"Ok, lay down on the mat," Linna instructed.
"No, not this exercise again," I groaned as I did what she asked. I knew she was gonna ask me to do what she called the 'bicycle exercise'. I was supposed to lay down on my back, and then move my legs in the air as if I was pedaling a bicycle, but it was easier said than done; it hurt my leg like almost nothing else.
"C'mon, you know this exercise is one of the best ones for your leg," she chided.
"Yeah, but can't we skip it just for today?"
She shook her head. "Nope. You want to be able to help us out in battle, right? So we gotta do these to get your leg back to where it was before."
"But…my leg can't bend that much yet, to do the exercise."
"Practice makes perfect. Now get those legs in the air," she ordered. I sighed and did so. "Now pedal."
I started doing the pedaling motion, slowly at first, but sped it up when Linna told me to. I winced as I tried to bend my bad leg as much as the exercise needed it to be, but it still wasn't able to bend very far.
"This hurts," I spat as I clung to the mat in the effort not to roll over and grab my leg and yell in pain. Linna bent down and held me down by the shoulders to make sure I didn't do just that.
"I know, but the more you do it, the less it'll hurt."
"So…about this Navy SEAL stuff you were talking about…is this part of their training?"
"Yep."
"How many of these do they do?"
She grinned. "A lot. Now keep pedaling."
I moved my legs a bit faster, but my bad leg was starting to get stiff, and as a result, I couldn't move it as much as my good leg. "Ow!" I yelled.
"Keep pedaling," Linna encouraged. "You're doing fine."
My bangs were starting to get in my eyes, so I started finding it hard to see what I was doing. I squeezed them shut and with a burst of energy, started moving my legs like crazy, even though they protested the move heavily. I gritted my teeth as I pedaled faster, my left leg starting to throb with the effort it took to move that much.
"Ow ow ow ow!!" I hollered, letting my legs drop to the mat.
"C'mon, you can keep going," Linna said, her hands still holding me down by the shoulders.
I shook my head. "I can't," I panted. "It hurts."
"Well, of course it hurts. But the only way you're gonna get past the pain is if you go through it. So you just gotta grit your teeth and bear it."
"What do you think I just did?"
"Moaned and hollered bloody murder," she joked, standing up. "Get up."
"Gladly." I wobbled to my feet, my leg ready to buckle even though I'd only done one exercise today. "So what next?"
"Get your brace on. We're going outside."
Once we were outside on the sidewalk outside of Linna's gym, she told me what we were gonna do.
"Ok, remember the last time we ran laps around this building?"
I nodded. "When I was training for the World Championships. Of course."
"And how many laps did we run?"
I thought for a moment. "Um…six, I guess."
"Yup, six. Well, we're gonna do that again."
My jaw dropped. "What?! I was nearly passing out LAST time, how do you think it's gonna be THIS time?!"
"This is different. Naturally we're going to see how fast you can run, of course, but this is also going to be a test of how well it can hold your weight when it's doing that, and a test of how much it can bend."
"Wasn't that what the bike pedal exercise was about?"
"It didn't test how well the leg can hold weight when moving though."
"So…am I gonna be wearing my brace during this thing, or not?"
"Today we'll have you run with the brace, but later, it'll be without." She bent down and put her hands on my brace, and started fiddling with some of the screws.
"What're you doing?"
"Adjusting it so you'll be able to bend your leg a little more."
"Fine by me," I said as she finished.
"Naturally, you can't bend it as much as you need to when the brace only lets you bend your leg so much. That's why I adjusted it; you can't learn to bend it more when it's restrained like that."
I practiced bending the leg, and grinned when I learned she was right. "Hey, I CAN bend it more now."
Linna smiled as she took out a stopwatch. "That's the point. Now get ready."
I got into position, ready for her to give the word to start. The one thing I was thinking about at that moment was not about how much it might hurt or not to run, but whether or not I'd fall flat on my face when I first started. God, I hope I don't fall, I thought.
"Ready?" Linna asked.
"Yeah," I said.
"Ok. Go!"
I dashed forward with a burst of speed, then quickly floundered as my leg protested the sudden move by tightening. I grimaced and kept moving, trying to go as fast as my leg would allow me to. And guessing from the laughter I heard from Linna, I must've looked like an idiot with the way I was running. As I turned the corner, my leg continued to remain tight, and as I urged it to move, it didn't loosen up any.
"C'mon, it's not like you've never ran before," I yelled at my leg, which was already starting to throb. I 'slowed' to a jog, hoping maybe it would loosen up if I didn't put so much pressure on it, and it did. The throbbing, however, didn't stop, which was typical.
If I can't run, I thought as I turned the next corner, how am I going to be able to fight again? Come on, Yumeko, you can do this! Just move the stinkin' leg!
"Are you aware of how idiotic you look?" I heard a girl ask in a snobbish voice. I rolled my eyes and turned around.
"Hmph. I figured," I said as I stood there and looked at Maru and Ana. "The gruesome twosome."
"Oh, ha ha," Ana said. "You look like you're stubbing your toe with every step you take."
"I'm simply trying to run," I shot back. "I'm in the middle of my therapy session right now."
"Therapy?" Maru inquired. "I don't see anybody around."
"I was told to run around the building, that's all. My 'coach' is on the other side waiting for me."
"So shouldn't you get started again?" Ana spat.
"How about you just keep your mouth shut before I rearrange your face again," I threatened flatly. She paled at the memory.
"They're just idle threats," Maru said, brushing me off. "Especially now, what with your crippled leg and all."
"It ain't so crippled anymore," I said. "I can still use it to kick your sorry ass."
"Oh, I'm shaking."
I snorted and turned my back on her. "You don't scare me. Never have. And besides, I have bigger worries."
"Like this?" I heard her say before feeling her foot slam into the back of my leg, my bad one, to boot. I yelped as the leg buckled and I went crashing to the sidewalk. "See? You're not so tough anymore. You're just a softie now."
"S…softie?!" I grabbed my leg and winced. That was certainly not what I needed; my leg could take punishment, but hits like that? Not just yet. I stood up and sighed, my leg twinging now with whatever move I made. "My leg may not be as strong as it used to be, but the rest of me is just as good as ever!!" I snapped as I took my gun out of my jacket pocket and slapped Maru across the face with it.
"What the--?!" she yelled as I put it away. She put a hand to her cheek and winced. "Since when did you…?!"
"For a while now," I replied. "Gotta protect myself, especially in this town."
