Thunder and Earth
***********************
Keia woke slowly with a groan. She rolled over to right, seeing a
smiling Jura. "Jura, last night ... last night was ..."
"Indescribable?" Jura asked.
"Yeah," Keia breathed. "I'm feeling a lot better today than I ever
have before. How are you feeling?"
"Happy," Jura sighed. "I'm happy that I could spend the night with
you like that."
"It doesn't have to be just a night," Keia whispered. "We could
make it much more."
"Do you really want that?" Jura asked softly. "I mean, we've been
friends for ages, do you want to risk that?"
"For you," Keia answered firmly, "I'd take on the world. I do love
you Jura. I meant that."
"Keia ..." Jura sighed. "I'm glad you said that. I love you too. I
have and will, as long as you want me."
Keia pulled Jura into a tight embrace, holding her close. Keia
moved back slightly, and then planted her lips on Jura's firmly. The
kiss wasn't hungry or passionate, just loving and reassuring. Breaking
the kiss, Keia looked into Jura's eyes and held them firmly. "I'm not
letting you get away in this lifetime."
-----------------------------
Kara knocked on the door again. 'Damn ... what are you doing in
there Keia?' Pounding the door a third time, Kara glared at the large
wooden obstacle. "Keia," She growled, "open your damn door!"
Keia pulled the door open, standing in the open frame in her
t-shirt. "What is it Kara?" Keia muttered with a scowl. "Jura and I were
still napping. Is it important or what?"
"Share a bed did you?" Kara teased, her frustration forgotten.
"I'm sure you've got a thank you to give someone, right?"
"Alright, alright," Keia conceded. "Come in, I'll get something
ready for breakfast. How'd you figure out that she liked me?"
"Didn't figure nothing," Kara replied. "You both told me how you
felt. I'd been planning to do something about it, but I got sidetracked
by my break-up. Then I got sidetracked by Mitsuko. Heheh ... you know
about that though."
"Yeah, I know," Keia muttered dryly. "How long has this plan of
yours been brewing?"
"Day of graduation," Kara answered casually. "Saw the two of you
sitting with each other. I saw how you both stole glances at each other.
I figured I do something about it." Kara shrugged and tilted her head.
"So, how much fun you guys have last night?"
"Ha!" Keia laughed. "Like I'd share. I'm not you, you know."
"Keia, who's here?" Jura asked, walking out from the restroom.
"Oh! It's you Kara."
"Yeah, it's me," Kara replied with a small wave. "So, you two have
a good night?"
Jura's cheeks colored a bit. "I don't think that's something we'll
discuss," Jura answered softly.
"Already told her that," Keia said, bringing a massive stack of
toast from the kitchen. "I'm cooking some bacon, sausage and eggs. How
do ya want 'em?"
"Scrambled," Kara and Jura replied in unison.
"Bacon and sausage done and crispy," Kara added.
"Yeah, *really* crispy," Jura agreed, "but *not* burnt."
"Sure," Keia said, the sound of popping grease now audible. "So,
what're you here for Kara? Not to tease me until we start another
wrestling match right?"
"No," Kara replied casually. "Although, our matches are quite fun.
I'm actually here because something weird happened last night. You know
about Mitsuko's and my "sixth" sense right?"
"Sixth sense?" Jura echoed. "What do you mean?"
"It's a sort of spiritual sense Jura," Keia explained shortly.
"You were sick the week they spent explaining it to me. What of it
Kara?"
"Well," Kara began, "we sorta go one of those spine chilling
feelings while we were watching a movie about forty minutes after our
outing. It was really creepy and all."
"What set it off?" Jura inquired with growing interest. "I'm sure
something can explain it."
"That's just it," Kara answered. "Nothing was strange until the
feeling hit. I mean, we were just talking and watching the movie and
then, pow, it hits outta nowhere."
