AN:

Ryuto: Rereading the scene, I have no idea what you're talking about. Lelouch kissed Kallen without issue. Her heart skipped a beat due to thinking she pushed him too far, and Lelouch pulled back with a blushing face. This calmed her heart, and she went back to teasing. I don't see how any of them were flustered.

Guest: I don't see any risk in an underground tournament, especially considering it's a setting where names are made up, and faces are easily forgotten in crowds of people. Also, I didn't want to say it, but I suspected the same thing about those three a few months back, when their guest reviews were all the same. Could three seperate people have had the same thoughts? Yeah. But considering how it was typed, it was highly unlikely.

DarkDremora: I know having a personal tournament for the Black Knights would've been fun, but where would they get the Knightmares? It's not like they can afford to damage the new Gekkas they're making, or even use the leftover Burai's from Tokyo, since they're being scraped to help make the Gekkas. Of course, I could always make something up to have it happen, but I've chosen the underground tournament for one other reason, which will be revealed this chapter.

Chapter 100: Knightmare Tournament

Four Months later. India, Dubai. Underground Network.

Tamaki eagerly signed his name on the dotted line for the Knightmare tournament, before taking a step back, and giving a confident smile, "Alright. They're not ready for the Tamaki!"

"What is this chicken writing?" Naoto asked while writing down his own name, and handing the pen to Clara.

"Hey! I'm not some girl with perfect handwriting." his friend responded while pounding his chest, "I'm a man - a manly man."

"Mhm…" Clara hummed while neatly writing down her name, before handing it to Maya, "Well, I suppose we have to have some brutes among our organization. You just so happen to be one of them."

"Hey!? Who are you calling a brute?"

Maya finished her signing, and turned to pass the pen, only to avoid Kallen, who tried taking it from her, "Whoa. Don't you remember what we said? You're not participating in this. You'll just win everything, and that won't be fun, Kally~"

The red head rolled her eyes as Benio secretly snatched the pen to sign her own name. However, just as she was about to reach the paper, Tamaki picked her up, "And what do you think you're doing, little lady?"

"Let me go!" she cried while squirming in his arms, "I wanna join too!"

"No way. You hardly have any Knightmare training, and I don't want you to get hurt."

"I wouldn't worry about that." Senba stepped in with a calming tone, "These events are designed to be as safe as possible. So the chances of her getting hurt are low."

Urabe scratched the back of his head with an awkward chuckle, knowing those words weren't exactly true. Even with all the rules and regulations in place, there's still a decent amount of people who die at these events, either due to faulty equipment, or pilots simply trying too hard.

Tamaki took the pen and handed it to Urabe, who signed his name while Benio puffed her cheeks in a cute pout, causing Kallen to giggle with delight. Once the little girl was set down, the red head sneakily approached and whispered, "Hey, do you really wanna join?" suddenly, Benio's eyes lit up with stars, followed by a nod, "Alright. Just don't tell Tamaki." Kallen put a finger to her lips with a giggle.

Lelouch watched the interaction with a sigh, "Are you trying to be the cool mom?" he asked once his girlfriend returned to his side.

"C-cool mom?" the red head questioned frantically, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Seriously? I saw you getting Benio to sign up for the tournament, despite Tamaki's worry." the Prince responded casually, "Look, I'm not going to reprimand you, I was just making an observation."

"O-oh… just an observation…"

"Yeah. What'd you think I meant?"

"Nothing!" Kallen shouted, "Aren't you going to sign up?"

"I hardly see the necessity."

"Lelouch, you promised."

The Prince rolled his eyes before walking up to the paper, "I hope Naoto can win this, because registrations kind of expensive. By the way, what name should I use?"

"Does it matter? Nobody will be concerned if you enter as Lelouch." Kallen responded as her boyfriend signed up, "Why are you hoping Naoto wins? What about Mario?"

"You think Mario's better than Naoto? Whatever happened to having faith in your big brother?" Lelouch joked as they moved to the staging area.

"Nah. I think it's insane that you really believe Naoto's the superior pilot."

