sportsanime | Bonus Round 4: Official Art

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Bonus Round 4: Official Art

This round is CLOSED. Late fills can be posted, but they won't receive points.

Memorable canon moments, bizarre omakes, tantalizing magazine spreads—this is the round to explore them all. Bring out your screencaps, promotional art, and manga pages, and let's talk about what really happened.
Please read the rules carefully before posting!

RULES

Submit prompts in the form of a canon screencap from one of our nominated fandoms along with a ship. Screencaps can be from an anime or manga, as well as any other kind of offshoot media, e.g. official art, drama CD covers, light novel illustrations, magazine covers, and/or caps from games. Doujinshi, fan-made games or any other fan-created work should not be prompted, even if you receive permission. Only prompt screencaps that are taken from a piece of canon media.
Keep your prompt concise. Don't prompt a whole manga chapter, for example.
Upload the cap somewhere (imgur works well) and post here with the images themselves or a link to them.
Your prompt MUST include some kind of relationship. Platonic relationships are indicated by an "&" between the names (e.g., Riko & Momoi). Non-platonic relationships use "/" (e.g., Riko/Momoi). Please don't say "Any pairing," either!
Fill prompts by leaving a responding comment to the prompt with your newly-created work inspired by the cap.
Fills can be directly connected to the cap, e.g. panel redraws or writing fic that fleshes out the moment that was capped or that fleshes out what happened directly before/after, but fills can also be more indirectly linked. As long as the work is somehow inspired by the cap, it counts.
Remember to follow the general bonus round rules, outlined here.

FORMAT

Bonus round shenanigans all happen in the comments below. Brand-new works only, please.

Required Work Minimums:

400 words (prose)
400px by 400px (art)
14 lines (poetry)

There is no max work cap.

Format your comment in one of the following ways:

If PROMPTING:	If FILLING:	If FILLING as a TEAM GRANDSTAND participant:
PROMPT: TEAM [YOUR SHIP] Replace [YOUR SHIP] with the name of the team you belong to, including Grandstand or Sports Teams Write it exactly as it appears on the team roster or your team will not receive points Place the prompt's relationship in the first bolded line of the comment. Including the canon isn't required, but it's nice. To place an image in your comment, use this code: <img src="LINK TO YOUR IMAGE" /> Visual example	FILL: TEAM [YOUR SHIP], [RATING] Replace [YOUR SHIP] with the name of the team you belong to Write it exactly as it appears on the team roster or your team will not receive points Replace RATING with the rating of your fill (G - E) Place applicable major content tags and word count before your fill (when applicable) NSFW FILLS: Post written/text fills directly to the round with clear tags. Please link to art/visual fills. You can include a small safe-for-work preview if you'd like. To place an image in your comment, use this code: <img src="LINK TO YOUR IMAGE" /> Visual example	FILL: TEAM GRANDSTAND, [RATING] Replace RATING with the rating of your fill, G - E, as explained in the rules Place applicable major content tags and word count before the fill, where applicable NSFW FILLS: Post written/text fills directly to the round with clear tags. Please link to art/visual fills. You can include a small safe-for-work preview if you'd like. To place an image in your comment, use this code: <img src="LINK TO YOUR IMAGE" /> Visual example

Posts not using this format will be understood to be unofficial discussion posts, regardless of what they contain. They, like all comments in this community, are subject to the code of conduct.

SCORING

These numbers apply to your team as a whole, not each individual teammate. Make as many prompts/fills as you want!

For prompts: 5 points each (maximum of 50 prompt points per team per round)

For fills:

First 3 fills by any member of your team: 20 points each
Fills 4-10: 10 points each
Fills 11-20: 5 points each
Fills 21+: 2 points each

All scored content must be created new for this round.

Etc.

If you're hunting through the prompts looking for what to fill, a good trick is to view top-level comments only.

Have a question? Check The FAQ first. If you still need help, feel free to contact the mods. Happy fanworking!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Imaizumi/Onoda (yowamushi pedal)

Listen, like. If you give me an AU I'll love you and be forever in your debt?

