“Ah, yes, fresh, hot, melt-in-your-mouth mozzarella… I love pizza.”
Kamui raised an eyebrow as he continued stirring his shake. The other 16-year-old in the booth was looking at the steaming pan in front of them, a goofy smile on his face.
“Do you plan on eating that or are you just going to worship it all day?”
Rei looked up at him, a dreamy look still in his blue eyes.
“I just love pizza,” he said, “Don’t you just love pizza?”
“Yes, Yokaze, I love pizza, though probably not as much as you do.”
“I LOVE pizza,” Rei said, finally taking a slice off the pan.
“Uh…yeah. That’s the third time you said that already, thanks.”
Kamui and Rei were having dinner in the Group’s usual booth at The Spazio. It was a friday night, so the others are probably studying, eating dinner with the family, or doing whatever else there is to do on a friday.
“Hey,” Rei said after swallowing a piece, “did you know that the original pizza in Naples didn’t have meat toppings? Yeah, it started off as tomato sauce, cheese and a little basil topped on flat bread.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Odd that in Chicago, they have these things called the deep-dish pizza. The dish they use is…well…deep.”
“Wow. Imagine that,” Kamui quipped. But Rei was not to be sidetracked.
“They were like one or two inches deep, and they put several layers of stuffing in it. Cheese, meat, and a whole lot of other stuff. Reminds me of lasagna. ‘Pizza’ means ‘pie’, see, so they figured it’d only be logical to make pizza like they make pies there. In New York, though, they do it á libretto, which means ‘like a book’ in Italian. They have wide, thin-crust pizza there, and when they eat it, they fold it like this,” he folded his slice to demonstrate before continuing, “See, they sell it in the street, so doing this will keep the toppings from falling off.”
“Hm. Interesting.”
Rei nodded, taking another bite, “Do you know why I always go to the Spazio?”
“Because of the pizza?”
“Wow! Toriyama, are you psychic?”
Kamui rolled his eyes. “No. I just figured it out.”
“Oh. Well, aside from the pizza, they’ve got yummy shakes… And of course it’s close to Kobayakawa.”
“Are you getting paid to do this, Yokaze?”
“Plus they’ve got killer spaghetti! Man. I mean, I know Aiko’s the Queen of Pasta, but the spag here is…wow.”
“I guess so… “
“Speaking of Aiko… Don’t you think she’s been acting a bit strange lately? And I don’t mean the hair.”
Rei eyed the now-silent Kamui for a moment as he popped the last piece of his pizza slice into his mouth. “You do know I’m not usually a person to stick my nose into other people’s businesses, right?”
Kamui looked at him, his eyebrows furrowing. “Yeah…” he said slowly.
“So…as much as I want to ask this question, I also don’t want to…”
“You’re starting to talk weird.”
“This is, indeed, a very crucial dilema for me. However, before anything else, allow me establish the fact that, under the circumstances, it would be imperative that—”
“Whoa whoa!” Kamui said, interrupting him. “Indeed… Crucial… Establish… Imperative… Yokaze, I didn’t know those words were in your vocabulary!”
“Oh, man!” Rei exclaimed, pounding a fist to his chest, “Straight to the heart! Kamui, how could you?!”
“Mattaku. Skip the theatrics, will you?”
“OK. Did you and Aiko get into a fight?”
Kamui froze. I didn’t expect him to be -that- straightforward, he thought.
“Uh…How…How’d you figure that?”
“Well, we noticed since Monday when you guys weren’t talking in class. I just convinced Midori not to pester you guys about it.”
“Wow. You’ve got impressive persuasive skills to be able to do that. What’d you do to Midori, give her a truckload of sushi maki?”
“No, I just convinced her. And don’t change the subject.”
“…”
“So, did you?”
Kamui sighed. “Well, we didn’t really get into a fight. Not technically…”
“Not technically,” Rei echoed.
“We didn’t really quarrel or anything like that…”
“So why aren’t you guys talking to each other?”
To Rei’s surprise, Kamui just shrugged.
“Dude, it’s been a week.”
“Five days.”
“A week,” Rei insisted. “We were really expecting that you’d start to show withdrawal symptoms earlier than today…”
“Withdrawal symptoms like what?”
“Like…turning your mocha shake to mocha soup?”
Kamui blinked, then looked down at his glass. Sure enough, his shake had melted due to his constant stirring.
“Oh.”
“Plus, you called me to hang out on a friday night… You never do that. I’m usually the one who drags you out of the house… “
Kamui frowned, pushing his glass away from him. The truth is: he just wanted to spend time away from the Stars for a while. And he chose to call Rei precisely because he was the complete opposite of Midori. Sure, they were both his good friends, but Rei never poked around unless Kamui spoke about the problem first. And now, look at what the topic of their conversation is.
Talk about ironic.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this…” he mumbled after a while.
“Doing what? You’re not doing anything yet,” Rei told him with a grin. “You better get started then.”
Kamui sighed, unconsciously getting his glass and started stirring his shake again.
“I met someone…A girl…”
Silence.
“And?”
