Chevaleresse

Splintered / Reflections

Feanulde occupied herself with going over a list of protocols, codes, and procedures in her seat, doing her best to shut out the rest of the team. Doctor Dokken was familiar with her, and was probably the one she trusted the most not to opportunistically shoot her in the back. Or the front. The rest, though? It was difficult not to think about their reasons for being here, such that she even knew them, and how most of them revolved around the desire to crush the Totality, see the Totality driven before them, et cetera, as Val'kos had just made abundantly clear. It was not terribly difficult to see most of the members of this, or, well, any SPEAR team taking the opportunity to visit some impromptu justice upon a perceived agent of their hated foe, the actual extent of their wrongdoing be damned.

Of course, the one thing able to break through her many layers of anxiety was a threat to her ego. "The weapons won't jam, she said sharply, her accent flaring up in her irritation. "I've conducted at least one personal inspection on each piece of MAS equipment going on this trip, unless some fool changed the manifest at the last moment." To her credit, she resisted the urge to comment on one the very few benefits of such primitive technology being a relative dearth of points of failure. The elf rose from her seat with a small twitch of her ears, and stalked after Veep, aiming to beat the Felness to their mechanized armor.

World of Light: the Endless Now (The Ultimate Videogame Crossover)

Esaka - Low Tier: The Roman Cancel

Yayama Yama
Status: Curious
LV: 6, EXP: 23/60
Word Count: 657 (+1)

Yayama eyed the man up and down - subtly, like a lady, of course - as he flagged her down and approached. She might not have been in the market at the moment, but that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy a little window shopping, and blending together strength and sophistication was something she appreciated. The Far Eastern style was especially fetching, though it did prompt the errant thought that he'd be somewhat more appealing with a pair of horns. Yayama's own thoughts surprised her, but after a moment of mulling it over, she figured that the capacity to notice such a distraction was probably a good thing, given everything.

She listened intently to his introductory spiel, feeling equal parts cautious and curious. The dark knight hadn't gotten a strong feel of who to trust and who to keep at arm's length here, so there was always the off chance she was being had, and this man was either another hunter of the Seekers or a G-corp agent looking to cut down would-be vigilantes before they became an issue. Despite this possibility, and perhaps slightly influenced by the fact that she thought he was hot, she elected to hear him out.

"Well, it's difficult to turn down the offer of lunch from a charming gentleman such as yourself." He also had noticed that they were a group, so it was best to find out more of what he knew, whether he was genuine or not. "And it sounds like we have a few goals in common. Assassination attempts are something one eventually learns to take in stride as a successful adventurer, but I can't abide any group that would so recklessly endanger bystanders for it. I also came to Esaka after hearing of some of the less-agreeable practices here, so I believe we have much to gain from cooperating." She nodded to punctuate her statement.

"I'll contact a few of my friends and see if they're interested." One formality lost occurred to her. "And while I assume you probably know my name if your group has been searching for me, please allow me to introduce myself. I am Yayama Yama, the Warrior of Darkness, and former Captain of the Immortal Flames. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Mito." She put her hands to her sides and gave him an Eastern-style bow, though it looked a bit awkward between her short frame and bulky armor. "Where exactly would this meeting place be?"

Yayama's courtesy elicited a delighted smile from her new acquaintance. If he had noticed her gaze wandering as he spoke earlier, Anji did not seem fazed. "I'm glad you see the value in working together, and I'd be grateful for speaking to your friends on our behalf. It's a big city, after all, and I'm no Raven."

When asked where Yayama and any of her interested comrades could expect to find the United Nations group's representatives, Anji gently raised a closed fan to adjust his glasses with its edge. "Ah, of course. Mr. Chevalier recommended that you and he meet at Wine-Cup Hold, a winery on the western edge of the Middle Tier, which should have just opened for the day. It resembles a castle, and the outside seating is quite pleasant. I'll hope to see you there." He gave the dark knight a polite nod of his head before turning to go. She returned the nod, and added a wave of farewell before watching him leave.

After a few moments, she ducked down into the mouth of a nearby alleyway. Holding a hand up to one ear, she sent out a ping on the team's linkshell. "Hey, Yayama here. I've been approached by a man saying he represents the United Nations. They want to include us in some movement against G-corp, and might be sympathetic to our overall goals here. Their rep seems trustworthy enough; anyone open for lunch today?"

World of Light: the Endless Now (The Ultimate Videogame Crossover)

Esaka - Low Tier: The Roman Cancel

Yayama Yama
Status: Dreaming
LV: 6, EXP: 21/60
Word Count: 752 (+2)

Sleep came quickly, but rest was slower to follow. Disturbed sleep was a fact of life for someone with the kind of experiences she had; it was simply a consequence of being someone renowned as both a warrior and a person of conscience. Too often had a mountain of bodies haunted her in the night, both those foes that had fallen before her blade and friends who were gone all too soon. The simple fact of the matter was that, for the last decade, Yayama had been surrounded by death. Even before that, she had been no stranger to it, having lived through the Seventh Umbral Calamity.

Of course, none of that is really you, is it? Not that I'm taking credit for it, either; I'm even more of a fake than you. As you pointed out, I shouldn't be here. The real Yayama Yama, the actual Warrior of Darkness, she already dealt with this. You, though, you shattered at the first blow. That's why I'm here. It's alright, though. I'll protect you. From the outside, anyway. As one of your inner demons, I can't exactly fend the rest off, can I?

A memory came to her in the haze of unconsciousness. Hers, but not hers, at once. A memory of a different life, one of an uncountable number. A different Yayama, a different false hero planted in a different fake place in a different time in this false world. Companions she didn't recognize surrounded her as they strode into a ruined castle, wielding strange weapons or stranger powers. A shadow blotted out the setting sun; she knew that they feared it beyond anything else, but also that it was their goal.

Death enveloped her once more. First it took the man in brightly colored armor; the yellow flash of his barrier was invisible beneath the stream of flame that left nothing but ash and molten metal behind. An explosive fireball took the next, hurling the monochromatic woman into a wall with a sickening crunch. The third fell to slashing claws, the black dragon tearing through plate armor like wet paper. Then, it was her turn, eyes filled with hatred giving way to snapping jaws. She felt fangs pierce her chest and rip her asunder before the memory faded.

She isn't here.

The rest of her dreams continued in a similar vein. It didn't matter what the leadup was, the ending was always the same. A foe she couldn't hope to surmount, and her being the last to fall. A realization, perhaps some spark of the template she'd been endlessly copied from shining through, that her greatest source of strength wasn't here. One could not have Darkness without Light. Their destinies had been too closely entwined for them to survive without one another. Or, perhaps, that was some twisted form of wishful thinking. After all, at the end of the day, Yayama Yama was not the savior of Eorzea. That honor belonged to another.

This came with another realization. Somehow, she knew, since the beginning, that she and that savior had not once met since the beginning of this endless now. Whatever the true nature of the force maintaining this place was, it had not once deigned to place them together. Perhaps it knew that it wouldn't survive the combination.

Perhaps it was just cruel.

...

Yayama awoke early, somehow groggier than when she went to bed. She stared up at the ceiling for what felt like a small eternity. The silence shattered with a burst of profanity, Yayama fighting off the urge to smash everything nearby in a fit of rage. The squall passed after a few moments, leaving behind a feeling of empty loneliness. "Just keep putting one foot in front of the other," she told herself as she forced herself to roll out of bed. The sun was barely peeking through her window as she pulled on her clothes on. "Fake or not, people are counting on you now."

That, and you need to take your revenge.

"That too," she grumbled, before she headed out of her room and down the stairs. She wasn't about to get back to bed, so despite the hour, she figured she may as well get out and about. With a short wave to the staff on duty (a single woman who barely looked awake) she headed out the door and back into the streets of Esaka once more, in search of some small good to do.

Kurai Majokko: Tsundere Gekido

”I need a break."

---

Haruna was doing Haruna things.

Which was to say that she was busy. She was busy at night helping people, busy during the day with her schooling, and busy in her down time trying to help the detention club not implode on itself. It might be fair to say Haruna didn’t have time for herself. Or rather, what little time she had for herself she freely gave to other people. Her morning jog might have just been the only time she truly did something for herself.

And it was then, when she was tying her jogging shoes, that her phone rang. It wasn’t someone calling to tell her about her car insurance though, it was from a certain pink haired magical girl that slurred her words. She pulled the strings tight before fishing her phone out of her pocket. The sight of the call ID prompted mixed feelings in Hibusa’s shiniest magical girl, but these didn’t stop her from answering the call. "Hello?"

"Ey you!" Came through the phone, confirming what should have been obvious. Though there was the small chance that an ape had stolen her phone before she could depart. "Are ya okay? Da ya need help? Should I bring the gals with meh?" She laughed like someone two-hundred pounds heavier than she was. "Couldn’t help mahself. Anyway, uh, dere’s a Pancake Abode halfway between us. We could meet dere if ya want. Talk face to face like old times."

"Yeah, that might be nice. I was just about to go for a run, but I wouldn’t mind getting a nice breakfast." Routines were important, but so were breaks from them. "And for the record, I’m doing fine. There are a few challenges here in Hibusa, but nothing I can’t handle." She hoped the conversation would lower her stress levels, not raise them, but given she had practical matters to address, that was less than certain. "I think I know the place. Race you there?" she asked, smiling a bit to herself.

"Sure ting!"

And with that, the race was on.

