"Ooooow... damnation, where am I? My whole body hurts..." Kojirou would
have scratched his eyes, but his hands were tied to a large metal X...
"Onee-chan?" /Ah, damn.../ "Onee-chan... I gotta get to school..." /Oh,
yeaown, Kojirou, you DO care.../
Kojirou resigned himself to being tied and waited for his sister. She only woke up two hours later. Either that or she had been watching him and just decided it was a good time to go and set Kojirou free. It didn't matter since he wasn't late for school anyway. The kid took his time having breakfast, taking a long cold bath and even sketching some pictures of Eiri.
He was still unsure about showing them to her, given they were as far from standard as possible. Kojirou particularly liked the one of her crucified in an inverted cross. He could almost feel the neko kanji burned on her left breast.
***
"HOOOE, Eiri-chan, Mei-chan!" Kojirou cried from his bedroom's window as he saw the girls passing in front of the Mansion. "I'll be down in a minute, so can you wait?"
Eiri looked up and waved. "Yeah, but hurry up! We don't want to be late!"
/Again.../ Kojirou closed the window and soon was out of his home. Strange enough, he was able to move the heavy metal door. "Thanks for waiting."
"It's no problem." said Caomei and Eiri in chorus.
"Do you think Teacher will be displeased?" asked Eiri after a while.
"Hm? About what?... ah, you mean us skipping detention... I suppose so... not like I really care, of course... but she will be heavily displeased." Kojirou answered, shrugging.
Eiri sighed and shifted her school bag on her shoulder. Caomei looked up at her and then looked at the houses they were walking past. Kojirou was more concentrated on the thick thread of wires that lurked above them. Of all the times he had walked that street, why only now... it all seemed so fascinating that he had to stop.
Eiri and Caomei kept walking for a few seconds, but stared back at him with confused looks on their faces.
"Is something wrong, Kojirou-kun?" Caomei asked quietly.
"Not really wrong... ... it's just... I never noticed..." he pointed at the horizon, to where the thread extended. "It's like the electricity is taking over the whole city... ... like we have no control over it anymore... I suppose depending on where you live, you can't even see the sky. I don't really know why I thought of that right now."
The girls were quiet for a moment and then Eiri looked at Kojirou firmly and held out her hand. "Enough thought, we need to get to school!" she said sarcastically. She turned around and started walking down the street again. Kojirou shook his head. "Yeaown, we do. As much as I hate that, I too have to get there... well just keep walking, I can catch you..." before he had finished the sentence, he already had his scrapbook in hand, trying to sketch what he saw. Eiri stopped and looked back at him, confused. A little while later, he ran after the girls, a happy look on his face. "Well... it's sketched. I can take more time to think about it later."
"What is sketched?" said Caomei quietly.
"Why, the street. Hm, actually the wiring over it. It's quite fascinating, if you look at it the right way." he answered while handing her his scrapbook. The picture seemed exactly like the street, but the phrase under it was quite disturbing. In blurry kanji, the words "IS thAt REalITy?" could be read.
Caomei scrunched up her face and looked at Eiri. Eiri took the sketchbook from her younger counterpart and looked at the picture. Confused, she ran her fingers over the kanji, then looked to see how many pages of the sketchbook were filled.
"What else do you have drawn in here?" she asked Kojirou.
"Hmmm... there are some attempts at jewel design... some sad excuses for clothing design... manga and anime characters..."
"I didn't know that you liked drawing so much."
"Most people at school don't. They think I'm taking notes." Kojirou answered with a wink. "By the way, there are some sketches of you there..."
Eiri looked at him oddly. "Of me?"
"Hmmm... yeaown." Kojirou had a worried look "Is that alright?"
"I suppose... there's no harm in drawing someone."
Kojirou just flashed one of his feline grins in response. "Oh, and Mei- chan, I hope you don't get jealous."
Caomei smiled slightly but didn't look back at Kojirou, wondering what kind of drawings he would have done of Eiri. "Where are these drawings?" she asked.
"In the scrapbook... they're close to the street picture, but Eiri-chan got to skim it from the beginning..."
