"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 sider offensive," Yuel shrugged. "But, she started ign me afterwards. Actually, she also ighe rest of the team as well."

  "Yeah, I saart," 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 noti explosion even if it went ht in front of her."

  "No kidding.”

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

  "Yeah, I remember you used to do that whearted pying 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!"

  " 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 rimitive way to resolve things but it probably would have worked for Lars. However, not so much for Yuel. Kai would probably call him out ouring” again.

  It was funny. When Lars was trying to expin something, it always came off as simple and positive. However, wheried 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 front Kai face-to-fad talk things out.

  The problem was that he didn't quite uand 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," Vi caught up to them. "You fot 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," Vi said.

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

  "I get that a lot."

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

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

  "I'm not sure what triggered her," Yuel said. "The st thialked 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," Vi shook his head dramatically as if all hope was lost for humanity. "Yeah, that's a no-no."

  "art of it? I was just giving fair criticism."

  "The 'spoiled princess' part,” Vi 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 y up that fact. Especially, when you do so in a ive light."

  "Any reason behind it?" Yuel asked.

  "Yeah, she lowkey hates boys. And, by lowkey, I meas totally upfront about it and even developed the Pheromone Buster ability that makes her py 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," Vi expined. "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 css who didn't y Mancers with July ba grade school. I always thought it was dumb, so I made sure to py with her even though she wasn't that good back then."

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

  In other words, by being Lars’s Support, Yuel took away the only boy in their css illing to py 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 spad critig how Julia pyed, Yuel must have made her feel unwanted just like other boys did. That wasn't his iion in the slightest. Yikes.

  "So," Vi tinued. "I hope you uand why calling her a 'princess' was a no-no. You criticized the way she pys 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 iion, he made it sound as if Kai's shortings were somehow reted to her being a girl. That idea hasn't crossed his mind even for a moment but, sidering Kai's past experiences, it wasn't hard to see why she might think that way.

  In other words, this wasly 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 expin he said 'spoiled princess' on a whim and it had nothing to do with everything he criticized about Kai's pys. The gender of the pyer didn’t matter; only their skills did.

  "Welp," Vi 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 fet about it."

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

  "Nah, we're on good terms. At least, I think we are," Vi cracked a dry ugh. "She's just kind of a tsuh 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," Vi smiled like a know-it-all and turo 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 mohese are archetypes from anime."

  "The heck is an anime?" Lars asked.

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

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

  "WRONG!" Vihundered. "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 aixed in?"

  "No, no, no," Vi crossed his arms it into a big X. "They're leagues and bounds above your average cartoon! Just drawing a parisoweewo is bsphemy!"

  "Wow, dude," Lars ughed. "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 hao humanity by god itself! And, of course, said god robably little girl."

  "Wut. Why, tho?"

  "Because anime."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  “You’ve probably seen shohen,” Vi nodded with uanding. “It’s a gehat 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 Lice. 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.”

  “ht,” Vi finally stopped his fanboyism.

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

  “So, as I was saying,” Vi tinued. “Kai is kind of a kuudere. In short, it’s an anime character that acts distant toeople 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 knht? Haha.” Lars nodded.

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

  “I’m sure,” Yuel rolled his eyes.

  “Remind me why I’m even b to help you?” Vi made a face. “Maybe I should just stay out of this a you use your Lv.1 unication 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 tless failures with Julia taught him a harsh lesson. His unication skill was i Lv.1. Or, maybe even worse.

  “Alrighty,” Vi said. “I’ll appease her as much as I 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 Vi will help to improve the situation, Yuel will ultimately have to sort things out himself. What a pain...

  “Alright then,” Vi saluted. “I’ll go catch Kai, See you tomorrow, fellow warriors of Valhal.” He vanished around the er.

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

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

  Kai was wearing her big bck headphones over her bck 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!” Viapped on Kai’s shoulder. Kai jumped a little and turned around.

  “You okay?” Kai took down her headphones.

  “Y-Yeah, perfectly fine, h-haha...” Vi 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 mio get here. It was like 60 seds of jogging! In fact, it was 60, 000 milliseds! 60,000! It’s like he performed an Olympic feat!

  “Are you done dying over there?”

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

  “Okay, I’m good now,” Vi 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 iing with that guy anymore, that’s all.”

  “I heard what he called you,” Vi 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 beeurihe whole time and then insulted me. So, didn’t feel like iing 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 e here to make fun of me?” Kai brought up her soundproof headphones.

  “Alright, alright,” Vi said. “I just wao 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 py 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,” Vi waved his arms. “That wasn’t his iion at all. I just talked to him about it.”

  “What, are you his wyer or something?”

  “Haha, something like that,” Vi chuckled. “Call me Vi 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 yender when he said what he did.”

  "If you say so," Kai shrugged.

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

  "Sort of," Kai shifted her eyes away. Truth to be told, much of her irritatiarding Yuel died out as they tinued pying. Because, no matter how Yuel viewed Kai as a pyer, he opped 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 d bodyblog. 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. Ohese bastards started going, they bmed 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 joihis club, the first year was rough because the seniors treated her like the worst pyer in the world.

  But, Yuel was different. Despite how much he criticized Kai's dud even after he called her “spoiled princess”, he kept to get something done in Bot Laogether with her.

  It was the first time Kai met a boy like him. At some point, she started feeling bad about ign him. But, it was awkward to ge 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 iable moment when Yuel gives up on her and starts treating her like a lowly useless pyer. But, it never happened and Kai ended up looking like a stubborn fool.

  "Yuel is just straightforward like that," Vi expined. "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 . Truly, he is a Chessmaster."

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

  "I wouldn't go that far. But, when it es to matches, he definitely cares the most about his teammates' skill so he’s not the type to dismiss anybody based on gender. If yood, yood. 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 be from a lesson or two at subtlety. I bet he got into many simir fights for being too blunt."

  "I wouldn't be surprised."

  "So, are we good now?" Vi asked.

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

  "'t bme you after everything that happe the club."

  "The seniors back thehe worst scum oh."

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

  "What a plicated way to say they were unpetitive and selfish sacks of shit."

  "ow, that's harsh," Vi said. "They weren't that terrible."

  "They were the worst this world ever had."

  I see somebody is still holding a grudge. Vi 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 ce. Since Viipped Yuel about Kai's past, they should be able to sort things out from there. Hopefully. Either way, Vi did everything he could for these two.

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

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

  I bet she feels awkward after ign him like this. Vi smiled meaningfully. There was a good ce Kai developed some level of respect toward Yuel’s dedication to the Carry and to victory. Despite their little feud, Yuel kept on pying 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 unication skill of Lv.1 at best.

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