Teana's Travels Book 40: Midchilda Tournament

by D.K.N

The time has come for the Midchilda fighting circuit's annual martial arts tournament! Vivio, Einhart, and Fuuka all participate, ready to show their stuff. But it's not all fun & games; baggage from the past takes hold, and there are scores to settle, and deep-seated issues that will be addressed. Violently. Rated M for graphic description of injuries in later chapters.

1. Round 1

I posted the first Book of this series, Book 0, in November of 2010. Now here we are, 10 years & a month later. Damn…

So, I actually wrote this Book shortly after I finished Book 34, and then kept it in reserve as a Word document waiting its turn. Let's hope it aged well.

Lastly: The structure of the tournament in ViVid canon is so convoluted that I can't wrap my head around it, so I changed it to a standard 16-fighter bracket tournament. Sorry if that offends any canon-purists among you…

THE FOLLOWING THINGS ARE THE PROPERTIES OF THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS; I DO NOT OWN THEM AND MAKE NO MONEY OFF OF THIS STORY

Mahō Shōjo Lyrical Nanoha (Teana, various other characters) – 7Arcs

Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni (Shion and friends/family) – 07th Expansion and Studio Deen

Shuffle! (Kaede Fuyō and associated characters) – Navel and Asread

Erika's New Perfume (Marie, Sarah, Erika, Timmy, Veronica) – DeviantArtist 'Lance the Young'

Mai-chan's Daily Life (Mai, Kizuna) – Waita Uziga

Star Wars (Ahsoka, Cody, Rex, Force Unleashed cast) – George Lucas, Lucasfilm

Halo (Forerunners, UNSC, Sangheili Alliance) – Bungie, 343 Industries

StarCraft (multiple characters, events, and devices) – Blizzard Entertainment

Naruto (characters, techniques, abilities) – Masashi Kishimoto

Mahō Sensei Negima (characters, spells, abilities) – Ken Akamatsu

Kingdom Hearts (characters, weapons, enemies, concepts) – Square-Enix

Neon Genesis Evangelion (characters, concepts, tech) – Studio Gainax

Elfen Lied (Kaede K., others) – Lynn Okamoto, Arms

Red vs. Blue (The Blood-Gulch Crew, the ex-Freelancers) – Rooster Teeth

My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic – Hasbro, Lauren Faust

Transformers Film Series – Hasbro, Michael Bay

Transformers: Beast Wars – Hasbro, Mainframe Entertainment

Yu-Gi-Oh! – Kazuki Takahashi, Viz Media

Sonic the Hedgehog – SEGA

Gears of War – Epic Games

Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles – Columbia Tristar (I think)

Mass Effect – Bioware

Metroid – Nintendo

Puella Magi Madoka Magica – Gen Urobuchi, SHAFT

The Legend of Zelda – Nintendo

Tōhō – ZUN

RWBY – Rooster Teeth

Pretty Cure / PreCure – Toei Animation

Kill La Kill – Trigger

Cross Ange – Sunrise

Cardcaptor Sakura – Clamp

Sailor Moon – Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha

Sailor Nothing – used with express permission of Stefan "Twoflower" Gagne; please visit his website for SN and his other original works

Fate/Stay Night, Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya – TYPE-MOON

Pokémon – Nintendo, GameFreak

Goblin Slayer – Kumo Kagyu, White Fox

My Hero Academia – Kouhei Horikoshi

PLEASE READ & REVIEW

PLEASE CAMPAIGN FOR THE TROPE PAGE'S DELETION

-BOOK 40 START-

Realm LN-34 – Midchilda

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the arena! We've got a hell of a show for you today – 16 fighters will compete to see who will move up to take part in the planetary championships next month! And I am pleased to say that not only are several of our friends from the Dimensional Defense Force amongst the spectators, but two of them are serving as my co-commentators! Please welcome elite Jōnin-rank shinobi Kakashi Hatake from the Village Hidden in Leaves, and veteran Hunter from the world of Remnant, Peter Port!"

