destinystrings | The Duel Must Go On!

The Duel Must Go On!

Who: Tournament Fighters and those who wish to watch them.
Where: Aries Arena & Televised
Summary: 10/10. A day of shooting and Persona battles.
Warnings: D-D-DUELS!

Cloudy days didn't deteriorate citizens of Hinoto-Ri to flock to the Arena that night. After all, there was a special treat promised to them, tickets at ten dollars off the usual price for a sight yet unseen!

The entire place was filled with cheering spectators and for those who missed out, the usual pay-per-view channels were going to post the entire thing live. Or you could go to your local pub. They had all come to see one thing: and it was to see how these newcomers from otherworlds fared in their favorite sport. In a way it was showing the natural pride to them, and watching how they did at it.

Gambling wasn't allowed publicly. So naturally it flourished underground. Odds today were 1:1, those looking to make a lot of money were simply out of luck. Today was a day for watching. And learning.

For those who had answered the call, prizes had been lined up. At best, it was a demonstration. As long as there was entertainment, the public really didn't care who lost or who won.

From the side ring "Jay Queen" and "Bob Sternhammer", the two ringside announcer, excitedly begin the pre-game talk.

"What a crowd today Jay! You can feel and hear the energy coming right off of 'em!"

"A stadium of Ten Thousand filled to the brim! And this ain't even the Grand Prix!"

"Can't blame 'em. Hell, if I wasn't announcing this, I'd be ringside looking at the newcomers. For those at home watching on Pay-Per-View, we're gonna remind you of the few ground rules."

"Tonight's matches are demonstration only. No returning champions, in fact, if you look to the left there, you'll see Seaside Dragoon waving at the ground. He's last year's reigning champ."

"Man they just love the guy."

"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 insure 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."

"As usual, Instant Death Spells are forbidden of usage. You may not kill your opponent. If your opponent is knocked unconscious, they have five seconds to get up. You are only allowed to attack your opponents Persona."

"Oh! Looks like the national anthem's gonna start."

There was some singing, as everyone stood up. After, the shouts became louder and louder, as a single man dressed in a tuxedo walked in, grabbing a futuristic microphone and speaking in it.

"LET'S GET IT ON!"

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

"This is Bob live from the Outerworld Demo Tournament! Only on Pay-Per-View!"

[OOC- Minako vs Eikichi & Oersted vs Link will be posted as soon as both parties have submitted their titles and theme music.]

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"I guess...that's true." There's just a wee bit of sadness in her voice. And hesitation. The answer doesn't make her feel any better. Then Minako...?

The way her cheerful friend quickly adapted to shooting herself with ease compared to her opponent...and the announcer saying she had previous experience with it. Something doesn't settle right in Saori's mind.

... While residents don't look into others affairs or thoughts too often, being around humans had made him more conscious of the fact that they hid things from others. How strange it was! Especially for those only used to lying by omission, completely honest to the point of annoyance otherwise. He watches Saori briefly, trying to pin down what may have been bothering her about this situation. This one had been one of his guest's links, if he remembered right. Hermit.

What a shock it must be! He'll do his best to be reassuring, but there are the courtesy questions first. "Master Minako has not mentioned much, if anything at all, concerning practices such as these, has she? Or what occurred during a hidden hour in your world? They are related to each other and to her ease in wielding an Evoker."

Theo no, you're only confirming it.

"...When I came here, she told me about her being a Persona-user. As well as the Dark Hour, and how she and her friends stopped it. But..." She didn't mention the gritty details of Persona summoning.

"She isn't really hurting herself, is she?" she speaks quietly.

Edited 2012-10-13 01:43 (UTC)

"Ah, so that's it..." He murmurs to himself, and shakes his head with a small smile. "You have nothing to worry about. It is completely harmless from what I understand, as she had no trouble in defeating anything I requested her to, and the act causes her no pain. You may think of it more as a... a release. It frees her true heart, which has taken the form of Orpheus. I believe many may consider it empowering rather than hazardous."

Is that comforting? He's not good at this, and it shows. He's more informative than anything.

