Temporal Thunder
This is a side story of S. Thesken's Quantum Destinies fanfic. All characters within are owned by their creators. Quantum Destinies was created by S. Thesken.
Standard Disclaimers: All characters herein belong to their respective creators no matter how much I wish I owned them.
Thanks to my prereaders S. Thesken and DB Sommer
Note: This story is based on the Manga. Certain things happened differently compared to the TV and OVA series. It takes place almost at the end. Everything has been revealed. Madoka has left for the States and Kyousuke has broken up with Hikaru and is waiting for Madoka to return and tell him her feelings.
Part 2
Morning came quickly for the misplaced Esper. Cracking open his eyes, Kyousuke woke up to the room where he had gone to bed.
*Looks like yesterday wasn't a dream.* he moaned to himself as he climbed out of the bed. It was not fair. He had never been so long in a parallel world before.
Worst of all, he had no way of getting help. All Espers belonged to this Mobius Institute, especially those of his family. According to what he had read last night, the Kasugas had helped found the Mobius Institute. From what he had seen so far, the fear from the man on the street and the duties of Espers from the handbook, the Mobius Institute was the very thing HIS grandfather had warned him against, the use of Espers as weapons.
Right now, he had only two options. To go research how to get home in the libraries of the Institute or to keep up the pretense. The first option meant that he might get home quicker, if he could find the information he needed, but also carried a higher degree of risk of being discovered.
If he chose the second, he would have to wait for some random event to kick his powers in, or even better, for his grandfather to come and rescue him, but the chance of being discovered was significantly lower. After the first day, his worries about being discovered at school had washed away.
Other than perhaps the other two Mobius Institute students here, the rest of the student body left him alone. Only when spoken to, or ordered by a teacher, would they speak to him. And since those two other students from the Mobius Institute were one grade lower than him, it was easy to avoid them. They could catch maybe a short glimpse of him between classes at best. So, as long as he did nothing out of the ordinary, he could pretty much move around unmolested.
Faced with these choices, he opted for the latter.
As for his counterpart, if he can live in this kind of environment, then he ought to have no problems surviving in his world. He hoped that his sisters did not manhandle him too much though. He knew from first-hand experience what a violent maniac his sister, Kurumi, was.
Thus started Kyousuke's second day in the world of the Empire of Japan.
Entering the kitchen, Kyousuke found 'his' mother laying out the dishes.
"Good," approval showed on her face, "you're already up. Sit down and have your breakfast."
"Yes, mother." Kyousuke replied and started into the cereal before him.
"Are you ready for your test today?" she asked as they ate.
"Test?" Uh oh. He was a dead man.
Akemi looked at him with a serious expression. "Yes, your psychic powers test this afternoon."
"Psychic powers test? At the Mobius Institute?" Kyousuke blurted out.
"Yes, you haven't forgotten about it, did you?" Akemi asked even though she already knew the answer. Her son was hopeless at times.
"Ah..."
Akemi decided to forestall any excuses her son would come up with. "Your powers test is this afternoon at one in room P420. Don't be late. Agent Mu will be the examiner. I expect you to pass."
Kyousuke took note of this information carefully and winced. He had been hoping to stay as far from that place as much as possible. Now it looked as though he had no choice in the matter.
Mistaking his grimace for fear at being tested personally by a Master Telekinetic, she continued with her instructions. "And just in case you've also forgotten about it. There will be a ball at Lord Hayakawa's tomorrow evening. Make sure you come back early to change."
"Yes, mother." Kyousuke responded weakly.
Satisfied, Agent Akemi Kasuga returned to her breakfast.
"What is this about, Kanoe?" Director Kasuga directed his question at the statuesque woman with long dark hair in front of him. Kanoe Unmei was the section leader of the Northern Dragons, a special group of psychics and mystics who took 'discrete' actions against enemies of the Empire, but were too prominent or powerful to remove through normal channels. She was known to be cold, intelligent and utterly ruthless leader. Her skills in administration were excellent, orchestrating operations with deadly precision.
She would have had an excellent chance of succeeding him as the Director of the Mobius Institute one day were it not for the fact that she possessed only limited supernatural power. She only had the limited psychic ability to enter the dreams of others. The Director of the Mobius Institute was expected to be able to defend him- or herself against any mental or mystical attacks.
"Something has come to my attention that I thought you should be informed of, sir."
"What is it?" Director Kasuga felt a flicker of concern. Her normal modus operandi when something came to her attention was to investigate the matter herself, activate her own section to deal with it, if necessary, and then give him the after action report. If she had not shown that she possessed the necessary judgement to act independently, he would have had her removed long ago. It had to be serious indeed for her to find it necessary to inform him in advance.
"As you know, recent attempts at reading the future has been frustrating at best due to the high level of flux in the timestream. Even Hinoto has found it difficult to see any clear details." Director Kasuga nodded. Her sister was the most powerful psychic among the Sentinels and the second most powerful psychic in the Institute. whose main duty lay in scanning the future and giving warnings of any disasters, natural, artificial or supernatural. A secondary duty they did was to inform the ruling class of the effects of the policies that they implement. A job that recent developments made almost impossible.
"With the notable exception of the 'Artist'," Kanoe referred to the most powerful psychic in the Institute. Before they had rescued Setsuna Meiou from the clutches of the Ministry of Science, they had performed experiments on her to amplify her powers of foresight. Unfortunately, those experiments had succeeded too well. Increased to a level no human mind could cope with, Setsuna no longer lived in the present. Instead, her mind saw only the chaotic whirls of the time stream, living in the worlds what might be.
Her only means of communicating what she saw with the real world was through the drawings she made, hence her code name.
