"What's with the long face, dude?" Lars asked on the way home.

"Seems like I got into a fight with Kai." Yuel said.

"What did ya do?"

"Nothing I’d consider offensive," Yuel shrugged. "But, she started ignoring me afterwards. Actually, she also ignored the rest of the team as well."

"Yeah, I saw that part," Lars nodded "I tried calling her a few times to set up ganks but she didn't even look my way. These huge headphones are srs bsns. I betcha she wouldn't notice an explosion even if it went off right in front of her."

"No kidding.”

"But, I thought she just wanted to listen to loud music or something. I also sometimes dial the volume up and play some hard rock to get myself pumped in shooters. Can't hear anything else when I do that, haha."

"Yeah, I remember you used to do that when we started playing Mancers. I always had to talk you out of it."

"Yep, it wasn't the brightest idea for such a team heavy game, haha. Anyway, I didn't realize you two were fighting. You should've told me. I'mma patch things up in no time!"

"Can you? Really?" Yuel narrowed his eyes. "What will you tell her?"

"I'd be like 'Yo, my dude. This is a team game. We gotta work together and stuff!' Something like that."

"The straightforward approach, I see," Yuel smiled wryly. It was a primitive way to resolve things but it probably would have worked for Lars. However, not so much for Yuel. Kai would probably call him out on “lecturing” again.

It was funny. When Lars was trying to explain something, it always came off as simple and positive. However, when Yuel tried to deliver the same message? People treated him like a pretentious lecturer. Why? Was it his tone? His face? Sigh...

Either way, Lars’s idea didn't quite provide Yuel with a solution. The only thing he knew for sure was that he had to confront Kai face-to-face and talk things out.

The problem was that he didn't quite understand the problem. Did he say something that offended Kai? Or, did she just think he was getting too bossy for a Support? If only somebody could tell him...

"Hey, Chessmaster," Vincent caught up to them. "You forgot about me."

"I did?" Yuel asked.

"Yeah. I told you I'll give you a tip or two about Kai, remember?"

"You were serious about that?"

"Of course I was," Vincent said.

"Sorry, it's hard to tell with you sometimes."

"I get that a lot."

What a surprise. Yuel thought. After all, that clown's defining feature was spouting random nonsense 24/7. So, it was never clear when to take his words seriously and when he was messing around.

"So," Vincent said. "What did you say to her? I missed that part."

"I'm not sure what triggered her," Yuel said. "The last thing we talked about was my initiations and how she didn’t follow up on them. She said she only follows up on initiations that satisfy her unreasonably high standards, so I called her something like 'spoiled princess'."

"Oh boy," Vincent shook his head dramatically as if all hope was lost for humanity. "Yeah, that's a no-no."

"What part of it? I was just giving fair criticism."

"The 'spoiled princess' part,” Vincent said. “You see, Kai doesn't like being treated as a girl."

"But she is a girl," Yuel said. Though, I had some trouble figuring that out the first time I saw her. That cap she wears makes it difficult to tell from afar.

"Yeah, she's a girl. But, she doesn't like it when you bring up that fact. Especially, when you do so in a negative light."

"Any reason behind it?" Yuel asked.

"Yeah, she lowkey hates boys. And, by lowkey, I mean she gets totally upfront about it and even developed the Pheromone Buster ability that makes her play aggressively against makes."

"Wait, she hates 'boys'?" Yuel raised an eyebrow. "As in, males in general?"

"I'm not sure about adult men but she has a beef with boys her age," Vincent explained. "I don't have all the details but apparently she tried to fit in with the boys before as a fellow gamer. But, these brats chased her away because she’s a girl."

"Oh, I've seen that kind of thing before," Lars said. "Dudes be like that sometimes. I remember some dudes from my class who didn't wanna play Mancers with July back in grade school. I always thought it was dumb, so I made sure to play with her even though she wasn't that good back then."

Wait, Yuel blinked. So, back in grade school, Lars played with Julia even though he knew she had many flaws as a Support? And, he did it because other boys refused to play with her? First time I heard about it.

In other words, by becoming Lars’s Support, Yuel took away the only boy in their class who was willing to play with Julia. So, no wonder she hated Yuel’s guts. It was more than just taking away the closest role to Lars. By invading that private space and criticizing how Julia played, Yuel must have made her feel unwanted just like other boys did. That wasn't his intention in the slightest. Yikes.

