Both combatants returned to the center of the designated fighting area. Arva turned the audience, waving at them with one hand high in the air, showing off all her teeth with a large smile. Janus remained still in his designated area, still catching his breath as he waited for the audience's screen to start its countdown. The audience riled up again upon seeing Arva wave at them from the center of the room. Once her greeting was done, she turned to face her opponent.

"You ready Janus?" she asked, still maintaining her smile.

"Yes, I believe so." He had regained most of his composure. Some parts of him were still sore, but he didn't let it show. He got into the one fighting stance that he knew. Arva got into a proper pose as well, with one palm open and in front of her hand while the other was down low, akin to a defensive front stance. The time commenced.

Janus took a look behind him. Itzel and Gurk both gave him a thumbs up. Enidri leaned back in her seat, looking bored as her crossed leg bounced up and down. From the corner of his vision he could see the audience’s projection shift screens.

"Three..."

Janus focused on his opponent, contemplating what Arva's first move was going to be.

"Two..."

Their eyes locked. Arva smiled, her face full of confidence as her posture remained faultless.

"One.."

Janus took inhaled deep. The feeling of countless eyes staring at him subsided, giving way to pure determination.

"Fight!"

Arva made the first step to advance. She lowered her body and by putting her weight on her back foot, she propelled herself forward with a short dash. Electricity trailed behind her as she darted towards her opponent.

Out of instinct, Janus backed up and put his hands up for a guard. In a flash, Arva stood in front of Janus. Both of her hands were engulfed in lightning as she turned them into fists.

"Flurry!"

Janus was met with a rapid barrage of jabs and hooks. Arva's arms moved as quickly as the lightning that coursed through them. Despite most of the strikes connecting with Janus' arms, a few slipped through his defense. The sound of sparks and lightning were amplified by the audience's screen. The area between Janus and Arva lit up a brilliant glow, like lightning forming in a thunder cloud.

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Once Arva's rush ended, Janus lurched backwards as his arms spread apart. I don't think I'm going to be able block anything else for a while. With a swift turn of his head, he was able to look at the mirrored Challenge Display of the screen to his left. His assumption was correct; the entirety of his Guard Gauge had been depleted.

----------------------------------------

"Janus isn't going to be able to keep up with Arva," Enidri said. Her foot bounced against the knee of her leg as she watched the fight with an angled head. "Without the ability to Guard, Arva is gonna run circles around him. He's not fast enough to dodge her attacks."

"Thanks for the color commentary, Eni," Itzel replied with an unenthused tone. "I never would have been able to infer that for myself."

"No problem. After all, I did—"

Itzel raised one hand in Enidri’s direction. "If it's about that fight at Grub On, I get it. You'll need some new material."

A short grin grew on Enidri's lips as she remained attentive to the match.

"Janus doesn't need to win," Itzel continued. "He just needs to deal as much damage as possible and prevent Arva from earning too much EV. Anything that makes the fight easier for me is good enough."

"It's not looking all that bright," Enidri remarked as she watched Janus take on every hit from another one of Arva's Flurry Rushes. The last hit in the combination hit Janus in the face, making him fall back first on the mat. His Stamina Gauged depleted a small amount with each strike, eventually adding up to nearly an eighth of his meter disappearing.

"I've got eyes too, Itzel."

"I don't," Enidri replied.

Itzel turned to Gurk who was sitting to her right. "Why did you invite her?" she asked.

"Why not?" the crocodile replied.

Enidri's laugh was audible this time. Itzel shook her head and returned her focus on the fight. As Janus got up, he launched himself with his Ion Tail Technique. Fully prepared, Arva blocked the attack and remained unscathed and grounded while Janus continued to soar vertically into the air. He fell back to the ground, staring at his opponent as she bent her knees, lowering her body.

"Sky Arc!"

With a smile almost reaching from ear to ear, Arva performed a front flip. Her posture was fluid and her movement graceful. As if she was weightless, she turned her entire body upside down on an axis without breaking her gymnast-like pose. Electricity stemmed from her feet as she struck Janus with a fierce kick in the chest. He was knocked out of his normal trajectory and was sent falling back to the ground at a sharp angle.

"That's a rookie mistake right there," Enidri remarked as she watched Janus bounce up after crashing back onto the floor. "Nothing shouts novice than using a rising Special Technique when you're down. Any good fighter would expect that."

"Sorry we didn't have time to make it to Advanced Rumble Circuit Theory with our lessons, Eni," Itzel said, taking her eyes off the fight to face the other woman. "This Team Battle was sprung on us at the last minute. We didn't have the proper time to give Janus any hands-on experience with Rumble Circuit."

"He did manage to eke out a win, so I guess he did his fair share."

"Exactly." Itzel saw Janus take a roundhouse kick to the chest and watched him spiral backwards. "But I'd prefer it if he didn't donate to my upcoming opponent's EV meter. I'm hoping that he'll at least manage to score a decent attack or two!"

"Yeah, well it looks like you better keep hoping." Enidri pointed to the center of the fighting arena. Janus tried to block another one Arva's punches, only to have the attack inflict damage despite his guard being up.

"Come on Janus!" Itzel said only loud enough for Gurk and Itzel to hear. "What you're doing isn't working! You've got to try something different!"