Joohy

    It’s cold. It’s really cold. I can feel it. It’s freezing. I can feel it…on my face…and…is that slime?

    “Gah!!”

    “Raikou!! Get that fish away from her!!”

    “Nyahaha!” Oh, that infamous laugh. “Why not? It’s Joohy’s fault that we ended up in the wrong spot! Besides, she was sleeping! The opportunity was practically screaming!”

    “I should slap you with a fish!”

    “Wah!”

    We’re supposed to be at a town about an hour’s walk from here on Earth. I messed up the location while in the Gate and we ended up at this fish market (I was hungry). Luckily, there was a boat that's now taking us to the town, but it seems I fell asleep without realizing it.

    “Give her a break, will you? She’s been training nonstop, and she hasn’t gotten used to it yet!” Tsurara yells.

    “That’s why we came to a scout mission instead! Ow!” A scout mission is a little different from a combat mission, but it’s still only assigned to Combat GATEs. We collect reports of unnatural activity, anything out of the ordinary, or places that have had unfortunate catastrophes—like a hurricane—that can spark negative energy. A storm had hit this town a week ago and several boats had sunk. We just need to look around the area and make sure everything is normal.

    “Ah, Tori, why didn’t you tell me he was putting a fish on my face?”

    “I tried! You didn’t hear me…sorry.”

    “Ah, my bad then…” Things have been a little tough on Tori ever since we’ve been sharing my body. She could barely hold her tears while apologizing for the first mission. I don’t want her to worry so much about me, especially when we share my body, so I need to do my best.

    “Ah, we’re finally here! I was beginning to feel seasick!” Raikou yells.

    “Seriously, why did they send all three—ahem, all four of us! It could’ve been just us girls.”

    “Well, miss, it’s not like I enjoy being the only guy either! I’ve got enough of that at home. I could’ve been with Junsu…oh, Junsu, why’d you leave me!”

    “At home?” I ask.

    “Raikou is the only boy in his family. Two older, and two younger sisters. Haha!”

    “Wow, it’s tough with one sibling, but to be the middle child, and the only boy! Raikou, you earned a little respect from me,” I say with a smile.

    “Really? Really? Oh, Joohy! I love you!” he yells with big puppy eyes, and he extends his arms for a big hug before Tsurara whacks him on the head again.

    “Remind me to never say things like that to him again.”

    “You bet,” Tori replies.

    We stroll down the streets and visit the homes of families who had casualties. Our Sirens scan the area for any negative energy while we, making ourselves visible, pretend to be reporters and ask if there’s anything strange, or if anyone had fallen into deep depression, or something like that. Tori tells me that there’s a difference between grief for a family member, and falling into darkness. I don’t really understand what she’s talking about, but then we reach one family; they had lost their eldest son on one of the ships. I don’t know why, but I had that bad feeling again, the same when I saw the frog and when I sensed the direction of the snakeheads. Whenever I look at the mother, I get a chill down my spine. I look at her eyes and they are dead, as if she’s no longer part of this world. There is no grief, no love, no emotion at all…just blank darkness.

    “Tori…” I say in my head, “the mom.”

    “Yeah, I sense it too.” Raikou finishes talking to the family and we take our leave.

    “Hey, Raikou, mark this house.”

    “Hm? The Sirens haven’t finished scanning yet. You sure, Joohy?”

    “Yeah…this house for sure. There’s gonna be a Sin here.”

    “Well…oh!” Our Sirens cue that this house harbors a Sin’s human. “How’d you know?”

    “Just…a feeling.” By the end of our walk around the area, I’ve told Raikou to mark two more houses.

    “Hm…can I experiment something?”

    “Uh oh.”

    “No, for real Tsu! Just something I wanna test out.”

    “This better be related to the mission.”

    “It is! I promise!” He asks for us to split up; Tsurara with the Sirens, and just Raikou and I (and Tori).

    “This is just you trying to hit on Joohy!”

    “No way! I promise!”

    “Um, Tsurara? Tori says she promises to punish Raikou if he does anything obnoxious.”

    “Oh, then I trust you. Tori, you better make sure!”

    “She says she will.”

    “Okay, but how will you know which areas to mark without the Sirens?”

    “That’s what I wanna try.”

    “Don’t mess up this mission, Raikou. There are lives at stake here.”

    “You of all people should know I take my missions seriously! And you too, Tori!” he says while pointing at my forehead.

    “All right! All I know is that Tori will kill you if anything goes wrong. Don’t mess this up!”