"Odd," Keia mused. "You two only get the creepy, skin-crawling
feelings when something off the wall happens to one of us. What does it
mean?"
"I think I noticed something last night too," Jura admitted.
"While Keia and I were *cough* um ... in the bathroom, we had a sorta
glow around us."
"Yeah," Keia agreed, "now that I think about it, Jura glowed an
odd ice-blue color last night. I also noticed a weird light on her
forehead."
"Right!" Jura exclaimed. "But the glow you had was like a fiery
red."
"Wait," Kara interrupted. "What did you two do last night?"
"That would be our business," Keia said crisply. "You don't need
to know what we did with our time last night."
"I think she should," Jura said softly. "I mean, her and Mitsuko
are kind of responsible for it happening. Plus, they're our best
friends."
"You're damn right about that!" Kara said proudly. "You gotta give
me *some* credit. Besides, whatever that feeling was, might put our
lives in danger. We can't know for sure."
"You're ... you're right," Keia conceded. "Jura and I ... we um
... we made love."
Jura's face flushed a bright crimson. Kara sat silently for
exactly one minute before breaking into a massive fit of laughter. "It's
about damn time!" Kara said after recovering from her laughing fit.
"Damn, thought you two were going to wait till you were old maids for
that!"
"Kara!" Jura squeaked.
"Kara ... " Keia growled threateningly. "You'll pay for that
later."
"Hell, it's well worth any punishment you can come up with!" Kara
chuckled. "So, did anything feel weird afterwards?"
"No details will be given, thank you very much!" Keia exclaimed.
"And if you keep prying, I'll make sure your food gets burnt!"
"Okay, okay," Kara said peacefully. "I'll stop asking, okay?"
"You know she wouldn't," Jura whispered conspiratorially.
"Yeah, but she'd get me for it eventually," Kara whispered in
reply. "It'd be a lot worse than burnt eggs then."
"True," Jura agreed, "but you sure about the danger part?"
"Can't say for sure," Kara said with a shrug. "Weird things have
happened to us in the past right?"
"Also true," Jura agreed. "So, does Mitsuko have a theory?"
"Another conspiracy for some surprise on me?" Keia asked with an
arched eyebrow. In her hands she held three steaming breakfast platters
on a tray.
"Never!" Jura said, scandalized.
"Right," Keia said, her voiced laced with sarcasm. "I'll believe
that when my hair bursts into flames spontaneously."
"Careful what you say," Kara warned. "Stranger things have
happened to the four of us before."
"Like I can ever forget," Keia said mournfully. "You won't let
me."
They began shoveling food into their mouths unceremoniously. They
ate like they had been starving prisoners in some torturous hell hole.
After filling their stomachs, they continued to talk throughout the
morning, interrupted only by a call to Kara's cell phone from Mitsuko,
asking for the news. Kara reported the 'activity' that Keia and Jura had
participated in the night before, and Mitsuko laughed and congratulated
the new couple. Kara left Keia's apartment soon after, heading back to
her own room that she shared with Mitsuko.
-----------------------------
'It's about damn time those two got together.' Kara laughed to
herself. 'They've been moping around about not being with each other for
too long. I'm happy that they finally found out they're destined to be
like me and Mitsuko.'
Kara walked to the elevator and hesitated for a moment. She took
that moment to decide to take the stairs down to her floor. She made her
way to the end of the hall and pushed to stairwell door open. She
started down the stairs thinking about how Jura and Keia looked so happy
earlier. She soon heard someone coming up the stairs, so she moved to
the outer side to make room for the person coming her way.
Kara paused a moment as the person ascending the stairs came into
view. She saw the dark violet eyes that looked worn and sad. The woman's
black-green hair was pulled back into a long, shimmering French braid,
and was bouncing a little with the moment of her body. She stood at a
rigid and wary 5'8", and was mumbling to herself slightly. Her body was
hidden by the crisp tan trench coat she had on. Kara looked on as the
woman came closer and closer.
