A Certain City of Espers

Takeo

Making frantic shushing motions, Takeo reached out to help the girls up as an annoyed Ren got to his feet. The shopping lay abandoned on the floor and Taki winced as the boy started to speak:

"Hey what-"

"Shush," Taki pleaded in a hoarse whisper. He gathered some of the items up, pushing them at Ren and trying to urge the group to move back, pressing them up against the wall. The girls needed little urging and after a look at their faces, Ren sensed that something was up.

"What-" he lowered his voice even further as Taki made to shush him. "What's going on." And then they heard the footsteps and for the first time in his life, Takeo wished desperately that he had a passive power. Like phasing! Oh boy would that be useful right now. It occured to him that Ren was a pyrokinetic too but if he remembered right, not nearly strong enough to help them out. The foorsteps came closer. In the quiet of the evening they sounded like Earthquakes to Taki. And closer once more. He was almost ready to break cover and flee when at last they moved away.

It was a long five minutes before anyone said anything and before Taki loosened his death grip on the orb and stared at it, transfixed. Then Lena hit him over the head.

"Start explaining," she said sharply.

"Not here," Taki whispered, still desperately afraid.

"My place then," Ren said in a neutral tone. Takeo nodded. Yes, his place. The scary dude didn't even know they'd bumped into Ren so he wouldn't be able to find them this time.

Lena

Before we started heading to Ren’s house, we helped him pick up the groceries that we made him drop. After walking for a couple minutes we finally made it to the front door. Akaya and me held his grocery bags while he unlocked the door. When it was unlocked he held it open and told us that we could put them on the counter. Akaya put hers down first, Taki on the other hand seemed to be transfixed by the orb. Nudging him he looked up at me in question.

I jerked my head toward the door that Ren was holding. Realizing what I was saying, he walked through the door and automatically went to the couch to sit down. I walking in after him and put the groceries down next to the other ones. When I looked up everyone was already sitting down in the living room. I then paced over to where Taki was sitting and stood in front of him. I must have looked kind of menacing because he hunkered down and avoided my gaze.

“Okay Taki, start talking.” I stated sternly.

Ren's room was a typical one person dorm. The kitchen was nothing more than a small nook with a fridge, sink, and small counter space. The main room was like his livingroom and bedroom all in one. His bed was in the far corner of the room beside the sliding glass door to the balcony, which was mostly used for hanging up laundry to dry. The couch was at the end of his bed sitting against the small kitchen counter space. There was a T.V., bookcase, and closet on the wall opposite from the bed. A small table was the only thing that sat in the middle of the room. It was one of those low to the ground tables where you had to sit on the floor in order to use. The only other room in the dorm was the bathroom, which was located right beside the front door.

Ren was sitting on the couch while the girls sat on the bed and Taki at the table with his back to the T.V. Takeo sighed and said, "All right, you win." He took the orb from his pocket and placed it on the table in front of him. The moment his fingers left the orb, the object stopped glowing. A sense of loss washed through his body when he saw the soft light dim to nothing, and had the urge to pick it up again. He resisted the urge as best he could.

"What is that thing?" Ren asked, now leaning forward on the couch.

"I'm not sure," Takeo said. "All I know is whenever I hold it the orb glows and my powers grow stronger."

"Really?" Ren asked, getting out of his seat. He reached down and swiped the orb off the table.

Taki was suddenly on his feet. He had the urge to fight Ren to get it back, but that thought alone kept him from raising his power. Why was he so possessive over such a simple object? Sure, it made him stronger when he held it, but was that any reason to try and fight over it?

Ren seemed a little disappointed as he held the orb. "Hey, how come it's not glowing when I hold it?" That caught everyone's attention. They all looked at the orb and, sure enough, it was as dim as it had been when it was simply sitting on the table.

Everyone looked at Takeo, as if he had the answer. He shook his head. "I don't know. It glows whenever I hold it."

"Where did you find this orb?" Ayaka asked.

