Yuki watched curiously as the boy used a wrench and some other tools to take apart the steam engine on the back of the scooter. He laid the parts out neatly on the sidewalk while completely ignoring the world around him. He seemed to spot a broken gear and threw it aside. Then he opened his backpack and pulled an identical gear out. It only took him a few minutes to put the entire thing back together. A whistling sound rang out as he stood atop the scooter and started the engine. Bang! The scooter shot forward in an unexpected burst of speed and he slammed into a wall. "OW!" He rubbed his head in pain.
"Are you alright?" She questioned.
"Huh? Ah, yeah. I'm used to this kind of thing." He grinned.
"Did you make this scooter yourself?" She looked at it curiously. It didn't look like anything someone could buy at a store. There's no way a business would take on the liability of selling such a thing to a teenager.
"Pretty awesome, right?!"
"It's okay, I guess?" She replied.
"Huh?" He gave her a strange look. "What don't you like about it? This thing is so much faster than walking!"
"I don't know." She shook her head. "It just doesn't seem that useful. Once you're older you can just get a steam wagon. It also isn't useful for saving people. Nor is it as useful as espers. What is it really good for then?"
"That..." The boy hesitated with his mouth hanging open. Then he smiled. "It's fun! Come on. Give it a try!" He grabbed her hand and pulled her onto the scooter as it shot down the street. Occasional booms rang out as it shot forward in bursts of speed. Soon, they had traveled several neighborhoods away. He stopped the scooter and turned around with excitement all over his face. "See! Amazing, right?"
Yuki sighed. "It was okay..."
"Just okay?" The boy seemed slightly depressed at her lack of enthusiasm.
'To get excited over such a toy...' She thought to herself. 'I've been through too many nightmare attacks. How could a scooter like that thrill me?' She looked at the boy and smiled, "It was fun. Just not my thing, I guess. Anyways, I have to go now."
"Wait!" He yelled while grabbing her by the hand. "You're lying. Tell me what you really think?"
"What I really think?" She thought back to her times at the sect. Technology was practically nonexistent. Why would espers need such gimmicks? Even weak espers could strengthen their bodies and run faster than that toy. Only the mortals living in the ordinary cities cared about such things. She hesitated a moment before deciding to tell the truth, "Technology like that is useless in the end. It's not even as fast as a weak esper. I don't understand why people waste so much time on technology like that."
"That! You're completely wrong!" He protested. "Technology will save the world someday! I'm going to use it to defeat the nightmares!"
"Pfft!" Yuki covered her hands as she tried to stifle her laughter. "Sorry." She waved a hand in front of her. "I know you're serious, but that is just way too ridiculous."
The boy looked upset for a moment before his eyes became serious. "I'll show you what technology can really do! Come with me. I want to show you something."
"That..." She hesitated a moment, then nodded. 'Not like I have anything better to do anyways.'
He controlled the scooter and shot down several streets. Soon, they were in front of a large warehouse. He threw his scooter aside and walked forward while still holding her hand.
"Ed. Here to see your father?" One of the soldiers on guard questioned.
"Not today." He shook his head. "I'm here to show her the paintings on the wall."
The guard looked at the girl and hesitated. "It's okay to allow you in, Ed. It's been approved by the higherups already since you help with the work. But we can't just have you bringing a stranger here. This is still a military factory at the end of the day."
"But I promised her!" The boy protested. "It's important!".
'He didn't really promise me or anything...' She thought as she watched.
"Let them in. It's fine." A man appeared in front of them. He was a high-ranking engineer. Although he didn't have much power, he did have the ability to offer guided tours at his own discretion.
"Dad!" Ed smiled at the man. He quickly dragged Yuki in behind him.
"When did my son get such a pretty girlfriend?" His father questioned.
"Girlfriend?!" He replied in shock. Then he realized he was still holding her hand and quickly let go. His face turned slightly red from embarrassment.
Yuki blushed as well. She shook her head, "We just met. He wanted to show me something?"
"Oh, that. Haha." Ed's father laughed. "He tends to do that for a lot of people that don't appreciate technology. That's probably my fault." He looked towards his son. "Hurry up. You've got five minutes. Don't even think of skipping school. You'll be late if you dally any longer than that."
"Right." He nodded while rushing towards the hallway. He began to point at the pictures of old technology. He explained the concepts of radio, phones, computers, and more.