"That's right, my good man!" Port announced in his usual bombastic way. "And may I say, I'm delighted to be here, ready to watch promising young warriors testing their mettle against one another! Hopefully this tournament will go better than the last one I commentated on."

"What happened there?"

"It was interrupted by a combination giant-monster attack and major terrorist strike. It's a long and ugly story, really."

"I've overseen plenty of Chūnin Exams," Kakashi spoke up, "but actually being a designated announcer for a tournament is a first for me. Hope I won't drag you boys down."

"Oh, it looks like our contestants are entering the field now!" the TSAB announcer proclaimed.

A trumpet fanfare played over the speakers as 16 people came out and lined up in the middle of the sizable arena. Large holoscreens floated at the top center of the stadium, which currently had its retractable roof partially open to let the sun shine down. The crowds cheered as the fighters came together. Among them were Vivio and Einhart in their 'adult modes' (the usage of which was a known phenomenon in the competitive circuit, but if anyone knew how young these two really were they'd probably be barred from competing, and they didn't want to have to wait 1500 years until they were physically old enough to 'legally' compete). Also among the group, one fighter had their identity near-totally concealed by a cloak or poncho over most of their body and also hiding the lower half of their face, and a large wide-brimmed, vaguely cowboy-like hat on their head.

Now, 14 of the fighters cleared the arena, and two of them took position on either end of the arena – a tall & buxom blonde, and a more petite-built orange-haired girl.

"Let's begin the tournament! On one side, we have a descendant of the 'Thunder Emperor' of Ancient Belka, and winner of last year's tournament (by default due to her opponent in the finals dropping out), Victoria Dahlgrün! Facing her is a newcomer, a young Sister of the Saint Church, Chantez Arpinion!"

The two of them activated their Barrier Jackets and readied their weapon-form devices – a large and intricately-designed poleaxe for Victoria, and a pair of huge bladed tonfa for Chantez. At the starting bell, neither of them made any opening offensives yet. Instead, Chantez bounced back & forth on her feet, a small smirk on her face.

"Wow, fighting in front of such a huge crowd sure makes me nervous" she remarked. "But, anyway…"

And then, she seemed to vanish. Victoria's eyes widened as she heard the girl rematerialize behind her, and before she could react a strike from one of Chantez' weapons hit her in the back. Chantez went for a follow-up double strike, but Victoria spun and blocked, catching one blade with the staff of her weapon and the other with her armored gauntlet.

"Using an illusory clone and cloaking magic to hide yourself and then attacking my blind spot… Did you think I couldn't see through such a simple trick?"

Chantez looked surprised… but then smirked, and Victoria was struck from behind by a second Chantez, while she was still touching the first one.

"Oh?" Kakashi briefly uncovered his Sharingan up in the announcers' booth to get a 'closer' look. "A magic-fueled variant of the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu? Intriguing… Now, let's see if Miss Arpinion is clever enough with that technique to pull something sufficiently unorthodox to overcome her opponent."

"And that she can actually hit hard enough to do so" Port added. "Miss Victoria seems to be quite durable, and young Chantez's blows don't look very heavy yet."

Chantez and her duplicate hit Victoria with a rising X-slash that knocked her into the air, and then leapt high over her and charged up a large crackling orb of reddish-orange magical energy. It was fired downward with surprising speed, slamming into Victoria and carrying her down into the grounds outside the ring, kicking up a sizable smoke cloud.

"Ring out, down!" the local announcer cried.

On the main screens, the countdown from 20 started. However, just as the count passed 10, Victoria calmly strolled back up onto the stage… with only a small chunk of Life Points missing.

"Contestant Victoria's defense is solid! Despite the impressive size and force of contestant Chantez's attack, it did surprisingly little damage!"

"Chantez," Sister Schach called from the seconds' position behind the girl, "don't ease up, no matter how high her defense is!"

"I've still got the speed advantage" Chantez replied. "She can't win if she can't touch me. I'll honor you and the effort you put into teaching me by finishing her off with your dual-blade style!"

