A/N: Hello Everyone and welcome to the story. So I am updating the formatting and trying to clean up some errors I have found. I will come back in periodically to make sure that things are all good.
The summer breeze filled the room as Hiyatsu opened her bedroom window. She took a deep breath in, the smell of rain still hung in the air from the storm the night before. The dew hung on the grass creating a shimmering light; between the slight breeze and the morning dew, the field next to her house looked like the ocean.
"Haven't even gone yet," she sighed. "I wonder how many more days like this we will have before school starts. I should probably get out and enjoy it while I can." She continued to stare out the window and her attention shifted to the city that surrounded her. The buildings were dull and the streets uniform, she never particularly liked the city but compared to the way the field looked today it was even more dreary than usual.
"I really want to get out of this place."
This was a thought that she would have on days when she felt trapped in one place. She never could explain why she felt like she needed to walk freely on the earth but it was there. Hiyatsu sighed and turned from the window. She walked towards her closet and saw that the doors hung open and the contents were spilling onto her bedroom floor. She kicked some of the laundry into a back corner and tried to close the closet door.
"Mom'll kill me if she sees that the room is this messy again," she thought. She looked at her room which was in disarray. She had clothes thrown over her chair and desk. There were books piled next to her bed and for some reason, she had a shovel propped up in the corner. She turned her attention back to the window, the morning made everything feel refreshed and lively as if to ease her into getting ready for the day.
"All I want is more time to relax, is that too much to ask?" She wandered back to her bed trying to decide what she would do with her remaining days of summer.
"Not if you are going to mope around all morning."
Hiyatsu looked over and saw the bright pink hair of her mother peeking around the door frame. She stepped into Hiyatsu's room wearing a red apron and had her hair pulled up in a ponytail. Her mother often would wear this on the weekends right before doing housework. Hiyatsu knew that staying at home today would eventually lead to a chore list, she made up her mind that she would need to get out of the house early.
As Hiyatsu planned for her escape she was reminded of her mother's pink hair and that she had inherited more of her father's hair color than her mothers and this upset her. "What do you want now Mom? You don't already have chores for me do you?" Hiyatsu asked, hoping to avoid work.
"I just came in to let you know that if you want food to hurry up and get downstairs," her mother replied. She flashed Hiyatsu a smile and continued "Maybe I should make you clean your room first?"
Hiyatsu stared at her mother, "I'll do it later I promise."
Her mother eyed her "You said that last week, please just take care of it before tonight."
Hiyatsu said, "as long as that's all I have to do, I may consider it."
Her mother feigned clutching her heart, "I never thought it would come to this, my sweet little girl is talking back to me," she laughed. "In any case, your breakfast is ready and waiting." Hiyatsu smiled and laughed to herself; her mom was strange but she had always been that way.
From down the hall, Hiyatsu heard her father call out "Zero-Two, I thought we talked about this." Her mother straightened up with a jump and gave Hiyatsu a sheepish grin.
"Mom, did you cover Dad's breakfast with honey again?" Hiyatsu smirked.
For as long as she could remember her parents had an ongoing battle of wills when it came to breakfast. Her father was a fan of savory breakfasts, mostly consisting of eggs and sausage. Her mother, on the other hand, would eat anything as long as it was covered in a thick layer of honey. Her mother had a tendency to forget this fact and continued to pour honey over her father's breakfast. It was one of the many things she loved about her parents.
"Darling, I'm sorry I just get so excited to make you breakfast that I forget. Besides, it's your fault I like sweets so much." Zero-Two shouted as she raced out of her daughters' room. She watched her mother disappear down the hall, Hiyatsu decided that she definitely needed to get out of the house today otherwise she would get stuck with housework and "family bonding time" as her dad called it.
"I'll grab breakfast quickly and head to the library."
After getting dressed she ran downstairs to the dining room to grab her breakfast. "Ok, first I'll grab breakfast and make my way to the front door. If either Mom or Dad stops me I'll think of something to get them off my back." She peeked out of her bedroom to see if her parents were coming back up the steps. She took off from her room towards the stairs. She stopped to check her parent's location. "They still sound like they are in the kitchen arguing about the honey," she crept slowly down the stairs. When she got to the bottom of the stairs she suddenly bumped into her father. "Dad!" she shouted. He looked up from the newspaper he was reading and said
"Oh, Hiyatsu there you are I was looking for you, do you want to go to the store together?" Her father, Hiro, was a kind, strong, intellectual man with raven hair.
