Chiara is not sure what to make of all this. She stays seated on the couch, not sure what sort of interrogation Asura will give her now that the two are alone in her private quarters. She’s already feeling some regret and wished she would had just ignored the invite.
”So tell me, Chiara...” Asura speaks bluntly to Chiara. Her eyes glance over the window of her head quarters, overlooking the courtyard of the squad’s base. “What do you think of my squad’s base of operations?”
She wonders if Asura’s question is supposed to be some kind of test. Does she want praise or is she expecting an honest answer? Chiara struggles to get her words out but speaks from her heart. Her hands tightly grip her skirt when she gives her answer. “It’s...impressive. I never seen anything like it. My team’s base is so bare bones and empty...compared to what you have. It doesn’t surprise me now that you’re able to defeat us so easily.”
”So it seems…” Asura looks over to Chiara from the window and smiles. “You’re honest. That’s a rarity with some people. You’re still humble, even after losing severely to my team. But I know how you hide yourself, Chiara. I’ve done it before myself.”
”W...what do you mean?” Chiara stutters, feeling like she’s being emotionally dissected at a molecular level. “I don’t have anything to hide from you, Asura.”
”This has nothing to do with strategic secrets or your team’s plans for the tournament.” Asura waves her hand dismissively and sits the edge of her desk. Her black boots slightly swinging before she crosses her legs between her skirt. “You’re here because you are not sure of who you are or what you really want in your life.”
”That’s not true.” Chiara protests. “I have goals, I want to be a music teacher, I want to be with my friends, and I want to win this tournament!”
”I don’t think those are answers are from you. They’ve been programmed into you, Chiara. From society, your parents, and dare I say….your friends.”
”How can you say such a thing?” Chiara retorts angrily. Her grip on her skirt tightens as she speaks. “My friends don’t take advantage of me. They don’t push dreams and goals into my mind. They support me. They are like sisters and brothers to me.” She lets go of her skirt and presses her hands on the couch to make herself sit up straight. “I never had true friends in my past, but my team are the best friends anyone could ever ask for.”
”But they have failed you before. They had failed you in your match against us. We both know that’s true, Chiara. You didn’t even have your real squad leaders with you.”
”No...I failed them.” Chiara attempts to correct Asura. “My teammates did what they could with my leadership.”
Asura breaks out into laughter. “Is that what you truly believe? That the burden of failure falls entirely on your shoulders?” She gets off the desk and lowers both her hands into a rifle stance, aiming at the bookshelf with her imaginary rifle. “Did you really think that if you just gave someone like Mai better orders to shoot us off the balcony with her absolutely decrepitated old rifle. Bang! And win the tournament like that?” Asura lowers her hands to her waist sides. “Did Hikari come to save your teammate when JarPig Squad fragged her? Why did Longhorn Squad get themselves ambushed so easily? “Are you just hoping Emi is going to somehow pull you all through because you think she’s a better squad leader than you. What does Emi have that you don’t Chiara.”
The questions overwhelm Chiara. Emi was always there for her when times were rough. Ever since her first year of high school. Chiara would had ben vulnerable without Emi. From bullies, to overbearing faculties, to her strict parents controlling every aspect of her life. Emi was there to protect Chiara.
”Emi is everything to me.” Chiara speaks in a shaky voice. “She’s been there for me since high school. She stood up for me, supported me, and protected me. Emi is not just my squad leader. She’s my best friend. She’s the sister I never had in my life.” Asura is visibly touched by Chiara’s admiration for her best friend. It’s not something Asura had growing up.
”So..what I am getting from this is that you’re completely dependent on Emi to an unhealthy degree.” Asura suggests seriously. “That’s not good, Chiara. She wasn’t there to support you when you went up against us.”
”She was dealing with an injury! It’s not like she had a choice. We were not even expecting to go up against your team on that Friday until you showed up.”
”People can change Chiara. I’ve seen it myself.” Asura’s eyes glance up to the ceiling while she speaks. “I’ve seen the best of friends, some who’ve grew up together for years, split up over the most mundane and absurd shit. They go from being close friends to mortal enemies that never speak to each other again.” Her eyes dart back to Chiara on the couch. “Believe me, Chiara. It’s a lot more common than you think and it’s possible that it could even happen to you. What makes you believe Emi won’t get bored of you? She can easily replace you with any of your squad mates, or perhaps that boy from Longhorn Squad….Hm...what was his name? Tomio?”
