Of all the people watching the fight on the screen, there was one who didn't actually look particularly interested. This wasn't actually the case, she was both interested in the fight and wanted to see what possible opponents. It's just that being so sleepy tended to make a person look uninterested in anything. Such was the case now; The small girl looked fairly bored of watching what was on-screen, to the point of yawning rather loudly.
Scratching at her head with one hand(concealed in one of her overly-long coat sleeves) Akiyama Akiko turned away from the screen moments later. Her perpetual drowsiness made her seem like she was lost in a fog the way she moved, and the fact that she was one of very few children among the tournament contestants lent support to the assumption that she was lost, at least. However, she was a contestant, a younger one then most but still a valid contestant. She had a small deck and everything.
Akiko unsteadily tried to make her way through the crowd that had been watching the screen, but instead found herself bumping into people.
"Mmmmnnnn..." she took a step back and shut her eyes tightly, shaking her head, before attempting to push through the crowd again.
Composite Magical Girl Pretty Ai-chan was on a glorious quest for victory! She'd use her amazing heart love-love power to conquer all in her way and prove herself to be the best composite magical girl ever!
Well... that's what she was usually doing these days. At the moment, normal energetic girl Hanabusa Ai was going about finding a good place to buy magical girl media. The pink-haired girl cheerfully made her way down the street, scanning it for any good shops. She was determined! She'd find an anime and manga shop and get her fill of new magical girl media somewhere!
Or maybe she would bump into someone cool. That'd be nice, too.
"Oh, dear. The toad, the monkey, and the dog have all screwed up."LUCILLE
Nervously, the blonde girl had been watching the fight and had left as soon as it had become apparent that the combat was over and everyone else was going to move. Of course, the rest of the crowd had similar ideas and soon everyone was jostling about. That did not, however, explain what felt like someone's head bumping into her back. Automatically, Lucille turned to see if someone had fallen over... and found that it was just a drunk-looking child. Or concussion or something.
"Are you... are you alright?" she asked, resting one hand on Akiko's shoulder to stop her from wandering off before answering.
ARIA
Aria, meanwhile, was busy in the arena, resurrecting the person that had just taken a spear through the heart. Fortunately, this girl hadn't been completely destroyed, whoever they are, since she hadn't given Aria her details yet... and such things were necessary if you wanted to survive anything that could be thrown at you.
Elly
The young red-head wandered through the streets of Ouma City with no particular destination. She just finished watching the battle on TV and that was a bit harsh. Well, more-so than usual. Were the rules changing? She didn't know anything due to being locked out of the loop. "A Ahhh...". The girl sighed, shaking her head from side to side.
Crack...
"AHH Hhh, my neck!". She winced, rubbing the back of her neck with a free hand. "So bored... so so bored.", she continued, her eyes darting up. Something came into view to save her from this never ending onslaught of nothingness. Book store! Book store meant manga! AHAHA! "Uh.." she realized she ... had no money.
"Poooopppp..."
Strange Girl with Absolutely No Significance
The girl, revived, sits up. Her eyes still flickering to life even as they spoke. "I'm... alive?" she seemed new, if she didn't know that things like death could be reversed here.
"..." In the local shopping district, a slightly effeminate teenager stood in a toy shop with wide eyes. Peering through the glass, he roved through the army of toys before stopping at a porcelain doll. It was something that looked like his little sister would enjoy. Unfortunately, the price tag...
Yakumo sighed, looking at his little frog wallet. Not that much in it... And it's close to Yumi's birthday... If push came to shove, he'll have to compete in some of the local games. He actually rather liked it, and it was a good way of making money too. The only bad thing is that the losers tend to... well, kinda feel it badly. And get rather hurt. Even if they do get healed, it made Yakumo hesitant to actually do such a thing just for enjoyment.
Always be ready to do the unusual and unexpected."Mmmmnnn?" Akiko blinked, looking blearily up at the older girl. Well, she seemed nice enough... Akiko gave the most cheerful smile she could muster(which just made her look even more out of it, if that were possible). It'd been several full days since she actually slept, so she didn't exactly look particularly well. In was remarkable that she was capable of walking(even to Akiko herself). "Fiiine... um... fine. Hello."