[LOUD WHIMPERING]

Lira, if this gets filled please shove this in my face.

I would've done it even if you didn't ask. It's important.

no major warnings T for some profane language.
JSYK, Onoda is a girl. And, unfortuately, this version of Midousuji is not very three dimensional.
words: 2806

Once upon a time, in the small kingdom of Sohoku within the mythical land of Chiba, there was an irrepressible young princess named Onoda Sakamichi, who loved nothing more than climbing hills on her bicycle. Her poor mother had no idea what was to be done with Sakamichi, as every day, instead of tending to her lessons or playing with other children, the young princess would pull out her bicycle and say, "I'm off to Akihabara!", and bike off across the hills, not to return until the sun was nearly set. No matter what steps the Queen took to make the trip harder, from locking the doors to changing the gears on the bike, the princess went all the same.

"Oh goodness!" Sakamichi's mother cried. "My poor child, to act in such a way! Akihabara must be a stonghold of the Fair Folk! I'm sure of it, the princess is bewitched!" And on the morning of Sakamichi's fifteenth birthday, her mother announced to the land, "Alack and alas! Your darling Princess Sakamichi has been placed under a fairy curse! Every day, they bid her to ride her bicycle all the way to Akihabara, and spend her day under their spell, then when they release her at night to send her home, she arrives tired and sore and covered in the dust of the road, and my heart breaks to see her so! Let all the knights and heroes of the land now hear: if any can break the fairies' curse on Princess Sakamichi before sundown on her sixteenth birthday, one year from today, that hero shall have half of our kingdom and the chance to woo the princess herself! Should she accept you, you will be married that day!"

For the Queen was desperate, but hardly intended to free her daughter from the fairies only to engage her to a hero she barely knew. That would be stupid! And she considered herself quite a progressive Queen in those respects.

Well, the chance to become lord of half of Sohoku, and to woo the Princess Sakamichi, was a fair prize indeed! The Queen hardly lacked for heroes willing to make the attempt. First, Sir Tadokoro of Bear Grove went to the castle, and he vowed to use his tremendous speed to overtake Princess Sakamichi, and turn her back home before she passed through his forests. Second, Duke Makishima of the Spider Heights bowed to the Queen and gave his word that he would overtake Princess Sakamichi on the mountain passes, where he would turn her back home should Sir Tadokoro fail. Last of all, Lord Kinjou of Snake Valley presented himself, swearing to chase after the princess to the gates of Akihabara itself. One by one, they accepted their task, and waited in by the road for the next day, when Princess Sakamichi would ride again.

Little did they know where their quest would lead!

The next day, as usual, Princess Sakamichi pulled her bike out of the stable and called to her mother the Queen, "Goodbye, Mom! I'm off to Akihabara!" And as usual, she set off down the road, but today, something was different. Her bike chain slipped off when she went around the first bend, and she had to stop to fix it. Just as she did, a young man approached, whom she could see was a commoner from the shabby rags he wore, but the Princess was not a rude Princess, and she honestly couldn't care less about such things. The important issue at hand was that he was just idling around with a bicycle, not working, which meant he wasn't busy. That, in turn, meant he might be able to be her travel companion, something she'd never had before!. "Hi, there!" she called out.

"Umm. Hi?" the commoner answered.

"I see you have a bicycle! Would you like to come with me to Akihabara?"

"Would I... what?"

The Princess Sakamichi stuck out her hand and tried again. "Nice to meet you! My name is Onoda Sakamichi, and if you'd like to come with me to Akihabara, I'd love to have a friend!"

"Hmph. Imaizumi Shunsuke. And I'm not going to have friends until I meet someone who can beat me in a bicycle race."

"But why?" Sakamichi asked. That seemed odd to say the least.

"Well, not that I ever liked people... but I'm under a fairy curse. A lord of the Fair Folk, one Midousuji by name, beat me when I challenged him, and as a penalty, I have to remain alone and friendless until another human beats me in a bicycle race. Those are the rules. But I'm the best, and I'm bound to ride at full speed whenever someone approaches, so the curse will never break."

