II: A Painful Hunch.
Meanwhile, Shinobu had been talking with Jinko on the phone. She had finished her Medicine career, and she was in fact doctor Shibazaki's, the same doctor that was treating Taro's injury, assistant.
-…Well, I think I have to hang up, buddy. It's time to open up the place -and after saying goodbye, he hung up the phone.
He stood up and went to supervise everything so it was A-OK; nothing could fail, according to him. After that, he went out of Vitalis and turned on his iPod. Some teens who passed near the establishment and knew the owner and ex-D.J wondered if he had come out to smoke a cigarette, but luckily, they were wrong. Shinobu could have had any bad habit, but his addiction was music… Ever since he was a little kid.
And fortunately he was out of the disco, since a huge pain attack hit him, just like when he was the Archangel of Chaos. He was still aware of the things happening around him even while he almost couldn't see because of the pain, and he wondered if he had been the only one who suffered that pain attack.
Well, he wasn't the only one.
A little while after the pain ceased, and still exhausted, Shinobu heard some approaching footsteps and somebody lifted him up.
-Shinobu-san! Are you all right? -the one picking him up from the floor asked.
-Kai-kun… Thank God you're here.
-I was just walking by and I saw you on the floor. I thought you had fainted
-Didn't you feel it?
-Feel what?
-An attack, like when… Ah, forget it. You probably never felt that.
-What? You already have me curious -Kai alleged. -Besides, if you don't tell me what it was, I wouldn't know what to answer. And well, you know I can't read the minds… You know what I mean, jellybean.
-Hey, curiosity killed the cat.
-I'll take the risk. And please don't say that; I love cats.
Shinobu told him in a few words what had happened, and was surprised when Kai told him that those attacks weren't unknown to him.
-When I was a kid, before the Final Battle, those attacks got me from time to time, every time I had a presentiment. But I didn't feel anything a while ago. Sorry, Shinobu-san.
-If it's how you said it, then I wonder if I was the only one suffering that attack.
-Isn't there a way to know it?
-With Rairyuu in Tokyo, Wataru in Paris and Tooru in Germany, it'd be very difficult to know it. The other option would be ask Tsubasa and the others.
But for the guys' luck, Shinobu's cellphone rang. He answered without knowing what was in store for him.
-Hello? Kurobane speaking.
-Shinobu-san? It's me, Jinko.
-Thank God you call! -Shinobu said who had forgotten completely about the young doctor.
-You felt it, didn't you?
-What? The pain attack?
-Just like in the beginning. Just like when I was a Black Archangel and wasn't able to control my powers completely.
-I felt exactly the same thing -Shinobu answered. Kai was about to say something, but his friend's expression made him think things twice.
-Are you with someone ? I'm not being nosy, but… you know nobody can know it in spite of everything.
-I'm with Kai.
-Excellent. See you later, then. -and Jinko hung the phone.
Of course, Tooru, Wataru and Rairyuu felt it. The first one was revising some blueprints of the mentioned office building when the attack got him, and his secretary thought that the young architect had had a heart attack.
-Boss! -she exclaimed, running toward where he was.
-I'm OK, Brigitte. Just leave me alone for a sec.
-But, but… -the secretary was terrified of seeing that Tooru walked slowly and wearily toward his seat, sat down, took out a small bottle from a drawer and swallowed two pills without any water Oo.
-I told you to leave me alone. Please, Brigitte -and Tooru stayed there, alone. Fortunately he had been able to act as if he had taken some medicine, but what was really in that bottle was a big bunch of peppermint pastilles. He loved them, and since they gave the impression that they were prescribed pills, nobody could imagine that he really used that resource to hide the attacks that gave him for a long time, when he was the Archangel of Ice and didn't still possess total control over his powers.
"I believe that faking to take a medication with these peppermint candies has been the best idea I've had…" -he thought, while he rested on his seat, still drained.
Meanwhile, in France, Azumi had a hard time taking Wataru out of the classroom.
-Wataru-kun, are you OK? -the young woman asked.
-I feel better already … I'm just bushed. Thanks, Azumi -chan.
