Unplanned Return [Hiatus]

9th

Éclair looked about in bewilderment and wonder as she and Shinku walked down the streets of Kinokawa City. Everywhere she looked were buildings of stone and massive posts of metal and glass. On the streets were dozens upon dozens of cars, and the sheer size of some of them reminded her of demons, though only for their size. "Do, do all families have those cars?" Éclair asked, unsure whether it was right to ask or not, and amazed by the dozens of different shapes they took.
"Hmm, yeah, most families I think. I've never really thought about it honestly!" Shinku said with a smile as he put his hands behind his head as he walked.
"I- I see. . . . . . Um, those big silver buildings . . . . "
"Hmm," Shinku said as he followed Éclairs gaze toward the center of Kinokawa, "Oh, the skyscrapers. What about them?"
"They look like they're made of metal, but . . . they're not, right?"
"Hmmm, most of them are made of metal. Steel, concrete and glass mostly, I think" Shinku said, not completely sure on their full design.
"B- But that's, that's so much metal!" Éclair said in shock and surprise "where is all that metal even found!"
"Um, where metal is usually found I guess?" Shinku replied, unsure of how to accurately respond. He wasn't an expert on mining after all.
Éclair's eyes darted around as they continued to walk down the street, taking in every detail they could. "It's so loud here, and it kind of smells funny. Is that from those, cars?"
"Yeah, though it's not really bad here. I hear it's really bad in some countries."
"I see. Why does the government allow things to smell this bad?"
"It's not a matter of allow, I just think that's how it is honestly." Shinku replied with a short light laugh as he looked around and pointed to a nearby park. "Let's go this way; I want to show you something!"
Before Éclair could say a word Shinku took her hand and dragged her across the street. Éclair could feel the warmth from his hand, but wasn't really sure how to react as he pulled her along. Walking through the park Éclair breathed deeply, the shrubs and bushes seemed to clean the air, but as she breathed she smelt something else, something she saw a second later as the two of them broke free of the tree's. Salt.
With only a bright white guardrail before them, Éclair caught sight of a vast expanse of water. Stepping up to the guardrail she took a deep breath and looked out at it. "An ocean!"
Shinku stepped up beside Éclair and looked out at the ocean before them, "Yeah, Earth may not have floating islands or anything, but the oceans are a sight to behold." Shinku said before turning around and leaning against the railing. "I- I have something to say, Éclair!"
The sudden tone change in Shinku's voice confused Éclair, causing her to turn and look at him. "What about?"
Shinku took a deep breath and then slowly let it out, controlling his breathing before speaking. "I know that I can be a little, dense at times, and I know that I can let things get to me a little bit sometimes, the good and the bad. But when you helped me out on the forest, It- it made me realize things."
Hearing Shinku's words Éclairs heartbeat began to rise. He was just thanking her again, right?!
Shinku turned completely to Éclair, making her to flinch slightly and take a half step back. "It made me realize that all this time I did have feelings for everyone, and I've been giving it thought. I realized that I have feelings for one person more than anyone else!"
"Wha- , um, but that's-?" Éclair began to babble, unsure of what to say, even though in her heart she knew what was likely going to happen next.
"I like you, Éclair! I like you a lot. I- I'm not sure if I'm ready or not, honestly, with the way things are but . . . would you be willing, to go out with me?"
"Something on your mind, Miss Martinozzi?" Miss Izumi asked as she stepped through the doorway and into the backyard of her home where Éclair was etching more constellations onto the granite slab.
Éclair looked up at Miss Izumi and shook her head, looking back to the slab, continue her work.
Miss Izumi waited till Éclair's hand holding the acidic paint covered brush was away from the slab before she spoke up, "You have seemed rather out of it since yesterday. Did something happen while you and Shinku were out?"
Éclairs face turned red, and though she tried to hide it, Miss Izumi still noticed.
"Hit the nail on the head, eh?" Miss Izumi said with a short giggle as she walked around the slab and knelt down on the grass across from Éclair. "Do you want to talk about it? I can listen to whatever you'd like."
Éclair was quiet as she put the cap on the small bottle of acidic paste and pushed it to the side so she would not hit it, then looked to Miss Izumi, her face flushed the brightest of red. "The hero . . . he, he, um. . . . . . aaagggh I can't deal with this!" Éclair nearly shrieked causing a nearby bird on the fence to fly away in startled shock.