…

…

…

The Pancake Abode was nothing special. It was a small restaurant that owed all of its business to people driving past the gas station it was built next to. Travelers would fuel up and get a nice meal before continuing on to the city of light, where they would rent a hotel room and sleep for the night. The restaurant was very much a greasy spoon, but it was in an old, charming building. Some of the brick work had been repaired, with day old bricks sandwiched between decade old ones. There were evergreen trees at every corner of the structure and bushes that lined the front of the establishment. The real symbol of the restaurant’s age was from its billboard, which likely hadn’t been updated for decades. The little chipmunk mascot was not drawn in a contemporary style, and the font was bold and goofy compared to the contemporary minimalism that most businesses had adapted.

Predictably, Haruna had arrived about five minutes before Morganite got there. Or at least she assumed that was who was jogging to the Pancake Abode in a hurry. The identity protection magic tied to their transformations always made it a bit hard to tell, and Morganite had never revealed herself like this. She had never seen Haruna and had worked exclusively with Hizuki. The pinkette looked around, her eyes scanning the roof tops and the greenery in front of the joint.

"Am first!" She threw her fists into the air before doing a little dance. She scuffed her feet and moon walked backwards (unconvincingly) three steps before turning to look in Haruna’s direction. Then she froze.

Haruna flashed her a broad, smug grin before closing the distance. "Not quite. I’m still the fastest one around here." She clapped one hand on Morganite’s shoulder. "Good effort, but I’ve kept up training all this time. I’m actually joining the track team in Hibusa, so you shouldn’t feel too bad about losing this one." She gestured at the entrance. "Shall we go get some water, and then some pancakes? I could eat so many chocolate chip ones right now."

After Haruna concluded her humble brag, the girl gave a quiet little "ya" before they entered the establishment together. The interior was a great deal cleaner and fresh when compared to the exterior of the building, but was still dated. It really tried to look like a place where you could eat western style food, but perhaps they had leaned a bit too hard into that aesthetic. The interior was lit with old fluorescent lights that were a bit too dim to properly light everything, and the awnings over the windows prevented much light from coming in. There was also a lot of brown, from the picnic style tables to the tiled floor. Even the white countertops and vinyl seats seemed to be a light shade of brown. Pushes of the mascot were tucked in every corner of the establishment, and the squirrel’s brown coat didn’t alleviate the color oversaturation.

There also weren’t too many people inside. It was easy to pick up on the untransformed Morganite’s desires. She wanted to understand, she wanted to keep a friend, she wanted to be understood. A lady at the counter wearing a yellow waitress outfit directed the girls to a booth, took their orders, and departed.

"Wasn’t sure how ya were gunna look." She tipped her head side to side as she viewed Haruna from as wide an angle as she possibly could. "Since we’re off da clock, ya might as well call me Saundra."

"Then you should call me Haruna." She watched the other light girl pivot back and forth, wondering at what exactly she was doing. "Um, sorry again about the other day. I really appreciate you being willing to put yourself at risk for me like that."

"Ahhhhh, dun mention it, Haruna!" She beamed with joy. "Riskin’ it all is what us GEMs ‘re all aboot!"

Haruna scratched her head awkwardly. "Er, other than that, have you been alright? Anything interesting happened back home while I’ve been away? Are the GEMs still getting along decently with SF?"

"Az gud as we can." She lowered her eyes and sighed. "Da old boss has been kinda distant ever since da switch, but we all keep da city protected." Saundra made a not so subtle attempt to change the topic, and her dour expression changed with it. "How about da light girls around here? I know there aren’t a lot, but do ya get along with ‘em?"

"I’ve only really met the one, but she seems pretty nice. She really doesn’t like the Detention Club, but honestly, that’s pretty understandable," she sighed. "Sayuri gave me a good luck charm and everything. If there’s other light girls around Hibusa, though, I haven’t met them. Everyone except Miss Gate has been either a GEM or a Detention Club member."

"Mmmm, dat’s not too surprising." She tapped her fingers on the table. "A lotta light girls who go to Habusa town don’t stay there. Da Detention club is massive. We’ve been ignoring dem because they keep to themselves." Clearly mentioning that she understood why someone would hate the Detention club was, to Saundra, an invitation to talk about why she didn’t like them. That was what her desires told Haruna before she opened her mouth. "I only went into Hibusa to look for ah missing person. I saw a mascot and figured it belonged to the detention club. Ah knew I was playin’ with fire, but ah only really wanted to get their help. But dey put some kinda hex on me." Her eyebrows became cross. "Dey suppressed my emotions or somethin’. It was disgusting magic! I got ah little sidetracked and followed them out to their beach vacation. Ah can’t do a lot on my own, but it was clear they were up to something. I got Pearl, but by that point they had already summoned a giga miseria. You know what dey are?" Haruna didn’t have to answer. Saundra could tell by the grave expression on her face at the mention of the word that she had. "And dey had da nerve to ask me why I didn’t help them kill it! Because giga miseria don’t create more of themselves, and I needed to take care of da bigger threat, that’s why!" She folded her arms and leaned back in her chair.

"Here you are." The waitress served their meals. For Saundra, that was a stack of pancakes with a mountain of whipped cream on top, covered in strawberries. The whole thing had been lightly dusted with powdered sugar. The pinkette was so delighted by her treat that she nearly forgot to speak.

"Tanks!" She scooped up her fork and dove in immediately. After taking a single bite, she leaned back in her seat, her eyelids closed, and while she chewed, a smile of pure bliss crossed her face.

Haruna thanked the server and started in on her own pancakes a bit more sedately, drenching them in maple syrup before taking a couple small bites. "It sounds like you ran into Acid Drop in town," she started. "I don’t think she meant anything by it, she was probably just trying to get you to leave the mascot alone. She’s not very good at communicating." She avoided pointing out the GEMs’ hypocrisy in their retaliation.

"As for the beach incident, I don’t approve of them involving innocents, obviously, but I’m starting to learn why it happened. The Detention Club is under threat. Another dark girl showed up, burned down a flower shop, kicked the crap out of them, and then said she’d be back with friends. They’re trying to get stronger so they can survive, and your team being around is making them feel backed into a corner. Especially since they can’t always rely on Schrade to be around." Haruna took a few more bites, giving Saundra an opportunity to reply.

Two seconds into talking about the beach event, and Saundra already looked agitated. "Ahyea, dark girls are always da problem. Not too surprising they are a headache for their own." She stabbed her fork at her meal until it was loaded up with pancake and strawberry. "Ya pretty quick ta paint us as part of da problem, but den what did dey do to da other dark girl ta make her so angry? And what did she do to dem to prompt dem makin’ her angry? And was dere a ting before dat? Or before dat even?" She took some syrup and drizzled it over her sweetened pancakes. "An eye for an eye makes da world blind, sure. But dat was uncalled for, regardless of reason." Her cheeks bulged when she bit down on her fork full of food.

"They’d never seen this girl before. She just showed up out of nowhere and trashed the place. If there was some kind of preexisting grudge, nobody’s said a word." Haruna frowned. "I’m not trying to paint you as anything, I’m explaining what’s going on so we can resolve this before someone gets seriously hurt. Or at least so you can understand why I’m opposing you if we end up fighting for real."

Sandra dropped her fork onto her plate with a clatter.

Haruna sighed. "They’re not actually bad people, mostly. Just. . . troubled. You know?" She looked down and to the side. "It’s not like you don’t know anyone dealing with their own stuff."

"Most people dealing with dere own stuff don’t summon monsters and endanger da public." She folded her arms. "Everybody does something bad once. Dark girls do it over and over. Dey will rob, cheat, steal, harass, and force people ta do things dey don’t wanna do." She exaggerated a look of sorrow and threw her hand onto her head. "Wahhh! My notebook got stolen! Betta burn down da school!" She switched hands. "Wahhhhhhhh! I got made fun of! Betta make it my life mission ta kill the person who did it!" With a groan, she shook her head. "If ya saw da tings I saw dark girls do, ya wouldn’t be staying in Habusa town. Dey are hurting, and dey don’t wanna get better. Dey just wanna hurt everyone else too."

"That’s not true!" Haruna’s hand slapped down on the table loud enough for the girl to flinch at the sound, then look briefly sheepish as she realized other people were reacting as well. Sandra, however, only kept up her steely glare. "All they want is to keep their friends close to them and stay safe. Yeah, they do bad stuff sometimes, but that doesn’t mean they deserve to be hunted in the streets. Do you know how scared they are of us? Most of them think they’ll just die if someone finds them in the city of light, and now they have light girls stalking them at school and trying to kidnap them on the way home." She was trying to keep her voice down, but it was getting increasingly difficult. "Seriously, why doesn’t any other magical girl believe in talking about anything!? It’s driving me crazy."

"I did try ta talk, and that’s how I got mind wammied by ‘Azid drop.’ I tried ta talk again after da fact, but dey are so proud dey attacked me for making ah funny bannah for dere club room." Saundra started to race her voice. "Diamond tried ta talk to them too, but dey attacked with ah big monstah they summoned! She ran with skiddle cuz she didn’t want ta fight and hurt her! Why does da Detention Club get ah pass on everything and da GEMS get treated like monsters for da smallest missteps?" She folded what remained of her pancakes in half and shoved them into her mouth.

Haruna took a deep breath. Stay cool. Yelling at her isn’t going to help with anything. Even if she might as well be lying through her teeth at you right now. "Okay. I’m just gonna. Not respond to that right now. You don’t think I’m being fair, and I don’t think you’re being fair, can we leave it at that so we can keep talking?" She paused a moment for Saundra to reply.

It took a moment for Saundra to finish chewing her food. "I guess…"

"You said you were looking for a missing person, and you wanted to see if the Detention Club would help. Can you tell me more about that?"

"Ah light girl went missing ah year or so ago." She groaned, clearly still agitated with what the outing had devolved into. "Her name was ‘Glorious.’ We taught she was dead but some of us saw her, only she ran away when we approached. She was headed for Hibusa town so ah figured I would see if she stopped by. Ah don’t think she did." She sipped her orange juice.