"So," Vincent continued. "I hope you understand why calling her a 'princess' was a no-no. You criticized the way she plays and that’s fine. But, then you added 'princess' and welp..."

"I see what you're saying," Yuel nodded. Even though none of this was Yuel's intention, he made it sound as if Kai's shortcomings were somehow related to her being a girl. That idea hasn't crossed his mind even for a moment but, considering Kai's past experiences, it wasn't hard to see why she might think that way.

In other words, this wasn't exactly Yuel's fault but it also kinda was. Now, that he learned what rubbed Kai the wrong way, he should be able to clear things up. He just had to explain he said 'spoiled princess' on a whim and it had nothing to do with everything he criticized about Kai's plays. The gender of the player didn’t matter; only their skills did.

"Welp," Vincent said. "You started off on the wrong foot but I'll try to get in a few good words for you. Hopefully, that'll make Kai forget about it."

"Can you really do that?" Yuel asked. "I had the impression she doesn't particularly like you."

"Nah, we're on good terms. At least, I think we are," Vincent cracked a dry laugh. "She's just kind of a tsundere with people. Or, maybe a kuudere. Not sure which fits her more."

"A wut?" Lars asked. "That ain’t no English, yo"

"Yes, it isn't," Vincent smiled like a know-it-all and turned to Yuel. "You know what I'm talking about?"

"I've heard the terms before," Yuel said. "Those are names for character archetypes, I believe."

"Yep, you're right on the money. These are archetypes from anime."

"The heck is an anime?" Lars asked.

"Wha-!?" Vincent jumped. "How could you not know about it!?" He turned to Yuel. "You know what an anime is, right?"

"Anime, animation," Yuel tried to recall via association. "Oh, I believe it's how people call Chinese cartoons?"

"WRONG!" Vincent thundered. "I mean, you're close but also TOTALLY WRONG. It's Japanese and it's way more than just a cartoon!"

"How so? It got some live action mixed in?"

"No, no, no," Vincent crossed his arms it into a big X. "They're leagues and bounds above your average cartoon! Just drawing a comparison between these two is blasphemy!"

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Wow, dude," Lars laughed. "You sound kinda obsessed with that stuff,"

"Of course I am! It's the best thing ever! The most superior form of art that was handed to humanity by god itself! And, of course, said god was probably little girl."

"Wut. Why, tho?"

"Because anime."

"Haha, I don't get it but sounds like a meme."

"Anime is all the rage nowadays," Vincent claimed. "You fellows are totally missing out. Actually, I bet you even watched some without knowing. Like, One Peace."

"Oh, yeah!" Lars exclaimed. "I watch that one sometimes. Shit is hype as heck! Didn’t know it was one of these 'anime' things. I get whatcha saying now. It's a pretty damn solid cartoon."

"IT'S. NOT. A CARTOON." Vincent insisted.

“Objectively speaking,” Yuel said. “It’s a cartoon that’s made in another country.”

“Yes but no. It’s a superior form of art! The ultimate entertainment!”

“From what little I’ve seen, it’s mostly about some teens yelling nonsense,”

“You’ve probably seen shonen then,” Vincent nodded with understanding. “It’s a genre that works way better for someone like Lars. You’ll probably like something more tactical or philosophical. Here, I’ll make you a list: Kill Note, Code Guess, and Psycho Licence. Go watch all of those.”

“If I feel like it.”

“DO IT.”

“How did we even start talking about any of this, again?” Yuel asked. “I thought we were talking about Kai.”

“Oh, right,” Vincent finally stopped his fanboyism.

Is it even physically possible to not get on a tangent while talking to this guy? Yuel sighed.

“So, as I was saying,” Vincent continued. “Kai is kind of a kuudere. In short, it’s an anime character that acts distant toward people but, deep down, actually cares about them.”

“So, you’re saying Kai ‘not liking you’ is just a front? And, that you’re actually good buddies?”

“Yep, exactly!”

“I think this guy is in denial,” Yuel whispered to Lars.

“I know, right? Haha.” Lars nodded.

