Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The year is 20XX.

Several decades ago, the discovery of the “Plavsky” particle, an element that can be used to interact with a special form of plastic, allowed for a renaissance in Gunpla – plastic models of mecha from the “Mobile Suit Gundam” franchise – to occur. 

These particles not only allowed for the plastic models to move as if they were real, controlled by a human player, but for effects such as explosions, scenery, and for weapon effects to be created.

As a result of this discovery, the hobby of Gunpla exploded in popularity, as did the sport of “Gunpla Battles”, allowing people to battle using the Gunpla they created. As people learned more and more about the Plavsky particle, so too did people learn about the nuance required to truly become competitive in Gunpla battles, and as a result, there have been many advancements made in the hobby, many formats made, and of course, many tournaments ran.

All of these come together to the biggest stage for Gunpla Battles: the Gunpla World Championships. The best of the best, coming from all around the world to compete to find out who the World Champion is. A chance for those to show their skills, and to shine above the rest. 

Many have gone deeper than a simple hobby, choosing to dedicate themselves to becoming the best battler possible, gunning for the coveted title of #1. They strive to better their skills, to improve their skills as a pilot, to reach the top, and to hold the title of World Champion.

And somewhere in the region of Sinnoh, Dawn Platinum, one of those battlers…

“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me. ”

…is currently slumped over a table at a coffee shop, groaning in frustration.

“Dawn, c’mon. It’s not that bad!” 

Dawn sat back up, an annoyed look on her face. “Well of course you’d be fine with them changing the format on a whim to 2v2s. You’ve already got your teammate!” Dawn motioned towards Lillie, who looked a little surprised. 

The three had gone out to a local held off a bit further away from them, to get some practice in, and for Dawn to de-stress a bit from her frustration at the changed format. She expected the format to change, sure – it made sense to spice things up, keep viewer retention and all that… But it was the one format she was not good at.

Moon chuckled. “Not my fault that Lillie’s one of the best pilots of the Nobel I know! We’re students of Master Asia - the Undefeated of the East!” 

“...The fictional character?”

Moon rolled her eyes. “Let a girl have fun. Sheesh! But really…” 

She threw her arm around Lillie, who giggled lightly as she was pulled in. “The God and Nobel team is unbreakable, Dawn! You know that!” Moon did a fist pump, her eyes practically sparkling. “It’ll be just like episode 34, where Domon and Allenby team together, fighting the Ashura Gundam and the Skull Gundam…”

“Yeah, yeah…” Dawn slumped into her seat, sighing. She didn’t mean to shut down Moon’s excitement, but her own frustration was hard to suppress.

“That does seem quite unfortunate though… I’m really sorry, Dawn.” Lillie looked worried, though quickly turned her worry into realization as a smile appeared on her face, her expression brightening up. “Though I’m sure you’ll be able to find a teammate! You’re quite the popular fighter yourself, you know?” 

“Exactly!” Moon nodded. “Who’s not gonna look for a chance to team with the rising star herself, Dawn Platinum!? At least, that’s what some people are calling you. I’m sure a teammate will come naturally! You’re the daughter of one of the all-time greats! Wasn’t your Mom a world champ at some point? Who wouldn’t want to team with her kid?! ”

If I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard that…

Dawn grimaced a bit, leaning her head onto her hand. “I dunno, I don’t wanna just pick someone at random somewhere and hope we work well together. That’s just a disaster waiting to happen. Everybody else has already got a partner. Even Barry – he’s teaming with his dad. That leaves me just… left out to dry.” She sighed, clearly a little frustrated.

“Well, that’s fair, yeah, but…” Moon crossed her arms, a frown on her face as her brow furrowed, a bit in thought. “I figured comin’ all this way to a tournament like this would be a good way to de-stress.” She looked around a bit. “Well, we got here a little early, since it’s not for like two hours, but…”

“You know my thing is singles, Moon. That’s what I’ve always been good at. Doubles are fine, we’ve always done good when we’ve teamed together—“

“You’re damn right! Two offensive powerhouses! They could barely stop us!” Moon beamed with excitement and pride, before realizing what she was doing, sitting back down. “Ah, sorry, didn’t mean to cut you off there.”

Dawn waved it off, smiling. Moon’s upbeat energy was always a little contagious. “No sweat. But it’s not like I’m about to break you two apart. You’ve been training Lillie for the past few years in Gunpla Battles, and I don’t wanna take that away from you two.” She chuckled. “I’d feel awful breaking up a couple anyway. ‘Sides, she’s getting pretty good.”

Lillie grinned. “Thank you! Moon’s been a huge help with that.”

“Nothin’ but the best for my girl! But really…” Moon’s expression softened a bit. “My point is, there’s no need to cut your losses so early. Who knows, maybe you’ll find someone you’re willing to team with here?” 

She mulled that idea over. It was possible, but…

“…I was just hoping this year could be my breakout year, y’know?” Dawn looked off to the side, her voice a bit more somber. Moon raised an eyebrow, and Lillie looked a bit worried.

“I’ve been doing this for years, and of course I love it, and I’m pretty damn good at battling, but I’ve really been itching for that chance to break out. Really make that big name for myself. Get a world championship under my belt! Maybe I’m reaching too far, but my mom’s got 3 to her name!” She slouched into the table again, mumbling a bit. 

“Just a bit frustrating, you know? The one year I think I’ve got it, that I can truly push myself, that I truly want to push myself to my limits, and now I’ve gotta worry about all this.”

Let alone finding a teammate and hoping she was a good match, Dawn was worried about being the one to drag the team down. Finding someone good, but being the reason they’d lose matches… that was something she worried about, admittedly. Especially if it was someone she didn’t really know. Don’t want to start worrying about that right now, though…

Moon nodded, frowning a bit. “That’s fair, yeah. Just sucks to see my rival so down in the dumps about this.” Moon leaned in, gripping her hand into a fist confidently as she held it forward. “You’ve still got time – the regionals aren’t for like, two weeks. Plenty of time to find someone to team with!”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Dawn’s expression went a bit more neutral as she sat back up, sighing a bit. “I appreciate you guys helping, at least. Worst case scenario, I guess I can just spend the year grinding hard, y’know?”

Moon looked shocked, putting both of her hands palm-first down onto the table in surprise. “No way! You’ll be comin’ to the tournaments if I have to force you to go! I know you can’t resist watching a good match, Dawn. You’ve got the soul of a fighter in there! The Queen of Spade herself! The Chibodee to my Domon!”

“…Fair enough, you’ve got me there.” Dawn’s expression turned a bit smug as she let out a light chuckle. “Although, the difference is I’m actually ahead in our set count.”

“Wha-“ Moon’s expression turned to one of slight annoyance. “Hey, you know you’re only ahead by like, three sets! One of those being when we were both using GMs! You said yourself it didn’t count. You know I’m a Mobile Fighter girl!”

Dawn shrugged. “Well, I decide that it counts when I feel like it.”

“That doesn’t even make sense!” Moon’s voice had laughter to it. Lillie giggled a bit as well.

“Well, I guess in that case…” Dawn feigned a deep, intense thought, straining her expression to sell the over-the-top nature of it. “I suppose you wouldn’t mind going for a head-to-head right now?” She looked at Moon intensely, knowing that she likely wouldn’t refuse.

Moon grinned in response. “I thought you’d never ask.” The two got up, making their way towards the nearest battle station, with Lillie following behind.

A good battle would get her mind off things, Dawn hoped. At the very least though, it’d be a fun enough time. Besides, they’d have to be running a singles bracket, right? None of them actually knew, but she was a bit hopeful.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“…Miss Galaxia, you seem rather distressed.”

Irida perked up a bit, standing up straight from the slouch she was in over the counter. “Hm? No, I’m quite alright. Thank you though, sir.” She gave a cheery smile.

“Are you certain?” Her boss (or, well, one of her bosses), Ingo, had a slightly concerned look on his face. “You have looked a bit out of it today, if you don’t mind me observing.” Irida’s smile weakened a little – he was spot on, unfortunately.

“It’s nothing, really. Just some frustrations with how events had turned out.” Her expression deflated a bit, but she brought it back into a smile. “But I should be okay. I’m sure things will work out… I hope.”

And goodness, was she hoping.

Learning that the new format of the World Championships would be 2v2s this year wasn’t a problem at all. Being the leader of the Pearl Clan– a strong group of Gunpla Battlers she had formed – Irida felt like she’d be fine with finding a teammate. In fact, she had a teammate in mind. Her and Palina, an old childhood friend, had worked wonderfully in battles before. She would be fine, and the two could do great.

…And then Palina drops the news on her - that she’s teaming with one of the Diamond Clan members. She knew the two were getting close, that was fine, but of all the times…

Let alone the fact that she was teaming with someone from their rival team (which she knew she’d never hear the end of from Adaman, the leader of the Diamond Clan), this left her without a teammate. Gaeric and Calaba were already teaming, and Lian… well, her and Lian never seemed to work well together in team battles. Irida had tried before, but… it just didn’t work.

Besides, he ended up teaming with his father, anyway.

So now Irida was left with having to find a teammate, having nobody else to really turn to, and not being skilled enough to simply seek out a teammate out of thin air. 

Sure, she had been doing these battles for quite a few years now and she had felt she had gotten pretty good so far, but she still had so much to work on. Plus, Irida was still somewhat anxious about being the coach and leader for a group of people like the Pearl Clan. They trusted her leadership, but Irida still couldn’t help but feel as if she wasn’t doing enough. At least she felt somewhat confident in her abilities to build – a hobby she quite enjoyed.

But maybe this would be a good chance to focus on her coaching skills, to help her teammates out, simply sitting on the backlines… But… was that really what the leader of the Pearl Clan should be doing?

Ruminating on her own thoughts like this seemed to be bringing her down a bit. It was frustrating, but… she wasn’t sure what else to do. It felt as if her hands were tied.

“I see.” Ingo seemed to mull things over for a bit, putting his hand to his chin in a contemplative state. “Well, I do hope whatever is troubling you does not stop you from arriving at your proper destination.”

“Thank you, sir. I apologize if it seemed to be getting in the way of my work, I—“

Ingo put his hand out, palm-first. “There is nothing to worry about, Miss Galaxia.” He shook his head. “You’ve been quite some help around this station as always. It was simply an observation I had made.”

She let out a mental sigh of relief – working at Nimbasa Hobby was a job she enjoyed, and she was basically the store’s Gunpla expert (which basically just meant she actually knew details about them). She always did kind of worry about how she was doing, but Ingo and Emmet, her bosses (they were also brothers, interestingly) were often quite helpful. 

She smiled again. “Of course. I appreciate you looking out for me, but I should be okay. I think I’ve got some plans, worst case scenario.” Admittedly, plans she wasn’t the happiest with, but… it was plans, nonetheless. 

She’d love to look for a teammate, but it seemed unrealistic that she’d find one. Not like one was going to magically land in her lap. Irida would just have to make do with what she had, adapting to the situation as it happened. Which, really, she was always good at.

Ingo nodded, a smile on his face. As he began to walk off though, a voice was heard from elsewhere in the store.

“Miss Galaxia! I am Emmet, and I am requiring your assistance. We have a passenger here who is looking for a Gundam model kit!” Ingo stopped in his tracks, seemingly curious, and Irida peeked over to see Emmet waving as he called for her.

“Ah!” Irida immediately began to make her way over to where Emmet was. “Coming! My apologies!”

Well, at least I’ve got that tourney at that nearby café after work… that should be fun. Even if they’re only doing doubles…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“…You guys are only running doubles?!”

Ethan, the tournament organizer (and also someone Dawn remembered from high school – small world), shrugged while looking apologetic. “Sorry, Dawn. With the regionals in a few weeks, everybody’s cracking down. Not much of an audience for smaller singles tournaments right now, if at all.” 

She scoffed, crossing her arms. “Of all the damn times…”

Moon rubbed the back of her head, looking awfully embarrassed. “Jeez, and I dragged you all the way out here… Sorry, Dawn. Thought this would be a bit better, but… I guess not.”

Dawn shrugged it off. “Well, it can’t be helped. Guess I can cheer you guys on from the sidelines, huh?”

Lillie smiled. “There’s still some time before the tournament starts, maybe you can look and see if anybody’s looking for a teammate? It may be worth a shot…”

“Well, maybe, but…” She sighed a bit. “Bit of a longshot. But I appreciate the positivity, Lillie. I guess I could stand to look up a bit.”

“At the very least, you’re welcome to use the simulator setups we’re not using for matches for casual ones.” Ethan pointed a thumb in a direction behind him, showcasing a few empty setups. “Those are always available to those who just want a no-stakes match.”

Well, at least that was available. Still, it kind of sucked that the format she was the best at, the one she had spent so much time practicing was now kind of… thrown to the side, left for those who were truly desperate.

What a mess she had ended up in, huh?

“Guess I’ll go float over there for a few, then do some practice matches or something.” Dawn stretched out a bit. “Thanks, Ethan. I’ll see you two soon.” Dawn waved off as she headed towards the stations. 

She couldn’t deny that she was a bit frustrated at this turn of events, but it was fun watching Moon and Lillie fight. They worked really well together, and it was nice seeing one of her friends really blossom into a powerful fighter. Even though it just made her all the more jealous of Moon, both for having that good of a teammate, but for having a girlfriend in general— Damn it Dawn, we’re not opening that can of worms tonight. Calm down.

Dawn shook her head as she got to the station, walking past crowds of people there for the tournament. She took out her custom Sazabi Empert and stared directly into its mono-eye, a small frown creeping up on her face.

Sorry, pal. Guess we’re not getting much today.

Ready to drown her sorrows in a good ol’ fashioned trial match to brush up on her skills, Dawn placed her GP Base down and grabbed her Sazabi Empert, as she prepared for the trial battle. It was set to the Forest Field – lots of open space, good for her to move about and strike down some dummies to hone her skills. It’d also be a good way to vent some frustrations off. As the holographic interface surrounded her, Dawn put her hands onto the light, holographic orbs used for controlling the mobile suit, and readied for a sortie.

As she was preparing, though…

“Opponent detected. Changing state to battle.”

What?

Dawn, a bit surprised, peeked her head out of the projection that contained her controls, seeing, on the other side, a blonde girl who looked to be about the same age as her, placing what looked like a white-and-purple Zeta Gundam down onto the other side of the station. 

She was wearing a similarly white-and-purple jersey with some kind of logo on it and a simple pair of jeans. She was kind of cute, too. Dawn wasn’t really focusing on that, though.

“You lookin’ for a match?” Dawn looked at her, expression blank. The girl looked up at Dawn, seemingly a bit surprised. She gave a friendly smile.

“…If you wouldn’t mind.”

Dawn gave a thumbs up and returned the smile, going back to her station. She wasn’t expecting to play an actual match, but hey, better than fighting dummies, right?

“Dawn. Sazabi Empert. Let’s do it!”

“Irida Galaxia, Gundam Choros. Launching!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PC-02 Sazabi Empert

A close-ranged Gunpla based on the RG Sazabi with a mostly black paint job, (with gold used on the added v-fin and the feet), this Gunpla focuses on offensive power, though does not skimp out on speed or defense. It uses a Beam Magnum from the Unicorn Gundam and replaces the Beam Saber in the forearms with GN Beam Sabers for enhanced performance. 

The iconic Sazabi shield has been replaced with a GN Sword, now located and attached to the left arm, though the Rifle Mode is sparsely used. However, the funnels remain, used to steadily close distance for a brutal strike, fitting the pilot’s aggressive style.

While perhaps a bit simple in design, the changes made prove to be quite effective, as its pilot is able to swiftly defeat her opponents with ease – though the lack of defense can be a hindrance for her, and has proven to be in some of her Gunpla Battles. However, her motto of “The best defense is a good offense” has brought her to victory many times. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the Empert landed in the field, Dawn looked around quickly, taking note of things. She knew her opponent had landed somewhere nearby. Based on what she had seen, it was a RG Zeta Gundam – the build quality was sure to make it a tough foe, and it looked very well put together based on the glance she got. Real Grades always had a strong build to them, and this was no exception.

The waverider transformation will allow it to move around quickly, especially in a field like this. Gotta be— !!

Dawn boosted out of the way of a sudden barrage of vulcan shots she saw coming from the forest, on her left. Dawn aimed the Empert’s Beam Magnum, firing a few shots into the general direction of the vulcan-fire, hoping to disperse the enemy from their position. She dashed forward and followed her shots, trying to track down wherever her opponent was going.

Whoever her opponent was, she was using the area to her advantage, hiding herself and firing their vulcans from all angles as Dawn tried to keep on the offensive. Dawn was, admittedly, a little impressed, though that advantage could only last so long as she weaved through various vulcans, trying to get an idea of where her opponent was. As she boosted, her opponent revealed herself from the thick of the forest – a Zeta Gundam, holding a Buster Rifle from the Wing Gundam, staring her down in the face. 

The two were dashing side by side at equal speeds, with Dawn firing some shots from her Beam Magnum. Her opponent was able to weave through some of the shots, letting Dawn further see the movement she was pulling off, which was part of her plan. She wasn’t firing back at all, allowing Dawn to easily predict her movement. All she had to do was fire a bit in front of her, and…

Gotcha!

Dawn immediately boosted forward to the spot she was going to move back to, preparing a GN Beam Saber out of the left forearm of the Empert and quickly grabbing it for a slash – expecting to hit the strike. The Empert barely scraped the Choros’ arm with the beam saber, but it quickly retreated back into the trees, firing some covering shots from the Buster Rifle it held. Dawn was trying to catch up, but the added covering fire made it so she had to slow down to be able to dodge. 

“Damn it, stay still, will you?!” Dawn gritted her teeth a bit as she kept on the offensive. Her opponent was not only good at spacing out Dawn’s strikes, knowing that she piloted a close-quarters mobile suit, but damn it she was very good at stalling. Nothing she hadn’t dealt with before, but of all the opponents…

As she chased after the Gundam Choros through the forest, she fired a shot at the retreating Gunpla’s feet, causing it to jump up into the air, out of the trees. It was the last shot of her Beam Magnum, and she didn’t want to spend time reloading, so she threw it to the side. This was where she could shine – a larger, open area, allowing her to fully see where her opponent was going. She jumped up out of the trees, and saw… 

Nothing.

Damn waverider transformations, always trying to stall me out… Dawn remained steadfast as the Empert hovered in place, trying not to get in her own head, looking at the field around her quickly, searching for her opponent. 

Which seemed as if she had almost entirely disappeared.

She had fought plenty of transforming Gunplas before – a mobile armor such as the Waverider allowed for quick, speedy transportation at the cost of offensive firepower. But this made no sense – she knew the Zeta Gundam couldn’t move that fast. Where the hell would it have gone? She would have seen where it went by now.

…Unless she’s modified the boosters…! She quickly turned the head of her mobile suit, seeing the opposing gunpla’s waverider mode, with a single Wing Zero wing binder on the top of it – that must be where the added maneuverability came from! She hadn’t had a chance to truly see that wing binder, so it didn’t even register to her. Using the forest to her advantage like that… damn, that’s good!

“Got you!” With a quick transformation, the Choros held its Buster Rifle steady towards the Empert, quickly charging up a powerful beam, ready to shoot and end the match–

“Now! Funnels!”

At least, that’s what was supposed to happen, before funnels set from the Empert fired from various angles towards the opposing Gunpla, causing the Choros to drop its buster rifle downwards in surprise as it was pelted with shots. As the Choros looked towards the discarded Buster Rifle, Dawn took her opportunity to strike, boosting forward.

In almost an instant, she approached the Gundam Choros, horizontally slashing it in two with the GN Sword on her left arm. After a brief moment of silence, it exploded, leaving the Sazabi Empert the victor.

“Battle ended.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MSZ-128X Gundam Choros

Based off the RG Zeta Gundam, this all-rounder Gunpla is a simple yet effective modification of the Zeta Gundam to not only provide it more speed, but added range and firepower thanks to the Buster Rifle, giving it more chance to take advantage of the space around it. The Zeta’s “wings” have been enhanced due to boosters taken from the HGUC Wing Zero’s wing binders, with one binder remaining that acts as a “blank” on the back, replacing the small flap on the back of the wings. The boosters are placed underneath the wings.

This Zeta Gundam has a similar colour scheme to that of the MSZ-006-3 Strike Zeta, being white-and-purple. On the wings and the outer side of its leg thrusters are a logo representing Irida’s group: the Pearl Clan. The bottom of the head “gem” has an Χ on it (similar to the Zeta Gundam having the Zeta symbol), representing the first letter of the Greek word for space - Choros.

Created for travel and exploration into deep space, the Gundam Choros is a powerful suit that can do many things, and can do them well. While it may seem simple, the modifications allow for quick, agile movements, and for strong hits that can truly hurt. The loss of the reloadable Beam Rifle may seem like an issue, but with strong aim and proper timing, it almost seems like a direct upgrade at times. Underestimate this Gunpla, and it could be your downfall.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dawn let out a celebratory “woo!”, happy with the results of that match. She walked forward to greet her opponent, grabbing her Sazabi Empert in the process, neither being damaged thanks to the settings made for the casual simulator stations, such as this one, by using 3D scans instead.

She walked out to the other side of the station, stopping and holding out an extended hand. “Good match! Jeez, that was a good one.” That long range, spacing style seemed to be working wonders for her opponent, it definitely annoyed her for a while, if anything.

Her opponent looked a little dejected, but shook her hand nonetheless. The first thing Dawn noticed was that her hands were pretty soft, but… that's besides the point. Actually, she looked really nice up close, and—

Nope. Dawn took those thoughts and shoved them in a box, burying them deep within the recesses of her mind. Damn it Dawn, be less of a lesbian for 5 minutes…

“Thank you! That was a well fought match… I must admit, I feel kind of ridiculous forgetting about the funnels…” She let out a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of her head. 

Dawn grinned. “Well, that was part of the plan. I knew you were trying to stall out my Beam Magnum shots, spacing me out like that and playing the getaway game. If I had spent time reloading, you could’ve closed the gap further. That’d leave me without a good long range option to get in, and I’d have to fight at a disadvantage if you caught me off guard like that – so I sorta used that to my advantage, and I set up the funnels right before leaping into the air, figuring you’d go for the killing blow. Using the forest to hide yourself, though… man, that’s some smart adaptation. Impressive mobility, too.”

“Goodness, cracked my plan wide open…” The girl let out a light laugh. “That’s a huge compliment to hear from someone as talented as yourself, though. Thank you! I’ve got to say, I don’t think I was expecting to run into a regional champion here, let alone stationed at one of these practice stations…”

“Hah, well…” Dawn grumbled a bit. “Don’t really have a teammate, so I’m kinda just floating around, waiting for it to start so I can cheer my friends on, since they’re teaming with each other. The format change kinda threw me off, but not much you can do, admittedly.” She shrugged, trying to seem casual about it.

The girl nodded. “I see… I’ve been in a similar situation. It’s been a bit troublesome finding a teammate, especially since my main teammate went off with someone else, so I suppose I’m in a similar predicament…” She sighed a bit. “It’s been frustrating.”

“No kiddin’? I hear ‘ya. Speaking of teams, though…” Dawn looked at the symbol on her shirt, recognizing it a bit more now that she had looked at it more closely. She had seen it on the Gunpla she was piloting too – on the booster part of its legs.

“Aren’t you part of that team that’s been doing pretty well recently? The Pearl Clan, right? I think I’ve fought one of your members before. Older guy, same jersey you’re wearing, piloted a Gundam Maxter.”

The girl nodded, a smile on her face. “That’s right! We’re a proud group of battlers, hoping to make our way to the top eventually. That would’ve been Gaeric you’ve fought.” She had a confident look in her eyes. “We’re still making progress, of course, but every single opportunity helps.”

“Sounds about right. I’ve seen a few of your group at a few tournaments.” She squinted her eyes a bit, in thought. 

“Is the name being similar to the Diamond Clan’s intentional, or—“

The girl groaned, a look of slight annoyance on her face as she rolled her eyes. “Completely coincidental. Believe me.”

Dawn chuckled. “Fair enough. I don’t think I’ve actually properly introduced myself actually, so… the name’s Dawn, Dawn Platinum. Though you seemed to know that already.”

The girl smiled. “Irida Galaxia, leader of the Pearl Clan. It’s nice to meet you, Dawn!”

“Mmhm! Nice to meet you too. Always grateful for a good match like that. Really helps to sharpen the mind, all that good stuff. Thanks again!”

Irida nodded. “It’s nothing, really. I appreciate the chance to fight someone at their best!” Irida looked behind Dawn, and she turned her head as well, seeing a clock on the wall. It was about 5:30. The tournament started in just about 15 minutes, give or take.

“…Perhaps I should get going now. I suppose if I don’t have a teammate, it’d be best just to head home early. It was nice chatting, though!”

“Oh yeah, for sure. See you around!” Irida walked off as Dawn waved lightly. That was a nice interaction to have, she seemed like a really nice person. Cute, too.

But she didn’t have a teammate either. That seemed like a shame, that fighting style would be perfect for a 2v2 format, Dawn imagined. Being able to go in with the confidence that your partner would be able to space things out and stall out the opponent enough for you to make the killing blow…

…Hey, wait a second.

…Okay, so it goes against my whole thing of not wanting to ask random strangers to team, but…

Dawn felt a little — okay, she felt very awkward trying to ask a total stranger to team with her, but… what the hell. It was either ask this really solid and nice stranger in Irida to team with her, or just mope around for the rest of the night as she watched Moon and Lillie fight. She sucked up her courage.

“Irida, wait–“

She quickly walked over to Irida, who was just about to approach the doors. She turned her head to face Dawn, surprise on her face.

“I, uh…” Dawn looked a little sheepish, rubbing the back of her head. “If you don’t mind, I figure we could maybe team for the tournament here? It’s not like the stakes are super high, and honestly, I think we’d work pretty okay together… It’s worth a shot, right?”

Irida seemed to seriously think it over, her brow furrowing a little as Dawn seemingly got a bit more nervous. Eventually, though, she softened her expression, smiling.  “Well… I suppose you’re right. Besides, it’d be a good experience to team with someone as experienced as yourself…”

Dawn grinned, letting out a light laugh of pride. “You flatter me, really. But awesome! Thanks a ton for this!” She turned around, motioning to Ethan, who was sitting at a nearby table. “Hey, Ethan! Signups are still open, right?” Her voice was filled with excitement. 

And well, it was hard not to be. A good battle always got her blood pumping. And this would be the perfect opportunity to practice.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Battle ended.”

Irida felt a bit down, not being able to close that match out: the final match of the tournament, against a God Gundam and a Nobel Gundam who were now celebrating on the other side of the station. Speaking of, her teammate was smiling warmly at her.

“Ah, don’t look too disappointed. They’re good friends of mine; a very close team, they’ve been training together for years. We did really good, all things considered!” Dawn gave a confident fist pump. “Man, for a team that just kinda happened on a whim, we worked together really well.”

That was quite true, wasn’t it? For an opportunity that seemingly came out of thin air, it sure did work out quite well. Dawn’s offensive, close-range style seemed almost unstoppable with her ability to pepper down opponents and maneuver around them in a way that allowed the Sazabi Empert - Dawn’s custom MS - to close in with a deadly strike, and it almost worked against the God and Nobel players too. 

Irida didn’t quite catch their names, but they looked a little familiar… especially the girl piloting the God Gundam. Her being friends with Dawn made sense, given the confident smile they seemed to give one another before the battle had started. 

But between the great battles and the small chats they had in between matches, Irida found the two had really hit it off. Dawn was friendly and outgoing, and Irida enjoyed the chance to get to meet her and learn from her. It really was a lucky break that she had happened to run into her, let alone getting to team with someone as skilled as she was.

“Thank you, Dawn.” Irida smiled warmly, bowing her head a bit as she put a hand to her chest. “I’m very thankful for the opportunity you gave me. I really did get to learn a lot about battling!”

“No sweat at all! It was a blast teaming with you, Irida.” Dawn beamed with joy, which felt very nice to see. “If you ever need a teammate again, you just let me know, yeah?”

Being able to team with her again? Goodness, she wasn’t even expecting that. “I would love to! Thank you so much! I guess I’ll see you around, then?”

Dawn nodded. “Most likely. Have a good night, then!” She waved off to Irida.

Irida returned the gesture, smiling happily. “You as well, Dawn!”

And so, with Dawn taking off to talk to her friends, Irida left the battle café, though not without the nagging feeling in the back of her mind that she had forgotten something.

…But it was probably nothing. She was too busy basking in the afterglow of doing so well with someone, that the crummy mood she was in got uplifted so quickly. Whatever it was, it’d come to her later. It probably wasn’t important.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So, Dawn… who was that person you were teaming with?” Lillie looked curiously at Dawn, a smile on her face. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen her before.”

“Oh, her? Her name’s Irida. Teaming with her was a bit of an in-the-moment decision, heh. She played a match with me, and I figured her battling style of long range prowess combined with strong mobility would work really well. Never met her before, but she was really nice. Runs one of those popular battling groups, the Pearl Clan. She’s a nice person! We hit it off quite well.”

Moon looked excited. “Damn, wandered into the perfect teammate, huh? Sounds like fate to me! For a team-up that happened on a whim, you two were doing quite well.” Moon’s smile turned into a smug, cheeky grin. “Of course, it wasn’t enough to beat the King of Hearts herself, y’know…” She held up her right hand as she gripped it tightly. 

“Yeah, yeah.” Dawn rolled her eyes, playfully. “Keep telling yourself that. I still won the one-on-one battle we had earlier.”

“And now it doesn’t matter, because we won the match in grands, meaning it’s rendered moot!”

Dawn leaned in, pointing an accusatory finger. “Hey, doubles don’t count for head-to-head! You know that!”

Moon leaned back, putting her hands at her side. “Well, I’ve decided it counts whenever I feel like it.”

An exaggerated gasp came out of Dawn. “Using my own, INCREDIBLY SANE logic against me?! How could you, Moon? That’s fucked up!”

The two got it out of their systems, snickering a bit.

“Well, Dawn, I’m glad everything worked out!” Lillie smiled brightly. “After all, now you’ve got a teammate for the regionals, right?”

“Oh, yeah! I— “

As soon as the thought registered in her brain, Dawn’s eyes shot open in a horrifying realization. Moon and Lillie immediately looked a lot more worried.

“…You asked her, right, Dawn?” Moon sounded a bit concerned.

Not only did she not do that, she did not have any way to contact her.  

So she couldn’t even ask if she wanted to.

“…Dawn????”

She said nothing, her eyes still wide open as she sat in shame, looking out the bus window instead.

Moon and Lillie just looked at each other with worry in their eyes, not really being sure what to say, then turning their focus back to Dawn. Dawn, who currently felt like the stupidest woman in the goddamn world, was beating herself up mentally something fierce. 

The most perfect opportunity in the world, and she blew it. Damn it, she’d probably never get the chance to ask her again, would she? Let alone see her again. They were a perfect team, she would’ve had a team for the regionals, and…

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Irida got back to her apartment door, she took out the keys to her place, humming to herself happily.

What a nice day this was. I was able to not only make good friends with a regional champion like that, someone that good at battling… but I got to team with her! She grinned to herself. What a wonderful experience that was! 

Dawn really did seem like such a nice person. Not only was she a talented fighter in her own right, but she was friendly, energetic, and seemed very knowledgeable on her stuff. The two worked very well together, but she was definitely the powerhouse of the team, being able to close the distance incredibly quickly and make herself known with powerful strikes. 

She took strong advantage of Irida’s ability to play the spacing game, took advantage of the field around her, and it worked out spectacularly. Even if they weren’t able to close things out, she really was a strong teammate.

Whoever she was teaming with for the regionals would—

Irida’s keys dropped to the ground as that sentence fully registered. She froze in place.

The regionals. Irida could’ve asked Dawn to team for those. She didn’t have a teammate.

“…Ah, that’s… the thing I was forgetting…”

Chapter Text

“…You forgot to ask her?” Lucas looked dumbfounded.

Dawn groaned, still firmly face-first into the counter. “You don’t have to get started with me. I’ve already spent the entire night doing that to myself.”

Lucas sucked air through his teeth. “Jeez, that’s rough. Well, I’m sure things will work out… somehow. I don’t know.” He shrugged.

Dawn was at her part-time job at a local bookstore called Sandgem Books, ran by a man known as Rowan. (She never did get his first name…)

It was a small, not too busy place, but it was nearby and it was a nice enough job that Dawn didn’t mind doing it as a means to support her hobbies, among other things. Rowan paid pretty well, so she couldn’t complain. Her and Lucas got the job about the same time, which made it a lot easier. Work becomes a lot more enjoyable when one of your childhood friends is there, unsurprisingly.

Lucas was a great friend. She had known Lucas for years, practically since kindergarten, and he was probably Dawn’s closest friend. The two had even come out as trans around the same time, just back in high school. (Which helped a lot; they were about the same size, so they often shared new clothes with one another before they were able to work up the courage to tell their parents). 

Even when their interests didn’t exactly line up, they got along very well… and of course, listened to each other’s sorrows.

Sorrows of which Dawn was experiencing in the fullest of forces, because god damn it, god damn it , of course she forgot to ask Irida for any form of contact – let alone to team with her. The perfect teammate, right there, and she just… forgot!

At least it was slow today. That let her grumble to her friend in peace.

Dawn leaned up and looked at Lucas, an annoyed look on her face. “I don’t know how they’re supposed to. It’s not like I can just go try and find her online or something, because… I dunno, that sounds kind of creepy. Maybe I’m overthinking it, but I just don’t know about going that angle. Plus, I’d have to worry about messaging her and everything, and I’m always awful at that.” 

She leaned her elbow onto the counter, leaning her head onto her hand. “It’s a shame, too. We really did work well together as a team…”

“Well, this was for a nearby tournament, right?” Lucas put his hand to his chin, burrowing his frow as he thought it over. “Surely she’d be at another one, right?”

“Well, yeah, but…” Dawn grumbled a bit. “Regionals start really soon, in like a week. Who knows if she’d even go out to one again? Could be a situation like me where she’s a bit farther away, so she wouldn’t go to that one specifically… Agghhhh, this is so frustrating!!” Dawn put her hands in her head, letting out a noise of frustration as Lucas let out a breathless laugh.

“You still don’t want to team, huh?” Dawn looked at her friend with desperation. “I know you don’t battle at all, but like, there’s gotta—“

“I know you’re desperate, but asking me of all people?” He snorted, clearly amused. “Besides, you know I’m busy this time of year. Exams are soon, and how am I gonna be the coveted ‘history nerd’”, he said, doing air quotes as he did, “if I end up without said history major?”

“Hey, history nerd isn’t defined by a degree, it’s a way of life.” Dawn snickered a bit, pointing towards him. “And you, my friend, are the poster child for that lifestyle.”

“And proud of it!” He beamed. “Besides, that’s rich coming from the girl who skipped class one day because she wanted to go to a tournament—“

Dawn threw her hands up in self defense. “ONE. TIME. One time, Luke! Jeez, you never let me live that down… Mom doesn’t either, to be fair.” She rolled her eyes out of slight embarrassment.

 “That’s because it’s really funny.” He snickered a bit, before waving it off. “I digress, though. I’m sure you’ll be able to find a teammate. Your mom’s got a good history, so—“

“Moon and Lillie already used that one.” Dawn leaned her elbows onto the counter.

“Oh. Damn, they always take the good ones. Hm.” Lucas looked a little contemplative, trying to think of a good answer, settling for patting Dawn on the back. “Well, maybe something will come up? Still sucks, but I suppose at the worst you could use it for practice, right?”

“Yeah, I guess so, but… still sucks.” Dawn groaned, her position slumping a little. “Ah, well. Maybe I’ll go drown my sorrows tomorrow in a new kit, or something…”

Lucas shrugged. “Hey, whatever works. Oh, right, by the way, you can close the store for me tonight, right? Rowan usually gets me to, but I’ve got a group assignment meeting later, and, well…“

Dawn waved it off, smiling. As boring as closing the store was, it wasn’t a big deal. Plus, she wasn’t working for the next two days, so… what the hell. “Go get that degree so I can call you a major history nerd.”

“Oh shit! Major history nerd!? I’m moving up in the world! Mom would be so proud of me…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day…

Dawn was at her local hobby store, where she would usually go to pick up her gunpla kits. It was run by Mr. Laventon, an old friend of her mom’s. He was a really nice guy. Dawn had been a customer of his for years, and even when she was a lot younger, she remembered Laventon babysitting for her mom. Really nice guy.

Dawn was a bit more focused on trying to find something, however; a specific kit, one she had her eye on for months at this point. (And for some reason, was a bitch to track down…)

“…Damn it…” Dawn grumbled to herself as she scanned the shelves of various Gundam model kits of all kinds. There were all kinds of Master Grades, Real Grades, even some really old and hard-to-find No Grades, but not the one she was looking for.

She stood back up from leaning down to look at the bottom of the shelves, stretching a bit as she did. Damn it. Guess I’ll see if he’s got it in the back, or something.  

“Excuse me, Laventon?” He was currently adjusting something on the shelf behind him and turned to look over his shoulder when he heard a familiar voice, with a large smile creeping up his face.

“Oh! Hello there, my girl! Nice to see my best customer again!” He turned around, leaning onto the counter. “What might I be able to assist you with, Dawn?”

Dawn gave a simple, friendly wave. “You know if you’ve got the RG Banshee Norn anywhere? I’ve been trying to find it for a while, but every time I’ve checked here or other nearby stores, I come up short.”

“Oho! The Banshee Norn, eh? A very good choice!” Laventon chuckled, before putting a hand to his chin to think. “Although, I’m not terribly sure I have it in stock at the moment… I may have to check. I shall do so right now!”

He took off for a bit, leaving Dawn to wait for a few minutes, before returning with a more somber frown on his face. “I’m afraid not, my girl.”

Dawn let out a “tsk”, the slight disappointment visible on her face. “Damn, that’s unfortunate. Was hoping to start grabbing some of the Unicorn kits… ah, well.” 

Laventon crossed his arms as he seemed to ponder some possibilities. “I could call a store that’s a bit further away and see, if you would like? I’m afraid it may be a bit of a distance to travel, just down by Snowpoint. They’re good friends of mine, and they’ve really started to get their stuff together in the last few years… so there’s a good chance they might!”

Snowpoint? Well, not like she was doing anything today. She knew the route, at least; she went there two days ago for that tournament, where she met, teamed with, and forgot to get the contact information of— Now’s not the time for that.

“What’ve we got to lose? I don’t mind the trip anyway.” 

Laventon nodded, smiling yet again. “Just give me a few minutes, then! Shouldn’t take me terribly long!” Laventon ducked off to the back room again as he grabbed the store’s phone, the phone tone faintly fading out. “Hello? May I speak to Ingo, please?... Ah, yes. I’m looking to see if you’ve got something in stock…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another normal day at work. That’s not so bad, I think…

Irida looked around the store, glancing around at various things, including the small model trains that made their way around across the ceiling of the store. 

Her bosses didn’t know a thing about Gunpla, (which is why she was there to begin with), but their knowledge on every other form of model crafting was extensive and very impressive. That knowledge took form in a rather impressive set of trains going around the store at almost all times, as well as other display models such as cars and planes. Other than that simple observation of the train, though, it was a rather slow day.

As she was staring at the trains, she heard a few footsteps to her side, looking beside her to see Ingo approaching, with the same, omnipresent look on his face (that Irida often wasn’t sure if it was just a neutral expression or not). “Miss Galaxia, we have a passenger coming in rather soon from a further stop – they were looking for a… ‘Banshee Norn RG’? I checked our stock and we do have that one, so if you could put it to the side for our upcoming passenger, it would make things rather easy.”

She thought that over for a bit – oh yes, they did have that one in stock. They got it a few months back during a shipment, and she was surprised that it took so long for anybody to ask about it. If nobody purchased it within a few months, she was tempted to; it really was an impressive kit. Such nice looking detail, too. A big, powerful, black-coloured mobile suit… kind of like Dawn’s. Used a Beam Magnum too, just like her Sazabi, and—

Irida squeezed her eyes suddenly to force herself out of sulking about the fact that she had forgotten to ask yet again. “I can do that, yes! It’s just in the back of the store, right?”

Ingo nodded. “Thank you very much, Miss Galaxia. Your cooperation to keep this train moving is always appreciated.” Irida smiled, as she made her way to the back, trying her hardest not to dwell on the fact that she… well, to put it bluntly, she made a very big mistake in forgetting to ask Dawn. 

She didn’t even have a way to contact Dawn. She had found the solution to her problems, and just as quickly as she found them… she got knocked all the way back down to square one.

Sure, she knew Dawn had a decently sized social media presence. She had made a decent name for herself, being a strong competitor when it came to Gunpla battles, so it wasn’t hard to find Dawn on something like Twitter or the like. So obviously she could have just messaged her on those, right? 

But what if she did things poorly? What if Dawn didn’t want to team? Was it too forward of her to do that? Wouldn’t it be kind of strange for her to just up and out of nowhere message someone who was still technically a stranger to her like that? Maybe she was overthinking things, but she didn’t want to make such a poor impression on someone she just met two days ago. 

Mind you, someone she met two days ago who she got along quite well with, and was quite friendly. Dawn really was quite a nice person, at least from the few interactions she had. But even still, Irida didn’t want to make things awkward by messaging her and then potentially coming off in a rather negative light. Then she’d not only feel awful for disturbing someone like that, but then she’d still be left without a teammate for the regionals.

After spending a few minutes looking around back for it, Irida reached up to the shelf where the model kit box was, grabbing it as she began to walk back. 

I guess I’ll just have to accept the mistake I made… it is what it is . She let out a small, defeated sigh. Dwelling on it for much longer wouldn’t help much; the regionals were so soon, it was likely Dawn had found a teammate already anyways.

It was rather unfortunate… The two really did get along quite well, needing a teammate aside. It would have been nice to make a new friend. She had the Pearl Clan, for sure, but having more friends into the hobby was never a bad thing. I can just spend the time honing my skills on coaching the Pearl Clan. That’s not a bad idea…

As Irida made her way back to the counter, model kit box in hand, she–

“…Ah, here she is now. Miss Galaxia, you… look rather surprised.”

As Irida stared forward with the most shocked look on her face, there was Dawn Platinum, the woman she had teamed with just two days ago, and the person who she thought she’d never see again. Who, to Irida’s surprise, also looked very shocked.

“…Hello.” Irida said blankly. 

“Hey.” Dawn blinked.

The two just kind of… Stood in place, staring at one another in awe, for a little bit.

Ingo, although his expression did not change, looked rather confused as he wasn’t really sure what the silence was about.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dawn was still reeling a bit from the last few minutes, as she absolutely did not expect to run into the person she thought she would not meet again in a random hobby store, nor did she expect to find out she worked there.

But hey, small world, right? 

Although, that aside, she was amazed by the store. Very big, very spacious. Although…

“…What’s with all the trains?”

Irida giggled. “I wonder about that myself, sometimes. It seems to be their specialty.”

“ I’ll say.” Dawn looked up around the upper area of the store, seeing a rather large set of train tracks that had small trains running through them every so often. It seemed to wind across the entire store… “Jeez, you’d think this was a train store rather than a hobby shop.”

“Well… that’s not too far off. They used to not stock Gunpla at all before I came in one day. I asked them if they had any, they asked me if I knew anything about it, and I told them what I knew. Before I even knew what to say, they hired me on the spot to be their expert on the subject. Which… kind of just means I’m the one that knows how to stock them, really.” 

She let out a slight laugh. “Thankfully, I learned how to manage everything, but… the first few weeks were a bit jarring.”

Dawn chuckled. “Rather interesting interview process, I suppose. But hey, if it works.”

Irida nodded. “I suppose so! Their focus tends to be on other forms of model kits, though… you know, the planes, cars, trains, that sort of thing. They hadn’t even tipped their toe in Gunpla when I came by, but they were looking to, given how big it was. So, I guess I just lucked out, in that regard.”

“Huh. Y’know, that seems a bit surprising, given how big the hobby is nowadays. You would’ve thought, but…” She shrugged. “Ah, well. But uh… it’s nice to see you again, I suppose.”

Irida nodded, standing up a bit straighter. “It’s nice to see you too! I had completely forgotten to ask for some form of contact… it would have been nice to keep up, chat a bit more, that kind of thing.”

Dawn smiled. “No kiddin’! I was regretting that entire trip back not asking for some way to keep in touch. We worked quite well together, plus it was fun chatting in between rounds… Y’know. That kinda stuff. So, if you’re down for it, then like… I don’t mind. Do you use Discord?”

Irida nodded. The two then quickly exchanged contact information.

Spacial_Rend. Dawn smiled to herself, looking at Irida’s username. Heh. Sounds kinda sick, actually. She’s got good taste. Her icon was even that symbol she used for the Pearl Clan. Dawn could admire the dedication to her work.

“Sweet!” Dawn put her phone back in her pocket, and glanced around the rest of the store. “Gotta say, this is a really nice place. I’m not a train person, but it’s quite impressive stuff.” A few displays were seemingly put all over the place, with various models within them – some of cars, planes, you name it. They seemed very well put together, even though she didn’t really know too much about this kind of modeling, as a fellow hobbyist of some kind she could at least respect the handiwork from a distance.

One thing caught her eye, however…

“Woah, is that a RX-78-2 custom?” Dawn walked over to a nearby display, seeing a very nicely painted HGUC Gundam – it was painted as if it was made of wood, and it looked like it had a rather large train whistle sticking upwards from the backpack that was painted the same way. “Wow. That’s… that’s pretty impressive, actually! The train whistle’s a nice touch.” She turned back to Irida, genuinely impressed. “Did your bosses make this?”

Irida grinned a bit, looking a little bashful. “Actually, um, I did that one. I’ve done basically all of the Gunpla displays here, built and painted myself, of course. That one specifically was a gift to my bosses.”

Dawn whistled, turning back to get a good look at it. “Damn, you’ve got a good eye for detail. That’s some incredible paint work… the paint is done really well, it sells that wooden feel almost perfectly… and there’s small train wheels on the feet, too.” 

She turned to Irida, grinning. “Man, no wonder you were doing so well when we teamed! That detail to build quality is something else, y’know? Always a really impressive thing. Plus, that always translates to a strong mobile suit.”

“You flatter me, Dawn!” Irida laughed a bit. “It’s nothing, really… I just picked up a lot of things from working here.” She looked to the side. “They really are quite talented when it comes to hobby works, and a lot of it tends to transfer over. I’m quite thankful for them.”

“Guess that does make sense, huh?” Dawn looked around a bit more, when something caught her eye – a small battle station, sectioned a little bit towards the middle of the store.

“You guys have a battle station too?!” Dawn walked over towards the direction of it, a bit surprised. Sure, a lot of hobby stores had something like that, but it was nice to see.

“Oh, that came in just a few months ago.” Irida looked over towards said direction, tilting her head a little. “I suggested the idea to them, and they seemed to like it enough.”

“Still sorta new, eh? Hmm…” She turned to Irida, a grin on her face. “You up for a battle?”

Irida looked surprised, looking around a little. “I’m still working , you know…”

“Well, yeah, fair—“

Out of nowhere, a man dressed in white seemed to pop out. “That is quite fine, Miss Galaxia!” He put up a finger as he talked, seeming very… animated. “I am Emmet, and I think a battle between our esteemed expert and this new customer would be something of a spectacle! It would bring in lots of passengers into our railway. It’d work for the both of us!”

Dawn was a bit startled, but eventually eased into it a bit, giving a smile to Irida, who put on a smile herself. “Well, I suppose if my boss says it’s okay…”

“It is no problem at all, Miss Galaxia! Simply think of it as a means of promotion. It shall help make our station an exciting place to see!”

“Very well, then.” Irida made her way past the counter as Dawn pumped a fist in excitement. “Do you mind using some of the display models here?”

“I don’t mind one bit. Always down for a good fight! Now let’s get goin’!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With a final slash from one of the ZZ Gundam’s large beam sabers taking out the Wing Gundam, the battle between Dawn and Irida came to a close as the simulation faded out, with Dawn seeing her opponent on the other side smiling happily. Dawn couldn’t help but notice, once more, how nice her smile looked. 

“Even with such a large, bulky suit like the Double Zeta, you’re still able to move around with such precision. That’s rather impressive, I must say.”

Dawn’s eyes opened a bit in surprise, immediately shaking herself out of whatever strange thoughts she was beginning to have. She grinned in response. “You get pretty good at controlling stuff like that once you do it so often; I like my Gunpla big and strong! It’s why I went for the Sazabi, after all.”

Irida put her hand to her chin, in thought. “I see… I can see the benefit. Although you seemed to not utilize much of the Double Zeta’s weaponry… why is that?” She looked a bit confused. “Not that I’m saying it’s a bad thing, but I just haven’t seen that focus on swordplay before.”

Dawn shrugged. “I’ve just always kinda preferred the more offense-based in-your-face style. Beam weaponry doesn’t work as well for that. Plus, swords are sick. ” She grinned. “At least, I think so. But man, a good fight!”

“I’d say, it’s quite a threatening style. I can definitely see the strengths of it! I tend to prefer a more long-range style, but… I digress. That was a good fight, as always.” Irida extended her hand out for a handshake, to which Dawn gladly accepted, grinning with excitement.

Irida looked to her side, seeing a couple of kids grouped up by the nearby window, staring very intently at the battle station – Dawn saw this too, no doubt they were enjoying the battle. Guess her boss was right on that front. She flashed the kids a thumbs up. That was a really good match, and it was great for her seeing more of Irida’s battle style, even in a different suit. They’d make a great team.

…Okay, now that she had gotten a battle of the way, it was time for the hard part. The part she was… admittedly, still a little nervous about. She exhaled a bit, trying to not tense herself up.

“Hey, uh…” Dawn looked off to the side a bit, rubbing the back of her head. “I figure while I’m here, I should ask if you’ve got a teammate for the regionals yet? If not, and you’re totally okay to turn this offer down, then would you want to team? I still need a teammate, so…”

Irida’s eyes opened wide in shock, which Dawn almost felt immediately worried about, but her fears were quickly stomped out. “ You want to team with me?” She looked dumbfounded, completely caught off guard. 

Dawn nodded. “Well, we worked really well together, right?” Dawn smiled happily, looking rather confident. “Sure, we didn’t win the whole thing, but we got pretty damn close. Especially for our first time teaming! That sounds like a recipe for success to me. And… at the very least, it was a lot of fun.” 