"Well, I saw him face off against a Knight of the Round-"

"You keep bringing that up, but he didn't win that fight." Kallen cut him off, "Meanwhile, Mario's had the most consistent fighting record-"

"Against weaker opponents. There's a reason why Naoto's our vanguard."

"That title doesn't mean anything, especially since he hasn't had time to be our 'vanguard' yet."

Lelouch scoffed, "Whatever. Let's just see how their duel goes - that'll be the only way to decide who's right."

"If it's like that… then how about this…" Kallen leaned in with a devious smirk, "Let's make a bet. When Naoto loses-"
"If."

She rolled her eyes, "If Naoto loses, you'll have to do something for me. But if Mario wins, I'll have to do something for you. Sound like a deal?"

"I don't need to make such a ridiculous bet to prove a point." Lelouch responded while waving her off, "Now, get to the stands. You'll need to save us seats when we get knocked out."

"Not so fast." the red head grabbed his arm, "If you're so confident in Naoto winning, then why are you scared to make the bet?"

"I'm not scared-"

"And now you're trying to push me away? It just sounds like you've lost all your confidence, Lulu~" Kallen said, knowing how to push all of her boyfriend's buttons, "Then again, if you just admit that you're scared… I suppose I can't blame you. Since I'd be scared too-"

"Fine." the Prince crossed his arms, "I'll take you up on your bet."

"Hm? Does that mean you have something in mind?" she said while teasingly poking his side, "Aren't you being a bit bold~"

"Ugh. Go away." Lelouch began pushing his girlfriend toward the stands, "Eat a hamburger or something while you're watching the matches."

"Oh? You really want me to leave for concessions? What'll happen if I miss your match?" she turned around and held him close, "I wouldn't miss my boyfriend's first tournament for anything in the world."

The Prince found himself blushing profusely, while trying to push her into the stands, "J-just go!"

Area 11. Kirihara Residence.

"Suzaku." Cornelia called the Knight as he guarded the front door to the house, "Where's Euphie?"

"She's in the main dining area." he answered with a raised eyebrow, "Maybe it's just my imagination, but she's been acting different recently. And I don't mean just treating me and Rai differently, because I know Euphie asked her to do that." once she entered the building, he followed her inside alongside Guilford.

"Ah! Nellis." Euphemia called as they walked in, "How was the Chinese Federation?"

"It was about the same as usual." Cornelia responded while taking a seat, "Odysseus has gotten accustomed to speaking with the high Eunuch once a month."

"I still can't believe you've actually volunteered to go there with him." Lila added with a grin, "I mean, I thought you'd want to spend as much time with Euphie as possible."

"Well, you know how it is. Duty calls." the eldest sister responded with a faint smile.

"But that's exactly the problem." Suzaku thought as he glanced at Guilford, who was clearly noticing the change too, but didn't want to say anything, "Not only has she take it upon herself to visit the Federation monthly, she's also begun to neglect her duty to quell the uprisings in Area 11. For someone like her, that's beyond suspicious."

"By the way, Rai. How are you feeling?" Cornelia asked the silver-haired boy as he stood behind Euphemia, "I know it was a bit of surprise when I pushed the task of eliminating the terrorist's threat, but I could think of no one better than Euphemia's former Knight to think of her safety."

"Again, odd how she went out of her way to say that." the Knight of Seven sighed silently as his fellow Knight responded.

"Well, it's been difficult, but I think I've gotten the hang of it."

"That's great."

Euphemia leaned forward with a smile, "Hey, why don't you tell me about Empress Tianzi again."

"Oh yeah! I wanna hear more about her!" Lila added eagerly.

"I mean… what else can I say?" Cornelia responded with a chuckle, "The assessment we had of her a few months ago still holds up. She's very much similar to you, Lila." she turned to Nunnally, who silently listened to the conversation, "And you too, Nunna."

"Is that so? Well… it's a shame that I won't be able to meet her." the innocent Princess said while looking down.

This made Euphemia slightly sad, so she suggested, "Oh! I know. Why don't Lila and I go meet her personally? Then, we could have her write a note for you personally."

"Or maybe we could get her to call!" Lila added.

"That's even better!" the pink-haired Princess exclaimed, "What do you say, Nunna?"

