Prologue: Entwined Branches

Chapter 1: One Last Day in Peace

August 5th, 2003.
(Hiiragi District. Extra Timeline.)
[Takeru]

Luck seems to be on our side today. We've had random rains everyday recently but today the sky is clear, it's nicely hot and according to the forecast today it's not raining.

As I walk through the busy streets of summer I enjoy the soft caress of the wind as it blows around. This summer has been weird, with all of this random rains, but it's also not that humid heat that always brings my mood down. It's nicely warm, yet not oppressing.

How long have I longed for this day to come. To feel the thrill of battle as I rush guns blazing at top speed without holding back. Today is the day were we put our pride on the line to secure our victory, no matter the cost or methods that we have to use.

Today is the day I'll prove to the world that I, Takeru Shirogane, am the best pilot in the entire-

"Takeru-chan! Wait up!"

A voice I know well snaps me out of my inner monologue. Looking back I see a red head running towards me.

Dressed with a cerulean sleeveless blouse with lines of white, cream colored shorts and her trademarked yellow ribbon, the woman in question left a cloud of dust in her trail as she rushed towards me.

"I said wait up! The station isn't going anywhere!" Sumika said flailing her arms in the air while she tried to catch up to me.

"You could walk a bit faster, you know?" I said to her as I stopped to let her catch her breath. "Did you forget what day is today?" I rearrange my thin brow jacket as I wait for her.

"Like I'd forget! Today's the meetup with everyone from class, it feels like it's been forever since the last time we could all hang out together. Being in college sure is hard." She let out a small sigh but quickly recovered her smile. "Even if we all go to Hakuryo U we rarely bump into each other so there's a lot of catch up to do today!" Sumika declared as she rose a fist to the sky.

So, she really forgot about it. How did someone with such a short attention span ever made it to college is a mystery to me.

Sumika has been in a great mood since she passed two major tests with a really good score and hasn't shut up about it for a single second, so it's understandable she's so eager to meet again with the gang.

I, on the other hand, have a special mission to fulfill today.

"Sumika-kun, surely you did not forget why we're meeting specifically today, right?"

"What's up with that tone? We're meeting today because the weather has been awful lately and Yoroi-kun asked us to-" She stopped mid-sentence as the realization came to her. "The tournament! You're gonna be late for the registration!" She shouted as a single hair of hers started to convulse violently.

Now that I think about it that hair is always on the move, almost as if it reflected her feelings. What's the deal with her hair?

"If you remembered then let's hurry, if I don't make it in time you'll have to apologize to Mikoto."

As I started to pick up the pace again Sumika started shouting at my back to not go so fast. She kept at it until we finally reached the train station.

(Train)

Par for the course for this time of summer, the train is packed. Little children happily play with their Game Guys as their parents relax on their seats. I look out the window, towards the city that stretches far and wide. So little has changed, yet so much has.

"But for real I think everybody is going to be shocked when they see you." Sumika said with a grin.

"It's just been half a year since we last got together. It's not like I grew my hair or anything." I look away from her shiny eyes, choosing instead to play with the keys on my jean's pocket.

"Just look at you! You're so diligent now, you wake up super early to go jogging, haven't failed a single test yet and you even learned to cook!"

"Well, I have to keep my shit together now. Can't be bothering my parents anymore and eating something you make yourself is a really nice thing, you know." It really is, I don't know why I didn't start cooking sooner.

Sumika gave me a dubious look as she poked my arm, groaning a bit, clearly dissatisfied with my answer.

"Then what about this? You've been obsessed with training as of late. What's gotten into you?"

"I just want to be fit. With all the time I spend sitting if I don't exercise a bit I'll end up slow as a slug." Not satisfied with my answer yet again she keeps poking my arm.

"Really? Then why are you so jacked? Just being fit is not the same as being a bodybuilder. Are you going to enlist in the army or something?"

"Maybe. 1st Lieutenant Shirogane, it has a nice ring to it, don't you think?" I said jokingly to try to lighten the mood. But a shocked expression mired Sumika's face.

"What's up with that? Joining the army? What about your studies, or your parents, or… " she trailed off, her eyes locked on the floor.

"Sumika I was just kidding, you know? I'm not dropping out of college or anything. Now, stop moping and bring out a smile, we're close to our stop."

"Okay, but you better not go join the army for real or-"

"Yeah, I was just kidding. My bad, my bad. Sheesh, you're so dramatic as of late." I let out a small chuckle as I exited the train along the stream of people. Waiting for her near the entrance, I signal with my jaw our exit. "Come on, it's this way."