She even sounded rather drowsy.
Ai looked up. Had she just heard a crack somewhere nearby? It'd been pretty loud... advancing towards the source of the sound, she found an older girl who appeared to be albino and also very dismayed. Also, a book store! Which meant manga! Which meant magical girl manga!
"Hello!"
"Oh, dear. The toad, the monkey, and the dog have all screwed up."Also within a toy shop, a heavily-bandaged girl stared almost longingly at a blue bunny plushie, very similar to the red one she hugged tightly to herself currently. Nana Ichinose, with her apparently damaged body and small stature, most likely looked incredibly vulnerable. And alone. And in need of a toy, but it appeared she hadn't the money.
And she didn't. The whole idea was for some random person to take pity on her and buy the toy for her. And she would smile, her eyes would sparkle, and she would shyly mutter her thanks and walk away happy, completely forgetting the good Samaritan as she added the toy to her growing collection. Oh, how good it felt to completely outwit a bunch of idiots!
Elly
"Huh?" she heard a voice that she couldn't place. Well, that was obviously because she didn't know who was speaking. "Oh, uh..." she turned to the source of the voice. Oh, hey, a weird looking girl! AWESOME!
"Oh, hello there! The names Elly Ferraro!". A smile formed on her face. Elly pulled both hands to her back, cupping them together as she leaned forward. "Hello there cutey, what's your name?~"
She could have sworn she was doing something four seconds ago... OH WELL, new people to meet!
"Are you okay?" Lucille asked softly, crouching down a little to meet the girl's eyes. Why did she have to be so tall? Sure, it matched her horse a bit better and let her run slightly faster but... she stood out so much sometimes, it was annoying when everyone looked at her briefly before carrying on. It wasn't her fault that her hair and eyes were so bright, "You seem... out of it."
"Yup. So... mind telling me some information 'bout yourself?" Aria asked cheerfully, sitting crosslegged on the floor and producing a clipboard with a thick stack of papers and a pen from some golden disc that appeared in the air, "I need it in case this sort of thing happens an' there's nothing left to bring back! Oh, yeah, an' I keep track of who dies the most. Record's eighty-nine in a week."
A totally trustworthy and not-suspicious-at-all figure
"Why yes, I am sure I want to buy all of these books, ufu~"
It was somewhat confusing why one girl would want so many books, but it was still nice to see young people who were so into reading these days. Her purchases were quickly rung up, and after handing over the money for them the young woman with the ridiculously large hat left the bookstore whilst giggling maniacally.
"Ahah... Kyahaha~! Foolish Ai!" she said to no-one in particular, as she held her bag-holding hand to the air triumphantly. "Soon I shall drink deeply from your despair! Ooh, it makes me all tingly inside to imagine how you'll feel when you enter the bookstore and find that all of the magical girl manga... IS SOLD OUT! Kyahahah~!"
Once more, Dark Spellian Kirai's diabolical plan had succeeded!
edited 11th Mar '12 3:55:00 AM by Moerin
"Hello!" replied Ai cheerfully, with a grin. This new girl was all... new and stuff, so clearly getting to know her was a good idea. After all, Ai liked to get to know new people. "I'm Composite Magical Girl Pretty Ai-chan! Or, um... Hanabusa Ai, actually. But the first one is my title, and stuff! Anyway, it's nice t-"
The Ai froze in mid-sentence when she heard a familiar voice from nearby. Gloating... did she hear her name? The magical girl looked around, confused. That couldn't be... was it? "Ehhh...?"
If she was right, she'd just heard the voice of her bitter rival... saying her name.
"Out... out of it...?" Akiko asked, tilting her head a little in response to the older girl's question. She wasn't sure what she meant by that... Akiko opened her mouth, but cut herself off with another loud yawn, raising her hand to her mouth weakly to try and stifle it a little. "I... um... sleepy... but don't wanna sleep."
