MPK: Author's note - Hey~ New readers and old ones! If anybody still reads this...I've just revamped this chapter for the final time!
It was important for me to go back and edit changes that were made over the years, like certain descriptions and most importantly Niika's personality. Plus, now that I'm older, I can make some parts less cringy than what my younger self wrote. It brings me physical pain lol. CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS STARTED IN 2014? *2024 me is sweating*
Anyway, I'll be making changes over the course of the next few weeks~! It'll say at the top of each chap if I edited yet or not~! Yes, I'm planning to continue this story! Oh, and chapter 14 will go up in a few minutes!
Have fun~ MPK (EDITED)
"Here are the keys, sis. Don't lose them...like you always do..." A teenage boy jingles a pair of keys in front of his sister's face.
"Shut up!" The girl snatches the keys from his hands. A smirk crosses his face. "I'm responsible!"
He chuckles with amusement, "Yeah right..." Suddenly the girl hit him on the head, immediately running upstairs, the boy following suit. She runs into her new room quickly shutting the door, causing him to bump right into it. He starts banging loudly on it, "Niika! Niika-chan! Open the door!"
"Ugh! Stop the banging! If stepmother were here she'd~"
"Well, she isn't! And she's not coming for a while now, is she?! Now open the door!" Niika leans against the door.
"Not on your life, Arata-kun!" Her older brother, Arata, groans in frustration. Niika laughs with satisfaction.
"Fine. But don't come crying to me about wanting dinner tonight!"
"I can cook myself dinner thank you!" Niika yells behind the door. "Besides, you suck at cooking!"
"Whatever! You can't cook! You can't even use a stove!"
"I'm only one year younger than you! And you're getting held back for classes here anyway!"
"Argh!" Arata screams and leans against the other side of the door, "Defeated again..." Niika giggles.
"AW! Don't tell me I won...again?"
"Just shut it already." Arata starts to walk away, but turns slightly and asks, "Let me know if you need anything." And disappears down one of the hallways of the gigantic new house. This will be the new temporary residence of the Takashiro siblings.
With a sigh, Niika jumps on her bed with a thud. "Baka..." Suddenly, a flash sparks in Niika's mind...
A red-headed boy jumps into the ocean water. He swims for miles until he can go no further. Soon his arms give in and his ruby-red eyes close as he sinks underwater. His unconscious body floats limply along the currents, with no sign of him waking...
FLASH!
Niika shoots up after remembering such a vivid scene.
'That...wasn't a dream...unless I fell asleep without my knowledge...' She thinks as she hugs her knees, 'But...it had to be...I had the same nightmare last night...and the night before...' She ruffles her long brown hair, 'Honestly, what's going on with me?!' She slowly slides off the bed and walks over to her balcony, taking in the nighttime ocean view. 'Could it have to do...with this...' Her finger grazes the spot in the middle of her chest. Her emerald green eyes then glance down. A mark resembling a box-shaped W faintly lights up underneath her fingertips. She looks at the full moon, eyes full of worry. 'Furthermore, who is that boy? And what does this all mean?' Suddenly the mark on her chest starts to glow again. Niika raises her eyebrows in confusion, that was until she looks up and over to the ocean below her. The girl squints only to see a small red speck floating in the water. Upon looking closer, she can see it is the boy from her so-called-"dream". He swims against the currents with all of his might, but soon gives up and stops moving. Feeling that she can't stand by and watch anymore, she grabs a jacket and leaps off the balcony. Safely landing on some tree limbs, Niika runs as fast as she can to the border of the Southern Cross Island.
Not too far away from where Niika would soon arrive, another teenage girl and boy walk across the sand of the island's private beach. They take in the cool breeze around them, enjoying the moment.
"The spring breeze. It came again this year..." The girl says, her short blond hair blowing slightly in the wind. "Look! A shooting star!"
"What did you wish for?" The blue-haired boy closes his eyes, "You can go to Tokyo. I'll be fine."
"What are you talking about? Do you just like being mean?" His eyes open again, stern, serious. The girl grabs his hand, "Just stop! Do have any idea what you're saying?! Swear! Don't you ever..." The girl abruptly stops, making the boy blink. "...I-I sense a boy I don't know...and it's fading!" She lets go and runs down the beach, the boy following suit.
"Wako?" They stop once seeing the boy's limp body floating in the water. "He's unconscious..."
"He's drowning!" Wako lunges forward, only to be stopped by her friend.
"Wait, look!" He points to the nearby rock formations above them. The shadow of a girl springs from it, diving into the cold water just as the boy drifts under. "Perfect dive..." They get as close to the ocean shore as they can, hoping to see them, but to no avail.
The boy sinks deeper into the depths, 'Hold on, Boy! Just hold on!' Niika thinks as she swims down trying to catch him. 'Almost...there... gotcha!' As soon as her hand touched his, an x-shaped mark glows blue on the unconscious boy's chest. Her chest mark glows as well, the assortment of light blinding her for several seconds. Once she regains sight, Niika grabs his other hand and swims as fast as she can to the surface. Once above, she exhales but seawater still lurks within her throat. She didn't have to swim any further, as a wave hit them, washing them onto shore. Niika coughs and coughs after setting the boy down. Wako and her friend run over.
