W.I.T.C.H.Dreams ofLusteria
By Galistar07water
Disclaimer: W.I.T.C.H. is owned and copyrighted by the Walt Disney Company Italia and is in no way affiliated with the fictional works of Galistar07water.
Author's note: If you would like to see drawings of W.I.T.C.H. Dreams of Lusteria, please visit my page and click the "W.I.T.C.H. Dreams of Lusteria" folder in the gallery section.
Chapter 02: Brave New World pt. I
"Taranee!" Lionel called at the top of his lung one Wednesday morning. "Breakfast is ready!"
Taranee Cook sneezed as she adjusted her glasses. She looked around to make sure that she hasn't forgotten her homework that was due that morning. "Where's my report?" She scuffed around and went to her computer table. "There it is!"
"Taranee!" Teresa Cook called. Despite Taranee's good grades, Teresa wished that her daughter would stop making her remind her to come down to breakfast all of the time. "Hurry up! Your breakfast is getting cold and I'm getting tired of yelling at the top of my lungs!"
"Coming, Mom!" Taranee replied, running down the stairs. Her father greeted her with a morning kiss before continuing to read his newspaper with a cup of coffee.
"Morning, sugar plum," Lionel said.
"Morning, Mom and Dad," Taranee replied. She grabbed her toast and headed straight out for the door. "I gotta go!"
"So soon? But you still have another hour to go," Lionel asked.
"Sorry Dad, I gotta meet up with my friends," Taranee winked. She ran for the door before her mother could stop her, but when she opened it, her path was blocked by a Japanese woman in a suit.
"Oh, going somewhere?" said the woman.
"Mmmufufph?" Taranee asked and realized that her toast was still in her mouth. She was trying to ask who the woman was and why she was here.
"Konan, you're here early!" Teresa smiled, appearing behind her daughter. "This is my daughter, Taranee."
"Ohayo, Taranee-chan," the woman greeted.
Swallowing her toast, Taranee returned the greeting. "Nice to meet you, ma'am. Um…why are you here?"
"Taranee, this is Ms. Konan Kishimoto," Teresa said. "She's an attorney. She came to see me on a recent court case matter. Do you have the papers, Konan?"
"Yes, the evidences are all here for you to issue us a warrant," Konan nodded.
Taranee sighed. Another one of Mom's court business matters, she thought. Teresa Cook is a judge who usually handles cases on juvenile delinquents. No doubt that this Konan Kishimoto is another lawyer seeking her mother's permission for a warrant.
"Well, I'd better get going," Taranee said. "I'm meeting up with my friends early at school to discuss something." She waved and quickly got passed Konan and ran for Sheffield Institute.
"Really? I'm speechless!"
"I know, Matt," Will agreed, holding her boyfriend's hand as they both continued their early morning walk to school. "Monsters inducing one another with Sins, the Gemini Council, Lusteria, and new Guardians all in one day!"
"To think the Oracle never told us that there's another branch of power," Matt frowned. Obviously he didn't seem too please with being kept in the dark about this. If there was one thing Matt hated, it was when people keep secrets from him. "He didn't even tell me…"
"And Kandrakar never told us about two other Guardians," Will added. "Kimi and her twin brother, Kyochi. We're trying to find the brother right now and the Elders told us we have to work with his sister to find him. This way, we can find the Prince of Darkness with his help. Only he can help us tip the balance back in order."
"Hmph, so what do you know of these new Guardians?" Matt scoffed.
Will shrugged. "Practically nothing on Kyochi except the fact that he's the Guardian of Darkness and only he knows the whereabouts of the Prince of Darkness." Will noticed her friends waiting across the street and waved to them. "As for his sister, Kimi…well, she's not the friendliest person you'll meet, despite her element being Light and all. She tried to kill us when we first met."
"What?!" Matt turned, surprised. "She tried to kill you? What kind of Guardian is she?"
"My thoughts exactly, Matt," said Irma. Matt and Will turned to see that they've finally crossed the street and were already on the Sheffield Institute campus. The other four Guardians were waiting on the grass.
"Seriously, first she saved us from that tengu thing, then she trapped us in a dome made of hard light and tried to kill us!" Irma waved her arms to gesture how large the dome was.
"Irma, calm down," Hay Lin said, putting a hand on Irma's shoulder. "It was a mistake. At least everything was cleared up thanks to Orube's help."
"And besides, Kimi's on our side, too," Will added.
Matt, on the other hand, continued to look confused. "I don't understand. You said that she tried to kill you after saving you? That doesn't make any sense."
"Matt, she tried to kill us because she thought we were imposters. She never knew that there were five other Guardians beside herself and her brother," Taranee explained. "Apparently, it had something to do with maintaining honor or something. At least that's what Orube told me yesterday."
"So Rebecca's back?" Matt raised an eyebrow with an interest. Irma took this opportunity to elbow him teasingly.
"Don't even think about it, Matt," Irma grinned.
"Yeah, remember you're my boyfriend," Will reminded him. Matt scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah, she and Kimi are both staying with Lady Ngọc Long, our new caretaker."
"Since Mrs. Rudolph's old house has a new owner and the Teach 2b W.I.T.C.H. bus is gone, we'll be having a new headquarter at their house."
The group began to walk towards the building as they continued their talk.
"By the way, where is Kimi?" Will asked her friends.
Taranee nodded her head towards the principal's office. "In Knickerbocker's office to see which classes she'll be taking for her cover up."
"I hope she's not going to be in our class," said Irma sourly. "I don't think I can stand hearing her criticizing us for being weak Guardians again."
"Urgh! Tell me about it," Cornelia agreed. "Her attitude is driving me nuts. I mean, seriously! Who does she think she is? Just because she managed to help us take down the tengu and Miranda with ease does not make her better than us!"
"Yeah, she's not the only one who knows martial art," Irma added. "Right, Hey Lin? You should show her some of your judo moves."
"I'd rather not use it to show off," Hay Lin commented. "And besides, I'm not exactly a black belt in it or anything."
