There's a First Time for Everything (Open to One)

[Kirari Minako]

She approached the tall intimidating building with a sense of invulnerability, there was a slight feeling of uneasiness swelling within her, but she repressed it. Minako knew that Melissa, the name of the girl she was searching for to try and coerce to return to the village, would surely put up a fight if anyone attempted to convince her to return. If it came to it, Minako may sadly have to fight her. Unfortunately, Minako had absolutely zero actual experience in combat, the only fighting she's ever really done is in training and sparring with the other Guardians. She heard that in the city of Radasanth in Corone there was a place called "The Citadel" a sort of arena for combatants to fight it out to the death, overseen by monks who have unusual ways of weaving battle arenas and healing skills unparalleled by anyone. She just knew this would be a prime place to improve her skills.

She entered the main room of the citadel, a large area resembling a lobby. There were monks shrouded in robes of fairly neutral colors slowly bustling about, helping warriors, or just keeping to themselves. Dangerous weapons such as swords, daggers, lances, partisans, halberds, and the like decorated the walls and weapon racks all around. Tall brooding warriors who looked like they've never even heard the word mercy milled around the room, the occasional cloth-covered magician or leather-wearing bowman sticking out in the crowd of dangerous combatants. To be honest, Minako stood out like a sore thumb. She was a young girl with small glimmering wings and a black ruffled outfit. She wore no armor and no weapons were visible on her to the naked eye, and to top it off, she was in pigtails. Pigtails. To say she earned a few glances in an understatement.

Minako approached a Monk in a beige colored robe, his head enshrouded by the hood. She said to him softly, "I want to fight." Realizing there had been clear traces of doubt and hesitation in her voice, she repeated the words strongly, stiffening her stance. "Yes. I want to fight. Here, in the Citadel." Hey. Clarity is important. she thought to herself, always trying to justify the strange things she managed to blurt out when she doubted something she said. The monk looked at her for a second like she had fallen out of the sky, through the roof, smacked her hand on the counter, and demanded an arena. Essentially, she had sort of approached him rather abruptly, but she never really was one to wait around to be seen. The monk nodded at her wordlessly and moved towards a long hallway lined by many torches, motioning for Minako to follow him. She nodded and followed his path down the dilapidated passageway, slightly more shaken by the size of this place by every single step. The hall had a sort of strange musky smell that radiated a genuine "creepy" sort of feeling. Door after door they passed, each old oak door seeming to get older and more worn as they proceeded. Finally, he stopped in front of a door made out of some kind of dark wood, a sort of wood she's never seen before. Mahogany perhaps? Regardless, he opened the door and motioned for her to enter. The space beyond, however, was nothing. Pure emptiness, it was all dark. She stepped in cautiously as she could have sworn he muttered behind her something along the lines of "Good luck. You'll need it in that attire." She disregarded his ramblings as she door shut and she couldn't see anything. Minako was pretty freaked out by this, but didn't physically express her level of anxiety as she was fairly excited about what her first time in the Citadel would be like.

At last, as if to grant her wish, the area slowly lit up with bright sunlight. It was a large grassy area cut into the side of a mountain. They weren't too high up, as Minako could see a small village in the distance below her. The sky was a brilliant shade of azure, only a few clouds in the sky and they kept clear of the sun She turned around slowly and moved away from the edge of the cliff, seeing a giant gorgeous oak tree, it extended what looked indefinitely and shaded at least half of the area. The grass was fairly short and the large cliff was lined with flowers. Flowers of shades, shapes, and types she didn't even recognize, however, it was a gorgeous sight. Quickly, she remembered what she was there for. She drew her iron blade from its sheath on the back of her belt and held it by her side in a horizontal position across the front of her chest, turning to the right as that was the side she held her blade on in her right hand. Her left hand was down by the left side of her hips, her index and middle finger extended. This was the position her hand often took for a magical attack. She closed her eyes for a second and allowed her senses to sink in. She heard the trees swaying, she smelled the sweet refreshing smell of flora, she tasted the fresh mountain air that comes with being at high altitude, she felt the soft breeze blowing on her skin and brushing her hair to the side. At last, she opened her eyes and she saw the great oak tree that symbolized life and awaited her opponent.

