"Spacequakes…
These were the phenomena that appeared in the world about thirty years ago.
These are terrifying, but you probably can guess that from the name.
Because of these freak natural occurrences, safety systems were put in place to protect citizens from them. These natural disasters have the highest mortality rate among the other natural disasters combined.
I'm sure it was difficult for the first generation that dealt with this to adapt, but my generation has it hard wired into their brains. When we hear a spacequake alarm, we always head to the nearest shelter. If I wanted to describe a spacequake, it'd most likely be some sort of rain of gravity? or a gravity storm? One of those two. Gravity is a huge part of a spacequake, and I've seen pictures of those caught in a spacequake.
What I've seen from pictures of people that were caught in a spacequake, it isn't pretty.
It was something that resembled a spot from high up. But really it was a giant blood spatter.
But this doesn't really happen with all types of spacequakes.
You see there are several kinds of spacequakes, G-Type, A-Type, and M-Type.
As for what these really are, I'll just tell you the most common type of them that occur around here; the M-Type.
Unfortunately, the M-Type is the most lethal of the spacequakes.
The M stands for Maelstrom.
Meaning, it's quite literally a gravity storm.
Must I explain any further?
Well, I'll tell you anyways,
Imagine putting an orange in a blender. You know how the blades slice through it? Imagine that , but the forces of gravity as the blades and our city as the orange.
But yeah, our city is infamous for having the highest rate of spacequake occurrences; Mononoke City…...yeah not a lot of people live here….
To be honest, because of the damage over the years, the city has gotten smaller.
But because of it becoming smaller, the citizens as a whole have grown closer.
Often times students are able to get scholarships right out of high school through connections with a company. Or if they choose to, they can probably find a full time job after high school with little to no issue.
So really, in summary the spacequakes that tend to come through our city is both a blessing and a curse." I said as I finished reading my report.
"Thank you Toshiro, you may take your seat." My teacher, Ms. Oburo said. She was a woman that seemed to be in her 20s with glasses and a black blazer. Her hair was brown and was worn over her shoulder. I bowed before returning to my seat in the back.
Mr. Oburo stood up and overlooked the class.
"Now class, since Toshiro was the last to present we can move on with business." She reached into her pocket and produced a stylus. Behind her was a type of touchscreen and she tapped it. The screen turned white and she began writing on it. "So today in class we'll be-"
VREEE! VREEE! VREEE!
The spacequake alarm?
I saw everyone look at me and I laughed weakly. This coincidence was …...too coincidental. But more importantly, a spacequake is about to happen. And since this is Mononoke City, that means it's going to be a M-Type.
The class got out of their seats and I followed them into the hallway. Ms. Oburo was directing students in the direction of the nearest shelter.
What exactly causes these to happen? Is there some sort of time factor they have or-
The building shook as it was hit by some sort of shockwave. The students fell over and I braced myself against a wall. Ms. Oburo was yelling over the noise to get the students to a safe place. I rubbed my arm and tried to follow them when the ceiling came down in front of me, separating me from the rest of the class.
"Toshiro!" Ms. Oburo screamed.
"I'm okay!" I yelled back. I looked around for a way around, but saw none.
Is this….a dead end?
I could use the stairs, but I don't think that it'd be the best thing to do-
BOOM!
The building shook again and I fell on my side.
Damn it, is it really going to end like this?
CRASH!
I heard glass shatter and I saw something….interesting.
I saw a girl with hair that reminded me of the night sky. She had a ribbon in her hair that was purple with cream colored edges, but also had a blue hue with it.
She was wearing armor that was black, purple and cream of blue could be seen with the purple and the cream was the main accent against the black parts. it seemed to be something that was a cross between a dress and armor.
She had cream and purple colored wings that had blue gems embedded in them, and she had a sword in her hand that was cream and silver, with a purple, blue and red gem in it.
The eyes that looked as me as she was flying past me were like amethysts, they seemed to shine as she looked at me.
But….
Her eyes,
why did they seem so sad?
BOOM!
I was blown away by the force of her crashing into the wall. I hit a wall and grit my teeth as I felt my arm begin to bleed. I saw a blue haired girl with brown eyes and a light green flower pin in her hair fly into the room. She was wearing some kind of…..is that a wire suit you see in anime? It was red with a black interior , and she seemed to have mechanical equipment that floated freely around her.
" Sovereign I suggest you give up. There's no point in resisting any longer." She said.
Sovereign? Is that her name?
I looked over to the girl and she stood up, shrugging off the rubble. She summoned a broadsword that matched her outfit in her free hand and crossed her blades. She flew towards the blue haired girl, who summoned two swords in response.