"Yeah sorry Dad, I would love to but I am headed out," she said as she moved past him and towards the dining room.
"Where are you going?" her father asked.
Thinking of an excuse she said, "I'm off to the library, I wanted to get a history book." That was a partial truth since her plan also included going to hang out with her friends, which usually lead to trouble and she didn't feel like letting her dad know that. "I shouldn't be gone too long. We can hang out afterward," she tried her best to flash a smile like her mother did when she wanted something from him.
"I would like that, especially today of all days," he smiled at her.
Hiyatsu tilted her head, What did he mean especially today?
Hiro laughed at her reaction, "You are your mothers' kid you know that?"
She looked at him, "What makes you say that?" Hiyatsu was often told this by many people who knew her mother and she always enjoyed hearing it.
"Well, you just remind me of her when she was younger."
Zero-Two appeared from around the corner holding a bag. "I figured that once you saw my outfit that you might try to sneak off so I packed your breakfast. Try not get into too much trouble today." The way her mother put emphasis on too indicated she knew what Hiyatsu was going to be doing today.
"Alright Mom and Dad, I'll try to be careful. I won't promise anything," she paused. "I am my mother's kid, after all." She winked as she sprinted out the door.
As Hiyatsu ran past the little shops and stalls that dotted her way to the bus stop she was engulfed by their fragrance. "They seem pretty busy for the morning," she thought. There was a lot more movement than normal at each stall. The shop owners were bustling around setting up their goods each with frantic looks on their faces. She couldn't help but notice that the food smelled especially good today and it made her stomach growl. "You already have a breakfast, plus you are broke," she said, "No more food for you, stomach." This however proved an ineffective attack as her stomach proceeded to growl louder. Determined to make it to the bus stop without spending any of her money she quickly escaped the street down an alleyway. When she emerged on the other side she found herself in a crowd and tried to avoid being swept up.
"What is going on? Why are there so many people out today? There shouldn't be any festivals for at least another few weeks" she wondered as she plodded through the crowd.
She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice the boy walking up to her. "Hey, Hiyatsu!" His voice rang out above the noise. Shaken out of her head she turned to see the familiar green eyes of her childhood friend Kaito.
Kaito was a tall boy with an athletic build, warm eyes, and a big smile. Hiyatsu enjoyed spending time with Kaito, he had a knack of finding trouble; though it would be more accurate to say that trouble had a knack of finding him and she found that exciting. She had met Kaito when he moved to the city twelve years ago and since that time they had been best friends. The two of them were often seen together, especially on their way to and from school since they lived close to each one another. He was frantically waving her over and heeding his call she walked up to him.
"You really are too happy for your own good. It's still morning, can't you calm down a little" she snipped.
"Should I have more 'worldly cynicism' as you put it the other day? You do like to suck the fun out of a good morning" he responded.
She shot him a look at his remark, but he ignored her and continued, "But seriously, what are you doing running out of the alley like that, you could have gotten yourself hurt."
She pouted and turned away "For your information I was trying to avoid the evils of food. The next street over has too many good food stalls and I am broke." Hiyatsu spun around and asked, "What is going on anyway?"
Kaito laughed "Don't you keep a calendar in your room? I swear if you didn't have me you wouldn't know what day of the week it was. Tonight is the New Beginnings Festival, so everyone is preparing for it." She looked puzzled, so he continued, "Today marks the 20th anniversary of the Earth's rebirth, so to speak."She stared blankly at him. "It's a celebration of our freedom from VIRM? Ring any bells" he said.
She thought hard for a moment then put her fist into her hand she shouted "I remember now! That's the day my parents came back and your parents started the new government!" Kaito jumped back at the sudden outburst and laughed.
The two friends walked through the throng of people that had gathered on the street to prepare for the night's activities. Hiyatsu and Kaito approached the bus stop and waited for the bus to arrive. While they waited they decided that the day was too nice to spend inside a stuffy library and the lake on the outskirts of the city sounded like a better use of their time. Kaito had business there that he was trying to explain to Hiyatsu when the bus arrived. Hiyatsu and Kaito boarded the bus and took their seats in the back. The bus rumbled to life and made its way down the street. The familiar buildings began to stream past the bus window as Hiyatsu gazed out at the sight. The same feeling from the morning crept back into her heart.
