Anyway, here is chapter 1. I hope you enjoy reading it, but please remember that it's a rough first draft.
Chapter 1 (Jerked into trouble)
Everything breaks. Even
people … .
John pulled his cellphone
out of his left pocket while he approached Higashi-Washinomiya station. Finally, I get to go home and
relax. All I want to do is relax and have a peaceful, uneventful weekend. "I gue—" It snapped in half. Cursing
like a drunk, he threw the broken, white cellphone to the ground and was glad
that none of his students' parents were around to see him. "Of all days …
."
Very few people crowded
around the station at this time, most of the city's inhabitants at his school's
culture festival that he had dipped out of early. Humid, summer winds brushed
through his short, brown hair. Before John walked through the ticket booth, the
nose burning scent of bleach hit him in the face.
John wiped a tear from his
dark — near brown — red eyes and cursed again. Though, this time it was
directed at the memory of his deceased mother. "Why … did she make me do
it?" After walking to the escalator, he gulped then stepped onto it, riding
up to the second platform.
More people crowded the
platform that headed towards Tokyo. The musty stink of Japanese salary-men and
their inability to use deodorant made John gag. Moving closer to the tracks and
away from the smells, John tried to hold down the onigiri that he had just
eaten. He closed his eyes. Several calming breaths later, he opened them again.
"What are those gray
stones for?" John blinked while he stared down at the tracks.
Several gray stones stood
out among the normal brown ones along the train tracks. They seemed to pulse — to
thump like a beating heart. They called out to John, and he found himself
leaning forward in order to inspect them further.
"Fucking
wonderful," a voice said from behind in Japanese.
John spun to see a man
with grey hair yet a youthful face. He appeared to be old and young at the same
time. About a head shorter than John, the Japanese man marched towards John
with a menacing presence.
"Wh— why … why,"
John asked, struggling to get the words out, "are your eyes glowing
red?"
"So … seeing the
stones wasn't a fluke." The man with glowing red eyes grunted. "At
least you speak Japanese."
At a loss for words, John
nodded.
"But for someone to
awaken here? Right in front of me?" The man spat. "And a foreigner at that."
"Awaken?" John's
teeth chattered when the man grabbed him by the arm.
"No time to explain
now." The man held his free hand out towards the stones, and a
pencil-thick, blue cable extended from it, to touch the gray stones.
John's world lurched. His
stomach twisted, and he felt his onigiri come up. While colors and shapes
passed by in a blur, the splatter of vomit could be heard in the distance like
a soft echo. It felt as if he were floating through the air. Wind ripped at his
face. Trying not to scream, he watched Kuki station disappear behind him.
Haseda station barely registered.
John fell to his knees,
coughing once the man released him somewhere outside of Omiya station.
"What … just happened."
"Come." The man
gestured towards McDonalds. "We must prepare for the job."
"Who — better yet,
what are you?"
The man shrugged.
"The same as you … just older." He grinned. "Call me
Hyuga."
John’s
heart thumped while his mouth went dry. “I … .” His voice cracked. Should probably run away from this monster,
but how? Several deep breaths later, he pushed himself to his feet. His
knees were weak, and he found it hard to stand.
“Come
on.”
“McDonalds?
Really?”
“We
need to recharge and prepare?”
“Again
… McDonalds? Really?”
Hyuga
laughed. “I’ll explain once we sit down to eat.” He patted John on the back.
John
stumbled forward, his knees buckling.
Hyuga
reached out and grasped John by the arm, keeping him from falling face first
into the street. “Besides, you need to get your bearings before we do
anything.”
“Ha!”
That’s putting it lightly.
Keeping
John firmly in his grip, Hyuga marched towards McDonalds. With a straight face,
he ordered ten large french fries and nothing else. The clerk arched an
eyebrow.
John
returned the gesture and rubbed at his throat. “Water too … please.”
Hyuga
sighed as if the free water cost him a trip to Tokyo Disney Sea. He mumbled
something about right, and then ordered a water himself. Once the ten large
french fries had been piled atop two trays, he gestured for John to follow him
up the stairs.
Still
unsure what to make of this man who appeared to be young and old at the same
time, John followed with a hesitant step. Strength slowly returned to his
knees, and by the time he reached the top of the stairs, he felt like he could
make a run for it. Though, he doubted he could get far if Hyuga really wanted to keep him close. John would have his peaceful
weekend. He just would, but a
quick lunch at McDonalds wouldn’t waste too much of his time. He could sit.
While
his head jerked back and forth, Hyuga edged forward into the dining room. “Over
there.” He pointed to the far corner in the smoking section.
“Do
you smoke?”
