Kaorin: Alright, Jay! What's going to happen to me this time?
Jay: Did you finish me grilled cheese sandwich?
Kaorin: Not until you tell me if I'm going to get shot, pulverized or otherwise maimed.
Jay: ...You do know why they call it HAMMERspace, right?
Kaorin: (shivers) ...one grilled cheese...coming right up.
Jay: Excellent, now back to the story
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"Haha! We showed them. Here take this.", Yukari boasted as she handed one of the fallen rifles to Kagura and the other to Tomo. Bad news already.
"Miss Yukari...", my friend Chihiro prodded.
"Kicked their asses back to kingdom come! That'll show them to mess with Yukari Tanizaki!", she struck a martial arts pose that was not very becoming of her.
"Miss Yukari...", Chihiro repeated with more intensity.
Yukari continued to blabber. "If they send more. POW! Right in the kisser!", she sent a punch through thin air.
"MISS YUKARI!!", Chihiro yelled.
"Geez, what the hell do you want, Chihiro?", she said in a huff.
Chihiro simply pointed out the window at the assembled tank turrets and never took her eyes off Yukari.
"MOTHER OF GOD!! GET THE HELL OUTTA HERE!!", Yukari screamed and grabbed her purse. Everyone followed her dead bolt out of the door and into the hallway.
"EVERYONE RUN!! OUT,OUT,OUT!!!!!", she screamed as we ran towards the fire escape exit.
A deep blast followed as other students began to pour out of the classrooms. Screams and debris rained from the third floor. I shivered and held the now-crying Chiyo-chan as we propelled ourselves out the fire escape door. "I don't wanna die, Miss Kaorin!", Chiyo-chan cried into my encompassing arms.
"It's ok Chiyo-chan. We'll find a safe place to go.", I said.
Another blast rained pieces of brick and insulation on the assembled, now hysterical, group.
"Where can we go!?", yelled one delirious girl.
"My house.", answered Mr. Kimura, bane of all female students.
Every female present found the energy to look at him, in disgust mind you. No one could believe that even during a brutal attack by aliens he could still be perverted.
"I'm not kidding. I have a bomb shelter. So, please just trust me.", he sounded deathly serious.
"What other choice do we have?", intoned Sakaki-san in her ever-so-calm demeanor.
I watched as a shell blew apart the far corner of the school. Bricks dropped like dominos. I hoped no one was left inside.
"Lead the way, Kimura!", Yukari commanded.
Kimura took off running. And we followed. We ran away. Away from the tanks and the school that was rapidly becoming rubble. The quiet thunder of the mass of people following the ragged, awkward teacher was drowned out by the constant snaps and cracks of small arms fire. Ever once in awhile I glimpsed people being mowed down by soldiers. Men, women, children. It didn't matter to them. The order was 'exterminate' and that was just what they were doing. I wanted to scream. Or gag. One or the other.
Kimura came to a quick halt in the center of a street and let out a yelp. Moments later a lance of red light dug a hole through his right shoulder and careened over our heads. As he fell to his knees I saw the two soldiers before us that were now taking potshots into the crowd. As wounded students fell, the rest scattered. I looked for Chiyo-chan, but Sakaki-san had already taken her to the safety of a stand of trees quicker than I could blink. I instead chose my now-wounded friend Chihiro who had taken a laser bolt to her lower leg. I allowed her to lean on my shoulder for support as I assisted her to limp across the roadway.
Upon reaching solace behind a bush, I allowed her to sit. But I stared. Stared at Tomo, Kagura and Yukari who were exchanging fire with the soldiers from behind the cover of a low brick wall between two houses. Yukari's pistol was nearly useless at this long range, and Kagura seemed to have very low accuracy. But Tomo...she was an absolute deadeye. It only took her two well placed shots to send the men to the ground. The first struck one of the soldiers in the forehead, sending blood and fried bone into the sky as he fall back. The second careened into the heart of the other man. He pitched foward, gasping his last breath. I guess all the video games she plays finally came in handy.
"Banzai! I totally owned them! Yomi, did you see that!?", Tomo boasted to her friend who promptly scooped Tomo up by the collar and pulled her away, still boasting.
Yukari had rushed foward to quicky take possession of the dead men's rifles. One she took for herself. The other she handed to a girl with long black braids whom I didn't not know the name of.
Kimura came walking from the copse of trees where most had taken refuge. He gripped his injured shoulder and set his teeth hard.
"Keep moving.", he directed.
"C'mon, Chihiro.", I offered my hand to my friend who smiled and took it accordingly. We joined the crowd plodding after Mr. Kimura. There must have been about three hundred of us.
"Three hundred.", I though to myself. A familiar number. Just like those brave Spartan hoplites at the Battle of Thermopylae.
A crackle broke my reverie. A girl beside me screamed in terror. One of the boys pointed to the sky.
"What the hell is happening!?", Chihiro yelled.
A hole had formed in the clouds. Yet, the hole acted like an axis. The clouds rotating around it's center gave it a supernatural feel. The came the lance. I was nearly blinded as a lance of blue light, about the width of a soccer pitch, descended through the hole and struck the ground with a shockwave felt strogly by us. Even though we were miles from the impact point. The wave nearly caused everyone to lose their balance. Some fell, but Chihiro had clung tightly to me and my legs went stiff. After the light died away the roar and debris cloud still hung in the sky.
Kimura's mouth hung open. This time it was not due to thoughts of perversion, but in abject shock.
