CHAPTER 1
We yet have no wings
The birds chirped, singing their joy as the sun started to rise. The soft breeze moved through the branches of the trees, causing the droplets of rain from the eve to fall, creating a sweet whispered melody. Footsteps moved up the stairs, stopping right in front of a heavy oak door, slightly ajar. She raised her hand, intending to knock, but pushed the door wider revealing a room, curtains slightly open, letting the warmth of the suns rays through. A female, about the age of 16, with long dark hair and large blue eyes, her silhouette underneath her clothing showing the slightest hint of the woman she was becoming, entered the room. She swept her long hair behind her ears as she lent down gently nudging the body that lay languidly in the bed that occupied the room.
He had black hair with red tips and appeared to be around the same age. His eyes flickered opened as she nudged him. He then looked at her through half closed eyes. She said to him in a pleasant voice “Rioku, its morning. You should wake up before you miss school.” Rioku jumped out of bed as soon as he recognised her sweet voice. She giggled slightly as she put both of her hands behind her back and smiled. She spun around, her hair moving with the motion as she turned her back to him.
Rioku smiled as he scratched his head yawning, then said with a slightly annoyed tone of voice, “Sakura, why didn’t you wake me up! Now we will both be late to school.” He sat down on a chair in front of a desk, and then dropped his head onto it with a large “thud” mumbling something unintelligible. Sakura just blinked at him, a blank look on her otherwise pretty face. She couldn’t be bothered wasting her time trying to decipher his words. “You better hurry up or we will be even later!” She ran out the room, her words trailing behind.
Rioku lifted his head slowly, walking in slow motion to his closet and pulled out his school uniform. He walked down the staircase, purposefully placing both feet on each step to try and waste time. As he reached the hallway, he glanced at all the photos that hung on the wall. He spotted a picture of a beautiful woman with dark brown hair and a smile that would warm you on the inside. Rioku noticed the frame leaning slightly to the left, so he walked towards it with intention of straightening it mouthing silently “...morning...mother.” Rioku looked at the straightened picture and smiled.
“Rioku, hurry up or we will be late!” came the voice from the kitchen, interrupting Riokus’ thoughts. “I know, I was just saying morning to mother”. Sakura looked at him then smiled softly as she patted his head. They both walked out the door, Rioku looking up at the sky. He lifted his hand up to shade his eyes as the sun glinted in-between his fingers onto his face. “I don’t think we can reach... we don’t have any wings.” Sakura looked at him smiling as she grabbed onto his hand and said, “That was something your mother used to say wasn’t it? I never really understood what it meant.” Rioku, nodding his head in assent, replied, “same here. I never understood.”
Sakura started to run, dragging Rioku as he struggled just to stand upright. Rioku looked down the street they were running down, all the houses had the same look besides one. It had been extended with security cameras suspended from the eaves, which spanned the entirety of the property.
Sakura looked at the house as they ran past, her facial expression changing to show concern. Rioku looked at her, confused as to the shadows that darkened her usually bright eyes.
They reached the end of the street. Sakura stopped and pointed at a vehicle in the distance. Speaking quietly “I wonder why the military is here?” Rioku, pulling his hand from her tight grip, walked in the direction Sakura was pointing in order get a better look. He spotted a car, which seemed from that distance to have been destroyed. He could make out that the roof was missing and the driver’s door was lying in the dirt beside it. The left side passenger door was still attached.
Sakura suddenly collapsed onto her knees in terror, pointing at the car as tears streamed down her cheek. Rioku took a couple of steps, closing the distance between them and the wreck in order to get a better look at what had upset Sakura so badly. He noticed a charred arm, which hung down from the open door of the mangled car. Rioku turned back to Sakura with shock. With her voice hinged with sadness “Th-th-that’s Hitosa’s parents car! I...I just know it!” Sakuras father was an expert mechanic; the best in the business, even helping the military design their G-lire suits.
Her father would sometimes take sakura to the yard where he worked, even though she had shown no interest in that sort of thing. Still, she enjoyed the time she spent with her father so it was a trade-off she was willing to accept. Her dream was to go to college and save the world somehow. But one day her father disappeared forever-altering Sakura and the world in which she lived.
Rioku looked back at the wreckage, hung his head in a show of respect and whispered, “rest in peace.” He turned back to face sakura with a look of concern clouding his face. Sakura spoke, her voice shaking, “ th-that’s the fifth explosion this week.” She looked down, not wanting Rioku to see the tears that still streaked her face. “Another war is going to start, I just know it! First, the enemy has these odd looking ‘things’ that attacked the south district of Free Side, and now.. bombings!” She clenched her fists then screamed out, “WHEN WILL THIS END!” Rioku walked back towards Sakura, his gaze still lingering on the burnt-out wreck, “we should leave. Looks like there bringing in the G-lire.”
Sakura looked up at the sky, which was dotted with the G-lire. They were white and had different coloured stripes on the arms, which may have indicated the rank of the soldier that donned it. The G-lire’s landed seemingly all at once, hitting the ground hard. Once they were all lined up, Rioku could clearly see there were five of them. A G-lire with a black stripe took one step away from the others, stopped and turned to face the four that were left in the unified row. Rioku grabbed onto Sakuras arm, pulling her from the ground to her feet. Wiping her tears away he gently said, “Where’s that bright smile of yours?” He smiled slightly, “you can’t go to school looking like that can you?” Sakura slowly nodded as Rioku held tight to her hand, leading them past the G-lire.
They reached the school grounds, two massive iron gates standing in front of them. Rioku took note that the chain, which would normally have been snaked between the two gates and secured with a padlock, was dangling from the left gate, broken. Rioku walked up to it, lifting it up to inspect it. There was a sign on the right wall of the gate, which read, KORAY HIGH SCHOOL. It was a huge building with 5 floors, a few trees placed around the front of the school in a neat row. Sakura looked up at the hulking building, straining to see something Rioku couldn’t quite make out. As his eyes focused he could see a figure waving at them from the top floor. Sakura waved back trying to stifle a laugh. Rioku looked at her with confusion as to her fits of giggles. Then it dawned on him. It wasn’t a friendly wave at all but a gesture formed in anger from one of their many teachers.
As they entered the building, sakura noticed a hooded figure walking a few feet head of them. Looking at Rioku she whispered, “I’ve never seen him before. Could he be new? Maybe a new teacher?” Rioku looked at the back of the figure wandering the same thing.
As Rioku and Sakura turned down one of the many corridors, Rioku noticed the hooded man had disappeared. Looking at his watch he muttered more to himself than to anyone else, “Shit, we’re late.” Breathing out a sigh of frustration, he headed towards the stairs, Sakura trailing behind. Once they had reached the third floor, Rioku veered towards his class. Stopping in front of the room, following his ritual, he read the sign printed in bold black letters, ‘4 E’. He did this every morning almost as if he expected on one of these it would read something completely different. But Rioku had been walking Sakura to class long enough now to know what the sign on the door said without having to read it, but this knowledge didn’t detract him from his routine. Rioku spun around to face Sakura. “I’ll see you after class, k.” Sakura nodded with a smile then headed into class.
As Rioku walked towards his own class, he could hear sakura trying to explain to her teacher why she was late. Her made up excuses made him smile. As Rioku reached his class he saw the same figure that they had seen in front of the school. He pulled something out of his pocket, it kind of looked like a test tube but it was wrapped in cloth with only the top revealed. It had a string attached, with a strange blue glowing ball on the end.
