Round 2 [all characters and round announcement]

[utopiamods]

You're falling, and you can't remember why. It's a sickening feeling that makes your insides lurch; the darkness and the vertigo combine, and all you can think of is a story you heard once, somewhere.

- I remember now. It's a simple story that everyone knows. A legend of a Princess, the Demon Lord who kidnapped her, and the Knight who fought to save her.

The Demon Lord had kidnapped the Princess countless times, but every time the Knight bested his challenges and rescued the Princess.

No matter what tricks and ploys the Demon Lord used, the Knight would always triumph in the end. This was because--

The world tilts on its axis one last time, and the dream slips from your mind as easily as it arrived. A new voice intrudes on your sleep.

"Next stop: Academy Main Entrance. This tramline terminates here; all change. Next stop: Academy Main Entrance. All change."

Sunlight streams through the windows of the long carriage, making the seats almost uncomfortably warm beneath its waking passengers. The air is muggy and thick, the atmosphere deeply tired. Your nausea settles, slowly. The last of the dream fades.

"We have arrived at Utopia. Repeat, we have arrived at Utopia Academy. Could all passengers please leave the tram, as it is terminating here."

The tram pulls to a stop outside the academy station, and anyone onboard is ushered off and directed to the front lobby of the school. You can't miss it; there are signs up pointing toward the main entrance, reading "New student orientation" in big, bright letters. If anyone should care to move off the path, try exploring somewhere else, a teacher will conveniently appear to shoo them back toward the lobby, assuring them that "all your questions will be answered inside".

The lobby is big and spacious, looking more like a university or perhaps a fancy international hotel than a high school. Stood around are any number of students in the uniform of the school. Some of them even look awake. There are several receptionists at the desk towards the back of the lobby, but for now they seem busy with paperwork.

Anyway, the many screens are far more interesting. Once a good number of students are gathered inside the building, they all activate at once to show a cheerful, almost cavity-inducing woman in the school uniform. She smiles, waves, and launches into her speech without further ado.

"Good afternoon to our new students here at Utopia Academy! Thank you for choosing to enroll with us for this, our first semester of the new year. Our battle system is the best in the world, set up for you, our students! I hope that you all had a fun journey here, and that you've all made some new friends! You're going to need them soon, so keep them close, okay?

"Unfortunately, some of you have had to leave unexpectedly... This is a little upsetting, because they didn't finish paying their fees. So they've left a few things behind. Their friends should collect those to remember them by! After all, they might not come back, or they might be back next round! You never know.

"Now, I'm going to explain the rules for you. Make sure to listen carefully, and remember, you can find all of this and more in the Exaclan manual!"

She outlines the battle system for the newbies as she has every round previous, then claps her hands. The screen goes blank for a second, and then shows a blue screen with FIRST ANNUAL EXACLAN TOURNAMENT in scrolling white text. The girl appears again in a smaller window in one corner of the screen, and resumes talking.

"This is a special round! Exciting, isn't it? Of course, you can keep fighting as you normally do, too, but we'll also be running a tournament! Every Player has to take part, even if you don't make it through the preliminaries, but you should try hard! There's a big prize for those of you who make it to the last rounds. Now, there are twelve of you this time, and you'll all be fighting in the preliminaries."

The screen changes, to show first the list of Players, then a tree-style tournament diagram. The matches for Day 1 are as follows:

Rafiel vs. Hikaru Sulu
Lloyd Asplund vs. Montblanc
Mai Tokiha vs. Yuka Osada

The matches for Day 2 are:

Shoryu vs. Kallen Stadtfeld
Road Kamelot vs. Grenn Atair
Molly Hayes vs. Miwako Ihara

"After you all fight, we'll have six Players left. That means the third day will have three fights again! Ah, the last three days are for finalists only, but we'll talk about that later! If you have any more questions, ask at the desk, okay? Bye for now, and work hard! The fights start tomorrow~"

Comments

*is totally here way too early*

[choseanidiot]

As of yet, he had avoided being owned; he wanted no part in the violence, even less this frivolous sort. There may be no injuries, there may be no blood, but the pain was real enough and who did something like that? How sick could you be?

