Everyone was in a good mood after winning that match and not losing a single teammate, even Jono was less narcissistic.
"That was a piece of cake thanks to my brilliant advice, right Gray?" Jono said.
"Dude, you threw your ball of ice at me, that's it..."
"But it was a good throw!" Jono said proudly.
Gray couldn't argue against that as it did hit him square in the face of his mech.
"Well, regardless, you listened a lot better than I thought you would."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Jono started to get angry.
"It means all of us were worried that you wouldn't take commands! We are building this team based on trust and if we can't trust each other and listen to each other then the person we can't trust must go." Gray said adamantly.
Jono hesitated for a moment then said "...Well, I'll at stick around for now and follow your lead, I'm sure your skills are at least decent enough to get us a good position in the tournament!"
Gray took that as the closest thing he could get to Jono accepting him as a leader for now.
Gray added Jono to the Steel Wolves team roster and saw a notification that said "Team is at maximum capacity, purchase capacity increase for 2000 merits."
"Well guys, it looks like 8 is the maximum we can have in an official team at the moment for free." Gray announced.
"Hmmm... how much is it to increase?" Caleb asked.
"2000 merits." Gray replied.
"Let me check the forums and see how much more you get for that." Caleb said then went silent for a moment as he looked around the forums. "Wow, now I see why most teams didn't increase their size above 9."
"Why is that?" Gray asked.
"Those 2000 merits only give you one more capacity, the next one costs 4000 for one more, and then 8000 for one more, but nobody knows what is after that as it seemed a little extreme to pay 8000 merits for just one more teammate."
"Damn... well, we'll stick with 8 for now then. Once we form a mercenary group we can get out of the limitations in the military. This damn game system really is designed to make you dependent upon the military."
"Seems like it, but let's hurry, we only have 13 days until the tournament." Geoff said.
"Yeah! I can't wait! We can also use some better weapons, those worthless pea shooters the rest of you are using are going to hurt us in the future!" Yurika said.
"I agree, limbs used to need only a few shots to disable, but now it takes about twice as many rounds it feels like." Gray lamented.
Yurika laughed and winked at Gray "That's because you are a terrible shot!"
"Coming from you, Yurika, I'd agree on that! Any tips that you can offer would be great!"
Yurika thought for a moment then said "Tomorrow morning after lunch, why don't ALL of us spend some time in the shooting range."
"Why would that help us? We're in a game piloting virtual mechs, we don't get skills from that sort of practice." Jono said.
Gray was about to explain it when he remembered that Jono wasn't Diamond-tier so he wasn't privy to the truth yet. "It's just for muscle memory, understanding how to shoot as a human will help you improve your shooting in a humanoid mech."
Jono folded his arms across his chest and thought about it some then shrugged his shoulders "Well, it will be a change of pace. What time do you guys meet up?"
"Usually around 9am, but some of us like to sleep in." Stacia said while staring at Gray and Yurika.
"That was because we went to that mixer! Not because of other things, you were there!" Gray complained.
"Fine fine... whatever you say..." Stacia said while smiling.
"Jono, how long are you staying on?" Gray asked Jono
"I'll probably stay until dinner or so, I find myself getting hungry while playing this game."
Gray hoped the Alliance would expose the truth to the rest of the players because it was starting to confuse him trying to keep track of the virtual world and the real world.
"Ok, let's get in a few more matches then before logging off for the night."
Everyone agreed and headed back in to their simulator pods.
__________
Later that night, Gray was wide awake in bed, he was still trying to figure out what to do about Yurika. Her telling him that she was engaged was bad enough, but to one of the founders of Alterra Corporation made it really weird.
Gray suddenly received a message and opened it immediately when he saw it was from Yurika. "You coming over?"
Gray replied "I would, but I do not want to get electrocuted again."
A few seconds later, Gray received her reply "Just come over! I already told the girls and the guard you would!"
Needing no more motivation, Gray got out of bed, slipped on some pajamas, and opened his door to leave.
Gray found himself face to face with a giant cat head on a human body with claws lunging at him. The cat-headed thing pounced on him and felt a familiar warmth from it so he was able to settle down, especially when they cat head started to laugh while hugging him with her arms and legs.
"Very funny!" Gray said.
"It was! You should've seen your face! You were so eager to come see me and then to see that face turn into one of surprise and fear was priceless!" Yurika managed to say while laughing.
"I totally almost peed a little! Now get in here!"
Gray carried her into his room, slammed the door, and they enjoyed a few cups of late night coffee together... or something like that...
__________
"Hey..." Yurika whispered to Gray.
"..."
"Hey!" Yurika spoke a little louder to Gray trying to get him to wake up.
Gray sharply inhaled and snorted before saying "No Nadia I don't want the stick figure!"
"What the heck are you talking about?" Yurika looked at Gray confused.
Gray rubbed his eyes and said "Oh, sorry, was having a nightmare I think..."
"Dork..." Yurika said softly then kissed his cheek.
"So... does Stephen know... about us?"
"No... and he won't ever I hope..."
"Still, can't you just go against your family and say no? I mean, following your family's wishes against your better understanding seems a bit ancient."
"I couldn't agree more! I would've ran away had I met you before I was told that I was going to get engaged, but at the same time, I'm sure they would hunt us down."
"You make your family sound like a bunch of killers..."
"Not exactly, but not necessarily wrong..."
"Can you elaborate on that?"
"My family is... or was... a long line of soldiers from what was formerly Russia, we had protected the Kremlin with our lives even as the Hegemony were knocking on the doorstep. We lost 90% of our family in that war, or so I was told. In order to preserve our family, many of the girls are married out if the man agrees to become part of the family, thus continuing the family line."
"Hmmm, well, maybe it's not my thing, but I think that my family should think of my own happiness first instead of what's good for just the family."
"Right?!? Except that I'm not as selfish as you!" Yurika teased Gray.
"Yes, I am selfish, but that's cause I want you all to myself, I don't consider that selfish at all!"
Yurika kissed Gray softly on the lips then said "You better keep your promise then! I don't know how much more we can see each other like this without getting caught by my family or what not..."
"I think everyone on the team would be willing to help if I asked."
"No! I don't want to drag everyone in to this! I didn't even want to include you in on this... or even go this far... damn it I hate you Gray!"
"You do know I love it when you hate me, right?"
Yurika rolled her eyes and said "Yes, and I hate it that you love it when I hate you because it makes me love you more."
Gray had to stop and think about that for a minute before finally saying "Ok, so it's a good thing right?"
"Yes idiot, unless you don't keep your promise by August 30th"
"Guess I'll have my work cut out for me then!" Gray said confidently then cuddled Yurika.
"Yup! Now cuddle me tighter, I don't want to forget this if we never get another chance!"
Gray cuddled Yurika tighter, he wanted to sound confident about being able to keep his promise to her about rescuing her from her own wedding, but honestly Gray was at a complete loss of even where to begin. Gray needed help.