Well, it took me a bit longer for me to release due to other things, but it
happens. Hope you'll enjoy it, regardless.
Mata ne,
Rob
"Taken till every hourglass
You never released my dear heart
Taken till every wry shakes
Sad, depends on my lie shakes..."
--Cocteau Twins
primary: calicatcafe@megami.net secondary: ashita@cchono.com
AIM: CaliCatCaf ICQ: 45925353
Califonia Cat Cafe Online: http://calicatcafe.megami.net
Sailor Moon AX: http://yogipigs.megami.net/sailormoonax/ (MOVING SOON)
The World of Studio YOGIPIGS: http://yogipigs.megami.net
A Long Strange Webpage: http://calicatcafe.megami.net/ALSW/
=====
CAUGHT BETWEEN WORLDS
Part Three: Fitting Back In
A Magic Knight Rayearth story by Rob Barba
MKR belongs to CLAMP, Kodansha, Sega, and all the grubby nubbies who have
the rights in the US. MKR is not, however, owned by the Mystic Knights of
the Oingo Boingo. We apologize for the confusion.
Hikaru woke up in the darkness of her room. Today was the 4th of
January, the first day she would be returning to Seattle Hills High.
Doubtless, she was a bit apprehensive--she was already two months behind in
her studies, and would most likely have to take summer school to make up for
some classes, but that was by far the least of her problems. If she was
lucky, taking summer school would be a mere trifle in comparison to what she
would have to endure.
She sat in the dark for a few more minutes then turned and looked at her
alarm clock. The crimson digits revealed a time of 4:30 AM, well before her
usual wake-up time of 6:30. Feeling restless, she rustled back under her
sheets, trying to allow Morpheus to drag her back to sleep.
"'Karu?" Hikari's voice rang out, clear as a bell.
"Yeah, I'm awake." Hikaru smiled at the sound of her sister's voice.
The pair shared a room, despite the fact that they were old enough for their
own rooms, and certainly the Shidou home in Seattle's wealthy Hillside
district had more than enough rooms for the girls to have their own.
Rather, they enjoyed the company that they shared and thus still had a room
together.
"Where ya goin'?"
"Nervous energy about school today, I guess. I'm going to just go down
to the workout room and burn off a little of the energy."
Hikari nodded. "Mind if I join you?"
"Sure. I could probably use some catching up on the school's gossip,
anyway," Hikaru replied, flashing her sister a grin.
"...and then Trina supposedly broke up with Jeff because he slept with
April, even though she's so in love with Todd. And that's really all that's
happened in the past couple of months," Hikari finished, completing the list
of life at Seattle Hills High. During this time, it was interesting to see
how much had transpired in the two months since Hikaru's accident, and how
trivial it was in the end. In retrospect, everything that had once seemed
like the very lifeblood was nothing more than a gaggle of trivial,
meaningless relationships that didn't matter in the grand picture. The fact
that people were treating it as though it did--herself included--was
embarrassing.
On the other hand, as Hikari watched her sister go through her katas,
she was shown a rather impressive sight. Hikaru's katas were usually staid,
practiced moves that were formulated and standardized to a degree for all
kendo artists. In that sense, they were no different than one of Lance's
karate katas or one of her own gymnastics routines. Not bothering to change
into the traditional gear of a kendo practitioner, she was going through the
motions of the art in her pajamas.
But as to what she was doing.... Truth be told, it didn't look like
anything the girl had ever done before. It was part dance, part acrobatics,
part karate, and part kendo, all rolled into one. Hikaru's moves were
electric and poetic, ferocious and gentle at the same time; an interplay of
contrasts that seemed to work in this martial display of prowess. She moved
from a ballet-like dodge into a heavily martial thrust, before moving to her
side in what appeared to be a standard dodge before moving into a sideswipe
that seemed to flow like water; the whole routine was composed of dozens of
moves that were just as soft and yet strong. As Hikaru then danced into a
thrust and followed it up with a sort of rising slash, Hikari was reminded
of dozens of Japanese anime cartoons that the pair had watched, or the
multiple videogames they'd played. To her, Hikaru's kata looked more like
something out of _Samurai Shodown_ than any actual motion of sword arts that
Hikari had ever seen before.
