A new arc is starting and we're moving on to the next continent. My update schedule is still tentative, but the next 3 to 5 chapters should hopefully come out without interruption. Unless something drastic happens, this chapter also marks the middle point of the story. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh GX.
Part IV: Oceania
Chapter 10: Indonesia, Jakarta
"Athena?" Juudai asked, realization dawning. He clenched his cell phone tighter and Yubel turned to look at him. "The goddess Athena? The one Johan was going to see?"
"That's me, yes." Athena replied.
Juudai stepped away from the street and ducked in a nearby alley. "Where's Johan? Have you seen him? Why isn't he replying?"
"I have met Johan Andersen," Athena cut him off. "And he is the reason why I'm calling you."
"What's happened? What's wrong?" Juudai asked urgently. Yubel frowned and turned her head to hear Juudai's half of the conversation better. Juudai sent her a quick mental message, urging her to follow the entire conversation in his head.
Athena didn't reply for several seconds. Juudai impatiently tapped his fingers against his leg. "Well?"
"Don't get impatient, Herald," Athena chastised him. "Johan came to see me, as you know. We talked for a long time. He is very insecure."
"Insecure? Johan?" Juudai frowned. That didn't sound like the Johan he knew, but on second thought… Johan had been acting strange in Kinshasa. It was the reason Juudai had sent him to Athens in the first place.
"You have to understand what he feels. His life has been turned upside-down. His sister's gone missing, he's far away from his home and he doesn't have anyone to rely on."
"He has me!" Juudai protested indignantly.
"He doesn't feel like he has you," Athena replied, to Juudai's considerable surprise. "Or rather, he feels like he shouldn't trouble you with his problems. He feels like this is something he has to solve for himself."
"But…"
"But that's not what I called you for," Athena said. "What I told him concerns him and him alone. However, near the end of our talk, we were attacked."
"What- Chaos? Are you okay? Is Johan okay?" Juudai asked frantically. "Where is he now?"
"As you suspected, it was indeed Chaos who attacked us," Athena replied, ignoring Juudai's sharp intake of breath. "We are both physically okay, thanks to Johan. He succeeded in shielding both of us and driving it off."
Yubel nudged him mentally.
When did that happen?
Juudai frowned slightly at Yubel's question, but passed it on to Athena nonetheless.
"This was a little more than half a day ago," the goddess replied after a short pause. Yubel gave the mental equivalent of a satisfied nod. Juudai tried to ask her about it, but she only urged him to continue listening.
"However, Johan was shocked by the attack. Chaos tried to target another member of his family and he reacted violently. He blew up part of the landscape and only barely missed my temple. It upset him deeply. He left after that, and I don't know where he went."
"Johan…" Juudai whispered. Poor Johan. He shouldn't have to cope with this, it wasn't his job or responsibility. What was Chaos playing at? "Why is it attacking him? Johan has nothing to do with this, I'm Chaos' enemy."
Athena sighed: "I don't know. I can only assume it's trying to target you through him."
Juudai tried to calm his breathing before replying, then, keeping his voice level, said: "Okay, thank you. You do not know where Johan is?"
"I'm sorry, I do not."
"Right. Thank you for the information."
And without even waiting for a further reply or considering how impolite he was being, Juudai ended the call. He leaned back against the wall, seething.
"Juudai? Are you okay?" Yubel asked, appearing next to him.
"I'm fine."
"Your eyes are golden," Yubel pointed out. Juudai blinked. She was right, and he hadn't even noticed. He checked quickly for anyone watching me, but the people on the street weren't worrying about a teen standing against a wall.
"I'm going to find Chaos," he announced loudly, pocketing his cell phone and letting Pharaoh into his backpack. He didn't bother changing the color of his eyes. He'd have better eyesight like this anyway.
"Juudai-kun?" Daitokuji-sensei asked hesitantly, appearing next to Juudai. "Why do you… Why would you want to find it? It's dangerous!"
