So, here it is, the next installment of 'Different Paths'. Things are normal and peaceful for now but with the gang around you never know what is going to happen. :D
Resting
Red and yellow lights shone in the horizon signaling the start of a new day. The blueness of the night slowly dismissed under the presence of the sun crawling on the sky with each ticking second. The boy groaned scrunching his eyes shut as to not let the light disturb his sleep. Alas, it didn't work! As the bus pulled to a stop he stood up rubbing his sleepy eyes while his other hand blindly searched for his backpack.
When he find it, he walked in the front nodding as he passed by the driver. He smile in return. "Long week?"
The boy inwardly smirked glancing at him. "You have no idea Haku-san!"
"Heh…is really nice of you to visit your home so often. I'm sure you're very busy in the city!"
"Yeah! But I like to keep in touch with everyone!"
"I'm sure Rai!"
He grinned at him and continued to descend the small stairs until his feet touched the hard ground. Looking up, he scanned the village spreading in front of him. It wasn't big so the people knew each other fairly well. Also it had everything everyone needed so trips in the nearby city weren't too frequent.
The cold air of the morning was refreshing to his lungs and the soft wind blew in his black coat sneaking through it and on his skin. He felt good to finally be home and he couldn't wait to see his best friend. Taking a deep breath, Rai walked though the small, modest streets smiling and nodding at the familiar faces around. He even stopped and showed some kids how to play with a soccer ball for ten minutes before he made his way on the other side of the village.
The house he came across had two rooms, a kitchen and a bathroom. It was small and gave that old feeling that it has been around for ages but he liked it because that's where he had spent most of his childhood…after it happened.
Rai entered without knocking and swiftly threw his bag on the sofa. He took off his black coat that hid the sword strapped on his back and walked in the next room. There, on the desk, with thousands of pieces of god-knew-what around him stood a red haired boy snoring lightly.
The yellow goggles he usually wore on his head were hanging around his neck letting his red strands to cover his eyes while the black tattered coat was thrown on one of the beds along with other metal thingies that Rai didn't wanted to know about yet.
At the sight of his defenseless and unknowing form, Rai couldn't stop the devious smirk that crept on his face. He silently sneaked beside him and clearing his throat…
"JAAACK!"
The boy gave a startled yell jerking his body upwards and causing his chair to unbalance beneath him resulting in a heap of messy red hair and pale limbs trying in vain to grab on to something but failing miserably. He frantically looked around when he spotted the green eyed boy above him holding back his laughter…or at least trying to because he didn't seem to succeed.
"Come on man! You almost gave me a heart attack!"
Rai rolled his eyes but offered his hand, and Jack took it getting to his feet. As the red headed boy dusted himself, the Brazilian grabbed the hilt of the sword on his back and shoved it in his face startling the teen once again. "What do ya say about this?"
It took Jack a few seconds to understand what his friend was talking about and when he did, his eyes widened comically. "Why didn't you tell me anything?" he asked snatching the blade to have a better look.
"It was just a last minute thing I had to take care of!" the brunette replied nonchalantly.
This time, Jack had to roll his eyes. "When you say it, it seems like nothing! Do you even have any idea what this is?"
Rai only raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "A pretty sword?"
"I understand now why I'm the genius around here!" Jack muttered earning a scowl from his friend. "This is the Sword of the Storm, a very precious artifact! Hey, maybe we can sell it so I can buy some more components for our equipment."
"No!" shouted Rai grabbing the blade. "Mr. Hogai leaves Sunday morning. I have to get it back by then!"
Jack pouted mentally saying goodbye to all the devices he planned to purchase. "Fine! Let's keep the normal routine!" He took the sword and put it in a safe under his bed before the two boys walked in the kitchen.
"Did you have any problems?" Inquired the red head opening the fridge. He glanced shortly at him before grabbing two cans of juice and sat down at the table opposite from Rai.
"Nah! You know me dude, nobody can catch the Phantom!"
Jack laughed. "I've heard that so many times and not only from you! Besides, I was referring to the gears to be honest!"
"Oh…well, everything went smoothly! You're really awesome man, y'know that!"
"Hell yeah! Jack Spicer, the genius boy is the best!" They exchanged a high-five and continued to chat about meaningless things. Rai also brought up the fact that they would have to return the sword back to its owner somehow. He ignored some of his friend's crazy ideas but that didn't mean he didn't acknowledge them somehow.
