Faytl

Zirco drew his card, looking at it before slapping it on the field. “I Normal Summon XX-Saber Ragigura!” A small caped chameleon wielding two dagger rose to the field, spinning said daggers before striking a pose. “When it’s summoned, I can add one X-Saber monster from my graveyard to my hand, so I’m grabbing Faultroll and adding him to my hand!” He snatched the card out of his graveyard before holding it up. “You remember what this does?” Leiko’s eyes widened as Faultroll was revealed to her once again. The card displayed on her D-Wheel screen, but she didn’t need to look. “Faultroll can be summoned when at least 2 X-Sabers are controlled…” she breathed, looking at the Ragigura, at Boggart Knight, at Urbellum. “Sounds like you are somewhat paying attention after all, Ms. Less-Than-A-Year. Now let’s see if this can’t get you to hear my point! I Special Summon Faultroll back to my field!” The monster flew back onto the field as Zirco pointed his finger at his graveyard. “I’ll use his effect to summon back X-Saber Airbellum!” The feral man appeared on the field once more as Zirco held up his hand. “And now, I'm tuning Airbellum with Boggart Knight!” As the two flew into the sky, Zirco began to chant. “Swords forever locked in combat! Stand on the mountain of bodies and smite my foes! Synchro Summon! Level 7, X-Saber Souza!” A tall man wearing a similar uniform emerged, his face uncovered and sneering. X-Saber Souza Level 7, ATK: 2500 Leiko looked at the bulwark of attacking power Zirco had at his disposal, swallowing with a dry throat. “Max… Max Tactician can prevent itself from being destroyed by battle once each turn,” she warned Zirco falteringly. “And it’ll then switch the attacking monster to defense mode!” “Souza doesn’t care! Now I activate his effect!” He pointed to Ragigura. “I tribute Ragigura, so now when Souza attacks, your monster will be destroyed before damage calculation!” The monster charged forward, swords glowing as it went to slash Max Tactician. Leiko’s D-Wheel skewed to the side as her hand reflexively went to her set card. She jerked it back into position, almost losing her balance and falling off the bike, before finally managing to activate the card just before the sword struck. A plane of orange light bloomed into life in front of Souza, the monster breaking through and shattering the plane of light, orange sparks playing over it as it’s momentum slowed. “Trap card: Breakthrough Skill!!” Leiko fought to regain her breath after nearly having crashed the bike, decelerating and falling further behind her opponent. “I negate the effect of any monster on my opponent’s field... Souza’s effect is prevented, and Max Tactician’s effect will protect it from destruction by battle.” Souza’s blade slammed into Max Tactician, the monster raising a hand to intercept, catching the sword in its grip and deflecting it. Leiko: 5000 “But you still take the damage!” Zirco retorted even as Souza took a defensive stance. “Then Urbellium will attack!” The bull headed X-Saber charged ahead, swiping at Max Tactician, this time slicing it in fourths. Leiko: 4800 “Finally, Faultroll attacks you directly!!” The monster obeyed, charging forward and slashing Leiko on her D-Wheel. Leiko: 2400 “For someone looking down on the rest of us, you sure aren't putting up a fight!” Zirco snapped. “I end my turn!” Leiko was almost halfway around the track behind Zirco by this point. Her D-Wheel was going so much slower, her opponent’s command over the vehicle clearly far superior. Her head was lowered, her helmet shielding her eyes from Zirco’s view. “I can’t, can I?” she asked, sounding small, her voice still small in Zirco’s speaker. It didn’t even come across on the television to those watching the duel. “I’m not Signer material. All I can do is run. Even my cards show that.” Her face-down card flipped up, glowing brightly as Leiko’s Life Points plummeted even further. Leiko: 1400 “What the hell? Why are your lifepoints going down?” “Trap card: Hope for Escape.” Leiko placed her hand on her deck, thumbing the top three cards. “I pay 1000 Life Points, and for every 1000 points difference after that between our Life… I draw 1 card. With a 6000 point difference I can draw 3 cards.” Morodate leaned forward in his chair. “Three cards drawn at once…” He smiled triumphantly. “She planned this all along. Now she has the resources to destroy him. Well done, Leiko.” Yamata looked at Leiko for a few seconds, frowning. “I don’t know if I’m sure about that,” she said softly. “I think she means exactly what she says.” Leiko was looking emptily at the cards in her hand. She barely even registered what was there. She had already consigned herself to being attacked for lethal damage the next turn. It doesn’t matter what I play, she thought. I can’t beat him. All I can do it let him hit me until he’s satisfied. Until I can leave. That’s all I’m good for here. Zirco sighed as he listened to her. “So, you're not looking down on us, huh? You're just afraid,” his voice was soft as he had his D-Wheel slow down to match the speed of Leiko's D-Wheel. Looking back, it made more sense than her looking down on them. “You think you're not Signer material, huh? So, you're gonna just run away?” He was strangely calm as he asked his questions. “I know I’m not,” she replied distantly, not able to meet his gaze. “That’s why I’ve only been here less than a year… I’m their last option. I’m all they could get.” “ARE YOU STUPID OR SOMETHING?!” Zirco suddenly shouted, his yelling catching her off guard. She almost lost control of the bike again as she flinched away, swerving across the track before she managed to save it, looking with wide eyes at him. “None of us, not one, are ‘Signer Material’. A signer wouldn't need to be experimented to gain on a mark, the dragon would just give it to us!” His engine roared as he began to speed up. “The fact you got it in less than a year means you're more compatible than anyone else here! But even if you weren't, what do you think would happen if you did leave?” “I…” Zirco’s words pierced through to Leiko. The rest had taken years to get theirs? She looked down at her arm, that even now was tingling with pain, like it almost always did. She didn’t feel compatible, but… “I… I don’t know. Crimson Dragon, Marks… I don’t know what any of it means.” If Zirco’s angle was correct, he would be able to see a few tears falling from Leiko’s helmet to fly off in the wind behind them. “They didn’t tell me… what any of this was.” Zirco's expression softened a bit, and when he spoke this time, his voice was gentle. “I didn't realize they left you with that little information. Well then, get ready for Zirco's crash course,” He sped up as they took the next turn, staying on the outer rim so the two duelists weren't too far apart. “If you leave, you'll leave a void. We'll be missing a mark, and it'll have to be replaced. How do you think they'll do that? They'll take a child, one much younger than you, and torment them with those experiments. What you experienced in your small time, only for years. In my eyes, you were willing to let someone else face extreme torture just for an easy way out, after you basically got the jackpot and got the mark with minimal damage. You get why I'm mad now?” A hesitant nod. “Yes, I… I thought that might… But all of you… Somehow you can do this. This fight. What am I going to able capable of? If I’m too afraid to even drive this D-Wheel a little faster?” “You do your damn best,” Zirco commented. “That's all anyone can expect from you,” he turned to face the road, and begun to pull away. Leiko looked after him, blinking in confusion. He seemed so much calmer now than before. She felt somehow calmer herself, to. She realized with a start that her mark wasn’t hurting anymore. For once it was in a rare period of quiet. She sat in her D-Wheel seat, thinking about what he had said. “You do your damn best; That’s all anyone can expect from you.” “Do your damn best, sis! I know you can!” Leiko’s gaze shifted. It now didn’t focus on the back of her adversary. It now focused on her hand. Morodate frowned as he watched Leiko sit quietly on her D-Wheel. “She hasn’t made a move in almost a minute since they stopped talking,” he commented sourly. “If she surrenders now, she’ll probably leave tomorrow. Damn Kaiba, just letting them leave as they please.” Yamata shook her head. “No, I don’t think… She’s thinking, isn’t she?” Morodate squinted, looking down at the girl. “Hmm… Wait. You’re right… She’s in the tank.” “How long do you think she’ll-” “My turn!” The pair started paying rapt attention as Leiko suddenly spoke up after what seemed like an aeon of silence. “Draw!” The man smirked, a hint of pride in the expression. “Not long. Not long at all.” “When my opponent is the only one controlling a monster, I Special Summon Tech Genus Striker from my hand!” Leiko played her monster on the disk, her D-Wheel wobbling only a touch as the blue-clad ranger appeared, ready for battle. T.G. Striker ATK 600 “When a Tech Genus monster is Special Summoned, I can also summon Tech Genus Warwolf!” A cyborg-armed wolf appeared, loping onto the field and pouncing at Zirco, landing just short of the boy and falling back to join Leiko. The girl was looking intently ahead, not at the road, but at the chain of thought that was winding through her head. T.G. Warwolf ATK 1200 “Here goes! Limiter Removal, Level 5! Regulator warm up! Calculate power capacity!” Her Striker split into two rings of light as Warwolf ran into them, a bright flash of light revealing a tall figure wielding a silver book. “All Clear! Synchro Summon! Tech Genus Hyper Librarian!” T.G. Hyper Librarian. ATK 2400 “I still have my Normal Summon. Summoning Tech Genus Reformer!” A dark green and black figure, this one with an oversized hammer of a left arm, appeared on her field, one mechanical eye gazing outward all around. T.G. Reformer ATK 0 “When this card is summoned, I can pay 1000 Life Points to summon a non-Synchro T.G. monster from my Graveyard. I summon back Striker, which I’ll use to Synchro Summon again!” Leiko: 400 “Limiter Removal, Level 5! Destination, go! Level support, Good! Ground Support, All Clear! Synchro Summon! Tech Genus Wonder Magician!” The pink-haired witch flew in on four gossamer wings, letting out a joyful cry as it joined Hyper Librarian. Both her Synchro Monsters pulsed with bright white lights. T.G Wonder Magician ATK 1900 “Hyper Librarian and Wonder Magician activate their effects! Whenever I Synchro Summon, Hyper Librarian draws me one card. Meanwhile Wonder Magician destroys a Spell or Trap card on your side of the field!” Zirco’s Trap card flipped up, blasting into shards, his Urgent Tuning trap dissolving and blowing past him. “I-” She stopped, breaking off in her continuous cadence suddenly, outstretched hand pulled back. She realized what she had been about to try. She reminded herself that that would be impossible. It couldn’t be done. She shook her head. This is fine! I can come back… Fight a little like this! “Battle! Wonder Magician attacks Souza! Hyper Librarian, attack Urbellum!” Her two monsters released blasts of silver energy, each impacting into Zirco’s monsters. The blast from Hyper Librarian buffeted his D-Wheel, sending his Life Points down just a touch. Zirco: 7200 Leiko turned to her hand. Even after all that it had plenty of cards within it, from Hope for Escape and Hyper Librarian. With 400 Life, I don’t know if this is enough… But It’s close. It has to be close. “I set 2 cards face-down,” she declared, the cards materializing briefly to either side of her before disappearing. “... And end my turn.” She breathed deeply, not the hyperventilating of earlier, but a long, slow breath. He can use Faultroll to summon back Souza, but… I can hold on. Just a little bit longer. Do my best. Even as she thought of it, the next turn played out in her head. If he attacks me with Souza, I can negate his attack with Synchro Deflector. That’ll also destroy Souza. I can then banish his Faultroll with Dimensional Prison. Then I’ll have two monsters, he might not have any, especially if he can’t draw one! Her hand reached up to the dashboard of her D-Wheel. A card was there, attached by tape at the edges. Risebell the Summoner. I’ll do my best, Houki…