-What was that? Does it have, or did it have to do with what you were before?
-It was some kind of warning. Something bad's gonna happen; I can sense it.
-What did you say? Something bad will happen? What?
-Well, I don't know what it will happen. I only know something bad is going to happen.
Azumi swallowed spit, afraid. Would Wataru and Misaki-kun fight again? And if the had to, would they be allies? Or would they be enemies once again?
-What do you think, Azumi-chan?
-I wonder if Misaki-kun passed by this too.
-It's difficult to know it right now… After all he is going out of his therapy at this hour and he doesn't have a cellphone.
-I know … But I can't help but worry for him.
And of course, Wataru thought the same thing.
In Tokyo, Rairyuu's friends reacted with fear when they saw their friend with the blond streaks collapsing in pain.
-Rairyuu! Answer us! -one of them exclaimed, patting his face after the pain ceased.
-Stop slappin' me, idiot -the former Archangel of Thunder answered. -Or my face'll look like a bulldog's.
-But, you were screaming in pain and suddenly you were almost unconscious. We thought you would die.
-I sometime have pain attacks, and I already got used to it. I can only wait for 'em to stop and regain my energy.
-That's not normal. Have you already gone to the doctor?
-I already told ya that I can only wait for 'em to cease! And yeah, I already went to the doctor and he told me what I told ya! -Rairyuu was already angry with his friends' insistence.
-OK, calm down then…
-If and only if we stop talkin' 'bout that. I hate to talk about it.
His friends shrugged and continued studying for tomorrow's quiz that apparently would be very complicated, being Rairyuu the one that was studying the hardest; after all, studying to be a P.E teacher wasn't easy, wasn't easy at all.
Tsubasa and the White Archangels didn't have the attack. However, one of them had a bad hunch…Hyuga.
He was training strongly when he got a cramp on his calf. He stopped running and bent over, massaging the paralyzed muscle.
-What happened, Hyuga? -the trainer asked.
-Got a contraction. I'll continue running in a moment, sir -the Tiger answered, giving his teammates free way.
"What does this mean? I rarely get a cramp, as I usually warm up very well before… Must be a signal of things to come, and I should know that well; after all, the one who knows you better is oneself."
Once the cramp vanished, Kojiro continued with the training, although he couldn't stop thinking about his pulsing instinct, which told him that something bad was about to happen. In the afternoon, hen he arrived at his tiny apartment, he wondered if he had been the only one that had had that bad feeling, and something lit in his head. His premonitions weren't usually that explicit…
He had forgotten completely he was an Archangel.
Maybe he and some of the others had had that hunch. If he was able to know what happened on time, probably nothing would occur, but Hyuga Kojiro feared the worst. He wasn't (and isn't) a pessimist, but something told him that something, or someone would cause more problems than the Black Archangels in their time.
On the other hand, Tsubasa had just arrived at its house. Sanae was preparing something delicious for dinner, while she listened to some music in Spanish (probably Alejandro Sanz ;D)
-Hi honey. How was your day? –he said while he came closer and gave a warm hug to his wife.
-Hi, dear. Well, it was okay. You know things change…
-Little, let alone not at all -said both of them at the same time. They looked at each other for an instant, and just like if one of them had told a good joke, they laughed heartily. And they needed it. In that instant an 80's song began to play on the radio, Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You (Glenn Medeiros).
The eyes met, the faces came closer… And in that moment the phone rang
-Hola, casa de la familia Ozora (Hello, Ozora residence) -Sanae said in Spanish (with a Japanese accent in spite of it all)
-Sanae? It's Hyuga. Is Tsubasa there?
-Yes. Honey, you have a call.
-Coming -Tsubasa left his dinner on the table and hurried to answer. -Hello, Tsubasa speaking. Who is it?
-Hi, it's Hyuga. Didn't you feel it?
-Feel what? Was there an earthquake?
-This is no time for jokes! I mean that if you didn't have a bad premonition this morning.
-To be honest, I didn't. I haven't had hunches or anything of the sorts. Why the question? -Tsubasa was quite confused.
-I'm not superstitious, and you know it, but I have the hunch that the Archangels will enter the scene again.