"So this Kimi knows martial art, huh?" Matt asked, raising an eyebrow. "I'm curious to see how skilled she is."
"Matt, don't even go there," Will shot her a warning glance. "Look, it's great that you've learned how to fight while in Kandrakar and all, but the last time you showed off your moves, you almost got your shoulders dislocated and your head pulled off by Liam!"
"Will's right, Matt," Hay Lin agreed. "I don't think it's such a good idea to provoke Kimi. She tried to kill us and caught us off guard. She could do the same to you."
Before Matt could object any further, the bell rang, signaling the start of the first class period.
"C'mon, Will," Cornelia said, grabbing her by the elbow. "First period is history with your step-dad."
"Coming, Cornelia," said Will. Turning back to her boyfriend, Will said, "Don't worry about it, Matt. You'll get to meet her soon enough at Lady Ngọc Long's house. We're going to discuss about our next mission there. You're welcome to join us."
Once the girls were out of sight, Matt walked toward his class. He passed by Principal Knickerbocker's door and saw a silhouette of her talking to a girl with long, wavy hair.
"Hmph," Matt smirked to himself. "We'll see what you're really made of, Light Guardian," he whispered.
Had Matt lingered by the door a little longer, he would have noticed Kimi's silhouette turning to face his direction instantly as if she had heard him.
First period was history class with Will's step-father, Mr. Dean Collins. While Irma, Taranee, and Hay Lin headed for math class with the dreaded Mr. Horseberg, Will and Cornelia followed Mr. Collins and sat down. When they entered the classroom, everyone was talking with excitement.
"Hey, did you see her?" said one student.
"Who?" asked the other.
"You mean you haven't heard?" the Grumper sisters, Courtney and Bess exclaimed.
"Heard what?"
"We're going to have a new transfer student!" said Bess Grumper.
"Yeah, and she's, like, from the other side of the world or something!" Courtney added.
"Is she cute?" Uriah joked.
"Who cares? I heard that she's a distant relative of Mrs. Rudolph!" said Courtney.
"You mean our old math teacher?" Kurt asked.
"Yeah, maybe she'll be a math geek like Taranee Cook!" The Grumper sisters broke into laughing fits.
"Great, another victim for us to check out," Uriah laughed. Turning to his friends, he said, "Let's have some fun with the new girl later. Maybe we can make her cry home!" Will and Cornelia both shook their heads and rolled their eyes.
"Okay, settled down, class!" said Mr. Collins as he cleared his throat. "That means you, too, Uriah. Or should I send you to the principal's office again for disrupting my class?"
"No need, Mr. Collins, because I'm already here," said Knickerbocker as she entered the room. Adjusting her glasses, the principal turned to face the class and they all settled down. "I suggest to Mr. Dunn and his friends to sit down in their seats because I have a special announcement."
"A special announcement?" Mr. Collins asked curiously.
"Yes, Mr. Collins," the principal nodded happily. Turning her gaze back on the whole class, she continued her speech. "Everyone, I would like to inform you all that Sheffield Institute have been contacted by one of our overseas sister schools. They're sending one of their students here to attend our prestigious academy. I am pleased to welcome our new transfer student from Tokyo, Japan…Miss Kimi Watsuki." Turning to the door, she nodded. "Come in, dear, and introduce yourself to the class."
"Oh, great," Cornelia grumbled. Kimi's going to be in our class?! This will be fun!
Kimi walked in stoically, wearing what appeared to be a modern day Japanese school uniform. The other students stared at her with interest. She bowed respectfully to Mr. Collins and greeted, "Ohaiyo gozaimasu, Sensei." She then turned to face the class.
"Wow, she is cute," Uriah whistled under his breath.
"And kinda stylish," Bess whispered to her sister. "Obviously, the new girl knows more about class than our Corny here." Both girls giggled. "Even if it is a uniform."
"What did you say?" Cornelia spat.
"Everyone settled down, now!" Mr. Collins ordered. Turning to his new student, he said, "Welcome to history class, Kimi. I'm Mr. Collins. You're welcome to sit anywhere you like."
"Hai, Collins-sensei," Kimi nodded.
There were a few empty seats including the ones next to the Grumper sisters, one next to Uriah's desk, and one way back in the corner of the class behind Cornelia and Will's place.
"Sit next to us!" Kurt said.
"There's an extra spot here," Courtney smiled. "We could use a third member in our clique."
Ignoring them, Kimi strode past them all and took the lonely desk in the back corner, isolated from the rest of the class. Once settled, she glared at the back of Will's and Cornelia's head.
Oh, great! Cornelia thought. I suddenly feel cold with her icy glare.
"Well, looks like we're not the only one who has the same dislike for those girls, right, Sis?" Bess whispered to her sister with glee.
"Well, then," Principal Knickerbocker began. "Now that that's settled, I hope that you'll all make Miss Watsuki feel welcome in our school. Now, then, Mr. Collins, proceed with your lesson."
"Thank you, Principal Knickerbocker," Mr. Collins replied as she left. Turning his attention back to Kimi, he said, "And if you have any question, just ask me, okay, Kimi?"
"Hai, sensei," Kimi replied, flipping through the history textbook with a bored look.
Collins sighed. He wasn't sure if she could understand him because he hadn't heard her reply anything back in English. Is she an English language learner? He thought. If she were, why didn't Principal Knickerbocker gave me the info on it?
"Is everything alright, Kimi? Because if you do have any problems understanding the lesson, perhaps Will or Cornelia can help you," Mr. Collins suggested.
Looking up, Kimi replied without any Japanese accent, "Hai, I can understand you fine, Collins-sensei. I don't need their help." She shot another glare at Will and Cornelia's direction.
"Like I want to help you in the first place," Cornelia whispered under her breath as she decided that the words in her text were more interesting than Kimi's snide remark.
"Oh, very well, then…" Mr. Collins cleared his throat. Turning back to the board he wrote a few sentences on the side and flipped the book open. "Now, everyone turn to page 107 and we'll be discussing the new chapter on French colonization in French Indochina."
