My ability activates, and the world turns monotone. Everything moves in slow motion as I dash forward at subsonic accelerations. Without stopping, I deliver a powerful straight, right into Goliath's nose. I hear a satisfying crunch as he's thrown off his feet. Not even letting him hit the ground, I dash behind him, grab his head and then slam him face-first into the concrete. He hits the ground so hard he bounces back up. Before he can hit the ground a second time, I kick him as hard as possible in the abdomen. He shoots upward like a rocket nearly 40 feet above the ground. The muscles in my legs coil then release like a spring as I fly up after him. Utilizing the momentum of my jump, I grab Goliath's face then, as we fall back down to earth, I spin him once, then twice, then three times before smashing him into the concrete. An audible *BOOM* resounds throughout the warehouse as a vast crater forms around us.
I stand up, panting. Goliath is out cold. I know he can't hear me, but I say it anyway.
{You said you'd knock me down a peg. Well, I'm still waiting.}
Cheers erupt from the jubilant crowd. I look up at Hiroki to see him beaming down at me with a radiant smile plastered across his face. He winks at me. My eyebrow raises to show my confusion. I cough into my hand and, it comes back bloody. (Shit, I need to go now!)
As I turn to leave the warehouse, Hiroki opens his mouth wide and screams into the microphone.
{DAHLIA!! WWIINNS!!!}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I slide down the wall of a hastily built bathroom and sigh. Sweat pours from every pore on my body, and my stomach roils. (I still can't handle the kickback.) I wipe away the blood dribbling from my lips.
{You look like shit.}
I jump as the high-pitched prepubescent voice of Hiroki reaches my ears. I attempt to stand up but fail as my knees buckle.
{Last time I checked, this was the women's room. What the hell are you doing here, Hiroki.} My voice comes out pained and raspy, but I successfully deliver the intended snark.
Hiroki throws his hands up in a surrendering gesture. {I come bearing joyous news.}
I sigh and lean against the sink (I don't want to deal with this right now.)
{What is it?}
{I'll tell you if you say please.}
I grit my teeth, trying my best to control my anger {I don't have time to play your little games Hiroki.}
{Who said I was playing} Hiroki's emerald eyes flashed dangerously
{Oh please, all-powerful Hiroki, won't you please bestow this lowly peasant with some fucking information.}
{Oh, you flatter me, Dahlia. Here.}
Hiroki tosses me a card, and I catch it between my fingers. I examine the card. It has a date, time, and address but no other information. I flip it over, and there's a detailed drawing of a fist on the backside of the card.
{What the hell is this.}
{An invitation to official TST matches.}
I close my eyes, hoping that when I open them, Hiroki will be gone. He's still there. I turn around and look in the mirror. A beautiful yet haggard-looking young woman stares back, her shoulder-length black hair concealing one of her wine-red eyes. I speak without turning around, keeping a singular eye on Hiroki through the mirror.
{And why in the world should I join the superhuman tournaments? It might not seem like it, but I have a life, you know.}
{That's a lie. The committee knows everything about their fighters, and you don't have a life. The only exciting thing happening in your life is your girlfriend. I think you don't want to join because you're scared.}
{HA. Scared!? What do I have to fear?}
{You're scared because you know this is the first step in finding the rest of the Ayuna}
I whip around, no longer tired as rage contorts my face. The air around me becomes tense almost electrified. My hair flies up like a raging flame as my anger manifests itself in reality.
{SHUT UP!! DON'T YOU EVER SAY THE NAME IN FRONT OF ME AGAIN, OR I'LL KILL Y-}
The air suddenly disappears from my lungs, leaving me gasping for nonexistent air. I fall to my knees, my dull red eyes tear up due to the pain of suffocation, and that's when I realize what's happening. Hiroki's eyes glow ominously as he glares coldly at me.
{Stop...I...can't breathe}
{Apologize} Hiroki's usually child-like voice comes out dark, cold, and murderous.
{I'm...sorry}
Air rushes back into my lungs, and I drink it in greedily. (Damnit, Dahlia, your temper almost got you killed.) Hiroki turned around and grabbed the door handle, then paused.
{That mouth of yours is going to get you killed one day.} The door slammed behind him as he walked out.
I slumped against the wall, the pain and fatigue coming back in waves. {You don't understand Hiroki, this mouth of mine is the only thing I genuinely own, so of course, I must use it.} I gaze forward, not looking at anything in particular. (I need more power. No one can ever be more powerful than me.) My crystalline ruby eyes glowed as I reaffirmed my determination.
The walk home was a long one. Before leaving the premises, I grabbed my winnings from the betting desk. It totaled out to around 8,000 credits. I stared at my phone. My bank balance pulled up on the screen. In the age of technology, people no longer carry around wallets or debit cards. All things related to money are now done digitally. I was currently worth 269,420 credits. (It's nowhere near what I need. If I join TST, I can double this within two months.)
Before I know it, I'm standing on the front porch of my house. As I reach for the door, I realize the lights are on inside. (Oh no. Please say she just forgot to turn them off.) I check my phone, and my heart drops harder than I dropped Goliath. I have 12 missed calls and 30 unread texts, all from the same person. I swallow hard and genuinely consider going on the run, but I already know it would be futile (knowing her, she would literally chase me to the ends of the earth). I take a deep breath in, step inside, and prepare to face the music.
