Hello everyone. First, I would like to apologize for the extra week I took with my planned absence. Unforeseen events arose and I was tied up. Let's continue where we took off and I hope you've been looking forward to this as much as I have in returning. Happy Easter and enjoy.

Needless to say, stress was mounting like never before. What may have been inter-service rivalries and inter-team friction was now overwhelmed by the finals.

Every rung of leadership, every cadet, even every support staff from the mechanical teams, logistical transport, and even fundraisers, were itching with anticipation at each passing day.

It was difficult to find a balance of training, repairs, rest, and to many's chagrin, schoolwork for the overtaxed cadets. Luckily they seemed to have their schedules balanced with the help of their leadership conversing with staff, even going to the extent of lighter schoolwork for classes they were passing with above-average marks.

While the average cadet had themself to worry over and therefore nothing aside from their responsibilities, their commanders had an extra layer of stress. Commanding four other teenagers in a multi-ton vehicle was no small feat. Operating in tandem with orders from above and ensuring your team did as instructed with certain expectations was even harder.

Every tank crew was close, obviously from months of training in a glorified tin can. Once strangers were closer than most friends they had at the school year start. This however led to occasional leniency and slacking. Such was quickly corrected by the squad leaders.

Sokolov, Knight, O'Diveley, Kaiser, and Virtanen all ensured their squads of tanks performed above and beyond at all times. It was tiring and taxing for all involved but it was a necessary evil to ensure nepotism, favoritism, and worst of all, degrading quality in performance from arising. Each boy was in charge of fifteen personnel and three tanks, except Anna's crew which was added to Sokolovs. A hefty amount, the challenge of which was met with pride and resolve as they continued fulfilling their duties without complaint even as some subordinates would complain at times.

Then, of course, the resounding mass of pressure fell upon the commander. Virtanen put on a brave face as always but found relief in having a trustworthy friend in Kaiser to share the burden. The two of them managed and directed the team with exemplary coordination. Yet with recent events and ever-present teenage distrust, even Virtanen's carefree attitude replaced his usual nervous anxiety with a crushing stress. One that he didn't dare reveal to Kaiser lest he thought that he was involuntarily indisposed at such a crucial time.

To add to the personnel worries, after the match with Kuromoromine and the extensive damage they dished out, certain components and materials needed for repairs were troublesome to obtain. Some were outrageously priced due to time, availability, and of course demand. Like a cherry on top, those that they could obtain were having shipping errors and arriving late if at all.

While the counter-espionage venture had proved a fruitful long-term investment, it had certainly hurt their budget. Rumors even arose that outside forces were trying to rig the match against them by denying them these essentials. While there was no evidence of such a claim, if there was Kaiser would have certainly liked to know how they did so for reference. By the day of the match, they had barely gotten what they needed to run all vehicles and even then the mechanics were none too happy with quality.

Yet you fight with what you have, be that insufficient material and less ammo than preferred or bleary-minded teammates. One could only hope the same deluge was striking their opponents.

With the relentless march of time, the day had come. There weren't many voices boasting confidence or optimistic thoughts in the early hours of the morning as the vehicles were driven and transported to dock. With sunrise, the heavy machines were strapped to train cars, and being driven inland to the patch of jungle they would face their foes.

The train ride was a last-ditch chance for a quick rest or for those more worried, rehearsing with their teammates on signals and contingencies. Few of the more extraverted individuals tried to lighten the mood and though may were willing to grasp onto the humor and chance to talk their nerves down, it could never assuage the growing feeling in their guts. After all, What competitor wanted to wrestle with the idea of losing especially after having come so far?

With limited train cars on the small track that took them to an isolated venue, there was no segregation of cadets as all were crammed into two separate cars. All vehicle commanders were required awake to review the topographical and aerial views of the locale. Thick jungle with prominent peaks appearing in the terrain. There were some cleared routes, notably two that cleared the southeast between two passes. These passes crossed a small stream that fed an upper tributary lake into a larger one downhill.

While flatter land with dense brush filled the south with three prominent hills that sharply rose in elevation, the north, where Transcendence would start had more continuous hills and sparser vegetation. With this subtle difference, they hoped to make advantage of more direct paths to their predesignated areas of operation while their opponent's heavier vehicles would be restricted to the increasing and decreasing elevations of the pre-cleared paths.

