Kurosaki and I arrived at Q Class a bit after Kuyou did. The other three, Momoka, Iori, and Busujima, were already there, sitting at their desks while Kuushu-sensei stood at the front of the class with a serious face.

I scratched the back of my neck and sat down. I have to admit, now that I've started beef with Kuyou, it's a hell of a lot more awkward that I'm sitting next to him... I really wish I could trade places with Iori so I could be next to Kurosaki.

"I'm glad you all came here."

"What's this sudden meeting about, sensei?"

Without hesitating, Kuyou was the first to ask what was going on.

"You're all acutely aware of the fact that this school, GEN Academy, deems you six to be different from the rest of your cohort, hence the formation of this special class— Q Class. However, what you six aren't aware of is why we've formed this class in the first place."

Damn, was Kuushu-sensei about to reveal the secrets behind why we were put in Q Class this soon? I was honestly pretty interested, so I leaned forward to focus in and listen better.

"And here I thought you'd have us waiting until the very last day or force us to figure it out for ourselves." Kuyou said.

"Agreed... what's with the sudden change of heart?" Iori said.

"Don't start hastily jumping to conclusions. I never said I'd be revealing the reason why - just stating that, at this point in time, you don't know."

"Well, thanks for the cruel reminder." Momoka said.

"However, I can disclose that one of the reasons we've formed this class is so you can have greater freedom of movement compared to your peers."

"...greater freedom of movement?" I said.

"As you all know, traditionally, GEN Academy has a strict policy of not letting it's students outside the island except during major vacations. However, times have since changed, especially with the emergence of the MGP making social contact more important than ever, and the school would like to adapt to that."

"In other words... we're guinea pigs for you guys, right?" Kuyou said.

"If you want to degrade yourself and think of it that way, sure. But, as a former student at this institution, let me advise you to not take this for granted. You guys are the lucky ones."

Since mommy went to GEN Academy during her high school days, I was well aware of this fact. In a way, we were privileged that we didn't have to part in the regular curriculum, especially since it sounded like this change was related to the MGP.

And if that was the case, I could guess what was coming up next.

"So, for the first half of this semester, this is what you guys - Q Class - will be focusing on."

Behind Kuushu-sensei, multiple hologram screens popped up displaying a wealth of information. However, what was most important was the headline at the top written in bold letters—

Tri-Deity Circuit

"Between three deities... only one can become god."

My jaw dropped.

"Holy... no way!"

I slammed the table and stood from my seat, grinning ear to ear.

"You're saying we get to participate in the legendary Tri-deity Circuit?!"

This is the sort of thing that fighters all over the world dream about being part of! Heck, even with all the connections and clout mommy has that could get me in, being able to join is so difficult that participating in it was still nothing but a pipe dream for me...

So the fact I can finally get to play on the world's biggest stage in front everyone else, all while raising the rank of my Category... ahh, this school rocks! I'm so lucky to be part of this class!

"That's right. You six will be representing GEN Academy in the Tri-deity's high school division. The competition that has been chosen for us is Jinrai High from Tsukuyomi and Alba Academy from Amaterasu. It's a last man standing competition, with the winner taking glory for their school, as well as gaining additional personal rewards. Moreover, this is an excellent opportunity for you all to greatly improve your MGP rankings, as some of the best players in Japan will be competing."

Oh man... hearing those words, it still feels like a fever dream. I can't believe we're actually doing this!

"Ku ku ku... well crap, you should've started with this. Of course I'm on board." Kuyou said.

"Same here! This is the perfect chance to seize Category Queen!" Iori said.

"From the sound of it, it doesn't look like we have a choice either way." Busujima said.

"True... well, it doesn't matter. This looks like fun, so I'm in too." Momoka said.

"Hell yeah, I'm definitely competing in this! Jinrai, Alba, you guys are getting crushed by—"

As I was about to slam my fist into my hand, I stopped midway, realising that, in the midst of my hype, I had overlooked something very important.

My gaze fell onto Kurosaki who was keeping quiet about her thoughts.

I lowered my arms and turned towards Kuushu-sensei.

"Hey, wait a sec! I'm just as excited as everyone else to join, but... what about Kurosaki-san?"

As I said that, I could see Kurosaki perk her head up slightly as look back at me.

"Kurosaki-san, she—"

"I know. We're aware of her condition. However, as she is a member of Q Class, she will participate regardless."

"What? But that's not fair at all... if she fights, then—"

"It's fine, Minoru-san. Calm your jets."

Kuyou grabbed my sleeve and pulled me down, putting me back in my seat.