"Miss! Are you okay?!" She only coughs harder. "Miss? Miss!" Niika's sight clears just enough to catch a glimpse of Wako's friend before she too collapses on the beach beside the unconscious boy. The blue-haired boy takes action performing CPR, pushing on Niika's chest. When seawater erupts from her lungs, he sighs in relief.
"Thank god. She's still breathing..." He announces after checking her pulse.
"...But he's not!" Wako shouts after analyzing the unconscious red-head. She starts to perform CPR too...which turns into mouth-to-mouth.
The redhead awakes the next morning in a stranger's bed. "...So, I finally made it...to my next stage..." He looks around the room as the door opens revealing Wako and her friend.
"Good morning." The blue-haired boy says, "I bet you're wondering where you are. You are in my house. I am Sugata. Shindo Sugata. This is Agemaki Wako. She and that girl saved your life." The weary one looks at Wako, his expression unreadable to her. He then turns to Sugata.
"She and what girl?" He questions.
"There is a girl, in the other spare bedroom across the hall. She dove into the water and brought you to shore. After she collapsed, Wako..." He gives Wako side-eye jokingly, chuckling slightly. Wako glares at him, face red. "Maybe I should explain more after breakfast..."
"The girl. Across the hall...can I go see her?" Wako raises an eyebrow, and Sugata shrugs.
"She is probably still resting but...sure..." He says ushering Wako out, "And bring her downstairs for breakfast while you are at it, will you..."
"Uh, yeah." He says before they leave the room. The redhead slowly rises from the bed and makes his way down the large hallway. He soon finds "the other spare bedroom" Sugata had talked about. Cautiously, he turns the knob gently, opening it slightly, and peaking in from the doorway. The room was quiet and very spacious, although it was quite empty. There were a total of 6 huge windows, covered by curtains, of course, at least that room was... A chandelier, a closet, a dresser, but most importantly the glaring Queen-sized bed stuck in the very middle of the room. By looking closely, the boy notices it is indeed occupied by a young girl.
'She looks about my age...' The boy discovers this after walking over to the side of the bed she is facing. She is softly breathing, her heartbeat steady. He wonders why and how he could hear her heart without touching her, but doesn't really mind. He sits down at the bed's edge, lightly brushing a strand of her brown hair behind her ear. Her face is cherubic, having an angelic feel to him. His fingers suddenly start caressing her cheek. For some unknown reason, the gestures he makes seem to calm her. Not knowing why, but somehow, the boy was just so...interested in this girl. It was like he was in some type of trance. Out of nowhere, the boy tilts the girl's face upward to meet his own, slowly leaning in with eyes closed. '...What am I doing?' He asks himself not stopping. Suddenly, the girl's green eyes slowly open to see unknown lips just inches away from her.
"Do you think it was a good idea to leave them up there alone together, Sugata? I mean, we don't even know what~"
Sugata interrupts Wako, "It's fine. Just give it some time." He looks at his watch, "3...2...1..."
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Sugata smirks, "And there it goes..."
"PERVERT!" Niika shouts beating the boy with a pillow, "TAKE THAT! AND THAT! AND THAT!"
"OW! OW! HEY! CUT IT OUT!" She stops unable to understand what he has just said.
"Huh?" She looks at the boy who is on the floor, anime swirls in his eyes, and a pillow on his stomach. "Hey. You're that boy from my nightmares..." He shook his head and sat on the floor looking her way. "What is it?" He tilts his head to the side. "English?" He shakes his hand slightly, indicating that he understood a little bit, but not a lot of it. "Japanese?" He nods.
"Yes." Niika lets out a sigh as she combs a hand through her long brown locks. "Who are you?" He asks her.
"I could ask you the same thing."
"Tsunashi Takuto, Miss!" Suddenly, he is enthusiastic but then hesitates to hold out his hand for a handshake, but does anyway.
"Niika...Takashiro Niika." They shake hands. "Now, what's going on? Why am I...here?" She scans the room. "A-And why were you touching me!?"
Takuto sweatdrops, "...Apparently last night I passed out in the ocean and you brought me to shore. Then you passed out and then those two people that found us brought us here..." His ruby-red eyes fill with amusement as he looks at her and continues, "...So, you decided to risk your life to dive in to save me, a stranger. You didn't even know me, so why'd you save me?"
"..C-Common courtesy." She answers with a stutter.
"Yeah right." Takuto sits back on the bed beside her. "I know it was my good looks that caught your beautiful emerald eyes. You couldn't help but rescue me. You just couldn't resist. You weren't able to stand to see such a handsome young man like me drown." He babbles on with confidence.
"-Pfft. As if."
"Huh? I beg your pardon?"
"I don't like you if that's what you're getting at. I just saved you because I happened to notice you floating in the ocean unconscious. I grabbed you so that you wouldn't die!"
Takuto pauses as if he is considering what Niika had said, "Don't lie!" He finally concludes, "Just admit you think I'm hot, and let's move past this!" Takuto was trying to lighten the mood, but his jokes were being met with sarcasm.
