A Certain City of Espers

Cait giggled as she ran down the hallway and into the theatre, Ren on her heels. They shut the door behind them, careful not to make any more noise than they already could have. She laughed once they were safe, leaning against the wall.

"So, what do you want to do today?" she asked, giggling. "I was going to come in here and work on my arrangements, but I didn't have company then."



***All I can think of, sorry...***

(I would like to apologize for my absence, but I will be returning on Monday. Then, I will be able to make a dedicated post. Please feel free to move my character around until I can post. Sorry guys.)

(That's all right. Thanks for letting us know ahead of time.)

Ren

"I'm just glad to be out of that boring class," Ren said. "I wouldn't mind hearing some of the stuff you've been working on, though."

Cait smiled at the thought of having an actual audience while she practiced. She nodded and said, "Okay," before going up onto the stage. Ren found a seat near the front of the theatre while she started warming up.

Ayaka

Ayaka watched Takeo all throughout lunch period. It was possible she had seen the boy in her vision, but she wasn't convinced yet. She would need to find more proof to solidify her assumptions, because what if it was someone other than Taki? What if her vision came true and someone was killed, and it was possible she could have prevented it somehow if she hadn't been so focused on Takeo? That was something her conscience would never be able to live down.

She thought back to her dream. Most of her memory of it was fuzzy, but she remembered the key details; a boy who looked like Taki reaching for one of twelve orbs, a fiery devil showing up, and the boy being killed. What did the orbs represent? Were they forms of power or energy, or were they just regular orbs?

That's when it hit her. The orbs! she thought. It's so simple. If I can find out whether or not Takeo has one of those orbs, whatever they may be, that will be all the proof I need that he really was the one I saw in my dream!

She heard another student in the lunch hall let out a yelp as his food tray clattered on the floor. Other students were laughing at him, but he didn't find it very amusing. The big guy's eyes settled on Takeo and he started walking over to his spot.

(Is everyone okay? Nobody but me has posted recently. I know Ayumi and Amber have their reasons, but what about you two, Kitty and Undertaker?)

I was waiting for a Lena or Ayaka post, Dy. Since that only happened two days ago, I hadn't got around to it yet. And you know my reasons now. I detailed some of them in our correspondence.

Takeo

Great. It was just his luck that Katsurou had enough brain cells in that head of his to work out who'd done it. Not that Takeo should have been able to do it but well, he had. And he was the strongest Telekinesis in the school. Brilliant. Taki looked up apprehensively as he came closer, his shoes making little clouds of dust rise up as they smacked down on the floor. Slowly, the laughter was dying out and students were turning to stare at his table. Takeo could see them out of the corner of his eye. And he could feel the atmosphere. There was a fight going down between Katsurou the Earth mover and a cocky little idiot. Him.

Not that Takeo couldn't handle the big lump of course. For all that Katsu was huge, he was very weak in power and Taki had just proved he could throw a human body about. That was the problem. He had hoped not to make his testing quite so public. The teachers weren't going to be pleased with this.

"Who do you think you are?" Katsurou roared. "I know it was you, don't even try-"

"It was," Taki said simply. He didn't like having the other boy tower over him but knew he'd still be shorter even if he stood up so he remained sitting. At least this way he looked cool. Oh yes. This was a day everyone would remember.

Katsu looked stunned for a moment but as his slow brain caught up, his expression changed to anger. "I'm going to squash you!" he claimed. Taki shuffled some food around on his plate. He was trying to act casual but could feel the hairs rising on the back of his neck.

"Walk away," Takeo advised. That sounded cool. That sounded so cool, he could do this, he was going to be great. Katsu chuckled and then charged. Taki held his hand up and reached out with his gift. He could feel the solid weight of Katsurou, the immense power of his muscles and it felt like too much. It was too much. He couldn't hold him, he couldn't- and this time he felt it. Something else, another power slipping through his own and wrapping around it. Takeo smirked as the force pressed itself up against Katsurou's body and pushed back. Katsurou's face registered shock as he toppled onto his back. Taki stood, took his tray to the collection area and walked out. He was ready.

I told you I would have trouble posting this week. My reason: I was volenteering at a camp for kids who's parent's are in the military. Today is the last day though, so I'lll try to post later today.

(I'm sorry, I guess I was letting my impatience get to me again. That tends to happen a lot with me. My mom says it's because of my ADHD that I tend to over-obsess with things.)

((No worries, I understand. ))

Lena

I was happily eating lunch when suddenly Katsurou’s tray was knocked from his hand. Looking around the room the boy started to glare at one stop. Following his gaze, I noticed that it was Takeo. He had a smug look on his face, but I could also tell that he was a little freaked out. Glancing back at Katsurou, I took notice of the raged look on his face.

This was not good. There was going to be a fight between an earth mover and a telekinetic. I watched curiously as Katsurou began to stomp over to Takeo. The whole cafeteria watched as they started to talk.

"Who do you think you are?" Katsurou roared. "I know it was you, don't even try-"

"It was," Takeo said simply.

Was he trying to get himself beat up? I continued to observe the scene that was unfolding. Next thing I know, Katsurou charged. Suddenly it all made sense to me. He was testing his strength. In a matter of seconds Katsurou was tossed backwards. He had done it again. I became even more curious when Takeo got up, threw his lunch away, and then walked thorough the door. Standing up, I decided that I had to confront him about it. I threw my lunch away then followed.

