RP Smash [IC/Conditional Acceptance/PG-16]

[VCR_CAT]

Aria

 

The previous day had ended abruptly with Aria being incapacitated at the hands of Xia in what was meant to be a practice sparring session. She woke up the next day, in her room as always, with a large, pounding bruise on the side of her head. Thankfully she had most of her hair to bock it from view, but the mottled purple and yellow edges of the ugly wound could be seen at the fringes of her face. The rest of Aria's morning had been slow, between getting cleaned up and dressed and a basic breakfast, it wasn't long until she received the message that they would be getting a new fighter to join them. Aria made her way to the room they were supposed to meet them and found herself, tired, hanging out near the back at first.

 

The man who was introduced was young, however still a bit older than Aria. Had she been in a more awake and clear state of mind, Aria might have noticed how attractive of an individual he was, but at the moment still bore the same tell-tale signs of "Not a Morning Person" that she usually displayed at around these hours. It seemed everyone was approaching and introducing themselves, forcing Aria to make a small, inward groan, push herself from the wall and approach him.

 

"Hey, I'm Aria," she said plainly and simply, holding out her hand to be shaken.

[Super Chaos Sonic]

 

 

"Hai! I'sh Teshabiwity Bwacks. Wha'sh yowr naims?"

 

Gavin looked at this strange creature, what seemed to resemble a dragon, walk up to him and just speak to him. Unfortunately, he couldn't understand a word it said. "Uh, VEX...care to translate?"

 

VEX immediately appeared from Gavin's MOVA, staring at the creature. "Already translated. She said: 'Hi! I'm Tesability Black. What's your name?'."

 

"She?"

 

"Correct. The creature standing before is, in a manner of speaking, like myself." VEX explained, looking at the dragon. "She's an AI like myself. However, unlike me, she happens to possess a physical body. Quite the stunning discovery. Meeting a fellow AI does make things seem less barbaric in my eyes. I do hope we can speak with each other."

 

Gavin sighed a bit, rubbing the back of his head before looking at Tesability. "Well, guess you got a new friend, VEX. Anyway, I'm Gavin Shepherd and this here is my co-pilot, VEX."

 

"Greetings." VEX generally said to everyone in the room. "I am designated: Virtual EXperiment or VEX. It is a pleasure to meet you."

 

"Nice to meet you, Gavin! I'm Aurora, hopefully we can get along."

 

"Likewise." Gavin said, shaking Aurora's hand, though upon his first initial grip of her hand, it felt cold to the touch. Her hand is cold. Doesn't feel that drafty in here. Perhaps she's just naturally cold. My mother always was cold, even in a hot summers day. Perhaps it's the same type of thing here. he thought, shrugging the thought off.

 

"By the way, whenever you're getting ready for an arena fight, I wouldn't mind being your first opponent to help you get used to the place. It's actually amazing! All the technology and magic, it's like wow, I didn't ever see anything like this back home."

 

Aurora seemed quite keen on fighting him. But then again...it seemed he was the new guy, so this was meaning fresh meat for the grinder, so to speak. Nevertheless, he didn't answer her right away, as he had another young girl introduce herself.

 

"Hey, I'm Aria."

 

Once more, Gavin shook another hand and then stood some, as VEX seemed to be running an analysis on Tesability, least that's what it looked like any. However, now he turned back to look at Aurora and cleared his throat. "The offer for fighting against me...would this be just courtesy or is it more along the lines of you wanting to test my abilities for your own sake?"

 

"Asking quite the bold questions, Gavin. Do mind your tongue around a lady." VEX let out what sounded like a chuckle.

[Alaina]

 

As Xia woke up, she was greeted by the sound of an announcement, telling them about the resignation of Caleb and that there was a new person to enter the arena. Xia was sad to hear that one of her new friends had left so soon, though, she didn't even really know who Caleb was. But since everyone else she knew from the arena so far was friendly, he had to be as well! Though, while Caleb was sad to see the contestant go, she was all the more excited to meet someone new. Getting out of bed, the girl had rushed over to where the new person was supposed to be. However, when she got there the wouldn't open. Upset by this, the girl had decided to come and check back later. Of course, this had involved her just meandering about the building, and as she was eventually distracted, she had completely lost track of time. Once she had remembered this, in a hurry with a bit of worry, the girl began to sprint back to the room as fast as she could. 

 

Once she was there, it had appeared that everyone else was as well. Well, mostly everyone. However, the people still there were the ones she was mostly familiar with, and thus it didn't take much effort at all to figure out who was new among them. With a large smile on her face she said, "hiiiiiiii new person!" She then looked towards the strange being that seemed to be next to the newcomer, she then said, "whoa. Do we have two newcomers? That's awesome! Hi other new person! My name is Xia, and I can't wait to be friends!" It was at that point that she realized they were talking about something before she entered, and having only caught the second person's last statement she said, "wait, do you have like a weird tongue or something? Because that's pretty cool if you do."