"Run! It's not much further.", he called.
We redoubled our efforts. Even as another lance of energy struck the earth a few miles away we still kept our march. I struggled to pull my friend who was becoming weak from her injury and exertion.
"Not much further, Chihiro.", I smiled at her.
She simply whimpered and grasped at my sleeve with one sweaty palm.
"Everyone, to the backyard!", Kimura yelled. His voice becoming hoarse from exhaustion.
It took awhile for everyone to filter through the one person gate into the rear of the house and when we all did make it there wasn't much room unoccupied. Despite all the people, I could see no signs of a shelter.
"Move, move, move.", Kimura pushed past the milling students and into the center of the yard. He reached into the grass and came up with a handle. This he pulled. A section f lawn raised to reveal a descending stairwell lit along the sides by halogen bulbs set into the walls. A metallic, vault-like door was present at the bottom. Kids and teachers gasped in awe at the unusual sight.
"Everyone inside!", Kimura instructed as he jauntily stepped down the stairs.
I queued myself into the group of waiting students. Me and Chihiro happened to line up next to Osaka as we waited.
"Kaorin, I told ya tha aliens were comin'.", she said, her gaze as blank as ever.
I couldn't deny that statement.
"Yea, you were right.", I shivered at the thought.
"Ah!", Osaka gasped, "Here they come!". She pointed into the sky behind me.
I gasped, and so did the others that happened to witness the massive structure that came down through the clouds. It very nearly resembled a flying city. Yet it had a long bow that swept away the cloud cover. I was struck silent by this sight as I noticed lances of light that were sweeping through the streets, destroying all they touched.
I tured from the scene and followed Osaka into the shelter. The inside was fairly dingy, but it was better than nothing. Books, magazines and shelves of canned food hung on the walls. 10 or so cots were spread out in the center of the room. There was even a sink with running water. What really surprised me though was the fact that everyone fit inside. With room to spare.
I sat Chihiro down against one of the walls and I sat beside her. Trying my best to comfort her.
"We're all going to die.", she whined. "They won't stop until we're all eliminated"
"We have to be brave. Just look at Sakaki-san.", I reassured her.
Sakaki-san. Can you do no wrong? She was helping the injured people through the door of the shelter and consoling the distressed and wounded. Yet, all the while her face never looked tired. Never looked annoyed. She was an angel. Come to help us through the darkness.
"It's hard to be brave.", Chihiro sniffled.
"I know. But if the Spartans could do it. So can we.", I had thought out loud. "The Spartans?", Chihiro questioned.
"Don't worry about it.", I smiled. "We should dress your wound"
She nodded lightly.
I looked around until I noticed a group of people who were tending to the wounded. Sakaki and Chiyo-chan, despite Chiyo's wet eyes, were two of the good Samaratins who were assissting those who had been hurt.
"Um...excuse me, Sakaki-san?", I murmered.
Sakaki turned to me with a smile.
"Yes, Kaorin?", she asked.
"I umm...uhh...I umm..need some gauze and disinfectant for Chihiro's leg...", I stammed all over that sentence. I couldn't help it though!
"Oh, she's hurt? Here.", Sakaki rummaged through a box of medical supplies and came up holding a roll of gauze and a bottle of disinfectant lotion.
"T..thank you very much, Sakaki-san!", I bowed deeply and skittered away. I had to get away from her before she saw how red my face had become.
Chihiro smiled when she saw me approach holding the supplies.
"Thank you, Kaorin.", she said happily as I applied the disinfectant and wrapped her nasty, bleeding wound in a swathe of bandages.
"You're welcome. Anything for my best friend.", I answered back.
As a tucked the last bit of gauze into the wrappings Chihiro spoke again.
"You really like Sakaki-san, don't you"
I suddenlt became terribly engrossed in making that last bit of wrapping absolutely perfect.
"Like? Well yea, she's cool.", I answered quickly. I couldn't look up. My face was flushed.
Chihiro giggled.
"Don't be embarassed, Kaorin. I don't care if you like girls. I'll always be your friend"
My face began to sweat.
"You won't tell anyone will you?", I said, never quite looking her straight in the eyes.
"Not a soul.", she assured.
I finished the wrapping and sat beside her once more.
"It's more than just that though.", I told Chihiro.
"Hmm?", she questioned.
"She has this air about her. Like an aura. If she hadn't been with me earlier I would have been dead already. I would have given up. She's so...so brave. So cunning and smart." And absolutely adorable I added to myself.
"Brave...like a Spartan?", Chihiro said.
I nodded. "But she'll never see that in me. All she sees in me is a clumsy, awkward little girl. She's probably looking for some guy that is muscular and handsome. Some sort of cool, collected guy that will sweep her off her feet. Like a knight in shining armour"
Even though I had seen the portal of cuteness that was Sakaki's room. I thought it was all a fluke. Something unbelieveable.
"Don't say that, Kaorin. You're very smart! You know so much about astronomy, history...you even study meta..", I interrupted her there.
"Don't mention that. Ever.", I said. My tone was hard and without humour.
"Why not? I think it's amazing"
"It makes me sound stupid. It's like something Osaka would study.", I told her.
"But, maybe Sakaki-san likes that sort of thing too.", Chihiro said.
"I don't think so"
Sakaki-san wouldn't be interested in things like that. No, definately not.
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Oh, poor Kaorin! Will she ever find true love amidst the terrors of war? What exactly is she hiding? (epic music)