Miss Izum merely smiled softly at Éclair. "You can't deal . . . with what?"
"With the hero! With Shinku! He just, he keeps messing with me! One minute he's so dense he doesn't realize a thing and the next he, he . . . . me . . . out," Éclair whispered after yelling in a rage, or maybe it was just exasperation.
"I'm sorry, Miss Martinozzi, but I didn't hear you. Could you say that again?" Miss Izumi asked, thinking she knew what Éclair said, but knowing it would get neither of them anywhere if she didn't make Éclair say it herself.
Éclair was silent for many moments, fidgeting with the edge of her shirt the entire time before she finally let go of it and stared down at the grass beside her. "He, he said he had serious f- feelings for me and- and he asked to go on a d-d-d-date with him." Éclair said, stuttering on the words, her voice full of worry, embarrassment and a small bit of happiness that was just barely noticeable.
"Well, that's good. Congratulations!"
"No, it's not good!" Éclair yelled, as she straightened her arms to her sides, her knuckles brushing the grass.
Miss Izumi raised an eye brow as she began to slide herself across the grass to be closer to Éclair, realizing that doing so would get grass stains on her dress. "And why isn't it good? I was under the impression that you liked him, yes?"
Éclairs face flushed even redder then before as she shook her head frantically. "I- I do b-but, so does Yuki, Riko, and the princess! I- I'm the captain of the guard, I- I have to think about that, and since the princess likes him I- I couldn't take him and-."
"Miss Martinozzi!" Miss Izumi suddenly said, far louder that Éclair had ever heard her speak, silencing her mid-sentence.
"Y-yes?"
"Two things." Miss Izumi said, raising her hand and showing her two fingers for added emphasis. "One, you are too panicky, so you should likely be calmer, it's not good for your health, and secondly. . . ."
"Y-yes?" Éclair asked, suddenly wanting to know what Miss Izumi was going to say.
Miss Izumi smiled and shuffled even closer till she was beside Éclair and wrapped an arm around her. "You need to show more initiative yourself honestly. Thinking only about how others feel all the time will just make things harder when you want something from the bottom of your heart."
"But the princess-."
"Is a girl just like you? Girls think about love and things like it earlier than boys do, so it's not very surprising, honestly, that Shinku hadn't noticed any of their feelings. But you were the one that came to his aid. You were the one that pulled him from the ground and acted as a support for him. You were the one that said you loved him first. So it's only fair he ask you out, don't you think?"
Éclair lowered her head and raised her shoulders as if trying to hide. "B-but when I think about how things went, it feels weird. I, I like him but, I –..."
"Let me tell you this, Miss Martinozzi. Shinku once said to all of you that he wasn't prepared to think about relationships until he beat Nanami, yes?"
Éclair nodded.
"Shinku is a very objective oriented person. Just like his desire to help people, when he makes a decision, he sticks to it. I can tell you with complete surety as his mother that he did not ask you out on a whim, the exact opposite actually. He likely has been thinking it over since you helped him."
"B-but that's-."
"Quite a while isn't it. On such things he can take a bit to decide, like his denseness, he got those from his father. May I ask how you answered him?"
Éclair turned her head away from Miss Izumi and looked toward the house, her gaze landing on the window to Shinku's room, it's light illuminating his silhouette doing handstands inside. "I- I didn't."
"You didn't?"
Éclair shook her head. "I was so, shocked stunned, I- I don't know, I just didn't. When I couldn't make any words leave my mouth he just suddenly hugged me and whispered in my ear."
"What did he say?"
"I can wait."
Miss Izumi shook his head. "He does take from his father. I kept him waiting almost a full month before agreeing to our first date. He gave you the chance to think it over calmly, just like he did."
"B-but whenever I think about it, I- I can't help thinking about how it'll change things with everyone else, with- with my friends."
"I see. Do you trust your friends, Miss Martinozzi?" Miss Izumi asked, looking down at the slab before them.
"Of course I trust them!" Éclair replied quickly, surprised by the question.
"Would you trust them with your life, or your greatest secrets? Would you rely on them when you need them most, or let them rely on you when they need you most?"
"Of course I would!" Éclair replied quicker than before, her voice sounding like she was insulted by the question.
"You have said you liked Shinku. You've said it to his face, and have they?"
"W-well, not that I know of. B-but it was spur of the moment and-."
