"Great job!"

"Hate to admit it, but I guess they really are still worlds ahead of us."

"Hey, on the bright side, that means we've got plenty of ways to become even more powerful that we haven't learned yet."

"That MixiMax thing is impossible though."

"Shut up before we start spiraling into time traveling again."

"Not bad! You truly are the team that saved the galaxy!" Sarjes laughed from the center circle.

"Now, it is our turn to be serious." Acrous started the next kick off, and in a blink, the two rushed past the forwards.

"Wha―?!"

"Seriously?!"

"Einsatz―" Shindou was stopped by a giant white gryphon creature in place of Sarjes. It roared loud before dropping its entire weight on top of him.

Sarjes came out of the dust and kicked the ball up high. It glowed bright, summoning an entire galaxy.

"Galactica Fall!"

Both he and Acrous jumped up, kicking the ball down towards the goal, pulling the gargantuan star cluster along with it.

"Goseishin Titanias!"

Shinsuke quickly summoned his keshin again, but the shot was faster than he had estimated. The score was tied, 1-1.

~~~~~

"They're about as strong as Ixal Fleet." Shindou stated.

"And it's just been those two doing all the work." Shinsuke pointed out.

"That's probably on purpose, seeing how this match is just those two wanting to test Kyou and Tenma." Kimiko replied. "But to be safe, I think we should do the same thing as the first round and not let them do anything."

"We can't let Sarjes and King Acrous use that move again either." Tenma said, nodding to himself.

"At least we know their strong points now." Tsurugi added. "They're both forwards, but King Acrous specializes more at shots than offensive tactics. Sarjes is the opposite."

"So we'll have an easier time stealing the ball from his highness, and Shinsuke can better block shots from sir thousand slayers. Got it." Kimiko muttered, turning to where their opponents were waiting for them.

"I messed up just now, but I won't make the same mistake!" The little keeper said, determination burning in his eyes. "Leave the goal to me! I'll stop them no matter what!"

"Yeah! We're counting on you, Shinsuke!" The captain high fived him, before turning serious again. "Still, we need to find a way to score past that keeper's Soul."

Shindou nodded. "We don't know how strong that Soul is because Kimiko diverted its attention for us last time, but if that hissatsu was anything to go by, I think Matei Gryphon would've been right on par with it."

"Aside Shinsuke, all of our keshins' hissatsus are for shooting. Tsurugi and Kimiko―"

"Kyousuke's is stronger." The girl cut the brunette off. "But Lancelot alone can't measure up to Gryphon. And MixiMax hissatsus are weaker than keshins too, so that's also off the list."

"But I doubt misdirecting them would be as easy when we're doing it the second time around." Tsurugi pointed out.

"Yeah, so we'll go straight from the front like we originally planned." The blonde said, holding her hand up. "I'll take the lead this time."

"But you said―"

"If we were talking only about our keshin hissatsus, then yeah, Kyousuke's stronger." She smirked. "But there's another way to boost its power level aside from keshin fusion."

The remaining four turned to each other before it simultaneously clicked for them.

Tsurugi gave a single pat on her back. "Be careful."

"Hehe... No promises."

~~~~~

Before the next round began,

"MixiTrans, Arthur!"

"MixiTrans, Nobunaga!"

"MixiTrans, Okita!"

"MixiTrans, Zanark!"

They all, with the exception of Shinsuke, released their auras. However, those from Raimon were more than surprised to find the blonde calling out her other brother's name.

Her hair turned to an almost cyan-ish color, much like the last time they saw her with his power. Her skin was slightly more tanned, and she almost seemed to have bulked up in build. Her eyes were no longer purple, but dark magenta, and her pupils had changed to the screw-like ones that he had too.

No one noticed the kabuki actor's mouth falling open.

"Space Rankers! That's right, all five of you!" She grinned in a crazed manner, an expression none of them had ever seen her make before. "Through the fight against Ixal Fleet, we've shown you the power of the strongest in the galaxy. Now, in this battle, you're going to bow to the strongest in all of history!"

