Chapter 02 – Battles Begin

(Giga and Data's names are © Noisetank13. Everyone else is © me except Akina's brother. Please r+r!)

The Sable Blades were waiting for me again. Jin and Ringo looked worried, but Chiyo had a smile on her face.

"Okay, Kellaani," she said, "It's time for your last test. Are you ready?"

"I guess so."

"Right. Get your skates off."

"Huh?"

"I said, Get. Your. Skates. Off. What part of it don't you understand?"

"I'm not taking my skates off until you tell me why."

"Because if you don't, you'll fail the test."

Angrily I bent down to undo them. Once I'd got them off, Jin picked them up and said, "I'll look after them, Kellaani."

"Come on," Chiyo said. "And keep up."

She leapt off the roof and began skating towards the entrance to the station. I followed, the ground scratching my feet. Her hair was jet black. It had been coiled up into an elegant knot tonight, and secured with two rusty skewers.

Inside the station the lights dazzled me. It was pretty late, and there was no one on the platform but us. On both sides the tunnels stretched away from us like empty eye sockets.

"Okay…" Chiyo looked at her watch. "Five minutes. Let's get moving."

Ringo looked really uncomfortable now. "Kellaani…uh…this is your final test…uh…a test of courage and endurance…"

"If you pass this," Jin said, looking guilty, "You'll be an associate Sable Blade. If after one month in the gang we're satisfied with you, you'll be given the scar, and be a proper Sable Blade, and we'll show you our HQ."

"Do you accept the challenge?" Chiyo asked.

"Of course I do."

She had a small, teasing smile on her face. "Okay. You see down there?" She pointed to the rails.

"Yeah."

"There's a gap between the edge of the platform and the rails. Lie down there. There's a train coming in –" She looked at her watch again. "Three and a half minutes."

"Are you fucking crazy?" I yelled. "I'll be squished!"

"No, you won't," Jin said. "Honest. If you scrunch yourself up next to the wall, you'll be fine."

"The only danger," Chiyo said, "is that the vibrations of the train can sort of throw you into its path. One guy lost an arm because of that."

I stared at them, wanting to run, but unable to. Because if I did, I'd be passing up my only chance of freedom.

"Two and a half minutes, Kellaani."

I swallowed.

"Down between the wall and the rails, did you say?"

"Uh-huh. Oh, and by the way," Chiyo said. "If you scream, you've failed. The Sable Blades don't want cowards."

I bit back a retort and sat down on the edge of the platform, letting my legs dangle over the side. Then I slid forward.

The ground was coated with sharp stones which dug into my legs as I knelt. Quickly I lay flat. On one side was the wall of the platform, white painted bricks. On the other was the thin shining rail.

"The live one is in the middle." Jin's voice sounded far away. "So you won't get electrocuted."

"Shut up, Jin!" Chiyo snapped. "She's not supposed to know that."

"Thanks," I called. Stones dug into my back. Above me was the dark roof of the station.

And from behind me, still quite far away, I could hear the growling of a train.

I bit down on my lip, tried not to panic, and lay as close to the wall as possible.

The ground was starting to vibrate, just a little. My hands were damp with sweat. The rail next to my arm looked suddenly horribly close.

Silence from above. Had they run away and left me?

I wondered what I would actually do if I lost an arm. Or if I lost a leg. Or if I got sawn in half – no.

Now I could hear each individual clatter of the train. It echoed in the tunnel. My stomach ached. I wanted to get out of here. I had to.

But I couldn't.

It sounded so close now. How far away could it be? The noise covered me like water.

And then it was rushing past, light dazzling me, air snapping over my skin, I could feel the ground shaking, I dug my fingers into the stones, I was flung into the platform wall by the impact, it was too close, power and strength and danger less than a foot away…

And it was gone.

I lay there, my heart pounding so loud I couldn't think.

"Kellaani!" Jin called. "Are you all right?"

"Yes," I managed to say. I stood up and clambered back onto the platform, brushing the stones off me with shaking hands.

"Well done," Chiyo said. "You're an associate Sable Blade."

I grinned, but I couldn't speak.

"Meet us tomorrow and we'll go tagging together," Ringo said. "You look deadbeat at the moment."

I shrugged. "If you say so. Can I have my skates back?"

Jin handed them to me and I put them on, feeling flecks of stone on my feet.

