Fate of Pandora - Book I

Hokkaido

Before they knew it, Friday had arrived. The group met at the train station and they began the long trip to the north. They were excited about the prospect of finding out more about what the demigod rings were, who or what it was they were fighting against, and their purpose in all of it.

"All right, everybody take your seats!" Luna leaped onto her seat, discovering too late that it wasn't as comfortable as she expected it to be. "Oh, my. This will be a long trip."

"We'll take a boat when we reach the port, right?" asked Jasmet.

"Exactly. After all, Hokkaido is another island, we can only reach it by boat. But the second part of our trip will be pretty fast," explained Luna. "So, everybody managed to come along – even you, Coalt. How did you get your money?"

"I got a job in a Chinese restaurant as motor boy," Coalt stated matter-of-factly.

"How? Do you have a motorbike?" Luna asked curiously. How could this guy, who barely knew how to walk around Tokyo, know where to find his way as a delivery boy while running against time?

"The bike and GPS aren't mine," Coalt shrugged. The equipment belonged to the restaurant's owner; they were old, but worked fine. "I managed to make enough to pay for this trip, but I won't be able to afford another one like this, or else I won't have money for food and rent."

"I don't believe we will make any other trips like this. We are just looking for answers, and if we find them, hopefully we won't have to go anywhere else for a while," Lukas assured him as he sat down beside him. "Besides, if you need a place to stay, you can always stay at my place!"

Coalt didn't have to answer; his glare made it clear enough that he did not like the idea.

"And what about your family, Jasmet? You were able to convince them?" Luna turned her attention to the girl with long hair sitting in front of her.

"Well, they actually accepted that I'm travelling with my friends for the weekend." The albino girl was relieved that she didn't have to lie to her parents and make up an excuse like a school trip. She saw Arika sitting near her and asked, "And what about your tutor? She's not coming?"

The girl with strange pink hair shook her head. "No. I tried to convince her to meet you all and that it wouldn't get in the way of her work, but she still refused." Arika felt unsure. "Her reaction was kind of strange... she didn't want me to come at first, she seemed to think it wouldn't be safe."

"Well, we weren't attacked for almost a week; I think we're all right for now." Ayame patted the girl's hand from her seat next to Lukas.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Arika tried to shrug it off. But she didn't like when her tutor had bad feelings about something – because she was usually right.

"And what about you, Risa?" Luna asked the youngest girl, who also fell hard onto her seat before anyone could warn her not to do so.

"Er, I had no problems. Just like I already told you, my mom didn't mind at all." Risa's statement didn't change. She had told them she would be able to come, and she did.

During the trip, Risa and Luna weren't able to keep quiet for a second. The bond between the two was visible since the first day they met. Both were hyperactive, and despite their opposite physical appearances, they interacted like two sisters.

Lukas and Ayame were still the only two spending more time trying to make Coalt feel more comfortable and open up with them. They used the journey to tell him some curiosities about the country. Coalt's Japanese was good, but there were many times he couldn't understand a few words they were saying. Sometimes Lukas and Ayame would calmly explain to him, but other times they were talking so excitedly that they didn't notice the brunet's lost look.