Chantez and her 'clone' surged forward, striking at Victoria from multiple angles one after the other, as the tall blonde used her poleaxe to block and parry.

"And what a ferocious assault from young Miss Arpinion!" Port exclaimed. "She just won't let up!"

'Sister Schach…' Chantez thought. 'I got into fights because I had nothing else. You scolded me, took me in to the church, gave me a home, light, family… I have to prove myself worthy of that! When I win this tournament, more people will join the church. I'll have done something good for once, and make you happy!'

Finally, Victoria planted her feet and made an electrified thrust with the spear-tip that jutted up from her halberd, but the Chantez she stabbed dissolved away – one of her magic-formed clones. The other Chantez went for a leaping strike from behind, but Victoria drew and swung a 'blade' of solid Lighting magic (to be specific, it seemed to come from inside the hilt of her halberd)… and it, too, dispelled a clone. She then raised the blade to block a downward falling strike from a third Chantez.

More appeared for a total of four Shadow Clones, running in circles around Victoria, tying her up in numerous Binds of red magical energy. As she was restrained, Chantez appeared high overhead, another huge sphere of magical power ready to be thrown down. She batted it downward with one of her swords, and the resulting blast encompassed most of the arena. Chantez and her duplicates broke apart, standing along the edges of the smoke cloud that resulted.

"What an outstanding combo!" Port exclaimed. "Using a multitude of duplicates to confuse and mislead her opponent, and then bind her in place for a high-level strike!"

"From what I saw," Kakashi said, "the real Chantez was hiding behind an Optic Hide spell the whole time. It was certainly a fairly clever application of her abilities. …However, I fear it may have triggered something unfortunate. I can feel a worrisome Killing Intent from inside the smoke…"

With a swing of her weapon Victoria blew away the smoke surrounding her, revealing that she still had comparatively minor damage, her Life Points around 75%.

"Your deceptive technique is not enough to pierce the armor of a Dahlgrün!" she proclaimed. She shifted to a more aggressive stance, her halberd held low and forward. "I'll show you the Thunder Emperor's wrath!"

"In that case," Chantez replied, "I'll use my last secret trick. Octodectet!"

Now, 18 Chantezes surrounded Victoria. At the leader's call, they all leapt in to attack at once, but…

"91st Style:" Victoria cried, "Legion Shredder!"

She spun her halberd over her head at great speed while releasing a veritable storm of Lightning magic, ripping through all 18 attackers… including the Chantez that had identified as leader earlier, while the real Chantez appeared overhead, coming in for a surprise attack. In response, Victoria jabbed the pointed hilt of her halberd into the floor, a bright blue Belkan magic triangle-rune appearing beneath her. Her body surged with power, her hair floating upwards and glowing bright blue.

"100th Style: Divine Thunder!"

The resulting explosive blast of Lightning magic engulfed most of the arena, including Chantez. In one hit, the orange-haired girl was brought down to less than 5% of her Life Points, and was also paralyzed by the powerful shock. She was therefore totally helpless as the still-glowing Victoria flash-stepped to directly above her, grabbed hold of her by the top of her head, and slammed her down into the arena floor with horrific force. When the dust settled, Chantez lay face-down and immobile in a crater; not only had her Life Points been wiped out, but enough damage had been dealt to bypass the safeties and leave her with a real (though minor) concussion; by her picture on the big display, the green 'Health' emblem changed to yellow, pulsing.

"And Victoria wins with a dramatic knockout!" the local announcer exclaimed.

"Perhaps you went a tad overboard, milady" Victoria's butler said as medics hurried over to the still-unconscious Chantez.

"I couldn't afford to go easy on her" the pale-blonde girl replied.

-Break-

The next two fights were not quite as spectacular. In the second battle of Round 1, Einhart made short work of her opponent, while in the third fight Sieglinde Jeremiah proved her reputation was well-earned by scoring a victory by knockout without taking a single hit, the only Life Point loss being some minor recoil damage from the KO-ing strike.

