Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Shu Kexin controlled None Dare Attack to hide behind the line of rocks before sending a sharp burst of gunfire at the opponent.

The bullets seemed slightly off, as the other player quickly dodged and moved to the side. But a second burst of gunfire rained down, and trapped in the mesh of crossing bullets he was completely suppressed.

"Nicely done!" praised Li Hua.

"Thank you!" Shu Kexin smiled happily.

Li Hua was quite generous with his compliments during the training sessions yet Shu Kexin really felt pleased when she heard the words.

She looked at her sister who only nodded quietly. Shu Kexin wondered if Shu Keyi was still uncomfortable with the team to act so dignified but as long as she did not try to stop her from enjoying it was all good.

"We will take a short break and continue." announced Li Hua.

The players dispersed and Li Hua switched off the lights as he left.

"Will Captain join us?" asked Shu Kexin running after him.

"She's a bit busy with the management. She might join later. Anything you wanted from her?" Li Hua turned around and smiled at her.

"Oh no, nothing important! Next match is Happy right?!"

Li Hua's face suddenly looked tired hearing the name of their next opponent but he nodded "Yes... We have time. She's working with the management regarding the plans for the match."

"Ok! It's just we were wondering when we will get a chance to work with her too! We have some ideas we want to run by!"

"Who's we?" he asked with a faint smile.

Shu Kexin blinked in surprise before turning around and noticing that she was alone.

"Um... Shu Keyi too."

"Ha...ok. Perhaps later this afternoon."

Li Hua left after that and Shu Kexin walked down to the canteen. She was slightly miffed Shu Keyi had not waited for her. Especially since the ideas had been thought up by both of them the previous night.

It almost made it look like Shu Kexin was being too eager or acting like a show-off while her twin was being calm and composed.

Like I care.... Maybe she was in a hurry.... or maybe she doesn't care...

"This is rather good... but we especially need Li Hua's views on the idea." said Chu Yunxiu.

Before Shu Kexin could reply, Shu Keyi spoke up.

"Ah, leave it. It's just a suggestion. It probably won't work."

Shu Kexin gave her an annoyed look.

This "suggestion" had taken nearly two days to work out and she couldn't believe Shu Keyi was just giving up like that.

Luckily Chu Yunxiu seemed to notice Shu Kexin's expression and she chuckled.

"Oh but it can work.... And I rather like it too."

"Really!?" Shu Kexin smiled at the Captain.

"Yes. We've been given some leeway on the decisions for the next match and I like this plan."

"What decisions?" asked Shu Keyi immediately.

"Strategy, Player order that's all..." Chu Yunxiu paused for a moment before adding "The roster is the same of course."

Shu Keyi nodded expressionlessly and went back to her computer. Shu Kexin was puzzled by her reaction but she pushed it aside and sat next to Chu Yunxiu.

"Li Hua said you are doing quite well at adjusting to our rhythm" complimented Chu Yunxiu looking at Shu Kexin.

"Thank you!" she replied happily.

She rather liked Chu Yunxiu.

She was friendly, cool, a great player to work with, and outside of Glory Shu Kexin thought she was very nice and fun to be around.

She had always made them feel welcome and any nervousness Shu Kexin had, merely vanished after meeting Chu Yunxiu.

She was professional yet familiar and Shu Kexin felt both respect and closeness because of this.

If she did not already have a sister Shu Kexin could have even said that Chu Yunxiu was the sister she had always wanted.

Sadly I'm stuck with the grumpiest sister ever....

"Smile please!"

Shu Kexin plastered on another smile as the photographer continued to take pictures.

If there was anything she hated about being a pro gamer it was the numerous advertising they had to do, but Misty Rain's management had been quick to rope them into the commercial activities.

She glanced at her sister, who was posing in front of another screen. Shu Kexin wondered if Shu Keyi enjoyed all this more than gaming.

Shu Keyi was always very nice and polite to the management, and when they had to do photoshoots she never complained or showed any disinterest.

"Could you wait for one more hour?" asked the shoot director "We have a few more products coming in. We only need the Captain and one more person, so you can decide that amongst yourselves."

Shu Kexin wanted to scream that she didn't want to stay here any longer, but it wouldn't be right to back out so quickly but suddenly Shu Keyi spoke up.

