Chapter 02 - A Writer's Choice
Usual disclaimers here: I don't own any rights over Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon anime and manga series, they're trademark and copyright of Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha, Toei Animation, Japan. The only rights I claim here are over the characters named as 'Destiny Kishi' and 'Guardians'.
Cat sat by her desk at the girls' dormitory and held a pencil on her right hand. Even though she didn't like to remember some things that happened in her life, she liked when people came reading the books she had written some years ago. It was strange how people didn't usually realize that C.J. McKinnion could be a pen name for Catherin McKinnion. But that was over; there was already two years since Cat had written the book that she said it would be the last one, ending her writer's life.
And there she was, staring at a sheet of paper and playing with a pencil. It didn't work, every time that Cat said that she would stop writing, those images would ever come back to her mind, and a voice would come to say that she had to write a little bit more. But that 'little bit' always would end in a new book that the editor would be willing to put his greedy hands on. At least they weren't a total failure, because there were a lot of people who liked her stories and the first printing usually was sold out in three weeks and a lot of letters arrived at her mailbox.
But she didn't want to write anything that night. It was autumn and the nights were starting to get colder and prettier, with the bright full moon and all those stars glittering around her. So Cat was just playing with the pencil, without writing or drawing anything, letting the paper remain plain white.
Suddenly, a strange tapping noise called Cat's attention. It was past ten o'clock in the night, everyone was supposed to be sleeping or watching TV at the room downstairs. Nobody usually stayed in their rooms at that hour, except her. She stepped out of her room and listened carefully to the strange sound.
*Looks like someone's... typing?*, she thought, walking out of her room and going through the sound's direction.
Cat stopped by the newcomer's room and knocked sometimes at the door, which opened itself, with nobody opening it. When she looked inside the room, she saw why nobody had answered the door.
Tieko Aikawa was alone in the room, as her roommate had gone downstairs to watch TV. She was sitting by her desk, typing and listening to music, with earphones, so that she wouldn't bother anyone with the music she was listening to. And so that she wouldn't also hear anybody.
"Tieko? Excuse me, the door was a open and... Tieko? Can you hear me?"
"Oh my, that can't be happening again... thought Ami, sitting on her bed", Tieko was saying, in a low voice. "Yes, this sounds good..."
"Tieko?" Cat called once more, touching her shoulder.
"Huh?!" gasped Tieko, looking back. "Oh, Cat... you almost took five years out of my lifespan."
"Sorry, you didn't answer the door, so..."
"Oh, I didn't hear you, gomen... I mean, sorry. Did my typing annoy you?"
"Not at all, I was just a curious to see who was upstairs at this hour. Hey, would I be too noisy if I asked what were yeh writin'?"
"No, I had a great idea to write the end of a story I began to write at home and I decided to type it right away, before I forgot what was my idea. Have you ever heard something about fan fiction?"
"I think me had once... can I?"
"Oh, sure. Here... the first chapters are on another file", she answered, handing her laptop to Cat. "Say... I don't know what I should do to breakfast tomorrow. Any suggestions?"
"Don't worry, how many cakes did yeh leave there?"
"I think half of it."
"Hm... You'd better start thinkin' of learnin' how to do pancakes, or you'll be servin' only bacon n' eggs with tea or coffee or chocolate tomorra."
"I think they'll have to bear bacon n' eggs plus toasts tomorrow, because I can't make pancakes... yet. Do you think they'll be bored with that?"
"What did yeh make for dinner?"
Tieko laughed. "We ordered pizza."
"I think yeh could make anythin' and Arthur wouldna mind", Cat continued, without taking her eyes from the computer.
"Hey... you don't think that... that he..."
"Don't need to be a getting' red, Tieko. I saw that yeh liked him and so did he. So why be a worryin'?"
"You must be right, Cat. Thank you."
*** On the Boys' Dormitory ***
"Ok, leave me alone, will'ya?"
"C'mon, Arthur. Did you ask her for a date?" asked Bradley, suspicious.
