Chapter Two: Dodging Bullets is not an Easy Task!
"Oyasumi, Readman-san!"
"Oyasumi!"
Out of the compound gates appeared a young girl in her mid-teens. She had thick black hair that went to her waist and large glasses over her deep blue eyes. She wore a grey uniform blouse; her charcoal-coloured skirt went down to her knees and matched her shoes. A tan-and-cream-coloured coat hung loosely over her shoulders, really unnecessary in the early summer, and her right hand held a leather schoolbag.
Yomiko Readman smiled, allowing herself to skip happily down the empty street like a young schoolgirl. Her examinations were over, and she was confident that she would pass with flying colours. She became distracted when she tried to pull a small novel out of her bag and manoeuvre down the street at the same time.
"Gomen!" she yelped, barely missing a man.
"Actually, do you have a moment, Miss Readman?"
"Hmm."
A man stopped at a book stall, intrigued by something. His dark blue suit, rolled-up newspaper and briefcase would have placed him as some office worker, but the suit was too rumpled. Underneath a white dress shirt and dark red tie were visible, and over his blue eyes he wore a pair of oversized black glasses, which went with the messy black hair.
He smiled, and his right hand placed the newspaper under his left arm. He was reaching for a book, totally intrigued, when his earpiece buzzed.
"The Paper, we've located Yomiko Readman, but Hunters have already confronted her."
The man's expression became grim as the locationwas described, then he took off at a run.
"Ano, who are you?" Yomiko asked. She didn't recognize the short man who had stopped her, wearing some ominously-dark clothes. The collar of his coat was up, and he was wearing some dark shades. What caught her eye was a strange charm hanging around his neck, something green that she glimpsed in the folds of his jacket.
"Would you mind coming with me?" the man asked, ignoring Yomiko's question.
"Ano..." Yomiko hesitated and stepped back, only to walk into a woman behind her, dressed in the same manner as her partner. It didn't take long for the Japanese to realize that she was surrounded. "What - "
"Come with us," the man ordered, grabbing her arm.
Yomiko yelled in fright. She pulled back, trying to break free of the man's grip. There was a click, and she gasped when she saw a gun in her face.
"Don't make it any more difficult than it's going to be, witch," the woman warned.
Suddenly there was an index card embedded into the barrel of the gun. Yomiko's captors stepped back, shocked.
"Another witch?" the man stammered. "But the orbo - "
"Get away from that woman!"
Yomiko and her captors spun around, the man renewing his grip on Yomiko's arm. About a block away and rapidly emerging from a cluster of bookstores a man came running. His briefcase and newspaper jostled for attention in his left hand, but the index card in his right clearly had his focus.
"Run!" he yelled at Yomiko. To the strangers: "In the name of the British Library, I order you to release her!"
The woman raised her gun and fired twice in response. Yomiko screamed.
There was a snap as the man threw his newspaper at the bullets. Yomiko cried out - there was no way a newspaper could stop them - but went mute as the papers unfolded and flared out, forming a rounded shield before him. Two green splotches appeared as the bullets smashed against the barrier.
The pair gaped as the papers floated there for a moment, then fluttered and slowly began to collapse. A breeze suddenly sent the rest of the sheets spiralling to the ground, adding to the litter that had gathered in the lonely alley.
"Pa...per?" stammered the man, sweating.
Yomiko's rescuer nodded as he dropped his briefcase on the ground and extended his hand. "The girl."
The man swallowed, then looked at Yomiko's arm, which he was holding onto. He released it.
"Not likely."
In a brief motion the woman had grabbed Yomiko's free arm. Yomiko yelled as pain shot up her shoulder and a gun jammed into her neck.
"Walk away, right now," the woman ordered, "or she dies." The man didn't move, obviously not liking what would happen, and in response she jammed her gun into Yomiko's flesh harder. "DO IT!"
Yomiko's eyes went to her would-be rescuer, mentally pleading for him not to leave her alone with these strangers. Yet the man sighed, running his large hand through his hair as he replaced the index card back into his jacket. He raised his arms is surrender as he stepped back and picked up his briefcase, then slowly turned around and walked away.
No...please...
The man got three steps before the woman shot him in the back with a sinister grin. He yelled and fell to the ground, losing his briefcase and gasping in pain. Green fluid stained the back of his jacket, right where the bullet had hit him.
"NO!" Yomiko screamed. She fought the woman who held her, trying to reach the man. "NO! He didn't even do anything!"
"Shut up, if you know what's good for you!" snarled the woman as she hugged Yomiko tighter.
The three of them stared for a while at the man on the ground. He groaned softly, then tried to get up, pushing himself off of the ground.
"Die!" the woman screamed, shooting three times at him. The impact of each shot sent him back on the ground, but even when his jacket was coated in the green fluid that the bullets contained, he kept trying to get up. With each shot loose paper seemed to flow like a river out from under his jacket, as though it was his blood, and swirl around his body.
