I would have had this out an hour ago, but my work decided to put up our christmas decorations and apparently I am the supreme bow maker of the world. I worked at a flowershop as a designer since I was fifteen and even helped pay for college making floral arrangements. Let's just say I might be holding a bow making class during my lunchtime with some of the ladies. Hurrah for finally making friends - even though the situation is a little strange.

Well, I know you are all waiting for it. Get to reading!

She blinked.

Her green eyes widened with panic and she spun on foot to scan the area wildly. A far off green blur caught her sight to the southwest. It was traveling to her so fast she could hardly concentrate. She immediately rushed her vox to protect her front. A shimmering Mindwave shot out from her skin just in time for a distorted green blade to grade against the shield. Golden sparks flew in the air. Sand pelted against her Mindwave and created a small cloud of dust all around her.

Trying to catch her breath, Hitomi's heart beat violently in her chest as the blur traveled instantly behind her and circled around.

To the left.

She lifted her Mindwave shield.

He feinted to the right.

She immediately blocked the right.

Sparks and sand.

Within the span of a heartbeat, he was gone again. Her vision was getting hazy from the dust storm he was brewing up.

The sound of the crowd was a dull roar in her adrenaline pulsing ears. Balgus was right. Gadeth was fast. He was really fast. Another rush of granule wind and she blocked the broadsword stroke at her back. She was a stuck here in the middle of the arena. She could block him all day, but that would get her nowhere trying to get on the offense. She needed to concentrate, but all of her senses constantly had to be trained on the crazy man's next attack. Without a visual sight, she'd have to rely on her ears. The screams from the thousands in the stands took that sense away from her as well. Her sense of smell was overcome by the odd and cringing metallic odor.

All in all, this was kind of a bad situation.

Maybe… if she could just catch up with him…

Rushing a large portion of her golden vox to her legs, she gasped in agony as the hot magic boiled thickly in her calves and feet. Withdrawing the power immediately, she flicked the vox to her right and another rain of sparks flew up. This was frustrating! How did Gadeth do it? She let her golden eyes fasten on the whirlwind of sand that followed after his inhuman speed.

She racked her brain quickly. If she could put the wall to her back, she only had to concentrate on defending her front.

Turning with Gadeth's swift movements, she spotted him sporadically zig-zagging near a group of screaming girls.

He's distracted! The redhead took off running for the edge, her heavy armor slowing her feet. She mentally cursed the swirling golden metal as the vox instinctively rushed to her ears to catch any tell-tale noise of Gadeth's approach.

Crap! Her back was turned! He was coming! She raised her vox to protect herself while racing for the edge of the stands, but she wasn't fast enough. His blade hit the edge of her armor and the impact caused a burst of white-hot electricity to bounce off of her instead of sparks. She felt the entirety of the hit and used the momentum to collide with the stone wall. Catching herself with her hands, a sharp sting raced up her wrist to her elbow. She whipped around and pressed herself against the wall as a rigorous thunder-clap snapped into the clear sky. Throwing up her Mindwave on reflex, her golden eyes widened. Gadeth was standing in front of her, his breath coming in short exhales. His left arm to his shoulder had deep scorch marks. The thick blade of his sword was steaming with a green and gold vapor. His dark eyes wild, the green man's black hair was standing in disarray on top of his head. Faintly, she heard the crowd booing.

"You almost got me there, firecracker…" He panted, his wide smile twitching strangely. His voice – though speaking normally – echoed cross the stadium. "You may electrocute me, but I'm not your chicken dinner. Well, maybe if you asked politely and snuck me a pair of Millerna's panties."

He disappeared once more.

Think, Hitomi! Think!

The memory of the Balgus' Trial instructions came rushing back to her.

"The further the power core has to travel in the body, the harsher it pushes to reach. That's why it is very painful to channel the vox to your legs – specifically to the feet. Now, Gadeth…" She concentrated on the old man's words as she blocked a front attack from a green blur as he sped by her. "No one knows why he is able to handle it. It's quite possible he is too stupid to realize he should feel pain. This is his major advantage. He'll just keep attacking with speed."

She literally could not stand to have the power in her legs for that long. There was no way she was going to match his stamina.

A small spark of an idea popped in her mind. The more it blossomed, the more she realized how simple it was.

She didn't need to go his speed at all! Like Balgus said before, Gadeth was impulsive. That was the way to win.

Taking a deep controlling breath, she rushed portions of the vox to the edge of her skin, feeling the bitter heat of it hitting her knees, calves, ankles, and toes. With this small amount, she could create a weak shield over her entire body for a time. She knew she shouldn't push her control too far.

Hopefully this would be enough.