A good start, Kess thought to herself as she sent Yuudai backwards. The big one, though... He would be a problem. "Not my problem, whiner!" she yelled at Yuudai, bending her knees as Herc grabbed the bottom of the car. Her timing was imperfect n the kick, so her leap up into the air was lopsided, awkward. She swore loudly. She was slipping. The hit on the car had taken more of a toll on her than she thought. Was she really going to run out of gas here? It was then, from her vantage pint s she flew into the sky off her own and Herc's momentum, she saw them. Several of the other participants scrambling through the city streets, all funneling towards them. Some of them caught sight of her, looking up in surprise and hurriedly adjusting course to put themselves behind cars or buildings. But all of them had one thing in common: Badges. Not many between them, certainly; The most she could openly see on any of them was three. But they all had them, and they were all running towards her. She sneered at the sight. Dregs, she thought vehemently. They think just cause I'm outnumbered they can take me? "Screw you!" she shouted, as she started to fall back towards the ground. She trained her eyes downward, funneling power through her legs as she flew towards a light pole. Her feet slammed into then, then lighted off, sending her hurtling towards a group of them on the ground. They let out cries of surprise as she knocked into the front two, sending them falling to the ground like bowling pins. "The hell are you doing here, eh?" she called out loudly, turning her head to get a look at all of them as they closed around her, Herc and Yuudai. "You've all got something that belongs to me... And I'm takin' 'em NOW." She reached down, yanking the badge from the belt of the kid below her, punching out as four of them surrounded her, kncking one of them directly in the gut with a super-powered kick. She winced even as the kid was knocked ten feet back, her ankle twinging with pain. SHe swung her hand, crashing fist and the heavy badge into another's sternum, letting out a call of challenge: "I don't have time for you idiots! I'm gonna be a goddamn hero!" Kess' Badges: 4