Finally, she stopped, spent and sweaty, despite the relative cool
temperature of the den. Though it had appeared that she'd been at it for a
timeless eternity, the whole thing had been only a half an hour in length.
Standing up straight, she groaned and muttered to herself, "Getting a little
rusty."
Hikari wasn't fooled by her sister's bravado; she knew her far too well.
"'Karu, you know what Mom said. If you aren't up to going back to the Hill,
they can see about getting you in a private school. You can go to St.
Thomas with Lila and Lily, you know."
"But that would be taking the coward's way out, 'Kari." Hikaru put her
bokken back on the rack that also held her shanai and other kendo gear. "I
don't want to be afraid forever, sis. I...I'm not sure how to describe it,
really. I feel as though I was trapped in that lie for so long, that
imaginary world of Cephiro, that I belonged there." She shook her head,
banishing away the dark reaches of her mind. "But, I'm pretty much back to
where I really belong, and I intend to stay here."
"Good for you, 'Karu. Well, we should get ready for school. I've still
got to give you the info on a few more things, and I don't want you to miss
out."
"What, miss out on your motor mouth?" Hikaru teased. "I really, really
doubt that."
"Ha ha, ha ha ha," her twin said sarcastically. "How so very droll,
sis."
<<*>>
"Hey, aren't you just a little too dressed up for school?" Hikari asked
a few minutes later as she watched her sister stride into the kitchen.
Typical for the twins, she threw on a t-shirt, a flannel long sleeve she
borrowed from Lance, jeans, and tennis shoes. A card-carrying member of the
grunge set, she much preferred to be a riot grrrl than one of those fashion
plates like Danielle Caldina. In fact, with the exception of Allison, most
of the girls at school could go to hell. The only ones she knew there she
could trust were Allison, another close friend named Julie, and Umi, though
she was now gone. It was just so hard still to believe that Umi was gone,
and the ache was still there in Hikari's heart; she couldn't even imagine
what her sister was going through in regards to that. Maybe a little later,
the two could really enjoy a good cry over a couple of cappos at Starbuck's
or something.
But that would be later. Right now, she had to deal with her sister's
newest...eccentricity. She looked one more time at her sister, totally
surprised. "Who are you and what have you done with the real Hikaru?"
Hikaru had a bizarre look on her face. "'Kari, what are you talking
about?" Hikaru looked at what she was wearing. "Does it clash?"
"Well," she said, dragging the word out, "let's see: the Hikaru I know
usually doesn't dress like that, and she wears ballcaps. And what the hell
did you do to your hair?"
Hikaru took a look at what she had on. A red midriff jacket covering a
blouse with a sizable white bow adorned her top, while she completed the
look with a black skirt and white knee-high boots. Lastly, despite her
almost entire life of wearing nothing but a topknot, today she tied it into
a long pigtail that cascaded down her back and ended in a red bow similar to
the one on her chest. "But I thought it was so cute, sis!"
Hikari groaned. "Christ, 'Karu, you look like you're wearing a school
uniform or something. And that braid--girl, we have *got* to get you off
the _Ranma_ tapes. It's affecting your mind."
"But I like _Ranma_," Hikaru pouted. "Besides, it could be worse: I
could be a _Dragonball_ addict, like you...."
"*Don't* go there," Hikari commented in a resigned tone. "Well, damn,
we're going to be late for school, and Lance already left to go pick up
Allison, so we'll have to take one of our cars. Whose turn is it to drive?"
When Hikaru looked at her sister with a helpless glance, Hikari mumbled a
self-curse and said, "Look, 'Karu. I'm sorry. I forgot. We'll take my
car, okay?"
"Thanks, sis," a relieved Hikaru answered. She'd been able to put her
problems behind her enough to be able to ride in a car again and even to the
point where she could sit in the front seat, but driving was going to be
something that would be a while off. Taking enough time to say their
farewells to their parents, both girls headed towards the sizable garage.
