"Search for the Runic Scimitar" - Magallanica Branch

"You're still crying over not being able to participate?!" Jessie yelled at Aoi, who was comically crying a river. Unlike Tamotsu who had arrived early for the Zoo event, the gumball came with the brunette and Ves who stood nearby. It seems the Chinese champion was still upset she was acting as one of the reps instead of one of the regular players, and has been complaining since the after party. The boy could only sigh, far too used to his friend's stupid antics like this. It was a good thing Magallanica was flowing with steady activity to serve as ample distractions.

Despite the overcrowding activity on day one, things were much more organized and controlled this time around, and there were far less people flooding the area giving everyone the wiggle room they desired. The Aquarium-Headquarters hybrid structure had gotten its finishing touches to accommodate for the vast amounts of participants with decor for the three clans of the nation, making it all come together with a thematic environment. Most employees were dressed in appropriate costuming, being pirates, marine soldiers, or mermaid outfits. And outside in a moderately sized radius from the branch building, some were stationed to show how far the search area for the quest was. Can't afford to have people getting lost or thinking it ranges throughout the entire city...

A stage was set as well, likely for another rousing performance by the idols from the previous event with a podium being set up for the manager.

"If you can't participate as a player..." Ves chimed in between Aoi and Jessie. "Perhaps consider the challengers as motivation...? You could find someone who matches your energy."

"Oooo, I could find someone!!" Aoi spoke excitedly.

"I can promise you, other than Tamotsu when he's around you and that Mirai girl, there is no one on this Earth who is as hyper as Aoi." Jessie replied bluntly.

"You don't know that!"

"I know you're hyper enough for it to not be normal!"

"Well, I'm gonna go get ready, and I'll find that hyper person! So, pbbbbth!!" Aoi defiantly blew a raspberry at Jessie before turning around and scurrying away.

"Well pbbbth to you too!" Jessie childishly blew one back as she left.

They are actual children.

Today a blue parasol was hovering above the crowd. Long strands of red hair contrasted it and the deep blue kimono the girl was wearing. Tsubame made her way about the Magallanica Branch quite like she had at the gathering for the Zoo Event. But today was different. Today she was meeting people instead of just observing the excited fighters moving about. She'd been texted by the group about an approximate meeting place but knowing the strange people she'd decided to associate with, she didn't trust much of what they said. But eventually something caught her eye. A particular hair style she only knew one person to have. Bright blond hair with a curious cowlick in the front that stood up quite high as if defying gravity. Sure enough, it was Ves with dinoboy nearby.

"Salutations travelers." she said with a formal tone which she accompanied with a bow. It really showed off the different colored kimono but the detailed eye would also notice the still rather short skirt was about an inch longer or so than the red version of her get up. "I woulda figured more of you would be here." she said looking around for Aoi, Sakuya, the crazy blue dog or any of the others that had popped up at Card Capital 2 the other afternoon.

"Thought you guys were a bunch of shonen characters. Never leave a friend behind and all that."

Hikari burst into the Magallanica center with a cheer. Here she was, at the second event. After having time to think about it, and seeing herself on the news, Hikari had come to appreciate her performance in the Zoo event. She might not have won, like she'd planned, but she'd gotten some recognition. Even if it was just a little, she'd made a name for herself. "I'll do even better this time!" Hikari promised herself, "This time, I'll be the undisputed champion, no matter what the challenge is!" Armed once again with Victor and his Extreme Battlers, Hikari marched forward, ready to meet the event head on.

Among the crowd, Hikari noticed a somewhat familiar young man with brown hair and an ahoge. That's right, she recognized him from the Zoo event. She hadn't got the chance to talk to him, or to thank him for sticking up for Rin. As she rushed over to greet him, she noticed he was standing with some other people. A super cute blonde girl, also with an ahoge. She was only a couple inches taller than Hikari, but she looked much more... "mature." Her outfit seemed much too fancy for the event she was, presumably, taking part in, but it really brought her entire look together. The other girl was a redhead wearing oddly traditional clothing, which Hikari thought was also too fancy for the occasion. This girl she somewhat recognized, too. She was also at the Zoo event, fighting the Tiger, and making some comments that reminded Hikari of Rin, if Rin were a lot more rude. Hikari raised a hand to them as she approached, "Yo!" she called, stopping in front of the brunette, "I saw you at the Zoo event, right? I never got your name." She extended her hand, "I'm Hikari Sugimoto. I wanted to say thanks for sticking up for my friend back there. You seem like a cool guy," she turned to the girl in the kimono, ""You were there too, right? You were the, uh... anime girl."

"Oh boy, oh boy."

From the corner of the branch, white haired frost sat to a table on the side waiting with anticipation for this event. He stirred his straw around his iced coffee cup slowly as he was watching people come in, lining up for today's event. He took deep breathes from his nose and exhaled from his mouth as though he was breathing fire, much like the dragon he is. His hands made myriad of jestures in a matter of seconds from having them bridge into each other, into fists, sliding his fingers from his palm, then using his arm as a rest for his head.

He couldn't contain his excitement, despite his ice cold exterior. His coffee wasn't helping either, taking sips that would warm him up to the point of sweating to chewing the ice with his white fangs, ice chunks flowing through his throat and into his body, cooling it down and giving him a case of the shivering jitters.

"Goddamnit, they're taking too long. I kinda want to get this over with. Hate this feeling." he said to himself, describing his dislike of the concept of "patience" - wanting to get a head start and get some fights in to take his mind off of the pressure he placed onto himself. While being aware that today's quest was being held at his Branch, he wasn't sure if he felt pressured because he wanted to prove himself normally or because he wanted to avoid causing another situation like at Zoo. Reminding himself to keep his temper in check lest he tarnish the good name of the Magallanica Branch, while doing his best to show that the frozen dragon had what it took to conquer an event, especially on his own home turf, even if he wasn't aware of what exactly he needed to do this time.

