Right on to the next chapter we go~. Nothing much can really be said here now; we're making progress through this story's plot points and Shining Sunlight is quickly catching up to Scarlet Sunlight in being my longest fanfiction ever. As a matter of fact, Shining should surpass Scarlet with the upload of the next chapter (fitting that it be reached on chapter 30).
Anyways, a special thank you goes to LightZephyr and Rider for reading and reviewing the last couple of chapters! I know how difficult it can be to try and play the catch-up game with a story that is still being updated as you review, so I appreciate your efforts and kind words immensely!
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.
"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, reluctantly accepting that she would be outmatched. Had Kite still been in the equation, she knew that there was still a chance, but now… Ran shook her head and picked up where she left off, "It's our loss, Lotus. 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, and Ran had to admit that Moca was right. Tomoe would stop at nothing to surpass her, especially after having been defeated by Ran in the first round, so Ran knew that she had to keep training. A short period of silence followed where nobody would say or do anything; that was, of course, until Moca broke the silence herself, "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 as she looked for the 'forfeit' button. Despite her tone, Ran wasn't holding it against Moca that Moca had won here.
'The better player won, and that just so happened to be you today, Moca,' Ran thought to herself silently as she finally found the right button. While Ran had taken her time to forfeit, Kite had already confirmed their decision minutes ago. It was only Ran who had to make the decision for it to be formalized.
"Winners: Amber Moon and Black Lotus"
Ran watched silently as those words were projected for all to see with a bittersweet aftertaste in her mouth. Despite her best efforts, despite having trained for so much in preparation for the tournament… she was powerless in the face of true opposition.
'Moca… I couldn't do anything to catch up to where you are able to stand in this game,' Ran thought to herself as she directed her in-game avatar to look in the direction of Black Lotus. After taking a deep breath to push away any lingering negative emotions controlling her mind, Ran allowed a small smile to sneak onto her face, 'But if I had to lose against anyone, I'm happy it was against you.'
The fight had left Red Endymion in a beaten and battered state after being completely defeated by her opponents. Moca's avatar, on the other hand, didn't seem like it had taken much damage at all. Even with the barrage of attacks that the doppelganger Lotuses had unleashed on Ran's partner.
"Shall we go back now?" Moca asked the other players, to which Ran mumbled her agreement. Before anyone else could properly respond to the guitarist, Moca was already speaking again, "Moon-san and I need to know which battlefield we have to go to for the next round, and I'm sure that Chaos and Peace are waiting for us, too."
"Yeah, let's not keep them waiting," Ran bopped her head and sped through her menus to find the option that would allow her to leave. After backtracking due to mistakenly clicking on the wrong option, Ran finally found the one she was looking for and pressed it.
The next thing she knew Ran was back in the tournament's waiting area. The place where the other players were either waiting for their turn to compete or watching the tournament participants fight it out. As soon as Ran's avatar materialized in this space, she saw a familiar, yellow-colored blur speed towards her.
"That was a great match, everyone!" Tsugumi exclaimed as soon as she was within hearing distance and she was sure that everybody had properly teleported in the room. As Ran had expected, Tsugumi's focus was primarily on the victorious Moca, "Lotus-chan, you were incredible! What kind of skill was that where you split off like that?"
"That wasn't my skill, it was all Moon-san's doing," Moca admitted sheepishly, upon which Ran realized how much of a difference Amber Moon had really made in that fight. Yes, the threat of Moca's speedy onslaught of attacks was always there, but Moon tiring out both Ran and Kite was an integral part to their victory.
Ran turned to look at Moon with a couple of thoughts swirling around in her head. She knew that Moon had been playing the game for much longer than anyone else Ran knew, so was that the level that Ran and her friends could reach after spending more time in the game?
The next thing that piqued Ran's curiosity was the difference between Moon and Tsugumi's Yellow Peace. They were both yellow-colored avatars and both relied on illusion-based attacks to enfeeble and immobilize their opponents.
'I was able to break through Tsugumi's illusion,' Ran remembered as she recalled her first-round fight against the keyboardist. Tsugumi had succeeded in momentarily immobilizing Endymion but Ran managed to overcome it pretty quickly. Her more recent yellow-colored opponent, however, had proven to be much trickier to handle, 'Is that how much stronger Tsugumi can become if she follows in Moon-san's footsteps?'
"Looks like we still have a long way to go, huh, Endymion?" Tomoe's voice shook Ran out of her train of thoughts and reminded the vocalist where she was. Ran blinked twice and turned her attention to Tomoe who, by then, had said something else already, "Hey, if anything, you managed to get to a later stage of the tournament than Peace and I were able to. Isn't that something to be proud of?"
"I suppose…" Ran breathed out reluctantly, already feeling herself starting to tune out the conversation that she had found herself in. The bitter taste of defeat was one thing, but to see the difference in skill between her and Moca firsthand was another.
It seemed like both Tomoe and Tsugumi managed to pick up on Ran's internal struggle as both girls had fallen silent. Ran knew that her friends wanted to help make her feel better but didn't know how to do that. Maybe the silence was for the better as Ran—.
