"Are you sure this is absolutely necessary?!" Eliza bellowed at Kazuki. She peered down into the Arming Chamber from the catwalks above. The vibrations of loud voices could be faintly felt by either of them.

Kazuki turned to the large gate behind him, adjusting the vest-plates. He looked up at her, nodding. "He chose this fight."

"Look, it was clear as day what he was trying to do, but we need to treat with him to get the information," she said.

"Treat him with what? My intuition tells me he wont budge." He slid a Vesarian black blade into its scabbard, its distinct lack of shine catching Eliza's eye. "Tch. Poor mockery of my people's weapons."

Synthia projected down towards Kazuki, scanning the series of weapons present with a fast ray-scan, then Kazuki's black blade. She shrugged and shook her head. 'Excellent quality, though I would understand why someone akin to you would see that weapon as a cheap knock-off…'

"Kaz! Is that really your biggest concern!?" Eliza pouted, making her feelings known to Kazuki. He blew it all up for this?! "Just, be safe, alright?"

Why must he be such a rock sometimes?! They're in this together, so why is he always the one taking the lead? Did he see her as a subordinate? Given that he's always been surrounded by subordinates, Eliza can see why he'd think that.

The fact that he had said nothing about her ability to even get into a negotiations with Obadiah of all people rubbed Eliza the wrong way. She felt a mixture of envy and want, present within her eyes.

"You didn't even…"

Kazuki's ears twitched as he looked up at her. "Hmm?"

She leaned over the railing, watching him shove three pills down his throat. Thinking for a moment, she then shook her head. "A 'good job' would have been nice," she muttered to herself.

Kazuki turned back to the gate, finishing up his gear. He must know what he's up against, right? Still, she felt the need to remind him. "You're up against Lady Antiar Kellebori!"

Anxiety crept into her mind, leaking through. Unlike the Loyalists and Gunrunners, Eliza knew who Kazuki was up against this time: Lady Antiar of the Imperial Knights, Harbinger of Honour.

"Second in Command of the Knights." Kazuki wasn't all too concerned, it seems. Ugh… He does have a sense of self preservation, right? "Seven Crim and Explosion Shard User."

"Wait… seven crims? Detonation Shard?" She understood what he meant, though it came as a surprise he'd link criminality to someone known for their honour, so much so that even Eliza knows of her braveries to protect the weak!

Kazuki wore an armoured vest underneath his suit, Eliza thought it looked like a cross between a secret agent and an operative.

"Seven Crims. The BCA has Seven Mercenaries. The Mischief Board has Seven Criminals." Kazuki glanced up.

"I… I don't get it?" understood what a Seven Merc was, after all Kazuki was one . "Seven Criminals, it's something about a coin flip, isn't it? So they're like an organised counterpart to you?"

"Depends. They are kept on a tight leash by the board.. Both might be criminals, but the Republic turns an eye to them. The Board is semi-reputable, best to let them handle things. Same with the Security Industry," informed Kazuki. He went back to gearing up, loud voices could be heard behind the gate. "Star systems know it's best to not piss off the mercs and crims."

He finished gearing up, spending a few moments fixing his suit. "I'll get an answer out of him," he said.

Eliza shook her head. She sighed. "How hard is it to just keep things civil? To just talk?"

Kazuki paused, then spoke, "It's nearly my Twentieth birthday. I've spent the last ten years killing, murdering, executing everything put before me. Want to know why?"

Her face frowned at his statement, was that all he really saw himself as? A tool of death? Eliza thought otherwise, she believed otherwise: Kazuki is the key, the tool to pry open those behind the attack - that she knew. She thought back for a moment.

"No! You're…"

A small grumble filled her eyes, he placed a hand to his temple. She must have understood that talking about this is quite hard, and she simply gave in. "Why?" "Because everyone put before me wanted to kill me. Jessica. Svenn. Matt. Obadiah? He's just another name. I can see it in his eyes."

