A/N: What are you saying I'm so creative with chapter titles I mean can't you see.
Among the many sounds that accumulated in the room, the teacher's voice was the most prominent of them.
Teri heard none of this. He was asleep at his desk, his head filled with dreams completely unrelated to his classroom setting, as dreams usually are. The teacher made his way to Teri's desk and waited for him to awaken. As an incentive for the boy, he rolled up a small stack of papers and gently slapped them against the palm of his hand. The message was clear: Wake up or else. We've got a class goin' on here.
"Mr. Hinata."
Teri continued to snore.
"Mr. Hinata." The teacher's tone became harsher. The students around him, save for the sleeping Teri, began to step back with concerned expressions. They knew how scary their teacher could become.
"Mr. Hinata!" he finally shouted.
Teri jerked upright in his seat. "What! I'm here. Present."
The teacher just used the curled-up stack of papers to groan and cover his face briefly. Teri looked around himself, then at the clock, and turned red-faced.
"What's the excuse this time, Hinata?" asked the teacher lethargically.
"Uh…." Teri, in his sleepy state, took the questions seriously and began to search his mind for an excuse. Just having woken up and all, he didn't really have any good ones at the top of his head. There was no way, of course, that he was going to tell his teacher that he had been out all day with a deaf frog-like creature, searching for alien invaders so he could capture them and put this whole mess aside—and that when he had come home, it was already late at night, his parents hadn't come home yet, and Girara was spending the night at her friend's house, so Latata took the opportunity to wreak some havoc so he could wash the stress of the day off himself, and Teri had to spend half the night calming the Keronian down while trying to get him to understand the importance of laying low in Teri's house.
In fact, although searching for the rest of the aliens was part of what happened, it did not end in the way he had expected. They had searched for the rest of Latata's platoon—venturing first to the area where Latata told him their ship had crashed. Surprisingly, it was awfully nearby the area that Teri's summer camp had been in. However, they saw nothing; the ship was nowhere to be found. They spent hours thinking up possibilities of what could have happened to the massive contraption; it was unlikely that its disappearance owed to one of those "anti-barriers," since they didn't work on Pekoponians, and Latata would have been able to still see it and feel it. Latata's platoon certainly wouldn't have taken off without him… and obviously someone couldn't have just carried it off.
Already a minute had passed, and the teacher was still waiting for an answer. Teri guiltily hung his head. "I—I'm sorry, Teacher." He heard some other students pass a giggle, and his face turned slightly pink.
"We already have enough students sleeping in class as it is, Mr. Hinata," the teacher informed him. "Not you, too, all right?"
His teacher walked past, letting him off easy, but Teri's eyes went immediately to the girl a few desks in front of him who was still sleeping. With her whitish—or was it purplish? He wasn't quite sure what color to call it—twin-tails scattered about her shoulders, it was unmistakably Hope. Their teacher had long since stopped trying to wake the girl up from her ritualistic naps at whatever random time she pleased.
Not like she needs to pay attention half the time, anyway, thought Teri as he laid his cheek against his hand, gazing at her still. She's really smart already. Not that he was jealous; in fact, a part of him felt oddly proud. …She was such an angel when she slept.
Teri did not have to have his eyes closed to be dreaming.
The only difference was that, this time, his wakeup call was the sentient backpack that moved up against his leg.
He jolted again. That was weird. No, it couldn't have just been his backpack that—
The backpack nudged his leg again.
Frowning, Teri lifted the bag onto his desk. He didn't want to think of what this could have meant. There was only one way to test. In the most painful and slow manner, he ground his knuckles into the sides of his backpack, and felt a low groan emit from it.
He quickly turned nervous. Bad idea—what if someone else had heard that? But his worry had been confirmed. Angrily, he dragged the heavy backpack off his desk and threw it underneath, not forgetting to kick it out of the way of his feet. More groans. Yup. Latata had definitely stowed away in his bag again. Thoughts of Hope were painstakingly put aside for a moment while Teri thought about what to do.
This was definitely not the first time Latata had stowed away in his bag. Teri thought back to the other times. It had been hectic and quite humiliating for him, since he had to find some way to keep Latata out of everyone's sight while at the same time maintaining his front as a dutiful student. It was a lot more difficult than it sounded.
