It's the first day of the Autumn Play-off, and the whole JLNC clubhouse is currently bustling with preparation.
They all have been up since six am, they're all well-rested after finishing their training at seven pm and heading to their bedrooms at exactly seven-thirty pm, that is after they have eaten dinner.
Dewy and Bright ensured that everyone would head to bed early and none of them would be irresponsible enough to stay up late when there's a game the next day.
At exactly seven in the morning, everyone is in their uniforms and currently on their way to the company bus with their bags.
"This is your first game, right?" Alexei asked Key on their way to ride the company bus
"Hmm, yes, and I'm so~ excited!" Key replied lively with a smile after nodding her head
"You sure do look like it, Key," El kidded and Key smiled more to the point her round eyes have turned to a crescent-like shape along with it glistening in delight
When they entered the bus, Alexei decided to sit next to Key. Quant, Rio, and Opal just watched as Alexei sat next to Key on the bus.
When Dewy stood up on the aisle, he couldn't help but notice this as well but he didn't point it out. After all, Key and Alexei are still teammates and they haven't done anything that could mean there's something more than that.
"Is everyone ready?" Dewy asked them and they all nodded their heads along with 'okay' signs
"Yes!" they answered excitedly
"Alright, JLNC, good luck!" He said and raised his clenched right fist
"J-L-N-C! J-L-N-C!" they cheered with their clenched fists going back and forth while it's raised in the air
"Okay, sir, we're ready to go." Dewy told the driver and went back to his seat
"What are you watching?" Key asked curiously while looking over Alexei's phone
"Gameplay of Death Sparrow," Key nodded her head at Alexei's response
"Oh, he's studying the opponent's game tactics." Key thought and sat properly on her seat
Just as she sat up properly, her phone vibrated and her smile grew light when she saw that two contacts; one named 'Kitten' and one named 'Babe', sent her a message, she opened the first one's message.
Kitten: Good luck, KC! Wish you the best.
Babe: Good luck, Key! You can do it!
She began typing a reply for the two with a smile on her lips. These two hold a special place in Key's heart, especially the latter because to Key her 'Babe' is the symbol of her faith in life, the faith in living.
Her 'babe' personified her hope that fate isn't always against them, that it sometimes plays in their favor.
"A message from your boyfriend, hmm? You're smiling too brightly." Alexei asked and Key looked at him with a smile before shaking her head with a small chuckle
"No, it's from my best friends, they wished us good luck." She answered with an inerasable genuine smile
"Do they know you're part of the e-sports?" Alexei asked and Key put her phone down after pressing 'send' to send her replies to them
"Yeah, information travels fast for those two, not that it's not the case for me." She replied with a smile
"And they didn't say anything?" Alexei asked curiously and Key shook her head
"Is it just me or are those two getting closer?" Quant asked Dewy in a low voice while leaning closer after hearing the short exchange between the two off-laner members of their team in the back
"Not sure, but just let them be, for now," Dewy replied and shrugged his shoulders
That short exchange between Key and Alexei wasn't followed but Quant would look over his seat whenever he would hear Key's soft chuckle, it made Dewy and Bright chuckle as well.
Quant seems to be too interested in the two's interaction that he didn't notice their captain's, his seatmate's, irritation.
"You can transfer seats later," Rasheed said with his arms crossed and eyes closed
"No, I'll stay here." Quant said and sat properly which made Bright and Dewy chuckle discreetly
When they arrived at the gaming arena, a lot of fans are crowding the sides of the pathway cleared for the players.
They were waving glowing sticks and LED signs with the names of the players.
Dewy and Bright went down the company bus first, El, Rio, and Opal followed then Quant, Alexei, and Key before Rasheed made his entrance that made the fans scream and chant his name louder.
"Wow, captain's so famous, huh?" Key can't help but notice as they walk by
"You have no idea," Alexei said and chuckled before subtly putting his hand on Key's shoulder to help her step forward alongside him, bringing her along him to go past the hoard of fans who greeted them
{"As you can see, our camera had captured the arrival of the JLNC team."} Gino Morin announced as the footage of the JLNC's arrival played on the big screen
{"Did you guys see that?! I'm not the only one who saw that, right?"} Elvis Letterman's expression while pointing at the screen made the live audience and his co-commentator, Gino Morin, laugh
{"What do you think that means?"} Elvis Letterman asked and turned to Gino Morin
Elvis Letterman is talking about Alexei's gesture to help Key pass the hoard of fans waiting and welcoming them at the entrance. This gesture of his also had stirred up a rumor in the online world.
{"Some fans are speculating that Alexei sees Kashmiri as his little sister, and well, that's not questionable as Kashmiri's appearance does make her stand out with an image of JLNC's little sister."} Gino said and looked at the camera after reading some live comments on the side of the screen
{"This season's Autumn Play-off's first match is JLNC against Cyber Paw, we all know that Cyber Paw almost dominated last year's nationals and could've been the Prometheus League's National champion if they weren't beaten by IBJ, pushing them off the competition."} Gino said after the list of matches appeared on the arena's screen
{"But JLNC also was pushed off the competition when they were faced again Cyanide Wolves on the final round, giving the National Championship trophy to the Cyanide Wolves."} Elvis Letterman recalled to which Gino nodded his head
{"As we can see, the teams have now headed to the backstage and are getting ready."} Gino Morin narrated the current events
{"This season's first match is definitely worth the hype, both teams almost dominated last year's nationals. This is definitely a fire to light the start of the Autumn Play-off!"} Elvis Letterman said
{"That's true, Elvis, this really is a fire to light the start of the seasonal Play-off."} Gino Morin said