"No! Didn't you say you'd let me handle the investigation?! Kaz… please…"

Kazuki turned towards the gate, slowly approaching it. "He won't budge unless I give him something he wants. I'm not giving him you."

The words caught her in a fiddle, he was right. Just what would they use to convince him? Obadiah seemed wealthy, rich enough to have an entire suite block to himself. What would leverage against him? She pondered… "I…"

"An Empress' Ransom. That's what will convince him. Compare the two options. Either I obtain the information my way with Archius, or that."

Archius! He can help us with this! "Wait, Archius can help us with this, right? He must know how to convince people."

"He's scouting other opportunities," stated Kazuki

"Well… There has to be another way, right?" Eliza asked. "There must be something that could convince him…"

"I know of one way. My guards have not been able to track them down. Fer-Charelota can help with that." He said, before the gates opened, revealing bright white hues, significant in strength, shining into the abyss of the workshop armoury.

'KAZUKI GEMINORUM-RYZAKU OF TRASIA!' an announcers' voice cried out from outside.

Slowly, Kazuki glanced up at her. "We'll talk later."

"Alright…" Eliza said, "Are the reinforcements holding up well? I'm sorry, I should have focused more on it if I knew this would…"

"I'm fine. It's fine. It'll hold," Kazuki stated. "And… you did well… Getting this far by yourself."

She paused. Her face then exploded into an uncontrollable grin.

Eliza nodded, as she watched Kazuki step through the gates.

With that, he was gone. Eliza was left alone for a moment, as she walked along the platform, phasing a door. She exited out into a wide arena stadium. Bright lights shone down against the duelling grounds below, an oval shaped arena with safety signifiers to show it was a Simulation Field. A large one, yes, but still just a simple Sim-Field at the end of the day.

A tidal wave of people were present. She started walking down the galleries of seats, towards where Archius said he'd be.

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'LADY ANTIAR KELEBORI!' the announcer shouted. Eliza turned her head towards the arena, seeing Kazuki in one side of it, with Lady Antiar on the other. Cheers amidst the chaos of the crowd were hurled everywhere, hurting Eliza's head.

The Imperial Knight stood tall and proud; arms crossed. Eliza felt a tug at her sleeve, whilst walking, being dragged down to an empty seat.

"You nearly missed us!" Archius jested. Eliza turned towards him.. "I know you need glasses but uh… maybe you'll need to see the opticians sooner rather than later."

"My… my eyesight is quite alright, I'll have you know!" Eliza retorted, crossing her arms as she looked around. Yuki was sitting beside her, along with two of Kazuki's guards on one side. Noah, Nate and Chloé were sitting beside Archius.

"Eliza, you're here, I thought you were going to miss the show," Noah said, gleefully. "You betting?"

He smirked, glancing over at Eliza. Chloé spoke up, "Lady Antiar! Sorry, Liz, my guts tell me that."

"Me and Chloé are betting on Lady Antiar," Noah said. "Sorry…"

"No offence taken, I understand…" Eliza trailed off. Nate was silent, with Archius using his shoulder as an armrest.

Noah smiled. "Still, didn't expect them to launch this surprise event."

Eliza hid a small gasp as she shook her head. She slowly turned to Noah, attracting both his and Chloé's attention. "Not exactly? Kazuki insulted someone and… Lady Antiar was called forth to fight him."

"The Marquis?!" Chloé interjected.

She shook her head once again. "No!" Though he probably would, Eliza knew the Marquis wouldn't take it too seriously, he'd probably just laugh and shrug it off as just him being him.

"Wait…" Noah started. "You're up to something, aren't you, Liz?"

She didn't respond, though her silence might as well be a response of several magnitudes unto itself. "Sorry, I can't tell you."

"Alright," cautiously replied Noah. "I'll… keep that in mind." His face turned back to the Sim-Field. Should she get Noah on board with the investigation as well? Kazuki's a friend of his! They'll get along well. She'll have to ask him later!

Eliza glanced over at the guards. Cyrus and… the blonde guard, she didn't know their name.