With priority paths in red, secondary in blue, and tertiary emergency routes in yellow, the commanders had seen it all before in private with Virtanen and Kaiser whole refused to allow them to take copies to not allow leaks of this important information. Now, the small maps handed to them seemed to hold tremendous weight as their minds imagined the application of such difficult terrain traversal. Training was one thing in a controlled environment after all.

The trip by train ended with a slow lurch as they cadets stiffly disembarked and began unloading their vehicles. The humidity was already high and though their uniforms were made for the moist weather, it didn't stop them from suffering its effects as they began sweating without even direct sunshine. Already some began cursing the thick air and stating disbelief at how it was worse than the desert with some claiming it felt 'sticky' at least it took their minds off anxiety.

As usual, a civilian train arrived disembarking viewers who watched as Senshado staff assembled their equipment. Fathers tenuously catered to their wives and children who were well used to the heat, drinking water in light clothing and applying bug spray to keep the bugs at bay. Thankfully, that hadn't been an oversight on their part, mosquitoes were something that Virtanen and Kaiser were well acquainted with in Senshado and would not have their team suffer through.

Finally, another train with armored vehicles arrived. Gloriana disembarked but didn't so much as look at Transcendence as they offloaded on the other side of the station. There were no greetings, antagonistic looks, or even curious gazes from lower classmen before the Senshado officials had each team move their vehicles to a pre-determined point. It made many curious about how they would act at the pre-game courtesy introduction on stage.

With minutes on the clock and a checklist to clear, the cadets began ensuring their vehicles were prepped. Seeing his crew taking spectacular care, Kaiser patrolled between the columns of vehicles to see how the rest were doing.

All were too focused to notice him, a nice change of pace to see their focus yet their strained nerves were apparent. Then as he arrived at the column's head, he noticed a head of dirty blonde hair. Virtanen stood a distance from his Panther with Piper standing before him. Kaiser arrived next to his commander's vehicle to see his crew pretending not to listen in to his conversation. Kaiser joined in albeit without even pretending as he watched, leaning against the tank.

The scene was unflattering, to say the least as hushed voices spoke to each other in a vain attempt at secrecy. Despite Virtanen seeming irate, Piper tried to give him one of her charming smiles that always won him over. To no avail sadly. As she continued speaking she was cut off with Virtanen abruptly raising his voice before catching himself and going quiet.

Their words were unknown but the direction of their conversation was obvious. With a sulky expression, she nodded and took her leave with Virtanen slowly watching her walk away with a bitter expression. While Virtanen removed his cover and used to obscure his face momentarily, Piper walked past Kaiser, giving him a polite nod and weak smile. Kaiser flicked the brim of his cover and politely nodded back before pushing off the tank and looking up at Virtanen's crew. The four seemed to catch the hint as they looked away and focused on their duties.

"Care to share?" asked Kaiser with a soft tone.

Ripping his cover from his face with a snarl, Virtanen took a deep breath. "Do you have to shove your nose into everything?" he hissed.

Sensing the hostility, Kaiser returned it in kind. "No, but I don't have to help you either. I'm more than willing to watch you burn every bridge you have so long as I get a refreshment."

Virtanen took another slow breath. "Your sarcasm is one of your worst parts."

"Who said I was being sarcastic?" Gesturing to the direction Piper left, Kaiser asked again. "Last chance to share. What happened?"

Biting his lip, Virtanen reluctantly talked. She was trying to cheer me up. I can't afford to be distracted right now so I asked her to stop then when she didn't I told her to stop pestering me."

"Ah," replied Kaiser simply as he placed crossed his arms. "Not the best approach to the girl you like."

"We aren't dating…" pouted Virtanen. "It's not like I have to step on eggshells. Especially here."

Kaiser shrugged. "True. But seeing as how you both feel the same and are even having little rendezvous, I don't think you'd be happy if it all just stopped because you're feeling pressured."

Heat burned at Virtanen's cheeks as his nose flared in frustration. "You just know it all, don't you? Then what am I supposed to do? I can't keep calm like you. Not now. Not when I have so much riding on this, on me."

Kaiser snapped his fingers, earning a look from Vitanen only in indignation. It mattered not to him so long as his friend was looking directly at him. "Riding on us" he corrected. "It's riding on our team. You hold responsibility as their leader but you do not move their hands or run their minds. You direct them. What comes of today is the culmination of our eighty Cadets and hundreds of student supporters.

"I know!" griped Virtanen rustling his hair. "I just! I just dont want to fuck up like I did just now. To overthink and let my pride ruin something I've worked so hard for." His voice choked as if tears were about to break loose.