[Dischordant]

I'll jump in if no one else wants to.

Monks made Eade nervous. They reminded him of Catholic school - all rules and no girls. At least the monks of the Citadel were quiet, preferring to nod ominously and point rather than preach, though the nodding and pointing business was kind of pissing Eade off too.

"What's in there?" Eade asked the stoic monk next to him.

The monk, saying nothing, raised his thin arm to point at the old mahogany door in front of the pair.

"Seriously, what's gonna happen in there?"

The monk dipped his chin slightly, the subtle motion clearly telling Eade to enter the door.

Eade snapped his fingers a few times in the monk's ear. "Hello. Helen Keller, can you hear me? What's in that fucking room?"

More nodding; more pointing.

"For Christ's sake," Eade said steelily and reached forward to open the door. He stepped into the darkness beyond, pausing just across the threshold to address the monk again. "I better not die in here, or I'll haunt the shit out of you."

The monk slammed the door in his face.

When the door closed there was only darkness, stretching out like and endless chasm. Eade felt suddenly small, like dust floating in the vastness of space. In the darkness he had no sense of time, no concept of passing moments; up became down and forward felt the same as back. A seed of panic took root in is breast. His breath came faster.

"Calm down," hummed Deloris from his back. "I'm right here."

Eade reached up to feel her neck on his shoulder. The sound of her voice and the feel of her strings calmed the musician. His breath slowed.

As his breath slowed the world began to lighten. Shapes separated themselves from the darkness, first looking like shadowed cut-outs, then taking the form of real objects. First came the tree, a great oak whose canopy stretched at least a dozen yards. The tree shaded grass, which became visible next, rich and green even in the evolving light. From the grass grew flowers, outlining the edge of a cliff which curved gracefully along the edge of a mountain. A quiet village lay below and above the sun unveiled itself. The sun's rays fell brightly on a young girl dressed like Shirley Temple, though Eade was pretty sure Shirley never had wings or wielded a knife.

"What am I doing here?" Eade said aloud, though it wasn't to the girl.

"You came here to fight, remember?" Deloris sang into his head.

"Not really," the musician replied, rubbing his eyes.

"Trust me, you did. This is what you wanted."

"It is?" He questioned, unsure.

"It is. Now get ready."

Eade responded to the command almost instantly. He slipped Deloris, his vintage Les Paul guitar, from his back and, with a practiced flick of his wrist, disconnected the strap from the headpin. The strap hissed like a snake as it coiled into the guitar's body leaving only the dangling i-hook visible. Eade then stepped from the shade of the tree into the sun, shivering as the warmth seeped into his pale skin. He held Deloris loosely in one hand while the other pushed unkempt hair from his eyes.

His bloodshot gaze fell on the girl. "Ready to party?"

[Kirari Minako]

Sorry I was gone so long... Anime Boston.

Minako stood in the relaxing and solitary place, staring into the distance of the opposite side of the arena. She took in one slow deep breath as her opponent faded into existence before her. The air around her seemed to chill momentarily, although it was still sunny. She quickly realized that it was still warm and pleasant, a chill had simply gone up her spine faster than the speed of light. It was strange really, Minako's first fight in the field wasn't quite what she had expected, she had always expected something much more thrilling, more fun, more unique. However, all she was experiencing right now was an unusual feeling of pure terror. She was beginning to rethink this idea, however, it was too late to turn back at this point.

She slowly began to step to the side, taking each painfully slow step after the other. Trying to analyze and size up her opponent, she nearly jumped when Artemis himself had jumped up onto her shoulder and slowly crossed to the other shoulder, small silver and gold bits of shining light falling from her visage as he proceeded.

"I haven't picked up a trace of Melissa or her guardian creature, Hime, within 25 miles of the city, although finding you was enough of an enigma." he said into her ear, staring intently at Minako's opponent as he also tried to size up the boy.

"I thought as much..." she whispered back to Artemis, not taking her gaze off of her opponent. Sighing, she continued her advance to the side approaching the beautiful enormous tree in the distance.