The Resident Pokédex

Leiko was nervous on the D-Wheel. She had only ever practiced with it by herself, not during a duel. Her hands were shaking as she coaxed the bike hesitantly out onto the track, allowing Zirco to take the lead with ease, the girl barely even noticing. His words were echoing in her head. "You better not throw the duel." If Zirco was at all like Houki, if he had been brought here for at all comparable skill, she wouldn't have to. She was taken aback yet again by Zirco's ferocity. While Shannon, back in the pit, may have seen his monsters as a noble order, they looked a lot more scary up close, at such high speeds. THe lion-maned Airbellum roared at her, its bladed claws gleaming as Boggart Knight stared her down. Leiko felt penned in by the two monsters even as she accelerated nervously, the D-Wheel jerkily accelerating and decellerating in a way that would have made any mechanic cringe. "I... draw!" Leiko drew as jerkily as her speed, the D-Wheel momentarily taken off-balance before she hastily corrected, breathing hard. She kept reaching to her hand to pick a card, then darting back to the handles of the D-Wheel to steady it the second she drifted off-course at all. The girl was breathing hard still, panicking now. The Turbo Duel was too much to process. She couldn't even think straight. Just get it... over with! "I summon Tech Genus Rush Rhino!" She hurriedly grabbed a card, sliding it onto the duel disk at the nearest point possible to her wrist dealer. A great green beast appeared, bipedal, letting out a bellow as it flew by Leiko on large rocket engines attached to its body. T.G. Rush Rhino Level 4, 1600 ATK "Battle! Attack Boggart Knight!" The engines roared to life as the Rhino blasted past, towards the Boggart Knight. "Isn't Rush Rhino weaker than Boggart Knight?" Amata asked Morodate pointedly, who merely raised a hand, waving the question away. "Rush Rhino has an ability that will supercede that," he assured the fellow handler. Rush Rhono barreled through Boggart Knight, the monster letting out a cry as it exploded into shards of bright light that showered across Zirco's D-Wheel. Zirco: 8000 > 7900 "Rush Rhino can boost it's attack power by 400 when it attacks," Leiko explained, breathing a little easier now that two monsters weren't staring her down. "The boost only lasts for this turn." She slowly raised her hand to her cards, then quickly seized two of them and placing them in the Duel Disk portion of her bike, eyes closed shut as she grabbed back onto the handlebars. "I set 2 cards and end my turn!" She barely got the words out with the lack of breath she had.

Kess exploded into the city, looking around for anyone who looked like an easy mark. Her badges were all on her, the girl having used her belt to lash the child dummy across her back, the cat clutched in one hand, still letting out intermittent garbled calls. She cursed loudly as she thrashed it around in the air. The damn things were so unwieldy. It was a fight to maintain top speed with the awkward dummy on her back. The badge at her waist she had started with felt heavier and heavier with the significance it held: Less annoyance. Where, where were some of the weaker ones. It was at this point that Kess' attention was drawn by a car reeling down an adjacent street. She paused, darting into an alley to get a closer look. Two students looked to be trying to stop a car. Why the hell they were doing that, Kess didn't know, at first. It was only when she saw the car coming to a stop and the large, beetle-shaped individual prizing a medal from it that it dawned on her. "Motherfucker... There ARE some that aren't this goddamn heavy," she swore, clenching a fist. She reached over, raising the lid of a trash can. She unceremoniously dumped the dummy inside it, cinching her belt back around her waist. She paused, then swore as she took it and used it to lash the cat doll to her back. The damn thing kept getting noisy anytime she was away from it. Of course the speaker actually worked when she didn't need it to. She placed the lid back on the trash can as she heard one of the boys, the smaller one, speak: "Hmm...well given I'm already feeling my muscles straining from the use of my Quirk... That sounded like a fine invitation to her. She turned, and streaked down the alleyway, jumping up into the air as she reached the street. She sailed through the air, landing in a crouched position on the roof of the car, slamming her knee down into it to send the chasis slamming down into the pavement, the axles snapping as the car collapsed to the earth. She stood high on the destroyed roof, grinning at the two boys. The big insectoid freak, he looked tough. But Yuudai, on the other hand... "Nothing personal, kid," she said with no small hint of satisfaction, snapping her leg up in a kick aimed directly at the boy's head with intense speed and power.

Leiko watched Zirco storm down the hallway, at a loss for words. She dimly heard Morodate walking away, his measured footsteps echoing down the hall. He had spoken and she had been powerless to stop him from stoking Zirco's anger. How could he think she thought she was superior? To him, to anyone? She started to turn, to speak to Tora, but then thought better of it. Why should she care? She's been here longer too. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and she flinched away from Shannon's hand, looking wide-eyed at her. Was she going to be mad at her as well? "It'll be alright. Just follow me down there. I'll take care of it." Leiko was a bit surprised by her willingness to help. The simple side-hug felt positively strange, it being the most affection Leiko had received in months. She went to say thank you, but she held back, seeing something in Shannon's face. Still a little of that proud quality in her that made Leiko unsure of why she was really doing this. "Is this really ok?" Leiko could only give Kiyoko a lost, uncertain gaze as she meekly trailed behind Shannon towards the garage. - - - - Leiko lingered at the door of the garage, leaning out of sight against a the wall near the doorframe as Shannon walked in. As she spoke, Leiko massaged the stinging skin of her forearm, where her mark was located. Mr. E had said she had the wings but she felt thoroughly grounded and unable to escape. Her suspicions proved themself as correct when Shannon turned the situation into one that allowed her to challenge Zirco. She didn't care about Leiko. She cared about being in charge. She felt a touch of relief nonetheless. If Shannon dueled him instead, maybe he would forget her.Turn his attention to somebody who was fully invested in the Project. That hope was dashed rather quickly. Leiko felt herself swallow as Zirco started complaining about her, how she wanted to leave. She couldn't help striking the wall with frustration when he talked about her ego and convenenience, those ideas Morodate had put into his head. That wasn't it. That wasn't why she couldn't be here. If only she could put it across... But talking about her sister wasn't something Leiko could bring herself to do. She felt her heart rise into her throat just contemplating it. She knew she could never speak about it to him. She couldn't do it. Just like she couldn't be a Signer. "Shannon, it... It's okay." She stepped out from the doorframe, her hands in fists at her sides, shaking, her eyes to the floor and unable to meet Zirco's. "Zirco, I... I'm sorry. I don't think I'm better than you. Why would I? I can't... I can't even do anything with the six months I lost to these experiments, can't even make myself stay... You SHOULD be mad at me. But..." She took a deep breath. "But that's how YOU'RE better. Than me. You're strong enough to fight, still, after all of this... I'm not. And if you have to beat me in a duel to know that, you have to beat me in a duel." She walked into the garage, walking to a long, purple-colored D-Wheel with a large back wheel and two huge exhaust ports at the back. It looked very out of place next to the small girl. She raised up an armrest to place herself inside it, switching on the display with some fumbling, clearly unfamiliar with the exact workings of the machine. Gil, seeing this, walked to the wall to strike a button next to a large metal gateway. The door slowly pulled open, revealing a runway to the track outside. Leiko raised the slim, black-and-purple helmet, one-handedly tying her hair into a low ponytail before slipping it on, turning her head towards him, free to avoid meeting his gaze behind the dark visor. "I... I'm ready when you are," she said trepidatiously. - - - - Morodate switched off the tablet, Leiko on her D-Wheel disappearing from his screen. He turned in his seat to glance out the large window in the observatory he sat in. The track lay below him, and he could see even from here the door to the garage being opened. "You move fast, Morodate." Amata entered the room, looking out to the track. "Engineered a duel between two of them already?" "It's the only way," he said solemnly, steepling his fingers together as he awaited the beginning of the duel. "I would have preferred she duel Shannon... That girl is an example of work ethic to the Project. But your subject provided a clear opportunity. I took it... Hopefully it provides results from Leiko."