"Um… is that really okay? Why don't we ask Cornelia first?"

They turned to the Witch of Britannia, whose eye twitched slightly, but not from anger, "Um… yeah. That would be great."

Suzaku noticed the gesture, and took note of it. In his heart, he already suspected that Cornelia was Geassed, but the nature of the command wasn't yet to be determined. Though, whatever the command was, it seemed almost harmless, as the only real change in her behavior was visiting the Chinese Federation monthly. Then again, there was probably a lot more at play during those meetings that Suzaku didn't know about. "Truthfully, there's nothing I can do about it. Sure, I could go to China, but there's a chance that'll scare the Geass user, and they just won't show."

"Perhaps we could go in a few months?" Cornelia suggested.

"Oh, I'd love to!" Lila shouted, "You too, Euphie?"

"Of course!" the pink-haired Princess hugged Nunnally lovingly and said, "Don't worry, we'll have this whole thing with Empress Tianzi all sorted out."

"You promise?"

"I promise." with those words, the girls locked pinkies, and giggled.

India, Dubai. Underground Network.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Are you ready for the sixth annual Knightmare Tournament?" the announcer asked through a microphone, earning a loud roar from the massive crowd. Despite being a 'secret' tournament, there were plenty of attendants, enough to fill this large arena. It honestly made the red head wonder how the authorities hadn't caught on yet.

"Kallen." from her right, Savitri called, arriving with Rakshata and a number of other professors, and a familiar face, Orpheus, "I was under the assumption you were going to be participating in this event."

"Sorry to disappoint, but Maya said I'd just win everything if I joined." the red head rubbed the back of her sheepishly, "What about him?" she pointed at Orpheus, "Isn't he a pilot too?"

"I just don't see a point in participating in something like this." the boy responded while leaning back in his chair.

"Right…" Kallen sighed as two Glasgows entered the arena.

"And in one corner, we have Benio Akagi, one of our youngest competitors this tournament. Then, we have… THE Tamaki Shinichiro?" the announcer said with slight confusion, "Anyway, the two combatants have chosen their weapons, so the match will be starting shortly!"

"Benio?" Rakshata raised an eyebrow, "Isn't that the girl from the hospital? Why's she piloting a Knightmare?"

"She wanted to join, so I let her." Kallen responded bluntly.

"Well, she hasn't had any training, right? So I can hardly see this going well."

"Relax. She has potential as a Knightmare pilot, I can see." the red head leaned forward with a smirk.

"The loser is the one whose frame is incapacitated first, or chooses to surrender!"

"Benio!? What the hell are you doing here!?" Tamaki shouted. Thankfully, due to the cheers, his words were easily drowned out, only to be heard by his opponent, "I thought I told you not to sign up!"

"I got permission from Kallen!" she responded while leaning forward, "So it's okay."

"No it's not!" the Japanese man shouted, "Fine… then I'll just have to beat you quickly." he pushed his machine forth, wielding a large sword that took a swing at her side, which she blocked with her staff, "No hard feelings!"

The little girl felt her frame being pushed into the ground, causing great strain to her cockpit as she pushed his blade to the side, and hit his head with the end of her weapon. Tamaki easily recovered from this and tried stabbing her arm, only for it to be narrowly blocked at the last moment. Though, this wasn't without its consequences, as Benio's staff snapped in twain, leaving her with two weapons.

"Give up!" Tamaki shouted while pushing forth, driving his blade through her arm, which made her groan.

"Not yet!" she shouted while using the other end of her staff to stab his shoulder, causing minimal damage, as he basically shrugged it off.

Tamaki drew his blade back, letting Benio's arm fall limp to the ground, while her frame crashed into the wall, "That bastard!" Kallen clenched her fist, "Why's he going all out on her!?"

As the brown-haired girl tried to stand, her left leg was easily cut clean off, causing her to helplessly fall onto the ground, "Ah!" she squealed as Tamaki stabbed her other leg. On instinct, she reverse-gripped the broken staff in her other hand, and drove it dangerously close to his cockpit, narrowly avoiding serious injury by a mere inch.

