Day 138

[from Aura of Chaos]

As the other wolf set its sights on her, Tara began to mutter an incantation under her breath, preparing one of her light spells. However, before she could finish the incantation, and before Xeron could tuck his spear free, the wolf pounced… and missed. Tara finished the incantation just in time and a bright flash of light erupted from her hands, blinding the wolf and causing its leap to miss her by about a foot. It crashed to the floor, its momentum sending it tumbling before coming to a stop in a heap.

As Xeron finally retrieved his spear from the first wolf with a sickening squelch, he swiftly thrust it into the second wolf's throat, killing it. "Are you alright?" he asked Tara.

Tara nodded. "I'm fine," she said.

"You look a little shaken," Xeron remarked, as he pulled his spear out of the second wolf's corpse. "I don't blame you. This is your first time fighting, after all. I can't imagine you're too used to seeing blood, either."

Tara shook her head, glancing uneasily at the bloodied corpses of the two wolves. "I've seen animals at the communal farm getting slaughtered for meat, but… nothing as violent as this," she said. "But they were attacking us, and they were only wild animals, so there's nothing wrong with it…"

"Of course not," said Xeron, wiping the blood off his spear with an old rag. "You'll get used to it pretty quickly, don't worry. Now then, we'd better continue onwards, towards Hilston."

Tara nodded, and she and Xeron continued on down the path through the valleys towards Hilston. As the town grew larger in front of them, Tara noticed that the stone-built houses seemed rather less colourful than those in Tirera, with dull grey facades and grey-green rooftops in contrast to the bright red shingles of her hometown. Silently, she hoped that not all of the places they would visit on their journey would be quite so colourless.

Finally, the dirt road gave way to cobbled stone, and a sign at the side of the road welcomed them to the town of Hilston as they came upon the first of the town's buildings. "So, where should we go first?" asked Tara.

"Well, first I think we should get something to eat," said Xeron. "I don't know about you, but I'm pretty hungry."

"I guess I am as well," said Tara, who hadn't really noticed until now. "But I don't have any money…"

"We're partners now, remember?" said Xeron. "That means we share our supplies, including money. Did you really think I was gonna let you starve, Tara?"

"I, uhh… I guess not…" admitted Tara.

"Of course not," said Xeron. "Now, I reckon we should head to the tavern first. They'll serve food there, and with any luck, we might find some work there as well."

***

Sure enough, as Xeron and Tara were tucking into their lunches, they were approached by an anxious-looking local. "Excuse me," she said. "Are you two adventurers?"

Xeron swallowed his mouthful and nodded at the woman. "That's right, we are," he said. "Is there anything we can help you with, madam?"

The woman nodded. "My son went off playing in the woods to the west this morning, and he hasn't come back yet. I'm getting worried. It's not like him to forget about lunchtime."

This seemed like a remarkably straightforward job to Xeron, but still, work was work. "You want us to go look for him and bring him back?" he asked.

The woman nodded. "Yes please," she said. "I'd go myself, but there are plants in there that I'm allergic to, and if I set foot in there I'd end up with a severe allergic reaction."

"Wait… wouldn't your son bring the plants' pollen back with him when he returns?" asked Tara.

The woman shook her head. "I don't know," she said. "If he does, it doesn't affect me. I always make him take a bath when he comes back, just to be sure. But he loves playing out there, so I didn't want to stop him, but… now I'm worried."

"Don't worry, madam," said Xeron. "We'll find him and bring him back safely. I promise."

The woman give Xeron a sincere smile. "Thank you," she said. "I'll be waiting here in the tavern. Please, bring him back as soon as you can, alright?"

Xeron nodded. "We will," he said. "Just let us finish our meals first, and then we'll be on our way."

"Oh, of course," said the woman, nodding understandingly. "I'm sorry for interrupting your meal together."

The insinuation of the word "together" sailed straight over both Xeron and Tara's heads. "It's no problem, really," said Xeron.

"Okay," said the woman. "Thank you again, honestly." With that, the woman departed, heading back to her own seat and looking a little less anxious than before.

"Are you sure we should be charging her for work like this?" asked Tara.

"I never said anything about charging her," said Xeron. "However, if she wants to reward me afterwards, then that's her decision, and I'm not going to turn it down."

"I see," said Tara. "I guess I'll have to get used to charging people for things I'd normally do out of the kindness of my heart."