Saiku Yui (parinthesis) CowCow rep

Zirco's outburst shouldn't have surprised Leiko, but it did. His surprise, his indignation at her newer status in the Project he had shown earlier, was now out in full force as he shouted at her, the girl feeling no ability to shout back. She felt mounting guilt as he yelled at her about the conditions he had suffered. They sounded a lot like hers, but thirteen years... Leiko felt herself wilt before his anger, unable to meet his eyes at all as he got right in her face, demanding that she stay with them. How could she do that NOW, she felt herself thinking trepidatiously. Now that it was so clear how much he hated her, resented her; How much everyone here probably did as well? It was then that Blues intervened, and it got physical. Leiko gasped with surprise as Zirco and Blues started hitting each other, finding herself stumbling backwards, away from the two. The anger in both of them scared the hell out of her. She almost fell as she walked back, but a strong hand intercepted, pushing her back forward gently. Leiko looked back to see Morodate looking down at her expectantly. She shuddered, stepping back towards the center of the room again, wanting suddenly to get away from the man. She looked back, seeing the two had stopped fighting. She took a deep, rattling breath, knowing this was her fault. Her fault for being in this experiment, for giving her handler even the smallest hope that she would be up to snuff. "I don't think any different of her." Leiko cringed, feeling another pang of guilt and inadequacy. He shouldn't, either, should he? she felt herself thinking. She was quiet over the course of the tour, only raising her head for the briefest of acknowledgements of the various people they came across. She lingered very slightly in the garage, looking at the D-Wheel that she had been maintaining for six months. It looked better than she had ever made it. She hung her head, rejoining the rest of the group. Blues' last words hung in her head. He expected a decision from her by the next day. What choice did she even have? She couldn't save the world, the man was out of his mind. She doubted anyone would be mad if she left... Only Zirco seemed angry at the idea. Why should he? She was a liability. She was just going to slow him down. Slow them all down. The only thing that attracted her interest as they went through the rest of the facility was the large web of papers on the wall when they met the last three members of this place. She drifted her eyes over it, recognizing dimly several newspaper headlines from hr time before the Project. That was right, she thought. She had probably heard of some of these disappearances, things the others wouldn't have in their apparent years as subjects. It was then she was faced with the prospect of choosing someone to room with. For the night, she reminded herself. It was only one night... Yet even the thought of staying in the same room as Mr E made her severely uncomfortable, shuddering as she drifted through the group meekly, before reaching the one she was remotely sure of speaking to. "Tora?" It was the first time she'd spoken since the meeting, and the smallness of her own voice startled even her for a moment. "Could... Could I stay with you, for the evening? It would only be one, you'd have it to yourself after tomorrow." She tried to speak quietly, but she felt like her words were deafening, drifting through the air over towards Zirco. Ready to trigger another explosion. She tensed herself up, waiting for it, dreading it.

Kess hated to admit it, but the brief altercation with Misu had more of a toll on her than she would like to admit. That kick had hurt, and now even 2 badges were noticeably weighing her down. More importantly, the cat she had stolen from the girl would not. Stop. Meowing. "Shut up, goddammit!" she hissed, smacking at the stuffed figure for the fifth time in as many minutes. The cat kept going, as it had the other times. Kess swore. She would never be able to get the drop on anyone with this thing. Not unless she could run up on them from afar, and if all the badges were this damned heavy that was going to add up quickly. As she slowed to a simple jog, knowing she couldn't use up all her energy to sprint through this test as she had planned, she noticed an odd slope in the ground to her left. She perked up, climbing up a small hill to lay eyes on the wide open sinkhole that lay before her. She could hear the noise of someone echoing up from inside it. Heavy, nervous breathing. She set her badges down beside a tree as she quickly ran over to the sinkhole, looking back with some paranoia at the 2 she had set aside every few seconds. She managed to tear her eyes away long enough to look down and see someone slowly scaling down the wall; One of the other entrants, no doubt. At the bottom was a dummy in the shape of a child. SHe could just catch the glint of a badge on its chest. Kess sneered as she stepped off the edge, beginning her free-fall. The girl climbing down the sinkhole wall had just enough time to look up in surprise before Kess slammed into her, sending the two plummeting to the ground below, Kess on top of the girl as she was slammed into the ground after the fifteen-foot fall she had before finishing her climb, the air bursting out of her body. "Hey there," Kess said, panting as she raised a knee to plant it directly on the blue-haired girl's chest, keeping her pinned. "Best watch out, place like this. I'll be nice and accept a toll of one badge for now, but next time... Ooooh, if you don't see me next time, I'll get REAL angry." "I don't... I don't HAVE any badges," the girl wheezed out, eliciting a frown from Kess. "I lost mine already, I-" "Already?" Kess asked incredulously, rising into a standing position and walking over to the dummy. "Christ, you're useless." She reached down, picking up the dummy. It was about the size and weight of a toddler, and she reached forward and grabbed at the badge on its chest, yanking at it with some of the power of her Quirk to augment her force. No effect whatsoever. "God dammit to HELL," she swore, turning ts she slung the dummy over her shoulder and walking back towards the edge of the pit. Even as she moved she felt a hand grab her ankle. She stopped, looking down at the purple-haired girl who had grabbed her, and was looking up at her defiantly. "That badge is mine," she panted, glaring at Kess. Kess raised her other foot deliberately. "I'd reconsider that." The foot drove straight into the girl's back, and she released her grip instantly, gasping as she was driven back into the ground. Kess crouched down, knees popping with the effort of her movement. "Every one of the badges in this goddamn place is mine... I'm just being nice and letting the rest of the dregs have some." She jumped up into the air, pushing off with great force, wind blowing back the adversary's hair as she flew halfway up the sinkhole. She grabbed onto the first handhold she could spot, yanking herself up the rest of the way even as the stone gouged into her hand. She landed on the edge, walking over to her two badges. They were still there, undisturbed. She had been quick. "These fuckers are heavy," she groused, slinging the cat back over her opposite shoulder, marching back into the trees. "Imma need more regular badges if I don't wanna get weighed down," she commented, looking at the one that was attached to her belt. "Which means... I gotta find the others." Her eyes turned towards the cityscape that was now nearby, and her face curled into a grin before she took off, driving a beeline straight towards it. She did not notice the small, dull red light that had appeared at the back of her ankle when the girl touched her. The girl started her climb up the sinkhole wall, wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth as she closed her eyes, feeling the speed of Kess' movement... And directly where she was going. Kess Badge Count: 3