Eiri looked quietly through the sketchbook as she walked. When she got to a picture of herself, she paused and stared at it. As Kojirou realized she was taking her time with one picture, he figured it was one of hers. "What do you think?"
Eiri looked at the picture for a bit longer then put her right hand over her left breast. She handed the sketchbook back the Caomei and then stopped to look back at Kojirou.
"How did you know about my tattoo?" she said half-harshly.
Kojirou raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
Eiri looked around, seeing if there was anyone from school around them that would make a big deal about what she was about to do. Once she felt it was okay, she started unbuttoning her blouse.
"Hoe, Eiri-chan... you don't mean you..."
Once two buttons were undone, she moved the open part to over her left breast, exposing the lacy frills of her white bra and showing the top of the pale breast. In dark red ink, the neko kanji was written.
Kojirou could only stare in awe for some time. "... so... beautiful..."
As the school bell rang, Eiri rebuttoned her blouse and looked at him oddly. At that moment, all his thoughts were turned to kissing Eiri's creamy skin.
"We're late..." she said, then turned around to Caomei "Come on Kojirou- kun."
"I had no idea...really, I'd never think you do have a tattoo just like it." Kojirou just shook his head. He needed to get to class. "Well... anyway, let's get going."
"Teacher is going to be so mad..." said Eiri as she grabbed Caomei's hand and started running in the school building.
"Hoe, wait..." Kojirou started walking faster, but running was way out of question. He entered the classroom less than one minute after the teacher, which was a lot earlier than he used to, so he got no cackling this time. After giving Lain the traditional peck on the cheek, he went for his desk, glaring with feigned anger at Eiri and Caomei.
As class started, Eiri looked down and saw a flashing message icon. She clicked it and it showed that she had 2 messages. She opened the first one, from Caomei.
___
Just a reminder, Eiri-chan, Muqin comes home tonight from China, so I won't be going home with you. I'll be with her all of break.
___
She smiled as she opened the second one, for it was from her sister. She nearly gasped as the read the note.
___
Eiri-chan- I'm going to spend some time with the Ueda's in Shimonoseki this weekend. Make Adam good dinners! Have a great weekend, little sister! Love, Mi-chan.
___
As Kojirou read the recently arrived messages, a grin slashed through his face. The reply he sent was a little predictable.
___
Eiri-chan, I believe quite a few gods out there like you, y'know...
Either a few gods or a couple of sisters ^_~
___
Kojirou-kun, this weekend is going to be wonderful... and then a nice long winter break... ah, wonderful is life ^_^
___
...you just reminded me of something... was any clothing of yours missing when you got home? Cause if that's the case, the weekend's gonna be more wonderful than any of us can imagine...
I envy Adam... for he's gonna find out about any tattoos you might have.
___
Kojirou bit his lips to suppress a giggle.
___
I can almost picture your sad face...
"Eiri-chan, what's wrong?"
"You... are doing laundry..."
And just one tattoo? That's a bit of a waste...
___
I'm only 16 and my father has only been dead for 2 years. Give me some time for independence!
___
You need MORE time?... I just figure your body is the perfect frame for any tattoo or scar... just like mine.
Oh, and you sounded like you didn't like your father at all, you know...
___
I do... it's just life is a lot different without him... everything is completely the opposite... that's the only reason I seem mad at him... he made everything different.
___
You mean you are mad at him because he left you?
___
Wouldn't you be mad if your only parent left you?
___
Well, I'm suspect, cause I never liked my parents to begin with. But suppose onee-chan left me, I wouldn't be mad. Devastated, but not mad.
___
Anger sets in later.
___
But why?
___
I guess a psychologist would know... but I don't know.
___
Alright... and if you don't want to talk about that, that's fine with me. On a sidenote, I really think we should be looking at the blackboard once in a while...
___
Ah, so boring. Good thing today is Friday... and before a break...
___
Specifically, before your opportunity to shack up with Adam...
Saa, you didn't answer me. What did you think of the pictures?
___
Eiri thought for a moment and then slowly tapped the screen.
