~The Beginning of Life~

~ Chapter 17 ; The Duel ~

I walk towards the 'weapon-area'. It's called the armory I presume...

I silently enter the room, when someone taps me on the shoulder. I turn around to see Walton. "Hey," I grin. "What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same."

"I'm looking for a weapon. Like- a specific weapon special to me or... something like that."

"Ah. I came here for the same thing too. Will's been showing me around," he says brightly.
Will? So far I guess he's the only guide doing his job.

Right then, Will walks up. "Hello there! You're Khristine, right?" he asks, tilting his head.

"Uhh yeah..." I nod and step to one side to let them enter.

Walton walks in and instantly heads to the bows.

"You're here for weapons too?" asks Will.

"Yep."

"Hmm... well, there's a lot here. Find what suits you." He then goes over to Walton.

I look around. There are tons of weapons; daggers hanging on one corner, a pile of shields over there. I walk aimlessly and reach the swords. Not really my type. I prefer fighting from a distance, to stay safe. Maybe throwing daggers...

I go to the daggers and pick up one at random. It's small, with a black handle and a rusty bronze blade, stained silver. Not very special. But it had a chain attached at the bottom, and with it, two more identical daggers were connected. Good enough. I tie them all together. Will and Walton move onto the arrows as I go for the bows.

So many kinds. Thin, long, bent, tight, none of the bows are the same. I rummage around for a good while, and pick out a silver bow with a black grip to match my daggers. Well it matches if you imagine the bow as black. Or just switch it...
It looks sinister and wicked. I look towards the arrows. Will and Walton had already left, probably to the ar-

Gah, I was meant to be there like an hour ago!

I quickly grab a bag of matching silver and black arrows (they just matched, okay!), and on the way out, I grab a random sword. I dash to the arena while tying the chain with my daggers around my waist. I reach the arena and drop my bow and arrows at one side. I'll try them out later.

Asuka was polishing her sword at one side, and Nico was still staring at it. Walton and Will weren't there. I take a deep breath and walk over to her.

"Finally!" she says when she sees me. "What took you so long?" she gets up irritably and walks to the center. I swallow and follow her with my sword drawn. Asuka raises an eyebrow at it. It was a simple sword, bronze handle and blade. She probably expected something fancier.
Since when could I read people?

"Ready?" she asks simply.

I nod.

Asuka suddenly charges at me with her sword. I curse silently and sidestep her, before quickly swinging my sword upwards. It turns into a golden flash and hits her sword. She manages to keep her grip on it, but she stumbles back a bit.

Not daunted at all, she charges again. Why do people normally use offense nowadays? I dodge her again, and she abruptly stops and swings her blade around. I respond amazingly quickly, bringing up my sword against hers. It suddenly becomes bright again, reflecting the sun, and Asuka flinches, drawing back.

She hesitates for a moment, as if trying to judge if that was fair. Hey, sunlight reflects of shiny stuff when it wants to.

Thank the Gods I didn't say that out loud.

Asuka charges again, and distracted by my weird thoughts, I manage to get shoved to the ground. I roll away, then quickly get up. I swing my sword at her. She blocks it and charges once more, and succeeds in knocking me down again.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Ash frowning at me while Anna cheers. Nico shakes his head at me, and I could swear he just muttered pathetic.

I scowl and get back up, and before I could make another move, a fiery object crashes next to Nico. He shouts and jumps away.