Chapter Three: A Crack in the Ice
A row of empty cobalt-blue bottles of Bawls, Kei's favorite method of ingesting caffeine quickly in order to survive programming all nighters, lined the shelf above Kei's desk. He glanced up, rubbing his bloodshot eyes and rolled his neck, loosening the tightening muscles.
Pushing back from his desk and standing up, the tenseness between his shoulder blades started to release after he stretched and moved through a basic warm-up kata. He checked the clock. He'd been working for thirty- eight hours straight on his tracking software and it wasn't working yet. He couldn't track down the bug even after hammering on it for hours. The sense of urgency nagged him subconsciously. His stomach growled. He didn't remember eating, but the empty take-out containers in the trash reminded him that Gou had been by to briefly drop off cartons of warm food. He wondered how long it'd been since the last time Gou had been by with a food delivery.
Block, kick, block, kick, turn, block. He worked his way through a simple martial arts kata he'd learned when he was six from Mannen. He finished, sweat barely beading on his face, but the computer bug was still blinking on his screen. Hajime clapped, startling him.
"Looking fluid," Hajime called out, perched on the table behind him, his chin on his knee. Kei bowed slightly. "Didn't know you still practiced much, Kei," Hajime said affectionately.
"It helps me think, sometimes." Kei dropped back into his chair, and swung it around to look at Hajime. "What's up?"
Hajime motioned to the bag sitting next to him with his eyes. "Gou asked me to make a delivery for him."
Kei snatched open the bag and the smell of warm vegetables filled the room. Swinging back to his computer screen, he ate quickly, barely tasting the food, scrolling with one hand and scanning for the illusive bug.
Hajime watched him. "Stuck?" he asked.
"Umm," Kei said, barely listening, throwing the empty carton in the trashcan.
"How long have you been stuck?" Hajime persisted.
Kei glanced at the time on his computer screen. "Twenty hours," he muttered.
Hajime jumped down from the table. "You haven't been home in two days. When's the last time you showered?" He asked, moving behind Kei.
"Umm?" Kei replied, no longer listening.
Hajime moved between Kei and the screen, his arms folded. "Knock it off, Hajime. I don't have time to play with you," Kei protested, trying to shove Hajime away.
Hajime stood firm. "Take a break. Go home, shower, jog. Do something else, Kei. If you haven't solved this in twenty hours, you're not going to solve it right now. I'd say take a nap, but from the number of Bawls here, you have enough caffeine in you to keep going another thirty-eight hours at least."
"I almost have it," Kei muttered. Hajime glared at him.
"Another hour?" he asked. Hajime refused to move an inch. Kei sighed and stood up, running his hand through his long blond hair, his fingers tangling in the knots. He glanced down at his crumpled clothing. Usually immaculately dressed, his clothes showed the stress of the last thirty- eight hours. He sighed, "Let me save it and then I'll go shower and change."
Hajime moved a fraction of an inch. "I'll go with you." He waited patiently while Kei saved his latest version.
The house seemed unusually quiet. Hayate slept on the sofa, his long blue hair flowing over the arm, his boots kicked off in his sleep. One arm covered his eyes to keep out the light. Kei nodded at Hayate, his eyes questioning.
"He's been out on patrol constantly since his wounds have healed." Hajime replied.
"Where's everyone else?" Kei asked glancing at the in/out board hanging by the front door as he switched tag with his name from out to home. Hajime moved his tag. Hayate's name was the only other tag home. Mannen had instituted the check-in system after everyone searched for hours for Sasame when he was seven. They finally found him sound asleep under Gou's bed. House rules required that you move your tag when you left the house, even when you left for work or school. It had become an ingrained habit and you could tell quickly who was home.
"Gou's working. Shin's in Liefenia working. Mannen and Sasame went back out on patrol a few minutes before I left." Hajime said softly. He covered Hayate with a blanket and closed the shades in the room. Kei shrugged and left to shower.
His eyes closed, feeling the warm water flow over his body, Kei began unwinding. His mind ran lines of computer code as he stood in the water. Ok, ok, ok, ok, he thought mentally scanning each line for an error. No, wait, run that line again. The tingling on his ring finger made him lose track of where he was. He recognized the sensation instantly; Mannen was in trouble. He flew from the shower, barely pausing to dry off, pulling his long blond hair back and wrapping it dripping wet with a rubber band all while changing into Liefe Knight of Light.
