All updates on new chapters to be found in my bio.
A note: I love Canti, I really do. I just need you to see him from Ninamori Eri's point of view, is all.
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Now Your World is Way Too Fast
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The low thrumming of the engine's rev was the purr of a cat. Naota straddled the humming sunshine animal eagerly, strapping the dirty old backpack on as he did so. The noise reverberated in his head, echoing throughout his body. The light bulb flittered from the vibrations caused as the volume careened upwards.
For the final touch, Naota strapped on a padded helmet of a simple make and affixed a pair of clear, thick goggles to his face. They were not the originals that she had always worn, but they would have to do.
Pressing down on the gas a bit harder, Naota snapped a switch on the yellow monster. The sound of a turbine beginning to whirl was added to the already discordant cacophony plunking around in the engine. Naota gently urged the vespa into the air a few inches above the ground when he was certain that the lift fan was at an acceptable speed.
Naota let out the breath he didn't know he'd been holding. That was one of the hardest parts. On many an occasion prior to this, he had been bucked off the vespa like a rodeo rider from his bronco in those few short seconds. Luckily, the vespa was only wobbling a bit, and Naota found that if he nudged it forward a few feet, he could undo the latch on the small wooden garage doors.
The gates slid open on their hinges quite smoothly – strange, as they hadn't been used since. . .she. . .was here. Crystalline sapphire skies intruded in on the wimpy yellow luster fading in the darkness of the shed. Cotton fluffs puffed across the sky in small clumps. A cricket chirp was drowned out by the combined ruckus of the raucous motors hidden behind paint similar to the hue of the very sun that was shining down on him. Naota smiled.
The grass actually felt greener today.
Naota was about to blast off into the blue, blue sky when he remembered that he'd left something very important behind.
Her Rickenbacker. She'd accidentally left it here, right? The least he could do was give it back. It had been important to her.
Cursing himself for his incompetence, Naota carefully edged the vespa closer to the second story window. He couldn't risk going back down. It was hard enough for him to get on the vespa. Besides, he didn't want his dad or grandfather bugging him about his destination. He could just imagine his father, hands cupped around imaginary breasts. . .or bread, rambling on incoherently about furi kuri. His lips would be curled around enormous square teeth in a grotesque grin and his glasses would shine creepily in the light above a ratty moustache of dark hair. Yuck. Naota hoped he would never end up like that.
Naota shook his head. He needed to concentrate on the task at hand. Hopefully, he would be able to fly the vespa in through his window.
"Stupid Naota, always forgetting things. I'm gonna kill him for this," an alto female voice hissed, as if pained by some heavy burden.
The marketplace was enthusiastically bright with the summer sun. Herds of people mashed around, back and forth, mulling over various items for sale in shops and on the asphalt pavement in colorful booths. The same periwinkle sky shined down on all, allowing for the day to be warm – but not too hot. Sounds of chatter, cooking food, and the occasional shout of vendors peddling their merchandise drowned out the muttered statement about Naota to all.
A girl separated herself from the throng of people, obviously hunting for an escape route. Her long, dark locks matched her aphotic eyes almost exactly, though they were admittedly a few shades lighter. Straight, even bangs cut a stern line across her brow. A business-like black knee length skirt and olive collared shirt clothed her person, accenting her pale skin and gangly figure.
Ninamori Eri, the mayor's daughter, was not happy.
Especially since Naota had forgotten a huge textbook at school. All of his other so-called "friends" had refused to take it to him. Their excuse? Too heavy. And so she was forced to limp around town with a giant literature book in her arms. She'd been too stubborn with her father, who had offered her a ride. She'd told him that it was a nice day out and she would be fine. So now she was beating both herself and Naota up mentally for her calf pain. Eri groaned. She would have been so much better off if she'd just switched her stylish black mary janes for more sensible sneakers. . .
Eri limped back into the crowd, allowing it to carry her for a ways in a blurring, bumping, moving mess of bodies. Eri felt that she was going to be sick very, very soon.
And then she spotted her salvation just a few short yards away, comparing two oranges out of a salesman's wooden bucket.
Eri paddled with all of her remaining energy against the current in the river of people to swim in that direction.
Daylight gleamed in streaks of refulgence along sleek metal surfaces. A thin indigo jacket hid thick arms full of synthetic muscle and wire. Gray, glove-like fingers weighed the two oranges before finally discarding one in favor of the other. Coins were tossed into the vendor's outstretched palm.
"Hey, Canti," Eri finally managed to croak out, her lungs full of the dust cloud rising with the clomping of thousands of feet.