{Well, well well, look who decided to come home} a sickly sweet voice drifts into my ears, and I immediately regret not running away when I could.
{Hey babe, you're up late} I turn and see a furious woman in a bathrobe sitting in a maroon armchair. (Her hair is wet. She must've just got out of the shower) Her waist-length blonde hair seems to shimmer, only adding to her already angelic beauty. She peers back at me, her gorgeous green eyes accented by a healthy smattering of freckles. They aren't an empiric emerald, like Hiroki's, but instead a gentle grass green. And those kind grass green eyes are now glaring at me.
{Speak. Stop staring at me and explain yourself}
{Sorry, I got lost in your eyes Camille}
Camille blushed but did not let up {Flattery won't get you anywhere. Where were you, Dahlia?}
I look away
{I was at the gym.}
{Oh, really. So explain how you broke a rib while exercising.}
I sigh. I'm not even sure why I tried lying.
{I was fighting. In another superhuman match.}
Camille closes her eyes and just sits there. When she opens her green eyes again they are clouded with worry. Camille is a superhuman, just like me; however, her powers aren't dangerous like mine, so she doesn't receive much prejudice from the humans. Maybe that's why she doesn't fully understand my need to prove myself. Camille's ability allows her to see every injury a person has ever sustained and heal them, a useful and harmless ability. I close the door behind me and it locks with a soft click. Camille stands then and just gives me a silent hug.
{Why do you keep doing this to yourself? To me.}
I return the hug and gently squeeze her petite form.
{Seriously, why?} She steps back a little and stares deep into my soul with her soft green eyes.
{If it's for the money, you know I can buy anything you could ever want}
Her voice drops to a loving whisper {just say the word, and you could have everything.}
{No, Camille, I need to do this on my own. You already do so much for me. Just let me do this for myself.}
Camille buries her face into my chest and just sits there before finally speaking; her voice comes out muffled.
{Did you at least win?}
I smile, not a smirk or a sneer but a genuinely happy smile. I lift Camille up and start to tickle her.
{*Gasp* Did you think I'd lose?}
Camille giggles, the heavy mood finally lifts.
{No, of course, no- HAHA w-wait st-top}
{Mmm, I don't think I will.}
{No AHAHA seriously I'm AHAHA n-not wear-HAHA I'M NOT WEARING ANY CLOTHES UNDER MY ROBE!}
I immediately put her down when I heard that. My bright red face, the perfect example of a blushing schoolgirl. Camille coughed, blushing almost as hard as I was, then spoke.
{*Ahem* sit down, I need to heal that rib of yours.}
I sat down on the maroon armchair, too embarrassed to speak. I lift my shirt revealing the nasty bruise that crosses my side, starting from my hip and stopping right below my chest. Camille's face darkened as it always did when she saw me injured, and she got to work. Camille placed a hand on my bruise, sending a twinge of pain through my side as she examined me.
{Fuck, that hurts.}
{Hey, no cursing in my house.}
{You mean our house.}
{No, this is my house.}
{Says who.}
{The government. My name is on the deed.}
{Touche. Can you heal it?}
{Of course, there's nothing I can't heal. Does it hurt when you breathe?} She responds without looking away from the bruise.
{Yeah, but I've survived much worse. This is nothing by comparison.} I give Camille my most confident smile, and she responds with the most deadpan unamused expression I've ever seen.
{That is NOT a thing you should be smiling about.}
I guess she's still mad.
{Yes, ma'am}
{I'm going to start healing, grit your teeth.}
Excruciating pain shoots through my entire left side as she begins healing. I'm not sure why it hurts when Camille heals me; from what I've heard online, people say the feeling of being mended by a psychic is akin to something divine. Whenever I ask Camille about it, she always says that those psychics are simply speeding up the healing process, whereas she's actually fixing the problem. I don't really understand the difference, though.
{Can't you make it hurt less.} I say through gritted teeth.
{No. Just bear with me.}
{Ok, done.}
{Thanks, babe.}
I lower my shirt and sigh for the third time this night. Camille stands up and heads toward the bedroom. I get up as well and follow after her.
{Umm, where do you think you're going, Ms. Dahlia.}
{To bed.} I say, slightly confused.
{Ha. You think you're gonna sleep in my bed after the stunt you pulled? Very funny.}
{C'mon Camille, I'm sorry, I won't go to a match without telling you ever again so, please.}
{Wait right here.}
Camille walks into the bedroom, leaving me alone in the hallway with my thoughts. She then comes back and hands me a blanket and a pair of pajamas; before I can say anything, she walks back into the room and slams the door in my face.
{Wait, Camille.}
{What.} Camille's voice comes out muffled through the mahogany door. I lean against the door, placing my forehead on the cold wood.
{I just wanted you to know that you're the best girlfriend a woman could ask for, and I would be completely lost without you.}
Camille sighs {I love you Dahlia I really do but, no matter what you say, I'm not letting you in this room.}
{Damnit.}
{What did I say about cursing Dahlia?}
{Sorry.}
I wander back into the living room, entirely downtrodden. (I guess it's just you and me again couch.) I throw myself onto the gray sofa, the day's exhaustion catching. Before falling asleep, I fish out the invitation that Hiroki gave me from my jacket and stare at it. A single thought crosses my mind. A thought that would change not just my fate but the fate of the whole world. (I think I should join TST).
That night I dreamt of beating the shit out of Hiroki while he begged me to stop; suffice to say, I slept well.