rawkhawk64

Royal Rumble!

After resting for a while, Yuuto saw one of Clara's Beholders fly away. He knew that was his signal that he needed to get moving again. He tailed the Beholder, trying to allow more of his Void Energy build back up. By the time he neared the park, he was running high enough that he hid in the realm that he knew so well. There, he saw the confrontation, and the attempted getaway of the Demon and the mystery boy. Yuuto popped out of the Void in front of the two escapees, though off to the side so as to avoid a direct collision. He flung some shuriken at the boy, aiming for a crippling blow to the lower legs. "In name of Void, halt! Hand over girl who houses demoness if you value life." Yuuto called out in that same cold tone. This was a job. He had to play the part of obeying Clara's orders. What interest she had in the demoness, he didn't know. Nor, he told himself, did he care. He was a ninja. He was a tool for his employer. While that technically was Mephisto-dono, he had been told to obey his daughter's exact orders. That meant he was Clara's tool, to be used however she saw fit.

Royal Rumble!

As Brutus assessed the situation, he forgot one thing. As soon as he saw an angry Bak charging at them, Brutus knew it. They were so screwed. However, before he could act, a pebble landed by his feet, rolling innocently. Before Brutus could do more than blink in surprise, he got the worst present he'd ever had.

BOOM!

An ungodly explosion launched him flying through the air. As he looked down below, he saw a guy actually riding the machine girl. As he saw them both, the electric boy could only swear his revenge before he landed and fell into blessed unconsciousness. Revenge could wait. Future jobs could wait. Wonderful sleep beckoned, and who was he to argue?

Royal Rumble!

Brutus watched with satisfaction as his attack managed to catch all three of the opposition off-guard. However, as he was prepared to go in and snag the flag, he felt his electricity just... shut off. It was like someone had found a power switch and flipped it to off. Glancing over, he saw Aram slam his hand against a wall... and recoil in pain as nothing happened. As he went to voice his concerns, nothing came out...

'What is going on...?' Brutus questioned. He then saw Andras run in and fail spectacularly to do any lasting damage to the enemy. Brutus glanced over at Aram. His look said 'I think we might be screwed.' Brutus could see no way of winning this, unless he and Aram could somehow stall their opponents until this effect wore off. With that, Brutus hid himself behind a wall, readying himself to resort to close-quarters combat. Even if they lost, they still had to fight. What else could they do?

Royal Rumble!

Brutus watched with a calculating eye as Aram's attack wreaked havoc on the already-chaotic battlefield. As the smoke cleared, Brutus saw his opportunity. Stepping out, he quickly took aim and fired off tags at all three of the opposition. If any of them were struck, they'd find themselves feeling only something like a mosquito bite, before having their worlds lit up as Brutus then activated his Flashfield to try and shock his foes into submission. After a good 15 seconds, Brutus disengaged the Flashfield to prevent himself from overheating his powers. It was only then that he noticed the cards that had appeared in his hands. Looks like it was an effect of one of Andras' own magical cards. Brutus stowed them for now, hoping to save them for later.

Royal Rumble!

Brutus glanced over at Andras as she declared she was advancing. Fortunately, the electric boy had managed to evade Bak's incoming salvo. Brutus shook his head. "Always knew that girl was more dangerous than she let on..." he muttered. However, he knew that the most obvious play was for him to attack Bak. However, the enemy would prepare for that. So, he'd have to target one of the others. Brutus shook his head. He hated these mind games, but they were a necessary part of this tournament. They had to prove themselves so as to get more and better-paying jobs. With that in mind, Brutus quickly caught up to Andras with some electric enhancement. "I'll watch your back! Retreat at the first sign of trouble! If we're lucky, they'll try to follow us, and I can just zap the poor sap that decides you're an easy target." Brutus said with a bit of a mischievous glint. "Provided they survive, that is." he added as an afterthought. He was still running strong, and felt confident this would be a good initial plan. Staying on the defensive was not an option, but it could help them probe the enemy's defenses and maybe soften them up if they slipped up.

