Come on. We have them. Enjoy.
Lesson Ten
Festival: Those "Friends" You Don't Want Your Parents to Meet
Kairi woke at five-thirty in the morning on the first day of the festival and found herself unable to get back to sleep. Her reaction was to go running through the school in sweatpants and a yellow t-shirt. Her body felt extraordinarily light in dull beams of the sun that had only just begun to rise. It moved almost reflexively through the campus which had been turned in the festival grounds. She leapt over a stand that would be selling cotton candy just because she could.
Before she realized it, Kairi was at the train station on the edge of Twilight Town. She sat at the end of the plaza in front of the station that dropped to a cliff and overlooked the ocean. The sun had risen about half way painting the water gold.
Soon she noticed a peculiarity on the ocean. Water twisted and spun and bent the light in ways that produced a mirror of the figure in the center of it. The movements were smooth and precise and hid the figure's form with the sun. The dance ended with the water forming a hurricane around the figure, small in diameter but colossal in height. The water burst free of the cyclone and rained into sea. With the sun light to its back all Kairi could clearly see of the figure was its long hair.
Heart Gears
Auron sat in the empty stadium as the sun rose with his long time friend and former class mate, Mickey Mouse. Built in an empty meadow owned by the school, the finals of the tournament would be held in this arena. Built in the shape of an oval, it could accommodate four thousand people that would consist of the students, faculty, locals, and various off-Worlders who came to see the tournament.
"So, how're the new students." Mickey asked.
Auron chuckled at the question. "No crazier than we were, I suppose."
"Yep," Mickey laughed back. "Gosh, all the trouble me, you, Jecht, and Jackie used to get into. It was so much simpler back then. Now we've got Maleficent and the Organization to deal with. Sorta makes ya wish all those fairytales were true. Good versus evil and good always triumphs."
Auron shrugged. "In the end we sentient life forms are just too complicated for a life like that. There are quite a few people who agree with that woman for one reason or another. Our enrollment rate has dropped by twenty-five percent in the last eight years if that's any proof. Of course, what can one expect?"
Mickey looked across the stadium and saw Jake sitting with his feet propped on the guardrail. "And all it would take for most of 'em is someone showing a little good interest in them." The sun began to filter into the stadium brightening the metal seats and giving Auron and Mickey a golden tint.
Heart Gears
Kairi nervously dressed herself in the clothes Kim and Maria had picked out for her. A black, padded vest fitted for a woman her size was over a blue hooded shirt. Her legs were covered to just above the knees by a skort that was blue in the front and black on the inside. A pair of grey fingerless gloves that went up to her elbow rested on the vanity. Kim had also helped her buy a fanny pack that was warped on the inside allowing her to carry a vast array of extra equipment.
The shower was running and the clock was nearing ten, the time her parents said they would be arriving at the dorm. She wasn't totally sure what was making her so nervous. The realization that she really didn't know much about Shizuko in spite of living in the same room as her was bound to make things somewhat awkward. She figured it would be nice for them to see Kim again, but Kim's boyfriend was a different story. Then there were said boyfriend's siblings to consider. One of them was competing against her; one was a crazy hacker who flirted with her; one was her violent neighbor. Not to mention she'd really only made one other friend, that being Jake who she figured was scheming something. Also to be taken into account was the fact that Shizuko had left a sniper rifle and tanto knife on her bed. Her father was chief of police before becoming mayor.
Then the awaited knock came when the shower stopped. Kairi took a deep breath and released it. She opened the door a saw her adoptive parents framed with Rokuro in between them. It was obvious that the three of them were blood. They all had light brown hair and dark eyes, the father beginning to grey. Both Mr. Umihana and Rokuro had glasses set on their faces while the Misses wore contacts. Even in spite of the fact that they weren't blood, she knew they were her family and was overtaken by a gentle warmth in her heart.
The following embrace was almost involuntary on her part and seemed like it was an eternity coming. She wrapped her arms around both her parents and drew them close to her. Rokuro found himself caught in the mash and hugged his sister in spite of his face being uncomfortably close to her breasts. Both her parents kissed her on the cheek before Rokuro grunted, "Love you too. Could you please stop crushing us now?"
Kairi released them and shuffled back with a blush. "Oh, sorry." She rubbed her arms noticing they were much more toned than they had been a month ago. "Um, come in." She said with a motion. As they entered she positioned herself in front of Shizuko's bed.