"Goddamnit." Seth followed after a calm soothing sigh to relax himself, taking out his cards and staring them over. "Hopefully the prep these last few days will come to pay off."

He thought back to the previous nights after going to Cardfight Capital: looking up information on fighters, cards to looking over his deck and making adjustments in both the contents, strategies, and responses to situation. He didn't want to lose like he did against Chris, making a careless mistake out of fear, especially after being a turn away from victory.

"That bitch got the drop on me last time, but that won't happen again." Seth's fist was clenched, hovered over his cards before a sudden sound. It sounded as though something was placed in the mail. He quickly ran the door, twisting the handle and opening it. Seth rushed to the mail box and saw a tan package sticking up while being bent by the metal cover of the mail box. He looked around to see if anyone was present, but saw not one person or anything for that matter. He was hoping that perhaps it was a certain someone who may have returned from wherever they had went to for the last two weeks but such optimism was short lived. He looked at the package, removing it from the metal box and flipped it over and read the packaging.

"To Seth... Hyoshiro. Hmm." Wait. He got a package sent to him? "Huh... I wonder what's inside." Seth returned inside shutting the door after discovering his feet were turning blue from standing on the cold cement floor. He threw the package on the desk that was not his, before going to his jacket that was placed over his chair, pulling out a blue dagger. He punctured the top part of the package and slashed it open with precision and turned it over. From the tan envelope were falling cards that landed on it's corner beside Mystozan, while the others laid flat face down, covering themselves. He picked up the standing card before it fell over and held it to his face and after a momentary pause, he jumped up.

"He-heeeeeeeeeeeeeey! You're not too bad. Probably just what I needed." He said with confidence before smiling, fading out from the flash back.

"This time, I came prepared to win."

The queen radiated with confidence and intent. Etched onto her stone-cold face was a look of utmost determination, eyes narrowed as she strut forward into the crowd. Raven hair fell in neat curls around her petite face, the soft white glow of her skin contrasting the velvet black. Carrying on this apparent theme, she wore a simple white blouse and an elegant black midi skirt, flowing in her wake. Her intimidating nature was only added to by her black lace up heels adding some height to her.

She had missed the first event; and now, Aria fully intended to make up for lost time. Everyone she knew had heard of these events - they were all she heard talk about. May it be on the news, or word by mouth, there was no doubt they were the talk of the town. Evidently she couldn't avoid them. And why would she? These were a brilliant opportunity for exposure and improvement. To make a name for herself, these were her best options right now.

But now she was bored. She tapped one foot on the ground rhythmically as she patiently awaited the start of the event. Her muted eyes flittered across the crowd, taking note of the many faces around her. Perhaps some of these were regulars. Would they be in the next event too? She probably wouldn't remember them regardless. Idly, she toyed with the simple pendant hanging around her neck on a chain of silver - a glimmering sapphire in the middle.

She felt prepared. She had no idea what she was up against, nor what was in her future. What she knew for sure was that if her strength was true, she would grab hold of whatever came and fashion it to suit her desires. If her strength was false, she would sharpen her sword and return triumphantly. She had to admit, though, waiting on her own was a little lonely. The air of camaraderie present in the event was already suffocating her. It was impossible to tell, however: her face still remained a pristine slate of serenity.

Ves hung around Jessie without thinking on too much as to why she was bothering. Jessie is pretty normal, but that can also make him boring as a result while Aoi is an overwhelming presence. It'd be hard for people to really be around them, honestly, yet she... and the approaching Tsubame remained. One wouldn't be able to tell by the pudding demon's usually blank or stoic expressions, sometimes breaking into tiny simpers or holding mouth open in childlike wonder. However, the hints of genuine curiosity in the colorful cast were there. That's why she met Tsubame with her lips forming an O shape, quietly humming in surprise. "Salutations?" The manner of speech seemed off, but perhaps the kimono-adorned lass had taken Ves grouping her in with Aoi's level of "anime" to heart... and embraced it? That, or it was a joke.

"Aoi swung by to pick us up." Jessie replied to Tsubame, his more outgoing personality compared to the blonde showing. "Wanted us to come with her and wanted to get Sakuya and others, but then realized she was going to be late for oversleeping. It's hard to believe the most energetic idiot I've met would actually nap too long..." He chided his friend from a distance, shaking his head with discontent over the capricious gumball. Alas, he was one of her two best friends, so he must not mind it enough to keep drilling about it. So, folding his arms as usual, he gave his two companions his undivided attention to talk to before the event... or he would have, but someone new had arrived, calling for him. "Ah?" It was a lilac-haired lass who seemed to be some years younger than him, he wagered. This girl... she was from the Zoo event in the rainforest with that one other who got bullied.

The lad definitely remembers her getting to the central pavilion first while he went to get more gold cards.

"Ah, hey." Jessie gave a friendly greeting, shaking her hand with a decently firm grip. "I'm Jessie Hakaisha, and no problem. Hopefully your friend is alright after that fiasco and that red lady doesn't come back." He was glad to have a compliment for once instead of the people around him teasing, especially since he hung out with three national champions on average now, so it was hard to not feel vastly inferior.

"Jessie... Cool?" Ves tilted her head. Jessie almost felt his heart sink with the tone she used, preparing for some mocking remark that Aoi would usually blast him with. "He gave me money for pudding once when he didn't have to, so I think he's kind of cool too." She continued, causing the brunette to sigh with relief... then he remembered Hana, Sakuya, and another individual at the Zoo event offered her pudding and she probably got all of it in the days leading up to this event.

