パダパダ Pada Pada
In a low stated city where theft, murder, and crime is attempted all around the city. But an unknown source is causing something more drastic to harm the civilians and even the city. The city of Fukushima changes rapidly at the rate by a "storm" that started all from a small drizzle. The onomatopoeia of drizzling rain in Japanese is PadaPada.
Was I aware of the madness filling the streets over day and night? Was I scared of what was approaching? The answer was not at all, at least not at the moment. It was very unusual that the once blue skies were dark and grey. It was late October and the day of recognition. The building I stood under was like a sky scrapper under my feet, I felt powerful. I looked upon the civilians that scattered the streets below, how I would miss them all when they were gone, the thing was no one but I was prepared for what happened next. I was a by stander, civilian, leader, my name Takashi Rasujima.
Kuro POV:
I ran as fast as I could against the cracked pavements that filled the streets. As I ran it was more difficult to pace myself as I could feel most of my lower body lifting up from the rising surface.
"Stop!" I nearly shouted as my lungs were burning as I ran at the same time.
The person I was following was no ordinary stranger. That person was a drastic element to the cause of the madness in this city. I leaped over a park fence that divided the north side of town to the south. Swiftly the figure stumbled over and under ally way crates that were abandoned to the city. I was eager to catch the man pumping my fist hard getting closer and closer, but the figure didn't slow down. He led me into the City Dump, a restricted area that no one could enter.
"Stop! I just want to talk" I yelled but it didn't work. I leaped against the piles of rubbish watching my step as pieces crumbled under my feet. I slid down the hill of trash until I reached a large machine I was unsure about what it was as I watched an orange bubbling source inside the large metal pot like machine. Suddenly a shadowed figure flashed against the side of the contraption and I was off again. As I lunged forward I leaped high landing against the open and closing section of the machine, it made a heavy clanking sound. As I continued to trudge on forward I halted feeling a tug against my back leg opening of my pants. As the entrance closed I fell backward grabbing onto the closing doors. Underneath me broiled a hot substance that burned against my latex shoes. It singed me against my shin as I tightened my grip against the entrance.
"Uh" I grunted as I tried lifting myself above; until the metal machine clanked shaking my finger off as I fell quickly in a heartbeat. I closed my eyes waiting for the burning sensation to make contact on my body. But nothing happened. All I heard was the sound of metal clanking as if it was jammed. I forced my eyes to open and all I could see is a blurry figure. It pulled me up into the air changing from the hot boiling environment into the cold winter air that once filled the air before. Before I knew it I was hitting the ground, sliding against piles of rubbish falling on my stomach.
"Damn boy you screwed up, follow me if you want to live, they're going to come soon" a voice said. My vision was foggy and unclear. I felt myself being lifted onto a back of a person or maybe an animal. At the moment it was hard seeing or even hearing after the radioactive boiler that I was surrounded with.
When I woke up everything was lit differently. The ceilings were dark brown and the air smelled of mold and dust. My head hurt and my left shin had a ringing pain numb to my foot.
"I see you're awake" a deep voice echoed through the small room. I turned my head slightly to face a man with blue hair and a fur coat; he was sitting against an old bookshelf keeping his foot up against a bedside table.
"Hey your-"
"I know who I am. And I know why you wanted me" he said solemnly.
"What happened" I said sitting up feeling the numbing pounding against my shin.
"Ah- You don't remember? I totally saved your life back in the city boy. I grabbed you before you fell into the pit, and I lugged you on my back before the terminals came".
"But-"
"You were easily burned by the pit and couldn't move or barely could breathe because of the fumes" he said getting up. He walked toward a nearby stand pulling a drawer out and tossing a shirt and pants in my direction.
"Change into this. You've been out for a few days and you kind of stink. Oh, by the way what's your name kid?" he said turning for a split second.
"Kuro Hitsubushi" I said changing into the black striped shirt.
"What about you?"
"Jun Okumura. When you're done go downstairs". He said leaving.
When I came out into the hallways it was closed tightly as if only one person could walk down it at a time. On the sides hung picture frames with little children surrounding a tree with glowing lights another picture had a large group of people in front of the city capitol with blank expressions and signs. To the look of the pictures I could tell that all the pictures were unusual and old due to the material and the date at the bottom. 2075.
A large clank filled the ceiling and a door opened immediately making me stumble slowly. A girl walked out with long dark hair and a white t-shirt with cut shorts. Her face was pale and she stared at me blankly.
"Your awake that's great" she said approaching me.
"Who are you?" I said putting my hands in the new pants.
"Reiko Nasajima. People here call me Rei" she said holding her t-shirt pulling it down.