Takeo sat back down, but his eyes were still transfixed on the orb in Ren's hand. "It all happened yesterday. I was...frustrated after failing to move up to Level 4 again, so I decided to go practice alone in an alley somewhere." He chose to say frustrated instead of depressed because he didn't want the others to think of him as some wimp who would get upset over not passing a simple test. "I found this priest-looking guy laying on the ground. His clothes were all burnt, like he had just jumped into a fire or something. I tried to help him, but before he passed out he gave me the orb."

Ren looked at the orb a few moments longer before he got bored with it and placed it back on the table. Taki continued, "That's when that guy we saw back at my apartment showed up. He summoned this huge monster made of fire and started chasing me down the alley." Ayaka's eyes widened at that. That monster of fire he mentioned must have been the same one she saw in her vision! She kept quiet about it, she wanted to hear the rest of Taki's story. "I managed to get away by escaping down a manhole, and then I went home."

Lena frowned. "So, let me get this straight. You're telling me that you're planning on using that orb to help you pass the re-test? I think there's a word for that... it's called cheating."

Takeo

"Some scary fire dude's trying to kill me and your reaction is to accuse me of cheating on a stupid test?" Takeo snorted in disbelief, still unable to take his eyes away from the orb. It wasn't just that he wanted to be a higher level. It was more than that. He had this crazy desire to hold it all the time, not even to use it. Just to hold it. It was hard to keep himself from reaching out for it now. And why was he? Why shouldn't he hold it? It was his! It was rightfully-

"Hey!" Lena snapped her fingers in front of his face and he finally looked away, blinking. Man. How did a round ball have so much hold over him?

"Sorry," Taki mumbled. "It's just-" He reached out to pick the orb back up but Lena got there first.

"Let's us try it as well first," she said, looking a little sour as it didn't glow for her either. With a huff she passed it along to Ayaka with the same response and finally it was back in Takeo's jealous hands.

"Okay so what's the plan?" Ren asked. Plan? Plan? What the hell were they supposed to plan for? It would only be one step before the guy found out what school Taki was at. Urgh. He let out a loud groan and threw himself back against the cushions.

"What is it?" Ayaka asked, jumping a little. It was hard not to still feel nervous after having jumped out a window and been chased down the street.

"He knew where I lived and now he'll find out what school I go to. I don't know how he's doing it, just that he will. Shit. Where am I supposed to hide?"

"Have you not thought about giving the orb to him?" Ren suggested. Takeo looked at him warily. Was he crazy? No way! The orb was his and whatever the scary dude wanted with it couldn't be good. But Taki was surprised to hear his thoughts put into voice by Lena:

"That's no good. Whatever he wants it for has to be bad."

Ren looked from one person to another. He felt like a stranger listening in on someone else's conversation, which was an odd feeling to experience in his own home. He understood the situation they were in, and though it didn't involve him he still wanted to help.

He thought of something, then. It was such a simple solution that he wondered why the others hadn't thought of it. "If you don't want this guy to have the orb, why not just hide it?"

They all looked at him. Lena was the one who said, "That's a good idea, but where would we hide it exactly? We can't hide it in our own homes, or else that guy will find it just like he found Takeo's apartment."

"Then again, throwing it away would be irresponsible with something that can strengthen a person's ability," Ayaka piped in.

"Why don't I hold onto it?" Ren asked. "We already saw that it doesn't affect me, and that guy you mentioned hasn't seen my face, so he doesn't know who I am or where I live."

Lena

Ren did have a good point. The guy did not even know that we had ran into him, much less knew where he lived. Akaya must have agreed to it because suddenly Ren was staring at me in a questioning manner. Glancing around I noticed that Taki was also staring at me, only his was with a begging manner, like he didn’t want Ren to keep it. I sighed before I spoke, “Keep it.” I stated shortly. Taki suddenly began to throw a fit, he was reaching out for it, trying to grab it from Ren’s hand.

Before I could even grab it, I put my hand on his shoulder, “Taki.” My voice was stern enough to grab his attention so that he would look at me. After I was sure that I had his attention, I said, “I know you want to keep it, but listen. If he finds you again, you could get hurt or much worse. This is for your safety. Trust us, would you?”