    “Yes ma’am~” he replies sarcastically. Tori mentions that he does that a lot to her and Tsurara. “Let’s go!”

    “So Raikou, what’s your experiment?” I ask as we walk towards the storage houses where the recovered remains of the sunken boats lay.

    “That gut feeling of yours. Is it real? Or just luck?”

    “Tori tells me that these kinds of things pipe your interest…like a child.”

    “Well, you’re still shorter than me so I don’t know what you’re talking about! I don’t think a kid should me calling me that!”

    “She says a kid has a right to call you that because she knows what it takes to be a kid.”

    “Ha! So you admit, you’re a kid!”

    “She says of course she is, she’s still young. But you aren’t.”

    “Mmm…argh! It's so hard arguing with you when you’re not actually here! I can’t yell at Joohy’s face!”

    “She asks why, when we have the same face, not that she wants you to yell at my face.”

    “You guys may have the same face, Tori, but you two are not the same person.” That comment actually makes me think a little and Tori grows quiet as well.

    “Rather, one of you is a scary demon,” he continues to joke.

    And the bantering continues with me as the medium, until we finally (and thankfully) reach the storage houses.

    “All right, Joohy! Let’s see what you’re made of!”

    “Uh, okay?”

    “That’s the spirit!” and he pats me on the back.

    “One penalty.”

    “Um Tor—“

    “Don’t tell him! That way I can build up the list.”

    “You’re quite sadistic aren’t you, Tori?” I say in my mind.

    “Hey, just look forward to it,” she jokes, er, I least I hope she's joking. We ask one of the workers there to take us to the boats and find grieving family and friends there as well, but not too many. Still, we keep our space and decide not to come in so closely. But we didn’t need to be that close anyways. The moment I step inside the storage house, I get that same chill down my spine and rub my arm, suddenly feeling cold. I keep feeling like something terrible is going to happen if I don’t do something. Tori seems to sense it too, and Raikou notices.

    “So here too, huh?”

    “Yeah,” I quietly say. “There’s so many…”

    “Usually in events like these, it’s either too many, or just a big single one slowly manifesting.”

    “It’s so sad, I can feel it…”

    “Do you wanna leave?”

    “…Yes.”

    “Come on, I think you’ve proved my experiment. We can go now.”

    We head back to the port where we’re supposed to meet up Tsurara, and I still feel a chill at the moment. We both take a seat and Raikou is quiet. I take advantage of the silence to calm myself down.

    “Oi! You both are quite early? Did your experiment not work?”

    “Reverse actually. It seems that Joohy—I think Tori too—can sense the Sins without a Siren.”

    “Whoa, cereal?”

    “Mhm, but from what I can tell, it’s not really a good thing.” Raikou nods his head towards me, and Tsurara can tell I don’t feel very good right now.

    “I see. We should head back then. Let’s go, Joohy~” and she grabs my arm and helps me up. Her warmth helps me feel a little better, a little more alive.

    “Yeah, let’s go.” The Sirens take us back to HQ.

    “Ugh, I’m exhausted!” Tori says as she lays on her bed.

    “Exhausted? I’m the one doing all the work!”

    “And I’m the one freaking out because you’re doing all the work! Why is the General only sending you on missions located on Earth?”

    “I've only had three missions.”

    “I know! That’s so many!”

    “Uh, if you say so,” I sigh and take off my glasses to lie face down on my bed. I roll back and take a look at them. I have no doubt about it. These are invincible glasses. I should’ve tipped the doctor when he told me these were sturdy. These aren’t just sturdy—they’re unbreakable. There’s only a few scratches on them and I think that’s actually from tennis, prior to Miros; there are no chips, no huge cracks, and the frame looks good as new. The only hint that shows my glasses have been worn down a bit is that the little gemstones on the side have all fallen off, not that I really cared. My mom picked the frame anyways.

    I sigh again. Whenever I look at my glasses like this, I get a little homesick. Appa teasing me for being almost legally blind, Umma endlessly looking at all the frames until she finally found one she liked (and I approved), and Lina hiding them from me whenever I take a shower. I unconsciously give a sad smile. Before they break, because I’m really scared I will eventually break them, I should get contacts. Actually, I need them. My glasses always feel like the wind’ll blow them off anyways. And they don’t even help when things blow into my eye while flying. Maybe I should get goggles, but that looks silly. I’m not a pilot.

    “Those eyes,” Tori suddenly whispers, and I immediately know whose she’s referring to.

    “Don’t, I don’t want to think about it again.”