___
You're a weird, weird boy, Kojirou-kun ^_^
But very skilled!
___
She typed quickly.
___
Thanks, dear... for both "weird" and "skilled" ^_~ ...ano, do you think you can pass me my scrapbook back without anyone noticing?
___
Eiri looked over to Caomei and motioned to the sketchbook that sat in the girl's lap. Caomei handed it over as the teacher looked away, and Eiri handed it fluidly to Kojirou whilst the teacher droned on in mathematics lessons.
___
Kojirou whispered his thanks as he got his scrapbook back. "I can't live without it, you know..."
"I know the feeling." Eiri whispered back.
Kojirou figured it was better to get back on NAVI mode.
___
You know, what you said about my drawings got me quite inspired... expect more weirdness soon...
___
Should I be scared?
___
Not really... but I'd be happy if you were excited ^_^;
___
Kojirou closed his eyes as he slowed down his breathing. Without even opening them, he got a set of pencils from his purse. Only then he opened his eyes, and his pencil strokes seemed like slashes through the paper. In few minutes, a sketch of a large classroom filled with blindfolded, gagged students started to form.
After a while, it was ready. Kojirou handed the scrapbook back to Eiri, obviously wanting her evaluation.
She wrote softly and in tiny text at the bottom.
___
I wish I was blindfolded and didn't have to watch her teach.
___
She handed it back to Kojirou and grinned slightly. Kojirou let out a short laugh as he read Eiri's comment. It made a lot of sense.
He tapped the answer in his NAVI.
___
Well... suppose we were all literally blindfolded, class would be much more peaceful than it is now...
___
Quite.
___
I think right now the nice thing to say is that I pity the poor blindfolded students, having their minds manipulated by school... but honestly I don't care ^_^
___
I see... interesting.
___
I guess so... let's say my life style leads to interesting mind images...
___
***
Tak was making his own unique way to school... his mind was concentrating on the cover of One More Time that the huge teenager and his brother had been working on...
/...well... I lay down the male voice... got the rumbling bass down pat... now... what voice will Nakita use... well... since we're doing this as an anniversary thing... I wonder if he can reproduce Hime's voice.../
Perhaps no one will ever know why Tak chose that particular moment to interrupt his musings and look up....
Few things could rock the huge teenager back on his heels...
...seeing his long presumed dead identical twin was one of them...
Up ahead, off in a side street... a much younger and smaller version of Tak stood and stared vacantly...
Tak broke into a full sprint... moving as fast as his legs would carry him... using his mass to knock people aside left right and center... when he had built up sufficient momentum... people just bounced off him...
Upon reaching the side street... there was no one there...
/What should I have expected... he's been dead for years.../
Tak continued on his way... ignoring the glares he was getting...
As Tak got far enough away... the boy appeared again...
/Why does he cling to this illusion so suddenly/
After boarding the subway... and realizing he would be late... Tak did something out of the ordinary... Montgomery Scott would have been proud...
He bodydumped...
***
A resigned mutter of "Fuck dis shit" preceded a large, loud, resounding CRASH at the back of the classroom. Kojirou had his thoughts interrupted by a loud sound seemingly right from the back of his head. As he turned to see what had caused it, he found the Takman lying on the floor...
"Not again..."
"And I say again for the record... fuck dis shit. Wait a minute... last I checked it was eight thirty..."
/That makes two classes disturbed by bodydumps.../
Eiri didn't even bother to look back and simply put her forehead against one of her hands.
___
The green haired giant is back, Eiri-chan...
___
Thanks to the intricacies of the Wired protocol... a stream of coarse language flowed across Eiri's screen... As the rough words flashed across the screen, Eiri looked up to glare at Kojirou, almost shoving the NAVI in his face.
The stream of coarse English and gutter Japanese continued...
Kojirou raised his eyebrow. That was recognizable speech. "That's not me, but Tak saying it."
Because of a raging flow of coarse words through their NAVIs, the classroom was now full of startled, blushing students. As their teacher tried to calm everyone down, she walked up to Tak. "Excuse me young man, can you tell me what's going on?"