"Well, I guess that makes sense, then." Or so Sakamichi said. Honestly, she didn't think that made sense at all. The two of them were talking just fine, so they were halfway to being friends already! Then again, the trick with fairy curses was finding loopholes. "So, would you mind if I challenged you to a race?"

His eyes perked up. "Where to?"

Pointing down the road, Princess Sakamichi smiled and told him, "Akihabara."

"It's a deal."

So they both hopped on their bikes again and started down the road as fast as their legs could spin. They raced over hill, and over dale, and before long they'd reached Bear Grove, where Sir Tadokoro lay in wait. The knight waited patiently to spy Princess Sakamichi, mindful of his duty to the Queen, but couldn't believe his eyes when he saw two people bicycling instead of one, both dashing through his grove at speeds high enough to leave clouds of dust in their wake.

"Which one is the Princess?" he wondered to himself, for with the Princess constantly away in Akihabara, very few people actually knew what she looked like.

Just then, Sir Tadokoro heard a loud voice singing, coming from the figure in yellow chasing tenaciously behind the figure in blue. "Princess!" the figure sang, "Princess! I love you, love you, love you so! Princess! Princess!"

"Well, then!" thought Sir Tadokoro, "That takes care of that! The one in front must be the princess, and she certainly is riding like she's been bewitched by the fairies. The other one must be another challenger to set the Princess free!" So he set off after them, never realizing that the figure in yellow whom he quite ignored was the person he was supposed to stop. He biked as fast as he could, but as soon as he caught up to Imaizumi (who, of course, he thought was Princess Sakamichi), the biker in blue clicked into a higher gear, sprinting ever faster. And, desperate to hang onto the mysterious Imaizumi, Princess Sakamichi roared, pedaling faster and faster while she sang.

"Princess! Princess! I love you, love you, love you so!"

What a sight for Duke Makishima to see when the three of them entered the Spider Heights! Imaizumi, speeding so fast he was a blur, Sir Tadokoro and Princess Sakamichi close on his tail. It was clear to him that the Queen had underestimated the strength of the curse she thought her daughter was under. Rarely before had Duke Makishima seen someone outpace Sir Tadokoro in his own domain! So, when Imaizumi started up the mountains, and Sakamichi climbed the hills she had climbed so often on her way to Akihabara, not even breaking the refrain of her song, Duke Makishima climbed after them. To the fading Sir Tadokoro, who had excellent sprints but was not at his best in the mountains, he yelled, "Get behind me! I'll pull you!"

"Do you think the singing is helping the other guy chase the Princess? Do you think we should try it?" Sir Tadokoro asked.

Ahead of them, Duke Makishima heard a raw, raucous voice sing out, "Princess! Princess! I love you, love you, love you so! Princess! Princess!"

A little bit sick to his stomach, Duke Makishima shook his head. "No. We should definitely not sing that. Now let's go."

Together, Duke Makishima and Sir Tadokoro managed to keep on the blue biker's tail to the end of the Spider Heights, but not once could they overtake him, nor could they lose the yellow biker they considered their competition. It was a bit disconcerting to them, how the yellow biker smiled a glowing smile the first time she stopped singing in the middle of the race, and asked them with sparkling eyes, "Are you here to help break the fairy curse, too?! That's wonderful! Thank you so much! I'm sure Imaizumi-kun will be very pleased!"

"Doesn't she know this is a competition?" Sir Tadokoro whispered to Duke Makishima.

"How should I know?" Duke Makishima replied. "And who the hell is Imaizumi-kun? Do you think the Princess has a secret sweetheart, and he hired that shrimp to break the curse for him?"

"Well, we're not going to find out until we're done."

And that was how Lord Kinjou found them, racing with all their might to overtake the biker in blue, and singing along with the biker in yellow despite Duke Makishima's distaste. "Princess! Princess!" they sang, and sensing that this was the thing to do, Lord Kinjou joined in. "I love you, love you, love you so! Princess! Princess!"