Needless to say, Kimi's arrival as the new transfer student had caused a buzz among the student bodies of the school, much to the W.I.T.C.H.'s annoyances.
"Urgh, it's bad enough that she's getting on my nerves," Cornelia objected to Will during math class, their last period of the day. "Seriously, what's so special about Kimi anyway?"
"Well, she is supposed to be a transfer student from Japan," Will whispered back. "I guess because this school hasn't had anything exciting since our last cultural exchange program. Remember when Erin came here with all of those other foreign kids?"
"How could I forget? She tried to use her magic against us because Tecla convinced her that we were Ragorlangs," Cornelia snapped back.
"Ahem!" Mr. Horseberg cleared his throat. "Miss Hale! Is there something you would like to share with the rest of my class?"
Cornelia raised her hands in defense as the class laughed at her. "No, sorry. I was just clearing my throat!"
Mr. Horseberg sighed and shook his head. Turning to face the rest of the class, he held up a finger to remind them, "Before you go, remember to turn in your assignments next week. I'll be testing you on the fourth chapter in the trigonometry book. And Miss Watsuki," he turned to Kimi as she was about to get out of her seat, "if you have any trouble understanding the lesson, you can see me after class…or one of your classmates can help you around."
"Hai, sensei. I'll keep that in mind," Kimi answered stoically.
"Hey, you can ask me for help!" said a boy named Douglas.
"No, way! She can have my notes!" Uriah jumped in.
"What notes? You're always goofing off in class!" Cornelia retorted.
"Who asked you, ice queen?" Uriah snapped at her.
"Hey, Kimi! What's it like in Tokyo?" asked another student following her out the door.
"Yeah! Do you get to play all of those awesome video games? And read those manga series?"
"Do you know any good ones?"
Turning to face them, Kimi shot them an annoyed look and said, "Do you children even know how to get lost? Leave me be or so help me, I will make the rest of your school term a living nightmare," Grabbing her books, she headed for the exit, leaving the boys dumbfounded by her sudden hostility.
"Don't pay them any attention," said Bess as she and her sister followed Kimi out to her assigned locker. "After all, they're just geeks. If you really want to snatch a cutie, you'll just have to follow our advice."
"And pray on the Jade Emperor's throne, do you girls know anything about boys?" Kimi asked coldly, putting her books away and taking out another. Courtney ignored her rudeness.
"Well, plenty, of course!" she smiled, proud of herself. "Bess and I are both in charge of the school's newspaper, especially the gossip column."
"You don't say?" Kimi mused, unimpressed.
"Yep, and we know everything there is to know about who's hot and who's not," Bess nodded.
"And who's part of the in crowd and who are the geeks and losers, and which kid to avoid."
"So since you're new here and all, you're automatically on the In-Crowd list."
"I'm so honored," Kimi replied sarcastically, but apparently the Grumper sisters aren't catching it.
"And if you want some tips, just follow our advice," Bess clasped her hand in excitement. "Because we can tell you who to avoid so that you can still be cool."
"Yeah, for instance, you might want to avoid those girls," Courtney sneered, glancing at Will and Cornelia as they are joined by Irma, Taranee, Hay Lin, and Sheila Jensen. "Seriously, their little clique is soooo lame."
"Is that so?" said Kimi.
"Yeah, like Cornelia Hale, the blonde one who sat in front of you during history class," Bess pointed, "she thinks she's so perfect, but she's all talk."
"She may be an ice princess when it comes to ice-skating, but she's totally a snob and thinks whatever she wears will make her more pretty," Courtney laughed. "She's soooo pleased with herself with whatever she wears!"
"And have you seen the clothes she wore last month?" Bess asked. "Another one of Hay Lin's design. She thinks she's a great designer, but have you seen her clothes? Only an extinct animal like Hale or the rest of them would wear her dumb designs!"
The girls burst into laughing fit. Had they paid attention, the other five Guardians and Sheila were now within ear shot. Hearing their last comment, Hay Lin gulped and flushed. Sheila placed her hands on her friend's shoulder, trying to comfort her.
"Don't listen to them, Hay Lin," said Sheila. "Your designs were wonderful. Everyone at my dad's dancing school think so, too."
"Oh, yeah right, probably because you, Cook, and the rest of your dancing circus clowns ran out of tights and tutus!" Courtney commented.
"What did you say?!" Taranee fumed, fire burning in her eyes. "Say that again, I dare you!"
"Oooh, be careful, Sis!" Bess jumped back, pretending to be afraid. "The dancing queen is about to blow!"
"Cool off, will ya, Cook? Or else you'll blow the whole school's roof off!" Courtney replied. "If Sheila's daddy here sees you blowing a casket off now, he'll probably demote you from being an assistant dance instructor because you have no patience with your students!"
"I'll show you patience, Grumpers!" Irma rolled up her sleeves, but Will and Sheila stopped her.
"Stop it, Irma," Sheila said. "You're not helping."
"You're only giving them more thrills," Will added.
"Of course she would," Courtney agreed. "After all, Irma's only other skill is to entertain us since she's so bad at passing her classes with an average grade."
"Why I'm gonna—"
"See? What did we tell you, sweetie," Bess glanced at Kimi. "Just follow us and we'll show you the ropes around here."
"So, are you in?" Courtney asked.
"Kimi, if you join them, I swear I'm gonna—"
"Do what? Vandom's right, because you're not helping your own cause," Kimi replied. Irma wanted to say something else but she couldn't think of anything. Glancing at her friends, she noticed how worried Taranee and Hay Lin looked and realized that if Kimi joined the Grumper sisters, there would be no end to their torment at school.
"Now you're getting the hang of it, Kimi," Bess smiled with glee. "Trust me, you're going to love working on the gossip column with us and—"
Before she could finish, Kimi glanced back at her and interrupted, "I'd never said that I would join your newspaper group. However, you're right on something; these girls are geeks, as you call it here, and I should avoid them."