At the moment, Latata was awfully restful. Maybe he was sleeping, too. Yeah, maybe everyone was just asleep today; maybe that was it. In the back of his mind, Teri doubted it. As long as he didn't do anything stupid or outgoing, then there was really nothing to worry about—
Just then, Latata did something stupid and outgoing.
The backpack he had entrapped himself in was rather stuffy and uncomfortable, so he decided that it was time to get some fresh air by reaching his arm out of the crook of the bag and stepping right out.
"Aah!" Teri quickly stood up and tossed his jacket over Latata—in time, luckily. Already the entire class had turned to him, watching as he began to pale. Oh no oh no oh no oh no this can't seriously be happening, he internally screamed.
"Mr. Hinata." The teacher stood at the electronic board in front of the classroom with a corresponding pen in his hand. He frowned. "Please take your seat so I may resume the lesson."
"Haha, sorry, right…." Teri gave a nervous smile and sat back down. "I was just…. My… books spilled out and I was picking them…. Yeah."
He shot Latata a glare and hastily shoved him back inside the bag.
Teri's heart pounded against his chest in fear. He was pretty sure he had tossed that jacket over Latata early enough, but what if someone had seen the Keronian when he came out? Then everyone would suddenly know about aliens…. That, or they would think that Teri was a weirdo for keeping strange pets in his backpack. Then he'd probably get a visit to the principal's office, and then they would either confiscate Latata or contact his parents… both of whom he really didn't want to know about the whole fiasco. They got scary when they were angry, and he was pretty sure that hanging out with an alien invader was definitely under their list of things that he shouldn't do. And then, of course, things between his friends like Yaoe and Sosuke would get awkward because they'd want to know why Teri found out about the existence of aliens and didn't tell them.
Not particularly anything he was all that keen on going through.
Something nudged Teri's foot. He resisted the urge to look down, but finally, he gave in. It was a folded piece of paper. Unfolding it, he saw that a small message was scribbled on it that was unquestionable Latata handwriting.
You've got to clean out your backpack, man, read the note. Teri frowned and crumpled it up.
Another note came. So where's the girl that you like? You know, the one who tutors you? Is she in this class?
And then another. Don't worry, Teri, I'm sure I could set you two up together! I could be a perfect cupid, acting as an invisible force that just attracts the two of you together, just like gravity did with our ship to Pekoponian ground!
Teri kicked him so that he would stop passing notes. Then he passed a note to Latata himself.
Or the attraction of my foot to your face.
Latata tossed another note at him. Do not kick me! Don't you know it's going to look weird if you keep kicking your backpack?
Teri scribbled down another note. What are you talking about? I just really, really like to kick my backpack. He dropped the note, expecting to hear the folded paper fall to the ground… but he didn't. Instead he felt a warm presence nearby him….
It was the teacher.
Teri paled.
The whole class was staring at him now. With a very serious look on his face, the teacher calmly unfolded the note in his hand that Teri had written. Teri swore that his ears shattered when the teacher read it out loud.
" 'What are you talking about? I just really, really like to kick my backpack.' "
He turned to Teri, looking down at him from above the rim of his glasses, and gave a slow nod. Rather absentmindedly, Teri began to nod along with him. Then he shook his head.
"No? You don't like to kick backpacks?" asked the teacher with a hint of a smile.
"No, I do not, sir. I don't like to kick backpacks."
The teacher gestured to Teri's bag under his desk. "Well, then, you'd better tell that to your backpack, because the poor thing looks terrified."
Teri didn't understand what the teacher meant until he did look at his backpack—and realize, with horror, that it was trembling in fright.
"Kicking backpacks… augh…. I can't believe that actually happened…" Teri muttered to himself in distress. One thing he could be glad for that day was that Hope had been asleep. So unless one of his devilish friends like Yaoe or Sosuke filled her in on the humiliating scene, she would never have to know what transpired.
It was the end of the school day and he was walking home with Latata still in the bag on his back. It wasn't that hard carrying the guy. Surprisingly, he was heavier than Hope was when he had carried her. Maybe it was just an alien thing.