She narrowed her eyes at him, he was the one that was sent to guard Yuki, right? He glanced at her. "Hey, I'm flattered, but…"

Cyrus smacked him across the head. "Don't give her the wrong idea you idiot," he remarked with a frustrated tone, teetering on anger. "Just because Nihara's not into you doesn't mean you annoy others."

"Dude!" the guy shouted at Cyrus, nearly jabbing him in the eyes as Cyrus wacked his fingers away. "She's… not into me, yet!"

"I can hear you guys," said Nihara, she was walking down the aisle of spectators, carrying dozens of bags… Bloody hell, she must have liked shopping."

"Nihara!" Eliza shouted out towards her. "What's with all the bags?"

"Oh, these?" Nihara asked, looking down at them. She threw them directly onto the guy's lap. "Václavos… look after them. Kazuki asked me to get a list of products then said I could buy whatever… so I did?"

"Relying on me already?" Václavos smirked at Nihara.

Nihara looked away, ignoring Václavos. "You two seem to get along well," Eliza said.

Nihara sat down as the two got into a small argument, giving Liz a second to glance down at Pi, as Yuki was playing with the bird within its cage.

"Don't worry, it'll stay in the cage because I told it so!" Yuki remarked.

Eliza nodded. "Well, it'd be best for all of us if it didn't try to attack Lady Antiar… or anyone else." She turned back to the arguing couple, thinking about how daunting a wild Phoenix would be to deal with. Eliza's heard of the tales and does not want to see it in person.

"Absolutely not, Eliza," Nihara said with a straight face, turning to Eliza as Václavos was popping over her short shoulder. "He's annoying, picky, gets attached too easily. He's like a thorn I haven't plucked."

Václavos laughed heartily, stretching an arm out as he reached over Nihara's shoulder. "Oh, come on, I'm… not a thorn, I'm a—"

"Continue and I'll punch you in the liver," Nihara stated with a complete straight face.

"Play nice, you two," Cyrus stated, as if he was babysitting the both of them.

Eliza started to see the sparks of comradery within the contractors. She guessed she started doing it after what happened with Lilly and Riharia. But… they're all so weird, in the good way. They're just regular people. They laugh, intermingle, joke around… and uh…

She watched as Václavos was put into a headlock by Nihara. "HEY. HEY. HEY. HEY. I GET IT. I GET IT!"

"You said that the last time."

Eliza looked up at Cyrus. He simply sighed. "They'll stop on their own, eventually. Trust me."

She chuckled, turning her gaze back down to the arena. Both Lady Antiar and Kazuki were taking some time preparing, arming drones doing the finishing touches for either.

Archius stretched his shoulders. "You know, I'm just here to enjoy the entertainment… this is just entertainment, right?" His face turned to a frown, expecting an answer from Eliza.

"I… don't think it is…" Eliza murmured to Archius.

Archius rolled her eyes, his facade slowly slithering into a cold stare. "What happened? For real… what the fuck did Kaz do this time?"

"He offended Obadiah… something about honour that spiralled into this mess," Eliza said.

He nodded, grunting. "An honour duel…" Archius glanced back towards the arena, his face seemingly actually worried.

"Something wrong?" asked Eliza.

Archius lowered his voice. "Pfft, this won't go how anyone here thinks it'll go…"

"What do you mean?" Eliza asked, leaning in towards him, as she felt Yuki's hand tap her on the shoulder… repeatedly…

"Lady Antiar is an honourable woman. Kaz's is a Contract-Breaker. And Kaz? Well, what do you think he'll do?"

"I—"

Archius spoke no higher than a whisper, a mutter, "—What would people believe the Contract-Breaker would do?"

Eliza thought hard on the question. The Contract-Breaker… "That's not who Kazuki is," she stated.

Both knew, yet perception was all that mattered. "I know. People will be expecting small entertainment, but these are two members of the Seven on opposite sides of the coin: it'll be bloodshed."