”She wouldn’t do that!” Chiara snaps, getting up form the couch and clenching her fists. “I don’t ever want to hear you speak poorly of Emi! You can bully me and scare me all you want! I don’t care! I can take it! But I’m not going to take any of that from you! You never had anyone like Emi, or a squad as caring and wonderful as my team. I know you never had anyone to love in your life, but I do! Even if I was bullied and alone like you at one point, I found friends to support me. I would not leave them for anything!”
Asura’s confidence and demeanor almost cracks at Chiara’s outburst. What she said isn’t necessarily wrong. She attempts to hide her own pain and longing with a scoff. “Who do you think you are to assume I’ve never had anyone to love?” She lets out a deep sigh before speaking. “You’re right about one thing. I never had any friends growing up in my school years. I still don’t have any friends.” She points towards the window behind her desk. “Those people out there, my squad mates, my minions, they mean nothing to me on an emotional level. They only give me their admiration and loyalty, because I’m capable of destroying them in this game. They worship me.. They follow me and desire to become like me. But many of them come and go. They move on the moment they realize they can’t improve their skills, or maybe they find some other meaning in life other than this stupid VR game. But the point is, Chiara...is that people don’t stick around forever. Your friends may all go to the same University, but the moment the semester is over, they’ll all go back to their homes. Who’s to say any of them will continue into the second semester. I’ve been in Uni before. I know how stressful and demanding it can be. It overwhelms you. It overwhelmed me. And you don’t want to be a burden to them.”
”Chiara’s anger defuses; listening to Asura’s own personal admissions. She still manages to keep strong on her position. “It’s going to take a lot for any of them to abandon our friendship.”
”It really doesn’t, Chiara. All it takes a boyfriend, a promotion, a family emergency, or anything and before you know it, they won’t be around anymore. Interests change. Personalities can change too. As I told you before, I was once just like you Chiara. Innocent and naive of people and the world around me.” She walks past Chiara and slumps on the couch she was sitting at earlier. “I can determine a lot about you Chiara. You’re incredibly smart. I would honestly say for a rookie, you weren’t that bad as a squad leader as much as you think you failed. The truth is: you’re not street smart, Chiara. You have no exposure to the real world. You are sheltered.”
Asura’s words strike back at Chiara where it hurts. “And you? What are you Asura?”
”I’m nothing. For now at least.” She looks up to Chiara and speaks more directly. “Do you wonder why I want to win this tournament? Do you think I care about the monetary prize or the fame and glory of defeating last tournament’s victors?” She makes direct eye contact with Chiara who is still standing up.
Chiara feels a lump in her throat but forces herself to meet Asura’s gaze. “Why? Why are you doing all this if it doesn’t mean anything to you?”
”This is all I have left.” Asura lays back on the couch looking up at the ceiling again. “This the one place, this game, where I have control over something that makes me feel like I’m doing something with my life. I don’t have to worry about being a disappointment to anyone like my mom. I can feel powerful over the very people who pushed me aside for all my life. This tournament...Chiara...is my one chance to punch up against those stuck up elitist who think they are hot shit because they teamed up with a real life special forces unit so can obtain more fame and fortune while the powers at be use this tournament as an excuse to encourage dead beat gamers to enlist in the military to slave for the system. Maybe even to die for it. And they have the audacity to call me sinister.”
”You’re talking about Raptor Squad...right?” Chiara asks intrigued by Asura’s motivation to win the tournament.
”Everyone knows about them. I went up against Seth and his so called operators back in the summer tournament, before I even had Vampire Squad. They are no joke, Chiara. If you thought going up against my team was tough and demoralizing. Raptor Squad would had eliminated you within five minutes of the match starting. Now that they are teaming up with another squad of real special forces soldiers from the NATO military, everyone is betting their odds of them winning this tournament again. They have all the sponsorship, so much “Fuck you” money to blow on gear and weapons. You may think you’re the underdogs of this tournament, but the truth is, so is everyone else compared to Seth and his Raptor squad. You have seen his Seth Tactical YouTube Channel?