She frowned "This city is so dull," she thought "of all the places to get stuck, why here?"
Sensing that his friend was troubled about something Kaito spoke up. "Hey, something on your mind?"Hiyatsu turned her head but didn't respond. "Fine, don't tell me but I will get it out of you eventually," he said.
"It's nothing" she smiled "Don't worry about it. Aren't you excited to see the lake today?" She tried her best to hide the fact that she had changed the subject. She hopped that Kaito hadn't noticed.
"Oh, yeah" he responded, "after the rain, we had last night there must be some nice flowers around there to look at." She was relieved that he didn't bring up that she looked troubled again.
She smiled again and the feeling faded "Yes, they should be lovely this morning. I wonder how many types we can identify and put into my book." She glanced over at Kaito who had already taken out a notebook. "You know it's hard to make fun of you when you aren't listening to me," she said, "Put the book down for just a minute and talk with me." Kaito didn't move, "He's lost," she thought "I'll have to shake him out of his trance once we get to the lake."
When the bus pulled up to their destination Hiyatsu lightly punched Kaito in the shoulder. He looked up from his notebook and Hiyatsu nodded towards the door. They got out of their seats and stepped off the bus. Hiyatsu strolled to a bench that overlooked the lake, she thought that it felt good to be out of the city limits. The lake was situated right outside of the city. Beyond it was an expanse of open land most of it still barren from the events of 20 years ago. On the eastern side of the lake, the was blanketed with thick pine, elm and oak trees.
It was a dense forest that the city dwellers would use as shelter from the sun during the early days of the trading operations. The shore of the lake was a bright yellow sand that was a very fine grain. The waves lapped the shore with a gentle crash. As she sat there the mid-morning sun blanketed the ground in a warm light and the flowers gently swayed in the breeze. Hiyatsu loved to be among nature, she was able to think better when there was less man-made noise.
"I need more excitement in my life," she thought, "Maybe we can get into some trouble tonight at the festival."
She looked over at Kaito who was sketching a few plants into his notebook. He always had enjoyed plants and whenever possible would sketch them out and take notes to research later. She stared at him until he noticed, when he looked over she flashed him a devious grin.
"I know that look, whatever you have planned I want no part of it today," Kaito said.
"Who said anything about plans," she said. "I was just thinking that's all."
Her act did not convince him "That's the problem, the only time you think is when you are trying to get out or into trouble."
She squinted at him, "Fine, I was just thinking that we need more excitement in our lives and tonight is the perfect time to get some."
She thought for a moment then exclaimed, "We should steal a few fireworks from the Festival and set them off in a field!" Kaito was not impressed by her idea. "Come on," she continued, "It'll be fun. Trust me."
She looked over at Kaito who shook his head. "Not only does that not sound fun, why don't you just wait for the fireworks at the Festival. Why do you have to steal them?"
She ignored him, "It'll only be like one or two at the most. We could just take them real quick, run off on our own and set them off. Plus the danger of getting caught is what makes it fun if you must know. I need some excitement to keep me going."
"You keep saying that," Kaito said as Hiyatsu turned away. "Why not pick up a new hobby or something to keep you busy." Hiyatsu glanced back at Kaito and the look she had made it clear that she was going to go forward with her idea. Seeing no other option Kaito sighed "Alright, I'll go with you, but only to make sure you don't end up hurt." Hiyatsu turned back to him and flashed him a smile.
When Hiyatsu turned around she noticed that Kaito had pulled out a knife and was cutting some leaves off of a bush. She watched as he carefully placed the leaves into a bag he had brought with him. She walked behind him and saw that on the ground next to him he had drawn the bush in his notebook. Hiyatsu saw that Kaito had written notes around the picture he drew. Some of the writing looked like labels for parts of the plant while others were some sort of shorthand she didn't understand.
As she leaned in closer Kaito asked: "Can I help you?" Hiyatsu hadn't realized how close she had gotten while trying to look at his notebook.
"What are these notes on the left-hand side of the page?" she asked.
Without looking at his notebook Kaito responded "It is sort of a code I have for plants based on its general characteristics. They could be what family it belongs to, what color is it, how much sun does it like and so on." As he was speaking he plucked a handful of deep blueberries off the bush and placed them into the same bag.