Poor guy's self-esteem can only take so many hits.

Ves was looking out for the other participants who were standing by their lonesome, noticing the white haired boy from Card Capital Two, a raven haired lass who carried herself importantly, and eventually the Neo Nectar player she had run into from Zoo: Koga, who was entering the building.

He'd made it to one of these events finally, but the fact that he was now shaking off in a corner away from everyone made it a moot point. The large crowd was making him nervous, and while he wanted to go and interact with his peers, his fear of social interaction was holding him back. Why did he even play this game? Gold and blue eyes darting between the crowd, his shaking continued, hoping this would start soon. Maybe actually getting in a few games would help. Ikari doubted he'd get very far though, as he attributed his win against Jace to be nothing more than a fluke.

Meanwhile, Aedan was a bit more confident being in this crowd, as he was used to this kind of thing, being the ex Irish Champion, he went to events all the time... well used to. His hood was down this time, and on his back seemed like... a cooling pack? Inside he had various flavors of pudding hoping he'd be able to pay some of what he owed back to Ves for the game. He'd just unfortunately been busy, moving into a small apartment. Looking around the crowd, the young Irish man sighed to himself a little, having difficulty picking out if she was actually here or not. He'd only met Ves once after all.

Mirai's second time coming to the Magallanica branch. First time being a coffee trip with Seifer while reuniting with Haruka. Wow that was some amazing coffee. The airhead can still smell that dazing aroma and can practically taste that legendary cup of joe. This is probably the only reason why she even found her way to the branch. Despite obvious signs pointing where to go and the aquatic greatness the branch itself is, the coffee memory led her here today.

Alright guys, I won't let you down! And if we come across someone mean like the bug lady, lets take them down in honor of the other deck I had! Mirai thought to herself. To believe that fight with Chris is still bugging the airhead is honestly shocking. Hardly anything phases her thanks to her hyper, happy-go-lucky, never give up attitude. Almost like a poison sting from a bug that is constantly itching, Mirai shakes her head to try to brush off that encounter and stands with her trademark happy smile.

Mirai can already see other people have started to gather. She is confident that she will complete the challenge this time around. After all, she slept well the night before and made it here on time. Looking at her recently updated Seeker deck, she stared mainly at her favorite card, Thing Saver Dragon. Smiling, knowing that her Guardian Dragon is by her side ready to take on anything and anyone.

"Did... Did you say a pirate song?"

From within the Magallanica offices cried a distraught Haruka. He ran a hand through his hair, feeling the locks flow through the slits between his fingers. His eyes shut as he felt a few beads of sweat roll over his forehead. He started pacing down the hall with one hand over his mouth and the other pressed firmly to his cheek with a phone clasped against his ear.

"... Okay, okay. Send me the lyrics, I'm pretty sure I know that title— Yeah, yeah."

He nodded, prodding into the actual changing room at the branch for appearances at shows. The room was empty barring a couple of the assistants standing at attention in the spinning chairs and mirrors. Haruka gave them a brief nod of notice to say hello and moved over to his seat without an attendant. He did his own hair now.

With a click, he ended the call with his manager and locked his cell phone, gently tossing it onto the plush cushion in the corner of the room near his dressing mirror as he started prepping. He was on double duty today.

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"We're gonna be laaaaaate!"

Tobi, also very distraught, could be found just now entering the Magallanica main doors with a friend of his, Katashi, in tow. He had him by the sleeve really, it was almost like burning rubber with the speed that he was trying to rush them to the event. Whether it was fear of being trampled by the stampede post-concert that happened at Zoo he had on his face or genuine disapproval of poor punctuality, he had made sure they would be showing up with the flow of the crowd pouring in.

"Hey, thanks again for helping me with the deck. I have the right trigger count this time!"

He was shouting now that they were in the main area. The buzz of the lobby area was bad but not nearly as bad as the sound of the speakers blowing out his ear drums again. He brought little plush sound blockers for him and a set for Katashi too if he wanted some.

The young energetic Hikari who was also a ruler of the jungle had jumped into the middle of things as Jessie began explaining Aoi having overslept this morning. That only seemed typical of the ditz of a gumball. Hearing it felt right, like the Aqua Force user was lining up perfectly with all of the proposed tropes Tsubame had going in her mind. But then she felt an almighty force in her neck. A crick like she couldn't believe. She tilted her head to the side some at being addressed as the anime girl.

"Tsubame Karasu. Tsubame to you, I prefer to skip the formalities with most everyone. And so we're clear I am not the 'anime girl'. I am the critic in this anime you all call a life." she responded, somewhat tense, to the younger girl's inquiry. Her neck relaxed as she did so and soon she settled. It was too early into this to get upset. But more importantly she had self confidence to shatter. Jessie was being called cool and it was vital he understood how superficial any sense of cool he had truly was.

"If Dinoboy here is the new standard of cool I don't want to live on this planet anymore." she said while calmly pulling out her phone and snapping a photo of the boy without his permission. It was quickly sent out to her followers who all began an online onslaught of sarcastically mocking this generation's idea of what cool was.

Meanwhile Jessie's phone would start vibrating. A text message as it happened.

"Jesy, i got distrackted on teh way 2 the evetn. NIce girl. Defs thicc i thikn teh word iz. Will b there soon!!!
-Tamo"

A classic Tamotsu text. All sorts of misspellings and a clear influence from Bashiro present but he still sent plenty and was usually coherent enough.