They looked at the small room with smile on their faces. "Surprised you managed to fit all your clothes in here." Mr. Umihana joked.
"Y'know, I really haven't even had a chance to wear any of my really nice ones. Once this whole training business got started I haven't had much time to rest let alone go out." She admitted.
"Speaking of training didn't you say that Kim's boyfriend was helping you with it?" Her mother asked.
"Uh, yeah, he said that but, it was actually his sister who did most of the work." Kairi said rolling her eyes.
"Well, either way it took as Rokuro pointed out." Mr. Umihana rubbed his shoulder and craned his neck.
"Yeah and I found out in the worst way possible." The boy chided.
"I'd consider sending you through a wall a much worse experience." Kairi responded as Maria's bare upper body busted through the wall. "Though maybe blasting you with toilet water would be more effective."
"Hey, Kyoko, got any shampoo I can barrow?" Maria asked then pointed at the stunned family. "These your folks?"
"First of all, it's 'Kairi'…" She corrected. "After Shizuko's out of the bathroom and yes." She stopped for a moment as she processed the fact that a naked girl had rammed her way through the wall while her parents and little brother were in the room. She wasn't sure which was more concerning: the previous statement or the fact that she had gotten so used to it occurring she didn't even react to it. "This is Kim's boyfriend's other sister, Maria." She said shuffling to hide the girl's breasts from Rokuro who made an obvious effort to peak.
" 'Sup." She greeted casually.
"Um, hi." Mrs. Umihana wasn't sure how to reply.
"Is that a QBU-88!?" The former police chief exclaimed. Kairi's head turned slowly to the bed where the rifle lay unattended.
"I guess that's what it's called." She said sheepishly not having any idea how it was any different from any other rifle.
At that moment, Shizuko stepped out of the bathroom with her sword in her left hand. Her upper body was covered by a black tank top. Black pants covered her legs and she was bare foot. "Good morning." She said with a wave. She glanced at the four not-roommates, lingering on Maria for a moment, with an analytical eye. Without stopping she opened the wardrobe and set down her katana on the inside. "I'm not that interesting; am I?" She said as pulled out a black jacket.
"So miss…" Mrs. Umihana started looking at Kairi.
"Oh, um, this is Shizuko. Shizuko this is my mom, my dad, and Rokuro."
"Nice to you." Shizuko said as she pulled on her jacket. She held out her hand and shook with Mr. Umihana.
"So, where are you from?" The mother continued.
"I was born in the country of Wutai on a World known as Gaia but, I've been traveling with a friend for about two years." Shizuko said as she zipped up.
"Really…" Mrs. Umihana said. "Me and my husband spent our sixth anniversary on a tour there. It's such a beautiful land."
"Yes, it was nice trip." Mr. Umihana added. "I'm sorry but, may we please address the elephants in the room?"
All eyes except Mr. Umihana's turned to Maria. "What? We talkin' 'bout me? A just wanna borrow some shampoo."
"Well, that yes, but I was referring to the weap…"
"Shampoo!" Kairi interrupted. "I'll go get that for you." She ran into the bathroom and shut the door behind her.
"Not good." She said aloud. Her eyes and arms were frantically searching the small room for the shampoo. "Okay, Maria destroyed my wall: normal. No, not normal. I can't even tell what's normal anymore: bad. Next, Shizuko has sniper rifle, probably should've asked her to put that out of view. Really should've remembered when Kim mentioned that in the first place. Kim! I know she's normal…mostly. Sure she served me vodka and has a massive collection of alcohol and probably broke quite a few laws somewhere in between but, they don't need to know that. In fact, they don't even have to meet Weston. Or any of the Hunters ever again for that matter. And everyone else? Neither Jake nor Duffie have actively tried to attack me, so there's them. Gotta let them meet Auron. And Shizuko. How do I explain Shizuko? Um, maybe I could tell them that she's some sort of World Order assassin who protects me because I'm actually the other princess that Jake mentioned in his story. They'd never buy that! Oh crap, then there's Isabel. Can't let them near Isabel. Olette. Olette's normal! No sniper rifles. No connection to Hallow Bastion. No murderous look in her eyes. I could totally have her over for a visit without her destroying our house."