"Where will you be going?" asked William. "By the way, she bakes a delicious cake."
Arthur, Daniel and Rick sighed, annoyed with all those questions. Martin, one of the oldest boys at the dormitory, was still typing at his laptop, trying not to pay attention at what he would call 'granny chit-chatting'.
"You should think in something else", said Martin, without taking his eyes from the computer.
"Tomorrow she's coming again and we just know that she knows how to bake a chocolate cake. I don't deny it was delicious, but who knows how will breakfast be? And other thing to worry about: we're having a new janitor that's arriving tomorrow morning. Be prepared."
"Have you just received a message telling you that?", asked Rick. "Who's coming this time?"
"Hm... Someone called Kenneth Raiden."
"'Thunder Kenneth'..." whispered Daniel. "Just hope that he's better than Mr. Smith. I just can't bear that old man coming to check on us like we were a bunch of girls that can't take care of themselves."
"Well, we're six guys living in a dormitory. He wants to see if we're not bringing any girls here", said Martin, still typing.
"Heh... guys here can just think on what will they eat on tomorrow's breakfast and on what people do during the day", said Arthur. "Just like you said, Rick. Two ol' grannies chit-chatting about someone's life."
"We should go to sleep instead of listening to this two", said Daniel, yawning.
"Indeed", said Rick, going upstairs. "I'm off."
"So am I", said Arthur. "I'd rather go to sleep earlier than stay listening to these two."
"I'd better continue my stories at my room. Excuse me", said Martin, closing his laptop. "Good night."
Bradley and William stood alone in the TV room, in disbelief. Their eyes were wide opened and a huge sweat drop came down their faces.
*** In The Next Day ***
It was early in the morning when the sound of the door opening woke William up. Yawning, he picked up his alarm clock and dropped his head down on the pillow when he realized that it was FIVE o'clock. It couldn't be Tieko... she wouldn't get up BEFORE five in the morning just to finish her chores in a SUNDAY. All girls usually slept MORE on weekends and they had to wait until they arrived at TEN-THIRTY. So he just turned around on his bed and continued to sleep.
Downstairs, a young boy looked around the main hall. His dark green eyes seemed to investigate all the area and, with his arms crossed, he nodded and sat on the couch of the TV room, picking up a folder of Fallen Institute and began to read it again.
He had just moved to Mornington with his sister and was quite lucky for getting that job. Although the woman had said 'Thanks, God' when he signed the contract, he didn't think it would be too much taking care of two buildings in which lived only teenagers. And it wouldn't be though dealing with it; after all, one of them was a girls' dormitory. Of course, he could be wrong.
After reading the folder, he stood up and left his bag on the couch, trying to remember what he had to do there. As a janitor, his job was to keep the buildings STANDING UP, ON ITS RIGHT PLACE, without letting the students demolish them. Also he should keep the garden clean, water the plants and fix any broken thing he found inside or outside the buildings. Cleaning them wasn't his duty, except during school holidays, when almost all students went home.
"Heh... this job is going to be a piece of cake", he said, stopping by the window, some hours later.
Only to see a Japanese-looking girl walking through the building's direction, carrying something like a grocery's bag.
***
"OK, Moon Fox.. Are you REALLY sure that there aren't any kind of Yuma or extra-dimensional beings that would try to conquer that Timeline?" asked a young man of oriental look. He wore a orange jacket with a bracket with the symbol of Venus on his right arm.
"Don't you trust me, Firebird?", replied Moon Fox, with his arm on the table. "But I said there aren't no Yumas THERE. There's nothing I can do if a being from other TIMELINE decides to conquer that one where Kyn is. She will have to take care of herself."
"Hm... We'll have to trust Kyn and Art, then. I just hope that this story ends up WELL and that we have good n' old Kyn of Saphir back", said Aleph, whispering the last words of his sentence.
"You're lucky that she's sleeping. Otherwise, you would end up killed if she heard you saying 'good n' old Kyn'", laughed Moon Fox. "She is the second oldest of us here."
