How many of these ‘ranked matches’ have I played these past few days? Can’t even guess.

But the only thing I remember about all of them was that it went one of two ways every single time….either we kept destroying the enemy till we got that win, or the enemy destroyed us…..

So maybe that’s why this match in particular feels different…..since we are on the verge of losing, and at the foot of a comeback.

My final chance of making those three pay, and I’m not given the luxury of winning this without pushing myself to the limit.

I didn’t even know the names of these people I’m fighting alongside, nor I have any intention to know… but I learned a lot about myself from them in these past few minutes, more than I have under my old man’s guidance. We’ve never even met before, but they had my back….. the least I could do was to do the same.

The match slowed down to a crawl, both sides exhausted…both mentally and resource-wise. Through all that, we managed to keep our laser focus, as we couldn’t afford to let this momentum go, and we weren’t about to let the griefer win.

The enemy was doubting their moves, and now they were scrambling to find a way to break our flow but they can’t seem to find a way to put an end sign on the match they always did and still has the advantage on.

For the next few agonizing minutes it was a battle of attrition… damage was traded and both sides got cheap picks by either someone who got caught out in the open or tried to face-check an angle which was already being looked at by their opponent.

The Artifact had been on field for some time now but it was on the enemy side, and considering how it hadn’t been retrieved for a couple of minutes now says that the enemy is trying to wear us down and win on kills alone.

They are forcing us to make the first move, as if we keep this up, we are going to be running out of ammo and recovery items soon.

“Score…90-63. Team Red Match Point”

(Not what we wanted to hear right now)

“Don’t be hasty….We came this far so we can make this count. Stick to cover and stick to your team….We can’t afford to throw kills right now” the tank reinforced everyone’s waning morale

“Yeah but we can’t play it slow anymore….we are on a time limit now that the griefer can just feed himself to the enemy 10 times and lose us the game”

(Shit, didn’t really think of that…..Not good. My plan wouldn’t work if he doesn’t go for the Artifact….)

“Then we just have to convince him not to do so”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” the other mid-ranger asked me

“Let me worry about that… if he is planning on getting himself killed as soon as possible, it means we have free reign when it comes to fighting for the objective…. You guys need to take advantage of that.”

(I was gambling with the outcome of the match right now ... .as much as my whole being repulsed being dependent on a group of random and unpredictable strangers, my gut was saying otherwise.)

“You do what you have to do, we’ll keep their scout off you” reassured our scout while checking his weapons, preparing for a fight

“I’ll be on this side, I’ll have my hands tied for a bit but I’ll support as much as I can” I relayed my plan to them

“Sounds like a plan, on three we move out…. Anyone needs help, call it out. We have to have each other’s backs. Ready?....Three” and we dispersed. My whole team broke off as I stayed behind our shield.

(Didn’t even bothered counting down I see)

I backed off to where I couldn’t be seen by the enemy on the opposite building and made my way towards our spawn area to play stalker….staying out of sight till he respawned, setting up my repeater to hold steady for the long range engagements I might need to contest….. and just as I finished calibrating my zoom scope, he ran out the door.

I kept on his tail as he attempted to take the shortest route to the enemy’s sightline, and I took a few dozen steps behind as I looked through my scope to see who was looking to score themselves a free kill.

I steadied my gun, making extra sure that my shot will hit it’s mark

(Breath in, Breath out…Keep your lungs empty. Wait until the moment one of them looks at him)

As my instinct said that it would be the backliner that would be looking to collect the kill, I was spot on about that as she diverted her attention to the one who had his hands outstretched trying to make himself more of an easier target. I pulled the trigger as she took aim.

However, the rookie mistake I made was completely forgetting the wind that was blowing between the two skyscrapers, which altered my bullet trajectory ever so slightly. Instead of taking one clean to the head, the bullet managed to shatter her scope, and the sight of her writhing on the floor was a sign that the shattered glass had indeed found her eyes.

As much as I wanted to put her out of her misery, she dropped down behind low cover as the damage overwhelmed her which took her out of my line of sight.

The griefer looked at where the bullet that saved him came from, looking at me with an irritated scowl on his face….He’s soon going to hand us the win, and he still doesn’t seem to even suspect it even in the slightest.

However, my shot didn’t go unnoticed as the whole enemy team turned their guns towards me…. I could see the griefer’s scowl turning into a smirk from his side, but it wasn’t he who should be happy right now.

