Chaotic Waters Act 1, Chapter 11: Old Friends and Shades of Revenge.
"Well this is a surprise."
Haruka turned his head, looking at the long haired blonde girl walking up to him from behind carrying a bouquet of sweet peas. He stared at the teen for a moment before giving the girl a slight grin. "Wow, I almost didn't recognize you. It's been what, two years?" He looked the girl up and down, marveling at how much one of his childhood friend had changed in just a couple years. "Looks like you finally got on the right track, eh Hibari?"
The yakuza princess laughed and nodded. "Something like that. You wouldn't believe how quickly my body changed." She said, snickering lightly to herself.
"Yeah, I can tell." The racer's eyes slowly looked at the flowers the other girl was holding, his smile sliding off his face into an almost...melancholy expression. "...those for Chihiro?" He asked, wincing slightly.
"Yeah...they were her favorite after all." The long haired girl slowly walked over to the grave, setting the flowers down and clapping her hands together in a prayer to the deceased. "I thought today was a good day to visit, after all it's the anniversary of the five of us becoming friends."
The senshi of wind hummed in agreement, looking back at the grave with a sad smile. "Yeah...it's why I came."
"We used to get into all sorts of mischief back then...well the four of us did, Chihiro always managed to stay out of trouble somehow." Hibari smiled sadly before laughing giving her old friend a questioning smile. "You remember that time you and 'Sumi tried to bake cupcakes for Chihiro's birthday?"
Haruka threw back his head and laughed, the joyful sound at odds with the quiet and solemn graveyard. "Oh gods I remember that! The entire kitchen was almost in flames, I think we nearly gave my mom a heart attack when she saw it!"
"Did she ever let you back in her kitchen?"
The senshi of wind grinned and shook his head, mirth dancing in his eyes. "Nope, I had to get my own place before I was allowed back into a kitchen."
"I'm surprised she even let you do that, she always seemed a bit..." She trailed off, unsure how to finish her sentence.
"Controlling?"
"I was going to say difficult for some people to be around."
Haruka snorted, nodding his head. "That's putting it lightly."
"You hear from the idiot?"
"Not in a while." He frowned, rubbing the back of his neck. "After his dad left...well you know."
"Yeah...everything kind of fell apart around then." The yakuza princess sighed and sat down next to her friend, closing her eyes to enjoy the warm sunlight hitting her skin. "You moved, dad starting pushing me harder to "be a man", Chihiro got sick, the idiot's dad left, and Kasumi..." Hibari sighed, looking up at the sky with a small frown.
"..."
"I take it from your silence you never got over her?"
Haruka shook his head sadly, fingering the small pendant he always wore around his neck. "I couldn't do that even if I tried, you know how important she was to me, to all of us."
"True, even the idiot thought so and those two couldn't stop getting into fights with each other."
"Are you ever going to call him by his actual name?"
"Nope! His face is just too adorable when he's angry."
"Pretty sure he could kick your ass now from the rumors I've heard Hibari."
"Maybe, maybe not. I recently had someone over at the compound teaching me and the boys some moves, I might just surprise him."
"Really?" Haruka asked, looking at his friend in interest. "Are they any good?"
"Pretty sure they could have given Kasumi's dad a run for his money."
"No kidding? Maybe I'll have to see if I can't come by some time, check them out for myself."
Hibari nodded, a mischievous excitement lighting up her eyes. "That would be entertaining for sure." She said with a smirk. She looked the taller teen up and down for a moment before continuing, knowing what she was about to say would annoy her old friend. "Can't have the boys thinking my baby brother is a weakling after all."
Haruka rolled his eyes muttering under his breath. "I'm not a baby anything, also how in the hell do you always seem to know when I'm a guy or a girl?!"
"I'd be a pretty poor big sister if I didn't notice something like that." Hibari said, giving Haruka a small smile before standing up, dusting off her jeans with her palms. "As much as I wish I could stay and catch up with you, I have some errands I need to run for my sisters. You should stop by the compound sometime, you've been allowed there since we were kids after all."
"Yeah...it'd be nice to talk about the old days with someone."
"Old days? Boy we're only seventeen, not seventy."
"You try and have hundreds of years of memories from your past life popping up at random times and see how old you feel."The senshi of Uranus thought with not a small amount of amusement. "Maybe...it'd be nice if we could get the whole gang together when summer comes around."
"...Yeah, I'm sure Chihiro would like us all to visit her on her birthday."
"Won't be easy."
"We'd need to drag the idiot by his ear to get him here." The girl agreed, nodding her head before she turned around and started to walk away, hesitating after taking a few steps. She seemed...unsure of something.