Takeo

He looked from face to face and at last, with an anguished sigh folded his arms across his chest. "Fine." Takeo said flatly even though it was not. Then he sighed and tried not to be so mad. He hadn't needed the orb before and he was just going to have to get used to it, though he half wanted to ask if he could see it every day and just knew he was going to be making excuses to spend more time around Ren. Except that would be bad. That might endanger the orb. Oh why was it so hard to care!

"I don't know what it is about it but something just makes me want to hold it," Takeo admitted, scratching an itch on his arm. "And uh... I can have it back for the re-test, right?"

There was a bit groan and a sharp, disapproving look from Lena, a slight shuffling from Ayaka and Ren... well Ren was hard to read. But he was smiling, just slightly. Taki thought he was amused. "I mean it will look suspicious if my new power suddenly disappears over night and-"

"Don't you get it?" Lena asked. "If you fail the test, word will get around and then that guy will know you've hidden it. He'll believe you and have to be more clever instead of outright killing you, thinking he's going to get it."

Taki sighed unhappily. "It's my orb," he complained.

"Think of it as safe keeping," Ren said to Takeo. "I'll just hold onto it until that fire guy loses interest in you, and once things settle down again you can have it back."

Taki wanted to argue, but Lena's stern look kept him from complaining. He settled with saying, "Just... promise me you'll keep it safe."

Ren nodded and said, "I will."

Lena stood up and said, "Well, we should get going. It's getting late and I wouldn't want to overstay our welcome."

"You can spend the night here if you want," Ren said. I've got a few extra sheets in the closet."

Lena smiled, but shook her head. "Thanks, but we're putting you in enough trouble as it is by having you hold onto the orb."

"What about me?" Takeo asked. "I can't go back home right now."

"You can spend the night at my place," Lena said. Then she frowned and added, "And you'd better not try anything funny while you're there."

(Don't forget to check the DT every so often. I'm going to post plot notifications there instead of here from now on.)

Jordan

Jordan finally left the crowds and noise of the main streets and settled for the back alleys. These were his home, where he felt the most comfortable. Here, there were plenty of shadows, and the occassional spirit energies to keep him company, to empower him and guide him on his path.

Whatever the hell that path might be. Even now, at nineteen years of age, he was clueless as to his goal, his purpose, his use... What did life have for him? How could he live it?

He could hear people running, shouting, voices familiar. It was the kid from last night... Again? He must be up to something, to have the same experience two consecutive nights. Jordan grumbled, turning and walking into the darkness, disappating into the shadows and flying away, down the alley and around a corner, out of any one's sight. He reappeared in the middle of the loneliest block, the abandoned ward of downtown, where only underground occassions were held and shady figures roamed.

This was his type of setting, his home.

Lena

We said good bye to Ren and started walking to my house. We walked in silence. Which gave me time to sort through everything that had happened these last few hours. Basically Taki had gotten hold of some orb that strengthen his powers when ever her touched it and now because of that he had some guy after him trying to get it back.

Without even realizing it, my feet lead me to my apartment complex. I monitored for him to follow me up stairs. I lead him up to my apartment, reached into my back pocket and pulled out the key. Unlocking the door I held it open to my apartment.

Lena’s apartment was a common one-person dorm. The kitchen was no more than small corner where there stood a small fridge . Next to the fridge was a small counter and sink. The main room was like her bedroom and living room rolled in to one. Her bed was to the left of a sliding glass door that was across from her front door. A little bit to the right of her bed was a couch and next to the couch was a small T.V and bookcase. When you turned to the left of her front door there was a decently sized bathroom. A couple feet in front of that was her closet.

After Taki came in, she shut the door and locked it behind him. She placed the key on the counter and walked over to the closet. Reaching up she grabbed a pair or sheets, a blanket and a pillow. She turned back around, only to find that he was just standing there, not sure what to do. He noticed her staring so he gave a small smile. She smiled back and walked over to the couch and placed the blankets down.

“Are you hungry? I can fix us dinner.” she stated casually.

