Hey guys! Problems with the internet made this late, so I'm really sorry! Thanks for the reviews, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 4: Weapon of Choice

"So, your the new Reaper." The man-who'd introduced himself as Kariya-said to Mina. She nodded, holding out her hand for him to shake. As Kariya shook her hand, Uzuki smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry for knocking you over like that. I didn't see the Reaper mark on your arm." Mina smiled back and patted the older girl on the shoulder, reassuring her. Uzuki sat on the ground, pulling her boot back onto her foot. "What's you're name?" Mina frowned as she tried to think of a way to 'speak' without talking. She made a 'm' with her fingers, pointed to her eye, drew a 'n' in the air, and made an 'a' with her hands.

"Your name's Meyena?" Uzuki guessed. Mina shook her head. "Minea?" Kariya said.

Mina sighed. This will be harder than I thought. She thought a bit more, several methods popping into her head, until she had an idea. She bent down and traced the letters of her name slowly, hoping the two in front of her would understand. Uzuki's eyes lit up. "Oh, I know! It's Mena!"

Mina resisted the urge to choke Joshua the next time she saw him for getting her into this situation.

"No," Kariya said, rubbing his chin, "I think it's something else. Is it Meno?" Mina shook her head again.

"Meino?"

"What about Mickey?" Kariya suggested. Uzuki tilted her head, thinking, "No, she doesn't look like a Mickey. Hmm, maybe Mina? Is that it?" Mina smiled and stood up straight, nodding. "Well, Mina, why didn't you just say so?" Kariya asked. Mina pointed to her throat. "You can't talk?" Uzuki said, frowning, "That's terrible." Kariya reach into his pocket and pulled out a sucker. Unwrapping it, he said, "Not as terrible as hitting your superior in the face with a shoe." Looking at Mina, he gestured to the sucker in his hand and added, "By the way, this is bean paste, not candy." Uzuki's eyes widened. "Oh, you're right! I'll never get a promotion at this rate," She yelped, "I'll be a Harrier Reaper forever!"

Mina giggled at the memory of Sho getting hit in the face.

Kariya sighed and patted Uzuki on the head, "You'll be fine." He turned to Mina. "You're new, right? Have you found a weapon?" Mina shook her head. I hadn't really thought about it. But, I guess I'll need one to fight Players, She thought saddly.

Uzuki smiled at her, "We can help you find one, if you want." Mina smiled and nodded. At least I have someone who knows what they're doing.

As they walked down the hallway, Uzuki told Mina all the things needed to become an Officer.

"Remember, there's no such thing as working too hard. Officers are always looking at your preformance, so put everything you have into your missions!" The older Reaper said. Uzuki looked behind them at Kariya, who walked behind the two. "Unlike someone I know," She added. Kariya just shrugged. "Also," Uzuki added, "make sure to be very respectful to the Officers! Manners can go a long way." Mina nodded furiously, taking notes in her head. She was determined not to mess up.

"Follow all the rules, and take orders without hesitation!"

"...And don't hit Officers in the face with your shoe," Kariya added.

Uzuki sent a death glare over her shoulder. Turning back to Mina, she said, "Anyway, we're here!"

They stood infront of a metal door. Kariya pushed it open, and Mina nearly had a heart attack.

The room was very large, and both the walls and floor were metal. It was slightly cooler in here, making Mina shiver slightly. The whole room had a blue tint to it, making everything look cold. Different weapons, from guns to knives to swords, were sitting on a wall length shelf across the room from the door. The left wall had a dark blue glass over it. Other than that, the room was completely empty.

"This is where Harrier Reapers, like us, go to train," Kariya explained, "There's another training room, but it's for the Officers only." Uzuki nodded, taking Mina's arm and walking over to the weapons. Mina dugged her heels into the floor, struggling out of Uzuki's grip. There was one reason she didn't want to go near that shelf.

Mina was absolutely terriffied of weapons.

Uzuki looked back at her, "What's wrong? You're not scared, are you?"

Mina nodded, not even trying to hide it.

Kariya walked over. "In that case, you'll just have to deal with it. Unless you want to use your fists."

Mina thought about that. I'll have to fight sooner or later, She frowned, I know I won't do much damage with just my fists...Oh well. After a moment, Mina followed Uzuki to the shelf. Uzuki picked up a gun and turned to Mina, "What about this?" Mina looked at the gun with slight fear in her eyes. Just looking at it made her stomach and chest ache, the gunshot wounds burning. She shook her head quickly.

"What about a knife?" Kariya asked, twirling the dagger in his hand. Mina imagined accidently stabbing herself and almost fainted.

"Hey, Mina," Uzuki said, "Try this." She held out a long black pole with a short, horizontal black pole sticking out at the top, making it look like a religious cross. Mina blinked, thinking. That doesn't look very dangerous...She'd rather hit enemies with a stick than hurt herself with a knife or gun. She reached out and took the pole from Uzuki, looking at it carefully. It was surprisingly lightweight. There was a small switch on the side, which confused her. I wonder what that does, Mina thought, flipping the switch. Just a second after she flipped the small switch, a long, curved, and incredibly sharp silver blade shot out from the side Mina was holding.

