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[center][@Hammerman][@6slyboy6][@Gentlemanvaultboy][/center]
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He'd dug his own grave in a way. Christine had talked him into this mess, and he'd [i]assumed[/i] he'd be on the same team as her. So he'd gone and found Bak, thinking that would be his third and final teammate. Only to find that Yuuto and Vittorio, with Bak taken, had then gone to Christine who'd said yes, and so on and so forth and now he was on a team with motherfucking Thobias.

It was par for course really. Make any effort and life would without fail turn around in kick you in the mouth for daring to think anything would go your way. The validation was nice, he supposed...?

He winced as Bak fired off a volley of missiles, trying to make a big show of things. Well, she was succeeding. Bak might have been off-putting for a lot of people, but from the safety of their seats the masses loved a big, scary monster. He saw a few people glancing at him expectantly, wanting him to join the display. He indeed gave them something: his middle finger.

Play the role, right?

Speaking of Bak, she'd... confided in him about Vittorio. It had been surprising. He wasn't exactly friends with her, he just sort of knew her better than most. They'd been actual friends for maybe a week or two before she'd decided he was a disappointment. Not shocking. He was a lousy friend -- lazy and pessimistic. He was fine in a group, with other people to make up for his less than sparkling attitude, but one-on-one? Well, some days he wondered why Christine stuck around.

Regardless, what she'd told him was concerning, even for someone like him whose motto was: "I don't care." He could at least understand why Bak was worried. In the end, though, there wasn't much he could do. He'd promised, not that she'd left much room for choice, to keep an eye out and stop him if he saw him doing anything crazy. It wasn't like they could babysit him, but he'd try.

He wanted a nice, quiet night after this. If Vittorio went nuts, he'd probably be dealing with some variety of nonsense for at least a week.
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Cassius just sort of smiled nervously as some of his classmates gave speeches. He had to hand it to Andreim, his speech was worthy of applause. Not many had the confidence to unprompted give a speech. Then William tried to follow suit and, in Cassius's opinion... well maybe it would have helped if he wasn't following in Andreim's wake.

It was certainly a speech that held meaning, but he couldn't say he felt super motivated by it. It was a bit awkward. Victory within the bounds of the law? Well, he supposed Mephisto's was known for cheating, not that it could usually be proven, so there was that. He guessed William wanted to take the high road.

He tried to clap for William too, but he just couldn't get into it and it turned into more of a pitying slow clap despite his best intentions. Still, just like Andreim, he'd gone and done it. He must have been motivated.

[color=slategray]"Let's hope he's better at fighting than he is at speech giving, eh pal?"[/color] he whispered to Katherine with a whimsical smile. William [i]was[/i] on their team after all. She looked a little distracted now that he looked at her. [color=slategray]"By the way, you're not gonna totally lose it if we end up against that Mephisto's guy are you?"[/color] He thought he might have caught a glimpse of him earlier. Unfortunately for Kath, KOing the opponent wasn't the goal today. He wondered if maybe that's what had her preoccupied.
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[center][@Letter Bee][/center]
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[center][b]. . . The Meeting With William. . .[/b][/center]

In the end, Wolf didn't shake William's hand.

[color=DarkKhaki]"Like I said, nothing's changed. I'll do my best to keep Andras safe and if that ends up helping you, so be it,"[/color] Wolf told him. Like it or not, Vera had put those thoughts of his mother in his head. Maybe, deep down, with that connection drawn... he really did resent William. He'd never thought too much about William's plan. He'd sat safely on his fence, able to protect Andras and do his job without having to form an opinion.

In a way, that was still the case, but now he'd been forced to think about it.

[center][b]. . . At the Tournament. . .[/b][/center]

[color=DarkKhaki]"My what?"[/color] Wolf's face flushed as Ria ran off. Side piece!? Wait... MEREDITH!?! Dream message or not, she'd been MIA for over a week! And now his head was spinning. Not good. He just hoped he could calm down by the time the fighting started. Fortunately, Nas didn't seem to have any thoughts on Ria's comment and helped distract him from all that.

[color=DarkKhaki]"Y-yeah... if they stand and fight, we should win,"[/color] Wolf replied. There were lots of weird abilities that could complicate his life, but if he could get and keep his hands on anyone, he'd be fine. Then the flag could be taken at leisure.

He doubted it would be that easy.