The next Friday, I sit next to Hamako on the bus to Domino City. They make us leave campus early in the morning and I, being as adverse to early mornings as I can be, spend the first half of the ride asleep. (I fought with Hamako for the window seat, and let her take it. But, on the ride back, I get it.)
We're headed for a weekend of pure fun!
…Right.
See, for Hamako and I, this is just a trip home. We actually live in the city and, while it is a great excuse to get out of class, I'm still trying to figure out why she's so excited about being back so early. …Then again, she was off in Europe most of the summer. I hadn't really thought about how long it's been for her since she's been home.
Personally, though, aside from this being an escape from classes, I couldn't really care less about being here. Especially on this bus. Since the light freaks took it upon themselves to commandeer an entire bus for themselves, and the Ra dorm students get their own bus, I'm stuck on this crap bus with everyone else.
Everyone else is loud.
Everyone else is the reason I woke up.
I almost regret the fact that I let Hamako have the window seat on the ride there. I surely wouldn't have been hit by a book then… Or maybe I would have. Everyone else has bad aim after all.
Still, I guess it's better than sitting on a bus with a bunch of people who worship the light. I mean, that still doesn't make any sense to me. (I do believe I should take time out to let you know that they've even gotten Asuka to join them somehow!) I have to listen to at least one of them preach to me a day (because they still haven't taken the hint that no, I'm not interested even if I have been chosen) and really, they all sound like they're living the life of a moth.
Or a fly.
Well, actually, they act more like mosquitoes. No matter how many you shoot down, they keep coming back for your blood.
And they've certainly spread as all infestations do. The color scheme of my class has gone from being a tricolor rainbow to being almost completely white. And I keep getting these horrible headaches after class and by the time one of those freaks comes after me, I'm about ready to punch someone in the face.
I don't know what's holding me back – it's not like I have anything to look forward to for the rest of the year. But then if I got expelled, Hamako would kill me. She's only at Duel Academia because I go there and it'd be a moot point for her, since she can't duel and all, to stay there.
Despite the considerably better bus conditions – something I'm assuming, though I'm not really sure I could deal with more than three of the light freaks at a time and even that might be pushing it – I still can't help but be jealous when we arrive and I see Phoenix step out of his own car. He has his own driver and everything!
I mean, the kid gets his own car and I get hit by a book while I'm trying to sleep. Life must hate me.
Bonaparte and Chronos gather all of us together in front of the hotel to discuss events and rules or whatever, but I tune the two of them out. I'm not really interested in hearing what Tweedledee and Tweedledum have to say after the tennis incident. They can go fall off a cliff for all I care.
I do notice, though, when the Society of Light decides they're going to go off to do their own thing because, obviously, they're too good for whatever Bonaparte and Chronos have planned. (And by the way, I don't think I can possibly express how weird-looking their leader is. Seriously – get a haircut. And a new hobby, at that.)
So when the rest of the group disperses, I simply follow Hamako, not really caring what we're about to head off to do. And why should I? I've already seen all there is to see in this city, or at least most of it. I'm sure Hamako's found something interesting to do. (Because she always does. She's the master at finding weird things to do.)
"Ah-ah-ah," she says, waving a finger in my face. I stare at her for a moment and she takes the time to turn me around and start pushing me in the opposite direction. "You're on a mission, remember? 'Retrieve Hamako's Book', yes?"
"Oh, right," I say, almost relieved to have something to do. I give her a small wave and head off in the direction she's pushing me while she goes off in the other with her friends. "See you later."
My body travels on auto as I walk through the city. I know exactly where I'm headed, and I know exactly how to get there by heart. It seems so weird now, after having been away at school for so long. The scenery is different than what I've grown used to, but I can still tell you just how to get to the best bakery in town.
It takes a few minutes of walking down the streets of the city for me to realize just how refreshing it is for me to be back home. I hadn't realized I'd even been missing city life until the familiar scenery started to create some sense of nostalgia in me. I'm not even the nostalgic type, so this is fairly weird.
The nostalgia is even more surprising since I'm headed to my house of all places. It's not exactly my favorite place of all time. (In some respects, I'd rather be at Duel Academia than at my house, but I digress.) I'm not really sure what I suddenly find so amazing about going back.
My immediate family consists of three people. There's my father, head of some section of Kaibacorp that deals with duel disks. He's hardly ever home, and when he is he usually keeps to himself and the television. He and I don't exactly have the best relationship – if you'd call what we have a relationship at all – but I guess that's both of our faults for not trying to have one in the first place.
Then there's my oh so successful sister, Ayako. Unlike me, she excels at just about anything she tries to do. She got good grades in school, is a fantastic duelist, and now has some incredible job over in Egypt. She's about ten years older than me, so we never really went through that sibling rivalry stage, but I can feel the sting of it nowadays when I compare my achievements – or lack thereof – to hers.