Kairi grabbed the shampoo when an explosion shook the dorm. She ran out the bathroom and found her wardrobe knocked over and Shizuko prepared for battle. The wall crumbled and revealed a white room with charred floors. Isabel and Olette were standing behind a glass barrier. Isabel had a detonator in her hand. "Knew I should not have skimped on the blast room." She said with an annoyed expression.
"Right, gotta consider the chances of them getting the house destroyed." Isabel and Olette started arguing. Maria used Vector to take the shampoo. Nanami complained about the noise. Shizuko finished getting dressed. Kairi's parents shared the same flabbergasted look. Aqua ran in to see what the commotion was about. Rokuro realized this was the start of his best day ever.
Heart Gears
In the first years boys' dorm, Riku showed his parents and three out of his four siblings his metal abode. His two little sisters, one eleven and the other nine, had managed to keep themselves occupied with DAAC-B, as Riku had shortened its name to. The machine seemed to be programmed to do whatever it was told. His older brother sat on the stairs and had his head in his iPod. Riku was catching his parents up on the past few weeks of his life at the kitchen table making sure to omit certain details.
"So this Weston guy, did he win the tournament?" His father asked.
Riku shrugged, "Don't know. I never actually asked." He admitted. "Didn't seem important when the guy can shoot lighting from his hands."
"But how well can he use that lighting? That's what I'm asking." His father said. "If you're going to do something, son, make sure you do it with being the best in mind. That's all I've ever asked of you."
"I know, dad." Riku said as he leaned on his elbow and used the other hand's index finger against the table. There was a silence in the room except for Riku's tapping and his sisters giggling as DAAC-B did the hokey-pokey.
"So has anything else interesting happened?" His mother said. "Perhaps there's a lady you've had your eye on?"
"Mom!" Riku shot up with eyes wide open.
"I'll take that as a 'yes.'" She laughed at her son.
Behind them, Riku's older brother had gotten up from the stairs and made his way to the refrigerator. He laughed as he listened his mother taunt Riku. He opened the refrigerator and scanned its contents while keeping his ears open to the embarrassing conversation. That's when his eyes locked onto the prize: "Pudding."
Daichi snapped up the chocolate-vanilla swirl and started looking for a spoon. No sooner than this did he hear the sound of a siren to his right. Turning his head, he discovered the barrel of a machine gun trained on his skull. Moving his eyes slowly, he realized DAAC-B had produced the gun from the same place as its arms along with weapons Daichi had only seen in movies of which included a flaming chainsaw.
"You have ten seconds to replace the pudding. Ten…Nine…Eight…" Without even looking at the refrigerator, Daichi returned the cup to its exact location on the second door shelf, to the right of the orange Gatorade. "All is forgiven." DAAC-B packed up his arsenal and returned to his previous task: doing an impression of Pinkie Pie.
"What the hell was that?" Daichi asked as he fell to the floor relieved of terror.
"I…" Riku had his Keyblade out and his eyes on DAAC-B. He relaxed and ran his hand through his hair. "I…I have no freaking clue."
"Well let's find this roommate of yours, and find out!" Riku's father said. "To be so irresponsible as to give their child a weapon like that… He's in there, isn't he?"
The question was answered when the steel door flung open. Instead of a raving mad scientist, Duffie came out wearing nothing but a baggie pair of pants and goggles around his neck. Surprisingly, he was excellent physical shape which would have been much more apparent were it not for the fact he hadn't bothered cleaning any of the oil off of his body. His hair was an utter mess as well. The fury in his eyes was further highlighted by the dark circles underneath them. "Who the fuck touched my pudding!?" So, yeah, they still got the mad scientist.
The little sisters immediately pointed to Daichi who suddenly found DAAC-B's chainsaw to be a show of friendship and love. He turned to his magically empowered younger brother and mouthed the words, "Help me."
Riku's mouth was still wide open comparing shy kid he met a month ago to the lunatic standing before him. "Uh, Duffie…" Riku said as DAAC-B's weapons began to reemerge. Duffie's bloodshot eyes turned towards him. "It's me: Riku. Helped you out a month ago with Seifer."
"Who?" Duffie asked.
"Y'know, Seifer. About this tall. Blond. Total jackass. Jumped you after the orientation."