"Glorious? . . ." Haruna shook her head. "Doesn’t ring a bell. Although," she frowned, "is it possible she fell instead of dying? There’s a dark girl that seemed newer to the area that I made friends with. She decided to join up with the club recently. I don’t suppose you know what she looks like when she’s not transformed?"

"If she is alive den maybeh she fell. Would kinda hope not." She looked away from Haruna, or rather, she was trying to search her memory. "She wus a strawberry blonde, usually smiled, About as tall as you but like, kinda toned? Bat not too toned." She rubbed her arm and tried to make her arm the correct amount of muscle, but decided to give up when her tiny noodle arms didn’t yield anything she liked. "She liked to dress cool. Like she wore shirts with cool designs on dem. Sorta like a punk rock aesthetic but den it was scaled back to not be overbearing. Her hips swung when she walked, and guys always turned dere heads to look at ‘ere." She sniffed. "Like, she had dis aura about her? Like she was really cool, but also approachable? Even though she kinda looked like a delinquent she didn’t act like one or hold herself like one, you know? She was just cool without any of the bad stuff. She wasn’t Japanese, like me, or like any of us really. Definitely a foreign beauty type." Sandra’s breathing became noisier. "And she was interested in a lot of stuff. Like, if you wanted to show her something, she would always come see and let you explain it to her. Even if it was kinda stupid, she’d make sure you never felt that way."

Haruna searched her own memory for a few moments, but came up blank. "No, that doesn’t really sound familiar. That’s not what Miss Gate looks like at all. I’ll ask Evil Eye to keep an, uh, eye out though. If someone like that’s in Hibusa now, I’m sure we’ll see her." There was a reassuring note to her voice, but it didn’t do anything for Saundra. "What happened there, exactly? Did she just vanish one day, or did she get into a big fight or something first?"

"She was… Attacked." Saunda wiped her eyes. "She was never the same after that. We heard she was killed in a car crash so we came to the City of Light to see what happened, but all we found was her ruined car. Magical girls don always get ta leave a corpse. We suspected the dark girls did somethin’, but we never got da truth. Half of da dark girls in da city of light said dey never saw her. Da others? Dey all bragged about it! Not dat we think any of dem did it, but dey just tried to push our buttons. All we knew was she was gone, until summer. Den we had some hope. But…" She sighed. "Just lead ta more problems."

"I’m sorry this whole thing has become such a mess," Haruna said, sadly. "I’m also sorry for yelling at you. Like I said, I’ll do my best to find Glorious. Um. . ." She hesitated for a moment. "I’ve been a little too hard on the GEMs, I think. The Detention Club is nicer than you seem to think too. Can we forgive each other for that and maybe try to get our teams to try the whole talking thing again? It can just be a couple of them and a couple of you meeting in a place kinda like this to figure stuff out so people don’t need to be any more angry or scared than they need to be."

"We could try, ya." She looked down at her empty plate and then back at Haruna. "I haven't got faith in da detention club, but I got faith in you. Just keep everyone in Hibusa town for a while and den we can try talking again. If dey start summoning giga miseria again, well, we might be ‘fightin’ for real’ as you put it." She grabbed the top of her seat and slid herself out of the booth. "But I’d rather we not so dat we could do dis again." After flashing Haruna a smile, she walked up to the counter to get settled up for everything. The counter person accepted her money with a nod and waved to her as she departed. But Saundra stopped as soon as she got outside.

Haruna nearly bumped into her as she followed, having polished off the last of her pancakes while Saundra paid. "Is something wrong?"

She turned to look at Haruna. "Da lighting wasn’t good but…" She squinted her eyes. "Ya, you need to go ta bed earlier." Neither girl was in great shape. They had just run, were still sweaty, and would likely need a shower before they did anything else today. "I’ll see what ah can do wit da other GEMs, take care."

Haruna shrugged at Saundra’s comment. "Someone’s gotta patrol Hibusa at night." Then, she nodded. "You stay safe, too. I’ll keep an eye out for Glorious." She gave the GEM a wave, then turned to jog back home. "See you."

World of Light: the Endless Now (The Ultimate Videogame Crossover)

Esaka - Low Tier

Yayama Yama
Status: Eepy
LV: 6, EXP: 20/60
Word Count: 404 (+1)

With her obligations taken care of for the day, the energy Yayama had dug up from within herself promptly dissipated a few minutes after she parted ways with Charlotta. It was all she could do to avoid tripping over her own feet on her way back down to the Low Tier, where she planned to return to the inn she'd been staying in before meeting up with the Seekers. In hindsight, the place - called the Roman Cancel - reminded her of a seedier Quicksand, with its impressive-looking columns bracketing humbler tables in the common area. "What in the seven flaming hells am I supposed to do with all this. . . ?" she asked the air.

I thought we'd already decided. Kill the one responsible and everyone in our path.

"Oh, shut it, you."

Well, of course, we have to nap first. Silly me.

Yayama rolled her eyes. She didn't have the energy to argue with anyone, much less a manifestation of her inner rage and sorrow given anthropomorphic form by a combination of trauma and ancient dark arts. The lalafell did feel that she should be doing more instead of resting, but the rational part of her had won out in this case. "Won't do anyone any good if I get gutted because I'm not rested enough for a fight," she muttered to herself as she rounded another corner, coming up on the gaudy facade of the inn.

Putting one hand to her ear, she reported her location to the rest of the group via linkpearl, before pushing through one of the overdone doors. The cheap decor was lost on her entirely, the dark knight beelining straight for the desk. "I need a room for another night." She slid some more of her coin over the counter, which the clerk made disappear with a smile.

"Of course, ma'am. We've kept one open for you."

One advantage of crappy hotels: A lot of them didn't ask questions, and right now, she really needed her name to not spread around. It was obviously far too late for whoever attacked the Seekers to think she was dead, but she didn't need to make it easier to find her. For the moment, the only foes she had to fight were the ones in her dreams. Opponents which, unfortunately, would only continue to outnumber her for what she supposed would be the rest of her short existence.

World of Light: the Endless Now (The Ultimate Videogame Crossover)

Esaka - Pools Tier

Yayama Yama
Status: Successful
LV: 5, EXP: 44/50
Word Count: 3334 (+4, then +10 for match completion)
Ft. @Lugubrious as Ferra & Torr

After Yayama and Primrose went their separate ways, the former met up with her fellow diminutive knight at the stage for their next bout. She was grateful for the distractions that the crowds provided; weaving through people’s knees without annihilating any shins or thighs with her sword by mistake took enough focus that her mind couldn’t wander back to topics best left off the field. Similarly, her match coming up so soon after her previous one was ideal. A later one meant that she’d have to contend with ever-increasing fatigue through the day first, not to mention needing to warm up again. Shouldering her way forward, Yayama stepped out past the crowd and onto the stage, just a few minutes before her next match was set to begin.

It was another minute before she spotted an unusual figure lumbering along one of the nearby wooden walkways, the timber straining and creaking with every step as bystanders shifted out of the stranger’s way. Improbably muscular men, the sort who made even male Au Ra look like shrimps, were rather common in Esaka, so even new arrivals tended to get desensitized to the sight fairly quickly. Every so often, though, there came along a specimen of such outrageous proportions that he was beefy even by Esaka standards, and this appeared to be one of them. The absolute gorilla of a man, with trunklike limbs and enormous hands, was bare except for bits of hide and bladed armor draped across his form. Red eyes shone from inside the scrap of red cloth that veiled his face, and he seemed to be headed Yayama’s way. As he got closer, though, she could make out one more interesting detail: a diminutive figure riding on the brute’s back, clothed in a similarly aggressive fashion and armed with two-clawed gauntlets.

“There they are!” Yelled the little one in shrill, snarly voice as she tapped at her mount’s shoulders, then pointed at Yayama and Charlotte. “Move, Torr!” The hulking man beneath her obeyed without question. He approached the stage for the two teams’ imminent kombat, leaping down onto the long, narrow arena elevated just above the water’s surface by two rows of trapezoidal stone wedges. Thin as it was, the platform shook slightly beneath the weight of the duo known as Ferra/Torr. Once he came to a stop, his rider leaned over his broad shoulders, smirking at the opposition. “Hah! Enemies even littler than me is! This easy for we - maybe more easier than stupid undie-pants man last round!”

Yayama looked the duo up and down, assessing the mass of muscle and the brains running the operation. After her analysis, she declared a resounding “Eh” as she hefted her sword. “Fought bigger. Of course, I know better than to judge the amount of fight in someone by how tall they are.” The dark knight held her sword off to one side to free up her left hand. She pointed it at Torr, then crooked one finger in a “come at me” gesture. “Let’s see what you’ve actually got.”

The dark knight waited for the Principles to call the start of the match proper. Of course, she wasn’t planning on charging in immediately; in fact, that was what she was hoping her foes would do, with the rider seeming lulled into a false sense of security by her stature. She watched both Ferra and Torr for signs of an incoming attack, not wanting to let the small one return the favor Yayama was about to do the pair.

With little sense for what the kombatants might call ‘dramatic timing’, it took a few more moments for the Heavenly Principles to take action. A nasty, expectant grin spread across Ferra’s face when golden light finally welled up from the arena’s surface. ROUND ONE: FIGHT!

“Haaaaah!” The second the battle began, Torr reached up, grabbed Ferra off his back, and hurled her through the air. Her bladed claws gleamed in the morning light as she flew in a high arc, flipping fast enough to resemble a large buzz saw. At the same time, Torr ran forward a few steps, then slowed to a stop as he reached melee range, the reach of his burly, long arms much larger then Yayama’s. He did not attack immediately, but waited to see what would come of his human projectile, ready to pile on. It was a decent opening gambit to apply offensive pressure, somehow achieved without the use of any communication that the Lalafell could identify.