Niika rolls her eyes, "Whatever helps you sleep at night." She falls back onto the other pillow, "Besides if I recall, you were the one who tried to kiss me while I was asleep."
"No, I wasn't!" He lies blushing slightly, "I was just uh, inspecting...you. Yeah!"
"That makes no sense though..."
"Can we just please go to breakfast? Please?!"
"Y-You're the one holding me up!" Niika hops off of the bed, stretches a little then heads for the door, Takuto following closely behind.
"It's not that funny!" Takuto shouts as Sugata laughs his butt off. He sits at the end of the large dining room table, then going clockwise is Takuto and Niika, then Wako, who's sitting on the other side near him. Takuto tells his story while he and Wako just keep eating and eating. Niika barely touches her plate, pretty much staying silent. During all of this, Sugata tries to compose himself but was failing miserably as he laughs his butt off while he listens to Takuto's story of how he got to the island. Or did I already say that...well he was... "I sent my luggage ahead to the dorms, but I thought I'd figure something out when I got here...This is great! Can I have seconds?" One of Sugata's maids who is dressed as a bunny grants his wish. "Thank you!"
"You missed the last ferry...so you swam across the sea?" Sugata is like really laughing, and it wasn't that damn funny.
"I couldn't miss the opening ceremony!"
"Baka." Niika murmurs to herself. Takuto hears her but says nothing.
"If you're worried about that, you could have taken the morning ferry and made it here with time to spare."
"Say what?"
"Such a Baka." Takuto glares Niika's way.
"Incredible...you're incredible Tsunashi Takuto." The dude was still laughing.
Takuto sighs, "Well, I got free breakfast right? And I'm alive..."
"You'd be dead if it weren't for those two."
"Areh?" He isn't paying attention, still grabbing for more food.
"Takuto, why did you want to come to school on this island?" Wako asks.
"To do something amazing!" Takuto shouts.
"Something amazing?"
"A fabulous school life! A cerulean sky and azure sea!"
"Like singing out your youth?" Wako asks.
"Exactly! "Sing out yer youth, ya go to the southern island!" That's what Grandpa said."
"Grandpa?"
"Yeah. He convinced me to come here. And I'm glad I did, 'cause I met all of you guys. Even you Niika-chan!" Takuto nudges her in the arm, but she barely notices as she keeps moving her fork around her plate. Sugata notices this.
"Miss Takashiro." She looks up suddenly, "Why did you come here?" Niika hesitates. If she said the wrong thing, they'd immediately get suspicious.
"Um...t-transferred." Sugata raises an eyebrow, "Uh, Step-mom wanted to move here so my brother and I had to change schools again."
"I see." Niika lets out a breath of relief and yet another sigh when he turns to Takuto. "Takuto-kun, you know Wako was so worried about you that she came to see you this morning. Nice, huh?"
"Cut it out, Sugata." Wako tells him.
"Forgive my rudeness, but Takuto, have you had your first kiss yet?" Wako does a spit-take. Niika just barely snaps back to reality.
"It's on my list of defining moments of youth I plan to go through, sir!" He salutes.
"Would you count mouth to mouth?"
"Mouth to mouth?"
"That's it. I'm done." Takuto stands up when Wako does.
"I heard you helped save my life. Thank you!"
The blonde nods, "See you at school."
"I'll walk with you." Sugata and Wako exit the room, leaving Takuto and Niika alone with the maids. The redhead sits back down and peers at the suspicious girl. She's still deep in her thoughts.
"Hey. Niika-chan." He nudges her once more, "You didn't even eat anything."
"Huh? Oh...I guess I just wasn't that hungry."
"But it was a free meal!?"
"Only you would think about that part, Takuto-kun."
Sugata's other maid with cat ears suddenly picks up an empty plate in between the two. "Wako's a nice girl. You know, she and the master are betrothed."
"So? Why would we need to know that-?"
"Really?" The maid answers Takuto with a nod. "Hmm..." He's suddenly in deep thoughts of his own. The maid with the bunny ears seems to disappear. "Hey, would you call mouth-to-mouth a kiss?" Niika rolls her eyes, deciding to eat a forkful of what is on her plate. The maid hesitates.
"Um. I'm not obligated to answer that question..." Then she disappears too. Takuto turns to Niika.
"Fine. What about you?"
"...What about me?"
"Does mouth-to-mouth count as a kiss?"
"Well...I-Its just my opinion...But if you want to be technical, I'd say yes. I mean it is mouth-to-mouth, you're technically lips-to-lips..." She speaks nervously, "B-But I believe that your first kiss isn't a quick peck of the lips or an unwilling mouth-to-mouth. It's a romantic, passionate kiss that can only be shared with your first love. O-Or something like that..."
"That's deep, Niika-chan. Way to put it." He moves closer beside her. "So...have you had your first kiss?"
"No." Niika states flat out.
"Good." She looks to Takuto. "Now I can compete with you to see who gets their first kiss first!" Niika rolls her eyes once more as she stands up from the table.
"Whatever you say. I'm leaving."
"I'll walk with you..."
"NO!" Takuto is taken aback by her suddenly louder voice. "Um, n-no offense but...I don't want to be seen with someone who wears a shirt that doesn't fit..."