"I know that. Why do you think I was whispering? Who knows if she can hear this in her deep sleep?" he grinned.
The three men laughed, like in the old times when they still were College students or High School students trying to get into a good College... before their lives went upside-down and mixed and blended in a trip to Japan. They stopped laughing when they rememebered that trip and sighed with sadness.
"I wonder what would have happened if we hadn't ever gone to Japan", said Firebird.
"We had no choice", said Moon Fox. "We were kidnapped, remember?"
"HENRIQUE, DON'T EVER LET ME REMEMBER THOSE DAMMED PENGUINS!!!" yelled Aleph, shivering.
"OK, OK, I won't mention it again", said Moon Fox, waving his hand in front of Aleph's face. "Now calm down, will 'ya? We still have work to do."
"An eternal work..."
***
Tieko didn't know what she would do first. Place the bag on the floor, move her purse to the front of her body to get the keys or just kick the door; or maybe the three things at the same time.
"No, that's NOT a good idea..." she sighed, putting the bag down and picking the keys from her purse. "... I would just drop all the things I bought. Thanks God Cat told me that there was a 24-hour shop nearby where I could find pancake mix..." she grinned, while opening the front door.
She knew that it was far too early for any of the boys to be awake, so she took off her tennis shoes and tiptoed carefully to the kitchen, where she hoped she would find some eggs and milk.
It wasn't a hard job. She always liked being with boys rather than with girls. They were easier to deal with than girls... she just wasn't called a 'tomboy' because she wore feminine clothes, or she would be easily considered a boy instead of a girl.
Tieko placed the bag on the kitchen table and opened the refrigerator door to check on the groceries inside it, almost fainting when she saw a couple of junkie food inside it. Of course there were some vegetables and some juice and fruit, but there were a LOT of ready-and-easy-to-do-meals. Hm... Weren't they of the same brand as the pancake mix she had bought?
"Oh, well... whatever. I bet that the smell of breakfast will make at least half of them run downstairs", Tieko giggled, closing the door with her foot and carrying milk and three eggs on her arms.
"I thought this was a boys' dormitory, young lady", said a male voice coming from the kitchen's door.
"Wha-", and she opened her arms, letting all the things she carried down to the floor. "Oh, NO!"
The boy seemed to disappear from the place he was and a little gust of wind managed to mess Tieko's hair and to make her close her eyes. She was looking for an open window when the boy appeared by her side.
"You shouldn't be so careless", he placed the milk and eggs on the kitchen table. "Now, who are you and what are you doing here?"
Tieko had her eyes open wide with surprise. "Hey, that is what I should be asking you."
"Too late. You'd better answer before I report this to the main director", he just replied, sitting by the table and placing his arms on the chair, which was turned around. "So?"
The young girl stared at his dark green eyes, having a kind of 'déjà vu' feeling. She felt as they had met once... she just didn't know where or when.
"I'm a newcomer at Fallen College. As you must know, newcomer girls have chores to do and mine is to take care of what these boys eat... at least at breakfast and dinner."
"OK, Ms. Newcomer. How about telling me your name, then?"
"How about telling ME who are YOU, then?" she asked in the same tone of voice he had used before.
"Hey, easy there. Don't need to get angry like that, heh?" he said, waving his hand slowly in front of his face. "I'm the new janitor. Name's Kenneth Raiden. Yours?"
"Tieko Aikawa", she answered and turned back to get the things she needed to start making breakfast.
"So all newcomer girls have to cook for these guys? They're kind of lucky", said Kenneth, placing his cheek on his arms. "Have anything to do tonight? Looks like there's a new movie at the local theatre."
"I have to study tonight, thank you."
"Sheesh... tough girl, aren't you?"
***
Aleph couldn't help laughing at the scene he was watching to in the mirror. That was the exactly reaction he expected that would come from Kyn, even if he was looking at her counterpart in that Timeline.
Using heavy clothes to bear the cold of her room, he kept watching for her in Pluto's Palace and in the Timeline Chronos had sent her essence to. Picking up a small notebook, he checked up some names that were written on it. She had found already two Guardians. There were still some left.