    “But it’s weird, Joohy. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never had those kinds of experiences during a scout mission before; or any time I encounter the Sins for that matter. It’s like, another instinct, sensing where the Sins are.”

    “Another weird thing to add ever since I joined GATEWAY. Wonderful.” Tori replies with an empty laugh.

    “Sure, it’s weird, and it may not be the most likable method, but I think being able to sense the Sin will help protect us, protect you, from danger. Better get used to it. You being able to see them without a Siren as a human, that’s a plus too. You’re more like Dubu than me, I guess.”

    “Chu~”

    “I don’t know, Tori. I’m still getting use to being in this world. More and more things just stack up and I think I’m starting to feel overwhelmed.”

    “Just now? You should’ve felt like that a long time ago!” I smile in response.

    “I was having so much fun making new friends, I forgot about the whole fighting monsters part.”

    “Haha, that much fun, huh?”

    “Mhm, but…I think it’s about time I go back home,” I say quietly, looking once more at my glasses. I sigh and put them back on. “I need to go home.”

    “Of course. I’ll take you home.”

    “But you’ll end up coming with me anyways. It’s either your home or mine now. We’re gonna end up having to pick which one and I know what you’re thinking. I’m not gonna to take your life, just so I can live mine.”

    “Well, rather than your life or mine, your home or mine, I think how it is now...is ‘ours’.” I look at Tori. She gives me a gentle smile and closes her eyes. “HQ will always welcome you, Joohy; you can always make this place your home. And as for me, well, I love your family. I love the atmosphere, the peacefulness; it’s relaxing. I wouldn’t mind just watching your simpler life, seeing what it’s like to be a normal kid, going to school and taking tests, and besides, I can protect you that way. If you wanna go back home, Joohy, let’s go home.” I thank her and we’re quiet for a bit.

    “My private life is totally gone,” I joke, breaking the silence.

    “What’dya mean? We’re the same person! Just think of me as your very loud conscience. Besides, I know we both sing in the shower anyways!”

    “But don’t let anyone know that!”

    “You think I wanna let anyone know that? Especially Raikou? Dude, I’m in the same boat as you. Come on; let’s go home. Make sure to call your mom to let her know we’re coming. How long has it been now, a little over a month? You’ve practically spent your whole summer vacation here!”

    “Thank you…actually, school is starting late this year so I still have about a month left.”

    “You lucky pickle.”

    “Hang on a minute…” I take out my phone and call home. No answer. Umma. No answer. Appa. No answer. My uncle. Of course, no answer. He’s probably working.

    “What’s going on?”

    “I don’t know! You think they’re in trouble?” We both jolt up and are already at the door when my phone rings, playing Earth Junsu’s song. It’s Umma. “Hello? Umma? Why didn’t you answer my calls? What? Wait, you’re where?! Since when? How long? Why? What, hello? Hello? Appa? How could you guys leave me behind? Me? No, I can stay here till you’re back. Yeah, I’ll be fine. You could’ve called me earlier, you know. Oh, you did? I was probably…at training. Yeah. Okay. Buy me lots of souvenirs. Love you too, bye…”

    Tori is left wide-eyed, staring at me even after I end the call. I heave a heavy sigh, oh boy. Tori tilts her head.

    “So?~ What happened?”

    I explain. Apparently, my uncle won a trip to Hawaii for six at one of his hospital raffles. There’s him, my aunt, and my little cousin who’s around the same age as Lina. He heard that I was away at “tennis camp” to train and offered the rest of the tickets to my family since it was a “perfect opportunity,” my dad said. They tried calling me while we were at the scout mission and I couldn’t call them back, initially, because they were in the plane. They’ve just arrived. And they won’t be back until two weeks before school starts.

    “So…basically, you’ve been abandoned for the luau.”

    “Yup.”

    “And after I gave the huge speech too,” Tori sulked.

    “Well, I guess that means I really will be spending my entire summer with you guys.”

    “Hey, that can’t be entirely bad, can it?”

    “No, I guess not.”

    “Chu chu!”

    “Let’s train before we go get dinner,” I suggest.

    “Such an eager one! Don’t think I’ll go easy on you this time.”

    “I have no doubt about that, sadistic one.”

    “Which reminds me, I still need to punish Raikou. Let’s go!”

    “Oh dear.”