They crossed blades and slashed at each other furiously. Sparks flew from them and Sovereign kicked her away. She put her foot down and a crater was created as she kicked off of the ground and slashed at the girl again.
I was just sitting in awe of the fight that was playing out in front of me.
I looked out of the hole in the wall and I saw several lights flying this way. I saw Sovereign kick the girl out of the hole and I saw what looked like shots from a laser rifle being fired towards her.
"Look out!" I yelled.
Man was I stupid.
I squeezed my eyes shut in pain as I felt several of the shots graze my skin, smelling burnt flesh as I pushed the girl out of the way. She seemed surprised at my action and I fell to the ground , holding myself in pain.
"You…." I thought I heard her say. I heard more laser rifle shots and I opened my eyes to see a barrier had been made around us. The girl was holding out her hand and the shots were bouncing off of it. Although it was hitting the ceiling of the room, making it more unsafe than it already was.
I tried to ignore the smell of burnt flesh by covering my nose, but it was too much for me to handle. The girl looked at me and put her arm down and picked me up. Next thing I know my surroundings flickered and I was out on the streets with her.
"W-what…."
"Why did you do that?"
"Do what?"
"You pushed me out of the way of those bullets, why?"
"I…"
"You must be with 'them'. This must be some ruse to get me to let my guard down." She dropped me and I winced in pain. She reached out to me and stopped herself.
"Who's Them'!?""
"The mecha-mecha squad."
"Mecha…..-mecha squad?Were they the ones that attacked you?"
"..."
"You don't believe I'm not your enemy do you?"
"You humans just want to get rid of me, so why should I believe you? I only felt bad because you were hurt trying to protect me." She looked away from me and looked around.
"Why do you think everyone is out to eliminate you." She paused for a minute and then looked at me once again. " I mean, I'm not out to get you. If anything I'm happy you saved me."
"Like I said I only did it out of a feeling of obligation." She then began to walk away and I tried to get up. I heard something land behind me and I saw the girl from earlier. She helped me up and glared at Sovereign.
"What did you do to him?" She demanded.
"..?" Sovereign looked back at us."I didn't do anything except save his life."
"You hurt him!"
"The only ones who hurt him were your friends."
"That's not-"
"He got burned trying to save me."
"And you're just going to abandon him!?"
"I saved his life already, my debt is paid." She then began to walk away. "Besides he's just one of you. So why should I take that chance?"
"You don't get it do you? He's just a regular student! If he was one of us he would have a wiring suit!"
"...!" She stopped and made a surprised sound.
"Never crossed your mind did it?" She then looked at me.
"I…..I didn't."
"And you're just going to leave him here. How typical of a Spirit."
"..."
"I'm sorry she treated you that way. Let me get you to a hospital." She began to rise from the ground using her boosters and we took to the air, I saw Sovereign looking after us.
…
I was sitting in a hospital bed, looking up at the ceiling.
That….was….wow…
It was a few hours after the spacequake and I'm always surprised at how well the city transitions to normalcy after these.
I had bandages on my wounds and they told me that I should stay here for a few days.
What I saw…
That's a lot to take in…
Does that happen during all of the spacequakes?
I sighed as I leaned back, my head hitting the pillow. I looked to the right of the bed and into a mirror.
I saw a boy with dark skin, feathery black hair, and brown eyes. He was wearing a hospital gown and I looked away from the mirror.
Why were they fighting?
I mean….wasn't there a spacequake?
Wouldn't any sane person go for shelter during one?
Or…
Is this why they fight?
Maybe they are behind why the spacequakes happen….
I leaned back to lay my head on my pillow and then I heard a window open. I saw Sovereign come into the room and I immediately tensed up when she reached out her hand.
"..."
"Are you going to hurt me? Seriously I was only trying to help yo-"
"No. That's not why I'm here."
"Then why are you?" She looked away from me and scanned the room.
"What is this place?"
"A hospital."
"Hos-pi-tal?" She said it in syllables as she narrowed her eyes, and held her chin in an 'L' shape made with her thumb and index finger.
"You don't know what a hospital is?"
She shook her head.
"Well….it's where people go when they're injured."
"Oh…..I see, does the mecha mecha squad go here as well?"
"Mecha-mecha squad….." I laughed and she glared at me. "Well, if they get injured I suppose that they do."
"I see….so I should destroy this 'hospital'." She raised her sword and my eyes widened as I waved my hands.
"Wait just a second! You can't do that! There are innocent people here." She blinked and looked at me surprised.
"So the Mecha-Mecha squad isn't here?"
"No…" I sighed as I slumped over. "Please don't scare me like that. Anyways, why are you here?"
"That's because…." She looked at me out of the corner of her eyes. "I….feel bad for what I did…"
"Don't sweat it,"
"But.."