***
Cat was already up, staring at a sheet of paper, holding her pencil as if she wanted to write something. Her MIND almost ordered her hand to start writing and she couldn't resist anymore. Sighing, she began what would be her fifth romance and, as the previous ones were, the 'last C.J. McKinnion would write'. That was what she always promised to herself.
A promise that would always be broken.
***
Suddenly, a strange noise coming from the kitchen woke all the boys up. A girl scream could be heard in all the building, as World War III had arrived at once.
Arthur was the first one to change his clothes and to rush downstairs and Daniel, Martin and Rick came right after him. The other two were still trying to understand what was happening there and rubbing their faces.
"Duck! NOW!" shouted Kenneth, throwing his own body over Tieko's, when he saw a cutler's knife going in her direction. "You there! I need help!" he continued shouting, when saw the four boys running downstairs.
"Tieko! Over here!" called Arthur, trying to reach her hand and not seeing when a fork started to go in his direction, aiming for his head.
"YOU should look after yourself before trying to save someone, Arthur!" shouted Martin, throwing his mechanical pencil to stop the fork. "Hey... don't look at me like that. Can't I try to save a life?" he asked, looking at the huge eyes Daniel and Rick had on their faces.
"THAT'S something I thought I would never see in my entire life", said Daniel, leaping down the last stairs to get on the kitchen. "Martin shouting like that."
"People do have different reactions in certain situations, Daniel", said Rick, landing beside him. "Anyway... we have other things to worry about."
"You're right", said Kenneth. "First of all, we need to know what the heck is THAT."
And a whirlwind appeared in the middle of the kitchen, gaining a human form as time passed by.
Soon, the wind took the shape of a female body and almost had a... face? That was smiling evilly to them? Hm... They must be dreaming. And I must have drunk something with a LOT of alcohol... yes, it must be that strawberry juice I drank at lunch...
"Greetings. I'm Kazeko."
** Author's note: Kaze = wind; ko = child (Kazeko = Child of Wind) **
Usual disclaimers here: I don't own any rights over Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon anime and manga series, they're trademark and copyright of Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha, Toei Animation, Japan. The only rights I claim here are over the characters named as 'Destiny Kishi' and 'Guardians'.
Cat sat by her desk at the girls' dormitory and held a pencil on her right hand. Even though she didn't like to remember some things that happened in her life, she liked when people came reading the books she had written some years ago. It was strange how people didn't usually realize that C.J. McKinnion could be a pen name for Catherin McKinnion. But that was over; there was already two years since Cat had written the book that she said it would be the last one, ending her writer's life.
And there she was, staring at a sheet of paper and playing with a pencil. It didn't work, every time that Cat said that she would stop writing, those images would ever come back to her mind, and a voice would come to say that she had to write a little bit more. But that 'little bit' always would end in a new book that the editor would be willing to put his greedy hands on. At least they weren't a total failure, because there were a lot of people who liked her stories and the first printing usually was sold out in three weeks and a lot of letters arrived at her mailbox.
But she didn't want to write anything that night. It was autumn and the nights were starting to get colder and prettier, with the bright full moon and all those stars glittering around her. So Cat was just playing with the pencil, without writing or drawing anything, letting the paper remain plain white.
Suddenly, a strange tapping noise called Cat's attention. It was past ten o'clock in the night, everyone was supposed to be sleeping or watching TV at the room downstairs. Nobody usually stayed in their rooms at that hour, except her. She stepped out of her room and listened carefully to the strange sound.
*Looks like someone's... typing?*, she thought, walking out of her room and going through the sound's direction.
Cat stopped by the newcomer's room and knocked sometimes at the door, which opened itself, with nobody opening it. When she looked inside the room, she saw why nobody had answered the door.
Tieko Aikawa was alone in the room, as her roommate had gone downstairs to watch TV. She was sitting by her desk, typing and listening to music, with earphones, so that she wouldn't bother anyone with the music she was listening to. And so that she wouldn't also hear anybody.