"Just like InfanterieKampf" stated Kaiser. "We haven't changed much in only a few years. We've only been alive for a handful after all."

"You say that after you pulled a one-eighty, completely changed in under a year," complained Virtanen.

"Am I not the same? Repeating stupid mistakes? Look at what we've done. I may act differently but we're still us. We're just changing a little at a time." Kaiser slapped Virtanen's arm. "Buck up. Now's not the time for emotion. It's time to fight."

"You have that damn look in your eye again, do you really not feel anything right now?" asked Virtanen in disbelief.

"Of course I do, more so than most. I'm overthinking, fretting over every detail but when the time comes, I'm ready, no, excited to act to do whatever I can. In fact, I even have a few requests I have to worry over now."

"What?"

"A few of the locals are more than hopeful the fighting spills over into the nearby residential and tourist areas in the northwest. Even offering our team a cut in gratitude. That insurance money is no joke after all."

"That sounds illegal."

Kaiser gave a playful shrug. "Who can say if somethings go up in smoke with the plan, you know?"

Virtanen shook his head disbelievingly with a small grin. Now a little more at ease he snickered lightly.

"So, the usual?" asked Kaiser throwing a haphazard glance over his shoulder. Virtanen raised an eyebrow in confusion. With a small smirk, Kaiser explained. "Want me to cover your ass and fix your little mess before it gets too big?" Virtanen threw a hand out, attempting to shove Kaiser in a friendly manner only for his friend to anticipate it and swat it away. "Take that as a yes?"

With an awkward nod, Virtanen agreed. "I'd… appreciate it. Though I feel like a coward not doing it myself."

"You said yourself that you have to focus on the match. I'll clear things up for you while you get your head in the game. I don't need you shitting the bed up there, alright?"

Again Virtanen gave a small grin and shake of his head. "Yeah. Thanks again."

"Anytime" replied Kaiser, slapping Virtanen's back and jogging away before he could retaliate. Not a good sign that his commander was a fraying bundle of nerves but hopefully he could pull it together. He'd have to. Now though, he should check on the rest and make sure none had unraveled themselves. After a brief talk with Piper of course.

He began weaving through the rows of armor when from behind her tank, a companion arrived. Natalya walked beside him striking up a conversation. With a confident smile, she strode next to him with her hands linked behind her back. "Morning Sir."

Kaiser glanced to his side cautiously, seeing a playful tilt to her smile that showed she was feeling inclined to take a chance to tease him before the match. Raising a hand, he pointed past her. As she followed his direction, Kaiser warned her. "May want to tone it down. I know your sister is still better at taunting you and this will give her more ammo."

Looking to see not just Valerya but her entire crew watching them pass with the worst attempt of pretending to be distracted she'd ever seen, Natalya quickly turned back. Her usual quiet and stoic expression resumed with a hint of red on her cheeks. Seemed she truly wasn't as rehearsed in the art of flirtation and teasing as her sister.

Clearing her throat, she asked Kaiser what he was doing away from his tank. "Checking on everyone's well-being. Other than a few shaky hands, excessive drinking of water, and jittery speech everyone seems well enough to perform. I just need to speak with Piper before I conclude my observations."

"Piper? Why do you need to talk with her?" asked Natalya.

Kaiser hesitated before answering. It was obviously in regards to Virtanen but to protect his privacy he waved away the question. Nothing important. Or anything to get jealous over" he laughed hollowly.

"Why would I be jealous?" responded Natalya quickly.

Surprised by the immediate reply, Kaiser turned to see Natalya with an indignant pout and looking at him suspiciously. "Wait are you actually-"

She abruptly turned away, unwilling to show her face anymore. "I'll talk to Piper for you. You're busy, right? I'll figure out whats going on from her so go and do whatever it is that you do."

Kaiser snorted in humored disbelief. It was surprising but also welcome as it freed him up. Surely she could encourage another female better than he. After all, she and Piper seemed to get along fairly well. "Alright then. I'll leave it to you. You have my thanks."

Nat gave a small "humph" as she slowly walked away. Kaiser began walking in the other direction and watched her reaction. Sure enough, she glanced back to see him grinning with a little wave. "Gotcha."

A look of minor shock took her as she looked past him to the sound of giggling. Valerya and her crew were still watching and jeering at her, drawing other crews' attention to the little debacle that backfired. With haste, she took her leave.

