Infractus Divum
2
There's got to be one good afternoon
There's got to be something I can do
Indescribable magic powers can make a song
That would make all this end
One Good Afternoon, Rivermaya
The screams of rabid baseball fans vanished behind him, as Tetsushi Kaji walked down the surprisingly empty hall out of the stadium. His footsteps echoed off the walls, on which hung posters of other famous baseball teams.
The young man took his cap off his head, brushed the sweaty bangs from his face, and smiled.
A great game, indeed. But like most of the games he'd won, (particularly the last three) that swelling feel of being a winner gradually began to shorten after each victory.
Kaji continued to walk towards the exit; he was one of the first players to leave, when hurried footsteps interrupted his departure.
"Tetsushi-kun! Wait up!" He felt a light hand tap his shoulder. Being the good boy that he was, Kaji turned and greeted Akiho.
"Oh. Hey."
She smiled up at him.
"Coach Nakajima's calling the team together…right now." Inwardly, he groaned. After gloating over the shiny new trophy that his trusty bunch of slave-dogs had won him, their slightly eccentric coach would take the whole team out to a giant ice cream feast.
"Are you coming?" She looked up at him hopefully.
"Er…"
Kaji felt himself getting uncomfortable, and rubbed the back of his neck, smiling sheepishly.
"I think I'll skip this one…I've got somewhere else to go," he said. A thin flicker of disappointment passed through the girl's eyes.
"I'm sorry," he apologized, then, with hesitation, "You won't tell the coach, will you?"
The manager looked up at him again, eyes mirroring his face. She sighed. "Does this…appointment of yours have anything to do with Tateishi?"
The young man was a bit taken aback by this question. He blinked.
"Uh…yeah. She is my girlfriend, after all—"
He was interrupted by the sound of a pencil breaking into pieces as Akiho crushed it slowly in her clenched fist. Her eyes darkened. Kaji blinked again.
"Akiho—"
Her thunderstorm expression suddenly morphed into a cheerful smile.
"No, I won't tell the coach. Have fun."
Her tone was icy as she turned her heel and retreated back the way she came from, leaving Kaji there; dumbfounded.
The young man watched her as she left, and when her shadow disappeared into darkness, Kaji turned back the way he was going, and let loose a burdened sigh. Uncertain, his eyes drifted to the full parking lot.
"Well…" he trailed off, not knowing what else to say.
Breathing deeply, he walked to the car he had borrowed from his father, unlocked it, and jammed the keys into the ignition. Kaji felt himself lean back heavily on the leather seat, as he pulled out.
In truth, there was nothing left to say.
.0o0.
A distant roar echoed somewhere in the darkening horizon, and the smell of rain filled the air. In the midst of the dark, gathering clouds, bright veins of light threaded through with each crackle of thunder.
The young woman with dark eyes put a hand to the glass window. It felt cold. Her gaze was trained in the middle of the sky, where the eye of the storm hovered. She uttered a few words.
"It's been a while…"
A shiver ran up her back, as the glass grew colder with every step of the descending curtain of grey rain. The clouds were coming nearer now, and lightning danced spiritedly amongst the black tendrils of mist.
She let out a sigh, her hand dropping from the window. As it did, the golden band around her ring finger shone for a moment, with patterns of lightning, and then, grew dull again. Her green eyes flashed as she averted her gaze from the storm, looking to her swollen stomach. Caressing it with her left hand, the young woman wondered why the child only stirred during nights such as these.
Her gaze softened as she thought of her soon-to-be daughter, revealing the face of a mere girl waiting for what destiny had in st0ore for her. Maybe the princess was not such a hard person after all.
Eyelids fluttered softly, as a door opened from behind. The hinges creaked.
She knew who it was.
"Lady Maya," intoned the maid, "The doctors want to see you now."
Unmoving, she opened her eyes ever so slowly, revealing fierce green orbs of turbulence. Gaze fixated on the storm once more, she heard herself speak in a curt, cold voice.
"Tell them I'll come down shortly."
"Yes, your grace."
The maid bowed, gathered her skirt and departed, shutting the door back into place with a mechanical thud.