Though, after such action, Benio's frame was spent, being made completely incapacitated through Tamaki's efforts, declaring him the winner. However, Kallen wasn't happy with this, not even remotely, "How dare he… that bastard! Once he gets out, I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind!"
But the Japanese man was going through severely different emotions, as mere inches from his eye, as spike from Benio's broken staff stared him down menacingly. If it was any longer, he would've died.

"What an absolute slaughter that round was!" the announcer shouted with a zealous voice, "But fear not, folks. There are certainly more exciting matches to come, like this next one!" he looked at his sheet and smiled, "In one corner, we have Naoto Kozuki in the blue Glasgow! And in the black one, we have Lelouch…"

Kallen leaned forward upon hearing her boyfriend's name being called, "Ah. Looks like Lelouch will be getting out sooner than I thought. Well, it won't be so bad since I'll be able to comfort him in the meantime…" her eyes glanced to Savitri, and her other guests, "Or maybe not…"

"Kozuki!" the announcer finished his sentence, sending a chill down the red head's spine, "It's to be noted, that these two are not related by any means. They merely share the same last name."

Truth be told, in events like these, it was absurdly common for contestants to forge stage names to participate. And, given the nature of the tournament, there was no incentive to force players to give up their real names. So, for that very reason the crowd thought nothing of the name 'Lelouch Kozuki'. In fact, they could care less who was fighting, so long as they were given a good match.

"That's convenient." Savitri mumbled while watching the two machines enter the arena.

Meanwhile, Kallen's face turned a deep red as she hid it in her hands, "Damn it Lelouch! Why'd you have to do that!? So embarrassing… Lelouch Kozuki… it doesn't even sound that good." she repeated the name several times in her head, before coming to the conclusion, "Actually… maybe I wouldn't mind it…"

Lelouch and Naoto both wielded simple swords in their right hands, staring down each other with a smile, "Seriously? You used our last name?" the Kozuki questioned as he spun his blade, "What are you trying to pull here?"

"I just wanted to get a feel for how it would sound at the altar." Lelouch taunted, "And honestly, it doesn't sound too bad."

"You know, traditionally it's the woman who takes the last name of her man. So, are you suggesting that Kallen's the one who wears the pants in the relationship?"

"Hm? Not at all. I was thinking of taking that name out of respect for both of you, but I suppose Lamprouge would do just fine."
Naoto chuckled while getting in a stance, "You've certainly gotten bold, haven't you?"

"Perhaps I'm just looking for the blessing of my future brother-in-law."

"In that case…" the Kozuki rushed forth, and clashed blades with his opponent, "Then you'll have to earn it!"

"So heavy! Are we even in the same frame!?" Lelouch thought while pushing Naoto to the side, chipping a piece of his shoulder in the process.

Following up his previous attack, Naoto brought his sword up, causing the Prince's weapon to be thrown off-balance, crushing his guard. Though, it wasn't over yet, as Lelouch barely recovered in time to block another heavy slash.

Already, the boy was feeling the pressure as a drop of sweat fell from his forehead, earning a slight chuckle, "Damn… so you were holding back all along." he dodged another slash, before sending a counter, which was easily parried, "I already knew that… but the gap's even larger than anticipated!"

Naoto lifted his foot, and kicked his opponent's leg, forcing them onto one leg as he drove his blade into their left shoulder. Lelouch let out a heavy breath as he tried stabbing the Kozuki's torso, only for them to swiftly retreat, "Gonna surrender?" the man asked as the crowd roared even louder.

"Nah. Not yet." the Prince wiped his brow was standing up, "Say, between you and Mario, who's stronger?"

"I'd advise you to be more concerned with dueling me right now, Lelouch." Naoto responded, not wanting to play along with his opponent's mind games.

"Fine. Fine." the raven-haired boy pushed forth, poising his blade for a strike, which was easily blocked, forcing the Kozuki to slowly back away as he came under the scrutiny of Lelouch's slashes.