"Endymion!"
Ran jumped in her seat when she heard her name—or, rather, her avatar's name—be called. Ran turned to look in the direction of the voice to see that a familiar avatar was looking straight at her. During her period of distraction, Ran had failed to realize that one of her friends was unusually quiet… and now she was finally making herself be heard.
"What do you think you are doing?" Moca asked as Lotus closed the distance between itself and Endymion. Suppressing the urge to flinch and avoid Lotus' gaze, Ran stood her ground and waited to hear what else Moca had to say, "You did your best, you made both your opponents use skills we didn't think we had to use and, more importantly, you broke Moon-san's illusion! Sure you were as slow as ever and took your sweet time doing that, but you still succeeded. That's very impressive for someone who has only played for a month."
"What I am trying to say here is that you should be proud of yourself," Moca said in a surprisingly calm and gentle voice, much to Ran's shock. Ran had expected Moca to tease her about her defeat, but Moca was actually trying to help her feel better?
'Some friend I turned out to be, thinking the worst of Moca,' Ran silently berated herself as she replayed Moca's words in her head. Ran was so focused on her thoughts that she barely recognized Moca calling out to her again and again.
"Sorry, I… was distracted there," Ran mumbled the first apology her brain came up with, hoping that it was enough to convince her friend. When Moca didn't seem to respond negatively, Ran assumed that she was in the clear and tried to shift the focus of the conversation elsewhere, "How were you able to cooperate so well with Moon-san?"
"I can ask the same about you and Kite-san, though," Tomoe butted in, jumping in the conversation out of the blue. Ran turned to look at Chaos and thought about her response. As Ran did this, Tomoe decided she wanted to say more, "Peace and I have been playing together since we started this game, but both you and Lotus only met your partners today."
"Kite-san and I… prefer a specific battling style that does not conflict with the other," Ran said slowly, still unsure of her answer before the words had properly left her mouth. After taking a second or two to think about what she had just said, Ran picked up where she had left off, "Kite-san fights at close range and I excel at long range, so that worked fine for us. I imagine it's the same for you and Moon-san then?"
"Pretty much, yeah," Moca said nonchalantly, and Ran could already envision the small bop of Moca's head. The moment to bring this up at Moca's expense had come and gone, and Ran had to accept that Moca was already in the process of changing the topic, "Anyway, I think we all did a great job today. We had fun playing a game together, and isn't that what matters at the end of the day~?"
Ran had to think about what Moca had just said. In the heat of the moment, Ran had felt stressed knowing that she was the only one of her friends who had to fight everyone else. This left her with mixed feelings upon first seeing the tournament tree. Ran felt isolated and alone, burdened with the knowledge that she had two tough fights ahead of her.
But now that the fights were over and done with, Ran could think more clearly.
'Moca is right… Tomoe was much stronger than I was when we just started, but I managed to defeat her today,' Ran thought to herself as she recalled her first fight in Lilac Blaze, one that Moca had forced her into. Her victory today against Tomoe and Tsugumi had been as a result of Kite's assistance, but it was a victory, nonetheless. And despite losing to Moca in the round following Ran's triumphant victory, Ran couldn't lie to herself: this was one of the most fun experiences that she could remember.
'Knowing I could push Moca to play at least somewhat seriously without holding back is reward enough,' Ran thought to herself with a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. It wasn't often when Moca would show her serious, competitive side for the world to see, so Ran was satisfied knowing what she had achieved.
"Anyway, Moon-san, I think it is about time, isn't it?" Moca asked nonchalantly, making Ran jump in her seat. Ran was so busy processing her thoughts and feelings that she hadn't realized that Kite and Moon had joined their little group. All Ran could do was be grateful that nobody saw her in that embarrassing state as Moca turned her attention fully to her partner, "Have any ideas what our next opponents are going to be like?"
"Negative," Moon responded curtly, and Ran could have sworn that she heard Moca chuckle under her breath. Moon had either not heard this or chose to ignore it as the experienced player was quick to speak again, "We should be able to already find the location of our next battle, however. Let's get going, Lotus-san."
"Is it just me, or is the time between each fight shorter and shorter?" Tsugumi wondered out loud as her avatar looked around itself, probably trying to imitate the brunette looking for an answer from the others in the group, "I mean, the first round had Lotus-chan and Moon-san wait for us to finish our match before you two were allowed to fight. Then the second round happened after a break of a few minutes. And this round starts right away?"
"It's the way that the tournament is set up, partly due to limitations on the developer's end. There are limited battlefields for players to play in, so we had to take turns when there were sixty-four players who wanted to compete," Moca explained, recalling the initial number of participating players. Tsugumi made a soft sound to indicate that she understood what Moca was saying, but Moca continued her explanation anyway, "But now that fewer players are remaining, we don't have to wait around for battlefields to clear up again."