“No.”
“Then
why not —” John gestured towards a table on his left. “— here?”
“Too
many people to hear what I have to say.”
“Oh
… .” I don’t like this at all.
“Come
on.” Hyuga strolled into the smoking section and took the outer seat facing the
wall.
Despite
John never sitting on the inside, against the wall, he didn’t complain. Who
knew what this Hyuga was capable of.
“So —”
“Start
eating first. I’ll talk.” Hyuga shoved a fistful of french fries into his mouth
and chewed once before swallowing.
John’s
stomach turned. How could people eat like that? And french fries nonetheless.
“Ummm —”
I
said eat.”
The
burning smells of rancid tobacco drifted through the air while the bustling
conversations blanketed the entire dining room. So many people continued to
walk in. John’s fingers clung to the table.
Puke
rose into the back of John’s mouth. The unclean table twisting his stomach
tighter than Hyuga did on the trip
back to Omiya. After forcing himself to swallow, John began to eat some
unhealthy, disgusting french fries.
“That’s
more like it.” Hyuga ingested another handful of french fries. “You’re probably
asking yourself, why did we only order french fries? And what does this have to
do with magic?”
Yes … actually … . “Wait … magic?” A
french fry caught in John’s throat, and he nearly choked.
“Well,
that is a general term for it. It’s more of a power than magic.”
I want to argue about how stupid this
sounds, but … . “And the potatoes?”
Hyuga
swallowed another mouthful. “Every type of power-user must pay a cost. Ours
just happens to be potatoes.”
“That
makes perfect sense.”
Hyuga’s
brow scrunched.
John
rolled his eyes. Japanese people just
don’t understand sarcasm. “By perfect sense, I mean that it makes
absolutely no sense at all.”
“I
see. … A foreigner joke?”
“Racist
much?”
“Not
that much, but a little.”
Before
groaning, John squeezed the bridge of his nose. “Great … . This is wonderful.”
“I’ll
make an exception for you since your Japanese is so clean.”
John
nodded, trying not to smile. One thing he was proud of was his level of
Japanese after studying for so long.
“Anyway,
Chiefs —”
“Chiefs?”
John blinked a few times and shook his head. “What —”
“Our
kind. It’s the designated term for power-users who require potatoes.”
“Oh.”
“Where
was I?” Hyuga scratched the crown of his head. “Oh yeah. So, potatoes are the
fuel that we burn in our stomachs to power our link … s.” He stared into John’s
eyes. “Red … so, who have you killed?”
John
swallowed. My mother. “Killed?” He
shook his head. “No, no, no. I was born with red eyes.” Wasn’t I?
“I
see … .”
“You’re
so racist.”
Hyuga
chuckled. “Sometimes. Too bad though. Having someone else on my side with more
than one link would have been nice.”
“More
than one link?”
“Yes.
A Chief is only born with one link. They must kill someone close to them to
harvest more.”
John
swallowed again, nearly choking on the french fry in his mouth. Is that why mom was trying to suffocate me
in my sleep that night? “I understand. But how do potatoes we eat, power
the magic?”
“Simple.”
Hyuga waggled his index-finger. “You open your mind and ignite the oven in your
stomach. It with activate your link, and you attach the link to an infused
item.”
“An
infused —”
“Just
try to burn for now and extend your link.”
John
closed his eyes, and for some reason, he could see three objects. One looked
like a pile of gold while the other two were stone-like and hot to the
mental-touch. Why had he never sensed these before? Is that what Hyuga meant
earlier by awaken? Because John was
sure what the second source of heat was, he fed the golden substance into only
one.
Heat.
A blazing inferno. Then … the strong scent of burning potatoes filled the area
around him, crushing the stink of tobacco.
His
stomach felt like it was on fire, though it didn’t hurt. John opened his eyes
to see a glowing, translucent cable extend from his stomach. “What?” Once he
began to tremble, he lost the connection and the link vanished. Though it thinned, the smell of burnt potatoes still
remained.
Hyuga
clapped. “Very good. For your first time, that was amazing.” After checking his
watch, he shook his head. “I’ll explain more later. For now, just eat.”
Feeling
a touch of excitement, I began to shovel the french fries into my mouth. My peaceful weekend could wait a little
while longer.
###
John
glanced about the crowded street in front of the securities firm. Why did we come here? Through the
corners of his eyes, he peered at Hyuga who seemed to be scouting the area. Does he want to buy gold or something?
The
vroom of cars ripped through the still, stale air when the traffic-light
changed from red to green — or blue as they call it in Japanese, despite it
being green. A chilly wind whipped between the crowded buildings.