"But midriffs are hot..."
"...Not on you it seems." He realizes she is criticizing his red long-sleeve midriff with a small silver star design on the left side. He frowns. "You look cold." Niika turns to leave the room but Takuto grabs her wrist.
"Don't cramp my style! I like it, so I'll wear it! Besides-!" He then whispers in her ear, "You'll learn to love that about me. I just know it!"
Niika grabs his collar and she whispers back in Takuto's face. "In. your. dreams!"
"I'm already in yours, aren't I?" He provokes, "I'll be waiting for you to enter mine. I know it'll become a reality soon. So I'll be patient for you, Niika-chan." He ends with a smile. She pushes him away from her. The cheeky redhead sways a bit but catches himself before he can fall backward.
"Goodbye, Tsunashi...Takuto." She walks out of sight with a light blush. "B-Baka!" She exclaims in the hallway, "Baka, Baka, Ba-ka!"
"I wonder if we are all in the same class this year..." Wako says to Niika just as she has another premention.
"...W-We're all in the same class." The brunette mutters.
"How do you know that?"
"-WAKO! WE'RE IN THE SAME CLASS!" Wako's friend Ruri glomps her. "Isn't this great?! And Sugata and that sexy, cool new boy are in our class too!" She gestures over to the two as well as everyone else.
Takuto spots them and waves, "Yo! Wako-chan! Niika-chan!"
"Hey!" Wako waves back. Niika sighs and decides not to bother. When they walk over, Ruri jumps in front of them.
"Hi! The name's Makina Ruri and my specialty is meat and potatoes!" They all sweatdrop.
Sugata smirks, "Mmm. Meat and potatoes. Sounds good, right?"
"What?" Takuto becomes confused.
"Sugata, you have such a dirty mind!" Wako complains.
"I don't know what you're talking about Wako-chan. I just love meat and potatoes."
"Okay. I'm standing over here now..."
"Niika-chan! What are you wearing?!" Takuto exclaims referring to Niika's uniform.
"Oh, this? I just had the uniform skirt altered a bit. It was too big on me, so I cut it and added some ruffles at the bottom. I hope it's not against the rules..."
"Hey, no one's complaining." Sugata supports.
"Of course not! That's because they're..."
"They're what, Tsunashi-kun?"
Takuto's face was tomato red. "... they're too busy imagining what's under there." He admits in a quiet tone.
Niika squeals, "Only you, you perv!"
Sugata shakes his head. "And Wako said I had the dirty mind."
"Oh, Ruri! I forgot to introduce you two. This is-"
"-Takashiro Niika, I know! Way ahead of you! Nice to meet you!" Ruri takes Niika's hand.
"Y-You already know who I am?"
"Of course! I met your brother! He's super hot and a really nice guy! You're so lucky! AND he's in our class too!"
"Whoa. Niika's brother? I have to see this one. I want to meet him too!"
"Well then meet me." A slightly deep voice speaks from behind him. It was indeed Niika's older brother.
"Heeeeeyyyy! Takashiro-san! W-What's u-up?!" Takuto stutters out before hiding behind Sugata.
"Hi, Onii-sama! So you're really going to be in my class...Figures with your last class averages, haha."
"Excuse me. To answer your question, yes I am in your class. And no, it's not because of my last averages. I can study whenever I want." The taller brunette claims. "It's because I need to keep an eye on you, little sis. Especially with that new skirt of yours..." He folds his arms.
"Hey Niika-chan! See those people over there? I want to introduce you to them!" Ruri tugs on Niika's arm.
"W-Wait, do you k-know those people?"
"Nope!" Ruri starts to drag her and Wako over there. "Come on! Time to show off the new girl!"
The boys look on and laugh, "My sister is something else, isn't she?" Arata says catching their attention. "Let me properly introduce myself. I'm Takashiro Arata." He rubs the back of his neck sheepishly.
"Nice to meet you, Takashiro-kun. I'm Shindo Sugata." He shakes Arata's free hand. "And this knucklehead is Tsunashi Takuto."
"Hey! I'm not a knucklehead! But it's a privilege to meet you, Arata-kun!" He also accepts Takuto's handshake. "May your days at Southern Cross High School be...uh...helpful!...and youthful!" He tries to wish him the best.
"I think I understand why Sugata calls you a knucklehead..." He and Sugata laugh as Takuto pouts.
Niika walks around exploring the school grounds, stopping by the dorms. She fantasizes about staying in the dorms like everyone else but is quickly reminded of her brother and stepmother. They insisted on renting a house to stay in.
'You'd be the safest there with me. There's no other sensical option.'
Niika didn't know why but something told her that that might be true. She has no idea what will happen from now on.
"I can't believe that Benio actually did 100 push-ups in her swimsuit." A couple of school girls are chatting as Niika walks by.
"Yeah, that's like totally lame."
"And what's the deal with that "Don't cross the fence!" crap she was blabbing about?"
"She was all like, "The abandoned mine is dangerous! So whatever you do, don't cross the fence!" Bullcrap. You know someone's going to try and climb it anyway."
