The Mysteries of the Community Service Club (Chapter Eight)

*****
Yuna
*****

It's dark. Everywhere is dark. I can't see anything. Where is everyone? I have to find them. I have to find her.

I hate this. I hate this. I hate this! It's so dark. It's so dark. It's so dark! Where is she? Where is she? Where is she?

As I ran down the road, I called out for her. But the only response I got was my own words coming back to me as an echo.

Judging by my footsteps, I was in a place made of stone. And the echoes my footsteps made gave away that I'm inside someplace cavernous. It's a tunnel. I'm sure of it. But it wasn't anything natural. The ground was smooth beneath my feet, which meant that the stone I'm stepping on is pavement. The tunnel was manmade. 

Well, of course it was, I thought to myself. We were in the middle of a short road trip from one town to another when we found ourselves here, a tunnel at the base of a mountain that we needed to take to our destination.

It's no good. I can't run anymore.

Out of breath, heart pounding, and feet hurting, I stopped. I was completely soaked in sweat, and it was already severely stuffy in here. But I didn't wait long to catch my breath. As soon as my heart eased up a little I resumed my run.

However, after just a few paces forward, I accidentally stepped on something soft and lost my footing. I managed to catch myself, but my hands got scraped on the pavement, making them sting a lot. Even though I couldn't see, I was certain that they must be bleeding. My knees also hurt as I had landed on all fours.

I sat down to wait for the stinging to subside, and when it did, albeit a little, I moved to get back on my feet. That was when my hand touched something on the ground. The feeling was unmistakable. It was a smartphone. 

Excited, I picked the smartphone up while praying with all my heart that it still worked. My prayers were answered and I could turn on the phone. Better yet, it wasn't password protected. I don't know what happened to my own phone. I must have dropped it in the confusion earlier, and after coming so far when I realized that, there was no way I could just turn around and go back to look for it.

I immediately searched for the phone's flashlight function and turned it on. It was an incredible relief to have light again. But my relief was short-lived.

While taking a look at my surroundings, I turned around to the spot where I had tripped. I was curious as to what that soft thing I stepped on was. But when I saw it, I froze. My heart drummed fast. Something unpleasant rose up from my stomach, and strength abandoned my fingers that I ended up dropping the phone.

The tunnel plunged into darkness again, but what I saw was seared into my memories.

It was a hand, a genuine, human hand.

And then my eyes flew open and I was no longer in the tunnel.

Was that a dream? I wondered as I blinked my eyes. I was staring at a white ceiling, right at the panel of built-in lighting. No, that wasn't a dream, I told myself. That was a memory, a memory I wished was only a dream.

Where am I? I wondered as I slowly turned my head to look around. This room . . . I spent quite a lot of time in a room like this, so there was no mistaking where I was. I was in a hospital. But why am I here again? The last thing I remember, I was . . . That's right. I was picking up trash with the others down by the river. Not what I considered a fun activity, but I thought if I did something like that Auntie would stop worrying about me. But I suppose that wasn't going to happen anytime soon now that I was back here.

Slowly, I sat up. That was when I noticed my cousin, Hisao, sitting beside me on a chair while staring at his phone. He heard the rustling I made with my bedsheets and looked up.

"You're awake!" he cried out. "How're you feeling?"

I opened my mouth, but then stopped and looked around some more.

"If it's your phone, I have it right here," Hisao said. He took another phone out of his pocket and handed it to me.

I quickly took it and typed my reply into it before showing him.

"I see," he said. "That's . . . good to know."

His face was stony as he spoke, which made it hard to really gauge what he's thinking, but I already figured out that he was one of those withdrawn types who have a hard time expressing themselves in person. Even now, I believe that he was trying to be nice in his own way.

*****
Hisao
***** 

After Yuna had fainted, me and Mirai quickly took her over by the first aid station. We let her lie on a mat until the ambulance arrived. The paramedics didn't see anything wrong and that she had just fainted due to shock. But just in case, they decided to take her to the hospital to have her checked out. I had called Mom, explained what had happened and got her permission to have Yuna looked after. As her relative, I went with her and left the others behind.

