[Drabble]

[lotsofrunning]

Strange things happen in the form of drabbles when I can't sleep. This one is based on a thread that I never got to finish with powered_otaku, and is dedicated to the same person. And, in my defense, if it's really bad, I don't believe in betas at 4:30 AM.

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[powered_otaku]

The contestants file in as they announce their names and the years they fought. As one of the few time travellers, Hiro appears pretty early. The later gladiators get more cheers, especially number 94 who is also number 96 with the singular honor of having survive to win twice. Hiro looks a little confused at the way that's worded. He's also a little confused by the torque they put around his neck, but it has his number, so he assumes it's a way to tell them apart.

He scans around the crowd, looking for Jenny. When he sees her, he waves at her to let her know. He also looks at his opponent sitting next to her and makes a small bow of respect. The growling gets louder.

"To the survivor go the spoils!" the system announces.

"What?!" Hiro looks at his opponents. "What does he mean?"

Number 63 smiles at him. "This is a fight to the death."

"NANI?!!"Seems like they got bored with the original format the last few times, so they went to the current format," he shrugged. "Anyway, we can't protest now

[lotsofrunning]

Jenny let out a small yelp of surprise when she saw Hiro crumple. She announcer had said something, and, judging from the look on his face, whatever it was, it was bad news. She leaned over to the person on her right, and tapped him lightly on the shoulder. "I don't suppose you can tell me what just happened?"

"He was stunned," the man said, looking amused. "He must've done something that set it off."

Jenny nodded her understanding, and bit her lip out of concern. "And the announcer, what did he mean?"

This time, the man looked at her like she'd grown another head. "That it's a fight to the death, of course. You haven't been living under a rock all these years, have you?"

"Almost," Jenny replied, trying to keep a cheerful facade and giving Hiro a concerned look.

[powered_otaku]

Hiro manages to get to his feet. He looks around for the first official he can find. "I didn't agree to kill anyone!" he tells the...whatever it is.

"You signed the contract, did you not? You agreed to abide by the rules of the contest."

"I quit, then. Take this thing off me and I'll leave you alone."

The official makes a subtle sign towards the stands. "You're not allowed to quit. Your friend must have found it rather strange to get such a good seat and have next to a sentient who doesn't like you very much. If you do not fight, she will be dead."

Hiro looks horrified up at Jenny. Right now he wishes he had Matt Parkman's power.

[lotsofrunning]

Jenny's eyes widened at the look Hiro gave her, wondering immediately what was wrong. She leaned over and tapped the thing next to her again. "I'm really sorry to bother you again, but have you got any clue what they might be saying?"

"Not at all," he smirked, clearly lying.

After another minute or so of questioning, she gave up trying to get any answers out of her neighbor and resorted to watching Hiro closely and biting on a fingernail.