Royal Rumble!

Brutus stared at the stadium as he walked out next to his teammates. He had only returned to the Vigilantes' HQ the previous day, having been spending most of his time training. While he'd managed to improve his skills, he hadn't really made much progress on a new technique he was working on. Still, progress was progress, and Brutus was never one to turn down any sort of improvements, no matter how minor. He glanced over at Aram and Andras. He quirked an eyebrow at the card-wielding girl as an indication that he had indeed seen her late arrival. "So, I can guess that someone woke up late this morning?" he asked. The question was asked in a humor-filled voice and with a smirk, something that few would ever see or hear from the serious teen. "Aram, nice to see you again." Brutus then directed toward his other teammate, his voice still sounding humorous. He then tucked his hair (braided into a ponytail) into the hoodie he wore, before stepping away from his comerades and letting electricty spark around him. Oh yeah, he was ready.

As for Yuuto, he sat stock-still on the bench until the cheer went up, as did Bak's missiles. He'd gotten a stern talking-to from his parents about how the honor of the Kūgekino clan was on the line. After all, if the next heir of the clan performed well, then perhaps some of the more criminally inclined that were watching would hire the family to do more jobs. More jobs meant more income and prestige in the underground. So, of course, Yuuto nodded and played the part of the perfect dedicated heir. Ninjas had no friends, no emotions. He was merely a tool for his employer. And yet, he had been asked to participate in the tournament. The only way for Yuuto to accept in due accordance with his teaching was to treat these "games" as a job. His goal: to win. Yuuto glanced a Bak, noticing her casting a couple of worried glances at Vittorio. However, Yuuto set his ponderings aside. It wouldn't do to get too entangled in drama. He was here for a job, nothing more. However, he would give her an appreciative nod and a smile if she were to catch his eye. Just before the official start, Yuuto raised up his face mask. It was showtime.

Royal Rumble!

Another job well done. Mother and Father would be most pleased. These thoughts were at the forefront of Yuuto's mind as he wondered the halls of Mephisto's after classes. He'd skipped a couple of classes to get the job done, of course, but that was insignificant. The only thing that could potentially worry him was Bak, who wondered the halls and "disciplined" wrongdoers. However, he was sure he'd either be able to avoid the machine-girl's wrath, or at the very least escape to The Void if needed.

Whatever thoughts would follow were literally blown out of Yuuto's mind as an explosion launched shrapnel all over near where he was. Thankfully, he managed to avoid more than a couple of scratches by quickly disappearing into the Void. After the dust had settled, Yuuto reappeared, and glanced through the hole. There was Bak, talking with the loner ghost kid. Yuuto approached where Bak could see him.

"Please don't tell me that I have done anything to earn your ire, Bak-san. Void wisdom say 'Powerful ally should not be made foe, lest ire of others be aroused.' Void wisdom usually right." It was at this point that Yuuto saw the fighting. "What is happening? Why is there fight?"

Royal Rumble!

Brutus

Brutus watched from the bunker as the Greater Demoness was taken care of with a combined effort of some students from all three groups. After the roof fell through, Brutus just watched and waited. Eventually, a single beam of light pierced through the barrier that held King and the others. As King emerged, Brutus watched in interest. That certainly had to be Alto. No matter. What mattered was the objective. Speaking of which, Nasaraph seemed to take care of it. Brutus approached King himself.

"To be fair, Nasaraph, we don't need proof that we killed it. It's dead, and that's what matters. The only concern I have is if the property damage will affect our payout. We need this money."

After Brutus said his piece, Bak spoke up. However, before he could even start sparking, Nasaraph had a short argument with her before she left. Good. Brutus didn't feel much like fighting. He was sore and aching all over.

"I say we ignore her, and go report the success of the mission. AS I said before, whether or not we killed the Demon doesn't matter. What matters is that the Demon is dead."