After Yuna woke up, police detectives in plain clothes showed up to take our statements. But there really wasn't much we could tell them, so the interview lasted just a few minutes at most with me explaining what we did and what we saw, which was really unpleasant to recollect.

While the detective, an old man with graying hair and a blue suit, read through Yuna's testimony on her phone, there was something in it that made his eyes lit up a little, and he muttered, "Unpleasant memories? What does this mean, exactly?"

"Huh?" His partner, a younger man in a faded brown jacket took a look at the phone and then at the girl. "Hey, aren't you . . . ?"

"What's this? You know her?" the older gentleman asked.

"Yeah, I do, actually," the younger detective said. "She's from a case I handled a while back before I moved here. You must have heard about it. She's . . . you know . . . the one from that tunnel accident."

"Oh . . ." The old man fell quiet and quickly returned Yuna her phone. "Ahem! Never mind, then. Sorry about that."

I wondered what tunnel they could be talking about, but thought better not to ask.

When the detectives were done with their interview with us, Mom came in and took us home. The doctors didn't find anything wrong with Yuna so they discharged her from the hospital almost immediately.

Mom made a huge fuss about what happened today the whole night through. Her demands of us from now on were simple: no more weekends out for club activities, and to be back at home before sundown. There was not much I could say other than, "Okay," and "Got it." I learned a long time ago that there was no use arguing her. And for the most part, I didn't mind the demands.

**********

As expected, the school was abuzz with gossip as news had spread that a body had been found floating in the river. It was all our classmates would talk about. They spoke to each other in hushed whispers, some excited while others fearful. A few people joked around, feeling that this sort of stuff was so far away from their lives.

From what the news reporters said on TV, I learned that the man we saw was a college freshman who lived in the next town over, where police believed he had also died. When he passed away, he ended up in the river and taken downstream where we had found him. The reporters declared clearly that he was murdered and that the culprit was likely the infamous Piper.

Thankfully, the reporters didn't say where at the river the man was found, or when. So, although people knew me, Yuna and the rest of the CSC were by the river on the weekend, no one figured out that we had anything to do with it. Thus, our school day ran like any other, perfectly normal as if what had happened was just a dream. It was both relieving and slightly disturbing. But when me and Yuna got to the clubroom after school, reality sunk in again.

When we got to the clubroom, I was surprised to see that Mirai was not in his usual ridiculous costume. It looked like he opted to keep his normal, school day look for this meeting. 

"Hey, you guys," Omoyo said. "How're you doing, Yuna? Are you okay?"

She had a look of concern in her eyes. She had been really worried about Yuna after Yuna's fainting by the river, and would sometimes text both her and me for updates on her condition.

Yuna flashed a shaky smile and nodded before sitting down. I sat down next to her.

Once we were seated, Mirai began his meeting. While wearing what was supposed to be a grave scowl, he leaned forward and propped his chin on his hands as he rested his elbows on the table.

"Comrades," he started, "thank you all for coming. I have gathered you here today in this Demon Lord's war council to discuss the future of our campaign of conquest."

Even with his costume discarded, he was still acting his delusional self in the clubroom.

Omoyo got up and walked over to Mirai. Once she was by his side, she raised her hand and then sharply whapped him in the back of his head.

"Take this seriously, Toshiro," she snapped. "You want to talk about what happened at the river, isn't that right?"

"Ow! That hurt!" Mirai bemoaned. "You didn't have to do that, Homura. I was just trying to lighten up the mood."

"Well, you're doing a terrible job of it," Omoyo said.

"Fine!" Mirai said. "Then how about if I do this?"

He went over to a box at the corner of the room and dug out that pink elephant head. 

"Da da-da daah!" He sang and then put the plushie costume over his own.

Omoyo sighed and shook her head. "Now you're just being stupid," she said.

It was like they were doing a comedy skit. But no one else seemed to mind, especially Yuna who I caught smiling a little. I wasn't about to ruin that, so I said nothing. 

But Isaneko was a different story. Growing tired of the comedy skit, she interrupted Omoyo and Mirai and said, "Can we get on with this? What is it that you wanted to tell us?"

Mirai was about to speak, but then the door opened with a really loud bang that made me jump out of my seat. 