"I'm always ready..." she said, slightly grimacing at how corny she had sounded as she remained in her defensive stance, Minako was never one to begin a battle, but once combat had begun, she would be a force to be reckoned with. She gently blew a stray strand of hair off her forehead as she awaited her opponent's first move.

[Dischordant]

Eade eyed his opponent lazily as she slowly advanced toward the towering oak. A mild look of surprise crossed his face when the white cat jumped on the girl's shoulder. They appeared to talk for a moment, though what they said was lost somewhere in the distance between the two battlers. He waited, seeing if she would make the first move, but the girl merely continued her side-steps, clearly waiting for the fallen rock star to begin the fight in earnest.

"I'm always ready," the girl said as she inched closer and closer.

"Lame," Eade said aloud both to the girl and to his guitar companion.

As the single syllable echoed off the mountain face Eade sprang into action. Upon his silent command Deloris erupted into an angry, staccato riff - the beginning of Possum Kingdom by The Toadies. Words tumbled from Eade's mouth, his intense, raspy voice telling a tale of obsession and imminent pain.

"Make up your mind
Decide to walk with me
Around the lake tonight
I'm not gonna lie
I'll not be a gentleman
Behind the boathouse
I'll show you my dark secret."

The lyrics, like frenzied serpents, hissed and coiled around the musician, roiling toward the girl with the dark promise of violence. Eade hoped that she, like so many others, was experiencing the fear that often accompanied a fight. The music would amplify that emotion, allowing Eade to exploit her weakness and make her his. If, however, the girl felt something other than fear - determination maybe - his plan could backfire horribly for that emotion would be amplified instead.

Pushing his worries aside, Eade continued to sing until he felt the power of his intent explode from his body, carried aloft by the classic, if often-misunderstood song. He charged toward the girl with Deloris still gripped loosely in his left hand, her red-orange body skimming lightly across the grass while she dragged behind him. Sun and shade alternated across his frame as he ran through the patchwork shadow of the tree, the tempo and volume of the song rising to boom through the mountain glade as if pumped though the amplifiers he was so fond of smashing.

Like those amps, Eade wanted to smash the girl's face, and he swung Deloris in a brutal, upward motion the moment he was close enough to do so. If the girl didn't dodge in time the guitar would catch her squarely under the chin.

Eade wondered what her teeth would sound like when they broke.

[Kirari Minako]

Minako's feeling of worry and anxiety seemed to amplify as the man sang an unusual tune, strumming along a melody with it. She began to slowly lose her stance; her nerve was starting to fade too! As the strange guy charged her, a rather gutsy move even though he took the precaution to use that spell on her, she shook her head slightly in a brisk manner, attempting to regain her composure. The sound of the music, however, was getting almost unbearable! Her ears slightly starting to hurt. As the savage brute began an upward strike on her head, she regained enough control over her body to dart the flat of her blade in front of the attack to slightly delay it, as she swiftly dodge-rolled to the side. The attack missed her by the tiniest end of her hair, allowing her skirt to ruffle up a bit.

The roll didn't end the way she had planned, her shaky hesitation landed her flat on her backside. She stood up slowly, using her blade to balance on as Artemis darted to her side.

"Minako! Focus! Show him what the oracles really taught you!" Artemis said to her with a sort of urgency in his voice, it wasn't exactly pleasant to see the Guardian you were destined to watch over end up flat on their ass in a fight.

Minako closed her eyes briefly, reopening them with a new form of determination in her eyes. She tried her best to block out the sound of the music, sensing its effect on her performance. She retook her fierce stance as she flung her forefinger and her middle finger in front of her with her entire arm tilted to the side. As her fingers began beside her in front of her shoulder it began to shimmer with a light shade of blue. As they drew closer to being in front of her, they began to emanate cobalt electrical energy. Until quickly, they were in front of her figure as she let off a ball of Quintessence energy, roughly the size of her fists held together, towards her opponent. Swiftly after, she moved her sword in front of her to block any oncoming attacks.

[Dischordant]

The girl was better than Eade thought. As he closed in to strike he could clearly see the fear in her eyes, but she raised her blade in time to deflect his blow and roll clumsily to the side. Eade watched the girl ass-plant on the ground and gripped Deloris with both hands, putting the full weight of his body into his next swing. Deloris slammed into the ground, sending a spray of dirt and grass into the air, but the girl was no longer there.