Now, the fourth match's contestants entered the arena. While one of the competing girls looked fairly unremarkable, the other was a petite girl with long blonde hair who wore a black dress with ruffled white hem and sleeve-cuffs, matching black boots with fur-lined trim, and a little pointy black hat like one would see in Terran cartoons on stereotypical wizards and witches – an image enhanced by the fact that she was clutching a broom in one hand.

The starting horn sounded, and at first neither competitor moved or said anything. After several seconds, however, Fabia Crozelg's opponent began to react to seemingly nothing, looking around her with an expression of fear. She started breathing faster, and then crying out, and then screaming, falling to her knees. Her coach quickly threw in the towel and ran to her side, and she latched onto him sobbing hysterically.

"What… just happened?" Port asked.

"…Genjutsu" Kakashi replied in a serious tone. "There are people who can use techniques, magic or chakra-based, to 'hack' their target's central nervous system, make their opponent see, hear, and feel what they want them to by implanting that 'false' sensory data directly into their brain. It doesn't technically cause any actual harm to the victim, but… I've seen victims of genjutsu go insane, suffer terror-induced heart attacks, and even kill themselves. If you don't know the proper countermeasures, or your skill with those countermeasures isn't strong enough to overcome your opponent's skill and power with genjutsu, you can end up defeated or dead without the enemy having to do practically anything."

As the little blonde strolled off the field, hushed whispers and murmurs spread through the crowd; how can you defend against an attack that remotely attacks your brain to make you experience whatever your enemy wants you to?

-Break-

After the battle between Micaiah Chevelle and Miura Rinaldi, a close fight that saw the latter prevail over her older sword-wielding opponent, the next match was between Rinne Berlinetta and Carrie Tercel. It proved to be a quick and brutal fight, with Rinne forgoing any fancy tricks or flashy attacks, just getting in close and beating Carrie to a pulp. In the aftermath, Rinne said something (not heard by the spectators) that left the battered and beaten Carrie in tears as she was hauled away on a stretcher.

Now, the stage was set for the seventh match of Round 1.

"In one corner," the local announcer said, "we have a gifted young newcomer making her first major tournament appearance. A well-trained specialist in counter-striking maneuvers, she had a difficult – and highly classified – past, but is now the happy and healthy adopted daughter of the TSAB's legendary White & Gold Aces! Introducing Vivio Takamachi!"

The girl in question (still in Adult Mode, of course) came out with what could almost be called a bounce to her step, a big grin on her face as she waved to the cheering crowd.

"And on the other side," Port chimed in, "we have a veteran participating in this tournament for the fifth time, coming in as 8th-runner-up in last year's tournament. She's a girl with a strong sense of justice, and a fiercer opponent than her unassuming appearance and petite build would suggest. She's sure to give Takamachi a solid fight. Please welcome Els Tasmin!"

The short and young-looking teen strode up onto the stage, a calm smirk beneath her glasses-covered eyes. With a flash, she donned her Barrier Jacket, her Device taking its active form of a pair of handcuffs attached to each other by a very long, magically-animated chain.

"Ready… Set…"

The starting bell rang, and immediately Els went on the attack, dashing forward while conjuring several red-hued Chain Binds with handcuffs on the ends. Vivio threw herself to the side to dodge, by chance dodging the extra chains that came at her from a rune-circle directly behind her. She then charged at Els, ducking and weaving around a few more strikes from the handcuff tips of the other girl's Chain Binds. Els hurriedly went on the defensive, moving to dodge and block and give ground in the face of Vivio's rapid and powerful strikes, each of the blonde's moves flowing into the next, not giving Els even an instant of reprieve. Before long, Vivio got around Els' guard and landed the first clean hits of the match – an uppercut to the jaw, followed by a hard palm-strike that sent Els staggering back, and then a shotgun-style blast of mini magic bolts. Els was knocked back and over, coming to a stop in a crouch, stunned by how much power Vivio's blows packed; just that short combo had reduced her Life Points by 38%.