"Why do want the leaves and berries," Hiyatsu asked. "Well, I need a few of the berries to try and grow this bush back at home since I don't have this bush yet. As for the others, I want to break them down and study them. I'm close to having all of the information on the small flowering plants in our town completed but I haven't been able to get a good sample of this plant until today. It only produces berries for a short amount of time and they are a favorite of birds and other animals, so during the summer by the time I get out here they are already gone."
"When did you become so interested in plants, Kaito? Is there a girl showing some interest in you?" Hiyatsu pried.
"Not exactly," he laughed. "Even if there was a girl why would I choose botany?" he asked.
"How should I know about what kind of girls you are in to. They might like weird and exotic plants," she responded.
Kaito gave her a puzzled look "That's a weird thing to be into. But it's actually because of my Dad." He continued "You know how my Dad always goes out around the world? He often brings back a bunch of plants and soil to study. Kokoro would come over and she would ask for my help. So I have always been around it."
"Oh, I know that," Hiyatsu said, "but you seem really into the recently."
Kaito paused for a moment "That's probably because this has been a recent development. I only took a deeper interest in plants after Kokoro lent me her book on Botany. It fascinated me and I dove head first into it."
Hiyatsu laughed, "That is very you Kaito. When something interests you, you don't rest until you understand it to the full of your ability."
After Kaito had finished with documenting and collecting samples from the bush he packed up his things and stood up. "Hey, let's go walk through the forest and see if we can find any other plants I don't have yet."
Hiyatsu got up and started off towards the forest. "I like that idea, it'll give me time to think of a plan for stealing the fireworks."
The two walked off towards the forest and laughed. As they walked they recounted some of their childhood memories, like the time that Kaito had been grounded for covering up one of Hiyatsu's schemes or the time that Hiyatsu had gotten lost and Kaito was the one who found her. They walked through the forest talking and laughing. Every so often Hiyatsu would stop and close her eyes, she listened to the water of the running river and the rustling of the leaves above her head. She touched the bark of the pine trees and felt the warmth of the still air.
At one point she stopped for a long time and stood there face upwards. After some time Kaito opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by Hiyatsu "Ever wonder if you belong somewhere else?" She opened her eyes and looked at him. "Earlier you wanted to know what was on my mind, that's it."
Kaito looked up at the tree canopy and said: "I have thought that but not recently."
"Huh," she replied.
Realizing that his friend may have wanted more Kaito stammered "But I get it, it's like we are meant for something else."
Hiyatsu smiled, she was happy to have at least one person understand her even if it was just a little. "Don't worry about it," she gave him a toothy grin. "Let's keep going, we are close to the lake again."
They continued to walk towards the lake. When they emerged from the forest Hiyatsu ran towards the shore removed her shoes and walked into the water. The water was cool on her feet and it washed away any weariness that the trip through the forest might have caused. Kaito joined her after a moment and the two continued to talk and laugh until the sun had climbed high into the sky. Right around lunch, the two friends decided that they should head back to town and get ready for the festival and made their way to the bus stop.
Back in town Hiyatsu and Kaito parted ways but not before agreeing to meet in front of the Festival gate. After saying goodbye Hiyatsu made her way towards the Library. She had decided that she would get a history book out just in case her Father asked what she did during the morning. After checking out at the Library she headed home to get ready for the Festival.
When it was time for the Festival, Hiyatsu ran out of the house and towards her destination. She had enjoyed a nice dinner with her parents but wanted to get to the Festival gate early so she could ambush her friend. She let her parents know that she would meet up with them later, Hiyatsu enjoyed spending time with her parents at events like this because her mother often would get herself in trouble and Hiyatsu was able to tag along. As she danced down the street thinking of the best way to hide from Kaito she couldn't help but notice how pretty the city had become. Each building she passed was bathed in a golden light that emerged from the red paper lanterns hung across the street.
This warm light was contrasted by the vibrant but cool blue flowers that dotted the storefronts. The combination of light and color gave Hiyatsu the impression of two individuals opposite yet perfect for each other. Hiyatsu had noticed that these colors always reminded her of her parent's personalities. She continued to run toward the Festival gate and spotted a planter that housed a large bush for her to hide behind. She ducked behind the bush to await her prey.
Kaito had been strolling down to the gate from his house up the hill. He marveled at the lights swaying in the breeze. To him they looked like embers floating away from a fire, he walked under the Festival gate arch staring at the festival grounds and didn't notice the shadow lurking behind him.
"Ahhhhhh!" Kaito screamed. Hiyatsu had snuck up behind him and jabbed his sides. "Please don't do that Hiya" Kaito scowled.
