Is this it? Is this how it’s supposed to end? It’s not fair…
“Oniichan.”
“Oniichan!”
“ONIICHAN!”
Kamui’s head snapped up. He had been so occupied with his thoughts that he hadn’t heard his sister beside him. His dark blue eyes met hers. The near near-mirror image of his own eyes were looking at him with concern.
“Oniichan…” she said, in a quiet voice. “I know how you feel, but feeling down and zooming out while walking won’t help.”
Kamui sighed. “I just… I just…” He never got to finish his sentence. He didn’t know what his sentence was supposed to say, anyway.
“Oniichan, I know…that there’s a chance that Ai-chan might not be alive anymore…” Sara saw her brother flinch slightly. “But there’s also the chance that she’s not dead yet, either… Nobody has confirmed anything yet…”
Kamui dug his hands in his pockets. “I know, Sara… I know…”
Silence ensued between the siblings as they made their way to school. Sara sighed as she side-glanced her brother. He had sunk back again into his deep and thoughtful mood, and she can bet all her money that he was thinking about Aiko. The horrible incident that took place two days ago had made the Kazetenshi and Toriyama families quite silent. Although Sara was shook by the accident as well, she tried her best not to fall into deep depression, and she was determined to pull the others up along with her. Kamui had always called her “smiley”, for she is most usually seen with a smile on her face, with or without a problem. Sara had learned to take trials with a smile.
But this trial, however, was becoming the real test to her emotional stamina. Aiko was the closest thing she got to a sister, and, it was great loss for her. IF it IS a loss, she reminded herself.
“Well, this is me,” she said as she stopped in front of her school, located right beside Kamui’s. Sara had always seen this as an advantage, she could easily go and watch her brother’s games and practice. She felt that they were practically in the same school. But, she realized, they weren’t. Today, she would be in her school, and Kamui would be in his.
Kamui had stopped walking when she did and was now looking at her. Sara tried her best to restrain herself from slapping him, just to replace that sad look in his eyes with anything. She did something else instead.
With a rather frustrated sound that was a cross between a growl and a sigh, Sara hugged her brother. She knew Kamui felt very bad about what happened, and to her, it didn’t look like he could survive the day without having a nervous breakdown. Especially that he was alone, and people would be asking him about Aiko’s absence. Sara smiled slightly when she felt his arms lightly on her back. At least Kamui was responding.
“I’ll be OK, Sara,” he said. Kamui knew what his sister had been thinking, because, well, he was thinking the same thing. “You’ll be late,” he added.
Sara loosened her arms and looked up at him. She saw that he now had a small smile on his face. Well, that’ll have to do for now. she thought, contented with what she saw. She let go of him completely and started for school.
“I’ll see you this afternoon, then,” she said. Kamui nodded in agreement, and they both went their separate ways.
Kamui’s steps slowed down as he neared the Kobayakawa High School gate. Students were already entering the school. His thoughts gripped him again. What the heck am I going to say to them? Aiko was the most popular freshman… Surely, everyone would be asking where she was, and even moreso if Hikaru can’t make it to school today. Kamui shook his head violently and pulled himself together.
You can do this, Toriyama.
————–
“Let’s start with the basics,” Ran paused, making sure Aiko was listening to him. “Each Blue Star is given the ability to erase someone else’s memory, fly, and make himself unvisible. Unvisible means that you are invisible to a normal human being, but you may be seen by Stars, Roses, and minors.”
Aiko’s eyebrows furrowed, but she kept silent. Ran smiled at her patience.
“Aside from these abilities,” he continued, “each has a special power that only he can master to a certain degree. That Blue Star ability is activated only when the Star dies, or if I give it to them… Your’s, as I already told you, is the wind.” Ran paused again. Aiko nodded, waiting for the answer to her unspoken question.
“But what’ll we do with it? There is a certain group of individuals called Deathrose. Their members are called Roses, as ours are called Stars. What they basically do is cause ‘accidents’ to happen, and they gather the souls, or more specifically, energy, of those who pass away. Our job is to stop them. And this is where your wind comes in.”
“I see…” Aiko finally said in comprehension. So THAT’S why she needed a year to train.
“We’re going to start with the abilities given to all Stars. So, shall we begin?”
