Hachiman pulled his Gunpla case from his bag, but Akira almost stopped him and said, "Sorry, it was my fault. Can I solve this on my own?"

"Nah," Hachiman said. "To be honest, I don't care about them smack-talking Soubu High, but still, I am happy that someone cared. Still, Soubu High's problem needs to be solved by Soubu High students. I know you can win, but it would be pointless without settling this issue ourselves."

Akira blushed hard. Sometimes Hachiman would be so open that it caught her off guard. But it was because of his frankness that she grew interested in him. And seeing him up close reminded Akira why she had asked Hachiman to start dating in the first place.

Hachiman did not say that to impress Akira or anything.

"Gotta show these bastards who owns this territory," Zaimokuza shouted. "Witness the strength of my majestic retainer!"

Hachiman brought out his Gunpla, which was a Windam with the blue changed to dark purple. The heels seemed to be equipped with toothed wheels to lengthen the surface contact and add stability. Akira had seen the shapes somewhere before, but she wasn't sure.

The backpack seemed to be based on the familiar Jet Striker unit, but the turbine parts had been modified to be longer, with two large missiles attached beside them. A big fuel tank extended down from the center of the backpack. It was the same fuel tank that Hachiman mounted on his much larger Nightingale.

The weirdest part of the Gunpla, however, was none other than a needle sticking out from the back of its neck. An actual, shiny metal needle.

Curiously, it didn't seem to have any sort of handheld weapon other than the waist-stored beam sabers. Akira could tell that the armored forearms each had a pair of machine guns, which was unusual.

"Is this the Gunpla you talked about?"

"Yeah, my own custom Windam Blue Sky," Hachiman smirked. "It's designed for maximum mobility, and that's why it doesn't have external weapons other than the two missiles."

"I see," Akira said as she noticed two familiar logos on the Windam. "Hachiman... you..."

The first was OMNI Enforcer, which is the Earth Alliance military force, but the second logo was more frightening. It was the logo of Blue Cosmos, a supremacist group that was considered one of the two final villains of the Gundam SEED story.

"I never once thought of myself as a hero," Hachiman said as he inserted his account card into the VR headset, which was required to log in to the game, and then he wore it. "The villain suits are cooler."

Akira sighed. She liked him and all, but Hachiman was truly and unquestionably an edge lord. Akira would be surprised if Hachiman had a single protagonist's Gundam in his collection.

Hachiman had conceptualized the very original GM Quell Riot Armor, a murder machine designated to the tyrannical group Titans. Even the Gundam Pharact that Hachiman gave to Akira was a villain suit.

And the name behind the 'Blue Sky' of the custom Windam undoubtedly meant...

"[Bro. A Blue Cosmos machine? You have to be kidding me. Your power level is off the charts]" one of his opponents commented, which incited laughter from everyone else on his team. "[What's next, you want to say it's for the preservation of our blue and pure world?]"

"Posers don't have the right to know," Hachiman responded.

It was a 1 vs. 4 match. No matter how one looked at it, it was a lopsided battle. However, it made the people within the arcade even more curious, and they watched the battle unfold from the giant monitor mounted above the Gunpla area.

This monitor would render the game progression with random POV, giving a cinematic experience.

"Hey, I think I've seen that Windam before."

"Really?"

"I forgot where, though."

"I remember the Senpai from Masago Middle!" a spectator realized. "I'm sure it was the guy. He wiped out the whole selection tournament and then declined to join the team in the Nationals."

Akira was surprised by how well-known Hachiman's Windam was around here, which explained why he didn't use it in the tournament. It was way, way too recognizable.

"What do you mean, he wiped out the selection tournament?" Akira asked the guy.

"Ah. It's a long story. But Masago Middle has a lot of Gunpla fans, and so we decided to make a giant tournament to represent Masago Middle in the All-Japan Middle 2023. The top 3 players were supposed to represent the school; however, that bastard declined. Everyone hated his guts for it and blamed him for the team's performance that year."

"... I see," Akira said, unsure how to feel. It might have been a mixture of sadness, confusion, and curiosity.