"Is that a fact!" Ana said, dumbfounded. She and Maru both backed off when I glared at them defiantly, just daring them to try another move against me again.
"All guns are," Maru said as she started to walk (more like run) off, "is a way for people to make up for something they're lacking in in another department."
She…she just HAD to throw in that last remark, didn't she!!, I thought as I continued my slow jog around the building, blushing like mad. Damn it!!
"What kept you?" Linna asked when I returned, then looked at the stopwatch. "That one lap took ten minutes."
"Ten?" I laughed. "Well, I…kinda ran into some trouble."
She raised an eyebrow. "Trouble, eh? Well, that's not gonna stop you from doing the other five laps, is it?"
I sighed. "No."
She grinned. "Well, get to it!"
As Linna continued to have me do those new exercises over the next few weeks, my mind started racing. How I wished I could have joined my school gymnastic team this year. I'd faithfully gone to every single competition that the Kihi team participated in, cheering them on while secretly wishing I could have been out there with them. My leg was slowly getting stronger, but nowhere near strong enough to be flipping over the uneven bars or keep me balanced on the balance beam.
One day, on a whim, I went to the gym to watch the team practice, knowingly skipping my therapy in the process. As I opened the door to the gym, I saw the girls in their leotards, doing back-flips and jumping around on the floor mat. When Clara saw me, she immediately grinned, jumped off the balance beam, and ran towards me.
"Yumeko!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
"Just came to watch you guys practice."
"Great! We need all the support we can get! We're going up against Sierra Senior High tomorrow afternoon."
"Sierra's ranked No. 2, right?"
"Yeah," she grumbled. "And we're No. 3."
"Well, this is the time to show 'em that the Kihi team can beat them even without me."
"But you ARE with us."
I blinked. "What do you mean?"
Clara let out a breath. "We think about you all the time. It's really sad that you got that leg injury, but we vowed at the beginning of this season that we'd reach Nationals, just for you."
"Is…is that so?" My heart thumped. I was touched that the whole team had dedicated their season to me.
"Yeah." She nodded. "You're the only reason Kihi won Nationals last year."
I laughed. "You know that's not true."
She frowned. "But it is. If you hadn't gotten that 9.85, the team woulda been fourth place. Everybody was depending on you…" Clara looked down at her feet and sighed. "How did you put up with all the pressure?"
"Simple. Remember what I said about not looking around?" I asked.
"Yeah."
"Exactly. I just didn't pay attention to the crowds." I closed my eyes and instinctively threw my hands to the ground and did a handstand. It didn't last very long – my leg couldn't take all of that pressure – and I came tumbling back down to the mat.
"You ok?" Clara asked, looking shocked.
I laughed out loud, my muscles aching from the attempt to do a simple handstand. "Ok? I feel great!! That felt great!!"
A smile slowly crept across Clara's face, and soon, she was laughing with me. "I can't believe you tried to do that!!"
"Well," I said, running my hand through my bangs to get them out of my eyes, "my mom's friend said I might be able to get this brace off by next month, and wear a leg sleeve instead. So…so I figured since my leg's getting better, I may as well get back into the act!"
"The Olympic trials are next May," Clara reminded me, "so you'll hafta work pretty hard!"
"Eleven months left till then…I can do it!" I stood up and prepared myself to try another handstand. "Say, could you help me with this?"
"How so?"
"Just hold my legs up." I got into the normal stance, and then threw my hands at the mat again, and lifted my legs up above me. My left leg wasn't liking this one bit, and was just starting to come down again when Clara grabbed it and my other leg, and held them up. I laughed in delight as I felt muscles that hadn't been worked out in a while actually tense up.
"Your leg's not gonna like you in the morning," Clara jokingly warned me.
"Who cares?!" I said as I started walking with my hands, my leotard-clad companion still holding onto my legs. Several of the other girls turned their heads in our direction as I walked like that all the way to the other side of the gym and back, giggling the whole way, in spite of the intense pain my leg was now in. And as I collapsed on the mat after I was done, I felt certain that maybe, just maybe, I might be able to make my leg regain its full strength again, and then I might actually be able to go to the Olympics…
…And get back into battle.
"Funny, I thought you were coming to support us," Clara joked as I was starting to leave. "It ended up turning into a workout for you!"
"Well, I had to lighten everyone up," I responded as I saw several of the other girls shake their heads in disbelief.
"Certainly worked for me! See ya!" she called out as I headed towards the door.
As I turned to wave back, I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end again. I recognized the feeling and turned towards the door. I could've sworn somebody had been standing there, but there was no one there now. I shrugged to myself and walked out, now feeling a little uneasy as I looked around for anybody that might've been standing there.
This is too weird, I thought. It probably was just Linna looking for me. Who else could it have been?
"Hello, Mrs. Ishiodori," I said, bowing.
"Hello there, Yumeko," Michiko's mom greeted back, doing likewise. "Michiko is in her room studying right now. Did you come to do homework with her?"
I nodded. "She said she needed help with her English homework."
She sighed. "She has so much trouble in that class. I'm sure she'd gladly appreciate your help. By the way, how have you been?"
"Me? I've been ok. My leg's getting better all the time."
"Come in, come in," she urged gently, stepping to the side so I could enter. When I sat down, she added, "I'm so glad to hear that. I want you to know that I've always been keeping you in my thoughts, and Michiko's been praying for you ever since you got that injury."
"Well gee, I'm glad to hear that."
She took my hand in hers, and said, "It's awful what the Knight Sabers did, jumping in on that summit like that, and blowing up the place."
I forced myself to swallow my pride to keep from lashing out at her.
"Do you know which one it was that hurt you?"
"Uh…no, I don't," I lied. "To be honest, I don't think it was the Knight Sabers that attacked the convention center."
She shook her head, looking sympathetic. "Dear, I'm so sorry. You must've blocked it all out, I'm sure."
Blocked it out, my ass, I thought.
Our conversation was interrupted when Michiko suddenly came bursting out of her room. "Yumeko!!" she squealed when she saw me, and came running over. "So glad you're here!!"
"Hi!" I said.
"Do you girls want anything?" Michiko's mom asked.
"No, that's alright," I replied, standing up.
"We're ok, Mom," Michiko said as we walked into her bedroom. As she closed the door, she took a breath and meekly looked down at her feet.
"What's wrong?" I asked. Michiko was normally such a sunny and cheerful person; what could be bothering her?