'Oh, so that's the phone that grandfather mentioned existing back then?' She thought to herself. The sect didn't teach much about the world before the apocalypse. Most schools throughout the world didn't do so either. It wasn't seen as a practical use of the limited amount of class time available.
"Pretty cool, right?!" He questioned excitedly.
"Mm." She nodded. "It's all interesting, but how could any of this compare to an esper? OP Baldy is stronger than all of it."
"I've saved the best for last!" He walked further down the hall and showed her the nuclear weapon painting he had seen as a child. "This is the strongest weapon before the apocalypse! It can destroy entire cities in the blink of an eye! If you have enough of them then you could even destroy the world. I bet the nightmares wouldn't stand a chance!"
She stared quietly at the painting for several moments. The horrified faces of those running from the explosion. She sighed while shaking her head, "What an awful weapon. It might even be worse than the nightmares."
"True." He nodded in agreement. "My father told me that two cities in Japan were obliterated by earlier versions of this weapon. There was also a cold war between the major nations where several close calls almost sent the world into a nuclear Armageddon."
"They used them on Japan?!" She replied in shock. "I've never heard of that before?"
"Yup." He nodded. "The first two ever made were dropped there to end a war."
"And you plan on making something this awful? Just to defeat the nightmares?" She questioned.
"No." He shook his head. "I don't think we would want something like this brought into the world again. However, it shows the potential of technology. Who's to say an ordinary human can't defeat a nightmare?! Just look at these walls filled with all sorts of amazing things invented by ordinary men! Someday, I'll build something that can defeat them. And if I fail, then I'll make sure future generations can stand atop my giant shoulders to succeed!"
"Pfft." She tried to stifle her laughter when picturing the short boy as a giant with people standing on his shoulders. "You really think you can make something that strong?" She questioned. "Something that allows ordinary people to be useful during the nightmare attacks?"
"Of course!" He replied without hesitation.
She stood silently for a moment. "Do you think I can do that too? Become strong through technology? Strong enough to fight the nightmares?"
"Why not?" He questioned. "The only limit is your imagination. When the mana apocalypse started, ordinary humans were completely defenseless. Now look at us. Yeah, our mechs don't really compare to espers. But we're always improving them while espers have reached their limits a long time ago."
"Times up!" Ed's father appeared and began dragging him out. Yuki followed behind them.
"Sorry. I've really got to go." He waved goodbye as he hopped on his scooter. "Damn, I'm really cutting it close on time today. I'm going to have to cancel my plans for breakfast!" His scooter shot down the street, leaving a trail of steam in its wake.
Yuki returned to her hotel and laid in bed. 'What an odd boy.' She stared at her hand while blushing. 'No sense of boundaries. Still, if he thinks he can fight the nightmares, then why can't I?' She grinned to herself. 'I'll convince my father again when he gets back. I've seen the technology in Europe before. If I borrow it, then I can at least be useful. Then he'll have no reason to abandon me again. Maybe I'll even bring a present back for that boy. He'd be shocked to learn how much Europe has eclipsed America in technology.'
She rested peacefully until evening arrived. Then, she heard sirens begin to go off. Her eyes shot open as she jumped off the bed. It was a force of habit from previous experiences. 'A nightmare attack? Did father plan this? No, he couldn't. Not even he could tell if an attack was coming that far in advance.'
She opened her closet and got changed into her kungfu clothes. It wasn't the most practical outfit for this situation, but she felt the most comfortable and confident while wearing it. She rushed out the door as she prepared to help as many people as she could. 'I've likely got an hour until the attack starts. What should I do?'
Her eyes widened as she realized she didn't know what to do. Her father had always dropped her off mid-attack and told her to rescue others. However, this time she was here before the attack. She was of no use to the military or to the hunters. There was no one to rescue yet, as the attack had not yet started.
Suddenly, an esper appeared in front of her. "Yuki Sai. I've been keeping watch on you at your father's orders. Come. We need to evacuate the city." He reached his hand out towards her.
Yuki quickly jumped backwards. "Evacuate?!" She yelled. "We have to help as many as we can. Just think of all the ordinary people who would need rescuing!"
"The ordinary people are of no concern to me. Your father asked me to keep you safe and that's precisely what I intend to do."
"Who even are you?!" She questioned. "I've never seen you before. You could be a kidnapper for all I know!"