"Yeah. But I wonder if someone had enough balls to actually do it, what exactly is over there? I mean, it can't be that serious...can it?" They looked at each other.
"NAH!" They laugh and keep moving. Niika hears every word and suddenly has a few thoughts.
'Abandoned mine? Someone with balls...like blind courage, right?' She ponders. 'An off-limit fence...balls...Oh no. Can it be? He wouldn't...W-Would he?'
"It's on my list of defining moments of youth I plan to go through-!"
"A-Ah, he would! Tsunashi Takuto!" She thinks aloud as she runs off to the supposedly spooky, abandoned mine.
'Tsunashi Takuto.' Sugata thinks miles away from the spot, 'You risked your life to swim over here. What's your real objective...'
'Huh. What was that?' Wako thinks, also somewhere else. She breathes in some fresh air, 'It's like...a familiar presence...disappeared...' "AHHHH!"
Niika finally makes it to the abandoned mine after wandering around the island for what seems like an eternity. 'This place would have been a lot easier to find if I had asked for directions. But then they would have suspected something...Oh well, I made it here anyway.' She looks at the huge metal wire fence. She gulps at the height. "H-Here goes! Time to save that idiot again!" Niika proceeds to climb it, but then she hears a familiar voice. "Huh?"
"If you tell me to go, then I'm gonna be dying to go. That's just how guys are..." Takuto, a little ways away from her is talking to himself. "Grandpa, I'm going to start my fabulous school life...Right here!" He pulls out some pliers from his pocket, twirling them. "Okay!" Takuto says in English, "Its a pinch!" Takuto starts to clip at the wiring causing the fence to shake.
'Oh no!' "W-W-Wait! S-Stop!" Niika shouts.
"Areh?" Takuto finally notices her at his left. "N-N-Niika-chan?!" He drops his pliers in surprise.
"AaahhH! I'm slipping!"
"I got you!" Takuto leaps over just in time to break Niika's fall with his body. "T-t-t-t-Iteh-"
"T-Takuto-kun!" She sits up with him. "Are you okay!?"
"I'll manage..." He trails off. Their gazes linger on each other for a moment.
"W-What are you doing here?!" Niika sits back hiding her blush. "Aha! I knew you'd try to go over the fence!" She says with so much confidence that she closes her eyes. Takuto's only response is the sound of more metal being bent and grunts of frustration. "S-Stop cutting the fence!"
"Well, since you're here, why not explore the place together?" Niika pauses considering the excitement of getting to explore the off-limits area. "You were looking for me anyway weren't you?" Niika chokes.
"I was not!"
"Was too!"
"I won't do this with you!" Niika grabs his arm. "We shouldn't be here! Let's go before we get in trouble." Takuto freezes at the sight of Niika's last gesture.
"A cuteness attack! I wasn't ready for one of those." It's Takuto's turn to blush. "B-But!" He grabs her shoulders, "W-What if there's a secret organization hiding on the other side? I need to find out so I can expose it!"
"Secret organization?" Niika questions, "Why would it be that!?"
"You never know. Or maybe there's buried treasure or something. I don't know. All the more reason to find out!" Takuto exclaims, "It's a chance!" Niika is still unconvinced that going inside is the right decision. "It's okay, Midori no me. You don't have to worry so much. I'll be fine. And if you come with me, I'll protect you!"
"Midori no me?" Niika tilts her head to the side.
"Yeah. Because of your green eyes. They were the first thing I noticed after meeting you." Takuto's arm drops to around Niika's waist as he smiles at her.
Niika tries her best to hide her nervousness. "Y-You compliment and touch me an awful lot, for someone who doesn't like me." She points out looking away from him.
"I never said I didn't like you." She turns back to face him and they stare once more. Niika's hands rest on his chest and Takuto's other arm drops to her waist as well. Both feel something like a magnetic pull between them. They lean towards each other a breath away from each other's face. Yet they both stay there not moving another inch.
Click, Clack! Click, Clack! Click, Clack!
Noise coming from the railway gets louder and louder from where their standing. The two break eye contact to notice their standing in the middle of some train tracks.
"Someone's coming?!"
"I-I thought this mine was abandoned!"
They hold each other closer instinctively. "Quick this way!" Takuto quickly pulls Niika into the nearby bushes. He holds up a finger to his lips, gesturing to keep quiet.
A railway car comes by, and the first thing they see are two suspicious-looking guys with masks. The second thing is the unconscious blonde they seemed to be holding hostage...that looked a lot like... "Wako-chan!" Niika whisper-shouts accidently. She covers her mouth.
"What is it?" One guy asks. The other looks at the hole left by Takuto's pliers. He picks up the previously dropped tool.
"Someone tried to get in..." He observes. Takuto realizes whisper-shouting himself, "Aah, it's a pinch!"
The guy suddenly picks up and throws a rock the two's way, "And there he is!" Takuto pushes Niika deeper into the bushes, and he jumps out in time. "Looks like I was right."
"Who are you guys!?" Takuto shouts at him. "And what are you going to do with her!?" Niika still hides behind the bush shocked that they didn't notice her yet. One of the guys lunges at Takuto and the two boys start fighting.
"Why do you want to know?!" The guy asks between punches.