A
shiver shot down John’s spine, and his teeth began to chatter. He tightened his
faded-black suit jacket. I thought it was
supposed to be summer already?
Hyuga
walked past John and nudged him.
John
started.
Hyuga
nodded towards a pair of guards on the corner of the wide, four-story building
that was the largest securities firm in Saitama. “Them and —” He gestured at a
small group of guards who John only now noticed on the far side. “— that group
are the only guards that they have posted around this building.”
“So
… ?” John narrowed his eyes. He acts like
—
“It
means that their security is lax because they have ties to a local branch of
the yakuza.”
After
a long moment, John blinked. “You’re planning to ro—”
Hyuga
clamped his hand over John’s mouth. “Not so loud.”
John
nodded.
Hyuga
removed his hand.
Once
Hyuga’s entire statement replayed in John’s head, his eyes bulged. “Wait, wait,
wait.”
“Yes?”
Hyuga smirked.
“What
do you mean yakuza?”
“Exactly
as it sounds.”
“So,
we’re going to r — I mean buy from the yakuza?”
Hyuga’s
smile touched his eyes. “You catch on quickly.”
“But
—”
“It’s
only a local branch.” Hyuga moved towards the entrance. “Let’s see what they’re
working with.”
Aghast,
John stumbled forward and followed Hyuga into the yakuza-owned securities firm.
Before
they could even step on the plush, pink carpet, a loud chime echoed throughout
the room. A lavender-like scent hung in the air. Three men in white suits
stepped from the back room, and their eyes darted in John’s direction, glaring
at him.
Anxiety
wrapped against John’s heart, and he was sure that its thump thump thump could
be heard by all in the room. He licked his lips. I should have made a run for after we left McDonalds … .
Hyuga
sauntered up to the counter. “Good afternoon, gentlemen.”
The
one with a golden pompadour like his friend Keisuke stepped forward. “How may I
help you, Mr … ?”
“Nakamura.”
The
man pursed his lips.
Is his family name really the generic Nakamura? John studied the room,
counting eleven security cameras. When he realized what he had just done, he
shook his head. Am I really going to help
him rob this place?
Hyuga
placed his hands onto the counter. “I’m interested in making an investment …
one that won’t be damaged by our fluctuating economy.”
“Then
you have come to the right place.” The man glanced at John again. “But what did
you bring a foreigner here with you for?”
With
an open mouth, Hyuga chuckled. “Do you not see how big he is? Those defined
muscles and that ridged jawline?”
“Ah
… a bodyguard.”
Hyuga
nodded.
“That
makes sense as no one I know likes to push his type around.” The man leaned in
close to Hyuga. “So, let us get down to business.”
“Good.”
Hyuga began tapping his left foot.
A bodyguard, huh? John puffed out his
chest and tried to look as menacing as possible while he strolled around the
room. He was checking for danger and
found eleven guards posted in random sections of the large room. Every time one
of them made eye contact with John, his skin itched. He wanted to burn — to
feel that surprisingly exhorting flow of power through his veins.
Hyuga
clicked his fingers on the glass counter. “And what is the maximum amount I can
buy without having to register it with the government?”
The
man gave Hyuga a toothy grin. “Well, if you give me a day, I’m sure I could get
you twice the normal allowance and just keep it between us.”
After
stepping away from the counter, Hyuga bowed. “That sounds … perfect.”
Once
the man bowed in return, he waved his hand in the air, and his companions rushed into the back. “Then I’ll see you
tomorrow?”
“Bright
and early.”
“Sounds
good.”
Hyuga
clapped his hands and walked out of the building.
John
spun on his heels and followed like — what he suspected — a good guard should
do.
While
they walked away, Hyuga questioned John about the cameras and guards. Together,
they began to make a plan that would most definitely ruin a peaceful weekend.
###
Holding
a feather, John sat on a bench in the near-desolate part of Omiya Park. Why is this so difficult?
The
smell of burning potatoes made breathing difficult. Despite that, Hyuga paced
back and forth across the patchy grass. Twigs crunched under each thundering
step. He appeared to be going over the plan in his head.
John
focused and strained, attempting to move the link as if it were a part of his
body. It wasn’t working. “Why?” He yelled in frustration. “Why won’t it do as I
say?”
Hyuga’s
knees buckled, and he nearly fell over laughing.
With
bared teeth, John stared at Hyuga. “What! Do you think is so funny?” His rage
flared to life and exploded through his thoughts like it had never done before.
Was this a side effect of burning potatoes?
Hyuga
gasped, catching his breath. “Your frustration.”
“What?”
John growled.