"None of our other psychics have not foreseen any major disasters in the future which is why I found what I saw two nights ago so disturbing."
"I had been using my powers to walk through the dreamscapes of the various Seers, looking for details that might escape their notice otherwise when I accidentally came across this foresight dream of an unknown psychic." Director Kasuga's eyebrow was raised. The Institute knew every single psychic in Tokyo.
"I wasn't able to get a good look for some reason. I'm sure it was not due to any shielding on the part of the psychic though. My sight was just somehow... distorted." A little irritation slipped into her voice. It was her forte to observe such dreams, but this one had simply stumped her. "All I managed to get was that sometime in the future, a demon, of name level, will turn up somewhere in Tokyo."
"You could not identify it?" Director Kasuga was alarmed. The Institute ranked all supernatural beings by power levels. From the harmless level zero wandering spirits who could not affect even the weak willed, to the mighty level eight demons capable of wiping out a small town. Depending on the power level of the demon or spirit, the Institute would send out an appropriate response team.
Name level demons, however, were unique individuals that normally possessed power beyond those of normal demons. They all had some special ability, invulnerability or skill that gave it it's notoriety. The damage such a demon could do in the Empire's capital was unthinkable.
"No, the vague details that I could make out do not fit any of the demons in our records." Kanoe answered in a flat tone. "I have not been able to find this dream again. The few psychics I asked to try to find the same future haven't had any success so far."
"I see." There was no need to ask her how reliable she thought the dream was. She would not be here if she did not think it would not come true. After a moment's pondering, he decided on a course of action. He could not put the entire Institute on emergency alert on account of a blurry precognition dream from an unknown psychic. They did not even know when it would become reality.
"Stay on it. Track down this psychic and find out what he or she knows. Stopping this demon receives highest priority. I will send you any information that might be relevant."
"Yes, sir." Kanoe saluted him before she strode out of the office.
With great care not to stand out, Kyousuke walked the hallways of the Mobius Institute. The place was HUGE. From outside, it may be a drab, low building but inside, inside was a large complex that extended deep, deep under the surface.
He had left the Imperial Academy immediately after lunch, thinking that he would need time to find the room where he was to take the test. Now he was glad that he did so. One could easily get lost in these twisting corridors.
Walking through the complex, he saw the way the people here walked about with military brusqueness. To his surprise, the proportion of adults to students seemed to be almost equal.
Once in a while, someone would pause for a while and greet him. He would then return the greeting and move off before they could stop him. To his fortune, no one has wanted to chat so far.
Finally, after getting lost a few times and with only minutes to spare, he arrived at room P420. Taking a deep breathe to calm himself, he knocked on the door before opening it.
The room he entered was more a hall than a room. Twenty meters long, ten meters wide and three meters tall, several numbered circles were drawn into the floor. Along the far wall, various objects were lined along a shelf just above the reach of any normal person.
Near the door stood a simple wooden table where two persons were seated. The first was a man of Indian descent with light purple hair. Two round markings could be seen on his forehead. The second was an old man who was dressed in Chinese-styled clothing as opposed to the dark gray uniform worn by the other.
Terrific, now how was he supposed to tell who Agent Mu was?
"Come forward, Cadet Kasuga." The first one ordered in a soft tone without turning to him.
Hesitantly, Kyousuke approached the pair, doing his best to ignore the scrutiny of the old man. When he was near the table, the young man stood up and faced Kyousuke.
"Master Dohko will be observing your test." He gestured at his partner.
"Yes, Agent Mu." Well that question was answered.
"Are you ready for your test?" he asked gently. "We want to make sure your powers are not slipping from disuse."
"I'm as ready as I'll ever be I guess." Kyousuke replied nervously.
Ignoring his casual tone, Mu proceeded to start the test.
"Then let us begin." Pointing to shelf he gave his first instructions. "Use your power and bring the blue ball to your hand."
Calling upon his powers, Kyousuke obliged. Holding his hand before him, he teleported the small ball across the room into his hand instantly.
Giving him only a slightly curious look, Mu went on to the next task.
"Good," he nodded, "now send the ball back and bring it here TELEKINETICALLY."
Swallowing nervously, Kyousuke complied.
Yohko Mano was not in a good mood. Woe to a certain Esper if she were to run into him today. How dare he! Not only had he been ignoring her, according to Minami, he had actually accepted a ride from that biker slut the previous morning. The slut who he had stared at back at the disco some time back.
Then to add salt to injury, some of her friends had seen him going out with her that same evening. She had had to endure the rumors of their break-up all day. All of a sudden, she understood exactly how her boss, Nabiki felt when she had informed her of the Tenjou girl staying at the Saotome residence.
Worst of all, she had no chance to interrogate Kyousuke about it., the coward having fled to the Mobius Institute early during lunch. Now, as she was stomping her way home. She really needed a session in the training hall to work off her anger.
Turning a corner into a quiet street, she came face to face with five bikers. Their motorbikes parked by the roadside, they were leaning against a wall talking amongst themselves. Other than the small group, there was no one present.
Upon spotting her, the bikers stopped their conversation and started in her direction.
*Parasites.* Yohko regarded them with nothing but contempt. Normally, she would not even bother with this kind of low-life and just walk away. However, her current mood, and the fact that they were scum like that girl Kyousuke was seeing behind her back, affected her judgement.
"Oh my," she stopped as two of the bikers put themselves in her path, "are you boys looking for a fight? Well, I'm not. Get out of my way or else," she snarled, observing the other three circle her.