"Right, and you—" Courtney agreed, but Kimi cut her off.
"But I'm not going to. In fact, I've already found two new baka girls to avoid even more—" slamming her locker shut with a loud bang, Kimi glared at both the Grumper sisters and pointed an accusing finger at them, "You!"
Dumbfounded, the Grumper sisters stumbled on their reactions. Will and her friends were also surprised.
"Now wait just a moment here, I think you're getting on the wrong foot. Do you know who we—"
"I know perfectly who you two are," Kimi replied icily. "You're nothing more than a pair of wooden lily-livers with sandpaper tongues in your mouths since you can't help but spout meaningless hearsays on others. Your lives must be really sad and pathetic because you cannot find any useful skills other than spreading childish gossips for your own pleasures. Why don't you go make yourselves useful by leaving me and these other lily-livers alone and go drop in a ditch?"
Flabbergasted by Kimi's sadistic comment, Bess grabbed her sister by the arm and dragged her away. "C'mon, Courtney, let's forget about the new girl. We were wrong about her 'cause she's not cool at all!"
"You'll be sorry about this," Courtney warned her. "You'll be sorry for making enemies of us! You're a loser like the rest of them and a witch!"
The girls watched the two sisters walking away and realized that there was a small crowd around them. Apparently, their fellow classmates caught most of Kimi's criticism.
"What are you all looking at?" Sheila challenged. "Go on! Scram! There's nothing else here to watch!"
"I don't need your help, girl," Kimi said, walking away.
"Geez, you're welcome," Sheila replied sarcastically.
The crowd began to disperse, but then Uriah and his two friends came up on their skateboards, forcing the students to jump out of the way as they rolled for the exit.
"HEY! NO SKATEBOARDING IN THE HALLWAY, URIAH!" cried the hall monitor.
"Yeah, and what are you gonna do about it?" Uriah challenged, laughing as he and his friends knocked a couple of kids' books to the floor as they passed by.
"Why that Uriah," Irma waved a fist. "Taranee let's melt their wheels and—"
Forget it, I'm not using my magic, especially with Sheila watching and the hallway's packed! Taranee mentally objected.
"C'mon, boys! Schools out and freedom is just outta that door!" Uriah cried.
Uriah and his goons were just about to make it towards the exit when they spotted Kimi in their way on the stairs to the outside. Uriah whistled to her. "Hey, baby! Outta the way!"
He was expecting her to turn around and jump out of the way like the rest of everyone when she spotted him. Kimi did turn around, but instead of jumping out of the way, she quickly swung a leg out at the rolling wheels, causing Uriah to fly off of his skateboard. She quickly grabbed him by one arm and performed a judo move and the next thing he knew, he was laying on the floor a few feet away from the stairs with Kimi still holding onto one of his arms, the twist immobilized him while sending small portion of pain receptors throughout his body. Kurt and Laurent skidded to a halt behind her and gapped at the scene.
"Ow…what just happened?" Uriah asked, his head spinning.
"The hall monitor says no skateboarding in the hallway," Kimi replied, letting him go.
"Ha! Uriah got beaten up by a girl!" Laurent pointed and laughed.
"Yeah, the new girl threw Uriah to the ground with a kung fu move!" Kurt joined in.
"Hey, shut up!" Uriah snapped, but his friends just kept laughing.
The five Guardians and Sheila made it out to the front of the school along with the other kids who were in the hallway with them. Once they heard Kurt and Laurent laughing, they joined in.
"Urgh! Stop laughing!" Uriah warned. Glaring back at Kimi, he said, "I thought you were kinda cute before, but NO ONE makes a fool outta me! Laurent!" he called his big friend over. "Stop laughing and show the new girl who is boss around here."
"Sure thing, Uriah," Laurent smiled with glee like the bully he is and made a grab for Kimi's arm. "Sorry, baby."
To his surprise, she quickly grabbed his wrist with one hand and bended it at a slight angle, causing him to lean over. She quickly swept at his feet before throwing him to the ground with an aikido move.
"My name's not baby, it's Kimi," Kimi spat, letting him go. "And frankly, I've taken down guys bigger than you and your two friends. You're all nothing but fruit-cups to me."
"Oh, think you're so tough, huh?" Uriah objected. He and Kurt were about to throw more empty threats when the principal walked up with the hall monitor and the janitor.
"There they are!" said the boy who was wearing the hall monitor badge. "Uriah and his friends were skateboarding in the hallway and they were bullying the new transfer student!"
"Uriah! Kurt! Laurent!" Principal Knickerbocker hollered furiously. "In my office, now!"
The group of students started whispering as Uriah and his friends were led away to Knickerbocker's office forcefully by the hall monitor student and the janitor.
Will and her friends joined Kimi's side and caught, Uriah whispering, "I'll get you for this!"
Shaking her head, Will tsked to herself. "Well, I guess you don't have to worry about Kimi getting all the attention from you, Cornelia, because I'm betting she's about to become very unpopular by the end of today."
Sure enough, the students in the courtyard who witnessed how Kimi took down Uriah and his friend immediately backed away when she walked by. To add insult to injury, Courtney and Bess began to whisper how much of a brute Kimi really is.
"Careful, if you don't get on her good side, she'll chop you up with her karate!" one boy teased.
"It wasn't karate, you dope! That was aikido! Don't you know anything?" said a boy named Tommy.
"Whatever, but seriously, how can a girl like that take down two guys?"
"I heard that all Japanese kids like her are trained in the secret art of the monks since they were in diapers!"
"You watch too much kung-fu movies, Troy!"
"Think she'll join the school's martial arts club?"
"Kimi, wait!" Hay Lin cried, catching up with the Guardian of Light.
"What do you want, lily-liver?" Kimi asked, glaring.
"Well, first of all, you could at least call me by my name," Hay Lin retorted, putting both hands on her hip. "And second, you shouldn't stand out too much. You're attracting unwanted attention to yourself."