"Sadly, you will," said Xeron. "It's not a particularly nice feeling, but the sad fact is, doing things out of the kindness of our hearts isn't going to put food in our stomachs. You don't get something for nothing in this world. The people we help know that, that's why they often offer us rewards without us asking."

Tara nodded. "To be honest, this sounds like an easy enough mission."

"It does, doesn't it?" said Xeron. "But in my experience, things are never quite that easy. I guess we'll find out, though, once we head out there."

Tara nodded once more, and carried on eating her lunch, all the while silently looking forward to carrying out their first job together.

Day 137

[from ARK]

"Well, I believe that's most of the important areas covered," said Prof. Gibson, as he and Prof. McCarthy left the medical centre. "The rest you'll pick up over time. It's a big station, as I'm sure you've gathered by now, and if I showed you around the whole thing, it would take about a week. For now, I'll take you to the living areas, so you can get settled in."

"What if I get lost?" asked Prof. McCarthy. "There don't seem to be many signposts or anything, and there's no guarantee that I'll run into somebody I can ask for directions."

"Well, to be honest, it's more a case of "when you get lost"," said Prof. Gibson. "Because take it from me, you will get lost here. It was kind of funny, actually, when we all first came up here, because none of us knew our way around, so we were all getting lost and we couldn't ask for directions because we were all as lost as each other." Gibson let out a fond chuckle. "In the end, Gerald installed these interactive maps all over the ARK, that tell you were you are, and can show you where it is that you want to get to. I'm not sure ergonomics is Professor Robotnik's strong suit, to be honest."

"I assume I'll know what those maps look like when I see them?" said Prof. McCarthy.

"You can't miss them," said Prof. Gibson. "Large black monitors, with the floor plan overlaid on them in green. Your current position is highlighted by a pulsing red light. There should be one just up the corridor, I can show you how they work."

"Okay, thanks," said Prof. McCarthy.

The pair kept walking, and after a minute or two, they came across something that most definitely was not a map. It was a strange aqua-blue creature, hanging from the ceiling and watching the two professors as they approached. It had a greyish-white head with two pale green eyes, a long body that looked almost as though it were composed of water, and no arms or legs. Prof. Gibson paid the creature no heed, but Prof. McCarthy stared up at it with a mixture of surprise, intrigue, and horror. "What the hell is that?" he asked.

"That's an Artificial Chaos," said Prof. Gibson. "It was one of Gerald's first major inventions here on the ARK. There are Artificial Chaos all over the colony, performing maintenance and acting as security drones. You'll get used to them, don't worry."

"Forgive the obvious question, but how can it do maintenance and security when it has no limbs?" asked Prof. McCarthy.

"Well, its eyes house high-powered lasers that are capable of welding shut any cracks in the ARK's hull," explained Prof. Gibson. "It can also fire the lasers at a lower frequency, for non-lethal stunning, or extend tentacles out of its arms to physically subdue intruders. Those tentacles also allow it to do more precise manual work. There's also another type of Artificial Chaos that can split its body into hundreds of drones, so that tasks like cleaning the windows or floors take a lot less time than they otherwise would. Those ones don't have the lasers or the tentacles, though."

"I see," said Prof. McCarthy. "Is that level of security really necessary, though? I mean, I know this is the world's foremost scientific research facility and all, but… it's in space. It's not exactly the easiest place in the world to get to."

"I know that," said Prof. Gibson, "but like you said, this facility is at the cutting edge of scientific and medical technology. Even if we are isolated out here in space, we still can't be complacent. If anyone wanted to steal our research, all they'd have to do to get here would be to stow away on one of the supply vessels, and in a station this big, finding them would be like searching for a needle in a haystack. But with the Artificial Chaos around, finding and subduing any potential invaders is a lot easier."

Prof. McCarthy nodded. "Alright, that makes sense," he said. "Come to think of it, I guess you'd also need some kind of security force in case of any crimes being committed here. Not that I expect anything like that to happen, of course."

"Well, that's certainly true as well," said Prof. Gibson. "There have been a few isolated incidents, where civilians have had disagreements that turned violent, but I wouldn't say there's all that much crime up here. Certainly not compared to down on Earth, that's for certain."

"So what happens to people who commit crimes up here?" asked Prof. McCarthy. "Is there, like, a jail or something here, or do you just ship them straight back to Earth?"