Yayama brought her greatsword up defensively, forming an improvised rampart between herself and the whirling blades before they struck. She stepped backward as she blocked, not wanting to open herself up to a potential grab from the giant this early in the fight. Once Ferra exhausted her momentum, the dark knight launched a quick thrust forward with her blade, aiming to catch the next assault before it began with its deceptively long reach.

With an annoyed grunt, Ferra bounced off her opponent’s guard and grabbed onto Torr’s shoulders as she sailed away, resuming her normal place. Torr crouched down as Yayama’s thrust jabbed toward him, his armored shins and forearms a strong bulwark as he blocked. Once her blade’s tip glanced off his metal braces, the brute tried a couple lumbering swats of his own. She easily spaced the attack out, deftly hopping backward such that Torr’s arms swung through the air just inches away from her.

Yayama began her reprisal with a leaping, overhead slash, collapsing the distance between the two at once with a plunging blow. The maneuver was risky, leaving her exposed in the short time between the start of her leap and the beginning of the actual strike, but the sudden close caught her foe off guard. A loud clang sounded as her blow struck home, followed by a metallic thump as she drove her armored elbow into Torr’s head. In the additional air time landing the hit gave her, she unleashed a wide slash angled down toward her opponent, striking once more before her feet touched the ground.

Although the Dark Knight could still reliably land combos on her target despite his size, Torr’s weight -and the fact that he hadn’t been juggled yet- did factor into what hits could link into one another. In the midst of Yayama’s descending slash, the brute recovered just fast enough to block. She landed the next second of course, ready to stuff any swings he might attempt with a much faster attack of her own, but rather than deal with the pressure Torr simply leaped up and back.

The next moment he was out of range, or so it seemed, for once again he grabbed Ferra off his back. With one massive mitt clamped around her interlocked hands, he swung his straight arm in a downward arc, nearly doubling his range. His overhead’s reach managed to take Yayama by surprise as it bounced her off the ground, giving Torr the moment he needed to dash forward once, then land a couple slugs, the last of which knocked Yayama up and out of his reach. It was then that Ferra interceded, stabbing Torr with her claws. “No pain, no gain!” The sharp jab not only angered Torr to boost his damage slightly, but jolted him out of his recovery, allowing him to dash forward again sooner than he would have been able to otherwise. It wasn’t enough to continue the combo, but it allowed him to get right on top of Yayama after she landed, at which point he went for a grab.

What Ferra didn’t anticipate was Yayama calling for her assist. Torr landed his grab, but before he could actually do anything, Charlotta appeared and hit the giant with a series of three rapid slashes before disappearing. Dropped from the impact, Yayama was now free to jab him twice in the gut before ramming a shoulder into him and following with a horizontal swipe of her blade. Living up to one of her many titles, her assault was unrelenting; it continued with an Edge of Darkness, a swift and harsh downward slash that wreathed her blade in roiling, purple-and-red aether. She completed her combo with a thrust, chained into an uppercut, chained into another downward chop before she kicked Torr away from herself.

Wanting to capitalize on her advantage, she closed the gap with another plunging slash. It missed Torr, but put Yayama within her blade’s reach as the brute was standing up. She aimed another long thrust at him in an attempt to stop the duo from responding with anything but a desperate defense.

By now, both her opponents had gotten a taste of the alarming power their pint-sized opponent wielded. Once Torr fell prey to her combo, Ferra fell off him and went sprawling on the ground. Even once she got up, she didn’t dare try to attack Yayama on her own, but instead darted back and forth in a panic. The moment Yayama’s kick rolled him away, though, she made a beeline for Torr and climbed back onto his shoulders. With their foe already stabbing at them, the pair had no time to breath, but they did have one defensive option the Lalafell hadn’t seen yet. Torr let loose an armored command grab, shrugging off Yayama’s thrust in order to snatch her like a ratshaker rat. When he held her up, Ferra hopped onto her partner’s arms in order to puncture Yayama with her claws. After two jabs, she jumped back, and Torr turned and tossed his foe away. She fell just short of a ring-out, her boots just a few feet away from the water’s edge, as Torr lumbered forward.

The dark knight dragged herself back to her feet, using her sword to push against the ground. “You scratched my bloody paint, you runt,” she growled as she held one hand palm up, charging a Jolt. Yayama waited for Torr to get a bit closer before she put her plan into action. A few more steps, and she threw the gathered aether at him; under the Principles, it zipped out to a fixed distance then burst. The attack was easy to block, but while it flew, Yayama darted forward. She swept her sword low across the ground, slashing at Torr’s ankles, then followed with another Edge of Darkness overhead. Rather than continue, however, she deployed the secret weapon of all lalafells: her jump.

Her leap took her over Torr entirely. She delayed until just before the apex of her jump, kicked at Ferra to force her steed to block, then fired her Dualcast second spell directly at the ground. The Impact exploded in a burst of dust, launching Torr a perilous distance in the direction he’d previously thrown Yayama. She sprinted after him, then threw a vicious shoulder check as a follow-up; the angle was awkward, but the hit was enough to send the duo skidding off the edge of the arena and into the water below.

YAYAMA WINS, declared the Heavenly Principles as the brute thrashed in the water. Ferra, who’d landed on the stage by the edge, whirled toward Yayama with a snarl on her face. “Pushing Torr out bounds is cheating, no fair! Only weakling needs water!” She kept her distance, though, and when Torr floundered over to haul himself up, Ferra leaned over the edge to try and help him. Of course, Torr did all the work, which left him arguably more winded than the fight itself. Once back on the stage, he replaced Ferra on his back, then stomped over to a position opposite Yayama, growling unintelligibly under his breath.

These two were definitely an odd duo, and not just because the main fighter seemed to be subservient to his rider. Throughout the first round, Ferra had involved herself constantly, much more than it seemed a Kameo fighter should be able to, and yet the Principles did not intervene. Whatever they technically were, these two were an exception to the established format. Once Torr shook himself off like a stray dog, Yayama’s opponents were ready again. Due to the ring out, Torr wasn’t especially wounded, so he’d have plenty of energy for the next bout.

ROUND TWO: FIGHT!

This time, Torr seized Ferra and slung her underhand like a bowling ball across the floor toward the dark knight in a high speed slide kick. He followed after his rider with an armored shoulder charge, tough enough to soak up one hit and probably big enough to catch Yayama even if she jumped. The twin assault left the dark knight with little choice; she planted her feet and prepared her guard, crouching to get as much of herself hidden behind steel as she could manage before Ferra and her thundering giant slammed into her. She grunted with the blow, the hit hurting even through her iron defense.

While Ferra scrambled to climb back atop her partner, Torr pressed his advantage to beat against Yayama’s block and see just how sturdy she really was. He swung his arms twice, then launched a knee. At that point, Ferra interrupted him with a stab that boosted his damage, at the cost of some more of his vitality. “Pain and gain!” In that brief moment he shone yellow, betraying his momentary armored state, and afterward he continued to attack. Once again Ferra jabbed him. “Pain and gain!” Then Torr tried to grab Yayama once more.

Not wanting to be manhandled again, and starting to get familiar with how Ferra and Torr fought, Yayama took the brief opening the duo’s little ritual gave her to hop back, keeping as low as she could such that the giant’s arms went over her head. Making no assumptions about her foe’s capabilities, she threw out a long thrust of her blade once again to make it difficult to follow up, but made no attempt to convert it into further damage on the off chance Torr simply powered through while she recovered.

The thrust landed the moment after Torr’s clutching hands grasped nothing, and it elicited a grunt of pain. He stepped back, then hopped forward to perform a double overhead smash, just high enough to clear and then crush low attacks. Once more, the lalafell matched his distance, swiftly stepping backward as he wound up his strike.

Aware of her increasingly perilous proximity to the edge of the ring, Yayama knew she needed to do more than defend and poke. That, and a part of her was begging to be let off its leash. There was an almost palpable shift in her demeanor as she wound up her blade for a punishing strike. “Now you’ll see why they call me the Warrior of Darkness!” The dark knight swung Shadowbringer like it was an oversized baseball bat and Torr was a fastball thrown dead center.

The attack would normally have been risky, with a long windup and leaving Yayama wide open once it finished. What she had, however, was her greatest asset: teamwork. As Ferra spurred her steed forward to exploit this obvious opening, a war cry and a swift triple strike of another blade met his legs. The final hit landed just in time for the arena to ring with the sound of Yayama’s greatsword crashing into Torr with full force, sending the giant careening away toward his own edge of their stage. The lalafell sprinted forward, winding up another sweeping blow - this time an uppercut - without fear of reprisal. She just managed to catch the duo on the tip of her blade before they landed, stopping them from hitting the ground and recovering for another precious instant.

“This ends now!” Two voices called out in unison, as Charlotta came in for another assist. Her whirling charge turned that instant into a second, giving Yayama enough time to land another plunging blow. Torr bounced against the ground, into another “EDGE OF DARKNESS!” that she called out loud. She swiped her blade low, then made another, shorter uppercut, following her foe into the air as the dark knight continued to juggle her foe. Leaping past him, she threw an aerial punch, followed by her flying elbow, followed by a downward cut covering a wide arc below her. By this point, her repeated strikes had worn out her ability to follow, so as Torr flew back toward the center, Yayama landed and began to charge a full-fledged Impact in case that wasn’t enough.