My team saw the opening and collapsed onto them. And I was given free reign once again to pick off anyone who was trying to back off…. Yet another won fight with no losses on our side

“Team Blue…Team Kill”

“Artifact Deposited….Score….90-78….Team Red Advantage”

Both announcements were almost over each other, as the cleanup from our side was quick

I took my gun off my bit of cover and replaced the rounds I fired until the tube was full. And I had some undesired company in the meantime as well

“I’m not going to let you win….You hear me?”

I glimpsed at him but didn’t allow him the courtesy of a reply as I continued to check my weapon

“Why do you struggle so much for this one pesky match? Why do you fight like you have no other choice but to push forward?”

I got up and repositioned to prepare for the next push. As I tried to keep my focus on my team psyching themselves up, the loud voice in front of me was very tough to ignore.

“You keep giving everything you got every chance you get, it’s only going to hurt more when you lose it all. Why risk everything…..for nothing?”

I let his desperation pile up, and didn’t give him a single word to ease him down….But that unsteadiness in his hands that he was trying to hide….was that frustration or fear?

No use thinking about it… I should focus on what’s in front of me. We might have them on the ropes, but the floor under us is plate glass. One misstep and we go plummeting down.

While I pretended to not care, I kept the griefer at the corner of my eye nonetheless…. As I had to keep nudging him towards the quick and easy way of ending this match rather than the slower way. But considering what just happened, I have a feeling that he is going to lose the less desirable option… One way to find out.

While I might’ve repositioned, I still had the griefer and the split between buildings in my line of sight. Our moment of respite came to an end as the enemy ran out of their spawn, sliding into the little cover they had.

My team was quick to put on the pressure…. even with a number’s disadvantage. With me following up from across, the enemy team was cornered…. All while the griefer was looking upon, frustrated that no one is claiming the free point he is offering.

A perfect offense yet again

“Team Blue…Team kill……Score…92-83…. Team Red Advantage”

…Almost perfect

Our two main attackers fell at the last moment… Leaving it to me and our tank to clean up the last weakened straggler…. And if I was him, I’d be acting otherwise right now.

Seeing him hurry away from the edge hinted me that it might be the case…but I had to be sure

I got on the comms “Anyone know when the Artifact will spawn?”

“Around when the enemy’s spawn back in… Artifact won’t spawn while one team has been fully wiped…but it will once they are back on the map” I got my answer immediately

Reload, reset…deep breath….Reassess and reacquire. Predict what the enemy would do….predict who they will and can focus on, and watch their back….Let the oddity do the heavy lifting.

“Artifact on field”

“Let’s do this” I psyched myself up, all the while, the griefer had slipped out of my focus…or so he thinks

I immediately got on comms

“Heads up, he’s coming your way”

“We’ll be expecting him” the reply was almost instant

For the first time this whole game, I finally got a moment of peace of mind as I didn’t have to worry about that sore loser for once, allowing me to calmly set up on the flank opposite the enemy spawn

I quickly checked the map to get an idea of where the Artifact spawn was, and saw that it had spawned on the opposite end of the enemy’s building…right where the rest of my team had set up

(Perfect spawn location. They play this right, and we got it in the bag)

But when I lifted my head over my cover to take point, I was met with a very nasty surprise as it’s only my trained reflexes that saved my head from being separated from my shoulders…even if my arm and shoulder were not that lucky.

I was thrown off my position and onto the ground, and I still had no idea what was happening except that I just dodged a barrage of gunfire. Even worse was that my right arm had chunks missing from it. I forced myself back onto my feet and retreated.

“Leader, talk to us…what’s going on?” my unexpected cry of pain managed to find itself reaching the rest of my team through the comms.

“I don’t know…” I kept silent for a second after to confirm the fact that I was hearing footsteps close to me “They are heading my way…don’t know how many. They broke through our gridlock”

“Hold on, I’ll be there to support….”

“No” I was quick to cut our scout off “The griefer doesn’t know yet. Stick to the plan. I’ll get myself out of this”

“Are you crazy? Literally the whole enemy team could be on you right now… You dying now is the same as the griefer throwing his life away to the enemy…. We can’t afford to give them a chance to turn this around”

My attention was on my surroundings while the other mid player was going off in my ear. There was definitely more than one of them on me and I was defenseless… my weapon was still in its lever-action form and I couldn’t convert it with only one functional arm… And I didn’t have 2 minutes to spare to drop my gun and go for my blade.