Hiyatsu was doubled over at her friend's reaction. "You are so jumpy," she sputtered in between laughs.
"Alright Hiya, get up please can we go in? I'm already nervous about what you are planning. I just want to enjoy myself a little beforehand." Kaito helped Hiyatsu back to her feet.
She lifted her head to him and smiled "Don't you worry my dear, we will have plenty of fun."
Kaito shot her a glance, "I don't like the sound of this."
Hiyatsu grabbed Kaito's hand and led him into the Festival grounds. She was excited to see this years festival. She always had some fun, but this year felt different. She hadn't seen anything like this in a while. The Festival seemed to be more lively than last year, which was a welcomed break from how the city normally felt. The festival ground was filled with the same light from the streets, it covered everything and made the area feel like a cozy room where someone would curl up with a good book and a fire. The vendors called after each passing potential customer with offers more generous than the vendors next to them and the murmur of the crowd reminded Hiyatsu of the river she had walked next to earlier in the day, noisy but comforting.
She could feel the electric atmosphere and she wanted to keep that feeling alive. As she ran through the crowd taking in all the sights and sounds she realized that she was still pulling Kaito along. She stopped and let go of his hand. "Sorry," she said. She let out a nervous laugh without realizing it.
He looked at her like she had something on her face. "Oh yeah don't worry about it," he tried to reassure her.
She felt embarrassed for dragging him through all those people so she asked 'Hey, what do you want to do?"
"Well," he started, "why don't we go to that stand over there?" He pointed to a stand behind her, she turned to see what he was pointing to and her eyes lit up. "I know how much you like sweets so I figured I would treat you to some cotton candy," he smiled at her and waved her forward. Hiyatsu ran over to the stall and gazed at the machine that produced the sweet treat she loved so much. Kaito walked up and ordered two bags of cotton candy while Hiyatsu stood too entranced to say anything. He tapped her shoulder to get her attention and handed her a bag. She excitedly grabbed the bag, opened it up and began to stuff her face.
"Woah, slow down Hiyatsu otherwise you won't have room for my sweet bread." A voice from a neighboring stall rang out. Her cheeks were still puffed out full of cotton candy so that she couldn't respond but she knew who the voice belonged to.
She swallowed the candy and shouted "Futoshi! Didn't think you would have a stall here this year."
He smiled and waved them over, "I think I made the perfect Festival bread this year so I wanted to debut it." He leaned in and said in a low voice "The secret is using the finest white, powdered sugar as the sweetener. Lucky I know a guy who has a steady supply."
Hiyatsu looked him and laughed, Mom and Dad did say he was serious about his food and that he treated his sources like he was a mob boss.
"Mind if I try some," she asked. No one came close to Futoshi's baked goods in the entire city so a chance to try his new bread was one she couldn't pass up.
"Sure thing," he said, "You are so much like your mother in that regard. I bet ol' Hiro has a rough time with all the sugar in the house."
Hiyatsu giggled, "Only at breakfast, Mom still won't give up on covering it with honey."
Futoshi smiled "I'm glad that things are still the same from back when we were kids." He looked off as if remembering some old adventure or more likely some food he had from his childhood. He turned his attention back to the two "Hey Kaito, how are your parents doing? They haven't come into the bakery in a few weeks."
Kaito sighed "You know how they are, Dad took off to go collect some more plants and Mom was busy with the Festival prep. Dad said he would stop by when he got back to let you know if he found any new ingredients."
Futoshi was very pleased to hear of this news. "Good, I needed some new inspiration after I came up with this beauty." He held up two small balls of bread. "Let me know how they taste," he said as he handed them a ball each.
Hiyatsu took a bite and she squealed. It was the best bread she ever had, it was sweet but not a cloying sweetness that plagued much of the sweet bread she had tried. It was hard on the outside which provided a nice crunch which complemented the soft and tender inside. It was filled with a delicate red bean paste. All she could say was "Pillow in the mouth." Kaito never figured out what she meant by that but her reaction was all Futoshi needed to see.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Futoshi said. He smiled and gave them each another bread. After Hyiatsu and Kaito finished the bread they waved goodbye to Futoshi and set off deeper into the Festival grounds.
The night progressed peacefully, the two spent time playing games and trying different foods. It was late in the night when Hiyatsu started to get the itch to get into some trouble. She leaned into Kaito and whispered into his ear "It's time to commence operation: Big Explosion."