"I will do it."

"Ok! Great! We will clear the waiting room for you until then!"

"Thanks!" said Chu Yunxiu with a pleasant smile.

After the staff left she turned around looking very tired and motioned at Shu Kexin.

"You can enjoy your free day if you want to. This thing might take a while. We will meet back at the club for lunch."

"Ah ok!" Shu Kexin smiled and looked at Shu Keyi "Pizza or Burger?"

".... Pizza. Lots of meat."

"Ok!"

"Order a tub of chicken for me" said Chu Yunxiu.

Shu Kexin did a thumbs-up and exited the studio.

It felt so good to be outside.

As she window-shopped her thoughts started straying again. She was surprised that Shu Keyi had volunteered for the shoot. Even Chu Yunxiu looked like she wanted to leave but was being forced to continue.

Maybe I don't know her as well as I thought

Shu Kexin grimaced but kept up her attack.

The biggest fear she had was not losing but being the reason for their team's loss.

With their new plan for the match it would certainly be possible for them to sweep the team match too, but just when she thought things were over None Dare Attack had made a small mistake.

It was definitely minute but to Happy it was still a chance. Though they were floundering they would not give in without a fight and suddenly None Dare Attack was up against two opponents.

She had already performed beautifully and thrashed these two in the group arena but they attacked her quite spiritedly.

I just need to hold on. Just a bit. Captain will be here soon.

Chu Yunxiu's Windy Rain had been the closest to her but taking a quick look at the map Shu Kexin suddenly realised that None Dare Attack had now wandered quite a bit away.

It was foolish to expect immediate help.

But help did come in the form of a rain of bullets as Lower Your Head emerged from behind.

Shu Kexin backed away as her sister covered her easily. Happy's attackers still rushed in and Shu Kexin typed out that they should retreat for now but to her surprise Lower Your Head pushed forward, attacking fiercely.

Though the plan was to be on the offense, Shu Kexin had suddenly felt an urge to play cautiously but Shu Keyi had other plans.

After an awkward moment of hesitation she made up her mind. In the end, she couldn't leave Shu Keyi alone and instead began to support her.

What had started as a rescue became a bold counterattack and their opponents were wiped out soon.

Shu Kexin followed her rampaging sister swiftly as they headed towards Li Hua. Suddenly the match was back in their control and one by one Happy was taken out and finally Windy Rain brought Lord Grim down with a flash of lightning.

Misty Rain's overwhelming 9-1 brought much cheer to the team and as they left Shu Kexin couldn't help but smile seeing Chu Yunxiu telling Ye Xiu and Su Mucheng not to underestimate them.

The MVP for the match was surprisingly Shu Keyi.

It wasn't that Shu Kexin felt upset about this but she wondered what had she done more to get the title. Shu Kexin had taken out two opponents in the arena and one in the team match. Shu Keyi had a win in the individual round and two kills in the team match.

But seeing some of the highlights she realised she had missed the bigger picture. Shu Keyi had provided more support to the entire team and with her confident rescue of Shu Kexin and the following charge, she had turned the tables very quickly.

Shu Kexin had supported her at every point of the attack after that, but Lower You Head had always been the lead attacker.

While she had only been a shadow.

If I could have saved myself would things have turned out differently?

Shu Kexin peeked out into the balcony and saw Shu Keyi leaning on the railings.

They hadn't said much after the match.

As much as Shu Kexin was annoyed by her sister's mood swings over the last few days she was also too tired to fight over it.  Also she had realised Shu Keyi was having some trouble this month and that could have contributed to her moody attitude.

Shu Kexin had felt a bit disappointed after coming back and the more she thought of the match, all she could think was, if only she had not been rescued things would have been different.

But what was wrong with this result?

It was their best win yet and Shu Kexin had felt so happy that their team had such a solid game.

It couldn't be over something small like being MVP.

Was it because Shu Keyi had received special praise from Chu Yunxiu for her performance? Shu Keyi didn't even seem to care about it much and had just given a half-hearted smile.

Shu Kexin realised she was more annoyed by her sister trying to underplay it than anything else, but seeing Shu Keyi just standing there staring at the stars - something softened Shu Kexin's heart.

The two stood there for a while in silence and finally Shu Keyi spoke.