“…and…”
There was another pause as Kamui remembered that day at the carnival. It was amazing, he thought, that he should be sitting on that bench at the very moment Mai was there, too. That Mai was lost, and that he most conveniently had a map. Now that he thought about it, if it wasn’t for Aiko, he wouldn’t have met Mai in the first place, would he? What a frustrating twist of fate.
“Come on, Toriyama, don’t kill me with suspense!” exclaimed Rei, making Kamui look up at him again. He looked so curious, Kamui just wanted to laugh. Well, no one can blame him. It was the first time Kamui ever talked like this.
“So who was it? Was she pretty?”
“Gorgeous. Dude, she’s, like…” Kamui paused, racking his brain for the right word. “I don’t know… she’s…”
“Cool?” Rei tried, not really caring what adjective to mention, as long as it gets his friend to finish his sentence.
“Cool does not cover it. She has these magnetic eyes. I’m telling you, man, I wouldn’t be surprised if she can do hypnosis. Her hair adds so much to the mystery surrounding her… And she’s nice, she’s down to earth, she’s funny, she’s…” Kamui paused, smiling, “…she’s never been to a carnival, and she blushes about the smallest things… She’s so naïve, it makes her totally cute…”
“The girl of your dreams, huh?”
“Actually,” Kamui said, his smile fading, “that’s precisely what she is…”
“And… this is a bad thing?” Rei asked, bewildered by the sudden change of mood.
“Well, I never saw her again after—… after she made me promise not to tell anyone I met her, which I am breaking right this very moment.”
“Don’t worry, nobody’s going to know about her from me.”
“Not even Midori?”
“Not even Midori.”
“I’m not even sure if she’s for real…” Kamui sighed, burying his head on his arms that were folded on the table. “I’m a mental case, aren’t I?”
“Maybe… Maybe she just went back to wherever she was from… You know, that place where there aren’t any carnivals?”
“A place where there aren’t any carnivals… Where is that, another planet?”
“Well, maybe she’s from another country. Or maybe she’s from one of those villages in the mountains, and she just went here to visit a friend. Maybe she grew up in a monastery somewhere, and she’s going to have to live there like a hermit!”
“Keh. Just my luck. The girl of my dreams turns out to be a hermit,” Kamui said, lifting his head. “But that does make more sense than her being a figment of my imagination.”
“True.”
“The thing is…” Kamui said, looking out the window, “when Ai-chan dyed her hair… she kinda reminded me of the other girl… And now…”
And now…
“So ‘yet’ is finally here, huh?”
“Heck, I don’t know, Yokaze! I mean, I don’t know if I’m starting to like Ai-chan because she reminds me of her, or if I like her because she reminds me of Ai-chan…”
“Wait. She reminds you of Aiko?”
“Well, yeah, they kinda look alike. When I saw her, the first thing that came to mind was Aiko.”
“Hm. That is a complication, isn’t it?”
“Now I don’t know how to act around Aiko because I know she likes somebody else. And that somebody else likes her, too…”
“How do you know it’s somebody else?”
“I know, Yokaze. I am her best friend, after all.”
Kamui’s own words echoed in his head right after he said them. So that was what he was, wasn’t he? That was all he was.
Just her friend.
“So you’re totally convinced you’ve already lost her,” Rei said after a few seconds.
“It’s not like she was mine to start with.”
“That, my friend, is where you’re mistaken.”
“Huh?”
“Toriyama Kamui and Kazetenshi Aiko have been inseparable since they were young, weren’t they? The two most popular people in our batch. They got the brains, they got the looks, they got the gifts. The dream team, so they say.”
“So?”
“So you’re her best friend, aren’t you?”
“I think we covered that already.”
“And she’s your best friend, isn’t she?”
“Doesn’t that automatically follow?”
“Just answer the stupid question, Toriyama.”
“Of course she is.”
“Therefore, although she may not be your girlfriend, she’s your best friend,” Rei concluded.
“Tell me then… Are you going to let 16 years of friendship go down the drain just like that?”
————–
Black rose. That had been what her name meant, black rose.
Aiko lightly traced the embroidery on her cap, remembering the day Hikaru gave it to her. She had been sitting at the exact same spot as she was now, until she felt an attack. She found the minor to be a really strong one since it single-handedly defeated Kaji. After that, Hikaru had come, waving a parcel at her.
“I couldn’t find any not-so-common-looking berets,” he had said, then. It was such a peculiar coincidence, Aiko thought, that, of all caps Hikaru could’ve found that day, it had to be that one.
A light blue cap with a black rose on it.
“I’m Mai, Kurobara Mai. What’s your name?”
At first, Aiko had thought that her encounter with Mai must have been her imagination. Maybe she was just under too much stress that time, she started to hallucinate. Aiko frowned as she instinctively brought her hand to left arm, feeling the bandage there.
“It’s Ai—”
No, she couldn’t have been hallucinating. That new bruise on her arm told her so.
Kurobara Mai was real.
—–0—–
She stared, wide-eyed, at the sight before her.
The sight was her.