Cantido was probably doing his weekly shopping trip for the Nandaba household.
She was truly thankful to see him. She usually avoided Canti – he made her feel uncomfortable, like she was talking to her toaster – but today was different. Today she needed him to carry stupid Naota's stupid book back to him so she could forget about the long walk there and back in favor of calling her father and asking to be picked up.
A sleek metal head, aerodynamically pointed in the rear, acknowledged Eri's existence by nodding in her direction. The rest of Canti soon faced Eri as well.
His bright screen lit up with the phrase, 'Hello, Ninamori-san.'
She hesitated a second, unnerved by this walking, talking household appliance. Finally, Eri took a deep breath - trying to ignore the dirt drifting in the air - and began to say, "Canti, I have this book of Naota's. I need you to-"
The roar of what sounded something like a jet plane rudely interrupted her. Instantaneously her eyes shot to the sky. Nothing but blue. There wasn't a plane in sight, but there was a small silhouette in the distance that was probably too big to be a bird. It had an unusual, upright shape. A small private plane, maybe?
Cantido's screen followed her line of sight as well, but apparently Canti came to a different conclusion than she.
Twin jet engines ka-chanked out of his smooth spine, ripping through the sweater someone had pathetically tried to cover him with. These immediately lit up, forcing people back in an explosion of flames. Many began screaming in horror and running as if the devil were on their tails, merchandise forgotten in the street.
"CANTI!" Eri screamed over the roar of the rockets, attempting to regain his attention. Undaunted, she shoved her hand out against the immense pressure pushing her back and grabbed his arm. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU DUMB ROBOT?!"
The lit book she had been trying to bring back to Naota flew from her hands in a whirlwind of paper as she made a terrifying new discovery.
She was stuck.
The long sleeve of her olive dress shirt and her Gucci wristwatch were both caught on some metal doodad protruding from Canti's body. She was stuck to a robot that was, for lack of better terminology in her moment of panic, on fire. Eri made a valiant effort to pull away before realizing that it was fruitless. Her only hope now was to grab onto Canti's arm and pray to God that she would live through this. This she did just as Cantido's engines reached full power, hurtling them both through a cloud and into the blue.
And so, three people quite literally disappeared from the face of the earth that fateful summer afternoon.
*********
RR (review response)
Little QS – Thank you. And about the boxers, I just couldn't resist. *grin*
A note: I love Canti, I really do. I just need you to see him from Ninamori Eri's point of view, is all.
**************************
Now Your World is Way Too Fast
***************************
The low thrumming of the engine's rev was the purr of a cat. Naota straddled the humming sunshine animal eagerly, strapping the dirty old backpack on as he did so. The noise reverberated in his head, echoing throughout his body. The light bulb flittered from the vibrations caused as the volume careened upwards.
For the final touch, Naota strapped on a padded helmet of a simple make and affixed a pair of clear, thick goggles to his face. They were not the originals that she had always worn, but they would have to do.
Pressing down on the gas a bit harder, Naota snapped a switch on the yellow monster. The sound of a turbine beginning to whirl was added to the already discordant cacophony plunking around in the engine. Naota gently urged the vespa into the air a few inches above the ground when he was certain that the lift fan was at an acceptable speed.
Naota let out the breath he didn't know he'd been holding. That was one of the hardest parts. On many an occasion prior to this, he had been bucked off the vespa like a rodeo rider from his bronco in those few short seconds. Luckily, the vespa was only wobbling a bit, and Naota found that if he nudged it forward a few feet, he could undo the latch on the small wooden garage doors.
The gates slid open on their hinges quite smoothly – strange, as they hadn't been used since. . .she. . .was here. Crystalline sapphire skies intruded in on the wimpy yellow luster fading in the darkness of the shed. Cotton fluffs puffed across the sky in small clumps. A cricket chirp was drowned out by the combined ruckus of the raucous motors hidden behind paint similar to the hue of the very sun that was shining down on him. Naota smiled.
The grass actually felt greener today.
Naota was about to blast off into the blue, blue sky when he remembered that he'd left something very important behind.
Her Rickenbacker. She'd accidentally left it here, right? The least he could do was give it back. It had been important to her.
Cursing himself for his incompetence, Naota carefully edged the vespa closer to the second story window. He couldn't risk going back down. It was hard enough for him to get on the vespa. Besides, he didn't want his dad or grandfather bugging him about his destination. He could just imagine his father, hands cupped around imaginary breasts. . .or bread, rambling on incoherently about furi kuri. His lips would be curled around enormous square teeth in a grotesque grin and his glasses would shine creepily in the light above a ratty moustache of dark hair. Yuck. Naota hoped he would never end up like that.