She passed the ball to Tsurugi, who gave it to Shindou, and the two sped ahead. The conductor moved up little by little with the captain, and just before Sarjes could call out his Soul again, he passed to the brunette.

"Not so fast!" Acrous headed his way, but that was exactly what they wanted.

"Ou no Tsurugi!"

Tenma used his sword and cut through his opponent's tackle. Successfully getting the two main attackers, he returned the ball to Shindou.

The enemy's defense players went after the two forwards, this time more on guard as they knew about his heightened speed. The two nodded at each other before splitting up, one of them taking a defender each.

"Setsuna Boost!" Shindou used his hissatsu to send the ball to the front of the enemy goal.

Tsurugi stopped moving, only smirking as his opponent gave him a confused look. On the other hand, the other defender had figured out that Kimiko would be the one to score. And yet, he wasn't able to stop her from bulldozing through with her sheer strength.

"You ain't seen nothin' yet!" She cackled. "Come on out! Acheri no Megami, Artemis!"

The archer appeared out of her back, a playful smile present on her face as she prepared her bow.

The keeper before her wasted no time and summoned his Soul again, the hydra roaring loudly. But that didn't deter her one bit.

"Hah! You know what they say!" She jumped high above their heads. "The weaker they are, the louder they bark! Artemis, Armed!"

The avatar dispersed into multiple shadows that quickly surrounded her form. When the darkness faded, she was covered head-to-toe in the white and gold armor.

Then, she made a circle with her point finger and thumb, before putting it to her mouth, whistling loudly. Five red penguins skyrocketed from the ground, grabbing her leg with their beaks as she lifted it up.

"Koutei Penguin 1-Gou!"

The penguins followed the ball as it headed towards the hydra, each of them taking a head each. The impact created a shockwave, a cloud of dust forming.

"W-Whoa..."

"That was..."

"... Were those... penguins?"

"... Fighting toe-to-toe with a creature like that..."

"And..."

The dust finally cleared, showing the ball within the goal.

"The penguins fucking won?!"

She scoffed as the armor on her faded. Then, she took a deep breath and reigned in her aura as well. "We won."

"Great job, Kimiko!" Shinsuke cheered from his post.

"We did it!"

"Yeah!"

Tenma and Shindou high fived one another as they, and Tsurugi, also turned off their auras. The navy haired striker headed to his best friend, fist bumping her.

"You got us." Sarjes admitted, laughing gleefully. "That was a great match!"

"It is our loss." Acrous nodded, his expression still neutral. "With this, you've proven yourselves more than worthy to―"

"Shut the fuck up."

The two aliens, along with their three teammates, were suddenly frozen. Then, they moved across the field like chess pieces, gathering at the center of the field.

"W-What is the meaning of― Mmph?!"

"Hey! Who's― Mmphrph?!"

"What the―?!"

Anyone that tried to speak had their own hair stuffed into their mouths.

"Either you shut up, or I'll make you." Kimiko, with her regular purple eyes glowing, walked up to them.

"Miko, go easy on them."

"Kyousuke, you're not an exception."

With just that, his lips zipped shut and he signaled for the rest of the team to do the same. She was livid.

"I spent the entire tournament having to listen to you directing everything, but here, we won." Her glare was directed solely on the opposing team's captain. "So, your highness... Now, you will listen to me."

Acrous clearly didn't like her attitude, but kept quiet and allowed her to continue anyway.

"One. I don't know how old Lalaya is, or how your planet's customs work, but Kyousuke is from Earth and he is only 13 years old. He is not marrying anyone."

"Two. Neither he nor your daughter are in love with each other. If you take two seconds to even look at her, you'd know that it's you that she wants by her side. She wants her father back to guide her. The only reason she went after Kyousuke was because she saw you in him."

"And three. Kyousuke isn't obligated in any way to make your daughter happy, or even help her restore your planet. He's just nice. That responsibility goes to her family first and foremost. If you can't understand that, then you don't deserve to call yourself a parent."

