Good bye, 2023

 Hey everyone!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

With the year close to an end, I thought I'd make one final blog post before we say good bye to 2023 and hello to 2024, and to share with you all my New Year's resolution and plans.

First off, recently, I posted this year's Christmas story which served as a sort of prequel to The Vampire's Coffee Shop. The story is titled The Trickster's Christmas, and tells about what a certain villain decided to do for the holidays. If you're curious what this villain's up to, I encourage you to give it a read. I hope you enjoy it and be inspired with the universal spirit of the holidays that I put into it. With current events being what they are the last couple of years, it seems like almost everyone's forgotten something very important that they should remember all year long and forever more, I wanted to remind people of it, which was why I wrote this story.

The Trickster's Christmas will also be the last story I post for 2023. Normally, I'd add a New Year's story as well, but I couldn't think of one.

Moving on, on 2024, I plan to finish Volume 2 of The Mysteries of the Community Service Club (CSC for short). I actually finished writing the whole volume, but held off posting them out of consideration for the people of Maui, due to the nature of Volume 2's conflict.

Friendly reminder, the scars from the Maui Wildfires still remain. If they're still around, please consider donating to charities supporting the victims of the fires and rebuilding efforts.

I'm also compiling all of The Vampire's Coffee Shop chapters into a physical book which I'll sell on Amazon. If you like my stories or prefer an actual book in your hands, please support me by buying a copy. I should have that done within the next month as of this post. I plan to do the same with CSC Volume 2 once the final chapter is out.

Like the last year, there are three stories I will be working on at the same time in 2024. One is the final volume of Lucy's Emeron Journey, the other is the next volume of CSC, and finally a brand new fantasy series that takes place in our world but will have a connection to Emeron.

The brand new story is also a kind that I've always wanted to write, similar to what I aimed for with Paladin Academy. But this time, I hope to get it done right and reach the finish line. Still, I can't make promises that I will actually execute it well (I'm no J. K. Rowling or Eoin Colfer after all). But I can promise to do the best I can with it.

I hope by the end of next year, I will finish both Lucy's Emerson Journey and the next CSC volume at least. That is my New Years resolution as a writer.

One final thing, this has nothing to do with my writing, but I figured why not add it since I'm already talking about New Year's resolutions. I hope to put a bigger dent to my backlog of TV shows and movies than this year.

There will likely be hiccups along my stories, but I hope you will bear with it all and stick with me as I continue my journey as a writer.

Merry Christmas, happy New Year, and happy reading, everyone!

The Trickster's Christmas

This is a story that took place a long time ago, long before Peggy Lau first set foot in a certain vampire's coffee shop.

Winter had come once more to the town of Featherkeep, part of the Ariela Kingdom. And with winter, a holiday that many called Christmas fast approached. Every rooftop and much of the roads were already covered in thick white blankets of snow, but more continued to drift down from the black sky.

Although night had long since fallen, a lone, little girl in a tattered dress wandered the streets while trying to sell the flowers she carried in a big, old basket. Her stained blue cloak was poor protection against the cold. But despite being chilled to the bone, she soldiered on, holding up a flower with a quivering hand while asking if anyone would buy it with a forced smile.

There were not a lot of people in the area she did business. Most have probably gathered at the town square. For what, the girl wasn't sure. Featherkeep had always been a town of festivals, but it was still not yet time for the next one. Christmas was soon, but still a couple of days away.

Unable to contain her curiosity for much longer, the little girl called out, "Excuse me, Miss?"

The lady with long, long ears stopped. She was an elf and probably as old as the little girl's mother would be.

"Yes?" the elf lady asked. Her eyes rolled to the girl's basket and darkened. "If you need some money, then, I - !"

The little girl cut the elf off and said, "Oh, no. That's not it. I just wanted to ask if you knew what all the people are doing at the town square."

The elf looked at the girl in surprise. "You don't know?"

"The guards shooed me away before I could find out," the little girl explained.

The elf sighed. "I see. Well, actually . . ."

**********

"Hello and good evening, everyone! We're live in front of the Royal Castle here at the Royal Capital City where a huge crowd of people have gathered."

Up on a building's rooftop, while holding a microphone, a pig folk (part-pig) lady spoke to her own reflection in a large mirror held by a young, human man. Her image appeared in other mirrors all over the city, floating over the streets, held in people's hands, and mounted on the walls of people's homes.

Magical mirrors are pretty much the TV and smartphones of the magical world of Emeron, and the pig lady was a news reporter.

"Look at all those people," she said, stepping aside to give her audience a view of the crowd below. "Now some folks at home might be wondering why there's so much people out on a winter night like this, even though the festivals don't start until another couple of days. But if you've seen the morning news like all these other folks have, then you'll know that earlier today, several greeting cards were discovered by royal knights on patrol. And these aren't normal greeting cards, folks. These are greeting cards signed by none other than the infamous Trickster of Ariela!

"As you know, the Trickster is a notorious criminal who enjoyed breaking into the homes of the kingdom's rich and powerful, snatching away their greatest treasures only to return them the next day, with his real prize being the embarrassment of his victims and their guards. Because of who he targeted, high class nobles, the richest of merchants, and even relatives of the Royal Family, there are many in the kingdom who view the Trickster as a sort of hero. No surprise given the troubles the kingdom had gone through in recent years, i.e. the Shadow Civil War, where powerful people and groups try to sabotage each other with crimes. Because of these crimes, lots of unrelated, innocent people got hurt and suffered in the crossfire. But let's put that aside for now.