"I don't know, Hay Lin," Sheila added. "I mean, she did give the Grumpers a run for their money…in a twisted way, give or take…and she did show Uriah and his goons not to mess with her. I dunno, I kinda like that."
"Sheila, trust me, you don't know Kimi that well," Irma rolled her eyes. "Sure, she did show those guys a thing or two, but she's not the type of person you want to be friends with."
"You mean like me?" Sheila countered. "If memory served, I recall you and Cornelia not liking me that much either when I first came here with my dad."
"Yeah, but compare to Kimi here, you're practically an angel," Cornelia laughed.
"You girls aren't helping!" Will lectured. "Seriously, we're supposed to be showing Kimi around and—"
"Um…Kimi? Are you listening?" Taranee asked. Upon her question, the other four Guardians realized that Kimi had not reply to their banters with her usual condescending remarks. She was being a little bit too quiet as if she wasn't paying attention to them. "Hello? Kimi? What's wrong?"
Kimi continued to stare whatever it was in front of her out beyond the school's gate. Her face appeared to be dumbfounded as if she was seeing a ghost. "Nii-san?" she whispered.
"What?" Taranee asked. But before she and her friends could press Kimi further, the Guardian of Light made a dash towards the street recklessly. Will's eyes widen in shock and she raised a hand up trying to stop her.
"Kimi, no!" Will cried. "Don't cross the street!"
"What is she doing?!" Cornelia cried. "Is she crazy?!"
"We gotta stop her!" Irma said. "Before she gets run over by—"
Kimi didn't listen, too preoccupied with whatever caught her attention. She ran passed the school's gate and across the street. It was a green light for the cars and several of them skidded to a sudden halt to avoid hitting her. Horns blared but Kimi still paid no attention as her mind was dead set on catching up with whatever was ahead. This would prove fatal as one car in particular was inching closer. Its driver was none other than Will's step-father, Dean Collins.
"Yes, Susan, I'm on my way to pick William up from the daycare and Will's hanging out with her friends and—what the?!"
Dean gasped and immediately stepped on the break, but the car still made contact with Kimi. She only had less than a second to react. Kimi held up both arms to brace herself as the front of Dean's car rammed into her like a bull. She tried to keep her ground by planting both her feet into the asphalt. The force of the impact pushed her back still, and her dragging feet left a rut of ripped up asphalt on the road. For any normal human from Earth, the car accident would have sent the person flying with broken bones, but for a human from Lusteria, it's the car that's the injured party.
"KIMI!" Hay Lin cried, seeing Kimi slumped on top of the hood of Dean's car.
"Girls, this isn't good," Cornelia said. "Everyone's watching!"
"Kimi?!" Dean gasped, getting out of his car. "Kimi! Oh, my goodness, are you alright? Say something!"
Kimi groaned and shook herself to get up. She looked dazed and slightly bruised, but otherwise unscathed. Dean and the bystanders gapped in surprised.
"I'm sorry, I didn't see you there," Dean said, coming over to Kimi's side to see if she was alright. "You're not hurt, are you?"
"No, but your car is, man," said another driver, getting out of his car. "That's impossible!" Glancing at Kimi, he asked, "How did you do that?"
"Kimi, do you have an explanation for this?" Dean asked.
Kimi didn't bother to answer them nor paid any attention to the gossiping crowd of spectators around them. She shook her head to clear her spinning mind and tried to focus on whatever was bothering her. Looking ahead, she nodded to herself, "There! He's there!"
She ran, jumping over several other cars and pushing pass other bystanders.
"Hey! Kimi, wait! I should take you to the hospital first!" Dean cried.
"C'mon, girls!" Will ordered. "We have to follow her!"
"Yeah, before she revealed to the whole city that she's an alien like Superman!" Irma commented.
"Hey, Taranee!" Sheila called, "What's going on? How did that happen? That wasn't natural! You know something about Kimi, don't you?"
"I—"Taranee began. "I can't tell you right now, Sheila. Sorry, but I gotta go!"
"No, wait!" Sheila cried as she watched Taranee disappeared with her four friends.
"What just happened?" Dean asked, scratching his head in confusion. He looked down at his car. It looked as if it had rammed itself into a three-foot thick brick wall rather than running over a person. "This isn't normal…"
"No, it's not," said a new voice, echoing all around him and the crowd. Dean turned around to see a woman with long, dark hair and amber-colored eyes standing behind him.
"Who are you?" Dean asked.
"I am Ngọc Long, the Jade Dragon," said the woman from Kandrakar. Holding up a palm of her hand, she held it out at him and the crowd of gathering people. "And what you've witnessed here is of no concern of yours. You humans cannot fully comprehend the physical strength and endurance of us Lusterians in comparison to yourselves."
"What are you doing?" asked the man next to Dean, his eyes getting sleepy.
The Jade Dragon smiled. "I'm here to erase all evidences. None of you humans will remember what you have just witnessed several minutes ago."
A flash of green light flooded the entire block, and the next thing Dean knew, he was standing next to his car (in perfect shape) and confused why he suddenly decided to get out and stand in the middle of the street.
It's him! Kimi thought, her heart pounding excitedly as she ran down the block. It's Nii-san! He's here on Earth!
Pushing her way through the crowd, she spotted a dark colored aura and reached her aura sensing magical ability towards it. The black aura flickered against her Light and she felt its similar feeling just like her brother's. Hope and joy danced in her heart. "Kyochi!" she called out. "Nii-san, wait!"
Although it was only Wednesday, the plaza was still crowded, full of people going about with their shopping and errands. Kimi pushed and forced her way through when a group was too thick for her. Ignoring the complaints from those people, Kimi spotted a boy with dark blue hair like hers and felt the black aura emitting from him.
"Nii-san!" Kimi cried happily, reaching for his arm. "Kyochi, where have you've been, I—"
"Um…hello?" said the boy, looking a bit surprised to see a strange girl grabbing his arm.