A rather tough-looking guy with an aggressive glare barged in, flanked by two others who appeared to be lackeys. The image they created was not unlike a yakuza boss and his henchmen making a visit for "business".

"Yo, Mirai," the leader said. The very way he spoke, all oily and low, was like something out of a TV show. And he had his nose pointed up to give the impression he was looking down on everyone in the room. "You got something I want. Hand it over."

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The Mysteries of the Community Service Club (Chapter Seven)

*****
Hisao
*****

After being checked over at the nurse's office, I returned to the gym, got changed and then headed to the clubroom. I had Yuna go ahead of me to wait at the clubroom since it seemed better than waiting at the nurse's office. When I got to the clubroom, Omoyo checked to see if I was okay and asked me what I talked about with Naoko. I told her everything.

"Huh? Friends!? With her!?" Omoyo looked at me in disbelief.

"Now don't be like that," said Isaneko. "We were all sort of like friends to her, growing up. Although I'm surprised she would still call us that, after breaking away from her faction."

"Factions? What's up with that?" I asked.

"It's exactly what it sounds like," Isaneko said. "I'm sure you already know this, but we're not the only psychics in this town." After looking at my face, she corrected herself. "Never mind. You don't know."

"This town has a deep history with psychics," Mirai said. He was sitting at the head table like usual with his feet kicked up while wearing his usual cape and domino mask. "It used to be ruled by the Shirogami Clan, the most powerful clan of psychics in the country. Thanks to them, this town became sort of like a secret capital for Japanese psychics. But with the town growing over the years, a lot of psychics who came to live here split themselves into different groups."

"And one of those groups is the Soushu Family?" I asked.

Mirai nodded.

"That's right," he said. "I heard that the Soushu Family lived in this town for about as long as the Shirogami Clan, but they weren't all that powerful. They started to gain influence fifty years ago thanks to the leader's work in politics at the time. I think Naoko's mom is a member of the National Diet."

"A member of the National Diet!?" I cried out. "Get out of here! You're pulling my leg, aren't you?"

"No, it's true," said Omoyo. "I have an uncle who works closely with her mom back at the big city."

"If Omoyo says so, I guess it's true," I said.

"Ah, it hurts, Underling Hisao," Mirai said softly, with a high, shaky voice. "It hurts how you don't believe what I say until someone else says so."

I ignored him and his cartoony acting.

"But with a mom like that, what's Naoko doing in a town like this, going to a school like ours?" I asked. Don't get me wrong. My hometown is a pretty nice place, and up to date with most modern cities. But, it's still a bit of a small town when compared to places like Tokyo.

Mirai recovered from his earlier injury to the heart and answered my question.

"Well, like I said, this town's sort of like a capital for the country's psychics," he said. "So it wouldn't be a stretch to say that controlling this town is the same as controlling the country. You'd be surprised by how much pull supernatural powers has in politics. Because of that, lots of the people living in this town is connected to a powerful family or organization, or whatever."

As I sat back in my chair, taking all this new info in, a thought crossed my mind that filled me with a sense of dread.

"Say, Pres," I said.

"Yes, Underling Hisao?" Mirai said. "What is it?"

"With all this talk about different groups, control of this town, and control of the country, us in this club aren't going to get mixed up in some big trouble are we?" 

"What are you saying, Oota?" Omoyo cut in. "You make it sound like there's some big war brewing over the horizon. This isn't some comic book. Sure some groups don't get along with each other, but we still got the Shirogami Clan. If there's ever a problem, they'll butt in and put a stop to it."

"But I think his worries are warranted," Isaneko said. "With the way things are going lately, you have to wonder just how long the peace in this town will last. And you heard Mirai. It USED to be ruled by the Shirogami Clan. They're still around and still play a big role in the town's shape, but they're not as powerful as it used to be. Not to mention having our newest recruits join in helping the Kendo club even though they're both complete amateurs leads me to suspect that something is up. It's as if you're getting them ready for battle, Toshiro."

Omoyo snorted.

"This is just stupid," she said. "Come on, Toshiro. Tell her she's overthinking things."

All our eyes were on the guy who brought us all together. To our surprise, he threw off both the cape and the mask and rest his chin on his clasped hands as he leaned forward while facing us all.

