Characters: Estelle, Yuri, Judith

Genre: Humor

Summary: The resident fighting maniacs create some tension amongst the entire party.

Restless

It all started one night when, right after they'd set up all their tents, Yuri started swinging around his sword, calling out attacks and using them against nothing. When Estelle asked him what he was doing, he replied, "Just working off some energy" and dived right back into it.

He was still going at it when Estelle went to bed, so she had no clue when he slept that night, or even if he slept at all.

But the next night, Yuri did it all over again.

The night after that, Judith joined him.

The late-night training continued for days. And it didn't stop there.

Traveling on foot became a bit of a show, because Judith kept jumping up and performing mid-air flips amidst walking. The first time she did it, Raven repeatedly whistled as if impressed, Rita hit him to make him stop, and Karol asked Judith, "Why do you keep doing that?"

Judith just shrugged and replied, "The battles here aren't tough enough. I need to move around some more."

Yuri, on the other hand, did not do anything particularly abnormal during their walks.

Instead, he did crunches and pushups during their breaks.

Traveling by air became more than a little irritating.

To be fair, it was understandable that Yuri and Judith were so jittery when flying. There were no enemies to fight in the sky, and the Fiertia didn't have enough space for someone to safely practice their fighting techniques.

Still, Estelle couldn't help but think as she watched the two figures dash by her yet again, running laps around the ship seemed like a bit much.

"This is getting out of hand," Karol muttered while sitting at the campfire one night. His gaze was focused on Judith and Yuri, who were busy exchanging blows with each other a little bit away from the rest of them. "They've been doing this for weeks now."

"I know," Estelle murmured. "I'm worried about them."

Rita looked incredulous. "Them? What about us? I can hardly sleep with the two of them making such a racket every night!"

"They're just restless," Estelle defended them. "It's been a long time since either of them have fought a tough enemy. Personally, I think it's best for their healths if they do something with their extra energy."

Rita huffed. "Yeah well, those fighting addicts have too much extra energy."

Estelle looked over at the pair who were still fervently going at each other and found that she couldn't argue with that.

"Ya know, I think what they really need is a good, raw challenge," Raven cut in. "Maybe we could stop by the coliseum in Nordopolica sometime. Let 'em hit the 200-Man Melee."

Karol grinned. "Hey, that's a good idea, Raven. Maybe then they'd both finally be able to settle down."

"We'll if we're gonna do that, we'd better do it soon." Rita looked down at the ground and groaned. "I don't know how much more of this I can take."

Estelle glanced at the sparring duo again and nodded in agreement.

"The coliseum?" Yuri remarked when Estelle told him and Judith about the idea the next morning. "Heh, sounds good to me. What about you, Judy?"

"Do you even need to ask?" Judith replied. "I've been dying to have a decent fight for once."

Yuri quirked an eyebrow playfully. "Oh, so I don't put up a decent fight, huh?"

"Sparring isn't the same," Judith shot back easily. "You know that."

"Fair enough." Yuri chuckled. "I do know what you mean, though. Everything gets beaten too quickly lately. I've been exercising a lot to try and make up unused energy, but I just never feel satisfied."

Judith smirked. "Wanna go and spar now?"

"I'd love to." Yuri grinned, but Estelle could see that it was somewhat forced. No matter how much he tried to hide it, it was obvious that the lack of a good fight really was getting to him, and Estelle suspected that it was the same case with Judith as well.

Hardly a minute later, Estelle was stuck watching the two cross blades again, prompting the princess to shake her head and sigh exasperatedly to herself.

They really, really needed to get to Nordopolica soon.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me."

Yuri didn't even try to hide his frustration as he said that, and Estelle didn't blame him. They had made it to Nordopolica alright, but what was currently before them, right in front of the entrance to the fighting arena, was a sign that read, Coliseum Closed.

"I'm afraid not, sir," the nearby clerk gave as a response. "A lot of our monsters escaped a short while back. They were suppressed, but the coliseum suffered major damages, and we've had to close the place down until the repairs are finished."

"Well do you know when you'll be opening back up again?" Judith urged. "It's important."

The clerk shook her head. "I can't say for sure. The builders are saying it will probably take at least two weeks."

Estelle bit her lip. "I don't think we can wait that long." This whole thing had been keeping everyone on edge for a long time, and she was pretty sure that most of them were just about at breaking point.

"You're right. I can't, at least." Yuri sounded rather upset, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. "I feel like I'm going to burst if I don't get a good fight already."

Rita herself looked on the verge of setting fire to something. "Well, what are we supposed to do now?!"

Estelle turned away and rubbed her head. She was attempting to come up with an answer to that very question when her eyes fell upon the Fortune's Market shop nearby. Struck suddenly with inspiration, Estelle grinned and told the others, "I think I have an idea."

And at that, Estelle approached the store, pulled out a heap of gald, and tried her best to ignore the way the salesman's eyes bulged out disbelievingly when she said ever so politely, "I'd like 99 dark bottles, please."

Judith had Ba'ul take them all to an wide open area that had no people nearby but was populated with a good deal of monsters. They set up the dark bottles together in one spot, and Rita summoned a meteor that hit and broke them all at once. The bottles collectively released an enormous cloud of monster-attracting magic that Yuri and Judith stood right smack dab in the middle of, while Estelle and the rest of the party retreated and kept their distance as a horde of monsters came rushing in.

The beasts may not have been particularly strong under normal circumstances, but when they came in such large numbers like this, they were quite formidable foes. The two spirited fighters had to put up a struggle, yet were doing well enough so as to not warrant interference from the others. Finally, the effects of the dark bottles wore off and the last of the monsters were killed, leaving Yuri and Judith to stand amidst a slew of carcases, both of them breathless and bloodied but also smiling from ear to ear.

"That was awesome!" Yuri shouted, somehow managing to laugh between his gasps for air. He exchanged high fives with Judith, who looked just as exhausted as he was but also just as pleased.

Estelle noted their reactions and grinned to herself in satisfaction.

Mission accomplished, she thought, and went over to give them both a proper healing.

A/N: ...Let's just pretend this whole thing was crack, shall we?

And yeah, this one's from a post-game reunion journey too.