"G.U.N. takes care of those kinds of matters," said Prof. Gibson. "Technically speaking, crimes committed here are outside the jurisdiction of any civilian court, but G.U.N. governs this station using the laws of the United Federation. I don't know the exact procedures, but I presume that in the case of a serious crime, everyone involved would be flown back to Earth for a full criminal trial, and if the suspect is found guilty, then he'd be imprisoned on Earth. We don't have the facilities here to hold a trial, or anything like that."

"Okay," said Prof. McCarthy. "We're getting a little off-topic here, aren't we?"

"Not at all," said Prof. Gibson. "This is all part of helping you get acquainted with the station, and helping you to settle in. Ah, I think that's one of the maps over there." The professor pointed at a glowing green monitor embedded into the side of one of the walls, a little further up the corridor. "I'll show you how it works, and then we can head off to the living quarters. I'm sure you'll want to know where you'll be sleeping from now on."

"Of course," said Prof. McCarthy. "Lead the way."

Day 136

[from Cyborg Team Alpha]

"Could I talk to her for a bit?" It was the male speaking this time. Ichiko no longer felt like talking, but he was addressing Gumi, not her.

"Sure," said Gumi. "There's some things you can explain better than I could."

The man stepped forward, placing a hand on the railing at the side of Ichiko's bed. "Ichiko… look at me," he said. He tried to sound gentle, but with the metallic quality of his voice, it sounded more like a harsh whisper. It began to dawn on Ichiko exactly why his voice sounded like it did. Even so, however, she still could not bring herself to face him.

"I can understand if you don't want to look at yourself," the man continued. "Neither did I, at first. But please, at least look at me."

Reluctantly, Ichiko rolled over in bed, wincing a little, to gaze upon the man standing beside her. He was wearing all black, and had short black hair with a piercing gaze. His mouth was covered by a balaclava, but as he pulled it down around his neck, Ichiko saw that his entire lower jaw was constructed from a dull grey metal. She then realized that the hand clutching the bed rail was also bionic: a grey, skeletal model, with the inner workings visible inside. Her first thought was that it was rather disturbing, but then she remembered that her own hands - both of them - were now exactly the same.

"I was also killed by the Rising Sun," said the man. "I found it ironic, in a way. I'd spent three years fighting for this nation, I'd survived the bloodiest conflict of the 21st century, and then a bunch of domestic terrorists go and blow me up. But I was lucky. Professor Toriyama had noticed my potential, and he rebuilt me just as he rebuilt you."

That answered that particular question. This was indeed the Toriyama Institute, and the man who had saved her was indeed Professor Satoshi Toriyama, the inventor of the Cyborg System. But there were still so many other questions left unanswered. "But… why?" she asked. "What potential? What is it about us in particular that… made him…" As her pain began to flare up yet again, Ichiko winces, inhaled sharply, and replaced her oxygen mask, trying to relax.

"Professor Toriyama wants to atone for what his research was used for during the South China War," said the man. "He also wants to protect Tokyo from the new menace of the Rising Sun. To that end, he is putting together a team of gifted Cyborgs to protect the city from acts of terror, as well as other criminal activities. There are already four of us, and you, Ichiko St. Clare, make five. Your intellect, supplemented by the computers built into your bionic eye, will prove invaluable to us."

The man's robotic hand tightened around the bed rail, his expression growing uneasy. "I'm afraid that this is non-negotiable," he continued. "You are obliged to join this task force. I can understand if you don't want to, but at the same time… you can feel it, can't you? The desire to avenge yourself. The desire to stop the Rising Sun from hurting anyone else the way they hurt you. I felt it too, after I learned what had happened to me. In time, we will both get our revenge. The Rising Sun will fall. Trust me on that."

Ichiko nodded. It made sense. A task force made of Cyborgs, even a small one, could solve and prevent crimes much faster and easier than a conventional human task force, what with their robotic augmentations. That being said, Cyborgs were viewed as little more than unethical biological weapons by the vast majority of people, so there was no doubt that people would get in their way. But that can't be helped at this point, thought Ichiko. I'm already a Cyborg. No matter where I go now, or what I do, people will look at me the same way they'd look at a nuclear warhead or a sample of anthrax. If I'm going to be a weapon, I might as well be a weapon of good. If there even is such a thing.

In any case, she thought, he's right. I want to get revenge against Rising Sun for what they've done to me. I want to make it so that nobody else ever has to go through what I have. And not just the dying, but the rebuilding. I'm used to being stigmatized, being half-American, but that's nothing compared to what I'll face now that I'm a Cyborg. I can't blame the professor for rebuilding me, so I'll blame the Rising Sun for making him have to. We can destroy them. Together, we can destroy them. I know it.