Torr hit the ground and rolled on his back to his feet, while Ferra tumbled sideways in front of him. “Ugh-guh-huh!” Her mount looked down at her, then up at Yayama as she charged her ability. Even winded and separated, the symbiotic duo were of one mind. Torr grabbed Ferra, tucked her under one against his chest, and charged like a linebacker. Yayama’s Impact struck him head-on, and for a precarious second his armored tackle seemed liable to power through the attack, but just before reaching the lalafell Torr slumped to his knees and skidded, headfirst, to a stop at her feet. Ultimately, he didn’t have enough vitality to make use of his armor, so the gruesome twosome were down for the count.

YAYAMA YAMA WINS!
“Hells yeah! I’ve still got it!” Yayama called triumphantly, posing with her sword once more. After a moment of this, the thrill of the fight started to wear off, and she turned to her downed opponent. “Good match, you two,” she said diplomatically, despite the little one’s poor sportsmanship earlier. She offered a hand for assistance, ignoring the size disparity between her and the one who would be doing most of the getting up.

Ferra, though partially trapped under Torr’s limp weight, was the much more conscious of the two. “Pah!” With a dismissive noise she batted away Yayama’s hand, then continued to try and pull herself loose. “Urk! Move, big ugly! Let Ferra out!”

Yayama rolled her eyes. “Pride doesn’t look as good on the loser.” She ignored Ferra’s swat, circling around Torr a bit until she had a decent place to grab on and roll the enormous man off his partner. That accomplished, she channeled a spell for a moment, then cast two in quick succession: a Vercure to patch up the worst of the damage Ferra had suffered, and a Verraise to rouse Torr back to full consciousness and functionality. Without another word, she turned and began to walk off the stage.

Thoroughly baffled by, and more than a little suspicious of, Yayama’s actions, Ferra could only watch the winner leave until Torr stirred. “Torr!” She then climbed up onto him as he rose to his full height, putting a hand to his head. Then both spent a moment gawking at Yayama, very much unused to such sportsmanship, especially shown to them. Ferra’s face tightened as she looked away. “Grr, okay. Now we in Losers. Gotta fight harder. Smarter. Ferra not want Torr die.”

The brute grumbled in agreement, and the pair turned to head off and find a bulletin board in order to learn the particulars of their next, far more dangerous match, as well as someone who could read their listing for them.

Here’s hoping they remember that, Yayama thought to herself as she watched the two amble off. I sincerely hope I didn’t just set them up to die.

They were clearly murderers anyways. Why concern yourself with their fate?

Because that’s what we do. Shoving the other presence to the back of her mind, Yayama turned to Charlotta. The two bid one another farewell for the day, agreeing on a meeting place that would hopefully result in less public embarrassment for one of them - no names specified of course - before going their separate ways. “I need a gods-damned nap,” Yayama grumbled to herself as Charlotta left.

Despite everything else, she had her life, a purpose, and success in that purpose so far. She’d just have to content herself with that.

Kurai Majokko: Tsundere Gekido

---

Hizuki rubbed at her eyes as she flitted up to a nearby rooftop, leaving the disintegrating remains of a trio of miseria behind. It was fairly early in her night, but she already felt like she had weights tied to her eyelids. I really wish Shuuko had actually set up that patrol rotation. She immediately felt a little bad for the thought; Shuuko had plenty of her own problems to deal with, and Hizuki could keep going as long as she needed to. It’s not like she actually slept in her magical girl form, so it probably didn’t need sleep.

Shaking her wandering thoughts away, she alighted atop an air conditioning unit and surveyed the area. Rather than immediately reach out with her magical senses, Hizuki first checked with her eyes; not all issues that faced the nighttime population of Hibusa were something on someone’s conscious mind, after all.

It wouldn’t take long for Hizuki to notice the pulsing flashes of teal light, coupled with the dancing arcs of similarly colored lightning, which emanated from several rooftops away. The neon glow illuminated a familiar figure that was dwarfed by the massive weapon she wielded, a weapon that was clearly the source of the baleful radiance.

“That’s it ya fuckin’ shit stains…” Nyxia snarled as the ruinous cylinder of annihilation projected by her beloved death ray violently vaporized a writhing cluster of Miseria in the alleyway below. “Die for me!”

No small amount of troubles weighed heavy on the Neon Tempest’s thoughts of late, from the GEMs’ increasingly annoying disruptions to the skeletal titan only Rei had been able to harm, but if anything was able to put her troubled mind at ease, it was killing these abhorrent creatures. Yet tonight, the normally enjoyable slaughter of her hated foes brought little comfort, for, unlike all the others, there was a single concern that refused to be so easily swept aside. The picture. The picture of her brother with Rei, of all people, depicting a closeness between them that suggested friendship at the very least, if not something… more. That revelation had shocked Nyxia to the very core of her being, and she was determined to gain further insight on the matter, but, so far, it had proved just as elusive as her other goals. Asking Rei directly was out of the question. The club’s leader was objectively more powerful than her, or any of the club’s other members, so forcing the issue would be an exercise in futility, and she highly doubted the infamously cryptic girl would ever willingly reveal anything about her relationship with Kaito if asked.

No, the Neon Tempest would have to explore other avenues, and she was forced to concede that she wouldn’t be able to effectively do so without help. However, that realization brought its own set of problems. The only other club member she could really tolerate, let alone trust, was Roche, and the Rule Keeper had been preoccupied with her own issues of late. Plus, Nyxia had already sought her assistance with other matters, in particular, the plan she’d concocted for leading that bothersome private investigator her father had hired away from Misoka and towards a far more deserving target. Even so, there was still one possible alternative- the club’s newest member. Although the Neon Tempest hadn’t really interacted with the girl all that much, she not only seemed like a tolerable enough individual, but also someone who was eager to offer her assistance to anyone in need.

With that in mind, Nyxia resolved to have a private chat with the selfless girl about it after the next club meeting. Unless, of course, she crossed paths with her before then…

Fortunately for the Neon Tempest, her lightshow had attracted the exact sort of attention she wanted. A yellow beam pierced one of her opponents before she had a chance to sweep her own devastation across it, followed quickly by the one who’d fired it. Daybreak arrived just after the miseria finished vanishing, landing with a slight thump of boots meeting the roof. “I wasn’t expecting to run into anyone else tonight. Hi, Tera- I mean, er, Nyxia,” she said, with a small wave. “Something on your mind? You look like you’re having less fun than usual.”

Nyxia was slightly startled by the unexpected assistance, and she couldn’t keep her eyes from widening when she realized the identity of its source. “H-Huh?! O-Oh, uh, hi…” the still somewhat shaken Neon Tempest replied, awkwardly pausing as she tried to recall the new girl’s name. “Hizuna, right? And yeah…” she added with a frown, her death ray’s beam fading as the last of the Miseria were vaporized. “There is something that’s been botherin’ me. Something I was hopin’ you might be able to help me with.”

“Hizuki,” she clarified. “Or Haruna, when I’m not transformed.” Understandable error, really. “What’s up? I’d be happy to help.” The rest of the club was already running her a bit ragged, of course, but helping them out was the entire reason she was here, so she didn’t let it come through in her voice.

“Well, first of all, Hizuki,” Nyxia began, exhaling a tired sigh. “What I’m about to tell you needs to stay between us. I prefer as few people as possible knowing about my personal life,” she continued. “Aside from Earthshaker, only Schrade knows my civilian identity and what led to me becoming a magical girl. But ‘Shaker’s busy and I can’t bring our ‘fearless leader’ into this for reasons that’ll soon become really fuckin’ apparent. You’re the least horrible of all the other options, so I guess I’m just gonna take a leap of faith that you’re as cool a person as you seem like.” The Neon Tempest took a deep breath before continuing. “My brother was the most important person in the world to me. We did so much together, shared so many secrets. Until very recently, he was the only person who’d ever truly cared about me. Then the fucking Miseria killed him, which directly led to my becoming a magical girl. The reason I kill Miseria, the reason I’m working so hard to get stronger is all because of him. But a short time ago, I discovered a picture of him with Rei. They weren’t just classmates, they looked like friends. Or m-maybe even… more than that…” She grit her teeth. “Neither of them ever told me that they knew each other, let alone that they were so close. I can expect that of little miss cryptic, but Kaito would have told me, would have said something, so why didn’t…?” Her voice trailed off as she began to get choked up, before she gave voice to a ragged exhale and forcefully shook her head. “A-Anyways, getting some answers to those questions is what I need your help with, if you’re still willing after hearing all that.”

“I’ll keep it quiet, I promise. I, um, can understand at least some of how you feel.” She took a small breath to steady herself, with that particular part of her life having come to the front of her mind. “I don’t know why your brother would have kept that kind of thing quiet at all, and it seems weird for it to have been something that you somehow just didn’t notice.” Hizuki’s brow furrowed beneath her visor, as she frowned in thought. “The usual answer would be magic, somehow, but that’s not very specific, and it doesn’t really answer why. Although, I can’t help but wonder if it’s related to something Willow told me.”

The light girl paused as she considered how much to say (and to lament the number of secrets she was managing to accumulate.) Willow hadn’t strictly said to keep that information a secret, but Hizuki was neither stupid, nor an aspiring lawyer. “Schrade’s been acting strange lately, according to her. I know most of what comes out of Willow’s mouth is nonsense, but I believe what she told me. It’s possible that looking into that might also end up revealing something about Schrade’s relationship with Kaito, whatever it was.” She put a hand up to her chin. “Do you know how long she’s been a magical girl?”

“No,” Nyxia replied. “I don’t really know much about her at all, other than that she’s a cryptic control freak, and that her family runs a funeral home. That’s actually the first time I met her,” the Neon Tempest added. “When my family went there after my brother died. I was still pretty fucked up by what had happened, so I obviously wasn’t paying the closest attention, but I don’t remember Rei looking all that bothered by the news. Then again, that bitch is pretty much always a blank slate, no matter what’s going on, which is why seeing that picture was so disturbing. She was actually showing real emotion in it, like an actual fucking person.”