'I feel as if I know this woman, but I've never even seen hr
before today.' Kara thought with amazement. 'Why is it that this woman
makes me think I'm forgetting some destiny of greatness?'
-----------------------------
'What is that girl looking at?' The woman thought as she ascended
the stairs quickly. 'I'm a normal woman, not some idol in hiding. What
is she staring at me for?'
The tan-skinned woman continued to climb the stairs at the rushed
pace. They closer she got, the bigger the odd feeling in her gut got. As
she came to the platform below Kara, she noticed a small glow on hr
forehead.
'That sigil, it looks ... familiar.' The woman thought. 'What's
the strange feeling?'
Kara looked at the woman as she stopped on the platform. She saw
the yellow glow of her aura, and then the small glow of the woman's
sigil caught her eye.
'This is too weird.' They thought in unison, and then they hurried
past one another.
'Gotta tell Mitsuko about that one.' Kara thought to herself as
she increased her pace down the stairs.
'What in the hell was that?' The woman thought. 'I need to take a
shower, maybe sleep the rest of the afternoon too.'
The green-black braid continued to bounce around as the
tan-skinned woman climbed back to the floor that Keia's room was on. She
walked out the door and down the hall towards the same apartment, but
stopped a door short. She pulled a key out and unlocked the room's door.
"Finally," the woman sighed. She looked around the spotless room
and smiled a little. "Welcome home, Sugimoto Reiko."
-----------------------------
Kara shut the door behind her and furrowed her brow. Mitsuko
entered the living area wearing a towel around her body while using
another to dry her hair. She looked at Kara and then pouted her lips
slightly.
"What happened?" Mitsuko deadpanned.
"Something strange," Kara replied. She walked into the room and
plopped herself down in the recliner. "I saw someone on the way down
from Keia's room."
"And ..." Mitsuko trailed off leadingly. "What else?"
"Well, I had this odd feeling that I knew her," Kara said, her
hand stroking her chin. "Thing is, I've never seen her before. Then,
something weirder happened."
"Which was?" Mitsuko asked, plopping herself into Kara's lap.
"Her body glowed yellow, and this weird sigil light up on her
forehead," Kara explained.
"You're kidding right?" Mitsuko asked seriously. "I mean, so far,
only You and I have had sigils."
"Correction, Keia and Jura's *activities* last night awoke
theirs," Kara said.
"You're serious?" Mitsuko asked, completely surprised.
"Yeah, it's weird that I saw someone else too," Keia said
worriedly, "that's why it's making me fidgety. I mean, the four of us,
and now a complete stranger."
"Yeah, maybe we need to talk to her," Mitsuko mused.
Kara laughed a little nervously. "Well ..."
"I'm not going to like this," Mitsuko moaned. "What?"
"Thing is, it happened on the stairs in between the 3rd and 4th
floors," Kara said softly. "After that we hurried past each other and I
didn't see what floor she lives on."
"Great ..." Mitsuko muttered.
-----------------------------
Keia knocked on the door lightly. "Reiko, are you home?"
Reiko groaned and lifted herself off of her hid-a-bed sofa. She
walked to the door groggily and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "What
can I help you with today, Keia?"
"Well, I heard you were gone for a while, so I used the key you
gave me a few weeks ago," Keia started, "and I cleaned up while you were
out. I hope you don't mind. Oh, and before I forget, I'd like to ask you
to join me tonight at 7 for a little dinner at my place. It'd be nice
for you to meet the rest of my friends." Keia smiled and looked a Reiko
expectantly. "And my new girlfriend," She added weakly.
"New girlfriend?" Reiko asked, slightly confused. It quickly
dawned on her and she beamed brightly. "Bout damn time girl, you've been
single since you moved in! I'll be there, I'm still a little tired, so
I'm going to go back to bed, wake me up at 5:30 could you. You can use
the key if you need to."