"Even if Kurosaki-san can't compete, as long as one of us from GEN wins, it's fine."

I snatched my arm away from him and narrowed my eyes.

"I don't care about who wins. The issue here is that Kurosaki-san will be in danger if she participates. We can't force her to do that!"

"I agree. Which is why she should forfeit the moment the competition begins."

"...what?"

"Look. While this puts us at a disadvantage of only having five people, we need only six members to be legible to participate. We'll put Kurosaki-san's name down to fill the quota, but we won't actually have her play. That sounds reasonable, right guys?"

As Kuyou said that, Iori, Momoka, and Busujima nodded in agreement.

"What? How is that fair on Kurosaki-san at all? She won't be able to make the most out of this opportunity while we do... this is no different from just using her!"

"She wouldn't get anything from this anyways since she's Category Zero. It's not like she's serious about winning the WGP like us. If anything, she'd probably be one of the first to get eliminated, and in that situation, there would essentially be no difference."

"That's a lot of assumptions you're making... even if she had no interested in the MGP, you don't have to want to compete to be able to enjoy the Tri-deity Circuit. This is a one in a lifetime experience, and we're basically robbing it from her!"

"Takamine-san..." Kurosaki said.

"Is there any way we can accommodate to her needs or help her out? If entering the digital space is going to make her sick, then wouldn't it be possible to have her fights take place outside of that? That could work, couldn't it?"

"No can do. With the way the Tri-deity Circuit is broadcasted, all fights must take place inside the digital world."

Kuushu-sensei shut my idea down immediately. I tried thinking of something else, but nothing came to mind immediately... agh, damn it, think Minoru, think! You've gotta have some sort of idea here that can help her...!

"Like I said, the easiest option would be for Kurosaki-san to not participate at all. She can't throw up if she doesn't enter the digital space in the first place."

Kuyou kept pushing his opinion, but right now, his words were more like annoying white noise in my ears. I wish I could block of filter him out...

"But what if she wants to join in?"

"Then she can take the risk if she wants. However, we don't actually know if she wants in or not. Kurosaki-san's the only one who hasn't commented their opinion on the Circuit yet."

Kuyou suddenly lobbed the ball in Kurosaki's court, forcing her to make a statement as everyone's eyes directed towards her. She looked away, closing her eyes.

"I... I think it would be for the best if... um... someone else participated in my place..."

"Well, there you have it."

As Kuyou said that, Kurosaki continued.

"B-but... if I could... I would've liked to join in with you guys..."

Hearing that, my heart dropped.

"Kurosaki-san..."

"A-as it stands though... I know that, because of my condition... I-I'd feel guilty if a spot on the Tri-deity was wasted because of me... w-when it could've been better off used for someone else who needs it more... so, I think you guys should, um... find someone else from another class... and let them partake in my stead."

"What a noble response. I like that a lot."

Kuyou clapped for Kurosaki, but right now I wanted to deal six damage to him.

"Kurosaki-san, you don't have to give up anything, I'll—"

Before I could finish my sentence, Kuushu-sensei cut me off.

"Unfortunately, things aren't that simple."

She sighed, her stern voice cutting through the noise we were making.

"The process for signups for this competition began before your enrolment. As such, we applied you six in advance once we decided on who would make up Q Class, and got the organiser's approval of the roster."

"No way... so what you're saying is this decision is set in stone?"

Kuushu-sensei nodded.

"It's too late to reverse it now. The expectation for GEN Academy is that Kurosaki-san is part of our roster, and this can no longer be changed. Regardless of how you may feel, this decision is final."

"I see..."

Personally, I was somewhat relieved. This meant that Kurosaki could compete, like she wanted, and no one could bully her out of her position. All we had to do now was figure out a way to let her fight safely, without throwing up...

I continued wrangling my head for ideas.

"Well then. If her position is locked in, I guess there's nothing else we can do about it."

Kuyou, realising that arguing the matter further would be pointless, dropped his stance and accepted things as they are.

"Of course, as Kuyou-san suggested... you're free to forfeit early to not put yourself at risk, Kurosaki-san. Don't feel pressured to participate."

However, Kuushu-sensei, probably out of concern for her safety, adopted Kuyou's stance and reiterated it in a more calming manner.

Still, it clearly left a bad taste in Kurosaki's mouth, as she was frowning. All she did was lower her head and nod.

Damn... the atmosphere of this class is suffocating. Everyone's basically in sync with this suggestion... whether or not they realise it, they're all inadvertently pressuring her to forfeit early due to her condition.