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"T-tobi calm down we have plenty of time until the event!" Katashi called as his smaller friend dragged him along toward the Magallanica Branch. They'd done some deck building earlier in the week and done a lot of test fights to get ready for their big moment. It had been really nice to help Tobi get a better hang of the deck and the boy's thanks made him feel really good. He'd just wanted to be nice but it seemed to mean a lot. And apparently he even had sixteen triggers this time so that was already a major improvement. He accepted a set of noise blockers to help from the commotion of so many fighters and the various music and announcements over the speaker systems.

"So uh, what do you want to do?" he said a bit louder than normal to make sure his friend could hear him over it all. "Doubt we'd find a place to sit or practice fights or anything with everyone here."

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Kachidoki stayed close to Umi's side as the final moments before the event drew near. In contrast to the staff of the Zoo event, the Magallanica staff seemed to be in much better order. There was much order provided by one whose life was led by a code like bushido and many of the employees knew better than to anger the Director or her right hand. Strange the structure they could provide despite their own personal situations. The Aimless Blade had briefed those helping with the event fights earlier as they had all arrived and distributed map pieces. Aoi had yet to appear though which was slightly concerning if not unexpected. There was only so much Hana would be capable of doing. Regardless, things seemed to be falling into order ahead of time, just as he had hoped.

"Quite the showing today Nanana-san. We'll soon test their sea legs. I doubt many are ready. The forecast for today warned of sudden storms." he said with a sly smile to his figurative captain.

Hikari grinned at the brunette, "Nice to meet you, Jessie. Rin is feeling a lot better now, so you don't need to worry," Hikari assured him, "And if that red chick shows up again, I'm not gonna let her get off so easily this time," she promised, driving her fist into her other palm. The cute girl said something about Jessie buying her pudding, which caught her attention, until the anime girl started talking. Turning to her, she said, "Tsubame? Well, it's nice to meet you too then! Not sure what you mean by calling anime life, though."

Finally, she turned to the blonde, "And I still don't have your name," she said. The girl seemed nice enough, but Hikari couldn't help but be somewhat intimidated by her presence. It annoyed her that someone who was basically the same height as her had been able to develop so much more than her. How was that fair? As jealous as she may have been, Hikari forced herself not to hold it against the girl. Right now, this was an opportunity to make new friends.

Jace walked into the Magallanica branch with mixed feelings. The words of his now co-owner of his restaurant echoing in his head. "I thought you said you were retired from these card games and were going to make yourself a business man. How can you be a reliable stand in for your.grandfather when you flee from work?" The man had a point, it was up to Jace to prove this is all worth while. Doing well at this event, building up points, and making himself well known in Japan naturally will increase his customers. On his head he wears a ball cap that says his businesses name on the top 'Antonis Noodles and American Wonders'. Jace had no honest idea if that would help or anything, but it was worth the attempt and so that he could say he was technically working.

Otherwise he seems to be wearing a Magic: The Gathering Pro jacket, with text written in English with his name and the event, which tool place in Hawaii. Although it wasn't related to this card game, the jacket caried good memories of pro card gaming. He couldn't deny himself that satisfaction of reliving it. Jace scans the crowd for any slightly familiar faces, and spots Hikari. The part American man decides to stroll up and surprise his young teacher. "Oh, Hikari-Senpai, glad to see you could make it! Who are your friends?"

"Hey!" Jessie cried out in response to Tsubame, irritated at yet another blow to his already relatively tiny ego. When she took his picture, he had half a mind to swipe her phone and delete it, but he just gave up. It wasn't worth the hassle, it's too early in the morning for this. Dinoboy is just gonna let them have their laughs at his expense for now. Thankfully, his own phone buzzed to take his attention off of it. Though, he choked on his shock of Tamotsu's sloppy text including the word of the demon that cannot ever be repeated and turned his phone off immediately. "Not today." He muttered to himself. The devil's vocabulary will not get him in trouble, nor will it escape his mental block.

"Ves Yamata. Do you have pudding?" Ves introduced herself to Hikari, not at all taking note of the lass' subtle aggravation and staring with a blank expression.

"Isn't it a little early for-"

"There is no such thing as too early or too late for pudding."

Yeah, Jessie wasn't sure why he expected something different. The two new winds saw the newcomer, though they were both confused. "'Senpai'?" He looked plenty taller than Hikari, which confused both of them as they spoke together.

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Umiruka had proper prepared for everything, despite workers wanting to complain and the map-making company trying to extort them for some extra cash flow. On top of that, she even finished by getting the idol group a proper dressing room. It was shaky at first with a number of things not entirely solidified, but almost like magic did the pirate captain bring all of the happenings and planning together. "Heh." The woman grinned in response to Kachidoki's implications of the coming turbulence. "Aye, the winds be gatherin' for a violent surge." Seadog dialect slipping out, she finished her last preparations-

"Waaaait! I'm here!" Aoi zipped over to the two heads of Magallanica, breathing heavily - panting. "Guh, I shouldn't have missed breakfast."

"Just in time. Get your map pieces and get into position."

"Yessir!" Even the gumball fell in line perfectly with Umi's plans.

"Typical anime lifers. Don't even realize how painfully contrived their lives appear to a sane onlooker." Tsubame said with a sympathetic sigh at Hikari's confusion. She probably would have tried to explain something more of it to the girl but then as if on cue, the anime she found herself trapped in kept right on rolling. A young man had approached calling the girl senpai. He was clearly older or at least taller than the shrimp of a girl.