Aiko almost jumped up when the girl before her suddenly stood up and took several steps backward. She was obviously as stunned as she was. Except that she could move, but Aiko was frozen in her sitting position.
The wind blew.
After a moment, Aiko found the strength to stand up, her one arm holding on to the tree trunk behind her. She blinked several times, but the girl in front of her remained there. The girl who called herself Kurobara Mai.
“Oh. My. God.”
Mai remained silent, though her face clearly screamed panic. Well, Aiko herself was near-panic, too. And when Kazetenshi Aiko panicked, she rambled.
“I have got to be imagining this…But there can’t be a mirror here, can there? Of course, there isn’t, I’m on a freaking mountain!”
“And a mirror won’t reflect different colors,” Mai added.
Aiko looked at Mai again, only then remembering that, at that moment, she had black hair. The girl before her had blue. The girl before her looked like Aiko herself three days ago.
“You’ve got a point,” she commented out of lack of anything else to say.
“Where I come from,” Mai said, “it’s customary to give your name when someone introduces herself to you. You already know mine. I think it would be unfair if I didn’t know yours.”
“Fair enough. Kazetenshi Aiko.”
Mai blinked.
“Kazetenshi… Wind Angel?”
It was general knowledge, what her family name meant. But the way Mai said it, the way her eyes widened, it sent a chill down Aiko’s spine. The girl looked very, very scared.
“Tell me,” Mai said slowly, “does… does the name ‘Blue Star’ mean anything to you?”
Aiko went back into full panic mode. Because, as far as she knew, nobody — and I mean nobody — outside Blue Star knew about them. Except The Roses, of course. It was then that it occurred to Aiko: Death Rose…Black Rose…
She didn’t have time to think about it when Mai suddenly lunged at her, throwing a punch. She instinctively took a step backwards, but because of the tree behind her, it didn’t make any difference. Her eyes widening, Aiko dodged Mai’s fist by a hairsbreadth. She pushed her foot against the tree behind her so she could grapple Mai, making them tumbleturn on the snow.
Mai was the first to leap up, but Aiko promptly did a Chinese get-up, jumping up after her. The girls met in mid-air. Punch after punch was thrown, and for a minute, neither Star nor Rose was getting the upper hand. Until a split-second of carelessness caused Aiko to fail to dodge Mai’s roundhouse kick. She grit her teeth as Mai’s foot came in contact with her left arm, sending a sharp pain coursing through her body.
As a reply, Aiko used wind, throwing Mai onto a tree with a yell. Not missing a beat, she flew after her, intending to throw a punch before the blue-haired girl could recover. Aiko’s attack was cut short, though, when the snow from the branches suddenly sprayed at her, making her shield her face with her arms. When Aiko opened her eyes again, Mai was gone.
—–0—–
“Hey.”
Aiko was pulled back to the present as she instantly recognized the voice behind her.
“Hao, Kamui…” she said when he sat down beside her. “What’re you doing here?”
“I wanted to talk to you.”
“Ah.”
Aiko fiddled with the grass near her feet as silence ruled her Thinking Mound for a few moments.
“Ai-chan,” Kamui finally started. “Why aren’t we talking?”
“Because…you were the one who said you wanted to talk, and you haven’t started?”
“That’s not what I meant,” he said, rolling his eyes. “I meant us not talking for a week.”
“Oh…that…”
“Yes, that.”
“To tell you the truth…I don’t know,” Aiko said. “I just got the feeling that you were angry with me.”
“Why would I be angry with you?”
“I don’t know. After you told us to go to the contest area for the finals, you kinda left like… like you didn’t want to talk to me in a while or something…”
“Yeah, I guess,” Kamui admitted. “I don’t know what happened back there, either… But I guess we’re even, then. Not that I wanted to get even or anything like that.”
Aiko looked at Kamui, her eyebrows furrowed. “Huh?”
“My first defense, remember that? You ran off on me, too. “
“What? Really?”
“I recall it pretty vividly, actually. You were fussing over your Star Mark.”
“Oh, yeah… Right…” Aiko slapped her forehead lightly. “Sorry about that, by the way. The fussing, I mean.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
She gazed at her best friend beside her. He was staring at his feet, his jet black hair being blown lightly by the wind.
“Didn’t you say you were going to get a haircut?”
He blinked, then turned to her. “Huh?”
“In our hotel room,” Aiko said, “you were considering getting a haircut.”
Kamui grinned. “Do you think I should?”
She cocked her head, peering at him. “You decide. It’s your hair, isn’t it? Either way, you still look great.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“So…” Aiko said after a while, “We’re talking again, right?”
“Right.”
“Great.” She smiled at how easily she could resolve disagreements when it came to Kamui. She shook her head, chuckling to herself.
“What’s so funny?”
“It’s nothing.”
Of course, this stirred Kamui’s curiosity more. “No, really, what is it?”
“I can’t believe how you put up with me, Kamui, I really can’t.”
He just blinked cluelessly, making Aiko laugh again.
“I just can’t believe how much of a big deal I was making the Mark. I mean, seriously, it’s just sort of like a title, isn’t it? And I snapped at you for it! Man, sometimes I could be so…argh!”