"Tieko? Excuse me, the door was a open and... Tieko? Can you hear me?"
"Oh my, that can't be happening again... thought Ami, sitting on her bed", Tieko was saying, in a low voice. "Yes, this sounds good..."
"Tieko?" Cat called once more, touching her shoulder.
"Huh?!" gasped Tieko, looking back. "Oh, Cat... you almost took five years out of my lifespan."
"Sorry, you didn't answer the door, so..."
"Oh, I didn't hear you, gomen... I mean, sorry. Did my typing annoy you?"
"Not at all, I was just a curious to see who was upstairs at this hour. Hey, would I be too noisy if I asked what were yeh writin'?"
"No, I had a great idea to write the end of a story I began to write at home and I decided to type it right away, before I forgot what was my idea. Have you ever heard something about fan fiction?"
"I think me had once... can I?"
"Oh, sure. Here... the first chapters are on another file", she answered, handing her laptop to Cat. "Say... I don't know what I should do to breakfast tomorrow. Any suggestions?"
"Don't worry, how many cakes did yeh leave there?"
"I think half of it."
"Hm... You'd better start thinkin' of learnin' how to do pancakes, or you'll be servin' only bacon n' eggs with tea or coffee or chocolate tomorra."
"I think they'll have to bear bacon n' eggs plus toasts tomorrow, because I can't make pancakes... yet. Do you think they'll be bored with that?"
"What did yeh make for dinner?"
Tieko laughed. "We ordered pizza."
"I think yeh could make anythin' and Arthur wouldna mind", Cat continued, without taking her eyes from the computer.
"Hey... you don't think that... that he..."
"Don't need to be a getting' red, Tieko. I saw that yeh liked him and so did he. So why be a worryin'?"
"You must be right, Cat. Thank you."
*** On the Boys' Dormitory ***
"Ok, leave me alone, will'ya?"
"C'mon, Arthur. Did you ask her for a date?" asked Bradley, suspicious.
"Where will you be going?" asked William. "By the way, she bakes a delicious cake."
Arthur, Daniel and Rick sighed, annoyed with all those questions. Martin, one of the oldest boys at the dormitory, was still typing at his laptop, trying not to pay attention at what he would call 'granny chit-chatting'.
"You should think in something else", said Martin, without taking his eyes from the computer.
"Tomorrow she's coming again and we just know that she knows how to bake a chocolate cake. I don't deny it was delicious, but who knows how will breakfast be? And other thing to worry about: we're having a new janitor that's arriving tomorrow morning. Be prepared."
"Have you just received a message telling you that?", asked Rick. "Who's coming this time?"
"Hm... Someone called Kenneth Raiden."
"'Thunder Kenneth'..." whispered Daniel. "Just hope that he's better than Mr. Smith. I just can't bear that old man coming to check on us like we were a bunch of girls that can't take care of themselves."
"Well, we're six guys living in a dormitory. He wants to see if we're not bringing any girls here", said Martin, still typing.
"Heh... guys here can just think on what will they eat on tomorrow's breakfast and on what people do during the day", said Arthur. "Just like you said, Rick. Two ol' grannies chit-chatting about someone's life."
"We should go to sleep instead of listening to this two", said Daniel, yawning.
"Indeed", said Rick, going upstairs. "I'm off."
"So am I", said Arthur. "I'd rather go to sleep earlier than stay listening to these two."
"I'd better continue my stories at my room. Excuse me", said Martin, closing his laptop. "Good night."
Bradley and William stood alone in the TV room, in disbelief. Their eyes were wide opened and a huge sweat drop came down their faces.
*** In The Next Day ***
It was early in the morning when the sound of the door opening woke William up. Yawning, he picked up his alarm clock and dropped his head down on the pillow when he realized that it was FIVE o'clock. It couldn't be Tieko... she wouldn't get up BEFORE five in the morning just to finish her chores in a SUNDAY. All girls usually slept MORE on weekends and they had to wait until they arrived at TEN-THIRTY. So he just turned around on his bed and continued to sleep.