"What is it?"
"I saw her recently you know, Kasumi I mean."
The senshi of wind froze, his head slowly turning to look at the yakuza princess with wide eyes. "You...you what?" He scowled and glared at the long haired girl, gritting his teeth as anger burned within him. "So help me Hibari if this is a joke-"
"-It was about five months ago, in Nerima Ward." Hibari finished, looking back up at the clear blue sky. "She's changed a lot, I almost didn't recognize her at first."
Haruka jumped to his feet and whipped the other girl around, grabbing her shoulders tightly. "You're not joking? You really saw her?!"
Hibari winced, Haruka was gripping her a little too tightly for her tastes and she was sure to get a bruise she was going to have to explain to her sisters later. "I really did, I had a meeting with...someone in Nerima and I saw her inside the café." The girl took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, putting her hands on top of her friend's. "Haruka...she didn't know who I was, who any of us were."
"What...?"
"It's been ten years Haruka. That's more than enough time to forget about someone if you don't see them at all. I was so excited to see her that I nearly tackled her to the ground, but she didn't recognize me. I even mentioned you and the other three but...she didn't react to our names. Not even a little bit."
"What are you trying to say Hibari?"
"I'm saying you need to stop pining for a girl you haven't seen in ten years, I'm saying it's time for you to move on. Stop living in the past...or you might miss out on your future."
"Well, it was bound to happen eventually." Takeo muttered to himself as he tied off the wet shirt he was wearing to better fit his female form. Right as he had been walking through an alleyway to avoid some foot traffic someone had decided to toss a bucket of water out their window! Thankfully she had decided to wear a belt with today's "Takeo" outfit, so all he had to do was adjust that and roll up the legs a bit but come on! Was it too much to ask for her to have one full day as a guy?!"If only I figured out duck-boy's Hidden Weapons trick before I left, then I could keep a change of clothes or a thermos on me."
He muttered to herself, squeezing the water from her hair in annoyance. Why couldn't the curse just let him have one single day without swapping back and forth like a yo-yo?! She knew water was almost magnetically attracted to him but still!
She sighed and walked out of the alley, looking around blandly. Maybe there was a diner or food stall nearby where she could get some tea or some other hot liquid?"I could get something to eat while I wait, I am feeling a little peckish."She perked up at the sight of a small ramen shop and walked in, nearly salivating at the rich aromas that was coming from behind the counter. She heard a greeting from one of the employees and responded in kind, sitting at the bar and giving them her order of an extra large tonkotsu ramen with extra pork. Her food had just been placed in front of her when she heard a familiar voice give a tired greeting. Turning her head she blinked in surprise, was that...? "Tenoh-san?"
"Huh?" Haruka looked up from the floor at hearing his name called, giving the cursed girl a small wave. "Oh, hey Kaioh." He replied, sitting next to his classmate. "...why are you all wet?"
"Someone tossed a bucket of water out their window, I just happened to be under it unfortunately." She shrugged before breaking apart a pair of chopsticks. "I'm not too bothered by it really, it's just water after all."
"They should have looked first at least." Haruka grumbled before ordering a salad. "...what?" He asked, spotting an amused look on his classmate's face.
"Nothing, just didn't take you for the salad type." She shrugged, picking up some of her noodles with her chopsticks. Without thinking about it, she reached up with her left hand and tucked a stray hair behind her ear as she ate her food. After swallowing her mouthful she reached for the chili oil and added a few drops, mixing it in with her chopsticks before taking a bite of her pork. Everything was good, the cook here definitely had been practicing his craft for years, maybe even decades going off of the depth of flavor she tasted in every bite. "You have another meeting with your sponsors?" She asked after a few more bites.
The blond man shook his head, giving his classmate an odd look right as his food was placed in front of him. "No, why do you ask?"
"You look as tired as you did when you said you'd had a meeting, I figured it might be the same thing again."
"...No, nothing like that." The racer said with a frown, taking a bite of his salad. "I ran into an old friend earlier and she...said some things I didn't want to hear."
"Do you...want to talk about it? It might help to get an outside perspective." She offered.
Her classmate sighed, pushing around a cherry tomato with his fork. "I don't know...there's a lot of history involved. We'd be talking for a while and I wouldn't want to hold you up if you have any plans today."
"Well...I have something I need to do later, but it can wait." She took a bite of her bamboo shoots, almost purring in delight, this shop was even better than the Nekohanten in Nerima!"Maybe I should come here more often."She thought, taking a sip of tea.
"Well, if you're sure...it all started when I met this girl back when I seven."