"What? Going to keep up the Mindwaves until you run out of vox?" Gadeth shouted loudly from all the way across the arena. "You're making me look silly here! I got all dressed up for you and everything!" He did a strange little tap-dance which kicked up some more sand in the air.

She stepped away from the wall, her armor practically snapped with energy.

"That's more like it, firecracker!"

She started a jog to him, her brilliant golden eyes watching his every movement.

"Are we going to run to each other's embracing lovingly? Only if you promise not to take off my clothes! I'm a big fan of conservative dress!" The half-naked green man grabbed the edges of his black cloak, wrapped them around his waist, and batted his eyelashes at her. Then he disappeared, a pulse of sand flying up into the stands behind him.

"You may be fast, Gadeth," Hitomi whispered under her breath, realizing her voice carried to the stands above her. She kept her eyes trained on his form. "But I've got you right where I want you."

I've got one shot. Let's make this count.

Smiling softly, she saw him taking the bait. Frontal assult.

It could only be counted in heartbeats.

One pulse: he was halfway to her.

Second pulse: he was in front of her.

Racing the searing magic to her right leg, she put up her Mindwave to block his attack and, at the same time, stuck her right foot out in a wide kick. A flash of sparks from his sword. A ripple of thunder from her armor. She felt his knees collide into her newly strengthened leg and he whipped face forward, completely unbalanced by his fierce momentum.

Standing with her foot still out, she didn't turn around, but only listened to the satisfying crashes and squeals of pain emitting from the green man. Swirling her vox out of her legs, she cringed at the painful ache and straightened up. Holding her head high, she was breathing calmly. The vox left her limbs and senses, slipping obediently for her core.

The crowd was silent.

Still.

Moving her feet to turn around, she felt something brush on the leather of her armor of her ankle and she looked down with confusion. A loud gasp of realization escaped her and an enormous amount of blood rushed to her face. Her mouth dropped open as she immediately bent down to wrenched the fabric from her armor. She held it in her hand with disbelief.

It was Gadeth's loincloth… It had tangled in the golden swirls on her leg armor.

Almost wanting to cover her eyes, she turned her head slowly to the fallen man with a cringing face. A spread of relief filled her. He was lying quite a bit a ways eagle-spread on the ground; his face buried in a mound of loose sand. His black cloak fluttered up a bit on his exposed ankles, but remained heavy enough to cover its master's exposed bottom. She moved to take a step closer to him, but several people emerged from an under-cove close to where he had slid. Cladded in white robes, a female with a hooked beak and blue feathers knelt by Gadeth's side and began gently digging his head out of the sand with her claws.

Hitomi gulped in surprise as a tan hand landed heavily on her shoulder and she turned back around to see Van's smiling face. His palm slid down her shoulder to grab her hand. Her green eyes wide, she blinked quickly as he raised her arm in the air.

It was then that it really sunk in.

She did it.

She had beaten Gadeth.

"Winner: Hitomi Kanzaki of Hospesland!" He said to the crowd as a flicker of unhidden pride radiated from his deep eyes.

The stands were sitting still. No one cheered. No one laughed. No one threw rotten vegetables. The deafening muteness of the arena was one of the most nerve-wracking experiences of her life. Hitomi felt Van squeeze her hand and she tried to take courage from it. A breeze filtered loudly through the stone arena; only emphasizing the mass amount of silence.

Lowering her arm, he let go of her palm and gestured to the northwest with a sweeping hand.

"Head over to your waiting area while we scoop out Gadeth." Van gave her another encouraging smile. "In the meantime, rest up. The next Trial will begin shortly."

It was almost as if she was numb with the amount of shock, nervousness, and utter humiliation that coursed through her veins. She walked stiffly back to her under-cove. She could practically hear the heads turning to watch her.

She still couldn't believe it.

Absolutely no one cheered for her win.

No one.

It felt like days had passed since she'd last seen this small wooden chair. The shade of the under-cove felt like a shadow of depression. She didn't even see Balgus waiting at the back of the small area. Hitomi headed for the seat and collapsed on it wearily. Placing her elbows on her knees, she buried her burning face into her palms. She knew they had betted against her. She knew they all hated her because of her looks. Because she was so scary and weird and – with the recent events of the kitsune – a possible spy trying to gather more information for Zaibach. No matter how many times she tried to fight the growing stereotypes, she always seemed to make things worse.

She shouldn't have expected anyone to cheer.

So, why did it hurt so much?

"You didn't even summon a weapon. Did you forget that you have two of them to chose from?"

The redhead groaned and fought back the moisture behind her eyes. She dropped Gadeth's loincloth - which she'd unknowingly carried off with her - on the floor. "I don't need the patronizing right now, old man. I'm really not in the mood to talk at all." She heard him take a step closer to her, but she couldn't find the strength to emerge from the cover of her trembling fingers.