Finally the man managed to prop himself on one arm. With his other hand he grabbed a piece of paper.
"Get down!" he yelled.
Yomiko stood there, stunned. Instead, her captors threw themselves at the ground -
- to meet a violent death by paper cuts as they fell onto the bladed edges of his weapons. As they were slashed to death, Yomiko could only blink in shock.
The man coughed weakly, turning over. His glasses were askew, and he used his finger to correct them. He smiled at Yomiko.
"I knew you wouldn't," he said, embarrassed. "If you were anything like me, you wouldn't have done it fast enough."
Yomiko coughed nervously, then approached the man. She offered him a hand. "I'm Yomiko, Yomiko Readman. Who are you?"
The man blinked at how quickly the woman had offered her name, but then offered her a smile. He used her hand to help pull himself up into a sitting position - he didn't think that the young woman would be able to support his full weight when standing.
"Donii Nakajima, but you can call me Donii," he said.
"Excuse me, but how did you do that?" Yomiko asked. "And who were those people?"
"It will take a bit of explanation," Donii said, "but right now I think that we should get out of here as fast as possible. Someone is eventually going to come and investigate this, and I really don't want to be here."
Yomiko nodded. "Um, do you need any help?" she asked.
"No, I'm - " Donii's attempt to stand was abruptly cut short by pain shooting up his spine. He mentally chided himself for allowing himself to get hit, something that hadn't happened for a long time. Although his paper had saved his life, it still hurt and he nearly collapsed.
Yomiko yelped and caught the man's arm as he fell. "Please let me help you!" she said. It was the least she could do for the person who had just saved her life!
Donii looked at Yomiko and nodded.
"First, can you get the necklaces and weapons of those people?" he asked. He bent over slightly to retrieve his briefcase, leaning heavily against the wall. "And is there a place I can stay for now?"
"Ano, yes." Yomiko said. Her hand shook in horror at the sight of the bodies, and she carefully picked around them. "You can.stay at my apartment for now." Her face went red in embarrassment. Donii was watching her, and he smiled when she came back with the necklaces and guns.
"You're so cute," he said, pinching her cheek. "Let's go."
Because I'm a total idiot and tried to provide manga to people through my Tripod site, Tripod shut down cookiepixie.tripod.com within five minutes. I was able to salvage most of my site, but some things were lost. Please see my info page for more details.
And thank you very much for my one review! Joy!
"Oyasumi, Readman-san!"
"Oyasumi!"
Out of the compound gates appeared a young girl in her mid-teens. She had thick black hair that went to her waist and large glasses over her deep blue eyes. She wore a grey uniform blouse; her charcoal-coloured skirt went down to her knees and matched her shoes. A tan-and-cream-coloured coat hung loosely over her shoulders, really unnecessary in the early summer, and her right hand held a leather schoolbag.
Yomiko Readman smiled, allowing herself to skip happily down the empty street like a young schoolgirl. Her examinations were over, and she was confident that she would pass with flying colours. She became distracted when she tried to pull a small novel out of her bag and manoeuvre down the street at the same time.
"Gomen!" she yelped, barely missing a man.
"Actually, do you have a moment, Miss Readman?"
"Hmm."
A man stopped at a book stall, intrigued by something. His dark blue suit, rolled-up newspaper and briefcase would have placed him as some office worker, but the suit was too rumpled. Underneath a white dress shirt and dark red tie were visible, and over his blue eyes he wore a pair of oversized black glasses, which went with the messy black hair.
He smiled, and his right hand placed the newspaper under his left arm. He was reaching for a book, totally intrigued, when his earpiece buzzed.
"The Paper, we've located Yomiko Readman, but Hunters have already confronted her."
The man's expression became grim as the locationwas described, then he took off at a run.
"Ano, who are you?" Yomiko asked. She didn't recognize the short man who had stopped her, wearing some ominously-dark clothes. The collar of his coat was up, and he was wearing some dark shades. What caught her eye was a strange charm hanging around his neck, something green that she glimpsed in the folds of his jacket.
"Would you mind coming with me?" the man asked, ignoring Yomiko's question.
"Ano..." Yomiko hesitated and stepped back, only to walk into a woman behind her, dressed in the same manner as her partner. It didn't take long for the Japanese to realize that she was surrounded. "What - "
"Come with us," the man ordered, grabbing her arm.
Yomiko yelled in fright. She pulled back, trying to break free of the man's grip. There was a click, and she gasped when she saw a gun in her face.
"Don't make it any more difficult than it's going to be, witch," the woman warned.
Suddenly there was an index card embedded into the barrel of the gun. Yomiko's captors stepped back, shocked.
"Another witch?" the man stammered. "But the orbo - "
"Get away from that woman!"
