There's a fight on!

{if@ ArenaView == 1}Woo-ee! Yep, it looks like a fight's gearing up for sure. You quickly find yourself a seat at ringside amidst the bustle as the fighters get inside the ring and the other older students get to their own spots. Quite a lot of them sit in seats to watch too, but a few are just off to the side chatting, or practising with gloves and pads.

You swing your legs in your seat happily, rat-a-tat-tatting away on the armrests with your hands. It feels so cool, being the only first year allowed in here. It's like a secret club!{if Sorority == True} And you didn't even have to make a teacher cum to get in this time!{endif}

"pssssst!!" You whisper over to the third-year who takes the seat next to you. They turn to eye you with a look of clear minor surprise at being addressed by you.

"Yeah, what's up?"

You lean in a bit closer and cup your hand to your mouth. "who's the fighting peoples?"

There's a pause. The third-year seems to consider turning away and ignoring you, but eventually something in them gives way. "Alright, kid, listen up. The man goes by Striker, one of the hardest punchers you'll ever see at Coinpilfer.{if CameronStory == True}{if Cameron's Impression >50}"

You bet Cameron's better.

"{else} {endif}{else} {endif}The lady calls herself Touchstone. As in, she's what everybody else compares themselves to."

"Ooooh..... so she must be really good then, huh?" You sit forward on your seat, swaying forwards and backwards. You can barely contain your excitement!

"Well, this is their tenth fight against each other in the ring, and..... and, well, Striker's won all nine so far. He just outclasses her pretty entirely. It should be a pretty short fight, to be honest."

"Oh."

.....still, it'll be awesome to see some talent at work! You look back at the ring again, and it looks like things are about to get started. Striker's taken off his blazer and wrapped his tie in a coil up the right sleeve of his school dress shirt, still tucked into the black school pants, and he's pacing around in his corner. Touchstone's taken off her shoes and blazer, but other than that it's just basically the standard uniform. Wait, not true! She just tucked her tie down the collar of her shirt. That'll stop it from flapping around, right? Wow, she's thought of everything -- she might just win this after all, then!

The anticipation's really building up in you..... you jiggle excitedly in your seat. Then a thought hits you -- you turn to your new friend sitting next to you again.

"Hey, what do you think about Gold Rush?"

"Hm?"

Loud claps fill the room and bring everyone's attention to the ring -- no time for an answer! It looks like it's showtime right now!

{elseif ArenaView == 2}You don't want to miss this! A crowd's building up quick, so you do your best to grab a good seat before the chairs get too packed. More people are paying attention and getting themselves comfortable this time than last fight, so it must be an even more important one -- last time everybody kinda thought that it'd be one-sided. They were right, but on the wrong side. Makes you think.

As the chairs fill up more and more (it looks like Nora's going to be the only one standing!), you notice your third-year buddy from before walking through the chairs looking for an open seat. The one who told you about the fighters, remember? You stretch your arm up high and give excited, big swinging waves to get their attention, before patting the seat next to you. After groaning, looking around, and seeing that it's the only free chair, they walk over. Geez, they should really be more appreciative! A bunch of people are having to sit on the floor to watch, you know!

"Hello again!" You greet happily as they take the seat beside yours, mouth tight and eyes forward. "What's happening this time around?"

"You gonna do this every time?"

"Nope! Just until I'm such an expert that I don't needa!"

Your good friend sighs, then leans back against the chair more relaxedly.

"Well, this fight's one people have been looking forward to for a good long time, now. Hatzinbobber vs Mallowen. These two girls pretty much tore through all of the competition last year, unless you count them both losing to Nora, and they're having a pretty similar streak so far this year too -- but they've never fought each other before today."

Ooh, exciting! Really, really exciting! You look around the space, with a wide smile, to take in all of the bustling chatter and hushed whispers as the two girls in the ring glare at each other and pace around. This seems like it's really pretty important, then.... it sounds like it could even be the Championship fight!{if Wrestle == 3} You're a Champion yourself, you know.{endif}

"Hatzinbobber is{if NoraTopPicks == True}-"

"Very good!" You interrupt proudly. Nora told you about her already! She thinks Hatzinbobber's the best fighter besides her, so you really don't need to hear any more. "She's gonna win this fight, I know it for a fact."

"....Okay. You're an expert, then. I don't need to tell you about the fighters anymore."

"No please do still."{else} probably the best fighter here, even though she's just a second year, but she doesn't always fight fair. Mallowen's great, but I don't think she's good enough to beat the Hatzin, on account of her honour in fights."

Really? Nah, no way, good always triumphs over evil! If they're about equal in fighting, but one uses dirty tactics, then the good one will win for sure.

"I'm going for Mallowen!" You declare proudly.{endif}

Before your top-tier pal can respond, several loud claps sound from inside the ring -- you turn all your attention to it immediately, leaning forward and gripping your knees tightly in excitement! Then leaning back up again, because you're too short to see when you lean forward. The two girls are both completely out of school uniforms, wearing form-fitting sports bras and underwear instead -- probably part of being so highly regarded is having to take this fights more seriously, and by the looks on their faces, they definitely are.

Hatzinbobber's cracking her knuckles, and wearing fabric that's a deep olive colour, while Mallowen paces in an energised and focused way, keeping her eyes on the enemy. Her clothes are more of a khaki-tan colour, and though she's looking fully serious right now, she's got a much **** face in general. Hatzinbobber looks mean. This is gonna be rad. Go {if NoraTopPicks == True}Hatzinbobber!{else}Mallowen!{endif}

{elseif ArenaView == 3}It seems like you got here just in time! There's definitely some excitement brewing around the ring. Oh, goodie, you were hoping you'd get to see something like this today! As people fill the Arena tent (well, as "filled" as it can get with just the niche University's second-year students, third-year students, and Debbie), you hurry to find a good seat.