Maya sighed, and then, quite suddenly, a contraction rocked her.
"Wha—"
Gasping in surprise, she held on to the edge of the window sill for support. Taking in short, sharp breaths, the young woman blinked several times, before calming down. Maya let go of the sill, and collapsed into a chair. One hand ran down the form of her stomach, and she wondered about the living thing growing inside her.
"Child," she whispered, "Why are you like this?"
Another clap of thunder shook the sky, and Maya closed her eyes.
I miss the calm storms of Earth.
.0o0.
"Ne, Yuta."
"Hm?"
"It's raining. I think we'd better get back."
"Oh…right. Hold on, I'll get an umbrella." Yuta snapped his fingers, and a blue umbrella materialized in the air a few feet above him, falling down, and whacking him on the head.
"OW!"
"…ow." After opening it to shield both him and Nina from the oncoming torrents of rain, the young man rubbed his head.
"That hurt."
The rain began to come, pelting the concrete around them, turning it a darker shade. Pattering. Things began to get slippery.
The girl giggled, and pinched his cheek. "You're clumsy."
He rolled his eyes in return. "Look who's talking." Nina smiled, and looked at the greying clouds.
"I know," she said good-naturedly, "I'll never be as good as you when it comes to magic…"
Yuta chose to shrug this off. "Doesn't matter…no one's as good as me."
Nina arched a brow at this, which was very uncharacteristic of her. She folded her arms across her chest as they began to walk.
"Really now," she questioned, "Not even Maya-chan?"
The young man let out a snort. "Please. She doesn't even come clo—"
RRUMBLE.
"—I think we'd better go…"
Nina laughed softly. "Or what? Maya'll hit you with this lightning storm she's controlling?"
Yuta sucked in a breath. "Let's just hope it doesn't get to that."
Laughter.
Inwardly, the Kirishima boy smiled to himself. He loved hearing her laugh like that…especially when it was at him. There were some things about Nina that he just couldn't let go off, and her bright smiles were one of them.
They walked then, talking of small things, dodging puddles, and smiling to themselves. At one point, a strong rush of nostalgia swept through Nina like an ocean wave, when she remembered one rainy afternoon, walking back from school with Ayu…
"Nina! Come back, you're going to get wet!" Ayu's voice faded behind her, as the brown-eyed girl ran as fast as she could from the school. She was expecting a call from her grandfather, and was already a few minutes behind schedule…
"Nina!"
But then, Nina Sakura wasn't one who followed the rules all the time. As her staccato footsteps ran up the road, the rain fell down harder, and in fatter drops.
The girl looked up at the sky.
"Nani—"
And then, she stopped. With the scrape of her heel against the asphalt, brown, honey-colored eyes widened.
"Wow…the rain is different. It's calmer here. Not like in the Magic Kingdom…"
Her clothes were drenched by now, and water slid down from her wet hair and face.
"Nina!" a voice rang from a few feet behind her, but it wasn't Ayu's.
Her head turned slowly, towards the approaching figure. The person was running towards her with a closed umbrella, while another one shielded him from the rain. As he drew closer, Nina recognized his face instantly. A puzzled expression found its way to her face.
"Tsujiai?"
He didn't reply, handing her the umbrella. "Tateishi told me to give this to you." He shoved it into her arms.
Nina peered at him curiously.
"Why did you stop?" Tsujiai asked all of a sudden, looking at the shorter girl with interest.
"Stop?" she blinked.
"You were going home, but you…stopped. To look at the sky," he explained.
"Oh…it's just that the rain here looks different from rain in the Magi—" she cut herself off suddenly, reddening.
"From rain in the what?"
"Uh, from…where I come from." She finished lamely. Tsujiai nodded. "I see. The pollution here in the urban area must affect the climate. Maybe that's why its different."
Nina nodded vigorously. "Yeah!"
The young man took a step back. "Well then…I'm going now." The girl smiled at him nervously.
"Okay. Thanks for the umbrella!"
"Don't thank me, thank Tateishi."
"Uh, right! Gomen!"
A chuckle from Tsujiai. "You don't need to apologize, Sakura."
"Er…okay!"
