A/N: Before I start, this part will probably be the longest current part...please continue.
I wake up to a pounding on my door.
"I'm coming, I'm coming! Sheesh. No rest for the weary." I mutter while rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. Luckily, its a straight path from the bedroom to the door. On my way to the door, I look around the room and notice sunlight streaming through the window over my bed. I continue forward, both confused and still tired. All the walls in the apartment sized place are painted a beige color, with mocha colored running boards. I stumble to the door, open it, and blink. There stands Valentine, clad in the same get-up as last night.
She strides in, not waiting for an invitation, a cheery smile on her face.
"Good morning." she greets, before removing her boots, then turning into the living room. She plops right into one of the two arm chairs that face each other, a small wooden coffee table resting between them. I plop into the other.
"My, my, looks like you slept well." She chirps. I grunt.
"I barely slept at all." I complain.
"Oh don't worry, silly, you'll get used to it." she replies.
"Care to tell me why its sunny outside? I thought we were underground." I question, still a bit confused by the sunlight streaming through the window. Valentine gives me a look as if she's about to call me stupid.
"Its simulated silly, how else would we get sunlight down here?" she explains.
"Okay, whatever. I suppose that would make sense. I'll be right back, I'm gonna go change." I say, gesturing at the grey sweatpants, and grey tank top I'm wearing.
"I'll probably take a shower too. I say, after sniffing myself.
"Please do." She says, covering her nose with a playful smirk. I just shake my head, smiling a bit at my mentors antics.
When I finish showering, I head to the bedroom, look at the small dresser, and look inside. Inside are similar shirts, pants and sweaters as the ones I wore before. I quickly change, then head to the living room. Valentine is gone. I look at the door, and see both her boots, and mine.
"Valentine! Where are you?" I call out.
"In here!" She shouts from the kitchen. I walk in, and I swear, I almost immediately fall in love with her. At the table are two plates, both full with bacon, eggs, and toast.
"Wow! You can cook?" I ask, surprised. I sit down, and smell the food. It smells delicious.
"Of course! You can't always eat out! That's not healthy." She puffs out her cheeks.
"And this is for me?" I ask.
"Yeah, after all it is your place." She says.
"Wait, where'd you find the food?" I ask, just a bit suspicious. She looks at the fridge,
"Oh." I say blankly. "How stupid of me."
"Yep." She nods, a small smile on her face.
"Wait, why is it stocked?"
"Warriors in their first month get a free fridge stock up."
"Oh."
I dig into the food, and sink into a heaven of flavor. I chew, then swallow, savouring the food.
"This is so good! Where'd you learn to cook like this?"
"Bah, its not that good." she blushes just a bit. "Just hurry up and eat, we've got stuff to do today!"
I start to eat again, still amazed by the flavor. Once we're done, I wipe my mouth with a napkin, clear the dishes, and then look at Valentine.
"What?" She asks, looking a bit disturbed.
"Nothing. I'm waiting for you."
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you have to stare at me."
"Why not?"
"Its creepy. Like an old man is checking me out." She exagerates. There's a moment of silence. I try to comprehend what she just implyed.
"What? I'm not some old man! I'm probably younger than you, too!" I start to yell.
"Nope! I'm younger than you. I'm exactly twenty, as of two months ago." She says cheekily.
"Look, its not like I'm into you anyway." I say.
"Whatever! I can tell, you're totally into me!"
"Nuh-uh!"
"Uh-huh!"
"Nuh-uh!"
"Uh-huh!"
"Nuh-uh!"
"Shut up kid." she says.
After we head out, we stop at a post office. She walks in, gesturing for me to follow. I walk in, and see her at the counter.
"Room one hundred twenty two, please." She states. The lady at the counter hands her an envelope, then heads through a door, presumably, into the back. Valentine hands me the envelope.
"Open it. Inside should be a bunch of money. It should cover all of your expenses for the month."
"Okay?" I say. I open the envelope, then pocket the money.