It's been hard to talk with Sumika for awhile. She's been really nosy about just everything. She insists that I'm acting strange all the time. I know she means well but I'd like her to give me some space.

I know. I'm a coward. I shouldn't have left things in the air. And now I can't bring myself to crush her hope.

Though I do kind of understand her, since I did change my usual routine.

As of late I've been having this urge to exercise out of nowhere and even I am surprised in how much muscle I've gained in less than half a year. But that's not the only weird thing.

I've been having the strangest nightmares these last few months. At first I thought I was stressed over college but even in the middle of summer break I'm still having them. I can't really explain them well but it's like everyone from my group of friends from school, including me, joined the army and we were sent to battle, only to die a horrible death.

Sometimes I survive and I see a giant wasteland littered with corpses and debris. Sometimes I die and feel like I'm being devoured by some horrible monster.

There's also this girl with white hair in the dream, a girl I've never seen before. She looks really sad for some reason but when I try to reach out to her she runs away from me. There's also a lot of other people with uniforms that are kinda mixed within the wasteland. It's really unsettling.

However the dreams always end in the same way, whether I die or not. I see Sumika lying in some sort of bed with the girl with white hair besides her saying that she's dead. Focusing on my studies has been hard as of late, so jogging and exercising has done wonders to keep my mind clear of the images and screams from my dreams.

Today, however, there were no nightmares. Whether it was because of the meetup or not I don't know. I welcome the change, it was F-ing time this stopped.

I absentmindedly look at the sky, so clear today with only a few rebel clouds dancing above. It's so different than the one I see in my dreams. Sumika keeps making small talk as we move towards our destination, with me answering in hums.

The girls have been trying to get together for awhile now, but between the weather and our own schedules we couldn't decide on a day. Then Mikoto asked us if today was a good day and we all agreed to meet up.

But that's not all there is to it. Today there's a Valgern-On tournament in the Tokyo Grand Salon and the winners not only get prize money but they also get to try the new version of the game one full month before it's release! There hasn't been any leaks yet, so it's expected to be a very competitive event, since all the fans want to be the first to enjoy the new version.

I know I should be dropping the games now that I'm in college, but Valgern-On is that one game I can't let go off. It's even making a nice impression in America and it looks like there's going to be official tournaments there too, but with the console and PC versions of the game. Poor Americans, they will never know the glorious feeling of playing in the arcade cockpit.

Since this tournament was made to promote the online multiplayer functions of the new version the format is going to be a two player team battle. Between my studies and the nightmares I wasn't planning on even going to watch, but when everyone else agreed to meet today and Mikoto asked me if I'd like to team up with him I couldn't say no. And so today I go to my first, and probably last, competitive Valgern-On event.

"Oh! Takeru-san, Sumika-san! Good afternoon!" A cheerful voice returned me to reality as a small girl with pink hair approached us at full speed.

Wearing short jeans and a clear turquoise t-shirt with images of cat pawns all over it, along a small black purse, Tama waved her hand in the air vigorously as she crossed the street and came besides us.

"Hi, Miki-chan! How's everything going?" Sumika moved to greet her as Tama approached.

"A-OK, I just scored a bit less on my last test than I expected. But everything else is good! How about you two?" said Tama with her usual smile.

"I'm great! I scored over 90 on my last two tests, can you believe it?!"

Why am I not surprised that's the first thing she mentions. Tama looks surprised as she asks her about the questions and how she studied for the tests. They exchange some tips as we move again to the TGS.

"Takeru-san, how about you? How's college treating you?"

"That's 1st Lieutenant Shirogane for you, civilian Tamase." I said in an exaggerated stern tone.

"Eh? Eh? What's this about? 1st Lieutenant?" Tama looked at me with wide eyes as a question mark appeared over her head.

"I dropped out of college to answer the call of du… honor to serve our nation, and I now am no longer the man you used to know." I said, and then I stroke a pose like the ones in my dreams to add more effect to the speech while repeating the rank I was given in it. "I am now 1st Lieutenant Shirogane of the Squad 207B of Yokohama Base. But to answer your question life is treating me just fine." I said as I flexed my muscles, which made Tama's face turn into a tomato.

"Auwhawhawha. You joined the army? When? How? Why?"

"Miki-chan he's just messing with you. He made the same joke to me when we were in the train."

She just had to go and ruin my fun. Teasing Tama is one of the things I miss the most of school. Damn you, Sumika. Let me have some fun.