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"Sis, sis! Are you helping father again?"

 

"Yeah. He will be leaving for another voyage to Jianghu, so he asked me to help him handle things here while he's gone."

 

The younger girl watched with glee from across the desk as her older sister's attention was focused on the papers before her. The older girl was barely on her teens, but she worked on the papers before her as if she was a professional accountant already. Listings of artifacts that had been successfully sold and each of their buyers' identities, renewal of partnership with both local and larger mage guilds, verification of rumors regarding potential artifacts to be claimed, all were handled by the older girl with care, going back and forth between the company's yearbook and those notification papers. Occasionally she slipped a tired smile to her sister before returning to her work once more.

 

"You're as interested in this as always, Angela. Forgive me for putting such a boring display before you though. Maybe you thought father's work was something less monotonous as this." In the midst of her work, the older girl started talking again.

 

"I'm fine with what I see actually, so please go on, sis." Angela was six years old at the time. Looking at her sister's laborous work, she followed each of her motion with interest despite how she was unable to follow what exactly was she doing. Numbers she couldn't comprehend, words she didn't know, names that felt like they came from another world. Rather than discouraging her, all of it made Angela more and more interested in watching.

 

"You really are similar to father." Angela's sister formed another smile as she heard her sister's answer. "Do you really want to follow his footsteps? Even with knowing that you'd be stuck more with this kind of paperwork rather than adventurous voyages?"

 

"Yep. For once, I'd like to be as reliable as him and you. I mess up a lot, but I want to be able to handle this kind of responsibility too..." Angela's voice trailed off as a hint of sadness formed on her face. "But...I don't know if I can. Unlike father and you, I'm just a big dummy. I want to read as much books as you, but I can barely understand what's going on in them if you're not reading it for me. No way someone like me can take father's position.

 

Hey sis, does it feel nice? You're so smart and cool, so you're going to be the one to replace father when he's old, right?"

 

"Angela." Placing her pen on the table, her sister shifted her attention to Angela. Angela shuddered for a moment, unwilling to look back at her sibling's gaze. Was she angry at her? Disappointed? Angela didn't want to know. She made another mistake.

 

Yet, her sister's following words were gentle.

 

"I never wanted to be the head of the company. I have my own dreams, and I know father will understand it. Meanwhile you have the passion for this. You watched me, and you watched father all the time. Even when you said you won't ever be able to achieve it, you still show a strong desire about it, enough for you to keep striving for it. A desire and drive that I lacked. Won't that be more important than simple qualifications that anyone could possess?

 

If that is what you wanted, I'll help you all the way. That's what older sisters are for, right?"

 

---

 

"Why did you lie to me? You had everything, but you still..."

 

At the darkness of the early morning, Angela woke up alone on her hospital room. Sharp pain on her head overtook most of her senses, but the dream she just had was still very vivid on her mind. She spent the rest of the morning staring at the ceiling as she relived the memories she shared with her sister.

 

"You ran away to achieve your own dream, and left me behind. After everything I did to you, after I sacrificed my own dream for you..."

 

After being given some medication, Angela was discharged by the medical staffs. So she was let off of the murder case for some reasons. Must've been Mauvache's doing. The doctor that handled her attempted to strike a conversation to her that morning, but Angela wasn't in a position to talk much so he let her go, albeit seemingly with a heavy heart. At that time, Angela's mind was still fuzzy, as if she had been drinking too much alcohol last night. The memories of yesterday were still clear enough for her to remember, but at this point she had given up on fighting fate. Once she got back her spear and sword, she left the building and went for a morning stroll.

 

At 10, she was already at the virtual battle room, waiting for the new addition to the arena that apparently had replaced Caleb. Angela made a wry smile at the thought. So apparently the dog could just resign when he wanted to, but yet that possibility didn't exist for Angela. Entertaining herself with the thought for a while, it continued until the new addition appeared before the fighters assembled there. A young man with messy brown hair. He...uh, he did look like some of Angela's past flings, although perhaps maybe that's just because the hair model was widely used. To think about it, wasn't that slime user on the guild also a youth with messy brown hair too. Masaru, was it?

 

Angela noticed Elijah giving his greeting before leaving. He sure was busy, being the new rising star in the Arena. Oh, right. That reminded her. One of the nurses mentioned that someone sent her a flower bouquet and said that he was sorry for how their match went, and joked that maybe that was her boyfriend - a notion Angela vehemently denied. So that was Elijah after all. She left the bouquet at the hospital since she wouldn't be able to care for it well, but while she appreciated the gesture, Angela felt that she needed to sort things out between the two of them. Having him worry too much due to Angela's own antics really wouldn't do.