Naota shook his head. He needed to concentrate on the task at hand. Hopefully, he would be able to fly the vespa in through his window.
"Stupid Naota, always forgetting things. I'm gonna kill him for this," an alto female voice hissed, as if pained by some heavy burden.
The marketplace was enthusiastically bright with the summer sun. Herds of people mashed around, back and forth, mulling over various items for sale in shops and on the asphalt pavement in colorful booths. The same periwinkle sky shined down on all, allowing for the day to be warm – but not too hot. Sounds of chatter, cooking food, and the occasional shout of vendors peddling their merchandise drowned out the muttered statement about Naota to all.
A girl separated herself from the throng of people, obviously hunting for an escape route. Her long, dark locks matched her aphotic eyes almost exactly, though they were admittedly a few shades lighter. Straight, even bangs cut a stern line across her brow. A business-like black knee length skirt and olive collared shirt clothed her person, accenting her pale skin and gangly figure.
Ninamori Eri, the mayor's daughter, was not happy.
Especially since Naota had forgotten a huge textbook at school. All of his other so-called "friends" had refused to take it to him. Their excuse? Too heavy. And so she was forced to limp around town with a giant literature book in her arms. She'd been too stubborn with her father, who had offered her a ride. She'd told him that it was a nice day out and she would be fine. So now she was beating both herself and Naota up mentally for her calf pain. Eri groaned. She would have been so much better off if she'd just switched her stylish black mary janes for more sensible sneakers. . .
Eri limped back into the crowd, allowing it to carry her for a ways in a blurring, bumping, moving mess of bodies. Eri felt that she was going to be sick very, very soon.
And then she spotted her salvation just a few short yards away, comparing two oranges out of a salesman's wooden bucket.
Eri paddled with all of her remaining energy against the current in the river of people to swim in that direction.
Daylight gleamed in streaks of refulgence along sleek metal surfaces. A thin indigo jacket hid thick arms full of synthetic muscle and wire. Gray, glove-like fingers weighed the two oranges before finally discarding one in favor of the other. Coins were tossed into the vendor's outstretched palm.
"Hey, Canti," Eri finally managed to croak out, her lungs full of the dust cloud rising with the clomping of thousands of feet.
Cantido was probably doing his weekly shopping trip for the Nandaba household.
She was truly thankful to see him. She usually avoided Canti – he made her feel uncomfortable, like she was talking to her toaster – but today was different. Today she needed him to carry stupid Naota's stupid book back to him so she could forget about the long walk there and back in favor of calling her father and asking to be picked up.
A sleek metal head, aerodynamically pointed in the rear, acknowledged Eri's existence by nodding in her direction. The rest of Canti soon faced Eri as well.
His bright screen lit up with the phrase, 'Hello, Ninamori-san.'
She hesitated a second, unnerved by this walking, talking household appliance. Finally, Eri took a deep breath - trying to ignore the dirt drifting in the air - and began to say, "Canti, I have this book of Naota's. I need you to-"
The roar of what sounded something like a jet plane rudely interrupted her. Instantaneously her eyes shot to the sky. Nothing but blue. There wasn't a plane in sight, but there was a small silhouette in the distance that was probably too big to be a bird. It had an unusual, upright shape. A small private plane, maybe?
Cantido's screen followed her line of sight as well, but apparently Canti came to a different conclusion than she.
Twin jet engines ka-chanked out of his smooth spine, ripping through the sweater someone had pathetically tried to cover him with. These immediately lit up, forcing people back in an explosion of flames. Many began screaming in horror and running as if the devil were on their tails, merchandise forgotten in the street.
"CANTI!" Eri screamed over the roar of the rockets, attempting to regain his attention. Undaunted, she shoved her hand out against the immense pressure pushing her back and grabbed his arm. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU DUMB ROBOT?!"
The lit book she had been trying to bring back to Naota flew from her hands in a whirlwind of paper as she made a terrifying new discovery.
She was stuck.
The long sleeve of her olive dress shirt and her Gucci wristwatch were both caught on some metal doodad protruding from Canti's body. She was stuck to a robot that was, for lack of better terminology in her moment of panic, on fire. Eri made a valiant effort to pull away before realizing that it was fruitless. Her only hope now was to grab onto Canti's arm and pray to God that she would live through this. This she did just as Cantido's engines reached full power, hurtling them both through a cloud and into the blue.
And so, three people quite literally disappeared from the face of the earth that fateful summer afternoon.
*********
RR (review response)
Little QS – Thank you. And about the boxers, I just couldn't resist. *grin*