The guy shrugged. "He fought all the other three fighters and won. So the morale of the team was at its lowest. In a way, he was a convenient scapegoat. But can you blame people for putting it on him?"

Akira felt conflicted.

If the tournament was specifically made to select participating members for the National championship, then Hachiman joining, winning, and then quitting would have been incredibly disruptive. Unless he had a very good reason, even Akira would have been resentful.

Why would he do that?

No, wait. Akira should have known. Hachiman is a very spiteful person. Why wouldn't he do that? Akira was more curious about how the situation had led to this.

"They're making contact! It's time for a duel!" Zaimokuza said, half-shouting.

Hachiman's Windam flew considerably faster than expected, easily moving at supersonic speed, which was quite a difficult feat for most mobile suits inside the atmosphere. This was actually part of the game's balancing and physics engine calculations.

Most Gunpla don't move as fast as their anime counterparts. And the space movements aren't anywhere near realistic. Otherwise, the game would be completely uncontrollable.

"So fast!" someone howled. "Did you see that Sonic Boom?!"

"With enough thrust, even a brick can fly," Zaimokuza smugly remarked. "But it takes a lot of effort to make a humanoid Mobile Suit break the speed of sound in the game. Transformables and wave riders are just more practical."

A barrage of beams and bullets hurled toward Hachiman's Windam, but he dodged them with very erratic movements, alternating between subsonic and supersonic speeds. Akira noticed that Hachiman shifted the Windam's limbs a lot, almost as if it were dancing in the air.

"I see," Akira realized. "When he wants to reduce speed sharply, he spreads the hands and feet. And he tucks all the limbs and assumes a prone position to achieve supersonic flight. Pretty much like a skydiver."

This mastery of in-game aerodynamics... only people like Team Methusselah were able to conquer it.

"Normally, you use a shield to improve the aerodynamics of your machine. Hachiman didn't want to carry deadweight, so instead he installed retractable spikes behind the Windam's head, using a small-sized knitting needle."

"This device is called a drag-reduction aerospike," Zaimokuza grinned. "It breaks apart air at supersonic speed."

The confident group of opponents thought they had this in the bag. It was a four-to-one match. How could they lose? Their teamwork was well-polished, and their attacks were coordinated.

But Hachiman managed to dodge it all. He was faster than they could aim their guns.

"[Pull back! Pull back!]"

"[Spread out! Use missiles and grenades!]"

This was not Sage of Purgatory's high-power dominance style. This was a combat style that Hachiman had never shown Akira, as far as Gunpla was concerned.

"Good teamwork, but—" Hachiman grinned and yanked one of them to use as a shield against the incoming barrage of missiles chasing him. "Skill issue."

The poor Gelgoog only had half a second to react.

"[OH NO!]"

The resulting explosions filled the screen, but Hachiman's Windam escaped unharmed while his opponent slammed into the ground, heavily damaged.

Hachiman used the smoke and chaos to fire one of his large missiles, which soared high into the sky instead of going toward his enemies.

"Why did he fire that missile upward?" Akira thought. Then she realized the hidden symbol that was only visible once the missile was launched. "A nuclear weapon?!"

"[It's a Nuke! Shoot it! Shoot it!]"

The missile split into multiple warheads. A single fraction of a second of relief turned into horror as the warheads spread all over the city map and detonated in concert.

The whole city was engulfed in nuclear fire. If this wasn't a game, the scenery would have been absolutely horrifying.

"MIRV!" Zaimokuza cackled. "This is truly Hachiman's masterpiece. Using multiple nuclear warheads instead of one makes it harder to intercept! And its area of effect is multiplied!"

"Something like that..." Akira was shocked. "Isn't this basically how real-life weapons of mass destruction are designed?"

"That is indeed the case. Gundam Multiverse is too obsessed with single-warhead nukes, which are pointlessly big and vulnerable," Zaimokuza roared. "But a top-level builder like Hachiman doesn't conform himself to that detail. Because Gunpla is Freedom."