 

In the meantime, the rest was quite spirited to be interacting with the new face.

 

"Asking quite the bold questions, Gavin. Do mind your tongue around a lady."

 

"I'm sure one of these ladies would appreciate that tongue of yours if used in a certain way..." Angela giggled to herself as she approached the boy and the strange being near him. "Anyway, I'm Angela. Perennial loser, but I'm great at drinking if you're the party kind of guy. Nice to meet you and I hope you have a good time here."

 

Right, that reminded her. She needed to have something to do today. The words regarding the mine made her curious, but at the same time she really wanted to spend more time with the others for once. She did her photoshoot already, as well as the interview and commercial, so there wasn't much point-making activity she could partake in, aside from another fight she'd inevitably lose.

 

Well, she's a criminal already. Breaking another law wouldn't be something unexpected of her now.

 

---

[Yui]

---

Day 3, 10:00AM, The Arena

Points: 112

W/L Record: 1/1

"The offer for fighting against me...would this be just courtesy or is it more along the lines of you wanting to test my abilities for your own sake?"

 

"Ah..." This guy didn't rule out anything, did he? Aurora would be lying if she said she didn't want to see what he was capable of for herself, but at the same time, she wanted to be on good terms with everyone else in the arena. Courtesy just happened to be a good first step for that. "It's a bit of both," she admitted. She didn't know what most of the fighters were capable of yet, so being the first one to know what the new guy could do sounded like a fun way to make up for that. "That, and fighting means getting points, and those are super-important, and it's also nice to be able to let loose every day. Sounds fun, right?"

---

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

As the Fighters introduced themselves to the newcomer, several of them would receive messages on their watches.

 

Aurora

This is an automated message informing you that a package has been left for you. You may pick it up at the security station at your earliest convenience.

 

Aria

Uh...hi! You don't know me, but I got this number from Jules. Well, you probably don't her either, and she did say not to mention her, but I already did so oh well. Anyway I heard from Adonis you were looking for me? I'm the one usually in charge of personal training. If you'd like to stop by sometime I can help you out probably.

 

Xia

This is Riley. Meet me at my room soon. I need to leave the city for the day and I want someone to look after Snowball. She's been full of energy this morning and I don't want to leave her here.

 

Angela

Hello this is Doctor Franklin Akoola. I wanted to check up on how you're feeling later today so if you'd like to grab some food respond to this message with what you're hankering for.

---

Meanwhile as Elijah left the Arena he would be met by an elderly woman. She seemed sweet, short grey hair, somewhat hunched back, and wearing a large floppy hat. When she saw Elijah, however, she would hurry to him at a surprising pace. "Oh, you're him, aren't you? I'm Florence and I am your biggest fan." She reached to touch his face. "I may be old but seeing you on screen put a spring in my step. Don't mind me too much though, dearie, I'll try not to bother you...But of course you won't mind if this old lady followed you around a bit right?" There was a hint of crazy in the old lady's eyes as she said this.

It seemed that Elijah had met his first stalker. A bold grandmother.

[VCR_CAT]

Aria

 

The newcomer, Gavin, had only just acknowledged Aria's presence before turning his back and facing the others to speak with them. Aria shrugged, used to this sort of treatment from highschool. She felt a buzz on her watch and glanced down to read the message.

 

Uh...hi! You don't know me, but I got this number from Jules. Well, you probably don't her either, and she did say not to mention her, but I already did so oh well. Anyway I heard from Adonis you were looking for me? I'm the one usually in charge of personal training. If you'd like to stop by sometime I can help you out probably.

 

Aria felt a sort of relief upon reading this message. She knew she had to get better at fighting, but the session with Adonis did not go particularly well. Either way, it seemed like she would be able to get a session in with someone who knew how to better teach and fight as well. However, there was still the matter of the fight. Aria looked down at the prompt for her to sign up for a fight, but she felt absolutely no desire to step in the ring again. However, thinking back, her fight with Angela had been much more fun than the one she had with that demon jabroni. Plus, if anything, it's not like they would match her against the same person twice in a row, right? Hesitantly, Aria signed up to fight against a random opponent, but decided she would rather go and check out the gym first.

 

Looking around the room, Aria figured that they were done doing... well, whatever it was they were doing, and made for the exit.

[👀 REP 👀]

 

---

 

Cyan scoffed as he continued watching, noting the strange little machine that called itself VEX. They were all so nice to the new guy, it was disgusting. Even when they challenged him to a fight it was more like they had invited him over for tea or something instead of the fake blood sport that they had been abducted for. He waited for Gavin to respond to Angela before making his way towards him. He was going to show these kids how you properly greet a fellow contender.
 