Yuuto

Yuuto mostly watched in silence from the ceiling as one of the St. Laurel's students finished off the Demon. Intriguing. Then, Bak and one of the Vigilantes started arguing, before Bak left. Yuuto dropped down from the ceiling, landing lightly next to her.

"Fear not, Bak-san. Void wisdom say 'Door of opportunity open when you not expect it.' All we must do is wait, like lion stalking prey. Come. For now, we must rest and recover. Big tournament is in one month. Mephisto-dono will expect us to be excelling." What he didn't say was that he would have to report to Mephisto what his daughter was up to in this building. It seemed he had a lot of work to do. As he glanced over at Bak, Yuuto lowered his mask that covered the bottom of his face. He then smiled at Bak.

"There be no succeeding without your efforts tonight, Bak-san. For that, be proud and happy. Now, let us focus on tournament."

Catalyst: The Trading Card Game (Reboot)

As interesting as that seems, it's not exactly my cup of tea. I'll pass on this one.

Strange Cases of SYNBAD [High Casual]

A sharp rapping noise emitted from the other side of the door. One Giovanni De Luca quickly shot straight up out of bed, blurting out a seemingly non-sensical shout.

"I tap five mana for "Lich's Mirror!" Then, he looked around, sitting upright in his small room. He wasn't at a tournament for Sorcerous Assembly? "Huh? Must have been a dream..." It was then that his brain decided to catch up, and Jack's words processed what today was. "Right! Today's the parade, isn't it? Better get ready!" With that, Gio scrambled out of bed, grabbing his toiletries and a towel. Fortunately, Jack had either not showered yet, or had already finished. Gio took a rather quick shower, also taking the time to scrape the stubble off of his face. Beards and Gio did not mix.

After departing the shower, Gio headed back to his room and got dressed for the day. He took "presentable" as a pair of slacks and a nice button-up shirt. No ties or bowties, though. He couldn't tie them to save his life. The last thing he did was secure a belt around his waist.

This belt wasn't any average belt that most people wore. Oh, no, this belt was his prized possession. In fact, it was why he was able to use his abilities. On the right-hand side, the belt had two pouches. One pouch had three slots for Gio's Potions that his powers could generate, though they were all empty since he'd had to use one on his last case. The second pouch was more like a giant square sack. In it was a green ring. This was for Gio's Relics, even though he only owned one right now. On the left hand side was a simple deckbox. The logo etched into the outside was reminiscent of an animal's skull. It had a top that was typically held closed by magic, but could flip open like one of Gio's magnetic deck boxes. Inside, were two sets of slots. One was labelled "Draw", and the other "Discard". In the Draw pile were 12 special cards. Gio's cards, to be exact. The ones that granted him their power.

After making sure his belt was secured, he headed downstairs for some breakfast. Along the way, he ran into the resident... "mascot". Blinky was an odd fellow. To be fair, Gio hadn't met any goblins in his life, so perhaps Blinky was normal for a goblin? Eh, it didn't matter.

"Baddy Hands! Baddy Hands! Give Blinky shiny?" From what Gio could see, Blinky already had been gifted a few trinkets. However, Gio did have one thing.

"I believe I have just the thing, Blinky. Found it yesterday." Gio said, pulling out of his shirt pocket a shiny metal bottle cap. After he'd dulled the pointy parts, he figured he'd give it to Blinky. One of the first thing he'd learned about the goblin was his love for shiny objects, and this one apparently passed Blinky's test, as he took it and sped off, presumably to either try and obtain more treasures, or to put away the ones he had. Chuckling, Gio entered the kitchen and smelled pancakes.

"I've heard of wake up and smell the coffee, but I think I prefer waking up to the smell of pancakes instead. Mind making me a few?" Gio asked, chuckling a bit at his own joke as he fetched some orange juice. After glancing around, there was quite the crowd already gathered.