Enki gave the receptionists an angry glare as he stormed into the lobby. He wasn't sure why he was here, exactly. Some would maybe have said it was because it was one of the places unrestricted to the 'discards', but what did he care? The forests were free to walk through, for example. He didn't really mind the discard position; there was more than enough to eat, and most of the desserts he neither cared for, nor could have, anyway. It could also have been, for some, that apparently a new round started today (or tomorrow, rather), and possibly new students arriving. But he really didn't want to know who would have to fight, and new 'students'? What a joke.

Besides all that, he still had no plans of participating, and anyway, his weapon, he knew, wasn't very strong. That his weapon actually looked like a weapon made his insides curl up on themselves; he'd have been much happier with something that did not look like an actual weapon.

Standing some way past the now-closed doors behind him, Enki scowled and scratched his neck. Why had he wandered into here, anyway? The announcement wouldn't be for a bit yet. There was something... If he had been home, he'd have said it felt like when he was getting closer to the king after having been in Hourai for a few days, but that couldn't be it, because the king wasn't here. Couldn't be here.

He'd even take Shōryū's precense!

Anything!

And he really wished that strange, faint elated sensation would go away.

hi there

[goodtobetheking]

This was a perfectly ridiculous situation. Someone, somehow, had managed to spirit him to Hourai without his knowledge or consent. Shōryū was a little shakey on that last part - there had been some kind of consent, he thought - but considering his last waking moment had been in somewhere with green pillars and a lot of very friendly, obliging citizens of En, the quality and official status of that consent was in serious trouble.

But he digressed. This was, as previously mentioned, a perfectly ridiculous situation, and that was precisely why he was sporting a smirk wide enough to make his other half yell at him for a year for even thinking of enjoying it.

Given that his mind was hazed over and dull as he was hurried off the tram and towards the building, he managed to stride into the lobby with infuriating casualness. His head cleared even as he entered through the doors, and he looked around with fresh eyes and a renewed smile. Best to determine where he was, before he made any decisive moves.

ffff-get out you!

[choseanidiot]

That door had opened a few times while Enki had stood there, being confused and annoyed at exactly why he was rooted to this spot like his life depended on it. And standing locked stock-still for at least ten minutes wasn't as fun as it may seem to be. Especially as all he had to stare at was blank walls and a blank screen; most of the other 'students' that had wandered in were keeping to the walls. Not very exciting.

So when the door opened again, Enki paid it no mind. Until he was stabbed in the skull by warmth that could mean only one thing, and his whole body quivering with joy.

What.

That...

Really?

Enki whirled around (finally able to do so), and for a second, he was confused. That was---

"Shōryū--!" His shout had begun in annoyance, because what was he thinking smirking like that in a situation like this! It ended in a strangled gasp as the knowledge suffused him. As the precense of the brighter light around the man suddenly made sense.

Of course.

How could he have forgotten? Shōryū was the king. It was so painfully obvious, and they had taken that from him. Enki slammed to his knees where he was, heedless of the whispers around (wouldn't have been able to heed them even if he'd had some sort of choice in the matter), going from a kneel into a full prostration.

Only for the king.

"What are you doing here, you idiot!"

Not that he wouldn't insult the king.

never. 8)

[goodtobetheking]

Well.

That was highly convenient. Shōryū paused on his vague path towards the desks at the first flash of gold hair, and managed to do nothing but raise an eyebrow as Enki fell into a bow so suddenly. So convenient as to be suspicious, but he couldn't deny he was glad to see the small kirin. He made his way past the other inhabitants of the Academy, unnecessarily amused at their whispers, and knelt down in front of Enki.

"Did you get yourself caught again? How careless of you." It was a rather blithe dismissal of his question, but when he had no real idea of what he was doing, he couldn't exactly answer anyway. The fog had only just cleared, after all.

[discarded]

Miwako stared at the screen in disbelief. "I--I have to fight? But...!"

Re: never. 8)

[choseanidiot]

"I got myself caught? You're one to talk! They probably plucked you sopping drunk from one of your trips into town," Enki scowled as he sat up, giving Shōryū a good glare.

Honestly, he was standing (or kneeling, in this case) right here before Enki, and he talked about how careless he was?