"You... played well today." Her voice was rather soft and Shu Kexin looked up and nodded.

"Thanks!'

"I mean..." Shu Keyi looked like she wanted to say something more but Shu Kexin smiled and patted her hand.

"I love you too!"

Shu Keyi stared at her for a moment before laughing and Shu Kexin slipped her hand around hers and smiled to herself.

That was the thing about being sisters.

It didn't matter who said it.

If they couldn't understand each other then who could?

What mattered was that they loved each other regardless of their petty squabbles and different personalities.

Shu Kexin had a feeling her sister had no clue about what had been troubling her. But it didn't matter, because Shu Kexin had taken the step to move on.

Sometimes you only needed those three magic words to make things right again.

Chapter Text

Shu Keyi controlled Lower Your Head to move forward at the exact moment Shu Kexin had started her attack.

The opponent dodged and moved to the side as expected under her sister's line of fire, but quickly Shu Keyi covered the open angles.

Trapped in the mesh of crossing bullets he was completely suppressed till the very end.

"Nicely done!" praised Li Hua.

"Thank you!" Shu Kexin smiled happily and Shu Keyi just nodded in response.

Li Hua was always generous with his compliments during the training sessions, so Shu Keyi didn't think it was something to get too excited over.

She had a feeling he did it to keep the morale going. Obviously a perfect scenario like this would never happen in a real match. But she appreciated his efforts to stay positive inspite of Misty Rain's rather abysmal performance so far.

"We will take a short break and continue." announced Li Hua.

The players dispersed and Li Hua switched off the lights as he left.

Shu Keyi got up and felt her stomach do a flip.

This month was not going well for her and her cramps were worse.

She hurried out to the bathroom, even as she saw Shu Kexin run after Li Hua.

She was partly amused by Shu Kexin's open adoration for the team. Shu Keyi liked them too, but she couldn't help but feel all this was only out of a sense of responsibility.

She knew that the addition of the twins to the team had upset things and that it wasn't fair to expect they would be well-received by the team. Li Hua took a rather mature stand and had helped then a lot and while Shu Keyi was grateful for this, she was also careful not to overstep her boundaries.

Shu Kexin on the other hand had made herself quite at home in the club.

It was only after Shu Keyi had finished her business and started walking towards the canteen did she remember the plan from last night.

They had wanted to discuss a strategy with Li Hua for the next match against Happy. Shu Keyi had forgotten about it and she wondered if Shu Kexin had chased after him to talk about it.

Ah... it's fine. She's better at explaining things.

"This is rather good... but we especially need Li Hua's views on the idea." said Chu Yunxiu.

"Ah, leave it. It's just a suggestion. It probably won't work." said Shu Keyi immediately.

She saw Shu Kexin giving her an annoyed look but she didn't care.

She was slightly annoyed at Shu Kexin too, because they already knew Li Hua was the key as it involved him playing like a freestyle Ninja instead of tanking and that was the whole point of discussing it with him first.

But it seemed Shu Kexin had not told him any of the details and had chosen to tell Chu Yunxiu directly.

Now it looked like they had not thought things through and were trying to force something onto Li Hua.

Chu Yunxiu suddenly chuckled.

"Oh but it can work.... And I rather like it too."

"Really!?" Shu Kexin shouted happily and Shu Keyi was rather surprised hearing this too.

She hadn't expected Chu Yunxiu to approve of something so quickly.

"Yes. We've been given some leeway on the decisions for the next match and I like this plan." continued Chu Yunxiu.

"What decisions?" asked Shu Keyi immediately.

Shu Keyi never mentioned it to her sister but their position at the club did scare her.

Not that they were rookies.

They had joined Misty Rain as Sharpshooters so that they could stay together.

It didn't mean they wanted to play every game together.

But from day 1, match after match they were both put together in the lineup and it dawned on Shu Keyi what a big mistake this was.

The two were still comfortable with each other but for the rest of the team it was a struggle and she realised the imbalance could not be ignored.

It soon became clear that it wasn't Chu Yunxiu's choice but the management's as a part of a "commercial" decision and Shu Keyi had never been able to stop thinking about this.

As long as both of them were in Misty Rain they would go out together.

As long as they went out together, the team would not be balanced.

The only way to set things straight would be to have only one of them in Misty Rain.