That left the Kami no Tsukai, who had forgotten who he was, thoughtful.
After saying goodbye, Tsubasa returned to the dining room and sat down to finish his dinner. The look on his face scared Sanae.
-Tsubasa, what did Hyuga say? You're very serious.
-He said he/ has a bad feeling.
-And? What else did he say? I don't wasn't to be nosy, but…
-Well… -Tsubasa didn't know if he could tell her or not, but it was his job to do it, and so he did. -He has the hunch that the Archangels will have to fight one more time.
Sanae was speechless.
-And mind you, Hyuga believes little in premonitions -Tsubasa continued, without realizing that Sanae seemed to have been transported to another dimension. -What do you think, sweetie?
Finally he turned to see his wife and saw that she hadn't reacted because of the news.
-Sanae, honey… Sanae! -and finally she reacted.
-And I believed everything had finished… Many years after that we have to fight again…
-Well, we don't know how true that is, but I believe in what Hyuga says.
-But, but…
-What happened?
-And if something horrible happens, and I lose you?-Sanae was on the edge of panic.
-You won't lose me, and obviously I won't lose you, because you know very well that nothing or nobody can split us -and the Messenger of the Gods gave a tender kiss to his wife, to the Archangel of Love.
Sanae began to cry. She was very afraid, and although she as an Archangel was willing to fight for her reasons, which was also her duty, she couldn't help but think what would happen to her if her husband died in battle. Luckily, Tsubasa understood it; he knew her almost completely. And in that understanding he had towards her, he gave her a strong hug.
However, it usually happens that sometimes some things, or some circumstances end up adding more wood to the fire… And more if it is between two people that love each other.
None of them remembered that happened clearly. They only knew that they had been swept away by their feelings, and that they had to live every moment they had, since they didn't know what would happen, neither how many problems they would have to overcome, but there was something they knew very well: They would overcome everything together, between the White Archangels, the former Black Archangels, and them, the Ozora-Nakasawa family.
After what had happened, Tsubasa was the first to wake up. He looked at the time on the alarm clock that was on his night table; it was a little before 11 P.M. He hurried to put on his nightclothes, went to the small room that served as study for both him and his wife and took one of the Portuguese books he had to read, since out of soccer, his great passion and life, he was also studying Languages, following his mother's advice. After a while he looked at the time again. It was fifteen minutes past midnight. He calculated that it was 8 A.M in Japan; probably Ishizaki, Misaki and the others were beginning their days.
A while later, he returned to the room, but before being able to go under the covers, the same pain attack he suffered when he was just fifteen years old caught him completely unaware, and since he hadn't had them for a long time, it left him completely exhausted, almost unconscious. The poor guy tried not to scream, but he woke Sanae up anyway. She apparently wasn't deeply sleeping, since put of having her nightgown on, she moved very quickly.
-Tsubasa! Tsubasa, answer me, please… -she said, running towards her husband.
-I, I… I saw It, Sanae. I saw it, as, as clear as water -Tsubasa said brokenly, trying to recover his breath.
-What did you see?
-I saw Shiro, but it wasn't Shiro.
-What did you say?
-I saw somebody very similar to Shiro, but it was dressed in black.
-That's impossible… We know that…
-I only tell you what I saw, and I'm not lying.
-But, Shiro died. We all saw its death.
And Tsubasa thought of something.
-And if Shiro had a antithesis ? I mean, I had Kai, the Kage no Tsukai and you had the Black Archangels.
-You mean a dark version of Shiro? Something like Kuro?
-I'm afraid so, Sanae. I'm afraid so.
Meanwhile, Hyuga, Genzo, Wataru and Tooru, the Archangels and ex-Archangels residing in Europe slept peacefully, excepting the goalkeeper, who was in the airport. None of them had suffered, or suffered again the attack, and Wakabayashi's case, he ignored the situation completely. He was waiting to board the jet, completely fatigued. He hated to have to travel so late, but it was the only way he could arrive early to Tokyo, and then to Shizuoka.
-Darn… And I hate to sleep in the jet… I'd love to take a flight later, but I'd arrive very late at Narita Airport…
However, a boy that was walking near shook the keeper out of his sour temper.