"I overheard you two talking," she said in a low voice, looking up at me. "I know it wasn't the Knight Sabers that attacked the convention center, it couldn't have been them. Why would they attack the world leaders if they were the ones trying to solve the Boomer problem? It doesn't make sense."
"I think she's in denial."
She nodded. "So do I. I think her hatred for the Sabers is distorting her vision of reality or something. She hates them so much that she'll believe anything Genom says about them. I don't get it."
"It happens," I said, shrugging. "Some people are like that, I guess. So what part of the English homework are you having trouble with?"
"All of it," she groaned, opening up the textbook. "Like this question." I looked over her shoulder and looked at the question she was pointing at.
"What's so hard about it? All it's asking is what your favorite hobbies are."
"Yeah, but…I have to write about it in English."
"And?"
"I know the words, but…I don't know how to put them together."
"Have you written anything so far?"
"Yeah." She pointed to a piece of paper laying next to the book, and when I picked it up, I held in a snicker as I read what she'd written so far:
A favorite hobie of me is act. I did Nurse in Romeo and Juriet pley. I love act from child-hood times. It very fun do.
I cleared my throat. "Ah…well…"
"See what I mean?" she groaned, noticing the look on my face. "My English is terrible."
"I understand what you're trying to say, but…have you looked these up in a Japanese-English dictionary? That would help you with the spellings, and help you not to confuse the l's and r's. I've noticed a lot of kids do that."
"I thought I spelled 'em ok. Besides, a lot of English words have the 'ie', right?"
"Yeah, but not all of them. Some use a 'y' instead, like in 'hobby'. In English, it's spelled H-O-B-B-Y. I think I can understand why you only spelled it with one 'b' instead of two like it's supposed to be, though."
"Well, when it's written in katakana, it only has one 'b': hobii," she said, confirming what I had thought. "So I figured it must've been like that when written in English, too."
I shook my head. "Not all the time. In English, they don't do the pauses before the double letters, like the 'kk', like we do in Japanese, so I can see why you'd be confused on whether to do a 'kk' or 'bb' or whatever, or not. All it takes is practice."
"I figured you'd say that," Michiko groaned, rolling her eyes. "But you've had practice your whole life, traveling the world with Priss and all."
I grinned. "Well, when you're little like I was, you learn faster, I guess."
"So what would it look like in correct English?"
I rewrote it for her so it looked like this:
A favorite hobby of mine is acting. I played the role of Nurse in the Romeo and Juliet play. I've loved acting since I was a child. It's very fun to do.
Michiko looked at it and merely blinked in confusion. "It does look better to me, but…it's still confusing."
I laughed. "Yeah, English is a tough language."
"Mom says she's thought about getting me a personal tutor or sending me to juku," she said, starting to laugh, "but I figure, why waste the money when I've got you here?"
"True enough," I agreed, still snickering a bit. "And besides, I'm willing to work for free, unlike some jerks who'll charge 3,000 yen an hour to teach you hardly anything at all."
After spending a few hours helping each other with homework – I helped Michiko with the rest of her English homework, while she helped me with trigonometry – I decided to leave; I didn't want to be bugging anybody.
"Do you need a ride home?" Michiko's dad asked as he arrived home from his job.
"No, that's ok," I said, grabbing my backpack. "I don't mind taking the bus."
"You're welcome to stay for dinner," Michiko's mom offered. "We're having tempura."
"Yes, Adrienne's a wonderful cook," Mr. Ishiodori said. "Are you sure?"
My mouth watered at the thought of having tempura, but I shook my head. "I don't want to intrude. And besides, my mom's expecting me home."
"Well, ok. We'll have some extra set aside if you change your mind," he joked as I limped out the door.
"Thanks," I said as I left.
When I arrived back at my apartment building, I was quick to notice that Mom's motorcycle wasn't in the parking lot. I figured she must've gone somewhere to grab some fast food, although deep inside, I knew it must've been something else. She knew the number to Michiko's apartment, so if she was doing that, I was sure she would have at least called and told me so.
Which is why I hurried up as fast as I could to our apartment; I was hoping against hope that she hadn't gone out on another Boomer Hunt without telling me. I'd nearly had a heart attack from worry last time; surely she wouldn't pull the same stunt again! I turned on the TV and quickly flipped the channel to the evening news. And sure enough, they were reporting what I had feared.
"There are several Combat Boomers on the rampage in Roppongi district," the reporter said calmly. "They are reported to be 55C Boomers, and the SWAT team is attempting to dispatch them. However, several of the SWAT officers have been killed, and backup has yet to arrive."
"Aw hell!!" I said aloud, dropping my backpack on the floor. The reporter hadn't mentioned the Knight Sabers, so I assumed that they hadn't yet arrived to take care of the Boomers. Of course, it was also possible that Genom was telling the news stations not to mention the Sabers…
I kept that in my mind as I headed back downstairs to catch the next bus to district 3. I wasn't planning on jumping into the fight directly; I figured I could just sit back and wait, wait until, if at all, they needed help, then I'd jump in. I knew better this time, what with my leg far from being at full strength and all. I couldn't afford to just jump in without a plan of what to do.
When the bus arrived at district 3, I got off and walked the short distance to the Lady 633 building, then went into the parking garage and after the voice verification device positively identified me, went into the suit-up room.
"Hey, she repaired it!!" I exclaimed when I saw my hardsuit. No more gaping hole in the leg armor; it was all repaired and looking like it had never even had a dent before. My flight wings were looking just as good as ever as well, and the stomach armor gleamed as if it had just been polished. I noticed something else; instead of the normal glove on the left hand, there was an armored one, just like how it was on my right hand. I grinned like a Cheshire cat as I changed into my innerwear, setting my brace carefully aside, and stepped into the suit for the first time in three and a half months.
"I should thank Sylia later," I reminded myself jokingly as the armor folded itself over my torso and limbs. Once I was suited up, I tried moving my flight wings to make sure they were working ok. As I heard them click when they opened up, I grinned widely again. It'd been too long since I was last in this thing. I closed the wings and tried doing a back-handspring. I could do it just as easily as ever, with the exception that I stumbled when I landed on my feet again, falling to the ground on my butt as a result. I merely laid back and laughed.
Trying out my repaired hardsuit was going to be fun!!
…Or so I thought at the time.
"Yahoo!!"
I went zipping through the sky at high-speed, not wanting to miss out on my first battle in three and a half months. Soaring through the sky like a bird again; what a feeling. I did a few twists in the air and sped up; as much as I wanted to take my time and savor the moment, I didn't want to get to the battlefield too late, either.