Juudai shook his head. "I'm tired of this. It'll find us anyway and I am sick of it attacking us. It has abducted Amethyst Cat, it has killed Naledi and it has caused trouble all over the world. It's driving Johan crazy just to get to me, and I've had more than enough. This time, we strike first."
"I… see." Yubel seemed to consider his words. "Yes. Where do we start?"
Juudai paused, thinking long and hard. Chaos was unpredictable by nature, so the chances of it being in any place it would plausibly be were minuscule at best. Wandering around the city wasn't an option either; it would take too much time. So if they weren't going to find Chaos…
Chaos had to find them.
"I've got it," he whispered, a slow grin appearing on his face. "We're going to draw it out."
"How?" Daitokuji-sensei asked.
Juudai smirked. "You'll see. Sensei, do you know where we are?"
"I'm sorry, Juudai-kun. I need more time to figure it out. Let me-"
"No, it's okay, I'll ask," Juudai said quickly. "Sensei, I'd like you to go back to Pharaoh. This might get a bit dangerous."
Juudai didn't like asking where he was. It gave a bad impression and he drew less attention by just checking a newspaper. But there were no news stands in sight and he didn't have the patience to look for one, so he just left the alley and addressed the first person he passed, a girl in her early twenties.
"Excuse me, can you tell me which city I'm in?" he asked quickly.
The girl seemed taken aback by his question, and looked startled when she noticed the unusual color of his eyes, but she replied nonetheless: "Jakarta."
"Which country is that?" Juudai continued. The girl glanced around. Pedestrians were walking around them without sparing them a second glance.
"Indonesia… May I ask why-"
"No, you may not, I'm sorry. Last question. Are there any quiet neighborhoods or open spaces nearby?"
"Why do you need to know that?" the girl asked, looking like she wanted to get as far away from him as possible.
"Does it matter? Just tell me."
Juudai, stop it, you're being too forceful. She's scared.
Juudai bowed his head and let his bangs shadow his eyes. Yubel was right, but he had trouble calming down. He wanted to find Chaos, and he wanted to find it fast.
"Listen, I'm sorry," he told the girl, who was on the verge of leaving. "I have a friend who's in trouble and I need to help him. I'm not planning to do anything to you. After this, you'll never see me again."
The girl hesitated, looking as if she'd like nothing better than to run away, but eventually she turned around.
"There's an empty lot if you keep going south. Right before you'd cross a river," she told him. "Not many people come there. That might be what you're looking for."
"Thank you," Juudai told her sincerely, smiling at her. The effect wasn't quite what he'd hoped for. The eyes of the Supreme King gave him a frightening look, and the girl only managed a brief nod in return and disappeared before Juudai could say anything else.
"Well, that settles that, then," Juudai sighed, before resolutely heading south. "I don't want it to hurt any innocent people, so we're going to drive it to an open place. All it needs to do is follow."
And his eyes glowed briefly for a moment, while his aura increased tenfold. A challenge, and a very clear one at that. If Chaos was anywhere nearby, it would notice him.
Juudai turned around a roundabout and kept following the road southwards. It was an easy task; he just had to make sure the sun was a little to his left. They reached a crowded area, and Juudai made his way through the masses, fishing out his cell phone at the same time and selecting Johan's number.
"C'mon, pick up," he growled softly, listening to the dial tone. It was no use; after several seconds the call was transferred to voice mail.
"Hey, Johan, it's me," Juudai said after listening to the recorded greeting and the beep that followed. "Are you alright? Let me know something, okay? See you!"
After that one-sided conversation, he pocketed the phone again and paused in the middle of the road. He could feel Yubel growing anxious.
Juudai, what are you doing?
"Trust me, okay? I know what- Aha, there we go!"
He'd spotted what he'd been looking for: the whirling smoke that announced Chaos' presence. The smoke was quickly coming closer, but it didn't touch him just yet, and Juudai used the moment to surreptitiously check if Pharaoh was still secure in his backpack. If things went like he'd planned, this might get dangerous and he didn't want to endanger the cat. Pharaoh didn't have the same protective powers Juudai and Yubel possessed.
