Fortitude: Round 3 Start

[mamarosa]

The morning after the sleepover, Dolorosa is quick to get all of the Conquest students out the door to save them the wrath of Day and Santana. She gives her students a little more time but still hurries them so she can start the assembly on time. She didn't want her school to be in any disadvantage.

Some may notice that her ever present smile is a bit wider today, as she stands behind the podium, two prefects in tow. That's right, two prefects. Lelouch has reached prefect status and stands besides the ever cool Nanami. Dolorosa is eager to begin her speech.

"Welcome, my students. Last time we were here we suffered a gracious defeat, but I am happy to announce that this is not the case this round. We have obtained victory over Round 2, and I would like to say that I am proud of you all. You all fought wonderfully and no matter if you won or lost your match, Fortitude came out on top."

"If this were Conquest, or I a different troll, I would urge you to keep winning, to keep defeating Conquest, but we are not them and I am not different. Instead I would like to extend a congratulations for this round, and hope you try your hardest next round. Win or lose we can show that we are a cohesive school, here for more than just battle. I am proud of all of you, and just as we were gracious losers, I expect you all to be gracious winners as well."

"I'm sure you have all noticed the extra Raks you have obtained for winning the round, I hope you treat yourseld to something nice. Without further ado I will announce the battles that occurred this round."

Behind her, the battle records appear.

She starts with the Fortitude battles, "I am always proud when there is little fighting within our school, but I do encourage competition, so I would like to congratulate Dahlia for defeating Yuri, and Yuri for defeating Oichi." she applauds a bit.

Next up, the interschool battle, "For those who fought Conquest and won, I would like to congratulate Dave for defeating Marik, England for defeating Suzaku, Dave for defeating Suzaku, Oichi for defeating Suzaku, Dave for defeating Estonia, Marisa for defeating Nephenee, Dave for defeating Gino, and Yuri for defeating Gino." She applauds again.

"My last congratulations go to Dave, Marisa, and Oichi for winning the roung and helping Fortitude achieve victory!" And some more applauding.

The screen behind her changes again, "This round's Players are...

"Rebecca Harcourt
Dahlia Hawthorne
Shion
Lelouch vi Britannia
Madoka Kaname
Karkat Vantas
Kamui"

"Fight well everyone, I'm proud of you!"

Comments

[nephentes_rajah]

Right, wrong, does it really matter? [ She points upward with a finger and takes a step closer. ] What's important is that this is a good opportunity. Such an elaborate set-up makes things fun~

[savedbyasong]

It matters because they are using such a set up to make some people better than others. [He tries to meet her eyes] They try to spread inequality, and to make us fight for that.

[nephentes_rajah]

[ Red meets red and she laughs. ] All this before you, and you are concerned with things being equal? That's the wrong spirit to have.

[savedbyasong]

Yes I am [He looks down again] What would be the right spirit to have?

[nephentes_rajah]

[ Yuuka does not bother to hide her smile. If he does not resist, she'll hook a finger under the boy's chin to pull his face up to look at her directly. ] First off, no one really gets hurt, right? No one dies~. [ She easily contains her disappointment for the time being. ]

So... think of it as the sport it is, and find within yourself the spirit of competition. [ A wag of her finger. ] Just don't be too sportsmanlike. That's no fun at all. You don't think everyone on the other side is going to be merciful, do you?

[savedbyasong]

[Shion meets her eyes when she forced his chin up.] But shouldn't we working together, to stop this and get everyone home. [The way he saw it forcing them to fight each other was cruel, and unnecessary.]

[nephentes_rajah]

[ Not moving away, her expression is soft like she's explaining how the world works to a child far younger than he looked. ] But how will you accomplish anything without strength? Without growth. You're no better than a...
...a...

[ Huh. That's odd. She feels like she could come up with a better analogy here, and yet it eludes her grasp.

The thought is gone as quickly as it came, along with her perplexed expression. ] A caged bird. One that yearns for freedom but lacks the power to free itself.

[savedbyasong]

[Shion frowned, it sounded like something Nezumi would say, a caged bird, a petri-dish city brat, they were all ways of saying that he didn't understand. That he still didn't grasp the real world.

He did not have strength, he could not fight. He wished to help people and yet had no means to. A caged bird indeed. Yet, he knew it was foolish, a dream that could never exist in the real world. But he wished a world where all were equal, he could not bring himself to agree with this system, that forced inequality on people.]