Lastly, there's me. Rin. I'm not exactly the smartest person in the world, but I probably have more guts than everyone I know put together. I can't say I've done much to make anyone proud of me, so I'm never really surprised when no one is. I'm the baby of the family, and I'm also the one most resented.
Even if it isn't exactly spoken, I can feel it.
When I was born, my mother died.
I can't remember a thing from before I was five (but, really, who can?) but my sister tells me stories of the mean things she used to do to me. She had a really close relationship with our mother and even told me once that she absolutely hated me when our father first brought me home.
While he never really did anything about it, I know my father resents me as well. Probably even more so since I'm not exactly the kid every parent wants to show off to their friends and coworkers. We never really formed a relationship, and barely talk as it is now, but I think that's just his way of coping. He immerses himself in his work, leaving, when I was younger, a maid or two and my sister to take care of me. Nowadays, I just have our maid, Kyoko.
That's mostly because more recently – and I really mean the summer before the new term – my grandmother died. She was like a mother to me in all respects. She would tell me stories about my mother, my father, my sister, and taught me all about little fascinating things. Like how one time, my sister decided she'd color herself with markers to substitute for not having makeup. Or what each flower she grew in the garden in our backyard represented.
She was a great cook, too, and I'd always come home to fresh cookies or brownies or some other kind of sweet treat after school. At one point, she even started teaching me how to cook, and I still think that to this day I'm the only one who knows her secret extra chocolaty chip cookies recipe.
Grams also had this uncanny ability to just know when the food she was baking was done. I tried mimicking her once when she wasn't home. When I bit into one of the cookies I'd baked, it was like trying to eat a rock. But she didn't even have to set the timer to know they were ready.
I used to wonder if she was psychic or something. It would certainly explain a ton of the weird things she used to know, used to do. She'd teach me about all sorts of occult things, like auras and tarot, though I can't say I always believed her. I did think what she could do was cool and I'd always ask her if I'd be able to do what she did. She told me simply, "Anything's possible, little one. Anything's possible."
She was also the one who first got me into tennis. I used to watch matches on television with her and she'd get so into the game. She even played with me when I was first getting into the game, and eventually I grew to love it as much as she did. Grams also loved dueling, and I can still remember the first time I beat her. I was seven and she'd been so proud, she and I baked brownies.
As I walk into the house now, without her there even just the air feels barren, lonely. I'm glad no one's noticed me yet, and I hope no one does. I'm not exactly inclined to waste time having a conversation with any of the maids at the moment. I just want to get the stupid book and leave.
And that's precisely what I do.
I rush out of the house with the old volume, and stop in front of a nearby park, sitting down on a bench facing the road, to make sure the thing is still intact. Somehow I wonder why the hell Hamako's mother would leave her such an old book instead of getting her a new copy. Then again, Hamako's mom is dead, too, so I guess she doesn't really have a choice.
The letter from her mom's still inside and none of the pages have fallen out even though the spine looks like it could go any second. I take a breath and pull out my phone to text Hamako and ask her where she is so I can give the thing back. I don't do it immediately, though, since something – or rather, a quite annoying someone – catches my eye first.
What the hell is Phoenix doing walking the streets randomly by himself?
He's walking up the sidewalk, the same side of the street that I'm on, and I look down, hoping he doesn't see me. I mean, it's not like I can make a run for it at this point, right? That would just make me look weird…er. And possibly suspicious. But I really don't want to talk to him, especially not after last time. Stupid superhero.
"Sakamoto-san," he greets with a nod, pausing a moment next to me. I know he likes to be polite and all, but was it really necessary this time? We did get into a fight the last time we spoke, after all. Not that that's unusual.
"Phoenix," I reply, hoping he'll just magically fly away and I'll never see him again. Or at least for the rest of the day. But, curiosity gets the better of me yet again when I blurt, "What are you doing?"
It takes him a moment to answer, as he's thrown off guard by the question for some reason. He probably thinks it's stupid or something. "Walking…"
"That's really odd…" I'm not crazy. It is odd. I mean, he's all alone, no fangirls in sight – in fact, there's really no one outside, but I guess that's to be expected considering it is just after lunchtime in the middle of the week. Still, for some reason, I would never have imagined Phoenix out on the streets by himself.
"What exactly did you expect me to be doing?" he asks carefully, probably unsure if he should really be asking the question in the first place. I don't blame him; no one really knows for sure what's going to come out of my mouth until after I've said it. Not even me.
"Fighting crime…" I say a bit slowly, joking. He rolls his eyes, obviously not amused.
"Really?" he sighs. Funny how two words out of my mouth can make him so pissed. "That's getting old, Sakamoto-san."
"My god, it was a joke," I say with a roll of my eyes. "Live a little, will you?"