Katio hung his head, he had hoped she had forgotten about the plan "Alright let's get this over with."
They began to walk towards the area that held the fireworks. It was separated from the main area by a wall that had a gate which looked to be the only entrance from inside the Festival grounds. The back was accessible from the outside but there were men checking the fireworks and the grounds. There were three tents that Hiyatsu and Kaito could see workers going in and out carrying the fireworks. Hiyatsu noticed that there was a natural rhythm to the worker's paths. She decided that they would have a shot once all three workers went into the second tent. She looked at Kaito and started making hand signals.
"What on earth are you doing?" he asked. "You look crazy doing that."
She frowned, "I am trying to be professional here." She swung her head back to the site, she said in a hushed voice "Ok, we don't have much time. I think they are almost finished setting up. When that last guy goes into the tent we have about three minutes to grab some fireworks from the furthest tent." Kaito was impressed with her capability to discern the movement that quickly.
"You should really use that intelect of yours for good sometime," Kaito said.
Annoyed Hiyatsu said, "Let's talk about this after we have some fireworks in hand." They began to slowly move over to the gate and slipped inside when a group of workers were carrying in various boxes. They moved into position behind the furthest tent and waited for the right time.
When the last worker entered the tent in behind of them, the two lifted up the back of the tent they hid behind and entered. Inside it was dark but there was enough light to see the spoils of their effort. They had hit the jackpot, all the really big fireworks were held in this tent. Excited Hiyatsu rummaged through the piles of fireworks to find the ones she liked."Hey, let's just grab two and get out of here," Kaito pleaded.
"We need the perfect ones, something flashy" she responded.
"I'm serious let's just take this one" he sounded more desperate.
"I'm not don…." she stopped talking.
Outside the tent there were voices and they were getting closer. Hiyatsu was confused since they hadn't been in the tent for the full three minutes. As the voices came closer they could her them say "Alright let's grab next is to grab one in here. We missed it when we came to pick up the last batch." Hiyatsu heart raced, she felt so excited. She looked over at Kaito who was having the opposite reaction to the situation. There was some flapping and a hand reached in to open the tent.
Hiyatsu grabbed two fireworks on top "No time to look now," she said as she turned to escape out the tent. When the worker entered and light streamed into the tent all he saw was Hiyatsu's feet leaving from the back. He quickly ran around to the back of the tent but the pair of feet weren't there.
Hiyatsu and Kaito took off from the fireworks tent and ran towards the field behind the festival. They kept running until they were out of breath. Kaito collapsed and wiped the sweat from his eyes, "That was too close for my liking."
Hiyatsu laid on the ground next to him and gazed up into the night sky, "That was just close enough for my liking."
She closed her eyes to hold onto the feeling that she had just experienced. It wasn't often that she felt this thrill and wanted it to last longer. She opened her eyes and was met with the shimmering a few minutes she sat up and said: "It's time to set these guys off." She produced a small box from her bag and opened it up to show matches. "Hey Kaito, can you plant the fireworks in the ground? After that, I'll light them and we can stand back and watch."
Kaito sat up and said, "Can do."
He picked up the two fireworks; one looked like a rocket with yellow and green markings on the body and cone, the other one looked like a ball that had red streamers attached to it, both of them were attached to long wooden poles that Kaito used to plant them into the ground. Hiyatsu lit the two fuses and they both ran backward. The first one went up and exploded into a vibrant yellow circle that fizzed into a bright green as it fell to the earth. The second flew up high into the sky and exploded with a loud pop, and showered the sky with red and blue segments that whistled and whized in different directions. To Hiyatsu this was a great view, she loved fireworks and loved getting away with a scheme. As the last light faded into the darkness she smiled and hugged Kaito.
Hiyatsu and Kaito headed back to the Festival ground to enjoy the rest of night. When they got back the Festival was buzzing. The fireworks that the two had stolen and set off had been seen at the Festival. This sent the workers into a scramble to make sure the firework display had not malfunctioned. The commotion allowed the two friends to enter the grounds without being seen. Thoroughly pleased with herself, Hiyatsu planned on enjoying the rest of her night.
As she walked with Kaito a familiar face made its way towards her. The girl approached Hiyatsu and Kaito and said "Where have you two been? Not causing any trouble I hope."
Kaito stammered "Ai! Oh hello, I didn't expect to see you here."