"Takeru-san you meanie! But it looks like you're fine. Are you doing okay with the tests?"

"Yeah, my grades aren't that great but I haven't failed a single test yet." I said, puffing my chest in pride.

"Um, Takeru-san when did you… get so fit?" Tama asked trying to not stare as a blush appeared on her face.

"I started exercising around half a year ago, but I just started seeing the fruits of all the training."

"He's been obsessed with training, I tell you. He even learned how to cook just to keep track of how much protein he eats. I think the pressure of college was too much for him and broke his mind."

Sumika you have no idea how much I wanna flick your forehead right now, you little devil.

"But if training makes you feel better then more power to you! I haven't been able to practice much with my bow as of late."

We did some small talk as we went our way to where we'll meet up with the rest.

Since the entrance for spectators is really cheap and there's supposed to be a resto bar in the building it's a perfect place for the meetup. When we got there everyone was near the entrance. Or so I thought, everyone except one person.

A short boy wearing an orange shirt with small red dots on it and white trousers jogged towards us as soon as he saw us.

"Oooh! Takeru, long time no see! It's been like three years since we last saw each other!" Shouted Mikoto as he got in close range, followed by a strong high five between us. As lively as always, never change Mikoto.

"Long time indeed, buddy. How's everything?"

"Hehehe, perfectly! Man, I can't belive I'm keeping up with the lectures." He laughs again jokingly, scratching the back of his head.

"Good for you, man."

"Miki-san, Sumika-san, long time no see! How are you?" He turns to the girls that waved at him.

"Hi, Yoroi-kun. I'm in a reaaally good mood, because I got two-" And as Sumika started to brag about her scores I went to greet the other two girls of the group.

The first one, with her brown hair let loose and with her usual glasses, was wearing an olive shirt with white stripes, and a matching white purse.

"Hey Class Rep, how's it going?"

"Hello Shirogane, all's good. You're still going to call me Class Rep after all this time?"

"Yeah, it just feels right."

"Haha, always doing your thing without a care. How are you holding up? You wouldn't be worrying Kagami again?" Her real meaning not lost on me, I play dumb and try to throw some misdirection.

"Heh, I'm a disciplined student now Class Rep. I even learned to cook by myself!"

"Huh?! Really? That's a surprise."

"Chizuru-san! Good afternoon!" Tama came over to greet Class Rep, saving me from her questioning.

I let them talk as I went to the raven haired girl eating a yakisoba sandwich. Her red blouse did a poor job at hiding her deadly frontliners, but she looked as expressionless as always. A dark trouser reached just above her ankles, and she had matching bracelets on each arm.

"Yo Ayamine. All cool?"

"Yeah." As reserved as always, huh? "Until some wild glasses appeared." She said as she took a glance at Class Rep.

Oh God, not again.

"Ayamine, what do you mean?" Class Rep looks at her with furrowed brows.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't mimic me!"

"Do I look like her?"

"No, you don't." Please guys, don't start fighting now.

"Oh, thank God." I think Class Rep just popped a vein.

"You haven't changed at all!"

And there they go arguing again. I think Ayamine missed trolling Class Rep. She doesn't seem to be that upset, I think they actually get along really well now. Ever since the lacrosse match, they stopped quarreling as they did before, who would have said they'll end up as friends.

"Takeru, let's go register before they run out of spots!" And without warning, Mikoto started pulling me to the line. Sadly for him, with all the muscle I gained lately, he couldn't even move me an inch.

"Don't pull me! I can walk."

"Takeru, did you gain weight? You shouldn't just eat junk food you know." said Mikoto with a worried look.

"Dude, it's not like that. I've been training since-"

"You know, I read this note about a guy that lived only on coke and hamburgers."

"Mikoto I learned to cook. I'm not so lazy to-"

"So, one day he collapsed on his job! He's cholesterol was really high, between his horrible diet and all the pressure from his work."

I'm not going to get through him, am I? Sigh…

"Takeru, are you listening?"

"You're the one who's not listening!"

"Huh? About what?"

"Been training. Learned to cook. Got muscles." Perhaps if I speak in short sentences he'll listen.

"Really? Wow, you're right." He said with surprised look as he poked my arm. "What happened? Is there a girl in your class you wanna date?"

And with that simple sentence and an innocent smile, Mikoto had opened the gates to hell. I can feel the piercing gazes of the four girls standing behind us, with an overflowing killing intent.

