The wind whips my face. It's sandy and hot. A loud groan roars around me. People are everywhere in this massive arena that spans a thousand meters far. It's covered in red sand, as far as the eye can see.
Ryo is there. All tanned and wearing a tight metallic uniform. His helmet is in his left hand. His purple hair dancing in the wind.
"You've come to see me fight, girl of my dreams." he smiles at me. "I finally get to see you." he makes a short reverence. I look at him stunned.
Where are we? It's so hot here..I look up to the sky, two suns shine down at me. They are huge.
"Get shelter, I don't want you to get hurt". An invisible force pushes me away from him, into the background, where some welcomed shades are.
The sound the audience makes is numbing. There are people as far as the eye can see, in every direction. Tens of thousands of people. The colosseum-like arena is filled with faces. They wear long drapes of whites and beige. Probably to cover their skin from the suns. Ryo looks at me, winks before turning to face what I realize is his opponent. A young man his own age probably, wearing a similar armor. Only he looks nervous. He is long and lean, well build. But unlike Ryo, he has golden red hair and light red eyes, that look scared but focused.
"SILENCE!" a voice so loud, it overtakes the entire arena. It comes from my left, from the higher lodges that have the best view. A man is beamed onto the massive screens that float above us. He looks just like Ryo. The arena becomes so quiet, I can only hear the wind haul, and even the wind seems to have died down. What is happening?
"It is time. BEGIN!" the man who must be Ryos father, shouts. He is the only one wearing purple and gold. In a sea of white and beige drapes, he stands out like a King would among his subjects.
Ryo breaks down into a maddening run towards his opponent. He is so fast, I can barely see him. But the screens show him gaining ground quickly before falling into a roll, taking his opponent by surprise and using his legs, he brings him to the floor. It's an unfair fight. The boy stands no chance against Ryo. But Ryo lets him get up again, shaking. His face is white like a sheet and covered in sweat. They engage in hand combat. Ryo swings twice, skilfully evading each blow by his opponent. He hands a hard knock to the boys jaw, who visibility is shaken. Blood spills from his mouth. The cameras turn to his father, who visibly looks annoyed.
The boy gets himself up, but he is clearly injured.
"Ary-shaa" (Attack me) Ryo says to him. The boy launches at him, but Ryo evades him easily. His side hook brings him to the floor again. They wrestle but it's clear that the boy is powerless.
"Finish him." his fathers voice resonates across the arena.
Ryo is no longer cocky, he is all sweaty, his face sandy and the boys blood is on his fingers.
But he doesn't do anything. He only pins him down onto the sand with his left arm. But then something happens. The perspective shifts. I am no longer a mere spectator, but see everything through the eyes of Ryo. I am inside of him. I see the boy below me, his light red eyes are wide open. He looks scared to death.
"You won. Kill me." the boy says to me. "You have..to.." he hisses pleadingly to me, but I am paralyzed. I look down to the boy, my shocked eyes, Ryo's shocked eyes are staring right back at me.
"You are denying my honor." the boy shouts at me. I want to get up, but the boy grabs Ryo's knife from his armor "No!" I shout, but I am too slow. The boy stabs himself with the short metallic knife into the throat and dies within seconds.
"No!" Ryo shouts but it's too late. He is gone. I look up to the lodges, the ones where the Kind is seated. He is clearly angry. He closes his eyes in disappointment for a brief moment then abruptly stands up and leaves. Every subject in the arena follows suit. I'm left alone, me Amanda, crouched on the floor, next to the dead boy's body.