Each one was carefully launched in a way to test his defenses, and find an opening. However, it would only work if Lelouch could keep up with his current pace, but taking into account their previous spars, he obviously couldn't. Pretty soon, Naoto began going on the offensive, parrying one of his opponent's slashes, and pushing his blade forward, forcing them onto the back foot as they barely blocked each half-baked strike.

The Kozuki chuckled as he caught Lelouch's blade in his, before disarming him with no issue, "You weren't bad, but you'll have to train for another 10 years to reach my level." he taunted before kicking the Prince to the ground, where he ended the fight by impaling his torso.

"Ugh…" Lelouch groaned as his head slumped against the chair, "Whatever."

"Alright!" Maya bursts into the arena with a purple Glasgow as her entrance is announced. Across from her stood Clara in her own pink Glasgow, "Sorry about this, but you're going down!"

"I don't doubt that." the former assassin said as she prepared herself, "But don't think I'm going to lose easily!"

The two rushed forth, with Maya using her spear to expertly keep Clara away as she tried to close the gap with her lance. However, this would eventually prove futile as she was quickly disarmed and defeated in a matter of moments, impressing Kallen in the stands, "Wow. Maya's really upped her training, hasn't she?"

"Not bad." Savitri said, "I can definitely see she has talent."

The red head nodded with a smile as Mario and Tohdoh entered the arena, "She's really gotten better since Tokyo. Mario's been talking about it a lot over the past few months."

"Is that so? Well, I'm glad she's improving."

"You… don't hate her?"

"Why would I?"

"Maya's under the assumption that you dislike her." Kallen explained, "That's why she's been pushing herself so hard."

"Is that so? Well, it may have been my wording that threw her off. It's true that I believe her to be a fool, but that's only because it's what I've been told. Perhaps I'll apologize when I get the chance." Savitri calmly stated while watching the match.

"Um… that was oddly mature…" Kallen mumbled before returning her eyes to the field, where Mario was zooming around Tohdoh, who kept a calm stance, that was ready to counter whatever the boy was about to throw at him. To begin, the Disel fired a slash harken, which was easily deflected. However, that move only served as a cover for his assault, as he went straight for a finishing blow by thrusting his sword toward his opponent's torso. Even so, Tohdoh managed to parry the attack at the last moment, and used his other hand to land a clean punch to Mario's head, sending him stumbling to the right.

The Miracle Worker breathed in before lunging at the boy with his blade, bringing it down for a slash, only to get blocked. Mario let out a breath while sliding to the side with his land spinners, shocking Tohdoh as he was suddenly kicked into the ground, where he swiftly recovered, and stood across from his opponent.

The duo began walking in a circle, keeping a close eye on the other while shifting slightly, "I think it's about time I try something new." Mario smiled and recklessly charged forth, causing Tohdoh's eyes to widen with surprise.

"You fool!" the Miracle Worker pulled his sword back to smite his opponent, "If you're going that fast, you won't be able to dodge in time, especially if I do this!"

Mario watched as a slash harken was fired from his opponent's hip, forcing him to narrowly move his head just in time, only allowing it to scrape the side slightly. Regardless, Tohdoh was determined to end the battle in one strike, so he brought his sword up, before bringing it down for a heavy slash. In response, Mario buried his blade into the ground, and used it to vault over his opponent, landing on the other side.

Tohdoh gasped in shock as he tried to reorient himself, only to get punished through having his right arm taking clean off with a slash harken. Mario followed up this move by getting in close, stopping the Miracle Worker's left arm from moving by putting his right in the way, before sending a jab into the Glasgow's head. This caused Tohdoh to stumble back, and have his head sliced clean off by Mario, who used his blade from earlier to finish the job.

"Mario… for someone so young, your strength is incredible." the Miracle Worker said as he accepted defeat humbly.

"Thank you, Tohdoh." the Disel responded, "I'm glad I was able to face you today."

Kallen walked through a small corridor towards concessions. Once she arrived, her eyes landed on a young man that seemed to be sulking at a table in the corner, watching the matches from an overhead monitor, "Hey there." she called with a grin, "You look lonely, mind if I join you?"

Lelouch rolled his eyes and scooted over, allowing his girlfriend to playfully bump shoulders with him as she leaned onto his shoulder. In response, he leaned his head on hers, and sighed, "Why'd you come here?"