Stepping into the garage, the only autos currently there were the parentals'
sedans, and the matching black and red sports cars, the red bearing the
license plate HIKARU while the black sported a matching HIKARI. Hopping
into Hikari's car, turning up the stereo and opening the garage, the pair
raced off for school.
While Hikari sped along with her usual disdain for the speed limit,
Hikaru read her schoolbooks. She was already determined to catch up, and
despite the Summer School that she would likely have to take, she was going
to do whatever it took to get to where she was supposed to be. She owed
that to Umi's memory and Hikari, and Hikaru was never one to give up,
regardless.
((Umi, I miss you,)) Hikaru thought as they reached the street near
Seattle Hills High.
<<*>>
As they reached an intersection a block away from the school, Hikari
spied a familiar blue Chevy Geo-Tracker heading towards the parking lot.
((Well, it seems like Dave and Danni have arrived,)) she noted mentally.
((I'll have to park in the other lot, and hope that they don't notice.
'Karu doesn't need to deal with her right now.))
Unfortunately, the second parking lot was already filled, which forced
Hikari to park in the first; to make it worse, she had to park right next to
the SUV, where the strawberry blonde cheerleader and the sizable football
player were heavily engaged in a lip-based structural integrity test.
Hikari looked at the sight and grew annoyed, while a hurt expression
appeared on Hikaru's face. "C'mon, 'Karu, let's get in."
"Well, well, well, if it isn't the Shit-dous," a silky voice said,
making both girls bristle. Sure enough, they turned around to see Danni
staring over Dave's shoulder, giving each a catty grin. "So the psycho's
back, I see and dressed like she's going to work." Moving away from her
boyfriend, Danni addressed Hikaru directly in baby tones: "Did your widdle
wacky mind make you think dat you were at work? How cute!"
"Danni, give it a rest," Hikari said, her tones filling with anger.
Hikaru's eyes were downcast, unable to face the older girl.
"So, Hikaru, did they give you a lobotomy or something?" the cheerleader
wheedled, continuing her verbal attack. "Does your head spin around at
night, you freak, or do you do nothing but drool all over yourself?"
Meanwhile, Dave finally realized who was there and turned around to face
the two. "Um, hi," was all he could say.
"Yeah, whatever," Hikari said to both of them. "You're a pair made for
each other."
Danni immediately switched targets. "So what does that make you,
Hikari? You're sister's obviously a nutcase now, when do we get to see you
go psychoville?" Dave opened up his mouth to say something, but a stare
from Danni's blue eyes shut him up completely. "Well, Sybil, can we see you
go nutzo now or--"
"Danielle, shut the hell up." A voice of anger erupted behind the
twins, and both managed to breath easier. Without turning around, they knew
the voice's owner. Allison put a comforting hand on Hikaru's shoulder as
she said, "Ignore them, 'Karu. She's an idiot and he's little better."
"And now the attack dog shows up. It's funny, really. No, I mean it.
Psycho here's a sword-swinger, and the other's a gymnast. So why do they
need you to do their fighting for them, Allison?"
"Maybe because I understand what it's like to be nice to people,
Danielle." She turned to the football player and said, "And to think, you
left 'Karu for that slut. How many times did she have to blow you to do
that?" It was a crass remark and one that would have been more expected by
Danni, but Allison made the comment anyway. It was an effective, if sad,
way of getting the message across.
Danielle glared at Allison with a dagger's stare. "You, I can almost
tolerate. But for the simper twins there, you couldn't pay me enough to put
up with them. Especially if I had to be in the same car as them," she
taunted. "God knows I don't want to end up squished flat like that
immigrant friend of th--"
*SMACK!*
A gunshot-sounding, neck rolling slap belted Danielle across the face,
bouncing her once against the side of the Tracker before she hit the ground.
Looking up, she saw Hikaru standing above her, fists at the ready. "Don't
you *ever* talk about Umi that way again, do you hear me?" the redhead
seethed, her eyes lighting up with a fire that was stronger than anything
they'd ever seen in her eyes before.
