[Last Time, on El WHAT?!: The group was ejected from a portal into a fighting universe. They enlisted in a nearby fighting tournament after finding out that the prize was a wish, but withdrew after Daphne was nearly killed in her first fight. Realizing that the wish may well be their only way off this world, they decided to split up and train for the year until the next tournament.] [Daphne and Cara took up Shotokan, while Shiho attended the Blazing Arrow school of archery. Taro studied under the Spitting Spaniard, and Ichi took up the iaijutsu of the Blue Eyed Dragon school.] [Now, it is six months later, and a group of fresh new fighters are gathering at the place where the Wish tournament is held. The object? To be the best new fighter to show up. The prize? A blessing from the spirit of the temple at the arena. A blessing of strength that never takes the same form twice, and can never be recieved more than once. Who will triumph?] * Just as the last time you all saw this place, a large group of fighters has gathered outside the main entrance of the arena, ready to register. You don't recognize most of them, but strangely, your entire group has assembled here. You've all changed, some more than others, Ichi especially, who sports a new katana, and Daphne, who no longer sports bandages. [Session Start] * Cara spies Shiho, and waves to her, grinning. "Shiho! Over here!" Hey, Cara! * Taro waves to her. ^_^ * Ryu smiles. "Interesting. All your friends have assembled again." * Shiho looks over towards Cara, and makes her way over there. For her part, she doesn't look much different than when they last saw her. * Alan walks along beside Shiho. * Daphne nods. "Yup." Friends of yours, I assume? * Cara looks in Taro's direction. "Hi Taro." It's been a while. * Ichi hears his friends calling to eachother and looks for them. "Cara! Taro!" Ichi! * Daphne smirks. Looks like the whole gang's ehre. * Cara looks mostly the same, though her body looks to be in slightly better physical condition than the last time you saw her. She's still got her prized trenchcoat, though. * Ichi spots Taro and makes his way over to him. Hey, Ichi. * Taro hasn't changed much, but he looks a lot more confident than before. And a great deal more stable. * Daphne looks to be in much better shape than the last you saw her. Of course, last you say her she was pretty torn up. * Rocky scrambles up after Shiho, and he doesn't look much different, either. What did you expect, a ninja racoon? He pouts at Cara. "Oh, no hi for me?" Hey, Rocky. ^_^ * Daphne grins. "Hey, Rocko." * Ichi gives Taro a small bow in greeting causing the sabers attached to his backpack to rattle a bit. And hello to you to Rocky. Oh, hi Rocky. ^^ And hi Ichi, too. Man. It's great to see all you guys again. * Rocky grins. Yes it is. How's your arm, Daphne? * Daphne nods. "Yep." Much better, Shiho, thanks. It's even better to see you well again. Although it aches a little when rain's coming. Ick. * Shiho looks around. How long until the tournament starts? * Taro pulls out some sort of pastry thing. Hey, Rocky? Want a Necco Wafer? * Rocky stretches and peers up at Taro. "Hey, food!" A necco wha? * Taro offers it to Rocky. Necco Wafer. Good. :9 Crystalized sugar. * Rocky snatches the treat and sniffs at it. But why is that raccoon talking? It didn't talk back at the school. * Shiho eyes Rocky. "As I recall, he spent most of his time eating or sleeping." Fat and lazy, I understand. Well, crystallized sugar won't help that. * Rocky blinks at Alan, then stuffs the wafer in his mouth. He glares at Shiho, the effect completely lost, since his cheeks are bulging and he's a darned cute racoon anyway. Maybe you should teach him to fetch. I don't think he'd like that. That doesn't sound like the sort of thing a raccoon would do.. * Alan pulls a shiny quarter out of his pocket and holds it above Rocky. "C'mon, boy. Do a trick!" * Daphne snickers. Who is this, Shiho? ^^; * Rocky swallows the wafer and oohs. "Hey, shiny." * Rocky jumps, trying to snatch the quarter from Alan's hand. * Alan raises the quarter out of Rocky's reach. No way, you gotta do a trick. Aww, come on! This is Alan, from the Blazing Arrow school. Ah. * Daphne grins. * Rocky peers up at the quarter. "A trick for a shiny, huh?" Greetings, Alan. It is a pleasure to make you aquantince. My name's Taro. Taro Urashima. ^_^ * Taro holds out his hand * Alan waves absently to the rest of y'all. "Yo." * Rocky tries to get the quarter while Alan waves. * Cara smiles at Alan. "Hi. Nice to meet Shiho's teacher." * Daphne waves abesntly back at Alan. * Alan raises the quarter just out of Rocky's reach again. Unuh. No trick, no quarter. * Shiho eyes Cara. "Who said he was my teacher?" ... This is so degrading. * Alan cracks up. * Alan flips the quarter to Rocky. "Good enough." * Cara blinks and turns to Shiho. "Oh, sorry. Is he a fellow student?" ^^; No. He's my teacher, but that's beside the point. Ah. * Rocky catches it. "Yay!" He turns the quarter, delighted by