Post by Ayami on Feb 7, 2021 22:41:50 GMT
[Babystep Weights DX Applied, PL gains doubled!]
The time had come to face off against the six warriors of dance. If the elfen wished to prove herself worthy to wield the power of dancing in combat she had to show that no one could match her skill! The crowd chanted in unison...
"DANCE! OFF! DANCE! OFF! DANCE!!! OFF!!!"
The air in the room had become absolutely electrified by the excitement given off by the audience. This was by no means amateur hour, and even the inventor naive as she was could tell this to be fact. The man himself Miraculous J stepped out into the middle of the dance floor, doing small dances to get the crowd even more fired up as he spoke to them through a microphone.
"We got a SPECIALLL surprise tonight for you ladies and gentlemen out there in the crowd! A NEW CHALLENGER has decided to take on the gauntlet to earn the right to be crowned a master of DANCE!!! Give it up for the blue bouncer herself: AYAMIIIIIIIIIIIII!"
Prompted by his words the young inventor stepped out onto the floor, the crowd of onlookers absolutely roaring as the acoustics of this place caused a very unique echo that shook those in the middle to their very core. She gave waves to the people and did EXCITING POSES!!! Causing the crowd to cheer even more. But with a competition comes the need for opponents! With a spin and a stop, Miraculous J points off to a spot in the crowd and begins speaking once again.
"BUT WHAT'S A GAUNTLET WITHOUT A CHALLENGE? AWOOOOO! HERE HE COMES, THE BRINGER OF DARKNESS, THE CHOSEN ZERO, THE FAMILY MAN HIMSELF! YOU KNOW HIM, YOU...TOLERATE HIM I GUESS, IT'S JIMMMYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!
[Star Power: 5]
Rather than cheering the audience...Errupted into an unprovoked uproar of booing and jeering. The man...Er...Boy...? Stepped out onto the floor, flipping people off as he passed and raising his arms out in a "COME ON!" gesture. He stepped forward, reaching for the microphone Miraculous J held and trying to...Rip it away. But he kinda just failed as the much swifter man simply pulled it away, waggling his finger. Jimmy tried a few more times before simply giving up and pointing at Ayami instead.
"I know what you're thinking! "Oh he looks so easy!" BUT YOU'RE WRONG AND BAD AND EVIL!!! I'm gonna defeat you and preserve the honor of my wife and child!"
Ayami scratches her head in confusion, looking at him and speaking up.
"How old are you...?"
He scoffs, making a stereotypical "tch" sound...
"16. But I'm mature for my age! Even my master says I'm far above any living adult on earth!"
The young inventor gives a sigh, shaking her head.
"You're a year younger than me. I'm your senpai pretty much... You don't have a wife and kid at all, do you?"
Jimmy grits his teeth, clearly offended by what she said!!! He bites back with a fiery retort!
"S...Shut up, I will!!! Besides, you can never compare to the balance of light and dark in my soul! I have to defeat you and claim glory so I can rule this world and make a wonderful place for my wife and child! And if I win here I can win anywhere and my wife and child will be safe! Besides, there is a balance in my soul that must be reached so that my wife and unborn child will be proud of me! FIGHT ME! By the way once I win this gauntlet I will claim the title of Dance King and create a universe that is perfectly danciful for my wife and unborn chi-"
Miraculous J cuts the lad's exposition short and shouts to the crowd!
"ARE YOU REAADYYYYYYYYYYYYY WOOOOO!!!"
The audience erupted into a roar of "YEAH!!!" signifying their excitement, they weren't just ready, they had been ready WEEKS ago judging by their reaction. The M.C. himself gave a nod...And raised the microphone.
"YOU KNOW THE MAGIC WORDS!"
He and the crowd said a single phrase in unison.
"DANCE!" "FOR!" "YOUR LIFE!!!"
Jimmy and Ayami both took their places on the dance floor as Miraculous J stepped aside.
"Hit MY music!"
The young inventor raised an eyebrow. This choice of music was...Something. But regardless the competition had begun! Jimmy's dance moves were what he would describe as "Mysterious" and what the audience would describe as "Garbage". The elfen pulled out all of her best dance moves right out of the gate! The crowd clapped in rhythm as the water user's dance moves very quickly left Jimmy in the dust. Really this round was exactly like the dance machines at the arcade! She was performing side steps, one legged hops and dropping to spin on a pivot! This last move caused the crowd to roar in excitement.