"Oh, dear. The toad, the monkey, and the dog have all screwed up."Jacob found the battle on the screen a bit interesting, though the finishing move was lackluster at best. "Instant win and not even an explosion..." Well, that was fine. Time to go see what kinds of things are happening around town! He began trying to maneuver his way through the crowd of people.
Sarah was running through town at high speeds. "OH NO I THINK I MISSED THE FIGHT ON THE SCREEN!" She was running at such speeds as to leave people completely speechless, a cloud of dust in her wake. She passed by many people.
Token Loli!Yakumo turned his head a bit to spy something out of the ordinary nearby. It was a rather pitiful looking girl, covered in various dressings and bandages. Seeing such a thing tugged at the boy's heartstrings, much to the probable delight of the girl. "Um... Are you alright?" The teenage male said a bit quietly, his face writ with concern. Seeing such a person... It made him feel a bit bad for some reason.
Always be ready to do the unusual and unexpected.Dark Spellian Kirai, who would never lie to you or try to stab you. Honest.
"Kyahaha~!" Kirai cackled as she hugged her ill-gotten (well, legally paid for, actually) gains. "Oh, how I long to see Ai's face full of anguish, with those delicious tears running down her soft little cheeks! Mmmm, just thinking about it makes me all w-"
She was so into her villainous monologue that it took her a moment to realise that Ai had been staring at her all this time.
"...Aw, nuts. Why do I never learn? Hide first, gloat later." She slapped her forehead so hard that she ended up knocking her hat off. Quickly, she scrambled to put it back on. "Um... Ahem, I mean, uh... Ahah! 'Tis I, your archrival and nemesis! And I have pulled off my most diabolical scheme yet, Ai~! Kyahaha~!"
Ah, perfect, she'd lured one in. Since the guy was on the side of her 'injured' eye, she turned her head to glance at him, trying to look as small and huggable as possible, while also repressing a desire to simply grab the toy she was looking at and hug it to oblivion.
"I'm... fine." Nana replied with well-practised shyness, returning her gaze to the toy. Yeah, you could tell she wanted - no, needed - this plushie. If only there was somevway for her to get it...
Elly
"Are... um.. are you some kind of sadist?" Elly was, for the lack of better words, completely fucking lost. What kind of girl just buys a whole bunch of magical girl manga out of nowhere? Was it to cause discontent in her new friend? That certainly wouldn't stand, no sir!
"H-hey, you're a vi-" well she stopped talking. The girl, the Dark Spellian Kirai, was talking to herself. Villainous monologue, acting like a villain, being evil, OH CRAP THIS WAS THE ARCH ENEMY OF... whatever her name was, Ai, yeah!
"WAIT A SECOND," she quickly put two and two together, "Are you rivals or something?"
Weird Girl in the Arena with Aria.
"A little bit a-about myself?" the girl said, her eyes traveling along the ground before meeting the nurse girl face to face.
"My name is Sarah Longwell.. uh..". She stopped, what was there to tell her? "I read a lot um...". again she stopped. This could probably annoy some people. "Read, school, friends, the games to earn some money.. that's... pretty much it." she smiled, standing up from the ground. Hopefully that satisfied Aria's question.
"W-wait..." she meant size, weight, and stuff like that, didn't she? Not her interests, stupid! "I-I'm seventeen, stand at 5'7" and my weight is.. do I have to give you m-my weight?"
edited 11th Mar '12 11:39:26 AM by RagnaTheSaviour
"But people should sleep when they're tired, especially children," Lucille said, brow creasing. This girl... she was tired enough that she couldn't even walk straight but she didn't want to sleep? At the least, she shouldn't have been out and about in public, it was too easy for her to get hurt, "And if you're this tired, you should stay at home or somewhere safe."
"Oh, that's enough information to unambiguously specify who you are," Aria replied cheerfully, jotting down the information in a chaotic scrawl that looked pretty hard for anyone to read, "You can go an' play, now!"
