Chapter three; Introductions
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Hot.
Hot.
Hot.
As Nova slowly recuperated from his unconscious state, he was soon to wish that he didn't. The surface beneath him radiated an excruciatingly intense heat, unlike anything he had ever experienced before, and he was immediately glad that his outfit kept his skin from coming in direct contact with it. Though it didn't protect him from feeling like he was laying face-down in a frying pan.
"… Hnnghh…"
With a groan, he stirred. Only after he had ascertained that all of his gigai's parts were intact did he open his eyes.
Nova blinked once. Then again, a little more forcefully.
He was in a desert – it had to be a desert – for all his eyes could observe was miles and miles of sand in every direction. But something was off. The sky was pitch black, and contained no stars or other sources of light – instead, it was the sand itself that was glowing, a mint green color.
Nova was thoroughly creeped out at this point and swiftly rose to a stand, only to regret it a second later.
While the sand was insufferably hot, the air was cold – very cold. Nova inhaled sharply and wrapped his lanky arms around himself, futilely. His teeth clattered loudly against each other as he felt his body heat rapidly seep out of him, making him shudder uncontrollably. He crouched down.
The question where seemed inadequate at this point; it was rather what this place was that had any importance. That gate… had not been like the teleportation gate he had made for transportation of Sado and his friends to Urahara Shop. Not like it; but not unlike it either. Nova wasn't sure how to describe it.
As he gazed down his own feet, he noticed something to his left. Weak imprints in the sand; of long, bare feet. Nova felt a sudden wallop in his chest. Oddly enough, there were no footprints leading to him, only away from him, silently inviting him along their path. With few other alternatives, he decided to follow.
The landscape remained virtually unchanged for the long while Nova walked, and to him it seemed like he hadn't moved at all. He kept his eyes firmly planted on the footprints, as if worried they would disappear if he lost sight of them. Nova pondered the fate of his silent partner. Sado wasn't one to be easily knocked off his perch. Maybe he was somewhere nearby, chasing someone's mysterious footsteps…
Suddenly, there was an interruption in his line of sight, brusquely jerking him out of his thoughts.
He had reached the end of his voyage, it seemed, for the footprints were cut off by a row of oil lamps, stretching seemingly without end in both directions. In front of it, a weathered sign stood erected, saying;
Follow the light, or you will die!
…. Again!
Nova slanted a brow. Follow the light? he questioned. What does that mean? The row of oil lamps? I don't even know where it starts and where it ends. Which way am I supposed to –
"It does not matter which way you take."
Someone more jumpy might have had a heart attack at the spot. Instead, Nova merely twitched, and span around to face the owner of the unfamiliar voice. His eyes widened as he set them on a young woman encased in tattered monk robes. Apart from her bare feet, her ashen face was the only part discernible of her, and it was eerily lifeless and lethargic, not unlike her manner of speaking.
"It does not matter which way you take," she repeated, slowly, "because the Fringe is spherical; the oil lamps go all around it, like a ring. The ones who try to follow them will end up walking the distance of equator only to end up here again. Part of Master's sense of humor, I suppose."
Nova blinked. "Who… are…?"
"My name is Light," she said. "Like you, I only have a given name."
"… Light? Does that mean…?"
"Yes," the woman said listlessly, "the sign referring to me and not the lamps. Come."
With that, Light turned on her heel and began sauntering away. Nova stood frozen to the spot in one long, dazed moment before he snapped to his senses and darted after her. As he caught up with her, he turned his head to ask, "How did you…?"
"I know you only have a given name because Master told me so, Nova-san. He's waiting for you."
"How did he -?"
"Ask him when you get there."
"Why does -"
"Why he wants to meet you is between you and him."
"… But… where are -"
"I told you where we are; in the Fringe."
"What is -"
"I can't tell you."
Nova shut himself up. This woman's ability to foresee his questions was beyond scary, and he decided not to talk to her more than absolutely necessary.
Light shot him a brief glance before saying, "You need not be scared."
Somehow, this statement did little to soothe him.
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Nova would never have thought that it was possible to be both bored and frightened at the same time, but evidently, it was. He had spent the last couple of hours or so desperately trying not attract the attention of his companion while simultaneously looking for ways to keep himself entertained, as it turned out that walking across an monotonous landscape without talking, or even thinking, was insufferably dull. So he almost had to express his joy aloud when the faint outline of a house formed in his vision.
"That is our destination," Light said. Nova nodded in response.
As they drew nearer, Nova saw that it wasn't a house, but a square centre-pole tent. A large one at that. Light stopped just outside of the entrance and refused to walk any further.
"Go alone," she said, "I will not follow you."
Nova wasn't eager to meet this Master on his own, but Light was unyielding in her decision, so that was the only choice left for him. He sighed, straightened himself up – and went through the entrance.