“I already told you, don’t worry about it. Besides, it was pretty stupid of me to forget what Ran taught me about ki and all that. I guess my mind got a bit numb for a minute there.”
“Yeah, the first time to everything can really get you somehow euphoric.”
“It wasn’t because it was my first was my first defense…” Kamui said quietly, almost to himself.
“Oh? So what was it, then?”
Aiko regretted asking her question the instant she finished it. The way Kamui had spoken would make anyone want to ask what she did; the sentence was practically begging for a follow-up question. Kamui, though, was obviously not. Sara had always been right about him, Aiko figured, that his face showed too much of what he was feeling. He was an open book for those who knew him, and, at that moment, Aiko was reading it clearly. She could see what he was feeling in big, bold letters.
PAIN.
“In a matter of minutes,” he said slowly, “I had gone from watching my doom accelerate towards me in the form of a 10-wheeler gasoline truck, to feeling a tsunami of relief wash over me when it missed, to preferring to be blind instead of seeing that self-same truck kill one of the most important people in my life with a huge explosion. It was just too surreal.
“Aiko, you died right in front of my eyes. I didn’t think I could handle experiencing that a second time, and, apparently, I was right. Seriously. If you hadn’t gotten up when you did, I don’t know what I would have done.” He sighed heavily, finally looking at her. “Don’t ever do that to me again, OK?”
The Wind Angel didn’t know what to say. Of course, Aiko knew what Kamui must’ve felt during the accident. She also know how it felt to lose someone. But the way he said it, she could practically feel the weight of his emotional torture as he recounted the experience. Add the fact that this was the first time he ever voiced it out, it took her a moment before coming up with something to say.
She smiled, taking a deep, steadying breath. “Stupid. It’s not like I could control that, right?”
“Well, you could at least try not getting into trouble,” Kamui said with a smirk.
Aiko narrowed her eyes at him, and he countered it with a mock glare, sarcastically imitating her. His face looked so contorted that she burst out laughing, startling Kamui.
“Ahahahahahhahaha! Do that again, do that again!”
“Aiko…” Kamui said threateningly, really glaring at her, this time.
“That was so cute, Kamui! You should do that more often!”
Kamui raised an eyebrow, and just watched as Aiko be entertained at his expense. Eventually, Aiko stopped laughing, and started to fiddle with the grass again. The two remained silent as they looked at the horizon. But, unlike the numerous awkward pauses they encountered the past days, this one was actually comfortable. The kind that just lets one enjoy the company.
“Say, Aiko…”
“Hm?”
“I was thinking… Since we are still human, I guess it’s safe to assume that this won’t be the last conflict between us, isn’t it?”
“I guess so.”
“I figured I’d better say this once and for all, and I just hope we’ll both remember this the next time something like this happens.”
“OK…”
“Whether you’re a Blue Star or not, whether you have a Star Mark or not… You’re still Kazetenshi Aiko. And as long as you’re you, and as long as I’m me, I’ll always be here for you. This is one promise I intend to keep. And disagreements and misunderstandings will never make me take it back. Are we clear on that?”
Aiko just looked at Kamui as his words sunk in. Oddly, she half-expected him to suddenly laugh at her for falling for his “oooh, I’m so sentimental right now” act. But he didn’t. The only thing Aiko saw in his dark blue eyes was sincerity.
Aiko smiled. If she was to choose her favorite thing about Kamui, it would be that he was, is and (most probably) always will be candidly honest about everything.
“Same here,” she said with a nod.
Toriyama Kamui. Talented, loyal, dependable, and your all-around WYSWIG guy. For the longest time, people had asked her how she ever managed not to fall in love with him, unlike the rest of the female population around her. But she had always laughed the issue off, saying she never really thought about it.
At that moment, she did.
————–
Yuki paused at the kitchen door, finding herself looking at her roommate sitting at the counter, drinking tea. Kaji ’s eyes glanced up at her for a second before turning back to the book he had been reading.
“Hey, Kaji,” Yuki started as she took a seat across his.
“Hm…”
“Strategy’s your strength, isn’t it?”
“Uhuh…” he mumbled.
“Have you heard of chess?”
At this, Kaji finally looked up at her. “Do I look like I’ve been living under a rock my whole life?”
Yuki only smiled, unmoved by his remark. “It’s a game of strategy, isn’t it?”
“Yeah… So?”
“Can you teach me?”
Kaji blinked. “Teach you,” he echoed.
“I already know the mechanics of the game, but I was wondering if you could show me techniques and stuff so I could be good at it.”
Kaji raised an eyebrow. “Why the sudden interest in chess? You never played before.”
Yuki muttered something under her breath as she looked away.
“What was that?”
“Nothing,” she answered quickly. “Please, Kaji? Be my tutor?”
For a moment, Kaji just gazed at Yuki. Her hands were clasped in front of her as if she was praying, her lips were arched in a pleading little pout, and her eyes were doing a perfect imitation of a cute little puppy’s. Any normal person who looked at her then would have given in.