Ai immediately sprung into action! Pointing at her arch-rival, she... slowly lowered her arm and blinked in confusion. "Wait... your... plan was to do with the bookstore? I... um... Whatever! Composite Magical Girl Pretty Ai-chan to the rescue! I'll... I can't activate my powers outside of the arena... um... I'll... what are you even doing?"
She couldn't exactly declare that she would stop Kirai when she didn't know what she was stopping her from doing.
"Nuh-uh," Akiko replied, shaking her head weakly. She had to stay around, going home to sleep wasn't a good idea... not at all. "Need too... need to stay here. Have to be here if... if..."
Yet another yawn came out of the child's mouth, and she managed to nearly fall over before steadying herself. "Have to be here if I've got to fight."
"Oh, dear. The toad, the monkey, and the dog have all screwed up."Sarah
"A-ah..." to say the least, Sarah was confused. "Um.. alright." well she decided to do what the nurse said. With new resolve, she stood up from the ground and stretched. Was she going another round? No, she didn't think so.. at least.
Ouma City Arena
The crowd was a bit... rowdy to say the least. They continue to scream, "GO! GO! GO! GO!" in anticipationf or the next battle. They were blood thirsty. They wanted more more and MORE! The excitement in the air became contagious to those on the outside, which caused them to rush in like a swarm of bees.
"Excuse me!" one man said, fighting his way through the crowd.
"Pardon!" a woman called, extending her arm out to try and grab an arm chair.
Seats that were empty quickly filled.
The next fight was about to begin.
Ariella Archwood
Ah, what a splendid day! She talked to her friends, she mingled with people that she didn't know. 'Twas a great day for the shy Ariella. And today, most of all, was her debut match! AHAHAH, it was an amazing feeling! She ignored the fact that she could be killed, maimed, or any other deviation of the word. The spirit in the air, her smile, it was all enough to get her mind off of it!
Ah, wait, the next match was about to begin? Well, time for HER DEBUT!
"ARIELLA ARCHWOOD!" said the announcer. She heard her name echo throughout the battle dome, she smiled and giggled like a moron.
"Ahaha, so good, so good." she whispered to herself, smiling. Saying the attention got to her head was an understatement. She held her hand into the air, and out of nowhere... nothing but a pulsating wind appeared. It was the sword Invisible Air, which, by its name, couldn't be seen.
She then stepped forward and into the dome, awaiting her opponent.
edited 11th Mar '12 1:59:08 PM by RagnaTheSaviour
"Oh, let me buy that fo-" Before Yakumo could finish his sentence, an alarm beeped on his arm. Glancing at his wrist device, he found that it was dangerously close to his timed match in the dome. "Sorry! I'm late!" The young teen said, dashing off into the distance and out of the shopping district.
By the time the slightly winded boy made his way into the stadium, he found it was pretty crowded already. "Hah... Sorry... I'm late..." He apologized to Ariella, before gulping in a breath of air. "Ach..." The young man said nervously, glancing at his cards. Though by no means the strongest, they served him well. Believe in the heart of the cards... He thought, his heartbeat slowly turning back to normal.
Always be ready to do the unusual and unexpected."Well... the next match isn't for you, so do you want to go somewhere quieter to try and rest?" Lucille asked hopefully, glancing over her shoulder and moving out of the way of the crowd that was rushing to watch the next battle. So many people... did they really have so little else to do that they would spend all day watching these things?
Aria retreated to a 'safe' spot on the sidelines, close enough to help as soon as the match ended but far enough that she wouldn't have to constantly use Fantasy Heaven for her own safety.
ARIELLA
"It's alright, apology accepted!" Ariella said as she swung the invisible blade outward. If she wasn't careful, she was more than likely to chop her own hand off. Wait, she almost did one time, but, that's beside the point. A deep breath, a locked focus, she was ready to fight.
ARENA ANNOUNCER
"ALRIGHT, the rules of this round are simple!" the announcer interrupted their idle chatter, "If your opponent forefits the fight, or forfeits their life, they lose!" the way he talked, it was like he was used to saying You either run or you die. Well, he was, which seemed kind of sad in a way. "Got it?" he asked the retorical question, a smile forming on his face. "Now then, BEGIN!" a buzzer sounded, beginning the match.