"What in hell is going on?" Lord Kinjou asked his fellow challengers. "How is the Princess staying ahead of both of you?"

Duke Makishima rolled his eyes. "Well, gosh, maybe she bikes a lot. Y'think?"

"A Princess! That's what you are!" Sir Tadokoro bellowed. He became very single-minded during a chase, you see, and the song that Sakamichi was singing was quite catchy.

Pedaling furiously, the five of them rode right up to the gates of Akihabara, just as Lord Kinjou had sworn, and as they passed through the gates, the blue and yellow riders skidded to a halt -- the blue rider coming in ahead by a mere inch. The three riders in pursuit had to steer off to the sides to avoid hitting them.

"That's the closest anyone's ever come to catching me," Imaizumi panted.

Sakamichi brightened up, suddenly able to stand again despite the harshness of the ride. "Does that mean we can be friends?"

But Imaizumi shook his head. "No. A loss is a loss, no matter how slim. The Fairy Lord Midousuji will already be on his way here to take me back," he explained.

"Ah ha!" thought Sir Tadokoro, Duke Makishima, and Lord Kinjou. "The true enemy appears! And if we defeat Midousuji, then the Princess will be truly free!"

Not two seconds later, a sinister, smiling figure slunk around the corner on a bicycle like none that had ever been seen in the human world. Clothed all in purple and craning his neck, no one had any doubt that this was the one and only Fairy Lord Midousuji. He cackled and clicked his teeth and said, "Tired of winning already, Piggy-zumi? I thought that was what you wanted! Zumi-zumi zoom-zoom!"

"Midousuji!" yelled the rider in blue, and he took off after the fairy lord.

"Digusting! Zumi-zumi zoom-zoom! Zumi-zumi zoom-zoom!"

"I'll get you this time, Midousuji!"

Well, you can just imagine how startled everyone was by that. They stared on blankly as they caught their breaths. Finally, the first to speak was neither Sakamichi nor the gallant pursuers, but a red-head walking his bike through the town.

"What the hell was that?!" the young man asked.

"The Fairy Lord Midousuji running off with his prize," answered Sir Tadokoro.

"Ah. I hate it when that happens. Naruko Shoukichi, by the way."

"Nice to meet you, Naruko-kun," Princess Sakamichi said, smile turning into a fierce stare turned toward the backs of the departing Imaizumi and Midousuji. "Normally I'd stay to chat and do some shopping, but right now we have to rescue Imaizumi-kun. Are you up for a race?"

"Hell yeah! I'll race anyone!"

At which point they all would have sped off immediately if Lord Kinjou hadn't blocked their way. "Just a minute, now. We were told to rescue Princess Sakamichi of Sohoku. But if you're saying that enchanted fellow is named Imaizumi, where's the Princess?"

Standing up on her pedals, Sakamichi growled, "I am the Princess!" and swerved around Lord Kinjou, roaring her way after the other bikers.

"You tell 'em, Your Highness!" Naruko whooped, although he was new to the area and entirely unaware of exactly which kingdom Sakamichi was Princess of. This was a race, and quite interesting, and that was all he cared about. Following behind Sakamichi's rear wheel, he sped out onto the road as well.

Meanwhile, the three heroes shared a shrug. "You heard the lady," Sir Tadokoro said.

"Let's go," Lord Kinjou agreed.

"What a fucking pain in the ass," Duke Makishima grumbled, but he went anyway. He might not be getting half of the kingdom, as he could tell by now, but he wasn't about to let the other heroes bike away and leave him in Akihabara.

Back through Snake Valley, back across the Spider Heights, back beyond the Bear Grove, their motley crew vied to reach Sohoku Castle first.

"Zumi-zumi zoom-zoom!"

"Midousujiiiii!"

"I love you, love you, love you so!"

"Bullet train!

"Hell yeah, old man!"

"Let's bring victory back to Sohoku."

"Hmph."