He just had to go and say it. I know, he doesn't even register the teasing or the tension, but you really need to start paying attention dude.

"Takeru-chan, what's this about dating a girl in your class?" Sumika's eyes turned dark as that one hair stood with sparks flying out of it. Seriously, what's wrong with her hair?! Her tone was small and calm, hiding a scythe behind her teeth.

The other girls just stared silently at me. I feel a knot form on the base of my neck. No, I have no one in my sights, but if I let the conversation flow into the romantic realm, I know what they'll ask. And I don't want to answer.

"Mikoto, let's go register in the tournament! Ahora!" I said as I pulled him towards the line.

"E-eeeeeh! Wait don't pull meeeee!"

"Don't run away Takeru-chan!"

(Salon's Reception)

The roof had many rows of lights ready for the night of the event, some marble pillars decorated the entrance of the TGS alongside a dark blue carpet. Above, covering part of the upper part of the entrance, a banner with Valgern-On's logo and all the sponsors of this event hanged as it was swayed by the wind. The reception was no different, with it's shiny white floor and walls, with some seats to the side.

As we took our place on the line I let go of Mikoto's hand. His swirly eyes took a second to stabilize, letting out a sigh he recovered his usual expression as he gazed around like me. The line was not as big as I expected it to be. Well, Valgern-On is more of a niche game and it's competitive scene isn't that big. Considering that, the people behind us, and the hour it is, I say some might get left out.

"Seriously dude, don't joke about that. You should know by now that the girls are really touchy about all the love business." He laughed weakly, nodding in apology.

"Sorry. But it's truly a surprise to hear you're exercising, since you were always so lazy. Did anything happen?"

"No, not really. I just felt like doing something to not be sitting all the time. By the by, how much have you been practicing?"

"Once a week on Sundays, except when there's a test close. Valgern-On is that hobby I just can't drop." So we are just the same in that regard. Great minds think alike.

"I totally get what you mean, I can't believe we have tournaments that have to take place outside of an arcade. Two years ago this would have been a pipe dream."

"Yeah, after the console version was ported to America and Europe last year it totally blew up! All the net was in an uproar about it!"

"Yeah, it was great seeing all their reactions in the forums. So, how far you think we'll get?"

"Hmm, that depends. If we run into a serious duo we might have a problem, I mean we haven't been playing as much as before and there's a lot of new stuff added in the last updates."

We kept talking about the game's updates until we reached the counter.

"Good afternoon, the inscription for the tournament is 5000 Yen per person. Please hand me your GR cards to register you in the tournament."

When she inserted the cards our stats appeared on the screen. Man, seeing my stats always gives me such a thrill. 48% Win-rate? Eh, I've been worse. My mech play-log is so unbalanced, 97% Kaiser usage. Haha, I really did use it exclusively for a long while.

Wow, Mikoto has 53% Win-rate. How does he do that? Well, he is really good.

"Here's your passes with both your personal ID and the terminal's ID that you are to use during the event. Have fun!" Said the receptionist as she handed us our cards and the passes.

"Hey Mikoto, how much time do we have before the tournament starts?" Looking at his watch on his left hand, he answers.

"Less than an hour, wanna go to the bar with the others and grab something to eat?"

"Yeah, let's go."

(TGS Resto Bar)

"So, while it's been hard, I'd say I'm progressing just fine!" Mikoto said with a smile, clearly proud.

We've been catching up while we ate some sandwiches in the lounge. I told everyone I was progressing just fine in my engineering career, to their surprise. I can do my math just fine, you pricks.

Mikoto has gotten good grades on his Medic career. He says that he wants to travel to harsh places where no other medics want to go. Class Rep assaulted us with all the languages she'd learned while she's studying some corporate career. Ayamine is still studying to be a nurse. When she told the group we were all surprised, since she didn't look like the type to pursue such a career. I can't even imagine her treating patients with that personality of hers. And Tama is doing fine in her psychiatrist career. She had said she wanted to help children overcome their anxiety and fears, especially those who suffered from bullying and parental abuse.

While everyone kept talking and sharing fun stories, I couldn't help to start thinking in the blue haired girl that wasn't here. I had a number that Tsukuyomi-san had left me to contact her, so when we organized the meetup I asked her to tell Meiya in advance.

Tsukuyomi-san didn't seem like herself during our call, as if she was surprised I had the guts to call her for something like this. I already knew Meiya wouldn't be able to stay for long with all the responsibilities she has now as the head of the Mitsurugi Group, but at least I had hoped her to pass in her limo to say hello and chat for a few minutes in a location she was comfortable with.