"And what? That doesn't make it count? That doesn't make the words have meaning? You took a chance and said how you feel, and it has gotten you this far. If they haven't done anything like that, then it should be their fault, not yours. And they should be happy for you if he does eventually choose you, like friends should."
Éclair looked at Miss Izumi and felt her anguish and nervousness slip away. Everything she was saying made sense, more than that, it was true.
Miss Izumi smiled; she could tell that Éclair understood what she was saying. Seeing it, she stood up and brushed off her dress and looked down to Éclair. "Well, it is late and you have school tomorrow, so I'd suggest hitting the sheets. You can give Shinku your answer when you're ready."
Éclair looked at her blankly for a moment before nodding, surprised at Miss Izumi's sudden conversation change.
"Um, okay. Um, I'm half done now right?"
Miss Izumi nodded as she looked at the slab. "Looks like. Only about fifteen days till it's complete I'd say.
"Okay, well, um good night." Éclair said as she got up and headed into the house.
Miss Izumi watched and waited until she was sure that Éclair was upstairs in the house before she picked up a small round stone off the ground. Turning to the trees at the back of the lawn she whipped the stone into them with pinpoint accuracy, the stone making a heavy crack as it hit its target. Stepping over to what fell from the tree she picked up what appeared to be a large mechanical owl, its head being a single large camera lens and then looked around to make sure there were no more before throwing the mechanical owl into the garbage bin and heading back inside. She should to head to bed as well. Monday would be busy.
Robert Arnos stood on one side of the two way mirror, looking at the two men being interrogated in the room beyond. The interrogation was only going partially well, and he was beginning to get restless. He now knew what they were doing, but they hadn't 'fessed up to who they worked for yet.
"Robert, you wanted me to come by?" Sherry Izumi stated as she walked into the room and closed the door behind her. She was wearing her usual type of clothes, the kind she always wore when at her home. She was a happy housewife after all.
Robert let out a sigh of relief, finally he could talk casually with someone. "Yes, I'm sorry to call you all the way out here like this, Sherry, but I needed your thoughts on this." he gestured to the men in the adjacent room and waited for Sherry to step up beside him before he continued. "These two were caught using a rented apartment to spy on the school at all hours. The police left them in our care just a few hours ago. We've gotten admittance of spying on certain students at the school, specifically your son and our "person of interest", but we haven't gotten them to spill who they work for yet."
Sherry nodded and stepped up to the glass, placing a hand on it as she looked at the two men. Under most circumstances anyone else in the position of being told her son was being spied on would be very worried and scared, but she wasn't. She knew this could happen, and the owl she had found the night before had confirmed it. "Last night I found a very high tech mechanical surveillance machine shaped like an owl watching our house. I broke it with a rock and brought it with me after I dropped off Shinku and Éclair at school earlier. The techs are looking it over now. It might give us a better clue."
"I see. That's good. Even better that you caught it. You said you broke it with a rock?"
Sherry nodded and turned to Robert. "Yes, I whipped it into the trees and stuck the camera lens. I think the stone went through into its processors as well. It's probably why it fell from the tree instantly."
Robert let out a laugh and looked to sherry with a smile. "you haven't lost your touch then, or that wicked throw of yours."
"No, I may have rusted quite a bit. I can sometimes practice my throw, but I am often busy with my son and husband. And I could never practice my other arts here."
"That is true. Do you think the two of them are doing good?"
"Who, my son and Éclair?"
"Yes."
"They are doing well. You could leave your office once In a while to check up on your own classes you know."
"I dislike hovering over my employees. The teachers all know their jobs well, and because they do I need not worry. How is their gateway going then?" Robert asked as he walked over to the door and gestured for Sherry to follow him.
Sherry followed him out of the room and down a few hallways made of solid concrete as they continued to speak. "She's doing it very well and nothing is wrong with it. It will be done in fourteen days. How is our own gateway coming?"
Robert smiled as the two of them came to an extremely large set of metal mechanical doors. "You're the expert on it, why not take a look?"