Akira vividly remembered the nuclear missile used in Gundam SEED being like that. They're huge, almost as tall as a Mobile Suit, but don't have the armor to weather attacks.

If the Earth Alliance had used multiple warhead designs, they could have easily inflicted greater damage on the ZAFT space force and the colonies. Granted, the in-universe trinket called N-Jammer would have made that an expensive endeavor.

But N-Jammer does not exist in the Gunpla Battle System. Hachiman had nothing to worry about.

CHAPTER 7 - A NEW BEGINNING, PART 3

None of the enemy Gunpla was unscathed. All of them suffered damage from the nuclear blast. However, one in particular was taken down because of its proximity to the nuclear fireball. It was practically a direct hit.

The Gelgoog that Hachiman used as a sacrificial shield stood up again and unleashed its weapons in anger.

No matter how angry they were, they were incapable of hitting Hachiman at all. Coordinated attacks, ambushes, flanking—none of it worked. Hachiman's machine wasn't just overwhelmingly fast, but it was clear that he had both the reflexes and situational awareness to calmly dodge enemy attacks.

They were like mad sheep trying to strike a legendary matador. Hachiman didn't even bother counterattacking.

Frustrated, one of his opponents, who used a Freedom Gundam, threw his rifles and shield and tried to catch up with Hachiman in melee combat. Hachiman didn't run this time but blocked it with his own beam saber.

The two units kept clashing all over the sky, but Hachiman didn't struggle in the slightest. When he had enough, he cut off both of the Freedom Gundam's arms.

"[I'll kill you even if I have to die!]" The Freedom folded all its weapons forward to shoot at Hachiman, but he literally sidestepped the overtly focused attack with incredible timing. "[What?!]"

Hachiman fired the head and chest Vulcans of his Windam, and the Freedom Gundam was shredded by automatic gunfire, helplessly falling down.

"Just his CIWS!" Almost half the people who watched lost their jaws to the floor. "Just his CIWS is so powerful!"

Hachiman pointed the Windam's arms and also tore apart the heavily damaged Gelgoog with a barrage of green beams. It seemed that Hachiman had managed to shove a small beam gun inside the forearm armor.

"Gunpla Battle isn't like Gundam anime. Just because a weapon is weak in the show doesn't mean it's weak in the game." Akira, on the other hand, understood. "After all, the guns you made for me are even more powerful than this."

"That is correct." Zaimokuza nodded. "At the end of the day, build details and quality matter a lot. Just because a Gundam is powerful in the show, that doesn't mean it's overpowered in the game, either. If I have to say, the problem with stock Gunpla weapons is their low quality."

"But that's where the option parts come in." Zaimokuza rummaged through his bag and showed Akira a pair of seemingly identical bazookas, but the plastic and etched details were leagues apart. "Both are optional parts made by Bandai, yet the quality difference is like heaven and earth. The good one is sold as a separate product for 1200 Yen a set."

"And consider the fact that scale model weapons are made with even more detail and high precision and sold for more money. At least when it comes to unmodified weapons, pay-to-win is real."

While Zaimokuza cheated by using scale model weapons as a basis, the modifications he had done to the high-quality guns made them even more phenomenal. To achieve the same quality with stock Gunpla weapons would take a lot more effort.

"This shit is boring." Hachiman was about to hit the surrender button. He didn't even bother acknowledging the fact that the last of his opponents was stunned but untouched.

However, that unit was taken out when a blackish-red high-impulse beam obliterated it.

"I thought there was a sneaky gecko running around." Hachiman scoffed.

In the distance, a pink Gundam stood in the sky, its red and black wings spreading majestically.

"Perfect Strike Freedom Rouge?!" Zaimokuza barked in shock. "It doesn't seem to be modified much, but Goddamn, these details! It almost looks like an RG!"

Even Akira could tell how well it was made. Not just the amount of decals used on the Gunpla, which made it more militaristic and realistic, but it also used multiple shades of pink on different parts, as well as etched panel lines to increase detail.