"Well isn't this just fuc​king dandy!" Cyan shouted as he made his way towards Gavin, walking right up to the boy with a wicked grin and blood thirsty eyes. "Don't get too comfortable there, boy! Less you forget the reason why you're here; wouldn't want that, now would we?" He took his new position to take a closer look at the boy, eyeing him down. He had the same impression he did before; nothing special, although he'd have to wait for a battle to see it all. After all, he did have a high tech pet with him. "I hope you're more impressive than you look. Wouldn't be fun to beat on some nobody after all!" He chuckled, before turning to VEX. "That goes to you too, tin-can." 

[Super Chaos Sonic]

 

 

"Ah...It's a bit of both. That, and fighting means getting points, and those are super-important, and it's also nice to be able to let loose every day. Sounds fun, right?"

 

"You and me have a different take on letting loose then." Gavin chuckled with a small shrug. "I tend to do a lot of flying to ease my mind. Oh crap...speaking of which, I never asked that top hat person if they had aircraft here. Wasted opportunity."

 

"Hindsight is only 20/20, Gavin."

 

"Don't remind me..."

 

"Well isn't this just fuc​king dandy!"

 

Gavin stopped as he saw the owner of this loud, obnoxious voice: a guy with purple hair and some pretty pointy ears. He watched as this individual made his way towards him, obviously seeming like he meant business.

 

"Don't get too comfortable there, boy! Less you forget the reason why you're here; wouldn't want that, now would we? I hope you're more impressive than you look. Wouldn't be fun to beat on some nobody after all! That goes to you too, tin-can."

 

"I believe the old human saying is: Don't judge a book by it's cover."

 

Gavin only nodded at what VEX said. "You hit the nail on the head there, VEX. Also, I haven't been called 'boy', since basic training. Regardless, I'll deliver on your expectations, you just watch."

 

"Furthermore: I am an Artificial Intelligence, an AI...not a robot. Please do better at remembering the difference between the two."

 

After VEX said what he said, Gavin really wanted to laugh at it. Seems like VEX is picking up on the savage burns quite quickly. he thought with a small, discrete smirk.

[Alaina]

 

While the strange second man hadn't responded to her question, Xia didn't pay any mind to it at all. Instead, she was caught up in saying, "oh good morning Angela! Look we have a new friend here!" While the girl was happy to see that everyone had gathered around, things didn't last that way for long as Aria also had to leave. As Cyan and the new guys were having a chat, the girl looked down to see her watch buzzing. See the notification about her white furry beast friend, the girl soon seemed to be filled with a sense of urgency. "Oh, sorry but I gotta go now. Have fun you three!" She directed to the three males, figuring they were already best friends. She then looked to Aurora and said, "oh and good luck with your match." As she began to leave she gave a wave to her other friend saying, "bye Angela, have fun today!" 

 

With that, the girl had bolted out of the room and started making her way through the apartment. In her excitement, the girl had run through the halls several times, missing both the correct floor and room that Riley was in. However, the girl had eventually managed to make her way to the correct one, knocking on the door. Before there was a response, she said aloud, "Riiiiley, it's me! Xia!"

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

Hello this is Doctor Franklin Akoola. I wanted to check up on how you're feeling later today so if you'd like to grab some food respond to this message with what you're hankering for.

 

Well, the newcomer ended up not noticing Angela, as Cyanthrax's sudden appearance took most of his attention. It's not that bad, no attention would still be better than having negative attention. Then again, her focus was now on the message she just received. He was the doctor tending to her yesterday and last night, right? Her face reddened with shame. She had caused him more trouble by not dying, so at the very least she had to apologize. Though, he did offer free food, and Angela, really wanting to eat something good again after the hospital food this morning, went to write a full course of menus that she wanted on her reply, alongside a promise that she would visit him in half an hour.

 

Before leaving, Angela paused on her steps and attempted to open a hole behind Gavin. Yesterday, when she was fighting in her cell, it felt like these holes managed to materialize more than action. An arm, was it? She was in no emotional distress now, but she attempted to pull an arm from across the hole to poke on Gavin, just as practice. The arm did materialize and manage to touch him, but it disappeared soon afterwards, collapsing with the hole. She would need a lot more practice before she could start having fun with this, it seemed.

 

Oh well, it shouldn't be important now.

 

"bye Angela, have fun today!"

 

Angela waved at the passing Xia before deciding that she would leave now. It took her a while to reach the place of the one that sent her the message as she attempted to enjoy the walk.

 

"Ah, doctor. I am here now, and uh...I'm really sorry for causing you trouble yesterday."