The bikers exchanged a look of confusion. This was supposed to be the girl they were sent after? The one that was supposed to be a calm, cautious fighter? This hostile female before them somehow did not fit that image. Still, orders were orders and they prepared to attack her.
Seeing them change into, to her trained eye, clumsy fighting stances, Yohko did something totally out of character. Rather than awaiting movement on her opponents' part to judge their abilities, she attacked full out. Lashing out with one leg, she snap kicked the biker to her left. This was followed up by a palm strike which sent him into slumber land.
This was normally against her fighting style. Trained to battle demons and their ilk, such a move was dangerous, not to mention potentially fatal. When one's opponent possessed supernatural strength and speed, only a single error was necessary to end the fight. Thus, she had been taught never to commit herself fully to an attack.
The unexpected assault gave Yohko only a short moment's advantage. Gathering their wits, the remaining four bikers moved against her in concert. Blocking a blow from the right, Yohko swung her bag into the face of an attacker coming from the side. A blow from behind made her stagger, and she replied with a backward kick. Rolling with the next punch, she brought her knee up into the groin of her attacker.
Pulling his body close, she used him as a human shield against the blows of his friends. Dropping the now unconscious biker, she sent another spinning away with a thrown schoolbag. For a moment, Yohko allowed herself a smile of irony as she observed the effectiveness of the frequently-cursed load.
The remaining two backed off a bit, regarding her now with a bit more caution. This was not how they had expected the fight to go. Still, they outnumbered the bitch two to one, a quick glance showed that it was three to one now that the one brained by the schoolbag had recovered. They could finish their assignment. With greater care, they engaged her once more.
Three to one odds were not very fair. Especially when the lone fighter was a pissed off Devil Hunter. So, a few minutes later, it was a slightly bruised Yohko that walked away, leaving five unconscious bodies behind. Cursing them for dirtying her uniform, she hurried home. She would have to use her healing abilities to hide the signs of the fight. It would not be good to let her grandmother find out about this.
After that, she decided that she had an appointment with a certain Esper. Kyousuke had better have a good explanation. Or else.
An hour later, a psychically-drained Esper was dismissed from the examination room. To his relief, Agent Mu not only passed him, he gave him a high score. The only cloud that marred the otherwise successful test had been when Master Dohko commented how much better he could have done.
Kyousuke hoped he had not done anything to reveal himself. He had been very careful not to exhibit any powers he was not supposed to have.
Kyousuke now headed for the exit as quickly as possible. With some luck, he would make it out without being stopped.
People who knew him, however, would know that the words luck and Kyousuke Kasuga are contradicting terms. Halfway out of the underground maze, Kyousuke found himself suddenly pulled into an empty room filled with strange writings on the walls by a young girl.
"Kyousuke-sempai," she said timidly as soon as the door was shut, "I heard that you're going out with Yohko Mano."
"Er... yes, that's right." Kyousuke replied warily.
Gathering her courage, Azusa Kanzaki slowly put forth her request. "I was wondering.. could you put in a good word for me by Yohko-san? I'll be eternally grateful if you can convince her to take me as an apprentice." She clapped her hands together before her and bowed to Kyousuke.
"Why don't you ask her yourself?" asked Kyousuke slowly.
An expression of discomfort appeared on her face. "I already have. Her grandmother said no. She said that I already belong to the Mobius Institute. I can't be a Devil Hunter because of that. But if Yohko-san says she wants me, then I'll have a chance. Pleease, Kyousuke-sempai."
*A Devil Hunter? Why don't I like the sound of that.* Kyousuke thought. Out loud, he asked, "Why do you want to be a Devil Hunter?"
Suddenly finding the floor very interesting, Azusa replied in a low voice. "I've always dreamed of becoming one. My grandmother is an old friend of the Mano's. When I was little, she used to tell me stories about how they fought demons and goblins. Since then I've always wanted to become a Devil Hunter." She looked up at Kyousuke.
"I'm no good at weaving spells, you know that." Azusa's eyes began to tear. "I'm called Jinx because my spells don't always work the way they're supposed to. Sometimes they just go wild for no reason. Nobody has ever gotten hurt, but everyone's getting tired of the wild surges. I don't want to be declared a magical hazard. You know what would happen to me then."
Kyousuke did not know. Nevertheless, seeing how distraught she was, he put his hands on her shoulders. In his experience as a big brother, he knew it helped a lot. "Come on, don't cry. Look, I'll talk to..." he stumbled over the name, "Yohko about it, but don't expect too much."
"Thank you." Azusa said happily as she wiped away a tear and then hugged him spontaneously. "I'm sure you can do it, Sempai. You're the best." she murmured.
"Uh. hehehe," Kyousuke laughed nervously. This situation brought back memories. This girl did not squeeze as hard and enthusiastically as Hikaru though.
Slowly, Azusa released him and stepped back. "You'll see, Sempai," She gave him a smile. "I, Azusa Kanzaki, will prove to everyone that I am worthy of being a Devil Hunter trainee. I've already studied all about demons. I can recognize all the various types. I even know all their strengths and weaknesses. And I can wield the staff very well. I won't disappoint you," she promised and then left him alone in the room, wondering how he kept getting into such messes.
It was with relief that Kyousuke made his way home from the Institute. It had been a long day. How long did he have to keep up this charade anyway? Hopefully before the function tomorrow evening.
Turning the final corner onto the street, he saw a familiar girl standing a stone's throw from the house. There could be no question as to who Yohko Mano was waiting for.
Having spotted him, she immediately left her post and headed for him. From the look on her face, it was clear that she wanted to have a 'talk', and that he was not going to enjoy it. Strangely enough, although she looked angrier and fiercer than Ayukawa ever did, he did not feel the same level of apprehension as when Ayukawa was mad at him.