"Oh my god!" she exclaimed while bursting into laughter at it all. She was having an amazingly good laugh about it all, even placing a hand on her stomach and leaning forward a bit as she tried to get her breath and composure back. "You honestly just said that with a straight face, I can't believe it!" she said throwing her head back and losing it to another round of full on laughter. It would take her a while to recover before taking another proper look at Jace. He seemed like a foreigner. That only made it all the more rich. Her blog was gonna blow up before the end of today as she quickly took her phone out after wiping the tears away from her eyes. She texted away amidst the last remnants of her laughing fit and gave the internet the same joy she experienced in a foreign man calling a younger girl senpai. It was an instant hit of course. It was her duty now to document these people. The cringe she could induce with posts of what they did was a gold mine she couldn't pass up. This meant she had to focus back in on what they were doing. But first, more teasing Jessie.

"Hey dinoboy, you're a real hit online. Took like no time at all to take off. I've basically made you famous. No need to thank me. Just remember me when you're rich and living on the coast." she said playfully.

Meanwhile off in the distance a howl could be heard. It was probably pretty obvious to Jessie given the text he'd chosen to ignore but his dog had just entered the premises and it wasn't going to be long before his nose tracked the group down.

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Kachidoki couldn't help but sigh at Aoi reporting so late compared to the others assisting. It sounded like oversleeping as she hadn't even eaten this morning. Still he would attempt to brief the girl on her role in the event and the part of the map she'd be carrying for challengers to attempt to claim. But as he spoke, despite having the girl close at hand he wasn't sure what all was getting through her head. He took it somewhat slower with her than with the others and still he had no idea how much was making it in. Still he relayed all the information the girl would need. If she remembered it all would be another thing entirely.

"Any questions, Undyne-dono?" he said after completing the explanation. He almost dreaded the idea of some of the potential responses he could get out of this one.

"Pudding?" Hikari repeated, slightly confused, "Nah, I wish. Pudding's awesome, but I don't have any on me right now. Why, do you want some?" It was a bit of a weird question to ask someone you just met. Maybe she was just hungry? Hopefully she had at least had breakfast before coming here. You'd have to be some kind of idiot not to eat before an event like this. She mentioned Jessie buying her pudding earlier, too. Maybe she just really liked pudding? Hikari couldn't exactly blame her, but it just seemed somehow... odd. She shrugged it off. Lots of people like pudding. Who wouldn't?

A moment later, the snow-haired Jace showed up to the scene. A wide grin spread across Hikari's face, "Yo, Jace! Likewise," she said, raising a hand to him. She turned back to the others, who seemed confused by the way he addressed her. She decided to ignore Tsubame's reaction. "This is Jace Antonis. He's my star pupil," she said with a laugh, "Actually, he's just another newbie like me. I taught him how to play the other day, so that technically makes me senior to him," she explained, feigning smugness. She looked back to Jace, "These guys are some new friends of mine. That's Jessie Hakaisha and Ves Yamata," she told him, gesturing to the two. She cast a hand towards Tsubame who was still having a laughing fit, "The anime girl laughing at you is Tsubame. She doesn't seem like someone you need to worry about," she said lazily, barely concealing a glare. Her antics were pretty rude. It was getting on Hikari's nerves, just a little.

Jace lazily and dismissively waved off Tsubame. There were plenty of obnoxious people like her in the states, especially those who harass those more popular than themselves. He had plenty of experience in that regard, and knew words that cut into them deeply.  "Those who jump to conclusions and gossip about others aren't typically worth the time of day."He then focuses on the other two and bows towards them. Although his is visibly mellow and relaxed, he smiles and seems excited in his own way. "It is a pleasure to meet you two. Like Hikari said, I am Jace Antonis. I am new to the city, and recently set up shop at a nearby noodle restaurant. Friends of Hikari's are friends of mine."

Jace then turns back to Hikari, slightly excited to report to the one who introduced him to the game. He has done a lot of prep that he has been wanting to talk about with her.  "I got quite the tutoring from the Great Nature branch leader. I feel pretty hyped about this event. Which deck did you end up choosing?"

"Practice? We don't need any practice! I'll crush everyone here this time around."

Tobi had a very aggressive aura surrounding his thoughts. Though at the very least, his confidence had spiked since the losses he'd taken at the last event and the bits of practice he'd gotten in between. Katashi was an excellent teacher. At the very least, he's the only person whose offered to extensively teach Tobi about the rules and even a few strategies about certain decks that Tobi never would have considered before seeing them in action himself. The tutelage was necessary and extremely helpful, but more than that, it made Tobi exude a kind of determination as he lightly pumped both of his fists, face full of excitement. He thought himself a deadly lion searching for prey, when in reality he was a small kitten that looked like it got its hands on its owner's cup of coffee.

"Let's go see if we can find someone we know. I bet Ms. Big Balloon Head and her posse is here."

He had a satisfied smirk on his face as he declared that nickname to Katashi, pulling on his sleeve once more to go search out for the group of familiar faces he'd made acquaintances with only a short time ago. He had no desire to really hang out with them or make close friendships... but Tobi really wanted to show off that he had a friend too, and that he was equally as cool as everyone else.

"Yeah, I have a few questions... Could you repeat everything you said?" Aoi replied to Kachidoki innocently. It wasn't that she didn't hear him, she just didn't process everything in one go well enough...

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'Nah, I wish. Pudding's awesome.'

Ves' eyes lit up with a childish 'whaaaa' as if she were a kid witnessing the grand opening of a new toy store. "Comrade..." The blonde dubbed Hikari a fellow in arms, a sister to the pudding empire. She was so enamored from meeting a fellow connoisseur of life's most powerful and delicious delicacy that she accidentally blocked out the rest of her words and Tsubame's sudden gigglefit.