“Spawn…. Get yourself into spawn…” the comms were still going off as I was running from an enemy that I still hadn’t even laid eyes on.

“Out of the question, I’ll be out of the fight if I do that” I replied….frustrated on how this had turned out

“So would dying right now and waiting for respawn… They can’t get you in spawn, just trust us to get them off you so you can take point again”

(Goddamnit)

And they still continued

“We took your word when you said you had a plan….how about you do the same and take ours”

(But….)

As much as I didn’t like it, I had no better choice…..Keeping low, I looked in the direction of the spawn door and plotted a mental path I could take to get there while keeping behind cover.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Barely keeping my grip on my rifle with my maimed arm, I moved as quick as I could…kept my feet light and my brain heavy as I kept my focus on the slightest glint and the explosive crack of bullets being fired my way…keeping away from my foes and sneaking through the small breaks they took between their bursts of gunfire.

However my attempt wasn’t as perfect as I hoped and I took a few shots to my lower torso, but it wasn’t enough to bring me to a complete stop. At the end of my dash, I managed to jump myself into the safety behind the spawn barrier. As if I was running purely on adrenaline all this time, I crashed hard onto the ground the second I was in safety and as I was catching my breath and I witnessed as my arm started healing up in seconds….. Guess running into spawn does have its advantages.

I made sure that my arm was back at its prime and I got up off the floor, but I couldn’t risk going back out as I was completely blind to what awaited me outside.

I opened my inventory to check on what I had left.

(One half clips of SMG and one full tube for the lever-action… No grenades, and only one HP vial left….. Just my luck)

“Enough for two fights at best…. Got to make it count” I reminded myself

I forced my hand up to my ear to check in “Talk to me”

“Griefer took the bait and you got three people camping our spawn…. Are you sure about this?”

(I’m really not but even I know not to be pessimistic right now)

“Griefer’s doing our job for us… you worry about the three on your side, force them to divert, and I’ll hit them from the back… and whatever you do, don’t die. One more person gets trapped in spawn, and we have no way to get out”

“Barely have any heals left but noted… I am playing a bit passive, I’ll let you know the second they divert”

That last dash knocked the wind out of me, and unluckily for me, I had not a single SP vial left…meaning that I had to regain my stamina naturally.

I felt as if rocks were attached to my calves as I stepped forward, and that it only got heavier the longer I was on my feet.

(Push through it…. This will be over soon)

Waiting for the call, I leaned on the wall that separated me from a potential hail of gunfire if I decided to peek my head out. Still catching my breath, I converted my gun to the SMG and made sure the mag was full. My fatigue fuelled my impatience as I was forced to wait till my team gave me an opening….but I decided it wouldn’t hurt if I sat down for a second.

I closed my eyes and paid attention to the comms…my team called out who they hit, who they were focusing, and how well off they were. But none of that was enough to quell my worries about them falling short.

I hated the fact that my fate was in their hands, but all I could now was just hope.

My moment of inaction gave me a reminder on why I don’t really slow down…. It’s because the ghosts just catch up to me. The flashes of what my old man put me through…. And how I always looked forward to Minami comforting me after I returned batter and bruised in more ways than one. And it always is followed by the memory of what Isaac and Makoto took from me.

“Artifact Deposited….Score 93-92….Team Blue Advantage….Impasse point”

(Huh?)

“Take that you little shit… How’s that for trying to make us lose”

“You idiot… what did you just do?” Our tank sounded furious

Suddenly the guns outside our spawn started going off

“Everybody behind my shield, fall back…. What was that for?”

“What?…Bastard got very close to the enemy base with the Artifact, I just pushed him in”

Guess I was right to be worried

“Yeah, and not only couldn’t we free our spawn…. The griefer is going to get himself killed and we are literally out of ammo and utility…. Absolutely brilliant.”

I had to move, or they’ll all die. This was my only shot, and if I messed this up.... It’s all over.

I risked a quick face check of my surroundings and…nothing…. There wasn’t a single enemy in sight. The gunfire was distant and infrequent, which was enough for me to figure out that they were both away from me and low on ammo themselves.

(Did they really just leave our spawn like that?)

While it appeared to be the case, something about this just didn’t feel right. But I attempted to push ahead and set up anyway.