Leiko felt a kinship with Tora as the girl started showing signs of confusion as well, even as she tried to fill Leiko in on the situation. She felt herself standing, moving over to where the girl had fallen on the floor and slowly moving down onto her knees next to her, the words she said running through her head. The mark on her arm, that was what Shannon was talking about. As for the Duel Dragons, if those were cards. She felt a chill run up her spine as she remembered how annoyed the scientists had gotten every time she had failed to play that one card. The one sitting in her deck box right now. She looked up to Morodate with wide eyes. He didn't meet them, but already she could tell she was right. She flinched away from Zirco's question, somehow feeling the anger. They had been here so much longer... What right did she have to be to so upset? She felt the guilt gnawing at her, unable to shake it. And Kaiba's appearance didn't help much. "Crimson Dragon?" she asked, feeling a pang of stupidity lance into her. Another thing she didn't know. A lot of his speech confused her even more. One thing in particular: That they were supposed to be some kind of heroes. She looked around the room, at everyone assembled, and couldn't help but think one thing: They sure didn't look like them. The phrase 'third generation' was dropped, and Leiko tuned out, feeling an icy chill within her entire body. They were the third? Would that mean...? She didn't process a lot of what happened over the next few seconds, only dimly heating Mr. Kaiba. Shannon's sudden, calm voice snapped her back into reality, and Leiko scrambled to keep up, find the context. Shannon was saying a million and a house wasn't enough... Kaiba was offering a... a reward? After all this? Shannon's confident statement of wanting a billion each rattled Leiko to her core. How was she so CALM during all this? How were ALL of them so calm? Even Tora managed to yell at Kaiba, to voice a lot of what Leiko herself was feeling right this second. Why them? Why them to save the world? And why me, especially... She realized suddenly that she was the only one who had yet to speak. Panic mounted in her chest as she tried and failed to meet Kaiba's eyes, wrenching her gaze away twice, three times. "I..." She took a deep, wrattling breath, slowly standing. "I don't think... Mr. Kaiba, I think you made a mistake!" Her voice broke as she stared at the ground, shaking, barely able to get the words out. "You're talking like we're supposed to be some kind of heroes but... You don't want me. I know you don't." "Leiko!" Morodate shouted her name sharply, the girl wincing at the sound. "I can't, Morodate, you don't think so either." She clamped a hand around the mark on her arm as it twinged with pain. Another reminder it shouldn't be there. "You know I'm not supposed to be here, Mr. Kaiba. I know it too. I... I want to leave. I can't do this." A single tear rolled down Leiko's face, obscued by the hair that hung around it. Houki could have. I can't.

I didn't realize I like Incineroar so much.

Kess' fist dug into Misu's side with full impact. She allowed herself a grin momentarily, but then she felt the resistance, the amplified muscles underneath. As she went in for the kick, she saw the sweep, too late as the kick blasted into her. She reeled back, throwing herself into the momentum she had gained from the blow against her as she stumbled out of the reach of the uppercut, hot steam searing against her skin as she regained her footing, fists up, the part of her body Misu had kicked aching. "Not bad, bitch," she said, breathing hard. "You don't seem much like the hero type yourself." "I'm a new kind," Kess replied, visibly annoyed by the statement. "A new hero for a new generation. I'll do whatever I have to do." "You're in such a hurry to lose that medal of yours." As Misu ran at Kess, the girl smirked, standing her ground. She raised both arms to block the strike, allowing Misu to hit her. It didn't hurt as much as the kick previously had, though the force running through her arms was very real. Kess felt the power in her arms surge, pushing back... And she released as she transfered it to her legs, pushing off of the ground. As Misu's strike followed through, Kess was launched from the earth, flying towards a tree. She flipped around in midair, her feet striking against the tree as her knees started to bend. "Could say the same for YOU!" she yelled triumphantly, pushing off the tree trunk with every ounce of force she could muster. She shot through the air like a bullet, off-angle to hit Misu, clearly going to go over her... As her hand reached down to snatch the cat doll resting on Misu's shoulder, to seize it with the sheer speed she had as she shot over Misu, towards the thick trees where she could lose her. She KNEW she could lose her in a contest of speed. THis was something she could so, she knew it; SOmething she had to do. You shouldn't have held back on that hit... That's why I BELONG here! I'll NEVER hold back! she thought fervently as she flew through the air in the space of an instant, but what felt to her like slow motion.