    Now that I think about it, it has been a while since I’ve been here, a little over a month Tori said. In such a short amount of time, my entire life has turned upside, and now I’m flying, and fighting monsters. Like a superhero. Kinda. I don’t believe I’m up to that level, yet. For now, I’ll just be Tori’s sidekick. I’m gonna have to train a lot more harder if I’m ever to catch up to them. Is this it then? Am I just going to be spending the rest of my life fighting monsters? Balancing a normal life with one filled with danger? Now would be a good time to talk to a protagonist from among all the books I’ve read. I really don't want to think about how this is going to affect the rest of my life. For once, I think I’ll just go with the flow and figure things out along the way. I have Tori to help me and eventually, we’ll figure things out. I’m sure. Grandma always said to smile and good things will come. I give a small chuckle to myself, suddenly thinking about her again. I haven’t in a while.

    “Come on, Joohy! Raikou says he’s treating us to ice cream after dinner.”

    “Are you sure we’re not just another excuse for him to eat more ice cream?”

    “Welcome to my world. You catch on quick.” We finish a quick spar and head to the cafeteria for dinner. The main chef has a particular liking for Tori, and being twins, he’s even more delighted that there are two of us now. Whenever he makes our food, he always adds a little extra, or a larger drink. Tori tells me how there was a Sin attack not long after she joined, right here in the cafeteria, and she protected the chef and his food, and he has favored her ever since. We purposely eat slowly, still tired from the day.

    “Raikou can wait for his ice cream, or he can go ahead and get some by himself.”

    “No,” Tori says. “He’ll never eat ice cream by himself. He always needs someone to eat it with.”

    “Really? Why?”

    “Just ‘cause it’s him. That’s Raikou,” and I laugh in response. I can see that.

    “How long have you known him?”

    “Raikou? We’ve been best friends even before I joined GATEWAY. We lived close by and there weren’t that many kids in the area. We just ended up playing together, usually the both of us, and his little sisters. Then, one day, there was a Sin attack in our neighborhood and that’s when Raikou activated for the first time. He protected us, and left for GATEWAY right after. It was just me, Rika and Raina. It didn’t take too long for me to follow him, though.”

    “Don’t you have Lina to play with too?”

    “Lina? Oh, no, families are different here. They’re not the same as our human counterparts. In fact, none of us are actually blood-related. We’re born when humans first begin to dream, remember. If I were to describe how we’re born, um, it’s kinda like that same small light after a battle, but from the Miros Gate; it falls from the sky and the Medical Wing takes care of it from there. It sounds kinda weird when I’m actually describing it to you, now that I think about it. The Sins we purify also return to the Gate, and, depending on his or her human, they can be reborn. Sure, there are married couples and families, but we can’t actually have children. Raikou and his little sisters were all taken in by the two eldest sisters, Rebekah and Rue. When I was born, a grandmother took me in; her name was Jung-Ah Lee. That’s why I have the same last name as you, and that’s actually extremely rare. Junsu and I are the only ones I know of who coincidentally share our names with our counterparts. Unfortunately, during that same Sin attack, she was killed, and I stayed with Raikou’s sisters afterwards.”

    “…This happened a few years ago, right?”

    “Yeah, about three years since.”

    “It’s kind of a coincidence, but that’s also when my grandma unexpectedly collapsed and got sent to the hospital, but we didn’t know the cause. She did a lot better afterwards. In fact, I think she helped me more than I helped her during that time. She would always tell me stories of when she was young and her hopes for me, whenever I visited. She would joke with me too, and had a funny laugh. She passed away a few months after, though, but I still clearly remember her words and try to follow them.”

    “And that’s probably when I activated for the first time. I guess I have her to thank for that.”

    “You really think so? I have to thank Grandma for that too, then. Hmm, that’s so weird though. No siblings, no real relatives here? Really?”

    “But, I still have a family. I have a twin sister sitting here, right next to me,” Tori replies.

    “Right, you do,” I smile. “I think we’ve made Raikou wait long enough.”

    “Haha, I bet you he found someone to eat ice cream with just ‘cause he couldn’t wait any longer.” 

     We hurry and head off to meet Raikou before he gets any fatter.

    “What took you guys so long?” Raikou yells from a distance. He’s waving his hand in the air while holding his ice cream in the other. A younger boy sits next to him, holding a cup of half-eaten rocky road. He's the guy from the files Inola had previously showed me! I think his name was Alexander.

    “You kept us waiting!” Raikou complains.

    “I’m only apologizing to Alex!” Tori replies. “Joohy, this is Alexander le Monde. He’s a year younger than us.”
           
    “You don’t have to point that out every time you introduce me, Tori,” Alex notes.

    “It’s a habit, my dear Alex. You’re taller than me now anyways.”

    After ice cream, Raikou says he wants to introduce me to a new game and takes us back to the courtyard.