The look on Duffie's remained unchanged until he started mumbling. "Orientation…never went to that. Oh!" After a few seconds, a wide awake, fully clothed, non-insane looking Duffie walked out of his work area. Riku's mouth opened again. "Yeah, pretty damn realistic, huh?" He said as he pinched the cheeks. "I made the skin out of a polymer consisting…"
"Wait a minute!" Riku interjected. "You mean this whole time I've been talking to a robot!? And you've been my roommate? And you're some kind of kid genius? When, if ever, were you planning on telling me any of this? And when was the last time you slept?"
"Nyeh…" Duffie head tilted for a moment. "In order: yes. Yes. Yes. Whenever it happened to become remotely important to mention or you asked which is now. And…okay so your family is here- I'm still pissed by the way- that means the festival starts today which means that it's April fourteenth, so eight days. Okay on with the vicious killing. I've gotta get some shut eye."
"The target has left the perimeter." DAAC-B announced.
Daichi had fled as fast humanly possible. "That son of… ah screw it. Match starts at fifteen. Set an alarm for fourteen hundred. I wanna look presentable." After that he simple tilted back and went to sleep right there on floor.
Heart Gears
"Why did you bring her along?" Sora asked his parents as he watched his cousin, Suzume, blatantly flirt with Felix. The fact that Felix wasn't wearing a shirt didn't make him feel any better.
"Sora, she's your cousin." His mother said. "Besides, she and Daichi had the day off so there was no point in not bringing her." Sora simply pointed at the scene in front of them.
"Please, your uncle can handle him if he gets too close." His father added.
"Trust me. A shotgun will not stop him."
Heart Gears
The campus, now loaded with people, was alive with music, games, and vendors. Rides had been erected overnight and the stadium could be seen from anywhere. Most were having a good time. The ones who weren't either hadn't sold much yet or they were named Vanitas.
Vanitas skulked through the crowd with his hands in his pockets trying to avoid drawing attention to himself. He kept his eyes open for any of his targets but, he felt dismally bored in the festivities. "Well, look wha' aris deci'ed to show his face." Vanitas turned around recognizing the accent instantly. Jagers stood with the tip of the Jack Parasol pointed at Vanitas's throat. He snickered at the girl, taking in the scar on her left eye. "Something funny to you?"
"No, no. I'm just happy to see my friend alive; that's all." He said without looking away.
"I might 'ave believed that if you 'ad'nt left me to get slaugh'ered in the mountains by the Chinese army." Jagers pressed the tip to Vanitas's skin. "Now, give me one reason shouldn't blast your 'ead off righ' 'ere and now."
"Well first of all, you can't." The tip began to glow an incandescent white. "Secondly, even if you could, you be screwed too. Look around." Without moving her parasol she glanced around seeing the crowd looking at her. No one did or said anything but, they were uneasy. She lowered her HG. "So let's be civilized here shall."
"You 'aven't got an idea of what 'civilized' even means." Jagers said opening the parasol and levitating it above her. She led Vanitas to a tent where a restaurant had been set up. Her dress seemed to pull itself back at picnic table not catching on the wooden bench at all. "So just what is it that you want 'ere anyway?"
Vanitas threw back his arms still maintaining his smile. "Hey, I'm just doin' a little recon. Commission work, to keep myself busy." He put both hands on the table and leaned forward. "I could be burning villages and having all sorts of other fun, y'know." He sat back down as the waiter came over. She took the pair's orders and gave a wink to Vanitas. "Really, I could be asking you the same question. Why are you in this boring school?"
"Convenience." She admitted. "Ain't really got no place to go so, why not here. Be'er than selling my soul to Maleficent obviously. I can leave anytime I want. That old fool, Yen Sid, can't hack it no more than I go' a pair under this dress. And the rest of 'em are too clueless even figure what's goin' on under their own noses let alone their students."
"That so. What do you say to doing me a favor?" The Jack Parasol folded and pointed at Vanitas's throat. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a roll of cash. Jagers snatched it out of his hands and inspected a few of the bills making sure they were real.
"You said you were doin' reconnaissance, right?" Vanitas nodded. Jagers removed her top hat, dropped ten glass eyes onto the table, and put the money into the hat. "Just give 'em a li'le charge of magic and they'll activate. You can control 'em telepathicly then lock 'em onto a target. They'll even turn invisible. Audio and visual transmission with a magic encryption that only I can decipher. Got about three days of charge on 'em so they should last long enough."