Good, that's good. She's really not hurting herself, nor was anyone else hurting themselves. Saori still doesn't know what to make of Minako not having any issues using it.

"Were you...the one to tell her to use it?" This man, seems to know Minako well. He even understood the mysterious aspects of her world. And he just now implied that Minako worked for him in the past.

She knows he's only trying to comfort her, but if he was the one who ordered her to fight like that back home...right now she's questioning whether you're a person she can trust or not.

"No, I have only asked her to defeat certain enemies within the tower she and her group explored, as well as to gather certain materials associated with each Shadow. The person she obtained it from must have been someone within that group." He's rather sorry he can't help more in regards to that, and his smile fades away to a more troubled frown as he speaks. He hadn't really thought about where she had gotten her weapons, other than the ones she found in Tartarus and the ones he rewarded her with, and perhaps it was something he should be concerned about. Especially if Hermitgirl here was worried about it.

"It was from the Kirijo Group," Miki offered in somewhat helpfully a few seats from them. "Everyone in our team had them."

Talking about SEES out in the open was the strangest thing.

Talking about actually true conspiracy theories about her world is just as strange, so Miki wasn't alone there.

"Oh, hello Miki-san. So it was the Kirijo Group who designed them?" Really, the Kirijo Group she knew was already a big mega-corp, and she knew there were lots of stories about them. But really? They knew about the Dark Hour too? Was she the only one in the dark about it? (NPI)

At least hearing that vindicates Theo in her eyes. She wouldn't know how to react if he was the one who gave Minako the Evoker and told her to shoot herself.

Oh yes, he knows a Kirijo. One lives right beside him and had quite the incident regarding food. Theodore's pretty glad that this Miki person knows such information--

Though he's pretty sure she was never part of his guest's journey in that way. Ah, but the life of a resident is filled with such parallels, and it's none of his business anyway. Allow him to sit and listen, ladies, this is interesting to him as well.

"From what I understand, yes." She leaned back and looked back at the battle, before looking at Theodore next. "Oh hi! I don't think we've met. I'm Miki Sanada. How do you know Minako?"

And so the torch is passed. Theodore bows his head to each lady slightly, as he's preparing to introduce himself to both strangers. It gets easier each time. Even if he still has something a yearning in his heart to be in service, he is certainly not useless. "I am Theodore, a former resident of the Velvet Room as well as Master Minako's assistant. I was the keeper of her many facets, her Persona, while I was at home. I also issued requests she was to undertake in order to strengthen herself for rewards and the ability to summon more powerful Persona from the sea of souls."

And, with a nod to Saori, he'll continue only briefly. 'Briefly' for Theodore that is. "I know of you somewhat, as you were one of the bonds used to strengthen Persona of the Hermit Arcana, though you," Miki, "I must admit, are unfamiliar to me as I am to you. I wish to ask you the same thing."

"I see. I knew they were a high-end company, but to think they knew about Personas too." Did that mean most of their profit went into research about them? There's a lot of questions she'd like to ask now.

But first, introductions. 'Pleased to meet you. I'm Saori Hasegawa." To Miki, "I saw you the other day with Minak--Minami. You're also from SEES?" And to Theo, "It's an honor to meet another friend of Minako-chan. But what exactly is the Velvet Room, if you don't mind being asked?"

Edited 2012-10-14 21:04 (UTC)

"You have no idea how deep that rabbit hole went," she began with a sigh. But she chose not to speak too much of it, as the rest should remain private; it was Misturu's to tell them, she felt.

"The Velvet Room...." Oh well that explained a little of why he was here. The concept was still confusing to her, much less thinking that Minami did go there too (as even if she might have known about it, believing it was another thing.)

"It is an honor to meet both of you," she answered politely. "As for who I am...you will probably know my brother, Akihiko Sanada? I'm well...dead in your world." It was so strange to introduce yourself as a ghost. "My own is quite different from yours, and my leader was called Minami Arisato. A lot of events transpired differently..."

She stopped and looked back at Theodore.

"I'd like to know about the Velvet Room too, if that is alright with you."