The clouds of smoke danced around him, avoiding the other people on the street but blocking Juudai's way. Yubel tensed, but Juudai kept calm, waiting for Chaos to make the first move. It seemed wary, obviously expecting Juudai to make good on his word and attack it, but Juudai just moved a bit to the right, letting the people behind him pass, and waited.
"Not here," he told the smoke. "I'm not fighting you here."
You do not have a say in the matter, Herald. But alright, if you want a quiet place that badly, I'll grant your wish.
Juudai just had the time to brace himself and throw up a shield before Chaos engulfed him completely. For a moment, he felt like he was back in Potosí, struggling through the smoke surrounding the Cerro Rico. But this was worse, much worse. Juudai had grown more powerful, but so had Chaos, and this time all of its power was focused only on him. He reinforced the shield he'd thrown up, and felt Yubel use her own power to support him. She too had grown stronger, and the power that was specifically her own and not shared with him was more prominent now. It felt familiar, and not only because he shared his body with her. It almost felt like he'd sensed it before, somewhere else…
But as fast as Chaos had engulfed him, it also let them go again. Juudai tried to keep his balance as a sudden fierce wind tugged at his clothes and tried to drag him down. A skyscraper. Chaos had taken them to the top of a skyscraper.
Jakarta was stretched out far below them, looking tiny from the distance. Juudai swallowed quickly. The skyscraper itself was built in such a way that there were almost no flat surfaces. He was standing on a support beam near the top. Several feet below him, a second structure seemed to be jutting out of the tower. There was a flat roof there, but it was much too far down to reach easily.
Juudai took off his backpack and activated his duel disk. His eyes, still bearing the color and power of Haou, briefly changed colors and a second later, Neospacian Air Hummingbird appeared in front of him. The monster looked around, elated to be this high up, but his expression changed when he felt the presence of Chaos all around them.
"Juudai?"
"I need you to keep Pharaoh and Daitokuji-sensei safe," Juudai told him, handing the monster his backpack with Pharaoh in it. "Just take them somewhere where they're away from Chaos and where you can't be seen."
Air Hummingbird accepted the backpack, but seemed reluctant to leave.
"Go!" Juudai told him. "I'll be fine, just make sure you're safe!"
"Be careful," Air Hummingbird told him. "And remember, we're here to help you."
"I know," Juudai nodded. He watched as the monster took off back towards the ground, carrying Pharaoh with him. They'd be safe. Good.
You seem to care a lot for that cat, Herald. And it's so old already… What if I were to-
And part of the smoke that formed Chaos shot after Air Hummingbird. The monster turned in mid-air and folded his wings to protect himself, but Juudai had already intercepted the blast before it even came anywhere near his monster or Pharaoh.
"Don't you dare," he growled, eyes glowing brightly. "You've caused more than enough misery already. You want me? Here I am."
Funny. I thought it was you who wanted me. Well, what do you think? Nice place, isn't it? Nice and quiet, like you wanted.
That earned it a genuine smile from Juudai. "Yes, I know. Thank you!"
Chaos didn't seem impressed with his reaction. The smoke tendrils retracted upon themselves into a large cloud, hovering ominously just a few feet away from Juudai. Yubel appeared next to him, floating a few inches above the support beam Juudai was standing on, and trying to stare Chaos down. Since it had no defining features, she didn't quite succeed.
You planned this, Herald.
Juudai didn't deny it. "Not quite like this, but yes, I planned it. I wouldn't have picked this place, but I wasn't planning on fighting you in the middle of the city anyway. I just had to shout loud enough and you'd come." His smile disappeared. "You've caused enough trouble already. I'm not letting you hurt anyone else."
He took a step forward, careful not to fall down; the top of the tower was slightly slippery from condensed water. Yubel spread her wings and moved behind him, ready to intervene at any moment. The smoke was moving faster and faster, going through all kinds of shapes and colors that changed too fast for Juudai to identify, but it didn't lash out yet. Eventually, it once again coiled into itself, slowly taking on human shape. A very familiar human shape, but one Juudai hadn't seen since New York.