"There is likely a different reason for this shift as well, but I do not think it is proper for me to be bringing that up right now," Moon muttered under their breath. Nobody commented on Moon's words, much to Ran's surprise, until Ran realized a possible explanation as to why Moon was ignored.
Ran, who was standing closest to the experienced player, was already having difficulties in trying to hear it. She knew that it would be much harder for her friends to pick up on Moon's soft mumblings.
"Ah, yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Thank you, Lotus-chan," Tsugumi's words shook Ran out of her train of thoughts, and Ran had to quickly try and focus on Tsugumi again. The brunette had added the second part quickly, always the girl to show her appreciation and gratitude to others. A few seconds passed before Tsugumi broke the silence again, "In that case, good luck, Lotus-chan, Moon-san! The four of us will be cheering you two on!"
"And remember Lotus…" Tomoe cut in before Moca or Moon could properly respond to Tsugumi's reassurance. Ran, who already had a feeling she knew what Tomoe was about to say, frowned at the thought of needing to listen to the redhead's declaration. There was no need for Tomoe to say it as Moca would already know of it.
Ran never voiced her thoughts, however, so there was no way for Tomoe to pick up on what Ran wanted.
"You're the last one standing amongst us. Of any of us, really, since you also eliminated Kite-san," Tomoe reminded Moca cheekily. Tomoe immediately picked up where she had left off and said the words that she wanted to say all along, "So win. You're our last hope to win this tournament. I'm sure even Maiden would be all too happy to hear that you won this."
"Win the tournament?" Tsugumi echoed as she tried to process what Tomoe had requested of Moca, "But Lotus-chan doesn't have as much experience as some of the players here, so she is at a disadvantage. And Lotus-chan is going into the quarterfinals which means that there are likely many more tough opponents who Lotus-chan has to defeat. Aren't you putting too much pressure on Lotus-chan saying that she needs to win the entire thing?"
"Don't worry about a thing, Peace. Moon-san and I can handle any opponent who dares stand in our way. Right, Moon-san?" Moca asked Moon nonchalantly, hoping for a quick and easy response from Moon to help ease Tsugumi's worries. Fortunately for Moca, Ran heard Moon mutter an acknowledgment, so Moca turned back to Tsugumi filled with confidence, "See? Nothing to worry about~."
"I guess you are right," Tsugumi finally accepted Moca's reassurance, much to Ran's amusement. Tsugumi was being surprisingly like Himari just now, which was an observation that Ran would never admit to having thought of. In Ran's momentary period of distraction, Tsugumi had taken a deep breath and apologized to Moca, "Sorry to be such a worrywart, Lotus-chan."
"Again, don't worry about it too much," Moca said in an effort to reassure her friend. After a few seconds in which Moca and Tsugumi kept trying to interrupt each other, Moca cleared her throat and moved on, "Anyway, it's about time. Time to see who my victims—I mean, my respected and admired opponents will be in the upcoming round!"
Having said what she wanted to say, Lotus turned around and looked for who her next opponents were. It was because of this, however, that Moca wouldn't see that nobody had responded to Moca's declaration. It was eventually Moca's partner who broke the awkward silence left in Moca's absence.
"Is Lotus-san always like this, or are they simply trying to keep Peace-san from worrying?"
"Lotus… has always been confident in the things that she can do, even if others didn't share the same faith she did," Ran began slowly, trailing off as she decided on what she should and shouldn't be saying. She also waited to see if either of her friends would come back her up, but this soon proved fruitless. Tomoe and Tsugumi had turned to talk with Kite which left Ran alone with Moon, "But you saw Lotus fight as her partner. Even if we don't understand where her confidence comes from, Lotus has the skills to succeed."
"I see. I will keep that in mind, thank you, Endymion-san," Moon said, and Ran couldn't help but smile at how sincere and grateful Moon sounded. Ran might have only known Moon since the start of the tournament, but she felt surprisingly comfortable and at ease around them. Almost as if Ran knew them from somewhere.
Before Ran could think too much about this thought, she saw Moon turn away from her. Curious to see what had caught Moon's attention, Ran turned to look in the same direction and saw that Moca standing there.
"Did you find who our opponents are going to be?" Moon asked Moca, and Moca muttered an acknowledgment not unlike the one that Moon had muttered moments ago. Evidently, Moon found this mimicry amusing as well as Ran noticed a significant change in Moon's tone the next time they spoke, "Then lead the way, Lotus-san."
"All right! They don't know what—,"
Unfortunately, nobody would know what Moca was about to say.
Moca's voice quickly got replaced by static noise. Tsugumi tried to call out to her friend, but she would never hear a response. Instead, Lotus' body began flickering before it shattered in many light particles in front of Ran's wide eyes. When these particles dissipated, Ran and the other players in the area could see no trace of Black Lotus.
Tsugumi and Kite cried out in surprise while Tomoe tried to call out Moca's name. But Moca wouldn't respond to any of that. The only thing that Tomoe was getting were weird stares from the featureless avatars standing around their little group. And Ran?
Ran stared silently at the spot her best friend had stood before disappearing from her sight.
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!