Adrenalin {Closed}

[cirrus]

A fight. James Madrox had been woken up by a fight.

That's what it was, in the middle of the corridor. Surrounded by a swirling mass of excitement, two combatants fought their hardest to outdo the other. Two, unknown combatants. It didn't really matter who they were; the student body wasn't going to remember this for the people involved. Unimportant, their names but an otiose detail, the two fighters' fisticuffs escalated to impossible heights. They would appear to be both meisters, for bright lights of soul wavelength sporadically illuminated the corridor.

The noise of the altercations had carried up the whole condo block and disturbed him. James had gotten out of bed, and made the effort to walk down stairs where it was all going down. He recognised a few faces from Shibusen, and became rather angry.

'Oi! Dumbasses!' He yelled. However, his single shout just melded in to the countless others being produced by the crowd, and James continued to be unnoticed. He sighed, and realised that he'd have to wait until one of the fighters was knocked out. Inevitably there'd be a pause before someone else picked up the gauntlet of this stupid charade of masculinity and resumed the chaos. Resolving instead to find out as much as he could, James walked straight into the crowd. He saw money exchanging hands and tickets being waved around. The demon weapon wondered for a moment why anyone would bother bringing tickets to a chance fight, before realisation dawned upon him.

This was a betting ring.

The most inconspicuous one ever.

James was baffled. Why would anyone in Death City start a betting ring? Especially underneath his own home! The demon weapon was powerless to oppose the crowd, however, and it would seem that he was just going to have to wait this one out.

However, it seemed the will of the crowd had other ideas.

It surged suddenly in intensity; one of the fighters had been knocked out. Money quickly circulated, and tickets were ripped up in frustration. James, intermingling with the crowd at the time, was a first-hand witness to the surge's demand to be satisfied. Anger spread like a plague on the faces of those in the crowd. "FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!" They chanted. "FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!" The crowd rocked and rolled as the surge passed through it, bringing people closer to the action; sending others further away. It was like an organised mass in amongst the anarchy; ever-adjusting itself to suit its own needs. And as the crowd adapted, so too did the surge. It was more subtle now, like an ocean current. But also like an ocean current it was irresistable. James found himself being slowly pushed forward. It was as if the open space that the crowd surrounded was a black hole, dragging him in against his will.

'Oi..stop this! Let me go! Why do you all suck so hard!~' Frustration bubbled out of the Trishula like froth from a vinegar volcano at a science fair. James cried out, but the surge would have its way regardless. Finally, the crowd deposited him there, in the harsh light. After his eyes adjusted James looked around, scared more than anything.

Why wasn't anyone stopping this?

But that wasn't important now. What mattered was that James had joined the ranks of the extraneous, and now his highest priority was to survive.

His opponent hadn't been selected yet, so James just stood there awkwardly. What was he supposed to do?

Run?
Stay?
Fight?

[cin]

Normally the route to work was carefree and she didn't have to run into many goings on. It was a straight 'point-A-to-ponit-B' kind of thing. It consisted as a casual stroll through Death City High Street and along the park to get to the Garage in which she spent her after school time, mostly, and where she got her money. Sometimes, however, not so much. Sometimes she did run into some trouble on the way, trouble she couldn't be doing with, or should stay out of, but there are some things a Shibusen girl can't help. And when it involves a bunch of asshole guys bringing some other guy into their shit against their will, the Shinigami's teachings seem to kick in like a bitch.

Thats basically what had happened when she saw some poor kid get dragged into a fighting ring, something she wouldn't stand and watch happen. For a few moments she did watch. Before she adjusted the hat on her head, and went in.

By the looks of things he was a Shibusen Student, like herself. Though, when a kid of his age-looks walks around the Residence like this, your stupid to assume something else. If he did live around here, she hadn't seen him before, and this block was where she lived. All the more reason to bail him out of trouble. She began to walk towards the group of men, much larger then she was, without much hesitation. Besides, just because she was a student, didn't mean she couldn't break a few bones.