Tak stood up... and promptly banged his head on a fixture...
"Does he ever use a door?" hissed Eiri to Kojirou.
"Only once, as far as I know."
"No, actually... I can't. Last thing I remember was heading for school on the subway."
"And you just appeared here afterwards?" she answered with a skeptical look.
"Well... you saw what happened..."
The teacher just nodded in response.
"Hmmm... so, do you belong in this classroom?"
"I think I'm a junior... gotta go find my class..."
Tak staggered out, throwing a "hi cuz" to Lain on the way....
"Yukawa-san." the teacher gestured to Aya. "Can you lead him to his classroom?"
The class rep promptly obeyed, leaving right after Tak. Pity no one noticed the melancholy green haired boy...
A new message surfaced in Eiri's NAVI.
____
Please permit me to apologize for his behavior and language.
____
She stared oddly at the screen, then looked around the room, seeking the source of the odd message.
____
You will not see me, for I am not in the room.
____
"Where are you..." Eiri whispered, almost inaudibly.
____
If I told you I would not be believed.
____
Kojirou turned back to Eiri as her soft breath touched the back of his head. "Is something wrong, dear?"
Eiri looked at the NAVI screen for a bit longer, then turned over the small machine to look at Kojirou. "Just some random messages." Eiri murmured in response.
____
The signal to noise ratio is much higher than for random static.
____
"Hmm... I see. And did you say something?"
"I didn't have to type back... somehow the person knew what I was doing..."
___
Will you leave them out of it? Playing with my head... sure... we both went through the same thing... but leave them out of it. They weren't at ground zero.
___
"Eh? That means someone is watching you... weird... can I see it?" Kojirou turned back to the blackboard as soon as he finished the sentence.
___
They cling to the illusion as stubbornly as you do. I see no reason to desist.
___
What the hell is this? Who are you?
___
Him or me?
___
I guess... both. I don't know much about the boy who falls through ceilings
___
When I was still corporeal, he was my identical twin brother.
____
Eiri stared at the screen for a bit and then typed quickly.
___
Three words: What the fuck?
___
What is so shocking?
____
Uh... you just told her you don't have a physical body maybe?
___
An unnecessary encumbrance.
___
Kojirou resigned himself to being tied and waited for his sister. She only woke up two hours later. Either that or she had been watching him and just decided it was a good time to go and set Kojirou free. It didn't matter since he wasn't late for school anyway. The kid took his time having breakfast, taking a long cold bath and even sketching some pictures of Eiri.
He was still unsure about showing them to her, given they were as far from standard as possible. Kojirou particularly liked the one of her crucified in an inverted cross. He could almost feel the neko kanji burned on her left breast.
***
"HOOOE, Eiri-chan, Mei-chan!" Kojirou cried from his bedroom's window as he saw the girls passing in front of the Mansion. "I'll be down in a minute, so can you wait?"
Eiri looked up and waved. "Yeah, but hurry up! We don't want to be late!"
/Again.../ Kojirou closed the window and soon was out of his home. Strange enough, he was able to move the heavy metal door. "Thanks for waiting."
"It's no problem." said Caomei and Eiri in chorus.
"Do you think Teacher will be displeased?" asked Eiri after a while.
"Hm? About what?... ah, you mean us skipping detention... I suppose so... not like I really care, of course... but she will be heavily displeased." Kojirou answered, shrugging.
Eiri sighed and shifted her school bag on her shoulder. Caomei looked up at her and then looked at the houses they were walking past. Kojirou was more concentrated on the thick thread of wires that lurked above them. Of all the times he had walked that street, why only now... it all seemed so fascinating that he had to stop.
Eiri and Caomei kept walking for a few seconds, but stared back at him with confused looks on their faces.
"Is something wrong, Kojirou-kun?" Caomei asked quietly.
"Not really wrong... ... it's just... I never noticed..." he pointed at the horizon, to where the thread extended. "It's like the electricity is taking over the whole city... ... like we have no control over it anymore... I suppose depending on where you live, you can't even see the sky. I don't really know why I thought of that right now."