Leiko flinched away from Mr. E's stick as he tapped her on the head with it, shrinking into her chair. Her eyes followed him around the room, the young girl feeling incredibly ill at ease as he introduced people by their name, mark, and some strange joke that only seemed funny to him. Like they were toys on display rather than people. The way he circled around the table, despite his unerringly jovial manner, reminded her moreso of a shark than a person. Circling around the blood in the water. And then he threw her off her thought process with the talk of the bearer of the left nut. She frowned, not laughing at the joke, just thoroughly puzzled by it, how out of place it was in this somber atmosphere. How out of place this man was in this somber atmosphere. His describing their stay here as a "slumber party" only confused her more. Though he said this place had once been a prison... Leiko couldn't help but feel like it still was. There was one girl who didn't seem put off at all, though. As Shannon introduced herself, Leiko couldn't help but be incredibly surprised by her confidence in the situation. Even Houki would have been wary of this strange man, these circumstances. And Shannon acted as if they were all a family... Or rather, she said they were. From the matter-of-fact, "deal with it" tone of her voice, Leiko got the impression that family was too strong a word for what they were. Almost like Shannon was telling them to accept it. 'We're a family... One that I lead.' A foregone conclusion. At the very least Raijin seemed to feel the same way, though his rough demeanor kept Leiko from meeting his eyes for more than a second. Then the cards started coming out. Leiko was at a complete loss here. She felt like the room was shrinking around her now. Did everyone here know more about what was going on than she did? SHe looked over searchingly, desperate, to Morodate. He was not meeting her gaze, just looking at the Magus, his stern face as ever unreadable. She looked over at Jet, very noticeably reacting to him as he spoke. From his demeanor, she hadn't thought he would be so hesitant in speech. Was he like her too? But then he managed to force out the name of Stardust Spark Dragon, and Leiko winced, the tension mounting in her. I'm the only one. "I..." She began to speak, Zirco's sudden shouting cutting her off. She retreated back into her chair, looking down to the side as he yelled at the assembled group. She mentally ticked him on the list. Zirco. Raijin. Maybe Hotaru and Jet. Four people who maybe weren't so sure of what was going on. Who weren't oddly okay with this. What had happened to the others here that they were so accepting of it? So nonchalant? Did they know something they didn't? Or had they been in the project so long that they were buying what was happening. "I... I'm sorry," she forced out slowly, after Zirco had retained his seat. "I... I don't know..." Her expression twisted up, hands shaking in her lap as she felt the gazes of the others bore into her like lasers. "I don't know what... Marks, Duel Dragons..." One of her hands went up to her left arm, clamping around the sleeve, where her Mark was underneath it. "I don't know what..." She took a deep breath, trying to regain her composure. "What is this all about? I... I haven't been told anything, I've just... been put through all these tests, and now there's more, and there's all of YOU... I don't understand any of it." She grew quiet once again, looking kind of lost among all the other experiments. She felt smaller among them. Useless.

I don't think Ministrant of Obligation is good enough, certainly not when up against Arena. Boreas Charger is also a good candidate unless you have a decent amount of big mana decks (or just green in general) in your meta.

Orzhov decks, and especially non-combo decks like you actively are trying to avoid apparently, are pretty slow in general, so the slowness on Arena isn't that bad. You kind of want games to go longer in decks like this because it lets you accrue resources in your graveyard and set yourself up for more explosive turns. Unless your meta is Combo Blitzkrieg it should be just fine.

The small dormitory was dark, almost completely devoid of light. It always was between the hours of 10:30 PM and 5 AM, the automatic lights up above flickering on the second the hour shifted. Currently there was nothing, just blackness and the poorly defined shapes of a bed, a small desk, a D-Wheel. But Leiko was still awake. She had been for the last hour. She sat against the wall of the room, head lolled onto her shoulder, her hair wet from the shower she had just taken pressed up against her face. She couldn't sleep. Even with the rigors of the last six months sometimes she couldn't shut her mind down long enough for her exhausted body to recharge itself. In her hand were two cards. She would every now and then idly look down at them; At the Pendulum monster that was at the front. At the Synchro Monster behind it. She now reached with her other hand, taking the Synchro Monster and placing it face-down on the floor. She pushed out with her hand, sending it skidding across, away from her, leaving her with only the Pendulum Monster: Risebell the Summoner. She heard footsteps coming towards the flush panel that was the door into her room. She put the Risebell card into her pocket furtively, closing her eyes before the lights could flip on and blind her. The door slid open, and the tired-looking older man at the door gazed in, seeing that Leiko's bed was empty. He turned to see her, knees drawn up to her chest, not looking at him. He sighed, walking in, bending over and picking up the card Leiko had pushed away. He crouched, extending the card out to her. Leiko looked up, surprised by his demeanor. Normally she was being rushed out of the room by this point, being told to hurry and prepare for the day ahead. "You'll need this, Leiko," Morodate told her solemnly. "Your tests as they stand will have to do... It's time for you to meet the other subjects." The van drove up onto the thoroughfare, delving into the deeper areas of Cradle City. Leiko had been surprised to see the lab was hidden on the outskirts of such a brilliant and bustling place. She had assumed she was nowhere near the Greater Domino Area. But to think she had been close to the Area, to her home all this time... She turned to look at Morodate, who was driving impassively, looking at the road ahead with a set expression she found hard to read. Leiko didn't know quite how to act; This was the most informal setting she had been in with the handler since she had met him. She thought about it for several minutes, before carefully opening her mouth to ask a question "... You said there were other subjects, right?" "Focus on the duel puzzle, Leiko," he said simply, turning the wheel to switch into a less crowded lane. Leiko looked down blankly at the tablet device Morodate had given her, and at the duel field it showed on the screen. "I thought we were done with the tests." "More can't hurt." Leiko bit her lip, wanting to complain that all the tests up to this point had hurt quite a bit, but she couldn't bring herself to say it. She turned back to the tablet, tapping the screen with a finger to activate a card. "Where are we going? Can you tell me that?" "The Satellite area. You're meeting the other subjects there." "Have they had the same test I have?" "I said focus on the duel puzzle, Leiko," he replied simply. "I finished it," she said matter-of-factly, turning the device to show the VICTORY heading across the screen. Morodate gave it a quick glance, raising an eyebrow. "You're getting faster. Good." He took a deep breath. "Alright, I guess I can tell you that, at least... No. Not exactly. They've had more. Far more." Leiko felt her blood chill. The tests she had been through so far had been bad enough... These ones had even more? "Why?" Morodate drummed his fingers on the wheel "They've been with the project much longer than you. We had to rush yours through quicker." Realization dawned in Houki's eye as she remembered how rushed the scientists around her always seemed to be. "Was... Was Houki supposed to be here today instead of me?" A nod as acknowledgement. A pensive expression. Leiko sat back in her chair, this thought turning over in her head. "Well... Where is she now?" "It's not important," was Morodate's infuriating reply, the one he always gave. Leiko pushed down the urge to cry in frustration, turning her head away to look fitfully out the window. With a start she saw Turbo City in the distance, and the Skyway above it. It looked so different after all her captivity. She had to wonder what it looked like to the others she was about to meet. The D-Wheel was deposited in a holding bay inside the prison; For a prison it was, something that had caused Leiko to balk when she saw the sign. Morodate just guided her forward, collected as always. As they walked down the austere hallway, Leiko felt like she was shrinking in the too-large black sweater she was wearing, disappearing into the turtleneck. To not be in the lab anymore was throwing her off what little bit of rhythm she had left. She raised her left arm, pulling the sleeve back to look at the strange mark, a pair of small red wings, that had been impressed onto her skin. This was supposed to be Houki's. They wanted her, not me. I shouldn't be here. She swallowed nervously, pulling the sleeve down to cover her arm once more. She kept a hand clamped on the wrist, as if to contain the mark inside her sweater. It prickled painfully, like it almost always did. She came to a doorway, Morodate ushering her towards it. She took a deep breath, then lightly pushed against it, sliding into the room without a sound, head lowered to face the floor, only barely processing the table and the chairs, not able to meet the eyes of anyone sitting there. She furtively started walking towards the nearest chair to her, not making any noise to announce her presence, but- "Ah, Leiko! Bearer of the Wings... I was afraid we wouldn't be seeing you here today. Good work, Morodate." Leiko froze where she stood, jerking her head up to look at the man who had spoken. A smiling gentleman with white hair had greeted her. She looked now to see the room was more crowded than she had thought. She swallowed again, nodding jerkishly. "Um, hi," she said, quietly, barely audible. Morodate followed behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Yes," he said simply, looking at the white-haired man with a tired gaze. "Leiko's done well, considering the circumstance-" "Please." Leiko just whispered that one word, eyes falling to the ground again. Morodate stopped, lifting his hand and nodding, before moving to the side of the room to stand with Yamada. She gave him a quizical look. "You know why I'm staying," he told her simply, crossing his arms and placing his gaze on Leiko once again as she took a seat slowly, sitting beside a purple-haired girl who seemed just as nervous as she was. She unnerved her less than the ones who looked comfortable, especially the one girl in the suit. She looked almost like she was excited to be here. Leiko turned her head towards Hotaru lightly, looking around the table Looking for anyone who looked as happy to be here as she was. Jet she singled out immediately, the sullen boy sitting as far away from everyone as he could. There was only one chair between Leiko and him, the space he had from the others dwindling as the table filled. She felt briefly galvanized by the two's presence; She wasn't the only one here who wasn't happy.