"Yohko," he tried to head off the storm. Any meteorologist however, could have told him that it was impossible to stop or divert a storm.
"Don't 'Yohko' me you two-timing jerk," Yohko poked him hard to emphasize her words. If looks could kill, he would be lucky if there was enough left of him to put in an urn. "How dare you go after other girls behind my back," she accused. "You were seen going out on a date with that biker bitch and Minami told me about the lift you got from her. How long did you think you could keep me in the dark? Well?"
Kyousuke was well aware that he had screwed up majorly. Why did these things keep happening to him? One small dinner and he had put his counterpart's love life in serious jeopardy.
"Listen, Yohko. It wasn't a date. Really. I just met her that morning. I was running late, and she gave me a lift. I brought her out to dinner as a show of thanks. There's nothing between her and me." Kyousuke defended himself.
Yohko's brow twitched as she heard it. "You don't really expect me to swallow that, do you? Offering an Esper a lift on the first meeting. That must be the lamest excuse I've ever heard."
Damn, and she had really thought that they could have a relationship. Since he was an Esper, she would not have had her normal boy problems with him. Being used to the supernatural, she did not have to fear that he would be scared off by the demons and such in her life. And, as a member of the Mobius Institute, the chances that a demon could possess him to get close to her were virtually nil, considering how often and thoroughly they keep tabs on their own people.
She ignored his further protests of innocence. "Forget it," she snarled, "I don't want to hear any excuses. You're going to break up with that girl. Then, once I'm convinced you really want me, I'll consider speaking with you again. So you better make good use of this chance. If I catch you cheating on me one more time..." She left the threat unspoken and stalked off without further ado, leaving a sputtering Kyousuke behind.
Kyousuke's shoulders slumped down as he watched her leave. Just great. So much for keeping a low profile. This was going to be just great for his cover. He didn't mind that she was not going to speak with him in the near future, but it also meant that she was going to keep that much closer of an eye on him.
Akemi Kasuga took another slow sip from her tea cup and leaned back into the couch, letting the accumulated stress from the day seep out of her body. It had been a LONG day. Amaterasu bless her son. Kyousuke might be a social dunce when it came to interacting with normals, especially those of the opposite sex, but he knew exactly when he should leave her in peace. Instead of joining her in the living room after dinner for their after dinner talk, he had disappeared hastily out of the house, leaving her alone to her thoughts.
She snorted. Of course, the fact that she had caught him by surprise, teleporting straight back to the house from the Institute in a blood-stained uniform, startling him from his seat in the living room, wasn't exactly a subtle hint as to what her mood was probably helped too.
The day had started out so well too. She had finally tracked down the rogue Esper who had been misusing his powers to rob and kill innocent Citizens.
The Kusanagi section, to which she belonged, had the primary task of bringing such criminals to justice. The Peaceforcers, and even the normal agents of the Security Directorate, were simply out of their league when the perpetrator was an Esper or magic-user abusing their kami-given, or in the rare case of the warlock – demon-given, powers to commit the crimes. Case in point, the rogue had been using telekinesis to kill his victims and then remove the valuables from their bodies. No direct contact was ever made between the killer and his victim. This made normal investigation techniques useless. Only someone familiar with mental or magical powers could have tracked him down.
Even then, it had been difficult. The rogue was surprisingly resourceful, striking at changing intervals at varied locations, constantly moving from one safe house to another, always looking out for signs of pursuit. It had taken her weeks of late night stakeouts, investigations and interrogations before she had a solid lead on him.
After she had cornered him, running from a teleporter is an exercise in futility, there had been a brief, but intense telekinetic contest between herself and the rogue. For a non-Institute trained Esper, the rogue had been surprisingly powerful, but in the end she had prevailed. The outcome could not have been otherwise.
She had left him in one of the special cells that negated the prisoner's psychic and mystic abilities in the bowels of the Institute. The Institute would decide later on his punishment.
Hunting down other paranormals was a dangerous job. Some of them try to turn the tables on their pursuer. The normally forbidding uniforms of the Security Directorate was even more pronounced in their cases. Specially warded gloves had to be worn to prevent leaving psychic traces to warn their quarry, but times like those, she was convinced of the necessity of her job. The public had to be protected from such threats they could not defend themselves against.
All in all a great, but slightly more taxing than usual morning. The day would not have been so bad had it not been for the afternoon. Already tired from the morning's activities, she had been looking forward to an afternoon of mindless bureaucracy, typing up her after action report when the call came in.
The Kasugas had always produced powerful Espers and she was no exception. Her possession of the rare and devastating combination of abilities - telekinesis and teleportation, had been one of the reasons why she had been seconded to the Kusanagi section. Unfortunately, it also meant that in emergencies, she was one of the first to be sent to ground zero.
Like this afternoon. A pair of the Institute's agents had gotten into a traffic accident. Instead of returning to the Institute's private medical facilities for treatment, they had gone to a hospital for normals to have their scrapes looked at. This breach of protocol had started a chain of events which led to her being called in.
Apparently, the pair had, while waiting to be discharged, discovered an unregistered Esper at the hospital. They found a young girl, who possessed the powers of healing, wandering through the corridors, using her powers unnoticed by the staff to help the sick.
Following standard procedure for discovering rogue Espers, they had begun to trail the young girl. They saw her reluctantly follow a nurse to one of the laboratories of the Science Ministry. Not knowing that the girl's mother was merely bringing her to visit her father, a scientist working there, they had feared the worst.