    “You wanna play a game, here? Are we allowed to?”

    “Of course!”

    “Oh dear,” Tori says as she face-palms. “Don’t you think we need more people to play though?”

    “Tori! Joohy!” a voice calls. It’s Tsurara, and Junsu is with her. Oh no, I can feel my cheeks turning red already. I haven’t gotten used to seeing him so much yet, that I instinctively turn to the side, but not until I see Alexander greet Junsu with a wide smile on his face. He must be a fan too.

    “I called them too!” Raikou tells Tori. She only sighs.

    “Hi, Joohy. Good to see you again,” Junsu says. My mouth twitches when he says my name.

    “Hi,” I shyly reply with a small wave.

    “All right, lovebirds!” Raikou shouts while grabbing the both of us under his arms. Lovebirds?! My eyes widen. “Let’s get this show on the road. Tsu! You brought the ball?” His response was a giant, red ball to the face, causing him to release his hold on us. Junsu fixes his jacket as I retreat back to Tori. She gives me a teasing look and I stick out my tongue at her.

    “We’re not supposed to throw it yet!”

    “I know.”

    “Raikou! You gotta teach Joohy how to play,” Junsu says as he splits up the two.

    “Oh, right. Okay, Joohy, this is like extreme dodgeball. Except you’re only aiming at one person on each team. Both teams will decide which member will play the target, while the other members protect them. The target’s job is to avoid getting hit, but also, take out the other team’s target.”

    “Only a target can take out a target!” Tsurara points out.

    “I’m explaining! Ahem! As I was saying, the other members will try to get the ball to their target and create an opening for them. Whoever takes out the other team’s target wins! Pretty easy, right?”

    “Uh, yeah, I think I got it.”

    “Cool! Let’s make our teams.”

    “Girls versus boys!” Tsurara yells out.

    What? Aw, I wanted to be with Junsu…

    “Sure, let’s do it, Joohy!” says Tori.

    “Hm? Oh, uh, yeah.” It’s Tori and Tsurara, with me as the target, against Raikou and Junsu, with Alex as the target for the first round. Honestly, I don’t even know how we decided that. We begin at opposite ends of the courtyard (which is actually really big), with the dodgeball placed in the center. Dubu is flying above us, ready to sound the bell, while Lem is off to the side with a little holographic map of the courtyard floating above its head. The six, little lights are us. The rest of the Sirens begin chirping and cheering for their owners.

    “Remember to avoid getting hit at all costs!” Tsurara says.

    “And keep watch for an opening so we can give you the ball,” Tori tells me.

    “Uh, right.”

    “Oh! Raikou!” Tsurara yells across. “Bare or armed?”

    Armed?

    “Armed, of course! Joohy’ll be okay! She can activate now!”

    “Gotcha!”

    Wait, what do you mean?

    “Tori, does ‘armed’ mean—"

    “CHU!” Dubu blares in an uncharacteristic, deep voice. And the game begins. At least, I think it has. Everything’s suddenly in chaos that I can’t even tell if this is a game anymore. Tori reaches the ball first because she is the fastest while Tsurara suddenly creates an ice wall to block off Raikou and Junsu. But then Raikou breaks down the wall with his now-activated sword. Tori’s already on the run with the ball though, avoiding Junsu’s meteor shots from his guitar.

    “Whoa, whoa, hang on!” I yell as I avoid the impacts.

    “Joohy, fly away!” Tori yells.

    “Huh? Uh, okay!” I don’t know what I’m doing! I’m just gonna listen to Tori! I fly as high as I can, but I can’t get very far under this roofed arena. I see Alexander, but not for very long when he suddenly activates.
    
    "Le Créateur!" Are those knuckle knives? He swings them and creates a wall of rocks to protect himself. That’s right, Alex is an Earth-type. I saw that in the video. I need to figure out how to break that wall so I can hit him.

    “Wah!” I look down just to see the ball roll off Raikou’s face, now bright red as much as the ball. “Tsurara! You baka! I’m not the target!!”

    “Raikou, pass!” Junsu shouts. Raikou quickly throws the ball to Junsu as he rubs his nose. Tori quickly goes after him, but then Junsu plays his guitar again, playing a note that paralyzes all of us with its piercing sound. The sound doesn’t seem to be very effective for long, however. It seems that it was made for Sins, not for Egos. But it’s too late. Junsu does a bicycle kick and shoots the ball right into the rock wall with Alexander hidden behind it. The wall crumbles and Alex takes the ball. We make eye contact and I know I’m in trouble. I take cover and rush behind Tori to protect myself. She makes another milky shield, but then Junsu suddenly appears out of nowhere behind us, just as Raikou attacks the shield. Tsurara activates her Soul Release, Snow Sonata, and gracefully dances around Junsu’s melodies, dodging his attacks and throwing her deadly chakrams at him. Rows of icicles follow her wherever she steps and eventually, she turns the whole courtyard into an ice rink.