Kess' eyes were locked on Misu throughout the entirety f her reply. Just slowly narrowing into a glare, her sharkish grin fading as Misu yelled at her. Her entire body felt like a spring coiling tighter and tighter the more she heard. "Mighty protective of that badge for someone who doesn't even want it," she snapped, her voice darker, meaner. "The fuck are you doing here if it's not to be a hero... You're wasting my goddamn time, is what you're doing. Guess I was wrong." She scoffed, brushing some of her hair out of her face. "Can't believe I thought you were-" She interrupted her own thought, suddenly blitzing forward, screaming across the ground at Misu, feeling the power building up inside her body, ready to lash out with intense, powerful force. She tensed her muscles as she went in for the strike. "-WORTH ANYTHING!" she finished, as she lashed out with a swift strike with her fist, the air buffeting around her, Misu's steam sent whirling through the air as she lashed out at her side, aiming for the kidney, intending to whip around with a swift kick to the side of the girl's head to follow up. As she came within a few feet of Misu one emotion would be obvious to her opponent in Kess' eyes: Pure unchecked rage. You. You're the first one. First one on the ladder up to Jason.

Long time no see, my guy. You could probs use 1 or 2 utility cards in the lands area, just stuff like Bojuka Bog and Reliquary Tower (probably really want that last one when you're doubling your Skullclamp triggers). Living Death is batshit-insane-bananas, especially after you've sacced everything to an Altar or something. If you want some more ramp (you're kinda light there) Black Market gets doubled triggers from Teysa. MIGHTY SPICE. Grave Titan synergizes well with Teysa too, as she buffs its tokens.

Rhythm of the Wild is a card I've been eyeing since it was previewed. It looks STELLAR in here. You are right that I need more haste, you can get hardcore screwed if a wipe hits and you don't have Teferi's Protection. What are your thoughts on maybe having more effects that grant double strike? I feel I have a low number but I've found it's pretty easy to keep Bruse alive most of the time, I've won games with him being my only piece. Still, only being able to hit twice with one dude (assuming no Helm of the Host) is a bit of a holdback. Problem is there aren't a TON of good double strike enablers; Blood Mist and Fireshrieker are a touch mediocre, but are they good enough here? As for ramp, I feel I'm pretty inflated in 2 and 3-drops already, and Thrasios is also a ramp piece as well, but you may be right about swapping in a Farseek in place of something like Solemn that doesn't provide a really at all effective body for double the mana.

My favorite deck, bit of a personal project I've been fine-tuning for more than a year at this point (almost 2, actually). Never seen anything like it before, think I may have created something unique(ly awful). Game plan is: Stick value creature, give it double strike with your Bruse Tarl and DECK them (no, not the no cards in library way; The good old-fashioned, as-Richard-Garfield-intended way). This deck aims to get around the problem combat-based decks have of gassing out by using creatures like Dragonlord Ojutai and Sphinx Ambassador to gain card and board advantage whenever they connect, since double strike will give you 2 such triggers in combat, all while having the added benefit of smacking your opponent for a million damage. Currently looking for feedback to help tighten up the deck a little bit, just make it slightly more resilient to disruption and maybe loosen up the tip end a bit (SEVEN 6-drops, yo). This deck plays WAY better than it has any right to and I'm often stunned it works as efficiently as it does, but it can always improve. Lemme know what you think, lads. TappedOut link (with detailed breakdown)- https://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/the-daily-double-mk-green/?cb=1548013635 Decklist- Lands (37) 1x Adarkar Wastes 1x Battlefield Forge 1x Breeding Pool 1x Brushland 1x City of Brass 1x Command Tower 1x Exotic Orchard 4x Forest 1x Frontier Bivouac 1x Hallowed Fountain 4x Island 1x Jungle Shrine 1x Karplusan Forest 3x Mountain 1x Mystic Monastery 1x Path of Ancestry 3x Plains 1x Reliquary Tower 1x Rogue's Passage 1x Sacred Foundry 1x Seaside Citadel 1x Shivan Reef 1x Steam Vents 1x Stomping Ground 1x Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion 1x Temple Garden 1x Yavimaya Coast 1 drop (4) 1x Reconnaissance 1x Sol Ring 1x Swan Song 1x Swords to Plowshares 2 drop (17) 1x Azorius Signet 1x Boros Charm 1x Boros Signet 1x Chart a Course 1x Cyclonic Rift 1x Dolmen Gate 1x Fellwar Stone 1x Gruul Signet 1x Hidden Strings 1x Izzet Signet 1x Mark of Sakiko 1x Mask of Memory 1x Nahiri's Machinations 1x Selesnya Signet 1x Simic Signet 1x Strionic Resonator 1x Swiftfoot Boots 3 drop (13) 1x Chromatic Lantern 1x Coalition Relic 1x Crawlspace 1x Duelist's Heritage 1x Ghostly Prison 1x Goblin War Drums 1x Hunter's Insight 1x Krosan Grip 1x Sword of Feast and Famine 1x Teferi's Protection 1x Thada Adel, Acquisitor 1x Thassa, God of the Sea 1x Trygon Predator 4 drop (10) 1x Bident of Thassa 1x Coastal Piracy 1x Helm of the Host 1x Iroas, God of Victory 1x Nature's Will 1x Shalai, Voice of Plenty 1x Shaman of the Great Hunt 1x Skyshroud Claim 1x Solemn Simulacrum 1x Supreme Verdict 5 drop (5) 1x Asceticism 1x Dragonlord Ojutai 1x Hunter's Prowess 1x Samut, Voice of Dissent 1x Sylvan Reclamation 6 drop (7) 1x Archetype of Imagination 1x Aurelia, the Warleader 1x Austere Command 1x Hydra Omnivore 1x Medomai the Ageless 1x Stolen Identity 1x Sun Quan, Lord of Wu 7 drop (3) 1x Balefire Dragon 1x Gisela, Blade of Goldnight 1x Sphinx Ambassador 8 drop (2) 1x Archetype of Endurance 1x Maelstrom Wanderer