He smiles curtly and then asks, as if this is a remarkable rebuke, "What about you, then? Shouldn't you be off getting kicked out of a museum with your friends?"
"No…" I respond, raising an eyebrow. The hell? "I've never been kicked out of a museum before… Besides, I had to get something for Hamako."
"She couldn't go with you?" Now he's genuinely curious. For some reason I'm finding it funny that he's so confused.
"She wanted to show off the city to everyone," I shrug. "I mean, we kind of live here."
"Oh?" He sounds surprised, but not disdainful. And I then realize that this is the first time I've ever actually told him something, well, normal. I mean, don't people usually tell someone they've met where they live? It makes me wonder how much the two of us really know about one another. "Is that it then?"
"Huh?"
"That book." He nods to it. It's still sitting next to me, and I glance at it.
"Oh, yeah. It's really special to her since her mother gave it to her and all. Her mom's dead," I explain, and then add, "Like mine."
I immediately berate myself for it, though, and I full-heartedly agree with myself. Why'd you tell him that? He doesn't need to know that. He just needs to go away and not have another reason to think you're a little damsel in distress.
"I'm sorry to hear that," he says after a moment.
"Don't be." I shake my head. "I never knew her. She died when I was born."
"Ah, still…"
"What about you?" I sort of blurt out to him in an attempt to change the subject. I'm not really comfortable talking about my family to Phoenix…well, to anyone really. I'm not exactly sure how efficient my topic-changer was considering it's in the same category and all. Whatever. "I mean, I'm sure your parents are successful socialites, right?"
"…"
At his silence I furrow my eyebrows together. I bet they are. He's just mad that I guessed correctly for once.
"Well, I'm sure most of the world knows…" he states simply, probably wondering why I don't. And then I wonder why I don't, though it's not like I read magazine articles about him or anything. "My father was murdered…"
"…Uh…Oh." I can't really say anything else. And then I notice a dark shadow cross his face and I can feel his aura become increasingly angry. I don't think I've ever seen him get so angry at just the thought of something.I mean, he doesn't have a substantial anger problem like I do, so this is really odd.
And now I just look stupid. Again.
Great.
"…Was it recent…or…?" I'm trying to phrase my curiosity gently since I know how touchy these subjects can be. Though I'm not really sure he even notices the rare effort I'm putting into this conversation. Then again, I don't even know why I'm putting effort into a conversation with him in the first place…
"It happened when I was young," he explains, looking down the street in thought. His aura is still very rigid, and it's a bit unnerving. I mean, what's he still angry about if his dad died years ago? "But – "
"But you're still angry about it for no reason at all?" I blurt out and almost wish I could take back my words when his head whips around to face me and his blue eyes ice over. It's one of those "if looks could kill" moments, definitely.
"What?" he snaps.
"I mean, he died years ago, right?" I start, wondering if I can really explain myself out of this situation. It's worked before, hasn't it? Or was that in a dream? Or a movie? I'm screwed, aren't I? "I just don't get what you can still be angry about. It's not like he just died months ago, you know, like my grandmother."
"Really, Sakamoto-san, do you ever think before you speak?" he asks, seething. My mouth opens in shock to reply, but nothing comes out immediately. I can see I've hit a sore spot. But, really, you don't see me with eyes blazing just because my grandmother died three months ago. Everyone has to go sometime, right?
"Yes, actually, but that's beside the point. You've had years to get over – "
"I still haven't found the murderer," he interrupts and I notice immediately his pronoun use.
He's on a quest to find his father's killer? I ask myself. The whole idea seems fairly odd to me, but he is a superhero after all. He's supposed to be obsessed with stuff like this. Still, coming from him, I find it rather odd that he's let himself get so wrapped up in a mess like this. While I'm all for getting revenge, he's been at this for years.
We've only talked about this for two minutes and I can already tell he's obsessed.
"You're really screwed up, you know that?" I say with a cynical laugh. He opens his mouth to say something, but I make sure to finish what I'm going to say before he has a chance to interject. "I mean, first you preach all day about destiny and now I find you're obsessed with exacting revenge for your dead father. And to think people look up to you…"
He's dead silent for the next few minutes. If I wasn't facing his direction now, I would have thought he'd just walked away.
"You prove to me more and more each time we talk that you really are just an ignorant little girl."
"Ignorant!" I exclaim, jumping up from my seat. I am so sick of his insulting me! Is that all he can find to spend his time doing? "I'm so sorry we differ in our ideals of what obsession is! I'm all for revenge – trust me. But you've been at this for years! Don't you think that's a bit much? For all you know, whoever killed your father could be dead!"
He glares at me more fiercely as if it's a warning. Obviously someone really wants to take his revenge. And now.
"…Try imagining this situation, only my father is your grandmother. What would you do, oh wise one?" he asks, and I can feel a bit of malice in his tone.