Finally, Ichiko removed her oxygen mask, and nodded. "Okay," she said. "I'll join you. Even if I don't have a choice, it's still what I want to do."

The man nodded, and extended his bionic arm towards Ichiko. "My name is Ryuto Murakami," he said. "Welcome to Cyborg Team Alpha."

Ichiko reached up, and for the first time she took notice of her own bionic hand. Sure enough, it was identical to Ryuto's, though a little smaller and slimmer. After a moment's hesitation, she gently took hold of his hand. The sensation in her bionic limbs seemed to have finally kicked in, for she could feel the coldness and hardness of Ryuto's hand in hers. She knew it was only bionic sensors giving her this information, not her own nervous system, but even so, the sensations in her robotic fingertips were as real as though she had never lost her hand at all. If not for the steel-grey, skeletal appearance of the prosthetic, poking out from beneath her bed sheets like a ghastly wraith, she could forget that it wasn't the real thing.

"Thank you, Ryuto," she said, shaking his hand. "You too, Gumi. And, also… if you could… please bring Professor Toriyama here, so I can thank him personally. He did save my life, after all… in a manner of speaking."

Ryuto nodded, his half-metal mouth twisting into something that may have been a smile. "Of course," he said. "I imagine he'll want to see you as well; he'll be glad to know that the reconstruction was a success."

"He's over in his office," said Gumi. "I'll go and fetch him."

 Ryuto nodded, and Gumi left the room. As she did so, Ichiko noticed that her footsteps sounded rather metallic, and a little heavy. From this, she could surmise that Gumi had, at the very least, had her feet replaced. She had, after all, mentioned that she was also a Cyborg. Ichiko couldn't help wondering for a moment what had happened to her, and what the full extent of her rebuild was, but she knew better than to ask. It was most likely a touchy subject, and she didn't want to pry into the personal history of a woman she'd only met five minutes ago. Instead, she replaced her oxygen mask and closed her one remaining normal eye, resting a little while she waited for the professor to arrive.

Day 135

[from The Ember Stone]

"What… just happened?"

"You were attacked, stupid," said Erica. "I just saved you, though at the cost of an Ember Shard."

"Ember… Shard?" repeated Jacob. "You mean that jewel thing I found?"

"That's the one," said Erica. "Man, I really underestimated how quickly Vaz'qui would start looking for it…"

"Who was that?" asked Jacob. "Why did she want that Shard thing so badly?"

Erica raised an eyebrow. "Don't you know what that was, kid?" she asked.

"Not a clue," said Jacob. "I just happened to pick it up on my way into town, and then that woman attacked me on my way back…"

"I see," said Erica. "I guess I really am in the sticks out here, huh… alright, listen up, kid. That jewel you found is part of a stone called the Ember Stone, that gives whoever holds it the power to control fire. There are three other jewels like it, that control the other three elements, and if you have all four then you become invincible. An evil sorcerer named Vaz'qui has the other three jewels, so I smashed the Ember Stone to stop him from having all four, but now he and his minions are searching for the pieces so they can put it back together. I was hoping to get to the first Shard before they could, but so much for that."

"Uhh… sorry," said Jacob.

"For what?" said Erica. "Even if you hadn't picked it up, Caerulea would still have gotten to it before me. It's a pain, but there's nothing either of us could have done about it."

Jacob recalled his attempts to sell the Shard to the town's jeweller. Perhaps if he had succeeded in selling it, he could have kept it out of her reach. "So that woman... Caerulea… she's one of Vaz'qui's minions?" he asked.

"Yeah," said Erica. "He has four of them, each representing a different element. I should've known he'd have them out looking for the Ember Shards. I'll have to hurry, because with five of them out searching, they'll find them in no time at all."

"Uhh… so should I leave you to it, then?" asked Jacob. "I mean, I have to be heading home as well…"

"Yeah, sure thing," said Erica. "I gotta go find that second Shard, and fast. See you later, kid." With that, Erica sprinted off towards the nearby forest, leaving Jacob alone to ponder everything he had just seen and heard. This strange woman, whose name he did not even know, was currently on an epic journey to gather the fragments of a magical gem in order to prevent an evil sorcerer from taking over the world. Just for a moment, he had been a brief part of that journey, and somehow, it felt like it was the most exciting thing that had ever happened in his life. But now it was over, perhaps never to return. All that was left now was to return to his home, and finish what he had originally set out to do. With a sigh, Jacob set off back towards his farmstead home, resigning himself to his ordinary life.