The girls were quiet for a moment and then Eiri looked at Kojirou firmly and held out her hand. "Enough thought, we need to get to school!" she said sarcastically. She turned around and started walking down the street again. Kojirou shook his head. "Yeaown, we do. As much as I hate that, I too have to get there... well just keep walking, I can catch you..." before he had finished the sentence, he already had his scrapbook in hand, trying to sketch what he saw. Eiri stopped and looked back at him, confused. A little while later, he ran after the girls, a happy look on his face. "Well... it's sketched. I can take more time to think about it later."
"What is sketched?" said Caomei quietly.
"Why, the street. Hm, actually the wiring over it. It's quite fascinating, if you look at it the right way." he answered while handing her his scrapbook. The picture seemed exactly like the street, but the phrase under it was quite disturbing. In blurry kanji, the words "IS thAt REalITy?" could be read.
Caomei scrunched up her face and looked at Eiri. Eiri took the sketchbook from her younger counterpart and looked at the picture. Confused, she ran her fingers over the kanji, then looked to see how many pages of the sketchbook were filled.
"What else do you have drawn in here?" she asked Kojirou.
"Hmmm... there are some attempts at jewel design... some sad excuses for clothing design... manga and anime characters..."
"I didn't know that you liked drawing so much."
"Most people at school don't. They think I'm taking notes." Kojirou answered with a wink. "By the way, there are some sketches of you there..."
Eiri looked at him oddly. "Of me?"
"Hmmm... yeaown." Kojirou had a worried look "Is that alright?"
"I suppose... there's no harm in drawing someone."
Kojirou just flashed one of his feline grins in response. "Oh, and Mei- chan, I hope you don't get jealous."
Caomei smiled slightly but didn't look back at Kojirou, wondering what kind of drawings he would have done of Eiri. "Where are these drawings?" she asked.
"In the scrapbook... they're close to the street picture, but Eiri-chan got to skim it from the beginning..."
Eiri looked quietly through the sketchbook as she walked. When she got to a picture of herself, she paused and stared at it. As Kojirou realized she was taking her time with one picture, he figured it was one of hers. "What do you think?"
Eiri looked at the picture for a bit longer then put her right hand over her left breast. She handed the sketchbook back the Caomei and then stopped to look back at Kojirou.
"How did you know about my tattoo?" she said half-harshly.
Kojirou raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
Eiri looked around, seeing if there was anyone from school around them that would make a big deal about what she was about to do. Once she felt it was okay, she started unbuttoning her blouse.
"Hoe, Eiri-chan... you don't mean you..."
Once two buttons were undone, she moved the open part to over her left breast, exposing the lacy frills of her white bra and showing the top of the pale breast. In dark red ink, the neko kanji was written.
Kojirou could only stare in awe for some time. "... so... beautiful..."
As the school bell rang, Eiri rebuttoned her blouse and looked at him oddly. At that moment, all his thoughts were turned to kissing Eiri's creamy skin.
"We're late..." she said, then turned around to Caomei "Come on Kojirou- kun."
"I had no idea...really, I'd never think you do have a tattoo just like it." Kojirou just shook his head. He needed to get to class. "Well... anyway, let's get going."
"Teacher is going to be so mad..." said Eiri as she grabbed Caomei's hand and started running in the school building.
"Hoe, wait..." Kojirou started walking faster, but running was way out of question. He entered the classroom less than one minute after the teacher, which was a lot earlier than he used to, so he got no cackling this time. After giving Lain the traditional peck on the cheek, he went for his desk, glaring with feigned anger at Eiri and Caomei.
As class started, Eiri looked down and saw a flashing message icon. She clicked it and it showed that she had 2 messages. She opened the first one, from Caomei.
___
Just a reminder, Eiri-chan, Muqin comes home tonight from China, so I won't be going home with you. I'll be with her all of break.
___
She smiled as she opened the second one, for it was from her sister. She nearly gasped as the read the note.
___
Eiri-chan- I'm going to spend some time with the Ueda's in Shimonoseki this weekend. Make Adam good dinners! Have a great weekend, little sister! Love, Mi-chan.