————–
Sara looked at her brother beside her. He seemed to be feeling better, since he wasn’t looking as depressed as he was that morning. Instead, what she can see in his eyes is exhaustion. He must have had a pretty tiring day. I wonder what he said to anybody who asked about Ai-chan…
.
.
Midori sighed as she looked at the students passing by or entering the cafe she was in. What’s taking them so long?
She had asked Kamui to get Sara after school, then meet them there. It was strange enough if Aiko or Hikaru was absent, but it was even stranger that she AND Hikaru were. She also noticed that their teachers looked a bit down. Kamui was the same, except he was doing a worse job in trying to smile. She had asked him where the Kazetenshis were, but he just changed the subject. He seemed to be overly accommodating any kind of interruption, too. Midori felt something was very wrong.
Midori tore her eyes away from the window and stirred her milk shake. She looked at Rei opposite her and saw that he was trying to do his homework while passing the time…and he was having a hard time at it.
“Maybe she just has a fever, or maybe just a cold. Aiko isn’t all that sickly,” he had commented earlier.
“I know! I called her and nobody answered!”
“Maybe she’s asleep.”
“You’re not exactly helping here.”
Rei had told her that she should just relax, but Midori had insisted. She had dragged her co-manager to the cafe any way.
Midori’s eyes lit up when she saw Sara and Kamui entering the cafe. The two approached the counter first to order. Midori tapped Rei’s hand.
“They’re here.”
The hazelnut-haired boy looked up from his work and turned in his seat. The siblings were now walking their way.
“Hey! How’ve you guys been?” Rei greeted them.
“Hey, where’s–” Midori started. Sara interrupted her, however.
“It’s been good… I’m in a pretty good mood today! How’ve YOU guys been?” She said with a smile.
Way to go, sis! Kamui cheered silently.
“Uh…good, thanks. Where’s–” Midori tried again.
“Chocolate shake?” The waitress now standing beside their table, asked.
“That’s mine,” Sara said.
“Mocha?”
“Here.”
This is really getting to my nerves… Midori thought to herself. It was getting obvious that Kamui was avoiding the topic. What’s more, Sara-chan was, too! She asked Sara to come because she had expected Kamui not to say anything still. If Kamui won’t say anything, Midori will get her answers from his sister. But this was not going according to plan. Midori opened her mouth to try for the third time when there was yet another interruption.
“Yo, Toriyama!” one of the boys, whom Rei recognized as Hikaru’s classmates, called as he approached the table.
“Hey!” Kamui said, smiling. This was going fine: they’ve been there for almost ten minutes, and Midori hasn’t been able to ask what she wanted to, which is, Kamui was sure, about Aiko. Midori, on the other hand, was ready to clobber their sempai. Until she heard his next sentence…
“Did you know that Kazetenshi didn’t come to class today? We were wondering where he was…you wouldn’t happen to know, would you?”
Kamui’s mouth went dry. He seriously prayed for another interruption, but none came. What was he going to say? He can’t lie: they’ll know the truth in the end anyway, but… Kamui just can’t bring himself to say it like it is…
The silence that had fallen on the group pounded in Sara’s ears. She swallowed hard as she realized her mistake. She had kept her smiling face too long, and she hadn’t had an outlet for her own feelings that they were probably bottled up and ready to explode any time now. She had worried so much about her brother that she hadn’t prepared herself for a face-to-face inquiry like this! Not that Hikaru’s friends didn’t mean well, of course.
Midori looked at the siblings before her. She had seen the change in Sara’s facial expression, and she didn’t like it one bit. Midori felt concern, fear, and anger mix in her heart. Concern for two of her closest friends, fear for the worst that could happen, and anger towards Kamui who didn’t have the guts to tell her what had happened.
“What’s…what’s up with you guys?” Rei asked, his concern also growing.
Sara finally stood up, unable to stand it anymore. She felt she was going to break down if she stayed there for another minute. “Guys, I don’t feel so well … Could you—”
“All right… What is going on?” Midori asked pointedly, interrupting Sara, her patience running short. “I thought you were in a good mood toda—”
“I SAID I DONT FEEL SO WELL, SO JUST LET ME BE!” Sara exclaimed, making Midori jump in her seat.
By this time, the people in the cafe, mostly Kobayakawa High students, had shut up and noticed the scene. Sara felt everyone’s gaze and flushed. She wasn’t helping anybody like this.