"We made you take them off," Chiyo said, "because if we hadn't, and you'd lost a leg, we'd have lost a good pair of skates."

I studied her face, wondering if she was joking or not, but her dark eyes seemed perfectly serious.

"Whatever," I said at last. "I'm off home."

It was hard to walk because my knees kept knocking together. I made my way back down the street, and about halfway home suddenly reaction set in and I had to stop and lean against the wall to wait for the shivering to stop.

But in another month, if all went well, I'd be able to leave the house forever. A spark of joy kindled in my mind. I'd done it.

I got home at last. The lights were on.

I crept past the kitchen, and then the door flew open and Shiro looked out at me. "And where do you think you're going?"

"Upstairs. You should know where that is, right?"

"I'd like an explanation of where you've been tonight."

"Out. In Benten-cho."

"Leave her alone," my mother called. "She's not doing any harm."

"Just a minute." Shiro pulled the kitchen door shut, and said, "Nice footwear, Kelly."

"They're called skates. Have you heard of them?" I was desperately trying to think what his game here was.

"You've been out being a rudie, haven't you."

"So what if I have? Our deal is you keep your mouth shut about that."

He didn't answer. Instead he gripped my arm and dragged me out of the house, calling over his shoulder, "We're just going for a walk."

His car was parked on the kerb. He opened the front passenger door, shoved me inside, and then climbed into the driver's seat. There was a click as the central locking was reactivated. I swallowed and forced my face to remain still and untroubled.

We began to drive.

"I know a lot about rudies, Kelly," he said. Light from windows around us passed over his face. It was calm. Normal. A good cop's face.

"I know how they paint. I know where they get their skates from. I know why they join particular gangs. And…" We turned a corner and the light vanished. His voice came out of the darkness.

"I know why they leave home, Kelly."

"Well, would you believe it? A cop who actually knows something about his quarry."

"Am I right in thinking you're starting to begin your criminal career by joining some group?"

"I'm not telling you anything,"

"Very well. I'll speculate. I think that you're going to join a gang, presumably by completing a series of tasks. I think that you are then going to seize the opportunity to leave home. I think that the next time I will see you, therefore, is when I or one of my colleagues arrests you. And that will happen, sooner or later."

I kept my mouth shut. If I spoke, I'd scream at him. I didn't know what he was leading up to, but I knew he wasn't doing this for the good of my health.

"I am not about to let that happen, Kelly. You will remain at home with your mother and me."

"Like hell I will." I'd meant to stay silent, but I was relying on the thought that soon I could leave. He wasn't going to take that away from me. "You can't stop me running, can you?"

"Can't I?"

"No. You can't. If I want to go, I'll go. You can't lock me in the house."

We screeched to a halt.

"Take a look out of the window, Kelly."

I did so, and my stomach clenched coldly as I realised where we were.

We'd stopped outside Shibuya-cho police station. Shiro's place of work. I looked at him, and found myself shivering.

"Choose, Kelly. You can either stay at home, or I can arrest you and take you in there right now."

I didn't answer.

"I know the rudies, Kelly. I know the gangs. If you disappear, I can claim that you need to be brought back. You could be a murderer, or a thief. I could make you into whatever's convenient for me. You can't hide in Tokyo-to forever. Even if you leave town, someone can be dispatched to bring you back."

"You're forcing me to stay home. And if I don't, you'll make everyone look for me, and arrest me on trumped-up charges."

"That sounds like a pretty good summing-up. But it's only because I care for you."

I felt my hands rising to hurt him, and I forced them back down again. "I hate you," I hissed.

"Just think about what I've said."

I slumped down and let him drive me home.

I wasn't going to let him stop me, I thought as I climbed out of the car. Somehow, I'd get away from here.

I remembered Akina. Damn. She wanted me to stay too. Despite the fact that she didn't appear to be talking to me. Well, I'd find some way round that. I was not going to let Shiro stop me. I'd just have to bide my time. I had a month to think up something.

I undressed in the dark, and got into bed, but I didn't sleep. Lay there, trying to see some way out of all this. But no luck. At the moment I seemed trapped.

The next morning I woke up and didn't want to. I wondered whether to play dead and avoid school – and Akina – but that would mean Shiro could get to me more easily, and I wasn't letting that happen.

She wasn't waiting for me.

I felt sadness open up inside me like ice breaking.

"See if I care," I muttered to myself.

