Book One: Someone New (Reginald Kastle)

Chapter Nine: The Number Hunter

"I'm gunna be late for swimming class again." Yuma runs; myself and Shark, passing by in our green trimmed school uniforms, jadedly watching him dash past.

"That's Yuma; always runnin' behind..."
"Hi there, Shark, Rose."
"Huh?"Shark finds himself face-to-face with Mr. Kay. His surprise only lasts for a moment.

"I'm glad to see that you decided to come back to school." Shark is already walking past, brushing him off. Mr. Kay smiles over his shoulder.
"So was Yuma the one who helped to change your mind?" He pauses. "Or did Miss. Ashikaga help you as well?" He glances at me and I move slightly away from Shark. He stops in his tracks.

"He certainly does seem to have a talent for influencing others. I can't explain why. Maybe it's his positive attitude. But, something about Yuma brings out the best in people...Wouldn't you agree with that, Shark?" Shark is staring into space, well aware that those words resonate with him. He's not about to admit it, though; he shrugs it off and keeps walking.
"Whatever." We keep walking.

Elsewhere on campus, Shark leans against a balcony railing outside somewhere. He's looking at a single card in his hand. I join him and he smiles at me.
Maybe I can learn something from Yuma... Huh." He smiles a bit. Then he notices an upside-down trash can hobbling and shuffling across the plaza below. Nudging me, he goes back to staring at it. Shark blinks; that's strange.

We find our way to the boys locker room. Since everyone is swimming, I step in with Shark to see a...robot? Wait....it's holding Yuma's key! Just then, Shark grabs the key from its robotic pincers.
"Daaaahh!" Shark is standing over the tiny robot.
"This doesn't belong to you!"
"I-I was just, uh, borrowing it, from my g-good buddy Yuma! Give it back or he'll be mad!!" The robot angrily hops up and down. Shark takes a step back, protectively gripping the Key; he doesn't trust this.
"I think you're a lying thief!" Shark front-kicks the robot into the lockers, denting several. It falls to the floor on his face.
"Ugh!"
(Shark waits for what happens next, then gasps; it's slowly standing up on his little wheels, and the red light in his eye sensors probably indicates that Shark just made him mad! Oh goodie...more fun.
"That was a big mistake! I look puny outside, b-but inside I pack a lot of dangerous surprises!" As the robot speaks, he transforms. His two wheel-struts come together into one, his arms lengthen into forelegs, limbs telescoping outward. He is now bigger than me and Shark, and one of his hands has turned into a mean-looking bright red drill.
"Now hand it over, shorty! Or I'll start drilling for it!" I scream.
"What kinda robot are you?!" The drill starts spinning and it attacks.

"Reginald! Move!"
"The nasty kind!!" Shark dodges, balancing on one hand, and the drill plunges into the bank of lockers behind him. He pushes off the undamaged ones next to it with his feet and springs away. The robot watches with surprise; Shark's already halfway across the room and still moving. The drill strikes again, boring into the ground where Shark was right before he jumped. Shark dives out into the hallway and lands with a roll. I'm behind him, but he grabs my hand and runs. The door slides shut, then gets completely demolished as Orbital crashes through in pursuit. Shark is already running away down the hallway with my hand tightly in his. The robot's eyes gleam red through the wreckage.
"Come back here, coward!!"

We run through an outside door onto the school rooftop, under an overcast sky, and turn, bracing for a last stand. We aren't expecting the attack to come from below; the concrete rips open under our feet and it crashes through before we can react.
"I want that pendant!" It lunges with his drilland Shark faces it, knowing that he won't dodge this one. He pushes me out of the way, so I land on the floor, hurting my lower back in the process.

"Shark!!"
"That's enough, Orbital!" The big red drill stops mere feet short of Shark's face and spins to a halt. Shark takes a moment to look beyond it to the new factor that saved him. It's a tall guy with stuck up blonde hair and teal bangs. He has cold grey-blue eyes and a pale skin tone.
"I didn't authorize an attack." Orbital sullenly folds back to his puny self.
"I never have fun..." I grab a shoe off my foot and throw it at him.