"This is your armor."
There was hardly anything to it. Combatants had the right to choose their armor and weapons. Or so she thought. When she said that, the man sneered.
"So the princess wants more? Be grateful you're getting anything at all. We could always let you enter naked." The toy soldier was caged behind the window with a gun strapped to his back. He growled in a way she'd never heard before. The man continued, unaware, "At least it'd give us something to look at before they rip you apart."
"Say that again."
The soldier's hand was on the trigger. The gun wouldn't kill. But the instinct was there. She could sense it.
"Don't, Mr. Soldier." The young woman warned. She took the bundle of armor. The man tossed a blunted sword on the floor in front of her before slinking back into the hallways. Sunlight streamed into the stone coliseum's waiting room between metal bars. Mr. Soldier was standing on the outside ledge. His tiny shadow was cast upon the girl as she picked up the weapon.
He spoke softly, "Rebecca. How can you win with a blade that can't cut? I know that your mother told you never to hurt people, but what if there's an emergency?"
"Kyros didn't need a real sword." She replied. The toy's hands slipped from the bars.
"Have you heard of him? There's a statue downstairs. He won three thousand matches with a dull blade. If he can do that many, then what's a few matches here?"
"Rebecca…"
"I know I'm not as good as him. But that statue inspired me. It's silly, isn't it? I'm not even sure if he's real."
She fit the helmet over her head. "I'll be undefeated too. In my own way. You'll see." She smiled and left the tin man outside, striding deeper into the coliseum with all the regality a gladiator could afford.
Author's Note: I think there was a line in the anime saying that Rebecca was given the worst of everything in terms of armor and all that. I felt bad for her...