“First,
harden your emotions. I forgot to mention this, but burning makes everything … . And I mean everything more vivid.”
“Okay
… .”
“Now,
clear your mind. Make all of your emotions disappear. Become cold. Feel the
cold surround you.”
John
fidgeted. “So, how do I harden my emotions and then make them vanish?”
“I
can’t really put it into words, but it’s a process. Just try.”
“I
am!”
Before
arching an eyebrow, Hyuga smirked. “Really?”
John
closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He grabbed ahold of his emotions and
tried to lock them in a box. After inhaling deeply several times, he found
himself surrounded by darkness.
It
was cold.
Shivering,
John wrapped his arms around his chest. “What is this?”
Hyuga
clapped. “Balance. Burning is hot. Your emotions should be cold.” He clicked
his tongue. “Color me impressed. Normally, learning to balance the fire and ice
takes months.”
In
a monotone voice, John said, “What next?”
“Think
of the link as if it were your arm.”
I’m already doing that … . John decided
not to voice the complaint.
“Imagine
that your arms and legs no longer work. The only thing that you can move in the
link.”
“Okay.”
John stretched the link with his mind and opened his eyes.
The
link moved forward.
John
reached out with his link and attached it to the feather. His muscles
tightened. His mind sharpened. He lifted his arm, and it zipped into the air,
far quicker than he had expected. Moving like lightning, he jabbed twice.
“This
is a wonderful development.” Hyuga scratched his palms. “Now let’s —”
“Hey,
hey, hey!” a plethora of voices said as one.
John’s
heart thumped, and the link slipped from his grasp. What? His strength and reactions slowed, and the turn towards the
voices took forever.
A
large group of yankees approached from the woods. Two held pipes, but the other
six didn’t appear to be armed. Each grinned like a predator.
After
losing his balance, John’s fury erupted. He removed the potatoes from his
stomach oven and adopted a southpaw, kickboxing stance. Weapons first.
Hyuga
glanced between John and the yankees. “Reestablish the link with that feather.”
John
gritted his teeth. “No time.”
“You
should —”
“Well,
what do we have here?” the biggest yankee with a pipe asked. He lifted it and
rested it on his shoulder. “Two fools coming into our territory looking —”
John
burst forward and jabbed the big man in the throat.
The
pole fell from the yankee’s grasp, and he fell to the ground, clutching his
throat. He writhed on the ground, gasping.
While
surprise marked the face of every Yankee, John spun and elbowed the other
weapon holder in the jaw.
The
yankee’s grip loosened.
John
growled while he snatched the pole from the man’s hand and clobbered him atop
the head, sending him crashing to the ground. “Two down.” I hope that sounded confident enough to make them hesitate.
Luck
was with John.
Each
of the yankees took a step backwards.
Hyuga
sighed and rolled forward, grabbing the other pole while he passed. “You should
burn —”
John
leaped forward and bent the pole over the biggest of the remaining six. “Shut
up and help.”
“No
point in arguing now.” Hyuga chuckled, and the smell of burning potatoes
entered the air. With a flick of his wrist, he felled two in the blink of an
eye.
Releasing
the pole attached to the man’s head, John slid past the falling man and landed
a one-one-two combo on the short, bald-headed yankee.
The
bald Yankee stumbled backwards, dazed. His two remaining friends — a
green-haired man and a blue-haired one — stepped forward. Their snarling expressions and cocked fists gave
away their lack of skill.
John
parried the green-haired one to the left and brought his knee into the man’s
gut. After grabbing the man by the neck, John twisted and threw the man to the
ground.
The
blue-haired yankee charged forward.
Heart
thumping, John leaped towards the yankee and slammed into his middle.
The
tackle slammed the yankee onto his back and knocked the wind out of him. His
eyes fluttered before closing. His body went limp.
Thunk!
The abrasive sound of metal on bone echoed nearby.
John
rolled off of the unconscious man as the bald yankee fell face first on top of
his friend, a pole bent around his head.
“That
was … beyond impressive.” Hyuga dusted his hands off and offered John a hand.
Taking
the hand, John stood. “Thank you?”
Hyuga’s
brow furrowed.
“Not
going to chide me about leaving my back open?” Like Ami would have?
Before
shaking his head, Hyuga scratched his chin. “Why would I do that? All in all, you took down five of them
without burning. As I said, impressive.”
“But
all it takes is one to end me.”
“That
may be so, but I doubt many would have done half as well as you without a
feather.”
“Is
that what you used?”
Hyuga
opened his jacket and pulled a feather out. “Of course. The physical
enhancement it grants is beyond useful.”
John
nodded.
“Shall
we get back to preparing for tonight?”