"Obviously I wanted to spend time with you." the red head responded as they watched Rolo get decimated by his opponent in a matter of seconds, "Whoa. What happened there?"

"Rolo's a better pilot than most, but it's expected of him to lose against those with more experience." the Prince explained casually, "I just didn't expect him to lose that quickly. It looks like the only one who could challenge that pilot in that bracket is Maya."

"Oh. Did you see Asahina and Nagisa?"

"Yeah. They beat Urabe and Senba easy enough, but their next match will determine who's the strongest Holy Sword."

"Who do you think will win?"

"Nagisa."

Kallen scoffed at the mention of the woman's name, "Seriously? No hesitation?"

"We're gonna have another one of these conversations?" Lelouch asked amusingly, "When I look at the Holy Swords, I see Nagisa as Tohdoh's most trusted member. So to me, that logically means she must be the strongest. Of course, the margins probably not huge, but it's enough for her to confidently beat Asahina in a one-on-one."

The red head rolled her eyes while wrapping an arm around her boyfriend's shoulder, and pulling him close enough for his arm to rest in her lap, "Wanna have another bet?"

"No way." the Prince responded while glancing away, "I know what you're trying to do, and it won't work."

"Hm? Then say it." she playfully gripped his face and squeezed his cheeks.

"You're just trying to stack favors."

"Exactly. And how many am I at now?"

"Don't remind me."

"I think I will." Kallen put up seven fingers and waved them in his face, "You've certainly been on a losing streak lately, haven't you?"

"Ugh…" Lelouch buried his face into her neck, earning a cute giggle in response, "You're impossible."

"Awe. Don't be like that, darling." Kallen caressed his red face with a caring gaze, "By the way, what's up with using my last name like that?"

"None of your business." he replied in a muffled tone.

"Oh, but it is." she grabbed her sassy boyfriend by the neck, and pulled him back, "What were you trying to pull back there?"

"Clearly it worked." the Prince said while poking her cheek, "Because your face is red."

Kallen pouted while jabbing a finger into his side, "So are yours, idiot."

"Nah, mine have gotten better, while you remain a blushing mess whenever I do something remotely intimate."

"Oh yeah? Try me."

"W-well… we're in public so…"

"No." Kallen pulled him close, "If I'm so easy to make blush, then do it. Nobody's gonna care."

Lelouch looked off to the side, and mumbled, "Not right now…"

The red head smiled smugly and said, "That's what I thought." she began poking his cheek teasingly, "You're all talk at the end of the day."

The Prince swatted her hand away, only for the poking to continue, this time slightly faster, "Would you stop that?"

"Make me."

"Kallen."

The red head giggled as her boyfriend cutely glared at her with a red face, "How about I use one of my favors?" she changed her plan of attack, instead now trying to be diplomatic, "This way, you can start digging yourself out of debt."

Lelouch rolled his eyes and faced the screen, causing Kallen to puff out her cheeks in dissatisfaction. Eventually, she began watching the broadcast too. Though, her eyes wouldn't stay on the TV for long, as her boyfriend leaned over and lightly nibbled on her earlobe, earning a loud gasp as she turned to face him. Of course, the Prince had already returned to watching the match with a blank expression.

"Is something wrong?" he asked innocently while holding back a smile.

"You… you know what you did…" she mumbled while holding her ear with a red face.

"Hm? And what's that?" Lelouch leaned back, this time allowing a faint smirk to cross his expression.

"Ugh." Kallen plopped her head onto the table and covered her face, "You're impossible."

The Prince chuckled at those words, before saying, "Well, whatever I did must've proved how easily flustered you get at simple acts of intimacy."
"You call that simple!?"

"And, I'd say that your favor count has been reduced by one."

Kallen sat up, this time only with a pink face, "Fine. You earned that one." she grabbed his arm and pulled him down to bite his ear, procuring a yelp in the process, "Now we're equal."

"Not even close…" the Prince rubbed his ear while holding his girlfriend's hand under the table, "But I'll make sure to pay you back later."

"You don't have the guts." the red head playfully slapped his chest, earning a slight chuckle in response.