(This makes no sense…they dived me in the first place since they knew I was their main source of pressure ... .they knew that they had me stuck in spawn, so why would they?)

But the faint sound of glass being stepped on near me confirmed my suspicion. I made no sudden movements to not give it away and to conserve my energy….but which one was it.

I slowly put away my primary and had my hand ready to draw my blade. And the moment those footsteps my ears quickened into a sprint, I went on the defensive.

I hit the deck as my first move, as I still didn’t know if there were any bullets that were going to be coming my way…. But the lack of any follow up as a sickle slashed over my head was an indication that this was a one on one.

Their scout had been harassing me all throughout the early game, guess he is back to hinder me some more. However, even with me struggling to stay upright, his attacks felt significantly weaker, and even with the distance I put between us, he wasn’t throwing his weapons at me anymore.

(Open mouth and rapid chest movements….guess I’m not the only one who’s at the edge of exhaustion. Read this right, and I can end this quick)

I take up a basic ready stance to intimidate him away from my weakness right now, which also means that I can’t wait for him to attack first. I took a shallow breath and lunged at him. He went on the defensive almost immediately and blocked my strike. He immediately attempted a counter attack, but I didn’t have the luxury of blocking since he had one more melee weapon than I did to worry about. His flurries kept coming and I kept dodging and side stepping. I attacked back at the end of most of his strikes where he was the most vulnerable, but I couldn’t swing the advantage. I wasn't fast enough to bypass the defense of both his blades.

The brief stalemate ended as one of his blades found itself into my side. Burying itself in my flank, he attempted to follow up by short throwing his other sickle around my legs to attempt and floor me…. Which was his undoing.

I read his intention the moment his gaze dropped low, and I reflexively lifted my foot, and stepped on his blade that went low. The moment he was rooted in place was all I needed to put my blade to his throat and shove him onto the ground.

I screamed and put all the strength I had remaining into my Karambit….making sure the sharp edge dug deep into his neck and sent him right back to spawn. A second later, I had won my bout, but there was a sharp sickle lodged deep on my left side.

I got on my knees and grabbed the sickle with both hands, and slowly pulled it out, doing my best to ignore the burning sensation that followed. As it separated from my body, the weapon turned in a bright blue dust and disappeared.

I tried to claw my way back up to my feet but the hole in my side was making that a more demanding task than I had the energy to deal with. Still between a state of crouch and standing up, I checked my near depleted inventory and took out my last remaining health vial.

I chugged it down and threw the vial away, but the healing wasn’t kicking in fast enough to get me up just yet. Instead, I inched myself towards the cover ahead, where I could perch my gun and help my team.

(Almost at the finish line…Don’t give in just now. Don’t let them get away)

I pulled myself towards my desired position, slouched and one step at a time, barely keeping my voice from leaking out. I first turned my hand over to check the scoreboard

93-93… And everyone on my team barely had even half health left each.

(This fight…has to end this…. or we lose)

I pulled myself up and perched my gun on the elevated cover, I pulled back the stock once and then once again to convert it into the lever-action rifle.

(Scope…)

I reached out to my red dot to detach it but the screams in my ear just got louder

“That was the last shield charge, fall back!”

“THERE IS NO BACK TO FALL TO!”

My team was cornered and were about to get slaughtered. They were pinched in place with their backs against the wall and I spotted two enemies attempting to flank them.

(No time…)

I put my eye behind the red dot and took aim…. Not only could I barely see anything, my vision was blurring and wobbling due to my halved stamina bar.

I trusted my instinct, emptied my lung and pulled the trigger.

I might’ve aimed for the head, but it seems that I had hit one of their flankers in the thigh. I immediately pushed the lever and pulled it back to chamber another round. I pointed my sights towards the enemies I could barely see and kept sending round after round at them. But my distraction was all that my team needed to stab them in the back.

Caught between a crossfire, my exhausted enemies had very little ways to defend themselves. While I didn’t manage to wound anyone enough to kill them, my team followed up cleaning…using the very little ammo they had to make my pressure count.

But I was abruptly interrupted as I was suddenly pushed away from my perch and onto the floor.

“YOU JUST DIDN’T KNOW WHEN TO QUIT DID YOU?”

Didn’t even have to look to know who it was.

“I’m not going to let you make a comeback… I won’t..”