A sudden explosion filled my ears, and when I looked ahead to see where it came from, I saw a plume of smoke starting to rise from between some buildings.
"Heh, gotta love smoke signals," I quipped as I deactivated my flight wings and went dropping to the roof of a building below, starting up my thrusters at the last moment to make sure I didn't go splat all over. As I landed, I stumbled back a little bit, but other than that, a perfect landing. I crouched down and ran my scanner for the Boomers and Mom and the others. After a moment, it detected them about a kilometer ahead of me, along with three BU-55C Boomers. Those kind again?, I thought. This battle surely wouldn't take long. I sighed and crouched down a little more, stretching my bad leg out to the side, since it couldn't bend that much yet.
I continued running my scanner, watching the movements of the Sabers and the Boomers. I saw the dot that indicated the blue Saber – Mom – rush towards one of the Boomer dots, and the Boomer dot suddenly flashed red at the exact moment I heard a distant explosion.
"Musta used her Knuckle Bomber," I guessed as the dot flashed a few more times, then went grey, indicating it was destroyed. This was almost like watching one of those really old video games from back in the twentieth century. It was amusing. I next saw the dot that indicated Linna head towards another Boomer, along with the dot indicating Sylia, and I watched as those two dots closed in on the Boomer dot and attacked it until it, too, went grey.
I looked down at my hands and saw they were shaking. I noticed that my whole body, in fact, was shaking too. Ah, the excitement of being in a battle…sorta. I'd never been out of a battle for this long; the adrenaline rush seemed almost foreign to me now, but oh, how glorious it was to feel it again.
As I watched the last Boomer dot turn grey, I sighed and smiled.
"Well, I guess they won't be needing me after all," I said to myself, grinning.
"Yes," I suddenly heard a deep voice say from behind me, "but you might be needing some help yourself."
My body froze in shock as I heard a VERY large gun get aimed and cocked at the back of my head. Where had this guy come from?! I pondered what to do for a moment, my mind suddenly getting cloudy.
"Turn around VERY slowly," he ordered. I hesitantly looked over my shoulder, then jumped in surprise and backed up against the guard rail.
"Wha…wha…what are…?!" I stammered, panic-stricken, my legs shaking underneath me.
"What are we?" he finished. "Boomers, plain and simple. And if you cooperate, we won't have to rough you up too badly."
I tried in vain to swallow the lump in my throat that had settled there. "What do you want with ME? I'm no one special."
The man smirked. "Sure you are…Yumeko."
"How…?!" He knew my identity?! How in the world did he know?!
"No need to go into detail. Now just be a good girl and come with us."
"In…your dreams!!" I snapped as I jump-kicked the gun – actually something that looked like a bazooka – he held with my Leg Bomber and leaped over the side of the building.
"Get her!! GET HER!!" he yelled at the Boomers behind him. They quickly gave chase, and no sooner had I landed on the sidewalk than they were there, running after me. I tried dashing across the street, but my leg badly slowed me down, and I ended up stumbling more than once. I didn't get very far, of course, before one of the Boomers landed in front of me. I stopped and turned around to run the other way, but the other Boomer was there. I yelped and took a step back, looking towards the first Boomer again, only to see it charging towards me. A split-second later, I felt the air be violently expelled from my lungs as the Boomer thrust its fist into my stomach. I stumbled backwards, only to have the second Boomer come at me also, kicking me in the side. I screamed as I skidded across the pavement on my back, coming to a stop on the sidewalk.
"No…no fair!!" I protested as I wobbled to my feet, wincing at the sharp pain in my side. Now THIS was a change from what I'd been expecting when I decided to come out to begin with. I certainly hadn't been expecting an ambush.
"Nobody said this was going to be fair," the red Boomer – the one that had punched me in the stomach – snapped back as it charged at me again. I opened my flight wings and took to the air, and thought I'd gotten out of the way when all of a sudden, I felt a big hand latch onto my ankle. I pushed my wings as hard as they could've been, but the Boomer still held on, and ended up throwing me into the wall of the building across the street.
"Given up yet?" the second Boomer – a grey one – inquired as I got up again, holding my side.
I shook my head slowly. "Why…why would I? You bastards ain't nothing compared to what I've fought before."
"Is that a fact? Then why are you getting whooped so badly?"
"Try asking me that again in about five minutes," I advised as I activated my jumpjets and sped towards the grey Boomer. It raised up its fist, ready to attack, but before it could, I fired a few of my discs at it. Its torso jerked as the discs pierced it and came bursting out of the back. As it tried to get ready for my next move, I jumped and kicked it in the head with my Leg Bombers, then popped out my lasersword and stabbed it through the chest and withdrew before the Boomer could grab my arm.
"Now who's getting whooped?" I inquired as the Boomer put a hand to its bleeding chest.
"Still you," I heard the red Boomer say. I turned to face it, only to be met with a hurling fist. I jumped back just in time to avoid it, and thrust my own fist at it, ready to blow its brains out with my Knuckle Bomber. No such luck; the Boomer grabbed my arm, turned me around, and flung me. It then opened up its chest and fired its heat cannon. I raised up my arm to block it, but it didn't help much as the intense heat slammed into me, sending me reeling.
"Ok, ok…" I said slowly. "This isn't much fun anymore…"
"For you, perhaps not," the red Boomer quipped.
I gotta get outta here, I thought as I rubbed my forearm, which now hurt like hell. I don't have the advantage on the ground. I snapped open my flight wings and took to the air again, this time making double sure that one of the Boomers wouldn't be able to grab me by the leg or ankle again.
"This again?" the grey Boomer muttered as it activated its jumpjets. As it gave chase, leaping from the roof of one building to another, it suddenly came to me: this was why I must have gotten beaten up so badly at the Boomer summit. I didn't have as much room to fight in, I realized. There was no way I could've used my wings inside. And those damn Boomers knew it too…
I was snapped back to reality when I heard a blast from the Boomer's mouth cannon. I instantly deactivated my flight wings and went dropping to the ground, or so I would've had the Boomer believe, to avoid the blast. It fired at me again before I would've hit the ground, but just before I did just that, I reactivated my wings and came speeding up towards it. I popped out my lasersword and as I reached the Boomer, slashed upwards from its belly up through its head.
"Yes!!" I cheered. "Gotcha!!"