Even though the last incident had been some years ago, the horror stories about the experiments the researchers of the Science Ministry had done on Espers were still in circulation. They had immediately stormed the building to rescue the girl.
A fight had broken out between the agents and the guards at the facility, who were trying to stop what they thought were intruders. By the time Akemi had arrived to deal with the matter, there had already been fatalities, including the girl's mother who had died protecting her daughter from flying debris. Akemi had had to take out a few guards before she could stop the fighting.
It had taken her hours, a lot of diplomacy and the occasional veiled threat to smooth things over. Officially, the incident would be labeled as an accident in one of the laboratories. The telepaths she had called in made sure that anyone without the proper security clearance would only remember it as such.
After chewing out the agents responsible for the mess, she had arranged for the severely traumatized girl, whose name she learned was Hotaru Tomoe, to be sent to the Institute where trained psychologists/telepaths would help her get over the shock. It had been one of her more emotionally draining days.
It was a pretty sure bet that Hotaru would never see her parents again. Akemi let out a sad sigh. Chances were, that by the time the telepaths were finished, Hotaru would not even remember her real parents. Not that it would make much of a difference. Her mother was dead and her father would be hospitalized for quite some time.
Perhaps it was better this way, she mused. The memory of what had happened to them would only bring Hotaru unnecessary anguish. At any rate, what happened to Hotaru from now on was out of her hands. She only hoped that Hotaru's new foster family would take good care of her.
Lost in thought, Kyousuke wandered the streets aimlessly. Night had already fallen, and he was still here. His Power should have been fully charged by now.
After his run-in with his counterpart's girlfriend, the day had been pretty peaceful. He had replenished his body's energy stores and spent the rest of the evening looking through his counterpart's books on psychic powers to find a way to get home.
It had been interesting to read about the various theories about how his powers worked, as well as the many other forms of psychic powers. Unfortunately, the content was very limited. There was not even the smallest mention in there about the traveling between worlds or time travel, his other 'problem' power. The best he could infer, those powers of his were the so-called 'cosmic powers'. They could only be used when the Esper had achieved the state known as Nirvana, a state of perfect control of both mind and body, allowing him to call upon incredible amounts of psychic power.
That of course, would explain his previous experiences with these two powers. All those times, the adrenaline surge had, for the briefest of moments, put him into the state of Nirvana, activating his power.
For Kyousuke, this bit of information was both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, it meant that it was possible to gain control of his power. On the other, years of mental and physical training were necessary if one wanted to attain the state of Nirvana. If he wanted to use that method, it would be years before he returned home.
It also rendered the jumping down of stairs useless. If he was expecting the fall, he would not get an adrenaline surge that he needed. That was the reason why he was now walking down the streets. It was a long shot, but all he required was a near accident to give him the shock he needed.
Pulling up to the apartment building, the two bikers killed the engines. Pulling off her helmet, Madoka got off her motorcycle. Her companion also took off her helmet, but remained on her motorcycle.
"You'll be alright?" the slightly older girl asked roughly.
"Yes."
"What I said earlier isn't supposed to be a threat, Madoka. It was advice. You'll be making a mistake if you try to fit into that snob school. You're better off with us."
"Never took it as a threat, Marin. We've known each other too long for me to make such a mistake." Madoka waved her hand to emphasize her words.
"Good, and be careful," Marin warned. "Your accident yesterday might not have been an 'accident'. Those damned Espers could be looking to put their hooks into you."
"Damn," Marin cursed. "all this just had to happen now. When there is so much happening."
"Don't worry. Yesterday was just a coincidence. What could the Espers want from me?" Madoka reassured her boss and friend. "And stop thinking about my transfer to Onraku. There's no way I'm leaving the gang. Unless you kick me out, of course. I'm just going to the audition for my folks sake. Besides, it's not like I'll ever get accepted. If you need me, I'll be there. I've never let my friends down before. We'll teach all the other gangs who's in charge and become the top gang in Tokyo."
"Okay, then have a good night. I'm off." Marin smiled back at her. Setting her helmet back on, she kicked the engine to life and roared off into the night.
After locking up her bike, Madoka proceeded to go back to the apartment that the Ayukawa family called home. As she was about to enter the building, she was stopped short by the sight of a teenager.
"Kasuga-kun," she called to the Esper. What was he doing here? Did he know that she lived here? "What are you doing here?"
Madoka's call shook Kyousuke out of his thoughts. Looking up, he saw Ayukawa standing in the entrance to an apartment block. "Oh, Ayukawa." he answered, being just as surprised to see her. "I was just taking a walk." As he walked up to her, he did a double take. Somehow, he had unconsciously come to the Green Apartments, where his home was in his world.
"Really?" Madoka was feeling uneasy. Maybe her claim just now was incorrect.
"Uh-huh." He nodded, why should she doubt him? "And what about you?"
"I live here." Was her reply.
"You live HERE?" Kyousuke had an incredulous expression on his face. Somewhere out there, he was sure that there was a god who was laughing his head off.
Madoka examined Kyousuke carefully. It did not appear to her that he was acting. Still, better to be careful.
"I must go now. Is there anything you want?"
"No, no." Kyousuke realized why she was so suspicious. It must look like he was stalking her or something. "we'll see each other at your audition the day on Thursday then. Bye." He waved at her and made a hasty retreat.
Watching him leave, Madoka did not know what to think. Were their meetings purely coincidental? Or was someone planning all this?
In a warehouse somewhere, the leader of a biker group was voicing her displeasure at the defeat of her minions.
"There were FIVE of you against just ONE girl. How could she win?" she screamed at the five bikers who had attacked Yohko.
