“Geez, what’s up with him?” Reina asked nobody in particular as she jumped from one rooftop to another. He had definitely been a rookie, her suspicions further confirmed by his inexperience in battle. The oath he'd recited made it clear that he'd come from the military. With all that, you would think he'd understand that being a hero meant defeating the villain at any and all costs, including the citizens. However, he'd been surprisingly naive. And his words rattled around in her head; she'd been too heated back there, but he had been correct. She did indirectly hurt a lot of people and was responsible for a ton of property damage. This was why she didn't want to use her Arts again! Stupid rookie.
Still, he had been trying his best, she supposed. Reina sighed. Better not to think about that, or the fact her body ached. She'd been forced to do more acrobatics in the past 5 minutes than she had for the past 3 years. Not to mention the smell of smoke drifting after her made it almost impossible to hide what she'd done. Reina would worry about that later; now was time for celebration!
As long as she made it in time. She slipped down onto an alleyway and walked out again into the sidewalk. She spotted her and smiled despite the rough day she had been having.
Marie, the girl she considered her sister.
She was also at the same orphanage as Reina, having been left on the doorstep when she was a baby rather than when she was a child like Reina. She showed off pigtails and had a couple of teeth missing. Her face was dotted with freckles, and she wore glasses that were a bit too big for her. She was a precocious 8-year-old, already using words that other kids her age wouldn't begin understanding.
“Reina!” she shouted the instant she saw her. Reina grinned despite herself. No matter what, Marie could always raise her spirits.
“Hey, Small M!” she greeted as she walked over. Marie springs herself onto her, before cupping her face together.
“What are you doing?” Reina laughed as she tried to squirm away.
“I’m checking if you’re okay! I heard there was a fight nearby and got worried!” she insisted, twisting her face back and forth. Reina grinned.
“I’m fine, M. You know me, I can handle myself!” Marie was only one of three other people Reina had ever shown off her power to. It had been a mistake to show it to that military rookie, but at least he didn’t know her name. Besides, she couldn't just let him die.
Marie clicked her tongue. “You have to be more careful,” she scolded before finally letting go. Reina gently took her hand.
“Now who's the adult, me or you?” she asked gently.
Marie grinned, showing all her teeth. “Me,” she answered impishly.
Reina snorted. “Yeah right, you can only hope to come close to my level of wisdom! The sagely Reina, that's who I am!”
Marie shook her head, a strangely disbelieving look on her face, before bouncing up and down. “Come on, let’s go!”
Reina scratched her head, pretending not to know. “Now, what was today again?” She hid a smile behind her mouth. Getting Marie riled up. . .one of the wonders of everyday life..
Marie stopped and pouted adorably. “Reinaaaaaa! You promised! Remember the arcade?” She jabbed at the building like if she did it hard enough, Reina would remember. Reina was barely able to hold on to her laughter. Marie was just so cute when angry, with her cheeks puffed out and her big expressive eyes shining. Reina rubbed her hair.
“Don’t worry, Midget, I remember. Let’s go.”
Marie grumped but lightened up the moment they entered the arcade. The entire thing was a tad bit too bright for Reina’a liking, but she approved of the noise level and amount of people present. If they needed a quick getaway from a fight, they would be hidden. Not to mention Reina was feeling a bit uneasy after her recent fight. It would be a while until she felt safe again.
Marie squealed and immediately bounced toward the nearest game. “Come on, Reina! Let’s play!”
Reina sighed. She sucked at these games and Marie knew it. This must be her revenge for Reina worrying her. If so, she had taught her well. "Okay, but first, let me get money.” Reina walked over to the counter and reached into her pocket. Money was normally abundant in the orphanages, as the government paid good money for everybody. A perk of living in a city with frequent attacks from Arias and rogue Artists alike, the government provided money in exchange for continuing to live there. However, if you got in trouble at the orphanage, your allowance got cut.
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And that’s what happened with her. She held the proud title of the most ‘detentions’ received. Her allowance was practically nonexistent. She managed to scrummage through her pockets and retrieved some coins. She placed it on the counter and rapped the desk with her knuckles to draw the employee's attention. The boy working didn’t even look up from the magazine he was reading as he reached out and tore off some strips of tickets.
“Here you go,” he said. As Reina reached out to get it from him, he finally looked up and his eyes went wide. His mouth opened a bit and he hastened to tidy up his hat.