"At the fifth of every month, you should get money here. The unit hands it out, as compensation, for the fact that you won't see the surface ever again, that you have had to sever major and minor ties. They know sentiment, believe it or not." She explains. We walk out of the post office, to whatever place she has planned.
We arrive at the training area. As we walk in, the lights flash on. Valentine turns towards me, and I immediately halt.
"Look, you're gonna be in the arena, in two days, whether you like it or not. The arena this time is a maze. So we need to unlock your powers, as soon as possible." She says.
"What about the activator?"
"That, as the name suggests, activates it. There's a lock feature on it, because before, when they didn't have the lock feature, lots of people died, in horrible ways." She explains.
"So how do we unlock it?"
"Like this." Valentine states, as she points a remote at me.
It feels like the gravity increased, and I drop to the floor. The small circular indents in the ground open up. I feel small, short poles rise out.
"Uh, Valentine. What's happening?"
"Hold still, shut up, and try not to scream too loud." She chuckles unpleasently.
"Wha-?" I'm cut off by a powerful jolt, that travels through me, as if a snake was coiling around me entirely. I try to yell, do anything, but I'm paralyzed.After what feels like ages, it stops. I'm breathing heavily, and I can feel my arm twitching. Valentine walks up then kicks me in the ribs.
"Ow." I wheeze out. She smiles sickly.
"Oh? You're still alive. Well, congradgulations, your powers are now activated, and unlocked."
"How can you tell?" I manage out, now only feeling slightly better.
"Well, if they didn't, you'd probably be dead." She replies nonchalantly.
"What?" I exclaim, picking myself up onto my hands and knees. She shrugs.
"Your welcome."
Valentine walks out, the returns shortly with a very realistic looking dummy.
"What do you want me to do?" I ask.
"Imagine something, anything. In your power bio, its said you could effect stuff at an atomic level, including yourself, but it relies on your imagination. So think of something happening to it." She explains as she points at the dummy. I reach down, stand it up, then place my hand on it. I imagine it cutting into pieces, pieces so small, they're nearly invisible. I watch as before my eyes, exactly that happens. Valentine whistles lowly.
"Well, I was expecting that to take longer, but that solves that. Next, we're gonna come up with a release word. We'll do the release word first."
"Uh, Valentine, what's a release word?" I ask.
"Its a word that keeps your power in check, so you don't accidentally use it on someone." She explains. "Here, let me show you." She mutters a bit, as if she's angry, then dissapears.
"Boo." I hear her whisper in my ear. I jump forward, then turn to face her.
"Stop doing that!" I complain, shaking my head
"So why didn't you have to use a release word?" I ask, trying to see if I can get more information.
"Your power is volatile, extremely dangerous. So to prevent bad things from happening, you need a release word, so you don't go on an accidental killing spree."
"Okay, but how do I get one?" I ask, just a bit confused.
"Think harder." It had been about half an hour and I just couldn't come up with a simple word that I would never use. Both Valentine and I are sitting.
"How about veldt? That's a word right?"
"Yeah, I guess that will have to do." She responds, just a bit huffily. She stands, stretches her back, then starts walking out.
"Wait? That's all we had to do?" I ask, amazed by the sheer simplicity.
"No, but we've got to go somewhere to get a limiter. That's the thing that will keep your power in check."
"Got it." I say, standing slowly, and then run to catch up to her. As we leave, the lights in the training area go out.
We walk through the underground area, which I start to notice, looks like a mall.
"Hey, Valentine?" I ask.
"Yeah?"
"Why does this place look like a mall?"
"That's because the designers of the place thought it would be rather convenient, rather than having millions of depressing tunnels, or walking through dark and dank caverns." She says simply.
I nod. That would suck, to have to walk through an area like what she described. We turn down one of the halls, lined with shops, living areas, recreational areas, work areas, some night clubs, and even a few arcades. It looks like everything you'd expect in a place where people live. I'm pretty sure I even saw an amusement park. We continue on, taking a few more turns, then head up a level.
"The Phoenix" I read the name aloud, as we arrive.
