Midnight Arcadia

Midnight Arcadia

Chapter 2

Sky looked up at the woman with disbelief. Being invited to Himeji? How could this even happen to him despite the tragedy that had just occurred today? His mind ran a mile a minute before finally being cut off by the woman speaking. “Hellooooo? Earth to spiky? You there?” she said, not taking the situation seriously at all. Sky was able to focus for the first time in the last couple of hours and realized he was speaking to the Nova Koizumi, the number two rated strongest in the world. “You want… me? In Himeji?” Sky asked her as he pointed up at himself. Nova perked up and pointed a finger up with a smile that did not fit the situation. “Correctamundo kid! I would like youuuuu in Himeji High.” Nova said with real emphasis on pointing at Sky. Akihiko could be heard laughing close to where Sky was sitting on the ground, still shocked. “That’s awesome, dude!” he said labored and tired as he slowly rose to his feet. Nova looked over at Akihiko and then back towards Ayumi, who was still behind Sky. “We’ll have a lot of work to do… look at you guys, experiencing energy burnout after only a few short minutes of real battle!” Nova said with a shrug, indicating she already knew both Akihiko and Ayumi. Sky remembered and despite how painful it was he got up and moved towards Ayumi. “Yamasaki are you alright?” he asked as he helped her up. She took his hand and rose to her feet slowly. “I’m okay… just really tired.” she said labored and tired, just like Akihiko. It looks like the effect of energy burnout is brutal, she can hardly stand. Nova walked over towards Sky and Ayumi as she flicked her fingers towards herself, forcing Akihiko to rocket towards her hand. She grabbed him by the collar once he reached her hand and she sat him down right next to her. “Well, spiky? I haven’t gotten an answer yet.” Nova said with a confident smile on her face. Sky looks back up at her and manages to form a small smile. “Of course! I’d… I’d love too!” Sky said, of course excited about the chance to enter his dream school but still shaken up by the events of today. Nova gives Sky a big smile while clasping her hands together. “Perfect! I’m expecting a lot from you, spiky.” she said, her demeanor shifting to a more serious tone. Sky raises up his hand slightly. “My name is Sky Akiyama…” he says, not sure how to handle the tone shift while in the presence of one of the strongest people in the world. Nova lets out a hearty laugh. “Well then, Akiyama. From this point forward, you are a student at Himeji High.” She said with a smile. Akihiko and Ayumi interjected, seemingly having recovered slightly from their energy burnout from the overuse of their Veins. “That’s amazing, man! Looks like you don’t have to worry about finding a school anymore!” Akihiko said patting Sky on the back. The pat on the back makes Sky wince in pain as his body has been through hell today but he does genuinely appreciate Akihiko being there. “Yeah! It seems we will be able to know each other even better, being classmates and all!” Ayumi says with a gentle smile, her demeanor suggesting that she is still exhausted. Sky was finally able to relax a bit despite emergency services finally arriving on the scene to tend to the wounded. Nova begrudgingly sighs and tells the trio that she will be back. She flicks her hand upwards, launching the unconscious attacker’s body up into the air, allowing her to catch him with one hand and walks over to the police. Sky, Ayumi, and Akihiko take the time to rest underneath a nearby tree, their bodies enduring explosions. Ayumi falls asleep resting her head on Sky’s shoulder as he looks down at his arms. He could have sworn he took a direct explosion, and his arms were severely burned. But here he was, his arms completely fine. He ran his fingers up and down his arms to ensure that what he was seeing was real and not some adrenaline induced hallucination. Akihiko looked over at Sky, concerned for him. “You alright man? You’ve been rubbing your arms for the past 5 minutes.” Akihiko asked. Sky looked up from his arms. “Akihiko… didn’t my arms get burned? When… when did they get healed?” Sky asked, his confusion painted all over his expression. Akihiko placed a hand on the back of his neck as he stretched. “I don’t really know… it was kind of a blur and when he sent me flying that last time, I really was out of it.” Akihiko admits. Sky looks back down at his arms, pondering what could have happened. The silence doesn’t last long when Sky hears someone yelling his name. “Sky! Oh, thank gods, you’re safe!” a woman shouts out. He looks up and sees his mother and little sister running towards him. Ayumi wakes up and rubs her eyes as Sky’s mother kneels next to him. “Sky! Are you okay? We saw the news of an attack in the park, and we had to rush over!” she said as she begins to check him. Her hands running over the burnt sleeves of his jacket. She places a hand on Akihiko’s shoulder, concerned for him as well. “You too, Akihiko! Are you all okay?” she said, her worried tone displaying her fear for all to see. Sky grabs his mother’s hands before he speaks. “Mom, we’re okay. Akihiko and Ayumi here helped keep us safe. Ms. Nova even showed up and defeated him!” Sky says with a small smile, trying to help his mom calm down. “We were worried dummy!” Ayako says, the tears in her eyes are about to spill over. Akihiko joins in on ensuring the both of them. “Don’t worry, ma’am! We all did our part; Sky even gave him a big ol’ punch!” Akihiko said triumphantly. “That’s right ma’am. Aki… Sky jumped towards him when I was too exhausted to move.” Ayumi said shyly. Sky’s mother is still clearly worried, but she manages to take a deep breath and calm down slightly. Nova returns after turning the attacker back in. When her eyes land on Sky’s mother, she looks surprised. “I see…” she mutters under her breath. She put her normal confident smile back on and walked over. “Alrighty! Akiyama, Yamasaki, Nakashima. Come to Himeji tomorrow morning for introductions now that we’ve got our last student. I’m expecting you all there~!” she says with emphasis as she begins to walk away, waving behind her. Ayumi perks up as she finally remembers. “I should get back to my parents! They must be worried!” she says as she