"Not quite," I heard the red Boomer say as I felt its foot slam into my back. I gasped with surprise as I went crashing back down to the street. "There's still me, too."
"Heh…I didn't forget," I spat at it, then grinned. "C'mon, you too chicken to fight me?"
"Hardly." It looked back at its grey companion, who I'd thought woulda been dead for sure. But when I saw it stand up under its own power, looking good as new, I was left dumbstruck.
"That thing…can close up its own wounds…?" I wondered aloud. This wasn't going to be as easy as I thought… "Hmph…well, guess I just gotta make ya BLEED to death, eh?"
"Just try it," the grey Boomer encouraged.
"Oh, you bet I will," I mumbled as the red one jumped down from its perch. Just gotta make it so they're not able to close their wounds, I told myself as the Boomer charged towards me. Gotta make it bleed to death…shouldn't be that hard, right? I started running to meet the Boomer head-on, but as I stepped with my left leg, I stumbled, which took me by surprise. The Boomer took full advantage of this slip-up, and punched me in the chest, which sent me flying back a few meters. As I tried to regain my composure, it fired its heat cannon at me again. I managed to use my jumpjets to leap up and get out of the way of the blast this time, but my luck didn't last.
"Whew, too close," I said breathlessly. At that instant, I looked over to the building where I'd seen the grey Boomer last. It wasn't there anymore. And before I could react, I detected it right behind me. I gasped.
"Game over," it said as I felt its fist slam into my shoulder. I screamed and went sailing down to the pavement below, bouncing once I hit it.
"Ah…ow…" I moaned as I tried to get up, my whole body trembling with the effort. My entire left shoulder felt like a vessel of pain now, and when I leaned on it for support, I cried out with the resulting pain. I looked over my shoulder and saw the grey Boomer still in the air, starting to fire several laser blasts at me. "Whoa!!" I yelled as I rolled to the side to avoid them. I could feel the ground shaking beneath me as the lasers hit and made the pavement seemingly explode. I laid there for a few seconds, panting, when I then heard the Boomer fire its mouth cannon. I leaped forward into an alley just in time to avoid that blast as well.
After the blast hit the ground and exploded, I slowly got to my feet and grabbed my left shoulder, then looked back. There was a cloud of smoke blocking my view, but I could still detect the Boomers on the other side of it.
"I…I gotta get out of here," I groaned, my legs wobbling underneath me. I tried to move my arm, but my shoulder heavily protested the movement, and I jumped as it flared up in pain again. Geez, they really messed it up, I thought as I winced.
I heard some movement behind a dumpster, and I slowly limped over to where it came from. There, I saw a girl crouching down, sobbing.
"Hey…hey, you ok?" I asked. The girl looked up at me, and I had to keep myself from gasping. It's Ana!!, I thought.
"Don't….don't hurt me," she pleaded, her hands covering the top and sides of her head.
"I'm not going to hurt you," I assured her. "Hell, I'm the one getting beat up here. Get outta here."
"But…but the Boomers…"
"Get out of here or you're gonna get killed!" I ordered. Ana didn't budge an inch. I didn't exactly blame her, but then again, this was probably her only chance to escape. I pointed to the other end of the alley and said, "Get out through that way. Go!"
"Wrong answer," I heard the grey Boomer say as it blocked the end of the alley to which I had just pointed. I yelped in surprise while Ana curled up even more and started crying again. I turned around quickly to look at the other end, and sure enough, the red Boomer was blocking that end, too.
"Shit!" I swore, backing away. My leg flinched when I stepped with it, ready to buckle. Could things possibly get worse?!
"Who's your little friend behind here?" the red Boomer inquired, yanking away the dumpster and revealing Ana. She gasped and squeezed her eyes shut.
"Don't touch her!!" I ordered, every wound on my body starting to make their presence known. "I swear, if you do anything to her…"
"What're you gonna do?" the grey Boomer chided, taking aim at Ana. I looked from the grey Boomer back to the red one, and saw it, too, was taking aim. I heard Ana let out a little cry as she prepared herself for the end.
"I said DON'T!!" I yelled, motioning with my hands for them to stop, my shoulder protesting the movement. I looked at both of them out of the corners of my eye, waiting for them to make their move. I could feel the tension in the air as they both kept their aim on Ana, expecting me to pull some amazing stunt. But there was only one thing I could do, and I did it.
I leaped to cover up Ana with my own body, and at that exact same moment, both Boomers fired. I felt the blasts slam into my sides, and I squeezed my eyes shut and gritted my teeth, trying not to scream, yet trying to cover up Ana more at the same time.
"Huh?!" I could hear her say.
"I said I won't let them hurt you," I panted, the pain excruciating. "I meant it." It was times like this that I wondered why the hell I had to be so unselfish sometimes.
"You…"
"This isn't doing you any good," the red Boomer said as it fired at me again. I cried out in pain as the blast hit me again. The grey Boomer followed suit, and soon I felt another blast slam into me. They repeated that several times, and each time, the pain only grew, and my patience lessened. I had to end this…but how?
"Why are you doing this?" Ana sobbed as I gritted my teeth and put up with the pain racking my entire body by now.
"It's my duty," I managed to groan. "You got…mixed up in this, and I'm making – agh!! – sure that you get out of it."
She opened her eyes slowly and looked up at me as I took another blast, feeling like I was going to pass out. "I know you…"
"Huh?" I said, my eyes starting to tear up from all this pain.
"It's…it's YOU!!" I could've sworn she even started to frown a little bit, in spite of the fact that she was very close to getting killed. "Yumeko, it's you!!"
"Had enough yet?" the grey Boomer said, taking aim again.
Actually, yes, quite enough, I thought, my torso numb with pain. Think, think, how do I get out of this without letting Ana get hurt?
"Time's up," the red Boomer said, firing again. I didn't even cry out anymore as the blast hit me; I felt the impact, but the pain was just…there.
"STOP IT!!" I screamed, abruptly standing up and backing away from Ana, backing up until I almost had my back against the other wall. "This…this is enough…"
"Oh really?"
I snapped my head in the red Boomer's direction, then in the direction of the grey Boomer. "You can do whatever you want with me, but…but…you have to let this girl go…"
"What are you DOING?!" Ana snapped, looking absolutely terrified.
"I know what I'm doing," I sighed, trying my hardest not to collapse. "I'll do whatever you bastards want, but only if you let this girl go."
The red Boomer lowered its gun. "No tricks, right?"
I shook my head. "Do I look like I could pull any right now?"
