Mikazuki took a date from his pocket, tossed it into his mouth, and asked indifferently, "Want to keep going?"
"Of course! Only an hour has passed. Again!"
Despite his maturity, Mu possessed a competitive streak and stubbornness that was no weaker than anyone else's; it was simply buried deep. He had been particularly stung by the slight hint of mockery in Mikazuki's casual remark.
Mikazuki raised an eyebrow. After three hours of fighting, the machine itself hadn't suffered much wear and tear. This was partly due to the massive gap in their skill, and partly because this was, after all, a mock battle. There was no need to get too serious or rely on complex tactics.
It was a head-on clash, fought however they pleased. Up until now, Kira and Mu had been fighting individually. They hadn't coordinated at all; in fact, they were technically opponents in this simulation as well, having traded blows a few times, though most of their attacks were directed at the Barbatos.
Kira took the initiative to contact Mu. "Major, let's work together to deal with Mikazuki."
"Oh?" Mu's brow quirked, a mischievous smirk playing on his lips. "Good idea. Fine, I'm just a novice, so I'll follow your lead."
"Attack simultaneously. I'll take the left, Major, you take the right."
"OK."
The two machines moved in unison, attempting to pincer the Barbatos from both sides.
In the command tower, Cagalli watched the scene and shouted in frustration, "Hey! Do you two have no shame? It's just a mock battle!"
Mu felt no embarrassment at Cagalli's words. Instead, he shouted shamelessly, "Pipe down! Today, I'm going to give this arrogant brat a proper lesson! Ahhh!"
Kira didn't have a skin as thick as Mu's, so he remained silent. However, the Freedom's speed increased rather than decreased. Kira also wanted to see the gap between Mikazuki and his current selfthe self that hadn't entered "that state" yet.
Erica watched the three machines on the screen with a wry smile. "The Major really doesn't act like an adult, does he?"
"Yeah, he's actually ganging up to bully Mika."
Cagalli was indignant on Mikazuki's behalf, but Murrue just smiled gently. "It's not certain who's bullying whom. Mika once held the upper hand even when facing three Mobile Suits from the Le Creuset Team at once."
"Eh? When did that happen?"
Cagalli and Erica looked on in shock. The Le Creuset Team was famous within the Z.A.F.T. military, and Orb was well-aware of their reputation. A one-versus-three victory while holding the advantage? Was that for real?
Murrue glanced at them and explained calmly, "It happened back in space when the Le Creuset Team was pursuing us relentlessly. At the time, they deployed all the stolen Gundams into combat, and Rau Le Creuset joined the fray in his CGUE.
Kira and Major La Flaga were tied down by the Duel and the Buster, while Mikazuki fought the Aegis, the Blitz, and the CGUEthree machines piloted by the elite of the elite. The result was two enemy machines being damaged and forced to retreat."
"That... he's really that strong? Mika..."
While the people in the command tower were chatting, the Barbatos suddenly slammed its practice sword into the ground. The waist thrusters erupted with flames aimed forward and downward, propelling the machine's legs off the ground. It actually performed a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree somersault in mid-air.
Just as it left the ground, the practice swords of the Freedom and the Strike swung through empty air and collided with each other.
Flipping through the air between the two machines, the Barbatos crossed its arms over its head. The muzzles of the mortars mounted on its forearms aimed directly at the Freedom and the Strike.
Bang!
Inside their cockpits, the screens in front of Kira and Mu suddenly went black. Both machines had been hit in the head by dye bullets, completely covering their eye monitors.
The Barbatos landed steadily, pulled its practice sword from the ground, and pointed it at the Strike's cockpit. Simultaneously, the smoothbore gun in its right hand was leveled at the Freedom's cockpit. The winner was obvious.
"Damn... how are we supposed to fight that?"
Mu took off his helmet. The forehead he had just wiped dry was once again drenched in sweat, a result of being startled by the Barbatos's terrifying reactions and maneuvers.
Mikazuki let go of the control sticks and leaned back against his seat, saying indifferently, "Can we end this now?"
"What choice do we have? Seriously, if this were real combat, I would have been deader than dead just now."
Mu's words were a bit dejected, but they were absolutely correct. In a Mobile Suit, vision was everything. The cockpits were sealed; pilots relied entirely on the machine's cameras. If they lost their feedback of the outside world, the machine was effectively out of the fight. Of course, a few machines carried backup stealth cameras, but those were rare.
Kira gave a helpless smile. "I surrender too."
Only after both machines announced their surrender did Mikazuki command the Barbatos to lower its arms, where it stood silently and majestically.
Clap, clap, clap!
The onlookers in the command tower burst into applause. That final 360-degree flip to dodge a pincer attack while delivering a fatal counter-strike was simply magnificent.
"Hey, Asagi, do you think we could ever pull off a move like that?"
The three female M1 Astray test pilots began to talk among themselves.
"Um... probably not. Captain Ramius just said that those kinds of movements seem like something only that kid Mikazuki can do."
"Yeah, and that pincer attack just now was too fast to react to. But that Mobile Suit called Barbatos reacted perfectly... Is that kid really human?"
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