"It's not our fault." One of the bikers protested. "Your 'adviser' told us shit about her way of fighting."
"THAT'S IT?" the five cringed at the increase in volume. "That's your excuse? You lost because of THAT?" Words could not begin to describe her anger.
A cold laugh interrupted her tirade. Against their will, the bikers shivered at the sound.
"Jima," the leader forced herself to stop shaking and face the man who had stepped out of the shadows. "I would appreciate it if you would knock before coming in."
Turning to the kneeling bikers, she ordered. "Get out. I'll deal with you rejects later."
They scrambled to their feet quickly, only too glad to get away from the man who had just entered. He had an unnatural aura that made even the toughest biker tremble. Only their leader had the guts to stay in the same room as him for long.
The handsome advisor merely chuckled. "I did. It must have been drowned out by your screaming." Turning in the direction where the five bikers had fled, he let a bit of his displeasure show. "They failed?"
"It is only a temporary setback." She was quick to assure him. "It's only a matter of time before we get your ring."
"I hope so." he said in a low voice. "Don't forget. I promised to make your gang the most powerful here in exchange for getting the ring. Your recent successes have been MY work. If you fail, I can always go find another more capable gang. One more suited to power."
The leader felt her heart freeze at the threat. She had seen the results of his work. The other gangs had been defeated easily when he had led them into battle. She did not know how he did it, but, even outnumbered, her gang could thrash the other gangs. She did not want to find out how they would fare if he were against them.
"Like I said, you'll get your damn ring." She snapped. "Now leave."
"Very well." He gave her a smile that sent shivers running down her spine. "Just so you know the consequences." With that he stepped back into the shadows and vanished.
Getting her heart to slow back down, the leader briefly asked herself if it was worth it. She shook those questions immediately out of her head. So long as her gang gained control of all the gangs, she would even make a deal with the Devil.
With a start, Kyousuke woke up. After a few moments, he managed to get his breathing under control.
*The same nightmare again.* A sudden hope rose in his heart. A hope that was dashed quickly. Turning on the bedside lamp, he found himself still in the room of his counterpart.
Recalling the nightmare, he pondered on it. From the way it had felt, it might have been a premonition dream, or rather maybe a nightmare that was to come.
*Damn.* He thought. If that was a premonition dream, then he was going to have to encounter that demon in the near future. He normally did not believe in demons, but then if that demon was in his premonition dream...
He had learned long ago that no matter what he did, there was nothing he could do to avoid his visions. He could interpret them wrongly, but he could never escape them. This vision left no room for misinterpretation. If it really was a premonition dream, he WOULD run into the demon sometime soon.
This time however, it did not feel like his normal premonition dreams. Normally they were clear and intense. This one was slightly hazy, although the same intensity was there. Kyousuke did not know what to think. Hopefully, it meant that he was just a victim of his overactive imagination. The supernatural could not possibly exist.
There was also what the girl Azusa had said to consider, too. She said she wanted to become a Devil Hunter. That definitely raised the possibility of the existence of demons. After all, if she was part of this Mobius Institute, which to him was more an Esper KGB, she could not be delusional.
Looking at the bedside clock, he decided to get out of bed. It was still a little early, but there was no point in returning to sleep.
Kyousuke thought about his current situation. What should he do? If that was a premonition dream, he would be a fool not to take precautions. But, if it was not, and he went to his 'mother' about it, he would be drawing the noose around his own neck.
Unless... the Azusa girl. She said that she had studied about all the types of demons. He could ask her if the demon he 'saw' in his dreams was real or not. If it was just a figment of his imagination, then he could just drop the subject. If it was real, then he had a source of information which he could use.
That meant he would have to chance going to the Mobius Institute again, but the risk would be acceptable. He had been there once already yesterday and nothing had happened. All he had to do was avoid contact with strangers and everything would be fine.
Walking through the corridors of the Mobius Institute once again, Kyousuke was relieved to find the place to be mostly empty. Only the occasional student was around. Lesson times must be very lax, he decided.
He had come especially early to look for Azusa. He had hoped to just find her, ask his questions and then get out to the safety of the Imperial Academy. Now it looked like she was not even here.
A sign on the wall indicated the direction of the library. Deciding that since he was already there, he might as well make use of the time while he waited for her to arrive. Besides, the library made a safe hiding place from the other students and adults.
Entering the library, he was pleasantly surprised to find the person he had been looking for. Sitting in a corner of the otherwise empty library, she was listening to a CD player with a book before her.
Going up to the girl, he was surprised to find her humming the tune to 'Giri Giri Love', one of Mitsuru Hayakawa's hit songs while reading a manga. He tapped her on the shoulder on the shoulder to get her attention.
Startled, Azusa jumped out of her seat and turned around guiltily. She immediately hid the manga behind her back and tore the headphones out of her ears.
Seeing that it was only Kyousuke, she was relieved. He would not report her for listening to pop music and reading manga. If one of the staff had caught her, she would have been in real trouble. It was generally frowned upon to be engaging in such mindless, decadent pursuits.
"Kasuga-sempai. Don't scare me like that." She placed a hand on her chest.
"Sorry, but I have to talk to you." Kyosuke's expression was serious.
"Is it about my becoming Yohko-san's apprentice? Did she say no?" Azusa asked, worried what the answer would be.
"Er, no, I haven't had the chance to speak to her yet." Kyousuke replied. "That's not what I want to talk to you about."
Azusa was both relieved and disappointed at the same time. Knowing that she still had the chance to become a Devil Hunter, she relaxed a bit.
Checking to make sure that no one else was around, Kyousuke continued. "You told me yesterday that you're an expert where demons are concerned, right?"