"Hello, mister Juudai," a Chaos form of little Betty addressed him. "I thought you'd like to see me again! Now we can talk better, right?"
She landed on a small platform a little above Juudai and stumbled slightly. It was an act; Chaos was more than capable of keeping her balance.
"I've seen you do better," Juudai stated. "Why should I care about the shape you take?"
"Don't you care about me?" Chaos Betty pouted. "That's not nice, mister Juudai. I tried so very hard!"
"Cut it out," Juudai told her. "You're not Betty and you can't harm her. She's dead. She's been dead since before I was born and she's moved on. Now stop playing these games. You want me? Here I am."
"Mister Juudai, why are you so cruel? Is it true what they say?" The pout transformed into a mocking smile. "That you are the Haou? That you killed so many people just for your own benefit?"
That was a period he did not like to be reminded of. Juudai closed his eyes briefly and breathed in. Yubel's support was solid in the back of his mind and it calmed him down enough to shake off the accusation.
"I don't deny it," he replied. "I am Haou. My actions are something I am not proud of, but they're mine to deal with. I will face the consequences and if I can prevent the people I care about from ever going through something like that… If I can protect them from it, I will. You, however… Of course you don't care."
He shook his head and called upon his powers.
"To be honest, I've had more than enough of this."
He hit Chaos Betty straight on with a blast of concentrated Darkness. She didn't even try to dodge, just faded from view and reappeared on another support beam, this one almost on the other side of the tower. Her dress was slightly frayed, but Juudai knew that this too was just an illusion.
"Nice try, Herald," she said, dropping the child persona, and Juudai could hear her as clearly as if she'd been standing right next to him. "But not good enough."
Juudai shielded himself as he was struck by Chaos' power. He took a step backwards, nearly slipped and jumped off the beam to land a few feet lower. He had a better view of the tower here. He'd have to be careful, but he'd landed within the inner structure. There was less chance of him falling all the way down now.
"I've had enough of you," he told Chaos, sending a second blast in her direction and dodging the smoke tendrils coming after him. "More than enough. You've hurt so many people… You killed Naledi! You're driving Johan crazy just to get to me!"
The next blast that hit Chaos was razor-sharp. Juudai lifted his duel disk and channeled a second blast through it. It took the shape of the disk and cut straight through Betty's head. But she only laughed, repairing the damage with a quick wave of her hand.
"My, how conceited you are, Herald!" She jumped off the beam and landed only a few feet away from him. "Has the power gone to your head? Do you really think you're that important?" She took a few steps forward and reached out with one hand. Yubel sliced it off before she could touch Juudai and she reformed it immediately afterwards, as if nothing had happened at all.
"The girl was collateral damage," she continued talking. Her voice had turned cruel and mocking, erasing everything that made her resemble Betty. "She was in the way. So what if she died?"
Juudai kicked her from the platform, not even bothering to use his powers. She flipped around in mid-air and landed far below them. "Look behind you, Herald."
He didn't get the chance. Juudai was sent flying by a powerful hit in the back. He tried to grab one of the bars passing him by, but the same tendril that had hit him prevented him from doing so every time. Yubel rushed after him, catching him and turning around just in time to bear most of the impact. They crashed down a few feet away from the little girl.
"Yubel!" Juudai turned around quickly, not bothering to check if he was injured. "Are you okay? You haven't broken anything, haven't you?"
"I'm fine," Yubel said, getting up slowly. "You're okay, that's what matters."
"Touching," Chaos Betty said drily. "Oh, but I don't want to talk about that. Let's work on that superiority complex of yours, Haou."
"What do you mean?" Juudai asked, trying to get up, only to discover that he couldn't. Tendrils of Chaos had tied down his arms and legs and were forcing him into a kneeling position. Yubel was in a similar position, tied down to the ground and unable to move. Juudai desperately tried to destroy the binds, but they only grew stronger the harder he tried.
"You think you're so important." The little girl took a step closer. "You think the whole world revolves around you. You think I took the Seeker's sister to harm you." Another step. "I have news for you. You were never the target. He was."