___
As Kojirou read the recently arrived messages, a grin slashed through his face. The reply he sent was a little predictable.
___
Eiri-chan, I believe quite a few gods out there like you, y'know...
Either a few gods or a couple of sisters ^_~
___
Kojirou-kun, this weekend is going to be wonderful... and then a nice long winter break... ah, wonderful is life ^_^
___
...you just reminded me of something... was any clothing of yours missing when you got home? Cause if that's the case, the weekend's gonna be more wonderful than any of us can imagine...
I envy Adam... for he's gonna find out about any tattoos you might have.
___
Kojirou bit his lips to suppress a giggle.
___
I can almost picture your sad face...
"Eiri-chan, what's wrong?"
"You... are doing laundry..."
And just one tattoo? That's a bit of a waste...
___
I'm only 16 and my father has only been dead for 2 years. Give me some time for independence!
___
You need MORE time?... I just figure your body is the perfect frame for any tattoo or scar... just like mine.
Oh, and you sounded like you didn't like your father at all, you know...
___
I do... it's just life is a lot different without him... everything is completely the opposite... that's the only reason I seem mad at him... he made everything different.
___
You mean you are mad at him because he left you?
___
Wouldn't you be mad if your only parent left you?
___
Well, I'm suspect, cause I never liked my parents to begin with. But suppose onee-chan left me, I wouldn't be mad. Devastated, but not mad.
___
Anger sets in later.
___
But why?
___
I guess a psychologist would know... but I don't know.
___
Alright... and if you don't want to talk about that, that's fine with me. On a sidenote, I really think we should be looking at the blackboard once in a while...
___
Ah, so boring. Good thing today is Friday... and before a break...
___
Specifically, before your opportunity to shack up with Adam...
Saa, you didn't answer me. What did you think of the pictures?
___
Eiri thought for a moment and then slowly tapped the screen.
___
You're a weird, weird boy, Kojirou-kun ^_^
But very skilled!
___
She typed quickly.
___
Thanks, dear... for both "weird" and "skilled" ^_~ ...ano, do you think you can pass me my scrapbook back without anyone noticing?
___
Eiri looked over to Caomei and motioned to the sketchbook that sat in the girl's lap. Caomei handed it over as the teacher looked away, and Eiri handed it fluidly to Kojirou whilst the teacher droned on in mathematics lessons.
___
Kojirou whispered his thanks as he got his scrapbook back. "I can't live without it, you know..."
"I know the feeling." Eiri whispered back.
Kojirou figured it was better to get back on NAVI mode.
___
You know, what you said about my drawings got me quite inspired... expect more weirdness soon...
___
Should I be scared?
___
Not really... but I'd be happy if you were excited ^_^;
___
Kojirou closed his eyes as he slowed down his breathing. Without even opening them, he got a set of pencils from his purse. Only then he opened his eyes, and his pencil strokes seemed like slashes through the paper. In few minutes, a sketch of a large classroom filled with blindfolded, gagged students started to form.
After a while, it was ready. Kojirou handed the scrapbook back to Eiri, obviously wanting her evaluation.
She wrote softly and in tiny text at the bottom.
___
I wish I was blindfolded and didn't have to watch her teach.
___
She handed it back to Kojirou and grinned slightly. Kojirou let out a short laugh as he read Eiri's comment. It made a lot of sense.
He tapped the answer in his NAVI.
___
Well... suppose we were all literally blindfolded, class would be much more peaceful than it is now...
___
Quite.
___
I think right now the nice thing to say is that I pity the poor blindfolded students, having their minds manipulated by school... but honestly I don't care ^_^
___
I see... interesting.
___
I guess so... let's say my life style leads to interesting mind images...
___
***
Tak was making his own unique way to school... his mind was concentrating on the cover of One More Time that the huge teenager and his brother had been working on...
/...well... I lay down the male voice... got the rumbling bass down pat... now... what voice will Nakita use... well... since we're doing this as an anniversary thing... I wonder if he can reproduce Hime's voice.../
Perhaps no one will ever know why Tak chose that particular moment to interrupt his musings and look up....