Sherry nodded and stepped over to a keypad beside the door. Tapping in a person specific code she then placed her hand on the screen, noticing the UN logo above the terminal as it beeped happily. The door groaned and a second later began to open, the light from the ceiling shining off of it as it opened and illuminating the area around in fractions. As the door opened enough for a person to go through Sherry shook her head and slipped through, Robert following her a moment later when it was wide enough for his larger frame. Inside the door was a massive room, easily as large as a stadium. In the center was a huge metal disc, with a massive framework of steel beams and cables around it. Rounding some of the beams Sherry stepped onto the metals disc, ignoring the cries of a pair of workers nearby who were calibrating a large machine. As she looked at the metal disc around her, her face grew sour. Glaring all the while she stepped of the disc and over to the two men calibrating the machine. As she stepped up beside them she kicked the machine, getting their attention, and then began to yell. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
The two technicians looked to each other and then to Sherry." Um, we're calibrating the laser for tonight ,ma'am."
"Then your calibrations are just barely enough to not screw over our work, you idiots! The edges on the disc are all rough and sharp. On a disc this size they must be smoothed or the energy will disperse easier. Worse than that anyone could trip and severely hurt themselves!"
The two technicians cringed at Sherry's words and stepped back. Some did not realize it, but many people in the organization were actually afraid of her skill. "W-we're sorry, ma'am. We'll fix the calibration right this time!"
"You better. Having to smooth the edges after we're done will add another day to our plans, we're now behind because of you fools!" Sherry said as she walked away from them and back over to Robert. "Robert, where is Chantelle, she should've been watching their work more closely!"
Robert sighed to himself and shook his head. "Chantelle is out of country at the moment. Procuring the equipment we'll need to deal with the worst case inevitability. She left when those two we are interrogating admitted that they knew something about Flonyard existing."
Sherry sighed heavily and leaned against the wall beside the doorway where Robert still stood. "Now a day behind and I can't even yell at Chantelle for the crap way she's running things here."
"You know, if you came by more often, you wouldn't have to yell at her, right?"
Sherry nearly growled as she looked away from Robert and to the metal disc in the room's center. "I have duties as a wife and mother and I refuse to ignore them."
"I know, I know. Either way, if we're going to be a day behind, do you have any suggestion to add to our preparations?"
Sherry didn't say anything for a bit before she looked to Robert, her face serious. "Yes, I do have one request. Can you have a weapon made for me. A re-forge of my old blade. You remember what it looked like, yeah?"
Robert nodded. "The shards are still in storage, so I'll make sure they are used so you can use it just like before. I won't lie though; it still irks me that your weapon was the only one to survive the transport all those years back."
"That's probably because Isuka forged mine himself, and it wasn't a mass produced type like yours."
"Ugh, it hurts to hear that actually!" Robert said with a chuckle." I have a few other things you should see, is that alright or do you have to leave now?"
Sherry shook her head. "As long as I return before Shinku gets home it will be fine. Let's go."
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"Your mom seemed a little, odd this morning." Éclair stated as she, Rebecca and Shinku sat at a table in the school's cafeteria.
Shinku nodded as he stuffed some rice into his mouth. "Yeah, she normally isn't so eager to drive me to school when I prefer to walk. Maybe she had to do some grocery shopping or something."
"Oh that's right, your mom dropped you off this morning didn't she?" Rebecca asked.
"Yeah, it was weird because she was really forceful about it." Shinku said with a small chuckle as a young boy walked up to their table and stood there for a moment until Shinku and Rebeca turned to him.
"Um, I um, can I. can I speak to you please, M-miss Martinozzi?" the young boy asked stuttering on almost every word.
Éclair looked at the boy, not recognising him from Shinku's class. "Um, okay."
"Um, I mean, could I talk to you in private?"
"Ah, I guess so." Éclair said as she looked to Rebecca and Shinku, "I'll be right back I guess."
Shinku and Rebecca nodded as Eclair followed the young boy out of the cafeteria and the school to an area beside the gym, by the shadow of some tree's.
"You wanted to talk to me?" Éclair asked as the young boy seemed to shuffle about. She wasn't sure what this was about, but she was a little leery of it.
The boy stopped moving and suddenly bent over at the waist, bowing to Éclair as he spoke. "I- I like you, please go out with me!"
"Eh . . . eh . . . eh!?" Éclair burst out in shock at what she had heard, or what she had thought she had hear and hoped she hadn't.
"I like you, p- please, please be my girlfriend!" the boy stated again as he continued bowing.
Éclair looked at the boy and felt her heart shudder, not because of what he was saying, but because of the jolt it gave to her other thoughts. She liked Shinku, and Shinku had already asked her out. She wasn't going to wait any longer. "I- I'm sorry, I'm already going out with someone." Éclair said, her throat tight as she said it, knowing that now she had to stop herself from holding back.