-Look, mom! It's the Hamburg's star keeper! -the boy exclaimed.
Genzo felt everyone's eyes over him, and he actually was undercover, dressed in an aviator's jacket, jeans and OO without his cap, out of the fact that he had a grumpy expression. And minding the way he was dressed, how in the world had the kid recognized him?
It was time for Plan B.
"Darn… I wish no one recognized me right now… I wish I could make people believe I'm just an ordinary dude who's traveling…"
And like if some magic had been used, people stopped gaping at him, and the boy that had recognized him looked at him once more, and he seemed to have mumbled "I guess I'm wrong."
"How did that happen…?" -and then he remembered something that he had forgotten, like the others: His powers as the Archangel of the Wind allowed him to change some situations.
-I had forgotten that… And now that I think of it… -and he began to look for something in his handbag.
But, would somebody have the lightest idea of what was going to happen? And if it was this way, how would they face it?
At least the White Archangels, although they had forgotten their powers, could remember them later and defend themselves, but Jinko, Tooru, Wataru, Rairyuu, Shinobu and Kai didn't have a way of defending themselves, and remember that five of the six former dark beings had suffered the attack. What could they do?
They didn't know it in that instant. They ignored what would happen, and not because they continued believing that their destination was unalterable. Thanks to Tsubasa, the Messenger of the Gods, they had understood that no one's fate is decided, but sometimes some unexpected things may come near in the future. That's what people call having a premonition. And although they don't sometimes pass of being mere hunches, there are times in that they are true.
And it figured that a force beyond good or evil, whiter than the purest shade of white, blacker than midnight began to fly in every direction, looking for something, as if something called it. Something even beyond chaos…
Willing to fulfill its dark ambition.
But it seemed that someone else had a bad feeling about that… And it wasn't an Archangel, former Black Archangel, or one of the few witnesses.
-Mom! -somebody exclaimed in his room, soaked in perspiration and his eyes as big soup dishes.
-What happened, son?
-I had a nightmare. It was horrible… I don't even want to think of it.
It was Ozora Daichi, Tsubasa's little brother. He looked just like his brother, but his nose and chin were slightly finer and he also was a soccer lover. He had been born after his brother had left to Brazil, and rarely did he see him, but he loved him. Now he studied in Nankatsu Elementary, and just as like brother in his own time, he had number ten on his shirt, although he loved being a forward. But that day he had stayed at home since he had a nasty cold.
-What did you dream? -Natsuko asked.
-I dreamt of someone dressed in black… And behind it everything was horrible. It was dark and ugly.
Natsuko remembered the time in that Tsubasa had had a nightmare in which someone had killed Hyuga; that had been in the time in that he hid a terrible secret.
-Don't worry, Daichi. Come on; let's go to the kitchen, take a glass of hot milk with honey and you'll go to sleep again. OK?
-OK, but I think it's dumb to sleep in the morning -and Daichi rose of the bed, although he coughed a lot.
While they went downstairs, Natsuko began to ask herself a storm of questions. Could have Daichi's nightmare been only a nightmare? Or was it a bad omen too? Not for anything she and her daughter-in-law were those in charge of guarding the ancient legend of the Archangels.
But she knew that asking her youngest son about the nightmare would make him find a way to not go to sleep again… And he had to stay in bed, no matter how full of energy he was.
They arrived at the kitchen, and while Daichi was standing there, covered from head to toe with his blankets, Natsuko took out a saucepan, the milk and the honey.
-Mom, did my niisan have bad dreams at my age? –isn't it obvious that Tsubasa's way older than Daichi?
-Yes, he did. He even had them when he was in his teens.
-What?
-So it happened. You see, Tsubasa had nightmares for a time because of a story somebody told him; it was a story where he, although he didn't want to, was very involved, son. It wasn't his fault. And by the way, did you read those horror histories again?
-No, mom. I haven't read them again, just as you told me.
-Then I don't know why you had that nightmare.
-I don't know either, but I don't like how that black Shiro looked.
And Ozora Natsuko gaped at her son, speechless.