At school Alex made the normal snide remarks. I ignored her. I had other things to think about.

Akina didn't sit next to me. In fact, she sat on the other side of the room. How could I have been so dumb to kiss her? I'd obviously totally freaked her out.

During break I saw Akina slink back inside. Quickly I followed her. She was heading down the corridor to the library.

"Hey, wait up!" I called.

She didn't. I hurried to catch up with her. "Akina, look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"All right, Kellaani," she said quietly. "Now please leave me alone."

While I was struggling with that one, she increased her pace and shut the library door behind her.

Tears rose up behind my eyes. Shiro was the only other person who could make me cry, and that was tears of fury.

I quickly hurried into the girls toilets, and tried to stop crying. Eventually, when my eyes had got less red, I sauntered back out into the playground.

Even as I batted back Alex's insults, my mind was humming.

I am not a lesbian. I am not.

Oh, yeah? Prove it.

I just know I'm not. Akina's my friend, that's all, and I just want someone to be nice to me, and I'm probably turned off men because of Shiro, and…

Then why did you cry? No one's ever made you cry like that before.

I don't know. Maybe it's early PMT or something. But I'm not a lesbian. For one thing…I looked at Shar, who'd just tripped San up, and at Dash, watching and sniggering. If they find out, I'll be screwed. And if Alex finds out, I'll be toast.

At the end of the day I planned to march straight home. I didn't want to run into Akina again. But as I headed towards the gates, I saw three figures there that made me think differently.

Akina's siblings. The ones who'd made her run out to my house. They stood there, leaning on the wall, watching us walk out, waiting.

Akina's family life was…confusing. Her mother and father each had kids from a previous liaison, and she was the only one that belonged to both of them. And her step-siblings had taken exception to this.

I looked around. Akina hadn't come out yet. When she did, they'd pounce.

I may as well lurk for a bit.

Her brother had dull brown skin. Taller even than me, he was attracting some stares and whispers from girls as they passed him. He was cute. Weird, granted – after all, it's not every guy you see wearing gold glasses like bug eyes, combat shorts, and very little else – but some would say that was all part of his charm.

I wouldn't. I'd heard Akina's descriptions of him. Now I wanted to go punch him. I wanted to find out what he was scared of and shove it in his face. I wanted to squash him into the dust and make him feel small for once in his stupid, bullying life.

He was Akina's dad's son.

Her two sisters were her mother's daughters. They weren't twins – they had a year apart, I think – but they looked pretty alike. They had hair the same colour as Akina's, but their eyes were a cool blue and they were tall as well. From what she'd told me, I knew they worked well together. Against her.

I heard footsteps, and looked round to see Akina walking towards us. Then she saw her siblings, and stopped.

I stepped forward. "Hey, Akina, come on, I've been waiting for ages!"

She froze at the sound of my voice, and as I came towards her I could practically see her weighing up me against her siblings. I won. Just. She said, voice shaking, "Cool. Let's go."

We began to walk. I could feel their eyes on me. There was anger behind those eyes.

They began to follow us. Akina tensed.

"Got much homework?" I said, trying to break the stifling silence settling on us.

"No." Akina wasn't looking at me. She kept her eyes on the ground. "I have. Tons of maths."

Her brother stepped around us. "Hey, babe, where're you going with my sis?" he asked me.

"She's coming back home with me. Didn't she tell you?"

I felt Akina's surprise. I'm sorry, I said silently. I know you hate me now, but I'm not leaving you here to get drowned again.

"Sorry, but she ain't allowed. Gotta come straight home after school."

"Leave me alone," Akina said suddenly. "Just go away and leave me alone."

Her brother sneered. "Tough cookie, aren't'cha? Fine. We'll see you this evening, honey."

Akina swallowed, but she didn't say anything. She followed me along the road until her siblings were out of sight, then she said, "What are you doing?"

"Rescuing you, whether you like it or not." I spoke harshly. I wasn't going to let her kick me in the heart again.

Silence from behind me. I walked on, kicking up the dust in orange clouds.

"Thank you."

Akina smiled at me as I looked round at her.

"Whatever. You don't want me near you so don't start sucking up. I never had you down for a homophobic, Akina, but I guess you have a problem with what I did, so you can just shove off."

I'd reached my house by now. I opened the front door, and turned to stare at her. She looked hurt.