And then, she watched him vanish into the rain, before opening the umbrella to shield herself.
She suddenly felt someone pulling her arm a bit harder, and the girl blinked rapidly, letting go of that peculiar flashback.
Tsujiai? Why Tsujiai? I was thinking of Ayu… Yuta interrupted her thoughts.
"C'mon. One more minute here and that gardener will lop my ass off with his clippers."
Nina didn't reply for a few moments. The young man glanced at her a bit worriedly, as water dripped off the ends of the umbrella.
She smiled all of a sudden, giggling softly. Nina's eyes looked at him with fondness in them.
"You're too much, you know?"
Yuta grinned. "I know."
.0o0.
The man who called himself Eli Drakel was walking around the streets of the Ginza district, in Tokyo, in the dead of night. Good-looking and nice, he was a nice catch for the ladies, and formidable (yet reluctant) competition for the other males of the neighbourhood.
Eli shoved his hands into his pockets, muttering something under his breath. He was on his way to a small bachelor party…and was currently running late. The man checked his watch worriedly, all the while hastening his pace.
As he strode past a bush, it rustled a little bit. Eli froze. That was not the wind.
Not taking his eyes off the little patch of greenery, the man hurried more. He wondered if that strange young girl who had been following him around for the past few days was hiding in the bush.
It rustled some more.
Eli laughed at himself. You're being too paranoid. Relax a bit.
Suddenly, someone jumped out of the bush, grabbed his wrists, and tackled him to the ground.
"Aaah!" he let out a small yelp, as the pale face of the stalker-girl materialized in front of him, her blank eyes gazing at him longingly. Eli heard her speak.
"Here. Take my baby." Luna's voice was thick, and, lying down on the man she had been following for the last week, she help up a dried eyeball in front of him.
"Take him." She droned, shoving the item into his face. "Take my darling…"
Not knowing what to do, Eli started yelling for help. He kicked at her, but the girl was surprisingly strong for her age, keeping her pale hands clamped firmly on his wrists, pinning him to the ground.
"HELP!" Eli screamed, "SHE'S TRYING TO KILL ME!" Luna looked at him with a sad, detached look on her white face, and shook her head.
"Don't be like that…I love you—"
All of a sudden, she felt rough, strong hands grab her from behind, and realized that the man's calls had alerted several policemen, who were standing nearby.
"WHAT!"
Her face contorted hideously, fighting back the hands. Luna screamed and struggled as they tried to pull her off Eli, but one of the men hit a pressure point HARD.
"Eli!" she screamed, "WHY!" Luna felt herself plunging into darkness, as she was bound and dragged into a police car.
The victim lay sitting on the ground, staring blankly as the silent policemen drove away into the city, with the stalker-girl. Gripping the rough sidewalk, Eli shivered, now totally freaked-out.
"That…was scary."
.0o0.
Nina smiled at Yuta, who had escorted her up the front steps of her grandfather's house.
"Thank you for today, Yuta-kun," she gushed, eyes twinkling. Yuta smiled in return, bowing gracefully.
"'Twas my pleasure, milady." He said, in a false medieval manner. Nina laughed softly for a few moments, before her expression turned serious.
"I'm leaving tomorrow, for Tokyo." She said, looking at Yuta with her perceptive gaze.
The young man nodded, becoming emotionless. "I know." Nina let out a sigh. "I really miss Ayu-chan and the others, and I'm sure you do too…"
Frankly, Yuta didn't miss the people back home as much as she thought he did, but he nodded anyway.
"Yuta?"
His head jerked up. "Yeah?"
Much to his surprise, Nina's expression was cheery. "Would you like to come with me?"
Yuta blinked. What did she just say?
"Y-you mean to the Earthworld?" he stammered.
She nodded happily. "Yup!"
A few moments passed in silence, as the young man gazed at Nina. A small smile graced his lips.
"Of course I would."
.0o0.
"I knew you could do it! What a great game!" Ayu kissed Kaji on the cheek as a congratulatory gesture, and then Tsujiai grinned at his best friend. "Yeah, another great job, man."
A few feet below them, Rio danced around happily. The cat-boy looked up at Kaji, with an expression on his face that Ayu knew all too well.