***

"Welcome back, dear," said Jacob's mother as he came through the front door. "You're a little later than usual. Did something happen? You weren't robbed, were you?"

For a moment, Jacob thought about telling his mother about the incident with the Ember Shard, but since he still didn't quite understand it himself, he decided not to. "No, mother," he lied. "I just got held up a little at the bakery, that's all."

Jacob's mother let out a sigh of relief. "That's all? That's good," she said. "Could I have the money then, please?"

Jacob reached into his pocket and pulled out the coins, which he handed to his mother. "Thank you, dear," she said. "Dinner will be ready soon, so wash your hands and then help me set the table, alright?"

Jacob nodded, and headed off to the bathroom to wash his hands, his mind still focused on what had happened only a few minutes ago. The thoughts remained with him even as he went to bed that night, and as he drifted off to sleep, he dreamed of women made of fire and water, and a crystallized man with crimson eyes. 

Day 134

[from StarLight]

"KENSHIROOO!"

"JOTAROOO!"

"KENSHIROOO!!!"

"JOTAROOO!!!"

Sanae was in currently in her bedroom, introducing Kousen to the world of anime. On the TV screen in front of them, two heavily-muscled men with spiky hair were staring each other down, fists clenched, yelling each other's names back and forth endlessly. While Sanae seemed enraptured by the show, Kousen was rather nonplussed by it. "Are they actually going to fight," asked the youkai, "or just stand there and yell each other's names for the entire episode?"

"I hope so," said Sanae. "They've been doing this for three whole episodes now."

"Then why are you still watching it?" asked Kousen. "I don't understand."

"It's the suspense!" exclaimed Sanae eagerly. "You know something's going to happen at some point, but you don't know when! It could be in five minutes, it could be in five months! That's the beauty of it!"

Kousen sighed. "Is this really how your people entertain yourselves these days?" she asked. "How boring."

Sanae sighed. "Alright, let's see what else is on…" She turned over the channel and was greeted by a shot of five girls sitting round a table eating cake. "Nope, that's also boring." She turned over the channel again, and this time stumbled across a news broadcast.

"We interrupt this program to bring you a convenient news bulletin," said the anchor. "A strange magical girl dressed in black is currently on the rampage in downtown Mitsuzawa, overturning cars and smashing windows. Authorities are unsure whether this magical girl is connected in any way to White Star, the heroine who yesterday saved Mitsuzawa from a giant sea monster, but it is clear that unlike White Star, this girl does not have good intentions. Authorities are thus urging people to stay in their homes and watch clichéd shonen anime instead."

"I don't believe it," said Kousen, staring at the screen in horror.

"I know!" moaned Sanae. "Watching shonen anime is always less fun when the government are telling you to do it-"

"No, not that," said Kousen. "It's her. She's back."

Sanae took another look at the screen. There was a shaky close-up of the magical girl, and although it was a little blurry, she could clearly tell that just had the report had said, this girl was evil. Or maybe just attention-seeking, as at that moment she turned to the camera and waved energetically at it before turning her attention back to the Mazda MX-5 that she was currently violently dismantling. Either way, she needed to be stopped.

"You know her?" asked Sanae.

"I do," said Kousen. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to tell you this, or at least not this early, but… when I came to your world, all those years ago, I didn't come alone. There was another who came with me, a youkai called Kage. We fought to protect this city from monsters, and together we were known as the StarLight Duo, for we wielded the White Star and Black Star Emblems respectively.

"However, 372 years ago, it all went wrong," said Kousen ominously. "Do you recall what I told you this morning, during class?"

Sanae thought hard for a moment, then shrugged. "Nope," she said. "But we can just show it in a flashback, like this:"

***

"They sure are enthusiastic about you, aren't they?" said Kousen.

"Mmm," Sanae mumbled into the desk. "I can see now why you told me to keep my identity a secret. If people found out, they'd never leave me alone."

"It'll die down eventually," said Kousen. "After a while, people will just get used to having you around. When they do, you'll know you've finally succeeded in bringing peace to the city."

***

"Oh, that!" said Sanae, her eyes widening in recognition. "Yeah, I remember that now. So, is that what happened with you and Kage? People just got used to having you around?"