    “Joohy! Left!” Tori suddenly yells and I see Alex about to throw the ball at me, barely a few feet away. When did he get so close? He throws! I hastily throw up my arms and make a shield, saving our team from a quick loss, for now. The ball bounces off and Tori quickly catches it, smiling evilly now that the ball is back in our possession. I take this moment to jump up and fly to safety again. Sadistic Tori is scary.

    “Haha!!” Tsurara’s loud laughter catches my attention and I see her pointing her finger at Junsu, who just tripped on her ice. Oh dear. Tori joins in but then slips herself, dropping the ball! Pickles! Without even thinking I go for the ball and grab it! But then Raikou suddenly appears and I unconsciously throw my arm, causing a huge gust of wind suddenly blowing him away!

    “Gah!”

    “Sorry!” I don’t know how that just happened, but I throw my arm again when I see Junsu rushing towards me on the other side. “Sorry…again!” But I’m smiling now. I think I’m getting the hang of this game. And I think it just helped me activate more abilities. I jump up and pass the ball back to Tori, who’s smiling widely, seeing what I just did. Raikou and Junsu then release a dual electric attack at us, and Tori and Tsurara put up their shields. But where’s Alex?

    “Ah!” My body instinctively reacts and I lift my right arm, blocking a kick from Alex who had snuck behind us. All those surprise attacks from the General paid off. We begin a close-combat battle, dodging each other’s punches (because getting hit by his knives would’ve killed me) until we finally break away. We simultaneously lift the glasses on our noses, then, begin to run to the side where our teammates are, never breaking eye contact. I throw my arm towards his direction and another gust of wind rushes towards him, but then a giant rock appears as protection. Then, he sends the rock flying right back at me, but I dodge it easily. We both take cover behind our teammates again, and the fighting continues.
    
    “You’re a natural, Joohy!” Tsurara yells over the commotion. I smile. It’s still only the first round when it becomes dark, the night sky falling. Everyone’s exhausted, but still pumped to win, neither side willing to give the victory.

    When finally, “Joohy! Pass!” Tori shouts. I see it. I catch the ball and maneuver around the jumping electric bolts charging after me. Alex is hiding under the boys’ web of lightning, but he doesn’t have enough energy to make another rock wall to protect himself. Then again, I barely have enough strength to fly. But I still manage to and let myself drop and roll when I hit the ground and Alex rushes to escape. He throws a few rocks, and then Junsu and Raikou come to protect him. I quickly jump over Junsu before he can do anything and use the back of Raikou’s sword to push myself towards Alex, using the wind to accelerate. With all my might, I throw the ball at him and Alex jumps, attempting to dodge it.

    Pop! A small sound is heard from the dodgeball making impact with his heel. Alex lands as the bright, red ball slowly rolls away.

    “Yeah!” Tori and Tsurara yell. I raise my arms triumphantly, a big smile breaking across my face. I can’t talk, still trying to catch my breath.

    “Aw, man!” Raikou cries as he plops on the ground exhausted, and takes off his headband.

    “Sorry, Junsu,” Alex sadly says.

    “It’s alright, Alex, that was a good game. You’ve improved since the last time we played!” Junsu says, encouraging him. He pats his shoulder and Alex gives a small smile.

    “Nice job, Joohy!” Tsurara yells, and grabs me into a big hug. She quickly lets go though, because we are both stinky from sweat. We take a break and sit on the giant, stone staircase that leads outside, obviously out of energy from the game.

    “Ugh, I’m so tired,” Raikou complains.

    “You’re the one who wanted to play,” Junsu replies.

    “But it was fun, yeah? Joohy, I didn’t know you would be so good at this!”

    “What’dya expect? She’s my partner!” Tori says, and I smile at those words. “She’s fast, isn’t she?”
           
    “But not as fast as you, not yet,” Junsu notes. “No one’s as fast as you, Tori. Except maybe the General.”
    
    “Bonjour!” a voice suddenly calls from the top of the stairs. We all look up and I see a model. Or at least, she looks like one. She’s so tall, but her face looks a little familiar. She’s carrying two trays of watermelon slices. Oh, it looks so good right now, especially after running around so much.