There has to be ways to accomplishing things without separation and inequality...

[nephentes_rajah]

[ Yuuka peers at him critically, tired of that naive way of thinking already. ] Let me cut to the chase. Are you a Weapon this "round", or a Player? If you won't fight, I doubt you're much use as either, but you could at least be a little entertaining in the meantime.

[savedbyasong]

A player... [She was right of course, he was of little use to this system and the people trapped in it, for even if he wanted to fight in order to help the others trapped here, he was an abysmal fighter.]

Are you a Weapon? [He knew all the names but two on the list, but one of them might be her]

[nephentes_rajah]

How convenient that I am. [ She says with a smirk. Yuuka then pulls away, her hands clasped behind her back, swaying a bit on her feet. ] That's a real shame, though. I'd really like to do something for whoever I end up vowing with, but... [ And here she bats her lashes playfully. ] It doesn't sound like you could handle me.

[ She tilts her head. ] Or am I wrong~?

[savedbyasong]

[Shion blinks and looks down] I don't know... I cannot fight, I don't know how, but I will not allow anyone to be harmed by my actions. So I will fight, despite my personal feelings.

If you wished to vow to me though, I would make sure you had all the rights that are otherwise denied to you and if you wished to be transferred to someone better at fighting I would do that...

[nephentes_rajah]

Then we have a deal~ [ Yuuka smiles slyly, and answers without hesitation. She brings up a hand — the same hand that now bears the mark of ownership — and brushes the back of her fingers over his cheek. ] Fear not. If it's experience you need, I have more than enough to pass on to you~.

Oh! [ She puts her hand over her mouth briefly, feigning embarrassment. ] How funny. We shared a bond but not our names. I'm Ms. Kazami. [ Why yes, she is letting the whole 'suddenly a teacher' thing go to her head a tiny bit. ] But you can call me Yuuka. ♥

[savedbyasong]

[Shion nodded, amazed about how quickly the vow had happened. He blushed a little, he did this often, vowed his protection to others without even asking their name. He took out a pen and paper and wrote a note of permissions for Yuuka before handing it over.]

It is nice to meet you Yuuka, my name is Shion. I would appreciate the help. [He smiles again.]

(ooc: Just to let you know, on IC Tuesday Shion loses Yuuka to Aisha!)

[nephentes_rajah]

Shion, hm? [ She hums in amusement at the look on his face, and then reads over the note. ] How very kind of you. [ Waving the note a bit, her brow furrowed. ] This is how it's done? Seems like a waste of breath to protest a process this simple. [ There is a note of displeasure because Yuuka is not owned, and yet at the same time she wouldn't mind pulling some strings of her own.

...not that she believes she has to be in position as a Player to do this. Even this system must have its loopholes. ]

[savedbyasong]

It's not the simplicity that I protest but the inequality. [He shrugs, at least he could help her now and make sure she was treated equally, for Shion that was the only advantage of being a player. Having the ability to do something, even if it was just something small.]

[nephentes_rajah]

[ She makes a dismissive gesture with her hand. ] Mm, I know. We've been over that.

[ Then she steps up to him and loops her arms around one of his. ] Come, now. The gathering is drawing to a close, and there is much I have to show you. You want to get to know the weapon you've claimed, don't you~?

[savedbyasong]

[Argh what, not really. It's not like he would be able to use it anyways but she has his arm so he really has no choice but to follow her.] Erm... okay. Do you know what form your weapon is?

[nephentes_rajah]

[ That's right, let yourself be lead like a good sucker boy~ ] Kachimushi is an umbrella. [ Stated simply. ]

[savedbyasong]

[Being dragged about, story of Shion's life.] An umbrella? That is an interesting form.

[nephentes_rajah]

I like to think so. You'll see, soon enough~ [ Soon as she can get him outside and in a nice secluded spot for training, that is. ]

[savedbyasong]

[Shion follows her outside, he wasn't too worried about her weapon not being a conventional weapon. He couldn't fight at all anyways so he would be just as good, or bad, with an umbrella as he would be with a sword or a gun.]

[nephentes_rajah]

[ That's okay. Just leave it to Miss Yuuka. She'll ensure he can at least stand strong and hold the weapon with half of the measure of skill as someone using it for its intended purpose (even if she doesn't know what that IS) before they finish for the day. ]

[ ooc: And with that, on to the other log! /o/ ]