"More or less," said Kousen. "People stopped being afraid whenever a monster appeared, because they knew we would defeat it, and when we did, they carried on as though nothing had happened. To me, that was a sign that we were doing our jobs properly. But to Kage, it was a sign that the townspeople no longer truly appreciated what we were doing for them. She felt we'd been turned into slaves, doing the people's bidding without any recognition.

"Eventually, she grew bitter and resentful towards humans, and one day when a monster appeared, she refused to help. I tried to talk sense into her, but she had grown angry at me as well, for serving the humans so willingly. In the end, I was forced to fight my old friend. The resulting battle destroyed half the city, but ultimately Kage was defeated, and I sealed her away inside her own Emblem. However, my powers had been greatly weakened during the fight, and I was close to death. With the last of my strength, I sealed myself away inside my own Emblem, in the hopes that et cetera, et cetera, you know the rest," Kousen concluded.

"And now someone's picked up Kage's Emblem and decided to use it?" asked Sanae. "Damn. I'm guessing I'm going to have to fight her, huh?"

"I'm afraid so," said Kousen, her face grave. "However, I must warn you that Black Star will be far more powerful than that monster you fought yesterday. It will be a very difficult battle. All I can do is wish you good luck, and hope that you will be successful."

"Thanks, Kousen," said Sanae. "I'll do my best, just like I did yesterday!" Sanae hopped off her bed and began rooting around inside her school bag. "Now then, where did I put that Emblem… I know it was in here somewhere…"

"Please don't tell me you've lost the most powerful magical item this side of the World Above," said Kousen wearily.

"No, wait, here it is," said Sanae, and as she pulled it from her bag, she was engulfed once more in a blinding white light. Her T-shirt and sweatpants morphed into a beautiful white knee-length dress, with violet lace trim. White thigh-high socks and high-heeled shoes gently enveloped her feet and legs, the straps of the shoes winding their way delicately up her shins. White gloves manifested themselves on her hands, and as the Emblem transformed into the White Star Wand, she clutched it tightly in her right hand. Finally, her hair curled itself into two neat ringlets either side of her head, and her transformation into White Star was complete.

"Alright," said Sanae, "time to go do the thing! Seriously, I need to think of a good pre-battle quote."

Day 133

[from I Watch You Sleeping]

Once Raiden has obtained his usual mapo tofu, and I get my usual soba noodles, we sit down at a mostly-empty table and start eating. "Oh, right, I almost forgot!" says Raiden suddenly, lowering his voice. "You remember you sent me on that errand? I managed to track down the girl from the photography club and get a handwriting sample from her. Here you go."

Raiden places a scrap of paper on the table in front of me. An old proverb is written on it, in what I assume is the photography club member's handwriting. I can't help wondering how Raiden got hold of the sample, but that's not really important. What's important is that, even at a glance, I can tell this doesn't match the stalker's handwriting.

"Does it match?" asks Raiden.

"Nope," I tell him.

Raiden frowns. "So we're back to square one, then," he says.

"Yeah, I guess so," I admit.

"Darn," says Raiden. "Well, at least we ruled her out as a suspect, I guess."

"True," I say, nodding. "But now we need to find some other line of inquiry."

Raiden opens his mouth to reply, but quickly closes it again as a familiar voice rings out from behind him. "Excuse me, may I sit with you both?" asks Sakura.

Raiden and I nod in agreement. "Of course," I say.

"Thank you," says Sakura, who promptly sits down next to Raiden and begins eating. Sakura Hatoyama is a girl from Class 3-1. Her younger sister, Shiori, is best friends with Natsume. Because of that, we've known each other for a few years now.

"I don't think we've spoken in a while, have we, Kentaro?" asks Sakura. "How have you been recently?"

"I've been pretty good, thanks." Up until this morning, that is. "How about you?"

"I can't complain," says Sakura. "How about you, Raiden?"

"Eh. The usual," mumbles Raiden through a mouthful of mapo tofu.

Sakura scowls disapprovingly at Raiden. "Please don't talk with your mouth full, Raiden," she says.

Raiden's response is to roll his eyes and make a motion with his chopsticks, in a crude imitation of a talking mouth. Sakura just ignores him, and we carry on eating our lunch, pausing every now and again to talk about nothing in particular. Sakura's calm, relaxed pace, and insistence that we all wait until we've finished out mouthfuls before speaking, means it takes us longer than usual. We've only just finished when the bell goes to signal the end of lunch.

"Lunch is over already?" remarks Sakura, as the bell rings out. "Gosh, that was fast."

"Yeah, we'd better get going," I say as I stand up. "See you later, Sakura."