But I suppose that's impossible given her position, we may just be a bother to her now. Even I heard the news of the scandal. It seems like Meiya had an arranged marriage prepared for her just as she finished her school year with us, but some months after they got engaged the man in question was found by a maid pouring something in Meiya's grandfather's food. It was poison, so the guy was obviously sent to prison and they got divorced.

Some time after this accident, Meiya's grandfather decided to let her keep being in charge of the group despite not remarrying. He said that the safety of the Mitsurugi family should be their priority and that being married shouldn't be a requirement to lead the Group anymore.

The media feasted on all kind of theories and conspiracies for two months or so, going as far as asking Meiya if she had any plans for marrying during press conferences. Some journalists even started saying that there were rumors of her being into women.

Given all that unwanted attention it's obvious Meiya doesn't want to expose herself in public. As a matter of fact, she's done very few press conferences since then and has avoided the media in many occasions, instead relaying news through her subordinates.

Of course, if I didn't have the guts to answer to her way too obvious approaches back in school, much less I could bring myself to call her back then, as much as I wanted to let her know all the gang was worried sick about her.

I suppose she's in a different world now, a world we may never be able to get to. I guess we can all just buy her a present or something, and I'll see if Tsukuyomi-san is willing to give it to her. Though from the impression that I got from that last call I think they don't want me to contact them ever again.

That feels, for some reason, like a fitting end to our relationship. Sudden, yet once it was over, neither of us gained much from the other. We didn't remain in contact, we were so far away. Even after I remembered the promise at the park, many days after we finished school, I couldn't bring myself to do anything. She went out of her way to literally live with me and spoil me for months, it's embarrassing to think I didn't get a clue.

No, I chose to be oblivious. For some reason… I didn't want to choose. I didn't want to commit to a relationship. I also don't want to do that now. I just wanted to apologize to her, for all the trouble I must have caused her in those months.

Whenever I think of Meiya as of late I get this hollow, sad feeling as if I were thinking of someone who passed away. I have to hold back some tears, and this knot on my neck grabs me tightly. In a way it's almost like she's gone for good, since I'll probably never talk to her again.

"So Takeru, about our strategy… " Mikoto yanked me out of dreamland back to the table.

"Yeah, what do you wanna do?"

"You haven't told me what mech you're gonna be using yet. I'm still using the Xao-Myun, are you still using the Kaiser?"

"No, I switched to the Takemikazuchi a few months ago."

"The Takemikazuchi?! But I heard it's really difficult to control, and since it focuses on melee combat it doesn't have such a good range either. It's said to be one of the worst mechs in the game." Mikoto looks at me with downcast eyes, clearly worried about my choice. He's in for a nice surprise.

"But it's fast as hell. It's perfect for my new hyper offensive style of play, since I abuse it's speed to make many attacks in quick succession at close range."

"That's just reckless, if it were me you'll get countered without even hitting me once." Mikoto tells me with a grin on his face.

"No, because if I hit you with it's machineguns you'll get stunned for a few seconds, which gives me just enough time to rush in and get a clear strike to the core with swords in both of my arms."

"Hmm, I see what you mean. But more speed is not the same as more mobility, so your accuracy might not be so good against opponents like my Xao-Myun. The enemy can easily kill you when you run out of fuel and can't boost away."

"Not if I kill first, that's the whole point of my game. And even then I still have the Thunder Rifle if I'm grounded or I can't get to CQC. To give you an idea, I raised my Win Rate by 5% with this method just going two days a month in the last few months. Do you understand how awesome the Takemikazuchi is? I definitely think it's been overlooked."

"Okay, I get your game now. So you rush in while I cover, we aim to split them up so we can pick them off in one-on-one with our superior agility. If you corner someone and they escape, do I join the chase?"

"Yeah, they're going to try to regroup. If you can keep up with me then we can split them and then pincer them. If we get split try to keep them busy so they don't barrage me with more shots than I can dodge until I get them in my machineguns' range."

"Okay, but what if they stay hidden to surprise us?"

"I go scouting with you following on land, when you detect anything go for a cannon shot and we start the chase. Even on Yguloch Fortress' narrow corridors the Takemikazuchi can do a back flip or an Albright Turn, so don't worry about me getting ambushed." I finished giving him a thumbs up.

"What's an Albright Turn?" Mikoto looked at me as if I was speaking in another language.