“I– I’m sorry…”
“Sis…” Kamui reached for her hand. Sara exhaled loudly and sat down again. Somehow, that outburst of hers had calmed her down a tiny bit…
“I’m sorry… about that…” she whispered.
“Umm…” The sophomore that had approached them felt confused of what happened.
“Hikaru’s…” Kamui said finally, then paused.
There’s no turning back now.
“Hikaru’s in the hospital…”
Midori felt her blood drain from her face. “W– what?!”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you right out, Yukibana…”
“What the heck is he doing in the hospital?!” Midori hissed at Kamui. She suddenly regretted choosing the cafe as their meeting place. If they were alone, she would’ve been yelling at him. Not that that was better, but it was hard to keep her voice down when her brain was near explosion. Now, it didn’t matter what Kamui’s behavior was before. What mattered is one of her close friends was in the hospital.
Oh, God… Please let it be a… a fever…or a sprained ankle or something that can get cured! Midori prayed, fear gripping her as she looked at Kamui.The dramatic pause wasn’t any help either.
“You guys know about the gasoline truck that exploded near Chiba on Saturday, right?”
“Yeah…” Rei said slowly. He didn’t like the direction the conversation was going.
“Actually, we were involved in it…The truck almost hit our car.” Kamui said.
“Oh God… Thank goodness you guys are alright!” Midori exclaimed. “Is your dad all right, too?”
“He’s fine…it almost hit our car, but it…It did hit Hikaru’s…”
Midori’s hand flew to her mouth. She wasn’t expecting THIS!
Kamui continued talking. He wanted this over and done with already. “He’s fine, though. Just a few not-so-serious injuries… He can actually go to school in a few days. Dad said his condition was VERY good for someone who was flung out of a car while it tailspinned.”
Rei winced. Just imagining it was hard, he could only wonder what Kamui and Sara felt. They were THERE when it happened. That explained their behavior entirely.
“So…” Midori started. “Aiko’s in the hospital… watching him, right?” She emphasized “watching”, and her voice was hopeful. To her horror, Kamui shook his head.
“Aiko…was left in the car…” he replied. “And it fell down the cliff, too…” he added, more quietly.
Again, silence. Kamui was stirring his mocha shake again. At this rate, he wasn’t going to get to drink any of it. Sara wrung and unwrung her hands on her skirt. She knew what everyone was thinking… Sara’s brain screamed NO! She’s not dead!!! But then, she didn’t want everybody’s hopes to go up only to be put down again… But, is that it? WILL they be put down? She glanced at the other students in the booth. Both Rei and Midori have a shocked, disbelieving look on their faces. The two upperclassmen looked pretty much the same.
Everyone jumped at a shrill sound that filled the booth. It was Kamui’s cellphone.
“Just a second…” he said. “Hello? Hi– Whoa, whoa, slow down…what’s—- No, he hasn’t, why?” Kamui suddenly looked at Sara. “What about Aiko?”
A pause.
Kamui abruptly stood up.
“She— She’s what?!”
————–
Aiko heard the trees rustle as the wind blew softly. She squeezed her eyes shut even more as her eyebrows furrowed in concentration.
Come on…
The sound of the trees grew louder, and Aiko felt her hair move.”Rookie, you’re supposed to be trying to be unvisible, not practicing on the winds,” she heard Kaji say.
“I’m not practicing on the winds!”Aiko retorted. Concentrate. Don’t mind the jerk.
“Well, I don’t see you getting unvisible…”
“I’m TRYING, Sir Kaji.”
“Fine… Rookie.”
“I’d appreciate it if you stopped calling me rookie.”
“I’d appreciate it if you became unvisible already. I’m hungry.”
“Then eat, stupid.”
“I’m supposed to be training you, stupid.”
Aiko felt her left eyebrow twitch.
“Oh, were you? I didn’t know that… So THAT’s what you call standing and being a jerk…”
“Heh. What do YOU call standing and converting oxygen to carbon dioxide?”
CONCENTRATE.
“Breathing would be the word.”
Silence.
Aiko smirked. “Ran out of things to say, O Great Fire Soul?”
“Open your eyes,” was Kaji’s reply.