"Hey, assholes..." Cinamon's voice rung across the corridors and she approached with a strange air of confidence and authority. "Back the fuck off, yeah?". By now all their attention had been refocused on her, and she just glared back. Yeah, she was a woman, so what? Just try. "If the pussy don't wanna play, then the pussy don't wanna play." The first thing that would probably strike a key was the foul mouth of such a young lady. Not that she cared for it much, but it always seemed to catch people off guard. Cin's hand rested on her hip, next to the conveniently placed wrench she carried with her for such occasions as this. She glanced at the boy who'd been forced into the ring, telling him that she wasn't here to pick a fight and was here to help get him out of the grave he was digging. And not to take the fact she'd called him a pussy twice too seriously. But that could never be helped.

Cin's frown twitched into a sly smile. "Come on guys, I don't wanna fight, just leave the kid alone, and I won't have to break your arms. Simple, right?" Now all she had to do was wait for these guys to either let her fellow student go (less likely) or come at her and ask for a beating (more likely). Even if they did come at her, it would probably be the worst thing they could ask to do. "I suggest you don't waste my time, I don't want to be late for work."

Truth be told, Cin had a few hours before the Garage even opened.

[cirrus]

Deciding to survive, James invoked his partial transformation. Instantly a menacing blade erupted from his wrist; a clear reminder that he wasn't to be messed with. Unfortunately, Master Madrox seemed to have forgotten that most of the people in this crowd were indeed Shibusen students, and many of them also partially transformed into maliciously sleek weapons of death; some of them accompanied by meisters gearing up a Soul Purge.

'Uh...' James was at a loss; these guys were all but guaranteed to wipe the floor with his carcass. His soldier training had told him one thing if nothing else; Rule Number One: If there's too many, you GTFA. Thankfully, a newcomer to the scene was a good enough distraction.

"Hey, assholes..." The voice of a woman was enough to halt everyone's actions, James included. At first the demon weapon thought that she too was part of this ludicrous betting ring, and reacted hostilly. He was a few seconds from lashing out at someone and then running away - despite the fact he knew it was a plan doomed to fail - when he realised that at last someone had arrived that was on his side.

"Back the fuck off, yeah?" Continued the girl, whose spunk and attitude seemed to control the gormless goers of the betting ring. James was slightly impressed, if not intimidated, by the other newcomer. The demon weapon recognised the girl from Shibusen, but had spoken nary a word to her in his time at the school. James retracted his trident prong as she continued;

"If the pussy don't wanna play, then the pussy don't wanna play." Now this irked him somewhat. He wasn't a pussy! He could have easily taken out all of those gu- oh..? The girl glanced at him assuringly. Perhaps he wasn't considered a pussy after all! James lit up - literally, suddenly glowing at maximum luminosity. It was only for a second, however, but the bright flash was enough to disorientate most of the betting ring's crowd.

James took the opportunity to run over to the other girl's position, and gently ushered her back up to his condo. Safely out of harm's way for now, Madrox - ever the gentleman - brought the stranger a cup of coffee and some homemade croissants.

'Thanks..I guess. Why did you come over there and help me? I totally could have handled them myself~' Chuckled the demon weapon. It was clear to all, even himself, that back in that ring he had been shaking like a child being scolded for the first time.

'I'm James, by the way. James Madrox.' Madrox let a little silence pass as he took in the girl. She was pretty, in a punkster kind of way. The way she handled that wrench back there had told James she could handle herself, at any rate.

James sipped his own brew, a nice glass of OJ. The tangy fluid passed down his lips, and the Trishula could feel its energy flowing into him. Pushing the pretty one-sided conversation along, James followed up his last statement.

'...And you are?'

[cin]

Cin followed the boy to his apartment, glancing back at the men as she went just to make sure they behaved themselves and didn't do anything too stupid, or follow them. You could never be too safe with the goons around here, and she knew that well enough. Needless to say, they stayed put, probably the best thing. She really would have broken their legs. And maybe their arms for good measure, who knew? She was also wondering why this random guy was now pulling her away, when he could have just left himself. It wasn't like she was exactly helpless now, was she?

By the time he'd gotten her a coffee and was sitting down in a seat, more then making herself at home, she was rather enjoying the results of her intervening, and she didn't even have to break a sweat! Maybe she could do this more often, it seemed to be somewhat beneficial. Even food! Although she'd already had breakfast, it would be rude not to take one or two right? Besides, they smelt delicious and there was a full day of work ahead of her! Disregarding lady like manners, the Meister took one and swiftly bit one half of it off. It tasted as good as it smelt and she sunk down into the seat, grinning smugly. 'Thanks..I guess. Why did you come over there and help me? I totally could have handled them myself~' Cin sat back up and looked at him, smiling that smug smile, her mouth stuffed with pastry. "Of course, of course. Thats why you were shitting yourself, right?" The sarcasm floated heavy on her voice and she sunk back down, swallowing the croissant and taking a sip of the coffee.

