"We will now be warping."
Shinsuke was given the seat between Aoi and Tetsukado. Just as they made themselves comfortable, safety handles went over their heads, almost like they were on a roller coaster.
"Counting down, T-minus 20 seconds to warp."
"If we're warping to get there, it must be a pretty far-off planet!" Shinsuke said. "This is kind of exciting!"
Tetsukado smiled down on him. "Yeah!"
"Soccer on other planets, huh..." Shindou muttered.
"Everyone, we should watch out for spaceship sickness." Manabe warned.
"We'll get spaceship sickness?" Konoha asked.
"It's very possible."
"10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4..."
"Honestly, it can't be any different from time jumping."
Before anyone could ask what Kimiko meant, they suddenly started going even faster. Despite traveling at lightspeed before, with the gravity control, they felt as if nothing had changed from being on Earth. But in the warp zone, they were unable to open their eyes as they felt their own weight being pressed against their seats.
"Warp has ended. Normal airspace has been restored."
They all slid down their seats, taking deep breaths and holding their heads up to keep themselves from feeling sick for too long.
None of them remembered anything about the countdown.
"We have arrived at the planet Sandorias, galaxy coordinates 5867-3071."
In front of them was a red planet, looking a little bit like Mars, but much larger, and with white clouds surrounding it. Their view was obstructed by a hologram of a familiar alien.
"I see you have arrived safely."
"Ozrock!"
"The sand planet, Sandorias. They will be your first opponent for Grand Celesta Galaxy."
"We will now be landing in Sandorias."
As they headed down, they were suddenly blinded by a bright light. The train also started shaking violently.
"We've entered Sandorias' atmosphere!"
Yes, thank you for that obvious statement, Manabe!
"Strong winds are always blowing in Sandorias, and the ground surface is mainly a desert." Ozrock continued to explain. "Through evolving in these harsh conditions, the Sandorians have acquired strong bodies and high athletic skill. They will be an intimidating opponent for you Earthlings."
Once through the rough winds, they managed to glide down steadily into a tunnel within a rock, where the Sandorias Station was. It was the perfect length for their train, so much that it was as if the station was built just for it.
... Then again, it could just be that there are other interstellar trains out there that they had just never seen before because they're from Earth.
"Now, the main tournament for Grand Celesta Galaxy is to begin. I don't believe I need to repeat this, but the fate of your planet depends on the outcome of this match. I wish you luck."
"The fate of our planet..."
~~~~~
Something wrong?
Tsurugi cast his friend a glance before going down the steps off the train. It felt like... someone was watching me?
But no one's around, aside from us.
Exactly why it's weird. Forget it, I'm probably paranoid since we're on a whole other planet.
Feels like the first time on God Eden, huh?
Yeah...
She patted his arm once, but didn't lift her hand after. Instead, it simply stuck to his sleeve. it was just a small gesture to comfort him, but he knew had it been anyone else, he probably wouldn't feel so relieved so quickly.
Just like God Eden, they'll get through this together until the end.
"I have been ordered by the esteemed Ozrock to act as your guide." A voice came and interrupted his brief moment of calm. An alien, with many features resembling the man he just mentioned, was waiting for them as they exited. One of the most noticeable differences was that he had longer hair and a slightly more feminine voice. "I am the coordinator, Ishigashi Gorham."
"It's nice to meet you!"
"You are allowed to spend your time freely before the match begins." He pointed to the exit of the station. "Why not take a stroll through town until then?"
"That sounds like fun!"
"A sand planet, huh?"
"Allow me to escort you."
With that said, they ended up getting separated pretty quickly. The second they got to the entrance to town, they went off in different directions, towards things that interested each of them. They found out that of all things, water is the thing most precious to them. It made sense as they were on a desert planet. They also learned that Sandorians were prideful people, so despite the impending doom over their heads, they were still treating them like regular tourists.
After going round and round, separating and rejoining with different people, the group Tsurugi found himself with consisted of Kimiko, Shindou, and Ichikawa. As expected, he and Kimiko stuck together from the start, while Ichikawa joined up with them after getting some food before they met up with Shindou, who was watching a woman doing somersaults.
"What a magnificent performance." Ichikawa smiled. "Not even the most experienced of dancers can pull off a magnificent somersault such as that."
Shindou hummed. "Just as Ozrock said, the inhabitants of this planet have greater athletic skill than we do."
Tsurugi nodded. "Yes. Their ability to jump instantaneously is pretty amazing."
"Not to mention, this climate..." Kimiko looked up at the sky, where there was the planet's sun. It had three smaller stars revolving around it.
"It will be interesting to see what the stadium is like."
"But no matter what the circumstances are, we can't afford to lose." Shindou stated.
He couldn't help a small frown at that. "Sandorias' team must be thinking that way as well."
When the show was over, they parted ways again to see what else they could find. As he wasn't a huge fan of shopping, he let Kimiko drag him around. Only this time, he wasn't the only one coming along.
"Kimiko-san's excitement is rather contagious, isn't it?" Ichikawa said, walking beside him.
"Is it?" He let out all his sarcasm in two words.
"You must enjoy her company too as you're willingly coming along with her."
"I'm just babysitting her." Despite saying so, he couldn't help letting out a smile.
The other boy chuckled. "So I see. She told me you would act this way, but in reality you have been friends for a very long time. She knows just how much you care."
... Sometimes I wonder about that. He kept himself from retorting. He didn't need someone else on the team overanalyzing his behavior or making comments on their relationship. Instead, he kept his focus on the blonde, who was quite a ways ahead of them, looking at the different shops that had lined up.