All along the road, people stepped out of their way, and gathered to cheer as the race reached the city outside the palace gates. The Queen herself stepped out of her tower to see what all the commotion was. She was hardly surprised to see a Fairy Lord leading a string of heroes, some of whom she didn't know, in a desperate race for her front drawbridge, given the fact that she'd specifically called for heroes to challenge a fairy. And as for the unknown ones, well... it was an established fact that heroes tended to attract other heroes, just like you'd use a little piece of lint to roll the rest of a bunch of lint into a ball. That's just how heroes were.

The Queen was much more concerned that Sakamichi's helmet might not be tightened properly for such a fierce race, especially when they were approaching the drawbridge so fast. "Lower the bridge!" she yelled to the guards.

"But Your Majesty! The Fairy Lord Midousuji is with them!"

"Oh, honestly. Princess Sakamichi is cycling right there next to him. I should hardly think she'd lose a race to her own front door! Just be a dear and lower the bridge, would you?"

And indeed, as the bridge was lowered, Imaizumi and Midousuji had to adjust their speed while they gauged the slope of the hill and the rate at which the bridge came down, Princess Sakamichi put on a new burst of speed. After all, she'd been biking this path her entire life, and knew it as well as she knew her own wheel spokes.

"A Princess! That's what you are!" she roared, flying off the top of the hill to land on the drawbridge as it lowered. She beat both Imaizumi and Midousuji by the length of an entire bike and a half. Naruko, Lord Kinjou, Duke Makishima, and Sir Tadokoro came up right behind them, just in time to see Midousuji melt into a puddle of goo.

"Di...sgu...stiiiiiiiiiiiiiing..." he croaked with his last breath.

"You brought back my precious Sakamichi!" the Queen declared. She ran out of the palace with open arms, embracing her daughter and Imaizumi, who was suddenly very confused. "As promised, half my kingdom is yours! And you have my permission to woo the Princess, should she wish to have you!"

"Umm, wait. What?"

Lord Kinjou whispered in the Queen's ear, "It seems the one under a fairy curse was this lad here, not the Princess. And she's the one who rescued him just now."

"Oh. My. I suppose she really meant it about wanting to collect all those Brothers Grimm figurines! Well, the young man still brought her home, and you all did your best, that's what counts. Now, let me put in an order that the cook should make supper for all of you, and the maids should run some baths. Come on, everybody, let's get you cleaned up!"

How could they refuse?

Meanwhile, Imaizumi asked the Princess, "Wait. Does this mean I get to date you? I'm confused."

"If you want to!" Sakamichi answered, pulling the young man towards the castle. "Come on! I want to show you my Brothers Grimm collection! And I have some Chaucer, too! That's really old school, so it's hard to find anymore. Do you want to see?"

"O-okay... I guess..."

And they lived happily ever after, forever and ever. The end.

Major tags: None
Additional tags: AU - Fantasy, trans character
Word count: 2032

Onoda watches Imaizumi put on his gloves - he takes his time, smoothing out the wrinkles and brushing away hair and dust that had alighted upon the leather. From her chair, from her place, she wonders if he would reconsider. It is still possible to turn back - it should always be possible, as long as he is at her side.

When he allows his hands to fall to his sides, and walks forward, she can see the even set of his shoulders, despite the crimson cape that fluttered at his back. The cold sweat it sets upon her answers her own fears.

"I'll be back," he says.

There is no one that Onoda can believe like Imaizumi. Yet as hard as she tries, here, there is no way. When she moves to open her mouth, admit some quiet worry, a suit of armor raises a hand to her cheek, frozen enough to make her hair rise. He walks from the platform without looking back - without knowing.

When he steps onto the minute hand, the clock begins ticking.

"For our kingdom," a dusting of gold rains down, as long as it had waited for the next cycle. "For our future," a whisper of fog floats up, slowly awakening with time, coiling around their feet. "For eternity," a crowd now, and no one at all, further away, awaiting their sacrifice.

"For the princess," a single voice says, and tears land upon Onoda's hand before she realizes - but the metal keeps her silent, set into her teeth and bones until she is nothing but an observer.