“Well, I actually was hoping I’d get to ask you at some point, so…”

“Really?” Dawn raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Wow. Guess things worked out well, then. So… guess we’re a team?”

Irida nodded happily. “I suppose so!”

Dawn immediately felt a wave of relief rush over her. “Alright!!! We’re going to the regionals, baby!” Not only did she actually have a teammate, but it was someone she not only worked well with, but someone she could call a friend.

Well, as much as you could call someone you met two days ago a friend. But she figured it counted.

After a quick, mini celebration (which basically just involved a lot of stationary fist pumps of joy), Dawn put her hand to her chin in thought. “Hey, should we have a team name? Most of the teams I’ve seen have one… Not that I think it’s necessary, but…”

“A team name, hm? Let me think…” Irida also stood in thought for a bit, as the two seemingly workshopped ideas in their head.

“…Bleh. I’ve got nothing.” Dawn grimaced a bit. “I’m no good with stuff like this…”

“How about… the Galaxy Team?”

Dawn raised an eyebrow. “The Galaxy Team?”

“Well, I figure because you’re often called a rising star , and the Zeta Gundam is often associated with stars. The Choros is a Zeta custom, after all. I just kind of thought of galaxy theming based on that. It’s got a nice ring to it, I think.”

Dawn mulled that over a bit, and… huh, yeah, it kinda worked. Not the fanciest name ever, but that wasn’t a big deal.

“I kinda like the sound of that. I’m down to go with that as the team name! Though…” Dawn put on a playful grin. “Sounds a bit like you’re trying to get top billing on the team, Miss Galaxia!” She let out a very, very exaggerated gasp, enjoying the exasperated look on Irida’s face. “Stealing all the credit… for shame! ”

“Wha-“ Irida blushed a little, before pouting. “That’s not— you’re just messing with me, aren’t you?” She groaned, to which Dawn replied with laughter. “Some teammate you are…” Irida let out a bit of a snicker as well, though. It seemed she also thought it was a little funny.

“I kid, I kid. Sorry about that, couldn’t help myself. But it sounds good to me!” Dawn turned towards the window, taking on a slightly confident pose. “The Galaxy Team, ready to sweep the Sinnoh Regionals! Well, at least we’ll sweep our block. And then we claim the championship title!”

With what felt like a miracle, Dawn had finally secured a teammate in Irida – and she felt very confident about their chances. 

“Now, then…” Dawn turned back towards Irida. “Not to dump so much on you suddenly, but we’ll have to try and get some more team practice in. I’m pretty confident about some of our early rounds, but getting more used to things wouldn’t hurt. Not to bombard you with stuff, and you’re free to reject if you don’t want to, but would you be free tomorrow?” Her expression turned to more of a contemplative one, realizing some small snags with the plan. “Of course, you’d have to catch a bus to Jubilife, which is a bit away from here, but—“

“That’s not a problem at all! It’s a good excuse to get out, anyway. I don’t have work tomorrow regardless, so I’d love to! Thank you, Dawn!” Irida beamed with happiness, and Dawn’s heart did that loop-de-loop it had done a few times now. She tried to ignore it as much as possible.

“Sweet! Well, I guess now I can leave you be, now that I’ve got your contact and everything…” Dawn, grabbing the small bag she had put down (that held her new RG Banshee Norn, thankfully), gave a joyful wave as she began to make her way out. “Was really nice to see you again, Irida! I’ll message you later! Good luck with work!”

“Of course! It was lovely seeing you, Dawn! I shall see you then!”

And as Dawn made her way to the bus station (thankfully, a bus wasn’t too far off from arriving), she hummed to herself happily. What a day – got that kit she was eying for a while, she met Irida again, actually got her contact info this time so they could talk more, and she actually had a teammate for the regionals.

Everything seemed to work out great. And they’d be able to get some practice in, too! The future for the regionals was looking bright, and Dawn was excited.

Look out, world. The Galaxy Team is going starbound! 

…Dawn immediately felt really cheesy for even just thinking that. But it was fun, and that was what counted.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that night…

As Dawn stared at her screen, she was… nervous.

Though she wasn’t sure why.

With the empty direct messages tab for Irida staring her in the face, she thought over the previous few events and how, despite the fact that this was her teammate, she was trying to find a good opening message. She didn’t want to be weird, after all. But she figured she should message her, find out a time when they were meeting, right? It made sense. But what should she say?

She sighed to herself, tapping her fingers on her desk. Why was she feeling so weird about this all of a sudden? Not about the team, or even about being friends with Irida, but just… the way she reacted around her all of a sudden. Something about it was making Dawn a bit annoyed. She wasn’t usually like this.

Irida’s smile had flashed into her mind again. It had been on her mind for a while, honestly. She was trying to ignore it for the sake of not acting weird around someone she was trying to be friends with. She really did look nice, and she was so kind, too, and when she shook her hand, she didn’t think about it, but man, she had soft hands, and— 

Oh god damn it she knew what this was. Damn it, Dawn, you are not doing this fleeting crush shit again. 

Dawn had done this before, and she’d probably do it until the end of time. She’d feel awkward and weird because she was sorta lonely and sorta desperate for a relationship, and though she had worked on it a lot over the years, it seemed it was still kind of looming in her mind. 

(Was kinda hard for it to not loom in her mind when, although she loved them to death, Moon and Lillie were often very lovey-dovey right in front of her. That wasn’t their fault, and she was obviously very happy for them, but it was still hard for her to ignore…)

At the very least, it always only lasted a few days before it’d just fade off into the distance, and she’d look back on it and feel a little silly for getting her hopes up that much.

But for some reason, this felt… Different. Dawn couldn’t explain why. But something about the way Irida smiled, the way she spoke, everything was just… fucking with her heart. She knew she’d get over it and go back to not being weird about it, but…

She groaned, slumping a bit. Whatever. Just ride this awkward period out. You don’t wanna ruin a good friendship – let alone a good teammate like this. Send her a message, say hello, and just get it over with. Debating it this hard is going to make you hesitate more. 

With that minor “pep talk” done, Dawn sat back up, bracing herself to send a simple message to Irida. Just to ask her when she was coming over. Nothing more, nothing less. She had done this before.

…Huh. 

Well, that worked, at least.

Dawn sighed to herself, glad she got over that roadblock. All she had to do now was try not to get caught in her own emotions about the girl she had just met. She walked over and flopped onto her bed in a bit of frustration.

Ride this one out. It’s just another patented Dawn Platinum Fleeting Crush . It’ll be weird, but whatever.

Despite her trying to tell herself that, Dawn felt as if she didn’t truly believe it, somehow. But… She’d worry about that later. It was still minor , at the very least.

Plus, Irida did look nice. Anybody would say that much, she figured, because Irida was pretty. That was fine, because it was fair game. Anybody would feel a little weird about a girl that was both that sweet and that pretty. Didn’t mean anything.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Irida hummed happily as she put her phone to the side, looking up at the ceiling fan in her apartment to mull things over.

“…Well, I’ve got a teammate, at least. And she’s quite nice. So… things have worked out.”

She was quite happy with how things had turned out. Dawn showing up to her work was certainly a surprise, let alone actually having her wanting to team for the regionals. Irida was certain she would be the one to ask, and even then, she wasn’t exactly sure how to, or if she would even say yes.

But she was glad, at the very least, that things were working out. Plus, she’d get to see Dawn tomorrow, as well! 

I’ve got to admit, I feel oddly excited about that prospect. But I’m sure it’s just because I’m excited to have a teammate for the regionals. She leaned back onto her couch. Plus, getting to train with someone as good as she is… it’ll really help me hone my skills quite a lot. Dawn’s been to the World Championships before, I think…

For some reason, though, it felt as if she couldn’t shake a feeling that there was more to her excitement to see Dawn. Dawn had been on her mind a bit since that meeting at Nimbasa Hobby. Maybe she was just glad to get out of the house? She hadn’t been doing too much lately, as most of her time was spent trying to figure out her teammate situation, so perhaps Irida was just excited to get out and enjoy the world around her once more, and making a new friend in the process made that even better.

Yes, that had to be it. It was strange that her mind focused on Dawn in that case, but… Oh well. She was the reason she was going out there, so that had to be it, right?

Almost certainly. She nodded to herself, confident. 

Tomorrow was going to be wonderful!

Chapter Text

Dawn hummed to herself quietly as she waited by the bus station. It was just about noon – Irida said she was going to make her way to Jubilife around then. It was a regular, breezy, run-of-the-mill spring day. 

Despite how awkward and worried she had felt last night, Dawn was feeling pretty good about things now. Seems like she got all of the weird crush-esque feelings out of her system after all! Which was a relief since she did not want that getting in the way of things.

…Let alone the practice they were doing today, but just the tournament in general. That was her goal, and she was excited to have a teammate she would be able to hopefully reach that with.

She showed a lot of potential from the battles we’ve had, honestly. Her use of mobility and adapting to the space around her is incredible, Dawn mulled to herself. When we battled yesterday, she was using the buildings as cover in the City field – standard stuff, sure, but she used it to lead me astray a few times. Hard to see around solid objects, after all, so she’d use it to divert my attention and lead me into a situation where she’s more advantageous. It’s really smart thinking, and she’s kept me on my toes. Although, I do hope I can bring up some stuff for her to iron out. There’s definitely some holes there… but it’s a solid foundation to work from.

She had already begun theory crafting some strategies with that in mind, hopefully she could go over a few of them with Irida. The Galaxy Team was about to take on the world, and she was ready for it. Plus, they had a lot of time; it was about a week or so before the regionals began for the Sinnoh block, anyway.

Things would go great, that she was sure of.

“Dawn! There you are!” Dawn jumped a bit at the mention of her name. She looked to her side a bit suddenly, but eased up at the sight of Irida.

“Oh! Irida! Sorry, I got caught in a stream of thoughts, heh…” Dawn chuckled a bit, rubbing the back of her head. She gave her teammate a smile. “So, you ready to get goin’?”

Irida looked slightly confused, raising an eyebrow. “Well, yes, but where exactly are we going? I know you said we’re practicing, but…”

Dawn blanked, looking a bit surprised. “Crap, I forgot to mention that, didn’t I? There’s a local hobby store run by a friend of my mom’s. A couple of minutes, but it’s a nice day.” She hitched a thumb in the general direction they were heading. “I’ve known the guy for years, he’s got a few stations and he’s never minded me using them for a good practice session. He’s a nice guy! Won’t mind one bit, Laventon probably appreciates the company, anyway.” Dawn began to walk, motioning Irida to follow.

Irida walked a little quickly to catch up with Dawn. “I see! A good session should be a good way for us to practice a few things. I’ve, um, had a few ideas myself, actually. I spent a lot of time last night thinking of some strategies for us to use, haha…” She had a bit of a bashful look on her face. “Hopefully that doesn’t deter you from anything you were thinking of, and—“

“You kiddin’?” Dawn turned to her teammate, smiling. “Hey, if we’ve both got some ideas to crank out, that’s a good thing! Better to think with two heads and not one, right?” Dawn grinned. “Teamwork makes the dream work! Or… something like that, I guess.” 

Irida giggled warmly. “I suppose it does! I have to admit, I was rather excited for this… it’s nice to spend some time with a friend. I haven’t gotten to do that much, lately.” 

Dawn smiled at that comment. “Yeah! We can do some stuff a bit later, too. Might be a bit boring to spend all day practicing… I can show you around a bit! Though… I’m not exactly the greatest tour guide, so… Hopefully you don’t mind that.” 

Irida waved it off with her hand. “Don’t sweat it. It’s nice of you to offer that in the first place, so thank you, Dawn!”

“Nothin’ to it! Always happy to help. Now, not to diverge too hard on the topic, but I figure what we could do is start with some warm-ups or something, and…” 

The two continued to chat as they walked, discussing what they were looking to practice,  their plans, and just making small talk. Dawn had a few practice drills planned, and Irida wanted to practice some strategies she had thought up for the two to utilize in tandem, which was great thinking on her end. But they mostly just talked about little things as they made their way there.

And as they did, a troubling thought crept up into Dawn’s mind.

Wow, she looks really, really nice today.

And she did. Sure, Irida was just wearing a simple red top and white shorts (and a rather cute red headband), but… Wow, Irida looked really nice. And she was generally just looking really pretty. The way she smiled, the way she laughed at things, the way her hair looked, and Dawn really enjoyed the chat she was getting to have with her, and—

…Oh god damn it.

It appears she wasn’t as good at burying those thoughts as she had thought. Dawn mentally sighed to herself as it seemed her brain was at work slowly digging them back up. Whatever, she had ridden it out before, she could ride it out now. 

I hope, anyway.

“Battle ended.”

The simulation faded away, leaving the Sazabi Empert standing while the Gundam Choros laid on the ground. Both gunpla were perfectly fine, of course. 

“…Okay, I think I’ve got what I need.” Dawn spoke up after a few seconds of what looked like deep thought, her eyebrows furrowed. 

Irida looked up from the other side of the battle station. “Hm?”

“Well, to give some feedback, anyway.” Dawn shot a friendly grin. “Don’t worry, it’s nothing bad.”

Irida smiled, thankful. She had asked Dawn to point out anything she noticed in their 1v1 battles. Dawn was quite skilled at them, after all, so it made sense to get some idea of what to work on from that. Before that, they had just spent some time doing some basic strategy planning, which was quite helpful.

Generally speaking, Dawn could play the frontlines, with Irida backing up with long range support, providing covering fire – and she could act as a diversion if needed, or vice versa. (That Buster Rifle was quite strong, after all. It’d make sense for a suit like the Empert to close in, create a diversion and basically hold them down, only for Irida to wipe them out before they could even notice.) It felt as if the two were really coming up with some strong ideas. 

Irida even had the suggestion of riding on the back of the Choros’ Waverider form, which worked great, and Dawn seemed to respond well to the idea as well. Although speed took a small hit, it was certainly faster than Dawn’s Sazabi could move, which would allow for quick repositioning or for aggressive attacks.

But she really wanted to find the cracks in what Dawn was exploiting, since she clearly had been able to the last two times they battled. Even with her increased mobility, she wasn’t able to get away. She was able to outpace slightly, but Dawn’s constant aggro was overwhelming. The God Gundam from the tournament had done something similar, and while Dawn had tried to fend her off, it was a bit difficult. She felt as if she was constantly playing on the run, which was a bit frustrating.

Dawn approached Irida from the other side of the station. “When I get up close, what are you thinking about?” 

When she got up close? Irida mulled that question over.

Usually, it’s about how to best get out of the situation, and create a neutral or advantageous space for myself again.

After all, there had to be a way to get out of the situation, right? She attempted to think about all of her possible options during any interaction, before it actually happened. Her mindset was one that prioritized having an answer to any given situation – so she’d often try to quickly come up with one. Especially when things didn’t seem to go as planned.

Irida preferred to play at longer ranges anyway, not that she couldn’t play close range, but given her choice of weaponry, she wanted to create space. After all, she only had three shots in the Buster Rifle, she had to make them count.

“…I suppose just my options on how to create distance again, as quickly as I can, anyway.”

Dawn nodded, making a small noise of agreement. “Right, right. That does make sense… But I think that you’re a little too focused on your long-range game. It is your strength, don’t get me wrong, but… I think it’s leaving a hole open in your defense. And your offense, honestly.”

“What do you mean?” Irida raised an eyebrow. 

“Well, the Choros is an all rounder, that much I can tell. But with that, you’re much too focused on creating that breathing room.” Dawn crossed her arms, drumming her finger alongside it. “Focusing on that keep-away style is definitely a good idea, and it’s definitely your biggest strength… But you’re not really taking too much advantage of those close-ranged moments. I might sound biased saying that, given how close quarters-focused the Empert is, but…” 

She chuckled. “I digress. You’re able to keep people out very well: but once they get in, you only focus on trying to get your space back, which can be a detriment. Not that you don’t ignore the alternative altogether, but in trying so hard to land up that perfect win opportunity, you’re leaving yourself at a disadvantage.” 

That did make some sense. She did tend to ignore fighting at close ranges. Not that she was bad at it, and Dawn was right that the Choros was intended to be an all-rounder suit, but she definitely preferred playing at safer, longer ranges. Especially ones that would let her play the range game, peppering people down with vulcans and making them move incorrectly, leading the opponent into a devastating Buster Rifle shot… But she had made a strong point.

“…I see. I suppose I can see where you’re coming from.” Irida furrowed her brow a bit. “I’ve been so focused on the fact that I only have three larger shots, that I’ve tried to line them up too hard. Wouldn’t it be a bad thing for me to be a bit less attentive of that? Given how strong they are, after all… and I wouldn’t want to guess poorly in a situation where I could have used a different weapon, or something.”

Dawn shook her head. “Well, yeah, but it seems you’re unprepared for those messier situations is my main point. It’s less that it isn’t important, but moreso that because you’re so focused on that being the win condition, it’s easy for you to slip up. No match goes perfectly, and at some point, you’ll have to be prepared for the worst, rather than trying to set up that perfect win condition.” 

She gripped her fist tightly, holding it up. “Sometimes, you’ve just got to fight back, and if it doesn’t go well, your partner can always back you up depending on the situation. Staying not too far and keeping an eye on the radar is important, in that case. Thinking too hard about the rock-paper-scissors scenarios and how to trump each one to find that ‘catch-all’ can be a bit taxing.”

“Interesting…” That did make sense. Dawn really did know her stuff, didn’t she? Being able to figure that out throughout the course of what was only three or so battles that they had directly, and through teaming at one tournament. It was almost motivating, in a way.

Dawn nodded. “I can definitely understand the thought process – that Buster Rifle provides you with a match-ending attack. But once I noticed that, it allowed me to really close in. Mostly from our 2nd fight, but it was sort of present in the first.” 

Irida nodded, as Dawn continued to go on. She was taking a good mental note of this. “You peppered me down with nothing but vulcan shots, trying to get me to move. Which worked quite well, but after I figured that out, I used it against you.” Dawn thought for a second, before speaking up again. 

“Think back to that first match where we got led up into the sky, and I had set up the funnels in advance as insurance. Since you were so focused on getting into those more comfortable positions, you weren’t really as focused on the other areas you could use to buy yourself time. Or your teammate, I suppose. It does happen, but it’s important to keep in mind.” 

“Right.” Irida nodded in agreement.

“I’ve noticed it in some of our practice matches, too. It’s definitely applicable to both formats, but in 2v2s especially it’s important to know when you might need your teammate to bail you out. But sometimes you might just have to fight back on your own; catch them off guard, and the like.” Dawn shrugged. “It’s a bit of a judgement call, though, so… can be kinda tricky, but you’ll figure it out. I can help point stuff out too.” She gave a confident thumbs up, before looking a bit more bashful. “Sorry for the uh, long detailed analysis, heh. I just wanted to share what I noticed.” Dawn rubbed the back of her neck, chuckling warmly. 

Irida shook her head. “Not a problem at all! I did ask, anyway.” She smiled. “Able to make such a detailed analysis from just a few matches… goodness. That’s quite the talent you’ve got there, Dawn.” Irida was genuinely impressed. Sure, she was sometimes able to notice that sort of thing herself, but Dawn pointed it out in such a detailed and thought-out way. It really made sense how she was able to utilize the close range playstyle that her Sazabi Empert was the best at. She was incredibly good at closing the space and recognizing the situation.

And she really did look so confident when explaining this stuff. Irida could tell she was invested in Gunpla Battles, and she knew her stuff. I’m really enjoying getting to see this side of her, she thought. It’s a lot of fun! Helpful, too.

Dawn grinned playfully, laughing as she rubbed the back of her head. “You flatter me, Irida. Really! I just pick up stuff from my mom. But I think that can be something we work on. You can still fire the Buster Rifle in those smaller, condensed shots, so it’s not like you’ll be totally helpless.”

“That is true…” Irida mulled that over. “I often forget about that. I suppose I did focus a bit too much on finding those perfect moments that I ignored my weaknesses. I’ll have to try and be more comfortable with fighting in a disadvantageous space if I think I can, rather than simply making space. Thank you, Dawn! I really appreciate that.” Irida mulled over the idea.

Dawn gave a thumbs up. “Nothin’ to it. You wanna go ahead and do some other stuff for a bit? Stretch our legs, get out somewhere.” She stretched her arms a little. “Would make for a good break, we’ve been at this for a few hours.”

Irida nodded enthusiastically. She did want to see around Jubilife… And, well, Dawn lived here, right? It’d be nice to explore somewhere new to her with somebody who knew it a lot better than she did. “That sounds like a wonderful plan to me! I’d love to!”

“Great! We’ll make our way out, then.” Dawn grabbed her Sazabi Empert, putting it away safely in the yellow bag she carried with her. “Hey, thanks for having us, Laventon! Was nice seeing you!” She shouted out towards the counter, waving.

Laventon looked up, smiling as he did. “Ah! No worries, my girl! I hope to see you and your teammate again soon! Was lovely meeting you, miss!” He waved towards Irida cheerfully.

Irida smiled, giving a light wave back. “Thank you!”

As the two walked outside, Dawn looked around. “Now, where would be a good place to go? I’ll be honest, I, uh… didn’t really plan this far.” She rubbed the back of her head, a little embarrassed. “Sorry, Irida…”

“No worries at all! Where do you usually go when you’re out, I suppose? Could be a good starting point!”

Dawn snapped her fingers in realization. “Jeez, why didn’t I think of that. Good call, Irida! I’ve got a spot in mind, then.”

And so, the two took off, with Irida following Dawn’s direction. Thankfully, the place they were going wasn’t too far ahead.

That spot in mind was the local mall, it seemed like a good idea, anyway. Not exactly the biggest spot in Jubilife, or the fanciest, but it was bound to have some interesting stuff, right?

Irida didn’t seem to mind, anyway. She had commented that it was a lot bigger than anything in Snowpoint – the small city where she lived. Which made sense – when she had gone up there, it certainly wasn’t the busiest place in the world. Not that it was a bad thing, of course. The two had a chance to discuss their interests as they went around, turns out Irida had a big thing for astronomy.

“You’re big into this kinda stuff, huh?”

Irida nodded, looking at a star display light that they had found walking into a novelty store. “I just think the vastness of space, what lies in the stars, the secrets that lie within the galaxies… It’s all really interesting stuff, you know?” She let out a small laugh. “I always did want to study that when I was younger. Maybe one day I might do that again. But I can worry about that later, I suppose.” 

“Can’t say I blame you.” Dawn smiled, enjoying hearing about her new friend’s interests. “Hey, that doesn’t sound like a bad idea! Plus, it might be pretty funny for an astronomer with the last name Galaxia to-“

Irida looked at Dawn with a playful smirk. “Like I haven’t heard that one before.” She rolled her eyes.

The two snickered a bit. “Alright, alright, fair.”

Apparently that bled into the inspiration for her MS, the Gundam Choros, which was designed to maneuver and explore deep space, with the Buster Rifle and added mobility being used to avoid meteors or other large objects. Dawn enjoyed when people came up with backstories for their custom kits. It really showed a dedication to their craft, which she appreciated as someone who was deeply invested in the hobby of Gunpla herself. Of course, then Dawn had to answer the question she always hated answering.

“…What’s the inspiration behind the Sazabi Empert, anyway? If you don’t mind me asking, that is.” Irida looked at Dawn with a very genuine smile.

Dawn was a bit startled, grinning nervously. “I, uh… Well, to be honest, there wasn’t much more than ‘the Sazabi is cool’ and ‘I want to fight things up close.’ Pretty cut-and-dry, honestly.” She looked rather embarrassed, it was such a simplistic reason.

Irida giggled a bit, before turning it into laughter.

“Jeez, everybody laughs when they hear that…” Dawn pouted a bit. “Its gotten me results, you can’t argue against that!” 

“It is a little funny, you have to admit. ”

“…Okay, yeah. Kinda.” She eased into a laugh. 

It was nice to spend this time with Irida. She really was a great friend, and Dawn was really enjoying getting to know her so much. Irida was passionate, thoughtful, and generally just great to be around. 

…Of course, those weird, almost heart-flutter-y feelings Dawn was having weren’t really simmering down. They were small, sure, but they were still there. But they didn’t mean anything. Just a meaningless, Dawn Platinum special of a fleeting crush. She’d get over it! She always did.

(…Usually.)

As the two were walking through the mall and chatting, though, Dawn couldn’t help but spot a familiar face.

“…hey, is that Moon…?” She said to herself, trying to get a good look at the two figures she saw exit a store.

“Something up, Dawn?” Irida looked a bit confused.

“So it is!” Moon and Lillie, actually! Seems the two were on a date, the two were just walking out a store and Moon seemed to spot the two, turning and waving frantically and taking Lillie by the arm to walk towards Dawn. Dawn gave a friendly wave, chuckling and turning back to Irida.

“Moon’s just an old friend of mine. The blonde girl, Lillie, is just her girlfriend. We’ve known each other for years; since high school. They’re the couple we fought a few days ago: The God and Nobel team.”

Irida’s eyes opened a bit. “Oh, I see! How lovely we’re running into them!” She smiled warmly. 

As Moon and Lillie approached the two, Moon was beaming with excitement. “Didn’t think I’d run into ‘ya! Nice to see you, Dawn!” She held her hand out for a small fist bump. 

Dawn grinned, returning the gesture with a fist bump. “Nice to be seen. What’re you two up to?”

Lillie smiled. “We were just on a small date, going out and about the mall.” She turned her direction towards Irida. “Is this the teammate you were talking about, Dawn?” Lillie gave Irida a cheerful smile. “It’s nice to meet you!” Lillie extended a friendly hand out.

Irida nodded. “Nice to meet you as well!” She took the handshake happily, smiling as she did.

“Yeah, this is Irida! She’s the person I teamed with back at that local event.” Dawn smiled back at the two. “We just spent a couple of hours doing some training. Irida, this is Moon, and this is Lillie.” 

She looked to Irida, motioning to her friends.. “Moon’s probably the closest thing I’ve got to a rival. But we’re good friends nonetheless! Though you shouldn’t tell her about our set count…” Dawn smirked, looking awfully confident. (It was all in good fun, though.)

Moon sneered. “Jeez, the ego on this one. Can’t go 5 minutes without bringing it up, huh?” Moon let out a light laugh. “But it’s nice to meet ‘ya! Dawn seemed mortified that she forgot to ask you to team with her, so she really got a lucky break, huh?” Moon jabbed Dawn playfully with her elbow.

Dawn blushed in response, giving Moon a small glare. “You… don’t have to tell her that, Moon…” 

“Well, I forgot to myself, so… I guess we both messed up a bit, huh?” Irida grinned lightly. “I thought I recognized you back from the tournament, but… you specialize in Mobile Fighters, right?”

Moon beamed, sporting a quick pose. “The King of Hearts, they call me! Nothin’ can stop the God Gundam! It’s the Gundam of Gundams, after all! It earned that title for a reason. ” She grinned, confidently. “ Nothing can stop it! It’s a true powerhouse! Able to overcome all!” Her voice was full of energy, as always. 

“There she goes again…” Lillie giggled lightly. 

Dawn looked towards Irida. “You’ll never guess what her favorite Gundam series is.” Dawn snickered. Irida seemed to think it was a little funny too.

“Leave me alone, you three!” Moon crossed her arms, pouting a bit. “Sheesh! You’ve known Dawn for like a day, and you’re already rubbing off on her. But I digress…” She gave a friendly grin to Irida. “Nice to meet ‘ya, Irida! You were a tough fighter, I’ll have to admit. Dawn seems to be really excited to get to team with you! She’s talked about it whenever she messages us.”

“ Very funny, Moon…” Dawn looked off to the side, a bit more frustrated as her face turned red once more. 

In this, though, she missed Irida’s face being almost the exact same shade.

Dawn shook it off, looking back up. “You’re making it sound a lot worse than it is. Irida’s just a good battler, is all! We’ve had quite a few good mock matches, and she puts up a fight.” She turned towards Irida, grinning. “I lucked out finding a really strong teammate, especially so close to the regionals date.”

Irida bashfully laughed. “You’re too kind, Dawn. Really!”

Moon seemed to show interest in that comment. “Is that so? She did seem quite good from the battle we had, but if you’re saying she’s got a lot of potential…” She shot a grin towards Irida. “Guess we’ll havta see the full extent of that when we fight off in the Regionals, huh?”

Irida looked a little surprised, but nodded and gave a confident smile. “That sounds like a plan to me.”

“That’s the spirit, Irida!” Dawn pumped her fist in excitement. “We’ll be seeing you there.”

“I’ve gotta admit, though… I am a little curious to see her skills once more. Even before that. Which gives me an idea…” Moon gave a grin towards the three, stepping back as she did.

“…What’s up, Moon?” Lillie looked at Moon with a bit of confusion.

“Wellllll…” Moon paced around, with a mischievous grin. “There’s four of us, right? And there’s that arcade nearby thats got a battle station for 2v2s, riiiight?”

“...Oh yeah, that one we go to so we can play Extreme VS. sometimes. Wait…” Dawn shot a playful smirk towards her friend. “Moon, are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?”

“Not exactly! ” Moon stood up. “A standard battle would be good, but… I feel like this deserves a bit more spice. Plus, I kinda wanna save that match for regionals. That’s why I suggest we swap partners! I’d get Irida, and you’d get Lillie. First team to get a KO wins, just to make things simple. Whaddya guys say?”

…Huh. Y’know, that didn’t sound like a bad idea. Plus, it might be a good chance for Irida to practice what Dawn was teaching her with playing more offensive and fighting back if she can.

“…A return of the Trans Tag Team?” She smiled towards Lillie, who let out a slight laugh. “Well, how could I say no? Especially as an excuse to use that name again.” 

“It was a good name when you first came up with it…”

“That it was! I’m a genius, aren’t I?” Dawn snickered a bit.

“Well, I suppose if everyone else is okay with it, then it sounds like it’d be fun!” Irida grinned. “I’m in! It’s always nice to team with more people, regardless.”

Moon pumped her fist in excitement. “Alright!! Glad everybody’s on board, then! Loser team’s paying for dinner!”

“Hey, wait, we didn’t agree to—“

“Too late!” Moon had taken off. “C’mon!”

“Moon!” She held a hand out in shock, before turning to Dawn and Irida, letting out a small laugh. “Our apologies, Irida.” Lillie took off to go catch up with her.

Dawn scoffed a bit. “A mile a minute with her. You get used to it, though. Well, no time like the present, right?”

Irida smiled. “I sure hope you two don’t mind paying for dinner, Dawn.”

“Wha-“ Dawn looked shocked. “Oh, that’s it , I’m playing for keeps, now!” She grinned, which Irida returned – as the two tried to catch up to the couple.

And after some time had passed, the two had gotten to their destination: a small arcade that had lots of battle stations present. 

Irida took a deep breath, centering herself as she hummed a small tune under her breath. Her partner, Moon, piloting the God Gundam, was eagerly staring forward at their opponents before her attention was brought to Irida.

“Hey, no need to worry, yeah?” Moon gave Irida a reassuring look. “It’s all in good fun.”

“Hm? Oh, it’s just a bit of a pre-match ritual.” Irida grinned. “My apologies.”

“Ahh, gotcha, gotcha. We’ll do great!” She shot her teammate a thumbs up, and Irida returned the gesture. Moon certainly was an energetic one, but it made things a lot of fun. At least, from what she had experienced, anyway.

As the four readied themselves on each side of the station, they placed their Gunpla on their GP bases.

“Gundam Choros – ready to launch!”

“Sazabi Empert – going in!”

After a brief moment, Moon and Lillie, in unison, began to speak.

“Gundam Fight! Ready? GO!!!”

Even on opposing teams, it seemed their own pre-match ritual stayed strong.

GF13-017NJII God Gundam

The personal Gunpla of Selene “Moon” Junai, an RG God Gundam that contains no modifications. While this lack of customization at such a high level may seem strange, the pilot firmly believes in its title as the Gundam of Gundams, the strongest Gundam of them all, and that it can truly adapt to and overcome any situation thrown at it. Given her incredible battling skill, this is certainly believable.

The God Gundam is a powerful offensive suit and the successor to the Shining Gundam, surpassing it in every way. This is shown in its stats; it’s fast, incredibly powerful, and has a wide array of attacks at its disposal. It possesses a Energy Multiplier System which allows it to utilize the energy within the Gundam in a similar manner to ki. This allows for powerful moves such as the Sekiha Tenkyoken or the God Gundam’s trump card - the Erupting God Finger, with its classic Heat End finisher. While ground fighting is its specialty, it can still fight in space or other aerial conditions.

With two beam sabers at its side, and the ability to enter Hyper Mode to further increase its power, the God Gundam is a powerful suit with a variety of techniques and power at its disposal. Truly, the only limits of this suit come from the pilot itself, and Moon is determined to be a fighter worthy of the King of Hearts title and to show the world just how powerful this Mobile Fighter can be.

“Field: Canyon. Battle Start.”

As the Gundam Choros landed, Irida realized that this space was limiting, but perhaps that was what she needed to practice in. As fields were randomly chosen, it made sense that eventually, she’d have to face one of her weaker ones and this was often the case. Not that she couldn’t fight here, but still…

She scanned the area quickly. There were a few large rocks about, and a few cliffs with canyons within, but it was mostly a larger area. Those canyons were likely dead ends – only good for quick retreats, or for possible flanks. That was possibly a good idea, potentially.

“I’ll take the frontlines. I’m sure you don’t mind that?” Moon’s image showed up on her display, her voice coming through clearly. 

Irida nodded. “I’ll follow from behind and play the longer range. I’ll try to create diversions for you if I can.”

Moon nodded and took off, heading towards the two opponents off into the distance. Irida followed closely behind, moving in a way that would allow the two to lock the opponent in a disadvantageous spot should they get approached wrong, as Moon and Irida would likely be surrounding the two. 

It was a wide, open space, so if things went wrong, she wouldn’t have much space to hide behind or retreat to, she’d run herself into a corner eventually. But that was a good thing, perhaps. It’d force her to work on those things Dawn was mentioning. Not focusing so hard on finding that shot, and instead breaking out of her comfort zone.

Moon would be focusing on the offensive, she’d have plenty of time to adjust based on that. The God Gundam was a powerful, melee-based suit anyway – she was used to that, with the practice and ideas she came up with thanks to Dawn.

However, as the two teams approached one another, the Sazabi Empert made a sudden beeline towards the Gundam Choros and Irida found herself almost frozen in shock. It was sudden, almost completely unexpected. Her instinct to flee– to create space– almost kicked in.

Moon is over there… if I’m lucky, I can try to slip through and escape, and… No, that’s right!

Irida quickly took out a beam saber from the Gundam Choros’ side armor instead, using it to clash blades with the GN Beam Saber from the Empert. 

“Not bad! Looks like you didn’t forget what I told you after all!”

Irida smirked to herself as the Empert flew back, attempting to reposition itself. “I’m only getting started, you know!” The Gundam Choros aimed its Buster Rifle and attempted to fire – before the Nobel Gundam tackled directly into her, knocking her out of her shot. 

“It won’t be that easy, you know!” Lillie’s voice chimed in, rough and full of spirit. She wasn’t expecting such a competitive tone from a girl like her, but that was besides the point.

“Damn…!” Irida cursed to herself, blocking the flurry of punches heading her way with the Choros’ shield. But just as quickly as the Nobel slammed into her, the God Gundam appeared, delivering a fierce high kick to the back of the opponent wailing on the Choros. The Nobel went flying off into the distance.

“Thanks for the save!”

“Don’t worry about it! Change of plans, I’ll handle her. You focus on keeping the offensive on the Empert!” Moon’s voice chimed in. 

Irida nodded, flying off towards the Empert with vulcan-fire rapidly as she readied her beam saber for a strike. Irida wasn’t sure if she should leave Moon behind, but it was for the best to keep the offensive.

Thankfully, her target hadn’t strayed too far, flying backwards while facing the Choros, moving around to avoid the barrage of buster rifle shots as it flew backwards.

The Empert fired some shots from its beam magnum as it retreated, before tossing it to the side to engage in a quick sword fight, while Irida responded in kind by tossing her rifle and parrying with her beam saber.

The sound of their sabers clashing filled the air as the two danced around one another, vying for an edge on one another. It was certainly out of her comfort zone, but she was still able to keep up, though Dawn was definitely more experienced here.

“I’ve gotta say, this is new for you!” said Dawn, the excitement in her voice clear as day. “I didn’t think you’d take to playing the offensive so quickly!”

“Well, what can I say?” Irida spoke in between sword clashes. “It’s not my strong suit, but I can still manage, can’t I?”

“Perhaps, but…” With a quick fling of her sword upwards, the Choros’ own beam saber was knocked from its hands, landing with an unceremonious ‘clunk’ behind Dawn’s MS. She glanced towards her discarded rifle– too far away– before looking back toward the Empert, its beam saber poised toward the Choros in a declaration of victory.

“I’ve still got the upper edge, here.” 

Irida had no time to pull out the second Beam Saber. This was the game-winning strike.

With the Choros weaponless, the Empert readied itself, attempting to get ready for a fierce, overhead slash that would close out the battle. Irida would have felt helpless, but…“Well, it’s a good thing I was just buying time, then.”

She had other plans.

She pivoted on her foot to the side, revealing the God Gundam, barreling towards Dawn with its hand held forward, closing the space in an instant.

“GOD FINGER!!”

It was too late for Dawn to dodge out of the way. Quickly drawing her GN Sword from the left arm, Dawn held off Moon’s offense, the two looking almost evenly matched, neither were budging. The God Gundam’s hand was firmly aimed at the Sazabi’s head, with Dawn holding off the assault.

“Article One of the Gundam Fight International Regulations, Dawn!” Moon said, her voice loud and energetic. “A unit whose head section is destroyed is disqualified! ”

“This isn’t a Gundam Fight, you know…!” Dawn’s voice was strained, but she was holding back the offense well.

Neither looked like they were budging. The Empert was using all of its force to hold back the attack, making it difficult to prevent any counterattacks. Even a slight adjustment would give Moon the upper hand.

This was her time to strike.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Nobel Gundam advancing towards the three on the radar. With quick thinking, she boosted to grab her once-discarded Buster Rifle. It’d be too easy for the Nobel to avoid the shots, so she’d force the Nobel to slow down.

“Not so fast! Beam Confuse!”

The Choros took out her remaining beam saber from the other side of its skirt, throwing it in a manner that caused it to spin rapidly. By shooting it with low power condensed shots from the Buster Rifle, the particles of the smaller beams diffused into a scattershot, forcing the Nobel to halt its advance, now pressured to block the attack. That was the last of her Buster Rifle shots, its cartridge falling to the ground. She had but only a few moments to make this play work.

Irida flew behind the Empert, still holding down Moon’s attack, and scooped up her previously discarded beam saber. 

“Damn. You learn fast, huh?” Dawn’s voice chimed in, almost sounding a little proud.

“I learned from the best.”

And with that, the Gundam Choros struck through the chest of the Sazabi Empert, slicing upwards through to the head– and the cockpit. After a moment of silence, it exploded,signaling Moon and Irida’s victory.

“Battle ended.”

Nobel Gundam Altari

A simple customization of the GF13-050NSW Nobel Gundam by Lillie Aether. The loadout and physical appearance is the same, save for a trans flag-themed colouring, with the blues being repainted in a lighter shade and the reds becoming light pinks. The Nobel’s “hair” is also painted a lighter shade of yellow, to better fit Lillie’s own hairstyle. The Berserker System also remains, and is used in battles that require the extra output, as it strains the suit itself. (Thankfully, the in-universe effects do not happen to the pilot). 

While she had many options for her personal MS to choose from, she went with the Nobel due to its power and unique weaponry… And also to make her girlfriend, Moon, very happy. The name “altari” comes from her love of flora.

“ALRIIIIIGHT!!!” Moon jumped, clearly excited for their victory. “Oh man, that was sick! You were able to distract Dawn just long enough for me to close in like that, and you were able to hold offense well, and it was just… Ahhh! God, I love a good Gundam Fight!” She pumped her fist in victory, before holding it out to Irida for a fistbump. “Good stuff!”

“The pleasure’s all mine.” She returned the fistbump with a smile. “That really was an intense battle, but… I’m just glad I could use the things Dawn was helping me with.”

“I’ll say,” said Dawn as she approached the two. “I didn’t think you’d pick up on all of that so quickly, Irida. I was aiming for you to see how you’d react, but you passed with flying colours. Genuinely pretty impressive… guess I underestimated you, huh?” Irida appreciated the compliment, letting out a cheerful smile. She was a bit flustered at the sheer confidence Dawn had in her, but shook it off quickly.

Irida let out a small laugh. “It was very sound advice, so I’m just glad I could apply it. I still need to work on it, but… I’m glad it worked out in a small way. Thank you, Dawn.”

“That was quite a fun match!” Lillie was smiling. “I’m a little sad I didn’t get to do much, but it was a great idea regardless!”

“Sorry, Lillie!” Moon anxously laughed, rubbing the back of her head. “I know what you can do in the Nobel, so it was important to seal our victory, but it made for a good fight, at least!” She leaned in and gave Lillie a kiss. “I’ll make it up to you, ‘kaaaay?”

Lillie giggled and returned the gesture. “You’re too sweet, Moon!”

“Well, only ‘cause I love ‘ya so much.” Moon giggled, peppering her girlfriend with small kisses. Lillie laughed in light objection. It was rather cute, Irida had to admit.

“Break it up, lovebirds.” Dawn snickered, looking at the two as she rolled her eyes. “Regardless, that was a lot of fun. Despite me being a little bitter about being put in a checkmate situation so easily. It’s a good bitter, though… But I won’t let that happen twice, yeah?” She shot Moon a confident look. “When we fight in the regionals, I’ll make sure things go differently.”

Moon returned the same gesture to Dawn. Irida could practically see the fire in their eyes. “Wouldn’t have it any other way. Now, what’s say we all get somethin’ to eat? Kinda late, anyway. We already know who’s paying, though…”

“Wha? Oh, god damn it…” Dawn grimaced. “Man, I got so caught up in the bliss of all of that, I forgot that stupid rule. We didn’t even agree to it…”

Lillie shook her head. “I can cover for all of us! My treat for such a wonderful battle. And for meeting Dawn’s teammate! Speaking of, where would you like to go, Irida?”

Irida jumped a bit in surprise. “Me? Oh, gosh, I don’t know…”

“You are the guest, after all.” Lillie giggled. “It’d be a good way to get to know you a little bit! Whatever kind of places you like, anyway.”

She put a finger to her chin, mulling over her options based on what she saw or heard from her teammate. One idea did come to mind. “Dawn, didn’t you say there’s a nice sushi place nearby…?”

“Huh? Oh! Yeah, that place rules !” Dawn smiled. “Sounds great to me. Good choice, Irida!”

She smiled warmly at the compliment. This really had been a wonderful day, and that sounded like a really nice opportunity to wrap things up. “The bus schedule gives me some time anyway, so… we should be okay!”

“Alright! Sounds like a plan to me!” Moon spoke up, excited. “Let’s mosey on over, then!”

And so, the four made their way over, with Irida humming happily to herself. She had felt very happy with how things had gone; what a lovely day off.

But something else was on her mind… Though she didn’t want to deal with it right now. She’d unpack it fully when she got home. Even though it felt as if her heart didn’t want her to.

Later that night…

…Damn it, Dawn.

Damn it, damn it, damn it, Dawn.

Dawn laid down on her bed, looking at the ceiling, rather upset with herself. 

Not because of that battle, anything but. In fact, she was happy with that... and the day as a whole, really. Irida picked up on the things she had taught her incredibly quickly. It was genuinely great! Dawn was hoping she’d be able to pick up on her mom’s coaching skills, and it seemed that was working, and the battle was great; it was intense, it was fun, and she was happy with the result, even if it meant she lost.

…The problem, of course, was her thoughts.

All day, though she tried to not dwell on it much, she felt herself getting more and more overwhelmed by her thoughts about Irida. It was still just nothing more than a simple, stupid crush. One she’d surely get over. But…

Irida was sweet. She was nice, she was kind, and she was an amazing friend. Dawn was really enjoying getting to know her, but it felt like a fierce double edged sword. They had only known each other for a bit, sure, but it was hard to ignore just how much it was messing with her.

Every time Irida smiled at her, Dawn felt her heart jump a little. Her laugh was really cute. The way her hair looked was so nice. Irida looked so excited talking about the things she liked. And god she was pretty. She was so, so pretty. Every time Dawn looked at her, it felt like her heart would skip a beat.

She had wanted to bury these thoughts deep away into her mind, never to think about them again, but all she could think about was Irida looking at her again, and leaning in for a—

NOPE. Dawn grabbed a pillow and threw her face into it, muffling a scream into it. Nope nope nope nope nope. We’re not doing this, Dawn. She groaned to herself, throwing the pillow off to the side. 

Sure, Irida looked nice, but to have this rather silly schoolgirl crush on someone you met only a few days ago just because she’s pretty and is pretty nice to you? Get it together , Dawn! Jeez… She sat up in her bed, grumbling.

Whatever. This was just another weird period of thoughts. Happens all the time. She’d get through this – she always had. It’d be awkward, it’d feel really weird for a little bit, but she’d just have to push through. 

Dawn hated this feeling, though. It never led to anything, and then she just felt really crappy and weird for a bit. She always bounced back, sure, but it created a very embarrassing memory. 

Besides, she had just made a really good friend. They really were hitting things off quite well! And she genuinely did enjoy Irida’s company. Dawn didn’t want to ruin that just because of some stupid thoughts ruminating in her head about Irida. She didn’t even know if she’d be interested, let alone if she was gay. (And it’s not like she was just going to up and ask. )

It was best to just stop before she got ahead of herself. Easier said than done, sure, but it was the best course of action.

Dawn scowled. I’ll bury these thoughts some way or another. It’s still early on, so it’ll fade away eventually. It always does. Then I can get back to focusing on the tournament.

However long that took her, anyway.

Irida was…

She was a bit worried, if anything. Not about how the day went.

Today was wonderful. She had gotten to spend so much time with Dawn, she got to learn a lot, and she even got to win a battle against her. She even met her friends and got dinner afterwards; and it was all great. They had a great time. Irida couldn’t be happier!

But that was the problem, in a strange turn of events.

She had a wonderful time with Dawn, no doubt about that. Irida was more than thankful towards Dawn for the day, but… Irida couldn’t help but worry about how thinking back on certain things made her feel.

Thinking about Dawn’s smile, or her confidence… her energy and her kindness towards her, the genuine belief Dawn had in her skills… or how nice she looked in that black-and-pink dress she wore, or how lovely her eyes looked, or the way she talked… Irida was really focused on all of these small things about Dawn, and it felt like she couldn’t get them off her mind.

Which was… worrisome , to say the least. It felt like Irida was starting to develop a bit of a crush on her teammate. Her only teammate.

Sure, a little crush never hurt anybody. Irida was no stranger to that concept. But Dawn was a new friend, a friend she really enjoyed spending time with. She didn’t want to ruin the Galaxy Team, (she really did like that nickname…) or her friendship with Dawn with these thoughts she was having about her. 

Irida did not want to make Dawn uncomfortable, either. She’d feel awful. She wanted to stop these thoughts in their tracks if she could…

Dawn was a very gorgeous woman. Anybody could see that. She had confidence in battle, she had a very nice smile, she loved talking with Dawn. Dawn was really sweet, incredibly invested into the things she enjoyed, which Irida could absolutely admire. But Dawn had so much confidence in Irida’s skills, and… Well, it just all lined up into her heart making her feel all sorts of worried about it.

Maybe nothing would come out of it. Maybe Dawn was seeing someone! Who knows. There had to be something she could think of that would put her mind at ease, that would tell her to stop focusing on this, but it was much easier said than done. The more Irida thought about stopping it, she would think more about how she felt about Dawn, and then she would feel her heart jump…

And the cherry on top of all of that, was that Dawn had been talking about her. A lot, apparently. And Moon saying that seemed to be the key that unlocked the lock on the part of her brain that had been keeping this realization from her– It made her happy that Dawn was talking about her so much– that she saw Irida so highly already. Someone as amazing, as wonderful, as skilled as her, as beautiful, as…

“…Oh dear.” Irida groaned to herself. It was a very vicious feedback loop she had put herself in: think about Dawn, try to stop thinking about Dawn, think about her more in the process, and the feelings get more overwhelming… It felt very embarrassing, getting all flustered like this, when they had only really known each other for a few days. 

But surely they’d fade away with time. It was possible it didn’t mean anything, it was just a spur-of-the-moment reaction, or… something. Then she could get back to enjoying the moments she was spending learning from someone as skilled as Dawn, and just generally enjoying her company and the new friend she had made. Because, above all else, Dawn was just a really, really good friend. And for that, she was thankful.

So, to pay back that kindness, Irida would do her best to bury these thoughts deep away. 

Hopefully , then, she’d be successful at doing that. Irida sighed to herself. She knew it wouldn’t be that easy, but it was the best thing she could do.

Chapter Text

Dawn was a combination of anxious and excited, but she was mostly excited.

She sat at her desk, touching up the Sazabi Empert in preparation for tomorrow. While she didn’t really need to, the minor touch-ups and making sure everything was a-okay was probably good to do while she still had time.

After all, tomorrow was the beginning of the Gunpla World Championship Regionals. Her and Irida would be in Block B, going in the morning to sign up and play their first match. There were three other blocks as well, but she was mostly focused on her own block, for obvious reasons. 

Matches happened once a week and on whatever date both teams were available, to fit schedules and to give time for other regionals to run, as well as time for pilots to fix or upgrade their Gunpla if needed. It’d be single elimination, as well – lose once, and you were out. There would be lots and lots of opponents there, all varying skill levels.

That included Moon and Lillie, and those were the opponents Dawn was the most worried about. She’d prefer to not fight them early on, but regardless of the outcome, that would be the battle she would be worried about the most. Ignoring the fact that she and Moon had fought so often, being training partners in Gunpla Battles, Moon and Lillie were bound to make an impact for this tournament. They had really been coming into their own. 

Moon had really been training Lillie the past year or so, and Dawn thought that was sweet of her to do. Lillie really seemed to be enjoying it, improving very steadily thanks to Moon’s coaching and feedback and really coming into her own. She seemed to have inherited Moon’s fighting spirit as well, which… was a little surprising, given how sweet and quiet she tended to be. 

As a team, they really had become quite a force to be reckoned with. Individually they were quite strong, but together? This 2v2 tournament format seemed like the perfect spot for them to shine.