“I haven't really seen her emote much either.” She didn't mention that she thought this was kinda cool. “I was thinking. . . I don't know how she got so crazy strong, but maybe her wish was tied to him somehow? Or she was a light girl before he passed, and she became who she is now after falling?” She shrugged. “Honestly it doesn't make a ton of sense, saying it out loud. . .”

“Yeah, pretty sure her little club was around for quite a while before my brother’s death,” Nyxia noted. “So if his passing prompted anything from her, I doubt it’ll be something obvious. Listen, I know this really out of character, coming from me,” she added after a moment. “But we need to be as secretive as we possibly can. I don’t want anyone to know we’re looking into this, and between Miss Wandering Eyes and Rei’s seeming omniscience, I realize that’s probably a lost cause, but I still wanna at least make an attempt.”

“I’ll do my best.” She thought for a moment. “Although Evil Eye would probably help us if we asked. Like you said, it’s hard to do anything without her finding out somehow, so that probably also applies to the club president. My only real idea right now is trying to talk to Schrade directly and see if my powers give me any idea of what’s going on there, too, but it feels a little bad to use them without any real intention of helping the person I’m using them on.”

​​“Evil Eye would just tell Schrade, and Schrade isn’t going to help us,” Nyxia declared with a contemptuous scowl. “If anything, they’ll both just make trying to get answers even more difficult, so I think keeping them in the dark as much as possible is the best idea. The picture was of all the school’s various club presidents,” the Neon Tempest explained. “So maybe if you covertly asked some of them if they remembered there being any kind of relationship, or notable interaction, between my brother and Rei, that might start shedding some light on things. Plus, it shouldn’t look too out of place, either, considering how much you seem to like chatting with people to begin with,” she added with a smirk.

Hizuki replied with a self-depreciating grin and a rub to the back of her helmet. “Yeah, I do just kinda walk up to people constantly, huh. . .” She mostly didn’t think about it, largely because it would make her approaches way more awkward if Hizuki actually considered the strangeness of her talking to literally everyone like some kind of RPG protagonist. “That sounds like a good enough plan to me. I can be mostly honest, too; I’m sure they’ll understand wanting to know more about my own club president, considering how mysterious she acts. Maybe I’ll find some answers to other questions I have, too.” The light girl frowned, considering for a moment if she should ask the question that came to mind. “By the way. . . has Rei ever said anything about, I dunno, needing you guys to be able to stand without her, or being able to leave you alone, or anything like that?”

“Not out loud. At least, not that I remember,” Nyxia replied. She’d never really been one to pay too much attention to the club’s leader. “But that general feeling has always kinda been there, that not-so-subtle insinuation that we needed to get stronger, to someday reach her level. Hell, just the fact that she’s so obscenely fucking powerful to begin with is proof of that,” the Neon Tempest continued. “I mean, who wouldn’t get an inferiority complex after seeing her one shot a building-sized Miseria we couldn’t even scratch? And don’t even get me started on that dragon bitch…”

“Since my conversation with Roche the other day, I’ve been thinking about that. I’m hoping I’ll have some more solid ideas on how to help everyone else get stronger by the next club meeting.” Hizuki glanced around, as if to check for someone eavesdropping, and spoke the next a bit more softly. “I’m planning on asking the other light girls in the area if they know anything about Ashbringer, too. The GEMs have a couple members I get along with, and Kaeru and I are on pretty good terms. I don’t know how the others will react, though, since some of them have serious problems with light magical girls and might think I’m betraying the club or something.” She gave a sort of helpless shrug. “I’ll see if they know anything about Rei and Kaito while I’m at it.”

Hizuki seemed like she was done speaking, but started after a moment. “Oh, and, um. . . I don’t actually know what your family name is. Kaito’s not that rare of a name, and it’s not like I really know what he looked like. . .” She trailed off, leaving the actual question unasked.

Nyxia frowned, her visage clearly displaying her indecision as she internally debated on how much she should reveal. She looked away out of seeming embarrassment before finally whispering, “Tsukishima. I-It’s Tsukishima. And I don’t really care if you talk with the light girls,” the Neon Tempest added, the whole “Light” and “Dark” divide being little more than meaningless semantics to her. “Even the shitty ones. Just don’t go into any detail about this situation with my brother,” she instructed, fixing Hizuki with a stern glare. “If you mention him by name, they’re gonna get suspicious, which could lead them to me, and that’s the last thing I wanna have happen. So just, y’know, be discreet.”

Daybreak mentally noted that Nyxia’s surname was also not something to be shared around. And another one. I guess it's inevitable. . . She had the errant thought that she really didn’t want to encounter another magical girl with outright telepathy or mind control; Hizuki was accumulating quite the large collection of secrets. “I’ll do my best. I’m already trying to avoid giving them GEMs more information about the Club as a whole, since they don’t seem very willing to talk things out, so it shouldn’t really be an adjustment.”

“Okay, well… thanks…” Nyxia told her, the words coming out somewhat awkwardly, as though she were unused to expressing such sentiments. “I’m glad we ran into each other,” the Neon Tempest added with a smile. “And not just because I wanted your help. You fight like a total badass, and that beam attack ya made on the night we first met was fuckin’ epic, so, I was thinkin’ it might be cool if we got a chance to team up. Whatdaya say? Wanna see if we can find more of these ass wipes to vaporize the fuck outta?” she inquired, pointing her thumb at the pitiful, wispy remnants of the Miseria she and Hizuki had recently slaughtered.

Hizuki returned the smile. “I’m glad I came this direction tonight. You’re pretty cool too, you know, with the big giant multi-laser cannon and the drones and such.” She twirled her weapon in one hand before planting the butt in the ground next to her, striking a bit of a pose. “And I’m always happy to take out more Miseria. Let’s do this!” With a grin, she gripped her spear in both hands, then rocketed into the air. Hizuki circled a couple times before pointing to the nearest cluster of miseria with her glowing Sweet Arm, then made a beckoning motion to Nyxia before blasting off towards the spot.

“Hell yeah!” Nyxia declared, before making a beam-boosted leap to the location Hizuki had indicated. Charging up her beloved Omega Obliterator while still in midair, the grinning Neon Tempest prepared to do her part in giving Hibusa Town a laser light show it’d never forget.

Splintered / Reflections

Feanulde was, despite outward appearances, attempting to relax and engage with her hobbies, such that she'd picked them up in her time amongst the Coalition. It happened that said hobbies were nearly indistinguishable from her actual work, as she picked at the guts of some kind of technological device that likely only she recognized at this point. Neatly organized tools hung on or laid atop spartan racks, all placed in ergonomic positions mathematically calculated and placed to a precision that would make an expert clockmaker blush for her specific bodily measurements and frequency of tool use (itself carefully tracked by Feanulde herself, of course.) The same principles held true for the rest of her room, with crisp white blankets on black sheets folded neatly on a bed that looked far too narrow to be comfortable positioned opposite a second desk holding the only sign of disorder in the entire room: an MRE, half-opened then seemingly forgotten.

Such pristine order was as vulnerable as it was exact. In particular, the entire setup on the workbench was surrounded with the scuff marks of minor impacts and scrapes. These aberrations marring the otherwise-perfect surface explained themselves when the elf sitting at the bench shouted, leapt out of her chair, and very nearly physically threw her esoteric project against the wall, sending three different racks tipping into those marks with precision enviable by a practiced marksman. In that precious instant between stimulus and response, her brain made the determination that she was not, in fact, being shelled, assassinated, burglarized, or fired at or near with any form of weaponry, or in any actual danger whatsoever. It was just a call, identified as a military communication by her neurolinked comms suite. "What!?" she barked, setting her device back down on the workbench. "I will be reporting you if you're interrupting me for some frivolous nonsense."

The delay in the person on the other line responding suggested they might've been anticipating such a response. "Your presence is urgently required in your unit's ready room."

"For what?" She didn't shout this question, but her words were even more clipped than usual.

"A task that I am not allowed to share over this channel, Specialist Naraciel."

"That is not my rank."

"Specialist Operator Naraciel, these orders are classified and coming from a superior officer. Please follow protocol." The threat of a counter-report did not need to be stated.

"Fine, fine, yes, I'm on my way." Feanulde hung up before she could hear any reply from the other end of the line, which she didn't know would contain the phrase "pain in the ass" but had a reasonable suspicion given prior encounters with people unused to elven hearing. She quickly put all but the essential thrust of the conversation out of her mind as she turned toward her bed and the drawers it rested on. A quick button press opened the one near the end, containing a pre-packed bag of uniform and necessities for deployment. Said bag was too large for her frame and, by extension, her ability to carry it efficiently, but she didn't have time to retrieve an actual career soldier to pressgang into being her luggage boy. She hoisted it over her shoulders with a grunt, reminding herself to get an actual harness constructed for her things instead of just working with a single-strap bag.

She squatted down to press a significantly more hidden button near the headboard. It was further disguised as a fingerprint scanner; in reality, there was no sensor at all, just an electronic locking system with no direct connections for inputs. Focusing for a moment, she channeled a bit of electricity into it to flip the internal switch, then slid the second drawer out. In it was her sidearm, three magazines, and a holster she proceeded to belt around her waist. Feanulde wasn't likely to be shot at now, but she wasn't going to leave things to any amount of chance, however remote the possibility.

Kit acquired, she walked to her door. The elf paused only briefly to look mournfully at her once-immaculate shelves, before shaking her head, opening the door, and walking out of her military housing and toward the 3rd Tactical Operations Team's ready room elsewhere in the complex.