"You know, it's that thing you do when you rush into a wall and just before crashing you turn the mech around by first slightly slowing down, jumping on the ground and immediately after going hard on the accel as you hit the wall. Then you propel at full speed from the wall."

"I never heard about that! Where did you learn that move?"

"Where? I… uuh… I think I saw it in a replay once." Why do I feel like I'm forgetting something? When did I learn to do the Albright again?

"You're so lucky! You're full of surprises today Takeru, you changed your mech and you talk like a tactician. Are you sure you haven't been skipping classes to go play at the arcade?" Mikoto said giggling.

"Dude! That's just rude, you're just jelly I finally surpassed you!"

"But I've never heard you doing such a through analysis. You sound like a regular at tournaments." said Mikoto, looking at me with glowy eyes.

It's been awhile since I got to talk about the game, so I guess I got carried away with the analysis. Man, I miss the days when I could just laze about, talking nonsense with you back at the arcade.

"So guys, think you can go far in this?" Class Rep asked curiously.

"If the Takemikazuchi is half as good as Takeru says it is then we may get into the top 48."

"Forty eight? How many players are participating?" asked Tama with a surprised face.

"I think there's a total of 192 spots open, which means 96 teams in total. Teams will be grouped in three zones, fighting in one direct elimination matches. The winners of each zone will then all fight in the final at the same time for the gold." I said with vigor trying to hype them up.

"That's going to be amazing! I remember when we played for a bit in the hot springs, it was really fun. So seeing so many games is going to be great!" said a now sparkly eyed Tama.

Tama you truly understand us. You are one of us, unlike the other three uncultured swines on the table.

"I wonder about that. I'm sure they'll lose on the first rounds and there will be no stopping the salt. I can already see Takeru-chan's tears, haha." said Sumika with a smirk.

Sumika you ungrateful girl, I'm not sharing with you any of the food I make anymore.

"I can already see Shirogane throwing a tantrum about how he pushed the button but he didn't attack or something." said Class Rep, triggering her signature skill: Chain Teasing.

"Yoroi, hang in there." Not even Ayamine has any faith in me, huh?

"Heh, we'll show you guys a nice fight at least so do look forward to it, right Mikoto?"

"Yeah! Even if you do get taken out immediately as usual." He says with a wide grin.

"Hey!"

We all share a laugh. I didn't knew I missed this kind of thing so much. It feels really nice just to hang out with all of them, sharing some laughs without a care.

Then, a voice rang through the speakers.

"To all participants, please go to the Showroom. The event shall commence in thirty minutes. I repeat-" The announcement repeated itself as me and Mikoto stood up from our seats. I grab my lemonade and finish it in one gulp, Mikoto also finished his drink and gave me a nod.

"Well, looks like it's your call guys. Yoroi, Shirogane best of luck!" said Class Rep giving us a thumbs up.

"Good luck guys!" said Tama as we high fived before leaving.

Ayamine gave us a nod while smirking.

"Takeru-chan, Yoroi-kun, no matter how it goes we're going for some ice cream after the tournament, so have fun and don't over worry, yes?"

"Yeah, you better be ready to be surprised! Let's go Mikoto, it's showtime!" I roar, unable to calm down my excitement anymore.

"Hehe, don't think I'll let you have all the fun Takeru."

We joked around as we went to the Showroom. This place is huge though, if there weren't any maps on the wall I'd get lost. How long is this hallway anyways? We also can't run, these tiles are really bothersome. We'll end up sliding if we try to hurry up.

After a short while we reached the place, and we were taken aback by it. The Showroom is even bigger than the rest of the rooms combined! The walls were painted in dark blue and white, with some wooden pillars every now and then stretching to the ceiling, where many lights hanged from the metallic bars all over, illuminating the windowless space with bright white light. The place was big enough to hold all the terminals, give some decent room to walk around, and had a small rest area to my left, where some people were finishing their meals before going towards their spots.

But man, look at those terminals! They're the latest models! Official tournaments are the best thing ever.

"ooOOOHHH! Takeru look at them!" Mikoto said as he started fanboying over the terminals. Not that I blame him, I'm super pumped up for this too.

Now, let's see… our ID is 51, so our terminal should be…

"Mikoto c'mon, our terminal is this way!"

"Going!"

The terminals are just like the arcade ones but with two separated seats and monitors instead of just one. Once we reached our terminal and got all the prep stuff done it was time to configure our mechs.

In one of the last updates the devs added a lot of weapons to the game, so now each mech has a list of weapons you can equip to it. They're supposed to be balanced to fit different playstyles, which seems to have brought a nice diversity to the meta according to the forums.

