***

Shards

By Ruby

Chapter Two: Running on Empty

***

The thrill of the chase.

Or more accurately, the thrill of being chased.

The hunter was an off-white minivan with tinted windows roaring down the city streets, lit by store lights, while trying not to do too much damage.

The prey, an electric sapphire Beetle with windows rolled down, also flying across the asphalt, though not as caring about causing damage. The driver knew the area and clearly knew how to drive, and he blatantly shoved that fact into the minivan's face.

"Screw you, suckers!" Touma jubilantly shouted out the window as he finally lost it in the commercial part of Tokyo. Eyes alert and pulse still racing he turned back to the wheel in time to avoid a stray dog. That was fun.

Drivers passing at his right made a double take when they spotted his youthful face and blue hair. He only turned fourteen two weeks ago and was still too young for a license.

Did he care?

He grinned and pressed on the pedal, his dark jacket whipping in the wind.

What do *you* think?

"Oh, shit!" Minivan had returned but this time in the road in front of him. Touma jerked the wheel to the left and made a hasty U-turn. Twin black streaks left its mark as he slammed on the gas and sped forward.

His luck did not hold out. He was retracing his path, but the few crashes he had caused earlier now came back to mock him in the form of a giant traffic jam spanning over two miles.

Paranoia set in. Touma tapped his fingers nervously on the rear-view mirror. The minivan was stuck about half a block behind him - too close, in his opinion. Expectantly, the door of the vehicle opened and two black-suited guys stepped out.

That's it.

A few beads of sweat trickled down his temple as he waited to see what they would do.

Time to get out.

The men began jogging towards him.

'What did you think they'd do?' Touma berated himself.

So OUT!

"Sorry, girl," he cooed, petting the dashboard. He jerked the keys from the ignition and hurdled through the window, rolling to a stop in front of a red jeep in the next lane.

So not good.

Touma covered his eyes and prepared for the worst.

Headlights in the darkness.

When nothing happened he took a peek through his fingers. It had skidded to a stop and was waiting patiently for him to cross. He stood and gave the woman in the driver's seat a relieved salute then ran across to the doors of the mall.

And then he was in. Five stories of nothing but utter and pure commercialization. He swallowed uneasily just gazing up at the feeble railings separating the people from the abyss.

Oh, God, how did people stand being up there?

He shuddered and glanced away.

Still, he thought, it was perfect.

It was a busy day and the place was filled with tourists and shoppers. As modern upbeat music played over the loudspeakers he ducked into a circle of clothing racks next to the entrance. Two little girls out with their mother saw this and peeked in at him.

"Shh," he told them. If the suits saw him, he was dead. "I'm playing hide-and-seek. Do you know what that is?"

They giggled and nodded. The twins sent conspiring looks at the back of their mother whom was searching for bargains at another rack.

"Ah, so I see you've played this game before?"

More nodding and childish laughter.

"Fun, isn't it? I'm hiding, so go to your mother and don't tell anyone I'm here. Okay?"

They smiled, gave a final bow of their heads and scampered off. The teen hurriedly shoved several deep blue sweaters to fill in the gap the girls left.

Then the men burst through the doors. He froze in his hiding spot, yet thankfully they did not see Touma or notice the lightly swaying rack of clothes. The boy relaxed a bit when the two adults passed him. The suits looked so out of place and cliched among the young shoppers that he wanted to roll his eyes in shame. They even had sunglasses on.

These were not cops. Worse, they were bodyguards. His father really needed to find some smarter help.

The problem with having a rich, rich, *rich* and over-controlling dad was the hired guards that were supposed to "protect" and "keep him out of trouble."

Meaning bother the boy non-stop 24/7 and give him little freedom.

He did not like them. He did not like his father.

But he did like freedom. And cars.

And he definitely enjoyed out-smarting blockheads like those two.

One suit gestured to the other and then pointed to a group of American teenagers that were gabbing at a sushi stand. Half of them had brightly colored hair. They murmured something and gave chase.

Have fun, stupid.

He crept out of his hiding place and swiftly dashed in the other direction towards a second smaller exit. Now there was a good and thick crowd of humanity between him and the guards.

Overcast skies.

Out again.

Ah, fresh air.

…Or as fresh as it was going to get in an alley.

With a sigh, Touma mapped out the area in his head and jogged away, destination known. But before he was even a quarter of a block down a wave of dizziness hit him, and he stumbled for a moment to fall on all fours. A slight tremor steadily worked its way up his right arm when he forced himself to stand.

He was all right.

Another minute to slow his panting.

All right, damn it!

Fists tenderly clenched and unclenched.

Just fine.

"Glad no one saw that," the boy softly muttered.

Someone did, of course. Never underestimate the power of chance.

Close behind in the shadows was a pair of brown eyes staring in curiosity. Byakuen sniffed then silently followed - the teen was already headed in the same direction he was.

***

"Quit Babbling. Go."

With a frustrated growl Ryo kicked aside his stool and stomped towards the door. A few of the six people still accompanying their drinks in Chen-San's watched him stomp out.

The door creaked open and slammed shut. The night air greeted him by cooling his hot face and drying the still dripping water. The teen paused in front of the wooden frame with fists clenched. He had been accused of… of… well, whatever he was accused of, and then squirted with water!

And Shu didn't believe him! That was bad. It was essential that Ryo find a way to convince the young bartender.

Were the rest of the Troopers going to be this difficult?

Damn!

He turned and punched the faded yellow sign of the bar, then winced. Ouch. That wasn't very smart. At least the pain allowed him to focus on something other than his failed attempt at recruiting Shu, the one of Gi.

Justice? That was questionable.

Rubbing his bruising knuckles he slowly knelt down with head gently leaned against the cool brick wall. Being the city, the alley was sprinkled with a person here or there dressed in bright clothing or stumbling drunk. Deep in thought he ignored all of them. Ryo wasn't sure how he knew it was Shu, but there was an odd tugging in his soul at the mention of justice. It just seemed right.

'Listen to your heart of Virtue,' Kaosu had told him.

Ryo wished the old man was there to help him. He suddenly longed for the safe and familiar surroundings of the valley where all he needed to know was how to react when Kaosu was in another "surprise training" mood.

This place was so different. The city was wide and his suddenly blatant lack of experience with people was overwhelming. It was alien with its smells and people and customs, and there was no one he could turn to. He couldn't even turn to the stars for comfort since intense clouds and pollution blocked them. And Byakuen was out doing whatever tigers did at night in Tokyo.

For the moment, he was alone. And he *felt* all alone.

He sighed and tightly shut his eyes. A well of regret boiled in his soul, bringing his spirits spiraling even further towards the gutter. 'I'm sorry, Mom, Dad. Wished you were here…'

"Kaosu, how am I going to find the others?" he whispered, head down. "What am I even doing here?"

***

To Be Continued