#luffysprincess

Skimpy outfits that bared supple skin, the lively chatter that came with excitement and eagerness, drinks flowing. It felt more like the ribbon-cutting of a new nightclub than the lounge of a sports facility designed to find an one of one athlete. You supposed that the money for all this had to come from somewhere, and those people certainly weren't going to sit in stadium chairs, but it left you a little in awe at the sleekness of it all.

You shift on the leather of the bench you'd parked at, tugging on the edge of the uniform you'd chosen. It made you grin, seeing well how it flattered your body, and the thought of being seen in it made you arch your back in a sick sort of antici-

Nightclub turned sports bar as the screens that lined the walls lit up and started the show. Three hundred candidates for the world's best striker began their games of tag, proof of concept and from the whistles and cheers that rang out across the room, a veritable meat market. Your eyes glanced from game to game, watching balls fly, players rising and adapting…

Falling, failing. Over before it started, for some, and it was selfish to be grateful not to be in that sort of danger but it was a relief. The offer had been as much of a load off your shoulders as it was a path to a future you longed for.

(Your eyes fall on the form of a player that thrilled you, the first target for your affections.)

The key to their destinies were at their feet.

Soon enough they'd be at yours, too.

It seemed like the first games were over before they begun, with various comments from the peanut gallery about the outcomes. The screens remained on, flashing various players and statistics that Miss Anri had mentioned you'd all have access to once the first day's various ceremonies were done. Whatever you needed would be at your fingertips.

Time passes, you couldn't say how much if you were asked. People had broken into groups, and while part of you wanted to reach out, it was just as pleasant to listen to the conversations. Besides, the door to the stage was opening and you could see them entering. Anri Tenri and Jinpachi Ego, who had to be beyond insane to start this program, and to involve the lot of you. Soon enough the room was hush, full of the pation that had been building.

Ego looked spindly, and it was quite interesting to see his expression go from dispassionate to nearly manic.

"Have any of you ever heard of Helen of Troy?"

You certainly had. Untold amounts of violence and suffering, all from a war that was born of men's need to possess an incomparable beauty.

How awful.

But then, how enticing in this context.

"Desire and its ilk has moved men to do the impossible. You're allowed to use cooperation, competition, any means you can think of to elevate yourselves to the most treasured prize in this facility. They should be turning down meals, phones, even a day of freedom for a night in your presence."

One of the more daring of you pipe up in response, baiting or flirting or both.

"Do you plan on treasuring any of us?"

He tsks, his torso jerking forward in a way that reminded you of something out of a haunted house. Inhuman, but you wonder if that's what ambition made of a person.

Maybe you'd indulged a little too much. In the drinks, in your thoughts.

"If so, I certainly wouldn't need points to do it." Which wasn't a no, interesting. "But wiles like that are what you'll need to use… and what I need these strikers to be used to. By the time this program ends, I want them bombproof. I refuse to have their careers derailed by nonsense like tabloids and relationships that end in charges or tears. You'll future-proof them from that, my shining diamonds."

Downright noble, when you thought of it that way. Your arms, the shield from future scandals. In between your legs, the path to an illustrious future…

Your will, that would determine just who you would bestow that grace upon.

That level of power, influence, not just given to you yourself, but multipled among every other person in the room, as if Helen was not just a prize but a phalanx. It was headier than the drinks you'd imbibe, made your fingertips tremble as you glanced once more at your quarry.