“Hurts a lot more this way doesn’t it?” while he was rambling, I turned my comms to public as there was no reason anymore to hold my silence

“You try so hard to make us lose, and here you are helping us to win?..Even when you trying not to” I couldn’t help but smirk

“What are you talking about, you bitch?”

“You still haven’t figured it out, haven’t you?” I taunted him as I slowly got back up to my feet “ If you didn’t do any of what you have already done ... .we wouldn’t have had even the slightest chance of winning… “

I finally stood up and took a breather “You thought you were carrying the objective to the enemy, but you never even realized that you were also bringing it closer to their point” I stepped closer to him “Everytime you were throwing your life away, you took away one person from their team in the fight, balancing the scales….. Ever since you ran out of utility to sabotage us, you’ve been nothing but helping us, and you didn’t even know about it”

The sudden realization hit him like a truck on a highway, and I would be lying if I said that I didn’t get any enjoyment out of his face going through different stages of denial and acceptance.

(Time for the final nail in the coffin)

“And let me fill you in on another one of my old man’s sayings…. If you can’t control them….manipulate them…. And you just played right into our arms”

“Artifact on field” the P.A suddenly announced

(All the pieces couldn’t fall into place any better)

“This still isn’t over….. you will not win… I WON’T LET YOU WIN”

(Being blinded by uncontrolled rage is worse than fighting with your eyes closed… Looks like he’s about to find that out the hard way)

As he was doing way less than any of us this whole match, he had a lot more energy to spare in comparison to us. And it showed as he was dashing at top speed near the edge of the building, but he was looking a lot less confident in himself…making brief stops to recalculate his every move. But even as he stood still and the remaining enemies turned his way to claim a free kill, it gave me and my team a group of stationary targets who were wide open to get turned into crucial points….and it did result in us getting two more points on the board

He glanced at me, on the verge of tears and proceeded to continue on his desperate dash to deny us the win

Right on time too as I was completely out of ammo for the repeater, so I left my perch, turning back my gun into its SMG variant and moved into position to play the griefer once again for one last time.

The rest of my team was playing on the far end of the enemy’s building and I was stationed on our side, in the hopes of kiting him towards the enemy base. But I had eyes on him the whole time, even when he did a double take before even gaining possession of the Artifact.

“Let’s cut him a path shall we?” the other mid-ranger worded out what all of us had in mind

He was desperate, making a mad dash towards the enemy in the hopes of getting killed and giving them the key to their win. However, even through everyone’s fatigue, my team was zoned in…. using their range advantage to focus down anyone who comes close to the griefer….until….

“Team Blue…Team Kill... Score 97-93… Team Blue Advantage…..Impasse Point”

Until there were no more enemies to kill…..

But my plan started to go sideways as he stopped in his tracks the second we wiped the enemy team.

He has to be trying to throw the Artifact down the drop….Not good, it’s too early, and I’m not in a position to intercept.

I made my way to the edge and tried to get alongside him but at this rate I was not going to make it in time….He even knew that I couldn’t do what I did last time as he looked back and towards me who was running closer

“You think you’re better than me? That you deserve to win? THAT’S NOT HOW THIS WORLD WORKS”

Him monologuing gave me enough time to close the distance, however I couldn’t think of any way to get possession off him for now.

“YOU THINK JUST BECAUSE YOU WORK SO HARD, STRUGGLE SO MUCH, YOU ALL SHOULD WIN?.....I wouldn’t be here if that was true”

(Come on,think Yulia. Don’t fall short at the final hurdle…..Wait,he’s holding the Artifact but he’s…getting closer to the edge? He’s not… No!)

“You!” he looked at me and called out

“You think I’m as dumb as the rest of them down here? You think you can manipulate ME, TO DO YOUR BIDDING?”

(I was wrong…he wasn’t frustrated or afraid….he’s just on a massive ego trip)

“You pissed off the wrong man…. I control your fates, if I say you don’t win….”

He took another step closer to the edge “YOU”

And another “DON’T”

And another “WIN”

And he jumped off, with the Artifact in hand

“No!” Our scout screamed and tackled him again, and to the griefer’s surprise, he let go of the Artifact at the last moment ... .the moment which the scout used to get possession of it himself.

However, he was dead center of the drop…but his shove pushed the griefer into our building from the opposite.

“CATCH!” Our scout screamed, as he threw the Artifact directly upwards as he plummeted to his death, and I reflexively jumped the gap, now with the key to the win in my hands.