"Why wouldn't she be here Kaito?" Hiyatsu forced a laugh.
Ai looked at them suspiciously "You two are acting strange again. This tells me that either: one you know something about those fireworks going off or two you guys are on a date and don't want anyone to know."
"We are not on a date!" Both responded too quickly.
Ai smirked, "HA, I knew it was you two!"
Kaito looked around nervously "Are you going to tell anyone."
Ai gave a coy look "I might, but I would consider forgetting this if you promise to take me next time you do something crazy. There needs to be someone with brains to keep you two out of trouble."
Kaito exhaled "Ok fine I'll tell you next time she comes up with a scheme."
Hiyatsu shrugged "Could be fun but you are a bit of a stick in the mud, so don't get in the way."
Ai's eyes twitched "I am not a stick in the mud! I just like following the rules that's all."
Hiyatsu turned away and gave a playful wave "Whatever you say."
"In any case, your parents are looking for you Hiya," Ai said, "They want to spend some time with you tonight."
Hiyatsu turned back to her "We were actually just on our way to find them."
"Good, because mine and Kaito's parents are with them as well so we might as well all go" Ai replied. Hiyatsu, Kaito and Ai walked together to spend the night with their parents as a group.
After the fireworks ended and the festival was coming to a close the group decided to part ways and head home. As Hiyatsu walked home with her parents she wondered if her parents even questioned about their purpose in life. "Hey Mom and Dad, did you always know what you had to do with your life?"
They turned and looked at her. "We did for the most part," Hiro responded. "Your mother and I wanted to find each other again after being separated."
"We also knew that we had to defeat our enemy," Zero-Two added.
"Oh, okay," said Hiyatsu.
"Don't worry too much about it honey," Zero-two said, cupping the side of her face. "You will find your place and you always have us to lean on." She brushed the bangs out of Hiyatsu face and gave her a smile.
That night while she laid in bed thinking about the question she had asked her parents a sudden sleepiness overtook her.
As she fell deeper into sleep she found herself in a forest filled with an orange and red flower she had never seen before. The strange flower captivated her imagination and she marveled at its beauty. She felt a longing as if something dear to her was missing as she stared into the field of these flowers. Hiyatsu began to walk through the field trying to make sense of the feelings that they brought her when from the corner of her eye she spotted her home held up by three pillars.
The pillars were arranged in a triangle with two pillars in front and a single pillar behind, this last pillar was obscured by the trees so Hiyatsu was unable to see the entire thing. The house was surrounded by a semi-circle of densely populated trees. She suddenly found herself in the same woods that she walked in earlier in the day. She tried to close her eyes and hear the familiar sounds but there was nothing there. She stood there for a long time trying to recall the sounds of the trees but nothing came from it.
She opened her eyes and looked at her home as a path began to appear leading to the pillars. The dirt road stretched from the pillars and moved towards where she was standing finally stopping once it was under her feet. Hiyatsu started to walk down the path towards her home. With each step towards her home, she felt dread growing within her. She tried to think of the fun she had at the festival with Kaito, with setting off the fireworks, how happy she was during that time. Nothing stopped the feeling welling up inside her.
She ran towards her house and could see three figures standing at the door, she was unable to make out who it was but she could hear them calling her name. They got louder and louder until one screamed "Yu ari komisk!" She stopped in her tracks baffled by the language she just heard. The three figures kept shouting the same phrase over and over again until a larger figure loomed up over the house. This figure looked different from the others, it was shadowy and moved like a wraith. It grew large and engulfed the other three figures as their screams echoed into silence and began to consume the house.
Frightened Hiyatsu tried to run away from the shadowy figure. The wind bit her face as she sprinted towards the forest, which now to her surprise was on fire. Tears streamed down her face and she turned towards the house. Her eyes gazed up to the sky and hopelessness entered into her heart. In the sky, a large dark hand appeared and blocked out the sun. She quickened her pace towards her home, she had the feeling that she alone would be able to protect it. The dark hand began frantically searching for something.
Hiyatsu raced to her home and tried to climb on of the giant pillars. Before she was able to climb the giant pillar the dark hand swung down and crushed the pillar. Hiyatsu jumped into a nearby tree. The house began to teeter after having one of the support pillars removed. It tilted but it never fell. The large hand began to search again and this time it found Hiyatsu in the tree. The nad swung down with mighty force.
Hiyatsu shot up in bed covered her face and screamed.