Takuto dodges each blow almost like an expert. "I was raised to fight for the powerless!"
"And you're gonna do that by dodging me?!" Out of nowhere, Niika has another premonition.
Takuto & the guy square off having the same conversation. But when the opponent disappears, he comes back and punches Takuto in the stomach, which is so painful it knocks him out cold.
'Weren't you listening? Fighting and Boxing, totally different.'
Flashing back to reality, Niika knew she had to do something, and quick.
"ITS A PUUNCH!" Takuto throws a punch, but the guy disappears. "He's gone..."
"In front of you!" She shouts. Takuto looks in time to catch the guy's fist before it can touch him. Takuto uses his arm to flip him on the ground, causing him to gain anime swirls in his eyes.
The other guy puts Wako down, "Who said that?!" He pulls a taser from his pocket, turning it on. Niika instinctively gasps. With attention turned to her, the other suspicious person shoots the taser in her direction. The shock makes her flinch violently before she falls to the ground quickly losing consciousness.
"MIDORI NO-UGH!" She faintly hears footsteps next to her.
"Sweet dreams little girl." The guys walk up next to her, one with Takuto slung over his shoulder.
'Niika. Wake up. Please get up. You need to help him. You have to be there to help him...I have a feeling...That you're the only one who can...'
"Sakana-chan!" Niika says, eyes fling open. She sits up and looks around. "I could have sworn it was her. I know that voice anywhere..." She then remembers why she was there, and what happened moments ago. "Takuto! Wako!" Still outside, she is compelled to jump and climb over the wire fence like before. Without hesitation, she runs inside the abandoned building. She wanders further and further down, before finding an escalator to take her the rest of the way. The place she was cautiously exploring looked almost nothing like a mine. Nor did it seem abandoned.
Things inside felt a little up-to-date. Niika recognizes certain hardware, computers, and other technology that made the place feel more like a lab if anything. And there were people in this place. Niika ducks down as she descends to hide from some of them. But the most glaring observation was the giant metal husks that were maybe 10 times her size. "W-What are they?!"
Niika doesn't have time to gawk. At the bottom around a nearby corner, she hears shouting. "Let her go!"
"Takuto!" Niika watches from the doorway as he runs towards the person who held Wako. She starts to run in when suddenly, she feels like time has stopped. She couldn't move, nothing could.
'You must help him. Go...'
Suddenly, she falls to the ground because of the position she froze in. Niika looks up from the boxes she fell behind. Takuto was frozen in a running position, Wako and the people in front of him, not so much.
"Isn't it a shame?" A pink-haired girl with a gold mask says, "Only the chosen are able to make it past this point." And just like that, she and her cohorts disappear along with one of the huge metal statues she had noticed earlier.
"It couldn't be..." Niika mumbles, "...A cybody?" That's when she realizes that Takuto is still frozen. "Takuto!"
Niika runs to him. Just as she touches him, her mark glows green as well as the x-shaped mark on Takuto's chest glowing a bright blue. He unfreezes and falls to the ground yelping from the pain. "Iteh! T-t-t-"
Niika drops to her knees beside him, "Takuto, are you okay?!"
"...Is this heaven? Midori no me made it too?" Takuto speaks still a little delulu. He leans his head on her knees. "...At least I feel better about dying, since you're here with me..."
"You didn't die! Wako just got kidnapped! And then her kidnappers disappeared! I don't know what to do!" Niika starts to physically panic. Takuto grabs her forearm.
"Don't worry. You did well, finding us. First, calm down." For the first time, he gives her a serious look. Niika takes a deep breath. "I think...I know where they went..." He looks up to where another metal husk resides. Niika becomes confused. That is until she hears...it...
Mau yuki wa hoshi no kakera
Tentai ni te wo nobashite
Ikikau negai, Kanjiteiru ne
Subete wa ima, MONOKUROOMU no naka
"Fish girl..." Niika immediately thinks aloud. "I knew it was her..."
"Who? What?" Takuto asks.
"The singing, don't you hear it? So vibrant, so soothing...so close..."
Sotto koboreta shiroi iki
tsutaetakatta kotoba no katachi
Kitto nukumori no bun dake
Sora wa honnori, akaruku natta
"I didn't hear anything." Takuto peers down at her worriedly.
"Then maybe I'm the only one that can...Uh oh."
"What is it?"
"She once said to me...if I was ever the only one to hear her sing...then..." She trails off.
"Then?" Niika stands, returning the serious expression.
"Takuto-kun. I have an awful feeling something bad is about to happen. We have to find Wako-chan. Now!"
Kanashimi ni nureta tsubasa
Kasanariau junpaku e
Watashi atta, mirai e no yasashii yuuki...
Takuto stands too, "Zero Time. We have to get there, but how..."
'He needs it. Open the door. You have the key. Help him, Niika. You're the only one who can.'
"Eh?" Takuto grabs Niika's hand.
"Come on Midori no me, let's..." As soon as his hand touches hers, their marks glow on their bodies again, stronger than it has ever before. Surprised, Takuto analyzes the brunette intently. In the corner of Niika's neck, a small crescent-shaped scar seems to faintly glow on her body as well. "Niika-chan?"