Jimmy wasn't going to be beaten here though! He tried to do the same floor pivot the inventor had done, dropping with a thud and then stopping... ... And pushing himself in a circle with his foot. With his attempt to match her failing, he stood up and did the floss! This just...Caused the crowd to boo harshly. The competition rolled on. Although to onlookers it was more like a massacre. As the song rolled to a close, the crowd clapped and cheered excitedly. The two competitors huffed and watched as they were at the mercy of public opinion. Miraculous J stepped between the two, grabbing each dancer by their left and right wrists.
"THAT WAS INNNNNCREDIBLE!!! What do you think ladies and gentlemen?! LET'S GIVE A SHOUUUUUTT!"
Another roar which threatened to shake the entire club to its very foundation. These people were hyped!
"I think nobody can disagree that we have a clear winner here! GIVE IT UP FOR AYAMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!"
The girl was beyond elated to have won! Even if it was just the first match out of six, she had still pulled out a victory with little effort! But it was clear from how the crowd treated Jimmy that this was not a level of ease to be expected going forward. Miraculous J even confirms this as being the case.
"But don't get cocky kid! Jimmy has never won a single match! Crowd absolutely hates the guy! It won't be so easy next time! SO you'dddd better bring your A GAME! Cause our next competitor don't mess around!"
The crowd began to chant the same as before. Round 2 was already beginning! Wait, it was beginning already?!?!?!
"Hope you didn't plan on catching a break true blue challenger! This IS a gauntlet after all! SAY HEY LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, HOW-HOW-HOWWWW ABOUT ROUND TWO?! WE'VE GOT A REAAAAL SPECIAL COMPETITOR FOR ROUND TWO!"
The crowd roared once more, chanting "Dance for your life" over and over in a rhythmic pace.
"C'MON! WOO WOO, HERE SHE COMES, THE SHINING STAR OF THE SOUTH, THAT DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH, THE LIGHT AFTER THE DARK...SONETTA DAWNNNNNNNN!!!
[Star Power: 100]
The diva of the south seas stepped out onto the dance floor, waving and blowing kisses to the crowd. Every act caused them to erupt into greater and greater waves of cheers. It was obvious within the first few seconds the different between Sonetta and Jimmy. Jimmy was reviled by these people, but Sonetta...Sonetta was absolutely adored by them. Their every waking moment was filled with thoughts of her. By comparison to the challenge ahead Jimmy's match was like a basic warm up session. If Ayami wanted to win she was going to have to appeal to the crowd. And she was going to have to do so without tiring herself out too much. Dancing was nowhere near as physically taxing as martial arts, but it still ticked up one's exhaustion over time. If she was going to take on 6 opponents and had only just defeated the first, she'd have to try and mimic her opponents with added flair.
Miraculous J broke her thoughts with more grandstanding as he worked to continue the hype train the crowd was riding.
"HERE COOOMES THE NEXT ROUND!!! SAY IT WITH ME NOW!"
"DANCE!" "FOR!" "YOUR LIFE!!!"
"Good luck!"
The diva shouted out towards her opponent as the MC stepped aside and the music began to play!
Ayami followed Sonetta's movements, simply mimicking her dancing to start out with. However, with rhythmic breaks in the song she pulled out special moves, moves she had learned growing up in a martial arts dojo! The inventor pulled out three sideflips in a row, sticking the landing and leading right back into mimicking her opponent! The crowd burst into roaring cheers at the display! The song drew to a close and the pair both gave out double peace signs, appealing heavily to the audience! once again Miraculous J took hold of their wrists, raising Sonetta's to judge the crowd's reaction. They cheered so loudly that the roof was threatening to collapse. But then he lowered it, and raised Ayami's instead. The cheers only grew stronger, with clapping and chanting thrown in!
"TRUE BLUE! TRUE BLUE! TRUE BLUE!"
With a nod aimed at the inventor, Miraculous J made his decision.
"I think it's pretty clear we have a winner! GIVE IT UP FOR TRUE BLUE. AYAMMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!"
The crowd was absolutely elated, and so was the young elfen inventor. Round two had been achieved, somehow, some way. She was one step closer. If she could clear the next round she would be half way to victory. Half way to achieving the goal she set out to accomplish. But there was no time to breathe and rest on her laurels. The crowd was already hyping themselves up for the third match. And Miraculus J wasted no time in introducing the next competitor on the gauntlet of dance.