"That..." The man's eyes widened in surprise. He pulled out his wallet and flashed an ID. "I'm an American hunter. Rank A. Your father saved my life a long time ago."
She glanced at the ID and it looked legit. The Hunter Association liked to assign silly ranks to their members despite it being a fairly inaccurate measurement of strength. She hesitated a moment before nodding. "Just let me grab a few things from my room first."
"Sure." He agreed.
Yuki ran back into the hotel room. However, she did not head for her room. Instead, she snuck through the backdoor of the hotel. She quickly ran down the streets to escape from the unfamiliar esper. 'How can I just abandon people? Would my father ever do that? He puts everything on the line to save people!'
She decided to wait by a nearby shelter. She could save those nearby and direct them into the shelter. If things got too bad, then she could also hide within it. Many people had already entered the shelter, and more were still heading inside.
Suddenly, a giant meteor shot through the sky. It was a gigantic ball of lava and it exploded over some nearby buildings. Screams rang out and fires began to spread. Yuki quickly ran towards that direction to help people. She could already feel the heat from the flames before she even got close. She wrapped some cloth around her mouth. Then she dived into a nearby canal. One thing Florida had no shortage of was canals.
She swam closer and climbed onto a nearby dock. She could hear screams coming from the apartment complex closest to her. The flames had already spread to most of the building. She slammed into one of the doors on the first floor and it crashed down as dust flew everywhere. Her eyes stung as she searched through the smoke. Soon, she located a small child. A little girl that couldn't be older than four was crying for her mommy. Fortunately, she appeared unharmed due to the smoke still being above her head.
Yuki grabbed the girl and ran out of the building. She heard some screams coming from other nearby apartments, but ultimately abandoned them. She couldn't save everybody, and this little girl would be defenseless alone. Besides, she knew that the worst had yet to come. There had never been an attack where the city walls had been able to withstand the force of a nightmare. Mutants would soon flood the city. They always came in droves during nightmare attacks.
She dived back into the canal and began to swim back towards the shelter. She coughed constantly as her lungs burned from the smoke. The little girl desperately clung to her neck as she cried. Soon, she carried her safely into the shelter. She turned back to look at the burning city. 'I'll stop here. Dad isn't here to save me this time. I've saved a life, so it was already worth it.'
She looked around the shelter curiously. This was her first time being inside one for safety instead of dropping off others. Families were huddled together while others were alone. Cries and sobs broke out in some areas while others casually conversed like everything was fine. Babies were particularly annoying as their high-pitched shrieks echoed throughout the shelter.
"Dude, shouldn't we tell somebody about Ed?"
"No way, are you nuts?" A teenager covered in piercings replied. "Do you know how much trouble we would get in? It's practically manslaughter to lock somebody up in this situation. Besides, he's probably already dead. No one will ever know."
"But..." The other boy hesitated. "It just doesn't feel right. We just wanted him to make us steam scooters. For him to die because of that..."
Yuki's eyes widened in shock. 'It can't be a coincidence. That boy's name was Ed and that's the only steam scooter I've ever seen.' She walked over and aggressively grabbed the arm of the boy covered in piercings. "What did you do to Ed?!" She yelled.
"Huh?" He replied. "Fuck off, bitch. It's none of your god damn business."
She frowned and slammed a punch into the boy's stomach.
"AGH!" He fell down as the air escaped his lungs. He couldn't breathe no matter how hard he tried, and he soon passed out from the lack of oxygen.
She turned to glare at the other boy.
"We... We locked him in the shed at school as a prank! We didn't know the nightmare was going to attack!"
"You planned to lock him in there the entire weekend?!" She screamed. "You call that a prank?!"
"I'm sorry! Please don't hurt me!" The boy began to cry, and others in the shelter turned to look at them curiously.
"DAMNIT!" She pushed past them and headed for the exit.
"I can't allow you to leave, ma'am." A soldier held out his hand to stop her. "Once you enter the shelter- oof!" He got winded as Yuki threw a kick into side, knocking him down. She quickly left the base before anyone else could stop her.
She looked around her surroundings. The sky was covered in black and gray ash. Crackling sounds rang out everywhere due to the fire. 'He went that way before, so the school should be that way as well.' She covered her mouth with cloth again as she ran towards the direction she presumed the school to be in.