Reina sighed. She had been seeing more of this reaction these days. The nuns at the orphanage said it was because of her auburn hair (only when using her powers) and unique eyes that she was such an eye-catcher, and she should be grateful, but honestly, Reina didn’t want this. She never really understood wanting to be tied down to somebody, unlike Marie who was always fascinated about this kind of thing. The only part she liked about her appearance was the way her hair looked like lava when using her powers. Too bad she couldn’t use them a lot.
She took the strip and walked over to Marie, who was practically slobbering at the game and growling at anybody who dared to come near it. Reina sped up and apologized to the people waiting. They still looked a bit miffed but eventually left. Sighing in relief, Reina turned to Marie.
“Stop being so impatient. You should have just let them go first," she admonished Marie. The little girl sniffed and crossed her arms.
"I wanted to play with you! Besides, we got here first!" she defended herself. Reina shook her head, a small smile on her face. Marie was really just a kid, after all.
Here you go.” Reina flapped the strips of paper. Marie practically tore them out of her hands and leaned toward the machine. She slid in the paper and started smashing the controls, screaming as she went on.
Reina rolled her eyes. What happened to playing with her? Finding a seat nearby and dragging it over, Reina plopped down. Watching Marie die for the third time was amusing, but there was a point to just how long she could simply sit. Besides, a new line had formed behind them. Just as she was about to tell Marie to stop hogging the game, there was a loud commotion near the front and people started running toward the entranceway. Immediately, Reina tensed. Was there another Artist attack? For a brief second, the possibility it could be Arias crossed her mind but she just as quickly erased it. If the Arias were here, the city-wide alarms would be activated.
Better safe than sorry. She grabbed Marie and pulled her away, ignoring her protests. She forced her way through the crowd, pretending not to hear the complaints while Marie apologized in her stead. She finally made her way to the front and spotted a glossy black limousine pulling up. Reina sweat-dropped. Just a limo; nothing special in San Fransisco.
“Let’s go, Marie,” she ordered and turned around. But then the door opened and somebody stepped out. He was a boy, about 15, like her. He had brown hair glossed back and intense gleaming eyes. He wore a crisp suit, complete with shiny black shoes and a bright red tie. To complete the image, he had an arrogant expression on his face. Reina instantly hated him.
“OMG! He’s so hot!” a girl squeaked.
“I know, right? He’s the son of the famous hero, Nevermore!”
Reina scowled. The son of a hero? Then chances were he had inherited Circuits as well. She carefully analyzed him. He held himself with confidence, like he could keep himself safe in an attack. Reina tried to find any signs that would hint at what Art he used, but there was nothing discrete about him; well, other than how filthy rich he clearly was.
Marie laughed delightfully. “Let’s go! I want to meet him! I bet his limo is big inside! Do you think it has food?"
Reina gulped. Oh no. He was most definitely not a good role model for her. "No, no, no. Barging into somebody's car is rude, Marie. Besides, I'm certain there's no food in the car," she blatantly lied.
"I wasn't going to "barge in!" I'm going to ask him if I can! Sis always said that asking nicely was the way to get into people's hearts!" Marie recited. Beaming, she turned on her heels and made a beeline for the limo.
“Nope! We’re leaving!” Reina reached out and grasped her by the collar, pulling Marie back to her side. Ignoring the glare Marie was sending her way, Reina maneuvered her way through the crowd again until she reached the game Marie had been playing so adamantly. Gently placing her onto the seat and paying the machine again, Reina then took her own seat next to her, determined not to let her out of her sight.
She steadily ignored the commotion behind her until all of a sudden, it stopped. Reina’s neck prickled. He was coming closer.
“Hey, Marie? Are you done with that game? Wanna go play another?” she asked. Her eyes desperately told her to say yes. For once, Marie understood and nodded, dashing off. Reina moved to follow her but a hand grasped her wrist and pulled her back. Reina looked up to see the smirking face of the arrogant rich boy.
“Why, hello there.”
“Goodbye,” Reina said and slipped out of his clutches, following Marie.
Marie had now chosen a popular game; you had characters you could pick from and you faced each other. A standard fighting game, made more unique by the fact all the characters available were popular heroes. Marie eagerly grasped a controller and started moving it around to no avail. Reyna laughed lightly before heading over and slipping in a piece of paper. She took the second spot and let Marie choose first. As expected Marie selected Full Force, the most powerful and famous hero in the world. Reina randomly clicked on a hero, getting Nevermore. Just her luck. Determinedly ignoring the rich boy's stare, Reina pressed Play.