Earthbound: Champions of the Future

Chapter Two

~ Syo's POV ~

Naoma suggested that I hide in her scarf while walking around her house, so that's what I did. I stuck my head out to watch where she was going, hiding when a scary looking red haired woman with glasses walked past. "Where are we going...?" I whispered.

Naoma didn't respond; instead, she climbed up to the second floor and opened the door to another room. It looked like an office with it's mahogany desk, leather swivel chair and large windows. A tall, golden portait of a woman with long turquoise hair and dark green eyes was on the wall behind the desk. It looked like nobody else was around, so I flew out of Naoma's scarf to look around more. "What is this room...?" I asked.

"... This is my father's office." Naoma replied. "He's out of town today, so there's no risk of us being found. There's also the weapon we need here..." She walked towards the desk, opening a drawer and moving a few things around before coming across a horizontal box. Upon opening it, a silver staff came into view. "For some reason, my father keeps this close." Naoma explained. "I don't know why and I don't know what it does, but I know that it's a weapon, and it's the only thing I know of that we can use."

"That would be perfect for keeping you safe!" I exclaimed, clapping excitedly. "So your father must have told you things about it, right?"

Naoma hesitated. "Uh... no."

"... What?"

"I've never held this thing before."

The two of us were silent was my eye twitched. "Th-Then how are you going to use it-?!"

"I'll... learn along the way...?" Naoma shrugged, a sheepish smile creeping onto her lips. "We all start somewhere, right...?"

I sighed, shaking my head slowly. "Whatever. Let's just go."

Naoma attached the staff to her lower back before leaving the room. I ducked inside her scarf again, and it was a good thing I did.

"Where are you going, little sis? I thought your Pops said you weren't allowed to go outside."

Naoma whirled around to meet the blue eyes of a young man, twenty at least. His hair was a messy blonde. His t-shirt and jeans were baggy and his trainers looked near ruined. I frowned from beneath the scarf; he could have at least made an effort to be presentable in front of ladies...!

"H-Hey, Romeo..." Naoma sighed with a wave. "I'm just... doing chores."

"Wow, your Pops is filthy rich and he doesn't have servants or something to do that stuff for you?" 'Romeo' scoffed. "Impossible, dude... If I ran this place, I'd have tons of maids serving me..." A dreamy smile spread across his lips, so I knew he was thinking about the dream maids in a bad way. I sighed; are all men this desperate for love...?

"Just... don't tell Rebecca and my father, okay?" Naoma requested. "That includes your mom. I can trust you, right, Romeo?"

"Sure thing, little sis!" the man grinned before turning to walking away. "But don't be out too late, alright? The old man'll have a coronary if you went missing or something."

Naoma stood in silence for a few seconds, staring at the wall where a picture of a pretty lady was hanging from. "Yeah, as if he'll care what I do," she muttered. "Let's get going, Syo."

~ ~ ~

"So..." I began as Naoma wandered aimlessly around the town, glancing around at everything in awe. "Who was that? The guy you called Romeo?"

"That was my stepbrother," Naoma replied. "He dropped out of college a while ago, so now he can't find a job and uses my father's money to pay for his lifestyle."

"I didn't know you had any other family members other than your parents," I said. "Even someone like me has heard of the Trudeau family!"

Naoma laughed. "We're barely a family, Syo. My mom died soon after I was born, and my father's always working so I never see him. I'm pretty sure my stepmom hates me and Romeo... well, you saw him for yourself, the lazy butt that he is. That's why I want to help you; I'll do anything to get away from those people. I just want to live my own life, away from being controlled in every little thing I do. My father doesn't allow me to go outside, and you asking me to do this is like a gift sent from the gods above."

My ears drooped as I watched her upset expression. I sunk deeper into her scarf with a sigh. I was beginning to question my decision of accepting her help the previous night. Was it really the right thing to do? I could tell what kind of person she was: intelligent, but prone to making rash decisions. Fast on her feet, but a little too eager to jump into a fight.

"But that's enough talk about me. What should we do now?" Naoma asked. "We need to get moving quickly, right?"

"R-Right!" I nodded. "Well... Enigma have set up eight bases all over the country, these bases containing strong sources of Negon. We'll have to take down those bases if we want to have any hope of stopping Enigma. The nearest base of operations is in Fristerburn."

"Fristerburn is just the next town over." Naoma commented. "It shouldn't take us too long to get there. Let's go."

~ ~ ~

"Hey, Syo..." Naoma started in the middle of the expedition to the next town. "How much do you know about this Enigma group? What, could they not come up with a better name than that? It doesn't even make any sense."

"I only know that they're looking for large supplies of Negon." I replied. "I don't know what they plan to do with it, who their leader is... Sorry..."

"That's fine." Naoma smirked. "I like a little mystery in this kind of thing. When I meet this leader of theirs, I'll tear them to shreds."

"L-Literally or metaphorically?" I asked.

"Both." Naoma replied with a laugh. "I mean, not only did they ruin your home, they're threatening the existence of everyone else on this planet. I can't sit by and watch. I know I'm just a sheltered little girl going up against something I couldn't have imagined before... but that won't stop me."

I smiled up at my new human friend. It's true I doubted her before, but now I was questioning why I doubted her in the first place.

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The good news is that if this story gets enough positive feedback, this gets a sequel, and turns into a series

So yay

AceAttorneyFan over and out!