When he came to the edge of the block, he took a right. The elementary school that his little sister went to was just a little ways away and he had to pick her up from school himself, since his parents weren't at home. In fact, his next stop after the elementary school was his parents' workplace. It was a long distance away, though, which was why Teri and Girara had left their bikes by her school so they could get to their parents' workplace as soon as possible.
After much more walking, Girara's elementary school came into view, and Teri jogged up to it. The bell must have just rung since all the kids were being let out. Teri caught sight of his sister and walked to her.
"Hey, Girara." He stopped when she was beside him and walked with her down the stairs. "Do you have all your things? Your bike and everything?"
"Yeah." Girara was looking past him. She went up to her bike and began to unchain it from the bike rack.
"You seem… unusually quiet today."
"Yeah," she said again.
Is it just me, or is she trying really hard not to look me in the eye? Teri wondered.
The kids around them were clearing out, and slowly the numbers dwindled until it was just the two of them. Girara had her hands on the handles of her bike, still looking away from her brother. Teri was just heading toward his own bike when his sister spoke.
"Hey… Teri."
"Yeah?" he said back.
She looked up at him with the cutest puppy dog eyes. "Why have you been acting all weird?"
Teri blinked at her.
She clasped her hands together. "Please please please please tell me?"
"Uh…."
"Tell me all your secrets…" he heard her say in a more whispery voice.
"No thanks." Teri turned away from her and unchained his bike. His sister's puppy dog face turned to a disgruntled pout.
"You've been acting weird!" she reminded him.
"Says the kid who just asked me to tell her all my secrets." He couldn't help but laugh. His sister could be silly. …Sometimes too silly.
"Really weird." Her voice took on a more genuine tone, causing Teri to turn to her. Girara was looking at the ground now with a rather sad expression. Teri honestly didn't know what to say to cheer her up. He acted weird? When did that happen? He was pretty sure he didn't act weird. It was probably just Girara being her usual weird self by thinking that he acted weird.
Or maybe she means… Teri blushed suddenly. Maybe this was about the Hope thing. He had no idea that had changed him so much, though…. This only caused him to blush more.
"Teri, why does your face look all red?" Girara giggled. "You look like Daddy does. Ah!" She touched her fingertips to her chin. "Teri, you're acting weird because of your girlfriend, aren't you?"
Teri frowned. "No."
"Ah, thaaaat's why!" She spun around in a circle. "Teri's just soooo in love with his girlfriend that he's started acting crazy!"
"Ahhh! No! It's not like that!" Teri frantically waved his hands in front of himself. "Uh—looks like we're both ready to go get Mom and Dad. Come on." He hoisted her onto her bike, got onto his own, and started pedaling rapidly.
"Wait, Teri! Wait up!"
The Nishizawa manor was pretty huge.
"Huge" was probably an understatement, though—with a surplus of butlers and highly-trained bodyguards in the most deadly arts of battle and self-defense, hundreds of square acres to bolster, an entire manor or two or maybe even three just for living and recreation, too many collections of the most recently-developed super-weapons not yet released to even the government of its own country, vast expanses of gardens and the most cultivated of farmlands, its own personal shopping center, and owned by the famed multi-trillionare head of the Nishizawa corporation who held more than half the entire world's economy—it went far beyond "huge."
And that made it way too intimidating. Teri avoided the place when he could. Unfortunately, it was also the home of his bratty cousins… and one of his little sister's best friends… and the location of his parents' workplace. So, he found that he had to go there actually quite often, an errand he had not learned to enjoy.
I sure hope that Latata's buried deep in my backpack, thought Teri. Wouldn't want him finding out that my cousins happen to be the only grandchildren of the richest man on Earth…. In retrospect, that was a pretty overwhelming thought by itself, perhaps even more so than what the Keronian might do with that knowledge.
As they approached the gates to the Nishizawa manor, Teri and Girara brought their bikes to a halt and walked to the voice registration box. When the person behind the machine somewhere recognized them, they were let inside. The road to the actual doors of the mansion was long, but in a few minutes they finally made it inside after parking their bikes off to the side.
They had been to the residence many times before, Girara more so than her brother. Even still, both remembered the foyer vividly—the stone columns framing the doors… the recently polished marble floor… the velvet carpet stretching out before them, decorating by potted plants occasionally on the side… the priceless paintings displayed everywhere… a ceiling that stretched above their heads probably a hundred feet up… fountains set against the wall… the afternoon light beating through the giant windows….