“No,” Kaji said, turning back to his book.
“Whaaaaaaat? Why?”
“Because I don’t want to.”
“Meanie.”
“Thank you.”
“Aww, come on, teach me! It can’t be as hard as teaching me to be a Star!”
“Woman, I don’t play chess. I play soccer.”
Yuki scoffed. “Not recently, you don’t.”
Kaji flinched, looking at Yuki again. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means what it means.”
“Yuki…”
The Ice Maiden sighed, observing the maroon-haired teenager in front of her. He had his eyes narrowed at her, and his jaw was set. It totally looked like she had ruffled his feathers with one simple sentence.
“Well, you haven’t been playing soccer. You’ve just been using the game to fight with Kamui.”
“Oh yeah? How’d you figure that?”
“I watched your practice the other day,” Yuki said, undaunted by his rising voice. “Though to the untrained eye, you appeared to be really really focusing on the game, I saw that you had this look…”
“What look?”
“That look.”
“I don’t have a look.”
“Yes, you do, you’re wearing it right now!”
“This isn’t a look, this is my face.”
“Kaji, the only time I see you being that indignant is when you’re facing a Rose. And that’s scary because Kamui’s a Star, and you guys are supposed to be on the same side. Can you please talk with him already?”
“Hey, we talk, OK?”
“I hardly call glaring at each other before, during, and after speaking as talking with him.”
“Well, don’t go blaming me; it’s not like I started it.”
“That may be true, but it doesn’t really matter. What matters is that you’re entertaining it.”
There was a knock on the door, causing the two Stars to turn towards it.
“This is NOT apartment # 6!” Kaji yelled at the door. “Honestly, Yuki, do we have to deal with this everyday?”
Yuki sighed. “Your impatience is the exact reason why you’re getting into fights, you know that?”
The knock came again, making Kaji throw his hands up.
“Graaah! Buddy, you got the wrong house!!!”
When the knocking didn’t stop, Kaji most gracefully slammed his book shut before standing up.
“I didn’t start it, Yuki,” he repeated. “And if Toriyama doesn’t want to fix things, then it’s not my problem. End of discussion.”
Ignoring the look Yuki gave him, Kaji stood up and made his way to the door. “We did not order Chinese, this is NOT the Saitou residence, and this is NOT apartment # 6!!!”
Kaji swung the door open, angrily pointing at the number on their door.
“See that?! It says twelve! TWE—”
Kaji’s sentence was cut short when he saw just to whom he was yelling at.
It wasn’t the annoying delivery guy.
Toriyama Kamui was there, looking at him with a straight face.
Kaji felt his tongue reel back into his throat. He certainly didn’t expect the black-haired boy to show up on his doorstep just when he and Yuki were talking about him.
“Good evening, Kamui,” came Yuki’s voice behind him.
The Ground Master nodded, acknowledging Yuki, before speaking. “Can I have a word with you?”
Kaji kept his eyes narrowed at Kamui, as he stepped aside. “Yeah, sure.”
“I’ll be in my room,” Yuki wisely decided, turning to leave.
“Sit down,” Kaji told him, taking a seat himself.
Kamui took a deep breath before starting. “I have to admit,” he said, “that it was wrong for me to snap at you last week.”
“I told you, I don’t hold it against you for being angry.”
“Though… It would’ve helped if you hadn’t snapped at me, either.”
“Oei. I didn’t snap at you.”
“You weren’t exactly friendly, though.”
“I was simply a victim of circumstance.”
“And I wasn’t?”
“Didn’t you just say you were taking responsibility for your actions?”
“Are you saying this whole thing is my fault?”
“Isn’t it?”
“Hey! It’s not like you had nothing to do with it!”
“May I remind you that she was the one who literally begged Ran to make you a Star so you could live? Though I hate to admit it, you’re far more important to her than I am. So the reason for her behavior right now, the reason for this whole fracas, is primarily YOU. Think about it: if you didn’t run off on her like that, then maybe we won’t be having this problem!”
“If you didn’t try to kiss her, then we definitely won’t be having this problem!”
“Will you stop shifting the blame on me?!”
By this time, both boys were already standing up again, glaring at each other fiercely. If looks could kill, Yuki would already have two bodies to haul out of her apartment. Kamui was the first to break the glaring competition, deciding to glower at the wall instead.
“This is ridiculous,” Kaji muttered, raking his fingers through his hair.
“Tell me about it,” the blue-eyed boy agreed quietly, heaving a frustrated sigh. “You were right, it was my responsibility,” he said. “But you have to know: I didn’t intend to interrupt your ‘moment’ with my best friend, and I certainly didn’t want to see it, either. So I guess you could still say that I’m somehow a victim of circumstance, as well.”
“Fine, ” Kaji said, crossing his arms.
“I actually came here to have a civil conversation with you…though it seems far from it, right now.”
“You got that right.”
“Hino, I’m sure you know that this whole fracas, as you call it, isn’t doing good to anybody. Especially Aiko.”
