As they were preparing for the next warp, Ichikawa was telling Kimiko about the souvenirs he found while walking around Sazanaara with some of the others. Apparently, he had found some snow globes (though the locals called them 'Water Worlds') among other things and decided to buy two. One of them was for her, so that was nice of him.

"But why the trouble?"

"You seem to like buying souvenirs, so since you didn't have a chance to explore the town like we did, I thought I'd pick something you might like. Tsurugi-san was with me too."

Oh, was he? She couldn't decide if she wanted to laugh at Manuuba for being forced into the role, or get mad at the fact that he was still imposing as her best friend.

"Was that presumptuous of me?" Ichikawa suddenly asked.

"What?" She blinked up at him, and realized the troubled expression he had was because she didn't reply to his explanation. "Oh, no. I'm grateful, really! It was just unexpected, is all... Thanks. I'll take good care of it."

"I'm glad it cheered you up."

Her eyes widened at those words, but before she could respond, he had already left for his seat. As they went through the warp, all she could think about was how different yet similar they could be.

~~~~~

"We are now approaching planet Gardon."

Upon opening the door to the outside, steam immediately entered the vicinity.

"Hot...!"

"What's up with this heat?"

"No good. There's nothing but hot air here..."

Tetsukado could only stare at Sakura as she fanned away. "Where did you even get that fan?"

"Manabe, your glasses!" Konoha was looking up at the boy in question, who's glasses had fogged up due to the heat.

"Haha! You look silly!"

"It's evidence of how hot the air temperature is here." He didn't even bother to wipe the fog off, perhaps thinking it would be futile. "This heat must be coming from not only this planet's sun, but also its magma and geothermal energy."

Sounds like he's studied the place beforehand.

"So the entire planet is like a live volcano..." Shindou muttered.

"That's right." A familiar voice joined them. "That is the reason why this planet is known as the fire planet. Welcome to planet Gardon."

Kimiko smiled wryly. Looks like my next training menu has to match. So much for not putting anyone in mortal danger...

She waited for a response to her joke, only to remember that the one who usually does wasn't with them. There was just Manuuba, looking... better than how the others were doing.

As Ishigashi toured them around, she fell back to walk beside him, lowering her voice. "How are you not dying right now? Aren't you from a cold planet?"

He blinked. "How did you know?"

"Because only cold-blooded beings can change forms." That was a joke, but in reality, she just guessed from the one time she felt that cold breath when he whispered in her ear during the previous match.

He rolled his eyes. "That only applies to your planet. My people don't have blood."

"No? Then what happens when you get a cut?"

"Nothing. The flesh just regenerates immediately. Doesn't mean we don't feel pain, though." He shrugged before smirking. "Makes it a bit tough if I have to fake bleeding in one of my jobs, but fortunately, I'm skilled enough to never have to be in that sort of situation."

It was her turn to roll her eyes.

"As for your earlier question, it's thanks to this body's physiology."

"Physiology?"

"Your Earthian bodies are pretty resistant to this heat, so as long as I'm in this form, with all its physical data, I'll have no problem surviving. That alone's enough for me to not act like I'm dying on the spot."

"Huh... Makes me wonder what you really look like."

"Heh. Maybe if you're lucky, you'll get to see it. As long as I'm under this contract though, I can't take this face off."

"Bummer."

"What, you want me to be compromised?" When she gave him a smirk, he shook her head. "Can't believe someone with a personality as bad as you don't want to be a merc. You'd fit right in."

"Contrary to popular belief, I do not enjoy making people suffer."

"Seven years' worth of your best friend's memories tells me otherwise. Oh, well. Maybe some other day." Before she could tell him not to get his hopes up, he gave her a question of his own. "What about you? Why aren't you melting like the rest?"

"I have a cheat code."

"A what?"

Her shirt may seem like a regular one, but in truth it was a type of armor that those in Feida had made for her back in the earlier days of her stay. As she was still learning to control the full extent of her abilities― and with Zanark of all people― They wanted to make sure she would be safe from whatever danger that awaits (Especially after hearing about her first hurricane adventure).

Under Saru and Fei's orders, with Meia and Giris' insight in fashion, and Garo's battle testing, they tailored an outfit identical to her old one, but only in appearance. It had the capability to help her withstand the heat of magma, the cold of Antarctica, pressure of the deep ocean, and more. There was also the addition of her ampule belt, which Feida had also given her to help her store and retake her auras should there ever be a need to.

(They also remade the uniforms for all of Zanark Domain in the same material as her outfit, but that's a whole other story.)

The only thing she was wearing that wasn't remade was her best friend's jacket.

Though of course, she wasn't going to mention any of that to him. Why would she when he's technically an enemy? So, she only stuck her tongue out in reply before walking ahead, catching up to Tenma at the very front.

Shinsuke suddenly pointed upwards. "Look at that!"

Following his finger, they found...

"A bird man?"

"Wow..."

"Those are the inhabitants of this planet." Ishigashi explained.

"Then, does that mean they play soccer while flying?" Tetsukado asked. "That's not fair!"

"No, you will not be fighting them." He then turned to the planet's residents that are below the bridge they were on.

"Huh? Only their faces are birds."

Just as Sakura pointed out, a bunch of other bird men were walking around. The difference was that, unlike the first one they saw in the sky, none of them have wings. Instead, they seemed to have mechanical arms taking their place.

"They are also Gardonians. Those without wings will be your upcoming opponent."

"Without wings..."

"Oh, they're hiding themselves..."

"They're being wary of your presence."

Tenma turned back to their tour guide for confirmation. "This planet has inhabitants who can and can't fly?"

"Yes. Long ago, all Gardonians had the ability to fly. However, in recent years, some began to change their wings into mechanical arms. With new abilities gained from prehensility and opposability of the hand, the Gardonians built numerous machines to adapt to a way of life on land."

"But they have the wonderful ability to fly..."

Kimiko gave a wry smile in Minaho's way. "You're looking at this from the human's perspective. If you look at it from theirs, they might think that having hands to create all this is better than having appendages that's just good for flying."

"That's right." Ishigashi agreed with her. "On the other hand, there are those Gardonians who are proud of their wings and spurn the idea of mechanical arms."

"You mean them?" Shindou asked, looking up at the flying ones once again.

"They are part of the eastern clan, the Anti-Machine Faction. The Gardonians with mechanical arms are part of the western clan, the Pro-Machine Faction. Currently, both sides are at conflict over who will take leadership over planet Gardon."

"But they're both part of the same planet..."

Kimiko couldn't help sweatdropping at that. You're saying that as if Earth doesn't have its own issues...

"And on top of that, they're fighting for their planet's survival?"

"It would be perfect if both sides fought and destroyed themselves before our match."

Kusaka frowned. "You don't hold back, huh."

"But Matatagi does have a point." Shindou said. "We have our reasons to keep winning too."

Tenma nodded. "Alright. Time to get to practice. Let's go, everyone!"

"Yeah!"

As they headed back, it was Ichikawa that walked beside her. "It appears we might not be able to get any souvenirs this time."

"Souvenirs don't have to be anything fancy." She pointed out, chuckling slightly. "Besides, we're on an alien planet. Even a rock can be considered as one."

He blinked. "Would that really be enough?"

"You'd be surprised what kind of things I collect while I travel with my brother."

(He didn't need to know which brother she meant.)