"They got recording?" Vanitas asked inspecting one of them.
"If you 'aven't noticed, I don' exactly trust you. Of course I'm goin' to give the shi'y ones."
Heart Gears
Unsurprisingly, things had gotten extremely awkward. It started after Kairi had given her family a tour of the school. Shizuko had followed them and remained armed to the teeth the whole time; her sword and rifle formed an X on her back. Kim and Weston joined them for lunch. Weston surprisingly had remained tact and hadn't said anything rude. He still, however, chose to wear a man-tank, shorts, and flip-flops. Then Mr. Umihana asked about their parents. The only words spoken in five minutes had been Weston requesting a refill on his pink-lemonade. Then Maggie appeared with her hair decorated with rooster feathers. "Who asked the awkward question?" She asked.
Mr. Umihana coughed and spoke up. "I simply asked about their parents. I didn't realize it was such touchy subject."
"Well, allow me to get the conversation flowing again." Maggie pointed at Kim. "After she…" Maggie's jaw immediately slammed her mouth. Her grunting was the only sound she made as she tried to pry her own mouth open.
"Go away, Maggie." Kim said. Her eyes repeated the phrase with their intense gaze. Maggie pouted and vanished. Kim got up the table and ran off without saying a word. Weston immediately went after her. Shizuko excused herself from the table shortly after.
Mr. Umihana spoke after another silence. "I'm sorry about that. I should've tried to change the subject when I realized they were uncomfortable. They're still kids and, I'm in no position to make demands."
"No it's not your fault." Kairi responded. "I should've told you ahead of time. I asked Kim about it while we were training. She told me that of the people here really don't like to talk about their past."
"Still that girl-what was her name? Maggie.-she seems like real trouble." Mrs. Umihana added.
"Oh yeah." Kairi said. "Please avoid her at all cost."
Heart Gears
Three o'clock had arrived with the roar of crowd. The entire stadium was filled to brim and many more were watching screen in the campus. The families of Sora, Riku, and Kairi managed to get front row seats by arriving early. Weston, Kim, and Maggie joined them. In the arena, the competitors stood on eighteen individual pedestals around a tall central tower that Danny stood in.
Some of the competitors chose to dawn different outfits for the occasion. Felix wore a black t-shirt underneath a teal jacket with the sleeves rolled up and buttoned down to his elbows. Simone wore a sleeveless black long coat and a purple backless shirt that was held up by fabric around her neck and below the ribs. Her pants had zippers that zig-zagged across them but the lines didn't actually connect. She wore sandals. Duffie's outfit remained the same sans the zipper. The only change Sora and Riku received were more durable materials.
Danny Hunter picked up a microphone and began speaking. "Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls! Mice of all ages! Welcome to the five-hundred and twelfth annual first year tournament!" The crowd's cheering increased. "I'm proud to say we have reached capacity and then some! I'm sure you're all wondering what is this contraption I'm standing on." He said waving to the tower. "Well what you see here is the latest in the world of science. Each of the pedestals our combatants stand on will digitize them into our virtual reality program. I would explain how that's possible but, I honestly have no idea. Simple fact is, we've been allowed to commandeer one these devices for our competition. Various projectors around the stadium will create a perfect image of the battlefield for our live audience.
"Now onto the rules. We will drop you into a digital environment of my own design. No holds barred. Last nine standing move on to round two." Danny said with no hesitation. "I know what you're all thinking. In the event that one of them gets…oh I don't know: cut in half, ripped to shreds, turned in to Swiss cheese etc…they'll be reconstructed in the real world. Although based on reports from its use as a training simulator..." He pulled out a sheet of paper. "I wanna get this right, 'Moderate to severe amounts of phantom pain were reported as lasting for two to five hours being severely wounded in a simulation.' Well, that's science for ya.
"Okay, people let's get this show on the road. Ten…nine…eight…" The crowds cheer increased but, couldn't be heard. This was it: the time to shine. "three…there'relotsofweaponslyingaround one!"
At that point the world stopped. Streams of ones and zeros rose from below wiping out the field of perception that made up the real world. Eventually the codes were taken away to reveal a new reality.
Who will kick whose ass. Take a guess. (Note that your suggestions will have no impact whatsoever).
Once again I tried a few different things with this chapter but, I like how it turned out.
See Ya!