She crouched down in front of him, smiling serenely. "Because it's so easy to drive a person crazy. Take away their loved ones, make them lose the connection between them…"
"You…" Juudai spat. "You did this? You're why he can't find Amethyst Cat?"
"You were careless, you didn't pay attention and neither did he. Just a little block. I'll show you, if you want!"
Juudai struggled harder, to no avail. Yubel tried to get up, slicing through the bonds again and again. They just reformed whenever she tried.
Sometimes," Chaos held up one finger, "all it takes is one little touch."
And she flicked that one finger against Juudai's forehead.
He sunk backwards against Yubel, feeling Chaos invade his mind but unable to do anything about it. It was searching, going through his mind and looking for something Juudai hoped it'd never find. He stopped struggling against the bonds around his arms and legs, instead focusing all his power on expelling Chaos. It stopped for a second, but then pushed through with twice as much power, reaching the one part of his mind he didn't ever want to lose, the one part he shared…
"No! You can't!"
Him and Yubel. Chaos was trying to block him from Yubel and he would not let it, would never let it. He couldn't!
Juudai!
Yubel was with him, trying to hold off Chaos with the same desperate focus as Juudai. If they let it… If they let it…
"No!"
The combined force of his and Yubel's power blasted at Chaos, expelling it forcefully from his mind. For a moment, Juudai saw white as Yubel's power slowly dissipated, and a second later the world regained its normal color again. Chaos had been physically blown away by their power and the tendrils binding them had disappeared as well. Juudai got up and furiously marched over to the fallen figure, his eyes burning golden with all the rage of the Supreme King.
"How dare you," he hissed. "How dare you try to separate us. How dare you even think about it."
He lifted one hand, fully intending to blast Chaos away, then clenched it. He couldn't destroy her, however much he'd like to. He couldn't.
"Better than I thought, Haou," Chaos grinned. "But you lose."
She almost literally blew apart; the resulting blast of energy sent both Juudai and Yubel flying all the way through the inner structure of the tower, knocking out Yubel as she hit one of the support beams on the way. Juudai grabbed her arm and pulled her close, closing his eyes tightly against the wind rushing past them. If they hit the ground…
"Summon… Neos!"
Neos appeared next to them, immediately catching them both as a second figure flew over and helped Neos support them. Air Hummingbird had returned. Together with Neos he carried both of them to the flat roof of the lower part of the tower and let them down gently. Juudai slowly let go of Yubel, putting her down so she was comfortable and checking for injuries. He found none.
See you, Herald! Till we meet again!
Juudai glared at the upper part of the tower. He couldn't see Chaos anymore, but obviously she was still around. Unfortunately, he had more important things to worry about. Chaos had tried to break his connection with Yubel and ultimately failed, but only because of their combined powers. Johan had had no such resistance. He couldn't reach Amethyst Cat anymore.
"Juudai, you should've summoned us faster," Neos admonished him. "This force is dangerous, and, sadly, stronger than you are. You cannot face it alone anymore, that was a very reckless thing to do."
Juudai shook his head. "I'm sorry. But we discovered a lot. This will certainly help."
Air Hummingbird handed him his backpack and Pharaoh popped out of it, meowing pitifully and stiffly stretching his legs. Juudai petted him slowly.
"I'm sorry," he told the cat. "But we're all okay."
Yubel stirred and woke up, just as Daitokuji-sensei appeared as well. After making sure that Yubel was really okay, Juudai started rummaging through the pockets of his backpack.
"What will you do now, Juudai-kun?" Daitokuji-sensei asked him. Juudai fished out his cell phone with a triumphant smile and held it up.
"Find Johan," he replied, selecting the number. "This has got to stop. If Chaos is doing this, we have to help him."
He listened to the dial tone and groaned when he was transferred to voice mail once again. "Johan? Me again. Seriously, call me back, okay? I need to talk to you."
He sighed deeply and looked down from the skyscraper. It was a little past noon now, and the city was bustling with life. Maybe they should go pick up something to eat and get some rest. He was tired and he was sure Yubel felt the same. The confrontation with Chaos had taken more out of him than he would've liked.