"You really want to test me again?"

She faced the TV with a small hum, before saying, "Not now."

Lelouch smirked while watching the monitor, "That's what I thought."

Nagisa and Asahina stood across from each other in their Glasgow's, each wielding long swords with a concentrated gaze. Wordlessly, the match began with the two charging forth, clashing blades as they passed each other once. The woman quickly ran the outside line of the arena, using it to circle her opponent, who planted his feet firmly into the ground, waiting for her to attack.

Eventually, Nagisa came to a stop and rushed toward the Glasgow, beginning with a brief slash that was easily blocked. Asahina took a deep breath, before trying to counter by thrusting his blade through her torso, only to have it grabbed mid-strike with her bare hand. The woman clenched her teeth as the tip of her opponent's sword scratched her torso, putting immense stress on her left hand. To relieve this, she put her landspinners in reverse, allowing her to retreat.

The only problem was that Asahina took chase, putting both hands on his sword while keeping contact with his opponent's chest, trying to drive it through by using the momentum from his landspinners. This resulted in the two entering a deadlock as they circled the arena endlessly, staring into the other's frame. "Surrender, Nagisa. You'll lose at this rate." Asahina warned as they rapidly approached the back wall.

The woman smirked while pushing her opponent's blade upward, before using her own to slice his hands clean off, sending the weapon flying away. Then, she expertly moved behind, and kicked him into the wall, causing his Knightmare to slump just as it was impaled from behind. "You talk too much, Asahina." she said with a smile, "If you didn't get distracted, you probably would've won."

"Meh. It's not that big of a deal." the bespectacled man responded nonchalantly, "I'll get you next time, like always."

"I have no doubt about that." the woman nodded while taxiing her frame toward her starting area.

"And once again, Zedd the Tiger leads with an onslaught of attacks against our newcomer, Tamaki!" the announcer exclaimed as the Japanese man had his guard broken for the sixth time.

"Just who the hell is this guy!?" he wondered as the enemy Burai spun his spear behind the back, before thrusting it forward, colliding with Tamaki's blade, snapping it in half. Though, the momentum carried the weapon forward, piercing through the Glasgow's torso, causing the pilot to scream in pain.

However, Zedd wasn't done yet, as he pushed Tamaki against the wall, and used his other hand to unsheathe a sword. Once it was out, he used it to shave the top of the Glasgow's cockpit, exposing its pilot to the world. "You lose!" Zedd announced as his blade laid mere inches from his opponent's face.

"Y-yeah… you win…" Tamaki said with a fear stricken voice.

From the stands, Benio sighed as the Glasgow was brought out of the arena, "Awe. Tamaki lost…"

"It was to be expected." Clara said with a smile, "After all, he's not exactly the strongest we've got." she then turned to Rolo, who had a calm expression as Maya and C.C entered the arena. But, the pink-haired girl planned on causing some trouble, "Hey, don't sulk about your loss too much. I'm sure you did your best."

The black-haired boy glared at her from the corner of his eye, and said, "And who do you think you're talking to? You hardly even lasted a second against Maya."

"Like you could do any better."

"Honestly? I probably could. That pilot was just too suffocating to fight, especially without Geass."

"Hm? So if you had it… you would've cheated without hesitation? Gosh, I knew you were a horrible person, Rolo." Clara joked.

"Both of you are ridiculous." Orpheus added with a bored expression, "Instead of whining about how terrible you are, why don't you improve as pilots?"
"Nobody's whining." Rolo replied, "And at least we participated. What are you doing?"

"I'm not interested in events like these."

"Then why are you even here?"

"If you must know… it's because I'm here to support one of my comrades."

The black-haired boy scoffed and crossed his arms, "That's surprising. Especially coming from someone like you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" the blond asked with a hint of hostility.

"Exactly what you think it means."

The blond clenched his fist, and continued to glare at Rolo, "And you wonder why I want you dead."

"That's enough." Clara came to her friend's defense, "Can't we all just be friends? Let the past be the past and all that."

"Seriously? You think I can let what Rolo did to me go?"