"The Trickster's tricks, as lots of people call them, used to be a regular thing. But then, he suddenly stopped. It's been over a year since his last one, and many thought that he might have died. That was, until today."

She held up a small, white card next to her head.

"I have here one of several greeting cards left lying around the Royal Plaza. It reads: 'Salutations. I, the handsomest thief in all the land, the Trickster of Ariela, will show up here tonight at midnight.' That is all. And don't worry folks. This reporter here always checks the facts and with expert help, we made sure that this card is the real deal.

"But that's not all. Reports are coming in that several cities and towns have also gotten greeting cards from the Trickster, saying that he will make an appearance tonight. What could this mean? Is he saying he's going to show up at every town in Ariela at the same time? How? This reporter cannot wait to find out."

In the office of the king, one knight sniffed indignantly. "Hmph! What nonsense! It's obviously just a distraction to split our forces apart. But I will not be fooled. He will definitely show up here and nowhere else. And when he does, I will capture him. My plan is foolproof! This, I swear, Your Majesty!"

As far as knights go, he was a bit on the scrawnier side, dressed in an expensive, but ill-fitting suit and cape.

The green-skinned man with bat-wing shaped ears called "Your Majesty", paid the knight no attention and simply stared at the simple greeting card over and over again while wearing a deep frown. He was a goblin and the King of Ariela.

Noticing this, a large man known as the Royal Captain and the king's bodyguard, bent down and whispered, "Is something the matter, Your Majesty?"

"It's nothing," the King said. "I was just wondering what the Trickster wanted. What is his goal?"

"Isn't it to cause trouble like he always does?" his bodyguard asked.

The King, however, shook his head. "I don't know. Tonight is different from all his other escapades. For one thing, every one of his last greeting cards clearly say what he plans to take. But this time, he's only said he was going to show up."

"Could it be a fake, then?"

Again, the King shook his head. "You heard the news reporter. The cards have been checked. They're definitely from him. We can take that loud knight's word for it. Out of everyone in the kingdom, he's battled the Trickster the most, second only the the Hero of Light."

At the mention of a certain hero, the King's face suddenly twisted in pain. But he quickly recovered and went, "Ahem! Anyway, we'll find out soon enough what this is all about."

The loud knight glared daggers at the grandfather clock sitting at the side of the room which tracked the time until the Trickster's planned appearance.

Blast it, boy, he seethed to himself. You don't show over a year, and now you say you're going to be in hundreds of places at once? Just what are you up to?

There was just ten seconds left until the promised time. Nine . . . Eight . . . Five . . . Four . . . Three . . . Two . . . One.

BOOM!

All heads turned to the source of a loud explosion. One rooftop had huge clouds of blue smoke drifting upward. And out from that smoke, a lone figure in a black cape and top hat stepped out and walked all the way to the edge.

The figure was a tall, slender man in a tuxedo. He gave a small salute and the crowd below went wild.

Unable to contain her excitement, the news reporter shrieked into her microphone, "It's him! It's really him! Folks, as you can see, the Trickster is on the roof of the department store where he detonated a smoke bomb! And it looks like he's holding something up in his hands. Is that . . . a necklace? No, wait! That's not just any necklace, folks. That looks like the diamond necklace of Duchess Summerfield!"

"WHAT!?" screamed the loud knight, throwing himself onto the large mirror. His nose pressed against the glass as he got a good, long look at the treasure the caped figure held high over his head. "HOW? That thing should be locked up in the royal treasure vault!"

"I don't know, sir!" said one of the loud knight's underlings. "None of the guards reported anything amiss. Shall I have them go check for themselves?"

"No! Wait, don't!" barked the loud knight. "This could be a trick just to get us to open the vault! Leave it for now!"

And then he pulled out his own small mirror and shouted, "Squad One will chase after him! Squads Two and up, stay in position! Don't let anyone get past you! And whatever you do, make sure that vault stays shut!"

"YES, SIR!"

After dishing out his orders, the loud knight stuffed his mirror back into his pocket and glared at the bigger mirror showing him his rival's image on the rooftop. Half the Trickster's face was hidden beneath his top hat, but the knight could tell he was grinning.

The Trickster gave a bow to the crowd below and then turned around with a swish of his cape before walking away. The way he behaved so casually made the loud knight's blood boil. And the way the people below cheered for the villain helped matters none.

"EXCUSE ME!" He screamed at the King and then ran out of the office. All his underlings followed after him. And then it was just the King and his bodyguards.

The Royal Captain whispered to the King, "Your Majesty, isn't the diamond necklace of Duchess Summerfield supposed to be . . ."

The King cut the Royal Captain off and said, "I know. The Duchess' granddaughter took back the necklace ages ago before going on her trip to the Nihon Empire. I gave it to her myself."

"Should we tell them?" the Royal Captain asked.

"No," said the King. "Let's just wait and see what happens."

They turned their eyes back on the mirror as the news reporter continued to do her job with gusto.

"This just in, folks!" she said. "It looks like the Trickster's making good on his promise. I'm getting reports of him appearing at Featherkeep, New Bakersfield Town, Bushford City, and so on! He's really at every town and city at the same time. And like here at the Royal Capital, he's already got his hands on some treasure. How did he do it? Knights, guards, mercenaries and bounty hunters are all chasing after him, all of him as I speak. And you will see it all from the magic mirrors behind me through the magic mirrors we've deployed with the help of our little friends here."