And this meant one of them had to leave.

"Strategy, Player order that's all..." Chu Yunxiu answered the question about the decisions smoothly but as if she had read Shu Keyi's mind she added "The roster is the same of course."

Shu Keyi nodded expressionlessly and went back to her computer.

She had to be careful around Chu Yunxiu.

She was rather scared of Chu Yunxiu.

She was undoubtedly a great player but she was extremely sharp in both mind and tongue and Shu Keyi wondered why she had still not done anything about the team roster problem.

She did not believe the whole "soft-spoken" image of Chu Yunxiu now, especially after having seeing her confident attitude in the team.

Yet Chu Yunxiu never asserted herself against the management and this only made Shu Keyi more wary about her.

She knew Shu Kexin adored Chu Yunxiu but it wouldn't be fair to ask her to not get too close.

After all, the opinions Shu Keyi had about Chu Yunxiu were only in her head and there was no reason to ruin Shu Kexin's image about her.

Ugh.... my back hurts.... Now I'm really grumpy......

"Smile, please!!"

Shu Keyi posed as directed in front of the screen and the photographer continued to take pictures.

If there was anything she hated about being a pro gamer it was the numerous advertising they had to do, but Misty Rain's management had been quick to rope them into the commercial activities.

But she was scared that if they did not do the bare minimum, things would be difficult for them and so she thought of happy stuff like food and faked her way through such shoots.

She glanced at her sister, who was smiling like a zombie in front of another screen. Shu Keyi knew Shu Kexin despised these activities, but she wished she wouldn't be so obvious.

It wasn't the fault of the photographers really. They were just doing their job.

Also, the sooner they could give the perfect pose, the sooner they could leave.

"Could you wait for one more hour?" asked the shoot director "We have a few more products coming in. We only need the Captain and one more person, so you can decide that amongst yourselves."

Shu Kexin's expression made it clear that she absolutely did not want to stay and though Shu Keyi just wanted to curl up in a sofa and get some sleep she decided it was time to take one for the family.

"I will do it." she said, mustering a smile.

"Ok! Great! We will clear the waiting room for you until then!"

"Thanks!" said Chu Yunxiu with a pleasant smile.

After the staff left, she turned around and Shu Keyi was not surprised to see how drained she looked.

Chu Yunxiu motioned at Shu Kexin.

"You can enjoy your free day if you want to. This thing might take a while. We will meet back at the club for lunch."

"Ah ok! Pizza or Burger?" asked Shu Kexin with a radiant smile that probably came out of the hope of escape.

".... Pizza. Lots of meat." Shu Keyi had been thinking about that all throughout the shoot and she immediately said it aloud.

"Ok!"

"Order a tub of chicken for me" said Chu Yunxiu.

Shu Kexin did a thumbs-up and exited the studio.

Shu Keyi and Chu Yunxiu headed to the frugal waiting room.

"Take the chair with the cushion!" said Chu Yunxiu, grabbing the remaining plastic chair for herself.

Shu Keyi hesitated for a second but Chu Yunxiu gave a quick wink.

"I noticed you are not too well.... Better not strain your back."

"Ah... thank you." Shu Keyi mumbled gratefully before sinking into the chair.

She watched Chu Yunxiu for a moment and for the first time wondered if they were not so different at all.

Chu Yunxiu was strong for her team and played to the management's tunes to keep them together.

Shu Keyi was strong for herself and her twin and was polite to the management so that they could be together.

In spite of all the problems in the club, Chu Yunxiu was a considerate leader and Shu Keyi could not get rid of the thought that they were only a burden on the team.

"A good drama helps during this time...." said Chu Yunxiu suddenly.

"How so?" asked Shu Keyi with a smile.

"I don't know. Maybe it's watching someone else's misery."

The two girls laughed and Shu Keyi leaned back.

She had to try.

There was no pointing in worrying about things. The team, for better or worse, had accepted them and it was only fair to do everything she was capable of.

It was true there were so many uncertainties, but for atleast one game Shu Keyi wanted to play without a care in the world.

Shu Keyi did not let herself think.

If she did, she would not be able to play so freely.

Li Hua was already running around and confusing team Happy and Shu Keyi did not hesitate to join him in creating confusion.

There was no room for worries or pride now.

Play to Win.