In the end, Rai went in the bedroom to catch some sleep leaving Jack alone to work on upgrading his computer. Usually his friend was exhausted after one of Phantom's strikes so right after coming home he would crash in his bed and doze off till the next day. He slightly chuckled before remembering that some of the times, Rai would come back injured and Jack felt relieved that this time he only received some light bruises. The techno geek sighed and banished all his troubling thoughts, concentrating once again on his matter at hand.
-.-
Kimiko stirred at the sudden shift of the ground beneath her. It out of the blue fell downwards, causing a chill of fear to swell in her chest, the like one feels when gravity pulls him or her to the ground in midflight. She gasped and jolted up, her sapphire eyes widened and alert only to be blinded by the strong light coming through the window.
The black haired woman groaned, shutting closely her eyes and trying to block the flashy points appearing on her eyelids. She rubbed them before blinking rapidly and her vision finally started to adjust to the lighting. She was in her bed, she realized, but the reason of her disturbance was standing just a bit on her left side…and it didn't look happy.
"Keiko…?" The girl continued to glare completely ignoring her friend's baffled question. But Kimiko somehow knew she was the cause of her irritation and it quickly downed on her why it was. "Oh, Keiko…I'm so sorry…"
The heiress stood up on her bed, throwing the blanket off of her body and moved closer to Keiko. The one in question kept her angry demeanor and only narrowed her amethyst eyes in return. Kimiko sighed running a hand through her messy hair.
"Look, I was really tired! I'm sorry I made you worry so much but…I had some things on my mind back then…" her voice trailed off as she once again thought about her chat with Phantom. It still came so easily to her mind to remember about him even after that hard night and even after being as exhausted as she was when she returned.
"So how was he?"
Kimiko flinched slightly hearing Keiko. She didn't realize she was so lost in thought but from her friend's curious and still impatiently irritated tone Kimiko grasped the fact Keiko noticed. The girl shook her head banishing any reflections about Phantom and returned her full attention to her black haired friend.
"He's good! That much I can tell you!"
Keiko nodded slowly and sat up without a another word. She walked out of the room while Kimiko sighed downhearted. The black haired girl followed and found her friend sitting at the counter in the kitchen making some coffee. She took a breath and stepped beside her.
"Kimiko, don't worry! I'm not mad!" Keiko tilted her head in her direction, a small smile playing on her rose lips as a few straight black strands of hair fell over her shoulders. "It has just become a habit for me and I felt so freaked out when I didn't get anything from you…Am I overreacting?"
Kimiko chuckled pulling the her best friend in a hug. "Maybe just a little!"
The two shared an understanding look before Kimiko went to get two cups for the coffee and they both settled on the sofa in the living. The sun shone brightly through the glass wall of the apartment covering the room in a warm golden glow. The two women stood cross legged on the fluffy cushions facing each other, the two mugs down in their laps occasionally being lifted for a sip.
Seeing as it was Kimiko's free day, the two best friends decided to spend the most part of the day indoors and talking about the latest news, which were of course the last night's events. Kimiko could finally relinquish her confusing trepidation concerning her new charge which was welcomed by Keiko's grinning face.
At Kimiko's confused glance she said amusedly. "You went for him in a big way!"
The Japanese heiress barely kept herself from spilling the coffee all over the other's face. "W-What are talking about? Is just that, that…thief seems very different than any villain I've ever met!"
Keiko couldn't help but nod. "True! He is a mystery…But why does that make him different from the others? I mean, you just saw him once and you already believe he's too good for you?"
"I've never said that!" Kimiko said boldly. "I said I don't have a good feeling about this?"
"Really? Because it sounded more like a whine for me!"
"I'm not whining and I'm not complaining either! I don't care who the hell he think he is, I'll get this guy if it's the last thing I'll do!"
Keiko smiled pleased. "That's the way, Kimi-girl!"
The blue eyed woman shook her head although she was smiling and sat up going to pour herself another cup of coffee. "I can't believe you did that!...On second thought, I do believe!"
Keiko smirked locking her amethyst orbs on the city behind the window wall. "You know me too well!"
As Kimiko plopped back on the sofa she followed her friend's gaze and they both stared in silence at the awakened city for a while. A sudden ringing made them jump in surprise and Kimiko quickly went to the source. She flipped open her cell phone and answered slipping back between the cushions.