"Alright. Now, it's time to introduce the team who will be looking over you six during the Tri-deity Circuit. Come on in."

Walking through the door were three people, two girls and one boy. From among them, one was an adult, and the other two were students like us, presumably upperclassmen.

The boy had black hair and glasses with a serious demeanour. The girl had long blonde hair and a cool atmosphere to her. The woman had long blue hair, a bright smile, and wore a suit.

I have to say... the woman with blue hair was definitely my type... ah, but a student-teacher relationship is taboo, so even if I tried to shoot my shot, she would shut me down out of principle... the curse of being into older women. Damn you, societal standards!

"Hi there! I'm Lucina Hozumi, and I'll be taking over Kuushu-sensei as your homeroom teacher during this period as I'll be your manager for the tournament! You can call me Hozumi-sensei if you want, but to keep things casual, Lucina is just fine!"

Finally, an upbeat person... I think I was going to die if the mood got any gloomier.

"Hello, it's nice to meet you all. I'm Kazuraba Reona, a 2nd Year, and I'll be your team's advisor. Please feel free to come to me for any advice you may need or if you need help with resolving any issues. I'm happy to lend both a hand and an ear so you all can stay in tip-top shape."

Despite that cool atmosphere around her, Kazuraba now seemed approachable thanks to how welcoming her introduction was.

"Hello. My name is Akitani Hajime, a 3rd Year student. I'll be this team's coach, meaning I'll be the one helping you prepare for the competition. My Category is Ace, so rest assured, I know what I'm doing."

Another Category Ace was here, huh? Considering how badly Kuyou managed to beat me, Akitani must've been strong as hell too... now I'm really excited to train against him.

"Ku ku, you're an Ace too? Let's fight to see which one of us is better." Kuyou said.

"Sure thing. Don't hold back. I want to thoroughly examine your play style during our battle." Akitani said.

"I had no intentions to."

Seeing as we were kicking things into gear already, Kuushu-sensei stepped forward.

"Alright, that's everything from me. I'll be leaving you in their care now, so make sure to behave. Good luck with the competition, everybody."

Kuushu-sensei bowed, exiting the classroom. We waved goodbye to her.

"Before that however, it's time to meet your fellow competitors for the Tri-deity Circuit!"

Hozumi... err, Lucina-sensei, clapped her hands together excitedly.

"What, do you mean the people from Jinrai and Alba?" Kuyou said.

"That's right! So gather around everyone, we're going to need everyone to fit into frame."

Lucina-sensei made a peace sign as she lifted her phone up. We all shuffled around, forming a circle with our desks, and put Lucina-sensei's phone on a stand in the middle so all of us could be in shot when she connects to the call.

"Well, well, look who showed up to the party late."

When we finally joined the video call, two large holographic screens popped out, showing two vastly different scenes.

On our left was Jinrai High, the Tsukuyomi representatives, with all six members present. Their room, decorated colourfully in merchandise, accessories, and achievements, was bright and welcoming thanks to the sunlight coming through the window.

Their members were sitting around a table, similar to us, and had what seemed to be a tea party going on with the cups of tea and mini frosted cakes laid out before each member. Sitting in the middle was a girl with long black hair taking a sip of her drink.

Adjacent to her was a boy with spiked orange hair, sitting laidback with his feet kicked up, and a girl with long purple hair waving to the camera. The orange haired boy was smirking while the purple haired girl had a shy smile.

Next to the purple haired girl was an androgynous person - honestly, I couldn't tell if they were a girl or a boy, but it didn't really matter either way. They had shoulder length black hair, glasses, and a warm smile.

Next to them was the tallest person in the room, even taller than the orange haired boy. It was a girl with dark tan skin and raven coloured hair. She had a gloomy expression on her face, looking away from the camera with a perpetual frown.

Meanwhile, next to the orange haired boy, was someone I had to do a double take on, since I thought my eyes had deceived me. But sure enough, when I checked, it was a completely bald man, sitting with his arms and legs crossed in silence.

"Hey, GEN Academy losers, welcome to the call! Woohoo! Sorry~ but one of our members couldn't make it today, so there's only five of us— but hey, at least we bothered to showed up! Woohoo! If we're being real though, only I, the great Jouraku Hanma-sama, needed to be here! Woo!"

On our right was Alba Academy, the Amaterasu representatives, with only five people present. In stark contrast to Jinrai's well-lit room, the Alba students were submerged in pure darkness, with the only source of light being a faint green glow in the background.

If anything, this made them look like they were trapped underground in some sort of science lab, but the green light was enough to at least illuminate their faces for all of us to see.