With newfound freedom from that responsibility, Kaiser oversaw the last-minute maintenance checks of the crews. Popping his head to the surprise of each vehicle he asked them different questions to ensure they had properly gone through pre-battle checks.

It was with this he was outside of the armored columns and looking from afar with a sense of pride at the well-oiled and non-complacent team he no longer had to micro-manage. As he gave a small look of pride, a cough arose from his side. As he turned to expect a spectator or perhaps the match judges, he was surprised to see a short-sleeved red uniform and a head of brighter red hair.

It took a moment as he stared incredulously at the girl before he remembered her name. "Rosehip, correct?"

"A-ah! You remember me?" asked the girl raising a finger to her face. With a flattered chuckle, she scratched her cheek as Kaiser looked her over once more. The exuberant girl was wearing Gloriana's hot weather uniform of a modified red Jacket and skirt as well as a personal choice of thin long-sleeve compression shirt and leggings to aid in stopping bug bites and sweat. She looked far different than he in his mixture of black blouse and cap with camo trousers.

As he pondered why she approached him, the girl was quick to answer. "I just wanted to catch ya and apologize. For assuming that you were a transfer and blabbing your ear off when you were on an official visit. I tend to get lost in the moment."

Kaiser raised and eyebrow and smirked. "You're rather honest aren't you?" She seemed embarrassed but didn't refute the claim. Kaiser snickered at the display as he waved away her concern. "It's fine. After that meeting, it was nice to speak with someone openly, even if you did most of the talking."

Rosehip gave another embarrassed chuckle as she defended herself saying her family's as large a conversation as they are in number. Kaiser spoke over the topic of family with her briefly before he felt obligated to ask "Speaking of, does your commander know you're here?"

She froze in place at the question, seemingly having forgotten about that herself. "Uh… no. I kinda snuck away."

Kaiser saw her ensuing panic and would have urged her to hurry back if an arm hadn't swung around his neck with a rambunctious voice following. "Oi Commander man!" called O'Diveley grabbing their attention. "Big man Virtanen wants you for the pre-match courtesy thingy and-"

As Kaiser peeled off his peer's grip, O'Diveley locked eyes with Rosehip who curiously looked back. "Whose the redcoat?"

Rosehip could sense the hostility in his voice as she introduced herself with staunch pride and a hand on her chest. "I am Rosehip from St. Gloriana and I'm the fastest tanker in the sport."

The confident proclamation held no antagonisation yet O'Diveley took it as such. "Doubt that and ain't ya hoity toity gals suppose to curtsy or something?"

The surprised sound she emitted showed that he was indeed right but before he could get more than the current glare from the girl, Kaiser pried his arm off and grabbed him by his jaw.

"You better hurry back Ms. Rosehip, it seems we have to go as well. Isn't that right Divs?"

Rosehip nodded in thanks and took off in a trot but not before sticking her tongue out to spite O'Diveley, a small declaration of personal Vendetta. O'Diveley responded not with his usual cascade of verbal assault with his jaw locked in place so instead threw a middle finger high. Thankfully no one saw before Kaiser ripped him to the side by his jaw and dragged him along with a sigh.

Finally released by his peer, O'Diveley told Kaiser that Virtanen wanted him prepared within ten minutes. Acknowledging the order, Kaiser shooed him away and strictly told him to stop seeking fights outside of combat. Whimsically waving away the severity of such problems, O'Diveley agreed and took off.

This was it. Time was upon them and the last details were being doubled, triple-checked, and once over again. Knight was strapping crates of equipment to his vehicles as the rest oiled their gears, topped off fuel, cleared filters, checked engines, electronics, and greased bearings. It had all been done half a dozen times this morning yet it kept them busy.

His tank crew was once again counting the ammunition within, Laura even rotating the shells and storing them in a personally preferred order for efficiency. Belle polished and cleaned the gun's optics ensuring they were without blemish as Katya dragged Westhoffen to aid her in cleaning the vehicles inside of loose dirt since he grew tired of hopping out to check the tracks again.

Informing them of his imminent departure, they gave a brief parting with their usual expressions free of anxiety. It was a reassuring sight for Kaiser to see the four he had grown close to hold unwavering confidence. It brought a heavy weight on his shoulders as their success depended on his shoulders.

With rising humidity and a fog reemerging from the heat, Kaiser found his way to Virtanen and Knight who stood on a dirt path. The limiting terrain left them within walking distance of the spectator's area. They took a casual stroll as sweat began to bead under their clothes from the jungle weather.