Now, Vivio surrounded her fists in rainbow-hued magical energy, and then began forming Accel Shooter bolts and punching them at Els, giving them extra force and velocity. Els yelped in surprise as she frantically started dodging, smacking some away with her chains, but soon they started getting through. She flinched and staggered like someone getting shot as bolt after bolt struck her, chipping away rapidly at her Life Points. Finally, she'd had enough; letting out a growl, she twirled her chains around herself while making some lash out like tentacles, pushing Vivio's attack back. One of them grabbed hold of Vivio's ankle, and the transformed girl let out a shocked cry as she was yanked up into the air and then slammed back down into the arena floor, and then picked up and slammed down again in an arcing trajectory. Before it could do so a third time, she used her free foot to kick the joint of the Bind, breaking it and freeing herself, now minus a chunk of Life Points.

Vivio pulled her left fist back, starting to draw power into it, but suddenly several red chains formed and wrapped around her forearm and wrist, holding her arm in place. Els smirked at her, tightly gripping the other end of the chain… but then Vivio returned the expression, planted her feet, and pulled, giving her left arm a sudden full-force pull to the right and inward. The end result was Els letting out a surprised squeal as she was yanked off her feet, flying helplessly through the air toward Vivio, who was now thrusting forward her right hand 'holding' a swirling ball of tightly-compressed, chaotically rotating chakra which she slammed up & forward right into Els' gut:

"Rasengan!" {螺旋丸}

After grinding into Els for a few seconds, the Rasengan 'detonated', launching the girl skyward with rotation. At quite a height, her spinning ascent slowed and she dropped back down to the ground over the edge of the arena, landing with a thud. Her Life Points were at 0.

"And with a spectacular finish, Vivio wins the match by knockout!" Port announced amidst the cheers of the crowd. "What a potent technique she used to do it, too!"

"It's called the Rasengan," Kakashi replied, "and it's got quite a history to it. It was originally created by my Jōnin sensei, Minato Namikaze. He taught it to two other people: myself, and his sensei Jiraiya. A few years ago, Jiraiya taught it to one of my students, Minato's son, Naruto Uzumaki, who has pretty much made it into his signature technique. When Teana Uchiha-Lanstar came to our world for the first time, he and I taught the Rasengan to her, and when she returned to this world she taught it to Nanoha Takamachi, and later she and Nanoha taught it to Erika Swanson, the young Keyblade-Wielder. And it was from Erika that Vivio learned how to do it."

"So it's got quite a student-teacher chain to it," the local announcer said, "this Rasengan attack…"

-Five Minutes of Arena Repair Later-

"Well then," Port announced, "let's get to the last fight of Round One!"

"In one corner," the DSAA announcer said, "we have another esteemed veteran! With iron resolve, a burning spirit, and a combat method that follows the message printed on her jacket – 'One-Hit Knockout' –, she has placed highly in previous tournaments. Now it's time to see if she can carry herself through this one as well! Introducing contestant Hallie Tribeca!"

The rough-looking redhead held her fist up, posing for the crowd, her subordinates behind her just off the stage. She looked out as the spotlights focused on the other entrance, where the mysterious robed & hatted figure was slowly striding out.

"I'm afraid I can't really give an introduction for someone whose identity is unknown…" the DSAA announcer said.

Kakashi let out a soft chuckle. "Shall I do it, then? After all, she is the student of my student…"

"Ohhhh, now I know who it is!" Port said, and then cleared his throat, talking as the figure continued to walk up toward the stage. "We have yet another promising rookie joining us today! Formerly an orphan, she was recently adopted by the Emery family, a wealthy family line well-known for their childcare occupations. However, this young girl is also the personal student of none other than Sasuke Uchiha, having studied extensively in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and kenjutsu under his guidance, her previously-undiscovered raw talent flourishing! A skilled young warrior, with an inexhaustible supply of willpower, determination, and courage, who strikes like lightning and blows away all opposition! Ladies and gentlemen, introducing Fuuka Reventon-Emery!"