Azusa nodded, wondering where the conversation was going.
"I need your help." Kyousuke hesitated. As far as his analog was concerned, he did not have the premonition ability. How could he put this without revealing himself?
"I saw the picture of a demon just the other day. I just can't seem to get it out of my head. Can you identify it for me? Then maybe I can get some peace."
Azusa frowned a bit. Why didn't he go to Yohko about it then? She was definitely a better source than herself.
"Why don't you ask Yohko-san about this? With her training, she'd know more than me. All I know about demons is what I've heard from my grandma's stories and what books I could get away with here."
Damn. What was he supposed to say? Kyousuke thought quickly. Wait a minute. He could just tell the truth. Not the whole truth, just part of it.
"Hehehe," he forced a smile. "I'm afraid she's not speaking to me at the moment." Not that he wanted to speak with her anyway. Still, it was the truth.
"What! Then how are you going to talk to her about me?" Azusa exclaimed.
"Don't worry. I'll ask her as soon as she's calmed down. Right now, I need you to help me with the demon I saw. Okay?" Kyousuke tried to mollify her.
Calming down, Azusa thought about his request. "Okay, now describe the demon you saw. I'll see if I know it."
A smile made it's way onto Kyousuke's face. Grabbing a chair, they sat down and he told her about the demon he saw.
After listening to his description, Azusa's forehead wrinkled as she thought about it.
"I've never heard of any demon that fits your description. Are you sure it was a picture of a real demon?" She asked thoughtfully. She was sure that it was not one of the normal demon types. Why then did the description sound so familiar?
Kyousuke breathed out in relief. He had to learn to control his overactive imagination. It had gotten him into trouble more than once.
"I must have imagined it. Going out with a Devil Hunter, you know. Thanks anyway. It's really put my mind at ease." Kyousuke replied. Now that that was out of the way, he could turn his attention to more important things, namely getting home.
"You're welcome, Kyousuke-sempai. Just remember your promise." Azusa reminded him.
"I will." Kyousuke walked away from her and headed to the shelves. With some luck, he will find some material here that would help him get home.
A few hours later, Kyousuke's shoulders slumped in defeat as he closed the last book. His initial search for material about world hopping and time traveling had came up blank, so he had resorted to actually reading the books. He now knew more about psychic power than he ever wanted to know. However, he still did not know how to get home.
Sighing, he got ready to leave.
Stepping out of the library, he turned to see Mu come down the hallway.
"Kyousuke," Mu nodded at the Esper. He had not expected to see him at the Institute. He had an assignment at the Imperial Academy after all. "Why are you here?" he asked. "You are not required to practice your powers."
"Well, I thought about what you said yesterday after my test. About how much better I could be if I applied myself, so I thought I'd do something about it."
A trace of a frown crossed Mu's face. There were no official records about his current assignment, but the entire staff of the Institute and quite a number of the students knew that it was no coincidence that Kyousuke was currently going out with Devil Hunter Yohko. "And what about your assignment? You haven't forgotten that you're supposed to be Miss Mano's boyfriend, have you?"
It's an assignment? Kyousuke was surprised. What kind of life did his counterpart lead anyway?
"Actually.. I thought I'd give her some space. I don't want to appear over enthusiastic or anything. That might chase her away."
Mu looked at him with a little bit more respect. He sounded as though he actually knew what he was talking about.
"I see. I can only encourage your newfound motivation, as long as it lasts. Which of the advanced exercises have you decided to try?"
Damn. He was beginning to talk himself into a corner. "Well, I thought it might help to go back to the basics and then work from there."
Mu nodded. Kyousuke had really given it some thought. The basic skills were sometimes neglected when advancing. Now and then, it helped to revisit the basics.
"Very well, I happen to have time today. I'll help you with your exercises."
It took all of Kyousuke's self-control to not run. This was beginning to look like another LONG day.
Later that day, found Kyousuke pulling nervously at his collar. He felt completely out of place. He had never attended such galas before. The biggest events he had ever been to were the gallery openings for his father's works. This party was making him feel like a fish out of water.
Until some moments ago, he had just followed his mother around as she made her rounds. He had already been introduced to lots of important-looking people with titles that were completely archaic in his world.
He would be lucky if he could tell the difference in their rankings and positions. He greeted them as best he could and prayed to the gods that he not commit any breach of etiquette. That had at least given him something to do.
Unfortunately, all that had come to an end. Having finished with the round of pleasantries, his mother and some other people had retreated to corners unknown to talk shop. Now he was left standing all alone in the dance hall.
It was not as though he was the only teenager there, it was just that all the other teenagers seemed to avoid him. At the very best, a few would come up to him and exchange a few words before disappearing again. At worst, they would notice him coming over and walk away while making it seem like a coincidence. That suited him just fine, for it meant a lower risk of being discovered. On the other hand, it wasn't exactly how he imagined he would be spending his evening. He could only stand there in the hall, next to the punch bowl with a drink in his hand and watch everyone pass by.
Unknown to him, not everyone intended to leave him alone for the evening. From a corner, a pair of eyes have set their sights upon him, and their owner had just decided to move in on him. Targeted squarely, she walked up to Kyousuke as he watched young couples waltz away on the dance floor.
"Hello, Kyousuke," a voice called out to him. Turning around, he saw a girl with two braids wearing a very tight fitting dress as she walked up to him.
At first glance, Kyousuke almost mistook her for the Yohko girl that was supposed to be his girlfriend. He had however, gotten a close look at her face the day before and could make out the subtle differences. Of course, having a pair of twins definitely helped teach him how to tell identical-looking people apart. Especially when asking the wrong twin for something to eat could result in a beating, or even worse, her cooking.