Upon the hands, another knight walks, on the hour hand - and she knows him, as well, someone who had saved her life at one time, and left her to die another, for his own prince's sake. No matter what she did, she couldn't hold a grudge against him.

"You're doing very well, Imaizumi," Ishigaki says, hardly audible over the wind the pendulum below set off. "I'm glad if it had to be anyone, that it's you."

She strains in her seat, squinting through the showy mask they'd forced onto her instead of her normal glasses. Imaizumi draws a sword, but holds it length-ways across both his hands. "I wish I could say the same to you," he answers, "But there are a few dozen people I'd rather see here." She can barely make him out, beyond his cape.

Ishigaki laughs with a warmth that cannot break the pressure of the trial - it only makes Onoda shiver more, until he says, "Fair enough!"

Imaizumi does not wait for the minute hand to reach Ishigaki's platform - under her breath, she whispers, "Be careful," as thinly as she can see his feet traverse the thin line to the center.

So many times in the past, the two of them had practiced with Naruko, for his former place in circus and magic with Kinjou, upon balance beams and tightropes. He wouldn't fall - he shouldn't - but there was something different about the darkness in this arena, and the way it pulled even upon her dress when she tried to pull up the hem, when she tried to inch forward off her seat for a better view.

"I'll catch you if you fall." His words echo from the past, secret, gentle, and only for her. "If you're willing to put yourself on the line like this, I'll make sure you get through to the end." Princesses are not meant to practice footwork upon trees and swords - if she is someone like that, she was meant to be a prince, and not the girl she fought to make people believe she truly is - but Naruko and Imaizumi kept her secret. They let her be the princess - they let her make her own way.

Onoda's fists ball up, until her nails dig into her skirt, and it is the first clang of metal meeting that drags her out of her memories of forests and friendship and freedom.

"Oh, very nice!" It is Ishigaki who speaks over the clash, wearing a smile wide enough to be even clear from her seat. "Beginning with an underhand feint? I'd love to meet who taught you that."

"I don't think he has the time to spend on someone like you," Imaizumi spits back, enough to make Onoda wince. The two of them - they had been friends of a sort, once upon a time - before these tournaments set in - before these expectations - he had looked up to Ishigaki, as she herself had. "If you need lessons from him, I'll be the proxy to give the last one you ever need, personally!"

Sparks flicker off each time they meet, Ishigaki's smile growing more strained with every strike, and of course - of course, Imaizumi could win, but the clock continues to move, until the center plate has twisted to where she can see his face, grim and dark and final.

It is not right.

There are no weapons - her dress is new and stiff - but her eyes land upon her guard made only of metal and insidious magic, lingering upon them to force them to prove something she herself would never understand. Onoda keeps her gaze on the fight, as she edges closer to the chair, and raises a hand as discretely as she can, struggling to keep her hand in the air against the heavy fog that grows by the second. She has not chosen what to fight for, yet.

Someone screams - and her hand jolts, smashing into the armor, and her mouth opens in a pained screech as well, as though her skin was turning to ice and crushing her bones. At the knight's stage, through teary eyes, she could see Imaizumi stagger back - she hadn't been paying attention - his cape hangs from only one clasp, clutching the opposite shoulder.

"Is that all?" Ishigaki sighs. "I didn't want Midousuji to be the cause of your end, either ... I was hoping maybe we could ..."

"What," Imaizumi gasps, tripping back over his own cape. "Shake hands and go our separate ways?" He forces out a laugh, only making himself fall into a coughing fit, struggling to say, "If you wanted better, you wouldn't have stepped out here so willingly!"

Onoda wrenches her hand away from the armor's grasp and rips the knife out of its hilt, even as her hands turn white and red and begin to crack.

"I can't say no if it's for Kyoto's sake, Imaizumi."

She rips through the bell of her dress, until she strikes the wire petticoat, blood beginning to seep through the dry frozen cuts in her hands and across the fabric.

"You had all the choice in the world!"

There is no space in the minutes or hours for her, but the seconds spin around just as quickly, as thinly as they ever would, as dangerous. Onoda only wastes two seconds thinking, before jumping out of her own shoes and landing on the weak looking bridge. It bends under her weight, but she is already running, not looking at anything but how Kyoto's knight advanced on her own - the person she loved.