World of Light: the Endless Now (The Ultimate Videogame Crossover)

Esaka - Pools Tier

Yayama Yama
Status: Coping?
LV: 5, EXP: 32/50
Word Count: 3014 (+4)
Primrose - Level: 11 - Total EXP: 302/110

When the tournament series officially began, Primrose lingered in the shade of a stone arch to watch the first round of Nadia's match. She knew the other woman was strong, so when she and her machine partner handily won against their opponents Primrose decided to give her some space. The Orsterran walked away, intending to make a quick loop around the Mortal Kombat section so that she'd end up about back where she started soon enough. As she went she glanced at other arenas floating in the Pools: a wobbling raft where two men fought, one with a brown hat, trench coat, and metal knuckles, the other with a wide brimmed cap, mask, and bandoliers; a small dirt mound like a miniature island where a tanned skinned woman with a scar over her nose and very short shorts on waited impatiently for an opponent that had yet to arrive.

The walk gave her some time to think, too. Meeting with Nadia had only been a little awkward, as it was clear to Primrose now what had happened last night. The feral blamed herself for the bombing and had high tailed it away as fast as possible, and obviously she felt that the rest of the Seekers were going to lay the blame on her as well. It wasn't a surprise to Primrose that her friend felt that way, and given the part of the opening ceremony announcement plainly stating who the perpetrator was it did clear up the reason it had happened. Whether it was the whole truth or some cover up for a larger design were thoughts that Primrose would leave to the group's detective types. For the dancer, her mind was made up - though Nadia had drawn the ire of this 'Kazuya,' it was he who'd drawn everyone else into his retaliation. She certainly wouldn't turn her back on Nadia just for that. It was hardly the first time trouble had found Primrose's group like this, whether here or in Orsterra. Though with the bounty put on the man now, it was hard to imagine he'd keep on going after Ms. Fortune.

Speaking of bounty, Primrose toyed with the idea of joining the hunt. With an apparent assassination attempt on one of the Four Kings already carried out she assumed their security would tighten up now, killing any plans she and Therion had been formulating about getting into their towers. A pleasure lady and a large wild cat would probably have made decent offerings for some of the Kings and might have slipped through before. Now, though? She wasn't so sure. But a meeting with the mysterious 'Heavenly Principles' was intriguing. People and Yokai in Esaka spoke of them in hushed tones, and if they had the authority to enforce specific rules within battles then they must wield some type of power.

Were the Heavenly Principles actually Esaka's elite though, including its Consuls, or were they a separate entity altogether? Were they sentient at all, even? The answers would be had by those who made good on that bounty.

Primrose reached up and tapped the pale gold pearl in her ear, speaking not to the group as a whole but on a private line.

"What do you think?" she asked.

For a few long moments there was no response. She figured her fellow Orsterran was still gathering his thoughts. The golden wind current that had carried the opening speeches had seemed to flow throughout the entire tier, and she could only assume that in a battle-crazed city like this it would have dispersed throughout all of Esaka - there was no way that Therion had missed the Kings' messages. However, as those moments stretched into minutes Primrose's brow furrowed and she tried again. "Therion?"

On the other end of the line the thief let out a breath. He had, of course, seen the announcements. Seen Esaka's Four Kings. Seen the Lady Consul... Consul B. She was nearly in the flesh, almost as though she'd been standing right in front of him - and it had taken him so suddenly to the memory of a dream of a memory, to lightning and blood.

Mostly though he was just a little embarrassed about startling out of the wind the carried the message in the middle of the gambling den, the few people that hadn't been watching giving him an odd look. Retreating to a private corner of the establishment, he'd taken some time to catch his breath and gather his thoughts. Finally, his voice came through the linkpearl to Primrose.

"It's her," he said. His tone was hard and inflection-less. Primrose parsed his meaning in a blink.

"It was inevitable that she'd come. It just happened to be sooner than later," she said. Luck did not appear to be on the Seekers' sides at the moment. Primrose glanced out over the far edge of the Pools Tier, past Esaka to the fields beyond it, already determining a quick escape route in case B turned the whole city against them.

Therion was of the same mind, murmuring in her ear about safe houses and strategy. Still, she recalled how he'd confided in her about his past life memory, and so after a moment she interrupted him with a softer voice. "Are you alright?"

He scoffed. "Of course. It's not the first time I've run into someone that's tried to kill me before."

Primrose couldn't see his face, but she remembered how he'd looked in the caves outside of Wellspring. The shock and hurt that shone in his eyes before he'd shut it down completely and told her, Ophilia, and the others to let him handle his old partner alone until Alfyn had convinced him otherwise. Primrose didn't expect Therion to be as troubled as that day, but there was no way that seeing B so 'close' hadn't affected him; she had done more than just try after all. The dancer played along for now, though. She could always corner him in person later.

"Of course," she echoed. By now her trek had taken her by another stage where a victorious pair of diminutive ladies, one more familiar to her than the other, were making their way back to the main walkway.

The one in purple raised one hand in greeting before glancing back to the blonde. “I’ll catch up to you at the next arena,” she said. “Looking forward to the next match.” The becrowned one said her own farewell before charging off, leaving the Seekers as alone with one another as they could be in a place like that. “Hey there. I recognize you from the Flats, but I was a little distracted during introductions yesterday.” She shoved the thought of why to the back of her mind as the dark knight looked more closely. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Is something wrong?”

Since she'd waved, Primrose's attention had lingered on the lalafell. Primrose stopped her wandering, letting the shorter woman approach, her body language becoming more friendly even if she was a bit too late to shift her expression.

"When isn't there?" she replied with a wry little smile.

She caught herself then, dropping her hand from the pearl and resting it on her hip. 'Distracted' was certainly a word to describe the state the other woman had been in, but it was easy to forgive considering just what it was that she'd learned yesterday. "No need to overwhelm you, I'm sure you have your hands full with your tournament bouts. Congratulations, by the way."

After a moment the dancer inclined her head towards Yayama for a more proper greeting.

"I'm not sure that I introduced myself last night anyway. You can call me Primrose."

“Good to meet you properly, Primrose. I’m Yayama Yama, if you missed it. I won’t bother rattling off the titles again.” The lalafell shrugged. “It’s an adventurer's life to juggle multiple tasks at once, regardless of how exhausted she might be, so try not to worry too much about sharing. Speaking of sharing, however, are you in any of the tournaments? I didn’t have time to check the brackets for everyone.”

Primrose's smile, which had faded into a cordial expression, quirked up at the edges in genuine amusement. Yayama's forthright attitude when it came to her profession and taking on all kinds of problems made the dancer think that she would fit right in to their ragtag crew.

"Well then, I'll be sure to tell you all about the Consuls of this world if you haven't heard it already," she said. "I'm not participating in the tournaments, so I'm sure I'll have time to look into this area's while you all forge us a path. I'm not particularly built for these kinds of fights."

Though she'd said that, her physique suggested she did have some measure of physical strength even if it wasn't to the level of a true warrior... and there was also the polearm on her back. She went on, stating, "I'm a dancer by trade, so I'll leave all of the one on ones to you all. I only caught the tail end of your match, but I saw your strength last night too, though from outside."

“Well, maybe it means something a bit different where I’m from, but I know better than to ignore the potential of a dancer in a fight. The style does work best with a partner, though.” She shrugged. “Not that I think you should stop, by any means. I haven’t been caught up on these Consuls, either. Just got the basics of what’s happening. Hopefully the distraction won’t be enough to stop me from performing in this tournament; it’s even more important than I realized when I came to Esaka in the first place.”

"A partner... you're not wrong. Hm~ if I didn't know better I'd take that flirtatiously," Primrose replied, a teasing lilt to her voice as though she were testing Yayama a bit. And she was, as a way of getting to know the woman's personality a little better. The reaction to this type of teasing told Primrose a lot about a person.

But there were more important things to discuss, so she didn't linger on her test long. She glanced around the sparsely populated area, then gestured toward a fountain not far away. "Why don't we get a small change of scenery and then I'll fill you in?"

“I have a wife,” she said, rather flatly. A moment later, her expression fell. “Or. . . Well, you know.” [i]Very smooth. If you break down now though, it will only get in the way of our revenge. So keep it together, although we already know you're not exactly doing that.[i] Yayama abruptly seemed to glare to the side at nobody in particular before replying. “Yes, a change in scenery would be welcome.”

A married adventurer was certainly a surprise, but it wasn't something that Primrose was planning to poke fun at - especially after noting how the lalafell's face had shifted sadly. Though she couldn't imagine that kind of life for herself, it was easy to feel for the woman in front of her. Sympathy flickered over Primrose's features, but she didn't offer platitudes about how they would fix the world and reunite Yayama with her spouse. Perhaps they would find her wife somewhere along their adventures (it had apparently happened before for others after all), but if not... then when everything was over, their true selves would wake up from this endless dream regardless.

Primrose's eyes tracked the glare, but of this she said nothing as well; merely cataloging it with a raised brow before giving Yayama a short nod. She then led the way over to a two-tiered stone fountain gushing water, wide enough that they could sit on the edge without being in danger of getting soaked by the spray. It was far from that ornate fixtures one might find on the grounds of a mansion, but as a public installment in the city's water-filled tier, it was a pretty enough spot to watch a few matches from. There were even single zenny coins scattered at the bottom of the fountain, most likely from fighters wishing for luck in the Pools.

Primrose crossed one of her legs over the other when she sat down, casting a glance up towards Esaka's highest tier. She didn't think anyone was listening in on the two of them, but on the off chance that there was hopefully the sound of the fountain drowned out their voices. The lalafell clambered up next to her, evidently unbothered by the need to hoist herself up into her seat.