The news reporter gestured to a flock of owls and bats, all clutching hand mirrors in their talons. They spread out over the city, following the knights as they pursued the Trickster down narrow alleys. Leading the knights was the loud one.

"Wow, he's fast," the King said, speaking of the loud knight.

"He always was pretty good at marathon racing," said the Royal Captain. "I guess all those times chasing the Trickster really paid off."

Down roads and dark alleys, the loud knight and his men ran, chasing after the coattails of the Trickster.

"STOP RIGHT THERE! STOP RIGHT THERE, I SAY!" the loud knight screamed.

Of course, the Trickster didn't stop. But neither did the knights. They kept running and running, and running, turning left, right, left, left, right, left, right, etcetera and etcetera. Over their heads were owls and bats holding mirrors that served as eyes for the news reporter's audience.

The knights were a stubborn bunch, but they had limits just like everyone else and soon grew too tired to keep running.

The loud knight stopped, leaned against a brick wall while wheezing. He wiped sweat off his brow and swore, thinking that he once more failed to catch his rival. But then, when he looked up, he was stunned to see the Trickster just standing ahead, staring back at him.

Was the Trickster taunting him? The loud knight wondered. Is he trying to say even if he gave the knights a break, they still wouldn't catch him?

"Curse you, Trickster!" the loud knight yelled angrily. "Don't you dare look down on us! AFTER HIM! AFTER HIM!"

Fury ignited in the knights thinking the Trickster was insulting them by waiting for them to catch their breaths and they resumed the chase.

In another town, at another office, a blond, human woman in an elegant dress sat behind a table while watching the Trickster run down a dirty alley while holding a red jewel in his right hand. Unlike the Trickster at the Royal Capital, no one was chasing this one except for the reporter's mirror-bearing rats.

"Hmph!" the woman sniffed. "Did the Trickster really think I would be fooled by such an obvious fake?"

"But my lady Baroness, he is still a criminal," said the butler, a man part-tabby cat. "Are you sure we should not give chase?"

"I'm sure," said the woman who was also a baroness. "Going along with his immature games is a waste of time and effort. Still, I am curious why he would show himself again like this after so long. I never believed he really died, but I expected him to grow tired of these antics. Especially after the Hero of Light sacrificed herself to end some larger villain's scheme."

Suddenly, the Baroness's maid, a fellow human, spoke up and said, "Perhaps it's because of the Hero of Light that he's doing this."

"Pardon? What do you mean by that?" asked the Baroness.

"Forgive me, My Lady," the maid said, bowing her head. "I spoke out of turn."

Annoyed, the Baroness icily said, "That is not what I asked. Answer my question."

The maid hesitated and then said, "Well, My Lady, don't you see where he's going? It looks like he's headed for the orphanage."

Back at the Royal Capital, the knights continued to chase their Trickster.

"Sir!" one knight shouted to the loud one. "He's headed for the slums!"

The loud knight laughed. "Ha! He thinks we'll stop chasing him just because the place is a little dirty? DON'T UNDERESTIMATE US, CRIMINAL! WE KNIGHTS HAVE BEEN THROUGH FAR WORSE THAN SOME DINGY SLUMS!"

From within the shadows of dark alleys and through broken windows, the filth-covered residents watched as clean soldiers of the king rushed down the street full of nothing but dilapidated houses. The knights ignored the residents, or at least tried to. 

"There!" the loud knight shouted. "He's gone into that house! The fool! He's trapped himself!"

There is now nowhere for the Trickster to run now, he thought with a wicked grin.

He kicked the door open and marched in to the sound of shrill screams.

"I have you now, Trickster!" the knight shouted.

The caped man turned around. But to the loud knight's shock, instead of a young, blue-skinned vampire, the man standing in front of him wasn't even alive. It was a faceless wood doll. And that doll, clothes and all, melted into a puddle of water that sank into the floor and disappeared, leaving behind the "stolen" goods with a card pinned beneath.

The doll also melted to reveal a group of wolf children in dirty, ragged clothes lingering at the back of the room, four in all. One lied on bed, sweating, breathing heavily and coughing. Two huddled with him, while the last, the oldest and a girl, stood her ground in front of the others, with her fangs bared while growling.

The knights stared at the children and the children stared back, clearly frightened.

Outside, they could still clearly hear the news reporter's voice as she relayed events to the public as seen through the magic mirror held by the owls and bats that followed the knights the whole time.

"Folks at home, are you all seeing this? The knights have chased the Trickster into a house in the slums used by a group of small wolf folk children. But it turns out the Trickster the knights were chasing was a fake all along. It was a golem! A magic puppet that can be controlled remotely or programmed to move on its own. 

"The golem melted into water and disappeared, leaving behind both the diamond necklace and a card. What could be on it?"

The loud knight frowned at the mirrors being pointed at him and then went, "Hmph!"

He slowly walked up to necklace and card. Now that he saw it up close, he realized that the necklace was a fake. Thanks to all those times handling treasure swiped by the Trickster, the loud knight got to know A LOT about jewels and such.

Next, and most important, was the card. It had all the telltale signs that it was the Trickster's.

The news reporter could see the card and read it aloud.

"The Shadow Civil War is over, but behold the damage that lingers. The Hero is gone, but what would she do? What will YOU do?

"I'm getting reports that Trickster copies in other towns and cities are also just golem. They've led knights, guards and mercenaries to places like slums, the hideouts of homeless children and orphanages suffering money problems. The golem all melted away and disappeared, leaving behind cards with the same message.