Ana slowly stood up, looking around to make sure nobody was going to suddenly shoot her. "This is insane…"
"Yeah, but that's why I'm a Knight Saber," I quipped. "You gotta be insane to want to fight Boomers."
"True enough…"
"You have four seconds," the red Boomer warned, stepping to the side. Ana just stood there, petrified.
"GO!!" I ordered. "I'll be fine!!"
Ana stood there for a second, then broke into a run and sped down the alley and past the red Boomer. Once she was gone, the Boomer stepped back into the alley. "There. She's gone."
"Well, at least you let her go."
"Don't forget, there's your part of the bargain too." It stepped closer to me, and when I backed away, I heard the grey Boomer take a step closer, too.
"Oh, right," I groaned. "So…what now?"
"You'll see." It aimed the palm of its hand at me, and suddenly, some tentacle-like things popped out and raced towards me.
"Wha?!" I said dumbfoundedly. I turned to run, in spite of the fact that the grey Boomer was blocking my way, but the tentacles wrapped themselves around me, preventing me from getting anywhere. The grey Boomer did the same movement, and I tried running the other way, but in a matter of seconds, both Boomers had me bound. I screamed and jerked myself in all directions, trying in vain to get myself free, but to no avail. "Let me go!!" I demanded.
"Just keep quiet, why dontcha?" the grey Boomer said. I heard an electrical current being delivered through the tentacles, and I felt its effect shortly thereafter. My body jerked as I felt a huge shockwave being sent throughout. I shrieked as it kept coming and coming, and then, just as abruptly as it started, it ended. I stood there swaying for a few seconds, and as the Boomers withdrew the tentacles, I went slumping to the ground.
"Heh. Good job," I heard the man who'd accompanied the two Boomers say. "Sure did a number on her."
I put my hands to the ground and tried to push myself up, using what little strength I had left. Gotta…get outta here…, I kept thinking, even though I could feel the man's eyes boring into me as he looked down at me.
"I figured as much," I heard him say as he observed the scene. A second later, I felt something slam hard into the back of my head. My vision flashed white for a moment, then I went collapsing to the pavement again.
As the curtain of blackness covered me, I heard him say one last thing.
"Ok. Take her."
"That was almost too easy," I sighed, smirking as I leaned back against the wall of the equipment van.
"No kidding," Linna agreed. "I didn't even break a sweat. Thanks for the little upgrades on the suits, too, Sylia."
"It was something that had to be done," Sylia said coolly.
"This'll make killing Boomers twice as fun." Linna grinned and laughed.
"Twice as messy," I concurred, not that I was complaining or anything.
Nene lifted up her visor, looking concerned about something. "Something's not right here…"
"What do you mean?" Sylia asked.
"I'm…I'm detecting Yumeko's hardsuit. But the only thing is, she's not out here as far as I know."
"What?!" I yelled, instantly flipping my visor down to scan for it. After what happened last time, it probably wouldn't surprise me if she'd decided to tag along. After a few seconds, sure enough, Yume's suit showed up on the scanner, southwest of where we were, and moving due west. "Looks like she wanted to help us."
"She knows she can't do that," Sylia said; I could've sworn I even heard her grumble a little bit.
"Hey, you're right," Mackie said after he scanned for Yume, too. "But the only thing is, why's she heading due west when there's nothing there?"
"Here's why," Sylia said, after scanning some more. "There's several Boomers with her."
"But…I didn't detect them before," Nene protested. "I would've detected them if they were close by."
"Shit," I cursed, opening up the roof hatch. "I'm gonna go save her."
"Priss!" Sylia yelled. I stopped climbing through and looked at her. "We can't just dive in without knowing what we're up against. We need a plan first."
"I knew it'd only be a matter of time…" Linna muttered to herself as she pulled her helmet back on. "Like mother, like daughter." I frowned at her.
"Ok," I sighed, climbing back down. "So, what do you recommend we should do?"
As I slowly came to, I could make out some muddled sounds around me. As they slowly became clearer, I could make out the sound of a vehicle going down the road – and I was in it. My eyes fluttered open as I slowly realized what had happened and what was going on now. But when I turned my head, the back of it started throbbing with pain. I winced and blinked a couple times, as the pain was making me see spots.
"Ah. She's awake," I heard a man say as he walked towards me. I didn't look up to him; it would make my head hurt too much. "Heh, not even a hello?"
"Why would I say hello when we've already met?" I muttered, my voice barely audible. I tried moving my arm, but it was bound to my side. I opened my eyes again and looked down; both the Boomers had me bound with their tentacles again.
"Well," I heard him say, "we're gonna be hangin' around each other for a little while, so we might as well get acquainted, right?"
I lifted my head up and looked at him; I noticed that part of his face and one eye was cybernetic, as well as most of his body below the chest. "So…you a Boomeroid or what?"
"Ah, you've heard of 'em. Actually, yes, I am." He leaned back against the wall of the truck, looking at me for a few seconds, then shook his head.
"What now?" I asked.
"You're a kid… What's a kid doing fighting a meaningless war?" He eyed me up and down, then looked me in the face; it was just now that I noticed my visor was lifted up. "Look at you, decked out in armor and shit… It's like what they do in Third World countries, giving 12-year-olds machine guns and telling them to massacre a whole village."
"Except I'm not out to massacre a whole village."
"What, you don't consider the Boomer community a village?" he quipped. "So tell me, why did the Knight Sabers recruit a teenager to help them out?"
I scowled. "Why would it matter to you?"
He smirked. "Because at the place where we're taking you, you'll be asked the same thing, and more."
"Who wants to do what to me, anyway? I didn't see anybody going to kidnap my friends. Why just me?"
"I can't say. You'll see when you get there."
"Get where?"
"Pushy little thing, arentcha."
I raised an eyebrow and said in an overly sarcastic tone, "Well, I need to know, so the coroner can put down the right place of death on my death certificate."
The man grinned and chuckled. "Let's just say that your friends will be too far away to save you."
Yeah right, bub, I thought, setting my HUD on Auto Motoslave Mode. We'll see what you have to say about that.
"What was that beeping?" he suddenly fired, storming towards me and getting in my face. "I heard a beeping from your helmet. What was it?!"
"What beeping?" I asked innocently. "Maybe it was your battery running low." I was cut off when he suddenly thrust his fist into my stomach. I let out a strangled yell and started coughing as the wave of pain spread upwards into my sore ribs. I sat there and gasped for air for a few seconds, only to scream when the man then clubbed me in the shoulder.
