Chapter Two
Vance fell back onto his hands, his body making an arc as he looked up at the ceiling. He held the pose for a minute before flipping up into a handstand, and then from there back to his feet. He cracked his neck to get out the kinks, satisfied.
"Hurry, Vance! Have you brushed your hair yet? You'll be late!"
"No, I won't!" he retorted, calling back down the stairs at his nagging mom. He grabbed his jacket and headed downstairs, brushing past her attempts to stop and comb his hair.
"Do you have your books?" she asked worriedly. "And your uniform?"
"Yes, I know what I'm doing," he said, wincing as she grabbed his shoulders, straightening his jacket.
"And you've got to come straight home this time, remember?" she said, reaching up for his hair again. He shied away, backing against the door.
"I know, I know. Bye, Oka-san." Before she had time to start again, he slipped outside and broke into a jog, heading down the street for school.
Herald was already at his gate waiting, though anyone else walking past might have mistaken what he was doing for sleeping. He was leaning against the fence, eyes closed, bag lying in a heap at his feet.
"Ohayo, Herald," Vance greeted, and his taller friend sighed, opening his eyes.
"Ohayo," he said, bending down to retrieve his bag. "You're early."
"Oka-san was hovering again, so I decided to cut the risk of her making me late by just going. You know how she is."
"I guess," replied Herald, running a hand lazily through his hair as he tried to wake up. "Yesterday, where were you? You kinda disappeared on me."
Vance shrugged apologetically. "Yeah, sorry about that, but there was an accident while I was coming back from karate. The street practically blew up. And now Oka-san is all worried I'll die if I don't come straight home, so I'm gonna have to hold off hanging out for a few days. Just until she calms down, you know?"
Herald nodded, then looked at him with mild curiosity. "So… the street blew up?" he asked., and Vance grinned.
"Hardly a hundred yards away from me. A lot of electric wires were caught in the explosion, and a few of the buildings got hit too. It was pretty huge. The police were all over it, trying to figure out what happened, but I don't think they can blame the electric company this time."
"Ohayōgozaimasu! Vance, Herald!"
The two friends looked up, then Vance raised a hand in greeting when he spotted Ryohime. The girl quickly caught up to them and slowed, smiling.
"You two were actually ahead of me for once," she teased, her eyebrows pressed into a slight V by her perpetual almost-frown, despite her smile. "That's strange, especially for you, Herald."
"My fault," Vance cut in cheerfully. "Though why Herald was still ready despite my leaving early is still a mystery…"
Herald shrugged noncommittally. "How's life?" he asked Ryohime, and her smile faded slightly.
"We've had several patients, what with all the accidents recently, but almost all of them are being transferred to a real hospital. We nearly lost one… but hopefully things will calm down soon. They're looking into the source of the explosions, right?"
Vance nodded. "My theory is sabotage from foreign spies," he said excitedly. "Next thing you know, people are just going to start disappearing."
Ryohime frowned at him lightly. "Somehow I doubt that enemy ninjas are responsible."
Vance grinned, turning and walking backwards in front of them. "Just wait, then. When the conspiracy comes out, you'll all see…"
.
Tamotsu, Erina and Chikuma walked down the street, Erina the only one truly at ease. Tamotsu was unused to this side of Karakura, namely the not-insanely-rich side, and Chikuma… he just wasn't comfortable around people in general. Erina, as she had told them several times before, traveled this route several times a week, to and from her karate dojo.
"And the majority of the incidents have happened around this area," she said as they walked, practically bouncing as she walked.
"So… what, are we just going to wait here all day and see if some alien tries to step on us?" asked Tamotsu skeptically. "This plan doesn't seem entirely thought-through."
Erina crossed her arms. "Nonsense. See, I have a theory that needs testing, too. Two weeks ago, there were none of these alien incidents. Then about two happened in… what was it, a week? After that it went to two or three over the next five days, and we've had at one (or more) almost every day since. Yesterday there were two, a 'gas-line' explosion and a 'car accident'. But I saw it, a car crashed into an alien in the street, and then the alien crushed it, causing it to blow up. I see no reason why they wouldn't attack today when they have been so frequently for the past few days. We just have to wait."
Chikuma nodded, sticking his hands in his pockets. "I agree."
"Well I think it's an absurd notion," said Tamotsu, scowling. "Aliens don't exist, and these accidents are just that, accidents."