"You defeated Gadeth. You don't seem to realize what this means. You are now in the Vehotus whether they want you to be or not. You are a member. The rest of these Trials are to prove your rank."

"Maybe I should just tap out then. That's what everyone wants anyways. I'm in the Vehotus, big whoop." She murmured. Balgus' feet pounded around her chair and stopped in front of her crouched head.

The old man let out a growling snarl. "Look at me, Kanzaki! Get your useless, self-pitying face out of your hands and look at me!"

A pierce of anger burrowed in her stomach along with her sorrow. Clenching her teeth, she looked up to glare into his scarred face.

"What am I supposed to do?" Her voice had a hysterical tone. She jumped out of her chair to match her teacher's increasing wrath. "They obviously hate me! What do I do now?"

"You are so stupid, Kanzaki! You haven't learned a thing! You don't seem to understand what you just did!"

She gave him an exasperated look. "Then tell me, old man! What did I do? What in Law did I do?"

"You beat Gadeth without summoning your weapon! From here it looked like you took him out without summoning hardly any power at all! You took him out by using your brain! Outsmarting him! You did exactly what you were told to do, but didn't show the crowd any of your skills! You are an enigma! You are astounding! You have blown them all away! They were expecting you to fail and you took Gadeth out without any trouble at all! If you bow out now, I will destroy you! You are much more than anyone thought possible! The Vehotus are the best of the best in the country! And you just took one of them out like he was nothing!"

She was so surprised she forgot to be angry. "Are you kidding? I was freaking out the entire time. I felt like an idiot. I forgot to summon my weapon. That's how horrible that was!"

"You did so well I hope to Law you haven't used up all of your luck! Millerna is next and she won't be easy." The old man let out a rough breath and shook his head slowly. "And if I ever hear you say you forgot to summon your weapon again, I will really destroy you!"

"I… I did well…" the redhead repeated slowly to herself. A piece of her refused to believe him. "I really… I really did well…"

The crowd let out a smattering cheer that slowly grew into the familiar joyous roar. Leaning around the old man's large body, Hitomi's green eyes hit Van's simmering armor walking back to the middle of the arena.

The next Trial…

Millerna…

Her nerves rushed back in full force and she began breathing deeply once more.

She was in the Vehotus. She'd beaten Gadeth. She was one step closer to proving her worth in Fanelia.

She was one step closer to facing Van.

Balgus shifted out of her way and stood large and silent by her side. She glanced at the huge old man with green eyes mixed with anticipation, nervousness, and now an added sparkle of confidence. Van said something to the multitude and they screamed happily in reply. The old man reached out and placed his large warm hand on her shoulder once more. Grabbing the back of his hand with her fingers, she exhaled slowly and smiled.

"Starting her second Trial, I give to you once again, Lady Hitomi Kanzaki of Hospesland!"

Balgus' lips twisted into a large, prideful grin. The smile was so rare that it made his face look like a stranger to her. His massive palm dropped from her as she inhaled one more deep breath, straightened her shoulders, and quickly took steps forward into the sun. The light blinded her slightly, but she kept her eyes open. Her head held tall, she felt the wind lift her red hair off her neck and dance it in the air.

The entire arena exploded in a flitter of conversations as she made her way back to the center of the stadium. Van's hand gestured to her glowing circle and she stepped into it without hesitation. Keeping her eyes on Van, the mixing individual shouts of the Fanelian citizens fell over her head.

She wouldn't worry about them. She wouldn't worry about anything except beating her next Trial.

"And now, the second challenged: Millerna Aston, The Lady of the Blades!"

From the outrageous roar of male voices resounding from the stands, Hitomi realized Millerna had an enormous fan club. And how could she not?

The blond woman strolled out like a cat, her tan lightweight armor clutching her shapely legs and backside. Her blond curls had been swept into a tight bun at the base of her slender neck. With an obviously nervous, but beautiful smile, she reached the circle and stepped over the line with a dainty foot. Already, a lavender swirl was beginning to envelope the palms of her hands and she eased into a strange fighting stance with one hand clenched near her chest and the other near her leg.

Hitomi's brain clicked with understanding. Throwing daggers. That is her long-range attack. She's going in for a quick win.

The drum began once more. Van disappeared. She was alone once more.

Breathing deeply, the redhead knew she was in for a tough fight with Millerna. The blond's purple eyes met with her green/gold ones and Millerna gave her a small nod. Smiling back, Hitomi shifted into her own stance.

The one for her golden sword.

Here comes Millerna...

blue...