While Jessie was glad to see Ves make a new friend, he couldn't help but feel for the foreigner. One word and now Tsubame will literally never let him live it down, and her following words only served to irritate him more about how he was apparently a hit sensation online. When she whipped out her phone again after laughing up a storm, she was probably making fun of the new face across the internet. A sigh of expected frustration escaped his lips, convinced he was doomed as even when Aoi and his brother weren't around, he was surrounded by some silly characters. "Don't mind her but don't dismiss her too much, she's only kidding." At least, he hoped it was purely in jest. The nice guy in him couldn't help but try to defend Tsubame, believing she was a decent human being... just a cynic. "I'm Jessie Hakaisha-" Before he could finish properly introducing himself however, two things crossed his mind.

First, he wasn't exactly sure "senpai" was the correct term, figuring "sensei" might've been more appropriate. Though, despite it being the speech of his homeland, dinoboy never exactly had the privilege of schooling, learning from a bunch of thugs who surprisingly had his best interests at heart. He wasn't in the best position to address it... Second, Jace mentioned Great Nature... branch leader.

Jace is most likely going to have a bad time with Tsubame around.

"Err... Clan Leader, not Branch Leader. I'm Jessie Hakaisha like Hikari said, good meeting you." He politely corrected Jace while fixing his greetings. Hopefully Tamotsu wouldn't bring his ridiculous text into the the conversation once he arrived...

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"Balloon head...?" Koga repeated out loud as she overheard Tobi with what seemed to be a new face. She remembered that nickname from the Zoo branch before the event started with everyone swarming around Aoi Undyne, and the hilarity of it - even if she didn't laugh out loud - did stick with her mind. "So those kids are here, huh."

"Aw am I supposed to have my feewings hurt?" Tsubame said with an obviously exaggerated sad voice. If Hikari and Jace didn't think she was worth acknowledging that was fine. The less they noticed her the more they'd act natural and give her material to work with. She was curious as dinoboy seemed to try and defend her after all the teasing though. It genuinely confused her. Did he think they were friends or something? She was fairly certain she'd made her intentions with the group clear and several times at that. She was here to observe and poke fun not get friendly. He really was the nice guy. Her gaze lingered on him for a moment before she looked back to her phone and seemed to withdraw from the goings on around her. As it happened this was well timed as an actual friend and not an object of observation was having a hard time of something and she took to comforting him over texts.

A few more howls sounded across the branch, each one getting closer than the last. The sound of claws scrambling on the smooth floor could be heard as soon the large blue dog emerged from the crowd.

"I'm heeerreeeeeee!" Tamotsu called as he seemed to be struggling controlling his running on the floor. His charge continued and carried him toward Ves. He very nearly crashed into the girl as he was struggling to get traction but instead he stopped roughly between the pudding lover and his boy.

"Jessie!" he called, before looking around the gathering group. "Other people! No wait right. I gotta tell you all about it Jessie! The thicc girl! She was really nice, you should meet her some time!" he said excitedly as he began going about greeting his boy and the others nearby. It wasn't quite as energetic due to Aoi's absence. The lack of gumball also seemed to lead to him calming sooner. This display caught Tsubame's attention who looked up from her phone for a moment.

"I'VE BEEN BAMBOOZLED!" she called dramatically which caught the pup's attention just long enough for her to snap a picture. "I thought you were a tiger. How could you lie to me like this? " she said, feigning emotional pain. Regardless she looked back to dinoboy before returning to her texting. This was his pet and he was using words like thicc in public. Clearly this good guy was hiding a perverted streak. She was on to him now. The pup meanwhile was looking around to the others and seemed not to notice the girl's second comment. More importantly she had a new post for her followers. The picture of Tamotsu at the Zoo event as a tiger and a picture here now. It was captioned with "U thought it was tiggo, but it was me, doggo! Heckin' bamboozled again." Another instant hit.

"Ves, Tsubame, Hikari and Jace too! Today's gonna be good. I'll be rooting for you guys after I go find and fight Aoi!" he said, panting happily before ultimately sitting down close to Jessie. Perhaps he'd be capable of calm conversation at this point.

----------

"...Everything" Kachidoki said in shock that literally nothing had gotten through to the gumball. He held a hand to his forehead for a moment before running through his briefing again, much more slowly and deliberately this time. He was going to be sure Aoi knew what she was doing if it killed him.

It was probably going to kill him.

----------

Katashi was happy to hear Tobi's excitement. The boy was so reserved typically that it was good to see him getting passionate about something. Though he was curious to hear of others the boy knew. Something about a Ms. Balloon Head. He smiled softly, glad that he had other friends. From having seen him at school he didn't think he'd much of the socialite. As he followed his shorter friend's lead he over heard a girl looking their way and repeating the nickname mentioned early. He tapped Tobi on the shoulder and motioned toward Koga.

"Tobi, you know her? She seems like she knows who you're talking about." he said in a bit of a hushed tone. This was all enough to make him wonder about his friend's potential of having a girlfriend. If he did, she didn't go to their school. Something about the idea seemed odd and he questioned himself for even thinking about it.

Hikari clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. She knew that Tsubame was just trying to get a rise out of her. She knew that she wasn't worth it. She knew that Hikari getting angry was exactly what she wanted. But even though she knew all of that, it was totally working. Her temper was getting the better of her. She began stomping towards Tsubame, fully intent on ripping the phone out of her hands and giving her an earful, "Alright, now you listen-" she began, when she was cut off by the shouting of a very energetic dog. Although he looked quite different now, it was obvious this was the same tiger she fought at the Zoo event.