Yomiko and her captors spun around, the man renewing his grip on Yomiko's arm. About a block away and rapidly emerging from a cluster of bookstores a man came running. His briefcase and newspaper jostled for attention in his left hand, but the index card in his right clearly had his focus.
"Run!" he yelled at Yomiko. To the strangers: "In the name of the British Library, I order you to release her!"
The woman raised her gun and fired twice in response. Yomiko screamed.
There was a snap as the man threw his newspaper at the bullets. Yomiko cried out - there was no way a newspaper could stop them - but went mute as the papers unfolded and flared out, forming a rounded shield before him. Two green splotches appeared as the bullets smashed against the barrier.
The pair gaped as the papers floated there for a moment, then fluttered and slowly began to collapse. A breeze suddenly sent the rest of the sheets spiralling to the ground, adding to the litter that had gathered in the lonely alley.
"Pa...per?" stammered the man, sweating.
Yomiko's rescuer nodded as he dropped his briefcase on the ground and extended his hand. "The girl."
The man swallowed, then looked at Yomiko's arm, which he was holding onto. He released it.
"Not likely."
In a brief motion the woman had grabbed Yomiko's free arm. Yomiko yelled as pain shot up her shoulder and a gun jammed into her neck.
"Walk away, right now," the woman ordered, "or she dies." The man didn't move, obviously not liking what would happen, and in response she jammed her gun into Yomiko's flesh harder. "DO IT!"
Yomiko's eyes went to her would-be rescuer, mentally pleading for him not to leave her alone with these strangers. Yet the man sighed, running his large hand through his hair as he replaced the index card back into his jacket. He raised his arms is surrender as he stepped back and picked up his briefcase, then slowly turned around and walked away.
No...please...
The man got three steps before the woman shot him in the back with a sinister grin. He yelled and fell to the ground, losing his briefcase and gasping in pain. Green fluid stained the back of his jacket, right where the bullet had hit him.
"NO!" Yomiko screamed. She fought the woman who held her, trying to reach the man. "NO! He didn't even do anything!"
"Shut up, if you know what's good for you!" snarled the woman as she hugged Yomiko tighter.
The three of them stared for a while at the man on the ground. He groaned softly, then tried to get up, pushing himself off of the ground.
"Die!" the woman screamed, shooting three times at him. The impact of each shot sent him back on the ground, but even when his jacket was coated in the green fluid that the bullets contained, he kept trying to get up. With each shot loose paper seemed to flow like a river out from under his jacket, as though it was his blood, and swirl around his body.
Finally the man managed to prop himself on one arm. With his other hand he grabbed a piece of paper.
"Get down!" he yelled.
Yomiko stood there, stunned. Instead, her captors threw themselves at the ground -
- to meet a violent death by paper cuts as they fell onto the bladed edges of his weapons. As they were slashed to death, Yomiko could only blink in shock.
The man coughed weakly, turning over. His glasses were askew, and he used his finger to correct them. He smiled at Yomiko.
"I knew you wouldn't," he said, embarrassed. "If you were anything like me, you wouldn't have done it fast enough."
Yomiko coughed nervously, then approached the man. She offered him a hand. "I'm Yomiko, Yomiko Readman. Who are you?"
The man blinked at how quickly the woman had offered her name, but then offered her a smile. He used her hand to help pull himself up into a sitting position - he didn't think that the young woman would be able to support his full weight when standing.
"Donii Nakajima, but you can call me Donii," he said.
"Excuse me, but how did you do that?" Yomiko asked. "And who were those people?"
"It will take a bit of explanation," Donii said, "but right now I think that we should get out of here as fast as possible. Someone is eventually going to come and investigate this, and I really don't want to be here."
Yomiko nodded. "Um, do you need any help?" she asked.
"No, I'm - " Donii's attempt to stand was abruptly cut short by pain shooting up his spine. He mentally chided himself for allowing himself to get hit, something that hadn't happened for a long time. Although his paper had saved his life, it still hurt and he nearly collapsed.
Yomiko yelped and caught the man's arm as he fell. "Please let me help you!" she said. It was the least she could do for the person who had just saved her life!
Donii looked at Yomiko and nodded.
"First, can you get the necklaces and weapons of those people?" he asked. He bent over slightly to retrieve his briefcase, leaning heavily against the wall. "And is there a place I can stay for now?"
"Ano, yes." Yomiko said. Her hand shook in horror at the sight of the bodies, and she carefully picked around them. "You can.stay at my apartment for now." Her face went red in embarrassment. Donii was watching her, and he smiled when she came back with the necklaces and guns.
"You're so cute," he said, pinching her cheek. "Let's go."
Because I'm a total idiot and tried to provide manga to people through my Tripod site, Tripod shut down cookiepixie.tripod.com within five minutes. I was able to salvage most of my site, but some things were lost. Please see my info page for more details.
And thank you very much for my one review! Joy!