"What? He just sold you out, right?" the pink-haired girl mistakenly asked, "It's not that big of a deal."

Orpheus suddenly stood up, shocking the two as C.C and Maya clashed blades, snapping both weapons in twain from the pressure, "You have no idea, Clara. Because of how you were back in the Geass Order, you probably never heard that Rolo was the one who killed Euliya." he touched a small string that was tied around his head, "This is the last thing I have to remember her. And as long as I live, there's no way I'm going to let Rolo walk away unpunished for his actions."

Clara's eyes widened in shock as the blond stormed off, leaving the seat open for a defeated Tamaki, "Rolo… what he said-"

"I don't want to talk about it." he responded bluntly.

"But I don't understand… why don't you tell him about what I did?"

"Does it matter? You may have sold him out, but I'm the one who killed Euliya." Rolo sighed, "I'll deal with it myself."

"Rolo, you have people you can depend on in the Black Knights. Mario and Zero, they can-"
"I said I'll deal with it." the black-haired boy stood up, "I'm going to the concessions, do you want anything?"

"Ah-um… no." Clara's melancholic eyes returned to the fight as Rolo silently walked away, leaving her wondering about the past regarding Orpheus. "I need to speak with Lelouch, Kallen, and C.C about this. It's starting to really get out of hand. For some reason…" her hand began to tremble as she let out a shaky breath - all of her past fears began resurfacing, "I feel like something really bad's going to happen soon."

Maya and C.C clashed fist, with the latter smiling calmly as she blocked an incoming strike, "You've really gotten good, Maya." she ducked another punch and countered with a jab, "Mario should be really proud."

"You think?" the black-haired girl responded as she caught the witch's arm on the retreat, and threw her into a wall, "I sure hope so, because I'm aiming to kick his ass next!"

Maya tried curb stomping C.C's head off, only for her to roll out of the way. The black-haired girl strafed to the right of her opponent, and landed a heavy left hook, forcing her opponent to groan while crashing into the wall. However, just as she was about to move in for the finishing blow, C.C hit her with a crescent moon kick, sending the Glasgow flying backwards through the dirt, kicking up a dust cloud.

Though the particles, the Immortal followed up with a front kick, forcing Maya's frame to skid across the dirt, before coming to a stop. Here, she chose to begin her counterattack, by using her landspinners to tackle C.C back into a wall, pinning her there by placing a foot on the Glasgow's torso. The Immortal held up her arms as Maya rained numerous punches onto her guard, each one bending her frame with great success. Eventually, the black-haired girl managed to get a hold of her opponent arm, and rip it clean off, before using it as a blunt weapon, caving in the Glasgow's head in only a few hits.

Once she was satisfied, the black-haired girl back away from her opponent's corpse, and dropped the dismembered limb, "Looks like I win."

C.C climbed out of her cockpit with a smile, "I suppose. That was quite creative, you know? I never thought you'd be so desperate to win."

"Obviously. I still have to prove someone wrong." Maya flipped her hair within her cockpit and smiled, "This next round's gonna be a cinch."

"I can't believe you're still holding onto that grudge. Remind me not to tick you off."

The Disel hoped out of her frame with a wide grin, "Then you'd best wish me luck, because I won't lose. Especially against some random schmuck!"

AN: Yeah, Kallen's not in this tournament for obvious reasons.

Would Naoto vs Tohdoh have been a better match up than another Lelouch vs Naoto? Yeah. But I'm saving that for later, especially since I want the match to be more of a point where Naoto shows off what he's learned to Tohdoh personally, and not in front of a huge crowd.

Of the Holy Swords, I think Nagisa and Asahina are the best (with the former edging out the latter slightly), with Urabe holding a solid third. However, at the end of the day they're all still relative to each other.

C.C's not a skilled Knightmare pilot in my book (at least compared to Maya, Jeremiah, or Cornelia). So while I bet she could hold her own against grunts, I doubt her skill when facing off against skilled pilots. For those wondering, C.C fought a random pilot in her bracket, then moved onto Maya.

And finally, I'm splitting this into another chapter, because I want to give the more important fights some depth, unlike these fights which were more barebones than anything else.