The spars were set up.
Chie, Shiho, Ryuji, and Yosuke wanted to do a tournament, but Ren interrupted that train of thought quickly.
"We get our asses whooped by people with five years more experience than us and waste two hours." He sighed. "I know Yosuke and Chie just want to show off."
They indeed wanted to.
But they wouldn't admit it.
Ren clapped his hands. "First bout! The Battle of the Chariots! CHIE VERSUS RYUJI!"
"Oh, that was a good Smash Brothers impression." Ann clapped.
"He's always been good at that." Chie giggled as she started stretching and hopping in place, getting ready to fight.
Ryuji stood on the other side of her, holding a mace on his shoulder and cracking his neck. He had a huge, rebellious grin, and his skull-like mask would phase in and out of sight.
Chie, on the other side, returned a big grin.
"Rise is the arbiter," Yu said firmly.
Rise waved from the side of the area where they were sparring, her Persona surrounding her as her eyes darted around seriously, like she was looking at screens.
Somehow, a stage for live performances appeared. Elizabeth and the young Kotone sat in the viewing area and prepared to watch.
"FIGHT!" Ren and Yu shouted together.
---
Ryuji got his ass kicked.
"After all that posturing, dude?" Morgana couldn't help but say.
"He isn't weak at all. He got a few good hits in," Chie said. "It was a bad matchup."
Yu nodded. "They're both power fighters. They hit heavy, but if they miss, they are wide open. Chie won only because of experience. Ryuji is strong for how long he's had a Persona."
Chie wrinkled her nose and looked at Ryuji, who was lying flat on the stage.
"I wanna spar you again."
Ryuji weakly raised his arm and gave her the finger.
"I didn't mean now!"
---
"FIGHT TWO! ANN VERSUS—NAOTO!"
"FIGHT!"
---
No suspense.
All of the Thieves got their asses handed to them.
Naoto quickly learned that treating Ann like target practice was a bad idea. Ann fought with emotion, flair, and precision. Her debuffs were well timed, and her whip cracks were painful.
"Sorry for looking down on you."
---
Shiho versus Yukiko.
Both were graceful fighters. Shiho was practical and precise. Yukiko appeared to be dancing, casting her spells and using her bladed fans expertly.
"Your smile is scary." Yukiko giggled.
"Your flat face is scarier," Shiho shot back with a grin.
---
The most anticipated fight so far.
Wild Card versus Wild Card.
Kotone was enjoying herself, clapping and cheering. She felt that this whole thing was somewhat familiar. Like she had seen it before, or been part of it at one point.
She couldn't dwell on it because Elizabeth interrupted everyone by saying, "Let me make this fair!"
She snapped her fingers, and suddenly Yu blinked hard.
"Did you just—"
"Swap your Personas so you had the same ones as the Trickster? Why, yes, I did," Elizabeth said proudly.
Yu sighed.
At least they would be fine.
---
Ren and Yu stood across from each other. The stage felt much wider from the middle than it had while observing from the edges before.
Ren had his demonic grin, and Yu's almost matched his.
Yu stuck out his hand and materialized a European broadsword, turning to the side and taking a stance.
Ren jumped with flair, doing a backflip before landing on the ground with his knife in one hand and a handgun aimed at Yu.
"I've wanted to kick your ass for a long time," Ren provoked him, his mask flashing on and off, blue flames expelling from the sides of the mask whenever it appeared.
"Oh, that sucks because it isn't going to happen," Yu said as he rolled his neck. Izanagi rose behind him.
"You sure about that? I'm pretty strong."
The tension grew thicker and thicker.
---
Rukia was observing in shock. These two were much, much stronger than the others. And this was after apparently being severely weakened!
She had been observing closely, and Yu's team clearly had a few years of experience. Their reaction times were quick, and their movements precise.
The Thieves were what surprised her.
Every one of them was talented. She was convinced that when their time came, all of them would be able to become powerful Shinigami. With each fight, she could see their Reiatsu surge and solidify. Yet they were not using it at all.
It was strange to her.
---