This is a one shot, I just wrote it to try out the idea. I might continue it some time but I think it can stand (however shakily) on its own as it is.
Gladiator
by Mara S. S.
In those days, it was practically a death sentence for a girl to be born with the mark of a HiME. It marked her as a girl with extraordinary fighting abilities and with the ability to summon demons.
These HiMEs were greatly feared by society. Often, they were cast out and left to die, thrown out into the night before they could even utter a cry.
When bonds of affection drove the child's parents to hide a mark, sooner or later someone would find out and a mob would descend on the hapless baby intent on destroying those who consorted with demons.
And so the HiMEs were cut off from the world they were born into. But a few, a very few, survived.
There were people who sold children born as HiMEs instead of killing them. These young HiMEs were sold to slave traders and brought to Fuuka.
You see, in that place called Fuuka, being a HiME wasn't a death sentence. No, instead HiMEs were condemned to live a life of fighting for the entertainment of the people.
In Fuuka, HiMEs were thought of as animals. They were dangerous animals that could be subdued and chained but never fully tamed. They were savage beasts.
HiMEs were raised as fighters. They were like prize hunting dogs or race horses. HiMEs were a more risky investment than dogs or horses but their owners stood to gain much from the prizes awaiting the victorious.
The HiMEs were set to battle one another in the Coliseum of Fuuka. It was similar to the bloody spectacles of Roman times when lions and other fearsome creatures were brought from distant lands to excite and titillate the crowd.
The HiMEs were a sport for Fuuka. In fact, it was Fuuka's national sport.
Every time the Festival season comes around, the common people will be lining up in front of the coliseums of Fuuka. They will fill and overflow the bleachers. What brings them is the excitement, the danger, and the controlled fear the battles draw from them.
The crowd looks forward to the Festival that marks the beginning of the battle season with excitement. The HiMEs however, dread its approach.
-o-
The approach of the Festival is an especially trying time for the HiMEs that were still unblooded.
HiMEs weren't required to battle at once. Some owners kept their HiMEs in training for years before entering them in the Festival's battles.
Natsuki was one such HiME.
Natsuki sat in a corner of her cell.
It was the day she would be auctioned off to a new owner.
The HiME in the cell to her right had already been brought out to be auctioned off. Her name was Akane and she had looked frightened to death as she was led out to face the bidders.
The HiME to her left, the girl with glasses, hardly ever spoke. She was curled up on her side, facing away from Natsuki. Her name was Yukino, Natsuki had overheard it from one of the guards.
Natsuki's previous owner had died before she had completed her training and before she had entered the Festival.
Now she would be sold to the highest bidder. It wasn't a prospect Natsuki cared to contemplate.
She fingered the heavy metal collar and the shackles that bound her.
She sighed. Escape was impossible. She'd already tried several times.
"Hey, you!"
Natsuki looked at the guard who called her. She looked at him with flat unfriendly eyes.
The guard unlocked the door to her cell. He grabbed her arm and dragged her out. Natsuki did her best to make it difficult for him.
She was brought out to a stage where she faced a momentary blindness. It was bright because of the many spotlights that illuminated the stage.
"Here we have a wonderful specimen of a..." She heard a man's voice droning on.
Natsuki looked out into the crowd, but all she could make out were indistinct faces. Which one of these would be her new owner, she wondered?
She was starting to sweat from the bright lights. There were whispers all around her as one after another, people indicated their willingness to bid.
Natsuki tried to study the shadowy faces, lifting her chained hands to shade against the blinding light.
Then suddenly, "Sold! To the lady on my right!"
Natsuki felt a hot flash of disappointment as she was dragged offstage without getting a chance to see her would be owner.
She was stuffed into more presentable clothes though she felt the metal chains would make even the most beautiful dress unpleasant.
After putting up with the fussing of the auction house's servants, Natsuki was led out to be brought to her new home.
A lady in violet was waiting for her. The lady had brown hair and the most striking red eyes.
The lady took one end of her chain and gently led her to a black carriage. Without a word, the lady gestured for her to get in.
Natsuki climbed in uncertainly. The lady got in after her and the carriage began moving.
Natsuki could hear the clip clop of the horse's hooves on the cobblestones. The lady was silent throughout the ride and it made Natsuki wonder if she was mute or something.
The lady's eyes never left Natsuki's face though, and it was making Natsuki uncomfortable.
Putting her new owner out of her mind, Natsuki sank into the seat and began planning her next escape attempt.
-o-
She awoke with a jolt to find the carriage had stopped moving.
The lady who bought her was standing over her and shaking her shoulder.
"Natsuki, wasn't it? Please get up. We're home."
The lady brought her into a well appointed living room and bid her to sit down.
Natsuki curled her legs up beneath her and sat on the floor.
"That won't do." The lady reached a hand down to her and startled, Natsuki took it.
Natsuki was in for even more of a surprise. The lady's hands were callused, not what she'd have expected from a well bred woman. There was strength in her grip, a strength that belied her feminine appearance.
The lady grasped the shackles that bound Natsuki. With one hand, she fished out a key from a pocket then unchained her newly bought HiME.