"Come on, lets go." She ushers me in.
Inside is essentially every type of weapon, albeit, very few firearms.
"Look around, see if there's something you like." A young lady says. She has straight blond hair, which is held back in a pony tail, and is wearing a green T-shirt, and brown Thai fisherman's pants, rolled up to her knees. She's sharpening a ka-bar knife. Her face has a little bit of grime on it, but all in all, she looks quite pretty. Valentine looks at her oddly.
"Well hello to you too, Arnthora." Valentine says, almost as if she's mockingly angry.
Arnthora looks up, and I notice that the right eye is brown and the left is brown. Her face lights up.
"Valentine!" She cries out, then rushes out from behind the counter and grabs Valentine in a tight hug. Valentine smiles gently and then returns the hug. After a moment, they let go.
"So how are you?" Arnthora asks.
"Good, good. Yourself?" She returns. Arnthora smiles.
"Im doing great. And the shop is actually very popular. So who's this?" She asks, her eyebrow raised slighty.
"This is Vince. He's a Warrior." She replies. Arnthora scans me over slowly. She looks over at Valentine, again, with a raised eyebrow.
"I thought you said that you wouldn't ever get yourself a boyfriend." As soon as the words come out, Valentine blushes, almost with a horrified face.
"No! No! No! Not ever! No!" She yells, her face now redder. I start to chuckle.
"Look, I'm not her boyfriend. I'm actually her student. Nice to meet you." I say, trying to help Valentine out. I offer my hand. Arnthora shakes it almost gently.
"You're her student." She asks. I nod. She looks over at Valentine, with a smirk on her face. It only takes one word to start the blushing again.
"Kinky."
I look around the shop as Valentine tries to protect her pride. I walk through the aisles of clothes and armor. The outer shelves are weapons. I continue forward, moving towards a rack, labeled "Light Armor". I sift through it, before settling on a tight fitting black and red short sleeved hoodie, with light padding on the chest, stomach area and back. I nod, then walk towards the front. The ladies have finally settled down.
"I'm telling you, he's not my boyfriend!"
"Sure, sure. Whatever, I'll let you off the hook this time." I hear Arnthora tease. I emerge from the racks.
"Um, sorry to bother, but do you have a fitting room?" I ask.
"Yeah, right this way." Arnthora strides towards the back of the store, Valentine right behind her, leading me. Arnthora reveals a set of keys, and proceeds to unlock a door. She opens the door.
"There you go. If you need any help just yell." She says before walking back to the front of the store, humming an unfamiliar tune. I walk into the change room, and close the door behind me. I remove my sweater and T-shirt, then pull the new one over. It fits like a glove.
I walk out and look at Valentine. She nods.
"Not bad. Definitely looks good. Next up let's get you some pants. She dissapears down a few aisles. A few moments later, she comes back with a pair of black, padded combat pants. I nod, taking them from her, and returning to the change room. After changing, I walk out, decked out in my new clothes. She nods again.
"Those colors really suit you." She compliments. I see a tinge of pink on her face.
"Thanks. And, I guess the same for you." The pink tinge grows a bit more. I go back into the change room and change back into my original clothes. As we walk back to the front, I can't help but think. ' Does she like me? I mean its not like she's bad looking.' I look her up and down as we continue forward. Her figure, I note is really hidden by the trench coat. As we reach the front, Valentine walks to the counter, placing the clothes down.
"We'll be looking around a bit more, okay?" She says as she looks at me.
"No problem." I say, admiring the weapons along the wall. A lot of them include customization parts, I notice, along with the fact that a lot of them have special features. My eyes wander along the wall, before noticing a pair of small scythes with a large amount of customization parts. I look at Arnthora.
"Excuse me but how much are those?" I ask, pointing the pair out.
"Just the blades?" She asks.
"No, the whole nine yards." I say. She looks surprised.
"Wow, I have never had a customer ever ask for everything, after all its a lot of money. But, since you're a first time customer I'll give you a discount." She smiles.