"Guard!" Deloris screamed, cutting off the raging melody of Eade's song.

Eade snapped his head around in time to see a swirling ball of blue energy spring from the girl's hand and streak toward him. There was no time to block; there was no time to dodge. Frustrated, angry, and now a little bit scared, Eade inhaled sharply and screamed a curse at the girl.

"FUCK!"

Like the song before, the word exploded from Eade's mouth with savage force. The concussive power of his scream tore a cone-shaped rut in the ground, picking up chunks of dirt, stone and plant life in the process. The yell was strong enough to stun an opponent and hurl them backward - it could even shatter wood, though it seemed to have no effect on his opponent's energy blast.

The blast sailed easily through the storm of debris and rippling sound to strike Eade squarely in the shoulder, causing his muscles to tighten and his eyes to roll back in his head. The sun exploded into a thousand stars and a hot, metallic liquid filled Eade's mouth as he involuntarily bit into his own tongue. Blood, like drool, rolled down his chin.

Eade didn't know if his shout reached the girl, but he hoped it did; he could really use a few goddamn seconds to compose himself.

[Kirari Minako]

She let the attack blow, taking a moment to stop and catch her breath with some time to react to her opponent's next move. For all she had expected, the shock was going to hit him and knock him down, allowing her to charge in and try to end the battle quickly with a finishing blow while he was incapacitated on the ground. Unfortunately, her original plan was quite largely deviated from, as he let out some sort of sonic wail at the last second before her attack made contact.

"Dammit..." Minako muttered under her breath as the energy wave came at her accompanied by a wonderful uttering of the word "Fuck." from her opponent.

Minako crossed her hands in front of her face, balling up her free hand into a fast as she tried to brace herself as much as possible for the incoming attack. The wail had come at her faster and more powerful than she had expected, as the wind was rushing against her incredibly powerfully. Her hair began to fly off to all angles as a mighty chill ran down her spine and the attack that was such high pressure lifted her off her feet as she went backwards towards the gargantuan tree.

Her light figure simply glided towards the hard bark like a feather, creating a rather unpleasant sound and an even worse feeling throughout her back as it made contact with the tree trunk. She hit it and then slowly fell to the ground, having had the breath knocked out of her. Minako lied there on the soft grassy Earth, breathing in and out gently before getting up to her feet slowly. There was a small bit of blood leaking from her lip as well as her elbow, but she managed to gather herself and get through the minor pain. The blood was a brilliant shade of crimson, tasting somewhat rusty and almost metallic. She grimaced at the taste of it and allowed her vision to sync back up.

Artemis was on a tree branch above her and simply called to her,

"Minako, be careful! He's strong!"

Thank you, Captain Useless. she thought to herself.

Minako felt a somewhat half-baked satisfaction as she heard her attack hit the man and strike him point-blank on the shoulder. At least she didn't miss. Minako held her sword by the handle and held it in reverse, so that the blade was going downwards, holding her two fingers an inch away from the handle above it as she slowly advanced towards her opponent.

[Dischordant]

"Nurse," said the man in the white lab coat. "Is the patient ready for his next round of treatment?"

"Yes doctor," said the nurse. "Patient is prepped and ready."

"Good," said the doctor. From the pocket of his coat he drew a hand-held recorder. The light on the recorder flashed red when the doctor spoke. "October 1, 1996. Patient Eade Walker, date of birth 9/22/1984. Patient Walker was admitted to the state hospital by his parents on January 4, 1996. Patient presented with severe depression punctuated by manic bouts and indicators of psychosis. Depression responded well to medication, but the patient's auditory and visual hallucinations persisted despite pharmacological treatment. Electroconvulsive therapy was deemed appropriate. This is round 43."

The red light clicked off and the recorder disappeared back into the doctor's coat.

"We're ready to proceed," the nurse said through a speaker box in the wall.

The doctor smiled down at the boy on the table. "Focus on the lights Eade; it will be over in a minute."