Kamui said nothing more as held out his hand, letting the unspoken offer hanging in the air. For a moment, Kaji just looked at it. But after narrowing his eyes at the black-haired boy for the final time that night, Fire Soul took Kamui’s hand, giving it a firm shake.
“Truce.”
————–
It was evident, Hikaru thought, that the ‘misunderstanding’, as Aiko called it, at the Skating Open had been remedied. The past few days, Hikaru had occasionally asked his sister what had really happened, but she always insisted that it was nothing to be bothered about now, since it was over. Of course, he was happy that the three (apparently) formerly warring members of the Group were seemingly at a ceasefire, but Hikaru preferred it if they really straightened things out. Somehow, he thought, if they had only formed a truce, the issue would resurface again later. And if that happened, Hikaru was sure it wasn’t going to be pretty.
But, then again, it would be nice to enjoy the peace for a while.
“So, Oniichan, which one’s your favorite?”
Hikaru turned to his sister sitting across the table. “Of course, my favorite is the piece with me on it.”
“Of course,” Aiko echoed, rolling her eyes.
“Hey! What’s with the eye-roll? It was great, wasn’t it?”
Aiko grinned. “Yeah, it was, what with Otoosan being such a great photographer.”
“Hey, I was a great model, too!”
“You didn’t even know he was taking a picture of you.”
“Yes, and that makes me a natural.”
“…”
“You asked the question, I just answered,” Hikaru said with a shrug. “I liked your picture there, too, though.”
Aiko frowned. “Well…I guess it was nice, too…”
“…but?”
“But…It’s just that I’m still not comfortable seeing a picture of myself sleeping being displayed in a public gallery.”
“It’s not like you were naked.”
“ONIICHAN!”
“What?”
“I can’t believe you just said that in public!”
“What, naked?”
Aiko’s frown deepened, her eyes narrowing at her brother. Hikaru, on the other hand, just grinned. That way, she looked like a little kid that she occasionally was.
Kazetenshi Ken’ichi was professionally a photographer for a magazine (thus explaining his frequent trips and conventions), but he also sold blown-up versions of pretty artistic photos every now and then as a side job. That night, he had opened an exhibit in town, and Hikaru and Aiko were now having their dinner after visiting it.
The portrait the siblings were talking about was taken a few weeks ago. Aiko had been sitting on the bay window in their living room, studying, when she fell asleep. The window had been open, and the curtains swept on one side. Her head was leaning on the wall, and her profile was almost silhouetted by the sunset. The combination of green, blue, and orange hues in the photograph was relaxing to the eyes. Ken’ichi had titled it “Serenity”, and Hikaru thought his father had wanted it to tempt the observer to sleep. Truth be told, looking at it, Hikaru had wanted to go straight home and sleep on their bay window, too.
“But, really, Aiko, that picture of you was really good.”
Aiko smiled. “Otoosan can really transform seemingly ordinary scenes into ones that’ll make you think, huh?”
“When I become an arts teacher, I’ll definitely send my students to one of Dad’s exhibits and make them interpret the pieces.”
Aiko’s eyebrow rose. “When you become an arts teacher? You actually want to be an arts teacher?”
“Sure, why not?”
“Oniichan, you can’t even draw a stick figure.”
“HEY!”
“It’s true, though.”
Hikaru was about to retort again when his cellphone rang. ‘Dad’ blinked on the LCD.
“Ah, he calls,” he said as he pressed the answer button. “Hello?”
Aiko glanced outside the window as she twirled her fork. There was oddly only a few people on the street, she noted.
“She’s still eating,” she heard Hikaru say, making her turn to him. “Yeah, ok, we’ll be right there after she’s done… Right… OK.”
“What’d he say?” Aiko asked as Hikaru pressed the end button.
“He made a blooper,” he replied, checking the contents of the briefcase beside him. “Yeah, he needs these things tonight. We gotta go and bring these to him. Hurry up and finish your food.”
“But I still have half a plate to finish!”
“Well, do it fast, then.”
“Can’t they just pick it up here? I mean, the magazine got a car rented for Dad, right?”
Hikaru blinked. “Hey, you’re right… Why didn’t I think of that?”
“…”
But then, he shook his head. “Let’s take it to him. The gallery’s just a few blocks away…”
“Well, you go ahead, then, I’ll meet you at the plaza.”
“I can wait.”
“I can walk.”
“But it’s already dark! It’s not safe for you to be walking around alone.”
“And the same doesn’t go for you?”
“Aiko. I’m a guy.”
“Oniichan. I’m a Star. Shoo.”
“But…”
“You’re wasting time debating over this, you know.”
Though Hikaru still didn’t look convinced, he mumbled a weak “All right.”
“Shoo!” Aiko repeated before her brother changed his mind.
“Be careful, ok?”
“You said so yourself, it’s just a few blocks away.”
“Ayt. See you in a few.”
And with that, Hikaru put his jacket on and went for the door. Aiko shook her head, and finished her dinner. After a few minutes, she drank the last of her water and wiped her lips dry. She took her jacket and stood up, waving good night to the Spazio staff as she pushed the door open. She put her jacket on and started to walk to the plaza, smiling as the wind blew through her hair.