His eyes finally turned back to their normal brown color. The world suddenly looked a lot less clear and Juudai had to blink several times to get used to his altered vision. He knew that this was what the world looked like for him on any other day, but the change was disorienting. As if he'd been wearing glasses and then suddenly had to take them off. Nevertheless, it was a little less taxing and he didn't need the view at the moment.
"Better get down from here," he announced, looking from Neos to Air Hummingbird and back to Yubel. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it."
"Stay calm," Neos advised, before disappearing together with Air Hummingbird. Juudai stared over the edge of the tower.
"Time for us to go," he announced, scooping up Pharaoh as the cat got a little too close to the edge for his liking. "Let's find somewhere where we can relax."
0o0o0
Evening found Juudai lying on a bed in a small hotel room, with his head propped up against the pillows and staring intently at his cell phone, as if expecting it to go off any second.
"He won't call any faster if you keep staring at it, you know," Yubel said conversationally. She was leaning against the bed and Juudai was lazily running the hand not holding his phone through her hair.
"I know, I know," Juudai sighed. "But what else can we do?"
"Go sleep," Yubel suggested. "You're tired. You've been worrying all day and it's not doing you any good."
"I don't know," Juudai replied, frowning when his fingers hit a tangle in Yubel's hair. He worked it loose carefully. "I mean, there's so much to do… We need to find Johan and I just can't reach him. Can't even reach him telepathically."
He'd tried. He'd been trying throughout the day, but Johan was either too far away or deliberately blocking him. He would have to try extending his mental reach when he had time. Sometimes reaching across country borders was not far enough.
"Johan can take care of himself," Yubel told him. "I've told you before. And if he wants help, he'll find someone. He knows enough people."
That's it!" Juudai jumped up. "Why didn't I think of that before, I've been such an idiot!"
He scrolled through the menu on his cell phone and started tapping buttons furiously. Yubel got up and stared down at him curiously.
"Johan knows people, but so do I!" Juudai quickly explained, typing in a quick message and selecting every person in his address book. There weren't a lot of people. Much to his chagrin, many of his friends were missing, but he hoped the message would get the job done. To be sure, he added a quick note at the end.
Guys, have any of you heard anything from Johan? We really need to find him. And spread the word I don't have all of your numbers :(
Juudai
He pressed 'send' and put the cell phone on the night stand next to him. Hopefully he'd have more luck reaching his other friends… Someone had to know something, right? He looked to his left, where Yubel was digging through his backpack. She neatly put his clothes on the bed and kept looking.
"What are you looking for?" Juudai asked.
"Just a minute," Yubel replied absently. She took out a folded piece of paper and spread it open. "Found it."
Juudai crawled over and looked over her shoulder at the paper. It was the prediction Apollo had made for them a while back, and Yubel was reading through it intently, muttering along with the words.
When four become three, the Fifth appears
When one becomes two, the Fifth gains strength
Forgotten lives, splintered souls
Broken families, destroyed friendships
The ones with nine lives change the fate of the world
"The first line," Yubel tapped the page with one finger. "I think I get it now. Presume that 'the Fifth' is Chaos."
"So four becoming three… is the Light of Hope disappearing? Four entities, but now we're only left with three." Juudai nodded quickly. "That makes sense."
"Juudai, do you think that maybe J-"
"I don't think I'd like to be in the shoes of whoever has the power of Light, though. "Juudai mused out loud, interrupting Yubel. "I mean, being a Herald is cool and all, but if they have to go through what I… Well, yeah," he finished lamely. "I don't think it'll be fun for them. But you were saying something?"
Yubel gave him a quick look, but shook her head. "No, it's nothing. Don't worry about it."
"If you say so," Juudai shrugged, reading through the prophecy again and trying to figure out anything more, but to no avail. Yubel was frowning and reading the fourth line out loud, but she didn't say anything. Juudai stared at her.
"Anything on your mind?"
"I hope I'm wrong," she muttered. "For your sake. And it's a wild guess. But if the first part of that line refers to Johan, the second might too."