"I said don't sweat it alright? I'll be fine in a few days."
"What's your name?"
"Huh?"
"What's your name?"
"Shouldn't you introduce yourself first?"
VWOOO….
A dark ball of energy was in her hand and my face paled.
"Okay okay, I'm sorry! My name is Toshiro! But people call me Shiro."
She lowered her hand and the ball of energy disappeared. I sighed in relief.
"Shiro huh...Shiro….Shiro…." She put her chin inbetween her fingers again. "It's settled, my name is Shiro."
"H-Huh!?"
"I don't have one, so I'm using yours."
"Y-you can't just take my name!"
"Why not? Are you the only person with your name?"
"No but you have to be given a name!"
"Is everyone given a name…?" She frowned.
"Yeah, do you not have one?" She looked at the floor and a shadow was cast by her bangs.
"..."
"Uh….I can give you a name." She looked up at me.
"Really?"
"Yeah,"
"I want one that sounds like yours."
"Huh? Why?"
"I like the way it sounds."
"...ehehe…." I rubbed the back of my neck. She was staring at me intently and I tried to not look at her."How about Tome-" I saw a ball of energy fly right past me and explode into a wall. There was a carving on the wall that read; We at DarkCaligo have nothing against the women that are named Tome. "Uh…..Toko….no that's not right." I looked and saw that there was a ball aimed right at me. "Uh….uh…..shit what's today!?" I looked at the clock.
March 10 , 20XX
Ten….Ten…..let me think….
To….
To…..
Tohka!
"Tohka!" She looked surprised when I said it and the ball of energy disappeared.
"Toh….ka…." A light appeared at the end of her finger and she began to etch something into the wall.
"Don't just destroy hospital property!"
"Toh...ka...Tohka! Tohka!" She repeated it, this time in a higher and cuter voice. "Tohka! Tohka! Tohka!" She jumped up and down and I was dumbfounded. She was so cold and distant before, but this attitude she has now is ….different. She realized what she was doing and coughed, then returned to her deeper, more menacing voice. "Tohka is a nice name."
"I'm glad you like it."
"So you said that you would be here for a few days?"
"Yeah,"
"Very well then, I will stay with you while you are here then."
"What!? Why?"
"You are the first human who hasn't tried to kill me of course." She smiled slightly.
"Ah….but it'd be a problem if someone saw you like that in the hospital." I pointed to her clothes.
"What would be better then ?" I looked for a piece of paper and pen and quickly sketched something up. I then beckoned her over and she walked to the side of my bed and I showed her.
"Something like this."
"Hm….understood." She inspected it closely and closed her eyes. A light enveloped her body and her armor disappeared. I felt my face grow warm as I briefly saw her naked, but then her body was clothed with a light yellow shirt with light blue pants and a pink jacket. She also had on white shoes and a red ribbon held up her long flowing hair.
"..."
"Is this better?"
"Y-yeah…."
How did she do that?
"This way I can visit you without causing any disturbance, correct?"
"Yeah…..Uhm, you might want to leave now though. It's kind of late."
"Alright, goodbye Shiro." She turned towards the window and a question mark appeared above my head. I then saw her step on the window sill and my eyes widened.
"Wait you can't-"
BOOM!
She took off like a rocket from the window sill, or what used to be the window sill.
…...WHAT
THE HELL
HAPPENED!?
I'm talking about this day in general….
A doctor walked into the room and inspected the severe damage done to the had grey hair as well as a mustache and let out a long sigh.
"Looks like we'll have to move him. Teenagers…"He muttered as he scribbled something on a clipboard.
Daa Daa Daa Daa Daa Daa Daaaaaa!
Toshiro's Spirit Temple
Toshiro: a short chapter, but the beginnings isn't always the best for when I write these out. So Tohka is the first Spirit, as for who will be after her…..I cannot really say.
DarkCaligo: Here I am! I'm the author here Tushi, shut up.
Toshiro: Tushi? Oh god….
DarkCaligo: Since Cali took over my role of author in the author's notes of Heartbreak Act II (Recommend you read my Heartbreak series to familiarize yourself with how I write.) I'll be featuring the DarkCaligo-chan cuteness in this story instead.
Toshiro: You seem a little narcissistic.
DarkCaligo: I brought you into this world, I can take you out motherfucker.
Toshiro: ….. O _ O.
DarkCaligo: Time for chapter preview.
A boy who made contact with the Sovereign,
A girl who cannot trust others for fear of her life.
When these two hearts meet,
What will happen?
Meanwhile,
a mysterious organization works behind the scenes
Next time on Sweetheart: Tohka Sovereign II