Danni got up and pushed the smaller redhead back. "Okay, Schizto, I've
had enough of your shit. Wanna make something of it?" She stood over the
smaller girl, flaunting her half-foot height advantage, calling Hikaru's
bluff.
Without ceremony, Hikaru slid into a martial artist's defense. Not that
of a kendo artist, but one more akin to Lance's talents. With a calm but
determined look on her face, she waved her hand in beckoning, and said, "You
get first shot, Danni. Make it a good one, because it'll be your *only*
one."
The looks around everyone were of surprise. Hikaru was acting
completely out of the norm today. She was dressed entirely different than
she usually did, and now she was angry enough to start a fight with someone
she'd never bother with under regular circumstances. She was probably good
enough to hold Danni at bay in a catfight, but to beat her? That was an
entirely different story.
The fire in her eyes said differently.
Despite her tan, Danielle paled at the look in Hikaru's eyes. She
paused and snarled, "Yeah, right. Like I'm going to fight you, daffy. I'll
just kick your ass too easily."
"No, you won't because you're afraid," Hikaru answered. "I can see it
in your eyes."
"Figure the odds, psycho. I just don't want to get suspended for easily
kicking your ass," she said, the words not at all what she was feeling at
the moment. "C'mon, Dave, let's get out of here." Grabbing his hand, the
two walked away; Danielle in an angry huff while Dave merely turned and gave
Hikaru a sort of apologetic smile as he was being all but dragged off.
"Wow, 'Karu," Allison said as she watched the two depart for the
building, "Didn't know you had it in you."
"Damn straight," Hikari said with pride. "That's 'Karu for you. But,
um, sis, would it be a bad time to point out that you don't know karate?"
Hikaru slid back into a standing position, a bewildered look on her
face. "What did I just do?"
"You did a Chun-Li on Danielle's face is what you did," Hikari pointed
out. "That'll teach her not to piss in your Wheaties again."
Hikaru looked at the fist that she used to slap the cheerleader. For
some reason, the feeling of having newfound power that she had no control
over seemed oddly familiar, as though she'd experienced it somewhere before.
But the feeling faded into the back of her mind, a passing moment of
confusion. "You're...right, 'Kari," she said, finally. "And thanks for
coming to the rescue, Allison. I owe you."
"No you don't," the ravenhair answered. "C'mon--we're gonna be late for
class." With that, the three of them headed for the main building.
<<*>>
The majority of the day later, Hikaru was completely at peace. She'd
gotten so many "Welcome back" greetings, flowers, balloons and cards from
well-wishers that she felt that all her fears melted away. Especially a few
of the guys, who even asked her out; ever the demure one, she politely
declined until she felt comfortable around people again. All in all, the
attention was wonderful and made her feel a little spoiled. It had become
so bad that during her Spanish class, instead of actually having class, they
had a Welcome Back party for her that lasted well into lunch. Even during
lunch, her friends from the Fencing Club dragged her and Hikari off to the
Italian restaurant across the street.
Finally settling down into her geography class, she noted with a slight
tinge of relief that the students in this class were pretty much leaving her
alone. She was alone at the moment, Hikari having another class on the
other side of the campus. With the exception of Kristi Taylor and Ben Riker
from the Fencing Club, the others were pretty much leaving her be, having
accepted her in her ways and leaving it at that. The seats by them,
however, were taken, so she decided to sit in the only empty seat, one in
the back of the room. Whispering a soft, "Hiya" to the people on either
side, she sat down.
A few minutes passed when she realized that she was sitting next to
someone she knew. Maybe. ((He looks familiar, as though I've seen him
somewhere before, but I can't place where.)) She gazed at him, trying hard
to come up with a name to match the face. ((Hmm...platinum hair like
Rick's--without that green dyejob--brown eyes, and a regal bearing.))
The boy in question was also wearing a green sweater and white slacks,
and unlike most other students, was punching all his information into a
laptop, instead of writing it down. His fingers flew across the keyboard
with an amazing grace, able to keep up with the teacher's diction despite
the limitations of the keyboard and the space involved. A few more minutes
of Hikaru's staring at the young man, and he finally turned and looked at
her, a smile growing on his face as he lightly commented, "You know,
pictures last longer."