His appearance threw Hikari off. It completely distracted her from Tsubame. This was something more important. She barely even noticed that he had uttered the word "thicc." Instead, now seeing him out of his tiger costume, Hikari was overcome by the extreme force of cuteness. Yes. This was very important. Her body moved without thinking, operating purely on teenage girl instincts, running up to the cute animal and administering pets. After a moment, she connected the dots. "So, you taught my star pupil about Great Nature, huh?" Hikari asked him. After her fight with Varess, seeing what Great Nature could do against her Nova Grapplers if they got out of hand, she wasn't sure she liked Great Nature that much. Still, if that's what spoke to Jace, that was what was important. "Good boy! Glad to know Jace is in good paws," she praised him, then looked back at Jace, while continuing to pet the cute dog, "As for me, I'm still using Victor at this event. Grandgallop is powerful, but I believe in Victor. And what about you? Did a unit in Great Nature really stand out to you?"

The girl rebutted him, but that is what she feeds off of, attention. He could tell that she was texting pictures of them to someone, but who or how many he couldn't know. If she is just gossiping among her friends then sure, he doesn't have a huge problem with that. If she has a following though, that could be a problem, for the both of them. He does not want a internet fan war if his american followers found out about her insulting him. To not feed into it, he decides to stop, for both of their good.

Jace nods and seems apologetic. "Er, sorry about that. I have only been playing for a few days now. The names and titles and everything are still fresh to me, but I am sure I can get a hang of it. Anyway, it is a pleasure to meet you Hakaisha."

Jace then turns to address Hikari and Tamatsou."I have a big soft spot for Magical Scientist, Tester Fox." He rummages through his deck box, before pulling out the card. "You wont see him too often, but he is my clutch closer." The deck has went through a few iterations, and Jace is rather confident that he can pull off some convincing games with it. Jace gives some well deserved pats to both of his teachers, to please Tamatsou and to playfully tease with Hikari.

Tobi flicked his head back, looking around for what Katashi had been talking about. The place was crowded for sure, but picking out where a finger was pointed is a simple enough task given enough correspondence. After a short series of "Is it them?" - "No, the other one," exchanges, Tobi finally caught site of the green-head just a little bit off in the distance.

"Hrm... I think I recognize her? Here, hold on." Tobi pulled Katashi along a little more as he approached toward the person, Koga, who had absently made question of his phrasing. He called over the ludicrous noise of the crowd, finally having found his voice now that he has a friend at his side.

"Hey! You there! What's your name? You look familiar, I think we've met before but I don't remember if we ever exchanged names. I'm Tobiro, but you can call me Tobi. And this is Katashi!"

He threw a thumb over his shoulder, pointing to his marginally taller pal just behind him. Tobi was on average rather short to begin with, generally hitting the height of most of the girls around these parts. That said, it wasn't strange given his lithe frame anyways. He wasn't quite as built as Katashi, making them quite dynamic in stature.

"So? What's your name already?"

Outfitted in her pretty pink outfit, Hana had got ahead of the game and believed in her talent to carry through a song that... wasn't quite as extensively rehearsed as she would've liked. After all, she and Haruka had gotten details of the event from Kachidoki only a few days beforehand, and relaying the information to Karin, they all had to work under pressure. However, "A true entertainer always keeps a smile on their face." A self-styled creed that the princess used to fight against disdain, complications, and the like to continue charging toward her dream. That's why the girl had no complaints about being on double-duty this time around, needing to immediately change from costume once the performance was over to stand as an obstacle for the event. Adjusting her adorable twintails in pretty ribbons, a smirk was aimed at her reflect with a whisper:

"Showtime."

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"Ta-Tamotsu!" Jessie immediately reeled back in shock from his companion's speech. Goddammit, Bashiro was destroying his mind, replacing a responsible guardian with an extra pervert in the Hakaisha household! Never mind the petting and Tsubame's outburst over being fooled. "I told you to stop repeating that garbage Bashiro spits out!" He reprimanded in a panic, already having felt the judgmental stare but being more mortified by the horrific word that had somehow survived the Messiah Scramble. The brunette was sweating, his length of hair drooping downward in his act of damage control.

"'Thicc'?" Ves inquired.

Oh no.

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Koga stared upon Tobi in a bit of awe and confusion, feeling energetic impatience ooze from Tobi in a kind of way similar to Aoi. Only, it came across a little as a hyperactive puppy with a tennis ball. "Uh-" The cabbage attempted to speak up and give her name, but the boy rambled on and unknowingly cut her off. It was a little more than annoying, but the idol let it pass since he seemed to be pretty excited over... whatever it is was having him run his mouth more than last event. The girl raised her brow, staring with a condescending expression practically shouting 'are you done yet', despite his dialogue not actually being that long. "Alright, kid..." Finally getting the chance to talk, she went about her usual demeanor of referring to everyone as a brat - younger than her despite not appearing older than most young adults.

"Tobi and Katashi? I'm F Chopper Koga, just call me Koga." Introductions went out of the way pretty quickly, at least. They would likely recognize her name from Generation Rare. Though, if they didn't, they couldn't be blamed since they hadn't done any branch event performances like those at Zoo. "I don't remember this guy with you at the last event. This your new buddy?" It was a little more mocking than intended, but she inquired about Katashi without any sass.

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"Excuse me, excuse me, attention please." Umiruka had taken the stand, calling for everyone to focus for the upcoming proceedings. The director had neatly placed a thin stack of paper on the podium, keeping her dainty digits between the organized lists of details. Absentmindedly rubbing her fingers at the edges, she keep her eyes on the crowd who turned to face the pirate captain adorned in her comfy blue dress and quilt draped at her arms. "Welcome aboard the 'Thalassa', my personal ship as captain of Granblue's 'Seven Seas'." Umi began her presentation by having all participants be accepted by the band of pirates and their feminine-named cruiser. At the stage were varying employees in pirate costumes, where any workers not part of the league of rogues were stationed at sides or not even within the building. Naval officers and mermaids were not found among the legion of sea barbarians dressed to the part of the 'Seven Seas' archetype. "Today, whether you like it or not, you're a member of my crew and we're gonna be huntin' today in the Quest for the Runic Scimitar - my Runic Scimitar."