-Nerima, Ten Years Ago-
Why did making friends have to be so hard?
Haruka sniffled and pulled on the grass in front of her, fighting back tears. All the other kids at school were so good at making friends with each other, but when she tried her tongue started feeling heavy and her words wouldn't come out right, everyone thought she was a weirdo! All she wanted was to make some new friends, why did they have to move just because Mama got a...a promo...a better job? "It's not fair." She whined, standing up and kicking the tree that was behind her only to yelp as pain shot through her foot.
"Are you okay?" Someone said from above her.
Looking up, she spotted a kid sitting on one of the thicker branches, their long hair held back in a ponytail, looking down at her curiously."Another girl? I didn't see them when I got here...maybe they were hiding higher in the tree?"They didn't look much older than her, maybe they could be friends? She sniffled and rubbed her eyes, giving them a small nod. "Uh...uh-huh."
The girl in the tree gave Haruka a concerned look and slid off the branch, landing on the grass. For a moment it looked like she would fall backwards as she pinwheeled her arms to catch her balance. "Safe!" The girl exclaimed after she was no longer in danger of falling back, crossing her arms in the shape of an x. She grinned at Haruka, showing off her white teeth before crouching in front of her, looking intently at Haruka's foot. "Is your foot okay? That sounded like it hurt a lot."
Biting her lip, Haruka nodded. Ithadhurt a lot, she knew that kicking stuff while wearing her sandals wasn't a good idea, but she'd been so frustrated she just couldn't help herself. Now this girl was gonna think she was a crybaby!
"It doesn't look broken...my Daddy broke his foot one time, it looked all wrong and gross but your foot doesn't look gross so maybe it's okay?" The new girl rambled before smiling up at Haruka. "And if it's okay then you can play with me!" She said. The moment the words left her lips something changed, it was like all of the girl's confidence left her as she shyly looked down at the ground "That is, if you want to. You don't hafta play if you don't wanna." Nervously, the girl fiddled with a small charm she wore on a braided cord around her neck.
"Nuh-uh!" Haruka shook her head, excitement bubbling up from within her. "I wanna play!"
A smile lit up the new girls face, like warm sunlight piercing through a cloudy day. "Yay!" She exclaimed, jumping in the air with joy, ringing bell-like laughter erupting out of her infectiously.
"I'm Haruka, what's your name?"
The girl from the tree smiled and said her name, a name that unbeknownst to Haruka would change her world forever.
-Juban, Present Day-
"We became close after that, she was my only friend in this new place my parents had moved us to." Haruka said with a soft smile. "Eventually we befriended some other kids, two girls and a boy, the five of us could have been easily mistaken for siblings really." He chuckled, remembering how Chihiro and Hibari would start giggling any time they found him and Kasumi together without them. "We got into all sorts of mischief back then, honestly it's a miracle we only got in trouble as much as we did." He frowned, fiddling with a small yin-yang charm on a chain, it was the same one Kasumi had worn that day, given to him the last time they'd seen each other, right before his friend had... "About nine months later me and my parents moved to America, I never saw her again."
"I think I get the picture." Michiru said with a nod, adding her fifth extra large ramen bowl to the stack of empty ones. "You had an old friend who you you were close with as a kid, but you haven't seen her in a long time. Another one of your old friendsdidsee her recently but said the girl didn't remember any of you and now you're not sure what you should do, that about sum it up?"
"Where the fuck did all of that food go? Does it just go straight to her tits?!"Haruka gaped at the five bowls stacked neatly next to his classmate. Muttering to himself about the unfairness of someone with Kaioh's figure also having a fast metabolism. He nodded agreeing with what the teal haired girl had said. "Pretty much. She told me where she saw Kasumi, so I've been wondering if I should go there myself..."
"What are the odds of one of my classmates knowing a Kasumi too?"Michiru wondered, taking another sip of tea."It'd be one hell of a coincidence if they were the same one...nah, that sort of thing only happens in manga and anime."
"So...what do you think?"
"I think you're an idiot, that's what I think." She replied, standing up from her seat and stretching her arms above her head.
"Excuse me?" The racer growled, glaring at the cursed girl and gripping his fork tightly."I will not stab my classmate with a fork, I will NOT stab my classmate with a fork!"He repeated to herself, even as the urge grew stronger within him.
"You just told someone who you've only spoken to a few times about something that's obviously a really important memory to you. The entire time you were talking you had this expression, like you were talking about the most precious thing in the world." She finished her tea and ordered another to go, pulling out enough yen for her meal and setting it down on the counter. "It sounds to me that you're not looking for advice. Instead, it sounds like you're looking for someone to tell you that youshouldn'tdo what you've already decided to."