 

---

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Xia

 

"Riiiiley, it's me! Xia!"

 

The door opened quickly and Xia would see Riley, not wearing her work uniform, but instead an outfit that looked quite similar. As well as a pair of sunglasses. She looked to be in a rush and greeted Xia with a wave. "Yeah, hey, uh, right. Snowball, Snowball..." She looked around, seemingly looking for the kitten, who was currently clinging to Riley's hat.

The cat meowed and Riley realized where she was. She grabbed the hat and took it off, revealing the mess of hair underneath, and tried to shake the cat loose. Giving up she handed Xia Snowball, hat and all, and ran back to grab an identical hat and put it on. She began to leave, paused, went back in, grabbed a bag, and rushed off again. "If there's any problems let me know, I gotta get going, late as is. Thanks, sorry."

---

Angela

 

The Doctor's home, as it turned out, was, like most, in the middle level of the city. More specifically however he lived in the middle of the level, where the more expensive housing was. She had to be admitted through several checkpoints just to reach his apartment and was only buzzed up after the doctor called the desk to allow her up.

 

Once she did, he opened the door and she greeted him.

"Ah, doctor. I am here now, and uh...I'm really sorry for causing you trouble yesterday."

 

She could see the apartment behind him. It was large, and extraordinarily messy. There were thick curtains covering the windows and very little light in the room. He waved at her, dressed casually, in a button down white T-shirt, untucked, and grey pants. "No need, that's what I'm there for. That list you gave was quite extensive, wasn't it? But fear not, I don't have much to spend my money on anyway. I hope you don't mind walking, I don't own a vehicle."

 

[Tesability Black]

Tesability had her eyes narrowed on the loudmouth that was Cyanthrax, unsure of what to make of him still. Feeling the tip of her snout start to tickle, she tried moving it about to see if she could scratch whatever itch was brewing to avoid sneezing, but nothing could stop the sneeze coming.

 

"Ahh...

 

Ahh...

AHH...

CHOO!" From the inside of her nose flew bolts of lightning as the force of the sneeze caused her hindlegs to lift from the air for a moment. Unfortunately for the demon, he was right in the way!

 

"Oopsh."

[👀 REP 👀]

 

---

 

"I believe the old human saying is: Don't judge a book by it's cover." Human? The thought of Cyan being a lowly human almost made him burst out in laughter on the spot. 
 
"You hit the nail on the head there, VEX. Also, I haven't been called 'boy', since basic training. Regardless, I'll deliver on your expectations, you just watch." Cyan chuckled at the kids response, stepping away from him a bit.

"I'm counting on it, kid." Cyan turned to VEX, who had something else to say.
 
"Furthermore: I am an Artificial Intelligence, an AI...not a robot. Please do better at remembering the difference between the two." He found this a lot less amusing.

"Huh? And who are you to correct me, ya rust bucket? Specially when you're out here calling a bonafide demon something as low as a human!" He crossed his arms, turning away from the AI. "Regardless, I should get going. You better not dissaAAAAAAA FU​CK!" He felt a sudden jolt of electricity run up his leg, causing him to jump. Looking down he saw the little dragon near him. He gave the dragon a glare, prepared to launch a volley of flames before remembering Mauvache's rules. "Had it not for the laws of this land, I would have slaughtered you!" He shouted at the dragon, before scoffing and storming out of the room, muttering curses under his breath. 

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"A-ah...it's fine if you're...ah, nevermind."

 

Angela felt quite guilty for listing such a lavish feast when she finally came face to face with the doctor and seeing his place, but she decided to not voice it in the end, wondering that she was just jumping to conclusion about the doctor's condition from the state of his living place, and that it would be rude after the doctor had offered to treat her. Moreover, she was hungry.

 

"I am fine with walking, in fact it is what I am most used to. But...where should I wait while you dress up?" With how much she had seen naked men from many varying backgrounds before, the doctor being just in his very casual inner clothing didn't really draw much attention from Angela, but at the same time she did feel quite weird, seeing someone that treated her in such a humane situation. Even guardian angels apparently still could dress lazily when they're holing themselves in their place.

 

"I don't know much about this city yet. I don't think I would die yet, so...would you mind if you also showed me around? I have nothing to pay you except for my company, so pardon me if I am being too selfish with my request."

 

---

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Were Cyanthrax to make his way towards the bar he would find possibly the most terrifying words in existence. "Bar closed for maintenance, we will open again tomorrow."

 

As the day went on everyone would receive a message, with a list of the scheduled fights for the day.

1:00 PM, Cyanthrax versus Tesability and Gavin versus Aurora

2:00 PM, Xia versus Angela and Aria versus Elijah

---

Angela

 

"I am fine with walking, in fact it is what I am most used to. But...where should I wait while you dress up?"