Other than that, though, Dawn wasn’t entirely sure who she’d see at the tournament. But she was excited, nonetheless. There were sure to be a lot of strong fighters, and she loved the chance to not only show off her skills, but just to participate in general. 

This was her passion, her dream. And she was doing that with somebody who was pretty damn good already, honestly – that being Irida.

Dawn was also feeling pretty good on that front, too. Being able to actually chat with Irida over the course of the week through messages was quite a lot of fun, and she enjoyed getting to know her.

Like how she had many years of experience playing the flute, something she still kept up with, or what her favorite Gundam series was, which was Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam . That made sense, given her choice of Gunpla, the titular Zeta Gundam. She also was quite a fan of Mobile Suit Gundam Wing.

Irida seemed to just have a soft spot for those mobile armor transformations, something Dawn definitely understood. After all, she just liked big, bulky, powerful suits – like the Sazabi, which was why she ended up going with that for the Empert. Talking about the preferences they had was a lot of fun.

They even exchanged some rather fun stories. Dawn finally got to tell someone else that story about Moon trying to win Lillie over with Domon Kasshu quotes back before they were dating in high school. A little mean, sure, but it was her slightly fun way of getting revenge on Moon for beating her last week.

(And for embarrassing her by telling Irida that Dawn was “really excited to get to team with her”.)

Irida was just great to talk to. The two were really hitting it off quite well, and she was just glad to have made a new friend. That was always fun. 

Plus, she had finally conquered the patented Dawn Platinum Fleeting Crush ! For real this time! For certain!

…At least, she was pretty sure. Which, truthfully, was a relief. Getting that out of her system for the regionals tomorrow was great. Sure, maybe she was a little too eager when Irida had messaged her…

But that wasn’t important. What was important was how well tomorrow would go. Her and Irida were working together very well, and they had been practicing by themselves over the course of the week.

Watch out, world. Dawn looked at the completed Empert, having completed all of her touch ups. Tomorrow, the Galaxy Team is taking its first flight to the stars!

…She snickered to herself. Okay, yeah, it was definitely cheesy . Seemed like Moon was rubbing off on her a bit more than she thought.

But she was excited for tomorrow, and that was what would count. It was better than being anxious, which was a hole she didn’t want to go down. Not again, anyway.

As Irida got home from work, putting her things away, she happily thought about the plans she had for tomorrow, finally getting to rest as she sat down at the kitchen table for a breather. 

Tomorrow was the first day of the Sinnoh Block B Regionals, after all! It was hard not to be at least a little excited about that. Irida hummed a joyful tune to herself as she prepared dinner for herself. It was a bit late, so she was just planning to throw a frozen lasagna in the oven.

She had spent a lot of time over the past week practicing on her own time in preparation, not only to simply warm up, but to go through some training drills that Dawn had suggested.

It was simple things, such as playing against higher-leveled AI to try and get more comfortable with the aggression they showed. They didn’t play like actual humans did, but it was good practice, nonetheless. Irida was very thankful her bosses didn’t mind her sticking around for a while after work to practice on the setups they had.

All-in-all, she was still feeling very confident about teaming with Dawn. They had even theory-crafted some strategies, and while they hadn’t tried them out yet, they were sure to work. Irida was very excited to be able to show the fruits of her labor.

…But in the middle of all of this, one thing was still on her mind. 

That being Dawn. Her teammate.

Or, more accurately, those worrying feelings she was having about how she was feeling about Dawn. Tried as she did, she couldn’t get the things she had been thinking about out of her head. She really had been talking to Dawn a lot over the past week, and it seemed to be messing with her head more than she’d like.

Of course, they were discussing strategies and the tournament itself, but they were also just chatting in general, talking about general topics or even just how their day had gone. 

Dawn was very easy to just… have a nice chat with, and she was very friendly towards Irida, which she appreciated. The two had spent a lot of time learning about one another, and Irida was always happy to learn more about Dawn.

Like how Dawn had picked up about all of her battling skills from her mother, for instance. (Which, after she learned who her mom was – Johanna Platinum, an incredibly strong battler with several titles to her name, and was a 3-times world champ – was not surprising. That skill certainly ran in the family.) 

Her favorite Gundam series was Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn , given the large, powerful Mobile Suits present within it, but her favorite Gundam thing overall was the film Char’s Counterattack, which explained her choice in the Sazabi. She also had a soft spot for Mobile Suit Gundam 00 , due to its high speed action. (Which also explained the use of the GN Sword and GN Beam Sabers.)

Irida enjoyed the casual small talk with her, the longer discussions, all of it. She was grateful that the two were becoming close friends, as Dawn really was a great person to talk to. 

But that, ironically, was the problem. 

Irida sighed, leaning her elbows onto the kitchen table, trying to wrack through the situation in her head and find a solution. It was as if every time she talked with Dawn, those thoughts about how nice and sweet she was, the genuine excitement she seemed to show for battling, and all of those things just kind of kept swimming up in her head. That time they had spent at the mall in Jubilife was really weighing down on her head even more, constantly thinking back to Moon saying that Dawn was eagerly talking about her.

She didn’t even know why. It felt as if these had just… sprung out of nowhere. If it was embarrassing before, then it was soul-crushingly embarrassing now. 

Irida was glad she had made a great friend, but it was as if her brain was working against her, forcing her to feel awkward about it in some capacity. Let alone the fact that Dawn was the only person she could team with, she didn’t want to make someone she only met recently uncomfortable because of the strange emotions harboring themselves within her heart.

“What am I to do…?” She mumbled to herself, uncertain of the answer herself as she furrowed her brow in frustration at her own thoughts. It really did feel as if when she tried to put them away in her mind, they’d come up again, basically at any time. During work, when she was doing her morning jogs with Gaeric, while she was falling asleep, it was like her brain couldn’t give her a break. Irida sulked more as the answer seemed further and further away.

Irida was brought out of her sulking by the “ding” of her oven, somewhat startled by it. She didn’t even realize how deep in thought she was. 

“…Maybe I’m just hungry, honestly.” Irida chuckled to herself, standing up as she got everything ready. That could be why she felt so weird about it today - it’d been a really long day. That, or it was just general anxieties.

That had to be it. Sure, Irida was confident, especially when she was teaming with Dawn, but it’d make sense if she was just a tad anxious, right? Happens to everybody. The Regionals are a big deal, after all.

Maybe she’d just be fine with a good night’s sleep. There was no need to sweat things so much — everything tomorrow would go fine.

One sleep later…

Irida had picked up Dawn somewhat late in the morning, but this wasn’t a big deal. Separating the regionals into blocks meant that lines to register would be smaller, and there was lots of time when they got there, anyway. Their first matches would be played on the day-of, just to drum up hype for the season starting, which made sense.

The regionals were further out, just out in Veilstone, which was a lot further away than Snowpoint. Because of this Irida offered to drive the two there. Taking the bus would’ve worked fine, but this made the trip a lot faster. 

And, honestly, a lot more fun – Moon and Lillie often took their own route to get there separate from Dawn’s, so she would’ve been kinda bored on her own. Getting to chat with Irida made it more enjoyable. It was a very fun time, save for the fact that her heart flared up the second she saw Irida in person. But whatever, she’d brush it off. Dawn had gotten over it. She knew she had! So there was nothing to worry about.

Not like it’s that big of a deal to think your friend looks really pretty, right?

And after a two-hour trip and many rock playlists (Dawn got the choice for the road trip music this time), they had made it there, the clear blue sky overlooking the large stadium ahead.

“Man…” Dawn stepped out of the car, stretching as she looked up. “I don’t think I’ve ever gotten tired of seeing this place.” She smiled towards the stadium that would be holding the regionals as it stood in front of them. “Like I’m seeing an old friend every year.”

“I’ve only been out here a few times myself, but…” Irida stepped out of the car herself, in awe at the size. “It really is quite a big place, huh? Almost somewhat daunting, sometimes.”

“Definitely, but you get used to it after some time. Now, then…” Dawn walked forward before turning around and stopping, a confident look in her eyes. “Ready for the Galaxy Team’s star-shattering debut?” She clenched her fist, holding it close to her chest.

Irida paused, before snickering, turning it into a full on laugh.

Dawn scowled. “Hey, Galaxy Team was your idea, I’m just playing along—"

“No no, that was good! It’s just…” Irida wiped a small tear from her eye, composing herself after getting it out of her system. “Just a little cheesy, is all. I wasn’t expecting that out of you, Dawn.”

Dawn laughed happily in response. “Well, I was hoping for cool instead, but… hey, whatever. Maybe it was a bit cheesy.”

“A bit is underselling it.” Irida walked up besides Dawn, giving her a confident smile. “But I’m ready whenever you are, Dawn!”

“ I think you just don’t know what cool sounds like.” Dawn playfully rolled her eyes before looking at Irida, and–

…Damn it Dawn, you’re an awful, awful liar, you know that?

Dawn tried to ignore how Irida’s smile looked, the way her eyes seemed like they were sparkling, everything – to give her a thumbs up as the two made their way into the building for registration. 

As Dawn walked with Irida, she couldn’t help but notice something on the back of her jersey as the two walked up. Irida had brought her typical white-and-purple Pearl Clan jersey, the logo proudly displayed on the front. On the back of the jersey was Irida’s full name, but just below it was a logo, for…

“...Nimbasa Hobby?” Dawn raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that the hobby store you work for?”

“Hm?” Irida stopped on the stairs, looking back at Dawn before realizing what she was referring to. “Oh, that. Well, it is, but they sponsor us as well.” 

She turned around fully, giving a weak, bashful laugh. “Although, that’s not entirely true. It was put there for the sake of representing the store. Just as thanks for the kindness they showed me, but they insisted on becoming official sponsors for our team. It’s nothing high-class, but…” She smiled. “It’s nice to have.”

“Huh. S’pose that makes sense.” Dawn smiled. “Sponsors are a nice thing to have! Good to have that support, really. That’s a nice move on your part, Irida.”

“Aw, well, it was nothing, really.” Irida giggled warmly. “But I’m just glad they responded well to it! I was a little worried, given I didn’t coordinate it with them.”

“Jeez, glad that worked out…” Dawn let out a short, breathless laugh.

Sponsors, huh? That was always a topic on her mind. Of course, her mom was still getting some, being a very popular ex-world champ, but Dawn was hoping to land something big of her own.

And hopefully, this tournament would be the breakout she needed. The thought of the two she considered her rivals entered her mind again. Dawn wanted – needed – to prove her might. Show the world she could do it. 

This’ll be my chance. I can just feel it…! Her hand gripped at her side in determination. 

Wait for me at the top, you two. We'll be the ones to knock you down!

As the two entered and looked around the large hallways of the stadium’s entrance, Dawn let out a small release of air as she smiled. “I’ve gotta admit, Irida – I’m still nervous, honestly. Mostly excited, but… man, every year, it’s more and more nervewracking.”

“Really?” Irida looked at Dawn, looking shocked with her eyebrows raised. “You always seem so confident, it’s hard to imagine you being nervous.”

“Hah, well…” Dawn put her hands behind her head. “Every year, the competition gets a little more fierce. Everybody’s always getting better and better, learning new strategies and simply becoming better fighters. It’s hard not to be somewhat nervous.” She grinned. “But we’ll do great regardless. I’m sure of that!”

“Well put.” 

A voice came from behind the two, one that made Dawn freeze in her tracks.

What the hell, she’s here?!

Dawn turned around to see the current World Champion: Cynthia Celestica, in the flesh, with Volo beside her, a cheerful smile plastered on their face. Cynthia, likewise, had a smaller, friendlier smile on her face.

Cynthia and Volo Celestica were the strongest fighters not just in Sinnoh, but in the entire world – fitting of the World Championship title they wore. They were also cousins. 

They often traded the World Champion title year after year, and the Grand Finals of the last few World Championships had been the two fighting off against one another. Cynthia often came out on top, but Volo was no slouch, and they had a few titles to their name, too.

Cynthia piloted the Lupus Dracos, a modification of the Gundam Barbatos Lupus Rex, while Volo piloted the Deathscythe Griseous, which was a modification of the Gundam Deathscythe Hell.

They were both relentless, powerful, almost horrifying fighters. Cynthia was practically considered the closest thing to a real-life Meijin Kawaguchi, being incredibly skilled at both battling and building. And Volo…

Well, Dawn didn’t want to remember her battles with them much.

They were incredibly strong, incredibly powerful fighters. So seeing them here of all places…

“Good to see you, Dawn.” She gave Dawn a smile that felt like it was a mix between competitive and friendly. “I assume you’re here to enter?”

Dawn’s expression immediately turned much more fierce, though it was still kept somewhat friendly with a smile on her face. “That I am. I assume you’re scoping out the competition per usual?”

Volo spoke up somewhat quickly. “Ah, you’re close! Both of us are competing this time around!” They had that same, almost never-ending smile they always did, which was always a little bit unsettling.

“Wha—" Dawn looked very surprised. “Aren’t the both of you already qualified for the finals? What are you competing for?” 

Cynthia let out a light laugh. “We’re still competitors, you know. It’s a way to scope out competition, and it acts as a way for us to practice. They’ve already said that whoever gets 2nd would still qualify for the Finals, regardless.”

Dawn put on a slightly uneasy smirk. “That’s if you get there in the first place, you know.”

“Confident as always, aren’t we? We’ll see what happens, I suppose.” Cynthia turned her attention towards Irida. “By the way, who’s your teammate? I’ve seen that logo on her shirt before, I think…”

Irida was startled at being addressed, but composed herself quickly. “My apologies. My name is Irida Galaxia, leader of the Pearl Clan. It’s nice to meet you. I must say… I didn’t think I’d ever meet two World Champions in the flesh like this.”

“Irida, hm?” Cynthia closed her eyes for a second, before opening them up again. “Okay, I’ll remember that.” She smiled warmly. “Good to meet you, Irida.”

“Yes, it’s a pleasure to meet you!” Volo walked forward quickly and grabbed Irida’s hand, shaking it as she was caught off guard. “I’m sure it must be quite a shock to spot us here!” Volo waved a finger as they spoke. “Ah, but we’re simply spotting out any strong fighters we can see and wishing them luck! It’s sure to be a truly electrifying year, isn’t it?”

Her fighting spirit ignited, Dawn gave the two a confident smirk as she stepped forward.

“Guess so. Maybe we’ll see if someone knocks the two of you off your thrones. Who knows? Maybe I’ll actually pull it off this time.” 

Cynthia responded to that by letting out a light laugh. “That burning confidence is sure to take you places.” Dawn clenched the hand at her side tightly just hearing that. “I hope to see you in the final round, Dawn.”

“Wouldn’t have it any other way.” 

And as the two took off, with Volo very cheerfully waving goodbye, Dawn immediately deflated, not realizing just how tense she was.

“Dawn, do you know those two?” Dawn turned her head around, seeing Irida looked awfully surprised. “Being able to speak to two World Champions like that…”

She turned around fully, chuckling and rubbing the back of her head. “Heh, not exactly. Cynthia and I are rivals, to an extent… and her cousin, Volo, too.”

Which was true, but she was sort of underselling it by saying they were mere rivals . 

For Dawn, those two were moreso the biggest obstacle for her to face. They were the best in the world, after all, and she had been seeing them at tournaments for years. Both back in the junior league matches, and especially now that they had really blown up and became World Champions.

So, she saw them as rivals, which neither seemed to really mind. They seemed to think of it as a fun game, a friendly rivalry though, but Dawn saw it as a goal. 

She knew she could do it one day. It was one of her driving passions, and they were an almighty obstacle. And she would do everything in her power to overcome it.

Admittedly, it was nice to see another transgender woman at such a high level in Gunpla Battles, let alone someone as highly regarded as Cynthia. In that sense, Cynthia was somewhat of an idol to Dawn – but she mostly saw her as one obstacle to the top of the summit that was the Gunpla World Championships. Anybody did, really. The two hadn’t communicated much, but Cynthia seemed to respect that rivalry.

…Even if it was one sided.

Not telling Irida about the fact that I’ve never won a tournament match against either of them, for my own sake…

And Volo, well…

Volo wasn’t someone that completely sent a chill down Dawn’s spine, but given what she knew, given what she experienced,  she knew they had a certain unctuous tone to them. He played up that friendliness, but Dawn knew better than to trust it.

Brutal, relentless, and never letting up. They had earned a bit of a reputation for being a fighter without any mercy. Controversial, sure - but he stayed within regulations, so it was allowed. And she had certainly been on the receiving end a little too many times.

But she didn’t want to dwell on bad memories.

Irida’s eyes widened even more. “Goodness, you really get around, don’t you? Rivals with the strongest fighters in the world like that…” Irida giggled lightly. “Pretty impressive, Dawn.”

Dawn grinned confidently. “They’re both no joke, so… they must be serious if they’re entering like this. Kinda makes me more nervous…” She let out a slightly nervous chuckle. “But… I’m sure we’ll be fine. We’ve got lots of time to prepare, anyway.”

Irida nodded. “I’ll be here if you need anything, of course. Don’t worry. You’re right that we’ll do great! The Galaxy Team is going to shoot past the stars themselves!” She pumped her fist in excitement, giving a confident and encouraging smile. She looked really cute when she was – Shut it, Dawn, I swear to god.

Dawn smiled. “Thanks, Irida. I appreciate that. Now, with all that excitement out of the way…” She took off, towards the direction of the registration booth. "Let's make our way!"

"Huh? Hey, Dawn, wait up!" Irida ran to catch up to her, laughing in amusement as she did.

The two then made their way over to the registration booth, eager to get the Galaxy Team up and running.

After a very short time thanks to the smaller line, the Galaxy Team was officially registered within the Sinnoh Regionals. Irida was very excited. A chance to compete with someone as strong as Dawn, to show what she had been practicing off for the entire world to see. To really give the Gundam Choros a chance to shine, and to properly represent the Pearl Clan. This was going to be something else, and she was excited for it.

“Thank god we got here early,” Dawn said, looking at the larger line that had now formed since the two had registered just some time ago. “People tend to pool in pretty heavily around the afternoon.”

“That does make sense. Doesn’t the first set of matches start in an hour or so?” She glanced over at the line itself. That certainly looked like it would be longer than an hour. “I suppose I can see why people would show up to register just as it’s starting, but…”

“Yeah, not my style at all. Me and Moon just barely made it in one year, and that kinda made me put my foot down, heh.” Dawn chuckled, a grin forming on her face. “We were lucky to make it in at all, that time.”

“Well, it’s good to have that foresight, at least. As an aside, the brackets should be up now, right?” Irida pondered that quickly. It would be good to see who they were fighting next. “We should go check those now. I think they said they’d be online…”

“Oh!” Dawn nodded. “Yeah, good call there. Let’s see, now…”

Dawn pulled out her phone and made her way over to the official bracket for the regionals. It was a 32-team bracket, each team being 2 players respectively. 64 players for one bracket seemed surprising, but Gunpla Battles were pretty popular nowadays. The team style format only added to that, it seemed.

Dawn scrolled through the bracket quickly, trying to find their match. “Should be just about…” She stopped scrolling, the bracket match visible. “Right there.” As Dawn stopped, looking at the match, Irida glanced over at Dawn’s phone. She looked at the names, and…

…Oh, of course.  

Irida scowled. Of all of the first opponents. Had to be from the Diamond Clan , just to add that extra bit of pressure.

“…Arezu and Mai. Not sure who those two are, but—Irida?” Dawn looked a little confused as she turned her head to look at Irida. “You… uh, you alright?”

Irida sighed, looking defeated already. “Those two are from the Diamond Clan. Of course we’d be fighting them in round 1.” She scowled, crossing her arms as she did. “Didn’t need that extra pressure, but here we are…” she mumbled under her own breath.

Dawn blinked. “Oh, right. Guess that’s an unfortunate coincidence, definitely a pain… but I don’t think this is a completely bad thing.” 

“In fact, this works in our favor.” She gave a confident look towards Irida, crossing her arms.

“What do you mean, Dawn?”

“I imagine you would have fought them before, yeah?” Irida simply nodded in response.

Dawn clenched her fist in response, the smile on her face forming into a grin. “Perfect. Because now we have recon for that first match, thanks to your experience fighting them!” She hit her palm with her fist, looking eager. “Makes it easier for us to plan ahead. Certainly saves me from having to worry about not knowing what my round 1 match is gonna be.”

Well, at least she’s getting something out of this…  

As annoyed as she was with the circumstances, Dawn was right. This did give them the leeway to prepare, and if there was anything Irida was good at, it was preparing. She had done so several times before, and one of her biggest contributions to the Pearl Clan was assisting others in that process.

Plus, in the face of adversity such as this, it made sense to face it head on. Things would be different this time.

“You’re right, Dawn. I suppose I forgot about that.” Her expression softened, realizing that this was probably the best way to tackle things. “In that case, I can give the rundown for the two of them.”

Dawn nodded. She took out a small notepad, looking to write some general notes down. Irida had a pretty good mental notebook of these things, so she began to list off what she knew.

“Arezu uses a Unicorn Gundam and tends to play somewhat aggressive. She activates NT-D almost immediately, so that’s something to note. She often tries to close out matches very quickly using that raw power.”

“Right.”

“Mai, on the other hand, uses a Zeong. As expected with that, she tends to play a more defensive game, spacing out and not letting you have a moment’s rest. Hers is a custom, though, with added ranged options, so we’ll have to be mindful of that. With the Unicorn leading the charge, the Zeong makes sure you either get distracted by it, or that you get held in place.” 

Irida put her hand to her chin, closing her eyes to think things over. “Almost sounds like our strategy, to an extent.”

Dawn stopped writing and scanned over the notebook for a couple of seconds. After a while, she stood back up and closed her eyes, her eyebrows furrowing as she closed her eyes to focus. “That it does…” Her eyes quickly shot open, a grin on her face. “...but I think I’ve got an idea of what we can do. Alright, so…”

After planning for the upcoming match, the time for their first match had finally begun. Dawn was feeling confident. Certainly more confident than she did some other round 1s, but there was a purpose for that.

 Having that recon from Irida was great, and having that strategy planned out… It really helped to scope things out, and give her and Irida a better idea of what to expect. Irida had made some great suggestions as well, and Dawn felt very confident about how to play things out. This was going to go swimmingly.

“You ready, Irida?” Dawn looked over at her teammate as they stood by the doors, a confident smile on her face, as she held out her fist for a quick fistbump.

Irida returned the gesture with a fistbump of her own. “Let’s give it our all, Dawn!”

And with that, the two walked in, heading to their station. Dawn looked around, seeing a few people in the stands, eager to watch a battle going on. There often weren’t too many people for these first few matches, but things were bound to heat up later on in the bracket. That was usually when the crowds came in.

Dawn then noticed their opponents, already at the station. Two girls — one with red hair, who she was told was Arezu, and a rather smug look on her face, the other with black hair and a more neutral expression on hers, which was likely Mai. Both were wearing dark blue jerseys with a symbol smack dab in the center, representing the Diamond Clan.

“Gotta say, wasn’t expecting us to run into a Pearl Clan member so quickly, let alone the leader.” The girl with the red hair spoke as the two approached, flipping a strand of her own hair out of her face as she put her hand to her hip.

“Well, I can’t say I was expecting it either. But I suppose our teams are fated to fight against each other, aren’t they?” Irida looked much more serious than normal, which Dawn was surprised at. She hadn’t seen that expression on Irida before, but it certainly made sense if the two clans had such an intense rivalry. 

Mai let out a simple ‘heh’, her arms crossed in confidence. “Just doesn’t feel right, though, not fighting an actual Pearl Clan team… unless you’ve recruited the rising star there into your ranks.” She motioned towards Dawn.

Dawn blinked, a smidge startled by being addressed in such a way. “Oh no, I—”

“She’s an honorary Pearl Clan member, thank you very much.” Dawn’s eyes widened as Irida cut her off, looking over at her slightly. Honorary Pearl Clan member? Irida looked over at Dawn, giving a very small nod.

She… wasn’t screened on this, but hey, she’d roll with it.

“Damn straight.” Dawn held up a clenched hand in confidence. “And I may be honorary, but I’ll still fight for their namesake. Which means taking you two down.”

“Oooh, I love the confidence from her! As expected from the rising star.” Arezu chuckled in response. “Well then, we’ll just have to see in battle, won’t we?”

“Bring it, Diamonds.” Dawn grinned, with the other team returning the gesture. The pairs then went to their respective sides of the station.

This would be a higher stakes battle as the stations were set to damage level B – real damage would be inflicted onto the Gunpla kits. This wasn't the highest level, but the damage inflicted to the kits meant that they had to be careful in matches. But Dawn was prepared for this, and she was eager to get into things.

“…Sorry about that one, Dawn.” Irida said, looking at Dawn with a slightly weak smile. “Didn’t mean to throw you under the bus like that. Kind of an in-the-moment decision to win that little feud. Hope you didn’t mind.”

Dawn grinned. “Hey, I didn’t mind. Showed them what for, huh? Besides, I like that title.” Dawn looked forwards, the fire in her heart already blazing for a good match. “After all, the leader gets to make the shots, doesn’t she?”

Irida chuckled. “I suppose so. Now, then… let’s do this!”

Please set your GP Base.

The two did so, and Dawn noticed something out of the corner of her eye that she hadn’t seen before. A small object in the small slot at the top of Irida’s GP base. It looked like a small pearl?

Huh. Fitting, I guess.

…An idea crossed her mind, but she’d save that for later.

“You ready, Irida?”

Irida had her eyes closed, taking a deep breath. She seemed to be in her own headspace for a few seconds. Dawn recognized this as Irida clearing her head.

After a few seconds, she opened her eyes and looked towards Dawn, and gave a cheerful nod and smile. Dawn nodded back, and the two looked forward as the holographic interface surrounded them.

“ Please set your Gunpla.”

Dawn took the Sazabi Empert out of her bag, staring at its monoeye with a confident look on her face. 

Our first showing this year. But we’ve got this in the bag. Let’s kill it, Empert!

The two fighters placed their Gunpla down onto the GP Base, fully ready for the match ahead of them, as the interface changed to indicate they were ready for combat.

“Dawn Platinum! Sazabi Empert! Taking off!”

“Irida Galaxia. Gundam Choros. Launching!”

And with that, the battle began.

RX-0 Unicorn Gundam

The Unicorn Gundam is the powerful titular mobile suit of Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn. It possesses two forms. The Unicorn Mode, true to its namesake, has a large horn-like antenna on its head, and is the base form the suit is typically in. Destroy Mode, where the NT-D system activates and the psycho-frame becomes exposed, increases output in almost all areas, though puts strain on the suit itself, being timed in its usage. 

The Unicorn Gundam is equipped with a Beam Magnum, a powerful firearm that fires heavy, powerful shots, though requires a reload after about 5 shots, which can eat up some time. Furthermore, the firing rate is  slower than regular Beam Rifles, though the damage more than makes up for this. It also wields a beam gatling gun, allowing for the peppering down of shields and general defenses as it closes in, making a strike with its Beam Sabers stored in the backpack.

Arezu’s Unicorn Gundam is based off the RG Unicorn Gundam, though with a orange-tint applied to the whites, and it’s psychoframe being a lighter purple, painted with a lesbian flag-coloured theming in mind. She wields it offensively, closing the gap and destroying enemy mobile suits rather quickly. This offensive playstyle has made her a strong member of the Diamond Clan. She often quickly transforms into Destroy Mode during the start of battles, as she often doesn’t need to worry about the time-limit of 5 minutes.

“Field 04: Mountain. Battle start.”

The mountain setting was a simple one, which worked well for the two. Dawn could play her regular close-ranged combat game, and Irida could create space easily, especially against a suit like the Zeong which already wanted to play long range. 

While it may have been better for Dawn to take on the Zeong custom - named the Zeong Agility, given that close range wasn't that suit’s speciality, she figured that her taking on the Unicorn was a much smarter idea. Irida had been working on her habit of wanting to create space, getting quite good at fighting back and playing at close range, but it simply made more sense to tap into that strength of hers. If Irida could keep the Zeong out, Dawn could deal with the Unicorn Gundam.

The Choros and the Empert were flying side by side, seeing their opponents off into the distance.

“Remember the general rundown, Irida?”

Irida’s face appeared right next to the display. “Of course. I’ll distract them if I can. You take on the Unicorn. We’ve got a good idea on how to take things as they come!”

Dawn nodded. “Right on!” And with that, the two went their separate ways, with Irida heading off to the side. Dawn headed forward with confidence, knowing she could trust Irida to play her backup if needed. 

Dawn headed with full force towards the two, her sights set on that Unicorn Gundam. It was a force to be reckoned with, so she was okay with handling it. 

True to Irida’s intel, she could see that it had immediately gone into Destroy Mode, the purple psychoframe clearly visible. They wanted to fight, and they wanted to finish it quickly. But they weren’t about to go down so easily.

Here we go…!

And though it wasn’t exactly as planned, when she saw the pair make a turn towards where Irida was going, she kicked the boosters even harder to catch up to them.

“You’re forgetting someone!” The Empert fired a few Beam Magnum shots in the general direction of the two, causing them to dodge out of the way. The Unicorn’s eyes weren’t on the Empert’s, seemingly still focused on the Choros.

Using this opportunity to her advantage, the Empert charged directly into the Unicorn, first shooting the suit's Beam Magnum out of its hands with her own before delivering a fierce charging kick into the waist, sending it flying into the forest below.

“Arezu!” The Zeong Agility quickly turned around, intending to fire a shot towards the Empert, but Dawn simply smirked as the Choros came up from behind rather quickly, intending to do a quick horizontal slash-through.

However, the Zeong seemed to anticipate this coming, quickly boosting out of the way, the Choros missing its strike and flying by. “Did you really think I’d fall for that?!”

“Nah, I didn’t.”

The Empert immediately fired a Beam Magnum shot of its own head-on towards the Zeong. It was able to dodge, but barely, with the Beam Magnum shot hitting its right arm clean on.

“Damn!” The arm was still attached, but it looked like it had taken some considerable damage as electricity crackled from it.

“Nice work, Dawn!”

“Alright!” Dawn cheered. Things had worked out just as planned. “Thanks for the help, Irida. But you’re on your own for a bit! I’ve gotta handle this–!! ” The Empert swiftly held its GN Sword out to hold back the Unicorn Gundam barreling towards her. The Unicorn fiercely tackled the Sazabi Empert at full speed, flying off into the distance. Dawn grit her teeth as she focused on keeping the Unicorn from getting any lead, even while she was at this disadvantage, as she tried to push back from its strike.

The two collided into a mountainside, creating a large cloud of debris and rubble. While still not terribly damaged, Dawn was clearly at a disadvantage as the Empert had its back up against the crater.

The Unicorn flew backwards, before flying back in with a kick of its own, intending to hit. “Not a bad move back there. But I think it’s time I return the favor!”

But instead of delivering a fierce kick to the waist, the Unicorn was parried by a GN Beam Saber, quickly taken out and held in a position to parry the kick as the Beam Magnum that was once in her right hand fell to the ground. The kick was stopped by the Beam Saber, quickly swung upwards to throw the Unicorn off its positioning.

Caught off guard and without proper footing, the Unicorn floated awkwardly in place for a second before Dawn delivered a mighty slash downwards with the same Beam Saber. Her opponent was sent downwards into the forest below, the impact creating a large cloud of dust.

She grinned confidently. “Nice try! It’ll take more than that to pull one over on me.” Despite the confidence, Dawn knew that wasn’t going to be what took the Unicorn out. She slid down the side of the mountain, meeting face to face with the Unicorn Gundam as it was getting up, picking up her Beam Magnum as she did.

She could practically feel her heart racing. This was an exciting fight. But she wasn’t going to take it easy just because she was having fun. Dawn quickly glanced at the radar, to see how things were going. Nothing showed up nearby, so it seemed that Irida was doing fine in fighting the Zeong – just as she had thought.

Now I really get to shine!  

“Shame I’m not piloting a Sinanju,” Dawn said as the Unicorn stood up slowly, the Empert standing in place as it prepared its GN Sword by holding the left arm up. “Would make for a pretty cool battle, no?”

“Heh.” As the Unicorn fully stood up, it stared straight forward at its opponent. “Guess so. But we can worry about that later. I’m much more focused on taking you down !” With that comment, it suddenly shot forward, quickly grabbing a Beam Saber from its backpack. Dawn reacted by standing her ground, firmly holding the GN Sword on her left arm in position.

“If you think you’re able to, then go ahead and try!”

The Empert stood its ground, ready for the flurry of strikes coming from the opponent. Dawn’s expertise in close-range fighting was giving her the edge, but the Unicorn’s power was letting it keep up the pace. And although Dawn was able to easily fend off the assault coming from the Unicorn, it was hard to deny the Empert was getting worn down. 

That strike into the mountainside did some damage, and the Unicorn was a powerful suit on its own - especially in Destroy Mode. But Dawn was hoping to exploit the one weakness she could in that five minute timer. 

Once that ran out, it was back to Unicorn Mode, and she would be able to push more of an advantage. The Unicorn was still a strong suit, even in that weaker mode, but it would be much easier to fight it with its power reduced.

All I’ve got to do is stall that timer out. Dawn’s eyebrows furrowed as her expression was stern, focused on defending the strikes and hoping to either find an opening or wear out the NT-D timer. Then we’ll wrap things up!

The crackles of energy from the Unicorn Gundam’s Beam Saber clashing against the GN Sword filled the air. Dawn was focused solely on this defense, as much as she hated to have her back up against the wall like this. All she needed to do was just defend a little longer, and…

The Unicorn paused while going in for a strike. “Fighting the kid of a world champ… didn’t think it’d be this intense! Guess I gotta bust out the big guns!” Arezu’s Unicorn quickly adjusted its left arm to be pointed directly at the face of the Empert, the shield and the Beam Gatling underneath it staring her in the face as it began to whirl.

“Crap–!!” The Empert quickly put its left arm up, using the small shield attached to the GN Sword to try and block the shots. While normally good enough to block attacks, this up-close gatling barrage would be too intense for the shield; Dawn knew it could only take so much damage. This wasn't a foolproof strategy, but it was all she had for defense.

Damn, I forgot all about the Beam Gatling! Dawn scolded herself, disappointed in herself for such a simple slip up. Having a lack of defensive options was certainly biting her in the back here. The shield was quickly getting worn down, and the arm was taking damage as well. While they weren't damaged heavily by any means, this extra damage would put her at further disadvantage. Well,her right arm was still free, and she had her Beam Magnum. All she needed to do was—

Her train of thought was immediately interrupted as she saw the Unicorn Gundam’s right arm take a brutal slash across the Empert’s legs. Dawn grimaced as she felt the Empert’s position shift as a result. It was a clean, direct hit, and while not taking out the legs directly, it had forced the Empert down into a kneeling position, the hit heavily affecting the suit’s stability. A visual of the Sazabi Empert’s status on her screen indicated the boosters were also damaged, which would affect her mobility options.

“Damn it…!” She grit her teeth in frustration, before calming her expression down to try and think.

Okay, Dawn. You’re down, but you’re not out. Maybe you can parry the attack with the spare saber in your hand… not like it’s going to do much, but it’s better than nothing. But then the spare arm can just be used to take me down…

Dawn was trying to come up with some kind of solution that didn’t result in an immediate defeat, as her brain wracked through suggestions.

Funnels were a no go. The Unicorn’s anti-Psycommu tech would immediately detect and disable them, let alone the fact that Arezu would see them and be able to take them out with vulcans instantly.

Running away would barely do any good, as her mobility was reduced due to the damage taken, and the Unicorn would almost certainly close the gap instantly. She could take to the air, but she’d have to find an opportunity in the first place, let alone the fact that her boosters were damaged thanks to the damage done to the legs. She only had a few uses of them left, so eventually she'd be brought back to the ground in an even worse position. Plus, Arezu would see a Beam Magnum shot from above coming from a mile away at this point.

Nothing she wracked her brain through seemed to work, or even give back a slight advantage — the best case scenario seemed to be delaying the inevitable. All because she got a little forgetful and a little full of herself.

Damn, I really messed this one up, huh? Dawn shook her head slightly, a bit disappointed in herself for making this big of a mistake so early into the tournament. She had gotten so caught up in the close ranged fight that she had forgotten all about the Unicorn’s Beam Gatling. Sorry Irida, I–

“Huh?”

As she thought that, her eyes were brought to the radar as it beeped, alerting her.

…That works too.

She smiled, checking her systems quickly before she did anything else.

The Unicorn Gundam stepped back, confident that the fight was over while taking out another beam saber from the backpack. “I do appreciate the fight. Really, I do. But I’ve got to wrap this up quickly. After all…”

Arezu charged forward, intending to brutally slash the Empert with both of the beam sabers. “The Diamond Clan is known for ending fights quickly!”

The leg boosters are damaged, but I should still be able to pull this off. Alright!

“No need to worry about that, then!” Dawn said, her voice filled with confidence and energy. 

The Empert’s boosters quickly turned on, as the Empert shifted to the side to avoid the slash.

“ We’ll finish this quickly too!” 

Behind the Empert, previously hidden by the trees, was the Gundam Choros, aimed dead on towards the Unicorn Gundam that had just barely missed its strike. The Unicorn looked over at the retreating Sazabi, before its attention was quickly brought over to the Choros, hearing the charging sounds of a Buster Rifle.

“Last shot! Making it count!!!! ”

The Buster Rifle’s shot flew forward quickly, giving Arezu no time to react. Her Unicorn took the full force of the attack, and the opposing Gunpla was destroyed in an instant.

“Hell yeah! Nice shot, Irida!” Dawn cheered in celebration.

As the smoke settled, the last cartridge in the Choros’ Buster Rifle flew out, landing on the ground beside it. The Choros discarded the Buster Rifle as a result, the gun dropping to its side. “You okay, Dawn?” The Gundam Choros offered a hand to the Empert, helping its teammate back up to its feet.

Dawn let out a sigh of relief as she stook back up. “You’re a lifesaver, honestly. Everything is mostly green on my end. The stability of the legs is shot, though. How’d you get the Zeong off your back long enough to save me?”

“Well, mountains are pretty good for playing keepaway. Lead them the wrong way, and you’ve got enough time to make them look for you. Especially with the mobility of the Choros!” She sounded rather proud of herself as she had a confident smile on her face, which Dawn could see on the display.

Which, honestly, she had earned for that incredible save. “Heh. Guess I’m lucky I’ve got such a strong teammate.”

“Is your performance affected at all?”

Dawn shook her head. “Other than the legs, we’re all clear. Moving around might be a bit more difficult with those leg boosters being damaged, though. Don’t have much left out of them.” She grinned excitedly. “You want to try that Waverider transportation we brainstormed?”

Irida gave a firm nod. “Let’s close this one out, Dawn!”

Hell. YES.  

She loved to end battles traditionally, but Dawn was a sucker for the flashy finish.

As the Gundam Choros quickly transformed, the Sazabi Empert took position on it while kneeling, the two taking off and flying in the direction of the Zeong. 

Even though the Choros’ speed still took a hit due to the added weight, it was still much faster than the Sazabi could travel, thanks to the extra boosters Irida had added underneath the wings.

Dawn glanced forward at the opponent. “I imagine we’ll have to watch out for the-”

“Psycommu hands at 1 o’clock!” The Zeong’s spare hand was above the two, which Irida quickly boosted forward to avoid. Dawn fired back at it with the Beam Magnum, hoping to either divert it from its movement or, better yet, take it out with a direct shot. It chased the two as they moved around.

Dawn let out a chuckle as she focused on firing back, taking pauses to reload. “Man, turning the Zeong’s hands into Psycommu funnels seems like overkill, doesn’t it?” 

“No kidding. But it works well in conjunction with the actual wired arms – one of which is on your right!”

Quickly diverting her attention, she turned to see the arm coming in. “Right!” Dawn quickly aimed her Beam Magnum on Irida’s command, firing at the wired hand coming from the Zeong. Irida moved in tandem to Dawn’s shots, avoiding the barrage of shots coming from the fingers of the Zeong as the Gundam Choros weaved through shots.

All they had to do was close the distance. Dawn looked to Irida’s image on the display. “Focus on moving me in there! I’ll finish it off!”

“Right!” With that comment, the Choros kicked into high gear, the boosters behind it making them go even faster than usual. Dawn kept on firing shots at the hands, trying to keep them away, but the real focus was on getting closer.

“Don’t think I’ll make this easy, you two!” The Zeong’s pilot yelled out as the two closed the distance. The two cannons in its torso began to light up, indicating that it was about to fire from its Mega Particle Cannon, seemingly forcing them to move.

Dawn had an idea. It was maybe a reckless idea, but who was she if not a little reckless sometimes? 

“I’ve got one more usage of the boosters left in me, Irida! Trust me on this!” Dawn’s voice was sharp, but coordinated, as she placed the Beam Magnum down at her feet and readied for her next move. “You dive down and avoid that beam!”

She hesitated for a second, but Irida nodded in response. “Right!”

And with the Zeong firing its Mega Particle Cannons forward, the two beams almost made contact with the duo as they flew towards the Gunpla. 

But with the Choros quickly diving down to avoid the beams, the Empert used the last remaining bit of the energy left in the boosters to jump above the beams and directly at the Zeong. The GN Sword on the left arm folded outwards as she prepared for a powerful strike, flying towards the enemy head on.

“You’re MINE!!!!” Dawn roared out as she flew towards the Zeong, intending to close it out right then and there.

“HAAAAHHHHHHHHH!”

And with a quick, powerful slice through, the Zeong Agility had been cut apart. The Empert landed on the Choros’ Waverider form, which had flown just under and caught its teammate almost perfectly. Holding the Sazabi Empert's left arm out, the GN Sword folded back inwards. With the main body of the Zeong Agility taken out, the match was practically over.

“And to finish the job…”

Dawn quickly scooped up the Beam Magnum that was still at the side, firing a shot directly at the Zeong’s head. With that last shot, the Zeong completely exploded, unable to fight any more due to the combination of the slash through its body and its head being taken out.

She really did love her flashy endings, after all.

Battle ended.

MSN-899 Zeong Agility

A powerful mobile suit known for its incredible long range options, the Zeong is a monster of a suit. While it was supposed to be developed with legs, it was still at 100% capacity without them, and thus was launched in a desperate attempt to end the One Year War in the original Mobile Suit Gundam lore. It possesses a wide array of beam weaponry options, such as two Mega Particle beam cannons located in the mouth and the waist, and each of its fingers being beam weaponry.  

On top of that, its arms are wired bit weapons, being able to detach and move on their own to fire at even longer ranges, allowing it to be a true threat at any range. Mai has made customizations to make them Psycommu weaponry, allowing the hands to be remotely controlled in the event they become detached from the arms themselves. They’re not as mobile as the wired versions, but can still be a menace thanks to the greatly increased range. With adjusted boosters that increase its mobility more than usual, this custom has truly earned its subtitle. There’s no running from the Zeong, as no matter where you are, it will find a range to attack.

It can also detach its head if the body is destroyed as a last-ditch effort, but it only has access to the head’s Mega Particle Cannon, so its options are very limited outside of utilizing the bit weaponry.

The Zeong Agility is based on the RG Zeong, though its greys are coloured a dark blue, its “chest” area is coloured a darker pink, and the monoeye is a violet colour, giving it a bi flag-themed colouring.

“NICE! Amazing work, Irida!” Dawn turned to her teammate in excitement, fist pumping in victory.. “We absolutely killed it out there. Saving me when I needed it the most… What a match. Couldn’t have done it without you!”

“Nonsense, Dawn.” Irida let out a light laugh. “You helped form a strategy for me to focus on and weaken the Zeong, and even saw me coming to help you without so much as saying a word. I can’t take all the credit for that!”

“Hey, I knew I could trust you to handle it.” Dawn smiled cheerfully at Irida. “After all, that’s what makes us such a good team, right?”

“I-I…” Irida smiled back. “I suppose you’re right. After all, I trusted you to handle things well yourself. And you certainly did!”

Dawn let out a confident, happy laugh. “We killed it out there. What a first performance for the Galaxy Team, huh?” 

“Well, I could do without the split-second flashy finish, but…” Irida grinned. “I can’t say it wasn’t impressive.”

Dawn chuckled. “Hey, I knew I could count on you to back me up if anything went wrong. You gotta play to the crowd, y’know? They’ll soon know who the Galaxy Team is!”

“ That’s what you two are calling yourselves?” Their opponents had made their way over, the two turning to look at them. “I’d say that’s a corny name, but… well, I guess I can’t speak too much after a loss like that.” Arezu chuckled as she shook her head, looking at the pieces of the Unicorn Gundam in her hand. The damage was minimal, and all of its parts were there and accounted for, but they were somewhat scuffed. It seems that the Buster Rifle did some damage after all.

“You guys put up a good fight. I wasn’t sure what to expect from a team like that, but we certainly did get our butts handed to us.” Mai looked at the two with a smile. “Well fought, Pearl Clan.”

Irida smiled, her form much more formal now. “Thank you. You two fought very well, as always.” Dawn and Irida exchanged handshakes with the opposing team cheerfully.

“Isn’t the worst loss I’ve ever taken, anyway.” She shrugged very nonchilantly. 

“Guess one couple’s always got to eliminate the other, huh?” Arezu gave the pair a cheeky grin.

…Wait, couple? What does she— 

OH.

“Couple?!” Dawn’s face immediately flared hot red, with a look of total shock on her face, putting up her hands in self defense and trying to laugh it off as she shook her head furiously. “Nonono, you’re mistaken, that’s not—”

“We’re not—She’s not—” Irida, similarly, looked very, very embarrassed. “We’re just—"

“Arezu, don’t tease them.” Mai hit her on the shoulder lightly, causing Arezu to snicker loudly. “She’s just bugging you two. Don’t pay it any mind. You two did work quite well together, though.”

Dawn quickly put her hand to the back of her head, rubbing it in embarassment. “Y-yeah, hahaha! That’s, uh… that’s appreciated. Thank you two. You guys worked great together too, and uh, stuff.” She laughed weakly.

Irida let out a very heavy exhale. “For sure. It was… a hard fought battle for sure. Thank you again for the battle.”

Arezu chuckled. “Sorry about that, you two. But I digress.” She shot a look towards the two, looking more confident than ever. “We’ll get our revenge someday! Guess we’ll have to just sit on the sidelines for now, though.”

Dawn nodded rather quickly, her heartbeat gradually slowing down to a normal pace once more. “We’ll be waiting for that. Until then!”

And with that, the two took off after gathering their Gunpla, though much more frazzled than normal.

Dawn was screaming mentally in her own head as she made her way out with Irida.

As if her thoughts of crushing on Irida weren’t already slowly being unearthed again, like she did the world’s shittiest burial job, being called a couple basically dragged them out of her brain once more in the flesh. And as if her brain was furious with her, they were now even worse.

A couple. We got… mistaken for a couple. Would that really be so bad—no, Dawn, not right now! Be happy with your victory! Fuuuckkkkkkk…

Dawn shook her head in an attempt to get herself out of her thoughts. This, unsurprisingly, did not work.

Even in victory, I still end up losing. Sheesh.

She grumbled to herself as they left the arena itself. At least she’d be heading home soon, after they checked in with Moon and Lillie to see how their first matches went.

Irida was…

Fine. She was doing fine. 

Her focus was mostly on the road, anyway. It was basically a straight drive forward for an hour or so, anyway, and thankfully it wasn’t a busy drive. Somewhat scenic, too. It would’ve been a nice, normal drive, had it not been for the enormous meteor that had struck her brain in Arezu calling her and Dawn a couple.

They were getting along well, yes, but did they really seem like a couple? Even if she was just teasing. And well, given the things she was worrying about, even if it was just a recent, light crush, it certainly didn’t make the situation better. Now it felt even worse . 

She was already feeling her heart stir just seeing Dawn in such high spirits. She really did love Gunpla Battles, and it was shown no better than at this tournament. The way she was smiling, the genuine excitement and energy to her voice, how sweet she was on the trip there during their conversations, and the confidence she had in battle and even slightly before.

And the way she said that. “Hey, I knew I could trust you to handle it.” Dawn trusted her, which… was doing something to her heart. She wasn’t sure what, but besides that, the fact that Dawn was that trusting of her - of her skills and abilities, was incredibly motivating. She had entered this tournament uncertain on what would happen, but it truly did go very well, and Dawn’s energy really helped that.

It was inspiring to Irida, for sure, but she couldn’t ignore the fact that it was making that feeling in her heart even stronger, even though it was just small moments where her heart would skip a beat. Which was already a pain. Trying to rid herself of these thoughts, and here they were, even more enhanced than ever. 

But a couple? They seemed like a couple. Her and Dawn… She couldn’t help but imagine it. Getting to see Dawn’s beautiful, shining face every morning, getting to go everywhere with her, hearing her laugh, seeing her smile,— Damn it, Irida, focus… 

She tightened her grip on the steering wheel. It’s not like it was distracting her from her driving, but she needed something to temporarily ground herself. At least she had her own pop/R&B playlist playing on the way back, which was nice. 

“…Oh, yeah,” Dawn spoke up, as if just remembering something. “I remembered something I wanted to ask, actually. If you don’t mind, anyhow.” She had been seemingly unfocused the whole drive back as she stared out the window, though the two had still been enjoying light chats as always. It had been a long day, so it made sense that maybe her and Dawn were a bit worn out. Besides, Dawn was likely planning for further matches down the line.

“What’s up?” Irida’s eyes quickly glanced over at Dawn to indicate that she was listening, before going back to the road. 

“I noticed at the start of our match that you had like… a small gem thing in your GP base. I barely saw it, but I really only noticed it now. It looked like a pearl, but I wasn’t sure. What’s that for?” Dawn sat up in her seat. “Mostly just curious, if anything. I haven’t really seen many before, but it’s just neat to see that kinda thing, and it stood out to me.” She shrugged. “I dunno, was just on my mind.”

“Oh, that.” Irida smiled lightly. “Just a small pearl, really. Everybody in the Pearl Clan has it. I think the Diamond Clan puts small diamonds in theirs. Pretty sure theirs are plastic, though…” She looked over to Dawn, a sheepish grin on her face. “Mostly because ours are too. I tried to find a real pearl to put in there, but… well.” She giggled. The idea had crossed her mind, but… well, that was pricey. 

“It’s just for the aesthetic, anyway.”

“Ah, neat! I figured that was the case. Maybe… maybe I’ll get one for myself, then. Just so we can be a matching pair, yeah?” Dawn laughed lightly. “That’d be fun.”