Erina stopped in front of a shop window, giving a glance to the products displayed. "Even if we don't find anything out, we can at least get a nice day away from all… that," she said, waving a hand in the direction of their homes. Tamotsu raised an eyebrow.
"Why do we need a day away from 'that'?" he asked, and Erina stared at him in the reflection of the glass.
"'Why?'! Don't you ever find it a bit… suffocating? Always having to look perfect and act just right… I'm still new to this whole 'rich' thing, and it just makes me feel so… caged."
"That's why you go to a karate class in a lower class district," Tamotsu said. "Me, I'm completely happy right where I am."
He turned away from the shop, meaning to keep moving, but instead smacked right into someone walking behind him. The smaller boy was knocked to the ground, his book satchel dropping from his hands onto the sidewalk.
"Oh, I'm sorry, are you alright?" Tamotsu hastily said as he reached a hand down to help the boy up. He realized the boy was actually older then he had originally thought, maybe as old as Tamotsu himself, and strangely enough didn't seem particularly upset at being knocked down. With a rather mild expression, the dark-haired boy got to his feet, taking the satchel Chikuma had retrieved for him.
"I'm fine," he said shortly, turning to go. Tamotsu watched him go, eyebrows slightly furrowed as he tried to figure out what felt so wrong.
"Does anyone else feel that?" asked Erina quietly a moment later. Chikuma looked at her, eyes wide in his particular, explaining expression.
"Spirits are attracted to him," he said quietly. Tamotsu and Erina looked at him in surprise.
"W-what?" asked Tamotsu, glancing down the street at the retreating back of the dark-haired boy.
"Spirits," said Chikuma again, looking slightly uncomfortable at the need to speak again. "They are attracted to him, just like they are attracted to me. He's got some pretty gloomy ones, though…"
Erina's eyes widened in excitement. "Spirits are attracted to you?!" she said, seeming to forget the excitement of her 'aliens' theory. "Really?! Is that why I always feel that little tingle when we hang out?"
Tamotsu was lost. "Wait, you feel what?"
Any further discussion was lost as there was a sudden, fiery explosion down the street, a shock-wave of hot wind blowing past them. Erina took off at a run, dodging frozen pedestrians as she hurried toward the site. Chikuma glanced at Tamotsu, then grabbed the taller boy's hand and pulled him along after her.
"It's not an alien," Tamotsu managed, jerking his hand out of Chikuma's so he could run on next to him. Chikuma nodded without hesitation.
"I agree."
Tamotsu looked at him in surprise, nearly running into someone before he realized he wasn't looking where he was going. "I thought you said…"
"They're not aliens. They feel…" Chikuma paused for a second, then continued. "They feel more like spirits."
Suddenly, Chikuma skidded to a stop, then launched himself at Tamotsu, catching him around the legs and knocking them both to the ground. Tamotsu drew in a breath to snap something, but a hearbeat later an electric-pole right behind them broke in half with an explosion of splinters and metal.
"What the…?" gasped Tamotsu, then his question caught in his throat as something slammed into his back. "Chikuma, get off me!"
"I'm… not…"
Tamotsu twisted his head and looked back. His eyes widened.
Chikuma was hovering. In mid air. Two feet off the ground. His hands were locked around something in front of him, something invisible, and he was gasping for breath as if someone was choking him. Any thought that this was some strange, complicated joke was quickly dismissed from Tamotsu's mind, whatever was holding him down was something incredibly strong, yet completely invisible.
"Chikuma, what's going on?!" he screamed, struggling. "Chikuma!"
Something roared, something painfully close that Tamotsu could feel reverberating through the… object pinning him to the floor. He was having trouble breathing… what was going on?!
"Tamotsu, Chikuma!"
Erina's yell sounded distant, and Tamotsu realized he was starting to black out. The pressure on his back, his chest, was making breathing impossible. He struggled harder, but the movements had no effect on the thing holding him and only made him dizzier. Weakly he raised his head. The street was hard to make out, his vision was swimming, but he could see someone running swiftly towards them.
"Go… back…" he tried to warn, but his voice came out in a hoarse whisper. "E…rina… stay… back!"
He threw all his strength in one effort, trying to rise to his knees. The thing holding him down shifted slightly, but only thrust him back to ground, pressing harder then before, three sharp points digging into his back. Finally, Tamotsu could hold on no longer, and he sank helplessly into unconsciousness.