***

Eade's vision slowly pieced itself together as the current from the girls attack worked its way through his body. The thousand tiny stars faded and were replaced by the afternoon sun. The green of the grass returned. Eade coughed, spitting out a mouthful of blood. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, smearing a crimson streak across his cheek. The girl, once a few feet in front of him, now stood with her back against the tree. Red lines trickled from her lip and elbow, marring the surface of her creamy skin.

"Shake it off," Deloris commanded. "It's no worse than you've had before. Press the attack. It will be over in a minute."

Eade hesitated. "Is this what I want?"

"Yes," Deloris hissed, her strings tightening. "This is what we want."

"I don't know..."

The guitar's tone changed from steel to honeysuckle. "You want to be a star, don’t you? This is how it's done here. Smash her face, baby. Do it for me."

Eade leveled his gaze toward the girl and spoke through bloodied teeth. "For you..."

The musician charged again, though this time his movements were not as frenzied. He held Deloris in front of him, her body parallel to his so the bulk of her mass shielded his chest and torso. When Eade came within striking distance he feinted with a thrust to the girl's gut, hoping to draw her blade into a defensive position. At the last possible moment he pulled the blow and dropped into a low crouch, diverting the momentum of his strike toward his opponent’s shins. As Deloris snaked in Eade grabbed a clump of soil with his free hand and threw it in a wide spray at the girl's face.

[Kirari Minako]

He was coming at her fast again, although this time, Minako was ready. She briskly drew her wings from their resting place as he came closer and closer, preparing to defend herself.

"Minako!" she heard Artemis's voice ring in her head, going into her battle zone.

She reopened her eyelids, allowing her cobalt irises to fall on him, the sun glistening off of her pale skin. She was prepared, he quickly jabbed at her torso, however, there seemed to be a sense of hesitation traveling throughout himself at the attack, allowing her to realize it was a feint. She attempted to shift her upper body to the side to dodge the attack that was never really going to be an attack.

He then aimed for her shins, starting the assault with a rather nasty spray of dirt to the face. She flipped her hair to the side, sending a minor shock wave in front of her that dispersed the the dust. She was a little too slow though when it came to dodging the attack on the ground, spinning on the ball of her foot just in time to only be nicked on the shin by her opponent's weapon. The delicate black fabric tore as more of the crimson liquid emerged from the fresh wound.

Minako finished her small spin and attempted to make a wide slash at her enemy's neck, if successful, it would cleave his throat in two. If not, she would be prepared to spring backwards and let off another attack as long as she was quick enough, she would sadly still be open to an attack though along her chest.

[Dischordant]

Eade felt his guitar thud into the tree and cursed under his breath. It was no consolation that the blow managed to draw a thin line of blood from his opponent's leg. At this rate the musician would tire before landing a solid blow. It looked like he was going to lose to a girl, and not just any girl - he was going to lose to a girl in goddamn pigtails and ruffles.

Deloris would never let him hear the end of it.

Caught in thought Eade didn't see the girl's sword until it was almost too late. As the blade bore down he threw himself backward, his right hand flashing instinctively to his throat in a feeble attempt to block. The sword struck his hand, neatly severing his ring finger and pinkie and sending a pinwheel of blood across his leather vest and face. His head slammed into the ground as he landed flat on his back. Deloris lay across his body like a burial sword.

Pain spread through his arm like herpes at a whore-house. The girl, apparently not one to press an advantage, danced away. Prostrate, de-fingered, and dizzy from the blow to his head, Eade had few options for counter-attack. The girl's chest was wide open, but there was no way to strike from his current position.

Blood from the deep bite in his tongue trickled down his throat. It reminded him of steak. Steak reminded him of home. Thinking of home made him mad, and the fact that some stupid, sparkly anime-reject bitch could make him mad made him even madder. Anger made his hand hurt less and the blood taste better, which in turn reminded him even more of steak, which caused his thoughts to run again and again until his entire body shook with the force of his emotions.

Like Lazarus from the dead Eade sat up and turned his head toward the girl. His eyes were mere slits and his blood-decorated face was a twisted mask of distant rage. The only sound he heard was the cacophony of his own erratic heart. Eade climbed to his feet, guitar gripped tightly in his five-fingered hand.