Simultaneous with her name being announced, Fuuka flung away her cloak and hat, revealing herself. Immediately after, her Device – the kitten-form Huracan – merged with her, and she transitioned into her Adult Mode, her sword transforming, growing to be as long proportionate to her older body as it was to her normal younger form. The crowds cheered… and, up in the competitors' box, Rinne Berlinetta looked like she'd just seen a ghost.

'F… Fuu-chan? Here? …Adopted? S-Sasuke Uchiha's student? What in the worlds…'

"Another swordsman, huh?" Hallie said with a cocky grin. "Let's see if you do better than Micaiah did. Gimme a good fight before you go down, eh?"

"Sorry," Fuuka replied, "but there's somebody else in this tournament that I have to fight, no matter what. To reach her, I have to get through you. So, you won't be advancing past this round."

"Ready… Set…"

At the starting bell, Hallie fired off several Fire-type magic bolts. Fuuka took a stance gripping the hilt of her sheathed sword, and right when the enemy's shots came close she drew and swung in a single wide motion, releasing a Fūton: Shinkūha. The wind blade didn't bat away the incoming flame shots, it caught them, carrying them along with it to give the vacuum blade a burning edge. Hallie's eyes widened and she hurriedly leapt high, barely dodging the attack as it passed under her, continuing to cut a deep gash in the arena wall.

"Most users of the Wind Release: Vacuum Wave exhale it with a quick side-to-side head movement," Kakashi explained to the audience, "but Fuuka has learned how to project it from her sword instead. She's got a talent for iaijutsu. Of course, she's also quite formidable without her sword…"

As if to prove Kakashi's words, Fuuka sheathed her blade and rushed in, with Hallie quickly bringing an arm up to block the girl's flash-step punch. Fuuka flowed into a series of punches and kicks, moving in a way characteristic of Uchiha-style taijutsu – "flow and dance like flames in the wind", the Uchiha used to say. Hallie took a few hits, but then managed to get an arm in and shove Fuuka back, but before she could counterattack Fuuka let loose another Shinkūha, and this one hit her dead-on, taking out a good chunk of her Life Points.

Shrugging off the hit as best she could, Hallie got in close and went on the offensive, with Fuuka giving ground as she blocked and dodged. Eventually, Fuuka took a few hits, her Life Points dropping a little. She leapt back a few meters, and Hallie quickly charged & fired a Gun Flame shot at her. Fuuka quickly crossed her arms in front while Huracan cast a Round Shield that only partially withstood the attack before breaking, leaving the reduced attack to hit Fuuka, dealing some more LP damage even through her guard. Hallie smirked… but then so did Fuuka.

"You call that a Fire attack?" Fuuka remarked. Then, she wove a hand-seal sequence while leaning back and taking a deep breath, and…

'Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!' {火遁・豪火球の術}

Hallie's eyes widened with shock as Fuuka spat out a huge fireball, which was now racing across the arena toward her. Hurriedly, she charged and fired a concentrated beam of magical energy that punched through the fireball, dissipating it, but momentum carried some of the fading chakra-flames into her, causing a little more Life Point damage; her attack, meanwhile, only grazed Fuuka for an instant as the brown-haired girl dodged, costing her only a tiny sliver of LP.

Growling, Hallie punched forward, and the chain wrapped around her left forearm came to life, glowing red with heat as it extended forward with great speed, lunging straight at Fuuka. Eyes widening, Fuuka quickly raised her blade to deflect the strike, feeling her arms be knocked back as the chain bounced off at an angle… and then curved through the air and came at her again. Over and over she dodged and blocked, trying to avoid being struck or snagged by the hot chain. Finally, Hallie changed tactics, and Fuuka let out a surprised gasp as the chain rapidly wrapped around her sword, restraining it.

"Gimme" Hallie said with a smirk, tugging on the chain.