 

Franklin looked down at himself, at his untidy appearance, and then back up at Angela. "Is there something wrong with what I'm wearing?"

 

"I don't know much about this city yet. I don't think I would die yet, so...would you mind if you also showed me around? I have nothing to pay you except for my company, so pardon me if I am being too selfish with my request."

 

"Don't worry so much, I'm the one who called you out, and who am I to complain about spending time with a lovely lady?" The doctor flashed a smile and Angela would notice something off, though she didn't get much time to examine, and he walked past before she could come to a conclusion.

"The city is vast, it'd be good if you had anything in mind, but I suppose we should start here."

 

He took the girl around the nearest buildings, explaining how most of the people who had permanent residence in the city lived in this multiple-ring section of buildings, the various classes of wealth separated by walls, in order to allow those with more money to live in more luxury. "Though the others aren't bad off at all, except for those in the section to the west. But that area is slowly becoming smaller as more jobs become available." There seemed to be something more to it that the man wasn't saying, though he moved on quickly.

"The rest of this level are filled with stores. Much more basic ones than those on the upper level, but good if you just need to pick stuff up. The tech store, pet shop, grocery store, and so on. It's not the most exciting of places but there are always plenty of people. And people are what make the world interesting in the first place."

[VCR_CAT]

Aria

 

Aria had followed the directions once more and returned to the same arena she had been in the night before. She could still feel her head pounding, and with each step she second-guessed her decision to return to training the very next day after being knocked out in the way she had been. However, each time this thought crossed her mind, another one that reminded her of her previous feet soon met it and she felt herself given a stronger drive to become a better fighter. Of course, how much of that drive was fueled by raw anger rather than a desire to better herself was a question worth asking.

 

Once more she walked through the front doors to the stadium and approached the front desk, however with more confidence than the night before.

 

"Hi," she said, grabbing the attention of the receptionist. "I'm looking for..." Aria soon realized that, in the message she had received, there was no name attached and she couldn't remember for the life of her who it was that was in charge of the personal training. The confidence she had walking in had drained as swiftly as it had arrived. "...for... y'know... whoever's in charge of the personal training here? Sorry, I don't... quite remember who it was."

[Yui]

---

Day 3, 10:00AM, The Arena

Points: 112

W/L Record: 1/1

This is an automated message informing you that a package has been left for you. You may pick it up at the security station at your earliest convenience.

 

Aurora glanced down at her watch briefly, taking in what Gavin had to say in the meantime. Something about how he liked flying. Aurora was never one for airplanes herself. It was tough to keep her powers fully contained for the entire duration of the flight without killing herself, but not doing that meant everyone sitting near her would suffer the cold air she brought with her. If she had to travel somewhere long-distance, Aurora was much more fond of boats. At least on a boat, she'd have her own little room away from everyone else. Even a sufficiently large train would cut it.

 

"I see," Aurora said, to acknowledge Gavin's earlier comment about flying. "Well, hopefully I'll see you for our fight later! Something's come up, so I'd better get going. Later!" Aurora left the room, leaving Gavin to get more familiar with the other fighters, before much else happened to stop her. She'd received a package, and while she wasn't sure who would be sending her something so soon, it was nice to receive presents. An admirer perhaps? Aurora made the fairly short trek from the room she was in to the security station, where her package was awaiting. Other than introducing herself and proving that she was indeed her, there wasn't really much dialogue shared, but what mattered was that Aurora got her package. That just left opening it. And so, Aurora started back toward her own room. Opening presents was always something she imagined was better off as a private thing, unless it was for Christmas or birthdays.

---

[Alaina]

 

Xia stood there, excited, as Riley had greeted her at the door. Waving to the white fur creature who was resting atop the hat, Riley then seemed to realize that that was where the cat was. She wasn't quite sure why, but the girl gave her the entire hat, along with Snowball, and then got a new one as she left. Giving a wave goodbye to the girl, she said, "bye Riley! Have fun with your thing!" Looking at the hat cat, the girl said, "hi Snowball! Man, we're gonna have so much fun today! Like doing, uh, hm, uhh" The girl thought for a moment. She didn't really know what Snowball thought was fun, and the cat only seemed to meow in response, to her initial burst of excitement. Shaking her head she said, "well, who knows what we're doing! The mystery of it makes it more fun, right? Oh, oh! I know! We'll go outside! I bet you've been cooped up in here all day so let's get you some fresh air!"