"Hello! … Oh, hy Clay! How's the investigation going?" Keiko frowned when her friend frowned at whatever Clay told her. "Do you want me to drop by? ... Che! I swear he's like a spoiled brat! ... Huh! Seven is alright, then? … Ok! Fine, see you two there! Bye!"
"What is it?"
The sapphire eyed girl offered Keiko a strain smile. "Beside the searching patrol not finding anything useful, Mister Hogai is giving hell to everyone at the section. Oh…and Clay and Omi want to meet with us at seven in the park! To talk!"
Keiko rolled her eyes. "I'm sure they just want to get rid of the guy's annoying rants. Poor them!"
The girls laughed before they chose to watch the TV to pass time. It was just around twelve when they decided to make a quick lunch and then just talk some more, the whole Phantom thing forgotten for the moment. It was a typical Saturday after all!
-.-
The evening air crept silently beyond the window. A gentle wind started sweeping between the enormous buildings caring the summer need of going outdoors. The sun rolled on the other side of the sky barely visible from Kimiko's apartment and leaving her lounge to be succumbed in a refreshing coldness.
The girls fast got dressed and before they knew it they were in the car and speeding toward their usual meeting place. The traffic wasn't as free as it would have been though, because it was a Saturday night and that meant fun for the weekend. So when they stopped, the clock was five minutes past seven.
The duo walked on the alleyways of the park admiring the beautiful nature surrounding them when up ahead, a tall figure appeared waving. Apparently he was standing on the bench so the girls joined him and his companion. Kimiko hugged them both friendlily before taking a step back and continuing walking.
Clay and Omi followed her and Keiko knowing the best talks for them were happening while walking. As expected Keiko started by telling about her friend's 'close call' which only led to another heated argument between the girls. When the boys succeeded to split them apart, Kimiko took her chance to relate how her mission went.
"The way ah see it, this fellow is gonna be some major problem! Ya'd better watch yer back Kim!"
The one in question rolled her eyes, smiling slightly at her friend's over protectiveness. "C'mon Clay! I'll be just fine!"
"Kimiko please! I've heard many things about this Phantom and he's not to be taken lightly!" spoke Omi from beside Keiko.
Keiko on the other hand sighed throwing her head backwards. "Come on you two, Kimiko was like this in the morning as well and it was me who lifted up her mood. Please don't make her go down there again!"
Omi shrugged in defeat but Clay continued to give them weird looks. Kimiko cleared her throat trying to banish the awkwardness of the situation and added in a lighter tone. "I promise I'll be careful, okay? Whoever this guy is he has no idea what he has gotten himself into!"
"That's my girl!" Keiko playfully lent on her shoulder and gave the two boys an 'I told you she has everything covered' kind of look.
Eventually the group came across an empty bench facing the koi fish pond and stood down admiring the colorful creatures swimming elegantly through the crystal clear water. The sky darkened, passing from a soft baby blue to a mysterious dark azure in a matter of seconds and then into tar black.
The stars slowly filled the barrenness of the heavens, the shiny dots illuminated with the city lights along with the axe shaped pale moon. About an hour later the four friends agreed to go back home and rest until something new would appear concerning their case. Kimiko very much doubted it and if Phantom indeed would keep his word and return the sword than everything would get back to normal without the help of the police.
She shrugged off the whole thing as she drove back to her apartment. Her father was gone for a couple of weeks for some business travel around Europe so she was left with the entire building for herself. Not that she had to take care of the family business herself, her father has left strict instructions to his assistant and employees for it. She was only to keep an eye on them.
As she entered her room, Kimiko found everything engulfed in the darkness of the night. Flicking open the light she discarded her purse and shoes, before entering her bedroom and preparing for a good sleep.
The next day, Kimiko was greeted by an emergency call from Clay. It seemed Phantom has returned the sword right before Mr. Hogai could embark the plane…literally. The sword appeared to have been shot like an arrow just when the millionaire put his foot inside the plane. It missed his head by inches and created a true havoc all over the place which he was sure the thief used to his full advantage.
Kimiko really wished she could have been there, if not to catch Phantom then to watch the man's priceless face when everything happened. That Sunday she did go to work. But her efforts were in vain anyway, because they didn't find anything. Kimiko could only think that Phantom was definitely a phantom and leave it at that until they could find more clues about the mysterious thief.