With every word, the king seemed to be riled up more and more. However, he couldn't say a word. He knew she was right.

"Next. Sir Pixie."

"That's me!" Despite the situation, Sarjes was still able to smile.

It calmed her a bit... A bit. "I can repeat all that stuff I said about being 13 and from Earth for Tenma too, but in the first place, do you actually have the right to knight someone? We have knights on Earth too, but only the royal family are able to admit them into the army."

"Ahaha... Yeah... About that..."

"... So you were here just to fight Tenma for the fun of it? This doesn't actually have anything to do with the princess?"

"Well, it's not completely unrelated, but... Yeah, I don't have that sort of authority. I just wanted to see the kind of person Princess Katora reached out to. I mean, I already kind of knew from traveling with you guys, but it's different from fighting you head-to-head."

"... I now have a bit more respect for you. Still, if all you want is a battle, then you don't have to make up excuses. Tenma would be down to play soccer any time of the day."

"Yeah! Come challenge us again any time!" The brunette cut in, offering his pure smile.

"Haha! I'll remember that! I'll give it 300% next time!"

She nodded, releasing her ability's grip on them. "Now, have I made myself clear?"

"Crystal!" The knight, realizing he was the only one to respond, nudged the king.

"... Yes." He sighed. "I... apologize. I'm rather sensitive about my daughter. All I wish is that―"

"She'll be happy, yeah, I know." She crossed her arms with a look. "But forcing a marriage between kids is not going to work out."

"... I understand."

"Good."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"... Okay, so... What now?" Shinsuke asked. "Can we go home?"

"Please?!" Mizukawa yelled from the bench, earning sweatdrops from all around her. "And if you make me say that again, I will twist you like a pretzel!"

"Go on ahead!" Sarjes said, his smile still present. "Your conductor has definitely figured everything out by now! You're free to leave at any time!"

"The Lost Galaxy is an enigmatic existence." Acrous added. "Your journey back might be faster than you originally planned."

"Yeah, but our time was wasted here instead by you fuckers!"

"M-Mizukawa-san..."

"What about the Space Rankers?" Tenna asked. "What will you be doing from now on?"

"Well, we're all dead." The knight said casually. "The only reason you could see our true selves without turning back into that little creature is because of this special space."

"One option is to simply stay here, remain as a memory for those who knew us..." Acrous trailed off before sighing. "And yet, I think I'll return to Faram Orbius and stay by Lalaya's side for a little longer. She doesn't need me anymore, but I still can't help but worry."

"Yeah? In that case, I'll go see Princess Katora too! That way, she wouldn't feel too lonely!"

"Then, it's settled. We'll depart now."

"Alright!"

The two turned to the team, nodding.

"We shall be going."

"Come see us any time!"

"See you, Sarjes! King Acrous!"

"Take care!"

"And tell the princess and queen that we wish them well too!"

The two returned to their Pixie forms as the other three of the Space Rankers disappeared in a burst of light.

"Piku?"

"Piku!"

And the two little creatures sped into the void.

"Good fucking riddance!"

"You were awesome, Raimon!"

"Let's go home!"

Amidst the chatter, no one noticed the light in a certain pair of purple eyes began to flicker.

~~~~~~~~~~

I'm going to delete the author's note chapter since it's not needed anymore, but thanks again to those who were patient with me in the months I was gone! And for all the support for my thesis too because (H A H A) that's still an on going thing even now hhhhh

Hopefully I'll get it done by the deadline so I can focus fully on finishing this book and others afterwards.

ANYWAYS.

The real drama for this arc begins next chapter! Kimiko and all her secrets, her relationships with her family (biological and otherwise), her true motive for every lie she gave and every truth she hid...

In reality, there's no such thing as a perfect happy ending, but we'd all like to get as close to that as we can, don't we?

Sadly, it's hard to get there. To some more than others.

Like her.