Sitting in the centre was a boy with permed black hair and sunglasses sliding down his face. As he spoke, he leaned into the camera, filling the frame with his face only, before zooming back out and throwing up both his hands in a loud cackle.

So this guy must be Jouraku, huh...? He must be really full of himself if he's calling himself "sama"... I wasn't expecting Alba to have such an eccentric leader.

In stark contrast to his over the top behaviour, the other four stood beside him in almost deathly stillness. On his left were two boys, one with partially dyed hair, and one with blonde-brown hair that was clearly a foreigner.

On his right were two girls, one with green hair tied in a ponytail, and one with sky blue hair. From among these four, the only one smiling was the foreigner, the rest had neutral expressions, or in the boy with dyed hair's case, a scowl.

"So this is our competition, huh..." Momoka said.

"They all look really strong... I can't wait for this!" Iori said.

"Thanks for the warm welcome. Let's get this out of the way quick - which one of you guys have the highest Category?"

Of course, it was our resident hotshot Kuyou was took the reins, becoming our de facto leader of our side.

"That would be me."

Putting down her tea cup, the black haired girl raised her hand.

"My name is Etou Isuzu. Category Ace."

Kuyou smirked.

"Kuyou Aru. It's always great to meet a fellow Category Ace."

"Likewise. And what about your side, Alba Academy?"

"Isn't it obvious? Woo! It's me, everyone's favourite to win, Jouraku-sama! Ka ka! My Category is... Ace! Woohoo!"

Jouraku is going to be hard to adjust too... he kept cheering and making weird hand gestures as he spoke. Heck, even his laugh was weird! I've never heard anyone going "ka ka" before, and I've been dealing with Kuyou's "ku ku" since I've arrived here!

"So all three Aces are representing their schools, huh?"

Oi, who died and made you leader? Like for real, we haven't even discussed this yet! Don't take authority just because you're the best here!

I wanted to say something, but cutting in now would be bad timing. Considering how quiet everyone else on each side is, they're well aware that it's better to keep their cards close to their chest and not disclose any unnecessary information to their opponents.

"Perfect. This makes you guys my targets to beat in this Circuit."

Kuyou made a crushing motion with his right hand, smirking.

"Of course it would be the GEN Academy elites who feel most confident in taking us down... don't let your status go to your head, alright?"

I have to say, Etou was playing it completely cool. Compared to Kuyou and Jouraku's unwavering self-confidence, her levelheaded pragmatism gave her a realistic outlook on the competition. I wish someone like her was our leader instead...

"Of course. Arrogance is often one's biggest downfall... but compared to me, Jouraku-san over there seems to have a lot more of it."

"Ka ka! When faced against someone exuding this much... charisma~ woohoo! You shouldn't make the mistake of doubting in their skills, woohoo!"

"This guy's voice is gonna give me a headache..."

Momoka mumbled under her breath, and I couldn't help but agree with her.

"In any case, a proper introduction of each side is in order. We've refrained from this precisely because GEN Academy had yet to join the call, but now that you're all here, there's no reason to hold back anymore. Which school would like to go first?"

"Why don't we do things in order of who joined first? Woo!"

"Sounds good to me. Saving the best til last, after all."

"If that's the case, then it seems Jinrai is up first. I've already introduced myself, so let's start with the second in command."

"What a pain..."

Clicking his neck and bringing his feet off the table, the orange haired boy leaned forward and smiled, revealing his jagged teeth.

"Yo. I'm Hayase Kumohiko, Category King. I'm aiming to surpass the heavens and become an Ace in this tournament, so don't get in my way!"

I couldn't tell if that was a threat or a declaration... it didn't help that his speech pattern made him sound like a delinquent, so he gave off a really tough impression.

Next was the purple haired girl. She sat forward, twiddling her thumbs together, bowing as she introduced herself.

"Hello everyone! I'm Hazuki Touka, it's nice to meet you, he he... I'm Category Queen. I don't have any grand goals or anything, but it would be nice to get along with everyone, have fun, and make new friends! T-that's all..."

Cute... considering her personality wasn't as intense as the others, and her goal was to make friends, I think I might try to talk to her when we arrive at the stadium. She seems nice enough.

Next up was the androgynous person. They straightened their glasses and looked up at the camera with a soft smile.

"H-hiya! My name is Haruno Yuuki, a Category Eight fighter. Uh, I'm not very impressive, so don't expect too much from me! I-I'm just happy Etou-senpai gave me this chance to participate, since I'm a really, really big fan of the Circuit series... so being here is like a dream for me!"