Hikaru had the grace to blush as she mumbled, "Sorry about that.
You...looked sort of familiar to me. Have we met somewhere before?"
"Hey, I'm the guy--I'm supposed to use the pick up lines here," he said,
laughing in a disarming manner that Hikaru found amusing. "Seriously,
though, not unless you've been to San Diego in the past sixteen years or
so."
"I'm afraid not. Are you new here?"
The boy nodded. "Yup. My family just moved here two weeks ago. My
name's Eric Aguilar," he said, proffering his hand. "And you must be Hikaru
Shidou, am I right?" She was about to ask as she took his hand and shook,
but he smiled and said, "Everyone's told me about you. You're the girl who
was in an accident, whose best friend got killed. You have my sympathies."
At first, Hikaru thought his words to be a bit blunt, but he was trying
to be nice about the whole situation; perhaps he was just trying to be
unalarming in his nature. "That's sweet of you. Thanks, I appreciate it."
Something in her mind flashed a pair of words: ((Eagle Vision)), but they
quickly went away, making her wonder why the hell she was thinking of cars.
((Maybe because his last name means "Eagle" in Spanish. I dunno.))
Unconcerned, she brushed it off and went back to the introduction at
present. "I'm just getting used to being back after having spent a little
while in a hospital," she admitted, letting go of his hand just as the end
of class bell rang. Picking up her books, she asked, "So, what brings you
here to Seattle?"
"Well, I'm not trying to brag or anything," he said with a slight bit of
embarrassment, "but my pop's Tommy Aguilar."
"*The* Tommy Aguilar? Shortstop for the Mariners? No kidding?" Hikaru
whistled appreciatively. "Oh, wait'll I tell my dad about this--he's a
total baseball junkie."
"Keep it down, willya? Last thing I need is for people to constantly
ask me for free tickets to games. Anyway, Pop decided that he wanted the
Padres to trade him to the Mariners, because he wants to settle around here
when he plans to retire. He got his trade, they got a few rookies in
return, and everyone's happy." Eric escorted the redhead out the door and
said, "Tell ya what: since you're being so nice about it, I'll see if I can
scoop up some tickets for your family for the game this weekend."
"Well, you don't have to, but that's nice of you and--" The sounds of
screaming interrupted her, and both teens turned to see what was the matter.
"Oh shit," Hikaru muttered. "Sounds like Sam's in trouble again."
"Friend of yours?"
((Sanyung?)) popped into Hikaru's mind, and she wondered why. "Yeah.
An old friend since I was a kid."
Sure enough, she was right. It was Sam and he was in trouble. Again.
Sam was a friend of hers since elementary school, but somewhat of a
troublemaker. Due to his rather diminutive size, he tended to have a mouth
and an attitude to compensate. Most of the times, it got him out of
whatever situations that arose. However, this wasn't one of those.
Currently, he'd bumped by accident into one of the school's walking
attitudes, a young punk named Frankie Lassiter. Constantly in trouble with
the school's disciplinary staff, he'd been suspended twice so far this year
and was by far the winner of the not-in-the-least-coveted Detention Darling
award. Quick with a cruel word or a fist, he was universally disliked by
everyone in school save for his band of toady, stoner followers; Hikaru even
thought that Danni Caldina, despite herself, was never as horrid as Frankie.
In the meanwhile, Sam was violently slammed against a set of lockers,
the wind knocked out of him. "Listen, jerkboy," Frankie said to the smaller
teen, "I'm going to cut you a new asshole, Young, so you'll learn not to
fuck with me."
"Oh, shut the hell up," Sam retorted, wincing from the painful impact.
"I said I was sorry for bumping into you, and if you just can't accept that,
then just take off and leave me alone, alright?" That comment only earned
him a second, more painful blow against the metal doors of the lockers.
"You're really going to pay, shrimp," Lassiter snarled. "I've got a
clip's worth of friends who'll make sure you don't bother me again." Not
surprisingly, he reached for his belt, hinting at a weapon.
"Yeah, right," Sam retorted, slightly nervous. "Even you aren't stupid
enough to bring a gun to school, Frankie."