“Huh?” His answer was surprisingly not overflowing with sarcasm…But there was something else that caught Aiko’s attention. She always knew how a person was feeling depending on the tone of voice one used. And right now, she can picture Kaji… smiling.
“Open your eyes,” he repeated. This time, Aiko was sure…She followed and saw that indeed, Kaji had a small, but proud smile on his face.
“What?”
“Look at your hands.”
Aiko complied and was surprised at what she saw. Her hands… They were translucent. Her whole body was translucent! It was as if she was a ghost. Well, she already was a ghost, in a way. It was odd, now that she thought about it. She had died, but she looked normal… she never looked translucent, but now…
“THAT’s what I’m talking about!” Kaji suddenly said. Aiko looked at him. He was beaming. “That, my dear rookie, is what you call unvisible.”
So was that little argument just a ploy to get me serious? Aiko smiled herself. You can never guess what Kaji’s thinking.
“OKAY!” Aiko exclaimed, making Kaji take a step backward. “I’m gonna treat you with Aiko’s Special Fettuccine!!!” Kaji just blinked. “You’re hungry, aren’t you?”
“Actually… I just said that to get you mad,” he said, looking away.
Aiko smiled even wider. So I was right. Suddenly, she was feeling strangely hyperactive. “I don’t care!” She grabbed Kaji’s hand. “I’m gonna make you my Special Fettuccine!”
Then, in a split second, Aiko found herself in the kitchen.
She blinked. She heard Kaji say “Whoa…” beside her, and, turning to him, she sw him looking at her with surprise in his eyes. He suddenly grabbed her shoulders and shook her.
“That is SO cool, Rookie!!!”
“Wha?” was all Aiko could say. What happened?
“Don’t do it again, though,” came a voice. It was Yuki. She was looking at Aiko seriously.
“Why?” Aiko asked.
“Because it’s dangerous. Teleportation requires a large amount of energy,” came another voice. Ran had just entered the room. “I was going to teach it to you later, just in case of emergencies. But, you’ve been training for just a month now, you’re not supposed to be able to do that yet.” He grinned. “You’re more powerful than I thought. But still, it’s not supposed to be used frequently by anyone in any level…even me.”
“Wow…” Aiko breathed. Suddenly, she wasn’t feeling very well. Her vision blurred. “Y’know, sensei…” she started. “You’re right…it DOES require…”
Aiko didn’t get to finish her sentence as she collapsed into Kaji’s arms.
————–
“AI-CHAN!!!” Kamui called as he burst into the room.
“Ssh! Quiet!” Hikaru told him, holding a finger to his lips.
Kamui blinked and looked around the room. His father, Nobuyuki, was there, holding a chartboard. Aiko’s father was standing beside the bed, while Hikaru, in a wheelchair, was at the other side. And there on the bed, was the sleeping form of Aiko. Kamui stared at her, as if making sure she was really there, and if it really WAS Aiko he was looking at.
“She survived…” Kamui breathed.
“Yes, she did… The police and my crew are amazed that she only has a few cuts and bruises, sort of like Hikaru’s case,” Nobuyuki said. “It’s a miracle that she’s even alive!”
Nobuyuki-san explained that the police found her that morning, several meters away from the actual place the car and truck burned. It’s a mystery how exactly she got there, since, the Toriyamas did see the automobiles explode instantly after the crash. She couldn’t have been blown off by the explosion since she received just a few minor burns. But the two families didn’t care. What’s important is she did survive.
“So you guys knew about this since this morning?” Kamui realized. The other men nodded.
“And why on EARTH didn’t anybody tell me right away?!” he demanded.
“If we did,” Hikaru started calmly. “You most probably would’ve cut school and stayed in the hospital the whole day, which won’t be of any help to anybody.”
Kamui had to agree mentally. He would have done that. But it’s not fair. I was there all day worrying and trying to fend off anybody who would ask…
“And how long before she wakes up, otoosan?” Sara asked.
Her father sighed. “We don’t know. Could be tomorrow, it could be after a long time.”
“But she’s all right now, isn’t she?” Kamui queried, making sure.
There was a pause.
“I’ll have to be honest with you. We’re not sure.”
“What–”
“Life signs are low. Minimal, actually. It’s as if she’s…” Nobuyuki took a deep breath. “It’s as if she’s dead already. But she’s NOT,” he added quickly.