At Valerie's interjection, Kess notably stiffened, turning her head slowly to glare at the girl. The very air around her seemed to be charged with anger. "You want to talk about weakness, I'm more than happy to put yours on display once we get inside," she snapped, sneering as she looked back towards the gate imperiously. "We're allowed to take badges any way we want, and I'll take that rule to heart. Feel free to test it if you're stupid enough to come across me." Kess listened intently to the instructions the exam givers were delivering, face pensive as she took it all in. One at a time, huh? Didn't seem to stop a bunch of the others from floating the idea of teaming up. She snorted derisively. Amateurs. She wouldn't need anybody's help. Not with how any people there were here to steal badges from. In fact... Kess waited a few moments before stepping forward. Normally she would have volunteered immediately, but she felt like letting some of the others in first. Let them do the hunting for her. She clenched a fist, feeling the knuckles crack inside her hand as she declared her name: "Kessandra Branwen; Now let me the hell in." She reached out a hand, and the badge was allowed to thud into her grip. She acknowledged it's weight with distaste; It would slow her down, for sure. Especially if she had multiple. Good thing I'm not going to be doing the heavy lifting, she thought to herself, bending forward into a sprinter's stance slowly as the gate was opened for her. She tensed briefly, then exploded forward. Dirt kicked up from the ground in a large wave as she streaked into the trees, darting to and fro, nearly colliding with a trunk every few feet in her sheer, uncontrolled forward momentum, head thrust forward as she laughed loudly, a figure already in her sights. "PIPSQUEAK, EH?" she screamed loudly, jumping into the air and spinning like a vicious whirlpool to slam her leg into the trunk of the tree that Misu was in. There was a brief moment of resistance, the air shuddering around her body, before the trunk snapped, sending the top hurtling down towards the ground, Kess' eyes locked on the girl in it with an expectant grin on her face. She landed on the ground, pivoting to stare Misu down, fists up and ready to fight. "Well then, come at me... Or, actually. I have a better idea." She stood tall, not as tall as her adversary, but with fierce pride and tense muscles, clearly ready to strike if she had to. "You seem like one of the few idiots in here who has their shit straight. I could just take your badges and leave you to look for more... But it'd be a shame to be the only one with their head in the right place at UA. All these idiots walking around yelling about JUSTICE!" She shouted the last word derisively, mockingly. "None of them have what it takes... Let's make sure the ones who get in know what they signed up for. A hard, slogging son of a bitch of a journey to being a hero." She raised the fingers on one hand, beckoning Misu towards her, to fight or to join. "Whaddaya say, amazon? Waste your time fighting me? Or are you gonna help me keep the CHAFF out?" I'll take your fucking badges either way, you giant bitch! If that's what it takes I'll do it! she thought vehemently in her head,

Runner-Up

The crowd of hopeful entrants to UA High School was moving awkwardly as the Principal spoke, multiple shifting aside, the majority being pushed, as one figure made her way towards the front. Lithe and grinning with an almost feral anticipation, flaming red hair fluttering in the light breeze, Kess was a fearsome sight this morning, more so than she usually already was. A very faint energy ran through her body, all her movements seeming punctuated and quicker than intended. She was bursting with anticipation, raring to go, her Quirk activating and deactivating without her intervention. Normally she might have tried a little harder to maintain control over it, but not today. Today she wasn't able to hold it all in. I'm gonna burn this motherfucker to the ground... UA! she thought fervently, leering up at the school with an anticipatory grin. The principal appeared, accompanied by a man in samurai armor. As they were led through the school Kess moved her way to the front, pushing several out of the way to do so, eyeing him up. Maybe we have to fight that guy? she mused idly in her head, one of her hands flexing slightly, a knuckle cracking of its own accord. But apparently that wasn't it. Kess eyed the treetops, as well as the city buildings further out in the distance. Where's the best place for me... Who cares. I'll take out every last one of these motherfuckers if I have to. Doesn't matter where. "You are free to roam wherever you please, and do as much damage as possible, but your objectives will all be the same. " Kess felt her ace splitting into an even bigger grin, and she barked out a laugh at the sound of that. "Oh?" she asked aloud, though not loud enough that the instructors were at all likely to hear her. "They're really makin' it easy on me, aren't they?" So if I beat the snot out of some dude with 3 badges, and take 'em, I get in?" Kess laughed again, this time louder. "I like your style!" she called through the crowd to the girl, punching a hand into the other to crack all the knuckles in it at once. A low thud could be heard as she did so, the joints in her elbows strained momentarily by the force of the impact. "Maybe you'll be one of the ones that makes it back... Just don't come round me if you want to get in." "Alright everyone, let's make sure to all do our very BEST!... Sorry! I'm just super-excited right now!" Kess winced at the sudden increase in volume from the girl, but she quickly regained her composure, bending down as she approached the small, bat-eared girl to look her directly in the eyes. "Nah, it's fine," she said, though there was a tense, threatening tone to her voice underneath the kind voice she was putting on. She reached forward, placing a hand on top of Hibiki's head, smiling as she tilted her head, saying with false sweetness: "You can be as loud as you like... Makes it easier for me to track you down and kick you into the dirt." Her expression abruptly switched to a glare as she straightened up, making eye contact with Itsuki and Shiba briefly as she did so. The glances were quick, thoughtless; Like they were barely there. "Last an hour or two and you won't have to worry about me; I intend to be back here by then... Until then... Stay outta my goddamn way." She raised her voice, barking over the heads to the instructor: "Alright then, let's get this goddamn thing started! I ain't got all day to become a hero!"