~~~~~

Kimiko stood on the sidelines with Aoi and Mizukawa as usual. While the other two managers were tending to the team's needs, such as towels and drinks, she was busy planning out their training menus in a notebook. When someone asked why she wasn't using her tablet, she would only give them a blank stare.

"Do you want my devices to explode in this heat?"

After that, they zipped their mouths shut and continued their regular regiments.

As she watched the team, one conclusion formed in her head. They need to spend their time outside as much as possible in order to get used to the heat, but a counter balance is also necessary so that they wouldn't get too exhausted before the match. She thought about practicing only in the Black Room and simply strolling around while outside, but then they wouldn't be used to rushing about in the heat.

Just as her head began falling into a spiral, she was brought back to reality by a loud kick.

Looking up, a bird man with mechanical arms had arrived on the field. He also had an eyepatch... or is that some kind of monocle?

"My name is Arbega Gourdon." He said. "I have come to you in greetings as a representative of Gardon's team."

After taking a closer look, she could see the purple armband on his left. So he's the captain, huh?

"Is this how Gardonians greet others?" Shindou sounded offended. She wondered what she missed.

"More like you're picking a fight." Kusaka stated.

"Kusaka, don't let him provoke you." Tenma reminded.

"But those arms really are mechanical." Manabe muttered.

And then Matatagi decided to speak up. "It's just a bird man without wings."

"I have no need for wings." That seemed to stir him. "We gave up our wings to advance into this ultimate evolved form. And in exchange, we have obtained the ability to make many things. That ability to create can only be borne by these arms. Prepare yourselves. You are destined to lose here. You will end up kneeling before the power of our ultimate evolved selves." And with that, he left.

"A declaration of war, huh?"

Yeah, not if my existence has anything to say about it. She couldn't say that out loud, but she couldn't stifle the small laugh that wanted to come out.

"What's so funny?" Apparently, Ibuki heard her.

"I was just thinking..." Seeing the rest of the team giving her strange looks flustered her a little. She really didn't mean to laugh. "That Arbega guy was getting all high and mighty because of the arms that he got. Saying stuff like 'gave up our wings to achieve the ultimate evolution' or something like that... To us. Earthlings. Who were born with hands in the first place. Doesn't that mean we're better than them since we've always had them since the first day mankind existed? When looking at it that way, I just find what he's saying kind of ironic."

Shindou sighed, but gave a small chuckle of his own. "Leave it to you to make threats sound funny."

With the heavy air cleared up, they continued practice in the smelting heat, but not without smiles on their faces.