Man, I could really feel their passion for Vanguard when they spoke at the end. I could totally relate!

Even though their Category seemed low, especially compared to what we were ranked, it was important to remember that we were the exceptions.

In the grand scheme of things, Eight was still a very impressive ranking to have, so no one should be underestimating Haruno based on just that. If anything, this makes their potential point gain greater than ours, since they'll be punching upwards.

"Hello. My name is Manyuda Taizen. Category Ten."

Next was the bald man, who kept his introduction short and sweet. It was probably so he could continue to do whatever he was doing, but it also made it hard to grasp what sort of person he was just from that.

Lastly, was the tan girl. She begrudgingly didn't want to speak up, and Etou had to gently encourage her to face the camera to talk to us. However, the moment she did...

"...Shiramichi Asuna. Category Three. I'll kill you all."

She scowled while saying those terrifying words. Putting the gulf of difference in our Categories aside... holy crap, I nearly wet myself when I heard how deep her voice was... but at the same time... why did I also like it so much...?

"A Category Ace, King, Queen, Ten, Eight, and Three... a really interesting spread you've got there."

"Woohoo! Even I, the grand Jouraku-sama, has to agree! A Category Three? Woo! I love equality, but I'm sorry! They'll be gone in an instant, ka ka! You're not killing anyone today, woo!"

Part of me felt bad for Shiramichi... despite making a really threatening introduction, neither Kuyou nor Jouraku were fazed at all by it. It was probably because they were looking down on her due to being a Category Three fighter, the assholes.

"Once again, I'd like to warn you both not to let your statuses get to your head. It will prove to be your own undoing if you underestimate any of my members for even a split second."

"Ooh, scary! Ku ku ku!"

Kuyou snickered, not taking it seriously at all. Jouraku made a sour expression before rubbing his hand over his face.

"Any~woo~who! It's Alba's turn to self-introduce, so ladies and gents, if you could? Woo!"

"I'm seriously going to hunt this guy down and beat him in the Circuit if he keeps talking like this..."

Once again, Momoka muttered under her breath her disdain for Jouraku's speech habits. I had to agree, his mannerisms were getting a bit much now... even I could feel myself get annoyed.

"Good morning everyone. I am Tsuruha Mizuho. A Category King fighter who specialises in Lyrical Monasterio. I hope we can get along."

The first to introduce themselves was the girl with sky blue hair. So far, no one mentioned which nation they played, so hearing Tsuruha boldly proclaim they used Lyrical was either a huge blunder or a show of confidence in her ability to pilot that nation...

Alternatively, it could be a bluff, and she used a different nation altogether... crap, maybe there is some merit to saying this. Maybe I shouldn't think too deeply about it... it's not like we can glean what specific deck she uses based on this information alone.

Next was the green haired girl with a ponytail.

"Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you all. I'm Hiryuu Sousei, a Category Queen fighter. I'm aiming to become a King during this Circuit."

Similar to Iori, Hiryuu wanted to use this opportunity to ascend Categories. Still though, if she's that close to becoming King, that means Alba has the highest ranking players among us... one Ace, one King, and one Queen on the verge of becoming King.

Let's see if the dyed hair boy or the foreigner had similarly high Categories. Speaking of which, next was the foreigner.

"Yo. I'm Christopher Ford, but feel free to call me by my nickname, Christ. As you can see, I'm a transfer student from America, so I haven't been in Japan long enough to be assigned a proper Category. As such, I'm currently Category Joker, but if you ask the opinion of my teammates... I'm probably up there with the Queens and Jacks."

Christ...? As in, Jesus Christ? Huh...?

...but why? Wouldn't Chris be fine enough? Actually, maybe he's really religious or something...

Putting aside Christ's weird choice for a nickname, I was surprised to see another Category Joker. I thought for sure Busujima would be the only one with an unknown power level, but it seems I was wrong.

Finally, it was the dyed hair boy's turn to introduce himself.

"...Yuasa Kouta. Category Jack. I use Dragon Empire. Let's have a good fight."

Another silent type, huh? It really reminded me of Shiramichi's introduction. Though, with his calm posture, I think he was actually just a quiet person, rather than being unsociable...

"Woohoo! Thanks everyone! As you can see, Alba's only bringing the best to the table, woo! Now it's your turn to bat, GEN—"

"Hang on. What's the name and Category of your sixth member?"

Before it was our turn to introduce ourselves, Kuyou cut in, wanting to know the last member of Alba's roster. To be honest, I was also interested too, since it seemed strange they would be absent from this call.

