Well, guess it was time to enter the Struggle Tournament, then.

[i]And probably lose,[/i] spoke Ascot's mind.

Well, best to think of it as an information-gathering challenge. Besides, it's not about losing, it's having fun.

Ascot's mind would have continued arguing, had Ascot himself not gotten a glimpse of Xayama, who was close to Joshua's group. He had caught other, lesser glimpses before, and what snatches of speech he heard told him that she was Amaya's Nobody, although she looked as different from Amaya as Namine had looked different from Kairi. And, well, that was a good thing, because Xayama looked just [i]perfect[/i], especially with the herd of kids close to her, which made her look positively maternal. It was that last part that drew him to her, as Ascot liked people who took care of kids.

The boy and Amelia walked close to her, and Ascot said:

"Hello there, what's your name? Mine's Ascot Carver." A budding crush was evident in his voice. "Anyway, you joining the Struggle Tournament?"