Kamui looked at Aiko. How could she be in such a serious condition…when she was barely scratched?
————–
Aiko stared at the ceiling. The day had been tiring. She and Yuki had a trained on flying by racing. And, as usual, Yuki beat her. Of course, Yuki said it was because she had been flying as far as she can remember, whereas Aiko did not, so it was sort of a handicap. And, of course, Kaji just HAD to say something…
Heh. The Rookie’s just too slow. Would you rather run after the Roses? You run fast, anyway…
Aiko had wanted to punch him right then and there, but Yuki did it for her.
She’s WAY fast for the “rookie” that you call her, even after a year’s training. And you know it. Yuki had said.
“Even after a year’s training”. That’s right. She had been here for nearly a year, Ran’s time. Two more days… two more days and her year of training would be over. She missed her family terribly– Ran didn’t allow her to go out of the palace, unlike Yuki and Kaji who go out everyday. Why, though? she always asked herself, and Ran. His answer was always the same.
“You’re not ready yet.”
Ready for WHAT? I’m just going to see how they’re doing! It’s not like I’m going to get myself into trouble…
Right?
She felt a shiver down her spine, though her back was against the warm covers of her bed. Will she see those silver eyes again when she goes out of the palace? Is that what she had to be ready for? She hadn’t asked anybody about it, though she felt she should have. Maybe I should ask Kaji, she thought.
Through the year, Aiko and Kaji got along pretty well. Kaji’s been supportive of her, and they trained together frequently. He was there to listen to her rantings about the training. He always smiled at her when she discovered a new room in the palace. He was always ready to listen to her, whatever she had to say, and he saw to it that he voiced out his own “helpful” input. Aiko let out a soft chuckle. According to Yuki, a day won’t be a day if they didn’t quarrel at least once. It was true. Kaji’s comments always made Aiko want to bash his head with a mallet, but now that she thought about it, he always “lightened up” the mood whenever she was getting discouraged at training. He had a strange way of encouraging her, though. Aiko could see that behind that clown face and sarcastic mouth of his, Kaji was a leader… a friend.
And that leader was standing outside her door, and had been debating with himself for the past 5 minutes whether or not he would knock. With a final, determined nod, he took a deep breath and raised his knuckles. Then he paused. Then the knock finally came.
Kaji blinked.
That wasn’t him.
He looked to his side and saw Yuki leaning on the doorpost, grinning at him…more importantly, her knuckle was on the door.
“What’re you doing?!” he hissed.
“Yeah?” came a voice from inside.
“Just making things easier for you,” Yuki said coolly, and walked away.
“Yu—”
“Come in, whoever’s out there!” came the voice from inside again.
Kaji sighed. I don’t have any choice, do I? He turned the knob and peeked inside to see Aiko sitting on her bed and looking at him curiously. But the moment his head came into view, a soft smile graced her face.
“Hao…”
“Hey, Rookie… How’re you doing?” he asked as he closed the door behind him.
“Fine, I guess…”
“Lessee…” he started, “You can fly, make yourself unvisible, and control the wind. I suppose you’re all set!”
“You think?”
“Yup!”
“Oh…”
Kaji’s eyebrows furrowed. Something’s wrong here. She wasn’t her genki, smiling self. Heck, she wasn’t even her cranky I-wanna-kick-your-butt self.
“And…Does Ran-sensei think so, too?” she asked.
“I… I suppose. But, he prolly STILL won’t let you go out until the year’s officially over, since there are some more little things to take care of.”
“Yeah…” she muttered as she stared at the floor.
“Are you OK, Rookie?”
“Yeah… I guess.”
“Hmm… you’ve been guessing a lot lately, haven’t you?” he said with a chuckle.
“I’m just…” she started, but trailed off and sighed. Kaji moved and sat beside her on the bed.
“You’re just what?” he asked, concern evident in his voice.
“I’m just a little nervous about all this. Even after a year of training, I’m still not accustomed to all this… power.” she paused and looked at Kaji. She felt a wave of relief as she saw that he wasn’t laughing at her. She had thought it was a dumb thing to say. Kaji nodded for her to go on, and so she did. “Think about it… You have the power to control one of the elements of life! It’s weird. How did YOU feel when you started?”