"Until we meet again, Kentaro. Raiden." Sakura stands up and bows to each of us in turn, then heads off back to her own classroom as we head back to ours. I have to admire how polite and well-mannered Sakura is. Shiori's much the same, from what little I've seen of her. I wish Natsume was as polite as those two.

***

The afternoon lessons pass rather uneventfully. Before I know it, it's the end of the school day. While a number of students will be sticking around for club activities, I'm heading straight home as usual.

While the school day may have drawn to a close, it seems my ordeal is far from over. As I make my way through the grounds, towards the front gate, I receive another text message. It's the stalker again:

"YOU NOTICED ME! I KNEW YOU WOULD! I'LL FOREVER CHERISH THOSE MOMENTS WE SPENT TOGETHER TODAY~ THANK YOU, KEN-CHAN. XXXXXXX"

I guess that confirms it, then. The stalker really is one of my fellow classmates. I don't understand it… why go to all this trouble? If this person really loves me, why don't they just come up to me and say it to my face? Why send these letters and text messages? And… why send me photos of myself in my sleep?!

I shake my head wearily. None of this makes any sense at all. As far as I can see, the only way to make sense of this is to track the stalker down. I just… don't know how.

***

As I embark on the short walk home, I continue to go over the letter and the text messages in my mind. Especially this latest one. "You noticed me"… from that, I can only assume that I must have actually talked to my stalker at some point today. It's a horrifying thought. Having a stalker is bad enough, but knowing that you know them, that you see them and maybe even converse with them on a regular basis… dear God. It's like being the heroine of a magical girl show, and knowing your arch-nemesis is one of your classmates, but you have no idea who they are or how to prove it.

However, I think I have a way to narrow it down. I think it's fair to assume that the stalker is female. In that case, if I really did talk to them today, I can just run through the names of every girl I talked to. Meiko… Aiko… Sakura… Mizuki… Harumi. As unlikely as it seems, any one of them could possibly be the stalker.

If it's Mizuki or Harumi, then they're most likely doing it out of spite. As for Meiko, Aiko, or Sakura, I can't imagine what their motivations could possibly be. Least of all Aiko. But then, nobody ever knows her motivations for anything, as she never says anything.

I pause suddenly, realizing I already passed my house a couple of blocks ago. I was so preoccupied with everything that I didn't realize. As I turn and walk back towards my house, I silently resolve not to tell my parents about any of this. This doesn't concern them, and I don't want them worrying about it constantly, which they will do if I tell them. This is my problem. I'll deal with it myself.

***

The subject of this morning's letter isn't raised until dinner time. "So, Ken, dear, what was that letter from this morning about?" my mother asks me. "Anything important?"

I've had more than enough time to come up with a convincing lie, but I don't find one necessary. Instead, I just respond, "No. Nothing important, really," and to my relief, nobody seems to question it.

"Who was it from?" asks my mother. "One of your classmates, I assume?"

This time I don't need to lie. "Yeah," I say. "Yeah, it was." I just wish I knew which classmate.

"Speaking of your classmates, how's Raiden?" asks my mother. "He hasn't come over for a while now."

"Nah, he's been kinda busy lately, catching up with homework…" The conversation carries on from there, and the letter is not mentioned again. Indeed, for a while I can pretend I don't have a stalker at all. Until I get up to my bedroom, that is.

I'd left my cellphone upstairs on my desk when I got home. Checking it now, I have 38 messages. One is from Raiden:

"2DAY WAS TOUGH 4 U, I BET. DON’T WORRY, MAN. I'M HERE 4 U. OH, & WORD OF ADVICE: DONT TALK 2 ANY GURLZ. THE STALKER WILL KILL THEM. L8R~!"

What an idiot. Still, I can't help feeling better, knowing that I'm not going through this alone. The other 37 texts are all from the stalker. No, wait… make that 38. A vibration heralds yet another text from them. Guess I'm gonna be hearing from them at all hours of the day. I check the messages with a sense of foreboding that's already starting to become uncomfortably familiar.

The first message reads, "WHY AREN'T YOU ANSWERING MY MESSAGES, KEN-CHAN?" The second reads, "ARE YOU ILL? ARE YOU BUSY?" The third reads, "ARE YOU WITH ANOTHER GIRL?!!" The fourth simple reads, "ANSWER ME!" As does the fifth. And the sixth. Scrolling down, the rest of the messages all say the same thing: "ANSWER ME!" She's sent it over and over again, every other minute, as though it would actually get me to respond. I get the feeling she won't stop until I do… but I don't want to…

I guess I don't have much of a choice, though. I hit Reply, and just stare at the keypad for a while, trying to think of what I could possibly say to this person. I guess… maybe… sigh. No good. I can't do it. I can't respond to them. I just can't.