Jouraku leaned back, out his hands together, and laughed, tilting his head back.

"Ka ka! Ka ka ka ka! Kya ka ka ka ka!"

As he continued to howl, his laughter seemed to twist and bend until it started to sound like a nasty crow's shriek.

"What's so funny?" Etou said.

"Oh... nothing, don't worry. Woo! Of course, I, the great Jouraku-sama, would love to tell you all about him? However... ka ka..."

Jouraku leaned in, filling the screen with his face again.

"Are you sure you want to know? Not even I, the fabulous Jouraku-sama, can recommend learning about his identity. Woohoo!"

Kuyou narrowed his eyes before smirking.

"Ku ku. What? Is this guy your secret weapon?"

"Ka ka! No, he wishes he was Alba's secret weapon! Woo! If anything, it is I, the perrr~fect Jouraku-sama, who is Alba's secret weapon!"

"You won't be a secret the moment I harvest your tongue and sew your mouth shut with thread and duct tape..."

I shivered hearing Momoka mutter that line. Oi, I don't like this guy's obnoxiousness either, but isn't doing that also just as bad..?!

"Then there's no harm saying, right?"

Kuyou leaned back, keeping a relaxed face as he pressed for their identity.

"I agree. I would also like to know who your last member is."

Etou took a sip of tea before putting the cup down.

"Well, if both leaders are in agreement... woohoo! I guess I, the amazing Jouraku-sama, have no other choice, ka ka! Alba's last member... is a Category Zero! Boohoo!"

Hearing that, Kurosaki's eyes widened.

"Yes, I know... how scandalous! Woo! Oh, for the shame! Hoo! That's why I didn't want to introduce them! Woo!"

"Ku ku... ku ku ku ku! No wonder... with such a stacked team, it would be embarrassing for anybody to have to admit they have trash as part of their roster. Alright, forget it, I don't need to know their name after all."

Of course Kuyou would be dismissive the moment he hears they're a Category Zero... he did the same with Kurosaki after all.

"No, please continue, Jouraku-san. My team would like to know who this person is."

On the other hand, Etou didn't seem to care for their Category, and wanted more information on this mysterious sixth member.

"Well, when you ask so nicely, I have no other choice but to say! Woo! Alba Academy's last and sixth member, the Category Zero, woohoo, is—!"

Once again, Jouraku leaned forward, filling the screen with an up close shot of him licking his lips.

"Agoooooooooon Ikutooooooooooooooooooo! Woohoo!"

He screamed their name out like an announcer would, throwing himself back while doing it. This guy has a career in theatrics, that's for sure...

"Agon Ikuto..."

Kurosaki mumbled, repeating that name to herself. I guess it's no surprise she'd be interested in him, especially since he was a fellow Category Zero like her...

In that case, I guess that's someone else worth talking to when we arrive at the tournament. After all, I don't think Kurosaki would have the confidence to go up to Agon herself and strike up a conversation.

As for me, I get along with just about everyone, so this should be easy. The perk of being an extrovert.

"I see. Thank you."

Etou, satisfied with the response, gestured over to us.

"It's your turn, GEN Academy. Please, introduce yourselves."

"Of course. Mind going first?"

Kuyou turned to me, flicking his chin in my direction. I guess he wanted to go from top to bottom like the others.

"...sure."

I looked into the camera and waved with a smile.

"Hey, I'm Takamine Minoru! I'm a Category King fighter, but I'll have a bout with anyone! It's been a dream of mine to play in the Tri-deity Circuit, so I hope we can all get along! Let's have some great fights everybody!"

"Woo! You remind me of somebody, Takamine-san."

"...I do?"

"Yes, yes... woo! When you smiled, you looked like the mother of Riding Duels... Saionji Yuuri! Woohoo!"

Oh yikes, that's way too close for comfort... how is Jouraku of all people seeing the similarities between me and mommy?! No one in my life has looked at me smile and thought, "Oh yeah, you look like Saionji."! Nobody!

"Now that he mentions it..."

I jumped back in surprise as Kurosaki leaned in, examining my face. As she did, she blushed a little.

"Y-you do look a little bit like Saionji-san..."

I sighed.

"This is a really weird way of complimenting me... but thanks, I guess?"

Jouraku smiled. Sheesh, next, this guy's gonna comment on my aura and say it smells like Saionji or some crap...

"Hi there. I'm Aiuchi Momoka, but you can call me Momo for short! I'm Category Queen, and my nation is Dark States."

It seems Momoka's also gone with the approach of stating her nation. Though, considering this was the first time I was learning about this information, I was actually glad she did, even though we're on the same side technically...