"I want you to tell me what that beeping was," he grumbled as my eyes teared up from the intense pain I was starting to feel all over again.
"It…wasn't anything," I spat, the sweat trickling down my face.
The man turned away and snorted. "Ah well. Once 'they' get you out of that armor, then they'll be able to figure out what each little signal is for."
I winced at my throbbing shoulder. "Geez, you didn't hafta hit me that hard. It's messed up as it is."
"I know that," he said as he faced me again. "It's broken."
"How do you know?"
"I scanned you for injuries earlier. That's the only major one." He smirked. "Which is why you're tied up right now."
"It's not like I could do much if I weren't tied up anyway," I murmured, referring to my leg.
"Sure you could. Those wings of yours helped, for a bit."
I looked down at the floor and thought for a moment. How had he known my name? I sucked in a breath, looked up at him again, and asked, "By the way…how did you know my name earlier?"
"Your name? From TV."
"TV?"
"Your gymnastics competitions. Not to mention you were in the list of injured from the summit incident. Two really big names on that list; Priss Asagiri, lead singer for the Replicants, and Yumeko Asagiri, daughter of Priss, one of the top-ranked gymnasts in the world. Heh."
"So what?"
"So? So aren't you curious as to how 'we' know about your double life, little Yumeko?" He tapped my faceplate with his finger. "And don't you think for a moment that you can hide behind this tinted faceplate, because your face is still the same. It's like comparing a black-and-white picture of you to a color picture of you. Only the color is different, but it's still the same person."
"Sir?" I heard the driver of the truck call to him. "We'll be arriving at our destination in about fifteen minutes, sir."
"Good, good," he replied, then turned back to me. "So, where were we?"
"I think you were talking about how you're so full of shit that it's a wonder my sense of smell hasn't been damaged for life just from taking one whiff of you," I wisecracked. The man grumbled under his breath, and I even smirked for a moment.
"Do you really want another shock treatment that badly?" he quipped, looking at the two Boomers that had me bound.
I paled. "Well…when you put it that way…"
He sneered. "I thought so."
I was about to answer when my HUD suddenly picked up something heading towards us. I scanned for it, then tried to keep a straight face as I realized what it was. Looks like the cavalry's here, I thought.
"What's so funny?" he asked.
"What do you mean?" I replied, trying not to smile or laugh like a maniac.
"You're up to something, aren't you?"
"I thought I already said I can't do anything when I'm tied up like this."
"Uh, sir?" the driver said. "There's something heading towards us at a high speed."
"What is it?!" he demanded.
"I…I dunno. But—"
Before the driver could finish, something slammed into the truck HARD. I screamed as the truck was flipped over on its side and sent the Boomers, the man, and me all tumbling around the truck like clothes getting thrown around in a dryer. The truck went skidding a ways before coming to a stop.
"What the hell was THAT?!" the man yelled, getting to his feet, then stormed towards me, flat on my back and still tightly bound by the other two Boomers. He grabbed me by the neck and yelled, "You called your friends, didn't you!!"
"Y'know how many times I've been grabbed by the neck?" I asked dryly, my whole body sore after taking that spill. The man was about to answer when there was a loud boom, followed by a huge figure stomping into the truck through a hole that it had made in the wall of it. My Motoslave.
"Monsoon!!" I yelled, practically jumping for joy.
"What are YOU?!" the man asked the Motoslave, grabbing his bazooka-gun, which had a fairly large dent in it from when I'd kicked it. The Motoslave merely stomped towards him and swatted the bazooka aside, then fired its own gun at the two Boomers. The blasts severed the tentacles that held me, and after they fell to the ground, I let out a breath and fell to my hands and knees.
"Great timing," I sighed with relief as I struggled to my feet. "Think you can take care of these bastards for me?"
"Not so fast!!" the man snapped as he ran towards me, only to be blocked when Monsoon stepped in front of me, blocking his path.
"You'll hafta get through my friend here first," I taunted as I activated my jumpjets – my wings were too damaged to function – and jetted out through the hole the Motoslave had made moments before. I jetted a ways before setting myself down in the street, my legs almost buckling on me once I landed. I groaned and put my hand to my shoulder; it was pounding again. Just hope Monsoon can take care of those Boomers by itself, I thought.
"You gotta make 'em bleed to death!!" I yelled to it as I heard lots of gunfire ensue. "They can close up their wounds!! Keep firing!!"
I heard the explosions and gunfire for a few moments afterwards, then I saw the red Boomer come out through the left side of the truck, Monsoon storming after it. I gasped as the Motoslave punched through its stomach, then as the blood came gushing out of it, punched its head off, sending it slumping to the ground, twitching.
"All right!!" I cheered. The moment didn't last long; out of the front of the truck, I saw another Boomer burst its way out and jet towards me. The driver was a Boomer too? Just great, I thought with dread as it charged at me. I tried backing away, only to stumble and fall as my sore legs gave out. "Damn!!" I cursed to myself as the Boomer reached me, swinging its fist at my head. I rolled out of the way just in time to avoid it, and as the Boomer was about to attack again, I aimed at its torso and fired three of my discs through it. It jerked as the discs traveled through it, but instead of collapsing to the ground like I'd expected, it reached down and grabbed me by the shoulder and squeezed.
"LET GO!!" I screamed as I opened up my Pulse-Strikers and activated them. The Boomer froze like a statue, paralyzed, and started convulsing, which gave me the chance to get up and fight, my shoulder now hurting to the point where I couldn't even move that arm.
"You're gonna pay for that," I swore as I popped out my lasersword. Right when I did, however, the Boomer, which was supposed to be completely paralyzed, suddenly swatted me away. I landed on my back hard, crying out in pain again when the Boomer kicked me in the side, which sent me rolling a few feet.
"What…the HELL!!" I snapped as I slowly sat up, holding my shoulder. "You're supposed to be paralyzed, dammit!!" I wobbled to my feet, preparing for my next move. I couldn't understand what was wrong; a 55C Boomer was normally no problem for me to beat by myself, so why was I getting pounded by one?!
The Boomer opened its mouth wide, and I saw why: it was preparing to fire its mouth cannon at me. I braced myself for the attack, and right when it was about to fire, Monsoon came out of nowhere and punched the Boomer through its back and out its chest. After withdrawing its fist, the Boomer, like the red one, slumped to the ground, dead.