 

Looking at the hat, the girl put it on her own head. Reaching up, the girl grabbed the cat off the hat and, closing the door behind her, she said, "let's go!" As she started walking, cat in hand, she said, "now where do we go first? Oh, we could see Camille! I'm sure they'd be happy to see you. Oh, but they might be busy at work, and it'd be rude to interrupt them during their work you know?" As the girl continued to walk through the halls of the apartment, she saw another familiar face. 

 

"Aurora! Hi Aurora!" The girl looked like she was about to wave, but as both her hands were occupied with the cat, she just kind of awkwardly shuffled her arms around. Seeing the girl carting something as well, Xia said, "oooh, neat box you got there."

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Aria

 

"...for... y'know... whoever's in charge of the personal training here? Sorry, I don't... quite remember who it was."

 

The receptionist, who recognized the girl, smiled kindly at her. "If you mean Adonis he's busy right now. Don't be so nervous, though I can understand why..." She paused and put a hand up to her earpiece. A look of realization came to her. "Oh you're looking for Miss Meadows, yes, she returned earlier than expected. You can find her in the gym, right that way."

 

Aria once more found herself in the room from the other day. However there was a lack of obnoxious muscular men, or rather one in particular, this time around.

 

What was there instead was rather...unexpected, however. Walking up to her, moving with a noticeable limp in her left leg, was a small, less than five feet tall, Elvish girl. She was smiling as she went, despite the clear difficulty she had in walking, and waved at Aria. "Hiya, Aria, right? My name is Aurea Meadows and I'm the trainer in this place. I heard from Adonis you were looking to get stronger, is that right?"

[Super Chaos Sonic]

 

 

"Huh? And who are you to correct me, ya rust bucket? Specially when you're out here calling a bonafide demon something as low as a human!"

"Ahh...Ahh...AHH...CHOO! Oopsh."

"Regardless, I should get going. You better not dissaAAAAAAA FU​CK! Had it not for the laws of this land, I would have slaughtered you!"

 

Gavin watched as Cyan stormed out of the room, starting to chuckle a bit. Between VEX being quite the sarcastic A.I. and this creature named Tesability, they made whatever Cyan was a lot easier to handle...plus it was funny to see him blow up in such a manner.

 

"I believe I might've struck a nerve with him."

 

"Oh what was your first clue, VEX?" Gavin chuckled, shaking his head before hearing the watch he was given go off. Looking over at it, he saw the message that was there.

 

1:00 PM, Cyanthrax versus Tesability and Gavin versus Aurora

 

Huh...that's almost convenient... he thought looking at the message. Aurora had been wanting to fight him and apparently this was just thrown in his lap almost immediately. "Well, I guess you got your wish there, Aurora." Gavin said with a nod, lowering his right arm. "Apparently we're going to be going head to head against each other."

 

"Well, hopefully I'll see you for our fight later! Something's come up, so I'd better get going. Later!"

 

"W-Wait...aren't we...?" Gavin asked, watching Aurora heading off. This was confusing him now. They said they were fighting, so why was she walking away. Am I missing something?

 

"You have to wait for the appropriate time, Gavin." VEX piped up, pulling up a holographic version of the message in front of him. "As you can see, the appointed time is 1:00 PM. It is currently the morning, around 10."

 

"So what the hell am I supposed to do until then?!" Gavin groaned, facepalming some. This was completely crazy and unorthodox to him. Having to wait for something to be done...this wasn't something he was used to back home. They wanted a scrap, they had it right there. They wanted a race, they jumped in their ships and did it. There wasn't any waiting to be had...this was a new thing for him in general.

 

With a sigh and shrug, he shoved his hands into his pockets, letting VEX return to standby mode as he left the room.

[Yui]

---

Day 3, 10:00AM, The Arena

Points: 112

W/L Record: 1/1

As Aurora continued toward her room, she found herself crossing paths with another fighter. Her opponent from just yesterday as it happened! Xia!

 

"Aurora! Hi Aurora! Oooh, neat box you got there."

 

"Oh, this?" Aurora lifted up the box she was holding, to give Xia a closer look. Not that it was anything impressive. Just a box, with some bright blue wrapping paper around it. "Somebody sent me a present today. Not sure what's in here yet of course; I was actually about to go open it. And I see you've got a cat now." Aurora had always been more of a dog person. She would have been a goat person, but those were apparently not suitable house pets. Her parents always said it was because goats eat anything you give them, and plenty of things you don't. Food, important papers, canned goods you haven't opened yet, garbage, maybe furniture... point being, if Aurora had to choose between having a cat and a dog, she'd rather have a big fluffy dog.

 

"What's his name?" she asked, leaning forward a bit for a closer look at the cat.

---

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"Is there something wrong with what I'm wearing?"