"Destroyed friendships," Juudai read. "That's what I'm trying to prevent, isn't it? But I hope it won't happen, I really do." That was the last thing he could use right now. He took the paper from Yubel. "What has nine lives?"
"Cats do, Juudai-kun," Daitokuji-sensei replied absentmindedly. Juudai hadn't even seen him appear.
"If only it were that easy," Juudai snickered. Yubel didn't. Instead she looked from the piece of paper to Daitokuji-sensei and finally at Pharaoh, asleep on a chair.
"Juudai," she said slowly. "What if he's right? What if it does mean cats?"
"Really?"
"Think about it. First Gem Beast Amethyst Cat disappears. A duel monster, but a cat nevertheless. Then we meet Bast, a cat goddess who tells us about the Light of Hope. I'm sensing a theme."
"So a cat will change the fate of the world?" Juudai reread the prophecy. "No, 'the ones'. There's more than one."
He looked at Pharaoh, who rolled over so that his stomach was exposed, but didn't wake up. Sometimes he wondered if Duel Academia wouldn't be a better place for the cat. He'd always managed to keep Pharaoh out of danger, but there had been several close calls.
"I don't think you should take it too literally, Juudai-kun," Daitokuji-sensei mused. "Amethyst Cat isn't really a cat, and neither is Bast. Maybe we are dealing with a higher power. A god or a goddess."
"I hope so," Juudai yawned. He was tired. "They're able to deal with it. It's no good involving ordinary people."
Yubel and Daitokuji-sensei exchanged a quick glance and Yubel sighed. "You're tired, Juudai. Shouldn't you get some sleep?"
Juudai yawned again and stretched out onto the bed. Maybe Yubel was right. He really was tired and sleep would be nice. Yubel glanced at him and Juudai moved to the side. The bed wasn't made for two people, but they managed, Yubel wrapping her arms and wings around him and Juudai cuddling up against her. He didn't even need blankets.
Three days passed before Juudai finally got any news. A few of his friends had called just to catch up, but none of them had been able to give him any useful information. During those three days he hadn't done much. Chaos hadn't shown itself any more, though Juudai knew it was still around. He'd stayed in Jakarta, dealing with little problems and accidents. There'd been a ghost or two he'd helped move on, a possessed man and a tree that was withering because of a spiritual infection. They had only been vaguely related to Chaos, and the change was a relief. It was keeping quiet and Juudai wondered what for. But in the meantime, he finally felt as if he was fulfilling his job as a Herald. This was what he was supposed to do: help those in need.
On the fourth day, a little past noon, Juudai was lounging on his bed, skipping through TV channels when his cell phone started ringing.
"Hello?"
"Aniki!"
"Oh, Shou?" Juudai sat up. "What's up? Edo said you were starting that new league, that's great!"
"Thank you, Aniki!" Shou replied. "But you sent that message, right? About Johan?"
"Yes. You know where he is?"
"No," Shou replied, and Juudai sagged a little, disappointed. "But there was something we got yesterday. Ah, do you have internet access, Aniki?"
Juudai's curiosity was piqued. "Tell you what, it'll be faster if I just come to you. Where are you?"
Shou told him. Juudai smiled and thanked him, assuring him they'd be there soon. He pocketed the phone and got up. Yubel was standing by the window and looking at him intently.
"Well, come on," he told her, gathering his belongings and stuffing them in his backpack carelessly. "We have a visit to make. We're going to New Zealand."
Notes:
1. Oceania: I am aware that different parts of the world use different names and different definitions for the continents. I grew up using Oceania for this part of the world, so that's the name I'm sticking to. To avoid confusion, I am referring to the part of the world that consists of Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia and Australasia.
2. Wisma 46: Wisma 46 was the skyscraper Juudai and Chaos' battle took place on. It stands in downtown Jakarta and is the highest tower in Indonesia, standing at over 250m tall. The architecture is remarkable. If you have the chance, check out a picture, it's very pretty ^^
Comments, questions and concrit still very welcome!