It’s as if everything stood still for a second after, as everyone was processing what just happened

“RUN FOR IT!” screamed my other two teammates. Snapping me and the Griefer who were completely dumbstruck.

Straining myself, I made a run for it…having to cross the distance of approximately half the map.

“no…NO!!!” The Griefer attempted to chase, but my two teammates tried to block him from crossing…unfortunately he was a lot less tired, and a lot faster than them.

I wasn’t any better, but what he could do if he caught up to me was stall me long enough for the enemy to spawn in and fill me full of bullets. And I didn’t have much time left till the enemy spawned in again.

I couldn’t stop myself from slowing down every couple of seconds, as my stamina bar was barely a quarter in size and I was burning through it with every moment I exerted myself.

(Almost…there)

My heart felt like it was about to jump out at me, and my body felt like being grated on sandpaper, but I kept putting one foot in front of the other if it meant that it would get me closer to the win and a split second away from the fast approaching griefer.

One long depleted stamina bar later, I had the objective in sight….along with the enemy team who was just coming out of spawn.

“No” It was the point where all hope in our victory was all but diminished, as my mind was too hazy to adapt to this.

(I still have time, if I can just avoid getting shot for half a second… I can do this)

“One move” I muttered to myself and took a deep breath as I was pushing myself forward… I trained my eyes on the direction the many gun barrels in front of me was facing towards

(Find the blind spot….Your final move) And I let my instinct guide me

Side stepped right, lowered my body as much as I could, and put all my remaining strength onto my right leg…pushing me into a dive towards the objective while I had my hand with the Artifact fully extended. At first, bullets flew past my ear, but I took a lot of damage while I dived… However I was saved from a kill shot as my team dumped the last bit of ammo they had into the enemy, forcing them back.

As a last ditch effort, the griefer caught up to me and tackled me away and we both fell onto the floor. I looked at him and witnessed his tear-filled face and smirked “You lose”.

He looked around me and saw that my hand was empty. He looked back to the sight of the enemy team on the floor in exhaustion…..and the Artifact in my possession was suspended and disintegrating on the enemy’s base point.

“Match Concluded…Score 107-93….Winner….Team Blue”

He looked at me once again, and there was nothing but look in his eyes that I have seen directed at me more times than I could count…. Eyes of pure hatred.

The moment didn’t last too long however, as my surroundings started to disintegrate along with the people in my vicinity. I on the other hand couldn’t get up since that last volley of bullets shredded my lower torso and my legs, leaving my health bar hanging by a thread….

That too didn’t last for as long since even without a single potion on me, my wounds were healing at a rapid pace and my stamina bar was gaining some much needed size back.

While I was given enough energy to get up, I didn’t want to. I was mentally drained, and there wasn’t even a moment spared to let the victory sink in. My allies and enemies have all disappeared, leaving me in an empty space that was soon turning into the matching room.

(Come on, let's not keep them waiting) I proceeded to force myself onto my feet and short step myself towards the emerging exit.

I opened the door as it glowed green and left into the crowded lobby of the Arena. Even after what felt like an eternity of ear shattering explosions and gunfire, the chatter and clutter still managed to deafen me.

I avoided the crowd and left the building…. Into the light of the crimson sun that illuminated everything around me, letting me know that my eternity today was nothing but an hour here…. But it was only at this moment, a surge of relief hit me suddenly. As with the end of this battle, it was almost time for me to end the war.

“Yuuuu-chaan!” My exhaustion only made that sudden jolt from behind me even more prominent

(At least I wouldn’t be alone in the end)

“For crying out loud…Can you NOT try to break my back for once?” Seriously…How does she even catch me off guard every single time?

(Wait, is she…crying?)

“Thank god…. I was so tense back there I almost forgot to even breathe… I thought you were going to leave us!”

(What are you? 10?)

“Yu Nee-chan…That was amazing. It was like watching Tatsuo-nii and Hayato-nii back in the day”

(How are they handling it better than she is?…..and where did the kids come from?)

“Come on you guys, you know that had nothing on the all time great, your truly” Tatsuo knelt down and addressed the kids and looked at me “Well played, Yulia-san”

“Cut it a bit close….but I agree. You got a lot to improve on but, you managed to surprise me” could blame him for being more judgemental since this is Hayato’s forte.