They also put color customization, so now we can paint our mechs in our favorite colors too. They also added a fuel bar and a timer to avoid the matches to drag on forever and we can now break certain parts of the mechs, like the boost thrusters and some weapons.

Now, let's set two PB Longswords, two PB Shortswords and the signature Thunder Rifle. Let's mark the 20mm machineguns on the waist as equipped and that's it. For the last touch let's get the color scheme done.

"You done Takeru?"

"Yeah, just finished. Wanna go for a practice run?"

"Yup, let's do two short matches."

"Okay, here we go!"

As the field description and the opening battle screen appeared showing both of our mechs and their load-outs I began to feel strangely calm. I've been like this for awhile, I don't know why but playing Valgern-On in the arcade makes me feel at ease. Like I'm in my element, doing my thing in my turf kind of feeling. Maybe the nostalgia of high school is already getting to me.

"Hweh? What's up with your mech?!" Mikoto's shout surprised me and for a second I though there was a problem, but checking my screen there was nothing wrong.

"Nothing's wrong on my end, what's wrong Mikoto?"

"Pfft! Ahahaha! Look at your mech, it' so purple! Hahaha!" Mikoto starts laughing, repeating purple over and over.

"Dude! What's wrong with it being purple?!" All of you have been really awful with me today! Is this what people call karma?

"Sorry, I mean, I'm so used to see you use the Kaiser that I didn't expect you to use that color for your mech. I thought you'd use white instead."

"There's nothing wrong with this, and it's a striking shade of purple so it fits the Takemikazuchi perfectly!"

I don't know why but when I saw the Takemikazuchi for the first time all I could think was that it would look great in purple. And I wasn't wrong.

"Alright, let's see if you think it's funny after I mop the floor with you!"

"We'll see about that! Show me how good your purpleness is!"

As we both roared taunts at each other our mechs flew off, locking each other in combat. I still felt really calm despite the screen moving really fast due to the Takemikazuchi's speed. It's like this should be the normal speed of the game, even if it was already quite fast paced.

Mikoto opened fire from my left, nothing serious. He's still moving around, not letting me get near. I flick my joystick forward, boost jumping over his cannon shot and closing the gap between us. Unlike the Kaiser, the Takemikazuchi is very fast and can be difficult to maneuver precisely with it, but even so I feel perfectly fine in it.

He's charging another cannon shot. Reading him, I boost jump again and dodge it, but this time I take some consecutive jumps to get closer.

"You're not getting away now!" I shouted as I fired the machineguns.

Just 4% damage? Doesn't matter, with the stun I'm now in range and he can't lose me. The roles have reversed as he tries to shake me off with some missiles and doing some acrobatics between some buildings, but for some reason his jumps are kinda off and he's gliding too much.

Let's take a shot! I do a triple boost jump to dodge his missiles, getting to a nice position on midair. Now I can use the backthrusters to spin myself and shoot the TR at him at minimal charge. Take that 17%!

"I got you!" Mikoto shouts as the Xao-Myun charges at me.

I got my guard down and he hit me with his saber for 26% damage as I landed. I'm not letting you get away!

But something feels off about this…

Mikoto's tells and signs are too obvious, did she get rusty? I can't imagine her missing those shots on purpose, she's not even doing the barrages right. What's with her jumps too? She's relying too much on the air thrusters

Wait, if I go at her at full speed with all the boosters I could probably get in close range, and then I'll break the thrusters to show her how reckless she's being! I know, I'll let her corner me and then I'll show her an Albright while I'm at it. Two birds with one-

BAM! BAM!

I held my breath as two missiles grazed me. Shit, that was a close one. I can't let my guard down around her.

…Her? Did I just refer to Mikoto as a she? The hell is wrong with me?

Whatever, let's show him what a good pair we are Takemikazuchi!

He's keeping his distance to avoid the weapon shift. Alright, now!

I boost jump using all the thrusters, launching myself against him. I slightly tilt the joystick to the left to hit his hand, missing his body on purpose. Just as I thought he takes his chance to take a jab at me, but the reaction time of my other hand with a shortsword is enough to block you!

He quickly boost jumps away, all the while shooting at me. Here's where I lay my trap. Instead of jumping, I retreat on land taking cover behind some fallen buildings. Just before retreating I take out the Thunder Rifle and start to charge it, even though I unequip it right away when I got out of his sight.