"Well? Coming in? Or is this place too weird and freaky for you?"

"Stop it, Laani," she said. "I'll come in. I need to talk to you."

She followed me inside. I led the way up to my room, and as she walked in, banged the door shut behind us. Then I said, "Spill."

She stood facing me. "I'm sorry I hurt you. I really am. I just – well –"

Then she leaned forward and kissed me.

As she broke away, I forced down the sappy smile that was rising to my face, and said, "What was that for? Experimentation?"

Her eyes widened with misery, and I felt mean.

"I – I didn't know how I felt," she said. "I was weirded out, I guess…and then I realised I did, well, like you, in that way. I don't know why. I don't know if that makes me a lesbian or if this is just a phase or what."

"Then why were you so horrible to me?" I said. As I remembered her brush-off my voice started trembling. I couldn't believe it. Pathetic or what?

"I thought everyone would hate me once they found out," she whispered. "Especially…"

"I'll have the same problem," I said. "Alex would be merciless."

"Then we'll just have to keep it quiet," she said. "I mean, if you want there to be anything that needs to be kept quiet."

"Of course I do, you idiot."

And I kissed her again.

"Akina," I said after we'd broken apart. "I'll have a month before I leave, at least. Maybe more." I explained to her about the probation period with the Sable Blades, and Shiro's threat.

She looked angry when I told her about the latter, but I could tell overall that she was happy. And to be honest, I wasn't minding so much either. Not at the moment.

That night it was my first tagging session with the Sable Blades. Shiro and my mum were out, so I didn't worry about creeping. I dressed in black again, put on my skates, picked up some spray paint, and was off.

Jet Set Radio was blaring out Miller Ball Breakers into my ears, and I moved in time to it. All three Sable Blades were lurking at the entrance to the railway in Benten-cho residential area. Jin and Ringo greeted me, but Chiyo just looked me over, then said, "Let's go."

What was with that girl? I thought as I followed them along the railway. It wasn't like I had failed her stupid courage test.

Oh, well. It was too nice a night to be worrying about that. The air was refreshingly cool, and stars dotted the sky above us like spilt sequins.

We leapt through the gate into Benten Square. "Right," Chiyo said. "Jin, Ringo, you tag the walls. Kellaani, you come with me."

I followed her as she ground up the side of the ramp, onto the central pole. There was a Noise Tank standing by one of the billboards on the wall, tagging it, unaware of us. I saw a nasty smirk spread across Chiyo's face.

"Come on," she whispered, and leapt onto the line of lights that would take us to him.

I followed, and saw Chiyo leap off the lights onto the platform, and slam into the Noise Tank. He dropped his paint cans, and she quickly scooped them up with one hand. The other gripped the Noise Tank's jacket.

"Don't run," she said to him as I stepped onto the platform. "We can have fun together."

The Noise Tank flipped her off, then tried to leap onto a telephone wire that ran past us, but Chiyo moved quickly. Her skate lashed out and caught him between the legs, and he dropped to his knees with a groaning bleep.

"Let's have a look at you," Chiyo said. She reached down and pulled off his mask.

He was just an average guy, brown hair, conventional face. At the moment this face was torn between pain, fear and fury.

"I think I already told you," Chiyo said. "The Sable Blades want this district now. If you value your hide, you'll butt out of here. Go wipe out Shibuya's satellite TV or something."

"Benten-cho belongs to the Noise Tanks," gasped the guy. "And we're not letting you psychos have it!"

Chiyo coolly placed her skate on top of his fingers, and his face crumpled in agony.

"I don't like people who call me names," she said. "And nor do my friends."

And she was looking at me, and there was a clear order in her eyes.

I stepped forward and kicked him, hard, in the stomach, and he collapsed. "Yeah," I said. "Although to be fair, Chiyo, he hasn't really got much else he can do. He's not exactly a fighter, is he?"

Chiyo looked impressed. "No." She reached down and pulled his head up so he had to look at her. "Now, the question is, do we let you run home and tell your geeky buddies what happened? Or do we leave you here for them to find?"

The guy didn't answer. I thought I could make out tears in his eyes. A cocktail of feelings swelled inside me – guilt, nervousness, but underneath that, an odd sense of pleasure.

"I think we let you have a little rest," Chiyo said, and raised her foot again, and her skate flew towards his head –

"Chiyo! They're – ugh!"