Mannen was fighting for his life against a gigantic monster worm. He struggled to free himself while Sasame hit the Monster again and again with Sound Waves, but the monster gripped Mannen even tighter, draining his leafe rapidly from his body. Mannen quit struggling, growing paler. Hajime joined the fray using his water cannon. Kei threw balls of glowing light, but the monster worm whipped Mannen around as if he was already dead. A brilliant flash of light hit the monster squarely who recoiled. The other Knights arrived and joined the battle. Gou's fire ax whacked on the tendril restraining Mannen, and Mannen fell. Hajime swooped under him and eased him down to the ground. "Shin," he yelled, a sense of dread and hopelessness filling him. "Wake up, Mannen. Wake up!"
The monster worm took one last hit from the remaining knights before exploding and disappearing. The Knights gathered around their fallen leader who lay motionless on the sidewalk. Shin was already working to revive him.
Kneeling at Mannen's head, Shin placed his hand on Mannen's forehead and another on his armband. Shin's hand on Mannen's forehead felt Mannen's body growing colder. His head fell on top of Mannen's and tears ran down his cheeks onto Mannen's face. Hajime shook Mannen gently at first, then harder. But Mannen's leafe bubbled away from his body, first red, then ice blue bubbles arose into the sky. The younger knights watched with horror as his leafe dissipated. Mannen's spirit appeared briefly before them. He spoke softly, and they strained to listen to him. "Takako- bridge tower. Careful." His last words faded away as his body returned to dust, leaving behind his Knight Talisman armlet, rolling gently in a circle on the sidewalk.
Hayate turned away, unable to bear it. Sasame put his arm around him to comfort him, but he shook it off, angry.
Hajime and Shin, still kneeling where Mannen's body used to be, watched the armlet spin until it lost its momentum and fell silent. Muted tears flowed down their face. They had no comfort to offer the younger knights, lost in their own hurt and pain.
Gou picked up the talisman tenderly and held it in his palm. He searched for a response to it in his body, but there was an emptiness where Mannen had always been. He couldn't remember never not feeling Mannen's presence inside him. From the day he was born, he had felt Mannen, Hajime, Shin, Kei, and Hayate's presence with him. He had never felt alone. He was not more than fifteen months old when Sasame was born, but he greeted him instantly as Sasame's presence joined the others. He talked aloud to them as soon as he could talk, and the orphanage workers teased him about his imaginary brothers.
When the other boys teased and taunted him, he threatened them with Mannen, saying, "My big brother will beat up you. He's coming to take me away." From the day the older knights found him and brought him home, he knew this was where he was suppose to be, who he was meant to become. Mannen's bossiness and roughness was just a sign to Gou that he belonged, that he was safe and home. Unlike Hayate who resented Mannen's attitude and refused to follow the rules, Gou was just happy to be home.
Kei reached out to take Mannen's talisman, and Gou laid it lightly in his hand.
Sasame spoke softly in Hayate's ear. "This isn't your fault, Hayate. Don't blame yourself for this too."
Hayate raised his hand to ward off the words, and flashed out of sight. "Hayate," Sasame called, his face reflecting the loss.
Shin looked up. The remaining three young knights stood suffering before him. He shoved aside his own grief and worked to form the words Sasame and the others needed to hear right now. "Let him go, Sasame. Each of us will have to deal with this in our own way. Hayate needs to be alone right now."
Hajime leaned back on his heels and looked up at the clear blue sky. He could hear birds singing in the trees, the wind caressed his face lightly, and the sun burned on his cheeks. It was too nice a day to die, Mannen, he thought. What are we going to do without you?
Kei handed Hajime the talisman. "I'm going back to work. I have a bug to find," he said sharply before disappearing.
Hayate stood before Mannen's check-in board, Mannen's tag in his hand. In, out, in, out, Hayate thought. He traced the imprint of Mannen's name with his fingers before slipping it in his pocket. He couldn't hang it on the in or the out column. Mannen isn't coming home any time soon, he thought. He walked into the room Mannen shared with Hajime and Shin. Mannen's bedcovers were in a heap in the middle of the bed. On Mannen's desk was his notebook. Hayate sat in the middle of Mannen's bed, reading Mannen's notes.