A… matching pair. Her and Dawn, a matching pair… 

She did not like how much her brain was focusing on those words as she felt her face flush. “Oh! I mean, if you’d like! I don’t remember where I picked them up, but… hopefully they wouldn’t be too hard to find.” She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel.

“Yeah! That, y’know, shouldn’t be too bad. Just to… uh, represent us as a team, or something, yeah? Just for fun, really. I dunno.” Dawn put her hands behind her head, looking out the window.

Irida nodded. “If you’re an honorary Pearl Clan member, it only makes sense, after all.”

Dawn chuckled. “Really was a bit of an on-the-fly decision, huh? It did sound pretty cool, though. Certainly gave them a shock.”

“Well, cool wasn’t exactly what I was going for, but… I’ll take it, I suppose.” She smiled. “They’re a pair I’ve fought before, mostly with my other teammate, Palina. We’ve usually had a bit of a back-and-forth, so… I think it’s just how they are. It’s all in good fun, but they certainly don’t mind gloating every so often.”

“Must’ve felt good to get a win over them, huh?”

Irida laughed at that statement. “Honestly? It does.” She hummed happily. “Felt good to have that out of the way so early, and it certainly is a confidence booster.”

Dawn returned the gesture. “Heh. I can see why, though. They’re quite a powerful duo.” She looked like she was in thought for a second, before speaking back up. “Gotta say, the colouring on that Unicorn was really nice, though. I, uh… think it was coloured like the lesbian flag? I almost considered putting one on the Empert when I was first designing it, or going with the colour scheme, heh… y’know, just to like, represent myself a little. Cause, y’know, I, uh, lesbian…” Dawn’s last few words were quiet. She sounded a smidge nervous, but Irida wasn’t really focused on that.

She was more focused on the fact that, if she was understanding that right, that Dawn just told her she’s gay.

Focus on the road, Irida, focus on the road…

Irida gripped the steering wheel tighter, trying to get brain to stop the flurry of thoughts going on. “Oh! That’s, um, something else I suppose we have in common! Pretty nice to, uh, know more queer people, I suppose…” She let out a light, cheerful laugh to try and lighten the mood and to not seem blatantly obvious.

Dawn paused for a second, before responding with a simple. “Yeah! Works out pretty well, I guess. Always nice. Good to know other queer people, yeah.”

The two were quite silent for some time after that. Irida was currently fighting an onslaught of thoughts, trying to keep herself from getting overwhelmed. That didn’t stop her face from being a lot redder than usual, though.

Dawn was gay. 

So was Irida.

Irida had a chance, and she really didn’t need her brain to remind her of that.

Good grief…

Maybe she should talk to somebody about this. Just to get it out of her head, get a second opinion, and so she could simmer down somewhat. Maybe Palina would be free tomorrow. She had the day off, anyway. 

This was news that was both incredible and horrible at the same time, and Irida mentally sighed as she wasn’t really sure what she was going to do with it all.

Am I really falling this deep in love with Dawn...?

The first thing Dawn did when she got home was further inspect the damage on her Sazabi Empert, having the chance to now that she was home with her own tools. Thankfully, the damage wasn’t major. The legs had scratches on them, and there was general wear and tear, but nothing she couldn’t fix in a day or so. That was fine.

The second thing she did was throw herself onto her bed face-first, and scream very, very loudly into a pillow.

What a goddamn day. The battle itself was fine. That went amazingly, actually! She couldn’t have imagined it better if she tried. Her and Irida worked together incredibly, and she even got her flashy finish. Dawn was very happy with that. Starting off the Sinnoh Regionals with such a good match was surely a good omen.

It was everything else that was the problem.

First off, Irida looked fantastic. All day. She had such nice hair, a beautiful smile, her eyes looked like they were sparkling, the way she’d put a hand to her mouth when she was laughing, she was gorgeous. Absolutely beautiful. Adorable. 

She was so sweet, too. The entire drive there, Irida was making sure Dawn was alright and the like, offering to pull over if she got carsick, or picking up food if they got hungry. Common stuff, sure, but it was even nicer coming from her. Her voice had a certain charm to it, too. She could go on, and on, and on. Because her mind was laden with all these overwhelming thoughts.

And Dawn’s mind was torturing her all day with thoughts of this. Even during the battle, whenever Irida would pop up on screen, it’d cross her mind for a split second that she looked really nice when she was serious. Sure, it didn’t distract her that much, but it was still there.

Second off, the whole ‘couple’ comment. That was something her mind wasn’t letting her forget about, it seemed. Did they really seem like a couple? They didn’t, right? Dawn knew her and Irida were getting pretty close, and Mai had said Arezu was teasing, but did they? Why did it make her kind of happy? 

She knew why it did , but Dawn wanted to keep at least a bit of her dignity.

Third, the big one, the gigantic, huge, absolutely sky-shatteringly one – Irida was gay.  

She had a chance, and that previous thought of not even knowing if she would hypothetically be interested or not was the one thing that was keeping Dawn’s brain from just unleashing practically everything. Dawn was moreso upset with how not subtle she was about bringing it up, though. So much for “not up and asking her”.

Sure, she had mentioned that thing about Arezu’s Unicorn Gundam being painted like the lesbian flag to see what her response was, even against her best judgement, so maybe she was anticipating it deep down in her subconscious, but still. And then she basically just told her “Hey, Irida, I’m a lesbian”? Could she be any more obvious?

Smooth, Dawn. Real smooth. And talking about being a “matching pair” like that… jeez. Not even being subtle with that one… I’m making it worse for myself. She pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration.

That one she wasn’t even sure where it came from. That whole “matching pair” thing just kind of slipped out. And she realized how embarrassing it was the second it came out.

Thankfully, Irida didn’t seem to pay it any mind herself. Dawn was thankful she was a very good driver and focused on the road, because it meant that Irida didn’t see the hot-red tone of her face and how awkward her expression was as she tried to hide the wave of emotions she was feeling. It was utter torture, like her brain was getting revenge for her trying to ignore the obvious for so long. 

Maybe it was just hormones making her emotions flare up. (Though she was always blaming emotions like this on hormones, given how it only recently started being something she noticed.) But whatever it was, one thing was clear.

Her crush on Irida had certainly gone beyond “fleeting crush” level. Which was perhaps a good thing being able to categorize it a bit better, but it was also a bad thing as well. Because now it just meant that Dawn was in love with her teammate. 

But would this last? Would it even work? How did she know if this was something, or if her heart was just getting all jumbled up? Aghhh, I’ve got no idea…

Dawn groaned as she flopped over, looking up at her ceiling. God, I gotta talk to somebody about this. Just to get it out of my head. Second opinion and the like. Luke is free tomorrow, I think… 

The two were off tomorrow regardless. Maybe Dawn could shoot Lucas a message in the morning and just ask him to hang out if he didn’t have additional plans. She always did enjoy that, but she also just needed to get this out of her head and talk to somebody else. Moon or Lillie were also options, but… She wanted to go to Lucas first. Not that she didn’t trust them, but Lucas was her closest friend.

Dawn wanted to believe deep down that all of this would blow over. But she also knew that she was crushing pretty hard. On her teammate. And this was not going to blow over any time soon.

Hoo boy…

Things were probably going to be very, very interesting from now on, she thought.

Chapter Text

Dawn sighed to herself, sitting up from her bed and scratching her face. A good night’s sleep had helped clear her head a bit, but not by much. 

She had spent the entire night basically grumbling to herself and trying to make some sense of the thoughts about Irida running through her head. Going back and forth between “this is just temporary” to “this is probably more than just a simple crush” all night had taken a bit out of her. And yet, she still wasn’t sure what to think. 

Irida was still someone she could call a really close friend. She was really great, and Dawn really enjoyed getting to know her.  Sure, they had only known each other for about a week , but she still enjoyed the conversations she got to have with her. They were fun, and she felt like she could talk to Irida for hours. 

(Even if some of those hours were on the clock. Somehow, nobody seemed to complain, as long as she did her job.)

Irida was a great battler, she was a great teammate, but she was also just a great friend. And it seemed that feeling towards her was bubbling up into something more. Did she know what that was, how serious it actually was? Not at all. Was she being weird for thinking this way? Was she going to ruin their friendship? Was she maybe already making Irida uncomfortable? Dawn did not want to risk that whatsoever. She had no idea what to make of any of this, and it was getting a little overwhelming. 

Especially since yesterday, which felt like it had taken those feelings and put them into hyperdrive.

It was also just frustrating because… well, it was kind of illustrating something she had been feeling for a while, that being the fact that Dawn felt lonely. Not like, lonely in the sense that she didn’t talk to her friends. She did that basically every day, and she loved that. Moon, Lillie, and Lucas were some of the best friends she could ask for, and even outside of that, she was doing fine.

…It was just the fact that she had been romantically lonely that was getting to her. And Dawn was worried about that being the driving force behind her little… okay, maybe not little — rather decently sized crush.

Moon and Lillie were great friends. The best you could ask for. She loved them to death, and they loved her. And Dawn had no problems with how lovey-dovey they would get. After all, it made sense with how close they were. Moon and Lillie had known eachother since they were kids.

Lillie had literally begged her parents to move to Sinnoh from Alola just so she didn’t have to be separated from Moon. (Her mom apparently “just so happened” to be moving her operations into Sinnoh, so…) It made sense they’d be as lovey-dovey as they were! And it was awfully cute, she had to admit.

It was just the fact that every time Dawn saw them being as close as they were, she couldn’t help but feel a little bitter sometimes. 

…Okay, so maybe she was a little touch-starved. Nothing of it!

The fact that she was lonely was why she was so uncertain of these feelings harbouring themselves within her heart. What if this was just because Irida was being nice to her? That her brain was just making her take extra steps? And, okay, even if that wasn’t the case, what if she got desperate or made the wrong move because of that? 

What if she messed things up and made her uncomfortable, which would not only make Dawn feel awful for doing that to someone, but for ruining the great friendship they already had? She’d not only likely lose her teammate for this year’s tournament, but she’d lose a great friend. But it was hard to ignore the feelings in her heart. 

This was all very, very confusing, and Dawn wasn’t sure what to make of it. Or what her next moves should be. Or anything related to this. She sharply exhaled out of her nose, exhausted from just thinking about it.

But at the end of the day, whatever this emotion was, it definitely was something Dawn thought she should get off her chest. If she didn’t, it’d probably drive her nuts. Sitting here, getting in her own head about it, was not going to do her any favors, and it was probably for the best to get a second opinion on it. Deciphering it with somebody was bound to do something.

Dawn gripped her own head, groaning lightly. “Jeez, Dawn, what the hell did you get yourself into…?”

She hopped out of bed, focusing on getting ready as she stretched and took her hormone medication, already trying to mentally decide what she was going to wear. 

Talking to Lucas would be a good way to clear her head. Plus, it was just nice to hang out with a friend.

Irida waited patiently at her place, staring up at the ceiling as she fidgeted with one of the bangles she wore, holding the arm it was on close to her chest. 

It wasn’t like she was going super far, but she still liked keeping up appearances. Plus, it was nice to have them whenever she was a bit more nervous, to give her hands something to do. Which, right now, she certainly was.

As she heard a knock on the door, she was a bit surprised, but got up to answer it happily, knowing who it was. “Lina! It’s so nice to see you.” She smiled happily at her friend. “Thank you for coming on somewhat short notice.”

Palina laughed lightly. “I still don’t know why you insist on using that silly old nickname, Irida.”

Caught off guard by the comment, Irida pouted and crossed her arms, rolling her eyes. “I-I… Listen, that’s not important.” She sighed, her expression looking more defeated. “You’re still okay with me talking about this? I feel like it’s a lot, and—”

“You asked, so here I am.” Palina put a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “Besides, it’s not like you wouldn’t do the same for me, right? 

Irida smiled weakly. “I appreciate that, Li-“ She caught herself, almost biting her tongue as she visibly hesitated. “Palina. There , are you happy?”

Palina couldn’t help but snicker at that, which caused Irida to just playfully roll her eyes. “At least I got through to you. So, what’s on your mind? You mentioned a bit of it, but… not too much past that.” Palina motioned Irida to follow her as she took off, the two intending to just walk and chat. It was a lovely morning, with the clouds out and the sun bright as it usually was; perfect weather for something like this.

Irida followed, feeling embarrassed just thinking about it. Sure, it maybe wasn’t anything major yet, but… it still felt awkward to talk about like this.

“…It’s about my teammate for the regionals.”

“Oh?” Palina looked over, confused. “Dawn Platinum, right? I’ve got to say, it seems very fortunate that you were able to team with her at all. I would have assumed she’d have a teammate, but…”

Irida shook her head. “Not at all. Dawn prefers singles, actually, so she had some difficulty finding a teammate. Her main partner was teaming with her girlfriend. That’s what she’s told me, anyway. But that’s besides the point. I, um…” 

Irida looked down at her hands, fidgeting with them as she walked along. “She’s a great friend, of course. Me and Dawn have been spending the week talking over messaging and the like. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know her, and she’s just as good in battles as she seems.” Irida smiled to herself as she walked along. 

“You’d think someone on her level would be hard to approach, but she was very friendly when we first met. We just so happened to run into each other, looking for a teammate, and… well, it worked out quite well!” She looked up at Palina. “We even won our first match, yesterday. In quite the spectacular fashion!” Palina gave a light laugh as Irida beamed with excitement. “She’s got a knack for that kind of thing, it seems.”

Irida let out a cheery hum. “It really has been quite wonderful, especially with her giving me pointers on how to improve. I’ve been quite thankful for that.”

Palina hummed happily. “You’re certainly singing her praises.” That comment alone caused Irida to flare red, which she was very glad Palina didn’t see. “But that just makes it more confusing how there’d be an issue with her. Is something up, Irida?” 

“Well that’s… kind of part of it.” Irida gulped a bit, finding it a bit more difficult to look Palina in the face. She wanted to word this in the most elegant way possible, even though there really wasn’t a need to. “I, uh… I fear that my emotions towards her are becoming a little more than… friendly.”

Palina stopped, looking at Irida with her eyes wide in surprise. “Are you falling in love with her?”

She grimaced, looking to the side. “…I was hoping I wouldn’t have to word it like that…”

“Headin’ out for a bit, Mom. I’ll be back later.” Dawn shouted from the door of the house.

“See you later, honey!” Her mom’s voice echoed from the kitchen, as Dawn walked out to greet her friend. She put her hand up in a small wave. 

“What’s goin’ on, Luke?” Dawn smiled, looking at her friend and taking in the atmosphere. It was always nice in the morning.

“…Shouldn’t I be the one asking that?” Lucas snickered. Dawn rolled her eyes, choosing not to dignify that with a response.

She walked up to her friend, a small breathless laugh coming out of her. “Fair enough. I’m doing alright, though. But… I don’t think we should dance around the topic that much.”

Dawn felt her stomach twist a little. Granted, she had asked Lucas to come speak about it, but…

“It’s still pretty awkward, you know? Like…” Dawn tried to come up with words for it. “I don’t know. Just thinking about it feels weird. I feel like I’m being an awful friend to her.”

“…For having a crush on her?” Lucas looked confused, raising an eyebrow.

“No, but—okay, let’s walk and talk. I can explain by doing that.” Dawn gestured to Lucas to follow, which he did, walking at Dawn’s side.

She tried to recount her steps over the past week or so. “So, like, you know who she is, since I’ve told you a bit about her already. And I know you saw in the group chat with Moon and Lillie that we teamed up again. And that’s been good! We’ve been talking the past week and everything, right?”

Lucas nodded. “On the job, I might add—”

Dawn snickered, slightly embarrassed but mostly amused, as she pointed a finger at her friend. “Quiet, you.” Lucas laughed back, as Dawn waved it off. “Not important. But really, we've just been spending time getting to know eachother, which is fine, that's how you make friends and all that, and…”

Dawn continued to go on for, giving the run-down for everything that happened over the past week or so. She went into it all. Meeting Irida, their first matches together, the discussion they had over the past week, all of it.

“...And, well, that’s basically everything. We’ve gotten along quite well, and it's not like anything terrible has happened, but…” Irida sighed. “It’s just been a lot.”

“Hmm..” Palina closed her eyes for a second, trying to collect everything that Irida had just told her and put it into more concise thoughts. “Having that blossom into something much bigger, at least just to you, would be a bit overwhelming. That I can definitely understand.”

Irida nodded. The two had sat down at a bench at a park, talking a bit more about this as they did. “I know it’s silly, but I just don’t want to overstep any boundaries or whatever. Dawn’s a great friend, and I’ve wanted to meet more people in this hobby in general.” She looked down at her hands as they rested in her lap. “Plus, it’s a much smaller reason, but she’s my only teammate for this tournament. If I were to ruin our friendship in any capacity, then I’d not only feel awful for doing that to someone, but then I’d be left without a teammate. So, feeling this way about her is… concerning.”

“How so?”

Irida sighed. “I don’t want to do something that makes her uncomfortable, and if I perhaps begin to feel this way, then wouldn’t I act differently around her? Or if I try to seek out those feelings, if I did something in the future like asking her out, would that make her upset? And is this even still really anything substantial, or is it just… I don’t know, something else entirely?” She looked at Palina with a concerned expression, who looked to be mulling it over. “How do I know I’m actually falling in love with her, and not just… I’m not sure, this idea of being with her?”

“Well, I think the fact that you’re telling me about it like this seems like conductive evidence to me—”

Irida huffed, cutting her off. “Thanks for the support, Lina.” She crossed her arms and turned her back to her friend in frustration as Palina let out a laugh. “Glad I’ve got such a helpful friend…”

“Sorry, Irida. It’s hard not to tease a little.”

“I’m pretty sure we both know it isn’t. ” She gave Palina a glare with one eye, which caused her to laugh more. 

“Yeah, yeah…”

Palina got the laughter out of her system, before calming down a bit. “But really, Irida, I think that’s something that you’ll have to figure out as time goes on. Sit on the thought for a bit.” Palina looked forward into the distance. “There’s no need to rush into it, so just… take things slow, and let your thoughts work themselves out and go from there.”

“Well, that’s the thing.” She huffed. “I have been trying to take it slow, but it feels like my feelings towards her have gotten more and more overwhelming, and it’s just… Well, it’s a bit exhausting.”

Palina looked concerned, letting out a simple “hmm” as she drummed her fingers along her arm. “Well, that’s letting your thoughts work themselves out, I suppose. But I mean just seeing how things develop, and how your own thoughts develop further.”

“I suppose so.” Irida sighed, still uncertain as she grumbled. “It’s just… It’s awkward, you know? I look at her and it feels like my heart does a thousand different loops, sometimes.” 

She put her elbow on her knee, resting her head onto her hand. “She is really nice looking, but still. I always enjoy talking to her, even if it’s just small talk, and that one day we spent together was really nice. I’m really enjoying getting to know her, of course. I just fear I’m being inconsiderate of her by feeling this way.”

“Falling in love isn’t being inconsiderate of somebody.” Palina gave Irida a reassuring smile. “If anything, you’re being more considerate by taking this approach. You’re considering her feelings, and you want her to be comfortable above all else.”

“…That does make sense. I guess I’m just worried about doing something that would interrupt our bond, but…” She looked upwards at the sky. “I just don’t want this to get in the way of our matches, really. Perhaps I’m overthinking things, but I don’t want this to stop me from something because I’m so caught up in these lovey-dovey daydreams.”

“Well, I suppose I can see where you’re coming from with that.” Palina looked a little bashful. “After all, I definitely did hold back a little whenever we were fighting Iscan, heh…”

“So, I was right!” Irida looked at her friend with a slightly playful expression as she pointed an accusatory finger towards her. “I knew you were holding back against him, Lina. You’d conveniently miss all of your strikes when fighting him!” 

“Whaaaat? Irida, nooooo! You’re making things up.” Palina couldn’t hold back the laughter, smiling the entire time.

She crossed her arms, really playing into her mock-frustration. “Honestly, I just chalked it up to the Shenlong having difficulties against the Cherudim, but after the 3rd or so time…” She giggled afterwards. 

Irida had been happy to see Palina so full of joy about Iscan, and she was able to look past the fact that he was from their rivaling clan, but she’d be nuts to not poke some fun where she could. 

“Maybe I was!” She laughed back, holding her hands up. As the two got it out of their system, Palina let out a happy sigh. “But that’s besides the point, Irida. That was when me and Iscan were fighting against one another… how would it affect your ability to play a match with her on your team?”

Irida thought back to when she was fighting against Mai and Arezu from yesterday. Every time Dawn’s face popped up in the display, she’d… well, her heart would skip a little. It caused her to be a little sloppy in her movements, caught up with that image. And just thinking about Dawn’s voice again, it was so full of energy and exciting during a match.

And when the two were strategizing before the match, Irida just focused on the way Dawn was looking at her. Sure, it was certainly because she was taking such intensive notes to make strategies (she had even drawn out visuals for Mai and Arezu’s customs, which was rather impressive), but… It definitely had caused her to stumble over her words a bit. Dawn was understanding, of course, being as kind as she always was, but…

Irida mumbled to herself a bit, turning a little red. “It’s… complicated.”

“Mmm… I see.” Palina sounded like she knew something, but Irida tried not to pay it any mind as she looked down, her shoes idly brushing by the grass.

“But I digress, Irida. Really, I think it’s best to just… take things slow. See how your feelings develop.” She put a hand on her friend’s shoulder, causing Irida to look up. “You’ve got time to figure things out, and if what I heard was anything, it’s probably not affecting your matches at all given how well it seemed to have gone. So, I wouldn’t worry about that. Then you can worry about maybe trying to see if it's what she would be interested in, as well. But that's for later, of course. Just take your time to figure things out.”

“…Thanks, ‘Lina.” Irida smiled, grateful for Palina’s assistance in the matter. “That helps, a bit. I suppose I was getting in my own head, which... certainly wouldn't be the first time, hah. I appreciate the second opinion. It’s still a bit confusing, but…” She looked upwards, watching birds fly by as she did. “I feel a little more reassured in what I’m feeling. Even though I wish it wasn’t with my teammate.”

She waved it off, happy to help her friend. “It’s no problem at all. But how about we move on from that topic a little?” Palina got up happily. “I hear there’s a really good coffee place near here, if you’re interested.”

“Oh!” Irida knew what place she was referring to. She got up herself, smiling happily and eager to go. “That sounds lovely, Palina! It’d be my treat. Consider it a thank you!”

Irida was at least feeling a little better. She was still a bit confused and uncertain all around, but…

It was a start. She at least knew where she was at, and what she should do moving forward. She’d play it out slowly, see what happens, that kind of thing.  Hopefully, it would help the thoughts in her head become a bit less confusing. 

It had to, right?

“…and it’s just like… I don’t know, man. She’s really nice, she’s really sweet, and I really do appreciate her company, but like, I’ve only known her a week and I’m already feeling like this. Every day it just gets more and more annoying to push down. It’s… frustrating.” 

Dawn kicked a small rock to the side as she and Lucas walked around. “I don’t know what to make of my own emotions, or even if they’re like, real, y’know? I feel like I’m being awful and taking advantage of her generosity, of how kind she’s being. I don’t even know if that makes any sense, but… I just don’t want to feel like I’m making something up when there isn’t.”

She looked at him, concerned. “You know how I can get with that. I could put a trademark on the Dawn Platinum Fleeting Crush, I swear.” Dawn grumbled, still frustrated with it all.

Lucas frowned. “Not the first time I’ve heard that term. You’ve gotta stop being so hard on yourself for having emotions, Dawn.” He put on a thoughtful expression as he walked, contemplating what Dawn had said. “I guess I can see where you’re coming from, but it’s like I said – you’re not being awful for having a crush. Even just a little one! You're at least considering Irida in this as well, not wanting to make her uncomfortable.” 

Lucas shook his head, smiling. “Not to sound like a broken record, since I said this already, but just… play it out. See what happens, that kind of thing, y’know?”

“No, you’re fine.” Dawn huffed a bit. “I guess I’m just a bit frustrated at not knowing what to do with this feeling. Irida’s a really great friend, as well as a great teammate, and… I dunno. I just don’t wanna mess that up by being all weird about it, I guess?” 

Her arms swung at her side as she looked to the ground, watching her feet as she walked. “And I don’t want to feel like this and worry about it only for it to be nothing. Sure, yeah, that’s what normally happens, but it feels more intense this time and I don’t know why. But I’m still worried about it being nothing because all the other times have been, so…” She sighed in defeat.

“I mean yeah, that’s fair.” Lucas nodded in response. “Finding out one’s own emotions is weird, Dawn. You’re certainly not the first. But it does sound like you like her a bit already, so I do think that there’s at least some form of foundation. Given how you feel about it and everything, especially if it’s gotten to the point where you’re getting that flustered about it.” He put his hand to his chin. "I'd imagine that whole 'you two are like a couple' thing didn't really help matters on your end either."

Dawn groaned. “Don’t remind me…”

“ But, ” Lucas said, stepping in front of Dawn to stop her sulking as she looked up, “Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to be a little more forward? Y’know, put your emotions out there a little – not a lot! Just a little bit. See how you feel about that kind of stuff, I guess. Find some ways to talk to her about that kind of thing?” Lucas shrugged. “I’m not sure what approach would work best, but you know what I mean.”

“Suggesting for me to be forward with these feelings? Jeez, Luke, talk about asking for miracles…” Dawn laughed at herself. “You know I’m no good with that kinda stuff. Remember when I was trying to ask that one girl out? Y’know, when the four of us were out?” She shook her head, remembering just how badly she fumbled it. “Sputtered out like a broken down car.” 

Lucas pointed a finger at Dawn, stopping the two in their tracks momentarily. “Hey, you gotta build that confidence up eventually . I know you can, Dawn. Motivational stuff aside, I’m not saying you gotta ask her out next week, or even next month. But like… I dunno. Maybe offer to go out with her! Hang out with her, get to know her a bit more, and formulate your own thoughts based on that. After all, it’s only been a week.”

He smiled at Dawn, who recognized that Lucas was right with a simple nod. “You said so yourself. This won’t fold over immediately, but trying to be a bit more forward with your emotions so you can figure it out, even in just really small and tiny ways, could help you figure out your next steps. After all, taking things slow is still the best idea. Just… maybe push yourself to be a bit more forward, y’know? Never hurts. Helps you figure out if you’re really going for this or not.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” Dawn put her hands behind her head, looking upwards at the sky. “Just a bit of an annoying awkward period. I don’t even know if it’ll end up coming into fruition, and if it doesn’t, I’ll just feel weird about it all. And pretty shitty.”

“Not like you’re doing anything bad, but I digress. Either way… you’ll be alright, Dawn.” Her friend put a hand on her shoulder, smiling. “I know you, and I’m sure it’ll go smoothly, and nothing bad is gonna happen. But whatever happens, I’ll be here to chat.”

“You’re a good pal, Luke.” Dawn smiled back. “Glad to call ‘ya a friend.”

“Hey, nothin’ to it.” Lucas gave his friend a quick thumbs up. “Besides, it’s not like I haven’t heard you talk about Irida at work non-stop for the past week—”

Dawn flinched at that comment. “What’s wrong with me talking about my teammate?! Sorry I’m making friends, Lucas.” She glared at Lucas, who was holding back laughter.

Lucas smirked. “Oh, nothing, but when you started talking about her the 7th time, and you were messaging her during work, I got a little suspicious—”

Dawn’s face flared red as she swiftly jabbed her friend in the shoulder, who let out a loud laugh. “Ouch, Dawn! This is how I get thanks for helping you out? For shame… ” He rubbed the spot Dawn punched, feigning damage. The shit-eating grin on his face gave it away, though.

“Don’t quit your day job and become an actor, Lucas.” Dawn rolled her eyes as her friend got the laughter out of his system. 

At least, she did feel a bit better about it. Even if she still felt a bit anxious about doing things wrong, playing things slow and seeing how she felt was the best course of action. 

Imagining herself making moves on Irida, though? No way, no how. Even if this did develop further, it’d be kinda difficult to muster up that level of courage. 

But she’d worry about that later, like Lucas said. It was a problem for Future Dawn, who would likely hate Current Dawn with a burning passion, but... It was best to just enjoy the rest of the day instead of worrying herself about this. At least for a little bit.

Some time after…

Dawn and Lucas had spent some time goofing off at the mall, just looking at some stores or anything similar. It was a fun way to spend some time together on a day off. Nothing crazy, really.

Lucas had split off some time ago, though, so Dawn was just wandering around the mall, looking through some random stores, just to pass the time. Not like she was doing anything when she got home, right?

She had, somehow, wandered into a craft store – not one related to Gunpla or any sort of hobby building, but things like paint, home and décor, that kind of thing.

The places you’ll go when you’re bored… Dawn gave a breathy laugh to herself as she walked through the isles, mindlessly looking at a few things. 

She had ended up in an aisle of various plastic beads, and was enjoying just looking at them. Plastic jewelry was something she had only done once, way back in high school. Granted, she wasn’t any good at it, but that wasn’t important.

They all looked really nice, too. Some wouldn't look all too bad on a custom kit. Rainbow coloured beads, ones with numbers and letters on them, there were pearls, metallic ones, and—

…

Dawn turned around, looking back on the shelf at the small set of beads that… not only looked a little familiar, but looked very much like a pearl. A plastic one, sure, but still a pearl.

Irida… had said that the ones the Pearl Clan put in their GP Bases were plastic, after all. And she hadn’t objected to the whole idea, despite how awkwardly Dawn had worded it.

“If you’re an honorary Pearl Clan member, it only makes sense, after all.”

It did make sense, right? That was what Irida said, anyway. That was the only reason she was debating on buying this, and nothing else.

Not because the idea of putting this in her GP Base would remind her of Irida. No way, no how. She was still going slow with this, after all. Figuring out her feelings. 

This didn’t mean anything. It would be perfectly okay for her to bring this up to the front, buy it, walk home, and put this in her GP Base, which was why she was already checking it out at the front counter.

…Good lord, Dawn.

Dawn was happy with the purchase, but she had felt she had truly reached the point of no return. She grumbled to herself out of embarrassment as she made her way back home.

Irida flopped onto her couch, rather exhausted. It had been a long day, but she was glad to spend it with Palina. It’d been a while since the two of them got to spend so much time together, and Irida was glad to spend it with her closest friend. 

“What a day…” She was somewhat tired, but very happy, nonetheless. She had a lovely day, and she got to figure out the whirlwind of emotions in her head a little more.

It’d still take a bit, but she’d figure things out. Find the right angle to approach this from, things along those lines. Hopefully it would all work out, but she’d be able to adjust and adapt. She always was quite good at adapting to the space around her, and this would likely be no different.

As she was thinking about that, though, her phone buzzed to notify her of something. Curiously, she took it out of her pocket, and… Oh, it was a message from Dawn!

Her heart jumped a little, which she tried to ignore. She had forgotten to mention she was busy today, but Dawn likely didn’t mind. That being said, she was a little too eager to open the message, and—

Oh.

That was a picture of Dawn’s GP base.

…With a pearl in the small slot on the top. Like they had discussed yesterday on the drive back.

…Like a matching pair.

Irida blushed before shaking her head, getting out of her own daydreams to actually read the messages below.

Oh, yes. Irida let out a sigh of relief. Right, for the team. Nothing else. Don’t get ahead of yourself, Irida.

She still wanted to make sure the follow up message was simple and did not come off as flustered, so she took her sweet time writing it, running it through her head multiple times.

(Which was normal, right?)

Oh, Dawn was busy too. That did make some sense. But she was happy to chat, nonetheless.

The two began a nice conversation, happy to talk about their day. Irida, of course, left out the part about why she actually went to see Palina in the first place.

Her heart was still fluttering a bit, though. Dawn went out of her way to do that, just so the two were matching? Sure, it was for the sake of her being an honorary Pearl Clan member, and she was doing it for fun, but Irida’s heart couldn’t help but flutter at the thought of her and Dawn matching.

Like a couple would…. Arghhhh!! She groaned as she buried her head into a pillow on the couch.  

“So much for taking it slow, huh…” She grumbled into the pillow, her voice muffled.

Well, whatever. One day didn’t mean anything. She could still take it slow!

“Good god, Dawn, what are you doing… ” Dawn groaned to herself, rubbing her temples as she leaned her elbows onto her desk. She had spent maybe 10-15 minutes screening that message to herself, making sure it wasn’t worded poorly or anything along those lines. Maybe a bit much, but… she just wanted to make sure.

Dawn was relieved that Irida responded well to it. Not that she wouldn’t, given she didn’t mind when Dawn pitched the idea yesterday, but still.

Dawn had even doubled down on the whole “matching like a pair” thing by buying this. Maybe that was just because of Lucas’ suggestion. Being a bit more forward, testing the waters. And sure, she responded well, but…

It obviously didn’t mean anything. After all, it was because they were on a team, which was what Dawn wanted to do it for in the first place. It was fun for teammates to do matching things, right? It only made sense for Irida to make that connection as well. 

It still made her heart skip a beat, all the same. Getting all like this over such a simple set of words… God, am I embarrassing.

Irida, at least, responded to it well. Plus, she got to have a nice conversation with her. Turns out she was busy all day, which worked as Dawn had forgotten to mention she was going to be busy given how hectic her morning was. 

But she was glad to just talk to her. Despite how flustered and awkward she was starting to get around her, Dawn enjoyed talking to Irida. But getting like this about it, even after getting it out of her head, and doing something embarrassing like that?

Dawn leaned back upwards, drumming her fingers along the desk. She was certainly taking things too far, but at the very least, Irida didn’t mind. Maybe that’s something…? No, that’s probably getting ahead of myself. ‘Being forward’ doesn’t mean to take 10 steps forward too fast.

At the very least, she was glad she got to do that in the first place. She looked at the GP Base in her hands, smiling happily at the plastic pearl in it, still having a slight shine to it. 

Incredibly not-subtle reasoning for choosing it aside, it did look nice. And it was a nice representation of the Galaxy Team.

On that note… hm. Dawn mulled over a thought to herself. Maybe we should find some time to practice some more next week. Or just hang out, really…

…Okay, that was definitely just looking for an excuse to see Irida again.

Jeez, Dawn. Get it together…

Chapter Text

“KICK HER ASS, YOU TWO!!”

Dawn’s voice was loud and full of energy as she shouted from the crowd watching the ongoing match. Irida jumped in her seat, startled at the sudden cry, but smiled happily at seeing Dawn so supportive of her friends. 

The two were at the same stadium they had travelled to last week for their own match, now cheering on Moon and Lillie during their first match. Dawn had mentioned she was going, and offered Irida to come along, if she wanted to. Which she was happy to accept!

And Irida definitely did not use up one of her vacation days just to be with Dawn. She just… spontaneously had a date open on her calendar, was all.

It had been a nice trip up, as the two had taken the bus instead of driving. While it was a bit of a longer trip, the time flew by fast. They had a nice time chatting and generally just being around each other, which meant that by the time they had gotten there, it hadn’t felt like a 2-and-a-half hour trip.

And once they got there, the match was exciting. Fists flying, strike after strike… it was hard not to get a bit fired up watching it. And Dawn was definitely fired up in how she was cheering on her friends.

…Even if it was in a bit of an eccentric way. But it was a nice kind of eccentric. Plus, she just enjoyed spending time with Dawn anyway. Though she did feel like she wasn’t being very subtle.

“Moon! NOW!”

The Nobel Gundam Altari had its Beam Ribbon firmly wrapped around the opponent’s Zeta Gundam, as it struggled and strained to try and get out. But it seemed to be for naught – the God Gundam, not far away, stood firmly in place, as the ground beneath it seemed like it was beginning to shake.

The chest section of the God Gundam opened up, revealing its Energy Multiplier. This was the final strike, and Moon was going for a classic finisher. “Okay! Here I go!” The God Gundam held its hand up, preparing the finishing blow.

“This hand of mine is BURNING RED!”

“YEAH!!! GIVE HER THE WHOLE SPEECH! KILL ‘EM DEAD, MOON!!!” Dawn roared with excitement, grinning ear to ear as she was standing out of her seat now. Irida couldn’t help but find this display amusing. And maybe a little adorable.

After all, the battle was very intense. Moon and Lillie were incredible offensive fighters, working in almost perfect sync with one another. The synergy they demonstrated was incredible, and it gave her some ideas that she considered pitching to Dawn. 

Maybe not so much so the synced up poses. Not sure if that’s my kind of thing…

“Its loud roar tells me to grasp victory!” With a grasp of the God Gundam’s hand, the fate of the opponent was sealed. The God Gundam flew forward, its wings folded outwards and displaying the God Field behind it.

“ERUPTING GOD FINGER!” 

As the God Gundam’s hand plunged into the Zeta Gundam’s chest section, the Altari quickly flew back, releasing the hold it had on the opponent. Unable to move, and unable to fight back, Moon held the opponent above her head, the hand still firmly planted within. And with one final declaration…

“HEAT… END!”

The Zeta exploded, being completely defeated. Moon and Lillie had won, and with that, Dawn leaped up into the air, hollering and cheering. 

“LET’S GOOOOOO!!!! Atta girl, Moon!! Show ‘em what you’re made of! Hell yeah! Oh, man, I—” She looked over at Irida, who was maybe a little too focused on Dawn at the current moment. She could barely help herself. Seeing Dawn so full of energy, so happy for her friends, it was…

Ignoring the feeling of butterflies in her chest, Irida straightened her posture. “You were getting quite into that, weren’t you?” She gave a very happy smile, genuinely enjoying how happy Dawn was.

“I, uh…” Dawn’s face was flushed red, as she let out a very embarrassed laugh and sat back down rather quickly. “S-sorry, Irida, I just, uh… really enjoy seeing my rival do well. Heh. Forgot that you were with me…” She rubbed her neck, not looking Irida in the eyes as the embarrassment of her display seemed to grow. “I gotta show my respect for a fellow close-range fighter, after all. Plus, Moon’s a good friend, and… Yeah, uh, My bad…”

Irida shook her head, laughing cheerfully. “Not at all, Dawn! Really, I enjoy seeing you so energetic. It’s nice that you’re that excited to see your friends do well. I can’t deny I get similarly excited seeing Pearl Clan members do so well. Plus, that really was a good match from the two of them.” 

“Damn straight it was. I always get really into their matches. Watching her is something I enjoy doing anyway ‘cause it gives me ideas on things to practice, but man, Moon always knows how to fight. ” Dawn let out a light laugh of relief, releasing the tension in her posture. She seemed a bit exhausted after all that energy spent cheering the two on. “But I appreciate that, Irida. And, uh…” 

Her eyes drifted off to the side. “I wouldn’t mind coming with you at some point to see one of the matches from the Pearl Clan, y’know. I-if you were going to go, anyway, that is, my bad if I’m kind of just inviting myself into that, and—”

“Oh, no, that’s not a problem at all, Dawn!” She smiled back, hoping it’d hide the slight blush on her face. “I’d love to have you! I, um, suppose as an honorary member, it’d only make sense for you to see the others in action, no? And introduce you to them more formally. I had already sort of planned to, so…”

…Goodness, Irida, try to be a little less obvious, please…

“Right!” Dawn nodded quickly, her focus back on Irida as she smiled happily. “Yeah, yeah, that makes sense!” Irida held back a sigh of relief, but she was glad that it didn’t seem too obvious. “Glad that works out! I’d love to come see a match, of course. And, y’know, always fun to spend time with you.”

Dawn wants to spend more time with me…

She kept herself composed, trying not to get lost in the dreamland that was her own thoughts. “That sounds like a plan, then!” Irida let out a happy giggle. “I’ll give you a bit more detail once it’s all set in stone.” She did feel a little embarrassed about accepting so quickly, but Dawn was offering. 

Granted, she wanted to ask at some point anyway, so it was good that Dawn offered.

She felt a little bad, though. After spending all that time talking about her thoughts with Palina, it seemed that she was doing anything but taking things slowly. She absolutely wished she could, but it seemed her heart would take control of the wheel and just steer it into whatever direction it wanted. 

She was utterly helpless to its whims, whatever they decided they were. And it seemed those whims were spending time with Dawn and acting like a love-smitten fool during it. Turning her head to the side, Irida squeezed her eyes tightly for a second to focus, before letting out a brief exhale and opening them once more. She had to get a grip on this.

Irida looked over towards the stations from the stands, seeing Moon and Lillie happily chatting with their opponents – a set of women, one of which piloted a green-coloured Zeta Gundam that had the arms and chest of the God Gundam, and the other piloting a Nu Gundam that utilized the added Sazabi shield in a rather offensive manner. 

They seemed to work quite well together, but they seemed to be unable to keep up with the raw offence of Moon and Lillie’s raw strength. With the two exchanging handshakes and a brief conversation, Moon and Lillie took off.

“Well, I guess we should go down and greet them?” Irida got up, motioning towards the stairs that would lead them out towards the rest of the stadium. 

“Oh! Right, yeah!” Dawn hopped out of her seat, stretching a bit. “Not a bad idea! C’mon, let’s head on down!”

The two made their way out of the stands to go and greet the victors.

“There you two are!” Dawn made her way over to Moon and Lillie, just exiting the stadium, with Irida following behind. She grinned at her friends in excitement. “That was amazing , you two! The way Lillie avoided the Nu’s funnels, avoiding them like that, and Moon followed up in perfect tandem by launching a Sekiha Tenkyoken as the pilot was distracted…”

Dawn balled her hands up excitedly, practically beaming. “Ahh! Man, that was just a good fight! I knew you two were gonna kick ass.”

Moon gave a confident scoff. “And your confidence was rightly placed! No way the King of Hearts was gonna be shaken by anything.” She rubbed her finger under her nose, a sign of confidence. “After all, the God Gundam can handle any situation thrown at it! No number of funnels, swords, or fancy movements are enough for the Gundam of Gundams!”

“Damn straight!” Dawn immediately got into a fierce, confident handshake with Moon, who joined into it as if she knew exactly what was going on. “Nothing’s stopping the King of Hearts! Her will is unshakable, her strength is unstoppable!”

The two stared at each other fiercely, their eyes practically lit with flames. Dawn was always happy to hype up her friend and give her this level of encouragement. After all, the more Moon grew, the more Dawn, in turn, would grow. They were always improving, side by side, constantly inspiring the other to improve their game. 

“Do they… always do this?” Irida looked at Lillie, raising an eyebrow as she seemed rather surprised by the display.

Lillie let out an amused giggle as she turned to Irida to explain. “It is rather unusual, but you get used to it. Plus, it’s nice to see them so supportive of one another.”

“Just a post-game habit we get into sometimes.” Moon turned back to the two, grinning. “Besides, I can’t blame Dawn for getting all excited. That was a pretty damn good match!”

Dawn gave the two a grin. “That it was! Besides – I just like seeing a good match!” She laughed, though she had to admit she didn’t realize just how bizarre it would seem to someone not in the loop. But she was having fun, nonetheless. 

“Especially from another close-combat specialist like Moon.” Moon gave a proud smile at Dawn’s praise. She turned to Lillie, smiling. “And you kicked ass too, Lillie! Amazing stuff, as always. Moon’s right – you’re getting really good at piloting that thing. I knew she trained you well, but… Man, that was something else!”

Lillie beamed at the compliment. “Oh, thank you, Dawn! Coming from you, that means a lot.”

Irida giggled at the display. “Not a problem at all. I just wasn’t expecting such energy, but… I guess you two are rivals. It only makes sense to encourage each other in the same way to do their best.”

“Right on the money! Besides…” Dawn looked at Moon, her smile more confident. “I want you to be at your best for when we fight in the semi-finals, Moon.” She pumped her fist to emphasize her point. “So, you can’t be losing to anybody! Not until we get to our match.”

After all, the way the bracket was laid out, if both teams – the Galaxy Team with Dawn and Irida, Moon & Lillie – won their next two matches, they would face off in the semi-finals. Dawn couldn’t deny that she was kind of hoping for them to be on the separate sides of the bracket so that they would face off in the finals, but this worked out just as well. The semi-finals were an exciting event, and the stakes would be high.

Especially because, if Cynthia and Volo were to make the finals (Which, Dawn figured, they probably would ), whoever won that semi-finals match would automatically make it to the World Championship due to being the highest placing team, regardless of how the match against those two went. 

It was hard not to look forward to such a high-stakes match.

Moon returned the fiery expression with one of her own. “Wouldn’t miss that chance for the world, Dawn.” She lightened up shortly after, smiling. “Especially now that you’ve got such a powerful teammate! The two of you aren’t too far off from being in sync, either. For a pair that happened on a whim, you two certainly do work well together! With that synergy, it feels like I’m watching me and Lillie fight. It’s impressive stuff!”

Dawn bit her tongue at that comment, trying not to visibly react. Sure, it wasn’t intended as such, but that was the second time they got compared to a couple.

God damn it god damn it god damn it god damn it god damn it.

Irida had looked off to the side, seemingly hiding her own expression, though Dawn didn’t see this.

She shook her head lightly to try not and dwell on that comment. “Well, I appreciate that, at least! We do work quite well together though, heh. But I digress…” Dawn cleared her throat, to get her head back into the conversation proper. “What are you two up to now?” She  glanced outside the large glass windows to the side. The sun was still out, and it was still somewhat early in the day. 

“Oh, Moon and I were just going to explore the area a little!” Lillie perked up, cheerful. “We’ve got a lot of time, and we’re in the area anyway… there really are a lot of things nearby.” She tilted her head slightly, thinking about that for a second. “I suppose this being a big stadium for Gunpla Battles really brings people in, making the surrounding area pretty popular…”

“We’d offer you two to tag along, but…” Moon let out a weak, slightly awkward laugh, feeling a little guilty about it. “Y’know. Sorry!”

“Oh, psshht. Don’t even worry about it!” Dawn brushed it off, smiling afterwards. “Wouldn’t want to interrupt you two having a nice date. We’ll catch you around, yeah?”

Irida smiled at the two cheerfully. “It was nice seeing you two again!”

“Of course!” Moon gave a two-finger salute as she took off with Lillie. “Catch ‘ya two around! I’ll let you know when I get back, Dawn – still gotta do my weeklies in Gundam Evolution!”

“For sure!”

As Dawn and Irida waved back to the two as they took off, Dawn let out a content huff of air. Moon always was a blast to be around, given how deep she was into Gunpla Battles. It was always fun to have someone on the same wavelength as her in terms of competitive spirit.

Though, now she wasn’t really sure what to do.

“So, uh…” Dawn turned to Irida, looking a little uncertain as to what they should do now. “What should we do now? I’ll be honest, I hadn’t really planned anything to do afterwards. Unless you just wanna head back home, which is fine by me.”

“Oh! Well…” Irida crossed her arms, closing her eyes as she looked deep in thought for a few seconds. “Honestly, I didn’t have anything planned either, but Moon and Lillie mentioning they would be going out together had me thinking we could also go out for a bit. Just explore the area.”

Dawn smiled at the idea. “Sounds great to me! I don’t think I’ve ever really been outside of the stadium here in Veilstone much, buuuut…” She pulled out her phone, quickly typing in a search to find some stuff to do.

Nearby malls, some nearby hobby stores (Which, given the area’s proximity to the stadium, seemed obvious) , a few other places, and, hey, a pretty big space center—

Irida… really loves astrology and space, so…

“Something up, Dawn?” Irida had a slight look of confusion on her face, confused at how Dawn had seemingly paused and stared in awe at the listing on her phone.

“Oh!” Dawn jumped in place as she was startled, putting her phone away quickly. “Uh, nothin’. Just… saw something a little interesting, really, maybe for later.” She let out a weak laugh. “But I’d love to just run around the city with you! Sounds like a fun way to kill the rest of the day. We’ve got lots of time anyway. Could even grab dinner later!” Dawn smiled. “Sounds like a plan?”

“…Oh! Um, yes!” Irida smiled brightly, excited at the prospect. “That sounds lovely, Dawn! I suppose I’ll let you lead the way.”

“Great! We’ll just swing on by the bus stop, then. Should take us further into the heart of the city!” Dawn began to take off, motioning to Irida.

“Coming!” Irida began to follow, letting out a cheerful laugh. Dawn was excited. This would be a great chance to spend some time with Irida. 

She really was a great friend to spend time with, and although Dawn’s heart was still skipping several beats every time she smiled, every time she laughed, every time she was just Irida, Dawn was still appreciative of that friendship.

Getting to explore a city, having a good time, and even getting dinner later. It was—

Getting dinner later. Dawn paused on that, thinking about it. Something about that after everything else plannd was weird to her…

Oh. OH.

Her eyes shot open with fear. Man, was she glad Irida was a good friend, and was being very, very kind to Dawn after she kind of, practically, basically accidentally asked her out without even realizing it. Because she felt really stupid for that one. 

So much for Lucas’ suggestion of “taking it slow”, when she herself was subconsciously speeding the process up for her…

Okay, Dawn, chill out . That’s just something friends do. Calm down, you’re not being weird, how many times have you and Moon hung out and got dinner after? Isn’t that serious, you’re the one making a fuss about nothing. She didn’t mind one bit. Don’t think about it so much…

…Unfortunately, she was doing a pretty poor job at not thinking about it so much.

She groaned very quietly, rubbing her eyes as she walked. It was much easier said than done, it seemed.

Irida looked around the shelves at a hobby store her and Dawn had happened to wander into. It was nice to just look around at other stores, not only to get some inspiration for Nimbasa Hobby and how to organize things, but just to look at the various kits that some places had. 

Plus, it was a good way to clear her head, because… goodness.

For someone who was trying to take things slow for her own sake (and for Dawn’s), Irida sure did just accidentally ask Dawn out, huh?

She didn’t even realize it until it slipped out of her mouth. Irida was proud of herself for keeping a composed face, keeping it together, but she couldn’t have worded it a little better than “We could also go out”. Granted, the wording was still in a friendly way, and that is what she meant, but thinking about how it could be interpreted in that way was… A little concerning.

And then Dawn had asked her to dinner, which she knew was just a friendly, kind gesture, but it still made her heart twist into a knot just at the thought of it. But she was just very glad to spend time with Dawn regardless, even if her heart wasn’t letting her do so easily.

That energy that Dawn always had, the cheerful energy she brought any time her and Irida were hanging out, the way she smiled, the way her hair looked, all of it… Irida couldn’t help herself sometimes. It felt as if her heart was speeding the process up tenfold despite her efforts.

But she was trying her best to shake that off. After all, this was just a nice day out with a friend. Nothing too crazy about that, right? The two had a good time so far exploring some parts of the city. Veilstone really was a big place, with lots of stores and things to do. It made sense for the place to be so popular, but it was still surprising.