What met him inside was a strange sight. Lifelike mannequins were stacked up against the walls, some hidden underneath blankets, and in the centre, where one within a centre-pole tent would expect a pole, there was nothing – nothing but the oddest assembly of people. The one closest to him was without doubt the most intimidating looking; a brawny man standing a whopping six-foot-seven, with a shaved head and the outfit of an American soldier from a movie about the Vietnam War. Next to him stood a young, busty woman who barely reached him to his waist and was so scantily-clad that just looking at her made Nova feel like the world's biggest pervert. Heat rushed to his cheeks and he quickly moved his gaze to the next person, a scrawny, pale teenager veiled in clothes as black as the color of his hair and the paint he had smeared around his eyes.
None of them so much as glanced in his direction when he entered – instead, their attention was fixed on a man who sat in the centre of the room. He grimaced as he scrutinized himself with great intensity in a small mirror.
"Aw, maaan," he whined, "I hate getting lashes in my eyes."
"I could remove them if you want," the American generously offered.
"Nah. I'm good." The man suddenly looked over the mirror, at Nova, and subsequently released a cry of delight. "If it isn't little Nova-chan!" he said, and the aforementioned Modsoul felt himself shrink to half his size as three pair of eyes were directed at him. "Welcome, welcome! It's a good thing Light caught you before you ran off after the lamps. I've been waiting for you, you know. We have some things do discuss. Come here, have a seat!" He patted the sand in front of him. Nova did as he was told, but chose to sit down further away than the man had indicated.
"A little suspicious then, Nova-chan?" the man asked, though it was more a statement than a question. "I can't blame you for that, really. Goes to show that you have a healthy amount of common sense. But where are my manners? I haven't introduced myself yet!" he straightened himself up, smiled and said, "I'm Akira Takahashi. Nice meeting you."
For a while, Nova remained unable to say anything. Visually, the only thing remarkable about this man was a tattoo under his left eye, of three purple, upside-down triangles. His hair was brown and unkempt, his jaw riddled with stubbles and he was wearing what looked like an ordinary pajamas adorned by a pattern of yellow ducks. Still, Nova couldn't help feeling wary of him, for good reason. He was in a situation he knew nothing about and this man seemed to know everything.
"Uhm, Takahashi… san." Nova paused to choose from the dozens of questions he had at this point. "…What is going on?"
Akira sighed. "An inevitable question. I'll cut to the point. You know that power of yours? Teleportation? Very nifty, that. In fact, I summoned you here because I need your help. With your power, you can help me." He went silent, waiting for Nova to say something. When he didn't, he continued; "You came here with a friend… didn't you?"
"Sado?" Nova's voice perked up. "You know where he is?"
"Aye. Nice young man, that."
"Where is he?"
"Ah, but that I cannot tell you. All I can say is that he's doing fine… for now." A sudden darkness fell across Akira's eyes. "Listen, Nova-chan… I don't mean to sound heartless, but the well-being of your friend is on the line here. And there's something I want you to do for me. Do you understand?"
Nova stiffened. He then nodded. An expression of genuine delight plastered itself across the other man's face. "Splendid! Now, before I tell you what I need you to do, I want to introduce you to someone." He motioned to the other three people, who had remained in silence for the duration of their conversation. Pointing to the soldier-man, he said, "That's Tank. He's our muscle."
Tank grinned menacingly and patted himself on his chest. Akira gave vent to a disapproving 'hrrm and continued. "The girl's name is Nana. She can track reiatsu like crazy."
Nana giggled at the description.
"And that -" Akira nodded cheerfully towards the black-clothed kid, "- that's Kiyoshi. He's useless."
Kyoshi's deadpan expression slipped off his face and he bowed his head in shame. Akira leaned in towards Nova, whispering, "Don't you worry about making a good impression. They already worship you like a rock star."
Nova raised a brow before taking a second look at them – and saw in their eyes what was, without a doubt, deep, unconditioned admiration.
"You are my role model, sir," Tank said, visibly awed. "You are the very personification of untainted manhood."
"Oooh," Nana agreed, raising a hand to her lips. "I'm afraid you're just too much of a man for frail little me to handle." She nodded with gravity to emphasize how serious her statement was.
Kiyoshi shot a pained glance in Nova's direction. "Just being in your presence reminds me how flawed I truly am, Nova-sama," he whispered. "I'm disgusting."
Then he bowed his head again and went silent. Nova blinked, thoroughly confused by their description of him and looked towards Akira, hoping that he would explain their bizarre behavior. He didn't. Instead, he said, "Now, since that's over with, I'm sure you're curious about the task I have for you."
Nova hesitated before nodding slowly, dreading the answer. Akira gave a brilliant smile.
"Good, good. Well, then…"
He leaned closer, smile growing even wider.
"… You, my dear little friend, are going to break into Soul Society."
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