The racer frowned and looked in his empty salad bowl, absently twirling his fork between his fingers. "Maybe I am...she means the world to me but...if I found out that she forgot me, that I wasn't as important to her as she is to me would be..."
"So it's fear holding you back then." Michiru said, perking up as a thought occurred to her. "You said you were a professional racer right?"
Haruka blinked at the subject change, opening his mouth in confusion before nodding. "Yes...but I fail to see how that-"
"-how fast do you drive on the track?" The cursed girl asked, cutting off her classmate before she could finish.
"Two hundred twenty five to two hundred eighty nine kilometers per hour." Haruka answered quickly, not needing to think about it for even a moment. "But what does that have to do with anyth-"
"-And!" Once more Michiru interrupted, her lips forming into a smile as she held up a finger. "Are you ever scared of crashing at those speeds?"
"Of course I am! I'm scared every time I get into the driver's seat, but I face..." He trailed off, his eyes widening in realization of what his classmate was trying to tell him. "I face that fear...every time." He whispered before smacking his forehead with his palm. "You're right, I am an idiot."
"Only a small one." Michiru teased, turning around and walking to the door, completely forgetting her tea.
"Hey, wait up!" Haruka quickly pulled out the money for his food and set it on the counter, grabbing the teal haired girl's tea and following her out the door...right into a downpour that preceded to soak the two to the bone in moments.
"Really Jusenkyō?!"
-Hall of Memories-
It flew through the corridor like a wraith covered in shadows, seeking the core of this fool of a child. All it needed to do was find it, and then the shadow could end the child before it became a threat to the shadow's plans.
Until now, all it had been able to do was influence the child with words while it searched for the core, but now that wouldn't be necessary, it could feel the core's presence, it'spower. For too long had it been denied vengeance against those that had wronged it, for too long had it been forced to remain in unending slumber. But now...but now some fools had awakened it! Now it would have it's revenge!
Silently it flew, following the twists and turns of this child's mind before stopping upon entering an immense room. There, in the center stood what looked like a ball of crystal water gently rotating, reflecting a wave like pattern all across the room.
{"Finally"} The shadow said in a voice that was more like a hiss than actual words, reaching out it's claw to tear this core asunder, to make that damnable woman pay!
Without warning a beam of light slammed into it's claw from the ceiling, obliterating the shadow's claw in an instant. It drew back with a hiss, clutching it's wounded appendage to it's center, growling as the light faded to reveal an emerald spear.
{"I will allow you to do what you please no longer shade."} A voice bellowed as a woman faded into view next to the spear, tearing it from the ground with no greater effort than pulling a leaf from a twig.
{"You!"} The shadow exclaimed, {"Damn you, why must you interfere?!"}
{"Is it so strange that a mother would act to protect her child?"} The woman asked, pointing the tip of her spear at the shadow.
{"Ha! Your daughter died eons ago, this child is as much Ninhegal as I am! Every time she reincarnates she looses a piece of who she was, becoming someone new in the process, there's naught but scraps of your daughter left!"}
{"Even if there are but scraps left, I will not allow one such as you to darken her soul."}
{"Do not talk tomeabout darkening a soul, how many lives have you taken with that spear? How many suffered under your rule...Tiamat of the Emerald Cliffs, First of the Guardians of Neptune?"} The shadow split near the top, revealing a mouthful of razor sharp teeth that glowed white against the shade's darkness. {"Or should I call you by your other title,Butcher of Atlantis?"}
Fury emanated from Tiamat, the grey wolf pelt she bore on her shoulders billowing outwards from the force of her rage as she gripped the shaft of her weapon tighter. {"Enough Rhamnousia! Do not test my patience!"}
The shadow was silent for a moment before the shadows retreated within, revealing a vaguely feminine flame like form the color of ink. {"So youdoremember me, what you and the others did to me."}
{"Of course I remember you fool. I remember every battle I fought, every life I took, every decision I made as Queen of Neptune, I remember it all."} She leaned forward, her eyes glowing with power as she glared at the shade in front of her. {"And I regret none of it!"}
The shade scoffed, and held up her injured hand, her wide white grin not fading the slightest as her claw reformed. {"You would fight me here? You cannot fool me, you are weaker than you were in our time, and Ninhegal's newest incarnation is even weaker than she was! You should be begging me to end her miserable little-"}
{"ENOUGH!"} Tiamat bellowed, warping in front of the shade and gripping it's head tightly with one hand. {"I will suffer your presence no longer!"} She squeezed, crushing the shade even as it struggled and clawed at her arm, tearing flesh from her bones with ease.