They had spotted the hobby store just while wandering about, and figured it’d be a good place to relax in for a bit. Browse their selections, maybe pick some things up if something caught their eye, things like that.

“…this really is a big store…” Irida mumbled, scanning the shelves. Several different model kit boxes of all different varieties lined the shelves – some related to Gundam, some other mecha model kits, of various grades, variants and colours. It really was fascinating.

“Jeez, I’ll say.” Dawn stood up behind her, looking at the other shelf that was behind Irida’s. “Never been to a store like this before… but I guess it makes sense they’re stocked this big.” Dawn turned around, glancing upwards at the shelf that Irida was looking at. “After all, being this close to the stadium itself would probably draw in lots of customers.”

Irida nodded. That did make sense. “I really shouldn’t be window shopping, given how I want to dedicate time to touching up the Choros, but I did want to get something new to build for fun, lately. Though I can’t decide what…”

Dawn let out an amused huff of air. “I’ve got the opposite problem. I’ve got a lot of side-projects on the backburner, so I really shouldn’t be adding to it.” She put her hands to her side, walking up to the side of Irida as she scanned the shelf beside her. 

“Still haven’t gotten to that RG Banshee Norn I bought, but that’s a combination of being busy last week and some other builds catching my eye. And yet, here I am, looking at more possible projects.” She chuckled loudly, looking over at Irida with a warm smile as she dug her hands into the pockets in her skirt. “Ah, well. That’s what makes the hobby so fun. Battling too, of course, but I’m a sucker for a good build or two.”

Irida looked over at Dawn, smiling back. “It really is! I’ve been told I tend to just run through projects very quickly, and maybe I do, but… I just enjoy the hobby a lot, and—huh?”

Dawn suddenly darted past Irida, the expression on her face turning from interest to genuine surprise. “No way no way no way no way no way—”

“Dawn?” Irida tilted her head in slight confusion, before Dawn had went to a shelf over on the other side of the wall, pulling out a model kit box from the shelf – carefully, however, so as not to ruin the organization on the shelf by having boxes fly everywhere or the like, and making sure the stack was still neat.

(As someone who worked at a hobby store, Irida appreciated that gesture.)

“Holy shit, I’ve been looking for this kit forever! At a pretty decent price, too!”

As she walked over to Dawn, Irida read the side of the box she held in her hands, curious as to what it was. Dawn was looking at it like she had just found buried treasure. 

It was a HG00 Gundam Astraea Type-F. It was a red mobile suit that looked awfully similar to the Gundam Exia. She hadn’t seen this before, but Dawn certainly seemed interested.

“Astraea?” Irida put her hand to her chin, letting out a small “hmm” in response. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen that suit before. Reminds me of the Exia…”

“Well, that does make sense.” Dawn looked up with a wide, bright smile on her face. “The Astraea was a prototype of the Exia. But this variant is an upgraded form of it, with new experimental weaponry, a sick red paint job, and the ability to use Trans-Am.” She looked very invested into explaining this, which Irida could only return with a warm smile. After all, it was nice to hear Dawn so passionate about the things she liked. 

Plus, it was genuinely interesting. But her mind was mostly focused on how eager Dawn was about this. She continued to go on for a little bit.

“The F stands for Fereshte, a secret support branch within Celestial Being, not really being given the spotlight. But with its upgrades, the new weaponry is really quite interesting. It’s got Proto GN Swords, a conventional bazooka, and even a weapon very similar to the Gundam Hammer, the GN Hammer. It’s such a cool suit, and—” Dawn paused, blinking once, seemingly realizing what she was doing.

“A-ah, uh… Sorry, Irida.” She let out a weak laugh, her face going red from embarrassment. “I, uh, get a bit into explaining this stuff, it seems. Hope that wasn’t all too much.”

Irida laughed. “No, not at all, Dawn! It really is quite interesting to hear about. I haven’t actually watched the 00 series yet, admittedly, so the explanation definitely helps. And besides… seeing you so passionate about something is really nice.” 

It was also making Irida’s heart go on a rollercoaster, but Irida bit her tongue on that in an attempt to not blurt something out she wouldn’t want to.

“W-well, I’m glad you didn’t mind, haha.” Dawn rubbed a hand behind her head, letting out a cheerful laugh as she seemed relieved that Irida didn’t mind the excitement she just displayed. “I just think that kind of stuff is super interesting, the internals of the suit and what it can do. Not even just from a Gunpla Battle stance, but from the stance of how it works. It’s… just cool, that’s the best way I can describe it.” She looked down at the box with a somewhat tender look on her face. “Hard to put into words. But I’m a fan of it, nonetheless.”

Irida grinned. “I can definitely respect that! Suit mechanics certainly are an interesting aspect of mobile suits in general.” She definitely had done something similar when she was workshopping the Gundam Choros, so she could relate. Studying the Waverider system was perhaps why she was so invested in it, and why she created the Choros with the Zeta Gundam as its base— taking full advantage of a suit that could easily transform into a high-speed mobile armor and back to create distance in matches seemed like a no-brainer.

“It’s just fun to look at and try to understand these systems. I think it not only helps with Gunpla Battles, but it helps build an understanding of the suit itself. Makes the building process go by a lot smoother!”

“Hey, not a bad way of thinking about it!” Dawn gave a nod of agreement. “Now, let me go get this thing checked out quickly so I don’t forget about it…”

Dawn made her way up to the counter, getting the model kit checked out with the pink-haired girl behind the register. Irida could only sit there and smile. 

She felt like she was really focusing on this too much, but Dawn really was wonderful when she was this invested into something. The genuine excitement in her eyes, the energy in her voice, it was all just really sweet. Sure, she had seen it before, but every time, it just exemplified how wonderful she thought Dawn was, and—

“No, no. Focus , Irida, you’re not doing that today. Take things slow, don’t get in your own head…” She mumbled under her own breath, taking a quick deep breath in and out.

After all, if she let that slip too much, she might get a little careless and something would happen that would maybe make Dawn uncomfortable, or she’d just feel incredibly embarrassed, or something along those lines. 

She had to plan things out better. Not try to enter this state where she couldn’t help but have her heart take over. Irida had to have a firm, iron-clad will about this, because that was the best course of action here.

“Okay!” Dawn made her way over as she put the kit into the yellow bag she carried around, looking awfully chipper as she walked back to Irida. “Anything catch your eye, Irida? Or do you just want to get going?”

Irida hummed in thought as she glanced around quickly. Some interesting things, for sure… but she usually bought things with her employee discount at Nimbasa Hobby. Plus, this store didn’t have the Zeta Ver.Ka yet. Nimbasa Hobby’s shipment was getting there next week, and that she was excited for.

But thinking about places to go… Well, there was one place that caught her eye, but she didn’t want to force Dawn into that.

But it’s not like it hurts to ask, right?

“Nothing, really… but I did have an idea of where we could go next, if you’d humor it.”

“Hm? Oh, were you looking at stuff on the way here?” Dawn put her hands at her side, giving Irida a look of confidence. “I’m totally down for it! What’s on your mind?”

“…Well, um…” Irida let out a weak laugh, fidgeting with one of the small bangles on her wrist. “There’s a space center nearby, and… I’ve never actually been to it, so…” She looked at Dawn with a meek grin, slightly nervous.

“Oh hell yeah I’d love to go!” Dawn beamed with excitement. “That sounds like a blast! Actually, uh, I saw that one and was going to maybe suggest it later, ‘cause I knew you’d probably be interested, so…” Her expression changed to a more bashful one, a simple smile on her face. “Works out pretty well.”

Irida couldn’t help herself smiling ear to ear. “That’s fantastic, then! I appreciate you having me in mind, Dawn… that really is sweet of you. Thank you!” She really was thoughtful, wasn’t she? Irida was glad to have such a good friend.

“Nothin’ to it! Now…” Dawn pulled out and quickly typed the place into her phone, looking at results and the map to get an idea of the route. She hummed to herself as she did.

“My phone says it’s about a 10-minute walk.” She crossed her arms, tapping her fingers across them as she thought aloud. “It’s about 4 now, so we could go there for an hour or so, then maybe get dinner afterwards, then start worrying about heading back?”

“That sounds good to me!” 

“Fantastic! Let’s make our way over, then.” Dawn turned back, waving towards the counter. “Thank you!”

The girl waved back, as Dawn and Irida made their way outside of the store.

Irida couldn’t help but be excited about this. She had seen it on the way there, looking up places on her phone, and she tried to hide her excitement about it. Obviously, she wanted to go, and in the worst-case scenario she could just go on her own at some point. After all, she had her eyes on local space centers for a while, and maybe she could find the time to go up on her own now that she knew the route to Veilstone. But having Dawn offer to take her, saying she didn’t mind?

Well, there was nothing quite better than being able to indulge in a very big interest of yours while hanging out with a really good friend, was there? Someone who was only a really good friend and someone who she definitely wasn’t trying to suppress her romantic feelings for, at least just temporarily.

Irida beamed with excitement as the two made their way over, unable to stop herself from lightly flapping her hands as they walked.

“Man, this place is neat .” Moon smiled as she glanced around the space centre, her and Lillie having gone there just to look around. It was a nice place, with the quiet atmosphere and the darkness making it nice and cozy. “You make some good choices, Lillie.” She squeezed her girlfriend’s hand tightly, letting out a cheerful hum as she did.

Lillie turned back, her face beaming with joy. “I’m glad you like it! It really is a nice place to be. My family and I have gone a few times, so I know the place quite well.” She giggled to herself. “Maybe you’re a local celebrity here, given your name…”

“Don’t tell me that’s the only reason you wanted to take me here.”

Lillie struggled to hold the smile on her face back. “ Wellllllll…”

Moon couldn’t help but laugh, leaning in and giving her girlfriend a kiss on the cheek. “You’ve got way too many cheesy setups. But it’s what makes ‘ya so cute.”

“Heehee…” Lillie leaned her head onto Moon’s shoulder, sighing happily as the two walked along, displays of planets and stars lining the walls. Lillie glanced over at them, smiling happily. “You know, no star here can compare to how much you bright up my own life, Moon.”

“Aw, you…” Moon nuzzled into her girlfriend, happy as could be. “Gosh, you really are such a sweetheart. It’s one of the many things that I—”

…Hm?

Moon straightened her posture; her focus being grabbed by something else she heard. A voice that was awfully familiar.

“Moon?” Lillie looked up, confused. “Is everything okay, darling?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, sorry. I… thought I heard something. In fact, I still think I do…” She squinted her eyes, focusing on the noise, idly walking off towards another section of the museum. “Sorry, I don’t mean to get super distracted, it’s just…”

Lillie followed, uncertain as to what was going on, but following after Moon’s lead nonetheless.

“…Jupiter really is such a fascinating planet, you know. It’s got about 80 different moons, some of which were observed by Galileo in the 1600s. A failed star turned into a planet… I find it really fascinating. However, we don’t know if it’s a physical planet yet. Much of the information we have seems to point to it being made solely of gas, but there could be a solid core that is relatively small. It certainly wouldn’t be walkable…” Whoever that voice was, they were speaking very excitedly about this. But she knew she heard that voice before…

“Jeez. You know your stuff, huh, Irida?”

So it was them! Moon stopped just in the hallway leading to that area of the museum, seeing Dawn and Irida chatting in front of a display of the solar system. She had no idea they had also decided to go out. She thought about saying hello, but…

Moon figured she didn’t want to interrupt them. And maybe it was against her best judgement, especially considering Dawn was her best friend since high school, (and had been her wingman back when she was crushing hard on Lillie), but Moon wanted to be a little bit nosey.

Dawn had talked about Irida a lot . A surprising amount, honestly. She knew the two were good friends based on their interactions, but she hadn’t really seen the two hang out enough to know any more about them. 

Sure, they had battled that one time, but most of her knowledge of Irida consisted of Dawn going on and on about how amazing she was in their group chat, and not really anything else.

Admittedly, she was curious, and when she got curious, Moon couldn’t help but snoop a little. She wanted to know more, but asking upfront seemed a bit rude. An awful habit, sure, but she’d worry about that later. 

…And it’s not like she was going to grill Dawn about it once she saw the two. Not like she was witnessing anything crazy, but she was just interested in what their time spent together was like. This was just a good opportunity, so… what the hell, y’know? 

“Moon? I— Is that Dawn and Irida?” Lillie finally caught up to her, shock quickly overtaking her frown she had on a moment prior, as the two stood there watching their shared friend and her new teammate from behind. It’s not like they were doing some top-secret espionage, but they seemed to be focused heavily on the exhibits and themselves, to notice the two.

Especially Irida, it seemed. She was talking a storm about Jupiter and Dawn just seemed happy to listen, (although she could tell Dawn was a little bit lost.)

“Looks like they’re on their own, so I don’t think we should interrupt.” Moon looked intently at the two. “They seem like they’re having a good time.”

Nonetheless, Dawn seemed to be very invested in the conversation as Irida continued to list facts, the Pearl Clan’s leader looking intently at the model of the planet in question as she spoke her heart out.

“…said to have taken form about 4.5 billion years ago. Jupiter is theorized to be the leftover mass of the sun, which would explain not only its status as a failed star, but its massive size. It’s fascinating, really. The biggest planet in our solar system by far, and it’s a failed star… Really, it’s something else!”

Irida turned to Dawn, sheepishly rubbing a hand behind her head. “S-sorry, Dawn, um, I just really get into this kind of stuff.” She let out an embarrassed laugh. “I know you haven’t minded the last few times, but…”

Dawn shook her head. “Not at all, Irida! It’s really fun getting to learn so much about space. It’s always been fascinating to hear about, especially from a friend as great as you. Plus, y’know, I just enjoy spending time with you anyway.” She rocked on the balls of her feet, rubbing the back of her head. “I’m always happy to listen!”

“That’s sweet of you, Dawn… I really do appreciate that.” Irida seemed relieved, if the tone of her voice was anything to go off of. “I really do enjoy getting to spend time with you too. Plus, I get to really be in my element here, hehe…”

“Well, I don’t mind.” Dawn put her hands behind her head. “Not the first time I’ve listened to someone talking about their interests a lot. You should hear Moon talking about G Gundam.”

Lillie giggled quietly in response, giving Moon a teasing smile. 

“Oh, whatever…” Moon rolled her eyes, but snickered lightly anyway. She wasn’t wrong…

Irida laughed warmly in response to that, as Dawn continued. “But really, I don’t mind hearing about that. Especially when you’re as passionate about it as you are, Irida. It’s nice to hear about the things people like.”

“Well, I certainly got a bit of that earlier today, what with you talking about the Astraea like that…”

Dawn drew back in shock. “H-hey, that’s… Okay, that’s fair.” She slumped forward. “Still, what a low blow…” She rubbed the back of her neck as Irida laughed.

“Just poking fun. But, I suppose we should move on. There’s a lot more I want to see here, admittedly…” 

Dawn straightened herself and gave Irida a thumbs up. “No problem at all! C’mon, let’s get going!” Irida led the way as Dawn followed, out of view of the two.

“…Well, that was nice, wasn’t it?” Lillie smiled cheerfully. “They seem like they’re getting along well!”

Moon nodded. “They do seem pretty close. Nice to see Dawn getting along so well with her teammate! Just wasn’t expecting to run into them here, guess they also wanted to head out. Maybe not on a date, but… y’know.”

Moon wondered about the possibility of it being a date, but Dawn likely would’ve mentioned the two being together if that happened. But she also knew Dawn, and she would’ve been very surprised if Dawn had just, in the span of a week, started dating a girl she just met. Dawn was many things, but she was not that bold.

At the very least, she was glad that Irida had seemed to bring Dawn out of that funk she was in. Dawn looked and sounded a lot more like herself – cheerful, full of energy, and excited about battling. With a teammate like Irida by her side, it was no wonder. They seemed to be getting along well, and Irida was definitely a strong fighter in her own right… they seemed to be rubbing off on each other.

…Though, given how much Dawn had been talking about Irida, it did make her more curious given what she saw. But she’d worry about that later, if at all. Trying to play Cupid for her friends wasn’t really her forte. Maybe she’d try to ask about it, but that was Dawn’s thing and she didn’t need to butt in. Even if she really wanted to know.

“Anyhow…” Moon shook her head a bit to get back into focus. “Guess we’re good to head out, right?”

Lillie nodded. “Right!”

And with the two taking off to get some dinner on their own, Moon stopped thinking about it, with no need to pry further. After all, that’s their business. But if Dawn really is that invested in her…

Whatever. That’s a conundrum for Future Moon to think about.

The streetlight above the bus stop hummed as Dawn and Irida waited at the bus station, with it being a bus to Jubilife. Dawn hadn’t expected her to stick around and wait, but Irida had insisted on sticking around. 

She certainly wasn’t one to complain, as she was glad to have Irida’s company. They had just been chatting for a bit, though now they were just enjoying each other’s company as Dawn waited for the bus.

Today was wonderful, even though it was incredibly cruel to her heart, because god Irida was so sweet all day. She was almost definitely being a little too obvious about how much she enjoyed spending time with Irida, but she wasn’t even meaning to. It wasn’t far off, either – she really did enjoy all the time she’d gotten to spend today getting to know her, and it was fun to have a day out like that. 

Plus, maybe they’d be more in-sync in battle by doing stuff like this? Not like they weren’t already , but… Some form of rationale made that easier to think about.

Dawn’s heart felt as if it was about to combust all day. Irida really was a great friend, and she was very sweet. She looked incredibly pretty all day today, and when they went to the space centre and got to see Irida excitedly explaining all the planets and stars she knew to her? (Even if she was a little lost?)

It was hard not for her to look at Irida like a love-stricken idiot, something she was sure she had to have noticed. But she looked so excited about it, her voice was full of passion and energy, that Dawn felt herself immediately smitten. And that was the problem. 

Was she moving too fast? Was she being inconsiderate of Irida by being like this? Dawn definitely didn’t want to do that, and she didn’t think she was because Irida was also thankful for a very wonderful day, but…

She sighed to herself, somewhat frustrated with her own thoughts. It was a wonderful day, no doubt about that. But her concerns about her own feelings were still there. Irida seemed to not mind one bit, and the two had a really nice day together. Dinner was great, too, even if it was just the two swinging into a burger joint because they had spent way longer at the space centre than expected. 

(Irida had apologized profusely for that trip eating up so much time, but Dawn didn’t mind one bit.)

But she still was incredibly worried about doing something that would make Irida uncomfortable. She hadn’t so far, but accidentally making what could be considered a move by asking her out to dinner was… certainly a bit much, especially for Dawn.

…But maybe that was a good thing? After all, she did want to maybe find some more footing, see how that might work out, and maybe move from there. That was what Lucas had suggested, and it made sense to just… take things slow, figure out her own feelings, all that. Dawn wasn’t sure. Fuck, dude, this is so frustrating…

It was as if after talking about it with Lucas, figuring it out a bit more, her heart had fully taken control of her or… something.

Thankfully, she was brought out of her train of thought by the bus arriving, it stopping in place just in front of the station.

“Guess that’s my cue.” Dawn stood up, grabbing her bag with a smile on her face. “Thanks for keepin’ me company, Irida! And thanks again for a really nice day. I had a blast!”

Irida returned the gesture. “It was no problem at all, Dawn. We should do this more often! Getting to explore new places is always quite fun, especially with a really good friend.”

Dawn beamed. “Y-yeah! I’d love to hang out like this more often. It really was a blast! We’ll find some time to do so, but I’m totally down.”

“Great! Have a safe trip back, Dawn!” 

Dawn got on the bus, waving to Irida, and taking a seat as she held her head in her hands and groaned.

Jeez… I’m really this head over heels for my own teammate, huh?

The next day…

“...What’re you playing Blue Frame Second L for, Dawn? Not feelin’ the Avalanche Exia today?”

Dawn shrugged nonchalantly. “Eh. Variety’s the spice of life!” She smirked at her friend. “Not like Ms. ‘exclusively-plays-God-Gundam’ would know.”

Moon gasped in shock, exaggerating her expression. “I’m hurt, Dawn! How could you! You know I play a mean Maxter when you want to front!”

Dawn shook her head as she looked back to the cabinet, laughing. “Yeah, yeah…”

Dawn was having a good time indulging in her favorite post-work pastime — heading to the local arcade at the mall in Jubilife with Moon to play some Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme VS. XBoost. 

A popular 2v2 arena fighter with a heavy emphasis on movement and positioning, it was popular in arcades all over the world. Which was a little surprising, considering just how big Gunpla Battles were. Some seemed to see it as an easier alternative, given there was no building required, and was also a lot easier in comparison.

They had only recently announced a console port for XBoost, so she was excited for that. But for the time being, she’d stick to the arcades with Moon, as she always did.

It had been a nice day. Relatively normal, tame, that kind of thing. Which was nice, after the date– No, Dawn, it wasn’t a date. You were just… having a regular time hanging out with your friend Irida. That’s all. It was nice after the regular day spent hanging out with Irida.

She was still pretty flustered about the whole thing, especially with how she practically just told Irida flat out that she thought it was adorable the way she talked about space, but Dawn was trying to shake that feeling off. Irida didn’t seem upset or uncomfortable by it, and she was genuinely interested in it.

But she’d worry about all this later. XBoost called to her, and it was calling to her something fierce. As they queued up for a match, Dawn drummed her fingers along the arcade cabinet’s buttons to warm herself up a little.

“How was your date yesterday, Moon? Never got to ask.” Dawn looked over, smiling.

“Oh! Yeah, that was great! Me and Lillie just got to wander around, we went to a space center, that kinda thing. Got dinner afterwards. Was pretty nice!” Moon looked pretty happy. “You do anything yesterday?”

“Ah, well…” Dawn looked back to the screen as the versus screen loaded in – against a Unicorn and a Gundam F91. “Me and Irida just went out to Veilstone. Was a good idea, really. I got to pick up an Astraea Type F, actually. Insanely good pickup… But uh, we also went to the space center. Guess we didn’t run into you guys. Ah, well, I wouldn’t have wanted to interrupt you two anyway.”

“Ooh. That’s a pretty good find! Know you’ve had your eye on that one.” The two were still able to keep their conversation going as they played, with the match starting as Moon played the vanguard, beginning to take space against the opponent. “But yeah! I guess we just… went at different times, or something. Nothin’ to it. Either way, I’m glad it went well!”

“Mhm! Was a nice time, I’ve been enjoying spending time with Irida. We’ve been getting along quite well! Always nice to make friends.” She felt a little embarrassed, trying not to ramble on and on about Irida once more. Both because she didn’t want to gush like that in front of Moon, and… well, her focus should be elsewhere. “She’s nice, and… all that, Y’know?”

With Moon taking the first life off the Unicorn, Dawn pushed the offensive onto the F91 that was firing shots at them at range, disrupting their combos. She had already been fighting it off, anyway. 

“Bursting on the Unicorn.” Moon popped Fighting Burst as the display popped up on Dawn’s screen, leading a strong offensive forward on the enemy Unicorn Gundam. “No, yeah, you two seem like you’re getting along well. Nice to see! You two are hanging out a lot, so that ain’t too surprising.”

Dawn stiffened up a bit. “I-I mean, y’know…” The hesitation caused her to drop a melee combo onto the opposing F91, which immediately returned the favor with a melee combo of its own. “Crap, my bad. But uh, I dunno. We’re just good friends, y’know?” She popped Covering Burst to get out, immediately returning the favor with a counterattack. “Plus, I just like hanging out with her. Nothin’ about that.”

“Oh no, I didn’t mean to sound accusatory about it. Sorry, Dawn! No need to sweat– okay yeah just play back, let me die first. I’ve almost got my Burst back, anyway.” Dawn fell back a little as Moon played much more aggro, with the intent of being the first death on the team so that she could respawn with full HP. “But yeah, it’s really not a big deal. You’ve just seemed very eager about your friendship, is all! Just glad to see you finding a teammate you click with so well. She’s pretty good, too!”

“Yeah, uh… that’s all, really. Just nice to make a new friend… She’s just… really great.” Dawn’s play was definitely getting a bit sloppier. Not so much so she was throwing the match, but the fluster of emotions was making it a smidge harder to focus, as her movement became messier. “Really nice, really sweet, all that kinda stuff… Nothin’ else to it…”

Jeez, Dawn. Get your head back in the game. She shook her head lightly, tensing up a bit.

“Damn Unicorn freefalls, so hard to get a hold of…” Moon groaned to herself, her first life finally being taken by the Unicorn before she could get more damage in as she respawned. “But no, yeah, you’re fine. I don’t mean to sound weird about it or anything, so my bad. Just glad to see you out of that funk you were in! Let’s get a bit more in formation; They’re playing safer now.”

“Oh, sure.” Dawn nodded to herself. “No, yeah, you’re fine. Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound flustered about it. Just, uh…” She grimaced to herself. It wasn’t the best time, but Moon was a good friend, she could trust her. “Weird stuff, I guess. I don’t know.”

“Whaddya mean?” Moon quickly glanced over at Dawn, as she had time to after downing the Unicorn, with Dawn doing a decently long melee combo to the F91 and keeping it busy.

“...It’s… ah, hard to explain while I’m playing, I guess. Just felt weird, lately.” Dawn felt much more nervous talking about this out loud. She didn’t want to flat out say it, that’d feel even more embarrassing. Sure, she had done so before , but… “Not like, a bad weird— Oh, uh, I’m bursting, by the way.”

With that 2nd Coverage Burst from Dawn, Moon got her own burst filled up. “Oh, sick. Now I have my 2nd burst. Going in!” With that, she immediately popped it and started to focus on the F91, intending to finish off the match as she went for the kill. “Whaddya mean by ‘weird’, though?”

Dawn paused, trying to focus a bit more on the game as well and not flustering so much she threw the match. “Just, um… emotions. Y’know… thoughts and the like.” 

“Sheesh, that’s kinda vague. Is… everything alright, Dawn? You’re not usually this uncertain with stuff on your mind.”

Dawn was about to land a down combo on the Unicorn, with Moon focusing on cornering and getting the F91’s final life to win the game. All she had to do was—

“It kinda sounds like you’re crushing bad on her, or something.” Moon muttered, just loud enough for her to hear.

Dawn froze in place.

‘SEKIHA TENKYOKEN!’

…But it’s not like that really mattered, because Moon landed a long-range Sekiha Tenkyoken onto the F91, as the blue “WIN” text flashed on the screen.

“Oh MAN I hit that shit DEAD ON! Couldn’t have hit my mark better!” Moon popped off, hopping out of her seat and turning over to Dawn excitedly. “Did you see that shit, Dawn? I– oh, uh…”

She could feel heat quickly rising up to her cheeks, and Moon’s very concerned eyes scanning her.

Dawn straightened herself up, her face red as a flame, her eyes stuck to the screen. Trying to salvage the situation, she forced out a neutral smile. “Crap, uh– I didn’t see that, actually, um… what happened? S-sorry, was just really focused, and…” She forced her smile wider, trying to mask that overwhelming feeling of dread in her chest.

Maybe if she played this off really well, Moon would not notice how incredibly goddamn obvious she was being.

“...Oh, shit… My bad, Dawn.” Moon grinned nervously. “I didn’t mean to hit a soft spot. Sorry about that…” She rubbed the back of her head. “No worries at all, though. You know I’m good with secrets.”

Dawn groaned, her body deflating at the realization that the jig was up. “Can’t pull a fast one past you, huh… It’s…” She shuffled nervously in her seat. “It’s just… complicated, I guess. Maybe I’ll chat about it a little later.”

“Hey, I getcha.” Moon gave a friendly smile. “Shit’s weird, don’t worry about it. If you ever need to chat to someone about it, lemme know, yeah?” She pumped an arm up. “I’m an expert on the topic, Y’know!”

“...Thanks, Moon. Just, uh… keep it on the down low.” Dawn couldn’t help but smile – a genuine one, this time. Moon’s confidence and positive energy really did rub off on you, it was hard not to cheer up around her.

“Of course! Nothin’ to it.” Moon beamed. “Let’s get back to playing, yeah?” She leaned over and gave Dawn a playful jab in the arm. “We’ll worry about that stuff later.”

Dawn smiled. She was glad her friend was so helpful, and she was right. It was probably for the best to not dwell on that right now. She was already feeling better, but still very, very embarrassed at how easily that slipped out. She didn’t even mean to. Had her emotions about Irida really caused her to get this flustered this easily? 

(Maybe she could just do the sensible thing and blame the hormones. Surely that’d work.)

Sure, she was probably en route to telling Moon anyway, but flustering that hard just thinking about Irida, from being asked about it? And Moon being able to deduce that from her just speaking about it?

Man, falling in love is so goddamn messy…  

Hopefully it’d end up clearing itself out.

Chapter Text

“C’mon back down here! I promise I won’t smash you into that many pieces!”

The Sazabi Empert just barely weaved out of the way of a direct hit from her opponent’s flail that seemed to be correcting itself in mid-air, trying to hit its slowly weakening target until Dawn bashed it off-course with her shield. 

Rain poured down onto the Empert as it landed in the middle of the war-torn cityscape their battle had taken place in, kicking up waves of water as the mono-eye trained on their opponent through the dark, gloomy fog that settled in between the clouds of smoke and rubble.

While she had been able to dodge this time, that spiked ball had been slowly chipping away at Empert’s defenses; the shoulder was thrashed but her systems showed that it wasn’t affecting performance… However as her durability dwindled, it made her question how many more times she could dodge like she had been. 

Dawn gritted her teeth. “Man, and I thought I played aggro…” 

The opponent— his name was Guzma, Dawn remembered— had been using a modified Raider Gundam, holding an impressively strong last stand against her and Irida, with his teammate having gone down who knows how long ago. A 2v1 should have been easy to close out, but it seemed the tenacious Guzma had other plans.

His Gunpla seemed to be focused on raw offense and destructive power, wielding the powerful "Mjolnir" Spherical Breaker with even more thrusters, two Bugs on its back, and two "Trikeros" shields from the Blitz Gundam packed with too many Lancer Darts. It even had the Barbatos Lupus Rex’s arms and Rex Nails for good measure, perfect for holding up all of the bulky weaponry and leaving even its hands a threat. 

Top it off with that gaudy greenish silver that made up the body and that nasty pale purple for the frame, it made for a threat on all sorts of levels.

Dawn continued to scan for an opening, but the sheer destructive potential that thing had, as well as the very unorthodox playstyle of the opponent, she couldn’t figure out how to close the gap without risking significant damage. 

Okay, let’s cool our jets and take stock of the situation… Dawn took a deep breath to calm herself. What’ve I got left…

Empert’s right arm had structural damage, not enough to disable it but it left the recoil-intensive Beam Magnum unavailable, even if she wanted to fire off just one shot it had already been knocked away by Guzma’s unfocused thrashing. 

The GN Sword’s shield had been very heavily damaged by the Raider’s nails— likely to not sustain more than a few hits— risking the physical sword getting disabled was not ideal. The GN Sword's Rifle mode was available, but it wasn't anywhere near the level of the Beam Magnum, its tinier shots would only whittle the PS armor down, not cause significant damage… if she could even hit the guy.

Dawn had gotten some good damage in, but she couldn’t play this war of attrition forever. As much as she wished, the Sazabi Empert wasn't invincible. 

Guzma’s voice cackled loudly. “Whatsa matter? Scared of a little destruction?!” The Raider’s flail swung back around to hit her again, before it was interrupted by Buster Rifle shots coming in from its side, forcing it to retreat.

Gundam Choros flew in from the side, approaching their opponent from a safe distance, circling the area around it high in the sky. “It’s still a 2v1, you know! I’m not going to let you get free hits on my teammate!” The Choros had also sustained some damage; its shield was destroyed and the arm it was affixed to was tattered. While scuffed and torn, it was far better off.

Guess I should’ve said ‘What’ve we got left,’ Dawn smirked.

“I’ll have to smash you down until you can’t fly away anymore!!” Guzma turned and the Raider Gundam’s thrusters flashed, b-lining for his new prey. The Choros quickly transformed into its waverider form and flew off in the opposite direction, leading him away to try and create some more distance between his Gundam and Dawn. 

It made sense here, while he tunnel visioned on Irida, she’d be able to hold up the rear… she still had plenty of physical weaponry at her disposal. The Sazabi Empert resolutely stood and began to quickly hover across the ground towards the Raider’s back— but…

“You can’t escape from the big bad Guzma!” In an instant, one of the Bugs on its back shot out, its sawblades whirring with a loud buzz as it quickly flew towards the Choros’ retreating form in a wide arc.

While Irida managed to avoid the brunt of the attack, the Bug had still made its mark on its target, with its razor-shape blades slicing through the connector for the Wing Zero binder on the Gundam’s stabilizer. 

The binder flew down to the ground with a loud thud, and the Choros seemed to slow down exponentially, trying to find flat ground to land on. Dawn stopped Sazabi Empert’s approach with a gasp and tried to find where Irida could’ve gone.

“HAH! GOTCHA! Now you can’t fly away, you annoying gnat! ” Guzma celebrated, moving in to confirm the kill with its sharp claws raised high.

“Crap! Without the wing binders, my only form of mobility is gone!” Irida sounded mortified, though gave Dawn a playful grin and a wink on their camera display. “I-I’m helpless!” She was very confused. She was willing to go with Irida’s plan, whatever it was , but…

What is she…?

“And don’t even THINK about helping HER out!” The other Bug on the Raider’s back suddenly shot out directly towards the Empert, giving Dawn only a split second to dodge with a short hop. The bit-controlled weapon went right under its feet, but it started its arc back toward her, going for another strike as soon as Dawn landed. 

However, now that she was prepared for its flight path… “Nice try!” Dawn sliced clean through the middle of the remote-controlled bit with the GN Sword on her left hand, sending pieces of shrapnel all around her that screeched along the pavement, and caught on the GN Swords shield.

Dawn sighed. “Systems are still green, but the shield is toast.” All of her limbs (that were present, anyway) were still usable, and though the GN Sword's shield was gone, she still had the sword. 

Repairing this damage is gonna be a pain in the ass… She huffed in annoyance, already imagining how her Gunpla might look after the battle. Sorry, Empert…

Turning her attention back to the battle at hand, Dawn could hear a flurry of gunfire and cackling, and as the Empert moved to a wider area of the city that, surprisingly, wasn’t demolished yet. 

Guzma seemed to be toying with Irida, as the Raider Gundam playfully blocked the Choros’ head vulcan shells with its shield. Irida seemed to have swapped back into MS mode, and its Buster Rifle was off to the side far away. She was hamming it up to buy her time, trying to seem as defenseless as possible.

Dawn watched her teammate try in vain to hold off the Raider Gundam, crawling backward to fire more vulcan shells and tossing pieces of rubble as though she wasn’t able to get away anymore.

Wait, that doesn’t make any sense. Why would her mobility be affected? Any time I’ve seen her in waverider form, the boosters are coming from—

…Oh, now she knows Irida’s plan. Dawn grinned, a feeling of pride bubbling up in her chest from Irida for coming up with that idea. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting that out of her, but…

“Right. Irida, I’m on my way!”

The Raider approached Irida’s Gunpla and slammed its foot onto Irida’s leg to keep it in place. “I’ve got you now! So sick of you freakin’ flying suits, always running away!” The Guzma rambled on, pointing a Lancer Dart at the Choros’ head. “But ‘ya picked the wrong opponent to go up against because the winner at the end of this will be YA BOY, GUZMA!!—”

“ Yeah , about that…”

Irida smirked as all of her thrusters turned on at once, rocketing the Choros across the ground causing the Raider to trip forward and whiff their shot, the Lancer Dart stabbing into the concrete. The opposing Gunpla stood in shock as the Choros picked itself up, recovering its lost Buster Rifle and aiming it directly at the Raider Gundam’s head.

“Wh–What?! How in the world did you do that?!” Guzma screamed in confusion as the Raider Gundam struggled to get its Lance Dart out of the ground. “How in the world can you still move that fast after I took out your boosters?!”

“Well, you see, it’s… huh?” Irida stopped, lowering her Buster Rifle.

Struggling to free itself, the Raider heard slow, menacing footsteps, and the sound of a mono-eye flashing behind it. Slowly it turned its head around to see what was behind it, and…

The Sazabi Empert quickly slashed the opposing Raider Gundam several times, cleaving through its arms and legs, leaving several deep gashes all across its body.

“It’s because the modified boosters are under the wings.” The Sazabi Empert held its left arm out to let the GN Sword fold back in before having the arm droop unceremoniously at its side. It turned around, its back facing its opponent as the Raider’s sliced bits fell to the ground. “Your own fault for not noticing and getting too cocky.”

With the Raider exploding behind her, the battle was over. Dawn and Irida had won.

“Battle ended. ”

Irida let out a playful laugh as the holographic displays faded, looking at an awfully smug Dawn. “Hey, that was my finish this time!”

Dawn shrugged in response, letting out a playful snicker. “Sorry, Irida. Couldn’t help myself, especially after catching on to your plan.”

“I’m a good actor, aren’t I?” Irida beamed with pride. Dawn always loved that confident expression. She really had been building her confidence up in battle. 

Plus, the way she smiled and beamed when she was feeling proud of herself looked really cute, and she sounded so energetic, and— No, Dawn, not now. She bit her tongue to force herself to stop thinking about it.

“Honestly, I wasn’t sure if it was going to work or not. But with how much he blabbed on…” Irida grinned in amusement.

Dawn smiled, pumping a fist. “Definitely a smart plan. Even threw me off guard for a bit. Makes me glad we’ve been able to work so well together as a team. I’ve got the brawn, she’s got the brains! Some pretty good stuff, if I say so myself.”

“Well, I could say the same thing.” Irida grinned. 

After the two had collected their Gunpla and GP Bases, they approached the opposing team.

“Tch…” Guzma from the opposing team walked up with his teammate, Plumeria, who had piloted a Qubeley in that match. He had his hands forced into his pockets, looking somewhat frustrated. “Was a good match. But we’ll beat you down one of these days, y’hear?!” He began to cackle. “You haven’t heard the last from big bad Guzma yet!”

“…Don’t mind him.” Plumeria, spoke up. “He’s just a bit of a sore loser.” Guzma shot her a glare, which she just rolled her eyes at.

Dawn shrugged. “Hey, whatever. As long as he’s a good sport, I don’t mind. But I’ll accept that challenge any day.” She put her hand outwards for a handshake. “You and your Raider Gundam are always—”

“GUZMA. Call it the Raider Guzma. That’s what it’s called.”

Startled, Dawn didn’t really know what to make of that as her hand lowered slightly. She glanced at his teammate, who simply shrugged. “…Right.” 

As the two teams properly exchanged handshakes and made their way to the exits, Dawn looked at the Empert’s broken parts in her hand with a frown on her face.

“Agh, jeez… he did a number on the Empert.” She winced as she looked at the damage. The shield still scratched, the arm that had been hit earlier looking rather rough, and the built up of hits causing scratches and general damage – her Gunpla had taken a lot of damage over the course of that battle, and it seemed to show.

The stations for the regionals were set to level B, meaning that while there was damage done, it didn’t straight up destroy the Gunpla or damage it that heavily. 

It was only when it was set to level A – the damage level used in world championships and other large-scale tournaments – that actual heavy damage and even destruction of Gunpla could occur. This was to make the action a lot more exciting at higher levels, which made sense. Dawn was just glad that these early rounds weren’t as punishing.

That being said, this mobile suit had seen better days. “Gonna take me a while to clean this mess up…”

“ I’ll say. It is just a blank, but…” Irida sighed as she similarly looked at the Wing Zero wing binder that was cut off in her hand. “Cutting that binder off certainly is a pain. I spent a while scratch building a way to make that work. I’m surprised that this happened at damage level B…” She grumbled, frustrated with the state her Gunpla was in. 

“I don’t mind gluing it back together, though the Gunpla as a whole is certainly more worn down than usual.” She smiled lightly, looking up at Dawn. “But we’ve been through worse, me and the Gundam Choros.” Irida put her Gunpla back into her bag as she did. “So, I’m not too worried about that. I’ll do those repairs later this week. I’m sure it’d be okay.”

Dawn smiled back. “I’d love to hear a bit more about that, at some point. But hopefully the repairs aren’t too cumbersome. Shouldn’t be too bad, though! I’m a little anxious myself, but… not too worried.” Dawn grinned, turning her head to fully face Irida. “My mom’s got a pretty nice workshop, and—” Dawn’s expression changed to one of surprise as a very good idea immediately hit her. 

“Say, do you want to come over, Irida? It’s still pretty early in the day, and we might be able to blitz through repairs if we’re both working on things together. Plus, I’ve got lots of spare parts. Can almost certainly replace that wing binder!” 

She continued with an excited expression on her face, excited at the idea. “Besides, my mom’s got a real nice workshop. Makes sense, given her status, but it’d be a lot nicer of a place to repair the Choros, no? ‘Course, y’know, you’re always welcome to say no if you’re busy. We’ve got time to worry about those repairs.”

Granted, she mostly just… wanted to spend more time with Irida, but doing repairs with two people always made the process go by smoother. 

Irida lightened up almost immediately. “Oh! That sounds wonderful, Dawn! Honestly, I always just use time after work if I need to, given how Nimbasa Hobby also has a workshop, but…” Irida put her hands together happily. “That sounds wonderful! Working with you should make the process go a lot faster, so that’d be fantastic. Hopefully your mom won’t mind if I visit.”

“Oh, she won’t.” Dawn waved it off. “Actually, she was bugging me about wanting to meet my teammate, so… two birds one stone, heh.”

Dawn remembered that conversation, thinking back on it. Actually, that happened this morning…

“So, I don’t think I’ve ever met your teammate for the Regionals this year.” Dawn’s mother spoke up at the table as Dawn was eating. “You told me you found somebody, but I haven’t heard anything else… makes me a little bit nosey. What’s she like, Dawn?”

“Hm?” Dawn looked up as she swallowed down the food her mom had made. “Oh, uh, Irida, you mean?” She rubbed the back of her head. “I mean, I’ve already told you the jist of it. Don’t know what else you mean…”

“Well, I mean when I’ll get the chance to meet her!” Her mother laughed. “Of course I want to meet my little pearl’s teammate. Especially after you were all worried about it! You make her sound like a real sweetheart, anyway.”

There was that nickname again. Even all these years later, Mom still insisted on it. But she didn’t really mind. It was fun, and she wasn’t going to take that away from her mother of all people.

Was kinda ironic now though, given Irida being a part of the Pearl Clan and all…

“No need to remind me about how anxious I was…” Dawn sneered, laughing lightly. “But, uh… she’s just a good friend, really. We’ve been getting along pretty well, and I’ve enjoyed hanging out with her a lot. All that kinda stuff.” She scratched her face, audibly thinking about it. “I guess I could see if she could come visit at some point… ”

“Oh, how lovely! ” Her mother clasped her hands together in excitement. “You’ll have to let me know when, Dawn! Maybe I’ll have to battle her myself. If my little Dawn is that interested in someone, she must be quite the battler!” She beamed with joy.

Turning her head to the side, Dawn suddenly found it a little difficult to maintain eye contact with her mother. “Don’t word it like that , Mom…” Her face flushed at that statement, as her mom let out a joyous, slightly teasing laugh.

Dawn shook her head, trying to forget about that embarrassment. “Hopefully you don’t mind her wanting to meet you. She’s been excited about it.” She gave her teammate a bashful grin.

Irida seemed to ponder that idea over for a second, but it didn’t take her long to come to a conclusion. “A chance to meet a former World Champion? And she’s interested in meeting me? Goodness, how could I say no? I hope she’s not going to judge my performance in battle, or anything…” She suddenly looked a lot more worried. Dawn couldn’t help but laugh at that, as it was something she had run into before.

“She’s really not as menacing as her status leads one to believe, really. But if she ever gets too much, just lemme know.” Dawn gave her friend a thumbs up. “I’m sure she’s not gonna mind if I tell her she's overwhelming you a bit, but I doubt that'd happen.”

“Thank you, Dawn! That sounds like a plan!”

Dawn's mother, thankfully, was okay with the sudden guest. She sounded elated, actually. That just made Irida all the more nervous, but Dawn reassured her she'd be fine on the bus trip back.

As Dawn held the door open for her, Irida stepped inside as she looked around inside of the Platinum residence. 

It was your average small-sized home in a somewhat small area – a little surprising for someone who was a three-time world champion and was as famous as Dawn’s mother was. Although, Irida supposed, it made sense given what Dawn had told her previously – that it was just her and her mother living there, and that it had been for years.

But it was still nice, and Irida was happy to spend some more time with Dawn. Plus, there was something interesting about getting to meet someone as famous as Johanna Platinum.

“You can just leave your shoes at the door, there.” Dawn walked past, motioning to a small shoe rack by the door. “Just a sec, I’ll—” Dawn looked up, seeing her mother already coming down the stairs. “Oh, hey, Mom!” 

“Dawn! Nice to see you again, my shining pearl!” She came down the stairs, giving her daughter a big hug. Dawn happily returned it, letting out a small laugh as she did. 

Irida raised her eyebrow in slight surprise as she heard that nickname her mother used for her. Wait, shining pearl…?

Huh. Talk about a coincidence. Dawn, teaming with the leader of the Pearl Clan, was called a shining pearl by her mother. Funny how these things work out… She giggled to herself quietly.

“And is this your teammate?” Johanna stepped back, giving Irida a friendly smile. “Nice to meet you! Irida, right? I’m Johanna, Dawn’s mother.”  

“The pleasure is mine, really. It’s an honor to meet you, Ms. Platinum. I’ve watched so many of your matches…” Irida extended her hand out for a handshake. “Irida Galaxia, leader of the Pearl Clan.”

“Oh, no need to be so formal, darling!” Johanna gave a friendly laugh as Irida lowered her hand. “I know I’m a former world champion, but I wouldn’t worry about that. I was just interested to see who my little Dawn spends so much of her time with."

“Mom…”

Irida blushed just at that statement alone, looking a lot more embarrassed. She really had been spending a lot of time with Dawn, hadn’t she? Maybe she was being a bit more obvious than she would’ve liked, but… she just really liked being around Dawn. 

“A-aha… well, y’know…”

“She’s quite fond of you too, you know. Talks about you a lot! Every day during dinner, she just tells me about you—"

“ ANYWAYS MOM,” said Dawn as she cut her mother off by stepping in front of her, looking awfully nervous. “Irida’s just over so we can work on repairs after the match from today. Which we did win, of course.” A look of pride filled Dawn’s face. “As if there was ever any doubt!”

“Well, of course you did, honey!” Her mother stepped back, beaming with pride. “After all, my daughter was raised and trained by the best around! It only makes sense she’d be able to blast through her matches so easily.”

“…I can see where she gets her confidence from.” Irida laughed lightly, with Dawn and Johanna turning their heads to smile back.

Amused, Dawn looked at Irida as she chuckled. “Hey, it runs in our blood! Can’t help it. But really, Irida’s been fantastic too, and she's been huge at turning the tides of a match.” She turned back to her mom, excitedly talking to her. “The way she’s been able to create space for me to move in on has been incredible. She’s getting pretty damn good, if I do say so myself!” She couldn't help but smile in response to the praise.

“Is that so? Well, I can only imagine.” Johanna looked at Irida, smiling warmly. “Seems like you’ve made a good friend, Dawn!”

“T-thank you, Ms. Platinum. I really appreciate that. I’m… um, very grateful for the opportunity.” Irida rubbed the back of her neck nervously. Johanna shook her head in a reassuring manner.

“Just Johanna is fine, honey. Don’t be so formal! But I won’t hold you two up any longer — I’ve got to worry about dinner later, anyway.” She began to walk down the hallway towards the kitchen, turning back to face the two. “You're fine with hamburgers, Irida?”

Irida nodded. “That sounds wonderful! Thank you very much.”

“Great! Let me know if you need anything, you two!” With that final farewell, Irida turned to Dawn, who motioned Irida to follow her upstairs. 

“It’s just up here, to the left…”

“Oh, wow, you weren’t kidding…”

Large shelves lined one wall in the rather large room – filled with hobby paints, nippers, sanding sticks, and other various hobby tools used for making and touching up model kits. Various Gunpla boxes were also present on the shelves, with many model kits present. 

Irida was in awe. This was like she had stepped into the art room of an incredibly famous artist. 

“Pretty cool, ain’t it? It’s crazy what she gets from sponsors, honestly. That, and her former teammate, Laventon, owning a hobby store gave her some nice discounts.” Dawn smiled as she walked up to one of the two chairs present at the rather large table at the end of the room, with a large cutting mat on top of it. 

It was a hobbyist’s dream come true. Everything was here, and it was absolutely incredible to look at. Even Ingo and Emmet didn't have a workstation as nice as this, based on what they showed her, anyway. And here she was, standing in it, looking around…

“We even turned the closet into this room into a way bigger airbrush station.” She hitched her thumb in the direction of a door, which did hold just that – a separate room meant for airbrushing model kits, also lined up with various hobby paints and tools. It had a couple of fans and a rather large window, as well as other means of ventilation. 

Dawn laughed as she sat at the chair as Irida wandered around, looking at everything. “I swear, we both spend more time here than any other room in the house.” As she looked around, her expression of shock didn’t wear off as her mouth was agape, seeing everything that was present. 

“Goodness, this is impressive…” Irida was in awe, her eyes sparkling as she looked at the room. “I suppose it does make sense to have something this grand, given your mother’s status, but… I wasn’t expecting this. ” She let out a small, breathless laugh in surprise. “I’m a little jealous, I have to admit.”

“Well, you’re always welcome to come over to use it! If you want, anyway. I wouldn’t mind having you over so much, heh…” Dawn gave Irida a weak smile, which practically made her heart skip a beat.

“I… um, I wouldn’t mind that either, Dawn.” She looked to the side, trying not to dwell on the thought.

It was practically a free invitation to hang out with Dawn more, something that… 

Well, Irida wasn’t really opposed to it. After all, she’d get to see more of Dawn’s wonderful smiles, look into Dawn’s wonderful eyes, and…

Focus, Irida! Oh great, not now… Irida squeezed her eyes shut to refocus herself. “Anyways, I—oh?”

Out of the side of her eye, Irida’s attention was brought to the display cases on the other side of the wall. They housed a few Gunpla, but there mostly seemed to be…

“Are these trophies you and your mom have won?” Irida walked up to the display case, curious. Dawn got up, walking over to Irida’s side.

“Yeah! We’ve both got a pretty good amount here. Some of our old suits, too. My mom’s old Sazabi is even there beside her World Championship trophies.” Dawn walked over to the display case containing those, looking at the unmodified Sazabi next to it. “It’s like a trip down memory lane.”