I stood there blinking for a moment, then sighed in relief. "Nice one," I said, looking up at the Motoslave. "Don't think…I coulda…done it without you…" I winced at my wounds; the adrenaline rush was beginning to wear off, and now I was starting to feel the fatigue. I took a few steps towards Monsoon, my hand to my shoulder, and smiled. "If I said anything about…not using you again 'cause you were too hard to handle…then…heh…I take it all back…" I started to sway, ready to faint, but the Motoslave put a hand to my chest to hold me up, then picked me up in its arms, cradling me.
"Hey…I didn't say…" I started to protest, but as I felt the strength leaving me, and the blackness starting to close in on me again, I knew better. "But…thanks anyway…"
In the distance, I heard a van driving up, and the sound of Mom and Linna's voices yelling for me. I closed my eyes and sighed. I'm in for it now, I thought as unconsciousness took ahold of me again. If the Boomers didn't kill me…Sylia will…
"I don't think I've ever seen anybody who attracts as much trouble as you," Sylia said as I stood in front of her meekly, looking down at the floor while she spoke; how could I look her in the face after all the trouble I caused?
"It's…not like I ASKED to be kidnapped…" I mumbled, scuffing the sole of my shoe on the floor. "How was I supposed to know there was an ambush waiting for me?"
"That's not the point, Yumeko. The point is that you went out in your hardsuit in spite of the fact that you're still walking with a brace, not to mention against my orders. There are no solo actions allowed, period."
"I see where Yume's coming from, though, Sylia," Mom spoke up. I looked at her as she leaned against the wall. "She just wanted to help us if we needed it."
"Don't try defending her. At this point of time, Priss, she's more of a liability than a help. You should know that." Sylia sighed and directed her eyes at me again. I looked down again in response. "I need a moment alone with her. Could you leave for a moment?"
"Uh, sure," Mom said hesitantly. She looked at me for a moment, with that look in her eyes that said she wanted to help more, but couldn't. When she left, it was just me and Sylia in the room. I sighed, then looked away again. What was I supposed to do? I knew Sylia would be mad, but since I'd never seen her mad before, I didn't know what exactly she would do to punish me for what I did. Enforce Rule 11, perhaps?
"So…anything to say?" Sylia inquired.
"I just…wanted to help, like Mom said," I said weakly. "I was just trying to keep a distance so I wouldn't get in the way. I was only planning on jumping in if you guys needed help."
"The Boomers we fought were three 55Cs. What made you think we would need help?"
I didn't know how to respond, and Sylia knew that all too well. I could tell because when I didn't answer, a small smirk formed on her lips.
"I…" I started to say, my voice trembling. "I…was just worried. After what happened with the BU-33Bs, I just…wanted to make sure nobody got hurt, I guess."
"You guess? Yumeko, we have much more experience at this than you do. We know what we're doing."
"And I thought I knew what I was doing, but…I just messed things up again. Like I always do…"
"You don't always mess things up," Sylia admitted. I snapped my head up at her in surprise. "You've helped us quite a bit since you joined the Knight Sabers. However, you still have a lot to learn."
"I'm not…not even supposed to be doing this," I moaned, the tears springing up in my eyes. "I'm seventeen… I'm not supposed to be out fighting Boomers, or having to worry about somebody trying to kill me. You KNOW that I nearly got shot in the head a few weeks back!! How am I supposed to deal with that?! Just go along my merry way, pretending everything's just peachy keen? I can't do it!!" I ground the tears out of my eyes with my fist.
"Just remember that you agreed to join the Knight Sabers," Sylia reminded me. "No one forced you to do it."
I blinked in surprise. I hadn't been expecting that sort of remark. "I…guess it didn't sink in until it was too late, how dangerous this job really is, anyway." Sylia nodded attentively. "But anyway, like I was saying…how am I supposed to pretend everything's fine NOW, when I know for a fact that the bastards at Genom DO know who I am?!"
Sylia's eyes widened a bit at that last remark. "How do you know?" she asked, a bit of interest in her voice.
"The Boomeroid guy called me by name…and recognized my face…"
"I see…"
"Maybe…I should just save them the trouble, and take myself out…" I took my gun out and pulled the slide back. "At least they won't have to waste any of their own bullets on me if I do the job myself…"
Sylia grabbed the gun and yanked it out of my hand, frowning. "Do you really think that will make the situation better? You'll just be giving them what they want."
I frowned as well. "Well then…you can do it. This is what Rule 11's there for, right? I broke the rules, and I gotta pay."
"I've never enforced Rule 11, and I'm not going to start with you," she said flatly. "Sometimes, these lessons must be taught the hard way. You've proved that much, with all the injuries you've gotten in the course of being a Knight Saber."
"Some lesson," I groaned.
"You really surprised us, you know," she said suddenly. "We were planning on how to rescue you, and then out of the blue, your Motoslave is activated and heads out."
I smirked. "No other way out, so I had to pull out the big guns."
Sylia suddenly got a strange look on her face, like she was in deep thought. I had an idea about what she was pondering; why would those Boomers have only come after me, and not them as well? I brought it up, and she admitted that's what she was thinking about.
"It is indeed strange that they've only shown an interest in you, and not the rest of us as well."
"Maybe it's because they know my identity and not anybody else's, but…"
"But what?"
"Mom's hinted that…that they might know hers as well. Y'know when that one female Boomer almost gutted me? She told me she thought it was originally after her, but can't explain how Genom might know her identity as well as mine."
"I'll have to try and figure that out, then."
"There's something else that's been bugging me, too…" I added, rubbing my shoulder.
"What's that?"
"I feel like somebody's been watching me lately. I must be going crazy, but every now and then I just feel somebody watching me behind my back, but when I turn around, there's nobody there."
"Has anybody around you started to take an unusual interest in you?"
I thought for a moment. "Well…Boh, I guess."
"Who's Boh?"
"He's a kid at my school that started going there a few days before I went back."
Sylia's eyes grew hard, which concerned me a bit, and made me a bit nervous, to boot. "What kind of interest has he taken in you?"
"Well…it's nothing really. Linna just thinks he might have a crush on me or something."
"I'll check up on it. In the meantime, try and be careful. And I don't want to see you trying to follow us in your hardsuit again. We don't need the officials at your school to be on your case," she warned, patting me on the shoulder. I cried out in pain and grabbed it. "See what I mean?"
"Y…yeah," I said, my eyes watering from the pain. She did that on purpose!!, I thought, annoyed, as she motioned for me to follow her so she could take care of my injuries.