"Thanks, a lot." I say, grayeful for the discount. She pulls them down from their place on the wall, and places everything into a bag, along with the clothing. I continue to look around at the weapons, but decide that I shouldn't buy anymore. Valentine comes back to the front, with a few clothes, and a small box. She places it all on the counter and we both pay for our individual purchases. As soon as we walk out, she reaches into the bag and procures the box.
"Here, open it." She says, handing the box to me. I open it, and inside is a silver tomoe shaped necklace, with a silver chain. I look at her in disbelief.
"This is for me?" I ask surprised. She nods.
"Yeah, its your release. What it does is essentially restrict your power until the release word is spoken." She explains.
"But, seriously, this thing is really nice. Thank you." I grab her in a hug. When I let her go, her face is bright red.
"Y-your welcome." She stutters out. I chuckle, and put the necklace on. As I do, Valentine goes back to being herself. We walk away, talking all the way back to the rooms.
By the time we reach the rooms, its about four o'clock. We stand at the doorway to my apartment and I invite her in, then turn on the lights. I place my bag into the bedroom, then head to the kitchen. I turn to face Valentine.
"You made breakfast so I'll make supper. Okay?" She smiles.
"Sure." She says, before dissapearing into the living room. I work at making supper. I look into the pantry, and notice a few jars of spaghetti sauce. I grab two, and look around a bit more. I notice a bag of sphagetti, and grab it too. I walk back to the counter and set the items down. I look into the freezer portion of the fridge, and grab some ground beef. I fry it up, then mix it with the sauce, then proceed to cook the noodles, and heat the sauce. By the time I'm done, its about five. I set the table for two.
"Valentine!" I call. No response. I walk into the living room, and see her curled up in one of the chairs, her trench coat draped on the back of the chair. Apparently, underneath the trench coat she wears a red and black tank top, which contrasts against her pale skin. I walk over and gently shake her. She yawns, stretches her arms, and then looks up at me, almost as if she's extremely happy.
"Come on, sleepyhead, get up. Suppers ready."
"Okay. Smells good." She says gently. I help her out of the chair, and walk to the table. We dig in, and before I know it supper is done.
"Hey, Vince?"
"Yeah?"
"What do you think of me?" She asks, a quizzical, but calm look on her face. I think carefully, then answer.
" Well, I think that I'm glad I've been able to meet you. And, well," I look at her face, carefully, then look into her eyes, "you're actually very pretty."
"That...that's nice to know." She looks at me, then reaches across the table places her hand on mine.
"I think, that maybe, if we met in a different time, we could've been lovers." She says. I can feel my face heat up, and know I'm blushing. And yet, she looks so calm.
"Uh, okay?" I feel myself on the verge of stuttering. I haven't seen this side of her, and to be honest, I like it. She reaches over with her other hand and strokes my cheek. Then she stands up.
"Thanks for the meal." She says then goes to the living room, retrieves her trench coat, walks to the door, puts on her boots and leaves. I sit there, dumb struck. I haven't ever had a girl be like that to me. I sit there for a while contemplating, thinking to myself. 'What was that? Why did she do that? Should I talk to her about this? Does this mean she's interested in me?' All these thoughts eventually lead me to the shower. I wash up, change into my sleeping clothes, then lay down. Above my head I notice, is a window, with curtains over them. I look through the slats, and see a simulated moon, and then, a shooting star fly by. I close my eyes.
"So beautifal." I say aloud then fall asleep.
To be continued...
A/N: Well, that ending wasn't exactly how I wanted it to be, but I feel like it fits. Valentine is definitely an interesting person to write about, in my opinion. Again, sorry for any spelling mistakes, or grammar. Next chapter will definitely have more action. This chapter was really just to add to the characters, like the soft side to Valentine. I felt though that this story definitely needs more characters, so next chapter I'll definitely be adding a few more characters. And also, next chapter Vince is heading into the arena. That's about as much as I can think of. So, thanks for reading, and if you want tell me what you think needs to be added, or taken out. Flamers will be ignored. Thanks!
-bloodredfox7