She was about two blocks away from her destination when Aiko’s steps slowed down.
Something’s wrong, she thought as she looked around.
Before Aiko could react, she was jerked backwards as two strong arms encircled her, preventing her from moving. The hand clamped over her mouth silenced the scream that escaped her throat. Aiko’s eyes widened as she was pulled into a dark alley, the arms around her frighteningly tight.
“Nice necklace you got there, sweetheart,” came a rough voice, giving Aiko goosebumps all over.
If it had been the Roses that had attacked, Aiko would’ve been more ready to defend herself. But, given the cold night air surrounding her, the dark alley she was in, the horrendous arms imprisoning her and the scary voice behind her ear… It was a perfect scene from a horror film that left Aiko momentarily disabled from thinking clearly. That’s why she was totally unprepared when the man behind her released her. She quickly recovered, though, and she whipped around to punch him.
But she wasn’t quick enough.
Aiko let out a choked yell as something cold and solid hit the back of her head hard. She lost her balance and fell to her hands and knees, her skull feeling like it had been split in half. The cold, solid thing hit her head a second time, making her completely fall on the pavement.
Despite the throbbing at the back of her head, Aiko still felt the man roughly grab the back of her collar. She didn’t feel hitting the wall, but she did feel fingers graze her neck as they clasped her pendant, and the sting on her nape that followed as her necklace was violently pulled off. Aiko swallowed, and tried to blink her vision clear. But it was no use. Her eyelids felt heavier by the second, and she felt like all her energy had been sapped out. And the back of her head still felt like it was being seared by hot metal.
Suddenly, Aiko felt oddly warm, and light flashed through her closed eyelids. She heard the ‘VWOOM!’ of burning air, followed by a loud clanging sound like a metal bar falling on concrete, and a muffled thud.
Hikaru-oniichan? she thought, remembering the first time he had rescued her from Haruna and Maya. That time, she was surrounded with darkness, too, and she could only guess what was happening by what she heard.
With her last remaining energy, she opened her eyes, expecting (wishing) to see Hikaru there, moving to help her up. But what she saw, though, was not her brother.
Kaji…?
Before she was plunged into darkness, the last thing that registered in her mind were red flames.
————–
Mai sniffed as she hugged her knees. She and Yuuji had gotten in another quarrel: he lavishly lectured her when he caught her trying to sneak out of the palace again. To Mai, he was starting to sound like Youko.
“Why are you even keeping me here?!” she had yelled at him. “I feel so useless here! You never let me do anything but train and be treated like a prissy!”
“That’s because you ARE a princess!”
“Of what?! Of a mighty clan that was overthrown, and now I’m the -only- survivor?! To tell you honestly, Yuuji, it’s starting to sound like a big fish to me!”
“That’s because you’re being corrupted by the world down there! It’s distorting your view of the truth!”
“The only thing I’m getting from the Ground IS the truth! Open your eyes, Yuuji! You have the privilege of going there any time you want to, but you don’t stop to look around! What they have there, Yuuji, is LIFE! A life everybody’s supposed to have but I never had!”
“Stop talking like you know enough to know what’s good for you!”
“That’s exactly what’s wrong here! Nobody tells me anything so I COULD know what’s good for me!”
At that, Yuuji’s mouth had clamped shut, and Mai swore he became pale. Slowly, his eyes narrowed, and his jaw visibly clenched tighter. He wordlessly grabbed her arm, practically throwing her into her room before shutting the door in her face, locking it from outside.
Mai was officially a prisoner in her own palace.
But that didn’t stop her. When the door’s closed, there’s always the window. She didn’t know how she did it, but she managed to leave the palace unnoticed. And now, there she was, hidden amidst the leaves on a tree branch on the Ground. She just wanted to be alone for a while. Next time, maybe she should sit on top of a tall building instead.
Honestly, Mai didn’t know what to do right now. She didn’t want to go back to the palace yet; she was sure she was going to get locked up in her room again. But then, she had no place to go, did she? She sighed, combing her fingers through her black hair. She had been very impulsive earlier, and this was very unlike herself. Usually, she would just follow whatever anybody else advised her to do. Sure, she would still voice out her own opinions, but she had never gone as far as getting into a heated quarrel with Yuuji or Youko.
She admitted that she was being uncharacteristically stubborn about this. Maybe she would even accept it if the others would say that this was a case of a rebellious teenager. She didn’t know why, but her clash with Yuuji seemed to give her all the more reason to go out. Now that the Stars might already know that she was alive, maybe it really WAS dangerous for her to go to the Ground. But, reckless as it was, Mai somehow wanted to see that Kazetenshi Aiko again. Why was it that that girl looked exactly like her, anyway?
Mai suddenly sat up straight, her chocolate brown eyes frantically looking from right to left, when she suddenly felt oddly nervous. And cold. She never felt that way before… It was something akin to the feeling being watched, but not quite.