To Kimi's horror, it wasn't her brother. The boy was a bit older than her, most likely around Orube's age. He was handsome and his face was gentle, but Kimi's attention was more focused on his eyes because they were also blue like a Lusterian, but his aura tells her that he was born here on Earth…his black aura…so similar to Kyochi's own that it was uncanny. Disappointment claimed her heart as well as frustration.
"Konichiwa, I am Kishimoto," said the college boy. "Gomen'nasai, I know I have a cute little sister, but you don't look like her—"
The words "little sister" tugged at her mind. Furiously, Kimi shoved Kishimoto down. He dropped his instrument case and tripped over it.
"Shut up! You have no right to call me that!" she cried and ran away, leaving Kishimoto dumbfounded and confused.
"Urgh, where the hell did she go?" Irma complained. "Girls, can we stop for a bit? I need to catch my breath."
"Irma, you're such a slow-poke," Cornelia rolled her eyes. "Seriously, you should work out more."
"And dancing at Jensen Academy with you guys wasn't enough already!" Irma countered. "Sorry, it's just that I don't think it's fair that people from Basilíade or Lusteria can run more than me!"
"Girls, quiet!" Hay Lin hushed. Putting a hand behind one ear, Hay Lin used her power over air to listen for a specific sound. "I can hear Kimi's footsteps."
"Are you sure?" Will asked.
"Positive."
"Wait, I see her!" Taranee interrupted, pointing to a figure a few yards from them. "Kimi, wait up!"
Taranee and the others caught up with Kimi. Hay Lin placed a hand on one of Kimi's shoulders but the girl furiously slapped it away.
"Leave me alone, you lily-livers!" Kimi snapped.
Before Hay Lin could defend herself, Irma pushed her way forward and pointed an accusing finger at Kimi. Irma may be the spunky and laid-back girl of the group, but even she knew when to be serious.
"Are you absolutely crazy?" she demanded, her anger showing. "What the hell were you thinking? You ran across the street without looking for who knows what! You could have seriously been hurt!"
"I don't need you to be concern over me, lily-liver!" Kimi snorted in disdain. "It'll take more than your earthly vehicle to take us Lusterians down."
She continued to walk down the street towards her house (which was also the Jade Dragon's house). Irma and the other four girls followed suit.
"Who do think you are, Wonder Woman or Supergirl?" Irma continued. "The fact still stands that you running across the street was still reckless and dangerous. Maybe not to you or Orube but for us, it's a huge deal!"
"Hmph," Kimi scoffed, raising an eyebrow in annoyance.
"Listen, what Irma is trying to say is that people from Earth aren't…" Taranee trailed off.
"It's not my fault that you Earthlings are so weak," Kimi replied.
"You're unbelievable! Urgh!" Irma screamed. She ran in front of Kimi and stopped her in her trail. "You know what your problem is? You're a stuck-up princess! You're selfish, obnoxious, condescending, rude, unbearable, and anti-social! I don't care how strong you Lusterians are, but you nearly put our history teacher and those other drivers in danger! Not only that, but you nearly blew our cover! How the hell are we supposed to explain to a large crowd of people that you put a dent on Mr. Collins's car and tore up the asphalt of the road with your freakish super strength?!"
Kimi didn't say anything in return. Perhaps it was her power over Air, but Hay Lin felt that Kimi was still feeling upset about something. The Guardian of Air has a nagging feeling that Kimi was trying to hide it by being condescending to her and her friends right now.
"Um…Kimi? What's wrong? Why did you run away before? You looked pretty upset," Hay Lin commented.
"Yeah, you looked like you've just seen a ghost," Will added.
"Girls, why are you taking her side?!" Irma demanded. "Don't you see that she nearly blew our magical cover today? Will, how are you going to explain to your step-dad what happened to him and his car tonight at dinner? Surely, he'll want an explanation for all of this!"
"Irma, we're not taking Kimi's side," Taranee reasoned. "Kimi wouldn't purposely try and reveal our magic secret or hers to the world unless it was for a real reason to do so. Whatever caught her attention before the accident, it must have been pretty big to get her to act like she did in front of the school."
Kimi sighed, staring down at Irma's shoes. Knowing that she can't hide it, she said, "Sorry, I thought I sensed something familiar…a black aura."
The other Guardians' eyes widen with confusion and curiosity. Like Will's special ability to talk to electrical appliances, Kimi's individual magic allowed her to see, sense, and read people's aura like a book.
"A black aura?" Will asked. "You don't mean it was…"
"Yes, I thought it was my brother's aura," Kimi closed her eyes and clenched her fists. "I actually thought Kyochi was here on Earth! But it wasn't him, just some guy named Kishimoto because his aura was so similar to Nii-san's!"
Will and her friends glanced at each other, feeling a bit lost at words. They didn't know what to say for obviously Kyochi meant a lot to Kimi because he was her twin, her closest relative. To believe he was actually here on Earth brought a glimmer of hope, but to have it shattered quickly because of mistaken aura reading had really made Kimi upset.
"Well, I'm sorry if things didn't turned out right," Will began. "But—"
"Why should you be sorry?" Kimi asked, walking away. "It wasn't your fault, lily-liver."
"Oh, c'mon! Seriously?!" Irma complained. Catching up to Kimi, she turned and began to walk backwards so that she can continue to face Kimi. "Will was trying to show you some sensitivity and understanding. Why can't you be more respectful to that and—Wah!"
Suddenly, Irma tripped and bumped into an older guy who was turning around the corner, causing him to drop a guitar case.
"Hey, watch where you're going!" said the boy.
"Sorry," Irma apologized. Will ran up to them and offered to pull Irma up.
"Irma, are you okay?" Will asked.
"Kishimoto!" Kimi glared at the boy they bumped into.
"Hey, you're the girl I saw at the plaza," said Kishimoto. He bent down to pick up his guitar case. "So these are your friends, huh? I'd say this one's pretty clumsy and can't tell where she's going."
"Hey!" Irma said. "I'm not clumsy!"