With a sound like a gunshot the shadow burst from her might, dispersing slowly from the Hall of Memories. {"...Very well Tiamat, I will leave the child be for now. But know this, you cannot keep me away forever, not when my vessel will soon awaken."}
Tiamat growled and swung her arm, flinging the rest of the shadows away with a burst of wind that smelled of the salty sea. {"To think you would fall so far as to subjugate and extinguish your own child...you truly have become a pathetic thing."} The ancient woman mused, watching her flesh mend itself in disinterest. {"To think one of the First would become such a creature...how disgusting."}
-Juban, Haruka's Apartment-
"How did I end up in this situation?"Michiru wondered as she, now in her male form, stood underneath the hot water of her classmate's shower.
"You can use my shower, I'll grab you something dry you can wear." Haruka said as he opened the door to his apartment, letting his classmate in. The blond haired girl had refused to let Michiru walk to her own apartment after finding out that she lived on the other side of the district, not when his own apartment wasn't far. "I'll put your clothes in the dryer when you're done."
"This really isn't necessary, I can just walk to my apartment, it's not that far!"
"I insist, I'd feel horrible if you got sick when I could have prevented it." Haruka explained, ducking into his room for a moment, coming back out with a large grey hoodie and sweatpants. "Here, you can wear these." He offered before pointing to a small door. "The shower's in there."
"Really I can just-"
"I'm not taking no for an answer Kaioh-san. Think of it as my thank you for helping me out." The racer said firmly, before pointing once more at the door. "Now go, get yourself warmed up."
"This is NOT a good situation I've found myself in."She thought to herself, turning the hot water cold just long enough for her to change back into her female form before turning it off. She shivered, grabbing a towel and drying herself off quickly, not bothering to dry her hair too thoroughly. She grabbed the hoodie Haruka had given her and threw it on, pausing as the scent of petrichor and apples hit her nose. The smell was so familiar, so comforting that she pulled the hoodie closer to her face, inhaling deeply through her nose. Where had she smelled this scent before, why did it make her feel so safe, so calm?
Realizing what she was doing, she jerked the hoodie away from her nose, her face flushed."What the hell was that about?!"She screamed internally before grabbing the sweatpants. She was about to throw them on when, upon closer inspection she groaned. These were too long for her, she'd trip over them way too easily! Looking down at the hoodie she wore she chewed her lip in thought. It was a bit big on her, and it did cover everything important, so long as she was careful her classmate wouldn't see anything too important. Taking a deep breath she shook her head, folding up the sweatpants and grabbing her wet clothes to hand to the blonde racer.
She stepped out into the main room and spotted her classmate drying his short hair with a towel, already dressed in his own grey hoodie and blue sweatpants. "Sorry I took your shower."
"It's alright." The blonde said without looking. "I was the one who offered to let you use-grk!" The racer looked up, his face instantly turning red at the sight of Michiru's bare legs coming out of the oversized hoodie.
"S..Sorry the uhm...the sweatpants were too long." She explained, her own face still flushed as she turned her head away.
"N-No! You're fine, I mean it's okay, it was my fault. I should have realized that would be the case." Oh gods she was beautiful, how had she never noticed how attractive her classmate was?!
"S...So should I just throw these in the dryer?" Michiru asked, not looking at the blonde as she held up her wet clothes.
"Right! Drying your clothes!" Haruka squeaked out, rushing to take the clothes from his classmate. It was at this time that the cosmic entity known as Murphy sought to make things more interesting and struck, as Haruka stepped on a puddle of water left by Michiru as she had walked into the bathroom. He slipped and fell forward, crashing into the cursed girl and sending them both tumbling to the floor, their lips mere centimeters apart. They stared into each other's eyes, mesmerized by the depth and familiarity within. Michiru exhaled without thinking, her breath brushing against the racer's lips, and making the blonde boy's core clench with a need he didn't know he had. He stared with wonder at the teal haired girl beneath him, her hair still wet from the shower. "Kaioh-san..." He murmured softly, his breath catching as the cursed girl's eyes gained an almost...glazed look to them.
Urged on by a feeling she didn't understand, Michiru's lips inched closer to her classmate's, closer and closer until they were barely touching. Horror surged through her. What was she doing, and with another guy at that?! She pressed her hands against Haruka's chest, intending to push the boy away only to freeze. There, underneath the boy's hoodie she felt her hands squish something, or rather a pair of somethings sheknewguys weren't supposed to have.