Finding one's self lost in a sea of faces; it was a feeling that Yuri was all too familiar with. The sight of happy faces paired together was always something that she was envious of. Yet she did not feel envy this time. Her curious eyes continued to meticulously scan the area until a fluffy blue treat entered her field of view.

"Cotton Candy…?" The young maiden looked down at the hand that thrust the sweet into her sight and followed it to its owner.

"Hope you don't mind," the smile on Shujinkou's face inadvertently caused one to appear on Yuri's.

"No. Thank you," She graciously accepted the gift and took a small bite out of it.

"So what were you thinking about?" Shujinkou asked.

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"You had that deep, thoughtful look on your face."

"Ah. Well… I was just thinking about how happy everyone looks."

"'How happy'?"

"People able to comfortably express their own interest… It must be nice to have a place where a person can be free like that. Even you seem more open with your interests considering how you arrived here in a cardboard box."

"I couldn't resist a entrance reference," Shujinkou chuckled as he scratched his right cheek.

"Mm…" a sullen look crossed Yuri's face. "Just thinking about that concept kinda makes me feel a little sadder."

"Hm?"

"Monika created the club to serve as a place like that. So…"

"Yuri…"

"I shouldn't really sugarcoat my actions, even if it brings about negative feelings. Even so… I'm not going to let that truly get me down; I'll let it fuel my desire to make up for my past mistakes."

"Make up for past mistakes…" those simple words resonated with Shujinkou as he remembered his own past mistakes. "I can relate to you there. But if we go off of my own experiences, things should turn out fine."

"Still… How soon I do it kind of hinges on something that's out of my control," Yuri replied.

"What's that?"

"Whether or not Natsuki's in a good mood or not."

"Uh… Shujinkou nervously scratched his cheek. "You may have a point there."

"Uo… I really hope she's in a good mood," Yuri hoped.

Meanwhile…

"I can't believe I got forced into this stupid event!" the petite girl complained as she finished zipping her black coat. "I just wanted to do one thing and instead I got roped into thing!"

"It's not a stupid event. It's the Royal Rumble; The Ultimate Battle Royale that takes place every two years. The last one standing has the honor of challenging the current king or queen for the chance to snatch the title away," Sayori explained. "Does that make you excited now, Natsuki?"

"No. It's still getting in the way of what I really wanted to do. Not to mention… I WAS FORCED INTO DOING THIS!"

"It's not such a bad thing, Natsuki. Imagine what you could do if you win. You can get all the cotton candy and sweets you want for you and your friends."

"You're only thinking about yourself! I bet that's the only reason you're pushing for me to do this!"

"That's not true," Sayori pouted. "I'm just trying to cheer you up over being forced into this."

"Uh," Natsuki diverted her gaze and scratched the back of her head. "…Sorry."

"Eh?!" A giant smile spread across Sayori's face. "Natsuki apologized to me."

"D-Don't make it weird!" Natsuki snapped once again.

"On a more positive note concerning this situation, you're in Block D out of the first four letters of the alphabet," Fuyu interjected. "You get to see what you're potential opponents are like."

"I wonder what kind of people will be competing this year. I wonder if there are any Sherlocks," Sayori wondered aloud.

"Sherlock…" Fuyu crossed her arms as she pondered that thought. "With there already being a high chance of members of the Bat-family involved, that would mean that the chance of a Batman vs. Sherlock in real life is possible…"

An interested smile crossed her face before it was quickly replaced by a disappointed frown. "Ugh... I feel so left out."

A confused look planted itself on Natsuki's face before it was removed by a sudden announcement on the speakers. "All participants for the Royal Rumble make their way outside. The Block A fight will begin soon."

"All right, Natsuki! Your time to shine is coming up!" Sayori bubbled as she gripped Fuyu's and Natsuki's hands. "Let's go!"

She excitedly led the two outside, where a large crowd of attendants were waiting.

"There's always an excited crowd for this event," Sayori noted.

Fuyu adjusted her glasses and glanced around her surroundings. Contrary to Sayori's words, the current crowd appeared more apathetic than excited. "The crowd doesn't look that excited, Sayori."

Beyond the crowd lied a several strips of tape on the ground in the shape of a large circle.

"What's that?" Natsuki wondered aloud.

"That's the ring that the Royal Rumble takes place in," Sayori answered. "Each block fight it outs in there and the last person standing gets to advance to the semi-finals."

"I guess that's the only way a tournament like this can be done in one day," Natsuki continued to gaze at the ring as participants began to enter it. "Wonder how many unlucky contenders get knocked out before they even get a chance to do anything? Honestly getting to the semi-finals seems to be entirely luck-based."

"Sayori, you seem to know a lot about this tournament. Were you involved in this in some way before?" Fuyu asked.

"Mm-hmm," Sayori nodded her head. "I convinced Shujinkou to enter the battle royale with me."

"Really?" Natsuki redirected her surprised gaze to Sayori. "Why'd you want to be queen?"

"I wanted to get all the free cotton candy I wanted!" Sayori happily admitted.

"Of course…" Natsuki quickly turned away before just as quickly turning back. "Wait… You said you convinced Shujinkou to enter too?"

"Yeah," Sayori nodded.

"This doesn't seem to be the kind of thing he would want to get involved in. How'd you do that?"

"I was very persuasive."

"You begged didn't you and you know he can't say no to you begging him for something."

"That's not fair. You say that like I emotionally manipulate him to get what I want."

"You can be a really sneaky person when you want to, Sayori. It's kind of the reason why he shuts you down sometimes before you can even start."

"That's still such a harsh assumption. Besides, I didn't manipulate him or anything, I just asked."

"How many times did you say please?"

"About twenty…" Sayori chuckled with red cheeks.

"Aha!" Natsuki shouted. "You did beg! And you know that he can't say no to you begging!"

"I didn't know that he would say yes! He could have said no!" Sayori argued.

"Don't give me that! Are you seriously telling me that you didn't think you would eventually wear him down because you know that he hates seeing people disappointed and sad?"

"Um… Wait, no! I was just a kid! All kids beg a lot when they really want something regardless who it is!"

"Urk-!" Natsuki crossed her arms in a huff, leaving her to ponder Sayori's response. "Dang it! I was winning before she said that!"

"Still…" a bright smile crossed Sayori's face. "It makes me happy that you're trying to defend Shujinkou's side."

"Wha-?! I'm not trying to defend him or anything; I'm just trying point out how sneaky you can be!" Natsuki snapped.

"I don't know, Natsuki. It kind of seemed like you were sticking up for him."

"I wasn't! Stop teasing me!"

"I'm not teasing. I really think it's great."

"Stop it!"

"So, how did the tournament go for you?" Fuyu interjected.

"I got knocked out right away…" Sayori chuckled with red cheeks once more.

Suddenly the sounds of bodies tossed around and hitting the ground spiced its way into their conversation.

"Exactly like that," Sayori continued.

"Oh boy... This is not going to be fun…" Natsuki groaned.