the way light shines off it. * Cara scratches her head. "Eheheh. Sorry for assuming, then." ^^; * Daphne snickers. How's that shoulder doing, Daphne? * Thusly does Taro demonstrate that he's not _entirely_ recovered from all his travels prior to joining this group. * Daphne blinks. Didn't she answer that already? Ah well. "Better." Ah. That's good to he-... oh, wait. You answered that already. ^_^;; Sorry. * Daphne chuckles. * Rocky hops onto Shiho's shoulder and continues looking at the quarter. So shiny. *_* * Daphne looks over to the registrar. Hm. Registration open, yet? * Registrar raises her voice to be heard above the crowd. "REGISTRATION IS NOW OPENING." Ooh. * Taro moves towards the registration line. * Shiho makes her way to the registrar. "It's time." So, how's the past 6 months or so been, Cara? * Daphne nods to Ryu and heads to the registrar. Yes it is. ::gets in line:: * With ten priests and priestesses going about it, the registration goes swiftly, and you're soon at the front of the line. ^_^ * Daphne grins. * Cara heads to register. * Registrar looks up at Cara. "Name and school?" Cara Carter. Shotokan. Go inside, you're in division two. You'll fight tomorrow, and every fourth day after that. * Registrar looks up at Daphne. "Name and school?" Daphne McAlpin, Shotokan. Division one, you'll fight tomorrow, and every fourth day after that. * Registrar looks up at Ichi. "Name and school?" * Daphne nods and heads inside. * Cara nods. "Thank you!" She goes on in after Daphne. Ichi Aoyoma, Blue Eyed Dragon school * Ryu smiles as his students enter and heads up to the seats. Division two, you'll fight tomrorow, and every fourth day after that. * Registrar looks up at Shiho. "Name and school?" * Ichi bows a bit and then enters. Shiho Yamaguchi, Blazing Arrow school. Division two, you'll fight tomorrow, and every fourth day after that. * Registrar looks up at Taro. "Name and school?" Taro Urashima. .... spitting Spaniard school * Rocky scratches at the back of his ear, and a mild look of concern crosses his face. * Taro mutters something under his breath, but anyone who is listening carefully can hear something about "hate that stupid name" * Shiho follows everyone in. Division two, you'll fight tomorrow and every fourth day after that. * Taro nods * Taro goes in * And so they all registered to fight. * Cara goes over to Shiho. "So, what kinda stuff did you learn?" * Shiho shrugs. "How to kill stuff better." ...uh, right. * Cara frowns in annoyance and goes to find Daphne. * Daphne looks up as Cara approaches. "Yo." Hey. * Cara mutters "Haven't seen her in six months and she doesn't even wanna talk." * Taro frowns. * Daphne shrugs, and says back quietly "Well, yeah. She's Shiho. Shiho doesn't do that whole 'talking' thing." She's always been a bit quiet. ^^; * Rocky watches Cara and Daphne talk, and one of his ears flick. * Ichi looks over crowd. * Cara looks at Ichi. "...hey Ichi. What's with your sword?" * Shiho frowns and looks at Rocky. * Daphne looks over at Ichi. "Hey, yeah." * Ichi draws the redish katana slowly out. "This?" * Taro blinks. Yeah that. Why's that katana sorta reddish? Yeah. It feels...weird. * Daphne blinks. Red? * Rocky returns Shiho's look evenly. It was a techneque I learned while I was training. You forge some of your blood into the blade to make it stronger. .... huh. Huh. Interesting. Wasn't it kinda painful? ...weiiiiird. But kinda cool. It's like the sword is you. Yeah... It was, but it was also worth it. And I think it hurt less than getting beaten up by the bullies back home. Heh. * Ichi thinks, "Or the bullies away from home." * Daphne nods. * Cara turns back to Daphne. "Anyway. It still bugs me...we're all friends, right? And then she just...blows me off like that." * Shiho suddenly looks up and makes her way over to Ichi. "Who? Who used to do that?" * Ichi puts his sword away. * Rocky blinks and looks at Ichi. * Cara turns to look at Shiho. * Daphne shakes her head. "Like I said, it's just the way she--huh." * Taro blinks at Shiho and Ichi. And gears start to turn in his head. And he starts thinking similarly to the way he did back when he thought Carmen could use the Tokyo Tower to broadcast a hypnotic signal to... *blahblahblah* * Ichi thinks for a bit "Our friend 'Tithian' was one." * Taro blinks. Brian used to do that? * Daphne raises an eyebrow. "Reeeally?" Not back home, no. But I doubt he would have done anthing if he had seen. * Taro nods * Daphne blinks, then nods. Uhuh... * Rocky blinks at Ichi again. I'm confused. Hm. I know it's a bit early, but I think we should use the wish to bring Shawn here, and get him to touch one of our tattoos. * Shiho frowns to herself. We go to another place, he goes home. Problems solved. * Ichi blinks and tries to work out what it is that doesn't sound right about that. ...I don't think that's right. We'll see about what we can do with the wish once we get it. Urm, I wasn't there last time that happened, but, wouldn't that mean we'd be here for another