"When we ran into each other, Therion and I were discussing the Consul that stood besides the Kings in that message," she said after a moment. "He's the scruffy light haired fellow, half his face covered, cat ears. And she, in the red armor... is B. He'd apparently run into her in a past... cycle."

Though she didn't say it aloud, it was easy enough to infer that that particular meeting hadn't gone well.

"It wouldn't be a mistake to call the Consuls this world's ruling elite. They all seem to have powerful abilities and a separate form that they call Moebius... and they can command those still under Galeem's spell. Not to mention they are all cunning, conniving dastards." Her eyes glinted darkly with the last comment, suggesting personal experience. "A dangerous lot unbeholden to the rules everyone else is subject to that we'll need to keep an eye on."

“Sounds familiar,” Yayama said. “I remember fighting a group called the Ascians. Ancient immortals with knowledge far beyond anyone alive, plotting the reawakening of the dark god across the ages. Hard to outwit, even harder to kill. It’s a miracle we ever won.” She didn’t sound particularly happy about that, despite the context. “Wouldn’t be the first time facing a foe that can turn the populace against us, either.” Her eye flicked around the area, checking for hidden observers.

“Is there anything I should be doing yet? Signs I should be watching for?” She pressed onward in the conversation, not giving herself enough time to dwell on her memories. “I assume it’s too early to be overt about any actions we take, as much as I’d love to start introducing these people to Shadowbringer.”

Good questions, the answers to which unfortunately Primrose herself wasn't well suited to answer.

"Ascians, hm? I've not heard of them, but it does sound similar... as for the Consuls, I haven't seen them act remotely before. It leads me to believe they have to be nearby in order to use their power, so just keep an eye out. If you're cornered, don't trust anything they might say. Though hopefully it won't come down to that." She leaned forward slightly, touching a finger to the side of her face as she thought on what other information she could provide. Though, curiously, she asked, "...'Shadowbringer'?"

“My sword. The name’s related to why I call myself the Warrior of Darkness. It’s also a voidsent bound to my soul named Churro.” Primrose felt a distinct sense of annoyance radiating from the blade, currently resting on the side of the fountain next to Yayama. “He’s nicer than he sounds.” Another pulse of irritation. “It’s a very long story. If you’ve ever got, say, six hours to kill, I’ll tell you it sometime.” The lalafell sighed. “‘Course, It’s not exactly all a happy story, either. Seems like I’m not destined to live through any of those.”

Primrose shifted so that she could rest her chin in her hand with her elbow propped up on her knee. She tipped her head slightly, her expression somewhere between a grimace and an ironic smile. "You're not alone there. A girl can dream, though."

Her gaze drifted back over to the apparently sentient sword. She could more or less puzzle out what a 'voidsent' was just from its name, even though its actual name was rather cute. That combined with the dark imagery gave the dancer the impression that Yayama may have dabbled in some sort of dark sorcery, the kind of magics that would have been forbidden in her own world. Still, she didn't seem like a crazy mage yet, and if she had a handle on her demon then who was Primrose to question her? ...but she would keep it in mind all the same.

"Well, sometime I might like to hear it," Primrose replied, a rain check for another day. Then her expression softened a little. "Of if you'd like to talk about your wife, I'd like to hear about her too."

After a beat she added, "perhaps when all of this isn't so fresh, and you don't have deadly tournament bouts to concern yourself with. Shall we head back before your next match?"

“Sure.” Yayama nodded, immediately sliding out of her seat, motivated by an eagerness to escape the thoughts nipping at the edges of her mind. “Here’s hoping my next foe is about as challenging as the last. I’m not afraid of a challenge, but I’d rather face one on a full night of sleep.” She grimaced at the thought of the previous night; the events were also upsetting, but on a much less personal level. Still, she squared her jaw, propped her sword on her shoulder, and set forth as she always had.

Since they hadn't actually gone very far it took no time at all to end up back among the competitors of Mortal Kombat awaiting their turns on one of the water bound battle stages. There were plenty of bracket boards around that made finding the next locations for any given match a simple thing. Along the way Primrose was content to chat with Yayama about less serious matters, but she did not accompany the lalafell to her next bout. There was a certain cat burglar whose last round she was still hoping to catch, or at least catch the woman herself before she disappeared again.

World of Light: the Endless Now (The Ultimate Videogame Crossover)

Yayama Yama

Location: Esaka's Pools
Status: Unfazed
LV: 5, EXP: 30/50
Word Count: 1110 (+2)

Yayama did a few stretches in the wake of the stream receding, preparing for her upcoming match. Likely pushover or no, it wouldn't do to neglect herself - particularly when she was coming into the tournament with no rest to speak of the previous night. She stepped up to her place in the arena with a final crack of her neck, staring Buzzsaw down with one eye. Despite her relaxed posture just a few moments prior, her one-eyed gaze betrayed nothing but focus as both fighters took up their stances.

(BGM: Force Your Way)

The two eyed one another, Kameos waiting in the wings, as the timer counted down to the start of the match. The starting bell sounded, and her opponent rushed at her with blades abuzz. Yayama attempted to put up an aetheric barrier - only to realize that the Principles were interfering with her magic. The moment of focus this cost nearly got her hit by a flying saw, flung forward to cover her foe's advance; if she'd been taller, Yayama might have been in trouble. Buzzsaw threw a string of blows at her, high and low, probing her guard to find holes. The machine's attacks were nothing compared to Sakura's, however, and she caught them with ease, parrying each effortlessly.

A quick jab forward with the pommel of her blade struck her opponent before he had a chance to retreat, stunning him just long enough to allow her to follow up with a bash of the shoulder. This carried into a leg sweep, sending him tumbling to the ground before a vicious uppercut with her blade caught Buzzsaw squarely. She was preparing to chase this with an aetherically-enhanced Edge of Darkness when his partner, the also-overly-aesthetically-appropriate Skullcrusher, dove in and caught her mid-swing. The robot grabbed her before slamming his head into Yayama's thrice, then tossed her backward.

The dazed lalafell recovered before she hit the ground, just in time to interpose Shadowbringer between herself and a sawblade flying up toward her from the ground. Buzzsaw leapt up after her, gambling on an aerial grab that would leave her at the mercy of the spinning machinery mounted all over his body. Yayama reacted in time, however, fending off the grapple and sending them both skidding backward slightly. A third charge forward was terminated early as Yayama thrust her blade forward to the very edge of her reach, skewering Buzzsaw's advance. "Now!"

With a shout, Charlotta entered the fray. The assist came in the form of a whirling slash, her fellow swordswoman moving like her foe's namesake to strike him repeatedly. This gave Yayama more than enough time to recover her grip and charge forward before Charlotta's retreat, leaving Buzzsaw at her mercy. She struck with another, shorter thrust, which she drew into a retreating slash that left her with the perfect spacing to deliver the blow that had been thus far delayed. The Edge of Darkness landed with the ringing of steel on steel, smashing Buzzsaw to the ground hard enough that the automaton bounced up and away before coming to rest.

The end of her blade planted itself in the arena as the Heavenly Principles declared her victory in the first round. She took a deep breath as she reset for the next fight. Don't get too cocky. Overconfidence is a swift and brutal killer. It was hard to tell, but it seemed like her opponent was doing quite the opposite of Yayama's approach. Buzzsaw's motions were agitated as he righted himself and prepared to come at her again. Once more, the Principles announced the start of the round, and set the exact moment where the fight began anew.

This time, her foe came at her even more aggressively. He threw a spinning bola at her before leaping into the air, hurling another blade at her at the apex of his jump. She blocked both projectiles and the downward kick he aimed at her calmly. Dodging forward evaded the sudden appearance of Skullcrusher, whose grab found no purchase this time. The skeletal-looking robot, rather than vanishing this time, turned toward Yayama and leapt high into the air, almost out of sight. Buzzsaw landed and charged again, this time coming in low with an uppercut aimed toward the dark knight. The combination attack was nearly impossible to block, and might have foiled a less seasoned fighter, but Yayama had the good sense to apply the oldest trick in the book when it came to defense: your opponent can't hit you if you aren't there to be hit.

A simple hop backward put the landing point of the devastating high-low, one-two strike a fulm or so ahead of her. Buzzsaw was painfully exposed. She charged a Jolt while he regained his balance, launching the first shot just as his guard started to come up. The, well, jolt from the hit opened him up to a horizontal swipe of her blade. A quick lunge forward let her plant another body check at knee level, which she once more followed with a leg sweep. Yayama caught him with a grab as he began to fall, then slammed him down into the ground with strength that might've surprised less-attentive onlookers. She then threw him forwards into a leaping slash from Charlotta, which bounced Buzzsaw into yet another Edge of Darkness.

Yayama jumped after him, aiming to end the fight decisively. Skullcrusher couldn't save him this time. Taking a bit of a hint from her partner, she half-spun in midair, crashing the edge of her blade into the robot's path as he fell. A thrust arrested his momentum enough for a series of three quick slashes to find their marks, before a downward smash sent him down. Just before he hit the ground, Yayama released the magical energy she'd built up with her earlier spell. An Impact bloomed in Buzzsaw's path, sending the already-struggling android back into the waiting jaws of the Warrior of Darkness's assault. She met him with a swift punch before landing, then put all her might into a swinging blow reminiscent of a batter swinging for the stands. The attack sent him flying toward the edge of the arena, where he skidded, then rolled to a rest against the balustrade. Buzzsaw tried to rise, but it was too late; the Principles gave the round to Yayama and Charlotta just as his arms failed to lift him off the ground.

Yayama gave her sword a couple of triumphant spins with one hand before resting it across her shoulder once again and taking her leave of the stage. Her other hand high-fived Charlotta once they were back amongst the crowd.