The knight looked over the card at the children who made this rundown house their home. The child on the bed was clearly in bad shape.

"You, wolf girl, where are your parents?"

At the loud knight's question, the little werewolf glared at him.

"Gone forever," she snapped. "It's just me and my brothers now. We got no one else."

"I see," the loud knight said softly. "That's a nasty fever, one of your brothers got there. Has he seen a doctor? Or got any medicine?"

The wolf girl shook her head. "Don't got any money, and we need that for those."

"Not today you don't," said the loud knight. And then he turned to the others. "Get the medics here!"

The other knights were surprised. But they all quickly recovered, smiled and snapped salutes.

"YES, SIR!"

Back at the castle, sitting in his office, the King chuckled as he watched the knights go retrieve a doctor for the wolf child.

"So that's his game," he said, stroking his chin. "Fine. You win this time, Trickster."

And then he stood up. 

"Come, my loyal subjects. We have much work to do left. So that all people in the kingdom live well and happy, let us go!"

The Baroness at her own office also got on her feet. She stared coldly into the mirror and the image it showed of children at the dinner table in a modest orphanage that she had been sending lots of money too, or so she thought.

The children's dinner plates held barely any scraps of food. The plates a single haggard man had not hand out yet were equally scarce of food.

They were all bewildered when a person suddenly burst into their abode and then melted into a puddle of water in front of them, leaving behind what looked like a huge ruby and a white card.

"Prepare a carriage," the Baroness asked. "I will go collect my ruby myself."

Confused, the butler said, "I'm sorry, my lady? But I thought you said that ruby was a fake?"

"Don't be ridiculous," the Baroness said. "That ruby is clearly mine. And it makes sense that I go get it back. The faster the better. But if I go, I'm afraid I will not be back in time for dinner. In that case, I will just have to bring dinner with me as well. I'm feeling rather peckish this evening, so have the cooks make extra. Maybe enough to serve twenty to forty people. If I can't finish it all, I will just give it away."

Finally understanding, the butler bowed and said, "As you wish, my lady."

He turned to go away, but the Baroness stopped him

"Oh, and one more thing," she said. "I need to have a word with someone who got his name on Santa's naughty list. Bring him to me. In chains."

"With pleasure."

Back at the Royal Capital, the news reporter continued to do her job.

"This is amazing, folks! I am seeing live on magic mirrors knights, guards, mercenaries, nobles, the rich and the powerful all taking action to help people in the slums and children on the streets get the medicine they need and food in their bellies. I'm also getting word that the King, himself, is calling for action to help the poor and those without family or home. But it's not just them.

"No longer is this night about the long-awaited return of the Trickster. Tonight, this is all about good people doing good things. And I am loving every moment of it. Good night. Merry Christmas to all. And to all a happy new year! Back to you, Josh."

Back at Featherkeep, the little girl and the elf lady finished watching the news and were now on their way home. The elf had bought all the girl's flowers and was holding the basket. On the way, they talked about the girl's parents who were no longer around and the debts they left behind. Secretly, the elf planned to speak of the girl and her debt to a certain teacher who always wore a suit of armor and was more than enough to take down a group of loan sharks.

The girl's name, by the way, was Daisy.

Meanwhile, the news reporter at the Royal Capital handed the microphone to the mirror handler and the left the rooftop. She went down the stairs all the way to the bottom floor and went outside through the back door.

As she walked down a dark, empty alley, strips of her skin peeled off and transformed into colorful confetti paper. Gone was the pig folk lady. Instead, beneath all that confetti flying away was a slender teenage boy in a black tuxedo and cape. A mask covered the top half of his face, but his blue skin gave away his vampire nature. After dusting the last of the confetti off his sleeves, he put on a top hat.

He stopped to look out at a statue of a preteen girl with a broomstick and pointed hat at an empty plaza. The statue's base stand was decorated with a large green wreath with a red bow. 

The boy tipped his hat to the statue and whispered, "Merry Christmas and a happy new year to you, my hero."

And then, with a flutter of his cape, he turned away and disappeared into the darkness of the alley.

CSC Volume 2 Ch. 21

 *****
Hisao
*****

Normally, it would be impossible for me to run straight to the school non-stop because, well, as you all know, I ain't all that great at fitness. But run to the school non-stop, I did. And without ever even slowing down. I just ran and ran, and ran as fast as I could through dark streets and alleyways. My feet hammered hard against the pavement, but I felt nothing, as if I was running on air. Thinking back, it was most likely due to my Psy-Armor absorbing the impact that would’ve traveled up my legs.

To me, the streets were like a completely different world at night, but I still managed to find my way to the school, taking the same route I always took during the day. And when I arrived, I immediately caught sight of Akira. And he was in trouble. 

I spotted Akira from the side, which was easy because he was the only one who'd be covered in fur. His claws were also covered in flames, I noticed. Bitterly, I realized whole-heartedly that the others were right all along. Akira was the arsonist.

Everything was all circumstantial in their deductions, no evidence at all, so it hadn't really sunk in yet. 

But none of that mattered right now. What did was the huge, indescribable missile flying straight at him. I spotted it at around the same time Akira came into my sight.

I didn't slow down. I actually sped up. 

Under any other circumstance, I might've stopped like a deer in headlights, hesitant and wondering what I should do. But before something like that could happen, a voice screamed in my head a command. That was all I needed to act.

"CUT IT!"