'...And you are?' The Meister lent over and put the coffee down again, before she stretched her arms above her head. Then she pulled out the wrench in the belt loop, twirling it in her fingers without taking her eyes off of James, adjacent to herself. With a flick of her wrist, it flew into the air, spinning a few times before falling back down into her hand, handle in her palm. "The names Cinamon, most people call me Cin. I'm a Meister at the Academy." She left a brief pause. "I'm guessing you go to the Academy to, ai? Though I ain't seen you around before." She slumped back in the chair, and started to twirling the wrench further out of habit, finishing off the croissant at the same time.

God knows what that coffee was going to do to her later. The Garage might want to put up warning signs just in case.

[cirrus]

"The names Cinamon, most people call me Cin. I'm a Meister at the Academy." Finally, he had the name of his guest. James said nothing however, and wouldn't have been able to anyway, for Cinamon left but the briefest of pauses. She continued;

"I'm guessing you go to the Academy to, ai? Though I ain't seen you around before." James' face lit up - this little conversation would be more useful than he had first envisioned. If Cin became a familiar face around Shibusen, then the demon trishula would have accomplished one of the goals for a new student: find some friends.

'Yeah, I go to Shibusen. Only joined this year though; I'm still settling in and stuff...' James answered, before picking up a croissant and taking a bite. He liked Cinamon - she seemed pretty cool. He observed her quietly as he munched his food. She was an expert with that wrench she liked to twirl around...in fact, she displayed it as if it were a warning signal...and in a way it was. The wrench that James had seen scare a few dopey betting ring goers into silence shouted clearly "What you fuckers looking at?", and did it with a flagrant defiance that shocked all into silence. That was her power, that was her way. And damn did she know it. Even know, as the demon weapon watched her out of the corner of his eye, the other Shibusen student waved the tool around wantonly even in pedestrian situations. James wiped his mouth clean and put the his empty coffee mug in the sink. He'd wash them later.

'So uh, why'd you come this way anyway. Cin? I mean, this block of condo's isn't exactly the most accessible place. You going somewhere or..?' James pushed the conversation forward again. Judging by Cin's appearance, she was dressed to go do some fixing, like with cars or boilers or something, although James couldn't be certain. For all he knew, the girl just had an affinity for wrenches. While he waited for an answer, the demon trishula pulled out his iPhone and checked the time - he'd leave in a few minutes for work, he decided. As he thought this, a pensive look came across his face.

That betting ring was probably still outside.

[cin]

So, the kid was a newbie to the grand Shibusen? No wonder she hadn’t see him around that much. New kids tended to jump into the fray whenever they got to the school and the Shinigami decided they held enough potential. Cin took another drink, letting out a relaxed and quiet sigh, closing her eyes for a few seconds, concentrating hard. When she opened them they were more grey then before. Soul Perception. She could only read the standard parts of a person, slight parts of a personality. She didn’t take too long on it, but she could tell that this James guy was smarter than he was letting off to be, very smart, in fact as well as being a very energetic and straightforward guy. She closed her eyes again, effectively turning off the ability.

” Mhm, ok. So, obvious question: Weapon or Meister? My Soul Perception isn’t all that great, I can’t tell.” She smiled to herself. That glowing thing he did back in the corridor led her to believe he was a weapon, but she’d seen stranger in Meisters around the school, so there wasn’t really anyway to tell without advanced Soul Perception. She had a good hold in that field, but she couldn’t quite tell who was who when it came to Meisters and Weapons.

Cin sat back again, looking and acting as casual as you can get, seeming to have already forgotten about the close to a scrape earlier outside in the corridor. Then again, she had already been on a mission in a snowy and less then pleasant London, faced a goon about double her size and a mad d’Metreon scientist. She really had to get back at that Theron. It wasn’t even his fault but there was just something he wasn’t telling anyone, not telling the school. The Shinigami. She didn’t trust the popups little Prince. She didn’t get a fist in on his sister, so she had to give it to the next best. Still, now wasn’t the time to think about that, it was showing on her face that something was starting to tick her off slightly. She took a breath, admiring the wrench she was now flipping about in her hand again, but listening all the same.