The boys saw the large rail-mounted monitor and past it the crowds of people who dared to brave this unpleasant environment to watch the action live. They could hear the announcer beginning to get into the usual hype as they stopped near the stage. At his call, they stepped forward. Simultaneously, the Gloriana girls walked up the opposite side.

They'd done this many times, each time with a different opponent and all with eccentric personalities. Yet with Darjeeling, Assam, and surprisingly Pekoe across from them, there were no smiles, glares, or even haughty attitudes. Instead, there was apathy, an insult to their existence as their flat expressions showed indifference. It was mirrored by Kaiser only as his two peers, accustomed to the same look from none other than himself, stood firm.

Few words were exchanged under their stares, leaving the announcer to not share the mic and instead draw the crowd's attention to himself as the students spoke. The crowd ate up his commentary as very few picked up on the tension onstage.

Darjeeling spoke first. "It is said that the inferior seeks to emulate the superior. Thus, if a general slackens only a little, those beneath him will be greatly negligent. Do you know who said this?"

The boys remained silent, awaiting to see where she was going with this topic.

Pekoe bowed her head politely and answered. "Kato Kiyosama, a daimyo of the Edo period."

Darjeeling nodded and continued. "Do you know why this is relevant?"

Virtanen shifted his gaze to Kaiser whose own expression begged to say it wasn't relevant at all. With no certainty, they awaited Darjeeling's answer.

"In your pursuit to be equals-" the distaste in her words came thick and heavy, "-we will see just how well you emulated us. And how far you and your subordinates fell off the mark."

Knight himself seemed intent on speaking out at the remark only for both Virtanen and Kaiser to stop him. As Kaiser shook his head, Virtanen stepped in as commander and replied only as he could. Not with Kaiser's stern face and harsh retorts but with a peaceful smile and backhanded response.

"Perfect! Then there's no need to worry, after all, wouldn't it be impolite to my subordinates to imitate those lesser than us."

A small sneer arose from Darjeeling as she faced Virtanen. "How quaint. Come girls, let's take our leave and prepare for our inevitable victory." Catching herself momentarily, Darjeeling looked Virtanen in the eye once more. "Oh, and your little friend, O'Diveley was it? We'll be sure to thank him for his small 'prank.' she then glanced at Kaiser. We'll be sure to repay everyone who has ingratiated themselves with us."

With that threat, Darjeeling turned and elegantly exited the stage as the crowd remained fixated on the screen and announcer. Yet Assam and Pekoe lingered, both looking at Kaiser and Knight respectively. The former with a scrutinizing glare and the latter with an apologetic frown. With a slight tilt of her head, Pekoe turned to Assam and played off her lingering presence.

"Ms. Assam? Are you still lost in thought about that confession you received?"

Assam jerked suddenly at the statement sending a nervous glance at her opponents, fearful her personal life was exposed. To her relief, Kaiser and Knight were now looking away. In a hushed tone, begging Pekoe to quiet down Assam refuted it. "Of course not! Why would I?!"

Pekoe brought a finger to her cheek in thought as Assam shook her shoulder. "YOu did say he looked like Mr. Kaiser over the-"

"Ahh! I did not!" grit Assam pushing Pekoe away. Despite her force, Pekoe continued teasing her friend as she continued speaking. "Though, strangely, we haven't found him despite your searching, blonde hair and brown eyes are rare after all.

Assam failed to notice Kaiser and Knight's eyes dilate in her flustered panic as they pretended to ignore the conversation. Despite knowing the truth they adamantly feigned ignorance to the truth that both would take to their grave.

Unaware of their mutual secret and unwinding from the talk's tension, Virtanen ushered them to follow him offstage. The two took the chance to flee instantly as Virtanen grumbled to himself. It seemed that Darjeeling's words had dug under his skin after all.

Kaiser slapped his commander's back harshly, bringing a stinging sensation to Virtanen's nerves as Kaiser loudly proclaimed. "The time of total essentiality begins! And thus begins the time of warlike, of dangerous life!"

"Is that… Friedrich Nietzsche?" asked Knight. Virtanen and Kaiser looked at him incredulously. "W-what? Pekoe taught me some quotes before I transferred…"

Virtanen was first to break his bafflement to face Kaiser and plea "For the love of God, do not copy her quotes."