"No wonder I walked over here..." The mutter trailed away as Enki straightened more and gave Shōryū a once-over, while interlacing his fingers behind his head. He didn't move from sitting, because at the moment, he wasn't sure he could convince his legs to move. It usually wasn't this bad, but maybe stealing that memory made some parts of him more kirin-instinct than usual..?

"I never thought I'd be quite so happy to see your insufferable face, Shōryū, but you really ought to know better," Enki chided his king, because really, he oughtn't be here too. How had they also got Shōryū, anyway? Because even if En could do well without the two of them for a while, the ministers couldn't do all the work for too long.

[goodtobetheking]

Right on the mark. Which, of course, meant that Shōryū had to grin unashamedly, just to irritate him more. The scowl was a good one, but Enki could do better and it was, after all, his job to unlock his full potential. He shared his worries about the ministers, but not to that degree. He had, after all, picked them because they were competent enough to run the kingdom whether he was in it or not.

"Anyone would think you'd missed me," he shifted onto one foot, so he could lift the kirin back onto his feet. "And that would be Fuukan, if you please."

[choseanidiot]

For a measure of how much Enki had missed Shōryū, he let Shōryū lift him up. Of course, he'd also made himself as heavy as possible, but unfortunately this wouldn't make such an impact on the man.

"I've no idea what you're talking about, Fuukan." Was this really necessary? He wasn't even sure this was Hourai, at least as they knew it, so there really was no reason... But he'd do as Shōryū wished (for the moment). But, of course, it wouldn't do to simply leave it at that.

"Why would I be missing some drifter drunk off the street? Maybe I should go ask the King to put you to work in the horse stables." Contrary to his words, though, Enki was holding fast to the cloth of Shōryū's hoh as they gained an upright and on-their-feet position.

It had only been one week, but that week hadn't been spent somewhere in the twelve kingdoms, or in Hourai, of his own free will. It had been spent in this place, where a threat of violence was quite often (too often for him) realized into actuality. It was a wonder he could sleep, even with there being no blood.

[queenscheckmate]

"So they change dhow the game is played..." Kallen eyed the monitor, not amused by any means. But when the girl continued her speech and then displayed the names on the screen, she froze. Not because she was a Player this round, but there was a a certain name that caught her eye.

Hikaru Sulu.

If the chance ever arises that you and I become Players during the same round... promise me that we won't fight each other. I don't think... I could do it again.

She remembered saying that to him and in response, he told her that he agreed to keep that promise. Kallen was all about winning. It would mean she was closer to find out what was going on in this place. But she had to defeat Sulu in order to do it, she would refuse to do it.

Kallen idly looked around, seeing if she saw the male anywhere. They both had been avoiding each other. Awkward glances and all the whole nine. She was above this whole 'girl in love' thing because that wasn't her. Kallen Kozuki didn't fall in love... at least not like this.

But for now, she had to prepare. She needed to find someone who could be her weapon.

[loyal_liar]

Lyra looked up at the list... Well, she knew several of them... And three of them were her Weapons last round. She silently resolved to partner up with one of them. Hopefully, her weapon would be something useful, and she had tokens to pay for upgrades, too!

[willbeurprincess]

She wasn't a player this round...And neither was Sora. But Grenn was. She wondered if Grenn even remembered Koharu's offer. Well even if she did not, Koharu would still offer herself for her. She was a decent weapon, moreso for someone for whom normal melee battle was a chore.

She looked around, hoping to catch her eye.

MEANWHILE AT THE... LAB?

[earlofpudding]

If it could even be called a lab just yet. There was still a lot of work left to do if he was going to mod out the workroom. Thus, Lloyd was suspiciously absent from the round change announcement. He had glanced at one of the other screens while moving some stuff from the dorm to the workroom he'd claimed...

He hadn't seen any sign of his name on the match-ups.

...though, what had it been again?

Well. That wasn't his problem. Only it really was.

What was his problem was his assistant had vanished and instead of sulking over it, he hit an obsessive workaholic cycle. So, no, no Lloyd at the building with everyone else. He had work to do. He had tables to set up, a chalkboard to get through that door, an entire room's wiring to rewire in a way more convenient to him, windows to black out to keep snoops from snooping; anything, anything at all to keep busy.

