"Been a Long Time"

Chapter 15: The Match

A/n: Ok, how are you guys still reading this? I update once a month! I am surprised. Thanks for the support, though! I completely forgot I had this story for a bit due to how busy I have been and all the new stuff that has been making its way into my schedule. Thanks for the patience, though! My schedule should calm down soon, so I will hopefully be updating more. Now, you guys don't want to hear me prattle on about boring stuff, onto the story!

The next morning they all got up, got ready for the day, and did a few practice rounds before their match. It is the pick/ban phase of the game. Tamamo-no-Mae was banned for us, but they haven't banned it for them.

"It's not too late to ban Tamamo-no-Mae," Ming said, "The opponent banned Mid three times already. It seems he doesn't want to show mercy on you."

"It's ok, I can use Higanbana," Yao Tong said.

"Ok," Ming mumbled quietly, taking the decision into account, "Let's ban the poison." I, again, became nervous for the match. This could turn out either terribly or wonderfully. Once they were decided on that the picking phase began. TAT immediately picked Tamamo-no-Mae.

"Woah! They really chose Tamamo-no-Mae!"Fatty exclaimed. Cheng and Yao Tong glanced at each other before turning back to their computers.

"Yao Tong," Ming said, "Ah Tai is targeting you. If you want to take the Higanbana, pay attention to the development. Don't fight directly with him."

"Got it," Yao Tong said confidently.

The match started. I stood behind Cheng's chair watching as he played. 

"His skills are so accurate," Yao Tong remarked. She was currently getting picked on by Ai Tai.

"It's fine," Cheng started explaining what she needs to do for now, "If you can't fight, maintain the development."

The match continued as the silence in the base grew. The only thing to be heard was the clatter of keys and the swish of the mouses on their pads. The match continued slowly at first, trying to pull them into a fake sense of security. Ai Tai continued to target Yao Tong, making her get more and more frustrated.

"Calm down," I whispered to her, "Don't get riled up. If you do, you'll make bad choices and make blunders. Keep your head on your shoulders and follow whatever plan Cheng and Ming have planned for you. You knew he would target you. Use all you know of the Shikigami you are playing and Tamamo-no-Mae. Use what you know to expect what he might do."

She nodded, taking my advice. She started doing better for a little bit, but started going downhill again. Yao Tong got overrun and lost her tower. She sighed in disappointment.

"It's alright, don't worry," Cheng said, thinking quickly. Yao Tong glanced at him.

"You did good. Keep in mind that you haven't been doing this for very long and he has been doing this for a long, long time," I said, putting a hand on her shoulder. I glanced at Ming and Cheng who both looked at me and nodded in thanks. I nodded back.

Cheng soon started giving out orders to the rest of the team.

Yao Tong was back in the game again, but was again being targeted.

"K, help Mid!" Cheng ordered hastily.

Soon after, Yao Tong was, again, killed. She slightly took her hands off her controls, her hand shaking as she tried to compose herself. Cheng glanced at her worriedly. I put my hand on her shoulder, again, to help ground her even if only a little bit.

"Don't worry," I whispered comfortingly. She nodded, grabbing her controls again as she revived.

The match kept spiraling downward as time went on. Failure after failure. Yao Tong got increasingly frustrated as she was killed again and again. Ming and Cheng started getting worried along with me. It soon got to a point where she almost gave up.

"Don't be impulsive! Retreat!" Cheng called out. Yao Tong sat, despondently playing as she was killed again and again.

They lost the match. Yao Tong froze.

Cheng slowly took his earmuffs off and the rest followed. He looked at Yao Tong, obviously concerned for her mental state, but she was just sitting there, drinking water out of a glance as she stared blankly at her screen.

"It's just a practice match, Missy, it's fine!" Fatty said, trying to console her.

"Exactly!" Lao Mao said.

"I'm okay. I'm really okay," Yao Tong said, not entirely fooling everyone. Cheng was very worried.

"It's a match," she continued on, "Winning and losing are normal. We can win the next round. I'm not as fragile as you think." She looked around at everyone as she spoke. "I'm really ok. You guys..." she trailed off. She really wasn't ok, but most of the boys couldn't tell. She didn't fool Cheng, Rui, Ming, and I, though.

"It's late," Rui said. "Go and rest everyone. If you can't wake up tomorrow, I'll deduct your salary! Let's go to bed." He tried to raise our spirits, but pretty much failed. Miserably. If anything, he made the atmosphere really awkward. 

"Yes, let's go to bed," Fatty said. "I'm so tired."

The others followed Fatty and Rui's examples and headed off to bed, leaving Cheng, Yao Tong, and I in the dark gaming room. 

A/n: Sorry for the short chapter. 🥲