“Oh yes, she did pilot a Sazabi. I forgot all about that. Said to be a real powerhouse...” Irida turned to Dawn, a playful smile on her face. “Guess the offensive Sazabi build runs in the family, doesn’t it?”

Dawn chuckled. “Heh. Guess so! Like mother, like daughter. Swear it’s a coincidence, though…”

She continued to look over the cases, seeing a Dom Trooper next to a few trophies. She wanted to ask about that one, but she had something else on her mind, especially now that she was looking through here.

Irida put a hand to her chin, in thought. “Doesn’t she pilot another Sazabi, though? I don’t think it was this one here, though she used this one previously. I remember it being grey…”

“Oh! That one.” Dawn nodded. “Mom keeps her Sazabi Garura close by. She uses it whenever she’s helping train people, since she took that up after retiring from tournaments.” Dawn pumped an arm up in confidence. “But you can never keep a Platinum outta battling! So, she just helps out others by coaching them. It’s really cool stuff!”

Model number PC-00, the Sazabi Garura was a Sazabi custom, as the name implied. Wielding the wings & beam rifle of the Strike Freedom Gundam, but utilizing the Destiny Gundam’s “Arondight” Beam Sword as a strong fighting melee, it certainly was a force to be reckoned with.

Painted entirely grey with a menacing red monoeye, it flew across the battlefield, taking opponents by force and overwhelming them with speed and offensive utility. It was no wonder that Johanna Platinum was able to take her last World Championship title so handily, piloting it with such ease. Irida had remembered watching back the old matches, being awed by them. She really was something else, and she could see how that rubbed off on Dawn. Their playstyles were quite similar, anyway.

Irida hummed to herself. “Being trained by a former world champion… that must be something else. I can imagine people seek her services quite often.”

Dawn nodded. “I’m hopin’ one day that I’ll be able to take up that mantle, too. Being able to teach others is a lot of fun!” She grimaced a bit. “‘Course, I’ve gotta get a title as accomplished as hers under my belt, first. But I’m workin’ on that!”

“We’ll get there together. The Galaxy Team’s unstoppable!” Irida grinned in excitement.

“ That’s what I’m talkin about!” 

The two laughed it off for a bit, before continuing to reminisce for a bit (or in Irida’s case, learn more about Dawn and her mother)

As Irida looked around at the trophies, there were a few sets of them that intrigued her. They were trophies from various junior championships, which seemed to make sense, given that Dawn had mentioned she had been into Gunpla Battles since she was a kid. 

Some were from other tournaments, with even a few regional trophies to her name, and a few pictures – like one of Dawn celebrating with the trophy the photo was beside, confetti flying down, as she wore a giant trans flag on her back. Dawn looked very happy in the photo. It really warmed Irida’s heart just seeing that. The trophy was labelled from the previous year, so it seemed this was a rather recent picture of Dawn.

But a lot of those older trophies had tape and a piece of paper over the name part. The paper simply read “Dawn”, so that the names on the trophies would be read “Dawn Platinum”.  Irida leaned down as she glanced at them, trophies that read “Junior Gunpla League Champion”. In the center was a custom Dom, which… She’d have to ask about it later, since she hadn’t seen that before.

“Oh, yeah, those.” Dawn walked over, a warm smile on her face as she seemed to reminisce. “My mom did the whole paper and tape thing. Back when I came out, one of the first things she did was ‘fix’ all the trophies I had when I was a kid by making sure my deadname wasn’t on them.” She laughed, amused by the memory. “It was a small gesture, but… it was nice, y’know? Makes looking at them a lot easier.”

Irida smiled at that. It made sense that Dawn's mother would go all the extra steps, but it still made Irida happy for Dawn. “That’s really sweet of her.” She smiled happily, looking back at Dawn. “You’ve got a really nice mother, Dawn… even if she’s a lot different than I expected.”

“Yeah, she’s great.” Dawn looked at the set of trophies that her mother owned, which took up a majority of the shelving. “She’s always encouraging me to do what I love, and she’s always supporting me whenever I need it… I’m a real lucky girl, honestly.” She gripped her hand tightly, looking at it as she did.  “And one day, I’ll be that champion she’s helping me to become. It’s the big goal I’m striving towards.”

Irida smiled brightly as she watched Dawn. Seeing her so invested in her dream of becoming a champion… it really was something else. That confidence and energy really was remarkable, and it made Dawn’s respect for Irida that much more meaningful.  Seeing her mother so supportive of that, especially with the status she had… it was nice. 

She could be a part of that journey, somehow. Even if she didn’t get to do it this year, or even if she wasn’t teaming with Dawn. More than anything, Irida wanted to see her reach the top. She had the passion, the energy… all of it. And it was incredibly inspiring to her.

“Ah, jeez, I got all caught up in reminiscing.” Dawn looked back up at Irida, giving an innocent laugh as she rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. “We can do all that later! Let’s get back to focusing on repairs. We can start with the Gundam Choros.”

“Oh, that’s no problem at all!” Irida smiled warmly. “I was the one that brought it up, anyway… And besides, I don’t mind getting to know more about you, Dawn. You’re a really good friend, after all. But you’re right. Let me get it out…”

Irida dug into her bag, pulling out the Gundam Choros and its parts, looking awfully beat up.

Dawn walked over and sucked air through her teeth looking at Irida’s Gunpla. “Jeez, yeah, that match did a number on the poor thing. But that’s no big deal! You’re welcome to use whatever you need – just leave the Choros on the table, and we can take it apart and touch up the pieces. I’ll help, of course!”

“Right!” Irida put her MS on the table besides Dawn’s Sazabi Empert, heading over to the large shelves to try and find the necessary tools to do touch-up on the kit.

“Ah, wait, you don’t know where anything is!” Dawn got up to do the same, laughing as she did.

Everything was labeled to make it easy to find things, but Irida didn’t mind having her company, even in something as minor as trying to find sanding sticks.

After their grueling battle earlier that day, the repairs for Gundam Choros were complete. It looked practically brand-new, almost sparkling with the fresh topcoat applied to it. 

Dawn had assisted where she could, but it was mostly Irida’s work, given she was much more familiar with her own build than Dawn was. Not that she minded; she was just glad to help.

Irida had just put all the parts back together, basking at its repaired state. The Wing Zero’s wing binder was back in its rightful place, but Dawn could tell that the suit had been touched up in a way that somehow made it look even better than ever— surely something that would show in battle, which she imagined was why Irida was so excited. 

“Wonderful! Just missing one last thing.” Irida placed a newly peeled-off Pearl Clan sticker onto the Gundam Choros’ shield, to match the ones on the wings and the right leg’s booster. It was a new detail, but it looked pretty nice, (and easy to replace after battle damage.) “Looks almost brand new… I can’t believe how good it looks.”

“Told ‘ya we got some good stuff here. Just glad I could help!” Dawn smiled proudly. She was happy with how things went, and she smiled even wider for being able to contribute to Irida’s happiness in some capacity. “Took some time, though. How about we take a break before getting to the Empert?”

“Perhaps for the best.” Irida stretched her arms for a few seconds. “The Sazabi is certainly going to take a lot longer…” She looked over at it as it laid on the table. With a concerned frown, she crossed her arms. “It really did get chewed up badly.”

“Ahhh, I wouldn’t worry.” Dawn leaned on the table with her right arm, smiling. “Me and the ol’ Sazabi Empert have been through worse. Should’ve seen the results of the thing the first time I had gone to the World Championships, I practically had to rebuild the entire thing, heh…”

Dawn grimaced a bit just saying that. That had been against Volo, and… 

“...But yeah, let’s take a bit of a breather.” Dawn sat down in the chair she had been using with a heavy sigh, finally taking off the gloves she had on from painting earlier with a big breath of relief. “One down, one to go… hm?”

She turned to see Irida leaning in to inspect her trophy case. “I had seen this earlier, but I forgot to ask… Dawn, Is this your Dom?” She turned back to Dawn, curiously pointing to a lower shelf with a set of trophies, surrounding one of her past models.

“Oh shit, yeah!” Dawn enthusiastically jumped out of her chair, heading over to the display case and carefully opening it up to take out the custom Dom from the middle of her junior league trophies. “The ol’ Dom Empert!” She held it up and gestured to it with her eyes. “I keep it here as a memento… it was my first ever custom Gunpla.” 

Irida noticed the Dom’s regular purples and reds had been repainted black and blue respectively, with a thin gold accent lining. On each of the arms were GN Proto Swords, as well as a standard Beam Rifle. Simple, but effective. “I’ve had a lot of good memories with this thing. Many junior tournaments had been dominated by this older Empert model… Although, this is kinda a display piece, not quite the one I used way back when.”

She held it in her hands, staring at its mono-eye cheerfully. “Feels like I’m looking at an old friend. This was my main suit for many years, hell, almost like a decade if I remember correctly. Lots of junior tournaments and mock battles with my mom.” She gently turned the build over in her hands giving Irida a good look at all of its sides.

“I like to do touch-ups on it, but I don’t use it anymore.” Dawn looked back up at Irida with a fond smile. “The Sazabi Empert’s just a better build, and I’d be mortified if I wrecked this thing again… Sentimental value, really.”

Irida nodded. “So, the Sazabi Empert is an upgrade of this, in a way?” Irida asked with a lilt of intrigue. “That’s fascinating. The Choros was my first ever custom, which is perhaps why it’s a bit simple… but it works quite well. I used to pilot a Wing Gundam, but I upgraded after a certain point. I actually keep that same Wing Gundam at Nimbasa Hobby now…” She giggled. “It’s a nice little keepsake.”

Irida did say she had built all of the suits at Nimbasa Hobby, so that made sense. I should ask her to see it sometime, honestly… “The Choros was only your first custom?” She whistled. “Impressive stuff. Honestly, with how good you are at building, you could’ve fooled me. Is it your only one?”

Irida laughed. “You’re way too kind, Dawn. Though, that isn’t the only thing I’ve done. One sec, here…” Irida pulled out her phone and brought up a couple of pictures she had taken of a custom Nu Gundam, painted with pinks and purples in the Pearl Clan’s colour scheme, with the Pearl Clan’s logo replacing the ‘ Amuro’ emblem on the left shoulder. 

“This here’s the Omicron Gundam,” Irida swiped through a few pictures of it in different poses, which were framed very well. “It’s not a custom meant for battle, but it’s kind of our mascot for the Pearl Clan urging us to go ‘beyond the time,’” She passionately explained. “We keep it at my place, but sometimes I bring it whenever one of our members is playing… like a good luck charm, you know?”

Dawn smiled. “Makes sense. Personal projects are a lot of fun, not like we need to be battling all the time.” She hummed in thought, trying to think of things she was working on. “I’ve got some stuff in the woodwork, though I haven’t been building much— beyond repairs. I love to do it for fun, but I mostly build for battle, y’know?” She laughed. “Man, that reminds me… I’ve gotta get to that RG Banshee Norn I picked up. Y’know, the one from Nimbasa Hobby?”

Irida laughed as well. “That I do! I still remember how surprising it was to see you there; after all, I had spent the entire day before frustrated at not being able to contact you… I’m certainly glad things worked out.”

“Yeah, funny how that stuff works out.” Dawn smiled back. “Believe me, I was frustrated as well… I’ve been working on that a little bit, but it’s still a work in progress. It’ll go nice next to the rest of my Unicorn kits.” She had been slowly building it over the week, but prioritized repairs and improvements to the Empert above all else. All she really had done was the torso and the head.

“Would you mind if I asked to see what you’ve built?” Irida smiled. “It’d be interesting to see what you’ve made, I’ve only seen the two Emperts so far.”

“Oh! Yeah, totally! It’s just in my room, so we can go look on over there quickly.” Dawn walked out of the room, motioning to Irida. “C’mon!”

As Irida took in Dawn’s room from the doorway, she couldn’t help but smile. It was decently sized and the walls were decorated simply, with a large corner desk, a desktop PC, and a small building area, (presumably for smaller-scale projects,) in one corner and a bed on the other corner with a TV on the opposing wall, angled between the bed and the desk. 

She also noted that above Dawn’s bed was a sea of penguin plushies… and now that she noticed that, they’d actually been everywhere around the room, especially on Dawn’s small desk and the shelves that were hung right above her headboard. Lastly, there was a large transgender flag, hanging like a poster directly over the bed. 

…Irida giggled to herself, she finally realized where the name “Empert” came from. It explained the colour scheme, too.

“...Something up?” Dawn turned to her with a raised eyebrow.

Irida flinched, clearing her throat to feign innocence. “Oh, nothing, just… had something in my throat, is all.”

Dawn shrugged and sidestepped from the doorway to let Irida in, and… Goodness.

Once out of view, many sets of shelves stacked high with various Gunpla from all sorts of Gundam series made themselves known, with their boxes packed in the bottom shelves. Not only did Dawn have 1/144 scale kits, but she spotted some larger scale kits as well. 

Dawn certainly had an extensive collection, and she seemed quite proud of it based on how it was laid out. Even just looking at it from afar… Dawn certainly had been at this for a while.

“Some of these I’ve built with my mom, heh. Bit of a fun mother-daughter activity.” Dawn smiled as she glanced over her shelves, motioning Irida to head on over so she could get a closer look. She did just so, quickly scanning them over, before—

Oh, wow… Irida gaped.

Dawn continued to gesture to the shelves as she walked by. “...But for the most part, I’ve built a lot of these. Some aren’t perfect, but… hm?” 

Irida was very fixated on one piece in particular: a diorama, and one that looked very well done. With a space background and a moon-like terrain, the Gundam Exia and the… 0 Gundam, (if she remembered correctly,) stood at opposing sides, their swords raised. There even seemed to be some heavy weathering done to the two kits, with large downward gashes across their cockpits and a lot of paint chipping. 

“Did you build this, Dawn?” Irida leaned in to get an even closer look, taking in each and every little detail of the scene with growing interest.

“Ah, I see you’ve found my pride and joy!” Dawn leaned in with a chuckle. “That’s something that took me a long, long time. Worked on that longer than I have anything else relating to Gunpla. Mom helped me out a lot too, and thank goodness she did, I dunno if I would’ve finished it otherwise… the background was a real pain to put together…” 

Irida was genuinely very impressed. “Dawn, this is… really well done, my goodness.” She could really appreciate all the smaller details, but being this good at battling and at building? Dawn really could do it all. “Wait, are those LEDs in the—”

“The GN Drives? God, yeah, that took forever.” She grimaced. “Don’t even get me started on those. Like a week of troubleshooting for just the Exia alone, and then I had to worry about the 0 Gundam. Whole mess and a half. I’m lucky my mom knows Laventon so well, ‘cause he’s got way more know-how than I ever did.”

“I can’t believe how good this looks, Dawn. It gives me a lot of ideas...” Irida had only gotten into the building hobby somewhat recently, so she hadn’t explored things like dioramas yet, but now it certainly was on her radar. After all, not only would it be fun, but it’d make a great display for Nimbasa Hobby. And seeing one like this in person… 

“You know how to flatter a girl, Irida, but I can’t say I’m not happy as hell with how it turned out.” Dawn bashfully smiled. “It’s from the final episode of 00, where the Exia Repair II fights the A.C.D. Type 0 Gundam so…” Dawn gasped. “I… guess it’s kind of a spoiler if you’re seeing it like this… Oops…” Dawn gave a nervous grin and scratched the back of her head.

Irida shrugged. “I don’t know the context, so it’s not a big deal. Besides… it’s a good kickstart for me to start watching 00.” She smiled. “Its been pushed up in my list of priorities. Especially with you being so energetic about it, it’s… um, a little charming.” She murmured at the end before bringing her focus back to the diorama, trying to hide how absolutely embarrassed she was for saying that out loud.

Dawn’s investment in the things she enjoyed was always something Irida admired, and she really seemed to enjoy 00. The way she spoke of the Anno Domini universe’s world, characters, even the mobile suit designs was in very high regard; she seemed incredibly invested in it. It was hard for Irida not to find interest in how excited she seemed about it all.

Dawn was really energetic about the things she enjoyed, and Irida found that both wonderful, and infectious… She was even a little smitten by it, sometimes. It was embarrassing to admit, but it was true.

Even the day prior, when she was restocking Nimbasa Hobby, she saw the RG 00 QAN[T] had been included, then her mind immediately went to thoughts of Dawn, and how she’d talked about how cool the 00 QAN[T] was just the day before. 

Then the vicious cycle started again, where she’d start picturing Dawn’s absolutely gorgeous smile, and…

She was lucky that her flustered emotions didn’t show at work… and very lucky it wasn’t showing now. At least, she really hoped they weren't, because her brain was currently in absolute panic mode from saying that.

“I, um… that’s really nice of you to say, Irida. T-thanks…” Dawn turned to hide her face and hesitantly laughed. “I just like it a lot, really. But um, I’m… I’m glad it’s not too much, haha. Seeing how much you enjoy the stuff you do is pretty charming too. Like… like when you were telling me about all that space stuff… you’re pretty charming yourself, I-I suppose…”

Irida felt her heart explode just hearing that. Charming… Dawn had called her charming. As in charmed by her. Was Dawn flirting? Was she flirting? Her comment had just… slipped out.

Was she thinking too much about this? Maybe Dawn was just being nice. She probably was. What was any of this? Whatever it was, it wouldn’t make her heart stop doing loops.

“Thank you, Dawn… that’s… very sweet of you. Really, thank you.” Irida forced a smile, trying to hide just how much Dawn’s words had messed with her emotions. In an ‘I’m in love with my teammate– which is bad– but she’s really cute and sweet which turns my heart to mush’ kind of way. She looked at the ground, clearly embarrassed.

Dawn nodded. “Of course, Irida. Any… um, any time.” She cleared her throat.

They went quiet, which Irida appreciated; as it was giving her brain some time to breathe. Dawn didn’t seem upset at least, but… It was a lot to think about.

She’d worry about it later. 

“Y’know, uh…” Dawn interrupted the silence, causing Irida to look back up at Dawn. “I guess after we finish up the Empert’s repairs, we could maybe just… hang out and watch a few episodes?” She suggested. “To get you started on it. Unless you had other plans, in which case—”

“Oh nonono! That’s perfectly fine, Dawn! Really, I don’t mind.” Irida shook her head a little too quickly, but hopefully Dawn didn’t notice the desperation. “I’d love to! Honestly, um, I don’t have any plans anyways and I was hoping to hang out afterwards anyway, so… I’d love to. After all, no better person to watch it with, right?” 

“Yeah!” Dawn grinned, nodding happily. “That’s great! But, let's get to Empert first. I… almost forgot, heh.” She twiddled her thumbs. “This was a nice little diversion, anyway. You’ll have to show me some of the other stuff you’ve built at some point! You’re a really skilled builder, makes me kinda jealous.”

Irida giggled at the compliment. “You’re too sweet, Dawn. I’ve just picked things up from Ingo and Emmet… But let’s not get too distracted again.” Irida walked towards the door, resting her hand on the doorframe and turned back to Dawn. “After all, we can’t leave the Empert out to dry, right?”

“Ah, yeah!” Dawn followed Irida out of her room, and the two made their way back to the workshop. “Man, the Empert is gonna look great with two sets of hands working on it…” She could tell Dawn was very, very excited. Dawn was really cute when she got excited, she found. 

She was always cute, actually… very fun to be around, but it was also very difficult with how lovely she looked all the time, and how sweet she acted, and…

Ack! Not while you’re at her home, Irida. She shook her head to force herself once again out of the vicious cycle. Have more restraint…

“Of course!” Irida followed behind, smiling. She’d just focus on repairs, and hoped that made it easier to put aside her flurry of emotions for Dawn Platinum.

Sometime later…

“Dawn?” Johanna had her voiced raised a bit as she came up the stairs. “I’m starting to make dinner now, are you—”

She heard some noises coming from Dawn’s room, which caught her interest. It seemed she was watching something. Likely a Gundam show, given the sound effects.

“…that’s the Gundam Kyrios, which honestly, seems right up your alley. Honestly, I’m surprised you haven’t heard of it, considering your affinity for transformable Mobile Suits.” It seemed to be 00, given the name-drop of that Mobile Suit.

“Well. It certainly has me intrigued…” A laugh came from the room. The voice was from Dawn’s friend and teammate, Irida. “Maybe I’ll look into that a bit, see if Nimbasa Hobby has any kits of it…”

“Oh! I’m pretty sure I’ve got that one built! Hang on, I’ve got it on one of the shelves here…” Dawn sounded very happy, which made Johanna’s heart soar. Seeing her daughter this joyous was always nice, but she seemed to very much enjoy the company of Irida. The two seemed to be in high spirits doing repairs on their Gunpla, and it made her happy to see her making a new friend.

Plus, with the way Dawn got all flustered talking about her…

Maybe she’ll be more than a friend to my little girl, Johanna laughed to herself breathlessly. A mother does notice these things, after all! But she didn’t want to tease her too much about it. After all, it was none of her business, and Dawn had her privacy. 

So, she turned around, heading back downstairs, humming a happy tune.

Later that night...

Chapter Text

“Irida! Let’s take a breather here.”

Irida nodded, sitting down on the nearby bench in the park she was in and letting out a large exhale of air. Gaeric sat beside her, taking out a water bottle from the fanny pack on his waist and quickly chugging some of it down in between breaths. He took another from his side, offering it to Irida with a smile on his face.

“Thank you.” Irida smiled, quickly taking a drink herself from the water bottle she was given, the cool water feeling very nice after a jog like that. 

It was still rather early in the morning, as the sun was just starting to rise, the red sky behind the clouds indicating such. Despite how early it was, Irida still quite enjoyed joining Gaeric on morning jogs when she could. It was a fun routine, and while she had to do a bit of travelling, it was always worth it. 

A low chuckle came from the man beside her, after they took some time to gather their breath. “Lovely morning, isn’t it? The cool crisp air is what makes me feel like I’m alive!” He looked sternly forward at the view, a couple of birds flying by as he wore a confident smile on his face.

“Certainly feels like it’s offset by how heated up I get during a long run…” Irida fanned herself off a little, grateful for the breather as she was starting to lose a bit of wind. “Not that I don’t love doing them, of course. But it sure is warm this morning.”

“Hah, if you say so, kiddo.” He laughed, leaning back onto the bench itself. “I’d be more surprised if you were ever actually cooled off by something.”

“Oh, leave me be…” She crossed her arms, rolling her eyes but having trouble hiding the smile on her face. “How are you and Calaba feeling about your upcoming match?” They had entered in a different block than Irida and Dawn did, so it would be a bit of a ways out, but it would still be worth it to watch the match. It was a comparable drive to going to Veilstone, anyway.

“Confident as always, young Irida!” Gaeric looked at Irida, grinning. “Our opponents are certainly going to make for a tough match, but we shall give it our all, as we always have.” He rustled Irida’s hair playfully. “And, of course, your guidance will help us reach victory!”

Irida laughed at the compliment. “Well, I’m just glad I could help. It is my duty as leader of the Pearl Clan to make sure everyone is accounted for.” She smiled happily. “But I’ve been able to branch that out into helping my teammate, so that’s been nice.”

“Ah, yes! That Platinum girl you’ve teamed up with. Very noteworthy fighter! Her mother’s been a very big influence on her, it seems. I remember when Johanna Platinum was piloting her very own Sazabi to victory…” 

Gaeric closed his eyes, smiling and nodding as he was washed up in his nostalgic memories. “Good times… and she beat me soundly back then, too!” He let out a hearty laugh, amused by that memory. Irida smiled. Seeing Gaeric talk about his past matches was always enjoyable, since he had such a good spirit about them, even if they were losses.

“That kid of hers, though… She’s quite the strong teammate. Rising up in the ranks, making a name for herself. You sure have a good eye, Irida!” He patted her on the back, with that typical Gaeric strength behind it – though she was used to this, and did her best to not nearly topple over. 

“I hope we get to meet her soon! She’s got a fire in her heart. Fought her quite some time ago, I did…” His expression turned to one of slight dread. “...I barely got a chance to do anything. Like she had fought my kind of playstyle before.” He shrugged afterwards, holding a fist outward in confidence. “But, alas, it was a good learning experience! You’ve got to take those kinds of experiences on the chin!”

Well, considering her training partner is Moon, that… isn’t surprising. Irida didn’t want to rub salt on the wound, though, so she figured she wouldn’t bring that up.

“That does make sense. But, um, I think she’s coming to visit your match tomorrow. And considering Lian and Palina are also going to be present, it’d be a good opportunity for you to all meet her.” She smiled, looking outwards. “I think you guys will like her a lot. She’s…”

Irida ran through some thoughts, trying to find a way to describe Dawn that didn’t immediately give away her overwhelming feelings towards her as she sat and pondered the best way to answer it. Eventually, she settled on an answer she liked.

“Dawn’s very passionate about Gunpla Battles, among other things, but she’s also a really good friend. I’ve learned a lot from her so far, and I feel I’ve been able to improve quite a bit with her support. I’m really lucky to have met her.”

Gaeric laughed, looking rather cheerful. “Well, I’m just glad you’re getting yourself out there, Irida!” He put a hand on her shoulder, looking at her with an expression of pride. “You’ve truly grown over these past few years, and it’s wonderful to see you getting out so much. Makes me proud. Truly.”

Irida smiled back, feeling thankful for his presence. “Thank you, sir. That means a l—”

“No need to be so formal!” He laughed once more. “You’ve been calling me sir for years! Just Gaeric is fine.”

Irida laughed weakly, rubbing the back of her head. “Right, right. Sorry, Gaeric, it’s just a bad habit. But it does mean a lot.” She smiled, looking outwards. “I’m really excited for you guys to meet her. She’s great!”

“Well, we’ll be excited to meet her. If she’s as good as you say she is, she’s got to be quite the battler!” He immediately put his hand to his chin, in thought for a second. “That does remind me… you never told me about your most recent match, the one that occurred quite recently. Of course, you were victorious, but I’d love to hear the play-by-play! How did it go exactly?”

Irida’s expression brightened, clasping her hands together. “Ah! Well, see, we had planned out a pretty solid strategy. They were opponents we weren't unfamiliar with, piloting a Qubeley and a Raider Gundam custom, but we knew early on that taking out the Qubeley would make our lives easier. I could easily maneuver around the Raider, as well, so we used that to our advantage. It was rather unorthodox, and perhaps a bit risky, but...”

She continued to transcribe the match to Gaeric, who seemed awfully invested in her interpretation of the events. She was always happy to see him in such high spirits – he really did mean a lot to Irida, and he had been a very big help for her throughout her life.

Plus, it was always just nice to spend time with him, really. Even if she had long since moved out of living with the both of them, Gaeric and Calaba were still two of her favorite people to spend time with.

Sometime later that week…

Out in the distant city of Sunyshore was where Dawn had joined Irida, to meet the rest of the Pearl Clan and to watch one of their matches. This match was a bit later in the afternoon, so the two had arrived to meet up and watch the match. 

Gaeric and Calaba would be playing, but the rest of the Pearl Clan would be present as well to cheer them on. They would have made it to Dawn and Irida’s, but scheduling was an issue, so this was the best time for it to occur as everybody’s schedules lined up.

Including Dawn’s. She had to beg the only other co-worker she had, Penny, to take over her shift for her today, and she thankfully didn’t mind, as long as Dawn let her slip off early the next day so she could go on a date with her girlfriends. (Which, really, she didn’t mind.)

This would be the first time she had met the full Pearl Clan. Gaeric, she had remembered battling previously. He piloted a Gundam Maxter, another Mobile Fighter. Their match was… pretty one-sided, but it wasn’t really his fault. Having practice with someone who specializes in Mobile Fighters in Moon, who often rotated the various G Gundam suits in casual matches, made him pretty easy to play against – she practically knew all of his moves before he did.

It was Calaba she had no prior knowledge of. She piloted a HG Full Armor Gundam, from Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt. Irida had talked about her and Gaeric before, so it’s not like she was totally unfamiliar with them.

They seemed to be rather important to her, so she was a little nervous about meeting them. Not that much, though – but she just hoped she made a good impression on people who were important to Irida. So much of her was dedicated to it, and she seemed to really value being its leader. 

It almost felt like an honor just being on the team, because of how much Irida seemed to mention it, or talk about it when they would have discussions over messages. Even though I’m a member in name only, just by virtue of teaming with her...

“They should be around here…” Irida glanced around as the two walked inside the large stadium at Sunyshore, just having gotten there in the afternoon. The match was scheduled to start soon, but they had a good amount of time before that happened, so it was the perfect time to meet the rest of them.

Dawn put her hands behind her head as she walked, taking a look at the stadium itself. She mostly travelled to Veilstone’s stadium due to the proximity of it, but this was still a nice location. It was a bit smaller than that stadium, but it was still a pretty nice spot.

“It’ll be nice to meet the rest of them, at least,” Dawn said warmly, staring up at the ceiling as she walked. “Makes the whole ‘honorary member’ thing feel a bit more like… impactful, I guess?”

Irida laughed softly. “Well, it only makes sense. Still, though, I do apologize for just springing that on you back then. But the rest of them didn’t mind either, at least when I brought it up… oh!” She perked up, immediately picking up the pace as Dawn looked down to see her heading towards a crowd of people, all of them wearing jerseys similar to Irida’s. The rest of the Pearl Clan was standing around, waiting for the two of them to arrive. Gaeric spotted Irida approaching out of the corner of his eye, and motioned to the rest of the team.

“Don’t leave me behind!” Letting out a small laugh of joy, Dawn sped up herself, trailing just behind Irida as they stopped in front of the small crowd, all turning to face her.

“Nice to see you, Irida!” The large man with blue hair gave a hearty laugh. “We were wondering when you might get here! Lovely day, isn’t it?”

Irida nodded excitedly. “Very much so! But I don’t want to delay the introductions any longer. Everybody, this is Dawn Platinum – our honorary Pearl Clan member for this year’s tournament season.” She stepped to the side, almost presenting Dawn to the rest of them. Dawn simply gave a small v-sign with her fingers as a greeting, smiling as she did.

“Dawn, this is the rest of the Pearl Clan. Gaeric, Calaba, Lian, and Palina.” Irida addressed each of them, so that Dawn knew who everybody was. Each of them waved lightly at her.

“…So, wait, if Dawn’s an honorary member, then is my dad one too?” Lian, seemingly a bit younger than the rest of them, spoke up. 

Irida’s expression blanked, before she ‘hmm’d’ in thought for a second. “I suppose so!” 

“Hey, Dad, guess you’re an honorary member!” He shouted out to his father, who was… wearing what looked like cowboy gear. His dad gave a cheerful shout towards the group as he raised an arm in celebration, which Lian returned.

Hey, whatever, thought Dawn. But she didn’t want to get too sidetracked. 

Dawn smiled brightly, happy to introduce herself to the group. “It’s nice to meet you all! Happy to fight alongside you guys for this tournament—” She was interrupted by getting a somewhat fierce pat on the back from Gaeric.

“Nice to meet you, Dawn!” He had a bright expression on his face. “I'm uncertain if you remember me, but I certainly remember you! Our battle was one that lit my soul aflame with excitement, despite the outcome of it.”

“Oh yeah! That match was fantastic. Couldn't forget that if I tried!” She smiled. “Any fight against a close-ranged specialist is always a blast. ‘Course, I’ve got a training partner in the best Mobile Fighter specialist this side of Sinnoh, so…” She grinned.

“Hah! That certainly would explain that!” He nodded, a firm but friendly expression on his face. “Always training, always striving to improve yourself. You’ve got the warrior’s spirit, young Dawn!” He gave another pat on the back, almost sending Dawn over. “I can respect that in a person!”

“Thank you, Gaeric.” Dawn fixed her posture so she wasn’t about to topple over, giving a bashful smile back. “I’m just glad I could resonate with you so well in our match from a while ago. Makes me happy to make other people’s fighting spirits burn!” She pumped a fist in excitement. “That’s what it’s all about!”

Gaeric nodded firmly in response, happy with how Dawn's spirit was matching his own.

“Certainly lively, isn’t she?” The older woman, Calaba, let out a cackle. “I can see what you mean by her being a passionate fighter.” 

Dawn grinned, pumping an arm. “Just love what I do, is all! Mom says I get it from her, heh.”

“Well, I hope that passionate energy rubs off onto the rest of us.” Calaba gave her a smirk; Dawn was uncertain if it was friendly or not. “We’ll certainly appreciate it! But it’s nice to meet you. I get to hear more about the big rising star everybody chats about.”

“Yeah, I get that a lot, heh. Nice to meet you as well. And I guess that just leaves…” Dawn turned to Palina, who was looking at Dawn very kindly. Irida had mentioned her once or twice as a childhood friend, her original teammate, but that was about it.

“Nice to meet you, Dawn.” She extended her hand for a handshake, which Dawn returned firmly. “You’ve seemed quite lovely from the talks I’ve had with Irida. Wonderful to meet you in person! Thank you for stepping into my role for me,” she laughed.

“W-well… I’m flattered! Means a lot that Irida’s speaking so highly of me, heheh…” Dawn gave a nervous grin as she stood firmly, trying not to come off as flustered. “It’s, uh, nice to meet you too.”

Her expression changed to one that seemed very… knowing? It was a playful smile, but Dawn wasn’t sure of the reason. Was probably just nothing, anyway. 

“Well, with that, I suppose you’ve been introduced to everybody!” Irida spoke up, with Dawn turning to face her. She had a cheerful smile on her face. “We’re not a large group, but all get along quite well.”

Dawn nodded, putting a fist up in confidence. “Happy to fight alongside you guys! We’ll take it to the top, just you wait!” 

“Well, she’s got the spirit, too.” Another light laugh from Calaba. “A real firecracker. Just like your mom was…”

“Hey, if I’m gonna be a future world champ, then I’ve gotta play the part, don’t I?” Dawn grinned. “Runs in the Platinum blood!”

“Heh. Well, if you’ll fight alongside us, then it only makes sense you look the part.” Calaba reached into her backpack, and pulled out…

Oh!

A Pearl Clan jersey, folded up neatly to display the logo on top. Calaba held it out towards Dawn, who paused before taking it and unfolding it. It was just like the one Irida and the others were wearing, and on the back was her name – Dawn Platinum. Even in her size, too.

“Oh, jeez. You didn’t have to go through all this trouble, Calaba, but thank you—”

“I only made it.” Calaba pointed towards Irida, smirking once more. “She was the one that requested this, you know. Really wanted you to have this—”

“Calaba!!! You don’t have to word it like that…!” Irida stepped in front of Calaba somewhat suddenly, her voice sounding stern.

Irida had done that for her? She wasn’t even expecting this, let alone did she request it, but Irida wanted to do this for her…

“Uh… thank you, Irida. That’s… that’s really sweet of you.” Dawn smiled as Irida turned around, looking a bit curious. “You really didn’t have to do that, honestly. But I’ll wear this with pride! Even though I’m just an honorary member, I’ve gotta do my part! And, uh, besides, y’know… it kinda… works into the whole ‘matching pair’ thing, right?” 

She grinned nervously for a second, feeling her face flare red-hot just from saying that. Irida looked at her with surprise, which caused her to flinch and backpedal out of the situation. “Y-y’know, like, teammates, and the like! That kind of thing! Just really ties into that, y’know? It’s, uh, a lot of fun.” 

“N-no, yeah! Of course, Dawn!” Irida smiled, laughing and nodding in reassurance as she fidgeted with her hands. “No need to worry, um, it was just something I thought you would enjoy. I-I figured it’d be a nice surprise, and as an induction into the Pearl Clan proper. And, well… it does work quite well for that, of course. Being a matching pair. F-for, um, our team.”

Dawn exhaled a bit as she loosened her posture a bit, out of relief but passing it off as a simple exhale. “Well… thank you regardless, Irida. I’ll treasure this gift!” She looked over at Calaba, grinning. “And thank you as well! Really, I appreciate that.”

“Not every day I do something for someone outside of the team.” She smiled at Dawn. “Be proud of that. I only did it on her insistence,” she said, nodding towards Irida, who huffed once more at the smaller woman.

“Calaba, that’s really quite enough…” She grumbled once more, which caused Dawn to laugh. Honestly, she thought it was sweet of her to go that far to begin with.

The fact that Irida had fought for her sake – for a gift for her, though was not something that passed her easily. Irida did that for her. Sure, it wasn’t even a big deal, but… for Dawn, it really did mean a lot.

Especially coming from Irida, of all people. The fact that Irida had even done this for her was messing with her brain so heavily she wondered if she'd start saying that a large star was turning on and off, but she appreciated the gesture nonetheless.

Putting aside her horrible crush, she smiled as she put the shirt in her bag. “I’ll put this on a bit later. It’ll be really nice to wear. Thanks again!” 

“Welcome to the Pearl Clan, young Dawn!” Gaeric gave a hearty chuckle, patting her on the back and nearly causing her to topple over. “We’re happy to have you. Even as an honorary member!” He let out a joyous laugh, which Dawn returned weakly.

She was just glad she had gotten on everybody’s good side. It made her happy to get to see the people Irida was so close to. Irida, similarly, looked very happy with the situation, beaming with joy.

Irida was feeling great – honestly, she was feeling fantastic!

Seeing everybody in the Pearl Clan not only be in such high spirits, but to be so receptive of Dawn, was very nice. Sure, she had no reason to believe they wouldn’t get along with her, but not having to worry about that possibility was quite nice indeed.

…I do wish that went a little smoother, though. Honestly, Calaba, it’s like you’re trying to embarrass me sometimes… Irida frowned to herself, shaking it off quickly. 

At the moment, though, she was trying to think up some strategies for the match Calaba and Gaeric were about to fight. They were powerful fighters on their own, sure, but they were up against—

“Well, nice to see all of the almighty Pearl Clan present to watch their match! Even the rising star’s in their ranks!” A laugh came out, one that made Irida feel a sense of dread. “Glad the leader is present, however. Nice to see you, Irida.”

“…oh, great…” Irida immediately scowled, looking in the direction of the one group of people she was kind of hoping not to run into before the match.

The Diamond Clan, all present, including their leader (and the person who was really good at getting on her nerves), Adaman. All of them were wearing the same jerseys they always had – dark blue, with their iconography in the middle.

“Good to see you too, Adaman.” Irida’s voice dripped with sarcasm, already annoyed. She stood firm, her hands at her side. “Is there something we can help you with?”

Adaman shrugged nonchalantly. “Just a friendly greeting between clans, is all. After all, I always try to greet the opponents I’m facing. You know that!” He crossed his arms, smirking. “No need for hostility. Or has your losing set count to us gotten to you that much?”

“ Very funny, Adaman.” She rolled her eyes. “I’ll remind you that me and Dawn beat two of your own, recently. Perhaps the nerves are getting to you!”

He snorted. “As if. I—”

“And it is precisely for that while me and the great leader, Adaman, will strike our opponents down!” Melli stepped in, interrupting the two of them. 

“After all, our combined might is a powerhouse on the battlefield. With my glorious Astraea Type-X Finsternis and his Hephaestus, those two,” he said, pointing to a rather confused Gaeric and Calaba, “are going down!” A fiery expression matched the competitive, almost pompous tone in his voice.

Adaman and Irida stared blankly at the interruption, as the two groups went dead silent. Adaman cleared his throat. “…Thank you for that, Melli.” 

Well, it wouldn’t be a meeting with the Diamond Clan without Melli interrupting… Irida giggled breathlessly, amused by that.

He rolled his eyes, turning his direction back at Irida. “As I was saying…” He crossed his arms. “It’s true that you and Dawn there beat Mai and Arezu. Pretty handedly too – can’t deny that.” 

“You know it!” Dawn gave a small cheer in response, which Irida giggled at.

Adaman firmly put his hands at his hips. “But I can’t take that sitting down! Gotta avenge my fellow Diamond Clan members.”

“I’m sure that’s the only reason you came over here.” Irida crossed her arms, annoyed with him already. “To proclaim you’re getting revenge.”

“Hey, no need for that! Maybe I’ve gotten sick of the rivalries between the two of us. And you’re looking to shoot that down?” He shook his head, ‘tsk’-ing Irida as he did. “For shame, Irida!”

“As if. You’re the one that starts all these damn arguments to begin with! You were doing so ever since high school.” She looked much more frustrated, raising her voice in frustration. “But that’s besides the point. We’ll just have to see what happens in your actual match. I know that Gaeric and Calaba will come out on top.”

Gaeric let out a cheer, raising an arm in celebration. Calaba rolled her eyes, but laughed lightly.

Adaman raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Well, we’ll have to just see about that, won’t we? After all, with how fast we finish our matches, that always did give the Diamond Clan more time to practice. More time for building, more time for strategizing… and well, it’s shown its results, hasn’t it?”  He shrugged, laughing. “Certainly a better strategy than your silly strategies of using the space around you.”

Irida groaned, tapping a finger on her arm rather quickly out of frustration. “Then why don’t you use that time to get out of our space? And more specifically, out of my hair?! ”

“Fine, fine. Goodness, all this hostility, and after two of our own were breaking the strife between our clans. It’s almost as if this is a you-and-me thing, Irida—”

“It always has been!”

“Yeah, yeah.” He chuckled. “Well, strife aside, here’s to a good match! We’ll see you in the ring, you two!” Adaman motioned for the rest of the group to follow him as they all took off, heading past the group as Irida’s eyebrows furrowed together in anger. She closed her eyes, humming a soft tune under her breath to help calm her down and get herself back on track.

“Good grief.” She sighed, turning to face them. “Sorry about that, everybody…”

“...Everything good, Irida?” Irida turned her head to see Dawn looking slightly concerned. “I knew you guys had some beef, but I wasn’t expecting that… ”

“You get used to it.” Palina said, holding back a giggle. Irida just rolled her eyes, calming herself down by taking a deep breath in and out.

“Adaman’s just… an old friend who likes to get on my nerves,” she said, huffing. “It’s nothing but a friendly rivalry, but he sure likes playing it up like it’s something more. Honestly, he’s such a pain…” She crossed her arms. “Sorry about that, Dawn.”

Dawn laughed, shaking her head. “Hey, I’m no stranger to a friendly rivalry. Seems like he’s playing it up a bit much, but…” She grinned. “Just means it’ll be all the sweeter whenever Calaba and Gaeric beat them, right?”

Irida brightened up. “I suppose so!” Irida pumped her fist, looking towards the two. “And regardless of what happens, I know we’ll have given it our all.”

“Plus, you’ve always been good at planning stuff out in our matches! Was a huge help for our two so far. So, I’m sure stuff’s gonna go great! Nothin’ to worry about.” Dawn grinned cheekily. “After all, we’ve already stopped the Diamond Clan once – what’s another time?”

“Hah! Well spoken, young Dawn!” Gaeric gave a delightful grin to Dawn. “With Irida’s guidance at our back, surely we’ll do fantastic!”

Irida smiled. It felt nice to have the reassurance of Dawn and the Pearl Clan, especially when it came to matters such as this. It was a friendly rivalry between the clans, but she did want to get back at Adaman for all of the teasing he had been doing. Sure, he probably didn’t mean it, but still.

“Okay, so on that note. Gaeric, Calaba – let’s discuss the important stuff.” She hit her fist with her palm, the confidence on her face. Gaeric and Calaba wandered over, nodding firmly. 

“As you’re well aware, Adaman himself pilots a custom based on the Providence Gundam, with it's DRAGOONs used in a way to secure advantage early on by locking you down and attacking you. Now, with that in mind…”

‘Battle ended. ’

Well, they had given it their best shot (and honestly, it was pretty close), but unfortunately, Gaeric and Calaba were eliminated by Melli and Adaman of the Diamond Clan.

It was well fought, but it had gone quick. 

Adaman had locked down Gaeric with his custom Gunpla – named the Hephaestus, utilizing the DRAGOONs to form a beam curtain that locked the two down, while Melli, in his Gundam Astraea Type-X Finsternis, not only got in some brutal shots from a long distance using it’s sniper rifle, but was able to run in and deal hefty damage, truly allowing for no escape.

Being a custom based on the Gundam Astraea, it was an incredibly powerful suit, and dealt brutal blows. They had fought back well, but it seemed to be to no avail.

Both customs were incredibly powerful – Adaman’s being based off the HG Providence with the head of a Marasai, wielding a powerful Beam Naginata taken from the Dijeh. It locked down its opponents incredibly quickly and went in for fast, decisive blows, almost creating a cage that would let it live up to the Diamond Clan’s characteristic lightning-fast finishes. With a dark-blue colour scheme to match the Diamond Clan’s own, it was no wonder he was such a formidable foe, and how he led the Diamond Clan to victory many times over.

Melli’s custom MS was an interesting case as well – while it was perhaps just a pre-existing mobile suit with no major modifications made, the Finsternis, based off the Gundam Astraea Type-F, was a 00-series suit that didn’t have a Gunpla made for it, meaning that it was entirely custom made, which impressed Dawn.

(...She had to admit, though, she was a little annoyed that someone had pulled it off already, because that was a custom she was thinking about doing.)

Being based off the Astraea, the Finsternis had not only everything from the Type-F already (weaponry such as the Proto GN Swords), but could use other weapons, such as the Dynames’ GN Sniper Rifle. This seemed to be the main weapon the suit used, and it was used to great effectiveness by its pilot, Melli.

They were an incredibly powerful duo. Calaba and Gaeric had put up a good fight, but it was a hard battle to win from the start – to no fault of their own. They simply had fought some incredibly strong foes.

At the very least, though, it gave Dawn some ideas for the future if she ever ran into one of them again.

Or both of them, potentially… There was a chance that the Galaxy Team could run into them, and she needed to be prepared for that. But perhaps that was besides the point, at least right now.

As Gaeric and Calaba made their way back outside, the Pearl Clan filed out of the stadium, with Dawn and Irida walking beside each other. There was a bit of a gloomier attitude hanging over everybody’s heads, which Dawn couldn’t help but feel a little bad about.

“…Well, it was a good match, at least.” Dawn looked sympathetic towards Irida. “We’ll carry their spirit on with us. Don’t worry!”

“Of course. It’s always just a tad unfortunate to see fellow members eliminated. They went about it differently than I expected, rushing down Calaba first. I was expecting them to go for Gaeric, seeing as he’s the frontline, but…” 

Lian nodded, not too far behind. “Quite a powerful strategy. It’s one we’ve seen before, but it’s always hard to crack.” He put his hand to his chin. “And with them making adjustments like that… It was a hard match.”

“It really was. I’m not sure what the best move would be in that situation, especially with how quickly one can get locked down…” Irida looked a little sorrowful, which caused Dawn to worry a little. 

Irida must’ve seen this, as she gave a reassuring smile and laughed. “Don’t worry, I’m alright. I appreciate your concern, Dawn.” She looked forwards, clasping both of her fists confidently. 

“There’s always the rest of the tournament, at least… even if I’m not looking forward to hearing about it from Adaman.” She grumbled in annoyance, shaking her head. This caused Dawn to let out a small laugh. It was kind of funny how much they seemed to hate each other.

“Eh, I’ll give him an earful if he gives you one.” Dawn gave a playful grin, her arms swinging at her side. “Can’t have anybody talkin’ to my teammate like that!”

The two laughed it off, before the group properly met up with Gaeric and Calaba, who similarly looked a bit crushed, but fine all the same. 

“That could have gone better,” said Calaba, still smiling despite the loss. “But it is what it is. Though a certain someone could have done without trying to take down Melli with nothing but Cyclone Punches…” She shot a small glare towards Gaeric.

“Hmph!” Gaeric crossed his arms, smiling. “Perhaps so. But it was worth the attempt, was it not? It certainly slowed that Melli down.”

Calaba waved that notion off, directing her attention to Irida. “Regardless, your coaching was helpful as always, my dear.” She shot another nasty glare at Gaeric. “Even though some of us could have stood to listen to it better.”

“Okay, okay…” Irida interrupted the two before they could seemingly take it any further. “You two did still work well together, as always. They are a difficult set of foes… it’s unfortunate, but… We’ll work it out.” Irida smiled, pumping a fist up. “And we’ll carry on for you two! It’s the least we can do.”

“Hell yeah! That’s the spirit, Irida!” Dawn laughed happily. “Always a fan of that.” She held her first up to the sky dramatically, her voice proud. “We’ll carry on their fighting spirit, and we’ll represent the Pearl Clan until our dying breath!”

“…Dying breath?” Irida looked very amused by that.

“Hey, gotta make it sound dramatic, y’know?” She chuckled as she put her hands to her sides. 

“…Speaking of the battle, however… I wanted to ask your teammate for some additional advice.” Dawn perked up just at the mention of her, looking at Gaeric. “Given her expertise against Mobile Fighters, there was something on my mind I wanted to ask about.”

“Oh, yeah, definitely a few things.” Dawn mulled that over in her head. Sure, she had never piloted one herself, but given how often she’d fight Moon (both in casual matches and in tournaments), she’d have a lot to offer based on Gaeric’s questions.

“It’s a bit extensive, so we can just move off to the side for a bit.” Gaeric nodded his head towards the direction they could head. “Nothing serious, of course!”

A bit surprising, but she didn’t mind getting in-depth on things. “Sure, sure.” Dawn followed Gaeric as the two went to the nearby set of doors, where there weren’t as many people – and they were further away from Irida and the rest of the Pearl Clan, who had caught up.

Looking through her bag quickly, Dawn took out her personal notebook, skimming through to find her section on Mobile Fighters. Having played against Moon so many times, she often had a lot of notes, and was always happy to share. “So, what’s on your—”

A hand rested on her shoulder, as Dawn looked up to meet Gaeric’s eyes, staring at her. “I have to come clean, Dawn…” He looked at Dawn, a little more bashful than normal. “I made that reasoning up. I just wanted to speak to you personally, and that was the best way to do it.”

Dawn immediately felt nervous, which Gaeric seemed to notice, a small laugh coming out of him. “Relax, you’re quite fine. If anything, that’s why I wanted to talk to you.”

“Huh?”

Gaeric began to pace around. “When Irida first startled battling, and by extension the Pearl Clan, it was… Difficult, I suppose I’ll put it that way.” He looked a little contemplative, really thinking on this. 

“It isn’t my place to tell, so I won’t go into details, but she was much more uncertain of herself. She was… going through some rough patches. Of course, that’s something she’s grown into over the years, especially as the Pearl Clan’s leader, and she’s quite fine now. She was never quite comfortable in the leadership role, but she insisted on it anyway.”

Dawn listened with interest as Gaeric continued.