'So uh, why'd you come this way anyway. Cin? I mean, this block of condo's isn't exactly the most accessible place. You going somewhere or..?' Cin looked over to James, she stopped spinning the wrench, putting it back into one of the belt loops where it normally belonged at her hip. ”Well I was on my way to work, see. I work in one of the garages, fixing up cars, that sorta’ crap, still, I couldn’t ignore a bunch of assholes ganging up on one guy…” She smirked to herself, picking up the mug of coffee and finishing it off ”That’s normally my job.” The smile on her face was one of amusement, as if she’d just made a joke. ”Anyway, what were you doing out there anyway? Did you have anywhere to go?”

[cirrus]

” Mhm, ok. So, obvious question: Weapon or Meister? My Soul Perception isn’t all that great, I can’t tell.” Asked Cin. James had wondered what that freaky grey-eye business was all about -- he'd never seen a meister use Soul Perception before. About a dozen questions formed in his head, and although he wanted to pose them all, it would be rude to ignore the question asked of him.

"I'm a Weapon; a demon trident." Answered James, ever so slightly lanconicly. He watched as she swung the wrench around, a little less wary than before, but wary nonetheless. His eyes darted from the wrench to her face as she answered his question.

”Well I was on my way to work, see. I work in one of the garages, fixing up cars, that sorta’ crap, still, I couldn’t ignore a bunch of assholes ganging up on one guy…That’s normally my job." So she was some sort of mechanic, eh? That was unexpected, and yet in a way suited to what James had so far seen of her character. The punk attitude, the willingness to get her hands dirty, the wrench.

”Anyway, what were you doing out there anyway? Did you have anywhere to go?” She continued, asking another question. James considered it; on the one hand, he was meant to head out to the office today and manage his business. On the other, he only came downstairs because the betting ring had been so noisy, and really had no intention of working today. Although it was lazy, no one could protest; he was the boss, and, as his executive staff of five had quickly learned, insubordiantion was not acceptible: there were now only two. Deciding to divulge the latter, James said;

"To tell you the truth, those guys woke me up. I only meant to see what all the fuss was about, but then suddenly I was in the crowd, and next thing I knew I was in the middle of it, and then you came, wrench flailing and all." He smiled at the latter part of his sentence. Cin's arrival really had been perfect; as much as he'd hate to admit it, he was in dire need of assistance until that point. He glanced outside, catching a glimpse of the hustle and bustle of Death City. It was rush hour.

"It's probably time to get going, huh?" He ventured.

"Want me to see you out?" He continued. James hated to be overbearing, or insinuate that the meister wasn't capable of doing it herself -- although the wrench display had firmlyi imprinted in his mind otherwise -- but his want to make friends with the girl superseded all worries.

[cin]

"Mhm. There seem to be a lot of spare weapons going around these days. We really need some Meisters to give you guys something to do..." Weapons by the dozen, Meisters, not so much. It was like the whole world was running loose on Meisters to spare, and that couldn't be a good thing, that was for sure. Cin looked to be thinking, and she was. Cin may not look it but she was intelligent herself. Though she wasn't good at maths, and not great in English or other Languages, she was a half-decent strategist and understood mechanics better then almost anyone in Death City. She, in some ways, felt she had a right to laugh at all the guys who thought they could do a better job then herself. Most of them walked away in shame. Part of her did it for the satisfaction of being better then the boys, and part of her did it for her father. He would have laughed at them with her. She missed him, but she tried not to let is show too much.

"To tell you the truth, those guys woke me up. I only meant to see what all the fuss was about, but then suddenly I was in the crowd, and next thing I knew I was in the middle of it, and then you came, wrench flailing and all." The Meister chuckled a little at that. If she'd been woken up by a bunch of drooling fools she wouldn't have been best pleased at the least, and most of them would be sent running home to their mothers. Though she liked the whole wrench thing, she looked at it briefly. Not once had that thing let her down, she doubted it ever would. It helped keep other, slightly gobby students at bay for sure. "Pff, I tend to do that a lot. I did try subtlety once, wasn't my thing." She smirked, sarcasm in her voice as she spoke. Her humour was probably down to the crowd she used to be in with when she spent her time at the race tracks. Some weird people they were. Good though. Nostalgia seemed to flare in her eyes briefly.