I leaped right in front of the incoming missile, gripping tight the plain black umbrella that Omoyo had handed to me when I passed by her. Psychic energy sprung from my hand and wrapped itself around the umbrella. From there, the energy stretched out into a blade almost seven feet long.

Blood rushing to my head, I screamed and swung the blade of psychic energy down. I poured everything I had into that blade and it delivered spectacularly.

The blade slammed against the missile, breached through its shell and made it disperse. Bluntly put, I cut the damn thing and made it go boom.

And then, with a half-turn, I glanced back and asked, "You okay, Akira?"

The wolf guy blinked in utter bewilderment.

"No way. It can't be!" I heard him mutter. The flames that draped his claws fizzled out. I was relieved to see he was unharmed. At least I thought he looked unharmed. He was covered in fur, so it wasn't like I could see if he got any bruises or not. (Later, I found out he actually got a lot of bruises.)

I then turned my attention to the crowd in front of us and my relief was turned into righteous fury. These were the guys who attacked and hurt my friend, so of course I'd be angry at them. 

They all leaned back a little, probably stunned by the explosion. But they quickly recovered when someone suddenly shouted, "He's in on it! He's on the arsonist's side! Get him! Kill them both!"

They all snapped from their stupor, but looked at each other, confused. However, whoever the guy shouting was continued.

"Come on! If we don't take them down, they'll burn us all! Just like they did our houses! They deserve to get put down!"

"What? No!" shouted another boy's voice. I turned to see both Yamimura and Soushu side by side trying to calm everyone down, or at least restrain them.

"Don't listen to that idiot!" Yamimura barked. "You guys want to end up in jail for murder?"

"This is all wrong!" Soushu shouted. "Don't do it!"

"Are you crazy? Just look at that monster!" shouted the boy. 

I tried to find him, but he was just too deep in the crowd. Surprisingly, and annoyingly, there were just too many people and they were all getting kicked into a frenzy by the dude's words.

"He'll burn us all! Take him down before he does that!"

I just stood and listened as venom spewed from their mouths. That guy, whoever he was, started it, and everyone else soon followed. Each and every word got under my skin, especially the curses. Over half were directed at Akira, while the rest were thrown my way.

A few of the people gathered raised their hands over their heads while balls of fire, sheets of lightning, clumps of rock and huge shards of ice appeared. The rest of the mob chanted, "Take them down! Take them down! Take them down!"

Yamimura and Soushu also had their hands over their heads, gathering psychic power between them. They had given up trying to stop the mob with words and were going to use force. But before the pandemonium could start, I had already reached my breaking point.

"ENOUGH!"

I held up the umbrella from which another blade of psychic energy stretched out. With might roar, I swung at the mob and literally swept them off their feet.

I had no intention of seriously hurting anyone so I purposely made my sword feel like a gust of wind to them, but landing against the pavement had got to be painful. They probably got some scrapes from rolling across the ground.

Yamimura and Soushu saw my attack coming and pulled away just in time. They stared dumbfounded, as if unable to process what they had just seen. 

Honestly, thinking about it now, I could hardly believe it myself. But I didn't think about the unbelievable stunt I pulled at the time because I had more important matters to worry about.

I glared at the fallen and watched as they slowly picked themselves up. A few just barely managed to sit up when I jabbed the umbrella down against the ground. The umbrella was still shrouded with psychic power and made a loud thud noise.

I leaned on the umbrella like it was a cane in front of me and rested my hands atop the handle, feeling the muscles between my eyes scrunch as I fiercely glared at the crowd. Although I was usually self-conscious, I didn't mind having so many eyes on me. It just showed how livid I truly was. And it worked out perfectly for me to get their attention because I had something I really needed to say, spurred almost like a puppet with a voice actor behind me.

"Do you not understand what you were all going to do?" I shouted at them. "Do you not understand what line you were all about to cross? Akira's not some monster to be put down like a rabid dog. He's a PERSON!"

One guy managed to stand up, glaring back at me, and said, "So you just want to let him go? After all the damage he's done? Screw that! He needs to be punished!"

I softly replied back, "Does that mean you plan to become a murderer just like the Piper?"

The guy heard me clearly and hesitated. "Well . . ."

After taking a deep breath, I continued. "I concede that Akira did wrong that warrants punishment, but that's all the more reason not to do this. He needs to be judged fairly by the law and given the chance to atone."

But then someone, the same guy that's been riling the crowd this whole time, shouted, "Atone? ATONE? There's no atoning for what he did! That murderer!"

Suddenly, all went quiet.

"What did you say?"

All eyes turned to Akira who, in a hushed voice, broke the silence.

"What do you mean by murderer?" He had a terrible look of dread.

"You heard me! Murderer!" the guy shouted. "Because of you, the owners of that last house you burned died!"

"What? They're . . . they're dead?" Akira shook his head over and over again, starting slow before picking up speed. "No, no, no, no. no. That can't be!"

I was confused for a moment. It was clear that the guy must be talking about Akira's grandparents. But I definitely heard Isaneko say that Akira's grandma and grandpa were okay. Clear as day, I remembered.

Muttering among the crowd signaled their rise of rage again.

"Wait! Don't listen to him!" I shouted. "He's lying!"

But I was too late. The damage was done, and Akira, plain and simple, freaked out and lost control of himself.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

He let out a horrible scream and fire erupted all around him, shrouding his entire body. Even his wolfish shape melted into the flames.

"Akira! Calm down! He's lying! It's a lie! You're grandpa and grandma are okay! They're still alive!"