John
nodded again. “Sure, why not?” Trying to avoid thinking about the loss if his
peaceful weekend, he decided to go cold first and then burn.
###
When
clouds obscured the moon, John dashed across the streets and into the shadowed
alley behind the securities firm. He didn’t understand why Hyuga had chosen
this side since there were no doors. Even
with the enhanced strength of a feather, I doubt we can bust through half a
foot of concrete … .
Hyuga
crept up behind John and placed a hand on John’s back. “Are you ready to make
an undocumented withdrawal?” With the dark sky and lack of street-lights, it
was hard to tell what expression marred the elderly youth’s features, but his
voice brimmed with confidence.
John
leaned in close and made sure to whisper. “Unless you have some type of
super-laser or stone melting power item, I think we should make our way to the
other alley.”
“Well
… .”
Really? “You can’t be serious.”
“I’m
always serious. Especially after … .”
“After
what?”
Hyuga’s
coat rustled. “Not important.”
The
clouds freed the moon from their grasp, and the light reflected into John’s
eyes.
John
blinked. Huh?
Hyuga
held a gold coin between two fingers, turning it back and forth. “Anyway, this
is all we need to get in.”
“Oh
… please enlighten me, Master Chief.”
“More
sarcasm?”
“You
learn fast.”
Before
tugging John towards the wall of the securities firm, Hyuga grinned. His eyes
blazed alight, and the smell of burning potatoes filled the air around them.
“Don’t break away from my grip.”
John
swallowed.
Hyuga’s
link touched the gold coin, and their forms shimmered.
John’s
body became light as if he had become a ghost. “What is th—”
Hyuga
stepped through the stone wall and dragged John behind him.
With
ragged gasps, John found it hard to breathe. I … can’t believe this is happening. Despite feeling invigorated
for the first time since Haru had raped him, he worried about the rightness of what they were doing as
well as the loss of his peaceful and quiet weekend. He could never get this
time back, and Monday always came out of nowhere, to slap him across the face.
The
phased through several more walls until they slipped into the vault itself.
Save for the tiny radius of light created by Hyuga’s glowing eyes, complete
darkness.
John
found himself looking at his feet, wondering why they hadn’t fallen through the
floor itself. When his form returned to normal, the thought trailed off.
Hyuga
released John’s shoulder. “We have to be quick about this.”
Something
clicked, and a pale yellow light bathed the room. A deep-yellow dust littered
the floor in front of John.
John
looked up at Hyuga.
Hyuga
dusted his hands off. “Gold is the most versatile of the infused items, but it
breaks down into dust as soon as your link breaks contact with it.”
“Noted
—” John’s mouth fell open.
Gold
lined the walls in stacks of thin bars higher than John was tall. It was also
arranged in neat rows forming out from the wall like bookshelves. In the back
of the vault, there appeared to be safety deposit boxes.
The
sight took John’s breath away. If Taisei knew what I was doing … . If
we get caught in here … we’ll spend the rest of our lives in jail. … Or dead
since this place is owned by the yakuza.
Hyuga
pulled out a pair of large, brown bags. “Link to your feather and fill this bag
to the brim.”
After
licking his lips, John nodded. He burned, instinctively finding the void beforehand and freezing his
emotions. “Are you sure we should be doing this?”
“Stop
being such a baby.” Hyuga threw bar after bar into his bag and ground his
teeth. “It’s not like we’re stealing from someone reputable.”
“I
guess you’re right … .”
Hyuga
groaned. “Grow up, John. You have work to do.”
John
chewed on his lower-lip. “Okay … .” Still feeling wrong about this whole thing,
he hesitated once his fingers wrapped a fridged bar of gold. “Hyuga —”
The
alarm roared.
Choking
on his tongue, John nearly jumped out of his skin.
“Fuck!
Too soon.” Hyuga hissed when he noticed that John hadn’t filled his bag with
anything. “I had high hopes for you. We could have brought true peace to this
world, but if you hesitate like this —” A second link extended from Hyuga’s
stomach and reached into a pouch at his waist. “— you will be more of a
hindrance than a help.”
“What
are you saying?” John’s teeth chattered.
“I’m
saying that I’m going to give you some time to think about your future. About
the future of the world.”
“Time
to —”
Hyuga
dashed through the wall.
The
alarm blared louder.
John’s
heart thumped, and a sharp pain exploded in his chest. He dropped the brown bag
and ran to the section of the wall that Hyuga had run through. “Why?” While
pounding against the wall, tears began to roll down his cheeks. “Why?” He
placed his back to the wall and slid to the ground, crying.
Next: BURNING chapter 2
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