"Leave him alone!" Eric called out, stepping in between the two
students, while Hikaru rushed over to her friend's side.
"You alright, Sam?" Hikaru asked.
"Y'know, you don't have to keep rushing to help," he said to Hikaru,
though his tone was clear that he was glad she did.
Meanwhile, Eric stood toe-to-toe with Frankie, the taller one enraged
that his quarry had been rescued, while the smaller one had an oddly serene
look on his face. "Bad move, new boy," Frankie said and punched forward,
his huge hand intending to make a dent into the side of Eric's head.
So, it was rather surprising that Eric moved with the grace and speed of
his namesake, deftly moving out of the line of the punch, allowing Frankie
to punch the metal and harming only himself. Dropping low, Eric footswept
Frankie, and as the larger brute hit the floor with a noted lack of style,
Eric looked at him, fist at the ready, saying, "I would appreciate it if you
didn't try to punch me. I'd rather avoid the mess." Nothing more to say,
Eric strode away from Lassiter, heading over to where Hikaru and Sam stood.
"Say, that was pretty good," she commented. "Kempo, or Okinawan?"
Eric laughed. "Wu Shu, actually. Took some classes growing up, just to
keep busy. I'm not like Bruce Lee or anything," he admitted with a grin,
"but it's gotten me out of a couple of fights, so I can't complain. Well,
we'd better get to our next classes, or we're going to be late."
Someone screamed.
Lassiter, apparently unwilling to live with his comeuppance, got
serious. Yanking his little package of instant ego from his place on his
belt, he roared, *"I AM NOT GOING TO PUT UP WITH SHIT LIKE THAT FROM
ANYONE!"* and pointed the gun in the direction of Hikaru, Eric, and Sam, who
had just stopped, realizing that something was wrong.
As he opened fire, the bullets roared towards the trio, students
scattering from the fire, and even Eric and Sam dodging out of the line of
fire to prevent themselves from getting hit from the lethal wads of metal
being hurled from the weapon. However, Hikaru stood there as the bullets
whizzed past her, as though she was completely out of it.
*"HIKARU! GET DOWN!!!"* someone screamed, as several other students
feared that she'd lapsed into trauma once more, her mind not reacting well
to the unbridled chaos that had just erupted in the confines of the
relatively small hallway.
Something seemed to snap within her mind once more, and she still
continued to stand there in the center of the room. Her face clouding with
what appeared to be righteous anger, she drew her arm back, still seemingly
unaware of the danger. Shouting, *"I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR BULLYING THE
INNOCENTS!"* she thrust her arm forward, roaring, *"HONO NO YA!!!!!!!"*
There was a flash of red that slammed into Frankie's hand, causing him
to drop his gun in shock. And that seemed to be all the chance that Hikaru
needed as she raced forward, landed three kicks to the boy's chest, followed
by a quick backhand and finishing it off with a series of rapid punches to
his stomach. As he dizzily wondered what was going on, Hikaru bent down,
pulled him by the shirt and said, "You will *not* bully anyone again. Do I
make myself clear?" As he dazedly nodded affirmative, her eyes narrowed in
anger. "Good." She then let him go as he passed out from the total shock
and embarrassment of being beaten down by a girl a foot-plus lesser in size.
That done with, she went over to where Eric and Sam were, as they were
just getting off the ground. Every eye in the hallway was on her, and
school authorities were rushing into the hallways, late as ever to do
something about a situation that had already been rectified. "Y-you guys
o-kay?" she asked, beginning to shake a little.
"Um, yeah," Eric said, looking at her handiwork. "What did you do to
him? Punch him or something? I didn't see it, but you dropped him like a
fly!"
"I-I don't kn-know," she said, fully shivering now, slinking into the
floor in a fetal ball.
Eric bent down to help. "Hey, Hikaru, you okay?" he asked, as footsteps
pounded on the floor at a high rate. Eric looked up and saw three people
racing in his direction, one looking a lot like the girl at his feet.