I switch off my cellphone and put it back on the desk. I can only hope that the stalker gets the message and stops texting me, though I know that isn't likely. This is all getting too much for me. If things continue to escalate like this… what next?

I sit down on the end of my bed and let out a heavy sigh. At this rate, never mind the obvious danger to myself, there's a danger other people could be affected by this. It's like Raiden said: if any other girl tries to hit on me, the stalker might well try and attack them out of jealousy. That's the last thing I want.

I don't know how, but when I finally go to bed, I fall asleep as I usually do. At least the stalker can't hurt me in my dreams.

Day 132

[from Sonic the Hedgehog Returns]

With the Death Egg's main generator disabled, its propulsion systems were now offline. Momentum kept it moving forwards for the moment, but without anything keeping it in the air, it slowly began to plummet towards the lake below. Alarms began to blare in Robotnik's control room, warning him of the impending disaster.

"What's going on?!" the dictator bellowed, pounding a fist on the control panel. "Don't tell me that hedgehog managed to shut down the generator!"

"It looks like he removed the power source," said Snively.

Robotnik growled. "What is that prototype doing?! There's no way it should have let Sonic through!" He quickly jabbed a button on the control panel. "Attention, Metal Sonic Mk.I! Destroy that hedgehog and retrieve the power source!"

***

As Sonic rushed out of the generator room, Sally contacted him once again. "Looks like the generator's down," she said. "Nice job, Sonic."

"Piece of cake," said Sonic. "Now to haul haunch outta here before- UGH!"

Metal Sonic Mk.I slammed into Sonic just as he passed through the doorway back into the corridors, knocking him backwards. A strange object tumbled out of Sonic's hand: a bright green gem that he had found inside the generator room. It appeared to have been the power source. No doubt the machine had come to put it back, just as soon as it had disposed of him.

"What now?" asked Sally, in a tone of resignation.

"Looks like that copy of me has come back for the power source," said Sonic. "I'm gonna hafta fight my way past it this time."

"I see," said Sally. "Well, good luck, Sonic. I'm sure you can defeat it."

"Oh, don't you worry, Sal," said Sonic, focusing his attention on the machine. "I got this."

The spines on the robot's back opened up, revealing thrusters that suddenly propelled it towards the fallen power source. Sonic quickly darted forward and just managed to snatch it up before the robot could reach it, racing round it and heading off on his way. Unfazed, the machine promptly turned round and dashed off through the corridors in pursuit.

"I see Robotnik managed to capture my best feature, at least," Sonic remarked, glancing back at the robot as it pursued him. "Alright then! Catch me if you can, ya heap o' junk!"

SWATbots and Badniks began to block Sonic's path, trying to pen him in. Sonic effortlessly dodged a volley of laser fire from a group of SWATbots ahead of him and barrelled straight through them with a Spin Dash, obliterating them. Metal Sonic Mk.I continued onwards, straight through the smoke and debris thrown up by the explosion, and kept going.

***

 "Sir, our auxiliary power supply is almost depleted," said Snively. "We have to leave now, otherwise the escape pods will lose power. I hate to admit it, but… it looks like the Death Egg is lost."

"Impossible!" roared Robotnik, slamming his fists against the controller. "There's no way that hedgehog could have-"

Robotnik cut himself off as the lights in the control room suddenly flickered and died. There was no longer enough power left to run everything, and the lights had the lowest priority. It was no use. Snively was right. He had to abandon the station, for now at least. There was still the chance that Metal Sonic Mk.I could retrieve the power source and put it back, but time was running short. In only a few minutes, the station would strike the lake's surface, and even if the impact didn't tear it apart, it would still sink straight to the bottom and be lost. For now, he had no choice.

"Alright, fine!" said Robotnik. "Activate the escape pods, and order all SWATbots to fire on Tails' plane! Even if he somehow manages to defeat Metal Sonic Mk.I, there's no way he can make it off this station without that plane!" Robotnik let out an evil laugh as he and Snively made their way to the Death Egg's escape pods, hoping that Metal Sonic would fulfil its design purpose and rid them of the real Sonic once and for all.