The lady carefully unraveled the chains then dumped them unceremoniously to one side.
"I'm afraid I don't have the means to remove that though." The lady said, pointing to Natsuki's collar.
Every HiME wore a collar, or something like it. They were welded on, a visible mark proclaiming its wearer as something less than human.
Natsuki stared at her new owner in surprise. So the woman truly felt safe alone with one of the fearsome HiMEs?
She rubbed her wrists. They had been chafing in their shackles.
"Sit down." The lady said, pushing her gently into a comfortable seat. The lady turned away and went to a side cabinet.
"When we're alone at least, feel free to sit anywhere you like." She rummaged around in the cabinet.
"Ah, here." The lady came back and sat in a chair beside Natsuki.
She took hold of Natsuki's wrists. Natsuki jerked her wrists back.
The lady showed Natsuki the bottle she held. "It's just something to make your wrists feel better."
Natsuki grudgingly let the woman take hold of her wrists again. The woman gently spread a soothing cream on them.
"Better?" She asked when she was finished, smiling at Natsuki.
Still distrustful of the unexpected kindness, Natsuki answered sullenly, "Yeah..."
The lady held out a hand to her. "I'm Shizuru, and you are Natsuki, correct?"
Natsuki responded to neither the extended hand nor the question. She looked up warily at her new owner.
The lady - Shizuru - chuckled. "You're a stubborn one."
Natsuki glared. She didn't like being made fun of. It was especially difficult for her because as a HiME, she wasn't supposed to speak unless spoken to.
Not that she didn't break that rule whenever she chose. "What do you want?" Natsuki challenged in an insolent tone.
But instead of the slap or the beating that would normally have followed, a hand reached out to cup her cheek.
"I am not your enemy Natsuki." Shizuru said calmly.
Natsuki batted the hand away. She disliked being touched, disliked having others invading her personal space. Unfortunately, that often got her in trouble with her previous owner.
She didn't expect that to change with this one no matter how pretty or lady like the woman acted. No, Shizuru, or whatever her name was, was still her owner. She was still the enemy.
Instead of taking offense, Shizuru sighed and took a step away from Natsuki.
"Perhaps this might make it easier..." Shizuru said. She promptly began undoing the buttons of her blouse.
Natsuki groaned inwardly. She had heard that some of the HiMEs were used as bed companions by their owners but she hadn't expected to be sold to one such person.
Natsuki's eyes cast about the room for some avenue of escape. There was no way she was going to let this strange woman touch her.
"Relax." Shizuru commanded.
Natsuki snorted.
"Natsuki, look." The voice was compelling.
Natsuki gave in, a look wouldn't hurt. But if the woman tried to touch her, she would be out of there, regardless of the future consequences.
Natsuki took a look, and gasped.
To one side of the woman's stomach, was a bright red HiME mark.
Her new owner was a HiME as well?!
That was... impossible.
"Yes. I'm a HiME, just like you." Natsuki's owner answered her unspoken question.
Shizuru calmly buttoned her blouse back up.
"H-how?" Natsuki managed to squeak out.
Shizuru sat down on the seat began Natsuki, but she wisely refrained from leaning too close to her skittish new HiME.
"Do you know what happens when a HiME gets through the Festival undefeated?"
Natsuki shrugged. "Her owner gets a lot of money and the HiME gets a pat on the head?"
A smile quirked up a corner of Shizuru's mouth. "That's when a HiME's victorious. When a HiME is undefeated..."
Shizuru trailed off, looking Natsuki in the eye.
Natsuki began to feel a vague stirring in her chest.
"... she is set free." The last was said in a whisper.
"Free?" Natsuki's voice trembled.
She'd never dared to hope for freedom. In her numerous escape attempts, all she'd looked for was an early death, to end her mortal pain. But this woman...
Shizuru nodded. "Yes. Suffering no defeat has been declared a sign of favor from the Star. It means that HiME is worthy to be considered a human."
Shizuru paused a second before continuing. "The priests perform certain rituals to make the HiME fit to join regular society. Among others, they perform one to exorcise a HiME's demon."
Natsuki's throat felt dry. "What are you saying?" It came out in a hoarse whisper.
"I'm saying, I want to make a deal with you. I will train you and help you win your freedom."
Natsuki unconsciously edged away from her owner. "And what do you get in return?" She asked it warily.
"Everything else that goes with fielding the winning HiME." Shizuru answered.
Natsuki's eyes were narrow from suspicion. "Why me?" She demanded harshly.
Shizuru thought about it a moment before replying, in a soft voice. "You have a good chance of winning... and..." Shizuru smiled faintly, "you remind me of myself."
Natsuki nodded slowly, carefully thinking it over.
Finally she asked. "How do I know I can trust you?"
Shizuru smiled humorlessly. "You don't. But then you've got nothing to lose."
Natsuki laughed bitterly. That was too true.
"So, do we have a deal?"
Natsuki looked at Shizuru's outstretched hand, considering the offer carefully.
The room was filled with an expectant silence.
Then, slowly, she put her hand forward and shook Shizuru's.
"Deal."
END
Disclaimer: Mai HiME belongs to Sunrise