“Okay… this calls for celebration. Time for some long due sukiyaki” Tatsuo said with an unrelenting cheer, which the kids seemed to like.

(Sukiyaki? Wasn’t that? Guess any tension between Tatsuo and me is now water under the bridge)

I let out an audible sigh “Even if I say no, I’m probably going to get dragged along anyways… and can you get off me, Haru… I’m still here aren’t I” all this time she had been clinging to me crying her eyes out.

“Glad that we came to an understanding then, Yulia-san” Tatsuo continued to lead the conversation and the group “I’ve been casing this spot for weeks now…. Onward!”

The group followed Tatsuo liked we were an off-duty marching band. However, while Iagged behind for a second before following them, Hayato stayed behind as well.

“Out of all you are capable of….never expected you of everyone to be such a good enabler” Hayato looked at me with a slight smirk on his face

“Enabler?”

“That’s what you did, didn't you. When your whole team lost all hope, you got them back on their feet. Not many people can do that…. And throwers are all too common. The right thing to do is ignore them and focus on your own game but you… you managed to get them to play without even realizing it.”

“Was that really a bronze game? Felt like it took everything I had to win that” my fading exhaustion returned to me even at the thought of it

“On paper, yes….practically no. Remember that people are still finding their feet here, even the people who were the very best at the game are down here in bronze….. from what I saw, that game was gold to platinum rank at best”

(So not even halfway…. How could that possibly become even more difficult?)

“You might feel like that game knocked the wind out of you…. But you’ll get used to it eventually. Not much of a difference whether it’s behind a keyboard or behind the scope of a gun”

Tatsuo cut Hayato off immediately from the front of the pack “Hey slowpokes, catch up”

Hayato went ahead of me, picking up the pace

“You lied…didn’t you?” His pace of walking steadied as I asked that “This wasn’t the last chance I had to be in the Ascension BR…wasn’t it”

I couldn’t read him as he was ahead of me and I was facing his back “Who knows for sure? I just did an educated guess and passed it along to the others…..But even in the case I was wrong. Think of it as a test on how you handle yourself under pressure ... .Something everyone has to pass if a team is to stay together.”

Hayato looked back at me, “You’ll fit it just fine, Yulia-san.”

And there was nothing but silence at the back of the line until we reached and dug into our destination.

The whole group filled up two whole tables with the kids on one side and us on the other. The energy on each table was palpable as both sides were brawling over what they were to order.

I didn’t know it was due to the fact that I was half asleep, but the memory of my first day here imposed over the reality that was in front of me. Minami, Sayuri….Makoto and Isaac…. Before it all happened.

I remember that I just observed without interacting just like I am doing right now, and I also remember thinking that maybe this was the start of some light being shined into the decrepit cave which has been my life….. Here’s hoping that history doesn’t repeat itself.

“Oiiii…. Yuuu-chaaan” Haru’s voice slowly creeped into my ear and into my attention.

I snapped myself out of it and looked around as the whole table was looking at me

“Hm? What?”

“Looking a bit worse for wear there, Yulia-san….. Nothing that some good food and drink can’t fix” Tatsuo replied

“I don’t think even a stiff drink can get me out of this” I turned away and muttered myself

“You say something?”

“Nothing” I followed up to shut down Tatsuo’s curiosity

“Anyways…anything you like?” Tatsuo pointed at the menu

“Not really, I’ll be fine with whatever you guys decide on”

Suddenly, it’s as if there was a shine in the eyes of the two idiots

His tone turned extremely snarky “Ishikawa-kun, will you take the honor of educating this misguided young maiden in the art of modern gastronomy?”

“Why certainly my wonderful aide… I’d be more than happy to use my abundant experience to choose for you all an experience worth such an occasion”

(What’s with the medieval roleplay?)

“Since when did I become your aide” Tatsuo whispered trying not to ruin their flow

“Either take it or get demoted to a maid”

(Aaand they ruined it…but I still couldn’t help but hold back a chuckle)

“In that case…guess I’ll also be in your care, Hayato-san” said Haru, to which Hayato nervously gulped.

While the atmosphere around me began to thrive as usual, it was bright enough for me to not even notice the storm outside….as I looked out the window, I saw them looking at me, only to disappear along with the white flash which followed a sudden jolt of lightning out of the overcast sky.

(Sayuri…Minami, I won’t let you down again)

It may be the end of the beginning for us…. But it’s just going to be the end of many others.