Uh, so, someone might want to drop by and tell him he actually is stuck as a Player this time around...

[brokencrane]

For most of the presentation, all Yuka could think about was how much the woman in the video reminded her of that woman at Smart Brain back home. Smart Brain couldn't be behind this whole strange school, could they? They were powerful, but not this powerful...and it wouldn't help them make more Orphenochs, anyway, since no one was dying. And surely if they were sending people off to a place like this, they'd send Kiba-san just to be rid of him...no, it couldn't be Smart Brain. But the resemblance was still a bit unsettling.

But she forgot all about that when it reached the list of Players. Because her name was on that list, and she had no idea what to do about it; you needed a Weapon to fight, didn't you? So she'd have to find someone to ask, and she didn't really know that many people here yet, and asking someone to do that for her would be so weird. Never mind that she didn't want to fight at all, and didn't even know how to fight when she was stuck in human form. And she had to participate in this tournament starting tomorrow?!

So she just stood there, staring at the screen in disbelief, and trying really hard not to look as nervous as she felt.

[waddles]

He... was a player?

Granted, he had always known becoming one was a likely possibility but he hadn't expected it to come around so soon. What was he going to do? He wasn't physically capable and battle itself made his heart flutter with anxiety...

And... he had to hurt another? A stranger who had inflicted no harm upon him?

"... this is going to be difficult..." He murmured to himself, lowering his eyes as he shook his head. Impossible would be a better word for it.

[loyal_liar]

"You don't have to fight if you have five Weapons though," Lyra reminded him.

"Except for that match, apparently."

[goodtobetheking]

It was an old trick, enough so that Shōryū tended to assume Enki would be far heavier than a small child had the right to be at any given time. He allowed the grip, his smile briefly slipping into something gentler whilst Enki wasn't looking.

His voice, however, didn't change one jot. Even when he noticed the vice-like grip on his robe.

"You're too kind, Taiho, but he wouldn't want a layabout like me near his horses."

[waddles]

"Lyra." Rafiel greeted, inclining his head graciously before returning his gaze to the screen with a look of concern.

"It is that match that worries me. I am not very capable in battle" He remarked. There was no tone of self-loathing in his voice, merely the neutrality of stating a fact. He was a being of order, a creation of Ashunera that resided on the side of non-violence and he was perfectly at ease with that.

[lookouthalifax]

"Kupokupo!" Montblanc couldn't restrain the excited yelp at being chosen as a Player. There was so much to do! Like find a weapon, for example. How many were small enough for him to wield? Not many, probably!

He looked at the people around him, his pompom bouncing wildly with every excited jerk of his head. Who were his opponents? Who were his potential partners? It was sometimes hard being under four feet tall! It meant he could hardly see anyone in the area, and that unless they were very close, all they could see of him was a bright orange ball in the air.

[lookouthalifax]

Montblanc spotted the girl's distress. He got up on this tip-toes and waved, trying to draw her attention.

[choseanidiot]

Enki took half a step back (still holding the hoh, he'll let go in a second or so, really) and gave another considering stare about Shōryū's person and then gave a great, pitying sigh.

"No, I suppose he wouldn't. But maybe I can convince him to let you into my service, considering he's always reminding me what a benevolent and just creature I am." Enki's face then smoothed out from its sharp grin into something more serious.

They couldn't talk much out here, but Shōryū needed some idea of the situation, because who knew how long it would be until that introduction was run.

"Our hosts ain't as benevolent as I am, though. You should perhaps at least pretend to not be useless, Fuukan... Or at least not as useless as you usually are. I won't ask the impossible." One eyebrow rose higher on his forehead, but there was still a shade of seriousness left.

[goodtobetheking]

"It would be an honour, Taiho." He glanced around, keeping the movements relaxed. Everyone had gone back to their own conversations and problems, so they could take their leave soon. Except... well, they were obviously waiting for something. He could probably stand to stay around a little longer. He looked back down at Enki, quirking an eyebrow in response to his expression. "Obviously I'll do my best to meet your expectations, however low they may be."