 

"Nothing. It's just that I'm not used seeing people going out like that." Well, Angela herself was fine going out wearing even less had it wouldn't result in her being arrested. Perhaps it's not that bad to be a bit more casual to the doctor, but at the same time, since he was the one to save her and to tend to her, it still felt a bit awkward for Angela to treat him as a casual associate rather than someone to revere.

 

"The city is vast, it'd be good if you had anything in mind, but I suppose we should start here."

 

Something was off. Angela couldn't put her mind on what exactly was wrong, but something was wrong. Nevertheless, she followed the doctor as he gave her a tour through the district. It seemed that it was that for the wealthiest of the citizens, and that the residences were quite segregated. Nothing too unexpected - back in Fraxinus it was more or less the same.

 

"It's not the most exciting of places but there are always plenty of people. And people are what make the world interesting in the first place."

 

"Yeah, you're right." Angela would rather die than living a life of loneliness anyway. So far her walk with the doctor had been quite pleasant, as she listened to his words regarding the city. She felt like he was hiding a few things, but it was not her privilege to pursue it further. She simply listened to him with a smile.

 

"You know, doc. Something has been on my mind lately." At one point, Angela decided to ask him a question since they were talking about stores earlier. "I had been wanting to start my own business for a while. I don't know, start managing my own money, living and spending responsibly, and being a merchant had been something that my family tend to do. Though, I'm unsure about how should I start.

 

It's just that I guess...I'm just dumb. I don't understand numbers much, I'm terrible at administrating, and I lack any care for the future. I know you're a doctor rather than a businessman, but do you perhaps have any tips, or perhaps know someone that might be able to help?"

 

Well, even as she said it, Angela was very pessimistic on being able to run a business in any form. It's just that...after dreaming about her sister again, something inside of her awakened. Perhaps it was just a desire to show off to a dead person? To show off that yes, without wasting and sacrificing her future for the sake of an ungrateful older sister, she perhaps could achieve something with her life. It's better than dying, anyway. Dying would be nice, but in the end Angela preferred if she didn't end up dying with regrets. She had stopped caring about the Arena anyway. She could be the most laughably pitiful clown on the battlefield, and she would still be fine. Whatever Mauvache would do to her from now on, she wouldn't care. Whatever that assassin would do, she wouldn't care. She had her own goal now. A goal born from this primordial emotion that awakened inside of her.

 

Ah, so that was it. This feeling, it really was hate. Angela continued to smile to the doctor as they continued to walk. The smile turned into a satisfied smile for a while. The greatest of all her love, now turned into the greatest of all her hatred. Nothing Mauvache did to her would let Angela feel even a fraction of what pooled inside of her now. Even if she failed, she couldn't give a sheet. If she failed, that's just proof that her sister really had ruined her life, and she could die without regrets. If she was successful, then she could face the future with an upright gaze and continue living a dignified life.

 

"Oh anyway, what is your favorite attraction from this area of the city, doc?" Before her smile turned into something worrying, Angela shifted her conversation. Right, she would still need to go to places today. The mine, then her match in Arena. Maybe hang out with Aria or Xia again. Perhaps try finding a partner for tonight? She wondered whether she was in the mood for a boy, a girl, or perhaps she could try something new today. Though, she's not really in the mood for it after some deliberation. Unless the opportunity presented itself to her, Angela decided that she should try doing something productive rather than reproductive tonight.

 

---

[Alaina]

 

The girl continued to look at the box as Aurora explained it. "Oh, a present? That sounds awesome!" The girl was still curious about what was in the box, but was all the same happy for her friend. After all, people only got presents when other people liked them, so that meant that people liked Aurora. The girl then directed her attention to the cat that Xia was holding and the girl merely shook her head saying, "oh, no, this isn't my cat. It's Riley's. But," her face got chipper as she extended the forward putting it partially in her face. "His name is Snowball and he's great! He's a good friend of mine, even if we only met just yesterday. So maybe you two can be friends too! Oh, oh! Especially because you seem to like snow stuff too! It's perfect!" After rambling a bit, she said, "oh, sorry. Right, you got your present to go open."

[Tesability Black]

Tesability stuck a black tongue out at the demon as he turned and left before pulling it back into her maw and turned back towards Gavin. At this moment, the announcements regarding the day's matches were sent in, and Tesability tilted her head at the name of the opponent she had. "...Shai-an-thwacks," she questioned to herself, wondering whom it was until a shot of him showed up.

Nose immediately pointed back towards the demon and she wound up saying one word. "Oopsh."

 

"So what the hell am I supposed to do until then?!"

 

The sudden outburst broke her attention, returning it to the newcomer and a smile emerged on her muzzle as she scrambled after him on all fours. "We kin go asplowes," she chirped. "Dis beeg ceetie, menie dingsh hewe!"

(Look who's trying to make friends here for once...XD)