"Hey hey! I'm Amasawa Iori, Category Jack! You can call me Iori though! If the name sounds familiar, you might've heard of me before! My mama is hella famous in the fashion world, so you might be into some of our clothing lines! Aside from that, I'm really close to ascending to Queen, so I'm looking forward to getting ahead in this competition and ranking up!"

I had no clue Iori's mom was famous. Then again, I'm into fashion, so of course I would've never heard about her... but still, it did make me think about whether or not there were more people with impressive backgrounds here than I first thought.

After all, mommy is a pioneer of Riding Duels, and Kurosaki's dad is a pro racer, so maybe there's some correlation here... actually, what if that's the key for why we ended up in Q Class?

Damn, now I wanna know about the others... but it'd be really insensitive to ask point blank though. I guess we can save this for another time, when the situation is more ripe for it...

"Hello. I am Busujima Mari. My Category is Joker. I haven't been playing Vanguard very long... but I'm going to try my best in this tournament."

"Oh snap, a fellow Joker? Woo! Looks like you have a buddy, Christ! Woohoo!"

Christ merely smiled. Even though Jouraku was hamming it up on the Alba side, none of the other members were willing to speak up. That's kind of strange, isn't it...?

In any case, now it was Kurosaki's turn. She looked away, staring at her lap as she began to introduce herself. I was sure that Kuyou would try to pull something here, but to my surprise, he didn't say anything.

"Umm... h-hi... I-I'm Kurosaki Yuuma... um... m-my Category... is..."

Now that it came to revealing her Category in front of all these people, she started to choke up, and nothing would come out of her mouth.

Seeing this, I felt like intervening, but... what could I even say in this situation? She's already said her name out loud, so a lie here would be pointless, since you could search for her ranking on the MGP leaderboard to verify her Category.

Was it even in my right to say anything here...? This was her introduction after all... I didn't want to take any power away from her or butt in either.

What a mess... I think the only thing I can do is support her and try to take a brunt of her burden. It's the least I can do as someone with power. I just wish I could do more somehow... but what?

"Z-Zero..."

The moment she mentioned that, Kuyou snickered and Jouraku laughed. The Jinrai side tried to stay respectful, but even they looked a bit off-kilter hearing we also had a Category Zero on our side.

"Ka ka! And to think you guys also harboured a Category Zero! What a twist of fate, woo!"

"Don't worry. If anything, Kurosaki-san's going to drop like a fly before this tournament begins. And even if she does throw her hat in the ring, she's easy pickings. So, whoever gets matched up against her first, enjoy the bye card!"

...there it is. There's the Kuyou-esque response that I've been waiting for.

The blatant disrespect towards Kurosaki, and yet no one says a word to him... some even look like they agree with him... I don't understand.

It makes me feel sick that people like this, with the tiniest bit of charisma, has such a sway over people just by being assertive.

"E-even so... I... I'm going to try my best...! S-so please... just be patient with me... I-I'll be in your care, so I hope we can get along..."

In a moment of rare defiance, Kurosaki swatted away Kuyou's words with her own, before bowing deeply to everyone else.

Seeing this, I smiled.

It made me glad to see she was standing up for herself, even just a little... despite the way she's been treated and everything that's been said at her, it seems Kurosaki hasn't given up that easily just yet.

"And there you go. That's everyone on our side." Kuyou said.

"We appreciate it." Etou said.

"Woohoo!" Jouraku said.

Since all the formalities were taken care of, the call was ended to give each side ample time to prepare for the Tri-deity Circuit.

The tournament would begin in 2 weeks time, but a resort next to the stadium for the fighters would be open tomorrow for everyone to move into, as obviously we were all coming from different regions of Japan.

Of course, being the capital city, the Tri-deity Circuit would be held in Tokyo's biggest cardfighting venue, the Aelegion Stadium.

I've been here before with mommy and daddy to watch some matches in the VIP booth. Especially if mommy was the one participating. It's a great place, very lively and high tech.

I just worry for Kurosaki... I hope things won't be too overwhelming for her.

Q Class split off to prepare for the Tri-deity Circuit. The first order of business was for coach Akitani to gauge each of our skill levels so he could better understand our styles of play and how good we were at the game.

The first person to fight him was Kuyou, with me being next, Momoka after, etc. I suppose we decided on the order of top of bottom by accident... either way, I had some idle time to kill, so I went over to hang out with Kurosaki.

I wanted to tell her she did a good job refuting Kuyou's words during that meeting, but as I approached her...