In his mind the girl's head shattered like rotten melon, then he broke her arms and legs, then her fingers one by one. Snap, snap, snap like little piggies they went and the girl cried "we, we, we, we," until he was done.

In reality though, the mad man made no action to realize his dream. He simply stood, glassy-eyed and heavy-breathed, playing joyfully with the pictures in his brain.

[Kirari Minako]

Minako was glad, she was beyond glad actually, purely ecstatic, that he didn't take that opening. She was always taught never to leave her heart open for a strike, but if she could end a battle there and then, she really didn't care. She stood there, glassy eyed and slightly out of her stance as her knees began to buckle, her stamina was slowly waning more and more, she didn't know if she could take much more of a fight. This guy was really strong, the one thing she was thankful for was that she wasn't as maimed as he was.

"And they all thought I was stupid for taking those dance lessons..." she thought to herself.

She stopped and took a moment to examine herself, feeling slightly woozy and needing a moment's reprieve. She wasn't looking very good, to be honest. The man on the ground looked much worse than her, but still, her clothes were worn, tattered, and torn. She had a small trail of blood seeping from the corner of her lip that she proceeded to wipe away gently. There was a larger trail of blood flowing down her shoulder, as the wound that was created before had been worsened as the two continued their deadly dance. She was sure she had smaller nicks and bruises all over as well, however, she tried to ignore that thought, knowing that it would bring down her performance. As she noticed her opponent slowly gathering himself to his feet and then just stand there, remaining in his place.

Minako wasn't stupid, she knew he was going to give her everything he had, and at this point she wasn't able to take that on. She stabbed her blade into the soil beside her, putting her two hands together in a prayer stance, her eyes as wide open as she could manage and intent on her enemy. Slowly, bits and pieces of electric energy emanated around her hands. She was preparing to hit him with all she had when it comes to her powers.

[Dischordant]

The hairs on Eade's neck bristled as his opponent gathered electrical energy for a final assault. Something about the sensation - the feel of danger perhaps, or a reminder of times he wished to forget - snapped the musician out of his trance. The girl's broken body disappeared, replaced with the sight of her in prayer stance, motes of blue and white energy dancing around her hands.

Eade couldn't be sure what she was planning, but the blood and pain in his mouth was a testament to the fact that whatever it was, it wasn't good. Desperate to get out of harm’s way, Eade spun around the trunk of the oak tree and ran a straight path toward the side of the mountain. The girl was only a few yards away from the base, and Eade hoped he could use that to his advantage.

As he neared the base he unleashed another sonic scream, a pure c-note that resonated with the granite monolith. His call was answered by a quiet rumble, like snare drums racing toward crescendo. The snare became a bass, rumbling loudly, slowly building to a thunderous roar as rocks shook themselves free of the mountain face. Palm-sized stones tumbled down first, followed close by watermelon rocks and finally large boulders.

Adrenaline pumped like drugs in his veins and Eade cut sharply left, charging into the avalanche that rained death toward the warriors. He held Deloris close to his side, dodging gracefully between the rocks, his body disappearing and reappearing as he wove though the madness. A fist-size slab struck his leg, sending him momentarily off balance. The shadow of a huge boulder blocked the sun. Eade dove into a roll, narrowly avoiding the monstrous thing, and sprung back to his feet to continue the charge.

Dust soaked the air, reducing visibility, and the sound of the weeping mountain made relying on his ears impossible. Still, Eade ran forward, closing the distance between himself and the girl in a few, heart-pounding seconds. Once in range, he swung Deloris toward Minako's torso, ducking his head to avoid a granite projectile that threatened to decapitate him. He pulled Deloris back, unsure if the attack struck home, and delivered a short chop to the girl's head.

Blood seeped freely from his many wounds; pain mingled with the roar of the mountain. Chaos reigned supreme in the once-pastoral vale, a chaos that mirrored the confused violence in Eade's heart. Again he attacked, shoving Deloris toward the girl's knees. He was a creature of instinct now, fueled by something he didn't understand. Rocks slammed into his body as he drove Deloris again and again at the girl, not knowing if any of the attacks drew blood, but hoping feverishly that they did.