"N-n-not in the le-least," she answered in a woozy tone. "D-Damn
adrenaline," she whispered as her vision tunneled and sank, mercifully, into
blackness.
Hikaru came to a couple of minutes later, Hikari sitting next to her and
with a look of worry on her face. Hikaru looked around and noticed the
none-too-unfamiliar confines of the school's infirmary. "'Karu, what were
you thinking?" Hikari asked her.
"About?"
"Oh, let's see," the younger twin said, ticking off Hikaru's escapades
on her fingers. "You step right in front of Frankie Lassiter, pull Sam's
fat out of the fire--again, stand still without blinking while Frankie's
shooting at you, threw something at him while screaming some Japanese battle
cry, then proceed to administer a serious amount of beat-down on him right
in front of everyone."
Hikaru dug into her mind, trying to recall the most recent events in her
mind. Strangely, they felt hazy, as though she hadn't been the one to do
them, but as though she was watching her life as a movie. "I don't know
what I did," she admitted. "It feels like someone else did. But...I know
this is going to sound strange...I think I threw a fireball at him." Hikari
started giggling, and Hikaru said, "Seriously, sis."
Hikari laughed again and said, "Here's your fireball." Hikaru's
slightly dented fire-red cel phone was tossed on her lap. "The police have
no idea what presence of mind you were in to grab your phone and toss it at
him to distract him, nor how you managed to hit him several times with
martial arts moves that you don't know." Hikari leaned in close and said,
"Look, 'Karu, I don't know what's going on, but I'm here for you. I'll stay
with you while the cops ask you a few questions, then we can go home."
"But I didn't do anything!" the redhead protested.
"I know that, and they know that," a voice said, standing behind her.
It was Lance, with Allison, Rick and Eric standing closely behind. "That's
why Frankie's under arrest and you're just in here for passing out due to
adrenaline overload. But they do have some questions to ask you, you little
hero, you."
"Hero?" she asked. "Me?"
"Sam told the cops that if we hadn't interfered, Frankie was planning to
shoot him," Eric explained. "I sort of interrupted that. He didn't like
that idea, so he opened fire on all of us, and nearly hit several students.
However, you stood your ground, then took him out."
"Way to go, Wonder Woman," Rick cheered.
Hikaru blushed. "Um, thanks guys. Right now, I just want to take care
of this and go home. It's been a somewhat trying day for me and I'm tired."
Getting back to her feet, Hikaru walked out of the infirmary, towards the
administration offices and the members of the Seattle Police Department
located within.
<<*>>
Sitting over dinner, the Shidou family was rather uneasy. Needless to
say, both of the Shidou parents gave their oldest daughter an earful for her
stunt. Hikari and Lance rushed to her rescue, crowing about how proud they
were that she was willing to stand up against bullies like that in school.
"Yes, but I don't think that you're trained against guns, and I don't
recall bullet deflection being a tenet of kendo," Clef pointed out.
"Hikaru, please don't do that again. And that goes for the rest of you," he
added.
Priss sighed. "Well, at least we're only prosecuting that boy for
Illegal Weapons and a dozen other charges, and not for anything worse. I'd
say you and your friends were very lucky, Hikaru. But like your father
said, please don't do that again."
Hikaru nodded. "I won't, Dad, Mom. I promise." She gave them a small
smile in order to set them at ease. It was a shame that she herself
couldn't be set too much at ease on her own.
Hikari saw the look on her sister's face and knew that she was
troubled--and that whatever it was, none of today's incidents had anything
to do with it. For a minute or two, Hikari was concerned that maybe
something in the back of her sister's mind was threatening to drag her down.
But that faded away under clear resolve to do something about it if Hikaru
was threatened. Hikari finally had her twin sister back, and was not about
to lose her to anything again.
The phone rang, and Lance got up to get it. "Hey, Hikaru, it's for
you."
She left the dinner table and grabbed it. "Hello?"
<<Hi, Hikaru? It's Eric. What're you doing right now?>>
"Well, I was having dinner...." she commented.