Cinamon was a little caught up in her memories when James spoke to her again. "It's probably time to get going, huh? Want me to see you out?" She shrugged. "Yeah, I s'pose so." She said after a moment. Though she didn't really have to rush. "Though I don't really have to rush, if I'm honest." Still, the thought of running into those baffons again would be interesting. No doubt they'd probably want to get their own back for making them look like fools by taking away their little catch. Stupid, stupid people. Amusing though. Those kinds of people never knew what was coming until it smacked them in the face with an iron wrench. Literally. Cinamon simply grinned.

[cirrus]

"Mhm. There seem to be a lot of spare weapons going around these days. We really need some Meisters to give you guys something to do..." Said Cin, commenting on the apparent weapons to meisters ratio. What she said was true, though; all the people James had met -- barring her, of course -- had been weapons like him. Speaking of meisters, he did indeed lack one... He wondered why. He was smart, agile, and the weapon of the Hindu deity Shiva. In his mind, it was a pretty sweet combination. Still, it wasn't like he advertised that fact. How else would he get a meister if he didn't ask? But they'd need compatible soul wavelengths, among other things...James sighed inwardly. Sometimes he wished life was simpler.

"Pff, I tend to do that a lot. I did try subtlety once, wasn't my thing." She said, reacting to his quick surmising of how they had come to be in the living area of his condo, drinking tea and eating croissants. The sarcasm was almost dripping off of her words, eliciting a warm smile from the demon weapon.

He couldn't imagine Cin any other way.

She accepted his offer of seeing her out. It had been fun and all, but they both really had places to be and things to do. Still, Cin did make the point of not being in a rush; tardiness wasn't an issue for her. And, as James supposed, if it wasn't a problem for her, then it was no problem for him. The demon weapon got up from the sofa and pulled out some panna cotta leftover from last night's dessert. He figured he'd give them to her as a present for saving him; if the previous offerings of food weren't enough. James packaged the creamy dessert in some tuppoware. He wouldn't need it back -- he had more than enough money to buy more. The Trishula put it on the table slowly in front of Cin, kind of reluctant to do so, as if it signified the official end of their meeting. He finally did so, adding awkwardly;

"It's a box."

[cin]

Cin was ever growing fonder of the Demon Weapon. It seemed she had a bit of a thing for Weapons at the moment. She didn’t really speak to many other Meisters, probably because the only one she really knew was a bunking asshole who was just running away from everything. Still, it didn’t matter at the moment. She got up out of the seat, stretching her arms above her head and yawning. She wasn’t even that tired, so she didn’t know why she yawned. Another of life’s ‘grand mysteries’. If not a slightly pointless one, like most others. Cin quickly ruffled her own hair, giving it a new degree of ‘wanted scruffiness’. There was no point in trying to look nice, she worked in the garage, she’d be covered it oil and gasoline by the end of the day, a fond reminded of why she loved it so much. She smiled to herself, it was something to a rarity to see a genuine smile on her face, though she’d never admit to one.

She grew curious at what James was doing, packing things in a small container, lifting a curious eyebrow and leaning over slightly, hands on her hips, one resting on the cool metal of the wrench, twisting the belt loop. He slowly put it down in front of the Meister, who regarded it with no small amount of surprise. There was a pause before James said simply; ”It’s a box.” Cin smiled to herself, standing back up straight and laughing. ”No shhhiiitt, ya think?” And then she just started laughing some more. Some part of her found that hilarious as well as hilariously flattering. It seemed that, in the future, the two could be good friends, despite the fact that Cin was much more rugged then James was. After her little laughing session, she took a breath and look at him. ”Thanks man, I appreciate that.” The Meister then picked up the box, if a little tentatively.

”You sure you want me to have this? I could always just buy somethin’ y’know.” She grinned. Sometimes, it felt a little greedy to take something from someone, regardless of what is was. It was also to do with the fact she and James had only really just met. If one of her real good friends offered her something she probably would take a second thought. ”That or buy ya’ something myself?”