    “Oh, Sis! Nice!” Alex yells in excitement and he rushes up to help her bring the trays. Tori told me that Egos can’t have blood-relatives, but I would’ve believed it if someone told me Alex and his sister were real siblings.

    “Um, I brought these as well,” says a small voice from behind her. Yue Ying pops out, holding some towels.

    “We were just coming back from dinner when we saw you guys playing. Yue thought we should bring some snacks when you were done,” Alex’s sister, Nana, says in a French accent.

    “Thank you!” Tori says as we dig in on our refreshing treats. Alex hands me a towel and I wipe the sweat off my face. I think to myself the need for contacts again as I put my glasses back on when I'm done.

    “That was a nice game. I didn’t expect you to progress so quickly,” Yue Ying comments. Tori taps me on the shoulder.

    “Joohy, she’s talking to you,” she whispers.

    “Hm? Oh! Uh, thank you!” I say while choking on my watermelon. I was so focused on eating that I didn’t realize she was actually talking to me. Yue Ying only smiles and hands me another towel to wipe my face, but then suddenly gets up and puts her hands on her hips.

    “All right! Let us play another round, but this time Nana and I shall join!” she shouts with that same fire that appears when the General is excited. “Nana, we shall be victorious!” and gives a hearty, but intimidating laugh.

    “Wait, that won’t be fair, though. You only have two people on your team,” I say. Tori grabs my shoulders and shakes her head.

    “No, Joohy…trust me, that’s all we can handle,” she says with a scary tone.

    “Uh…okay.”

    “Nana! Would you like the honor of being the target?”

    “Avec plaisir! (1)” Nana replies with a gentle smile. I think that means yes, and it’s also a little troublesome because I’ve seen Yue Ying fight, but I have no idea what Nana can do. Tori whispers to me that she’s a Water-type. Raikou excitedly grabs the ball and places it in the middle of the courtyard again. I also have no idea how that ball survived the first round, or how it’ll survive this one. It’s already super late at night, but our three teams get ready, all pumped up for this next round; this time Tsurara, Junsu, and Nana will be the targets. It’s a little exciting, this game. I can’t stop smiling and I know that can never be a good thing when I like something this thrilling. Dubu flies overhead, about to give the signal to start.

    “CHU!”

    It’s chaos. Even more than the first round. Yue Ying immediately attacks all of us the moment Dubu blares its signal. She sends a wave of fire towards us, with another wave of water towards the boys. We don’t even have enough time to make any shields. Luckily, Tori’s swiftness allows her to avoid getting hit while also getting to the ball. Tsurara and I get a little burned, but we manage to dodge, and I quickly put up a shield to protect our team’s target. I have a feeling this is going to be a much quicker round than the first. Tori makes her escape from Yue Ying’s flames and retreats back to us, handing the ball to Tsurara. Tori adds in her shield and we strengthen our defenses. Unfortunately, since we have possession of the ball, Yue Ying and Raikou decide to team up and simultaneously attack our shields. Our walls break, and we separate. I carry Tsurara and fly up, but I don’t know how long I can hold her while avoiding lighting, fire, ice, and boulders.

    “Such an act is cowardly!” Yue yells and she suddenly creates twin elemental dragons and sends them separately to attack Tori and I. Well, what else am I supposed to do?! Fight back?

    “That doesn’t mean you gotta use dragons!” Tsurara yells back.

    I avoid the snap of the ice dragon and try to blow it away but it’s too big! Is that Raikou climbing on top of it? No fair! He jumps off the dragon’s head and swings his sword at Tsurara. I activate and block his sword with my fan, but he’s so strong I have to use both my hands to keep my grip. I let Tsurara go and she makes an ice pillar to land on. Then, she makes another bigger one that pierces right through the dragon. The impact shatters both frozen structures and giant pieces of ice fall to the ground. Through all this, I’m still waiting for Nana to activate her powers, but she hasn’t yet. Whoops! I avoid an incoming boulder from Alex, but then he surprises me from behind and kicks me in the side. I block with my fan but Junsu catches me from the recoil.

    “Ah, no!” He won’t let go! Now Tsurara’s open! “Tsurara! Behind!” but too late! Alex quickly snatches the ball from her!

    “Whoa!” Alex shouts. Suddenly, a black rope traps both Alex and Tsurara together. Junsu senses the danger and is about to release me to escape when another black rope entangles us together as well, tightening its grip so we can’t break out. What is this? The rope is wet! I look up to see if I can spot Tori or Raikou, who are still free, but that becomes a big mistake on my part. The moment I do, I’m looking directly at Junsu and I realize the position we’re in right now. I can feel my cheeks burning red and my hands drenching in sweat. I quickly look away but the pounding in my heart is as loud as Yue Ying’s laugh. I can’t talk, move, I can’t do anything right now! I can’t even tell whether I should be happy or upset we’re losing.