"I will admit that Aika has a point," he said.

Oh my god, I thought. He was talking properly in the clubroom, and he wasn't even using nicknames anymore! This must be serious.

I swallowed hard and tried to listen, but it was hard because of my heart beating loudly against my chest. And from my back, nervous sweat broke out.

"Things have been heating up lately between the Soushu Family and another group," Mirai admitted. "Naoko told me herself. But I also don't think we have to worry. Even though we have superpowers, we're still a bunch of high schoolers in a small high school club. As long as we keep going on with our normal lives, there shouldn't be anything to worry about."

And then he got off his chair, put back on the cape and mask, and gave us a twirl, throwing the cape to flutter at his right.

"That's right!" he said, all melodramatic. "No matter the dangers, or the evil that comes our way, I will keep you safe. So this demon lord swears."

He broke out in loud, bold laughter and then sat back down, pulling a sheet of paper out from his desk.

"Anyway, moving on," he said, "this weekend we'll be going by the riverbed and join other volunteer groups to pick up litter. The cleanup is supposed to start at 9, so we'll meet up by the bridge at 8:30. That's it for today. Dismissed!"

Done with his announcements, he threw off his cape and mask once again, straddled his bag over his shoulder and rushed out the door before anyone could stop him.

He clearly didn't want our earlier talk about warring factions to continue, but there was nothing any of us could do about it now that he had fled. So, we decided to give up, gather our things and go home.

When me and Yuna got home, my mom asked how our day. She had us sit on the couch in the living room.

"Are you okay, Yuna?" she asked when I told her that we helped out the Kendo club. "You didn't push yourself too hard did you?"

But Yuna just shook her head. She never did all that much except do a few practice swings. The rest of the time, she just watched me and the others spar with the Kendo club members.

And then I told Mom about the club's plan for the weekend. She was, of course, worried for Yuna. Because Yuna had been in the hospital for a long while, Mom probably thought she shouldn't move around too much. I thought there was nothing to worry about, though. As far as I saw in gym class, Yuna didn't have any problems. Yuna also said to Mom that she was fine.

Still, despite assurances from Yuna, Mom was not at ease. She did, however, give her okay for Yuna to join the club for our weekend volunteer work so things ended up as well as they could be with her.

And then the day of our cleanup of the riverbed came.

Apart from all five of us from the Community Service Club, close to a dozen people showed up for the cleanup, including a few elderly people, two of whom were a pair of high school sweethearts married for more than sixty years. Other than the CSC, the old couple were the most frequent volunteers. They probably had nothing better to do on the weekends.

When the old man saw me, he smiled and said, "Well, if it isn't the aloha shirt boy. How are you doing?"

Most of the grownups I run into on the weekends know me as the aloha shirt boy because, well, I always wear button-down aloha shirts. They're comfy, so I like wearing them.

After a little bit of small talk with me, the elderly couple went over to the people in charge of today's cleaning to grab what they needed. Each and every one of us was given a pair of long, stainless steel tongs and a plastic garbage bag and then sent off to find a place by the riverbed to scour for garbage. After getting brief greetings and getting our cleaning supplies, we went straight to work. 

Us high schoolers took a space closer to the hill along with the old people, while the fitter grownups took the spaces closer to the river. There were also two men on lookout. By their feet were bags with letters that read: "LIFEGUARD". The organizers probably didn't want anyone accidentally falling into the river and drowning.

It was a bit hot out, but having grown up in this town, I was used to it. Yuna seemed to be holding up well, but I kept an eye on her just in case. Mom wouldn't let me hear the end of it if anything were to happen.

If this were a TV show, this would normally be the part where cheery, lighthearted background music, maybe from a guitar, is played while a montage of event stills showed our happy faces as we chat with each other and goofed around a little during our work. But this was reality. Sure there were some smiling faces to go with friendly chats among the volunteers, but to me, there was nothing really to smile about about while toiling under the sun, picking up garbage that stupid, litterbug jerks couldn't take care of themselves. And with my hands full, I couldn't take out my phone and fiddle with it.

Not too far away, kids gathered by the stream, playing soccer. There was also a family having a picnic nearby on a bright pink cloth. And joggers ran by along the edge of the hill topside.