ARIELLA
"DON'T GO EASY ON ME, OKAY?" Ariella said as she sprinted forward. Her legs became blurs as she quickly closed in on her target nearby. The blade raised over head, her eyes focused on the target, she leaped into the air. "GET READY!" she swung the blade down. It tore through the sky, closing in on the boy whether he was ready or not.
edited 11th Mar '12 3:38:03 PM by RagnaTheSaviour
"..." Nana was silent as her brilliant plan was shattered by that damn beeping. The guy who had been about to buy that toy for her was gone in a flash, leaving the 'poor' girl alone, unmoving. Except for the faint trace of anger in her 'uninjured' eye and a tight grip on the similar toy in her hand.
That... that stupid... how dare he?! Can't he see how badly I need that?! Nana thought furiously. Oh, that was just cruel of him! She couldn't let that slide!
Soon enough, Nana marched towards the arena, moving pretty well for someone who looked like they'd sustained heavy damage to every bone in her body at some point in her life. She wanted to see that mean idiot get beaten up for his severe crime, and she was gonna enjoy every second of that!
Trying to find a space where he could clearly see the screen in between the jostling crowds, Nathan found himself thinking that the end of the last fight was slightly brutal, in a way. Sure, it wasn't going to cause any lasting harm, and Nathan felt it was almost a game, but that didn't make the image any less grisly. In any case, a new match was about to begin, and as a competitor he decided it was in his best interests to keep tabs on his opponents. He could feel the weight of his deck in his pocket, a reassuring sensation.
It hadn't failed him up to now, and he was dead set on ensuring it remained that way. But really, the destination wasn't as important as the journey - and it was promising to be quite something if present events were any indication. He smiled freely, feeling a buzz of excitement.
Yes, he decided, it didn't get much better than this.
Locking you up on radar since '09"Appear! Ring of Light, manifest thy shining blade to smite my foe!" Yakumo desperately shouted out as his shinai manifesting an ornate pattern of azure hard light
◊ from its uncannily short blade. Instinctively holding the blade up horizontally with two hands to attempt to block the incoming blow in a crouched stance, the white haired teen looked different. A hardened light entered his eyes, focus sharpened to a keen edge by the familiar rush of adrenaline. He then rolled his shoulders in order to do an blade lock break by pushing the hilt forward in a sudden violent heave.

Ouma City. A large melting pot of different people and culture. Also the origin of a special magic called Unify Summoning. It's unknown why or how, but these cards serve as a catalyst to accomplish great things. Magic untouched by human hand, weapons fabricated out of the deepest myths and legends, everything is possible with Unify Summoning. People recognized the capabilities of the cards, and there was once a great battle in the paradise that is now Ouma City. The dispute was settled, but not without casualties. Now, the way things are decided is a bit more.. pleasant.
Games and battles are held in the Ouma City Dome where millions come to spectate. Different games like racing, survival challenges, all that stuff is held at the dome. Competitors are paid handsomely, most of them being around teens or mid-twentys compete for prizes and help settle disputes of different territories in Ouma City.
"HAAA!" a brown haired boy ran forward, a red-lance shimmering in hand. "GAE BOLG!" the boy held up a card, which vanished into thin air. The lance thrust forth, ignoring all spectrum of cause and effect, and struck the target.
"Ahh...hnn..." a silver haired girl took a step back. A pain shot through her entire body as her heart was struck. "I... l-lost?" she muttered those words, falling onto her back. Dust rose as she impacted the floor, which obscured her image on the screen above.
"Huff..." the lad ran his hand through his hair, declaring victory with a smile.
Inside or outside of the dome, in the confines of the city, there were other participants. They come and go and experience the city to the best of their abilities. This was what Ouma City was all about. Fun and games!
edited 9th Mar '12 11:16:51 PM by RagnaTheSaviour