"And now, the mad mobster himself, the warlord of real estate, THE MAIN MOGUL IN CHARGE!!! YUMEIDA YUMORAAAAAAAA!!!"
[Star Power: 250]
The man walked out onto the dance floor slowly, snuffing out a cigarette on the partition before he did so. The crowd...was silent, intimidated by this mobster as he removed his coat and tossed it aside. The audience watched with baited breath, too afraid to cross Yumeida. He steps up to the center, staring the young elfen down, he gives her a slow nod, and she matches it with a nod of her own. She didn't stand down, she wasn't intimidated by him as her gaze was fixed, unshifting. He raised an eyebrow...Silently impressed by her courage.
"So...You're going to face off against me despite it all. ... Good luck."
The MC himself helped the crowd break their silence with some HYPEEEEE!
"WELL WELL WELL Looks like we've got ourselves a REALLY FIERY SHOWDOWN! LET'S MAKE SOME NOISE! LEMME HEAR IIIITT!!!"
"DANCE!" "FOR!" "YOUR LIFE!!!"
The two opponents began their dance as the music roared to life! The inventor knew appealing to the crowd through superior mimicry wouldn't work this time. He had them absolutely scared out of their wits...Well, she was just gonna have to remind them about what they came here for!!! The spotlights shined down as the pair performed their own dances to the rhythm of the song. Just then the elfen turned the tides of this competition! She leapt into a flying spin kick, landing on her left heel and turning into a spin on the spot!!! She stopped, pointing out to the crowd with a courageous grin on her face.
"Let's party night!!!"
This caused the once silent crowd to erupt into cheers for the first time since the round started! She was on the upwards curve! But the mobster wasn't going to rely on skills to win this match...He pointed to the crowd on his side of the floor, causing half of the audience to silence suddenly out of fear! Ayami frowned, and then shot a devilish grin at the towering man.
"C'mon it's time to PARTY!"
She dropped to the floor, performing a break dancing spin, first by lifting herself up with her hands and spinning around them, then by dropping to a pivot point and naturally spinning from there! She stopped herself by digging her feet into the floor and then used momentum to propel herself up! She did an acrobatic spin in the air flying right over Yumeida! She landed on one leg and did a spin low to the ground before slowly rising up and once more pointing to the crowd. To HIS side of the crowd. Despite their fear the showmanship put on display won them over!!! They returned to cheering the girl on!
The lumbering man grumbled in silent stewing anger at this. He was prepared to put a stop to this...But the song played to a close before he could retaliate. Her plan worked! The crowd's fear was dispelled by spectacular stunts! The audience clapped and cheered, chanting her name. Miraculous was prepared to do his usual judgement...But it was clear before he even made the call who had won. He stepped forward, grabbing her wrist and raising her arm high into the air!
"GIVE IT UP FOR OUR INDISPUTABLE WINNER! THE TRUE BLUE GIRL HERSELF...AYAMMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!
The crowd roared in waves of joy as they witnessed their champion take the win for a third time! Her attempts to appeal to the people weren't just winning her singular matches...They were threatening to help her run away with the entire gauntlet. Rather than react violently, Yumeida...Simply gives a respectful nod. it seems he understood that he had been bested by pure skill rather than trickery. It was...A first for him. It made him reflect on his own methods.
"Maybe I was wrong about dancing. Maybe it's not about prestige or power...Maybe it's about the joy it brings others."
Ayami gave him a respectful nod in return, answering his statement with one of her own.
"Don't stop following that train of thought. Maybe some day we can dance again. As friends."
The unthinkable happened. The stoic yakuza mobster broke into a small smile of his own.
"I think I would like that."
As the crowd cheered and the third round came to a close, the elfen realized she was half way to the finish line...But there were still yet greater challengers awaiting, and as she gazed off into the darkened corners of the night club she spotted three people lounging at a table, their eyes glowing with determination as they looked back to her, meeting her gaze. ... Their star power was incredible. It dwarfed that of the three opponents she had just defeated. She gulped nervously, realizing she would have to strategize ever harder if she wanted to pull out victory from the clutches of defeat.
[TO BE CONTINUED...]