"I thought that perhaps it was something of that case; we of the Velvet Room are quite used to differing dimensions." To say the least. Even he and Elizabeth's guests were from opposite ones, and there was no end to the possible beginnings of a guest's journey. Even concerning events which happened previous to their signing of a contract. Theodore smiled, like he was divulging a secret, and nodded.

"I do not mind in the slightest. It's very important for guests such as yourselves to know. The Velvet Room is a room between mind and matter, dream and reality, which only those who have signed a contract may visit. Its form may be different for each guest, as it takes on the appearance of the guest's heart, and is always moving as they are on their journey. Due to the unusual amount of guests who have signed a contract this time, it has taken on the appearance of a club.

"Within the Velvet Room there are two beings whom the guest will meet: Master Igor and one like myself, an attendant who will keep track of the guest's Persona and bonds. Master Igor assists in fusing Persona in order to summon new facets of the guest's soul from the sea of consciousness. The attendant who will be assisting everyone this time is named Caroline, but there is another named William who has yet to appear. There are two others here which used to call the Velvet Room home as well themselves, my older sisters Elizabeth and Margaret. The first was participating earlier against Master Minako's brother, her former guest, and the second is well versed in fusing just as our master is."

Theodore doesn't have much of a talent outside of being kind of awkward and a talker. Even Elizabeth came up with this request system, which has been adopted by later attendants, while he has done nothing important. It's kind of sad.

"Only those who have been chosen may see the entrance to the Velvet Room, which is why you and the others did not. However, it is quite dangerous to stay for very long in the Velvet Room as only your mind visits - the rest of you, your physical body, stays in the realm of reality." He finished. More or less, the basics.

"Oh. I'm so sorry."

Like every girl in Gekkoukan, Saori knew about Akihiko Sanada. The star boxer of the school, who never lost a match, nor didn't win the heart of every girl. Saori herself never held any personal interest, but he was always a major subject of discussion with her female classmates. But she never heard word of him having a sibling, let alone a dead one. Or one who didn't die at all.

"I met Minami-chan the other day, when the two of you rammed into each other like bulls. Aha, sorry, I should have introduced myself to you that time as well, Miki-san." That moment had been awkward enough to meet a Minako-lookalike, and find that she's another varient of her, in another alternate world. But Saori couldn't help but feel she had been very rude to Miki.

Saori stays quiet for a while after her introduction, mostly to listen to Theodore's spiel. No matter how much Minako had told her, Saori's still surprised that things like this existed in the world. And here she thought she was ready for the real thing, but she was still in the instructional stage of her adventure.

"My. So it's kind of its own dimension?" She smiles, but there's that worrying crease on her head again. Naturally there's still a lot to ask. That last bit for example, "Does that mean one of us should stand guard?"

Miki would have been endlessly amused by Aki's popularity, yet complete oblivious to the girls around him. At Sasori's comment, however, she does straighten herself up a bit, smiling.

"That's alright!" Oh why did you remind her of that episode. Miki was about being graceful, that was just a moment of...inattention (she had many of these).

"Mind and matter, dream and reality..." She could imagine a large lake filled with your thoughts. From his description, it made her even more excited to go there, especially since she did remember the times when Minami would space out. As Theo goes on, she also falls quiet, adding a comment to Sasori's own when he is done. "Do you know why we can go now, when only Minami...well Minako or Minato could before?"

Pfft. Regardless of different worlds, running into someone in that way seems very much like Master Minako would do. Theodore watches the battle for a moment - you go Orpheus, beat death ~~again~~ - and shakes his head at Saori's second question.

"You're right to think that it resides in a dimension of its own, but it is connected directly to the sea of souls. As for standing guard, I don't think so. It seems rather safe to me. Though, I believe you would have to ask one of the original seven to be sure. I would suggest Master Ideo Hazama - though he isn't so used to using Persona in the sense that you will, he was one of the first I met and had the chance to work with. He'll know for sure." He explains, and then heeere comes the fun part! Miki's question, that is.

"The reason you are able to visit it now rather than just those three is because of the contract you signed before appearing here, which makes you a guest yourself. Do you two remember meeting a man with a butterfly mask on? He asked for your name."

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The Duel Must Go On!

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