After half an hour of sifting through grass and weeds, a question suddenly popped into my head and I had to ask it.

"Hey, by the way," I said, "what sort of power does Naoko have?"

"Oh? Taken an interest in the Student Council President, have you Underling Hisao?" Mirai said, while rubbing his chin with an evil grin. "Perhaps you hope to find a weakness of some sort with which to trip her up as you start your own world conquest."

I scowled at Mirai and said, "I was just curious. It's no big deal if you don't tell me."

I turned around and started to look for garbage again, but Mirai said, "Alright, alright! My bad. It's not that big of a secret, anyway. To answer your question, Naoko's an Omni-Kinetic Type."

I looked up and went, "A what?"

"Omni-Kinetic means she has more than one type of kinetic power," Omoyo explained. "You know how you only have psychokinesis and Aika only has telekinesis?"

"Yeah," I said.

"Well, Soushu has both," said Omoyo. "She can move things with her mind and make that Psy-Armor thing. Not only that, she can make and control fire, water, ice and wind. She can shoot lightning out of her fingers. And I think she also has healing powers."

"Wow," I said. "I didn't even know it was possible to have more than one power, let alone a whole bunch like that."

"There are actually quite a lot of psychics who're Omni-Kinetic, actually," said Mirai. "Most of the most powerful families in the world of psychics have Omni-Kinetics. Though being born Omni-Kinetic is really rare, major families like the Shirogami Clan can create Omni-Kinetics. I'd like to know how they do it, but security is so tight that there's no way for me to find out. Well, gotta make do with what you can get."

"Now that I think about it, where'd you learn to give people powers in the first place?" I asked. "That doesn't sound like something just anyone can do."

But Mirai held a finger to my face, wagged it and said, "That, my friend, is classified. Anyway, I have to go talk to the organizers about where we'll go next week. Do you guys think you can handle things without me for a bit?"

"Honestly, I think we'd do a better job with you gone," Omoyo said.

Mirai whistled and said, "Harsh. Well, see you guys later."

And then he walked away towards the shade beneath the bridge where the organizers' table was stationed, as well as the first aid table. After watching him leave us for a bit, we turned around and went back to looking for litter.

As I brushed aside weeds with my tongs, not for the first time, my thoughts drifted to imaginations for what I could do with my power. I already knew that I could create armor for myself. And I could shoot psychic energy missiles. But maybe there was even more I could do, like stretch my Psy-Armor to cover whatever I hold and turn it into a sword or make extra hands to work in place of telekinesis. I mean, if I could make a wall out of psychic energy, I should be able to do stuff like that, right?

That was when I encountered a semi-crushed soda can lying behind some weeds. I decided to put my power to the test, just a little bit, to see if it was possible.

I looked right. And then I looked left. With the coast clear, I held out my hand and tried to imagine it stretching towards the can on its own to pick it up. Space rippled around my hand and, just like I imagined, extended towards the can. The point of the clear ripple wrapped itself around two sides of the can much like fingers would and slowly lifted the can off the green grass.

It's working! I thought excitedly. It's actually working!

And then someone screamed. 

"I didn't do it!" I cried out as my concentration broke and the can dropped back down onto the grass.

I turned around, but no one was looking at me. Omoyo, Isaneko, and Yuna were all staring at the river, along with everyone else, I noticed. They were all really pale and Yuna and Isaneko both had their hands cupped over their mouths. I turned around again to see what at the river captivated them so much, and saw what looked like a person in the river.

With so many people blocking my view, I thought that some idiot was doing backstrokes in the river while fully clothed. I could tell by the clothes and general outline that the person was a man. But as he continued to drift down the river, I got a clearer view of what everyone else was seeing.

I was right that the person in the river was a man, but he was not swimming. No, far from it. The way he looked, how it made me sick to my stomach made it clear to me, without a shred of doubt, that he was dead. 

I was looking at a corpse.

 As the corpse passed us by, I could hear heavy breathing nearby. Although the corpse was a horrific sight, too terrible for me to describe, I had to turn around. The one breathing heavily was Yuna. Her eyes, so very wide, so very fearful, and so very wild, were fixated on the corpse as it drifted away. And then all of a sudden, she screamed. She screamed and screamed, and screamed, gripping her head tightly between her hands.