"Sure takes one to walk backwards," Kishimoto laughed. Glancing at Kimi, he continued, "Kinda like you since you mistook someone I know for your own brother. Can't you tell the difference?"
"Shut up! I'm nothing like these lily-livers and you have no right to associate me with the likes of them," Kimi challenged.
"Yeah, you're walking home with them, aren't you?" Kishimoto asked. "Seems to me you girls are getting along fine."
"What do you know? You're just an annoying passerby."
"Says you," Kishimoto replied rudely. "At least I don't snap at someone because I made a mistake in identifying them."
"I should wipe that stupid grin off your face," Kimi warned, but Will pulled her back.
"Kimi, you're new here so you can't just go knocking people out if you feel like it," Will reminded her.
"You sound like a spoiled princess," Kishimoto criticized. Kimi glared at him even more. "What's the matter? Do you need your own servants to keep you in check, princess?" Kishimoto asked, mocking the Guardian of Light.
"What? Hey, we are NOT her servants!" Cornelia objected. "I'll have you know that I wouldn't be caught dead stooping to that level, you jerk!"
"If you girls can't even tell that I was joking, then you must be more stupid and naïve than I thought," Kishimoto replied.
"What did you say?!" Irma demanded.
"Cornelia! Irma! Kimi!" Will raised her voice, irritated. "Forget this guy, and let's just go. Rebecca's waiting for us, remember?"
"Fine," Kimi replied as she pushed her way pass Kishimoto. He glanced at her and they both exchanged glares. "Drop dead," she spat.
"Nice to meet you, too," Kishimoto replied sarcastically.
"That's the guy you ran into at the plaza?" Hay Lin asked, looking over her shoulder to see Kishimoto moving on with his business. "You mistook his aura for Kyochi's."
"No, I did not!" Kimi retorted, still irritated by what the older boy had said to her.
"Oh, don't deny it," Irma said. "He clearly was pushing your buttons as well as ours. Seriously, I have never met a guy who is so…annoying!"
"That insensitive jerk," Cornelia said. "Who does he think he is talking to us like that?"
"Hah, seems to me that Kimi and that Kishimoto guy have a lot more in common; they both annoy you girls," Will teased. Cornelia and Irma exchanged sour looks.
They finally made it towards Kimi's house and saw Rebecca sitting in the front porch with a book on her lap. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you two were getting along quite well," Will continued to tease.
"I hardly find your joke amusing," Kimi glared. "Say it once more and I'll rip your tongue out, lily-liver."
"Again, with the name," Irma rolled her eyes. "Can't you call us anything else besides 'lily-livers'? It's getting old."
"If you do not like lily-livers, then I'll have to call you fruit-cups instead," Kimi scoffed.
"Man, I can't stand you!" Irma snapped. "It's already bad enough that you blew our cover earlier. And speaking of which, how are YOU—" Irma turned and pointed a finger at Kimi, "going to explain to the whole school that you survived a car crash? By tomorrow, we'll be bombed with questions and the last thing I want is to have those annoying Grumper sisters finding out our secrets!"
Orube looked up from her book. "What's going on?" she asked.
"Nothing that concerns you, Orube-neechan," Kimi said, making her way into the magical house.
Orube frown and shook her head, "When it has something to do with you getting along with these five girls, it does concern me, Kimi," she replied firmly. "Now out with it."
Kimi sighed in annoyance as if she was being reprimanded by an older sister. With all seven of them in the living room, Kimi sat down and allowed Will to retell the story. At times, Irma interrupted by adding in her parts, much to Will's annoyance.
Orube listened patiently and finally faced Kimi. "So you accidentally caused all of that mess because you thought you've sensed Kyochi's black colored aura?" Orube construed. "Kimi, I know Irma's a pain but she's right, you have to be more careful here on Earth."
"Gee, thanks for the lovely support," Irma rolled her eyes when Orube called her a pain.
"Shh!" Hay Lin reprimanded, placing a finger to her lip to silence the Water Guardian.
"Look, the physiologies of both Lusterians and my people from Basilíade are different from Earthlings," Orube lectured. "Compare to them, we're physically more powerful and can endure more damages and pain inflicted onto our bodies. When I was here as Rebecca Rudolph last time, I also had to keep most of my strength and abilities in check and I would advise that you do the same, Kimi."
"What you are asking me is to not be myself," Kimi objected.
"I'm not asking you to fully hide your strengths and your discipline in the martial arts," Orube explained. "I am suggesting that you should do what I'm doing when I am here as a visitor on Earth."
Kimi folded her arms and began to remember what her elders had always taught her and her brother since they were little. Kimi nodded and sighed, "I see, you're saying that the two of us should not show the full extent of our abilities in front of non-magical beings. Fine, I get it, but I must repeat that I had not expected to be hit by that car. You cannot blame me for that accident fully."
"That's right," Irma remembered her argument before. Turning to Will and Kimi, she asked, "How are you going to explain to Mr. Collins of the whole incident?"
"They won't have to," said a voice. The girls looked up to see Lady Ngọc Long appearing from a burst of green fire and dragon scales. Rather than wearing her Gemini Council robe, the Jade Dragon was wearing what seemed to be a green Vietnamese áo dài with an embroidered dragon on the front. "I have wiped their minds clean. None of them shall remember the accident they have seen today."
"Well, that's a relief," Taranee said.
"I thank you, Guardian of Fire," Ngọc Long nodded. Extending her arms in a welcoming gesture, she said, "And now that we have finished clearing that matter, I welcome you and your four friends to our humble home. As you may know, Lord Araël and the Oracle have appointed me as your mentor and to prepare you to challenge the oncoming threat from Lusteria."
"So it's true, then? No more magic bus?" Hay Lin asked, sounding a little bit disappointed. "No more Kandor and teaching magical kids? I'm going to miss having Kandor driving us to those worlds."