Since I'm already near half shields the TR would do a lot of damage now to a low defense mech like the Xao-Myun. That's why he will surely try to get close without entering my range and using missiles to interrupt the charge or ruin my shot.

He took the bait as he starts to chase me, alright these cliffs look good. I take a sharp turn to my left in between some cliffs, he shouldn't have gotten a clear view of me since he's still getting closer. Good, all these cliffs are perfect to do the Albright. Let's go Takemikazuchi! I advance into the passage with a boost jump, then just before jumping again as I hit the ground I shift my direction without stopping the boost, slightly lower my speed as I approach and the wall and now FULL ON THAT ACCEL BABY!

Our feet hit the cliff side as I spin the joystick to change the direction of the thrusters and immediately the screens flickers to change my view, as I'm now charging at Mikoto, who thought that he was safe just around the corner of the cliff since I couldn't hit him with the Thunder Rifle there.

"Eat this Mikoto!" I roared as I let the machineguns loose as I close in on the Xao-Myun.

I dropped his shield to 23% and damaged his thrusters. Landing hard, I quickly change to my melee weapons.

As the stun wears off, he tries to tries to boost away but can't. I approach him again, showering my machineguns' ammo onto him.

The small stun time was enough to get a clear hit to the core with my longswords.

[MATCH OVER - PLAYER 2 WINS]

I throw a fist to the air as I pull the seat back, and I remove the safety belts.

"What the hell was that?! What did you do?!" A bewildered voice rang at my side as I see Mikoto getting out of his seat.

"That was the Albright Turn, but I kinda screwed up the timing and almost ruined my landing."

"When did you learn it? All your moves are on a whole 'nother level today, but that thing was Pro level for sure!"

"I told you the Takemikazuchi was great, who's laughing at the purple one now?"

"I can't belive you actually dodged most of my attacks." It's clear he's frustrated. He has never lost so badly against me.

"Haha, well it was weird that you kept gliding so much. It was easy to read you."

"Hey Takeru, let me see your play log."

"Sure, but what's wrong with you? You're really rusty, you know."

"I'm not rusty, you've gotten really good at this! You sure you're not skipping class?" Mikoto says as he throws a suspicious look at me narrowing his eyes.

"Making excuses? Who would have said I'd see the day!"

"You jerk! Now, lemme see how you did those stunts."

(Resto Bar)
[Sumika]

Since the guys left, we started talking about fashion, cooking, and random stuff.

"So he just decided to exercise out of the blue?" Sakaki asked me as she finished her drink.

"Yeah. Same with the cooking. It's like he woke up one day, said 'Oh, I'mma do this!', and then just kept doing it." Honestly, it is weird. Takeru-chan never cared about cooking, or about doing physical activity.

"Weirdogane being Weirdogane."

"Kei-san, that's rude! But maybe he's just releasing his stress?" Miki-chan tilted her head a bit.

"Maybe? He's progressing fine, as far as I know.

A voice sounded through the speakers.

"To all spectators. The event will start in 10 minutes. Please go to the main hall. I repeat-"

"Well, shall we go? Let's get some nice seats." said Sakaki as she stood up.

"Yeah, let's go. It looks like a lot of people just arrived, so it's going to get packed." I grab my purse and stand up along the rest.

But as we were making our way to the hall, two men in suits approached us. They came up to us slowly, they were wearing sun glasses, so I couldn't see their eyes, but they were tall and well built.

"Excuse me, could you be Sumika Kagami?"

"Eh? Yes, that's me. What do you need?"

"And would you all be Chizuru Sakaki, Miki Tamase and Kei Ayamine?" The other man asked.

The girls nodded. What could these security guys want with us?

"Forgive the inconvenience, but please come with us." One said with a firm, commanding tone.

"What's this about?" Ayamine said with clear anger in her voice, taking a step forward.

"We we're ordered to get you. We'll have you follow us. This way."

Before we could react, two more men in suits were behind us. What's going on here?!

A/N: Thanks to Caveknight32 for reminding me of explaining which timeline I'm starting the story from. This fic takes place after Alternative, where Takeru returned to the Extra timeline instead of going to the Altered Fable world. After returning he lives normally, but due to the repressed memories he stays indecisive and cannot chose any girl, thus stays alone like in Extra's normal end. The story starts two years after the "end" of Extra, with Takeru now in college. Also, Valgern-On's version of the Takemikazuchi is exactly the same as the one in the BETA timelines, just that it has two machineguns built into it's frame on it's waist Paildramon style.