year? Nope. Oh. Well then. * Rocky digs his claws into Shiho's shoulder. Not enough to hurt, but enough to get her to notice him. The lady showed up last time and brought us to that last world when we got Brian to touch it When the lady sent us to the last world, it was because Athas was closed to us once Brian was sent home. So I think that'd only work if we were on the world where Shawn was. ... oh. ... shoot. * Daphne frowns. "So, what, we use the wish to go back there?" Of course not. * Cara smiles sheepishly and scratches her head. "Of course, I could be wrong." * Ichi nods, "That sounds right to ..no?" Hm. * Taro thinks about it a bit I think we should save doing that until we've got a more reliable way to get around. Hm. Did any of you get a letter from Brian the day we were sent to wherevertheheck? I didn't. No. Not me. * Shiho blinks. "Was there one? What did it say?" * Daphne shakes her head. "Not that I know of, no. I got a letter from Shawn with my whiskey, tho." Oh, back at the school? I got a letter from Jiro. .... wait. I'm sure of it. Getting Shaun to touch the tattoos will cause an effect similar to last time. Namely, him getting sent home, and us getting a shot right there of going to another world. * Daphne licks her lips. "An' that was good whiskey." * Cara looks at Taro. "You think we can actually catch him like that? Remember, he LET us catch up with him that time." We just need to wish for him to show up in front of us. I got Brian because he let me get close to him. Or wish to show up in front of him. Hm. Come to think of it, that's a better idea, Daphne. ^_^; * Shiho frowns. "I don't think we should use the wish on that." I still don't think that's a good idea. Then what should we use it on? * Daphne smirks. "Preferably surrounding him on all sides in case he tries to get away." Hee I don't know yet. There's time to think about it, you know. The tournament won't be over for a long while. * Shiho nods. * Taro nods. True. You've got a point there. * Ichi nods, "We have six months." Of course I do! I'm a superior species. Hand over your shinies. Yeah.. * Daphne snickers. "There we go. 'Pay tribute to High Lord Rocky!'" * Taro hands Rocky one of those holographic stickers you get from those machines at the supermarket. :P * Rocky powerposes, then snatches the ticket and oohs. Here is your tribute, O Furred Stripey One. * Cara giggles. * Daphne snickers. Very good. Be sure to prepare more for the next time I deign to consort with you. * Rocky flips the sticker. There's a picture, and then it shines, and there's another picture. Flip, flip. * Shiho clears her throat. Heh. * Cara looks over at Shiho. I will endevor to. Anyway... * Ichi looks at Shiho. * Shiho casts a glance to Rocky, then addresses the group in general. "Um, I'm glad to see you guys again." * Cara smiles at Shiho. "I'm glad to see you too, Shiho." ^_^ Same here. ^_^ I think we all feel the same way. * Rocky actually stops paying attention to the sticker and smiles at Shiho as only a racoon can. * Daphne smirks. "'S Good to see you again, too, Shiho." * Daphne glances quickly to Rocky with raised eyebrow. * Cara doesn't notice Rocky's expression. * Rocky doesn't notice Daphne, or doesn't seem to. He goes back to playing with the sticker. * Daphne smirks. Anyway, uh...what're we gonna do if we end up in a match against each other? * Shiho frowns. "About that." We're all in the same division. It's inevitable. * Daphne frowns. "Uhm, try not to kill each other?" * Taro nods. The most we can really do is just hold back with our attacks a bit more. We could flip a coin and let fate (Dicy) decide. * Daphne frowns more. Obviously, we won't be hurting each other much. Beyond that... Well, I guess we just try our best. * Taro nods Uhm... we could do it touch-footbal style? First person to tag their opponent three times wins, looser forfeits? ... hm. That could work. ^^; If we take three hits, we just fall down or something. * Shiho shakes her head. * Daphne scowls, as if she thinks that sounds real stupid now that it's out of her mouth. ... or not. ^^; Sorry. I'm not going to throw the fight. As you wish. * Daphne shrugs. "Well, once we find out what the fights for tomorrow will be, we can arrange each match where we fight each other however we like." * Cara nods. * Shiho shakes her head. "I wouldn't do that, personally." If Taro here doesn't wanna get clobbered? Fine with me. Shiho wants a real fight? That works, too. Actually, I just don't feel comfortable with hurting friends. ^^;; * Ichi nods, "That would seem to be the best idea." Suit yourselves. Just remember that if the best of us doesn't go on to face the rest of the opponents, our chances decrease that much more. ... I suppose you have a point. She's right there. * Daphne shrugs. "Just 'cause it's only tag doesn't mean I intend to loose. 'Sides, the better fighters are more likely to get their three tags in first." * Daphne smirks. "But, like I said. Nobody want to try that? Fine by me." [Session End]