(Huh, I thought Lena skipped class with Bianca. Actually, this is perfect. Kitty, if you change your last post with Bianca so that it's Sky who helped her skip class isntead of Lena we'll be able to have Amber's character involved in the story. I think I have an idea on how to make things a little more interesting once you do.)

Okies, I'll do that tomorrow night when I'm back home ^^

***Here are some links if you guys don't know what some of these songs sound like. Of course, none of these videos are of me; I haven't made my videos yet. These should just give you an idea of the song itself.

Fur Elise - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQTTFUtMSvQ
My Immortal - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5anLPw0Efmo ***

Cait

Cait sat down at the piano, letting her fingers run over the keys. A few simple things to play, first, to warm up. She let her hands settle, her little fingers resting on the A-2 and the E-4. She began to slowly breeze through the opening act of Fur Elise, the first song she ever learned on the piano. She had been eleven.

"This is Fur Elise," she told Ren, "by Beethoven."

Suddenly, halfway through the measure, she ritarded, dragging it out to an incomplete chord, and shifted keys. She lifted the song an entire octave, playing almost twice as fast as she had been. She lost track of time as she just played through it, easing her way to the final chord, an A-major.

She smiled as she reset her hands, letting "Fur Elise" fade into a more contemporary, docile rock song.

"I learned this to play in the school's talent show, before I ran away..." Cait whispered. "I never got the chance to perform it, though."

The song was "My Immortal", by Evanescence.

(The second link doesn't work for me. When I clicked on it it told me Vevo blocked it from my country due to copyright grounds.

Since Cait's name isn't Japanese I'm going to assume she's from another country.)


Ren smiled, leaning back in his seat as he let the soft melody wisp through his ears. He didn't usually listen to this kind of music, he was more partial to American classic rock. But, he knew how to appreciate good music, and what Cait was playing was excellent compared to some of the stuff he's heard the other students play.

When she started singing it sounded amazing. Her voice was beautiful as she recited the lyrics while hitting all the right keys on the piano. No one else could have done it as magnificently as her, mostly due to English being her first language and the song was made in North America.

When the song was over Ren couldn't help but get up out of his seat to clap. It wasn't much of a standing ovation, since he was the only one in the theatre, but he did it nonetheless.

(I know Kitty hasn't made the change in her last post with Bianca to have Sky skip with her instead of Lena, but I'm going to post for Sky just so we can keep things moving.

Important note for Amber: I'm going to come up with a little back story for Sky just to help with her development with Bianca. If there's anything you want me to change about it later let me know.)

Sky

Sky thought for a moment. She couldn't remember the last time she had tried to skateboard. It would probably be fun, so why not? She nodded, "Sure, lead the way."

They stopped by their lockers to grab a few things before leaving the building. They took one of the city transit buses to a park somewhere in one of the metropolitan districts. There were a few other students around besides themselves, all of them wearing different school uniforms. Sky didn't have a skateboard of her own, so the two of them took turns on Bianca's board.

They spent a about an hour or so taking turns until they finally got tired and took a break. They went to a nearby vending machine to get some drinks. As they made their selections Bianca said, "You're pretty good, have you boarded before?"

"Once or twice, back before I came to Academy City," Sky said.

"Where did you live before you came here?" Bianca asked.

"In Tokyo with my parents, before they abandoned me of course."

"Abandoned you?" Bianca asked, shocked. "I'm...so sorry to hear that."

"It's okay, I'm way over it now," she said. Sky put on a fake smile and added, "Besides, who would want parents who would abandoned their only child just because she's different anyway?"

"How did it happen, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I discovered my ability," Sky answered before taking a sip of her drink. "My bedroom was right above the kitchen in our old house. I was in my room one night when I heard my parents fighting about something. It was just a mild argument, nothing more, but I was upset about it all the same. I remember sitting in the middle of my room in silence, just waiting for it to stop. I felt like crying. Then, next thing I knew I was falling through the floor and ended up crashing into the kitchen table, right between my parents. The very next morning I got out of bed and they were both gone. They didn't even have the courtesy to leave a good-bye note."

Bianca didn't know what to say. Her own mother had left her father soon after she was born, so she didn't remember anything about her. Her own father had been shocked when Bianca had discovered her own ability, but he had been understanding about it and even paid for her to live in Academy City. After hearing Sky's story she grateful her father was still around to take care of her. Maybe she should give him a call once she got home tonight?

Their conversation was interrupted when an explosion shook the area. Sky and Bianca both cried out in surprise as they dropped down to the ground out of reflex. People in the area began to scream and panic as a security alarm blared nearby.

"What the hell was that!?" Bianca shouted.

"I think it came from across the street!"

They both looked toward the source of the explosion, a bank on the other side of the street with smoke seeping through the windows and front door. A couple of men dressed in black clothes ran out of the building a few moments later carrying duffel bags filled with money, which they began to unload in the back of a van that was parked nearby.

(Just a little action to keep the storybook interesting. This is for Bianca and Sky only, everyone else is too far away to even know what's going on. The robbers are espers, by the way.)

(Thank you for that, Dynamo. I'll make my post this afternoon sometime. Got a lot to do today, since I just got home. I'll post as soon as possible.)