However, Fuuka's grip held, and then she took a deep breath to steady herself, and channeled Lightning chakra through her hand, and from there down into the sword, while putting her strength into that arm. Sparks flew, and after about a second or two the Lightning-enhanced blade cut its way free, the pieces of the chain falling to the ground and dematerializing. As Hallie was in shock, Fuuka quickly sheathed her blade and then thrusted her still-lightning-shrouded hand forward, releasing a pair of Raijū Tsuiga attack hounds, and then immediately made a few quick hand-seals and spat out a Fūton: Shinkū Taigyoku.

All three attacks hit, stunning Hallie and doing quite a bit of Life Point damage. Then, Fuuka moved in lightning-fast, and hit Hallie with a rising kick to the chin that launched her into the air. Fuuka flashed up to right behind her, and at the peak of the ascent she went for a kick to Hallie's right side, which the older girl blocked… and Fuuka used that to give her wide swinging blow from the other side extra force, knocking Hallie downward. Another two blows followed, dealing further damage and hastening Hallie's fall. Finally, at the same instant Hallie's back hit the arena floor, Fuuka's heel came down in an axe kick like a sledgehammer right down into Hallie's gut:

"Shishi Rendan!-!" {獅子連弾}

This final mighty blow, slamming Hallie into the ground, took out the rest of her Life Points, and she lay there groaning softly as Fuuka stood back up.

"Down and out! Contestant Fuuka Reventon-Emery wins her first match by knockout with a fantastic combo!"

"That's one of Sasuke's oldest attacks" Kakashi said fondly. "He came up with when he was just 12 years old… In any event, Fuuka-chan has certainly taken well to the various training and field missions she's had."

"Oh, and it looks like she has something to say!" Port added.

Indeed, Fuuka was waving over someone with a microphone as the dazed and exhausted Hallie was carried off the field. The crowd soon quieted, as Fuuka's became the focus of the overhead screens, her voice projected for all to hear.

"The reason I came to this tournament…" she began "is to do battle against a certain person – a person from my past, though no longer recognizable as the person I once knew. When we were little, the girl now known as Rinne Berlinetta and I were friends, who did everything together." This drew a few shocked murmurs from the crowd. "She was shy and quiet, but pure and kind and gentle, always doing whatever she could to support me, despising those who prey upon the weak."

Her expression hardened. "But, at some point after she was adopted, she changed. Now, she is cold and cruel, looks upon those weaker than her with scorn and contempt, leaves her opponents not only battered & beaten but with broken hearts and broken spirits, going out of her way to destroy their self-confidence and self-worth!"

She pointed up to the screens, which fuzzed and shifted to show audio-visual recordings (obtained via the 'Scrying' Spell) of a few of Rinne's 'berserker' moments in fights past, the young girl going after her foes with raging viciousness, and then clips of her remarks to and about her defeated foes (with the last being a battered & beaten Fuuka months ago) – what sounded like thinly-veiled insults to their capabilities and drive, talking at or about them as if they were obstacles or things instead of people, looking at them with ice-cold contempt in her eyes… Many people were shocked, though none more so than Dan & Lorrie Berlinetta; how could their (adoptive) daughter be so cold?

"The girl I knew is dead and gone" Fuuka continued. "In her place is a cruel, vicious girl who despises and preys upon the weak, who would do anything for more power no matter the cost to herself or those around her, who represents everything she once stood against! She is lost to the Darkness, and it's only a matter of time before she takes an innocent life in her quest for power and her callous disregard for others! …I will put a stop to it. Rinne Berlinetta, I have come to this tournament to crush you!"

She went for a mic drop (foiled by the interviewer catching it before it hit the ground), as she turned and walked off the arena, leaving people murmuring and whispering amongst the crowd. As she got a little ways into the exit hallway for competitors, she took a deep, slow breath… and then smiled.

"I was afraid you wouldn't be able to come" she said.

"Wouldn't miss it" Sasuke replied from right behind her. "Showed up about halfway through Vivio vs. Els, so I saw your fight. You did well, Fuuka – Tribeca stood no chance. C'mon, let's go get you a little rest before the second round."

-CHAPTER END-

And there's Round 1. Next chap is Round 2…