The announcement was a surprising hit with a good chunk of the audience, having made a wise decision on having members of the new generation - kids - be part of a cool, rogueish band of pirates. Pirates were cool, so the idea was cool, and that meant captain Umi is cool.

Cool.

"You see, my avatar Captain Nightmist is the grandcaptain of the most famous and feared faction within Granblue: the 'Lord of the Seven Seas Pirates' - 'Seven Seas' shortly. He was even the first real vanguard of the clan, serving as a grade two unit like your Blaster Blades or Blaster Darks for people who remember the older icons of the game. Alas, being the scourge of Magallanica is a life I have left behind, for now I do service by teaching you kids a thing or two. So, I have long since stored away my gear, but some hooligans of either the Naval Justice Fleet or the Deepsea Divas or even some upstart brats in Granblue have stolen my precious blade - my cutlass. Today's large-scale quest for you bunch is to find it for me." Umi explained the event while giving a brief history lesson on Granblue's finest. There was slight disdain toward Aqua Force and Bermuda Triangle, and even without her pirate dialect, it was told straight enough for people to be unsure if it was just to be in character or if she disliked them. For her manner of speech gradually shifted to referring to Nightmist as herself, speaking for the experience of her avatar. Nevertheless, it was still told with a friendly smirk as the task was laid out before them. It sounded like a real live voyage - a treasure hunt for the weapon of the grandmaster of Granblue.

"Uh, excuse me?" A rather lanky young lad spoke up among the crowd before Umi continued her explanation.

"Yes?"

"Can't you do your own chores?"

"... Huh?"

"I mean, this whole event sounds like a chore. Can't you just find your own-"

"Come up here, please." Umi's tone was tranquil, but stern as she interrupted the youth. The poor lad obviously wasn't aware that the Magallanica Branch Director was a woman to be respected and feared. The fact that she didn't have one of her employees handle him for her spelled trouble. As he approached, the manager took a deep breath... then drove her fists to his temples, digging her knuckles in as he cried out in pain.

"Ow ow ow ow owowowowowowowowowow!!"

"I'm sorry brat, could you repeat what you were saying for me~?" The pirate lady's eyes were cloaked by the shadow of her hair, wearing a grin of maliciousness as the sight of dangerous woman was painted. The smirk was crooked, twitching even as her silhouetting locks helped drive home that murder wasn't out of the question for impudent runts who step out of line. Of course, she wouldn't get away with killing the kid... but a showing of discipline had to bluff that she didn't care.

"I'm sorry! I didn't say anything!"

"That's what I thought. You can step down."

And step down he did. ... More like ran off the stage, actually.

"Now I know all of you have seen the Branch Director speeches already, so you should know we all have our own individual ideals for one another. Whether you agree or disagree with them or not is up to you, but you should respect your superiors and elders regardless." Her more confident and guiding tone had returned once the arrogant punk was dealt with. It only helped reinforce that rude behavior toward authority would be punished, sometimes with warning other times with physical reprimanding. It was hard to even dream of testing the tolerance and patience of the more violent members of the association - Umi was only one of several.

"Now, today's quest will be assembling a magical map," Umi showcased an old-looking paper with a large circle cut out, only having four corners connecting to one another that was shown on a holographic screen and floating next to her. "The scoundrels that spirited away my very important baby - my cutlass - have hidden it somewhere in the city and they themselves are scattered throughout. Those people are Haruka Nakahara, Aoi Undyne, and Fubuki Kaiyo of the Absolute Justice Fleet: Aqua Force. One of them is one of the Beacons of Hope who stood as the champion of the Chronicle's Eve Tournament, so get excited! The other two include Hana "Isabella" Espoir, the clan leader of Bermuda Triangle and the returning champion of this nation. Anyone who's up for a beatdown should head straight to her and Haruka, unless you're confident in your ability? The other of the two is my very own first mate: Kachidoki Isao. A samurai even at sea who should not be underestimated with a unique style of play never-before-seen by you freshblood, so be prepared to be bewildered. These five are holding map pieces that will magically assemble themselves as you collect, eventually drawing a path to the treasure chest somewhere in the designated area of this event.

This brings me back to my point about us managers having different ideals, so listen up.

You only get one shot to win a map piece from those fighters. You mess up, you retreat - no second chances. There is a time to live, and there is a time to die: and you're going to pick the former every time.

Next, you don't need every map piece to find the treasure. You can find it yourself with enough clues or even getting lucky and stumbling upon it. So, the first person who brings the cutlass to me will get a huge amount of FICA like they would have with five gold cards and beating the Mad Hatter at the Wonderland Event in Zoo. Second and third places will be rewarded depending on how much of the map is completed and how many fights you won.

Everyone else gets absolutely nothing. Anyone slow gets nothing and anyone who hardly finishes the map gets nothing."

What?!

"Across the seven seas, there are two kinds of people: those who live, and those who die. It's survival of the fittest and fastest, so prepare yourselves! Cyan Sea☆ comes aboard, giving their greetings and sendoffs as you ready to traverse the gulf for your prize! When you hear the horn, get moving!" Miraculously, Umi did not once sink into her pirate dialect. However, the sudden announcements of only the strong, the wise, and the swift prevail was jarring. Even her introduction of the idol group wasn't anything like Rikuto's welcome, bringing the new winds to mentally fortify themselves, tables at exits of the building stacked with the hole-cutout maps.

There was going to be turbulence.