    Pickles. Pickles. Pickles. Pickles. Pickles. Pickles…

    “Oh no,” Junsu softly mutters as he looks off.

    “Hm?” I try to turn my head to see what he’s looking at only to see an incoming tied-up Tsurara and Alex combo, flying straight towards us.

    “Ah!” I yell in horror; we can’t move out of the way! We all crash into the ground and I land right on top of Junsu. Why? Why? Why? I can’t move—this is so embarrassing. Then, something bounces off Junsu’s head. The ball.

    “Ow!” It bounces off and hits Tsurara as well. Game set. Yue Ying walks up to us triumphantly.

    “Ugh, that was quick,” Alex murmurs. The black rope disappears and releases us. I quickly get off Junsu’s body and run away to safety behind Tsurara. I actually feel kind of dizzy right now, my head hurts, and I feel faint. Wow, so this is what it’s like; now I understand why fangirls faint.

    “Nana! You can let us down now!” a familiar orange-head's voice suddenly calls from the ceiling. We all look up and I almost laugh. Up on the ceiling are Tori and Raikou, caught in giant, black webs of that same wet material. They look so helpless and kind of hilarious.

    “So that’s where you were!” Junsu shouts up to Raikou.

    “Now?” Nana replies back as she walks up to our group. So this is her power?

    “Wait…wait, wait, wait!” he yells as the black webs vanish. Raikou begins to fall and he slashes his sword into one of the stone pillars that outline the courtyard. The sword gradually comes to a slow stop just a few feet from the ground, and Raikou swings himself up onto his makeshift platform. 

    “I can’t fly!” he exclaims as Tori flies next to him, laughing. Nana only responds with a terrifyingly soft smile.

    “Tsurara? What exactly is Nana’s power?” I ask.

    “Nana? It’s pretty cool. It's called Peintures de l'ange. She can—“

    “Argh!” A scream pierces though the air. We all look up—and my eyes widen as I shout out her name in that same piercing voice she used to scream.

    “Tori!!” I yell as she’s struggling to stay in the air, holding her head in pain, gasping and groaning, barely trying to stay conscious. My head is already hurting, but seeing Tori makes the pain worse. She screams again.

    “Tori!” I continuously try to call out to her, but I don’t think she can hear me. Before I can fly up, Raikou immediately jumps off his sword and grabs Tori into his arms.  He safely lands, but by the time he’s reached the ground, she’s already unconscious, no longer screaming in pain. I rush to her side, trying to avoid the worst thoughts. No, no, no, no…

    “Tori! Tori, are you okay? Can you hear me? Tori…” I guess I’m too shocked to speak any longer, or cry, or do anything for that matter. I feel so stupid, and helpless, and pathetic, just standing here, only watching Tori’s face writhe in agony. She begins to breath heavily, gasping and fidgeting. What’s wrong with her so suddenly?

    “Raikou,” Nana calls out. A wave of black water floats behind her. She’s holding a pure white paintbrush, with her Soul Signature engraved on its smooth surface. It has a blade at the other end—it looks like the palette knives that artists use—but it’s a lot longer than I think it’s supposed to be if used for art. She takes the brush and quickly begins drawing in thin air, but the water moves and follows her movements until she finishes the last stroke of what looks to be a bed. The black water—it’s ink.

    “Quickly,” she motions to the drawing that slowly becomes a real, floating little black mattress. Just like that. It’s so quick and swift, so simple, and, yet, it’s incredible—Nana’s Soul Release. If it wasn’t for the situation, I’d be more in awe and admiration but right now, my attention’s all on Tori. Raikou quickly places her motionless body down and both of them rush to the Medical Wing so quickly, I wouldn’t have kept up. The rest of us are still standing here in the courtyard. A hand suddenly grabs my shoulder, but gently. I turn to see Alexander.

    “She’ll be okay. My sister’s got her.”

    I don’t reply; I only give him a subtle and silent nod. I don’t feel good, like I’m about to collapse. Tsurara takes my hand, her eyes full of concern. Yue Ying moves first, climbing up the steps towards the hallway that Tori had just passed through. We follow and begin heading towards the Medical Wing, leaving behind the worn out, dusty, red dodgeball that gave us so much excitement just moments before.