(I'm just going to bring Jordan in now instead of waiting for morning. A dark alley at night seems like a better place for shady characters to show up than during the day. )


Jordan

Jordan passed by a group of guys as he walked down one of the back roads. They glared at him, but didn't move or say anything. That was perfectly fine with him, he knew who those kids were and they weren't worth his time. They were part of a group called Skill-Out, a gang of Level 0's who had a serious grudge with anyone who was an ability user. They would gang up on Level 1's or higher to either fight or mug them.

He had a few run-ins with them in the past, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. For the most part they left him alone as long as he kept his distance. From what he heard, Skill-Out had been a much larger group in the past with most of the poor district of Academy City under their control. He didn't know the details, but apparently they were raided by Anti-Skill a couple of months ago and the majority of their gang was put in jail, including their leader. Now all that was left were a bunch of stragglers who marched around the back streets with no clear goal in mind.

Jordan finally arrived at an abandoned five story parking garage that no one every cared to tear down. His room was an old security guard room that had been cleared out a long time ago. The most he had in the way of furniture was an rusty iron-wrought bed frame with a torn up mattress he found behind the building.

He took the stairs in order to get to the top floor and went to his room, but saw the light was on inside. He frowned at the thought of some homeless person sleeping on his bed. He quickened his pace, determined to drag whoever was in there out with his bare hands if he had to. But when he opened the door the person he saw inside was not what he had expected.

A woman sat cross-legged on the edge of Jordan's bed. She was tall and slender, and looked to be in her late twenties or early thirties. She wore what looked like a long black dress under a leather jacket with the same colour. The dress had a long cut down the side to expose her leg. She had silver eyes that were as bright as her long hair, and her face was elegant with smooth, delicate features. She looked more like the kind of woman who should be sipping wine in a high class restaurant somewhere instead of sitting in an old abandoned garage.

She turned her head to look at him and smiled. There was something sinister about the way she smiled at him, like she knew some kind of dirty secret. "I've been waiting for you, Jordan," the woman said in a thick Russian accent.

Takeo

Until she mentioned it Taki hadn't realised that he was hungry. In fact, he was surprised at how hungry he felt. He'd have thought that his stomach would flip at the idea of filling it was fat, juicy sausages or that home comforts would dim beside the loss of the orb. "Starving," Taki said eagerly and then shyly added. "That is uh... if you don't mind?" But she'd already offered so she didn't. Bah! It was being polite. You were supposed to be that way with girls.

"I said I would didn't I?" Lena retorted. Takeo decided she wasn't much like any of the good, wholesome girls his mother had in mind when she gave him those lessons. He grinned to himself. That was just fine. Interesting girls were... well interesting.

And this was his bed? Bunching the pillow up, Taki flopped onto the couch to test it out and found it surprisingly comfy. Hey, he could get used to this life: woman to cook for him, cosy spot to sleep. How long was he going to be here anyway? Or was the offer just for the night? That was a sobering thought. If she kicked him out in the morning, he was going to have to make arrangements to move in somewhere else but he couldn't do that without going back to his place to get his things. And he didn't want to step foot in there any time soon, especially not on his own.

_______________

Dinner was good and Takeo found himself relaxing more as he sat across from Lena. They chattered a little. Not much about anything, just random stuff and Takeo was glad she didn't bring up the subject of cheating again. Or the orb. She seemed to be carefully avoiding that.

"Well goodnight I suppose," Taki said. He wondered if he should offer to help with the dishes. His mum had told him that but he had a feeling that Lena wouldn't turn the offer down like most girls. She'd make him do them. And feeling only a little guilty, Taki stayed quiet and made his way back over to the sofa. Man. Was he going to have to sleep fully dressed? He didn't think it would be a good idea stripping to his boxes in her living room but what other option did he have? I'll just have to get up real early, Taki decided.

Lena

While washing dishes Lena was thinking about everything that came to mind. She found it funny, at the beginning of dinner, both and her Taki…wait a minute. Since when did I start calling him Taki, what ever happened to calling him Takeo. I sighed to myself and finished up the dishes in the sink. When I was done, I turned around to find that Taki was laying on the couch. His eyes were closed and his breathing was deep.