”Not really. I’ve only seen the finals for the summer tournament when they barely defeated Flamingo Squad at the last minute.”
”So you’ve seen how they fight? You know how they move and attack by coordinating with each other. They don’t stumble when they reload their mags like so…” Asura takes out her custom Luger P08 from her side holster, scaring Chiara at first but she shows her magazines are empty before doing her demonstration. She points her P08 at the bookshelf, racking her toggle lock so that it stays locked open on an empty mag “Notice how my pistol locks back on empty, Chiara. This means my magazine is empty and I have to reload. I’ve seen so many players including your team reload like this…” She ejects the magazine casually, taking the empty mag and putting it back into her mag pouch. She pulls out a new mag which is also empty for demonstration purposes and loads it into her pistol. “Did you see how long that took? That’s how you reload if you were at a shooting range. Now let me show you how everyone who’s serious about combat including Raptor squad reloads.” She ejects the magazine, letting the mag drop on the floor without any care and without making any hesitations, she grabs an empty mag from her mag pouch and smacks it into her pistol. “Now if I had any ammo in my magazine, I would rack my toggle on my Luger and be ready to go. You don’t think about your reloads. You do it by instinct. That’s the difference between someone who’s serious and someone who’s just playing around.” She ejects her magazine and pulls the Luger’s toggle back to reset her pistol before holstering it. The same concept applies to long arms. "You have to be familiar with the operation of your weapons first before you can start daydreaming about tactics. I make it a point to everyone in my squad to have their fundamentals in check.”
”I...I never realized such mundane things would make a big difference.” Chiara was impressed with Asura’s knowledge of firearms manipulation. “I always thought winning battles was entirely dependent on communication and teamwork.”
”That might be true for large scale battles where you have distance and ordinance to back you up but with how most squads are fighting in this tournament, it’s up close and personal. Speed and coordination with you team is incredibly crucial to winning and losing a match. Fumbling with magazine reloads or failing to clear a jam will cost your team severely at the worst moment at the worst time.” She directs her hand towards the window. “My squad only uses the most proven and reliable equipment available. We don’t bother with exotic weapons. Our recruits stick to AR-15 platform rifles and striker fire pistols only. This Luger, as well as my elite squads' own preferences with primaries, are the exception and even then we’re aren’t messing with antiquated, cheap, or unorthodox weaponry. Does that ring a bell, Chiara?”
Chiara lowers her gaze, feeling the weight of Asura’s words. “You’re talking about my squad’s gear, aren’t you?
”None of your gear is standardized. Maybe your squad leader Emi’s M4A1 which is par for the course. Your MP5SD6 is okay too; A fine sub-machinegun for close quarters. But what on earth are you thinking carrying a Taurus TX22 Compact into battle?! Are you planning on shooting empty Coke cans in the middle of the match with that plinker toy?” Asura almost laughs as she says that. “Your medic and sapper’s equipment is just...bizarre. That Japanese squad mate of yours...Hikari...she’s carrying an AN-94. That weapon is hardly even seen in the real world. It’s so specialized and complex, you need to be a clock smith to repair it if something goes wrong. The only saving grace is that it uses AK-74 magazines and nobody in your team uses 5.45mm ammo or the AK-74 platform. And don’t even get me started on your sapper Mai. Her equipment is below the poverty line. That SKS would be a fine rifle... for World War 2. Even when that weapon came out in 1945, it was already antiquated by the standards of the time. I don’t even want to know what your squad mates' sidearms are. It’ll make me recoil in cringe.”
”I never realized you knew so much about our weapons from just our match from yesterday.” Chiara states to Asura with an impressed look in her eyes.
”To be fair, it’s not like our supporting squad is any better.” She mentions this with disgust in her tone. “Kael and his squad of dorks. They are treating this tournament like a JRPG session. I’m surprised your supporting squad got wiped out by them. All they do is spam grenades until their enemy is overwhelmed. They call it something stupid like casting spells. As much as your team sucks, they aren’t cringe like JarPig Squad.” She places her hand on her chin and mutters to herself. “I gotta figure out someway to get rid of Kael at some point during this tournament.”