Downstairs, a young boy looked around the main hall. His dark green eyes seemed to investigate all the area and, with his arms crossed, he nodded and sat on the couch of the TV room, picking up a folder of Fallen Institute and began to read it again.
He had just moved to Mornington with his sister and was quite lucky for getting that job. Although the woman had said 'Thanks, God' when he signed the contract, he didn't think it would be too much taking care of two buildings in which lived only teenagers. And it wouldn't be though dealing with it; after all, one of them was a girls' dormitory. Of course, he could be wrong.
After reading the folder, he stood up and left his bag on the couch, trying to remember what he had to do there. As a janitor, his job was to keep the buildings STANDING UP, ON ITS RIGHT PLACE, without letting the students demolish them. Also he should keep the garden clean, water the plants and fix any broken thing he found inside or outside the buildings. Cleaning them wasn't his duty, except during school holidays, when almost all students went home.
"Heh... this job is going to be a piece of cake", he said, stopping by the window, some hours later.
Only to see a Japanese-looking girl walking through the building's direction, carrying something like a grocery's bag.
***
"OK, Moon Fox.. Are you REALLY sure that there aren't any kind of Yuma or extra-dimensional beings that would try to conquer that Timeline?" asked a young man of oriental look. He wore a orange jacket with a bracket with the symbol of Venus on his right arm.
"Don't you trust me, Firebird?", replied Moon Fox, with his arm on the table. "But I said there aren't no Yumas THERE. There's nothing I can do if a being from other TIMELINE decides to conquer that one where Kyn is. She will have to take care of herself."
"Hm... We'll have to trust Kyn and Art, then. I just hope that this story ends up WELL and that we have good n' old Kyn of Saphir back", said Aleph, whispering the last words of his sentence.
"You're lucky that she's sleeping. Otherwise, you would end up killed if she heard you saying 'good n' old Kyn'", laughed Moon Fox. "She is the second oldest of us here."
"I know that. Why do you think I was whispering? Who knows if she can hear this in her deep sleep?" he grinned.
The three men laughed, like in the old times when they still were College students or High School students trying to get into a good College... before their lives went upside-down and mixed and blended in a trip to Japan. They stopped laughing when they rememebered that trip and sighed with sadness.
"I wonder what would have happened if we hadn't ever gone to Japan", said Firebird.
"We had no choice", said Moon Fox. "We were kidnapped, remember?"
"HENRIQUE, DON'T EVER LET ME REMEMBER THOSE DAMMED PENGUINS!!!" yelled Aleph, shivering.
"OK, OK, I won't mention it again", said Moon Fox, waving his hand in front of Aleph's face. "Now calm down, will 'ya? We still have work to do."
"An eternal work..."
***
Tieko didn't know what she would do first. Place the bag on the floor, move her purse to the front of her body to get the keys or just kick the door; or maybe the three things at the same time.
"No, that's NOT a good idea..." she sighed, putting the bag down and picking the keys from her purse. "... I would just drop all the things I bought. Thanks God Cat told me that there was a 24-hour shop nearby where I could find pancake mix..." she grinned, while opening the front door.
She knew that it was far too early for any of the boys to be awake, so she took off her tennis shoes and tiptoed carefully to the kitchen, where she hoped she would find some eggs and milk.
It wasn't a hard job. She always liked being with boys rather than with girls. They were easier to deal with than girls... she just wasn't called a 'tomboy' because she wore feminine clothes, or she would be easily considered a boy instead of a girl.
Tieko placed the bag on the kitchen table and opened the refrigerator door to check on the groceries inside it, almost fainting when she saw a couple of junkie food inside it. Of course there were some vegetables and some juice and fruit, but there were a LOT of ready-and-easy-to-do-meals. Hm... Weren't they of the same brand as the pancake mix she had bought?
"Oh, well... whatever. I bet that the smell of breakfast will make at least half of them run downstairs", Tieko giggled, closing the door with her foot and carrying milk and three eggs on her arms.