A shiver rippled down Eliza's spine. "No… I—"

"—He won't kill her," Archius interjected, shrugging as he raised his voice back to normal, his face normal. "Yuki! What do you think?!"

Yuki was slamming her hands into the back of Eliza's dress. She turned, facing Yuki. Pi, the phoenix, was sleeping in its cage, snoring a nice melody.

"Hey!" she shouted. "Don't ignore me!"

Eliza placed her hands up, looking away slightly as she blocked the flurry of light slaps Yuki sent her way with her hands… "Alright, alright, I'll listen!"

Her voice immediately sprawled to life. "Hey, hey, do you think my brother will win?!"

"Well… yes?" Eliza sounded unsure of herself. Sure, she knows Kaz is strong, but Lady Antiar has more experience. "At least I hope so."

"Oooh, you hope so?" A smirk was raised onto Yuki's face. "You must be quite important to him, hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm?"

Eliza... slowly nodded. Well... Eliza hoped that she was important? Well... Eliza didn't exactly know what to make of Kazuki... He acts colds all the time, acts harsh and rude, but is willing to, at the mere drop of a hat, do anything for her?!

Ugh... Eliza was confused by him, but she felt happy. She was happy that, in his strange way, Kaz does care? She hoped so... at least. They have a Contract with one another, after all...

Even if they call him Contract-Breaker, Eliza knows he'll never break their special pinkie-promise Contract.

"I guess he is important," Eliza said. "Very... important..." Her voice trailed off.

Yuki noted that down, literally... She had a... holo-pad, just jotting things down. "Mhm... Alright, now how do you feel about Kazuki and how do you think he feels about you?"

"Well... To me? I dunno," Eliza admitted. Despite everything, there was so much she knew little of him... But at the same time there was so much Kazuki didn't know of her as well... So many... things deep down that Eliza refuses to admit. Even to herself...

"Blegh," Yuki shook her head. "Bad response! Try again." Yuki seemed to not be letting go of this matter. "You're like one of like... five friends Kaz has ever had! Do you know how he acted back when we were kids?!"

Oh... This... might be interesting? It piqued her interests, mainly because Kaz knew Victoria! Back then... Eliza was rarely around, barely could remember anything as well, only the nostalgic thoughts remain. A solemn nod came from Eliza.

The energetic Yuki nodded several times in turn. "He was soooo dead, you know, like nothing he did seemed to be pretty powered or like he's putting his back into anything! Yeah! And after the Incident, he basically barricaded himself in his room for years! Wouldn't even talk to me!"

Eliza's imagination ran wild with that prompt... It was depressing, thinking of Kazuki just huddling by himself in the corner of a room... By himself... Eliza's face drooped to a frown.

Archius chuckled, looking over Eliza's shoulder. "You're annoying her."

"Hey! It's fine." Eliza burdened the sadness, before she turned back towards the arena, as the two individuals were still facing off against each other.

'AS THE GRAND FINALE OF TODAY'S EVENTS, THESE TWO TITANS HAVE BOTH VOLUNTEERED TO DUEL EACH OTHER! THE IMPERIAL KNIGHT'S SIXTH OF SEVEN CRIM, THE BCA'S FOURTH OF SEVEN MERC! WHO WILL COME OUT ON TOP?! IN ONE CORNER WE HAVE THE VAUNTED CHAMPION OF THE KNIGHTS, ANTIAR KELEBORI! AND IN THE OTHER CORNER: PRINCE KAZUKI RYZAKU OF TRASIA.'

She wasn't surprised that the Marquis was masquerading the true reason for the duel. Both a boon for himself, the event, and the parties involved.

Political literacy isn't her fortre, but she knew that everyone benefitted from that move.

Eliza looked around the arena, seeing a plethora of people from all ways of life. Politicians, businessmen, aristocrats, generals… Everything and everyone was high class.

'WE'RE ABOUT TO FIND OUT! REMEMBER, YOU CAN BET ON ANY OUTCOME FOR THE DUEL! LET THE FIGHTING COMMENCE!'

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