[choseanidiot]

"I suppose I'll even have to lower them more than usual... I'm not sure I can even safely put you to smooth the coverlet of my bed." Enki could, of course, not be any less than Shōryū, here, and smiled blithely at the pretend humility.

With a grunt, Enki stepped away and looked out over the lobby, turning around so he could see if Gaara was here, yet; while Enki wasn't sure he appreciated the view of him as 'fragile', the Kazekage had done quite a lot for him, and his... Eyes unfocused for a moment, Enki's thoughts ground to a halt. His what? That was only Shōryū behind him.

And while Shōryū was special, in his own, annoying way, he wasn't the king and so wouldn't--- He was forgetting something. Tingle in his fingers where he'd just been grabbing the hoh, and the light behind him seemed stronger and warmer than in the rest of the hall.

"Sh--Fuukan---" Enki wasn't sure what he'd been about to say, because he'd lost his train of thought due to the distraction earlier and turned back to Shōryū. And was nearly blinded by that special presence that was Shōryū/the king's, and no one else's.

Enki almost went down to his knees again, only stopped by grabbing onto Shōryū's hoh (he'd need to change, considering it really was too 'dressed up' for this place. At least if he wanted to blend in). As it was, his knees buckled and almost touched the floor.

"I--- They made me..!" Enki hissed, hands fisting in Shōryū's hoh as he finally made the connection between 'they took the memory of who I chose as king of En' to what was going on.

He had forgotten Shōryū was King. It hadn't mattered when he wasn't here, but now that he was, Enki realized, he'd remember each and every single time he saw Shōryū and then looked away. It apparently also meant a revelation each time, because they'd made him forget it so thoroughly, and what wasn't bound of his kirin nature was simply overwhelmed, or something.

...

Was it too late to keep it from Shōryū?

[summerstars]

Grenn was close enough to see Koharu looking around, but honestly thought she was looking for Sora, really. Not that she really could help with that, because even with fewer people and hardly any new incoming, there were enough people in the lobby it was hard to see anyone specific unless you were close, or knew where they were.

"Koharu, looking for Sora?" Grenn was rather proud it had only taken her a slight hesitation to steer up beside Koharu and ask, but it was definitely easier to approach someone she actually lived it.

[goodtobetheking]

Much too late. Shōryū's eyes narrowed to slits as his kirin half-collapsed, first leaning over to catch his waist and keep him upright and then, when he managed his half a sentence, lifting again, this time to set him against his shoulder. Firmly in his line of sight, and not about to move out of it. And certainly incapable of bowing. He'd have to find another solution later, because as short as Enki was, he wasn't exactly light, but for now this would do. 'They made me--', what? Bow? He wondered, absently, if they possessed a power that could force a kirin to kneel to someone other than their king.

"How impolite of them," he murmured, giving the attendants at the other end of the hall an appraising look. "Allow me to spare you the trouble."

At least the heavy fabrics of the hoh were good padding for Enki's sudden perch, though he was thinking much the same as his kirin. Judging by the uniforms worn by the rest of the crowd, he needed to change immediately.

[choseanidiot]

"Wha-- hey!" Enki's eyes widened as he was suddenly grabbed and lifted up. And then some more, to land on a shoulder. Shōryū did not need to rub it in how much taller than Enki he was. Of course, this way, no matter where he looked (though he was still careful), he had, at least, the top of Shōryū's head in his line of sight. And that, luckily, seemed to be enough for the memory-loss to not kick in.

"Just wait until you find out what memories they've taken from you!" Enki snapped, and then snapped his mouth closed, because Shōryū wasn't stupid, and while he'd obviosuly thought 'they' had simply made Enki kneel, Enki had now, against his resolve, managed to reveal that wasn't it.

Because, unfortunately, Shōryū just wasn't the idiot Enki sometimes would prefer his king to be. Because calling someone an idiot didn't make them so. Also unfortunately, Shōryū wasn't the sort of person who wouldn't play with this after he got over the 'they have manipulated us' thing.

He needed a memory charm immediately and to hope it contained the right memory. Unfortunately, Shōryū might insist on other things first. Things connected to the battling. He'd just have to... well, hope he could convince him there was no need for the battle-related things. Unless... He'd also just have to hope neither him nor Shōryū were chosen as Players.