None of us, especially me, could do anything or say anything to her as a terrible shriek spilled out of her throat. And then, when she couldn't scream anymore, she fainted on the spot.

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The Mysteries of the Community Service Club (Chapter Six)

I looked at Naoko Soushu in surprise.

 "Really?" I cried out. "You have a special power too? What kind?"

Naoko Soushu had a surprised look on her face, as if she had been expecting a different reaction from me. 

"I don't think you heard me," she said. "I'm Naoko Soushu, as in the daughter of the Soushu family."

"Yeah, I heard you," I said. "You're the daughter of the Shoyu family. They make that sauce, right?"

"No!" Soushu snapped. "It's Soushu, not Shoyu! What kind of family would have a sauce for a name?"

"Oh," I went. "Never heard of them."

Soushu smacked her palm against her forehead.

I was really clueless about a lot of things back then. But luckily, I was surrounded by people in the know. Including my own cousin.

Yuna tugged at my kimono sleeve and showed me her phone. It read: "The Soushu family is famous. They have a lot of power in the world of superpowered people and psychics."

"So she's like one of those underworld organization princesses you see in games and comics?"

Yuna rolled her eyes and then replied, "Yeah. Something like that."

"That's right," Soushu said, after calming down and regaining her composure. "I could be called a princess, given how powerful my family is. But given that you didn't even know about my family, I take it you really are an artificial psychic?"

I blinked once and said, "I'm a what?"

Soushu sighed and explained, "It means you weren't born with powers."

"Oh," I said. I probably looked like an idiot to her, but I try not to think about that. "Yeah. Before two months ago, I didn't even know that psychic powers were real."

"Was Toshiro the one who gave you that power?" Soushu asked.

"Yeah," I replied.

"And what about you?" she asked Yuna. "Did he give you a power as well? Since you're in the Community Service Club, I'm assuming you have one."

Yuna, however, shook her head. She typed into her phone and showed Soushu, "I was born with my power."

"By the way, Miss Shoyu," I said. "You seem to know Mirai and Omoyo really well, calling them by their first name and all. How are you related to them?"

"Again, it's Soushu. But never mind that," Soushu said. "To answer your question, we grew up together. Our families are all connected to each other and we've gone to the same school since Kindergarten. We got along so well back then. Sometimes I wonder how they're doing. If you don't mind, I'd love it if you could tell me what they've been up to."

"Hmm," I went, rubbing my chin. "There's not really much I can say. If you grew up with him, I'm sure you know how weird Mirai can get. Sometimes he shows up in some random costume, gives us weird nicknames and talks like some comic book villain. Most of the time, Omoyo's the one who signs us up for volunteer work outside school in the weekends. Mirai handles the clubs who come to us for help. We do practice using our powers sometimes, but most of the time is just normal school and club stuff."

"I see, "said Soushu. "What about any plans?"

"Plans?"

"Yes," said Soushu. "Like plans for the future. Has he ever mentioned anything he wanted to do? I'm speaking outside of club activities, of course."

I thought for a bit and then replied, "No," while shaking my head.

"I see," said Soushu. "Then, what about club members? I heard you recently got a fifth member. That is Yuna Oota here, right?"

Yuna nodded and I replied, "Yeah."

"Has there been others who visit the club a lot? Anyone else who wanted to join?"

"We do get a lot of visitors asking for help," I admitted. "But I haven't heard about anyone wanting to join. And Mirai hasn't tried looking for new members after I joined. I guess since he had enough members to make an official club, he lost interest in getting more."

"I see," Soushu said. She looked deep in thought. "So, it looks like you don't know anything after all. I expected as much but . . ."

She mumbled something beneath her breath. I heard what she was saying, but I didn't really get what she was after. For some reason, she reminded me of a detective from a mystery drama I liked to watch. She made the same kind of face the detective made after questioning a witness.

"By the way, Miss. Shoyu, couldn't you just ask Mirai all this?" I said. "You guys are friends, aren't you?"