[cirrus]

James' simple statement elicited a round of laughs from his guest. It seemed such stupidly obvious things such as what he had previously said were a hit with Cin, and this caused the demon weapon to grin dumbly too. He was funnier than he thought, it seemed. Despite the hilarious nature of the gift, it was, nonetheless, a gift, and Cin told of how she appreciated it. James thought nothing of it; he had many more boxes and many more ingredients, and the token of his boundless appreciation was to be expected.

He watched silently as she ruffled her hair; adopting that look of intentional scruffiness that seemed to be 'all the rage' these days. James still bore his smile, and glowed a little more than usual. Cin readied herself to leave, but seemed uncomfortable with accepting his gift. She even offered to buy him something. James pondered this for a moment, and then decided to be bold. He'd been growing ever fonder of Cin from the moment she had got here. The chance to allow their relationship to progress from acquaintances to friends was one that the Trishula refused to give up. And so, with a grin adorning his face, and the light beaming from his body intensifying, he replied;

"Sure; how 'bout dinner tonight?"

Hoping the answer was yes, James gestured to the door.

[cin]

"Sure; how 'bout dinner tonight?"

The Weapon smiled, leading her out the door while glowing brightly. Literally. Cinamon smiled back, a crooked, tom-boy smile, but a genuine smile, nonetheless. She chuckled a little, stepping out of the door to stand in the hallway outside. It wasn't very often she was asked to dinner, normally she was plenty happy with a take-away or something else along those lines. Cin obviously wasn't a classy girl, but she wasn't spiteful at all. She folded her arms and looked at him, and amused expression set on her face "I've got nothing better to do, I s'pose...why not...just I'm not fond of eating anywhere fancy. Though that's probably obvious."

It wasn't often Cin could find someone she tolerated, let alone get on with. Some part of her hoped to see him around school, maybe even jump in a few classes together. She'd introduce him to Rick but that might be a little too much, he was worse then she was. On all levels. But like her, not a nasty guy, just very intent on intentions. Beating things up and nom'ing on soul was as far as that went. The Meister was glad she had stumbled upon the little tussle when she had, it added something interesting to her day, sure, and it was a brilliant feeling to put boys in their places, as well as meeting Cirrus...but still...

"Anyway...try not to get into more trouble, aye? If I hadn't come along, you'd have been beaten to a bloody pulp." Though that wasn't probably as true as it could have been, she laughed to herself. A Demon Weapon was a forced to be reckoned with, with or without a Meister as long as they knew how. "So, what time and where?" Cin didn't seem to change her tone, still the sound of arrogance on her voice that would never leave her, even in the hardest of situations. Part of her upbringing, she supposed. The thought of food, however, would be enough to keep her in a good mood, regardless of work that day. It was nice to having something different to look forward to.

[cirrus]

She said yes. That alone was enough to fill his body to the brim with joy. And to make James' elation filled form overflow with happiness, Cin smiled. Cin's smile brightened up the demon weapon's day. And that was no mean feat. The demon weapon chuckled to himself, knowing that, despite what the agreement was, he'd never let Cin pay for the meal. At any rate, it'd mean that he'd get to spend more time with her, and that's what he really wanted. Not time, not dinner, but a friend. A true and honest one at that. And to James, it would appear as if he'd just found one.

"Anyway...try not to get into more trouble, aye? If I hadn't come along, you'd have been beaten to a bloody pulp." She said, as if James that one rowdy soul in the class that, despite all outward appearances, had a heart of gold; no matter how much he didn't mean it to, trouble would always follow the demon weapon. As it would all that were assosciated with Shibusen; where there were heroes, there were villains, supposed the blonde haired boy. Still, it wasn't as if he couldn't handle himself. He did after all have the ability to make trident blades appear from his wrists, a la Assassin's Creed.

And no one messed with Assassin's Creed.

He hoped.

Despite his knowing tone and general demeanour, James really didn't know all that much about the nuances of Death City. But the same could be said for all people and almost all places. The facts and figures and videoes and brief trips meant nothing, until you had to live there. Such was life. Cin asked about time and place. At this, the demon Trishula simply shrugged. He didn't really have to do anything today; classes weren't on his current agenda for the next few hours.

"Uh...how about tonight? See you at say...9?"