Preparation

Both Nacina and I went outside to check it out and once again I saw the guardian up close. He was fighting an enemy with black angel feathered wings and a plain white mask without any eyeholes. There were three reasons why this situation was weird. First, an Infaniyan's battle getting this close to the land more than once a year is almost unheard of, secondly, all the Afarion's I've heard of have bat-like wings not gigantic feathery wings, and thirdly our Guardian... he... was bleeding from a wound on his stomach and coughing up blood. As long as I've been alive there has never been a report on an Angel getting hurt in battle. My heart ached for him, it hurt even more so when I noticed all the people standing around only watching him and smiling, even taking pictures, as if this was a movie and not a real person in pain in front of them. What should I do in this situation?!

"What the hell did you do to me?!" Our Guardian screamed then he promptly returned to gagging and hunching over in pain. His opponent didn't reply he just stayed hovering silently and watching. I looked around once again... No one was doing anything to help him. Our Guardian spread his wings and prepared to take off only to fall back down weakly.

"Things are getting dangerous we should move away," Nacina whispered but for some reason, I didn't hear her. My legs moved on their own and I stood in front of our guardian and got on my knees to check over his wounds. He flinched at my touch. His skin felt incredibly hot yet, for some reason, at the moment, it didn't bother me. I began rummaging through my schoolbag to find some cloth, to stop the bleeding.

"What are you doing?" His tone was abrasive, I was too worried to care, though. I pressed my gym shirt against his wound then said,

"I want to help you," His eyes grew big then he swatted my hand away.

"I don't need anyone's help." He retorted, then he suddenly regained enough strength to get back on his feet.

"Angel, are you sure you're okay?" I asked out of concern.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" He shouted and I was taken aback.

"You win this time." A voice from above announced. I looked up, knowing it was coming from the masked figure. He was holding his mask together which had blood dripping from beneath it and had apparently split during battle. The man had dark brown hair and from his hand, I could tell he had light brown skin but the rest of his body was hidden behind a dark green cloak. It doesn't make sense that he would need to hide his identity... because who is he? I'm sure no one would recognize him.

"No! This isn't over until you're dead!" Our Guardian shouted, leaping from the ground with flames covering his limbs but before he could reach him, the Afarion vanished. "Damn it!" He stated angrily, lowering himself and punching the ground which caused the earth to rumble. He then dusted himself off and as he did I noticed that the blood had dried and that his wounds were healed. I began walking away after that, feeling relieved but then he said, "Hey, you! Wait!" His voice was so forceful that I paused in my tracks. "My name is Serco. What's yours?" He requested in a very commanding voice. I turned back to him timidly.

"A-Akina," I replied, then I fought past my nerves to look up at him. He then grinned widely, it's the first time I've seen him smile ... it was an awe-inspiring smile, the kind people write songs about. His hair flowed like fire, glowing bright red at the ends. His skin, was golden, like pure honey and his irises also were like dancing flames, red, yellow, white, constantly changing colors. Even his scleras were glowing crimson.

"Okay, now we know each other's name. So, DO NOT EVER call me an Angel again." He stated, in a gentler voice this time, then with a gust of wind he was gone.

"Akina! You thrill seeking idiot!" Nacina yelled then she tackle hugged me. "You can't keep scaring me like this." She complained. I laughed and hugged her back, but for some reason my heart hasn't stopped racing for a while... Oh no! Now that I think about it, I touched his bare-chest without a thought! I probably looked like an insane pervert. I bet he gets that kind of attention all the time and hates it. The embarrassment from my actions hit me all at once and I had to sit down for a while before sulkingly heading back home with Nacina.

We went back into the store and Nacina ended up picking out a cerulean, form-fitting dress. I hope I can wear my hoodie over this at the party tomorrow. When I came outside I noticed a large crack in the sidewalk, that's where the guardian must have landed, but he didn't bother to fix it, I wonder why. If he hit the ground that hard he might have had trouble focusing and overlooked it. Hmm... Serco... is a name that occasionally shows up in Infaniya History books... but it was never a name of a lowly guardian... Only one of Infaniyan royalty. Guardians are usually Infaniya's desposable foot soldiers, so it must just be a coincidence.

Nacina allowed me to wash my gym clothes when I got to her house, then we went to her room together and she pulled out her phone saying,

"We're ordering pizza tonight, we'll have to compromise on the toppings. We can make it half-dried tomatoes, pepperonis, and spicy jalapeno peppers straight from the fiery pits of hell and the other half will be meat lovers, for the people with normal taste buds." I pouted because of her jab at my spicy food addiction. It's not my fault she can't handle it.

"Sounds good to me," I replied. After we ate Nacina conditioned, washed and dried my hair. She even used a diffuser to amplify my curls and then she forced me to wear a face mask before bed. I can't wait to take this off of my face in the morning. The party didn't start till 5 PM but Nacina made a big deal of making me save my appetite for party food.

"Think about the cake, Aki." She'd repeat. Note: I don't care about cake nearly as much as she does. I let Nacina treat me like a life-sized doll and do my hair and my makeup, as well as help me with my dress. Why are fancy dresses so complicated? A simple sundress would have been fine. "You're so pretty. Cherry wants everyone to dress formal for this party so she can show off the pictures online, you're going to fit right in." She stated; I didn't believe her but it's nice to get compliments sometimes. Once she was done she forced me to take a picture together with her, and thanks to her enthusiasm, I'm beginning to grow a little excited myself. 4:30 PM came around and Cam showed up as our ride.

"Bye, mom! Bye, Dad!" Nacina yelled as we were leaving.

"Bye sweetie have fun!" Her mom stated.

"I know we're going to have some fun while you're away." Her dad mumbled while drinking his coffee and casting his gaze towards his wife. I really like Nacina's parents. They're so lively, like her... and I guess they have plans of their own once we're gone. I wonder what. It's probably best not to ask so I waved bye to them and followed Nacina outside.