Blood splattered onto the floor. Mina felt the handle jerk suddenly, making her drop the weapon. She fell to her knees, tears springing to her eyes as pain blossomed through her. "Mina?!" Uzuki exclaimed, instantly appearing at her side. "I'm sorry! I didn't realize it was a sythe!" Mina did her best to smile through the pain, trying to show that it was okay. Kariya bent down and looked at her stomach. After a moment, he said, "Luckily, it's just a small cut, and not deep. You should be fine, just need a few stitches." Kariya reached into his back pocket and pulled out a first aid kit. Uzuki raised an eyebrow, "You carry that around with you?"

"Just in case you hurt yourself doing something stupid."

Uzuki glared at her partner while he bandaged Mina's cut.

When he was done, Mina stood up and looked over at the sythe, which laid a few feet from them. She hadn't expected something so dangerous from something that looked so harmless. Without thinking, she walked over and picked the weapon up carefully, making sure she held the side that didn't have a blade. She stared at the curved blade for a moment, watching the lights reflect off it. Turning to Uzuki and Kariya, she pointed to it. "Are you sure want to use that?" Uzuki asked. Mina nodded firmly. Kariya stretched his arms over his head, "Well then, now that you have one weapon, here." He gave her a simple handgun. Mina looked down at the gun confused. But I already have a weapon, She thought, turning her attention to Kariya in question. "You should always have a back up weapon with you, just in case the other one is knock away from you in battle," He explained, "Normally, we just use weapons to summon Noise, but it's handy to be able to defend yourself in an emergency." Mina bit her lip. That makes sense, I guess, She lifted up the gun with one hand and the sythe in the other, wondering which she should train with first.

"I think you should try the gun out," Uzuki said, crossing her arms, "Getting used to the gun's recoil can help you control the sythe better when the blade flicks out." She looked around the room and spotted several target signs leaning against the wall. "Try and shoot the center of those targets over there." Mina nodded and set the sythe down on the ground. She fiddled with the gun for a moment. How on earth do you hold this thing? She thought fusterated.

Both Uzuki and Kariya watched her, one in amusement, the other in concern.

"I hope she doesn't shoot herself with it," Uzuki said, looking up at Kariya. "She'll be fine," He awnsered, "I'm sure she at least knows how one works." Uzuki looked back at Mina, who was still trying to figure out how to hold the weapon. Her heart nearly stopped when the younger teen gripped the barrel of the gun.

Finally, Mina grabbed the handle and held it correctly. She looked over at Uzuki, smiling brightly. Standing with her feet apart, she held the gun with both hands, aimed at the first target, and pulled the trigger.

Joshua crossed his arms as he watched Mina through the double-sided mirror. Megumi walked up next to him, hands behind his back. Observing the scene in front of him, Megumi asked, "Joshua are you sure this is the right person? The voices she hears may just be a matter of mental health." Joshua was silent for a moment, thinking. "I know," He said slowly, wording his thought carefully, "that she doesn't seem like the right one. But these voices she hears, the ones she can't escape from, they are just the begining of her abilities. She's progressed so far on her own, without even realizing what she has, that I'm surprised she hasn't developed a strong sense of ESP, though, in some cases, she has, but just a little."

Megumi looked down at the boy in question. "ESP? But how is that even evident?"

Joshua hid a small smile, "Back when we first tessted her, the Noise I set up were placed randomly throughout the room. Yet she was able to dodge most of them with the help of a small voice in the back of her head."

"That was becuase a voice told her where to go-"

"But just how exactly did that voice know where the Noise traps were? Mina didn't know."

Megumi was quiet, finally seeing what the younger boy was thinking. Joshua took this as a sign to continue. "Whether she has ESP or not doesn't matter now, anyway," He continued, "The games are close to starting again, and we'll need her for this round. The Players are still asleep?"

"Yes, all of them."

Joshua nodded, "Good. The games will remain on schedule unless something drastic happens."

Megumi 'hmm'ed in agreement and continued to watch Mina through the glass.

THUMP!

Mina stumbled backward, landing on her butt for the seventh time.

Her arms ached terribly from the recoil of the gun, and her butt hurt even worse from falling. No matter what she did, she couldn't hit the target, not even close. Uzuki took a step forward, "Maybe we should take a break." Kariya nodded, looking at a watch on his wrist. "Yeah, you can try again after we get your cuts stitched up and eat lunch."

Mina sighed in defeat and nodded, standing and walking up to Kariya and handing him gun. She turned and picked up the sythe. Uzuki had retracted the blade, and Mina was careful not to accidently hit the button. Kariya had told her not to move quickly, seeing as the bandages would only temporarily hold the would closed. Her shoulder still ached slightly, but her stomach was feeling a bit better. Mina's legs, however, were still a little shakey from the force of the gun, so she leaned on the sythe as she walked out of the trainign room.

Uzuki lead them down the hallway to the kitchen, explaining to Mina the schedule that the Reapers followed. "We all wake up at different times, depending on what your rank is. Harriers like us wake up at exactly seven in the morning, get dressed, and go to the kitchen to get breakfast. After that, we go to the training room to train for an hour and a half, then we see a Officer to find our missions for the day, which is usually three or four. When we get done with one of those, we eat lunch and finish the rest after. Curfew is at ten and it's lights out at nine thirty. Understand?"