Something’s wrong…terribly wrong…
It was then that she noticed him. Walking back and forth across the plaza below her was a brown-haired boy, apparently waiting for someone. Mai watched him warily as he dug his hands into the pockets of his jacket. The last time Mai ‘interacted’ with someone on the Ground, it turned out to be a Star. She wondered if the same thing was going to happen tonight.
Mai’s eyes widened when she saw a minor speeding towards the boy. Before she could figure out what was happening, the boy had sudenly collapsed without even a groan. And there, in the minor’s hand was a glowing blue sphere. Then, it turned into a black rose.
Mai felt numb as the picture of Youko’s office flashed through her mind. She pictured the hall that lead to it, the brown doorknobs on the heavy brown double doors, opening to reveal Youko’s desk, his leather chair, his favorite window… and finally, the ever-present vase in the far side of the room. The one which she had always taken for granted. The one that always contained black roses.
Mai gave a start when she realized that the minor had turned towards her. In a second, she was in mid-air as she instinctively jumped away from the minor’s attack. She landed gingerly on the ground, her legs still feeling like mush.
“Hey, don’t attack me! I’m one of you!” was what she had wanted to shout as she mechanically dodged the minor’s punches. But oddly, she found that she couldn’t. Was she one of them? Was she really the Princess, the leader, of these minors? Was this what her minors did? Is this what collecting really was? Killing people?!
The one million questions circled around her mind, and confusion seemed to cloud her vision. Mai wanted to yell, to cry, to laugh and to drop dead on the spot, all at the same time. That’s why she didn’t even do anything when her back hit the tree trunk. She didn’t even see the shuriken being thrown at her. She didn’t even flinch when it hit her arm. She didn’t even care that she was sliding down to the ground.
As her eyes slid to a close, the last thing she heard was a name being called.
“AIKO!”
————–
Kamui skidded to a halt. Blinking, he looked around.
It’s gone…
He scowled, scratching his hair. He hated it every time he felt that an attack was over. Unlike everyone else, he only knew the direction to go before an attack occurs, or as long as it was happening. Now, for example, he didn’t know where to go. He felt like a sailor whose compass suddenly disappeared.
“Perfect.” he mumbled out loud as his feet touched the ground. He looked around again, trying to figure out what his next step was supposed to be. Deciding that it was best to just keep going, he kicked the ground again to fly…
“WHOA!”
…only to fall flat on the pavement. Wincing, Kamui peeled his face from the concrete, and looked at his feet to see what went wrong. The culprit was untied shoelaces.
“Perfect,” he mumbled again. He was just standing up after tying his shoelaces when he saw something glistening in the dark alley. His eyebrows furrowing, he materialized a bamboo sword with a flick of his wrist,just in case something jumped out of the shadows. He stepped into the alley, crouched down and took the glowing thing on thing on the floor. His eyes narrowed even more when he saw that it vaguely looked like a blue heart. He whipped around and returned out into the street to get better lighting, only to feel his face drain of all color.
His fear was confirmed.
He was holding a glowing blue heart pendant on a silver chain.
And it was smeared with blood.
————–
Next on Blue Star
Some secrets are best left untouched.
“Before you remember that you’re supposed to be angry at me…”
Episode 20: Switch
————–
From the Author
Question: are the characters still consistent with who they were in the beginning of the series? Are the changes believable? I REALLY need feedback on this because I don’t want to write the rest of the story based on twisted character sketches… ahem More comments:
Comment#1: I’m so happy! I updated early! YEY! Congratulate me:Þ
Comment#2: ARAYT! Go Rei! Yes. Rei the wise speaks up. I LOVE it when he gets serious! Then again, I love him when he’s hilarious, too. Haha!
Comment#3: Wow. That necklace sure does cause a lot trouble, doesn’t it:Þ
Comment#4: MAJOR information about Deathrose…
Comment#5: Waaaaah! Poor Kamui! He’s going to be worried sick because of Aiko again…
WYSWIG = what you see is what you get.
Review Topics:
1) Rei the wise :Þ This episode is the one where Rei talks the most, I think. Most days, he keeps a bit quiet, and just gives side comments every now and then.
2) Mai and Aiko’s fight. Are their actions logical?
3) I really need to know what you think of Kamui right now. Is he being too sentimental whenever he’s with Aiko? Is he starting to get too grumpy at Kaji? Or is it understandable? What about how Kaji is towards Kamui?
4) The alley scene. Is it too dark (no pun intended) for Blue Star? What do you think really happened? Do you think Aiko was too un-Star-like to have been beaten up just like that?
5) The scene where Mai witnesses collection. Do you think Mai is acting a wee bit too shocked?
References to earlier episodes
1) Rei: “So ‘yet’ is finally here, huh?”
- This is in reference to Episode 6, when the Rei and Midori had been examining Kamui’s relationship with Aiko
2) Hikaru giving Aiko her cap
- This happens in Episode 7
Special notes:
Bentfender: Oh my gosh! Thanks for the awesome review! You’re the kind of reader I TOTALLY love. :Þ Not because I was totally flattered by your review, but because you spoke about almost every aspect of Blue Star as a story. I’m glad you can relate with Kaji! I love it when my work actually connects with the readers. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts!