Quietly I walked over to my closet and grabbed a dark blue tank top and black shorts from it. I glided over to the bathroom and quickly got changed in to my pajamas and brushed my teeth. Walking out I saw that Taki was sprawled all over the couch and the covers that I gave him where on the floor. Sighing gently to myself, I walked softly over, silently pick up the covers and placed them over him.

After I was done with that the sauntered over to my bed and pulled the covers down and climbed in. I cuddled in to the pillow and pushed the covers down so that they covered my waist and below. Staring at the darkness, I began wonder about how I felt about Taki. I mean yeah, he could be an egotistical jerk, but on the other hand he was willing to give up something that we wanted so bad so that I wouldn’t get hurt. Deciding to think about tomorrow, I closed my eyes and felt myself relax. Now that I was sure that he was asleep, I could lower my defenses and not worry about anything.

“Goodnight Taki.” I whispered softly.

***Russian, really? You don't think I have enough of that in my life right now? Sarcasm, don't worry. Tania's really cool. At least I'll get to practice being tri-lingual. ***



Jordan

He glared at her. "Who are you?" he asked, anything but kind and welcoming.

"That does not matter," she replied, standing up and slipping out of her coat. She laid the thick leather on the bed before turning to him. "However, you do."

He huffed, pushing his magic into the shadows. He put up a wall around her legs, halting her in her tracks. She looked bemused, smiling coyly down at his trap before looking back up to his gaze. He growled softly, staring at her as coldly as he could manage. "If not your name, then give me a reason not to kill you right now."

She chuckled. "You could not, if you even tried."

He gasped a little, frowning. She had such confidence. Was she stupid, or was she genuinely stronger than he, enough so to disspell anything he cast on her? Even as he thought it, he lost his grip on the shadows; she seemed to effortlessly pull herself away from them and step out, breaking his hold.

"Da, you are strong, and yet you have no purpose," she said almost admirably. "That is how you feel, da?"

He swallowed, a little uneasy now. So many questions, so many riddles and phrases. "What do you want?"

She smiled wickedly. "Now, we get to business."

(Actually, her being Russian has an actual point to the story. You'll see in a moment. )

"My name is Anzhela Donovic, and I have been watching you for quite some time Jordan." The way she pronounced the 'J' in his name was like she was pronouncing a 'j' and 'sh' sound at the same time. "I am part of a group called Annihilatus, a secret society within the Moscow Patriarchate, also known as the Russian Orthodox Church."

Jordan felt like laughing. "A Russian church, are you serious?"

Anzhela smiled at him. "Believe what you wish, child. By the end of the day it will make little difference." She continued, "I was sent to this city to retrieve some artifacts that were stolen from us. However, locating them has proven to be a problem." Her smile went up a notch on the sinister meter when she added, "Until now, that is."

"I don't see how this has anything to do with me, I don't have anything except that bed and the clothes on my back," Jordan said.

"It is not you who I am looking for," she said, "but rather, someone you have come in contact with. Yesterday, you helped a boy escape from one of our enemies, who is also looking for these artifacts. This boy is in possession of what I seek."

Jordan frowned. "If you know this, then why not go get it yourself?"

"If I do, I run the risk of running into one of our enemies, thus notifying them of my presence. Such a thing will only cause more problems for me, more resistances. You, on the other hand, are a different story."

Jordan didn't like where this conversation was going. "Look, I'm not working for a bunch of religious fanatics who I've heard nothing about until tonight. Now get out of here before I throw you out myself." He moved around her to take off his jacket and toss it in the corner before starting to lay down on his bed.

The woman didn't budge. Instead, she said, "It is odd, you know. A person with your powers living in a city full of science and technology."

That made Jordan stop and look at her. He didn't know why, but something about what she said perked his interest. "What did you say?"

She slowly turned around to face him again, her lips curling into a knowing smile. "You have quite a unique power, one that no other child can, or has ever, possessed in Academy City. Even the people who tested you had no idea what the full extent of your powers were, da?"

"What are you getting at...?"

"There is a reason why your powers are not affected by any development treatments Academy City has to offer, why their drugs and stimulants make everyone else stronger but make you sick. The reason is your power is not an esper ability, it is magic."