A row of empty cobalt-blue bottles of Bawls, Kei's favorite method of ingesting caffeine quickly in order to survive programming all nighters, lined the shelf above Kei's desk. He glanced up, rubbing his bloodshot eyes and rolled his neck, loosening the tightening muscles.
Pushing back from his desk and standing up, the tenseness between his shoulder blades started to release after he stretched and moved through a basic warm-up kata. He checked the clock. He'd been working for thirty- eight hours straight on his tracking software and it wasn't working yet. He couldn't track down the bug even after hammering on it for hours. The sense of urgency nagged him subconsciously. His stomach growled. He didn't remember eating, but the empty take-out containers in the trash reminded him that Gou had been by to briefly drop off cartons of warm food. He wondered how long it'd been since the last time Gou had been by with a food delivery.
Block, kick, block, kick, turn, block. He worked his way through a simple martial arts kata he'd learned when he was six from Mannen. He finished, sweat barely beading on his face, but the computer bug was still blinking on his screen. Hajime clapped, startling him.
"Looking fluid," Hajime called out, perched on the table behind him, his chin on his knee. Kei bowed slightly. "Didn't know you still practiced much, Kei," Hajime said affectionately.
"It helps me think, sometimes." Kei dropped back into his chair, and swung it around to look at Hajime. "What's up?"
Hajime motioned to the bag sitting next to him with his eyes. "Gou asked me to make a delivery for him."
Kei snatched open the bag and the smell of warm vegetables filled the room. Swinging back to his computer screen, he ate quickly, barely tasting the food, scrolling with one hand and scanning for the illusive bug.
Hajime watched him. "Stuck?" he asked.
"Umm," Kei said, barely listening, throwing the empty carton in the trashcan.
"How long have you been stuck?" Hajime persisted.
Kei glanced at the time on his computer screen. "Twenty hours," he muttered.
Hajime jumped down from the table. "You haven't been home in two days. When's the last time you showered?" He asked, moving behind Kei.
"Umm?" Kei replied, no longer listening.
Hajime moved between Kei and the screen, his arms folded. "Knock it off, Hajime. I don't have time to play with you," Kei protested, trying to shove Hajime away.
Hajime stood firm. "Take a break. Go home, shower, jog. Do something else, Kei. If you haven't solved this in twenty hours, you're not going to solve it right now. I'd say take a nap, but from the number of Bawls here, you have enough caffeine in you to keep going another thirty-eight hours at least."
"I almost have it," Kei muttered. Hajime glared at him.
"Another hour?" he asked. Hajime refused to move an inch. Kei sighed and stood up, running his hand through his long blond hair, his fingers tangling in the knots. He glanced down at his crumpled clothing. Usually immaculately dressed, his clothes showed the stress of the last thirty- eight hours. He sighed, "Let me save it and then I'll go shower and change."
Hajime moved a fraction of an inch. "I'll go with you." He waited patiently while Kei saved his latest version.
The house seemed unusually quiet. Hayate slept on the sofa, his long blue hair flowing over the arm, his boots kicked off in his sleep. One arm covered his eyes to keep out the light. Kei nodded at Hayate, his eyes questioning.
"He's been out on patrol constantly since his wounds have healed." Hajime replied.
"Where's everyone else?" Kei asked glancing at the in/out board hanging by the front door as he switched tag with his name from out to home. Hajime moved his tag. Hayate's name was the only other tag home. Mannen had instituted the check-in system after everyone searched for hours for Sasame when he was seven. They finally found him sound asleep under Gou's bed. House rules required that you move your tag when you left the house, even when you left for work or school. It had become an ingrained habit and you could tell quickly who was home.
"Gou's working. Shin's in Liefenia working. Mannen and Sasame went back out on patrol a few minutes before I left." Hajime said softly. He covered Hayate with a blanket and closed the shades in the room. Kei shrugged and left to shower.
His eyes closed, feeling the warm water flow over his body, Kei began unwinding. His mind ran lines of computer code as he stood in the water. Ok, ok, ok, ok, he thought mentally scanning each line for an error. No, wait, run that line again. The tingling on his ring finger made him lose track of where he was. He recognized the sensation instantly; Mannen was in trouble. He flew from the shower, barely pausing to dry off, pulling his long blond hair back and wrapping it dripping wet with a rubber band all while changing into Liefe Knight of Light.