But when they entered the gigantic building, they did not at all see the scene that they had expected. Instead, the stone columns had fallen. The marble floor that had always been so polished they could see their reflection when they looked down was now coated in the dirt from the potted plants, whose vases had shattered. The fountain water was murky with the same dirt. Some of the paintings had fallen, and some were torn right through. Through the ceiling was an enormous, jagged hole, as if something had burst through. The windows that let the light in were completely shattered. Bodyguards and butlers scurried about everywhere.
Teri picked up a piece of metal and turned it over in his hand. "There must have been some sort of accident," he speculated. This was definitely something he needed to record into his notebook when he got the chance. "It looks awful."
"Wooow," breathed Girara. "Everything's been blown up and destroyed. Cool."
Her brother frowned at her. "Girara, that's not what you're supposed to say when you see something absolutely devastating. Besides, we've got to look for mom and dad… and I sure hope they didn't get caught up in this—Oh! It's them!"
Teri rushed up, and Girara trailed after. Amidst the chaos were both his parents on the ground. His father was helping his mom pluck out some glass shards that had gotten stuck in her hair, presumably when the windows had shattered.
"Mom! Dad! Are you all right?" Teri asked with fright.
Girara looked around and pouted. "You didn't have fun without me, did you?"
"No…." Their dad shook his head. "We just ran into a bit of trouble, that's all. But the problem's been terminated and there's nothing to worry about anymore."
"You sure?" Teri's eyes wandered off to another spot in the foyer, where he spotted his cousin Himani being carried/dragged off by one of the butlers. Didn't look too much like his problem was taken care of.
"Please, Master Himani… you must calm down," his butlers begged.
"But I was so close!" Himani shouted. His anguish-filled voice echoed through the large expanse of the mansion's entryway. "So, so, so, so close…. I will succeed next time! I swear on it!" In the corner of his eye, Teri barely caught sight a short, dark figure—around the same height as Latata—shrink behind one of the broken pillars.
Huh? What was that? Teri wondered. It looked like… a Keronian? He broke away from his thoughts when Himani gave another cry of anguish.
If Himani was there, his sister must have been somewhere close by. It didn't take Teri long to spot her—he only had to turn to his right.
"I'm so sorry!" Hanayu bowed to his parents. "We didn't mean for this to happen…. It was really only supposed to be a little distraction from Himani's plots."
"You need to have a talk with that guy," Teri's dad advised her, "preferably before things turn out like this again."
"Yeah…." She paused, curling a bit of her light blue hair as she looked off to the side. "…Oh! Teri. I didn't see you there. And Girara, too. Are you here for your mother and father?"
"Uh-huh!" Girara smiled.
"Haha, well, I'd better send you off then. Would you like a limo?"
"That's quite all right, but we'd rather—"
"I'll send a limo." Hanayu happily pushed some buttons on her cell phone. "Consider it my apology on behalf of Himani."
"Hanayu, most of the damage is thanks to Yutoto and you…" Teri's mom hesitantly pointed out.
After a pause, Hanayu's eyes darted toward the shattered window. "Oh! Looks like the limo's here. Nice to see you all again! Hope you can come by soon!"
Teri looked at her quizzically. That was one fast limo. He shook his head, dismissing the thought. His cousins were weird. They were way too rich, all right, but willing to destroy parts of their own mansion for some weird, childish plot of theirs? At times like these he genuinely felt as though he could not understand a single thought that ran through Hanayu or Himani's heads.
After waving goodbye to Hanayu, Teri turned around and began to head off with the rest of his family. Since he had no eyes in the back of his head, he did not see when the top of his backpack popped open and Latata stealthily peered out. He did not see when Latata looked around the scene with surprise… nor did he have any idea that Hanayu became quite suspicious after seeing two very Keronian eyes peer out from Teri's backpack.
A/N: So what happened in the Nishizawa manor? What could Hanayu and Himani have done to destroy it all? And why? Who was the dark figure behind the pillar? All shall be revealed next chapter. (I'm actually telling the truth this time, yo.)
Also, um... any suggestions for better chapter titles, I'm gladly open to.