While not necessarily made by a creative builder, this Gunpla was something made with skill, hard work, and persistence. In terms of performance, it wouldn't be behind Hachiman's custom Windam.

Hachiman was about to attack, but he received a DM.

[Thank you for the help, Hikki.]

Then the pink Gundam disappeared.

Hachiman removed his helmet with a weird feeling. It wasn't that he felt anything about the last opponent being taken out.

"What was that pink Strike Freedom?" Akira asked.

"I think that was a Soubu High student." Hachiman said. "That Gunpla probably wanted to join the fight, but it was late."

As Hachiman picked up his Gunpla, he felt a sense of unease from all the attention. Ignoring his depressed and anguished opponent, he returned to face his juniors.

"This is what it means to be in a competition scene." He told them. "Every victory you earn equals the crushed dreams of your opponent. And the moment you lose, that's the end of it. You will have to wait for next year's tournament."

"A... ah." The two Soubu High freshmen were so awed that they bowed to Hachiman to express their feelings. "Are you a pro, Senpai?"

"No." Hachiman scoffed. "Just a veteran of this battlefield. Let's bail, you two."

Akira wanted to laugh, to be honest. Hachiman is truly her beloved edge lord.

...

"Sorry, I ruined our hangout." Akira said as they walked. "I'll be honest, I've never sparked a fight in my entire sixteen-year lifetime. But for some reason, I'm just angry."

"Nah. Don't mind it." Hachiman looked at the crowd. "I don't think I'll come back here, though. So let's enjoy this while we can."

Not that Hachiman had gone to the arcade in a long time.

"You really hate being the center of attention, don't you?" Zaimokuza shook his head. "But worry not, we have a lot of places we can go!"

"... You seem to enjoy this a lot, you bastard." Hachiman looked at him.

"Of course? Who wouldn't enjoy such an overwhelming display of fighting spirit?" Zaimokuza shrugged. "If anything, you're too self-conscious. You should just go with the flow."

"Really, though. You two should enjoy this occasion. I could always go with Hachiman next time, but Sunazuka-sama can't be here forever." Zaimokuza proposed.

"But I can't enjoy a date if it means I took him away from his friend." Akira shook her head. "Seeing his face is enough for me."

"No-no-no. I've had enough of being a third wheel. That is unacceptable." Zaimokuza said. "Please be nice; I'm still single, you know?"

Hachiman knew for sure that Zaimokuza was trying to be considerate, and there wasn't a shred of jealousy in his words. Even when leaving instead of barging in, Zaimokuza is always a meddlesome person.

"I wish you happiness and pray that you get a girlfriend soon." Akira laughed.

"Sadly, that's probably not going to happen soon! My dream is to date and marry a voice actress!" Zaimokuza crossed his arms and cackled.

"Big talk from a gynophobe." Hachiman commented.

Zaimokuza clutched his chest dramatically from the emotional pain, and Akira was actually offended enough on his behalf to kick Hachiman on the shin. And Hachiman absolutely deserved it.

"But Zaimokuza, you're fine with Akira, aren't you?" Hachiman asked as soon as he recovered from the pain. "Is your gynophobia actually selective? Because I know for sure this isn't you hyping your own anxiety."

"Hmm, I don't know if I've come to the correct conclusion, but..." Zaimokuza scratched his chin. "I think I have some immunity to nerdy girls. No offense."

"No offense taken." Akira said. "Although I'm confident in my social skills, I do think of myself as a gamer girl. In a sense, I'm pretty nerdy."

"When someone is extremely focused or passionate about something, I subconsciously stop caring whether they're boys or girls." Zaimokuza crossed his arms and huffed. "That is the cure to my gynophobia, I suppose."

"That explains everything." Hachiman sighed. "I guess you can find a nerdy girlfriend on your own without trouble."

"Are? Zaimokuza?"

Hachiman could just see Zaimokuza's skin legitimately crawl and stiffen the moment he heard a random girl calling his name, and he jumped behind Akira and Hachiman.