Few things could rock the huge teenager back on his heels...
...seeing his long presumed dead identical twin was one of them...
Up ahead, off in a side street... a much younger and smaller version of Tak stood and stared vacantly...
Tak broke into a full sprint... moving as fast as his legs would carry him... using his mass to knock people aside left right and center... when he had built up sufficient momentum... people just bounced off him...
Upon reaching the side street... there was no one there...
/What should I have expected... he's been dead for years.../
Tak continued on his way... ignoring the glares he was getting...
As Tak got far enough away... the boy appeared again...
/Why does he cling to this illusion so suddenly/
After boarding the subway... and realizing he would be late... Tak did something out of the ordinary... Montgomery Scott would have been proud...
He bodydumped...
***
A resigned mutter of "Fuck dis shit" preceded a large, loud, resounding CRASH at the back of the classroom. Kojirou had his thoughts interrupted by a loud sound seemingly right from the back of his head. As he turned to see what had caused it, he found the Takman lying on the floor...
"Not again..."
"And I say again for the record... fuck dis shit. Wait a minute... last I checked it was eight thirty..."
/That makes two classes disturbed by bodydumps.../
Eiri didn't even bother to look back and simply put her forehead against one of her hands.
___
The green haired giant is back, Eiri-chan...
___
Thanks to the intricacies of the Wired protocol... a stream of coarse language flowed across Eiri's screen... As the rough words flashed across the screen, Eiri looked up to glare at Kojirou, almost shoving the NAVI in his face.
The stream of coarse English and gutter Japanese continued...
Kojirou raised his eyebrow. That was recognizable speech. "That's not me, but Tak saying it."
Because of a raging flow of coarse words through their NAVIs, the classroom was now full of startled, blushing students. As their teacher tried to calm everyone down, she walked up to Tak. "Excuse me young man, can you tell me what's going on?"
Tak stood up... and promptly banged his head on a fixture...
"Does he ever use a door?" hissed Eiri to Kojirou.
"Only once, as far as I know."
"No, actually... I can't. Last thing I remember was heading for school on the subway."
"And you just appeared here afterwards?" she answered with a skeptical look.
"Well... you saw what happened..."
The teacher just nodded in response.
"Hmmm... so, do you belong in this classroom?"
"I think I'm a junior... gotta go find my class..."
Tak staggered out, throwing a "hi cuz" to Lain on the way....
"Yukawa-san." the teacher gestured to Aya. "Can you lead him to his classroom?"
The class rep promptly obeyed, leaving right after Tak. Pity no one noticed the melancholy green haired boy...
A new message surfaced in Eiri's NAVI.
____
Please permit me to apologize for his behavior and language.
____
She stared oddly at the screen, then looked around the room, seeking the source of the odd message.
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You will not see me, for I am not in the room.
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"Where are you..." Eiri whispered, almost inaudibly.
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If I told you I would not be believed.
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Kojirou turned back to Eiri as her soft breath touched the back of his head. "Is something wrong, dear?"
Eiri looked at the NAVI screen for a bit longer, then turned over the small machine to look at Kojirou. "Just some random messages." Eiri murmured in response.
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The signal to noise ratio is much higher than for random static.
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"Hmm... I see. And did you say something?"
"I didn't have to type back... somehow the person knew what I was doing..."
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Will you leave them out of it? Playing with my head... sure... we both went through the same thing... but leave them out of it. They weren't at ground zero.
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"Eh? That means someone is watching you... weird... can I see it?" Kojirou turned back to the blackboard as soon as he finished the sentence.
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They cling to the illusion as stubbornly as you do. I see no reason to desist.
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What the hell is this? Who are you?
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Him or me?
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I guess... both. I don't know much about the boy who falls through ceilings
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When I was still corporeal, he was my identical twin brother.
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Eiri stared at the screen for a bit and then typed quickly.
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Three words: What the fuck?
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What is so shocking?
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Uh... you just told her you don't have a physical body maybe?
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An unnecessary encumbrance.
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