But no matter how much I urged, begged and screamed, my words fell to deaf ears. Akira was too far gone.

He lashed about, spraying bits of fire and sparks everywhere. I wasn't concerned about that since I had my psy-armor to protect me, but everyone else frantically retreated as far back as they could, some yelping from being stung.

From the side, Isaneko and Mirai made their appearances.

"Oota!" Mirai screamed. "You need to do something fast! If this keeps up, Akira's going to burn himself out! He'll self-destruct!"

I could see for myself that Akira was already on the path of self-destruction. I watched my friend flail around in utter mental disarray. Sometimes he banged his fists against the ground. Other times, he breathed streams of fire from what I guessed was his mouth. And then, repeatedly, he threw himself against the wall. It was clear that he was trying and succeeding to hurt himself.

Time was running out for Akira, but I had no idea what I was supposed to do now that my voice would not reach.

To myself, I asked, "What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?"

My questions got an answer back.

"The pool!" Isaneko shouted. "Get him to the pool!"

I looked at her, then at Akira. And then my attention turned to the school's wall.

"Just grab him!" Isaneko barked. "I'll throw you both over the wall. And then you handle the rest! Got it?"

I did and threw aside the umbrella before charging straight at Akira. With absolute confidence in the defense my psy-armor provided, I wrapped my arms around the huge mass of fire that made up Akira's form and held him tight.

Akira put up a fight and tried to break free, but my arms held firm.

"Isaneko!" I screamed.

The next thing I knew, I was flying in the air, going over the wall in an arc that ended smackdab in the middle of the front courtyard. I struck the ground first and skid across by several feet before stopping. 

Akira laid on top of me, but not for long.

He pushed himself away from me and leaped back, screaming, "Get away from me! Get away from me!"

"Akira stop! Wait!" I cried out. "We need to get you to the pool before - !"

"I SAID GET AWAY!"

"Damn it, Akira!"

He threw a huge ball of fire at me, but I jumped to the side just in time. I jumped again to dodge another fireball he lobbed at me. And then again.

"Hurry, Oota! There's no more time! You need to get Akira to the pool NOW!"

"I'M TRYING!" I screamed back. Akira in his panicked state was not making it easy for me to save him.

He just kept lobbing fireball after fireball, after fireball at me, all the while screaming and wailing like a toddler throwing a tantrum. I tried running over to him many times. But some of his fireballs managed to hit me. They didn't hurt thanks to my Psy-Armor, but they were strong enough to push me back by a lot. Whatever progress I made trying to get to Akira was basically reset.

 But then his screaming got softer and thrashing slowed. And then he fell to one knee.

"Akira!"

This is not good, spoke a voice in my head. He's reaching his limit. We may already be too late.

And then Akira fell flat on the ground completely and stopped moving, still blanketed by inferno.

"No!" I screamed.

I ran and this time, successfully reached his side. Ignoring the flickering flames all over his body, I scooped him in my arms and threw him over my shoulder like he was a bag of rice. And then I went sprinting to the school, following a route I've taken dozens of times before. I didn't bother opening doors. I just bust right through until I finally reached the place I sought, the pool.

As soon as I laid eyes on the shimmering blue, I pushed my legs to pick up speed and then jumped. Both Akira and I plunged into the cold water. We probably made a big splash, literally, with our combined weight and mass.

We were under water for maybe fifteen, twenty seconds. And then we resurfaced. I pulled Akira to the edge of the pool and dragged him out. And then, sopping wet, we collapsed onto pavement, out of breath and panting like dogs.

I rolled onto my back and stared up at the night sky which was almost completely black. Supposedly, it was because of all the lights in town that we can't see as much stars.

After a while, my breathing calmed. The first to speak up was Akira.

"Hey, Hisao," he said.

"Yeah, Akira?" I said.

"Are my grandma and grandpa . . . ?"

He didn't finish that question, but I knew what he was asking about. And I replied, "They're alive. Mirai said so, so I'm sure of it. He's got eyes that can see a hell of a lot more than most people."

"I see," said Akira. "That's great. That's really . . . great."

We fell silent again.

And then it was my turn.

"Akira, I meant what I said earlier," I told him. "Even if it was an accident, you did something bad and hurt a lot of people. You need to pay for that. I won't stop you if you want to run away. But I think we both know that won't do you any good."

After a short while, Akira softly replied, "Yeah."

Later, I slung Akira's arm over my shoulder and half-carried him out of the school. When we reached the front gate, we were surprised to see a whole bunch of black cars with tons of people in black suits waiting outside.

The moment the people in black spotted us, they ran towards us. I was on guard and quickly activated my Psy-Armor. But then I saw among the people were Mirai and Isaneko.

I relaxed a little when Mirai told us that he was the one who called them and that they were trustworthy allies.

The leader of the people in black, an African American lady, introduced herself as a representative of the BTA. I had no idea what the heck the BTA was, but apparently, it was their job to deal with messes that involved non-human beings like Akira.

"We'll make sure that he's well cared for," the lady promised.

"Don't worry," Mirai said. "They'll get him the help he needs."

"What happened to everyone else?" I asked.

The lady replied back, "If you're talking about that angry mob that was making a ruckus here, they scattered as soon as they saw us coming. I'll leave some people to keep an eye out for the next couple of days to make sure they don't stir anything up. The Shirogami Clan actually reached out to us and asked us to do that anyway. Normally, we'd just leave such matters to them since they're the town's de facto overseers. But since a non-human was involved, we gotta make sure things get smoothed over."