"Okay," Keia beamed back. "I'll be over then. Anything you want to
eat specifically?"
"Oh, I've been hankering for a big plate of spaghetti," Reiko said
thickly. "I've missed a good home cooked meal."
"Good," Keia said amusedly. "Then you're going to love tonight."
"See you at 5:30 then," Reiko said, with a yawn. She closed the
door slowly as Keia returned to her room next door. "Now, to get another
three hours of sleep."
-----------------------------
Two hours had passed since Keia had asked Reiko to join them for
the dinner. Keia had already finished preparing most of the dishes and
had called Mitsuko and Kara, telling them of the arrangements to have
them, Jura, and Reiko eat with her. She locked the door, and headed for
the elevator. As she approached, a young woman ran out, and in her
franticism, ran right into Keia.
"I'm so sorry!" The woman exclaimed, her voice frightful and her
face streaked with tears.
"It's okay," Keia said rising and helping the woman to her feet.
"Are you okay?"
"If I can find miss Sugimoto," the woman said in a slightly
wailing tone.
"You mean Reiko Sugimoto?" Keia asked curiously.
"You know her!?" The woman exclaimed fearfully.
"Yes, she's my neighbor," Keia answered. She turned around and
motioned to the woman. "Follow me."
The woman nodded and her ashen hair fell into her face. She
brushed the shoulder-length strands out of her line of sight and
followed Keia slowly. Her amber eyes were red, swollen, and bloodshot.
It looked as if her off-white blouse had been torn in a fight, along
with the denim of her black jeans. Her grey jacket was filthy and looked
just as bad.
Keia led the girl to Reiko's door and she pulled Reiko's key from
her pocket. "She gave me this so I could help her out while she was gone
on her work assignments," Keia explained quickly. "Come in, we'll have
to wake her."
The woman nodded again and followed Keia into the darkened dorm
room. She looked around nervously. She perked up slightly when she saw
Reiko's sleeping form on the hide-a-bed sofa. "She's here," She
murmured, "thank goddess."
Keia walked over to Reiko and shook her softly. "Um ... sorry to
wake you early Reiko, but this woman wanted to see you," Keia said
softly. "She looks like she was attacked and seems highly frightened."
"What?" Reiko asked groggily.
"Reiko-sama, It's me," the woman answered softly.
"Ayako?" Reiko murmured in surprise.
"Yes, I am Hashimoto Ayako," Ayako answered. She walked forward,
still seeming scared. She smiled brightly and then bounded into Reiko's
arms. "Reiko-sama! I'm so glad to see you again."
Reiko sat stunned for a second, then she wrapped her arms arund
the smaller woman. "It's good to see you again too Ayako."
Keia watched the whole exchange silently, this odd feeling
bubbling in her gut. She smiled as Ayako broke into tears over how happy
seeing Reiko made her. A moment passed in silence between the three
before Keia's jaw nearly hit the floor.
Out of nowhere, the three of them had begun emitting faint glows.
Keia's was red, Reiko's was yellow, and Ayako's was brown. Then, the
sigils of their power glowed brightly. Keia's flame sigil was slightly
painful, as was Reiko's thunder, and Ayako's earth.
"Wh ... What's happening?" Ayako wailed.
"I don't know," Keia muttered, "but I plan on finding out." She
pulled her cell phone from her pocket and speed-dialed Kara and Mitsuko.
"Kara, can Mitsuko hear me?"
"Hold on a sec," Kara replied, "I'll put ya on speaker. Go ahead
Keia."
"I need you two to come up to my place NOW!" Keia barked. "I'll be
waiting." She hung up and then started toward the door. "If we're going
to get answers, you'll have to come with me." She said to Ayako and
Reiko.
Kaiton's Afterthoughts:
Okay, part three completed. It's a little longer than anticipated,
but I'm happy with it. I had to leave it a bit of a cliffy because the
explanation is going to be LONG. Hope you all enjoy.
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