Chiyoko vs Rat-King (Tournament of Strength)

Chiyoko slams into the wall of the arena with a loud thud, before she slumps to the ground. Her followers watch on with doubtful gazes, some shake their heads slowly, and others even get up to leave. It's some moments before Chiyoko stumbles back to her feet, now clearly shaken. She turns her gaze to the Rat-King, and her blade. She grits her teeth, and mutters a swear under her breath.

"Surrender and I will grant you power under my rule! We can both achieve our goals young pup, as long as you cooperate I will concede to some of your desires!" he screeches from across the arena. As he does so he enters a more defensive stance, readying for another charge from Chiyoko.

Chiyoko regards the Rat-King with a mixture of confusion and frustration, "But... I.. war will..," she stammers, before she's interrupted by yelling from her supporters, "Surrender! Surrender! Please!," they chant. Mrs. Mimura and her siblings begin to pitch in with their own cries from the front row, "You can't win, stop! Surrender!" Chiyoko's hands ball into fists, and she huffs angrily, before lowering her head, and nodding slowly. "Fine.. fine.," she mutters, slowly approaching the Rat-King.

The Rat-King howls in triumph. As Chiyoko draws close he consolingly whispers "Do not grow forlorn young pup, I will avenge the injustice you suffered at the hands of the so-called 'Purity Crusade'." he suddenly raises his voice and speaks to the crowd "Not only shall I co-opt many of the desires of Chiyoko and the exiles, but I shall avenge their unjust treatment at the hands of the barbaric 'Purity Crusade'!". As the Rat-King speaks of collaboration many of his devout followers appear to grow concerned until he brings up the topic of war and vengeance. As he rails against the Purity Crusade his isolated fanatics sitting in the front row go wild with bloodthirsty snarls and cheers.

Chiyoko kneels in front of the Rat-King, and presents an open palm.

The Rat-King seizes her by the palm and lifts her off of her feet. Instead of grappling her to throw her, he instead lifts her hand over both their hands and lets out a joyous cheer. The Azure Magister appears somewhat surprised yet incredibly bored of this comparatively bloodless outcome. The Samurai bows his head in respect to Chiyoko "Truly she is a wise and honorable soul to surrender to her opponent without spite or hatred. A dignified duelist if I have ever seen one." he mutters. The Azure Magister puffs his cheeks "Sure, sure, by the way, Samurai, there's something on your nose you might want to get." he whines. The Samurai ignores the Magister and the two proceed in traditional ceremonial fashion down the rows of the arena. Finally, they reach the bottom and hand over the silver scepter to the Rat-King. While the Rat-King initially treats the ceremonial token of authority with great respect soon his obsession with shiny trinkets overwhelms what little self-restraint he has and he begins gazing intently into the reflective surface of the scepter and stroking its smooth silver surface with his calloused gnarly talons. The two referees do their best to ignore the odd behavior of the Rat-King and slowly they and the crowd trickle out of the packed stadium.