"Are you a non-human too?" I asked the lady.

But the lady shook her head and said, "No. Just a friend looking to make the world a better place for them."

I was still reluctant to let Akira go, but relented while trusting Mirai when he said the BTA were on our side.

Me and Akira said our good-byes and I watched Akira get escorted to one of the black cars which drove off as soon as the door closed. 

And then, once the car was gone, I went home, leaving behind the BTA to sort out the mess that I had partly made. 

<== Chapter  20                                                                     Epilogue ==>

CSC Volume 2 Ch. 20

*****

Hisao

*****

Yuna and I walked wordlessly down the street. There was a cold breeze against my arms and sent shivers down my spine. I flinched while thinking how I was never a fan of walking out at night. On the other hand, Yuna seemed perfectly fine. It was probably because of the street lights that illuminated our way home from the festival. As long as there was even a little bit of light, she wouldn't have a mental breakdown.

Now and then, my gaze turned to the night sky, a mere black canvas with the only speck of light coming from the occasional satellite. Sometimes, I would turn my gaze to my phone which had a game app open. The game had an auto function and I was doing some routine farming, so my attention to it was minimal at best. Most of my attention, of course, remained on my surroundings and what was ahead. 

Except for the buzzing from street lights, the whistle of nightly wind, and the clapping of our shoes against the pavement, our walk home would have been an extremely quiet one, if not for the blaring sirens that suddenly pierced through the peace and made me turn around to an orange glow over a line of rooftops. The faint smell of barbecue suddenly wafted up my nose.

It didn't take a genius to figure out what the orange glow, the barbecue smell and the sirens all meant: there was a fire.

And then came an epic music score from an anime soundtrack I liked and set as my ringtone. 

I quickly swiped my finger over the green phone icon and put the phone to my ear. Before I even had the chance to say hello, Mirai's voice screamed into my eardrum, "GET OVER TO THE SCHOOL NOW! IF YOU DON'T, AKIRA WILL DIE!"

"WHAT!? I cried out. "What do you mean by that, Mirai? What's going on?"

"THERE'S NO TIME FOR THAT!" Mirai screamed. "IF YOU DON'T-!"

Suddenly, a familiar girl's voice cut in and said, "Give me that, Mirai. You're no good like that. I'll take over. Oota? It's Isaneko."

She sounded calm, but I could sense some urgency in her tone.

"Long story short, Yasahonou's house caught fire," she continued.

"What!?" I cried out. 

"Calm down and listen!" Isaneko snapped sharply. "His grandparents are fine. Mirai used his power when we noticed the fire and saw they made it out before things got serious. But Yasahonou was spotted running away from there. I don't know how, but his grandparents must have managed to find him and brought him home only for that fire to happen."

"So no one got hurt? Everyone's okay?" I calmed down a little and breathed a sigh of relief. But that relief was short-lived when Isaneko replied.

"According to Mirai, yes," she said. "But people are chasing Yasahonou right now. Psychics from both the Soushu faction and the Yamimura faction are gunning for him."

"What? Why? Why go after Akira?"

"Why do you think?" Isaneko snapped again. "It's obviously because they blame him for the fires! Yasahonou definitely looked suspicious running away when he did, which must have set the witnesses off. With tensions running high the last few weeks, everyone's become volatile. They've been whipped into a frenzy and if nothing's done, they'll reach the point of no return."

"But what do you expect me to do about it?" I shouted.

Isaneko sighed.

"I really didn't want to do this," I heard her say, though it sounded more like she was muttering to herself.

"Isaneko?"

"Oota," she said, "I want you to think back to that time we cleaned up next to the canal. Do you remember what we saw floating down it?"

"Of course I do," I replied softly. 

How could I ever forget it? It was a dead body, a real dead body. That's not something any normal person could forget. Even now, any mention of the canal was enough for me to dredge up a vivid image in my mind.

"Now imagine Yasahonou was that body," Isaneko instructed.

I really didn't want to, but I ended up doing so anyway. And it stirred up unpleasant sensations in my stomach.

"Can you see it?" Isaneko asked. "Yasahonou's corpse floating down the water, unmoving with a face as blank as a doll's?"

I didn't answer. But my silence was all Isaneko needed.

"I'll take that as a yes," she said. "If you do not hurry, Yasahonou really will end up like that. Do you understand?"

I did.

"I just need to get to the school, right?" I said, speaking softly.

Isaneko still managed to hear me and answered, "Yes. And don't worry about Yuna. Homura will keep her company. She's on her way right now."

As if on cue, I heard rapidly approaching footsteps and looked up to see appear from the darkness, panting slightly out of breath.

When I felt a tap on my shoulder, I turned around and Yuna held her phone up to my face. There was just one word on it: "Go."

I nodded.

"Very well," I said to Yuna. "My gratitude. Be safe."

And then I turned and ran. I ran as fast and as far as my legs could carry, to the school where a friend needed my help.

*****

Yuna

*****

I watched my cousin depart to the school under the fluorescent shine of a street light. From snippets of his phone call with Aika, I was able to piece together what was going on, more or less. I understood that Akira was in trouble. Although, I'm not sure that was the real reason why Hisao suddenly made such a scary face. Aika must have said something horrible to get him moving.

He soon disappeared into the darkness, and in his place came Homura who called out to me while waving her hand over her head, “Hey!”