“Laugh all you want,” Vincent shook his head in disappointment. “You ignorant plebs simply don’t understand the deep and sophisticated culture of dere types.”

“I’m sure,” Yuel rolled his eyes.

“Remind me why I’m even bothering to help you?” Vincent made a face. “Maybe I should just stay out of this and let you use your Lv.1 Communication skill to resolve the problem with Kai.”

“Sorry, my bad. Please help me out.” Yuel hated to admit but he felt he won’t be able to resolve this problem by own. His countless failures with Julia taught him a harsh lesson. His Communication skill was indeed at Lv.1. Or, maybe even worse.

“Alrighty,” Vincent said. “I’ll appease her as much as I can but you still have to talk to her face-to-face. Don’t expect me to do miracles here.”

“Of course,” Yuel nodded. Naturally, he would have liked if the problem just resolved itself on its own. Unfortunately, things didn’t work that way in life. No matter how much Vincent will help to improve the situation, Yuel will ultimately have to sort things out himself. What a pain...

“Alright then,” Vincent saluted. “I’ll go catch Kai, See you tomorrow, fellow warriors of Valhalla.” He vanished around the corner.

It’s amazing he can say these things with a straight face as if it’s totally normal. Yuel shook his head.

“Hey, Kai!” Vincent called out while panting. “Wait a sec... Oh, she’s in her Soundproof Reality Marble again.”

Kai was wearing her big black headphones over her black cap. These magical headphones were imbued with Anti-Sound materia to reject the rest of the world. Such was the power of the Soundproof Reality Marble! It had the power to overwrite the sounds of the world and turn them mute! It was an EX rank Noble Phantasm!

“Hey!” Vincent tapped on Kai’s shoulder. Kai jumped a little and turned around.

“You okay?” Kai took down her headphones.

“Y-Yeah, perfectly fine, h-haha...” Vincent panted hard. He had to dash hard after Kai to catch her before she leaves school. It was a real struggle. He had to jog for a straight minute to get here. It was like 60 seconds of jogging! In fact, it was 60, 000 milliseconds! 60,000! It’s like he performed an Olympic feat!

“Are you done dying over there?”

“Hey, don’t kill me off like that!” Vincent’s breathing stabilized for the most part but this was a traumatic near-death experience he’ll carry with him for the rest of his life. Physical exercise was scary.

“Okay, I’m good now,” Vincent raised his back. “I’ve returned from the dead!”

“How unfortunate.”

“Rude, haha. I see somebody is full of venom today. Are you still in a bad mood because of Yuel?”

“I was never in a bad mood,” Kai turned away. “I just didn’t feel like interacting with that guy anymore, that’s all.”

“I heard what he called you,” Vincent said. “I kind of get why you were angry at him.”

“I wasn’t angry. I just felt like he wasn’t worth my time. He has been lecturing me the whole time and then insulted me. So, didn’t feel like interacting with him anymore.”

“In other words, you were angry.”

“I wasn’t angry.”

“You totally were, though.”

“I wasn’t. But, you’re sure making me angry now.”

“Good, good. Let the anger flow through you.”

“Did you come here to make fun of me?” Kai brought up her soundproof headphones.

“Alright, alright,” Vincent said. “I just wanted to clear some things up regarding Yuel. He didn’t mean to insult you.”

“Oh, really? Because ‘spoiled princess’ is quite an obvious insult if you ask me.”

“Yeah, he sure didn’t mean anything good by it. But, he wasn’t trying to imply anything about you being a girl.”

“Really,” Kai narrowed her eyes. “He criticized every play I made, he argued with me about everything, and, at the end there, he called me a ‘spoiled princess’. Pretty sure he was trying to imply I’m just SO terrible at the game because I’m a girl.”

“No, no, no,” Vincent waved his arms. “That wasn’t his intention at all. I just talked to him about it.”

“What, are you his lawyer or something?”

“Haha, something like that,” Vincent chuckled. “Call me Vincent Wright, Ace Attorney.”

“More like, Ace Busybody.”

“Heh. Anyway, you just gotta trust me on this one. Yuel didn’t mean to imply anything about your gender when he said what he did.”

"If you say so," Kai shrugged.

"Oh? You sound oddly agreeable," Vincent smiled meaningfully. "Have you already figured it yourself from playing with him?"