"Maybe we aren't as similar as I'd thought we were. Maybe if you'd become a captain knight, too, you'd understand," he murmurs, and in some way, she knows she couldn't have heard if she was not so close, if she was not running towards him, feet sticky against metal. "At least I have the chance to say goodbye."

He raises his sword - Imaizumi turns away, a silent apology upon his lips - and Onoda screams.

She could have reached before that if she'd stayed silent, but it gives Ishigaki time to move, and her knife meets his blade - and shatters. She falls back, scattered by the sound, the weight still harsh in her hands, and only just catches the disappointed look on his face before he swings again.

"Move, Sakamichi!" She doesn't need to question whose voice it is, a fire burning in her chest at hearing him say her name for once, even as the two of them tumble across the stage. The recoil of Ishigaki's sword is unpleasant, but from the way he yells in pain, she knows it was worse on him.

Imaizumi rolls to a stop, still holding her tightly in his arms, wire cutting into her legs and the leather of his pants, before she scrambles up, touching his cheek.

"Are you alright?" she whispers, fiddling with the mask on her face, trying to look for blood, injuries - seeing a hard bruise blossoming across his cheek. Her hands move to cup his face, shaking, but he grabs her first, and pushes her to the side.

"Get out of here," he hisses, after he evades another strike from Ishigaki. She tries to whisper back, just to refuse him, but his steps echoing closer to her make the words die on her tongue.

"Two opponents?" Ishigaki's gaze lands on Onoda first. "If you're on this stage, that means you aren't even a princess ... I'm so sorry, Onoda." He levels his blade at her neck. "I'm shocked your kingdom would have lied for so long. I wish I could do something to avoid this ..."

"I am a princess!" She tries to scamper back, eyes widening. "They didn't lie! But I ... I couldn't stand aside. Ishigaki, sir, please! I know there's a better way than this. Why do we have to have these duels?" He slashes at her legs and Onoda barely rolls out of the way, the weight of ice beginning to set into her ribs. "I don't want to accept this!" He won't look at her - but behind, Imaizumi is looking only at her - he meets her gaze. "We shouldn't have to."

"I'm sorry," Ishigaki says, unaware of her knight's single sure nod. He raises his sword - and Imaizumi slides over his own.

She grabs the hilt as though it was made for her, well practiced in the heavy weight of Imaizumi's weapons, the only ones she regularly had access to, and it is easy to stop Ishigaki's strike - his blade slides down her own, and he loses his balance. It gives her the space to force herself to her feet - throw away her mask - pull the glasses hidden in her loose bodice onto her face.

"I won't let any knight be killed for the sake of a game like this!" she yells, as Ishigaki struggles to regain his composure. "And," alighting a shaky smile upon Imaizumi, "I especially would never let my knight struggle alone."

Ishigaki shakes his head and strikes, more aggressively than before. "If it isn't a knight who takes it, then it can only be a prince. If you're not the princess, Souhoku has no sacrifice to offer, either. Everything will fall apart. No one will be given the time they need. Every kingdom will crumble." He slashes, but Onoda dodges underneath, and slams the pommel into his side.

When he drops to his knee, she takes nervous steps back towards Imaizumi, pressing a hand to his chest. He is still alive - still warm. It makes it easier to breathe.

"I ..." Her words come out as gasps despite that boon, until Imaizumi hovers his hands over hers at the hilt. "I can never be a prince! I'm not trying to. I've always been the princess. And I always will be." Ishigaki rises, but his skin is gray - he can hardly hold his sword any longer. "I don't know how, but I know that no one planned for me to be who I am!" If she was not the princess, it would have to be Kanzaki, and she would never allow the burden of sacrifice to fall to her - and now, she knew, she would never allow it to fall to anyone ever again. "So if I'm so unexpected ... we'll find a way to trump every single one of those rules."

Imaizumi smiles against her cheek. "I agree."