Mina nodded and thought for a moment. Which Officer do I go to? then turned to Kariya and mouthed 'Officer?'. Kariya nodded, "Yeah. Which ever Officer found you when you turned into a Reaper is the one you go to. For you, I guess it's who ever you saw first after you became a Reaper."

Mina tilted her head. So, I go see Joshua? Okay, I guess.

It was queit for a while after that, the tapping of Mina's sythe as it hit the ground the only noise echoing down the hallway.

Anyway," Uzuki said after a moment, "We should hurry. Hey, maybe you'll get to meet some of the other Harrier Reapers, Mina! There aren't many of us, though; only two others."

Kariya scratched his neck. "Yeah, what were their names, again? Ike and Tow?"

"Ven and Ren." Uzuki said quickly. "They're twins, remember?"

"Oh, yeah."

Mina smiled at the word 'twins'. Back when she was alive, she knew this pair of twin girls named Star and Storm. Both of them had worked at a small caffe near her house, and were always friendly to her, even though they knew she heard voices. They'd give her a free wisp of whipped cream every time she bought a coffee. Mina wondered how they reacted to her death. She shook her head. Your NOT dead. This is just some kinda joke, remember? But I have to admit, the wings and tattoo really threw me off. Mom's gonna kill me when I get home.

"We're here, Mina. What do you want for lunch?" Uzuki said, opening up the door to the kitchen and snapping Mina from her thoughts. Mina turned to mouth a question, but was interupted as a loud shout was heard from inside the kitchen and someone hurried out, running into her.

"Hey, watch it-!"

Mina looked down, surprised to see Joshua blinking at her. "Oh, sorry, Mina, I didn't see you there."

Kariya turned to him, "Actually, I'm glad you're here, Joshua. Mina was wondering who she should go to for missions. Do you know?"

Joshua thought a moment, thinking hard. Finally, he looked at Mina and said, "Well, I'm not sure. I found you, Mina, but I'm really busy, especailly now that the games are so close to starting again." he suddenly grabbed her hand and began to pull her down the hallway. "I'll help you find someone; I think Konishi is free for a while."

Uzuki blinked at the two as they dissapeared down the hallway. "Mina's going to starve at this rate." She said rubbing the back of her neck. "Hey Uzuki," Kariya said slowly, "you didn't feel, like, weird or anything, did you? When we first met Mina, I mean."

Uzuki turned to him. "No, not really. Why?"

"It's nothing; something seems just a bit...off about her."

Mina struggled to keep up with Joshua as he dragged her through the doors of the Officer's training room. Inside, Megumi and Konishi stood in the middle, talking. "Hey, Konishi," He called. Konishi, who was looking at some papers on a clipboard, turned. "What is it?"

"Do you think you can get Mina ready for the games?" Joshua asked.

"Of course not," Konishi said, looking at the clipboard, "The Reaper's Game starts in one week; there's no way she'll have enough time to be trained properly."

Joshua glanced at Megumi, "Well, the must be some way to have her trained before then. What do you think, Megumi?"

Megumi cleared his throat. "Actually, Konishi, I'll have Sho and a few low leveled Reapers handle the stage design and Yodai and I will organize the missions. Joshua is setting up the Noise traps, so that leaves you free to train Mina."

Konishi blinked. "You're letting Sho handle the stage design? I don't think that's a good idea, sir. It would be more strategic if someone with more experience were to prepare the stage."

"In any case, you'll have no choice but to train her; we'll need all of the Reapers we can get for this game. Understood?"

If Konichi was bothered by this, she didn't show it. Instead, she nodded and turned to Mina. "Come on then. Lets get today's lesson over with." Mina hesitated. She didn't realy like Konishi; to be honest, the woman scared her a little. However, she remembered what Uzuki said about following orders from the Officers and did what she was told.

Before they left the room, Mina glanced back at Joshua and Megumi. She saw Joshua smile at her strangely before turning away. This sent chills up her spine, making her shiver as she ran to keep up with Konishi, who was already half way down the hallway. A voice spoke out in her head, an older man's voice, breaking the silence around her and making her flinch.

What's with that kid? Something doesn't seem right with him. Hang on, I'll go check it out.

Before Mina could respond, the voice fell silent, leaving her dumbfounded.

"We're here." Konishi said, opening the door to the other training room.

Mina followed her to the midlie of the room. Konishi turned to her. "Hit me," The woman said, surprising Mina. When she didn't respond, Konishi added, "The first thing you need to know is how to attack first. If you pull the first attack, the enemy will be stunned long enough for you to pull a combo and do additional damage. Now, hit me."

Mina frowned, but took a breath and gripped her sythe. Racing forward, she raised the sythe and swung it towards Konishi, pulling the trigger at the last minute and making the blade flick out. Suddenly, Konishi grabbed the handle, pushed it away, and flipped Mina onto her back.

Pain shot through her back, and Mina groaned. This won't be easy.

"You failed," Konishi said, "Do it again."