That was the only thing in her mind.

She rarely separated from her sister during the fight as their usual strategy was combining their firing lines but this time she broke away and supported the team fully.

Two Sharpshooters and an Elementalist would never work and Shu Keyi knew it.

But even if it was just for one match she wanted to go beyond the label of "two pretty girls with guns".

By splitting up they covered more ground and Shu Keyi was surprised how well she could coordinate with Chu Yunxiu and Li Hua.

Fighting as a team is a lot more fun

Suddenly she noticed that None Dare Attack was up against two opponents. Based on the position, Shu Keyi realised that they were possibly trying to isolate her.

Resolutely she controlled Lower Your Head towards that area.

Shu Keyi fired rapidly and covered Shu Kexin's retreat and as soon as she felt they had some distance, she started attacking.

At the same time, she saw a message from Shu Kexin suggesting they retreat.

This kind of split second decision making was not Shu Keyi's strength but she fervently hoped Shu Kexin would support her.

If they played on the offense they could definitely take the two players out.

Right before entering the booth, Shu Keyi's stomach had started acting up again and she just wanted to vent out all that anger in the match.

As she chased the opponents she heard the sound of None Dare Attack following and she smiled in relief.

She couldn't do it without her sister.

What had started as a rescue became a bold counterattack and their opponents were wiped out soon.

Shu Keyi did not hesitate as she headed towards Li Hua.

Attack

That was the only thought in her mind

One by one Happy was taken out and finally Windy Rain brought Lord Grim down with a flash of lightning.

Misty Rain's overwhelming 9-1 brought much cheer to the team and as they left Shu Keyi sighed in exhaustion but she was truly happy.

The MVP for that match was Shu Keyi and this left her rather dazed.

She had a win in the individual round and with Shu Kexin's help had killed two players.

It would have not been possible without their impeccable coordination. So when Chu Yunxiu congratulated her on the excellent performance she could only give a half-hearted smile.

The MVP title was as much Shu Kexin's as it was for her but when she saw her sister's face her heart plummeted.

She looked upset.

Extremely upset.

Shu Kexin had never been good at keeping her emotions from showing on her face and Shu Keyi had always thought it was a good thing as she could understand her even without saying anything.

But right now it just made her feel awful.

As Shu Keyi stood on the balcony getting some air her mind kept drifting back to the game.

She wouldn't blame Shu Kexin for being mad at her.

The two kills should have gone to her and Shu Keyi had only got them because she had gone to help her.

It was a rather insignificant and childish thought to have on such a stage, but Shu Keyi felt things could have gone differently.

Shu Keyi did not expect any compliments or achievements. She just wanted things to be as they were and she would do anything to achieve that state.

She wanted to be a great player mostly for her own satisfaction and that was her only ambition.

Shu Kexin had the same ambitions but she also wanted to be appreciated by people and held meaning to such milestones and achievements.

Right now Shu Kexin probably thought that Shu Keyi had tried to overshadow her on purpose.

Shu Keyi just wanted to apologise to her but what could she say?

Logically there was nothing wrong.

They had performed well.

They had won.

But for Shu Keyi her twin was still a baby sister and seeing her disappointed did make her feel frustrated.

Suddenly she felt a movement and saw Shu Kexin was beside her.

Shu Keyi frantically organized her thoughts in her head.

If she straight-out apologised, Shu Kexin would scream at her for thinking so low of her.

Not saying something was equivalent to "we are not friends now".

The two stood there for a while in silence and finally Shu Keyi spoke in a soft voice.

"You... played well today."

Shu Kexin looked up and nodded.

"Thanks!'

"I mean..." Shu Keyi wondered how she could make herself clear but Shu Kexin smiled and patted her hand.

"I love you too!"

Shu Keyi stared at her for a moment wondering what that had to do with anything. But seeing her smiling face and the way she slipped her hand around hers, she realised what Shu Kexin meant and started laughing.

That was the thing about being sisters.

It didn't matter who said it.

If they couldn't understand each other then who could?

What mattered was that they loved each other regardless of their petty squabbles and different personalities.

Shu Keyi had a feeling her sister had no clue about all that had gone through her mind. But it didn't matter, because Shu Kexin had chosen to move on; which meant she could move on too.

Sometimes you only needed those three magic words to make things right again.