"Once again, my family name's Soushu!" Soushu said. "And while Toshiro, Homura, Aika and I are friends, we've been so busy with our own thing that we haven't had time to talk. Anyway, we're here."

While we were talking, we had arrived at the nurse's office. Soushu opened the door and there, waiting to greet us was the teacher in charge, a man in a white coat, sitting at a desk. He looked up from some paperwork to see who had come in and said, "What happened now, Oota?"

"I . . . uh . . . got hit in the head," I explained to him.

"Again!?" the teacher exclaimed.

Both Yuna and Soushu blinked.

"Again?" Puzzled, Soushu looked at me and then at the teacher and then asked, "Has this happened before?"

"Oh yeah," I said. "Lots of times. Almost every other day, there's something flying to my face."

"That's a bit of an exaggeration, don't you think?" Soushu said. "It can't be that bad."

"It's not an exaggeration," said the teacher. "I've had him rushed here for getting hit by a flying baseball, volleyballs, and soccer balls,"

"Don't forget that one time someone accidentally slammed a door into me," I added.

"I still don't understand how that happened," the teacher spoke back.

"Uwah . . ." Soushu was struck speechless with a baffled look on her face. But she quickly recovered and asked, "Have you always been this unlucky?"

I shook my head. "No," I said. "From middle school to before, I think my luck was pretty normal. At least, I haven't had something fly into my face before I became a student here."

"The way you say it, it's as if this place is a jinx to you," the teacher said, looking dismayed. "Well, it doesn't look like you're hurt, like always. I'll just do a quick check-up and send you on your way."

"I'm in your care, Teach!"

"You seem to be in good hands so I'll excuse myself now," said Soushu.

"Huh? Oh, sure," I went. "Thanks for coming with me, Miss Shoyu."

"It's not Shoyu!" Soushu snapped. "You know what! Forget it. Just call me Naoko. Naoko's fine."

"Oh, in that case you can just call me Hisao," I said. "And this is my cousin, Yuna."

Yuna bowed when her name was called.

"I'll do that," Naoko said. "Well, see you later."

"Later!"

And then she left.

Just to give you a little heads-up, I will not be the only narrator for this story. If we relied solely on my perspective, the full story can't get out. So from time to time, someone else will take over storytelling for a bit.

*****

Naoko

*****

"Unbelievable!" I muttered to myself as I walked briskly down the hall. "Seriously unbelievable!"

After leaving Hisao Oota and his cousin under the care of the teacher in charge of the infirmary, I decided to return to the Student Council office. At this time, there were still students lingering around the hallway. A few saw and greeted me, but most simply passed me by without so much as a glance. I might have allowed comics to influence me a little because I couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed at how little attention I was getting despite being the Student Council president, let alone that I'm the daughter of the esteemed Soushu Family.

"To think my family name would be mixed up with a sauce! A sauce!"

As I headed down the hall to the stairs, a boy appeared and started following me. I wasn't alarmed because the boy was Eiji Shikouyama, the vice-president of the Student Council and my right-hand man. His family was also a supporter of mine.

"So, did you find out what Mirai's up to?" he asked as we walked to the Council room together.

I shook my head and shrugged.

"Not at all," I said. "Other than the fact he created one new psychic, it seems like Toshiro's not up to anything. At the very least, his new recruits don't know anything. But I expected that."

"Ahem!" Eiji coughed. "Well, it's like I always say, you never know if you don't try. But he must be up to something. You don't just create new psychics for no good reason."

"I know," I said. "But he hasn't made any active effort to recruit followers. He's only got one new member to his club in two months, a natural born who joined on her own. Other than his usual riffraff, he's been very quiet the last few months. I seriously don't like it."

Toshiro was always a bit of a schemer, I thought. It was strange that he hasn't made a move yet, and that worried me. It was like the calm before the storm.

"Well, whatever," I said as I opened the door into the Student Council office. It sat right next to the faculty room and was twice as big as a normal clubroom, which isn't a particularly big room to begin with. "As long as he doesn't get in our way, it doesn't matter what his plans are. And even if he does turn against us, all we have to do is crush him and his merry little band. We will show him, and all the other gangs that oppose us that the Soushu Family does not mess around!"

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