Mannen was fighting for his life against a gigantic monster worm. He struggled to free himself while Sasame hit the Monster again and again with Sound Waves, but the monster gripped Mannen even tighter, draining his leafe rapidly from his body. Mannen quit struggling, growing paler. Hajime joined the fray using his water cannon. Kei threw balls of glowing light, but the monster worm whipped Mannen around as if he was already dead. A brilliant flash of light hit the monster squarely who recoiled. The other Knights arrived and joined the battle. Gou's fire ax whacked on the tendril restraining Mannen, and Mannen fell. Hajime swooped under him and eased him down to the ground. "Shin," he yelled, a sense of dread and hopelessness filling him. "Wake up, Mannen. Wake up!"
The monster worm took one last hit from the remaining knights before exploding and disappearing. The Knights gathered around their fallen leader who lay motionless on the sidewalk. Shin was already working to revive him.
Kneeling at Mannen's head, Shin placed his hand on Mannen's forehead and another on his armband. Shin's hand on Mannen's forehead felt Mannen's body growing colder. His head fell on top of Mannen's and tears ran down his cheeks onto Mannen's face. Hajime shook Mannen gently at first, then harder. But Mannen's leafe bubbled away from his body, first red, then ice blue bubbles arose into the sky. The younger knights watched with horror as his leafe dissipated. Mannen's spirit appeared briefly before them. He spoke softly, and they strained to listen to him. "Takako- bridge tower. Careful." His last words faded away as his body returned to dust, leaving behind his Knight Talisman armlet, rolling gently in a circle on the sidewalk.
Hayate turned away, unable to bear it. Sasame put his arm around him to comfort him, but he shook it off, angry.
Hajime and Shin, still kneeling where Mannen's body used to be, watched the armlet spin until it lost its momentum and fell silent. Muted tears flowed down their face. They had no comfort to offer the younger knights, lost in their own hurt and pain.
Gou picked up the talisman tenderly and held it in his palm. He searched for a response to it in his body, but there was an emptiness where Mannen had always been. He couldn't remember never not feeling Mannen's presence inside him. From the day he was born, he had felt Mannen, Hajime, Shin, Kei, and Hayate's presence with him. He had never felt alone. He was not more than fifteen months old when Sasame was born, but he greeted him instantly as Sasame's presence joined the others. He talked aloud to them as soon as he could talk, and the orphanage workers teased him about his imaginary brothers.
When the other boys teased and taunted him, he threatened them with Mannen, saying, "My big brother will beat up you. He's coming to take me away." From the day the older knights found him and brought him home, he knew this was where he was suppose to be, who he was meant to become. Mannen's bossiness and roughness was just a sign to Gou that he belonged, that he was safe and home. Unlike Hayate who resented Mannen's attitude and refused to follow the rules, Gou was just happy to be home.
Kei reached out to take Mannen's talisman, and Gou laid it lightly in his hand.
Sasame spoke softly in Hayate's ear. "This isn't your fault, Hayate. Don't blame yourself for this too."
Hayate raised his hand to ward off the words, and flashed out of sight. "Hayate," Sasame called, his face reflecting the loss.
Shin looked up. The remaining three young knights stood suffering before him. He shoved aside his own grief and worked to form the words Sasame and the others needed to hear right now. "Let him go, Sasame. Each of us will have to deal with this in our own way. Hayate needs to be alone right now."
Hajime leaned back on his heels and looked up at the clear blue sky. He could hear birds singing in the trees, the wind caressed his face lightly, and the sun burned on his cheeks. It was too nice a day to die, Mannen, he thought. What are we going to do without you?
Kei handed Hajime the talisman. "I'm going back to work. I have a bug to find," he said sharply before disappearing.
Hayate stood before Mannen's check-in board, Mannen's tag in his hand. In, out, in, out, Hayate thought. He traced the imprint of Mannen's name with his fingers before slipping it in his pocket. He couldn't hang it on the in or the out column. Mannen isn't coming home any time soon, he thought. He walked into the room Mannen shared with Hajime and Shin. Mannen's bedcovers were in a heap in the middle of the bed. On Mannen's desk was his notebook. Hayate sat in the middle of Mannen's bed, reading Mannen's notes.