She was smiling brightly enough to rival the―
No. Kyousuke. You can't seriously be thinking that old cringe of a line. He rubbed his eyes with a sigh. Somehow, he seemed to be going even more insane after her return.
"Tsurugi? Are you alright?"
And Ichikawa is also still here. He inwardly scolded himself as he gave a short nod. "Sand flew into my eyes. That's all."
"Kyou! Ichikawa-san! Over here!" The girl suddenly called, waving them over. "There's so much cool stuff!"
Neither of them debated approaching her.
The owner of the shop had opened her stall's gate to let the two in, just as she did for her. Inside, they found a large variety of items they couldn't even begin to describe.
"Well... 'Cool' is one way of looking at it."
"But they are cool!" The blonde said, grabbing his arm and pulling him in deeper. "Look at all these! I have no idea what any of them are, but they all look like stuff you'd see in films!"
He sweatdropped at that. "We're on an alien planet. Everything here looks like something we'd see in films."
"Well, yes, but that doesn't denounce my point, does it?"
"... Fair."
Ichikawa picked up a long, pink pole that swirls at the top, having wavy purple things coming out of it. "This seems like some kind of stage prop."
She turned her attention to him. "Maybe you can use it in one of your shows!"
He raised an eyebrow at that. "Are there even any kabuki plays that use an alien staff thing...?"
"Not that I am aware of." The actor gave them a smile. "Perhaps Kimiko-san would like to be the first to make the script for it."
It was clearly a joke, but...
"Eh?! Me?!" For some reason, she was genuinely thinking about it. "I mean, I could try... But I haven't seen a lot of kabuki shows, so I wouldn't even know where to start."
"Then why don't you come to my next show?" That was not a joke. "I will lend a hand in getting you good seats."
"Oh! Would you really?!"
"Really."
"That's awesome! I..." For a second, her smile faltered, but it returned quickly. "I-I'll have to check with my family first, but I'll let you know if they agree!"
"Of course."
He cleared his throat a bit louder than he thought. "Remember, we have to save our planet first for that show to even go underway."
"Ah... That's true." She hummed in thought before suddenly clapping her hands, smiling once again. "Well, let's let those thoughts be for now. The people are treating us like tourists, so we should act like them and forget all our worries on this one-day-holiday!"
"I thought you would say that."
She chuckled slightly. "So, Ichikawa-san, are you going to buy that staff?"
"You've talked me into it." The other boy nodded. "And if I can't use it in a show, I may find another purpose for it yet."
"That's the spirit!" She headed over to another shelf and picked an item up. "Meanwhile, I think I'll take this."
He walked closer, taking a glimpse of it over her shoulder. "What's that supposed to be?"
"It should be an hourglass." She flipped it upside down between her fingers. "Or well, with how tiny this is, it's... technically a minute-glass?" She shrugged, giving up on thinking too much about it. "I just like how sparkly the sand is inside it."
Ichikawa then turned to the storekeeper. "Excuse me, how do we pay for these?"
She grinned at them. "They're your first souvenirs of this planet, right? It's on the house! One item each!"
"Really?!" The girl's eyes sparkled even brighter at her nod. "Thank you so much!" She looked back up at him with those same eyes. "Kyou, what are you getting?"
"I think I'm good." He couldn't tell what any of these things were after all.
But she wouldn't accept that. "Oh, no, no, no. That won't do! You have to get something too, Kyou!"
"I don't really―"
"Just pick a random thing! The first thing that catches your eye!"
He gave her a look. "Why are you being so pushy?"
"Because! Everyone else might be buying their own things right now! I don't want you to miss out!"
"I..." He couldn't say anything against that face. Never could. "Fine..."
In the end, he picked out an orange keyring doll that had a strange pattern on one side, and something like a face on the other. He found it... strangely cute?
Nonetheless, him getting it made her happy, so...
Ichikawa, who was once again walking beside him as they made their way through the streets, chuckled. "Kimiko-san must've been a handful for you while you were growing up."
So he knows that much, huh... "You get used to it over time." He replied nonchalantly.
"I see." The actor turned his smile to him. "Tsurugi-san, would you like to come to my show as well?"
He blinked up at him, unable to hide his surprise. What's he saying all of a sudden?
The other boy chuckled again. "After spending time with you both today, I can conclude that you two are far closer than I originally thought. I wouldn't want to separate you from one another."
... Why is he using those words specifically? He couldn't help a sigh when the answer came to him. "We're not dating."
"Not yet."
His eyes widened.
"It appears I've hit the nail on the head." For the first time, he noticed those red eyes had a glint of amusement in them.
Crap. I can't believe I let my guard down like that.
Even though they were different people, Ichikawa was still related to that person. The one who was so hard to like, yet they were also unable to hate. The one who enjoys doing whatever he wants no matter how much destruction he caused.
The only one in all of history who could rival his understanding of his best friend.
Now, the one walking beside him, his ancestor, was able to read through them both so easily. He couldn't tell if it was a bad thing or a good thing.
"Kyousuke! Ichikawa-san!" He snapped out of his thoughts when the blonde called from further up ahead. "I found Shindou-san again! And some of the others!"
"Let's go, shall we?" The other boy said in his ever-so-polite tone. It was almost sickening to hear it coming from that face and in the exact same voice.
He gave a nod and they continued their way. He only felt himself easing up when the girl grabbed onto his arm, and only his arm, before pulling him towards the others.
Her smile was radiant.