Daremo shiranai sekai no
yoake wo matteiru kodou
hikari wo tsurete tabidatsu
watashi ni hajimaru ashita...
"S-So wait. The key, could it be? ...Is it...No...It has to be..." She thinks aloud trying her best to make sense of the situation.
"Key?" Takuto repeats before gaining a feeling of realization. "Wait. Are you~"
"If those words are the key, then..." Niika closes her eyes. "I'll open the door."
Sorezore ga tadoru kidou
tatoe mou aenakutemo
hikari ga miseru ginga no dokoka
de tsunagatteiru ne...
"Niika...chan?"
Niika opens her eyes revealing a bright emerald glow, "The door to another dimension has been opened..."
chiru hoshi wa suna no you ni
mata mune wo amaku naderu
shizuka ni nemuru yume no zanzou
subete wa mada MONOKUROOMU no naka
The light from their marks shines brighter, turning white and blinding them both. When the light dies down, they are in a different place. A seemingly different dimension.
"Zero...Time..." They mumble in unison. "...Whoa..." Their eyes meet, "-HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT ZERO TIME?! HOW DO I!? HOW DO YOU!?"
"It's my birthright to know!" Takuto shouts at her.
"Birthright!?" Niika shouts back.
"Yeah! I'm the one that's qualified to be here!"
"Qualified?!"
"Yes! The cybody..."
"How do you know what a cybody is?!"
"I don't have to explain myself to you!"
"I-I don't either! Now answer the question!"
"Because I do okay! What's your excuse!?" Right then, Niika shuts her mouth, biting her lip. She couldn't tell him. He can't know. All she can do is let out a "Hmph!" noise. "Furthermore, how are you able to get here!? Especially without a cybody!?" Takuto closes his mouth too, facing the other way after hearing a...
BANG!
The metal husk that had disappeared from the mine banged its fists together. In this alternate dimension, it had turned into something more glorified. What the two had referred to as a cybody. Takuto spots Wako up above and immediately starts shouting, "I SAID, LET HER GO!"
Wako notices her classmates on the ground below, "Takuto-kun! Niika-chan!"
"WHAT!?" The person inside the cybody shouts, "HOW WERE THEY ABLE TO GET HERE WITHOUT A MASK!?"
"Niika. Get back, to somewhere safe." Takuto suddenly whispers to her.
"How am I supposed to do that?!" Niika shrieks.
"If you're meant to be here then..." Takuto touches her shoulder and pushes her backward.
"Waaaaah!" Flying into the air a bubble forms around her and she is lifted upward, spinning around & around inside it until it halts to stop.
"I-It worked! Sorry about that..."
Niika had anime swirls in her eyes from dizziness. "I dislike...you very...much..."
"ANSWER ME!" The guy in the cybody shouts, "HOW...HUH?!" Suddenly Takuto's chest mark glows blue again.
"I didn't believe it until this happened, Grandpa..." Takuto says to himself, "Now...what happens when the mark lights up..."
When Niika is finally able to stand, she gasps at the view in front of her, "It can't be...This is...Is he?..."
In her bubble, Wako helplessly mutters, "Could it be that you are-!"
"YOU'RE THE GALACTIC PRETTY BOY?!" A robotic hand then pops up out of the ground, Takuto standing in its palm.
"When what you want to do is what you have to do..." Takuto lectures himself once again, "...You can hear the voice of the world. So this is it?" He smirks, "Well then, RAISE YOUR VOICE! LET'S SING OUT OUR YOUTH TOGETHER! APPRIVOISE!" The hand reaches higher out the ground, followed by a head, body, and legs. That's right, a cybody has risen from the ground. But Takuto was nowhere to be found.
"So he is! Galactic Pretty Boy!" In the middle of the unknown cybody's chest, a blue orb appears and Takuto stands in its center.
"Dazzling the stage!" He shouts as a white, yellow-accented majorette-like uniform appears on his body, "Galactic Pretty Boy!" His bangs once red like the rest of his hair, turn blonde. "TAUBURN!" Strikes a pose, hand on his hip and the other pointing outward with a snap.
"Did he really say "Dazzling the stage"?...Baka..." Niika whispers to herself. Her chest mark glows in response to Takuto's transformation. "Stop it!" She whines, "Before they see..." She complains as if she was talking to someone. When the glowing fades, she lets out a sigh of relief looking back to the action. "So that's what a cybody looks like..."
"Whoa! Nice! It's so light! It feels like a dream!" Takuto says squeezing his hands, over and over. "Tauburn's power...is truly something that fires me up!"
"TAKUTO!" Wako screams in his direction. "HELP ME!"
Takuto blinks a couple times. "Oh yeah..." He becomes focused again.
"What exactly is he going to do?" Niika hugs herself, slouching inside of her bubble. Somehow, Takuto seemed to hear what she had said, turning her way. He gives her a wink.
"Believe in me, Midori no me." He says with a thumbs up. Niika's hand reaches out touching the bubble in awe of his confidence.
"No way! He's already in the third phase!"
"This is bad!"
"YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST GET IN A CYBODY AND GO!?" The guy in the other cybody shouts, throwing a punch. Takuto's cybody, Tauburn, not only dodges it but punches him back instead. The horns of the larger cybody's design fly off into the air before hitting the ground behind him.
"BACK AT YOU! WHO SAID YOU COULD PILOT?!" 'Just crack the mask of lies...right, Grandpa?' Takuto thinks.
"Charge! Alephist!" The opponent's cybody, Alephist, slides forward at a high speed toward Tauburn. It stops the cybody's next attack with one arm.
The two cybodies then engage in what seems like a never-ending battle for Wako, and the others. Trash-talking and all...But in reality, it only lasts for about two minutes.
When Alephist finally starts to malfunction, Tauburn grabs Wako's bubble out of the way and quickly jumps away behind it. Takuto doesn't even watch, as Alephist self-destructs, exploding into a million pieces. Wako could only watch in awe, looking up at the ordinary boy she had just met that day. How could she have known? That he would turn out to be a star driver. Not only that, the Star Driver of the legendary cybody, Tauburn at that.
"...Amazing." Niika was practically speechless too. After witnessing an extraordinary scene she could have never dreamed of in a million years, it was hard to find the words to describe it. A fantastical scenario, she had never thought could be real. "L-Looks like there's more truth to all this than we thought..." A bright light flashes blinding everyone, the scene fading away before their very eyes.
Niika's eyes open to find herself lying on some type of hand-shaped rock formation in the middle of the ocean. She sits up quickly, the rush from previous moments overtaking her suddenly. She holds her head in pain from the sudden blood rush. "Iteh..."
"Ah Ha ha~" Turning her head slightly she notices Takuto and Wako are also there, laughing with each other in conversation. Niika's early excitement suddenly dies down, instead turning into a feeling closer to sadness. But why? She didn't know. The brunette reaches out her hand slowly towards them, feeling left out.
"Midori no me!" Takuto calls out to her. "You're awake~!" Suddenly a dizziness falls over Niika and her body slips backward past the rock formation's thumb. "Niika-chan!" With blurry vision, Niika lands head-first into the ocean. A blueish glow overtakes what little vision she has left. It's when pulled into Takuto's arms that her vision clears. Rising above the water, Niika coughs up seawater.
"Hey don't overdo it! I've got you!" Takuto says as Niika struggles against him. "Just breathe!"
"Are you guys alright?!" Wako shouts from above.
"Y-Yes! I think!" Niika stops struggling as Takuto drags her to the beach shore nearby. He gently pats Niika's back. "We're okay. We're okay...right?"
Niika takes a few breaths, before instinctively smacking Takuto's arm away. "B-Baka! Get away from me!"
"Huh? Midori no me?" Takuto mutters in confusion. "But I saved you-!"
Niika squeezes the water out of her hair, "You. I can't trust you!"
"Why?"
"I don't know!" Niika exclaims. "K-Knowing you, won't do me any good!" She began to walk away from the shore still unfamiliar with the island, wondering where she was, and how she was to get back home.
"Wait!" Takuto lunges forward, grabbing her forearm. "What if meeting me, was actually the best thing that could have happened!?"
"What?"
"You...You think knowing me is a bad thing. But I think it might be a good thing!" Takuto says, "There's a lot we need to talk about but, you and I...might be in the same situation. Don't just run away!" He pleads, "...I want to talk with you."
"You don't know anything! About my situation...about me-!"
"Then tell me!"
"I can't!" Takuto is taken aback by the sudden tears in her green eyes. He releases his grip on her.
"Midori no me..."
"J-Just leave me alone!" Niika skids on the sand as she runs away. Takuto does try to stop her again. He is left there as Wako appears behind him finally reaching land, just as dripping wet from swimming as they were.
"Do you think she knows? About Zero Time? About cybodies too?"
"...It's hard to say."
Niika's brunette bangs cover her eyes when she hunches over a couple of miles away. She catches her breath, trying to stop her tears. "Why? Why did it have to be him...of all people...Galactic Pretty Boy." She grazes the spot on her chest where her mark should be. 'After all those nightmares I had...I get it. He's the one...I have to protect. Sakana-chan, how did I end up in all of this?' Niika crouches down hugging herself. "What am I supposed to do? What are we going to do? Just what is the meaning of all of this?!"
'I...didn't mean to make her cry.' Takuto politely escorts Wako back to her residence late in the night, '...Takashiro Niika. A strange girl. I'm not quite sure how she got involved in this, but it looks like I'll be seeing more of her in the future. I'll learn the truth sooner or later. There's a reason fate brought us together, and you'll realize that soon enough. I said I would wait for you. I meant it. Galaxy Star Girl.'
And so the adventure of life begins.
MPK: I hope you like the 1st chapter of How To Live With Fate: A Star Driver Fanfic. If you did, please review it and tell me if I should continue with this story. I NEED TO BE CONVINCED PEOPLE! LOTS OF REVIEWS PLEASE!
And I encourage you to watch the anime series, STAR DRIVER, if you haven't! This will probably start to make some type of sense afterward! Seriously! It's based on the show lol.
Side note: The fights are so funny to me. They last like about 16 seconds each and I'm here for it.