<<Whoops, sorry. Anyways, I was, um, wondering, that is, if you were
free some night this week, we could, um....>> There was a grunt at the
other end of the phone, before he went silent and finally blurted out, <<Um,
look. I'm no good at this sort of stuff. If you're free Friday night-->>
Hikaru gave a wide smile, trying not to giggle. "Sure, I'd love to go
out with you. What time?"
<<Talk about it tomorrow in class?>> he asked, his voice a mixture of
relief and enthusiasm.
"Sure."
<<Okay, it's a date then! I'll talk to you tomorrow about it! Gotta
go. See ya!>> He hung up the phone with total exuberance, and Hikaru found
herself doing the same, grinning like the Cheshire Cat all the way back to
the table.
"Good news?" Hikari asked, to which Hikaru said nothing. Noting the
stupid grin on her face, Hikari muttered, "Must be good news."
<<*>>
"He asked you out, didn't he?"
"'Kari, give it a rest, will ya?" Nighttime. Hikaru was at her desk,
studying, while Hikari was reading up on a couple of things on the web.
"Hey, if he did, that's good. He's cute. Maybe you, me, he an' Rick
can go double-dating some time," she commented as she flipped through a few
anime websites.
"Eric's a nice guy," Hikaru explained. "Total gentleman, and he's
willing to ask me out despite my problems."
"What problems?"
"Have you ever felt that you weren't totally in control of yourself?
Like there's something else inside you, controlling who you are at times?
What I did today...it didn't feel like me, it's not something I would do.
But, at the same time, it felt...it felt like it was something that I was
already used to, nothing that wasn't a big deal, you know?" Brown eyes
focused on a similar pair as Hikaru tried to explain. "Today, in the
hallway...it felt like it was something I'd done a hundred times before,
like it was completely instinctive. I reacted the way I did, because it
seemed so normal."
"I don't understand."
"I don't, either. That's what worries me. Maybe there's something
wrong with me again, and I just haven't noticed it yet."
Hikari bounded from her chair and faced her sister. "Hikaru, there's
nothing wrong with you, okay? You're a wonderful person, and just because
you had a slight difficulty--"
"That's being charitable about it, sis," Hikaru drawled.
"No it isn't, it's being factual. None of that was your fault, and
there wasn't anything you could have done about that. There's not a damn
thing wrong with you, Hikaru, other than the fact that you're a pest!"
Hikari said, smiling at her endsting.
"Well, I might be a pest," Hikaru said, diving towards her bed and
grabbing her pillow, "but at least I know how to dodge this!" She launched
several of her throw pillows at Hikari, who in turn retaliated, and within
seconds, both girls were involved in a major pillow war laughing, shrieking
and giggling amongst the pillows, a tangle of arms and legs until they lay
on the ground, spent and laughing. "God, I needed that," Hikaru admitted.
"Good," Hikari said. "Now that that's out of the way, are you going to
need help with any of your classes?"
"Nope, not at all. I am the smart twin, you know," Hikaru jibed.
"Riiiight. Suuuuure."
"You're just jealous," Hikaru taunted. "I am the cuter and nicer one,
too."
"You really want another pillow upside your head, don't you, 'Karu?"
<<*>>
"Okay, this is weird." The programmer at Microsoft, several miles
away, stared into his screen. At once, he suspected a practical joke; it
hadn't been the first time someone in the office had pulled something like
that. "Hey, Doug, what the hell did you guys do?"
Doug looked up from his own computer. "What are you talking about,
Marty?"
"I was working on some of the debugging code, and this shit came up!"
Marty snarled, turning his monitor on the stand.
His colleague looked at it and smiled. "Hey, that's one hell of a joke.
Seriously, though, I didn't do it. Did you ask Lisa or Jamie?"
"Naaah," Marty replied, finding at least some amusement in the joke.
"I'll just get them back for this. Dunno how, but I'm gonna." With that,
he continued to watch the prank that had been pulled on him bounding across
the screen.
A white cartoonish bunny bounded across the cyan-hued screen, with
equally cartoonish letters bouncing under it, and the speakers putting out a
cutesy version of the same words: PUU...PUU PUU PUU...PUU...PUU PUU PUU....
Next:
Part Four: Just Beyond the Sky