”Why would you say that to your own teammate?!” Chiara asks, surprised at how lowly she views her own supporting squad. Armadillo Squad and Longhorn Squad had always operated as equals up to this point, but with Vampire Squad and JarPig Squad, it’s entirely one sided. “Aren’t you suppose to share your loyalty with them? Like equals?”
”Loyalty is earned, Chiara. Not guaranteed.” Asura says with a cold voice. “Kael is unreliable, but his squad has been proven to be somewhat useful so far. Their unpredictability is a good wildcard to throw off our opponents, but I’m starting to feel like they would be a lot better if they fought more like us, and with my squad’s brutality. I want to see Kael replaced. It doesn’t help that I find his adoration for me to be extremely annoying.” She scoffs.
”Replace him… with someone from your squad?” Chiara ask.
”Lucius, Vlad, and Lilith are all good soldiers, but I want them fighting under my command. I have to consider someone else to replace Kael before integrating JarPig squad into my Vampires.” Her eyes directly stare into Chiara’s blue eyes. Her cold stoic expression begins to sooth down from her cold hatred of Kael. “Perhaps I have the perfect candidate...right here.”
“Wait….wait! Are you... are you saying you want me to replace Kael? To join Vampire Squad?”
”Oh...Chiara…” Asura starts to move towards her with a slow grace to her walk. “You are something else. It’s not often I come across someone as intelligent as you. At least in the mind. I see a lot of great potential in you. To do more with your life.”
”Yeah but...what about my friends? My squad...I can’t just….”
”Shhh….” Asura places her finger on Chiara’s lips, causing her face to fluster in confusion. “Your friends are not going to face off against Raptor Squad anytime soon. Not in the state that they are in. I can tell you right now, two weeks isn’t enough for your squad to get their act together and face off against my squad or JarPig Squad as equals. You’re bellow us. But it won’t have to be that way for you.” She lets her finger slip off her lips and moves to sit besides Chiara while still maintaining eye contact with her. “By joining my squad, I can offer you the chance of doing something greater than you can ever imagine. You wouldn’t be playing with amateurs anymore. I can show you ways to better yourself in such a way, you might become unstoppable.”
”But...but….why me?” Chiara stutters nervously. “Why not….someone else?”
”Because…” Asura scoots closer to Chiara on the couch. “You’re the only one I can open up to. You understand my pain better than anyone else. I understand your pain too, Chiara. I never had anyone to be vulnerable to be myself. As a squad leader, I have to be cold, calculative, and authoritative to be an example to my squad. But with you….by my side, I can have someone worthy to fight alongside with.” Her voices drops to a whisper. “With me, you’ll never have to feel helpless again. If we win this tournament together, our lives are going to change for the better. I would have the funds to finally leave Canada for good. Maybe we’ll even meet in person when that day comes. We can start our lives over again, we’re won't have to be weak, scared, or cowardly anymore.” She wants to keep tempting her but Asura has to restrain herself. She lets out a deep sigh. “Of course, that would mean ditching your friends that are holding you back, but in this life, sometimes you have to move on, Chiara.” She gets up from the couch and walks back to her desk. “Think about what I am offering you Chiara. Don’t think too long about it. Our squads will go against each other again in two weeks from now. Right before the week of Halloween.” She sits back at her desk chair and turns to face the window. “You’re dismissed. I actually had more to say about you, but I can’t say too much. Not until I have an answer from you.”
Chiara stumbles as she gets up from the couch, her legs shaking and her voice. “Do….Can I just teleport back to my base now?”
”Of course you can. You could of done that minutes ago.” Asura chuckles to herself. “But of course, you didn’t leave when you had the chance. That’s very telling Chiara. It means you are at least somewhat interested in my offer. Think about it as you go. We’ll be seeing each other soon.”
Chiara navigates to her UI menu and selects the option to teleport out of Asura’s base. When Chiara is finally gone from her office, Asura spins her chair around to face away from the window towards her desk. She rests her hand on her cheek and sighs. Her hands toy with her own hair. “Why do I feel so warm?” She asks herself. Asura rests her head onto the desk and sighs. “Curse my own humanity.”