"Yeah, yeah…we all know you're the greatest…now where's the celebration dinner?"
Kaji laughed at this. He bent down to ruffle the boy's hair. "It's coming in a few minutes, don't worry."
They were at a restaurant with Kaji's parents, who were looking very proud right then. His mother was all smiles, while his father studied the menu like a technician would a lab manual.
The teenagers sat together in one corner; Ayu, then Kaji, Tsujiai with Rio in front of him. The "grown-ups" occupied the seats next to their son's best friend.
"I wish Nina were here," mused Ayu, looking out at the glass window beside her, staring out at the night sky. Kaji put his arm around her, knowing how dearly she missed her best friend.
"Yeah."
Just then, the sound of bells tinkling reached their ears, as the entrance door to the restaurant opened. Ayu, who wasn't really paying attention to the incoming customers, jerked her head up in surprise as a familiar voice rang in her ears.
Footsteps were heard on the way to their table.
"Konichiwa, minna-san!"
The girl blinked.
Nani!
"Nina! Yuta! Back so soon?" The cat-boy answered all of Ayu's silent questions…it really was her!
"Nina!" She stood up to hug her best friend, smiling happily. The other girl glowed as well, looking at Ayu tenderly.
"Ayu-chan! I missed you!" They pulled into an embrace.
Yuta chuckled. "You'd think they'd been separated for years."
Letting go of Ayu, Nina greeted the other two people at the table. "Kaji-kun, Tsujiai-kun! Nice to see you both!"
Kaji replied accordingly, while (surprisingly) Tsujiai just nodded. "Hi."
A little bit puzzled from the cold-shoulder treatment from one of her close friends, Nina just smiled back, and pushed all thoughts of the quiet Tsujiai to the back of her head (where they belonged), and took a seat in between Ayu and Kaji. Yuta sat across her.
They grinned at each other knowingly; it was good to be back.
Rio smiled like a cat, sniffing the delicious aroma of freshly-cooked food, as the waiter brought trays upon trays of food to the table.
"Alright! IT'S CHOW TIME!"
.0o0.
He sat quietly after their arrival, not talking much, only exchanging a few words with either Kaji or Rio. Oddly enough, his appetite had disappeared shortly after Nina entered with Yuta, and Kaji's mother looked a little concerned.
"…oh, you know, the usual stuff. We went to the park, fed the birds—"
"That's sounds nice. You must take me there sometime, Nina."
"Of course I will!"
Tsujiai's insides suddenly felt like they were made of frozen lead, for some reason. Maybe it was Yuta's unnerving presence, or the fact that whenever Nina was near, it felt like butterflies were ravaging his lungs. Usually, they ravaged stomachs, but Tsujiai had always known that he was special.
He had to get out of there. The guy had been depressed before, and he recognized the feeling instantly when Nina had started talking about her wonderful vacation with Yuta in the Magic Kingdom.
Tsujiai rose. Rio stopped eating and looked at him curiously. Kaji blinked. Nina, Ayu and Yuta stopped talking. There was an awkward quiet, as seven pairs of eyes looked at him in surprise.
"What's wrong?" his best friend asked.
The dark haired boy did not waste time fumbling for words. "I…have to go." He put a hand on Kaji's shoulder, and nodded to him.
"Thanks for the dinner."
And with that, Hiroki Tsujiai left the restaurant, leaving his friends in a state of puzzlement and utter cluelessness as to what could possibly be wrong with him.
There's only one thing wrong with me, he thought icily, pushing the door open.
And that's Nina.
The bells tinkled again as he went out…and then, nothing.
Author's note: Thank you for the comments, people! For the record, both Neurotic Onna and psychedelic aya got the answer : broken sky, or sirang langit. :D Yay!
:D I hope you liked this chapter! A little bit of Maya, a little bit of Luna (that particular scene was a bit funny) and some Tsujiai angst. (There isn't a lot of that, though) Things pick up in the next chapter I think…so, yeah. Find any hidden things yet? A word of caution: please don't get attached to the pairings you see. :P
:) As always, comments greatly appreciated. Click that review button!