Picking up a drink from the table, Ayako continued on. "You've been dragged here as well I see." Doing her best Yohko impersonation, she looked as though she was speaking to him grudgingly. After all, he and Yohko had just had another fight. He would be feeling REALLY vulnerable, right now. All she had to do was act as though he were the only familiar face here, then 'make up' with him. He would be so euphoric as a result he'd be putty in her fingers. *Let's see what you do after I seduce your boyfriend, Cousin Yohko.* she thought evilly.
At a loss over how to get rid of this 'sister' of Yohko, Kyousuke just stood there and half-heartedly made conversation with the girl. Or to be more accurate, listened to the girl talk and nodded and murmured something every once in a while. All the while looking as though he was enjoying it.
From another end of the hall, the real Yohko spotted Kyousuke and her cousin Ayako conversing and frowned. *She must be impersonating me again.* Yohko's ire grew. She was still furious at Kyousuke for going out with that biker slut, but there was no way in hell she was going to let Ayako get him into bed with her. As quickly as she could manage, she began to move through the crowd to forestall her cousin's plans.
"-so, why don't we go somewhere more private. Then, we can continue our conversation regarding more INTIMATE THINGS." Ayako smiled invitingly at Kyousuke. Laying her hand on his chest, her fingers played with the tie around his neck. Then, taking a step back, she started to pull him along, her actions and tone having left no question as to what those THINGS were.
Kyousuke's self-preservation instincts went off right then. A part of him was actually drawn to the idea. He had no inkling whether or not he was supposed to know this girl or what their relationship was like, but there was no way he was going to go anywhere with her. He already had a girlfriend he intended to stay true to back home.
Standing up against her attempts to pull him away, he caught hold of her hands. Gently but firmly, he pulled them away from him.
"Look, I'm not sure who you are, but I already have a girlfriend and I intend to be faithful to her." He spoke up firmly. To hell with blowing his cover. He had to get rid of her. Fast. Before he fell prey to her charms.
Those words struck Ayako harder than any physical blow could. He could tell she wasn't Yohko! That's impossible. Even within the family, they were easily mistaken for each other. When she was deliberately trying to impersonate Yohko, the number of people who could tell them apart practically came down to just their respective grandmothers. She had taken advantage of this fact many times to get her cousin into trouble. Yet this boy could tell them apart!
Standing a few feet away, out of sight from both Kyousuke and her cousin, Yohko had also heard his words and thought exactly the same thing.
Why on earth had she been angry at Kyousuke? All of a sudden, the anger she had previously felt for Kyousuke simply vanished and in it's place was a warm feeling within her. If he could tell them apart, then there must truly be a bond between them. Just for tonight, she would forgive him.
Outwardly, the frown on her face was now replaced by an ever growing smile as she stepped forward to confront her cousin and reward Kyousuke.
"Kyousuke!" Yohko called out as she came up to the two, drawing their attention. In full view of her cousin, she hooked her arm around Kyousuke's and drew him in close. "Ah," she pretended to just notice her cousin, "I see you've met my cousin Ayako." Her civil tone belied the bitter rivalry between them. "I hope she hasn't been BORING you too much with her inane chatter." She purred.
"Err." Kyousuke was at a loss for an answer. His senses told him that this was truly Yohko, but how could this be? This friendly, smiling Yohko was completely different from the furious girl he had seen yesterday afternoon.
Yohko, however, did not expect an answer from him. "Come on, let's dance." Pulling him towards the dance floor, she drew Kyousuke immediately into a tight embrace as they started to dance to the music.
Kyousuke had no idea why Yohko's opinion had changed so quickly, but he dared not spoil it. Calling upon his experience with dealing with Hikaru, he faked his enthusiasm at dancing with her.
As they danced, Yohko took the opportunity to flash Ayako a triumphant smile from behind Kyousuke's back briefly as their eyes met. This was one victory she intended to savor as much as possible.
From another part of the ballroom, Director Kasuga nodded approvingly. "It would appear that our fears regarding Kyousuke were unfounded. He seems to have completely charmed the young Devil Hunter." He remarked to his daughter beside him.
Akemi Kasuga frowned inwardly as she observed the dancing couple. "Yes, he does seem to be doing well on his assignment. The fight we heard about must have been just a small lover's spat."
"Good, then it will not be long before we can expect the Devil Hunters to be absorbed into the Institute." The Director smiled at the thought. "I must go now. Make sure those two have a good time tonight," he ordered and then made his way into the ranks of the nobles.
Out on the dance floor, Kyousuke was making the best out of his situation. In view of her good mood, he wanted to placate her where Ayukawa was concerned. 'He' would never forgive himself if he broke up with 'his girlfriend' because of his bumbling. Almost losing his true love once had taught him to appreciate how precious relationships were.
"Yohko," The girl in question looked up at him. "about yesterday..."
Yohko's mood darkened slightly. Why did he have to bring that up?
"Don't be angry anymore, please? I really meant it when I said that she was just a friend. I have absolutely no interest in her. I already know the girl I want to marry one day. I will let nothing come between us."
Yohko did not know what to say. He could be so charming sometimes. She placed a finger on his lips.
"That's okay. I believe you." Saying so, she proceeded to rest her head on his shoulder. He was simply too sheltered from the normal community. Madoka Ayukawa must have decided to exploit that weakness of his. All she needed was a few friendly words and he would think of her as a friend, ready to help her anyway he could.
Well, she was not going to let that happen, Yohko swore to herself. Madoka Ayukawa, beware. Yohko Mano will not let you get away with it.
End part 2