"Sort of," Kai shifted her eyes away. Truth to be told, much of her irritation regarding Yuel died out as they continued playing. Because, no matter how Yuel viewed Kai as a player, he never stopped trying to cooperate with her as her Support.

Every time Kai went on the offensive, Yuel followed up to the best of his ability with CC and bodyblocking. Every time Kai was in danger, Yuel didn't hesitate to stand in the enemy's way and take all the damage upon himself even if it meant dying. It was almost noble.

So, despite how insulting his words came across, his attitude was a world apart from the boys who used to make fun of Kai. Once these bastards started going, they blamed everything on her and refused to cooperate. They rather leave Kai to die every time instead of taking any hits for her even though she was the Carry.

Their message was clear: "This girl sucks at the game so I won't put myself in danger for her. She better just get rekt." They made it crystal clear they didn't want her around, both inside and outside the game. Even when she joined this club, the first year was rough because the seniors treated her like the worst player in the world.

But, Yuel was different. Despite how much he criticized Kai's conduct and even after he called her “spoiled princess”, he kept on trying to get something done in Bot Lane together with her.

It was the first time Kai met a boy like him. At some point, she started feeling bad about ignoring him. But, it was awkward to change her stance all of a sudden after giving him the cold shoulder for so long, so she kept her soundproof headphones on. She was waiting for that inevitable moment when Yuel gives up on her and starts treating her like a lowly useless player. But, it never happened and Kai ended up looking like a stubborn fool.

"Yuel is just straightforward like that," Vincent explained. "He wants to win. It doesn't matter whether his teammates are boys, girls or aliens. Yuel remains focused on the end goal and utilizes his team the best he can. Truly, he is a Chessmaster."

"You're saying we're like chess pieces to him?"

"I wouldn't go that far. But, when it comes to matches, he definitely cares the most about his teammates' skill so he’s not the type to dismiss anybody based on gender. If you’re good, you’re good. If not, he’s going tell you that straight in your face. Dude just doesn't care. He wants to win and, if his teammates make mistakes, he’ll call them out on it."

"Well, he could be a little nicer about it," Kai said. "People are going to think he's hostile."

"Yeah, he'd definitely benefit from a lesson or two at subtlety. I bet he got into many similar fights for being too blunt."

"I wouldn't be surprised."

"So, are we good now?" Vincent asked.

"Yeah, I'll just assume his remark wasn't meant to write me off as a player based on gender. Still find that hard to believe, though."

"Can't blame you after everything that happened at the club."

"The seniors back then were the worst scum on earth."

"Well, I wouldn't go that far. But true, they had a few undesirable traits in their attitude."

"What a complicated way to say they were uncompetitive and selfish sacks of shit."

"Wow, wow, that's harsh," Vincent said. "They weren't that terrible."

"They were the worst this world ever had."

I see somebody is still holding a grudge. Vincent smiled wryly. Most likely, it’s this club that solidified Kai’s hatred toward boys. She had to bear through some unpleasant experiences here, both before entering the club and during her first year.

Thankfully, it seemed Kai was willing to give Yuel another chance. Since Vincent tipped Yuel about Kai's past, they should be able to sort things out from there. Hopefully. Either way, Vincent did everything he could for these two.

"You two better talk it out face-to-face," Vincent said.

"Right," Kai glanced aside. She was obviously thrilled about it.

I bet she feels awkward after ignoring him like this. Vincent smiled meaningfully. There was a good chance Kai developed some level of respect toward Yuel’s dedication to the Carry and to victory. Despite their little feud, Yuel kept on playing his best while Kai went full radio silence mode. She must have realized it was childish of her.

With this, the quarrel between Kai and Yuel has been resolved. At least, almost resolved. These two still had to talk it out and there were no guarantees how well that’d go. They both had a Communication skill of Lv.1 at best.

Still, Vincent has done everything he could so he was satisfied. Once Kai and Yuel sort out their misunderstanding, the team will grow ever stronger. With Kai’s Rhythm Reader and the strength of the Golden Duo on the team, Stratus might actually make history this year and pass the first round of the regionals! Nay, they might win the entire thing! Maybe even take the nationals! The time of Ragnarok was nigh!