And then I really think about it. Damn it, he knows how easily I can get angry! Of course I'd be pissed, even after how many ever years it's been. He plays so unfairly.
"Well, we both know I'd still be angry, but I don't think I'd be after the murderer as intently as you are," I say, wondering if what I'm saying is the truth. After all no one I've cared about was murdered… And if Grams had been… well, god knows I'd have been kicking someone's ass… "I mean, I'd be glad if the guy was ever found, but everyone has to go even – OW."
I clutch my forehead in reaction to the sudden searing pain I can feel. I'm used to getting migraines all the time now, all thanks to the new white dorm, but this… this is ridiculous. It's not completely terrible, but it definitely throws me off guard for a moment until I can get used to it.
What the hell?
"Sa – " Phoenix starts, and I look up to find a hint of surprise and… worry? on his face. I take a couple deep breaths as a new voice speaks, and I really don't want to turn around to face who it is.
"My, my… I guess I should have known you two would be together." I look around, I look down, I look anywhere but behind me because I really just don't want to deal with Yamamoto ever, ever. And how in the world was he even allowed on this field trip to begin with? Didn't those sorry excuses for administrators say they'd make sure he wouldn't be able to go or something?
I look up again to find Phoenix has narrowed his eyes at the intruder and is almost in some sort of… protective stance. I don't need his protection, damn it. I turn around, running my hand through my hair a few times and face Yamamoto. My eyes widen in shock, my eyebrows crease in confusion.
He's dressed in white.
Well, that explains the headache…"What do you want?" I ask, exasperated. I'm really not in the mood to deal with him, but somehow… I feel like this is important. It might be because they actually got to Yamamoto. It might also be because Raging Flame Sprite flies up beside me and nods in Yamamoto's direction to actually alert me of the significance of this.
"Oh, it's not what I want," he states, and I notice a change in his tone of voice. He sounds like a dazed lover… and that does nothing to keep me from being creeped out by him. "The light, it has been calling for you. My Master wishes to see you – he wants to know how you are able to dissuade that which is so – "
"Yeah, yeah," I interrupt. "Can we not get into a discussion about how excruciatingly wonderful the light is? Thanks."
Yamamoto cocks his head to the side, an amused smile playing at his lips. He nods, and then takes a small step toward me and holds out his hand. In that same moment, I shirk back from his minute advance and Phoenix steps up beside me, slightly in front of me. It's as if, on instinct, Phoenix is trying to protect me. The action makes me catch my breath, though my brain can't figure how he could possibly care about what happens to me.
Phoenix glances at me, as if recognizing what he's just done and I give him a questioning look. What the hell are you doing?
"Come with me, Sakamoto-san," Yamamoto says, and it almost sounds like he's pleading with me. Odd.
"Ge – "
"If," I start, cutting Phoenix off abruptly. I don't need him to fight my battles for me. "If I go with you, you'll take me to your Master or whoever, and that's it, right? And after that, will your stupid society stop sending people after me?"
Yamamoto smiles knowingly before he answers. Phoenix stares at me in disbelief. I can practically feel his disgust with the idea and I can honestly say that I don't blame him. It's not really something I want to do, I just… he wouldn't understand. He doesn't have my intuition. He doesn't see spirits. He wasn't taught the things my grandmother taught me.
And even if it wasn't for the fact that something's nagging at me to go with him, I'm sick and tired of these stupid guys dressed up in white stalking me everywhere trying to get me to join in their worship of the oh so precious "light". (No, they have not worn me down. I just want to knock some sense into their leader.)
"I will take you to my Master," Yamamoto says. "But I make no promises on his behalf."
"Guess that'll have to do," I mutter, taking a step.
"What are you doing?" Phoenix hisses, grabbing hold of my forearm to stop me. He knows as well as I do how bad of an idea this is. "You realize this is probably the stupidest idea you've ever decided to follow through with, right?"
"This is important," I assure him, taking his hand off me. And then it settles somewhere in my mind that he actuallytouchedme and that's just so un-Phoenix-like, I'm not really sure what to do about it. So I don't do anything about it. That's the best course of action when you're confused, right? "Besides, I've probably done something stupider in your book, I'm sure." I give him a confident smile and then turn back to Yamamoto.
His hand is still extended. I raise an eyebrow, folding my arms across my chest.
"Put your hand down and start walking, moron. I'll follow you there." Yamamoto cedes to my stubbornness, beginning the trek to the hotel. I start walking, ready to jump him if need be, wondering if this really is the stupidest thing I've ever done.
Well, I guess I'm about to find out just how stupid this move is, walking into the enemy's lair so casually…
•○•○•
A/N: I really like what happens in this chapter. Am I actually developing their relationship? What a surprise! I know I haven't updated this in forever, but I haven't had Internet for the longest time, so I'm making it up to you guys by posting this chapter and forcing myself to work my hardest to finish the next chapter this weekend.