To my surprise, she was talking to our advisor, Kazuraba.

Actually, thinking about it for a sec, this made sense. Kurosaki must want to find a way to be able to compete despite her motion sickness, so she was talking to the advisor about it, since they're meant to handle matters like these.

"Yo. Mind if I drop in?"

I casually greeted the two of them, asking if I could join. Kurosaki smiled slightly and nodded.

"T-Takamine-san! O-of course, please, take a seat."

"Thanks."

I pulled up a chair and sat down.

"You two discussing anything important?"

"N-not really..."

"If anything, we were just catching up."

Kazuraba giggled, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

"...catching up?"

"E-eh? R-Reona-chan, are you going to tell him about...?"

Okay, now that Kurosaki used Kazuraba's first name with a cutesy honorific, I knew something was up.

"I don't see why not. Everyone will find out sooner or later."

Kurosaki's faced turned dark red and she looked away.

"Aww, why are you so embarrassed! It's nothing to be ashamed of, silly."

"...I feel like I don't understand, yet at the same time, I feel like I perfectly grasp the situation."

It's obvious! Kurosaki is a lesbian, so Kazuraba must've been a girl she dated in the past! That's why she's embarrassed to have this be revealed!

"Takamine-san, was it?"

"Huh? Uh, yeah..."

"You see, me and Yuuma-chan are..."

Oh crap. Kazuraba put an arm around Kurosaki and pulled her in an embrace. Wait, maybe they're actually in a relationship?! Could Kurosaki already be taken!?! And by an older woman too?!?!

"Childhood friends!"

All the gusto I had earlier was knocked out of me.

"...c-childhood friends? K-Kurosaki-san is embarrassed... about that...?"

Kurosaki buried her face into Kazuraba's chest to hide her crimson face and nodded. Kazuraba laughed and pat Kurosaki on the back, consoling her.

"Our parents are best friends, so we'd use to go to each other's houses a lot. I say we're childhood friends, but really, we're more like older sister and younger sister. That's how close we are."

Oh god, this makes my thoughts even worse... they're practically sisters, and I thought they had or were dating... now I was the one feeling embarrassed and awkward!

"Oh, I see..."

I didn't want to admit what I actually thought because I think it would just make Kurosaki even more embarrassed than she already was.

"Uh... well, I think... maybe I'll take my leave... uh... yeah."

The atmosphere had gotten one sidedly awkward from this, so I decided it was probably just best to remove myself from the situation.

"Sorry."

And for some reason, I felt the need to apologise to both of them with a bow. Kurosaki was confused, while Kazuraba laughed it off.

"Don't sweat it. Feel free to come by again if you need any help with anything."

"...yeah, I will."

At the very least, Kazuraba was a nicer person than I imagined.

Just as I was about to leave the classroom to get a drink to wash away the self-embarrassment I caused, someone put a hand on my shoulder.

"Hey, wait."

As I turned around, to my surprise, the person who stopped me was Busujima.

"...Busujima-san? What's up?"

This was unusual. I had barely spoken to her before, so I didn't really know what business she had with me.

"Can we... talk for a second?"

"Uh... sure. Do you need any help with anything?"

I was expecting at least a response, but instead, Busujima ignored it and looked around, checking if the coast was clear. Then, she pulled me aside, dragging me outside and into the forest that was just slightly off Q Class's building.

"...I guess we're going bug hunting?"

Once agai, Busujima ignored me. At this point, I was feeling suspicious of what her intentions were, and we were getting pretty far in, so I kept my guard up.

I really had no clue what was going on, but I didn't want to be caught lacking just in case she wanted to try something while we were in a secluded area.

However...

Busujima stopped at a dead patch which had nothing but dirt on it. While wildlife and trees surrounded us on sides, filtering the sunlight and giving us shade, in this specific area, nothing was growing on it.

This is weird... did she bring me all the way here just to show me this? Surely not, right?

"Takamine-san... I beg of you."

Busujima picked up a large stick that had fallen off from a nearby tree and started writing into the dirt.

At first, I couldn't tell what it was, but from the squiggles, I managed to make out something.

And when I said, my eyes widened as I read it.

"Please save me."

Busujima... wants me to save her?

I looked up at her.

"...is it Kuyou?"

She shook her head. She stamped out the carvings she made in the dirt and began writing on the floor again.

I could barely make it out due to how shaky it looked, but...

...I was certain my eyes were playing tricks on me.

Because there's no way this is real.

"I am a princess from Mars."

I stared at Busujima.

Busujima stared back at me.

What the hell kind of answer am I even supposed to give here...?