There's a group of three sitting on the ground right next to the ring, with their {if DayEnd == False}lunches{else}food{endif} all set up nicely on the ground or in their laps, while other people stand across the Arena tent leaning against things to get a good look, but you know that the best place to sit and watch things is chairs. We were so lucky to discover them.

There's a few spots open, but where should.... hmmm..... hey, how come you don't see your usual analyst buddy today? The third-year that you normally sit next to and talk to before the fights. They aren't anywhere right now. Aw man, okay....

Dejectedly, you take a seat by yourself, and settle down to watch the fights. Hopefully you can make sense of this one without any background knowledge.....

{elseif ArenaView == 4}Hey, something's definitely going on now, isn't it? Listen to that buzzing excitement! Something cool must be about to happen!

Wasting no time, you hurry over to the seats, and-- ah-ha! They're here, this time! That third year who helped tell you what was going on for the first two fights! Before anybody can take the seat that's rightfully yours, you rush over and slide yourself into the spot next to them!

"Hello again!" You beam. "I missed you last time, where were you?"

"What? Last time?" They ask, a bit dismissively. You nod. They don't seem to know what you're talking about.

"When Sandman fought Warhorse." You say proudly, shifting to a lecturer-like stance, very pleased at the chance to educate your analyst friend. "He won by pinfall."

"Oh. Okay."

They turn to look away and to the ring. You pout, but they do not see it, because they are looking at the ring. When it becomes clear that things are still being set up, they turn back to you again by forfeit.

"You know that fights are happening in here, like, always, right? Third years don't have scheduled classes. It's basically all self-run partner work. Even if you came here every Free Time you have, you've probably already missed more fights than you've seen."

Oh. Your proud shoulders deflate slightly.

"And it's The Sandman, by the way. Not Sandman."

.......deflate a bit more. But at least it's clear that your analyst buddy really is an expert, right? Oh, you almost forgot!

"What's this fight!" You say, loudly and suddenly. Your analyst buddy turns to you, looking like they're about to be mean, but then sighs.

"It's Hatzinbobber versus.... uh- Duncan. He hasn't really come to the Arena before. But his name is Duncan."

Your face screws up, confused.

"But isn't Hatzinbobber the third best fighter, after Nora and Gold Rush?" You ask. "Why's she fighting him?"

"Gold-?" Your analyst blinks a few times, then regains composure. "Well, she's mad at him. And it was either they fight in here, with rules on when the fight ends, or they fight out there until she gets bored. It.... won't be close."

Oh. That doesn't sound fair. But still, whoever Duncan is, he's a Warrior student in at least his second year, so it's not like he'll be totally defenseless. In fact -- being the underdog, you might even cheer for him. Yeah, actually, do that!

"Go Duncan!" You shout, as the final ring preparations seem to be finishing up.

{elseif ArenaView == 5}You're pretty sure that there's a fight going on in the next few minutes, at least.

There's definitely more of a buzz in the air than when there isn't, and it seems to be focused around the ring, but to be honest it's way less than normal. Like, way less. It makes sense it'd be less than a highly anticipated match like Hatzinbobber vs. Mallowen, but even the more-casual less-rankings-based match of Striker and Touchstone had more people caring about it than this. By a lot.

Still, a fight's on, you're almost sure of it! So you head over to the chairs, and.... um.... aw man, there's no free space next to your analyst buddy this time. They're sitting on the end of the row, so one side isn't free, and there's a pair of friends chatting to each other on the other side.

You briefly consider moving one of the other row's chairs next to your analyst buddy in defiance, but.... that would feel a bit like desecrating the Arena in a way. It's sad, but... you sigh. With a heavy heart, you drag your feet along to sit down in the seat behind your analyst buddy, all alone.

"Oh, hey." They say with a lifted hand of greeting of greeting as you shuffle past. You don't respond, you're too much in mourning. You plop yourself down in your new chair and stare down into your lap.

Your analyst buddy turns around to look at you over the back of their chair, blinking a few times. You let out another deep sigh of sorrow.

"Uh, excited for the fight?" They ask. You slowly complete a single shrug, but don't look up.

A few more seconds pass. This really is the worst. Eventually, with a sigh of their own, your analyst buddy rises from their seat and walks off. At first you think you've been completely abandoned, but then they plop themselves down in the seat next to you, having walked over to the other side of the row. You look up at them, eyes suddenly full of hope.

"So, this fighter's actually someone visiting the school, who's thinking about starting here next year." Your analyst buddy explains, as if your relationship was never on shaky ground. Your mouth turns into a big smile, and your eyes sparkle happily. "They've got no combat training at all, and the entire day he's been getting his ass kicked, but it's all in good fun and he's a good sport about it. It's not like any of us are going all out on him."

You nod eagerly. "Got it!" You say, wiping the last of your tears off of your cheek. "So, who are they against?"

"Gold Rush." Your analyst buddy says with a shrug. Your jaw drops. "I know, but since he's new, he should have no idea how to take her out with her weakness, so-"

"No way!" You shout. "Gold Rush is fighting??"

"....yeah. But it should be fine, since-"

"That's so cool! How come the Arena's not filled to the brim? This is crazy! Oh my god- this is so cool!!"

You kick your legs in excitement, while your analyst buddy seems mostly to just be a bit confused, just as the final in-ring preparations seem to be wrapping up. You were so sad earlier that you didn't even look in the ring, but yep, there she is -- Gold Rush, wearing her matte gold lace bra under her unbuttoned school shirt, her orange hair flowing freely and her thick, toned midsection on full display. It's time to witness another masterclass!

{endif}