"I thought this was a boys' dormitory, young lady", said a male voice coming from the kitchen's door.
"Wha-", and she opened her arms, letting all the things she carried down to the floor. "Oh, NO!"
The boy seemed to disappear from the place he was and a little gust of wind managed to mess Tieko's hair and to make her close her eyes. She was looking for an open window when the boy appeared by her side.
"You shouldn't be so careless", he placed the milk and eggs on the kitchen table. "Now, who are you and what are you doing here?"
Tieko had her eyes open wide with surprise. "Hey, that is what I should be asking you."
"Too late. You'd better answer before I report this to the main director", he just replied, sitting by the table and placing his arms on the chair, which was turned around. "So?"
The young girl stared at his dark green eyes, having a kind of 'déjà vu' feeling. She felt as they had met once... she just didn't know where or when.
"I'm a newcomer at Fallen College. As you must know, newcomer girls have chores to do and mine is to take care of what these boys eat... at least at breakfast and dinner."
"OK, Ms. Newcomer. How about telling me your name, then?"
"How about telling ME who are YOU, then?" she asked in the same tone of voice he had used before.
"Hey, easy there. Don't need to get angry like that, heh?" he said, waving his hand slowly in front of his face. "I'm the new janitor. Name's Kenneth Raiden. Yours?"
"Tieko Aikawa", she answered and turned back to get the things she needed to start making breakfast.
"So all newcomer girls have to cook for these guys? They're kind of lucky", said Kenneth, placing his cheek on his arms. "Have anything to do tonight? Looks like there's a new movie at the local theatre."
"I have to study tonight, thank you."
"Sheesh... tough girl, aren't you?"
***
Aleph couldn't help laughing at the scene he was watching to in the mirror. That was the exactly reaction he expected that would come from Kyn, even if he was looking at her counterpart in that Timeline.
Using heavy clothes to bear the cold of her room, he kept watching for her in Pluto's Palace and in the Timeline Chronos had sent her essence to. Picking up a small notebook, he checked up some names that were written on it. She had found already two Guardians. There were still some left.
***
Cat was already up, staring at a sheet of paper, holding her pencil as if she wanted to write something. Her MIND almost ordered her hand to start writing and she couldn't resist anymore. Sighing, she began what would be her fifth romance and, as the previous ones were, the 'last C.J. McKinnion would write'. That was what she always promised to herself.
A promise that would always be broken.
***
Suddenly, a strange noise coming from the kitchen woke all the boys up. A girl scream could be heard in all the building, as World War III had arrived at once.
Arthur was the first one to change his clothes and to rush downstairs and Daniel, Martin and Rick came right after him. The other two were still trying to understand what was happening there and rubbing their faces.
"Duck! NOW!" shouted Kenneth, throwing his own body over Tieko's, when he saw a cutler's knife going in her direction. "You there! I need help!" he continued shouting, when saw the four boys running downstairs.
"Tieko! Over here!" called Arthur, trying to reach her hand and not seeing when a fork started to go in his direction, aiming for his head.
"YOU should look after yourself before trying to save someone, Arthur!" shouted Martin, throwing his mechanical pencil to stop the fork. "Hey... don't look at me like that. Can't I try to save a life?" he asked, looking at the huge eyes Daniel and Rick had on their faces.
"THAT'S something I thought I would never see in my entire life", said Daniel, leaping down the last stairs to get on the kitchen. "Martin shouting like that."
"People do have different reactions in certain situations, Daniel", said Rick, landing beside him. "Anyway... we have other things to worry about."
"You're right", said Kenneth. "First of all, we need to know what the heck is THAT."
And a whirlwind appeared in the middle of the kitchen, gaining a human form as time passed by.
Soon, the wind took the shape of a female body and almost had a... face? That was smiling evilly to them? Hm... They must be dreaming. And I must have drunk something with a LOT of alcohol... yes, it must be that strawberry juice I drank at lunch...
"Greetings. I'm Kazeko."
** Author's note: Kaze = wind; ko = child (Kazeko = Child of Wind) **