Ringo's voice echoed up from below us. We dashed over to look at him, and saw another Noise Tank catch him on the head with a paint can.

"Rats," Chiyo said. "Oh, well. Better luck next time, sweetie." She blew the fallen Noise Tank a kiss, then leapt down to join the fray.

I made to follow her. The Noise Tank groaned.

She'd thought I was cool before.

Sable Blades did this sort of thing. It wasn't like the Noise Tanks didn't expect it.

I kicked our victim in the head, and then ran.

In the square, the battle was raging. There were three Noise Tanks versus us four Sable Blades, but Ringo was staggering, and Jin was covered in paint.

"Where's Giga?" one of the Tanks yelled. The voice was female.

"He's sleeping it off up there, honey," I answered, and pointed to the platform.

She rushed towards me, and punched me. The breath was knocked out of me as I rolled back to the edge of the square. Trying to ignore the pain, I charged towards her again.

"Fight dirty, Kellaani!" Chiyo yelled as she dodged someone's fist.

I caught the Noise Tank's wrist, and twisted it as hard as I could. She shrieked, and hit out at me, but I dodged.

"What – why does he matter to you?" I said, punching her in the stomach. "Don't tell me you like him. He's a wimp."

She forced herself upright, and hit out at me. "Shut up, you bitch! If you've done anything to him I'll kill you!"

"Same old, same old." I clawed at her face. Her mask crumpled and came off. "He lay up there with tears in his baby-blue eyes, don't tell me you find that a turn on?" I grabbed at her long dark hair, and pulled. She screamed, and punched me. The view rocked, but I hung on to her.

Someone grabbed my wrists and swung me away from her. I turned to see a tall, lean Noise Tank, who stared at me a moment and then slapped me across the face. As I reeled, he caught me and one arm tightened round my throat.

"Are you okay, Data?" he called to the female Noise Tank. She nodded, then said, "But this – this witch hurt Giga…"

I struggled to speak, but I couldn't. He was choking me. With his other arm, he caught my wrists and held them together.

I was powerless, and I was hating it. My eyes darted round the square. Ringo was sitting on the ground, looking dizzy. I couldn't see Jin and Chiyo anywhere.

"Hey, Gamma," the Noise Tank holding me yelled. "Go see what's happened to Giga, okay?"

"You got it, Omega," a voice called, and I saw another Noise Tank leap up the ramp.

I tried to break free, but Omega tightened his grip on my throat. The view started to blacken. I couldn't breathe.

"Stop it," Data said. "You'll kill her."

"Oh, and like that's not a good thing?"

"You know I don't think it's worth it."

"Hey, guys!" Gamma's voice echoed down from the platform. "He's pretty bad. Looked like someone hit him on the head…or kicked him…"

Data's pretty eyes widened. "You kicked him in the head?"

"It might make him smarter," I choked.

Data hit my stomach, and I tried to double over. Omega kept me standing straight. I made up my mind that if I puked I'd try and hit him.

Suddenly, over the music in my ears, a voice blared out, "A 911 call reports gang violence in Genkijomae in Benten. All police officers report to Genkijomae immediately. I repeat…"

Omega let go of me, and then the Noise Tanks ran.

I rushed over to Ringo, massaging my neck as I did so, and shook him. "Come on, we've got to get out of here!"

Ringo blinked. He didn't look very conscious, but he was able to follow me as I raced towards a truck parked under a billboard. We leapt through the billboard, and stopped in the dark passage beyond.

"Ringo," I said. "Do you think you can reach the railway?"

He shook his head. "I'll…I'll be okay, Kellaani. You get home."

"Where did the others go?"

"We went to tag a little. It'll really piss the Noise Tanks off when they find the main street covered in our artwork."

Chiyo stepped out of the shadows. Jin stood behind her, face hidden in the darkness.

"You left us? Thanks a lot," I said.

"Hey, we achieved something. Anyway, Kellaani, you're a lot tougher than I gave you credit for. The way you laid into that Noise Tank on the platform…"

"Oh. Thanks." Now that the adrenaline of battle was fading I was feeling a bit guilty about that. But Chiyo did think it was cool, and it was nice to have her approval.

"We better get moving," Jin said. "Kellaani, we'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Same place?"

"Yeah." Chiyo nodded. She smiled at me. "Kellaani…welcome to the Sable Blades."

(What did you think? Please r+r!)