“But ever since you’ve teamed with Irida, she’s been a lot more confident in her own skills. Both as a battler, and as someone who can lead." He turned to face Dawn, a smile on his face. "And she’s really looked up to you for that, it seems.”

…Really?

Dawn felt surprised, and her expression reflected this. Gaeric, seeing Dawn's expression, continued, though the smile on his face only got wider. “I’ve never seen her so full of energy when it comes to this hobby before. It’s been something she’s been invested in, but… She’s talked about your accomplishments and how your praise has helped her a lot.”

Dawn felt her heart beating very heavily just at these statements. Irida was taking it that much to heart? All of it had meant that much to her?

“She’s been through a lot, so…” He looked a little somber. “It’s been difficult for her, sometimes. But seeing her come out of her shell a little more in these past recent years, especially through the hobby, has been wonderful. And…” He put a hand onto Dawn’s shoulder. “Well, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her happier than when she’s talking about you. She thinks quite highly of you, you know.”

Her face immediately turned red at that statement.

Irida was happy talking about Dawn. She thought that highly of Dawn, she enjoyed Dawn’s company that much, and she was helping Irida in so many ways. Irida took Dawn’s praises (they were genuine – she had been improving a lot) to heart and used them to help push her further. 

Those words had meaning to Irida, and Dawn, in turn, had meaning to Irida.

It was very nice to hear, because Irida was a great friend. She truly did enjoy their friendship, and moreover, she adored when she was able to help people like this.

But it was hard for Dawn to put aside just how much that was messing with her heart. Dawn was important to Irida. 

And being told that the girl you’re crushing hard on values your friendship a lot, and that she’s been able to grow because of you was creating a very fierce hurricane in Dawn’s brain.

“I-I… um…” Dawn looked a lot more nervous now but managed to compose herself into a simple smile as her face’s temperature cooled down. “…I-I’m glad. Irida means a lot to me. She’s a fantastic friend, and… I’m lucky to get to know her.” She looked behind her, seeing Irida talking to the rest of the Pearl Clan joyfully. “Knowing that I’m helping her out that much… Well, it brings a smile to my face.”

“I just wanted to thank you for that, Dawn.” He put a hand on her shoulder, smiling happily. “Seeing Irida in such high spirits has been wonderful. She really has come a long way, and she’s only just begun, it seems. And I figured I should give you my personal thanks for that.”

“…Thank you, Gaeric.” She smiled. “I’ll do my best to continue motivating her, because in turn, she inspires me a lot.”

He nodded firmly. “That makes me happy to hear. I was hoping I could put my trust into you, and I’m glad that trust is not misplaced, young Dawn! Now, let’s get back to the group.”

They made their way back to the group, as Irida smiled happily at seeing Dawn. “Oh! You two were gone a while. I assume Dawn’s advice helped a lot?”

“Yup!” Gaeric sounded proud, confident. “She’s a real storm of information, that one. I have to say, we’re lucky to have her here!” He let out another loud laugh from his chest as he patted Dawn on the back, who almost toppled over again.

“Yeah, nothin’ too crazy. But, uh… what’s the plan now, anyway?”

Irida looked around, before a smile crept up on her face. “…Well, it’s not too often we have everybody together, and I know it wasn’t a victory, but… why don’t we all get something to eat?” She looked at Dawn, grinning. “We’ll consider it Dawn’s honorary welcoming ceremony. She is still part of the team, after all!”

Dawn grinned, giving a thumbs up. “Always love the sound of that! Wherever you guys are good with, I’m happy.”

"If y'all don't mind," spoke Lian's dad, stepping into the conversation as all heads turned towards him, "I've got an idea I reckon would be quite nice. Call it my treat!"

Irida and the others all nodded in agreement, seemingly knowing what was happening already. Irida looked to Dawn, who smiled and shrugged. She was out of the loop, sure, but she was open to whatever they were thinking.

And with that silent agreement, they were off.

It had been a very nice night, and Dawn was thankful for that. Turns out, Lian's dad owned a few chain of popular Unovan-style restaurants, and one happened to be nearby, so they figured they'd just go to that. (It was a good idea, anyway - the food was great.)

A friendly dinner was a very nice pick-me-up for the rest of the team, it seemed. Dawn was glad to be there, as she enjoyed the company of all of them a lot, getting to see people chatting to one another.

But of course, after things had died down, they all made their separate ways back to their homes. Irida had been Dawn’s ride to the stadium in the first place, and as they were the last ones to leave, they were just making their way back to the car. 

As the doors to the place they were at closed behind them, the loud music that drowned out conversations beforehand becoming nothing more than a muffled noise, Dawn put her hands behind her head.

“Now that we’re outta there, I wanted to ask…” Irida turned her head, curiously, as Dawn glanced over. “What’s with Gaeric and Calaba? Like, are they together, or…?”

Irida laughed, shaking her head. “No, no. They’re just close friends, so they tend to bicker like that.”  

“...huh.” Dawn blinked, eventually just shrugging nonchalantly. She smiled afterwards, amused at that. “They certainly seemed like they had some history, is all. You said they’re family friends, right?”

“That’s right.” Irida nodded in confirmation, smiling lightly. “They’re like family, really. They joined the Pearl Clan after learning about it – I’m really grateful for their support, honestly. I don’t know where I’d be without them.”

“It’s always nice to have people rooting you on, isn’t it?”

As they approached the car, Irida looked up, staring into the night sky. “For sure. Really, I owe a lot to the Pearl Clan as a whole… they’ve been a huge boost of motivation for me.” She sounded melancholy about it, but definitely very happy. “Even though we haven’t gone as far as we could, just knowing I’ve got their support helps me keep going, you know?”

She looked down at the ground. “I… Sometimes, I still don’t know where I want to go with the hobby, but… I’ve always got their support.” Irida looked back up, smiling at Dawn. “And that always helps me keep going. No matter what.”

Dawn grinned. “That’s a good mentality to have. Having a group to support you through hard times, to really help you keep growing, it’s just nice to have, y’know?” Dawn pumped an arm in encouragement. “And I’ll do my best to support you too, of course. Gotta have my teammate’s back, right?”

Her smile widening, Irida nodded firmly. “We’ll take the Galaxy Team to the top, Dawn!”

“That’s the spirit, Irida!” She grinned happily. 

Dawn really enjoyed seeing this side of Irida. Knowing that she had this much support behind her, knowing how tightly-knit the Pearl Clan was – it really put things into a different perspective. She’d been doing so much for them, but it was out of genuine care — a desire to see them reach the top.

And, well… who would I be if I didn’t help her reach that goal?

She’d fight not just for the sake of Irida, but for the glory of the Pearl Clan, as well. Dawn was certain of that. Irida had done so much for her, that it was really only fair that she returned the favor, and take this as seriously as she could. If Irida was taking that much inspiration from Dawn, it was only fair that she fought like hell to make them look good as she wore their title.

Even if she was just an honorary member, she’d fight with the spirit and pride of a full-fledged member. That title meant a lot more to her, now, and she was grateful for the chance to meet them.

And now, with a much more determined spirit, Dawn made her way back with Irida, feeling more motivated than ever to fight.

Chapter Text

“So, any plans for the rest of the day, Dawn?”

Dawn looked up from the box she was sifting through, as her and Lucas were stocking the shelves. The day was about done, so some small chat to pass the time would help a lot. “Well, I’m gonna go home and stay up till 2am.” She grinned to herself just thinking about it, going back to the box and grabbing a few books to put in the fiction section they were going through.

Lucas turned to face her, shock on his face. “What? Why? ” He looked exasperated, with Dawn fully standing up to face him. “Some kind of weird training I don’t know about?”

“Har har, Luke.” Dawn rolled her eyes, unable to hide the smile that was on her face at her friend’s really bad joke. “No, it’s not some weird training method. Dunno what I’d be training for that requires me to stay up all night. Fuckin’, uh…” She waved her hands around and strained her face, trying to think of a good answer to that. “I dunno, endurance training?”

Lucas shrugged, not having an answer himself. “Hey, could be a really fucked up way to build some more stamina. Who knows!” He grinned. “Give it a shot, Dawn! Maybe it’ll unlock something deep within you.”

“Yeah, I’ll pass.” Dawn snorted, sorting through the box once more. “ Actually , though, it’s just because of pre-orders of the FF Sazabi going up for pre-order. Y’know, the one with the big claw-looking funnels?” She turned around as she mocked a crab’s claws with her hands, causing Lucas to laugh.

“Oh yeah. From that Side-F thing in Kanto, right?” He tilted his head in thought as he began to put things on the shelf adjacent to Dawn. “They’re putting that thing up on Premium Bandai, aren’t they?”

Dawn groaned. “ Unfortunately. I swear to God, they could just sell that thing in stores, but nooooo… ” She threw her arms up in frustration, before getting back to what she was doing. “Gotta go through this whole shindig, because they don’t want to ship to other areas. Kanto’s not even that far, but they’ve gotta be stingy about it…”

The Side-F Sazabi – named after the Gundam Base Side-F location in Fuchsia, Kanto – was a variant of the Sazabi exclusive to a Gundam Base store there. While not as notable as the Side-F Nu Gundam that debuted alongside it, the large “Double Horn Funnels” were what set it apart from a regular Sazabi. 

These replaced the regular funnels of the Sazabi and were able to be wielded not only as large, powerful funnels, but could be attached to the hands of the Sazabi and used as giant beam sabers. They could even be used to make one large beam cannon. While the rest of the suit was standard Sazabi affair, the Horn Funnels were the big selling point.

…And, well, the Sazabi was Dawn’s favorite suit. Plus, she could only imagine how cool it would be to fight with the funnels. They were practically like the GN Swords on the Sazabi Empert! She daydreamed for a bit, imagining the cool fights as they would go in her head.

Opponent swerves to the left. I catch them with the left Funnel on my hand, stabbing them with the saber blades within, and delivering a deadly shot with the right one, leaving them wounded and immobilized. Then. I finish off with the funnels joining together to make a large powerful beam attack… She was giddy just thinking about it. 

“You gonna use them in the Regionals, then?” Lucas peeked over his shoulder. Dawn stood back up, visibly thinking about that as she put her hand to her chin. 

“Maybe? I might save them for a bit later, or for the World Championships if I—”

“ When you make it there.” Lucas grinned at his friend. “You’ll kill it, Dawn! No need to worry.”

Dawn smiled. “Thanks, dude. But yeah, uh… Maybe, I dunno.” She shrugged. “I’m perfectly happy with the Empert as is, but I mostly just want it for the sake of having it. Maybe I’d use it in casual matches? Point is, I’ve gotta get it, it’s a Sazabi variant!”

“…That is, if I can get it, anyway…” she grumbled. “Premium Bandai is such a bitch, I swear. It’ll be a hit on the wallet. They upcharge the hell out of these things…” Dawn clenched her hand in frustration, throwing her head back. “ And I’ve gotta pray I even get a pre-order in. It’s a gamble to begin with! Moon had a hell of a time pre-ordering the new Maxter. She’s still pissed about the Shuffle Alliance being Premium Bandai only…”

Lucas gave a light laugh. “You’d think for a storefront that sells exclusive Gunpla kits, they’d be a bit better at this kind of thing. Especially with how big the hobby is.” He went back to stocking the shelves. “But they’re worried about stuff lining the shelves, so…”

“Which is nuts !” Dawn threw her arms up in frustration once more, the book in her hands almost hitting Lucas in the back as he quickly dodged out of the way of it, which Dawn immediately noticed. “Oh, shit, sorry Luke.”

“Jeez, mind your aim.” He chuckled. 

She returned the laughter, before going back to sorting and complaining. “But it’s not like they stock this shit in stores anyway, and if a store does get them, they’re in extremely short quantity because of their order limit, which makes sense, but it sure doesn’t stop people from scalping prices anyway…” She sighed, clearly frustrated. “I swear, if I don’t get this goddamn Sazabi…”

Dawn had already experienced pain before in trying to get the RG Gundam Astraea Type-F. She had sat on that Premium Bandai page, anxiously staring at that store page, and poof , they were just gone. One of the unlucky few who didn’t roll the dice correctly.

And she never saw it again! Well, she did, but at insanely inflated prices on online auctioning sites, which she was not that desperate for. So, Dawn was not about to take her chances with a variant of her favorite mobile suit.

“Well, hopefully you succeed. Because jeez, staying up until 2am?” Lucas shuddered. “Godspeed, Dawn.”

Standing back up, Dawn let out a simple sigh. “Appreciate the support, Luke. All I can really do right now is hope for the best.”

…And that she’d have enough energy to even last that long. But damn it, Dawn was going to force herself to!

“You planning to do anything to pass the time?” Lucas adjusted the shelving, trying to make it as perfect as he could. “I can’t imagine that you wouldn’t have plans to kill the time until 2am.”

Dawn…

Huh. She thought that over, and… she didn’t really have any plans.

“...maybe I’ll find someone to keep me company during it. Moon’s stayed up that late before. Maybe her?”

Lucas shrugged. “Maybe ask Irida, too. You’re good friends with her – maybe she’s not busy?”

“...Huh.” She put a hand onto her chin, thinking about that. “...Maybe she isn’t…” Dawn mumbled under her breath, seriously considering the idea.

…Sure, it might just be an excuse to spend time with Irida, but she always could talk with her for practically hours about anything, really. Maybe that’d work?

It’d be a bit of a long shot, sure, but… it wouldn’t hurt.

She looked up at Lucas, just as she finished emptying out the box the two were working on. “What about you, Lucas?”

Lucas grinned, leaning up against the shelving with a smug look on his face. “What else do you think the ‘ history nerd’ would be up to?”

“Never change, Luke.”

…Irida wasn’t sure what she was doing up at this hour, or why she was intending to stay up longer.

Okay, well, that wasn’t the full truth. She knew exactly what she was doing up this late, and the answer was embarrassing to admit. But she had work tomorrow, so she was uncertain why she was committing to it. This was certainly going to bite her in the ass.

Dawn had mentioned during a conversation they were having that she was staying up to catch the pre-order window for the Side-F Sazabi. Not surprising, considering Dawn talked very frequently about the regular Sazabi. It only made sense she’d be invested into grabbing a counterpart such as that.

(Although, she felt bad she’d have to deal with Premium Bandai.)

She mentioned that she’d be staying up pretty late to do so, and wondered if they could just chat to pass the time. Dawn mentioned that Irida could hop to bed whenever she needed to, but Irida insisted she’d be happy to keep her company the entire time.

…She did have work tomorrow, however. That was a hard fact to ignore. And Irida knew it was a decision that would come back to bite her. Those pre-orders dropped at 2am, so she’d be up for a while. The store didn't open THAT early, but it opened at around 9, which would mean she'd be working off less sleep than she'd like to. Which kind of sucked.

But it was really, really fun talking with Dawn, so getting to do more of that was always nice. Plus, Dawn would be bored waiting this long for pre-orders for the FF Sazabi to drop so she could get it, right? It only made sense for Irida to keep her company. Win-win!

…I’m not really doing a very good job at convincing myself, Irida thought to herself, sighing. Ah, well. At least there was one very good benefit out of it.

“…Andromeda was still a god-awful release, though. They really rushed that thing out, and man, does it show. At the very least we’re getting a new one, but jeez, having only that for a couple of years?” Dawn chuckled as her voice came through on Irida’s phone, Dawn herself still full of energy.

It was only 11:30pm, so they still had some time to go. But Dawn had suggested a voice call to pass the time, which was a fun idea. It gave Dawn someone to pass the time with, and Irida always enjoyed being able to talk with her. Talking to Dawn this late was definitely pretty risky, and especially with her planning to stay up so late, but she didn’t mind at all. 

(Maybe she should mind, but she had already committed, so…)

The discussion had turned into what their general hobbies were – something they had already talked about before, but having the chance to talk about it over voice was nice, too. The topic had landed on what games they’ve played. They had talked about this before, but the topic was just on what series they preferred.

“At least the announcement of a new entry tides me over, though I could go without them making us wait years for news. I’ve played through the original trilogy so much my fingers could fall off.” Her laughter came through, which caused Irida to giggle lightly in response.

“I suppose I can’t blame you for that, Dawn.” Irida leaned her head backwards as she sat at the desk in her room, looking upwards at the ceiling. “I haven’t really played as many games as I should, or at least new ones, but I am quite fond of Castlevania.”

“ Damn, that’s not an answer you hear every day. Always been more of a Megaman head myself, but I do love me a Castlevania game to scratch that platformer itch. What’s your preference, classic Castlevanias or the Metroidvanias?”

Irida gave that thought a few seconds to sink in as she thought about her answer. “I quite enjoy both, but I think I’ve got more of a preference for the classic games. Rondo of Blood is quite a good one…” She drummed her fingers along her leg as she sat.

“Oh man, Rondo of Blood’s a good choice. But not every day you run into someone with a preference for the classics!” Dawn sounded a bit impressed. “Not that it’s a bad thing, of course, but most people go with the Metroidvanias.”

Irida nodded to herself. “Which I do think is fair, of course. After all, those games established the genre, and it’s quite popular nowadays. It’s hard to explain, but the gameplay of the classics really is fantastic, and it just draws me in. And the music, too…”

“ God , yeah, those classic titles have some great tracks. Could listen to those for hours, heh.”

Irida made a small noise in agreement, smiling to herself. This really was quite nice. She’d love to do this more often, just talking with Dawn about these things over a call. She was having a wonderful time.

Of course, she’d try to make it so she wasn’t staying up until 2am the next time they did this.

“Y’know,” Dawn said after a brief pause. “I’m thinking on the topic of music, and while it’s very unrelated, you’ve said you play the flute, right? Just thought about it, really.”

“Oh! Yes, I do!” She looked to her side, the black case that held it sitting at her desk. “It’s something I’ve kept up with for years… I really do find it quite the peaceful instrument. Calaba helped me learn it, and I owe a lot to her as a result.” Irida smiled to herself. “When I play it, the scenery of the world around me flows into my mind. It really is quite soothing.”

She closed her eyes, happily getting caught up in that for a second as she let out a satisfied sigh.

“That does sound neat. Hearing you talk about it before has been really fun, honestly. It’d be a lot of fun to hear you play it if you think that highly of it! Must be pretty good at it.” Irida felt a bit of shock just at that. After a few seconds of dead air, Dawn added a “I-in the future, of course!”, a laugh coming from her end.

She felt her heart skip for a split second just at hearing that. Sure, she had played for people before – of course she had – but something about playing it for Dawn…

While it was a little late, potentially, for her to be playing the flute, she figured that one time wouldn’t hurt. 

“I mean, it’d be a good way to pass the time, right?” Irida smiled happily, her voice having a tone of happiness to reflect that. “I wouldn’t mind, honestly. It might not sound as nice as it would in person, but… I’d love to play for you, Dawn.”

“Oh! Um… I-I mean, yeah! Absolutely! I’d love to hear that!” Dawn let out a happy laugh. “Gotta be a first to play for someone over a call like this, right?”

Irida grinned. “I can’t say I have. But there’s a first for everything, right? Now, just give me a second…” She grabbed the case at her side, quickly assembling the silver flute within. She had washed all the parts earlier today, so it was a rather good coincidence that she was being asked to play.

She thought about a tune she could play as she was doing so. Hmm…

…Oh, that one would be nice.

It didn’t really have a name , as it was just a tune that Calaba had taught her when she was younger. One that helped her calm herself, one that she still hummed under her breath before a match to this very day. It was a soothing, simple tune, but every time she played it, she felt at peace.

It only made sense to play it for a special occasion like this.

“Okay, this one doesn’t have a name, but… It’s a personal favorite of mine.” Irida adjusted herself in her seat, putting her phone down at a distance to make sure it would still pick up. Holding the flute up to her mouth, she took a deep breath inwards, and then one outwards.

And then she began to play, closing her eyes as she played. 

The gentle tunes helped her picture an environment around her. A nice, lush forest, with the breeze flowing by her. Irida could picture it vividly.

The birds flying by in the trees, the way the grass and the leaves on the trees seemed to flow in perfect tandem…

The cool, crisp air surrounding her, deep in the heart of the forest, the trees themselves stretching so high up and almost entirely blocking out the sunlight seeping down through the small gaps in the leaves. She was sitting underneath a tree, playing the flute as she did. Looking around the environment, taking it in – basking in it entirely. 

It really was quite soothing. In this space, she was surrounded by sheer peace, and she was happy.

And to her side, in this forest, was Dawn, who was looking at her lovingly, and—

Irida sputtered, a rather sharp note coming out as a result as her eyes shot open. “I, ah…”

“Everything okay, Irida?” Dawn’s voice came through.

Irida sat up, clearing her throat as she tried to ignore how red-hot her face felt as she placed the flute onto her table, her hands shaking a little. “I, um… I guess I’m a little rusty, heheheh…” A weak, embarrassed laugh came out of her. Both for messing up the song, and for the actual reason she was embarrassed.

…It was a rather nice mental image, the way Dawn was looking at her with those eyes, the way she smiled, the… 

Not now , Irida! Jeez… She shook her head, clenching her eyes tightly shut to focus once more. 

“Sorry about that, Dawn. I, um… something got caught in my throat, it seems.” She cleared her throat to really hammer it in. “I hope you still enjoyed that, my sincere apologies.” 

Despite how… unexpected that ending was, it was still an enjoyable experience to play for someone else, especially for a close friend like Dawn.

“ Enjoyed it? Irida, that was amazing! ” Dawn’s voice was enthusiastic, filled with excitement. “I didn’t know you could play the flute that well. And I could really get what you mean by getting lost in the imagery… ‘course, I’m not as good at that, but it really does feel so peaceful to listen to.” 

Getting such praise was always nice in general, but it felt even nicer coming from Dawn. Irida beamed with joy. “I’m glad you enjoyed it! I’m sorry I couldn’t, um, play the full thing… But perhaps in the future, I could play for you again?” 

“I’d love that! Really, thank you for that. It really was wonderful!” She let out a happy laugh. “And no need to apologize. It’s much better than I could do, anyway. Unless you wanna hear the world’s slowest version of Hot Cross Buns.”

Irida stifled a laugh. “I’ll get back to you on that.”

She still felt rather embarrassed by that, but her heart rate was slowing down to a normal pace once more. That was certainly something she hadn’t run into before.

…Hopefully it wouldn’t be a repeat offense. It was a bit of an embarrassing reminder of just how much Dawn was on her mind. But at the very least, she got to share a favorite hobby of hers with Dawn, so that was quite nice.

“Music is quite an enjoyable hobby, though.” Irida fiddled with her hands, trying to think of a new conversation topic. “You said you wanted to play the guitar at some point, right?”

“Oh!” Dawn sounded surprised. “Yeah, I did mention that a few weeks back, didn’t I? I wanted to when I was younger, but I was stubborn when they said I was too small for a bigger guitar.” She laughed. “Poor little Dawn, trying her hardest to convince her mom she can handle an electric guitar…”

Irida laughed. “No kidding? Why the guitar specifically?” She picked up a tangle, giving her hands something to do as she talked with her friend.

“Well, y’see, it’s something that kinda carries over now that I’m an adult, but the way the guitar sounds? Just really sick. Kinda why I have that rock & metal playlist I keep putting on before we get to matches. Like…”

Dawn and Irida continued to chat away. It was a fun way to kill time, so Irida was happy.

Ugh, just looking at this screen is driving me nuts… Dawn grimaced slightly, sucking air through her teeth.

“Man, I’ve never been so put-off by the words ‘ starts soon’ before…” Letting out a groan of frustration, she flopped back into her chair, letting out a very small yawn in the process. It seemed that the exhaustion of staying up this late was starting to catch up with her ever so slightly. 

It was a pretty busy day at work today, so maybe this wasn’t the best idea, in hindsight. New releases always make for a busy day. Sheesh…

But with just an hour to go, she could surely push through that. And she probably would! Talking with Irida was a good distraction from her exhaustion.

“Are you sure this was a good idea, Dawn?” Irida’s voice came through her headphones as Dawn sat up, rubbing her eyes. “You do sound somewhat exhausted…”

Dawn smiled. “Well, it wouldn’t be the first time. But the Side-F Sazabi is sure to be hard as hell to get. Not letting that slip through my fingers.” She smirked to herself, genuinely just caught up in the conversation. “I’m not going to miss this opportunity for the world. ”

Her light giggle came through. “I suppose so. But still, make sure you’re taking care of yourself!”

Dawn’s heart fluttered a little bit at that comment alone – that Irida was showing that concern. But she shook it off quickly, almost kind of thankful for that jolting her a little more awake. 

“I appreciate that, Irida. But I dunno, maybe I’ll just stay up all night. Endurance training! That’s what Luke said it could be, anyway.” Dawn snickered, amused at her own joke.

“Endurance…?” Irida laughed along. “Are you sure that’s such a hot idea, Dawn? I don’t even think you believe yourself with that one.”

“Whaddya mean?!” Dawn played up her exaggeration, a long, drawn-out gasp being added after that sentence to really lean into it. “I cannot believe you would suggest that this is anything but a good idea!”

“I’m rather doubtful of the positive side effects that’d come from doing that.”

Dawn playfully scoffed. “Doubting the power of my stubbornness… I’m in shock. I’m hurt!” She snickered afterwards. “But I’ll be alright, Irida. Hopefully you’ll be fine too.”

“Ah, well…” She sounded a bit more concerned. “I do have work tomorrow, but—”

“ What?! ” Shocked, Dawn’s voice was raised a bit to reflect her expression. “Irida, you’ve got work tomorrow and you’re staying up with me? That’s really nice of you, but you gotta get to bed!”

“Oh, I’ll be fine. Really!” While Irida sounded insistent, Dawn wasn’t so sure. “It’s not a busy day tomorrow, and honestly, it’s not so bad. I’m sure I’ll be okay.”

“Well, as long as you get to sleep on time. It’s important to get some sleep!”

After a brief pause, Dawn realized how hypocritical she was.

“Okay, well, maybe not the best advice coming from me—”

Irida could only laugh at that. 

“Hey, gimmie a break! Sheesh…” Dawn rolled her eyes, laughing along with it. “Not like I’m much better, but you’ve got stuff to do!”

“Very fair.” Irida calmed down from her slight laughter. “It’s just… Well, I don’t know. I really enjoy spending this time with you, I suppose...”

If the last flutter was a jolt to shoot her a bit more awake, the feeling Dawn got in her heart from hearing that would be enough to keep her up for a week straight.

She wants to spend this time with me? Irida? With me?

She sat there in silence, a shocked expression on her face. Dawn was rather grateful that Irida couldn’t see her expression of shock, with her covering her mouth to process that for a few seconds as Irida continued.

“It’s just fun to chat, y’know? Over text as well, of course, but… I enjoy being able to have a conversation like this for such a long period of time. I’m just… grateful, I suppose.” Irida cleared her throat. “Sorry, um, I don’t mean to sound all sentimental. Maybe the lack of sleep is getting to me too—”

“Nononono! It’s fine, Irida, really!” Dawn’s voice sounded flustered, although she tried to stabilize how shaky and nervous her voice sounded. “I… I’m grateful too, y’know? Really, that’s very flattering.” She exhaled briefly, trying to relax herself. “It’s always been fun to talk to you, no matter the format, so… I’m glad you enjoy that as well. You’re just… um, you’re great to be around. A-and I’m thankful for that.”

Dawn felt like the slight pause that came afterwards was the longest few seconds of her life. 

“…That’s really kind of you, Dawn. T-thank you, really. I’m…I’m glad to call you my friend.”

“You too, Irida. I’m really thankful I’ve gotten to spend this much time with you.” She immediately bit her tongue for saying that, but whatever. Maybe the lack of sleep was making her a bit careless. “It’s just really nice, y’know?”

“Yeah! For sure. Just always really nice. I haven’t gotten to make many friends in this hobby, so… I guess I’m just thankful, really. Even outside of Gunpla Battles, you’re a wonderful friend, and… yeah.”

Dawn nodded, trying to ignore how red her face was, and how fast her heart felt like it was beating. For no reason. Good lord, why was she acting like this…?

“Of course, Irida! Any time, really. Honestly! I’m just really lucky I meet you, and, um...” She stood up rather quickly. “Sorry, I don’t mean to cut this off, I just need to go get a drink. Sorry about that!”

“O-oh! No worries at all, Dawn! Really! It’s all good. I might do that myself, actually.”

Dawn smiled. “I’ll be back in a minute or so.” Taking off her headset, she instead immediately dived straight onto her bed, grabbing a pillow and shoving her face into it. Not to scream, but just out of sheer frustration.

God damn it Dawn, hold it together for one day. One day you can go without your crush on your friend being all weird and annoying!!

…Suddenly, with her face in her pillow like this, Dawn felt sorta drowsy. Maybe she could close her eyes for a few minutes, and—

Nope. That was dangerous. She was seeing this through, so help her.

Instead, she sat back up, instead actually going downstairs (albeit rather quietly) to get that drink of water, all while trying to clear her mind.

Gotta ask Moon about that whole 'serene state of mind' sometime...

Just a few more minutes, and she’d be in the clear.

Dawn was…

She was feeling it, that was for sure. Somehow, in the time leading up to now, she got completely and utterly drained of energy.

But, at the very least, she was near the end of it.

“God, Irida, I am going to sleep like a princess once this shit is done, I swear…” Dawn mumbled, still staring at the Premium Bandai pre-order page as it stared her in the face.

“Hopefully you’re doing okay, Dawn…” Irida sounded concerned, which Dawn appreciated.

“How are you doing better than I am?” Dawn yawned, chuckling. “I thought you were the one that doesn’t stay up late…”

“…Hm. That’s a good question. I’m not quite sure…” Irida let out a ‘hmmm’ sound as she seemed to mull that over for a good few seconds.

“Well, whatever it is, I wish I could do that right now, because man, I am…” Another yawn came out of Dawn as she stretched. “I’m feelin’ it, that’s for sure.”

Only a couple of minutes to go. That’s all she had to endure.

“Not too much longer to go, Dawn. It’ll all be worth it!” Her voice was upbeat and encouraging. “At least, I hope so, anyway. Premium Bandai always is a pain. I haven’t dealt with it much, but…”

“God, ain’t it?” She grumbled, slumping in her chair slightly. “Honestly, it’s a pain in the ass to begin with. Wish they’d just sell this stuff in stores. Not like it doesn’t sell well enough to warrant it…” 

Dawn slumped onto her desk, frustrated. “But that’d be too easy, wouldn’t it? No, we need to do the Side-F Nu Gundam all over again. I like the Nu Gundam a lot, but I didn't dare bother to pre-order that . Heard nothing but nightmare stories about it...”

“Was it?” Irida sounded curious. “I was debating on trying to get a pre-order back when they opened up, but I decided against it eventually.”

“It sounded miserable. It makes sense for something as popular as the Nu Gundam, let alone a design like that. They put it into Extreme VS. as a promotional event, and they knew EXACTLY what they were doing with that. But it got scalped to hell and back, so I've heard.” She sighed. “Well, hopefully this one won’t be so bad…”

“These Side-F designs really are something else. That single Long Fin Funnel on the Nu Gundam must be interesting to use in battle. Not exactly my style, but…”

“Ooh, I didn’t even think of that. It's got a long range,, but it's also kind of like a close-range weapon, isn't it?” Dawn’s eyes widened just thinking about the possibilities. “Oh man, imagine a Sazabi custom that uses both that and the FF Sazabi funnels. Using the Horn Funnels and the single Long Fin Funnel for long range play as well as close range dominance...” 

Man, that sounded cool as hell.

“…That’s a bit overkill, isn’t it?”

She let out a slightly exhausted huff of air. “Meh. Probably. But it’s the best kind of kill! And it’d be cool. Really, really, really cool.” Irida could only laugh at that, which Dawn gave a weak chuckle to.

Sitting up, she glanced at the clock as she blinked rather slowly. 2:04 AM, huh. Man, she had been up for a bit, and—

“SHIT IT’S 2:04! SHIT SHIT SHIT—”

Dawn sharply sat up, immediately pressing the F5 key on her keyboard as fast as humanly possible. “Please please please please please—"

A pause.

"...Dawn?"

“UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhh….” said a very, very defeated woman, her head firmly planted face-first into the desk she was sitting at. “Out of stock, god damn it…”

“ What?! ” Irida sounded shocked. “And after all this effort. Goodness, I’m really sorry, Dawn…” Her voice changed to one of sympathy. “I know you’ve been looking forward to this. That really stings...”

“Well… whatever.” Dawn didn’t really mind. “Gave it the ‘ol college try. I guess I’ll head to bed now, because I am exhausted…” She yawned, sitting up again as she was slouching in her chair.

“Me as well, honestly. Probably for the best, given how late it is. Hopefully it’ll show up at a local store – if I find it, I’ll let you know first thing. Sorry about that, Dawn.”

She let out a simple noise of grogginess. “Can’t be helped.” She was already feeling herself slip out of consciousness, the thought of finally being able to sleep hitting her like a truck.

It was as if all of her remaining energy, what little there was, had been used solely on providing her the focus needed to possibly complete this pre-order. And the exhaustion she had been trying to sidestep was fighting back something fierce. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Have a good day at work, I’m probably gonna pass out for a couple hundred hours.” 

Well, despite how poor the situation was, Dawn was glad that Irida was there to keep her company. Even though she had a few moments where her big, stupid, pain-in-the-ass crush got in the way of things, she was grateful. Irida was a good friend, and Dawn was thankful for that. But she wished she wasn’t falling so deep in love with that friend.

Irida sounded amused by Dawn’s previous comment as she let out a light giggle. Dawn smirked, before letting out another yawn. “Night, Irida. Thanks for stickin’ around. Love you.”

And with that, Dawn got off the call, took off her headphones, and flopped directly into bed. She immediately fell asleep, the drowsiness hitting her very hard as she hit the pillow face-first.

The last, slightly conscious thought she had before drifting off, was a simple ... Hey, wait, what’d I say? But that wasn’t important, so she’d worry about it later. Right now, she needed to sleep, and sleep she did.

Irida sat in shock.

Those words echoed in her head like a never-ending cycle. 

Love you. Love you. Love you.

She knew Dawn meant it in a friendly, platonic way. The way it was said and everything. And Irida was grateful for that all the same because she was glad that her and Dawn were getting along so well. That bond meant a lot to her.

…But for Irida to hear Dawn say that to her, in any context, was… 

Well, it was certainly something that gave her a shock. 

And perhaps was going to keep her up a little longer than she would’ve liked, given how fast her heart was going.

…Should I respond to that? Should I just… let it slide? I’m definitely just overthinking it, and definitely getting my hopes up, but…

In what would probably be considered a very ill-advised move, perhaps influenced by her feeling sentimental from that light chat earlier, but more likely influenced by being somewhat exhausted herself, Irida picked up her phone, and very, very slowly typed out a message to leave Dawn for when she woke up.

She sat still as a stone, looking at her phone as her finger hovered over the send button, debating on sending this message at all. Would this be too much? Would she be moving too fast? Should she add something, remove something? What qualified this being a message she should send? Irida was very, very nervous.

…But she had to try at some point. At least just a little bit. This was still going somewhat slow, not going over any barriers. Plus, she did love Dawn in a platonic way, as well.

She could regret this in the morning. Even though she already was regretting it.

Pressing her finger down onto the send button as it sent to Dawn, she immediately went into another set of messages, closed the application itself, and then put her phone face-down on her desk as if to bury her embarrassing act so deep down into the earth that she didn’t have to consider it.

It was a simple message, really. But one that still made her very anxious.

Irida quickly stood up, turned around, and flopped into the bed that was beside her desk, quickly lying down and trying to forget about this whole situation as she tried to go to sleep. She left her phone on her desk, in hopes that if it was further away from her, so too would her anxiety-ridden thoughts about what she just did be distanced from her.

…But, unfortunately, her heart rate being as high as it was meant she was forced to ruminate on those thoughts for a little longer.

Why did you do that, Irida? Goodness, you’re helpless…

Well, at least work was bound to be quiet and slow…

As her eyes slowly opened, the sound of birds chirping outside waking her up, Dawn blinked slowly before registering the events of last night.

God, she stayed up way too late for that. She had fun talking to Irida so much, though. Honestly, that was probably the highlight of her night. She got to talk to Irida about so many things, she got to hear her play the flute, all of it.

Dawn did still feel embarrassed for saying all those things she said when saying she was grateful for Irida. God, you were like, one step too close to saying you loved her, Dawn. Honestly, I—

…

She paused, as it felt like something in her mind was telling her to really sit on that sentence.

…What did I say before passing out last night? Dawn looked up at her ceiling as her brain wracked through the memories, albeit ones where she was only half awake. ‘Thanks for stickin’ around. Love y-‘

Oh, fuck.

Oh, fuck.

“Oh, FUCK.”

Dawn sat up fully, suddenly feeling much more awake as she could feel the dread running across her forehead. 

Okay, no, Dawn, let’s calm down. No need to have a heart attack at 9 in the morning. She got up out of her bed, pacing around her room to calm herself down as she mentally thought this through.

Well, maybe this wasn’t so bad. Maybe, right? Love wasn’t something limited to just romantic love. She could tell Lucas, Moon, and Lillie that she loved them. Because she did! And platonically, she loved Irida, too. She was a great friend, and Dawn was very grateful for that, and honestly, that might’ve been what she meant in her half-asleep state. 

Platonic love was, of course, something she was not unfamiliar with. A very good, very strong emotion that she felt quite frequently. 

But even if it was just a ‘Dawn-at-2-in-the-morning’ slip of the tongue, it was still one that felt very, VERY embarrassing given the ever-growing crush she had on Irida. To just up and say love you like that, felt… Well, it felt as if she had accidentally screwed up and confessed to Irida on a whim.

All that aside, what if that was too much? What if Irida was a bit uncomfortable with Dawn saying that? Sure, it wasn’t a big comment, and Irida would likely understand the circumstances, but she couldn’t help but worry. Dawn didn’t even know if she felt comfortable with that. Maybe Irida took it the wrong way? What if she did take it in a non-platonic way, and got upset, and—

Dawn stopped in her tracks, clenching her fists and taking a deep breath in and out. You’re spiraling again, Dawn. Catch yourself earlier, next time… She rubbed a hand through her messy hair, a little frustrated.

…Okay, let’s be reasonable. Let me cool down just a bit. Irida doesn’t seem like the kind of person to cut off all communication after something like that, so I’m sure she doesn’t mind. At the worst, it’s a little awkward, but I doubt she’d be truly put off by that. Especially after she said she appreciated my company that much, which… Still makes my heart jump just thinking about it, apparently.

Dawn grumbled as she rubbed her face. Barely even 5 minutes into her day, and this is how it started. Pain in the ass, I swear…

She turned around, intending to just flop back into her bed again and get some more rest. However, she noticed she left her computer on, the monitors displaying both the store page for the Side-F Sazabi (which still stung, god damn it), and the Discord conversation she had with Irida, and…

Wait…

Seems like Irida left a message right after Dawn passed out, presumably after the call ended. She walked over, and—

!!!!!!!!!!

What felt like a defibrillator to her chest hit Dawn as she read the message on the screen. 

Now, Dawn knew that didn’t mean anything. Not one bit. 

Irida absolutely meant that in a platonic way. In a sense, Dawn was relieved that Irida didn’t take it poorly like the nagging voice in her head said that she might. 

But, instead, she was focused on reading that sentence as it felt like it permanently etched itself into her mind, because even if she knew it didn’t mean anything, her heart was still on the world’s largest and fastest rollercoaster and taking her along for the ride.

The heart was also causing her to lose her mind. It was just a kind, cute gesture – Irida did use emoticons somewhat often, which Dawn thought was really cute. Added flair to her messages, and it was a nice gesture all the same. But it was still a heart. Added after she said Love you too.  

She was definitely overthinking this. Getting in her own head at a kind gesture from a good friend. But she wasn’t sure if this meant something or not. Maybe it did? Or maybe it was just a kind gesture? It likely was, but should she think this was something? Dawn had no idea.

She at least knew, unfortunately, that her brain wasn’t going to let her forget about this message, about how sweet it was, and how she was really head-over-heels in love with her friend this much that a message like this was enough to make her feel flustered and as if her heart was going to break straight out of her chest.

Jeez, I’m getting ahead of myself… Dawn rubbed the bridge of her nose, still rather exhausted. Maybe someone else has got a better call on this than I do…

…

She really didn’t want to bother her about this, given she felt bad, but Moon had offered to talk about it. Plus, she seemed to be online. And Lucas was probably busy, so…

While she was in the middle of typing out her explanation of events, the quiet morning was interrupted by the sound of the Discord call tone, with Dawn receiving a call from Moon. Hoo boy…

“...hello?”

“Dawn, you are going to explain yourself over audio, because I need to hear this from the source. ”

Dawn groaned. “Fine, fine, whatever…”

“...and like, that’s just the jist of it.”

“Hmmm…”

Dawn ran a hand through her hair to try and straighten it out as Moon seemed to take in all the information. She had spent the last few minutes talking about the situation, which was pretty embarrassing, but… well, Moon was someone she could trust, at least. 

She just wasn’t expecting to talk about it so suddenly, is all.

“...Well, it wasn’t as complex or intense as I thought. Probably just a friendly message, especially after your own. You guys are good friends. Still, though… it’s not as if you’re grasping at straws.” Moon hummed to herself as Dawn lazily stretched. “Maybe you could afford to be a bit more forward? It’s not a terrible idea, Dawn.”

The idea of that was something that still turned her stomach into knots. And she still wasn’t exactly confident on the matter.

…But…

“...I guess that makes sense.”

She rustled her hair. Maybe because it was so early, she really didn’t feel like she could argue back that much.

Dawn sighed. “It’s… still gonna be hard, but like… I know we’re on like, closer terms now, right? Or… something like that. So I guess it wouldn’t be that bad to like, very, very slowly test the waters.”

“You can afford to go a little faster, I think! But I’m not gonna force ‘ya." She sounded pleased with that. “Ultimately, you should go about it at whatever pace you want, but don’t sit on your hands forever. You gotta do something .”

Dawn chuckled. “Yeah, guess so. I dunno, I’ll… see how I feel about it, see what happens, that kind of thing. I wanna think it out, first. I’ll definitely do it, but it’s gonna take a lot of courage on my part. But I appreciate the help, Moon.”

“Think about it this way, Dawn. Domon took his time to confess–”

“I should’ve known you’d pull that at some point,” she said with a joking tone. “Master of romance, Moon. Look in awe, everybody…”

“But tell me I’m wrong! You literally can’t, Dawn!” Moon’s voice, full of laughter, came through her phone. “This comparison works and you have to accept that! What, should I make a Char’s Counterattack one so you’d be more on board?” She scoffed. “You gotta change your destiny, go beyond the time!”

“Yeah, yeah…” She got up and laughed, stretching once more. “Gotta get changed and all that, so I’ll let you go. Catch you later, Moon.”

“Alright, alright. Fair enough. Have a good one! Good luck in your next match. That’s in a few days, right?”

“Yup. See you then!”

Dawn hung up the call and began to start her daily routine, taking her hormone medication and finding an outfit for the day. At least she had the day off today, so her being slightly tired wasn’t all too bad.

Wonder how Irida’s doing, on that note. She stayed up just as late as me, but she was pulling through way better. Dawn remembered she had work tomorrow, but hopefully she was doing fine with that.

Maybe she was better at handling a disruption in her sleep schedule than Dawn was?

Irida yawned as she leaned on the counter, somehow still awake. Thankfully, Nimbasa Hobby was never busy at this time of day. That staying-up-late plan had serious consequences (especially with how long it took her to fall asleep after sending that message), and she was currently reaping what she sowed. 

But, really, she didn’t regret it all that much. Spending time with Dawn was always lovely.

Even if she still felt incredibly anxious about that message she sent Dawn. Dawn seemed to take it well, though, as she messaged Irida back just about the same time the store opened. Which was good. Irida was definitely worried about it coming off the wrong way, though she absolutely could've been less subtle and not added the heart. Maybe then she wouldn't be so nervous...

Dawn appreciated the message, thanking Irida and apologizing for blurting that so suddenly - a genuine slip of the tongue due to fatigue, but Irida really didn’t mind. All was good, and neither of them seemed to care all too much.

…It still did make her flustered just to think about, though, that Dawn said she loved her. In a platonic context, of course, but still… 

She shook her head lightly, getting back into focus. It was a slow day, sure, but she had opened on her own. Her bosses said they were to be a little late, which was fine (albeit, opening the store on half of her normal energy was a bit of a pain in the neck), so she was just standing by at the counter, nothing really going on.

...Maybe she could sneak in a quick nap…

Just as she was doing that, though, the bell above the door rang, as she saw her bosses come in. “Miss Galaxia! It is wonderful to see you, as always. Thank you for taking good care of our station as always!” Emmet, dressed in white, greeted Irida with a smile on his face, full of energy as always. “We have some wonderful news, and we have you to thank for it!”

Irida perked up, trying her best not to look like she only had about 4 hours of sleep at best. “What’s the good news, sirs?”

Taking off his coat, Ingo folded it up and held it, standing confidently. “You see, at your own suggestion, we have looked into this… ‘Premium Bandai.’ Hot items are sure to be there, as you said, and sure enough, we have gotten our hands on quite the valuable cargo.”

Oh, she did say that. Her bosses, not being that knowledgeable on Gunpla, had been asking her for what the ‘hot items’ were, just so they could drum up attention and hype to the store. Irida had suggested that trying to get some Premium Bandai exclusives would be an option, as that would be something that people would come for.

“Oh! Well, that’s wonderful.” She smiled. “What did you pre-order?”

“We placed the orders for…” Emmet trailed for a bit, before turning to his brother. “Ingo? I, Emmet, can’t remember the exact name of the one we placed orders for…” 

Quickly putting up a finger, Ingo pulled out his phone, quickly scrolling to find something. “The… ‘RG 1/144 MSN-04FF Sazabi.’ Quite the mouthful…”

…

The Side-F Sazabi?

Irida blinked as she looked at her bosses, who were now looking at her with a puzzled expression on their faces.

“…Is something wrong, Miss Galaxia?”

“Oh!” She perked up, laughing. “No, no, not at all! That’s a very good pickup. I’m just… surprised, is all.”

“Yes, well…” Ingo looked a bit more contemplative. “It certainly wasn’t easy. But, I made the adjustment to wake up at 1:30 am for this. I normally wake up around 4am anyway, so it did require some extra management. However, I’d argue it was worth it.”

He got up at 1am? He normally gets up at 4am?

“…That’s certainly interesting. But, um, I might already know somebody who’d be interested in that.”

Emmet smiled. “ Wonderful! Ingo, we already have a sale! What a great idea this was. Thank you!”

“This is a three-car train, so perhaps we should all be thankful. Were it not for you reminding me, and were it not for Miss Galaxia, we may not have stopped at that station, and would have been taken elsewhere.” A slight smile, a rare sight from her boss, came up on Ingo’s face. “So, thank you both.”

“It’s nothing, really!” Irida smiled brightly. “I’m just glad I could help.”

“Of course! I, Emmet, feel the same way. Now, let us get started with our day!” 

With her two bosses leaving to go into their office and set their things up for the day, Irida quickly took out her phone, messaging Dawn. She was up, which was a bit surprising. But Irida didn’t mind messaging her quickly, because…

Well, this was important.

Talk about a fortunate turn of events… Irida smiled to herself. She felt a little more awake after that.

Chapter Text

“Excuse me, you three.”

Three heads popped up from around the store, staring towards the back of the store, where Rowan, Dawn’s boss stood, looking rather formal.

“I’m letting you all know in advance that the store will be closed on Thursday.” Rowan spoke firmly, though this was simply his regular tone of voice. “I have matters to attend to, so I will be busy all day. Obviously, you won’t be expected to come in.”

“Cool! Thanks, Mr. Rowan.” Lucas gave a thumbs up from the front counter. “We appreciate the heads up!”

The man simply nodded, before retreating into his office once more.

“Hey, that works for me!” Dawn said gleefully, also at the front counter with Lucas. “I was gonna let him know I had a match on Thursday, anyway. Talk about a good coincidence.”

Lucas leaned onto the counter, tapping his fingers on top of the wood as he pondered. “Makes me wonder what’s been up with him. Not like I care that much about his personal life, but I don’t think I’ve seen him close the store all that often. This is like the third time he’s said that the store’s closed for the day, once a week.” He looked to Dawn. “Kinda makes you wonder, right?”

Dawn raised an eyebrow, pondering that herself. “…Beats me. I’m not totally sure, honestly. At least he’s still paying us and all that, but… now that you mention it, I’ve got no ideas.” She turned her head to a corner of the store where Penny was doing some stocking. “Hey, Penny, you got any leading theories?”

Penny simply shrugged, returning to what she was doing without so much as a peep. One of their co-workers, Penny often kept to herself, which Dawn could respect. She was also trans, so it was nice to have someone else on the team she felt comfortable around.

“Fair enough.” She turned back to Lucas. “Still, though, I’m sure it’s nothing serious. Maybe he’s just got some family matters to attend to?”

“Well, whatever it is, we’re getting a day off work, so… works for me.” Lucas chuckled. He turned to Dawn, smiling. “You two prepared for your match on Thursday?”

“Oh, yeah, I’m gonna meet with Irida later this week to talk about that. Said to be some strong opponents, and they’ve been making waves in the bracket so far. A Gundam Spiegel and a Susanowo team, from what I’ve heard.” She looked excited; the energy from thinking about it was visible on her face. 

“Fighting that Susanowo is gonna be sick, Luke. I can always appreciate a fight with another close-ranged specialist, let alone one as cool as the Susanowo! Two katana-looking sabers, the Trans-Am system allowing it to increase its output, it’ll make for such a sick sword fight!”

“I’m not terribly surprised you’re excited for sword fights.” Lucas snickered, which Dawn rolled her eyes at.

She continued, putting her hand to her chin as she thought about the upcoming match. “‘Course, I haven’t been seeing their matches, but I’ve heard good things.” She put her hands behind her head. “I’ve always had the day off, though, so maybe I should’ve gone.”

“I’m sure you’ll be fine, Dawn. You two sound like you’ve been killing it so far!” Lucas pumped an arm, hamming it up to motivate his friend. “The… Galaxy Team, right?” Dawn responded with a simple nod. “The Galaxy Team will shatter the stars themselves!”

“Get with the times, Luke! I’ve used that one already. Besides.” Dawn put her hands at her side, feigning annoyance. “Irida called that one cheesy.”

“What?! She did?” Lucas scoffed. “Honestly, she just doesn’t get the flair of it all .” He laughed. Lucas tended to play these things up, which Dawn was used to.