"I see your staring at the photos" she said looking at the scene.
"Oh well I was just glancing". She laughed.
"Don't be embarrassed I know their unusual. That photo over there, that's my great grandma and Jun's great grandma. They are sitting at her house on a day they called Christmas in front of a Christmas tree they called a long time ago".
What was Christmas? What an unusual name for something I thought.
"And that there is a group that was created by my grandmother called The Seekers. They opposed against the capitol long ago when the terminals arrived".
"Against the terminals, wouldn't that cause a riot? Wouldn't the consequences for disobeying the capitol be very severe?" I asked curiously.
"Well-"she began.
"Rei!" a voice lurched from the bottom of the stairs.
"And that's my cue. Sorry I'll tell you later" she said turning.
"I'm coming, calm down" she yelled in the direction of the stairs.
As she dissented downstairs I followed her into a lighted room down wooden stairs. The first thing I saw was a small kitchen with a dark haired women cooking in a pot.
"Alex that smells great" Rei said running toward the women.
"Yeah, I even found carrots in the nearby flee market this morning so I hope its extra special" she said smelling the pot.
"Did you see Jun? He called me downstairs" she said looking around.
"Well you see he's arguing with Takashi san again. He wants to be recruited to a new position as assistant leader".
"Not again" she said clenching her fist tightly.
"Yeah, he won't listen to me so I just shut up for once".
"You're older than him, you have more power"
"I just don't want to get involved in his drama" Alex said rolling her eyes.
Rei immediately sprang to her feet walking straight to the front door. She seemed worried.
"What happened?" I said turning to the girl still cooling against the warm stove.
"Hum? Oh. Well you see I'm Jun's older sister. As a family we are a part of a group called The Seekers. Our leader is Takashi who is Reis older brother. My brother is upset because he wants to rule the group with our leader but he won't be accepted."
The door in the front slammed open and Jun walked in upset running up stairs followed by Rei.
"Jun!" she shouted after him as he slammed the door to his room upstairs.
"He's upset" she said then turning to me.
"Kuro, my brother wants to meet you" she said almost stunned.
"Me?" I said surprised watching her walk out the door.
"You better follow. Meeting our leader is important" Alex said chopping pieces of egg into the stew pot. I looked at her then upstairs. She saw me looking worried.
"Ah- don't worry about Jun, he's just upset that's all. He'll calm down eventually".
I shook off fear and went after Rei. She was standing outside the door waiting. Outside it was dark still and surrounded by dark trees. She looked at me gesturing me to follow her.
"My brother is out by the Edge" she said tying her hair back because of the humid atmosphere.
"Why me?" I said continuing to pace with her walking speed.
"Jun found you and you were able to pace with him. Also for that fact that you were able to survive the toxic fumes that you in hailed deeply. A normal human being would have suffered at least a major tumor or lung sickness, but you survived" she said amazed.
"You seem like you know a lot about medicinal value".
"Well I want to become a doctor" she said smiling ahead.
"I'm actually the doctor of the group" she said.
"So you healed me?" I said grinning.
"Yep, I was actually working on an antidote at the moment when I heard Jun enter the door with you unconscious with a bleeding shin".
"Well the reason why I was running after him was because I was out on a run to see my father. See he just arrived in the city from his long travels in the military. I spotted a man in dark running against alley ways which made me curious. In the city there's been a lot of murders and crime, I assumed it was him".
"I heard the reports. If you didn't know The Seekers actually assume it is a city folk that lives amongst the capitol that is in charge of the murders and the crimes all around the city."
"The city" I murmured questionably wanting to ask more about the mishap.
"Well were here" she said walking toward a bush pushing the leaves away. She threw the carcass of the floor revealing a rusted metal gate. She kicked it forcefully breaking the lock.
"We replace the gate once in a while to keep out intruders". She said walking out into the open.
"Were here" she said staring at the large illuminated world in front of us.
I gasped. It was the city.
"Fukushima" I said as she nodded at me.
From where I was standing, the city of Fukushima looked like a penitentiary enclosed with gates and search lights. I was shocked at how I didn't notice the world I was living in for so long.
"They keep it from us" she spoke uneasily.
"They hide the fact that they are controlling the world we live in, controlling our minds, making us think otherwise or about the fact that we aren't free in this awful world."
I couldn't believe what I was looking at. The city that I gave my life to, respected, and sacrificed for was now a prison of my freedom. I couldn't speak nor could I tell that Rei was calling me from her side.
"Kuro, Takashi is ready to see you" she said.
I nodded, still unable to keep my eyes off the confined city.