Witha mischievous grin, Kaiser didn't answer his friend's plea and instead faced O'Diveely who was suddenly awaiting them. In his hands was an uncharacteristically intricate teacup and saucer that he was loudly slurping out of.

"They know it was you who messed with their tea," said Kaiser.

"Good" replied O'Diveley raising the teacup high above his head before taking another obnoxious swig. The three commanders turned to see who he was waving at and realized that it was any Gloriana student who looked his way.

"Little on the nose huh?" asked Virtanen.

"That's the idea. The fourth time I've waved there too. Besides, whats the point of a successful heist if no one gives you credit?" asked O'Diveley.

"Its called covert secrecy" answered Kaiser.

"Blegh" responded O'Diveley. Leaves a taste in my mouth almost as bad as this tea blend of theirs."

Knight watched as his peer turned the tea cup over, pouring out its contents. "That can't be, there's rumors in Gloriana that the team has its own special blend reserved for commanders. It's supposed to be some of the highest grade."

O'Diveley stuck his tongue out and passed the teacup and saucer to Knight. "I'd prefer an Irish coffee if you catch my drift. Feel free to keep that as a memento, I stole it along with the tea." With a laugh and vigor, He turned on his heel and led them back to their team with a proud stride, having successfully taunted his foes.

The match would begin imminently and in the stands, the audience sat in portable isolated stands that had A/C and small screens for those unwilling to endure the humidity outside. Within one of these stands designated for VIPs, Two sisters sat together watching the drone footage in anticipation.

In a rare outing, both Maho and Miho Nishizumi arrived to watch the finals together. Yet as the two sisters grew comfortable with Miho bringing snacks for each other a third visitor interrupted.

"May I join you two?" asked Mika, as Miho immediately agreed without paying mind to her sister. Enduring Maho's sharp glare, Mika sat on the opposite side of Miho and reached for one of the many snacks on her lap as the younger sister made idle chat. Seeing the intent, Maho let a small sigh escape as she offered to hold the snacks for her sister. With grateful acceptance, Miho passed the food over and Mika's mooching was thwarted.

"So what brings you here?" asked Miho delighted to see an acquaintance.

Feeling her stomach grumble at the inaccessible food, Mika kept up her facade and spoke briefly. "The wind brought me to see the fate of those intertwined with my own."

Miho cocked her head with a polite smile as Maho thought over the response briefly. "So you want to see who would win and root for an acquaintance?"

Mika's graceful smile was answered enough as Miho applauded her sister's deduction. With a roll of her eyes, Maho offered some popcorn to Mika. Maintaining her politeness, the girl accepted and began eating, speaking between small handfuls.

"That is correct. I have known one in particular for some time and our recent reunion has piqued my curiosity."

"Who's your acquaintance?" asked Miho.

"With a wink and a finger to her lips, Mika answered cryptically. "Sometimes a secret is best kept with the wind." Miho seemed to admire the mysterious response as Maho was already tired of it.

Mika then asked a question. "Are you two here professionally or as a family?"

The sisters shared a look before softly laughing. Miho answered. "Family, in fact, aside from our mother, no one knows we've come here. My friends are even watching from the school ship."

"As are mine" added Maho. "We are to review the battle in training afterward.

"Then we are the same, as I have told none of my attendance either."

Maho stared at Mika before asking a damning question. "You ran off again didn't you?"

Mika was unable to answer as a handful of popcorn had found its way into her mouth.

Changing subjects Miho turned to her sister. "How do you think they are going to perform this time?"

Maho sat silently as she pondered. "Gloriana will try there new combined arms method and wave assaults as we've seen in their prior matches this season. But I imagine Transcendence will expect that. The only way for them to keep Transcendence within confinable expectations is to keep them on the backfoot with nonstop pressure. But-"

"Then there's Kaiser right?" laughed Miho.

Maho nodded gently with a smirk. "Then there is Transcendence's wildcard. If they get put into a corner, he may just have another ace in the hole."

Hearing Kaiser's name, Mika grew interested. Who would have assumed the infamously unfriendly vice commander would befriend the far more famous Nishizumi sisters? She was then thrown off guard by Miho's next joke.

"Dad still isn't convinced he wasn't trying to propose to you."

"I wish they never told you that" groaned Maho, enduring her sisters chuckling with an embarrassed expression.

Mika couldn't help but shed her mysterious facade to inquire more. At the expense of Maho's stern demeanor, the three girls exchanged stories until the buzzer that sounded the match's start rang.

-Chapter End-