slowly rises to her feet. Sky looks up at her, concern on his face. “Will you be alright getting home, Yamasaki? You were having trouble standing earlier.” He stated, his concerns were valid. She nodded, ensuring that she would be okay. “I’ll be alright, I feel a lot better now after resting a bit! I’ll see you tomorrow morning, Akiyama!” She said as she walked away. Sky and Akihiko gave her a wave. Akihiko let out a sigh, his thinking similar. “I should probably be doing the same… I’m going to get an earful from my mom about this one. I’ll see you tomorrow man. Goodbye ma’am.” Akihiko said, giving his goodbyes to Sky and his family. As he walked away Sky was left alone with his mother and sister. His mother began to question him about Himeji. “Tomorrow morning? What’s happening dear?” his mother asked. Sky explained the events and what lead to Nova inviting him to attend Himeji. Ayako looked overjoyed at her big brother getting into a school he had always talked about, but his mother had a look of concern on her face. “Dear, what about… your Vein, sweetie.” she said quietly, trying to keep it secret. Sky looked down at his lap pensively. He had forgotten about that quite major detail after being swept up in the adrenaline today. But Sky wasn’t going to let this hold him back anymore. He had to take this chance, because he would never get another one. He looked up at his mother, confidence shown brightly within his features, much like how it used to be when he was in middle school. “I understand that I might just get sent home anyway… but I must take this chance, mom. I would regret it for the rest of my life if I didn’t.” Sky said, his resolve absolute. His mother let out a sigh as she stood up, offering her hand to Sky to help him up as well. “You’re a lot like him in that way… I understand, dear. I’ll support you.” she said with a gentle smile on her face. Sky looked surprised to hear of his father after all these years, but he quickly returned the smile she had given him. “Thank you, mom. I won’t let you down!” Sky said with a big smile on his face. Ayako joined in by popping up between the two of them. “Are you gonna become like Nova and get the bad guys?!” Ayako said with stars practically in her eyes. Sky let out a chuckle and put a hand on her head. “Yeah. I promise.” Sky said. As Sky and his family left the park to finally go home, there were two people discussing something important atop the Hero Agency building. “The incident that happened today within Kigen’s capital, it all went smoothly I take it?” a man says, his voice smooth and intimidating while being cloaked in shadow. “Sure did! Honestly, Kigen should boost up their security. It was way too easy to get within that prison.” Another man said, his voice erratic. The man cloaked within the shade placed a tablet down on his desk. “They have all the security they need within Nova Koizumi. That’s besides the point, look at this footage.” He spoke. The erratic man looked at the tablet and saw the footage of the incident within the park taken from a camera at a nearby store. “What the hell!? Is that what I think it is? A child doing that is next to impossible!” he said, sounding more disappointed than anything. The man cloaked in shadow stood up and looked at the other man, his piercing blue gaze could make anyone tremble in fear. “The red spark… Send Andrea to monitor this boy.” He spoke, his authority in that moment absolute. “Who could’ve thought that the experiment to test Koizumi’s reaction time would have led to such favorable outcome! Hahahaha! I’ll let Andrea know immediately.” The erratic man said before walking off with his hands on the back of his head. The next morning Sky woke up bright and early, eager to show up to Himeji fully prepared. He had taken care to dress nicely and after having a nice breakfast with his mother and sister, he took off for Himeji High. As he was walking to the extravagant building that served as a symbol of hope for the next generation, he could feel his heart begin to pound with nervousness. He had no idea what to even expect, what would his classmates be like? How many would there be? He swallowed back his nervousness and tapped his face to focus once more. He stood there in front of the gate for only a few moments but for him it felt like an eternity. Right here and now, he would finally breach the proverbial barrier that kept him from his dreams. With one final deep breath he stepped past the gate and walked towards the courtyard. The entrance near the gate is decorated with beautiful trees native to Kigen. After only a little bit of walking he could see them, his new classmates. There were only a handful of them, about 12 of them total. Some familiar faces, some brand new. Nova noticed Sky walking up to the group and waved towards him. “Akiyama, you’re here! Now we can finally start!” she said in a well-meaning teasing tone. She had Sky line up between Ayumi and Akihiko, both of which gave him a silent smile and wave. “I’m sure you all know but it’s a Himeji tradition to assign you all into teams of four. I guess we got pretty lucky this year with getting 12! When you hear your name called, please step forward.” Nova said. Sky took a deep breath as Nova began to call names, each one stepping forward. Nise, Miyuki, Galaxy, Akihiko. Sky should have guessed that he wouldn’t have been in a team with Akihiko, but the disappointment still stung a bit. Kouka, Kaede, Mio, Ryo. Four unfamiliar faces walk up and convene with their new group. “I suppose that just leaves you four, doesn’t it? Sky, Ayumi, Chiyoko, and Kaminari. Please step forward.” Nova said, her tone more serious than usual. Sky stepped forward with 3 other girls. One of which he had met yesterday. Chiyoko looked prim and proper while also scarily cold, her light blue hair tied within a ponytail and her sea-colored eyes peering into his very soul. Kaminari was a quiet but intimidating girl; her striking yellow hair and muted yellow eyes just gave off a sense of hostility. Nova clapped her hands together before speaking. “Here are your new teammates for the next four years everyone!” she said with her normal unserious tone. Sky looked towards his new teammates and took a deep breath. It finally set in for him. This was real.

To Be Continued