"Do not be disappointed, Air Guardian," said the Jade Dragon, "for this house exist in a dimension between your planet and those others under Kandrakar's watchful eyes. From here, you may travel back and forth between Earth, Lusteria, Metamoor, Basilíade, and even Kandrakar. It is essentially the crossroad of the universe."
"So you're saying this house is like a magical airport only we don't have to board a plane to go to any of those places?" Irma asked.
"You will commute between worlds by the authorized portals located in any parts of this house and only under my supervision, Water Guardian," Ngọc Long replied. "This house will also serve as your new headquarter. Under this roof, you are all under my protections as I will monitor your training and strategies."
"When do we get to go back to Lusteria?" Cornelia asked. "I sort of want to see those floating mountains again."
"I am in contact with the Oracle and my fellow Gemini Council members," Ngọc Long explained. "Through them, I shall deploy you on missions when needed."
"Why can't we go back when we want to?" Will asked. "What if there's trouble there or in Meridian?"
"Your eagerness and devotion is admirable, Keeper of the Heart," said Ngọc Long. "However, due to the arrangements from Kandrakar's Elders, I cannot allow you to leave whenever you please, especially not without the company of Orube or Kimi. As you have experienced before in the Kingdom of Nihon, Lusteria is a very dangerous place."
"Great, looks like our new den mother is more serious than Kandor," Irma joked, whispering to a giggling Taranee. "Who better to have a cold-blooded reptile babysit us?"
"Although I am a dragon, I assure you, Guardian of Water," said Ngọc Long, smiling, "my blood is not as cold as you think."
Irma blushed with embarrassment for being caught insulting her. The others laughed. Kimi, on the other hand, decided that a part on the ceiling was more interesting.
"Irma, I know that our powers came from the four dragons and all," Hay Lin whispered back, "But we have a real dragon in front of us and trust me, you don't want to insult one, especially the kind that can breathe magic fire."
"Yeah, but you do know that my water magic can put out fire, right?" Irma countered. Before Hay Lin could retort, a column of water came down on Irma and Hay Lin yelped before jumping back in surprised. When it was over, Irma was dripping wet, dumbfounded.
"You should know that dragons are also creatures of the sea," Ngọc Long smiled with a playful grin on her lips. "We are also great beings of the earth and sky…do keep that in mind show me some respect. If not, I might accidentally drop you in a Hawaiian volcano."
"Noted," Irma replied, sniffing.
Ngọc Long nodded, and blew a green sphere of gentle fire. It danced around Irma without burning her as it magically dry her hair and clothes. With a snap of her fingers, the sphere died once its job was done. "Now that we have established the fundamental rules of respect, Irma, shall I now debrief you and your six friends of your next mission?"
Irma nodded. Will smiled and said, "Right, so last we were discussing about those medallions and—"
Kimi held out an arm to stop Will, keeping her eyes glued to a spot on the ceiling. Without turning to look at any of them, she said, "Don't speak, lily-liver, especially when we don't want a third party listening in on our plans."
"What are you talking about, Kimi?" Will asked, confused.
Without responding, Kimi quickly summoned light particles around her and manifested it into a construct in the shape of a samurai's pole weapon called a naginata. "THERE!" she cried, and began to stab at the ceiling furiously.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Cornelia cried.
"What's going on?" Hay Lin asked, totally confused at the sudden situation as her friends.
"We have a spy!" Kimi said. Sure enough, there was a tumbling sound above them as if a person was rolling around trying to dodge Kimi's blade. "Hold still so that I can get you!" she declared as she continued to stab at various places of the ceiling.
"Kimi, stop!" Orube called. "I recognize this smell, it's not a spy!"
Kimi ignored her, continuing her mad attempt to stab at the intruder. "It's my ambition to skewer a trespasser, especially the kind that sticks his rotten little nose in our business!"
"Enough!" Ngọc Long declared. She blew a ball of emerald blaze at the punctured ceiling. The fire quickly ate away at the weak structure of the wood that Kimi had caused with her stabbing. It gave way and suddenly a figure fell down with the debris. He let out a Wilhelm scream on the way down.
Kimi ran up to him and held him down with one foot, holding the tip of the naginata's blade to his nose. "Move and you'll meet my blade faster," she warned. "Did you really think that I wouldn't notice your presence following me all day, Earthling? You really have some nerve."
"Who…?" Will asked, coughing as she tried to see through the dust. Once it was cleared, Will's jaw dropped in surprise at the spy. "Wait…MATT?!"
"Heh…hi, Will," Matt replied nervously, his eyes still fixed on Kimi's blade.
To be continued…
Cultural references:
In the comic and mini-comic, it's revealed that Hay Lin does know a little bit of judo. I did not make that up for this story.
An áo dài is a traditional Vietnamese outfit.
Ohaiyo gozaimasu, Sensei means "Good morning, teacher" in Japanese.
Baka—stupid/idiot in Japanese.
Although people from Basilíade like Orube and Lusterians like Kimi are similar in their strengths and martial art skills, it does not mean that they are both invulnerable nor are they as strong as Superman. If they do get hit by a truck, they can get injured or bruised.
Kishimoto will later play an important role in this story and yes, he does have a connection to Konan Kishimoto, the lawyer whom Taranee met at the beginning of this chapter. His name is a dedication to the creator of the Naruto series, Masashi Kishimoto.
Making everyone in school like Kimi is too Mary Sue. So like Sheila Jensen when she first came to Sheffield Institute in the comics, Kimi's condescending attitude and brute strength will eventually cause most students to avoid her out of fear and hate.
Matt Olsen had always been nosy in the Guardians' magical business ever since the fifth saga in the comic series. And every time he sticks his nose in, he always got hurt. Apparently, he still doesn't learn his lesson even in this story by following Kimi around just to see what she's made of.
A naginata is one of several varieties of traditionally made Japanese swords in the form of a pole weapon. They were originally used by the samurai class of feudal Japan and are consisted of a wooden shaft with a curved blade on the end. Its appearance is very similar to the Chinese guan dao (used by the famous Guan Yu) or the European glaive.