After texting Auntie and getting her permission, Homura took over Hisao as my escort and took me back to her place. She was a lot more talkative than Hisao, wondering aloud what’s going on and grumbling about how crazy things have gotten.

I just nodded my head occasionally, only half listening. Although I was still okay thanks to the street lights, I still felt anxious with the surrounding darkness. But that was not the only reason.

With my hands clenched together tightly over my heart, I prayed sincerely that Hisao would make it in time to save Akira. 

*****

Akira

*****

I ran and ran, and ran. I ran as fast as I could, and as far as my legs could carry me.

I had messed up badly. Really badly.

The police had found me while I was living off the street at a nearby city and took me into custody. I tried to keep my identity a secret, practicing my right to remain silent against the officers’ questioning. But it was no good. They eventually found out who I was and quickly called my grandparents.

What followed was a no-brainer. Grandma and Grandpa showed up, bowing their heads in gratitude to the officers for finding me. And then they took me home.

They were, of course, very relieved to see me okay. But they were also very angry at me for running away. The drive home was awkwardly quiet, but as soon as we were in the living room, Grandma and Grandpa immediately started yelling at me, demanding me to tell them where they’ve been and why I ran away in the first place. I wasn’t sure how to respond to them, not because of the way they spoke to me. In hindsight, their reaction was understandable. But telling them the truth wasn’t really an option for me. Just how on earth could I explain to them that I was a danger to them and everyone else around me? That I have powers that I can barely control? That I’m not even human? 

But they were relentless against my silence and eventually the tension got to me and I just exploded, literally.

I leaped up from my chair and instantly transformed into a half-beast. But not only that, fire sprung from the couch, the coffee table, and a lamp. The look on my Grandpa’s face when that happened got seared into my memories and I panicked.

I knew I needed to get away, and get away fast. Before I ended up really hurting someone.

And so, after chasing my grandparents out of the house, I ran.

The next thing I knew, there were angry shouts behind me along with the rapid pitter-patter of lots of feet and I craned my head, looked behind me and spotted an angry mob after me. To me, it looked like they were out for blood and I pushed myself to run even faster.

I didn't know where I was going, nor did I care. I just wanted to get away from my grandparents house, my grandparents, those people chasing after me, everyone. I wanted to get away from everyone.

But no matter how fast I ran, or how far I ran, no matter what twists and turns I took, they continued to be at my heels. Their anger reverberated in my ears.

"After him! After him!" I could hear them scream. Their voices sounded young, boys and girls around my age but tainted by madness. "It's him! He's the one who started those fires. He's the one who's been terrorizing us! It's his fault the town's become so messed up! He even burned down his own grandparents' home! We can't let him get away with this! Don't let him get away! Don't let that monster get away!"

Their words were like hooks that clung to my heart only to tear it apart. Why would they say those things about me? Why would they call me a monster?

The answer to those questions was obvious.

Because I am a monster, a monster who burned people's houses down, even my own grandparents. I was a walking calamity who will hurt anyone who happens to be in my way. And I won't stop hurting people. Not unless . . .

Soon a familiar sight came into my view. It was a tall wall surrounding a modest-sized compound. It was a place that had become part of my daily life since I came to this town, and would have continued to be so after summer's end. It was Megugami High School.

As soon as I laid eyes on it, I stopped.

I know. I know. It was a big and stupid mistake. But one I could not help but make.

Except for my grandparents' place, the school was like a second home to me, so when a vision of it burning appeared in my head, I could not help but freeze up.

And when that happened, something hot and hard hit my back and I went crashing against the wall. It hurt a lot, and my vision blurred with tears. In that state, I could see my attackers, but they just looked like faceless monsters to me.

"Get back!" I screamed. "Get away from me!"

I was scared, guilty, and ached fiercely all over. I was also angry with myself for the things I've done and the damage I caused. Needless to say, I was not in my right mind.

I lashed out, desperately swinging hooked fingers at my attackers, only to rake through air because my attackers were too far away. They didn't even have to move, but they still took steps back regardless because flames burst from my claws.

"I knew it!" I heard a boy scream. "He really is the arsonist! Quick! Put him down before he turns us all into ashes!"

"No, stop!" I heard a girl scream.

"What do you idiots think you're doing!?" yelled another boy.

Whoever those two were, they were trying to reel in the others. Whether it was for my sake or the attackers', I didn't know. But their commands fell to deaf ears. No one would listen to the two, or even heard them. The attackers were too consumed by the madness of hate and anger.

Through my blurred vision, I could make out several large shapes, some glowing and some not. I had just enough rationality left to know those shapes were bad news. If I got hit, it'd be game over, forever.

But there was no way I could get away in time. I was tired, stressed beyond max, and my limbs would no longer listen to me.

Ah, this is it, I thought. So this is how it ends.

The shapes flew at me in spite of two people's pleas to stop. They molded together into something monstrous and bright, and overtook my whole world. It was an indescribable view. And then -

"HAAAAAAAAAA!"

I heard a fierce yell, more like a dragon's roar, and everything went dark.

I managed to blink away some of my tears. And when I could see better again, I saw a boy my age slightly bent down, back to me, and holding what appeared to be a sword.

"You okay, Akira?"

"No way. It can't be!"

I was utterly bewildered. I recognized that voice at once, but I could not believe what I was hearing or seeing.

The voice belonged to Hisao. That introverted nerd boy, Hisao. And it looked like he had come to my rescue.

<== Chapter 19                                                                          Chapter 21 ==>