destinystrings | The Duel's Rebirth

▼ Fighting Tournament

Who: Tournament Fighters and those who wish to watch them.
Where: Aries Arena & Televised
When: 22nd of March!
Summary: Let's bring back hope to the people...by beating the crap out of each other!
Warnings: D-D-DUELS!

▼ And now, back to you, Jay!

It wasn't the excitement of the Grand Prix that had occurred a year ago in January. Even if it had been over a year, it was something that most citizens would never forget.

But hope, it seemed, could never truly die. And so with the stadium finally rebuilt… and improved, came the question of when a new tournament should be organized. The answer: as soon as possible.

With most of its champions out of commission, and last year's winner dead… it fell to the Visitors to help with this monumental task.

Last minute preparations, and whispers of the Grand Prix happening this year had driven up the city into high spirits. For the ten warriors involved, it was quite a load on their shoulders. Five matches. Not a true Grand Prix, it was announced, but rather a demonstration, to get people excited again before it became a quarterly event as before.

What can they say? The show must go on. And the ratings must be high. Tonight depended on the Visitors. As did the security.

The entire place was filled with cheering spectators, surprisingly for a last-minute venue and the risks of last year repeating themselves. The time to get in had taken longer; now there was much more security walking around, a grim reminder of what had to be changed.

For those who couldn't attend the sold out event, the usual channels promised to stream the entire event life. Pay-per-view had extra side shows and cameras, interviews of normal civilians and asking them who they thought would win. Pubs were filled with rowdy after-work men and women passing sake around and drinking towards the future winners.

Gambling wasn't allowed… publicly. So naturally, it flourished underground. A few visitors were well known, but the newcomers faced lower odds; which meant a bigger payout should they win.

From their viewing box above the entire stadium, "Jay Queen" and "Bob Sternhammer", the two ringside announcers, excitedly begin the pre-game talk.

After all that's happened, what an amazing crowd today Jay! You can feel and hear the energy coming right off of 'em!"

"A stadium of ten thousand filled to the brim! The tickets were announced just a few days ago and looked at the thing, everyone's scrambling to be able to make it tonight!"

"Tonight's matches are sure to be interesting! Ten Visitors, along with a few usuals from last year warming up. This may not be a Grand Prix, but the crowd sure is actin' like it is."

"Can't blame 'em! Hinoto-Ri's future is looking better than ever, and this just proves we won't take this lyin' down. Now for those unlucky souls watching at home, we're gonna remind you of the few ground rules."

"Tonight's matches are primarily Visitors. Ten fighters, Five battles. Different skill levels. Seaside Dragoon, the new Arena chairman, is overseeing the entire affair himself."

"Names are drawn based on known skill. Randomization is under the supervision of the Hinoto-Ri Lotto Society."

"Contestants pick their own Evoker ten minutes before the duel, and are asked to fire a blank shot in the air to ensure security before it is scanned. Contestants then are brought into their isolation zones and are kept there until they are ready to be brought up to the ring."

"Turns are taken, each allowed only one command from their Personas, and one attack from a weapon of their choosing. Because this is a Visitor match, this weapon attack may be switched to a 'native' skill."

"Spells and items they had before coming to Hinoto-Ri basically! I've heard of things like Pocket Monsters myself..."

"As usual, Instant Death Spells are forbidden. You may not kill your opponent. If your opponent is knocked unconscious, they have ten seconds to get up. You are only allowed to attack your opponent’s Persona, even with your weapons and skills."

Someone walked the center of the stage, as the crowd began to scream.

"Ladies and Gentlemen. Last year's Grand Prix was a dark moment in our history. Instead of the national anthem this year, we have decided on a moment of silence for the victims, including last year's champion please..."

The feed went silent for a minute, panning to various crowd members. Everyone stood up. Some had closed eyes, others were crying.

Once the minute was done, the announcer blew a kiss towards the sky. The crowd followed his movement.

"AND NOW! THE MAIN EVENT!"

The sudden shouts shook the stadium, becoming louder and louder.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! THE HINOTO-RI ARENA TOURNAMENT IS PROUD TO PRESENT THE OTHERWORLDERS! A SERIES OF BATTLES WITH STRICT SET OF RULES TO SHOWCASE THE AMAZING ABILITIES OF HINOTO-RI'S HEROES!"

Dramatically, the announcer leaned in closer, raising his hand as the crowd's enthusiasm broke into an even louder frenzy.

The crowed cheered, as a series of fireworks and music tore off into the sky.

"This is the start of a new era, Jay I can feel it!"

"I've never felt this much excitement before. Here's hoping that tonight's fighters are gonna give it their all! This is Bob and Jay live from the Otherworld Tournament!"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

MiRa smirks (...not in the SMTIV sense) when she sees the water and ice attacks headed for her Persona. Skadi, while neutral towards water attacks, resists ice, which is why she picked it out of the Velvet Room: to cover for her Soul Persona's weaknesses. She was able to get the Persona out of range of the Aques, but Skadi still got hit with the Bufudyne due to it being a larger attack. It stings quiet a bit, though thankfully not as much as it would have if she had Talos out. If she had Talos out, she would almost certainly have been KO'd.

With that out of the way, she goes back into her usual volley: a Twin Shot from Skadi and another laser blast.

Might have fooled him, because ouch, that hurt.

Lasers are unfair. Perhaps if he knew a wider range of spells, he could've beaten her... but unfortunately, that's just not possible. This is what happens when you get signed up for a competition without your knowledge!

Anyway, the tiny rabbit eventually can't even muster a Dia, and begins to flicker out of material existence. Oooouch. "Nngh... it seems I've neglected my training."

Well, he's not gonna try anything now. Does the fight end here? Hopefully she picks up and doesn't deck him in the face with a laser, with no Persona to take it-

MiRa picks up on the cue to stop, but doesn't dismiss Skadi just yet, just in case. "All done?" she says, putting her hands on her hips and keeping a good eye on Jonathan. "You didn't do too bad. If I didn't have Skadi, I'd have been toast. Frozen toast."

"Ah... yes. It seems you've defeated me." He's a graceful loser, at least, which may not be said of some other contestants. Jonathan isn't sure whether to put on a smile or... something, because still, he's talking to a robot. A very human-sounding robot, admittedly.

"Congratulations. You definitely displayed your own skill as well." Notably, lasers. What.

"Well, I am designed for combat purposes. It'd stand to reason that I'd at least be skilled at what I do, right?" MiRa chuckled to herself. "Humans can't exactly be designed for combat purposes, but they can certainly be designated for them." She wasn't trying to be arrogant, but she had to be proud of being able to do the thing she was built for.

Being designed for combat...

...Doesn't sound very nice, actually. Being designated for combat, like passing the Gauntlet Rite, is a much different feeling from being... made for it. MiRa says she's a robot, but Jonathan is confused at how to classify her. Is she closer to machination, or human?

"Mira, was it? I haven't had a fight quite like that before," he finally says, reaching out to shake her hand. "I hope we meet again soon, then."

"Yeah, that'd be nice, wouldn't it? Your magic's pretty strong. You'd make good backup... or a good frontliner, for that matter." MiRa accepts the handshake, making sure not to squeeze too hard. "See you around the city, then?"

Yes, definitely a friendly robot. Not anything like a demon.

"Alright. Have a good day." The fighting tournament... wasn't too bad, in the end.

The Duel's Rebirth

Persona Skill: Twin Shot | Native: Mooooooore lasers

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