Sereth and Yoru were chatting away like giggling teenagers while the lame battle came to a close.
"Oop-" Yoru exclaimed, "I gotta go now, It's my turn next."
Sereth smirked slightly, leaning back in his seat. "Guess I'll see if all that talk matches the performance."
Yoru grinned, walking backward toward the prep area. "Oh, don't worry, Sereth—try not to blink, or you'll miss it."
Sereth watched her as she was escorted away from the stands by one of the Creatures, and Torvak thundered back to sit with Sereth once again.
"You can stop grinning now Sereth." Torvak said with a teasing expression.
"Can it." Sereth replied, elegantly.
Surely enough, after a couple of minutes, the announcer's voice boomed in.
"Our next matchup of the day will be between Yoru Kagemi, Who is renowned for her stealth and intelligence, and Kase Trite! Who is known for... uh.... Having a lot of things!"
Sereth leaned in toward Torvak, "Is it just me or is this announcer getting worse at making introductions interesting? I feel like he was better earlier in the tournament."
Torvak replied, "Maybe he's tired. Trying to pump the crowd up after people get slaughtered all day must be tiring."
"BEGIN!"
Kase was a little on the shorter side, with straight black hair, and blue eyes. He was pretty chubby, and didn't seem to wield any weapons. He just waddled out of the gate and raised his arms.
Yoru, however, wasted no time in rushing her opponent by traveling on her shadow like a skateboard. Once she reached a reasonable striking distance, Her shadow shot up from the ground and went directly for his face.
Kase shouted out: "Inventory! Open!" And a portal-esque vortex was opened directly above him, and a swarm of random objects blasted out with immense force, making Yoru yield her attack as she jumped backward a few paces.
Sereth thought to himself, "That was pretty reckless for someone who is supposed to be really intelligent."
He hunched over and he continued to focus on Yoru.
Kase grinned at Yoru. "I was hoping for an actual opponent. I'm a little disappointed that I wound up with some random woman."
Yoru raised her eyebrow, "Big talk from a little man."
Kase's cheeks turned red. "You little bitch! Inventory! Open!"
A portal appeared above Kase's head as a black broadsword dropped into his hand. He ran at her with speed that would be expected for someone his size, swinging frantically. This was a bad tactic on his part, because Yoru's shadow slipped under his footing, and he immediately sunk into it, which caused his strike to fall short, and completely whiffed.
"What the!?-"
Yoru leaned in slightly, her golden eyes glinting as her shadow wrapped around his legs like liquid chains. "You really should watch your step."
Kase struggled, yanking at his legs. "Inventory! Open!" Another portal flashed above him, spitting out a battered metal shield that clanged against the ground just out of reach.
Before he could grab it, Yoru's shadow snapped upward like a whip, knocking the sword from his hand. It clattered to the arena floor, immediately swallowed by her dark tendrils.
Kase's eyes widened. "Hey! That's mine!"
Yoru threw a surprisingly powerful side kick, causing Kase to fall backwards and shuffle backwards.
Kase was now fuming, his hair practically stood up as he called out "Inventory! Unleash the Special Object!"
A significantly larger portal opened above the both of them and a yacht fired out of it towards Yoru, who screamed and covered her eyes.
Once the dust cleared, Kase snapped his fingers and the boat vanished from sight.
Yoru, however emerged, completely unharmed.
"That was sooooo scary..." She said in an exasperated tone.
"How are you alive!?" Kase exclaimed, voice full of fury.
Yoru's golden eyes glinted as she stepped closer, voice sweet and taunting. "I think you should be more concerned about what's behind you."
Kase whipped around, ready to counter whatever trap she'd set—
But the act of turning was the trap. In that instant, Yoru's shadow surged beneath his feet, tangling his stance. Before he could recover, she pivoted, delivering a clean, sharp kick to his chest that sent him sprawling to the arena floor.
Unconscious.
Yoru Kagemi had completely bamboozled Kase Trite.
The announcer's voice rang out: "Winner—Yoru Kagemi!"
...
The crowd was still buzzing when Sereth spotted movement in the aisle. Masaru and Aeon emerged from the stairs, looking a little more composed than when they'd vanished earlier.
Sereth raised an eyebrow as they slipped into their seats. "Finally. Where the hell were you two?"
Masaru crossed his arms. "Out."
Aeon's lips curved faintly, eyes on the arena. "Drifting."
Sereth groaned. "You two are the worst at explanations."
Before Masaru could retort, a burst of applause rippled through the crowd as Yoru appeared back into the stands, radiant and grinning.
She hurried up to where Sereth and company were, and exclaimed, "What did you think of that? Pretty sweet right!?"
Sereth tried not to grin, and failed. "Yeah that was pretty cool. But that guy wasn't very strong, so don't get a big head."
"Who's this?" Masaru asked.
Yoru turned to him, golden eyes bright. "Yoru Kagemi! Nice to meet'cha! I'm one of Sereth's fans."
Masaru gave Sereth a slow, knowing look. "Fan, huh?"
Aeon tilted his head, orange eyes wide as if he were making an observation about the weather. "Her aura's interesting. You're glowing, Sereth."
Sereth blinked. "...What?"
Aeon leaned forward, completely serious. "Your pulse is faster. Your face is warmer. Is this courtship?"
Yoru stifled a laugh behind her hand, while Masaru absolutely lost it.
Sereth just sighed, staring forward at the arena as if he hadn't heard a thing.