"Ah, it's Kamiya-san." Zaimokuza grimaced and loosened up. "I didn't expect to see you here, of all places."

The person who greeted them was a pretty girl with permed brown hair tied in a ponytail. Her features could easily make her one of the ten most beautiful students in Soubu.

"Well, the group chat made a fuss about our student kicking some butts." Kamiya showed her phone. "So it was you."

"Yeah, it's my loyal retainer. I mean, my friend, Hikigaya Hachiman from class 2-F. As you can tell, he's an exceptionally skilled gamer." Zaimokuza coughed and presented Hachiman and Akira. "And this is his girlfriend."

Akira felt a little weird, but she appreciated Zaimokuza's clumsy attempt to protect her anonymity.

"You can call me Akira." Akira bowed.

"As for this girl, she's my classmate, Kamiya Nao-san." Zaimokuza introduced the new girl.

"In that case, call me Nao." Nao bowed.

Hachiman didn't know her. But he might have heard her name.

Befitting her natural beauty, Kamiya Nao was quite famous within Soubu as one of the most attractive female students. Many boys sought her attention and love, but she had rejected them all.

Really, though, the prettiest girls in Soubu are all single.

Hachiman had no interest in them, though. Hachiman could only feel thankful that Akira made the first move.

"D-did people really make a fuss and post it in the school social group?" Hachiman shrank, feeling awkward and embarrassed. "It's just a fight between fools."

"By the way, I was responsible for that one." Akira raised her hand. "I apologize."

"Well, every school is gearing up for the National tournament... except Soubu High. We don't exactly have a Gunpla Battle Club." Nao shrugged. "Nevertheless, it does make people curious."

"I guess because it's relatively new, it's a hot topic among teenagers," Akira told Hachiman. "It's a huge interest, even for non-Gundam otaku or general anime fans. The attention Gunpla Battle gets is becoming mainstream now. That's how I ended up here."

"Freaking normies," Hachiman spat. "Though I guess if you rationalize it as e-sports instead of an anime-adjacent hobby, it makes sense. Both gamers and normies love it."

There's an irony that many foreigners aren't aware of: despite being the birthplace of anime culture, anime otaku remain the bottom caste in Japan. Or at least, that is definitely the case in high school. They're even ranked below idol otaku these days.

The only people lower on the totem pole are loner bookworms and outcasts like Hachiman.

To be an anime otaku is more than simply saying, "I watch anime." It requires you to be passionate about anime, wearing merchandise on your bag or clothes, collecting magazines, and maybe even buying expensive physical media, figures, and limited-release items.

Zaimokuza is, unquestionably, one of the anime otaku. Of course, he's also an outcast, making him the butt of all jokes. Yes, even from Hachiman.

Above them are K-pop stans, gamers, the normies, the academic aces, and, of course, the nobility—the Chads and the Stacies. Half of them are often part of sports clubs, though the other half aren't.

Just like Akira, there are a lot of gamers switching to Gunpla Battle just because it's the hottest trend. Hachiman wondered how long the fad would last and what its peak would be. It was certainly only getting bigger compared to four years ago.

"Speaking of which, are you alone, Nao-san?" Akira asked.

Nao grimaced. "Actually, I just split up with my friends. I came here because it happened to be close."

"In that case, want to hang out with us? Zaimokuza-kun felt bad being a third wheel," Akira said, pointing at the fat boy.

Eh, what the hell is Akira thinking? Hachiman looked at his girlfriend in disbelief. Surely, someone like Nao would refuse. She's way too popular to be seen with losers like Hachiman and Zaimokuza.

"Would that be alright? I don't want to intrude on your date, either."

"I don't mind. In the first place, I barged in on Hachiman and Zaimokuza's hangout. So I was the one feeling bad," Akira lightly waved. "Of course, that's if the boys don't mind."

"Eh? Sure, why not?" Zaimokuza was half-confused but agreed anyway.

"I couldn't care less," Hachiman bluntly said.

Hachiman wondered what Akira's train of thought was, but her mischievous eyes could not fool him. She had a plan of her own.