“Well…” he shrugged as he looked up at the ceiling. “I was born a Blue Star. Or at least I was one ever since I can remember.”
“Is it hard?”
“I don’t really know how I can rate it since I don’t remember life aside from being a Star. I didn’t get to see it from another perspective…”
Aiko went back to looking at the floor. “Now that I think about it… I don’t know what to expect after training. People will probably freak out when they see me, depending on what they heard about the accident. It was hard enough as it was BEFORE anything happened… now I suppose people will be “talking” double time. Besides, I’m sure you guys really trained me enough to at least be prepared for the Roses, but… I just don’t know if…” she trailed off again. Kaji saw that she was nervous. There were only two days more before she goes back to earth.
“Hey hey hey…” he put his hand on hers and smiled, “I’m sure you’ll pull through.”
-Well, THAT was lame, Hino… Don’t you have anything else more original?-
Kaji bit his lip. The little voice was right. He meant those words entirely, but…he wished he said it in a better way. He rummaged his brain for words, but stopped when Aiko’s eyes turned to him. Not knowing what else to do, he grinned.
Aiko looked at him, searching for sincerity. She found it in the depths of his maroon eyes, and a small smile tugged the corners of her lips. “Thanks, Kaji..” she breathed as she unconsciously turned her hand to hold his.
Kaji’s smile broadened slightly. Well, at least it did SOME good… I think.
The light canopy of the bed billowed gently as the wind came into the room…
Under it, the gazes of the two Stars were locked…
until…
“Hey Aiko!!!”
Kaji jumped from his position on the bed to the other end of the room, whereas Aiko’s head quickly turned towards the owner of the voice at the door. It was Ran with Yuki.
“Sensei, you scared us!” Aiko said, blushing slightly.
‘Scared us’ or ‘Disturbed us’? Yuki thought to herself. She raised an eyebrow at Kaji. “What were you two doing?”
“Nothing!” Kaji said most abruptly.
“Are you ready, Aiko-san?” Ran asked.
“Huh? For what?”
“For the world!” Ran said most dramatically. Everyone else sweatdropped.
“H…Hai?” Aiko cocked her head in confusion. What the heck was Ran saying?
“I think he meant going out… Going back to earth, facing possible danger…” Kaji offered.
“Oh… Aren’t YOU supposed to decide that, Sensei?”
“I know. I am. But what do you think?”
Aiko blinked. She had always been excited to go back to earth, and now, the big day was finally here. She looked at Kaji, and he nodded in encouragement. She smiled and turned to Ran.
“Ready when you are.”
Ran smiled. What he liked about Aiko was she’s always eager and willing. “Well, let’s give you a day to rest. No training, no anything. You can do whatever you want for the whole day… EXCEPT go out.”
Aiko rolled her eyes. “I expected that.”
“Then the day after that, we can go and get this thing rolling…Okay?”
The blue-black-haired girl beamed. “Very.”
With a nod, Ran walked out of the room.
In two days, the descent of an angel will occur… and the winds will blow hard…
————–
Next on Blue Star
Aiko is finally going back to her home. But before she does, she tells Kaji something that she has kept in her heart…
“Your reason for coming here must be important… It’s rare to have you so serious and hesitant.”
Episode 4: Arrival
————–
From the Author:
I hope this chap wasn’t too angsty… *giggle* Woohoo! Yuki the matchmaker is starting to get to work!
Some clarifications:
– Unvisibility: the reason why nobody saw the cloaked person in episode 1.
– if you’re wondering what a ‘minor’ is, it’ll be explained in the next episode.
– the teachers know about the accident, and that Aiko was involved in it.
– Since Ran-sensei already had plans in making Aiko a Star, he made her body disappear for a while. He can’t put it in a coma until Aiko decides to be a Star since…well, that’s putting the families’ hopes up.
Glossary:
sempai – senior/upperclassman
genki – this literally means “cheerful”, but I use it sort of like cheerful and energetic and jumpy, all in one. Ahehe.
Hai? – “Yes”. In THIS context, however, it’s supposed to mean something like. “Huh? Say again?”
sweatdropped – uh…this is hard to explain. “Sweatdropping” means that, if this were an anime, a huge sweatdrop would appear on the character’s head. Hehe. You gotta see it to understand it. Just take it from context.
