-two fight," Ran reasoned, something that Moca could agree with. Moca's train of thoughts screeched to a halt when Ran opened her mouth to speak again, "It's our loss, Lotus, Moon-san. But don't let this get to your head, Lotus. You won today, but I won't fall behind on you for long."
"Honestly, if you would, we both know that Chaos would quickly overtake you as the second-strongest player in our group," Moca joked, knowing that the friendly rivalry between Ran and Tomoe was enough motivation for Ran to keep giving her all in the future. After a momentary period of silence where nothing happened, Moca decided that she should be the one to bring up the issue that she saw, "Um… you two realize that you have to actually confirm that you are withdrawing from the match, right?"
"Right, of course, I need to give you that satisfaction," Ran said mockingly, much to Moca's amusement. It was all in good fun, though, as Moca knew that the anger and sharpness that usually accompanied Ran's words when she was upset was not present there.
As the conversation came to an end, Moca took the opportunity to look back at the events that had unfolded with a fond smile. She knew that she had taken a big gamble by introducing this game to her friends. By cultivating an interest in a new hobby that everybody shared. But, most importantly, by going out of her way and growing far above to the point her friends could no longer reach her.
Moca had feared that she would have lost her friends in this game. Moca knew that Ran and Tomoe were both very competitive while Tsugumi and Himari were prone to panicking and feeling inferior when left behind. It was a very real possibility in her mind, one that grew even stronger when Himari announced she would miss out on the competition… but even more so when Moca learned that most of them would be eliminated within the first two rounds.
And yet, Moca thought with a smile, everything was going to be all right. She knew that she would remain friends with the people around her, and the only thing that was left for her to do was to keep going for her friends' sake. Ran was confirming her choice to withdraw, and with that Moca looked up at the sky and smiled.
Moca was going to win this. For all of them.
"Winners: Amber Moon and Black Lotus"
And that is all for today! I hope you enjoyed today's chapter, please leave a review telling me what you thought, and until next time! Take care!