“RIGHT? That’s what I said!”

“…Right. So, about what I wanted to focus on this week…”

Dawn looked at Irida intently as they walked. “Irida, have you ever played the frontlines before?” 

Irida stopped in her tracks, pausing to mull that over. “Not typically, no. Even in 1v1 matches, I tend to play a more spacing-orientated game.”

They were making their way to Jubilife Hobby, the same place that Dawn had been taking her for a few weeks now to get some practice in. While she had been keeping up on her solo practice, there was no denying that practicing with Dawn was key to both of them improving not only their teamwork on the field, but also their own individual skills, allowing them to work on their strategies in real time instead of just writing things out. Thus, while on the way there, the topic of their current plans for their upcoming match came up.

“Right, right.” Dawn crossed her arms and nodded, thinking that over for a second. After that second, the pair began walking once more. “And that’s not a bad thing, of course! Even when you know you have to fight back, which, I will add, you’ve been getting good at,” Dawn said, looking at Irida briefly to add that on, who smiled at the praise coming her way.

“Knowing those situations where you might have to play the frontlines as opposed to your teammate can be important. It’s an extension of that idea, in a sense.” Irida nodded as Dawn went on. “Like, if your teammate who plays the front…” 

She thought that over for a second, seemingly trying to come up with a good comparison, before the eureka moment seemed to hit. “Well, we’ll make a hypothetical match we’d be playing as an example. Say the Sazabi Empert takes some bad damage early on, right?” 

“Like, maybe the leg boosters get damaged pretty quickly, or I lose an arm early on, causing my speed or power to drastically decrease. Something that causes me to be at risk of just immediately being double-teamed by them and defeated. That’d be a situation where you have to play the frontlines.” Irida nodded as Dawn continued, only admiring how passionate Dawn looked when she would talk about battle strategies like this just a little bit.  

“Granted, it’d be tricky to learn, and even then it isn’t easy to play in that disadvantageous situation – which is why it’s a strategy that a lot of people use. Wear down the frontline incredibly quickly, basically barreling into them, so that the person in the back must step up. Because they might be put in an uncomfortable position, that’d give you the advantage.” Dawn turned and looked at Irida. “It’d essentially be a 2v1, even if your partner can still fight. Although even a disadvantageous 2v2 is better than any 2v1. You at least have some backup.” 

“I see…” That did make a lot of sense to Irida. While it was an area she wasn’t that experienced in, having to change roles on-the-fly was something she’d have to at least be anticipating. 

“I imagine it wouldn’t be something I go into a match expecting to happen, unless prior experience tells me they are, in which case I plan around that. I imagine it’s simply a strong skillset to have nonetheless, so I’m glad to learn about it.”

“Spot on.” Dawn nodded, a friendly smile on her face. “Playing that frontline is a difficult thing, of course. Any role is, really. But it requires a different mindset and approach to mid-match problem solving than playing the backlines.” 

“You can’t reliably have your teammate back you up, so you gotta be prepared for more options. You’re leading the charge, so you gotta be ready for that. Stuff like that. Not that it’s suddenly 1v2, but that you’ll be shouldering a bit more due to your weakened teammate.” She put up a finger to further clarify. “You could still use a more ranged playstyle for that, however.” 

Dawn grinned. “I wouldn’t be suggesting it if it meant you had to completely overhaul your playstyle. That’d be a little too much to take on. But I think that’ll be the focus of our practice today. Maybe we’ll do some close-ranged battles to get you a bit more familiar.”

Playing the frontlines, yet still being able to play at the ranges she was the most comfortable at? Hmm…

She closed her eyes as the two walked, trying to think of some ideas with that in mind. Playing the ranged game with a teammate who was at risk was difficult to think of possible strategies for. That being said, this was a situation where the teammate could still fight back. 

If they were immobilized, she’d have to be more attentive to prevent destruction. It’d be out of her comfort zone for sure, but sometimes you have to embrace that sort of thing. Dawn had taught her that before, after all.

“The Buster Rifle does cover a lot of range and the extra mobility of the Gundam Choros would allow me to cover a lot of angles and potential flanks… Perhaps that’d work?” Irida mumbled under her breath as she walked, putting her hand to her chin as she focused intently. 

Something, perhaps, along the lines of flying around her opponent at various angles, throwing them off in whatever way she can, and using the Choros’ mobility to quickly reposition. That might be something useful to consider. Instead of peppering shots from only one angle, she could use the opportunity to fly around in various spots, throwing off their aim and their focus – moving too fast for them to keep up, essentially.

And then, when they were totally distracted, she could attack from above, the last place they’d expect to look, firing a powerful shot downwards. Or, she pondered, she could even use that as a chance to let her teammate get some strong hits in. Throwing off their aim, and then, when they were so focused on looking for Irida, Dawn could come in and get a powerful strike. That was what she was good at, after all.

There were a lot of interesting ideas, the more she thought about it…

“Deep in thought, huh?” Irida opened her eyes, only blinking as she looked back up at Dawn as she snapped back into reality. She had gotten so caught up in the theory of possible scenarios that she didn’t even realize several minutes had passed. Dawn had a sly smile on her face. “Glad to see you getting so into it, at least.”

“A-aha…” Irida laughed nervously, embarrassed by getting so deep in thought without realizing. “I suppose your battle analysis has rubbed off on me a bit, Dawn.”

“No sweat! But that tells me you’re at least thinking about it, which is good.” Dawn pumped a fist in excitement. “It’s just an angle I figured we’d try covering. We can even try setting up some of the dummies to help create that 2v1 scenario.”

Irida nodded confidently. “Right!” She looked forward, confidence written plain on her face. Irida really had been learning a lot from Dawn. With such a talented battler on her side, giving her, someone she had met on a whim at an event, such insightful and helpful battle tips, allowing her to hone her own tactical abilities past what she been able to achieve with any of her other Clan teammates,  she truly counted herself lucky. “…Y’know, I just realized something,” Irida said, squinting her eyes in thought, as Dawn looked over curiously. 

“A lot of the advice you’ve given me so far has been focusing on close-range combat.” She smiled teasingly. “Are you trying to make me a close-ranged specialist as well, Dawn?”

“Wha—” Dawn sputtered, laughing at the statement. “Hey, it’s just a coincidence! I’m a close-ranged fighter, so, most of my advice comes from that! Besides, you can still play frontlines with ranged weapons!”

“I’m not so sure that was your plan…” Irida gave a sly smirk, before bursting into laughter herself, barely being able to hold it back.

The two laughed it off as they continued to make their way to Jubilife Hobby, a day of training and quality time spent together ahead of them. Irida was excited for it – learning to play the frontline would be an invaluable skill. 

…She still wasn’t sure how easy it would be, and that worried her a bit. But she’d put the work in to make sure that she would be able to pull it off.

The next day…

“…Miss Galaxia?”

Ingo looked at Irida as he was halfway through putting his coat on, staring at her curiously as she sat at one of their nearby Gunpla Battle stations, looking rather stern and serious.

She didn’t respond. Her focus instead was on furiously writing away in a rather hefty notebook, placed onto the station. Most of the store lights were off, save for a few that lit up the area Irida was in.

Ingo was no stranger to Irida staying late to use the machines, as she had asked her bosses quite a few weeks prior if she could for the sake of practice, which they were fine with as long as she dealt with closing the store and doing everything else that was needed. She was often on top of this, so he never had anything to worry about.

…But he had stayed late today, intending to do some paperwork for the store (and perhaps tinkering with another train display for the store, which he hoped to surprise Emmet with), and had assumed that Irida would have been home already, as it was almost 9pm. The store had closed at 7, so she’d been here, practicing, for quite some time.

Ingo cleared his throat, hoping to catch her attention once more as he folded his coat into his arms. “Miss Galaxia, it’s quite past closing time.” Irida flinched, being seemingly brought out of her trance as she looked up at her boss, blinking quickly.

“Huh? Oh! My apologies, sir.” Irida straightened her posture, letting out an embarrassed laugh. “I was just practicing for the tournament, you see… I had a lot of notes from a practice session earlier today, so I was testing theories of possible alternative strategies in the Ghost Replay mode while making my own notes on things.” She closed her notebook, putting it and the small plastic Gundam she had customized (of which the name she gave it escaped Ingo’s mind) into the teal bag she often carried with her. 

“I see. Well,” Ingo said, adjusting the hat on his head, “I respect a bout of hyperfixation as much as the next enthusiast, but the station is closed , now, Miss Galaxia.”

“Y-yes, of course, sir. I just wanted to make sure I was understanding the advice my teammate gave me. I think I’m close, but I might try to squeeze in more practice soon.” Irida put her hand to her mouth, chewing on her thumb nail in thought as she began to pace around again.

“Perhaps if I come in early tomorrow, then I can practice more close ranged fights against the higher-level AI… I have a good understanding already, but Dawn gave me some good pointers on holding the attention while playing the frontline, so I wanted to focus on those. Threatening space with movement…” She mumbled under her breath for a few seconds, as Ingo simply stared.

Irida’s commitment to battling was certainly interesting. He could, of course, respect that commitment and energy to it, but it was still rather impressive.

“Very understandable, Miss Galaxia.” He began to walk back to the door as he put on his coat, causing Irida to be brought out of her trance once more at the sound of his footsteps. “The energy you devote to your teammate is quite commendable. I can respect that quite heavily.” 

Ingo looked back at her as he put his coat on, stopping just at the door. “However, make sure you take frequent stops at your stations when needed. Every engine needs a chance to refuel.”

“…Of course, sir. Thank you.” Irida gave a weak, bashful laugh. “I suppose I got so caught up in the fear of not being able to pull it off, that I lost track of time.”

“A very understandable thing to become dedicated to, of course. But it is important to have some faith in yourself, as well.” Ingo tipped his hat towards her. “I am quite positive your fellow conductor does, as well. Now, then, it is time to hang my lantern. Please take care not to leave any personal belongings as you depart, but, please do take care of yourself, Irida.”

And with that, Ingo made his way out of the store.

Truth be told, he didn’t actually know for certain how well she worked with her teammate, but given how Irida seemed to be in such high spirits whenever she would come back from work after a day of spending time with her and given how the two seemed to talk a lot (evidenced by her frequent phone use during the slower hours of the day, footage of which mysteriously went missing after either Ingo or Emmet checked the tapes), it seemed the two were quite close.  

Ingo figured it’d be a good way to motivate her further. Given what he knew of her teammate (which was, admittedly, the one time she came into Nimbasa Hobby a few weeks ago), she seemed like she had a lot of faith in her. 

While he didn’t really pay much attention to Gunpla Battles, seeing Irida and her team do so well was always a benefit. Plus, it did help advertise the store. (Which, really, was a minor thing, but it was still a benefit, right?) But it was simply nice to see someone so invested in something they loved, so he couldn’t help but encourage that.

Ingo whistled a tune to himself as he made his way home, another day done.

Irida paused, still frozen in place from Ingo’s statement.

Dawn does have a lot of faith in me…

While that statement did cause her heart to flip a few times, she managed to put that aside to really think on that statement.

Dawn really did put a lot of confidence in Irida, didn’t she? She thought to herself as she reflected on that. She did know that teaming with Dawn had been a big boost to her understanding of Gunpla Battle as a whole, but it also seemed to have served to help boost her confidence as a whole, as well.

Learning so many strategies, being able to change up the way she played while strengthening the things she was good at… it really felt as if she was being introduced to a whole different world, and Dawn was happy to guide her along the journey. Nothing felt unclear, and Dawn was always able to answer any questions.

And if she wasn’t…

‘Well, that’s no problem at all,’ she’d often say. ‘Let’s find that answer quickly in a mock match!’

Irida smiled to herself just remembering that. Dawn was really dedicated to what she loved, tackling Gunpla Battles with aplomb and a fire that roared to life as soon as she set her GP Base. That energy was contagious, and the confidence she showed was intense.

Perhaps, in a way, that confidence helps her with playing the frontlines… especially with how much time she’s put into practicing that position. That complete assuredness has been invaluable in situations that would have otherwise spelled defeat…

She could always feel confident with Dawn at her side, after all. Someone who believed in her without doubt, someone whose skill set had been honed in countless battles, someone who trusted her unflinchingly…

Irida truly was becoming able to trust Dawn more and more. It made her heart stir in a rather… embarrassing way.

Irida blushed afterwards, trying to discard how embarrassed she was. She picked up her things, putting the Gundam Choros and her notebook away in the teal bag she carried with her, and got ready to start closing up the store proper.

But that idea was certainly ringing in her mind, still. She had a lot of faith in Dawn, and Dawn had a lot of faith in her. That trust and faith certainly helped them work well together, didn’t it? 

If Dawn could trust in her so easily to do so, it was only a matter of time until she could do so just off of her own merit, right? ‘Fake it until you make it,’ after all. 

Even if it goes horribly, she knew the Dawn that believed in her was more than enough to keep her going.

Irida pondered this, as well as general ideas about playing frontlines, as she went along. 

Later that week…

Dawn looked towards the slightly larger crowd as they cheered on for the upcoming match, smiling. The crowds had been getting bigger and bigger as the tournament went on, unsurprisingly filled with people excited to see matches of much higher caliber after the early rounds were done. Especially with how their opponents, who simply went by Beni and Kamado, seemed to be taking people by surprise with their skill. And, as well, their flashy appearances.

At the end of the battle station that Dawn and Irida were approaching was a man clad in samurai armor, complete with a Mr. Bushido mask replica. Next to him was an older man clad in white ninja clothing.

“…Well, at least you can tell who owns which Gunpla.” Irida turned her head at Dawn addressing her, looking at the Choros’ pilot with a smile. 

Dawn snickered. “You should see the costumes Moon and Lillie pull out for the big matches. I can absolutely respect the flashy getups, but what’s with the armor? That mask definitely blocks too much of the screen.”

Irida giggled. “Definitely a little strange to be doing Gunpla Battles in, isn’t it? I suppose it helps them get into the spirit, but I can’t imagine it’s terribly easy to move around in.”

“Eh, whatever. We’ll knock ‘em down a peg!” Dawn pumped an arm in excitement. “It’ll be a fast-paced battle, but we’re ready for that, aren’t we?”

Irida nodded excitedly. “Right! I’ll play in the air if I can. The Spiegel isn’t as great at air mobility, so I’ve got that over it.”

Dawn grinned. “And the Susanowo can chase, but I’ll back you up with that. They’re gonna be in our face for sure. It’ll be a fast-paced match, but these are always my favorite. ” She nodded to Irida, holding her fist out. “Let’s do this, Irida!”

She nodded and returned the gesture with a fist-bump of her own. “Right!”

And so, the two walked up to the station, staring their opponents in the face. They seemed to say nothing, simply staring the two down. It was a little threatening, honestly.

But Dawn wasn’t one to back down. She shot them a look of confidence themselves.

That guy in the armor has some… awfully familiar eyes, though. Not sure where I’ve seen those before…

She shook that off as the Galaxy Team placed their Gunpla and GP Bases into the stations, ready for the ensuing fight.

“Gundam Choros!”

“Sazabi Empert!”

“ Let’s do it! ”

Battle start.  

GNX-Y901TW Susanowo

From Mobile Suit Gundam 00’s second season, the Susanowo is a close-quarters mobile suit. It wields two Enhanced Sabers, two blades with beam surfaces, and a GN Condenser on its back, holding on to excess GN Particles to help improve performance and fuel various functions of it. It also has access to an assortment of long ranged weaponry, such as the Tri-Punisher, a large beam cannon built into the suit, and the Beam Chakram, a ring-shaped cutting beam formed between the head antennas that can restrict enemy movements. These allow it to shine in circumstances where it may face an enemy that specializes in long ranged combat.

The GN Condenser also enables the use of the Trans-Am System. This system allows for 3x the normal output the Mobile Suit normally has in terms of mobility and defense, only lasting for a short period of time before drastically reducing the output of the suit once the time limit has been reached. This makes it a high-risk, high-reward maneuver. 

A true powerhouse in close range, the Susanowo embodies the spirit of the Bushido that its in-series pilot, Mr. Bushido, wielded. While lacking somewhat in defensive utility, its sheer offensive power makes it a force to be reckoned with, and this certainly translates over to Gunpla Battles. Agile, powerful, and with a strong toolset at its disposal, this Mobile Suit is a warrior through and through.

Field 07: Ruins. 

A field both were familiar with was a good locale for this battle, as the Gundam Choros and Sazabi Empert flew in, trying to find their opponents. Dawn spotted them in the distance, almost immediately taking cover behind the buildings and diverting into different directions.

“Figures they’d use that to hide themselves best.” Dawn scoffed, a little annoyed. “But a tactic all too predictable." She thought things over for a second, trying to think of the best approach.

She thought about possible routes these two units had available and came up with the following prediction – the Gundam Spiegel was a powerful Mobile Fighter, utilizing its patented ‘German Ninjutsu’ techniques to strike fast to disable its enemies movement. It could fight in the air, but their opponents would want to have the ground advantage, as most Mobile Fighters excelled in that area. The Susanowo, on the other hand, had the reach to be a threat both on land and in the sky.

We can’t stay in the air forever, unfortunately. As much as it’d give us an advantage, giving them the entire ground to play with could prove troublesome, especially because we can’t even control the sky entirely with the Susanowo, allowing the Spiegal to prepare a sneak attack once we’re distracted by a 2v1.

It’s not like she couldn’t fight these close ranged fighters, but it was best to just even the playing field as much as they could, even if that meant playing into the opponents’ hand. Dawn had suggested this as a possible outcome, so her and Irida were prepared for that.

“Let’s land. Stay close together – they want to pick us off.”

“Right!”

With that affirmation, the Galaxy Team landed down in the area. Dawn remained steadfast, glancing around and keeping a close eye on her radar. Nothing seemed to be showing up so far, but she moved slowly forward to survey the area as thoroughly as possible. A sneak attack now would be a major setback.

The Gundam Choros did the same, the two looking around and standing ready for a fight. But nothing was showing up on their radar.

Until finally-

The Gundam Spiegel suddenly appeared, the radar showing nothing in response, fiercely tackling the Choros away as Irida let out a cry of confusion. The Empert quickly turned around, shocked at this. 

“What the hell?!” Dawn grit her teeth in frustration. “Get your hands off my teammate--!!!” Her intent to charge in and back Irida up was quickly interrupted by her having to slow down and dodge a Beam Chakram from the Susanowo, who seemed to be not far behind. I knew they’d pull some sneaky shit like--!!!

Unfortunately, her dodge was immediately interrupted by the Susanowo coming out from its hiding area and quickly getting behind Dawn, delivering a fierce kick to the Empert’s back before it could react. The red after-images she saw just moments before meant that her opponent was using Trans-Am to move.

“Crap, not a bad move…!” Knocked to the ground, Dawn looked at the radar. The Choros was seemingly still over there, but she couldn’t see the Spiegel anywhere on her radar and the Susanowo was closing in quickly.

This was bad. They were outgunned and outmaneuvered. If she didn’t reunite with Irida soon, this match was as good as over.“Irida!” Immediately getting up with a quick use of its boosters, the Sazabi Empert continued to fly forward. “I’m on my way!”

Please hold out…!

Over in the distance, however, the Gundam Spiegel had quickly immobilized its opponent, the Gundam Choros on the ground in an iron net – a weapon from the Spiegel, made to discharge just enough power to scramble most motor functions and was nearly impossible to get out of.

“Nnngh…!” Irida could feel the dread that was practically running down her face as she tried to move, the netting causing the Choros’ mobility to be reduced heavily. She could barely move its arms, and she needed to reach her beam saber or else she’d be going nowhere, leaving Dawn a sitting duck!

Vulcans were no good – she’d just be wasting their ammo. “Move, Choros…!!”

“Pitiful.” The Spiegel spoke up, standing over its prey with its arms crossed. “Coming so far, just to get eliminated in such a way. Our deepest apologies.”

“ Our?!”

Irida’s fear only grew as she saw the Susanowo making its way over, fiercely flying towards the Choros. 

“We’ll make this quick, young girl!” The Susanowo’s pilot spoke in a gruff voice as it charged forwards, swords barred to strike down. “This agony shall soon be over. Rejoice!”

No, it can’t end here! Irida’s thoughts were worried and panicked, but she was practically helpless. She was so close to grabbing her saber, too. But it seemed it was over. Dawn would have to hold this on her own. She squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the worst.

“ Not gonna happen!”

Almost in a flash, the Sazabi Empert showed up, quickly blocking the attack with its arms crossed, standing in front of its fellow Galaxy Team member.

“Dawn?!”

“Don’t think for a second that I’m letting you lay a finger on her!”

Just barely being able to deflect the attack proper, the Susanowo stepped back, next to the Spiegel. “Ho? Risking yourself like this for a comrade?”

Sounding out of breath from the intensity of the fight so far, Dawn’s voice was firm. “Damn right I am! The Galaxy Team sticks together, and I can’t let you take down my teammate so easily.”

Dawn’s face popped up on Irida’s monitor. “Swear I’ve heard that voice before…” She shook her head, getting out of the thought. “Hang on, I’ll cut you out of there— Gah!” Dawn’s intent was interrupted once more, as the Spiegel threw a kunai at the Empert, going right into its left arm.

“Dawn!”

“You shall fight us instead, young warrior!” The Spiegel spoke with a booming voice, already charging in. The Susanowo followed closely behind. “Prepare yourself for the power of German ninjutsu!”

“Power from the fictional country, jeez… Fine, then!” Dawn pulled the kunai out of her left arm, throwing it aside before charging in herself. “You’ll get what you want and more! ”

As Dawn charged in to fend off their assault, Irida continued to try and move herself. She was able to move a little more, and was ever so close…

“Irida!” Dawn’s face, still focused on the combat, popped up on her display. “I’ll hold them off as best I can. Focus on—”

“Getting my beam saber. Already on it!”

Dawn grinned. “Knew I can count on you to be on top of stuff. Alright, then!” 

Irida gave a nervous smile and nod, focusing on the matter at hand. Mobility was still difficult, but she was almost there…

While she was still nervous about the situation, she at least had an out. And she had Dawn to thank for that. But Dawn was now on the receiving end of a brutal 2v1, one she could see despite it being far away from where she currently was. 

Dawn was fending off attacks well, and was able to move quickly, but the fact of the matter was she was still fighting a 2v1. No amount of skill would make that easy, especially with two close-ranged suits.

Dawn was risking this all, fighting intensely as she became more worn down with each hit, all for her sake.

I’ve got to repay this back… THERE!

Finally being able to move her Gunpla’s hand enough to take out a beam saber, the saber came out of the sword and cut through the net, allowing for enough mobility for Irida to free herself from the restraint.

“Dawn! I’m--!!!”

But just as she got out, she saw the worst of it. The Choros froze in place temporarily as it watched the scene from a distance.

The Susanowo, at the same time Irida had escaped, delivered a brutal slash to the Empert’s left arm, cutting it clean off. It fell to the side of the Empert unceremoniously, electricity crackling out of the Empert’s side. 

“Nghh!” Dawn grunted in shock as she realized what had happened. That was her main weapon of choice – now gone. 

With the Empert’s left arm gone, and the overall state of her Gunpla being rather beaten up, the damage and a few kunais still stuck in the body very visible, Dawn was left in a much weaker state, the mobility of the Empert being weakened and its stability heavily compromised. She could feel the nerves on her own face. With the Spiegel vanishing in and out between cover with no way to track it and the Susanowo just having removed her only chance to reliably fight back, the situation seemed bleak.

“Well, it seems your means of fighting back are much more limited, now.” The Susanowo’s pilot spoke in a harsh, gruff tone as it turned back around to face Dawn. “What will you do, young warrior?”

…I’m still convinced I’ve heard that voice before, but… Not important.

“I’ll… I’ll fight back. As I always have. Because I fight not for myself, but for the Galaxy Team! ” Dawn remained steadfast as the Empert stood in place, despite how harsh this situation seemed. She wasn’t about to back down, regardless of how things seemed. 

She was trying to plan things out as best as she could. She knew Irida would get out, but having her Gunpla fight with only one arm and reduced mobility didn’t exactly seem to be the most realistic of situations. But she wasn’t about to give them that edge.

The Beam Magnum would be difficult to use, too. While it was powerful, and her Sazabi Empert could absolutely handle it, the kickback from it in such a damaged state would potentially prove difficult if it caused further damage to the Empert’s right arm. She couldn’t risk that, even if she wanted to.

“…Remarkable. Even in the face of defeat, you remain true to your convictions.” Kamado chuckled. “I respect that. You were a worthy adversary, young one. I shall finish you quickly, as promised!”

The Susanowo turned back around, holding its blades high as it intended to charge in. Dawn quickly discarded her Beam Magnum and pulled out a GN Beam Saber, intending to try and hold off the assault, but was quickly surprised by the Gundam Choros coming in and knocking the Susanowo down to the side as it flew into a building rather roughly.

“Kamado!” Beni spoke out, the Spiegel’s focus now on Irida’s Gunpla. “Why you…!”

Charging at Irida, the Spiegel was quickly offput by the barrage of vulcan shots that were coming its way, trying to dodge them before simply retreating to its teammate. 

“Hmph.” The Spiegel crossed its arms once again, as Beni sounded rather condescending. “What do you hope to do now? Your teammate is weak and beaten. You hold no chance.” The Susanowo slowly rose from the crater created by the impact.

Irida, a fierce fire in her heart, shouted her answer. 

“NO! I refuse to back down!” She stood her ground, holding the Beam Saber in her left hand tightly. “I am the leader of the Pearl Clan, and I am a member of the Galaxy Team, the team that will defeat you!”

Dawn had seen Irida’s fighting spirit before, but never this intense…

She was utterly dazzling.

“I fight not only for myself, nor only for the Pearl Clan, but for the sake of my teammate, as well! And I’m not about to lose…” She stood her ground, her voice firm and clear. “I’m not going to let us lose! I’ll protect her with my life! Even if I must do it on my own, I will defeat you both!”

“Irida…” Dawn felt her heart skip a beat at that comment. 

Protect her with my life.

She sounded so serious about it, too. Irida was dead set on protecting Dawn, and the intensity of her voice combined with the proclamation of that was enough to briefly snap her out of her intense, battle-focused state.

But she shook it off and smiled, feeling much more confident about the situation and trying to focus on the battle again. Dawn knew she could trust Irida, but with her like this? That courage was almost contagious.

“Sounds like a plan to me, Irida.” Dawn chuckled as she communicated with Irida directly. “Let’s take ‘em down! You’ll have to hold the frontlines, though – mobility’s almost zero after that assault. You comfortable with that?”

Irida nodded. “Of course. But if that’s the case, then…”

The Choros leaned down quickly and grabbed the Empert’s discarded arm, just at its side, and took off the GN Sword attached to it. 

“I’ll have to take inspiration from the one who taught me how to do this, won’t I?” Irida looked at Dawn through the display with a confident smile.

Attaching it to her right arm, the Gundam Choros was now equipped with the GN Sword from the Sazabi Empert.

“…Heh, maybe I was turning you into a swordfighter after all.” Dawn smiled back. “You won’t be able to use the GN Sword’s Rifle Mode, though. That draws power from the main suit, and yours isn’t specialized for that. Is that fine?”

“Absolutely.” The Gundam Choros stood in place as it unfolded the GN Sword in its arm, sternly holding it towards the opponents to declare a match. “I’ll count on you to back me up.”

“How very interesting.” Kamado spoke up. “A proclamation of victory already… very well!”

“Dawn! Take my Buster Rifle. I’m going in!”

Wow, she took to this fast. Dawn couldn’t help but feel proud of Irida. 

“Right.” Dawn nodded, grinning to herself as she picked up the Choros’ weapon with her right hand, discarded during the equipping process. “We’ll finish this in no time flat!”

And with that, the two began to charge, with Irida flying forward at incredible speeds, her target dead set for the Susanowo. The Sazabi Empert followed behind as best it could, firing suppressive shots that forced their opponents to move. 

The Choros noticed something behind it, as Irida sharply let out a call to her teammate. “Dawn! To your left!” Though she was playing the frontlines, she could still warn her teammate.

“Right!” The Sazabi Empert quickly dodged an attack from the Spiegel as it suddenly appeared in her field of view, avoiding its slash while still following the Gundam Choros closely. The Zeta Gundam custom finally met blades with the Susanowo, as she readied herself for an intense fight. This was definitely out of her comfort zone, but she’d give it her all.

As Irida charged forward, their targets continued to make some space, constantly on the evasion. Irida was well prepared for this, though – she knew their gameplan.

The Spiegel is going to take advantage of its scanner cloak to hit and run over and over until Dawn’s too damaged to fight back, she quickly thought. If they take her out, that gives them an advantage, but they’re going to tunnel vision onto her… so I’ll be prepared for that!

“Follow closely, Dawn! I’m going to lead the chase. If I see something coming up, I’ll warn you.” Irida’s voice was sharp. She was quite used to taking on this role of calling the shots, but now, it felt more intense than ever.

“Got it.” The Choros took off into the distance, her target dead-set onto the Susanowo that had damaged her teammate so heavily. Both because it was the strongest threat, and…

Well, nobody was allowed to mess with her teammate like that. She would make sure of that .

The Gundam Choros weaved through the various sets of buildings as the Susanowo tried to escape through them, but the extra mobility granted by the Zeta custom’s extra boosters allowed Irida to close the distance.

“Hmmm!” The Susanowo’s head turned back as it saw the Choros chasing, with its pilot determined as ever to close the distance. “Not bad, young sprout!”

“I’m just getting started! Dawn, now! ”

Almost as quickly as Irida said that, the funnels from the Sazabi Empert appeared out from a set of buildings, having already been called out just a few minutes prior and flying alongside the Choros. With the camouflage of the buildings, they were difficult to notice – and now, they barraged the Susanowo with shots from various angles, causing the suit to take on a defensive position. If the Spiegel could hide its presence, so could they!

This was Irida’s time to strike, and she did so intensely, the GN Sword on her arm folding outwards and being prepared for a mighty downwards slash. 

However, in an instant, the funnels began to return to the Sazabi Empert – having run out of energy temporarily. This was enough time for the Susanowo to parry the strike, holding out one of its Enhanced Sabers to deflect the attack as they stood in a stalemate, their swords clashed against one another.

“You may just be getting started,” said Kamado in a deep, gruff voice, “but I don’t intend to fall back myself!”

“Certainly makes the duel more interesting. I wouldn’t have it any other way!” Irida spoke through gritted teeth. After a moment, the two flew back, staring each other down, their teammates respectively standing at their sides – the damaged Sazabi Empert landing next to the Gundam Choros, and the Gundam Spiegel appearing next to the Susanowo, its arms crossed in confidence.

“Jeez, they’re not letting up, huh…?” Dawn spoke with amazement in her voice. Despite their backs being against the wall, she was excited – and Irida was certainly making this an intense fight.

“We do not intend to lose, young ones!” Beni spoke with a harsh voice, pointing a finger towards the two in a declaration. “You shall bring your all, or you shall fall here! ”

“Then it’s a good thing we don’t intend to lose! ”

With that final cry, the Choros and the Susanowo charged forward, ready to begin an all-out sword fight, with their teammates assisting where they could.

The Susanowo was certainly more experienced and better suited for such close ranged combat, but the Gundam Choros’ mobility was allowing Irida to get out of trickier situations and to keep up with its speed. 

Any time they’d try to focus attention on Dawn, she could retreat and quickly divert the attack and deal some damage or divert attention with her vulcans. And being able to make recon calls to Dawn meant that she was prepared to avoid in circumstances where she needed to.

The situation was not ideal, but they were holding their own quite well. Dawn was still able to fight, despite being down a GN Sword and general mobility – she still had the GN Beam Sabers in her forearms, after all, and she could hold her own as Irida would provide peppering shots to stop the assault. 

Likewise, Dawn could provide shots of her own with the Choros’ Buster Rifle she was given, not as powerful as the Beam Magnum she usually used, but certainly less taxing on the suit given the punch that weapon normally had. The Buster Rifle was no joke, even with its decreased power.

It was an intense, high-speed bout. And while Irida was still making some mistakes, proving that she still had some areas to work on, Dawn couldn’t help but be impressed with how well she had picked this up. With every fight, Irida impressed her more and more. 

As the fight raged on, eventually, the Susanowo and the Gundam Choros clashed blades. Irida was almost out of breath from the fight, and Kamado seemed much more composed.

“I must say, young warrior… I commend you for your efforts.” His voice came through as the two were engaged in a fierce clash. “You have fought remarkably for someone so green to swordplay.”

“Heh… had a good teacher, is all.” Irida chuckled, her focus firmly on the Susanowo. “I’ll thank her after we win.”

“Still so assured of our victory, are we?!” He sounded sharp yet seemed to be enjoying this match as well. “That arrogance may be your downfall!”

As this was happening, the Sazabi Empert noticed the Spiegel approaching it, so quickly fired a Buster Rifle shot in its direction, intending to stop its approach, using funnels to back her shot up.

But it didn’t stop it – in fact, the shot went right through it, the funnel shots firing down as well. 

“Creating a fake approach using a multi-image technique, pretty good… wait, shit! Irida, look out!” Dawn realized what they were planning to do, looking in the direction of the two.

Sure enough, the Spiegel was charging full speed at the two, its sights set on the Choros. It had its blade ready for an attack, seemingly ready to charge right through the Gundam Choros and finish it off then and there.

“Did you think the same surprise attack would work twice?”

Irida, however, had different plans.

Quickly parrying the clash and leaving the Susanowo temporarily defenseless as it was struck off balance, the Choros quickly transformed into its Waverider mode and took off, leaving the Spiegel in shock as it was unable to correct its course due to the sheer speed in which it disappeared from the spot it was once in. It was moving too fast, and its target was now…

“N-no!”

The Spiegel’s blade met cleanly in the Susanowo’s chest, cleaving right through. The Susanowo recoiled from the damage it took, both opposing Gunpla frozen from the play. 

Irida realized she only had a few seconds to finish this off before they would move again. She wanted to finish this, and she wanted to finish it now.

“Dawn! Now!” The Choros quickly transformed back, landing on the ground and behind the two as they stood in place.

Dawn smirked to herself. “Guess you got sick of me stealing your finishers, huh?” The Sazabi Empert threw the Buster Rifle back to the Gundam Choros. “All yours, Irida!”

Catching the rifle and aiming it dead-on at the two enemies in front of her, the charging sounds of a Buster Rifle beam filled the dead silence that was in the air.

“…Well played, you two.” Kamado spoke, a scoff coming from him.

“Take THIS!!!! ”

With the firing of the Buster Rifle at point-blank range, the enemy Gunpla were eliminated immediately. No remains, no hopes of fighting back.

The Galaxy Team had won, and Irida had led them to victory.

Battle ended.

GF13-021NG Gundam Spiegel

(Also Known As: Shadow Gundam)

Hailing from Neo Germany, the Gundam Spiegel is a powerful Mobile Fighter that specializes in German Ninjutsu. As a Mobile Fighter, it is incredibly mobile and agile on the ground, specializing in close ranged attacks. However, the Gundam Spiegel specializes in techniques that allow it to trick its opponents visually to allow it to utilize its powerful tools, truly tapping into its ninjutsu traits. In Mobile Fighter G Gundam, it was piloted by Schwarz Bruder. The pilot, Beni, utilizes a NG Gundam Spiegel to its fullest potential.

Wielding its powerful Spiegel Blades on both arms and having an assortment of weapons such as kunai, iron nets to restrict enemy fighters, and the Messergranz blades, the Gundam Spiegel is truly a powerful opponent. It can even utilize its strongest technique, the Sturm Und Drang, to surround the opponent and deal incredibly strong damage – though this technique is rather difficult to pull off.

Requiring a pilot truly skilled enough to bring out its fullest potential, the Gundam Spiegel is a powerful, practically invincible Mobile Fighter that should not be underestimated. Using its techniques to throw its opponents off before delivering deadly strikes, it can finish fights in an instant.

As the adrenaline wore off, Irida let out a very hefty sigh. She hadn’t even realized she was so enthralled by the fight she’d forgotten to breathe, the visual display surrounding them disappearing as the crowd roared with excitement.

“IRIDA! Holy shit, that was AMAZING !” Dawn ran over to her teammate, looking incredibly proud.

Irida smiled at Dawn approaching, but was very surprised when-

“O-o-oh!”

Dawn wrapped her arms around her in a sudden hug and lifting her up effortlessly, an enormous grin on her face as she used the momentum from her run to spin Irida in place, overcome with joy and pride. This was easy for Dawn to do because, unbeknownst to her, Irida was so overcome by the sudden very public display of affection that she was frozen still, her face flushed with a hot blush. “You killed it out there, Irida! That was absolutely amazing! Holy shit, I couldn’t have done that better myself!!!”

“A-a-ah… hehe…” 

All Irida could really do was let out a bashful laugh, trying not to think too hard about how good it felt to to have such close contact with her teammate or how her heart was pounding her chest she was certain Dawn could hear it, too, or how everyone in the stadium was looking at them right now, and the fact that wow, Dawn's arms were really strong . That was easier said than done, unfortunately, as the rush of being held so close threatened to drown out everything around them.

…Ack, no! I-I’ve gotta focus, can’t do that now!

Suddenly remembering where they were, Dawn’s eyes shot open, looking around for a moment, before setting Irida down gently and jumping back a step. “Er-ahahahaha… S-sorry about that I-I…” Her teammate’s voice was nervous, matching the grin on her face, as she was rubbing the back of her head. “… got a bit too excited there. Sorry for not asking before doing that…”

Irida, now coming down from the absolute high of that moment, gave a small sigh, smiling. “N-no, Dawn, that’s okay. Really! I-it, uh, it’s nice to know that you were happy with the results. I was worried I was winging it a lot, but… Really, nothing to worry about.”

“R-right, yeah, of course….” Dawn gave a very nervous laugh as well, the grin still on her face. “W-well, enough about that, let’s talk about you and how amazing you were out there!” Looking like she was trying to cover her embarrassment, her expression immediately returned to excitement, her voice reflecting it. “You absolutely kicked ass out there! I didn’t think you’d pick up on frontline play so easily, but you were calling those shots without so much as a second thought! ” 

Irida laughed bashfully. “Well, I learned from the best, didn’t I?” She gave a happy smile to Dawn. “I’m just glad we could close it out. I was a little worried about doing that, considering I hadn’t had experience before… I took an awful lot of notes. I wasn’t expecting to use it all so soon, but… well, better than never, right?”

“ I’ll say. You killed it out there!” Dawn put her hand up for a high-five. “You’re the best teammate a girl could ask for.”

Irida gave a quick laugh as she returned the gesture.

“Thank you, Dawn. I’ve learned a lot from teaming with you, I must say. But we’ve still got more to go, don’t we?”

Dawn nodded, pumping a fist. “We’re shooting for the stars themselves!”

Irida couldn’t help but laugh at that. Cheesy as it was, it  was very Dawn, and it was very cute.

“Hey, c’mon, let me have that one!”

“I am! I never said I hated it.”

After that, the two gathered their Gunpla (as Dawn mourned the damage done to the Empert, even if it wasn’t too bad of a fix), with Irida giving Dawn back the tiny plastic GN Sword that was currently attached to the Gundam Choros.

“I believe this belongs to you.”

“Thanks. Y’know,” Dawn said, putting the small sword back onto the Sazabi Empert’s arm, smiling at it before continuing. “You were pretty good at using this thing. That extra mobility really helped you weave through things, huh?” 

Irida nodded. “I often just used it for space control, but I considered the advantages of using the extra mobility to close the distance while front lining. I haven’t done it much with a sword, but having a teammate who I can use for inspiration really helped. Your, um… your confidence and reassurance really helped motivate me, too. I’m grateful for your support, Dawn.” She gave a genuine smile in response, just glad to have the match over, and to have such a supportive teammate.

Dawn looked a little surprised by that, which worried Irida for a second, but she eased into a bashful smile. “W-well, just glad I could help, really. Happy to support you, really. You’re, uh, inspiring to me too, y’know. You… mean a lot to me. I’m lucky to have met you.” Dawn looked a little nervous herself, but Irida couldn’t really focus on that right now.

If her face wasn’t red before, it certainly was now. Irida wasn’t sure what to say. She just looked at Dawn with shock in her eyes, before her eyes darted elsewhere, the prospect of eye contact being a little difficult right now. 

Sure, Irida had said she was fond of Dawn as well, but… between Dawn saying that  and the sudden display of affection earlier, her heart was pounding  all over again.

Trying to compose herself, Irida smiled. “T-thank you, Dawn. I’m really glad. I guess we’re both pretty lucky to have one another, huh?” She sounded a little nervous, but she had to give it to herself for composing herself enough to not just confess on the spot.

“Y-yeah.” Dawn grinned happily, a giggle coming out of her. “Couldn’t have said it better myself!”

Glad she got out of that without Dawn seeming too upset at Irida’s statements, Irida mentally sighed. Goodness, she’d have to be more reserved about this in the future.

“…A well fought match, that was.” The two were interrupted by their opponents coming up behind them, Beni and Kamado. “I commend your efforts. You have truly bested us today.”

Dawn squinted for a second, before she seemed to make a very sudden realization.

“Dawn?” Irida looked over, a little confused.

“…S’nothing. I’ll tell you later.” Dawn nodded towards her opponents. “But I have to agree. That was a damn good match. You two put up quite a fight!”

“I suppose we’re getting too old for this, aren’t we?” Beni chimed in, looking at Kamado. 

Kamado looked at his teammate. “Perhaps we are, but we shall decide when that is the case. For now, though…”

The two teams exchanged handshakes, thankful for the match. After the two went off, Dawn motioned to Irida towards the doors. “Ready to head out?”

Irida nodded. “Of course!”

And with the two taking their leave (though not before Dawn threw her hands up in excited celebration at the crowd, their excitement hard for her to ignore), Irida felt rather proud of herself for that. 

Whatever comes next, the Galaxy Team faces it together. We’ll reach those stars together, Dawn! She gripped her hand in excitement. I just know it!

“DAAAAAAAAWN!!!”

As the two made their way outside, Dawn looked to her left, seeing Moon and Lillie frantically running towards them.

She grinned, knowing exactly what this meant.

“Heya, Moon! You enjoy that match?” She turned to face Moon fully, with Irida doing the same after noticing them running forward.

“Did I enjoy that match— holy hell, Dawn, you two killed it! Irida, you were SO COOL out there! Knowing that the Gundam Spiegel was going to do that attack, the dramatic declaration of victory, ahhhh!!” Moon was grinning ear to ear, the excitement not only on her face but on her hands, which were practically shaking from hype. “God, that was SO COOL! You two NAILED IT! Like an episode of G Gundam or something! ”

Man, from her, that’s the highest praise you can get. Dawn grinned at that.

Lillie giggled. “It really was a good match! Such an intense, high-speed bout… truly remarkable. Well done, you two!”

“Aw, it was nothing.” Dawn smiled happily. “But I know why you’re here, right, Moon?”

Moon’s excited demeanor quickly turned into a serious and stern one. Dawn quickly did the same, and the two exchanged a fierce grip of a handshake, looking at each other with fire in their eyes.

Their victory meant that the Galaxy Team would be fighting off against Moon and Lillie next round. 

The God Gundam and the Nobel Altari, versus their own Sazabi Empert and Gundam Choros. The match she had been hoping for this entire tournament.

Every tournament, without fail, Dawn looked forward to fighting Moon. The King of Hearts made for a very worthy rival, and she knew this match would be no different. But with Irida at her side? She wouldn’t fail.

Moon’s expression indicated a similarly lit fighting spirit. They didn’t need to exchange words, the look they were giving each other was more than enough. They knew that this would be a match like nothing else.

“Next week. I’ll see you two there.” Dawn stepped back, simply nodding at Moon.

“I’m bringing my all, Dawn! You two are something else, and we need to match that spirit.” Moon pulled an arm around Lillie. “Right, Lillie?”

While initially surprised, she nodded firmly, putting on a confident pose and expression of her own. “Right! We’ll be there, and we’ll be ready. But, um…” Her expression deflated a bit. “We do have to get going now, unfortunately. We just wanted to congratulate you!”

“Oh, right!” Moon laughed, looking a little embarrassed for forgetting. “Sorry, I got so caught up in that. But yeah! We’ll see you two there! It’ll be awesome!!! C’mon, Lillie!”

Moon suddenly began to take off, with Lillie in tow, as they frantically both waved back to the Galaxy Team as they left. They returned the gesture, with Dawn deflating with a sigh. “Man, we’re gonna have to practice like crazy for those two.”

“…Do you always get that intense when you learn you’ll fight her?” Irida looked in awe. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look so serious…”

Dawn laughed, putting her hands behind her head. “She’s just a very good rival, is all. She’s always pushing me to get better. And this time, it’s gonna be intense. Especially with Lillie at her side.” She turned to Irida, pumping a fist. “But that’s nothing we can’t deal with, right?”

Irida pumped a fist of her own. “Right! I’ll have to practice on some Mobile Fighters, but that’s never too bad.” She seemed to be out-loud thinking of her own training regimens, which Dawn let out a simple breathless laugh at. 

“Well, we can worry about that at a different point, anyway. You wanna just head back home?” Dawn pulled out the Empert, looking at it once more. “I’ve gotta repair the ol’ Empert up. Poor buddy’s seen better days, and just after I got it all fixed up, too.” She winced at the damage. At least everything was intact, but it all looked beat up, what with the scratches and general damage. Jeez, I’ll be at this for a day or two…

“…Oh! Yes, that’s a good idea.” Irida laughed. “Sorry, I was so caught up in planning… but you’re right that resting after that is probably a good idea. I feel exhausted… ” She deflated a little, her expression one indicating that she was worn out.

“Feeling your first taste of hot-blooded action, huh?” Dawn grinned. “You’ll get used to it. Hits pretty hard in intense battles like that, though!”

Irida laughed. “You’ve got no idea…”

With that, the two made their way out of the stadium, and to Irida’s car. The sun had begun to set a bit – they had been there a while, after all.

“By the way, might I ask what you seemed to discover while we were talking to Kamado and Beni?”

“Ah, right. Well, I think I know who those two are. Or, at least, I know who one of them is…”

The next morning…

“…Good morning, Luc—oh, it’s you, Dawn.” Mr. Rowan looked over from one of the shelves as Dawn made her way in the door, wearing her regular work outfit. “You’re rather early, aren’t you?” He gave her a happy smile.

“I guess so. Normally Luke’s here before me, but… eh, I was well rested after a busy day yesterday. So, here I am!” She chuckled to herself, putting her bag down behind the front counter of the store. “ You do anything yesterday, sir? Was wondering why we closed down, anyway.”

“Well, nothing in particular.” Rowan made his way to the front of the store, hanging up his coat on one of the nearby doors as he did. “I was quite busy yesterday, but it was to do with family matters.”

Dawn nodded, accepting that. “Ah, gotcha. I was just in a tournament match – y’know, for the Regionals. Fought a pretty good team, though they didn’t really reveal their identities. Just ‘Kamado’ and ‘Beni’.” She shrugged, leaning onto the counter. “Dunno what that was about.”

“I see. Well, they must have been formidable opponents.” He began to walk off. “I’m glad you two were able to come out on top, however.”

“Huh, I didn’t mention that we won. ” Dawn smirked. “How’d you know that?”

Rowan froze in place.

Ding ding ding. 

“…I… simply knew of the results from looking the tournament bracket up, is all.” He cleared his throat. “I just wanted to see how you were doing with your teammate.”

Dawn shrugged again. “Fair enough! Although, I don’t remember what Kamado was piloting. Starts with an S… had some swords…” She hummed to herself in feigned confusion, tapping a finger against her lip. "What was it again...?"

He took on a proud stature. “The Susanowo, a powerful mobile suit from the Mobile Suit Gundam 00 series. Wielding a powerful pair of sabers, named Shiranui and Unryu. These two blades are the main weapon, utilized in a powerful, commanding manner, this further enhanced by systems such as TRANS-AM and the Beam Chakram, to name a few.”

Dawn’s eyes widened, genuinely kind of impressed at the level of knowledge showcased. “You know your stuff, huh?”

Rowan chuckled. “Well, of course! If I am to be the proudest warrior in any battle, I must know the suit I use to its fullest! Especially if I am to overcome such intense obstacles in the future…”

“ Oh? ”

Dawn grinned, ‘Kamado’s’ slip of the tongue confirming her theory even more.

Mr. Rowan, who Dawn now knew the first name of, looked at Dawn with a blank expression, though the nervousness of his eyes gave him away. He looked like he was running through possible excuses in his head, but Dawn’s smug look seemed to indicate that she was already in on it.

Truth be told, she wasn’t going to do anything cruel, but it was fun to know that her boss was likely a secret Gunpla Battle expert. Though I dunno why he’s secretive about it. He’s pretty damn good!

“…Keep this under wraps.” His voice sounded deadly serious.

“Ah, I wouldn’t worry.” Dawn waved it off. “I didn’t want to snitch anyway, just figured I recognized that voice. But as long as I get a rematch at some point, I’ll keep it under wraps!” She crossed her arms. “After all, I still want that cool sword fight.”

Rowan chuckled lightly. “…Very well.” With that, Rowan took to his office once more, but not before looking back at Dawn, a smirk on his face, as he opened the door.

“You fought well, young warrior.”

He closed the door behind him, and Dawn couldn’t help but giggle happily to herself.

She felt very amused by this situation. Man, my boss is a secret Gunpla Battle legend. That’s pretty sick! Plus, it felt good to have her theory confirmed. Not like it meant much, but it was cool, and that’s what counted.

As she was grinning to herself happily and humming, Lucas came in, looking at Dawn awfully surprised. 

“Hey, you’re here early.” Lucas made his way to the counter, placing his bag beside Dawn’s. “What’s got you looking so chipper?” He leaned onto the counter, looking at Dawn with a curious smile.

“Oh, y’know. Just happy with how the match went yesterday!”

Lucas smiled. “Guess you guys won?”

Dawn turned around fully. “You have NO IDEA, Luke. It was the COOLEST SHIT. I didn’t get my flashy sword duel, kind of a shame, but what I did get to see is Irida kicking ass .”

Lucas whistled, impressed. “Hit me with the details!”

“Way ahead of you. What happened was…”

And so, Dawn spent the morning before work telling Lucas about how yesterday went. How Irida had absolutely blown her away, and how she had one hell of a fight.

But she, of course, conveniently left out the part about Kamado’s true identity. Couldn’t go against her word, after all!