Magic Assassin Arc: Prologue Part 2: The Voices That We Do Not Hear Yet. Early_Morning_Routine.
-Please stand clear of the closing doors-
Haruko's light blue eyes opened as he heard that statement, like something was telling him to wake up. Something that he could not explain.
Just a feeling.
He sat in the middle of an empty train car as it began to move.
(A train) Haruko thought as he began to look around. The air around him was hazy, and there was a slight echo in the train car. (When did I get here?)
The train exited the tunnel, bringing in sunlight from the outside world into the train car.
(How long have I been here?)
Haruko lowered his head as he stared at his hands.
"Where was I going?"
"So, you're finally awake, are you?" A female voice broke out in the train car.
Haruko slowly raised his head to see someone sitting directly across from him-exactly across him.
A woman.
The woman's face was obscured by the sunlight that came through the window outside.
Haruko's eyes were focused on the woman.
The female, from what he could tell, had long blond hair that reached her waist. She was wearing a white dress that reached her ankles. The dress had a thick blue line just above her midsection. On her shoulders was a light blue, low-cut jean jacket. Her feet were bare as she had her hands folded in her lap.
There was silence.
"This is a dream?" Haruko said.
The woman did not react.
"You only ever appeared before me in my dreams"
"That I have" the woman replied in a soft tone.
"Who are you?"
"That is an odd question to ask even now, don't you think? Can't you see that I am ————-, —ur —rys————dia———rit?
Haruko's eyes widen.
(What the hell was that? Her voice was cut out)
The last part of her sentence—he was not able to make it out
The woman noticed no change in Haruko's demeanor from the information she gave.
"I'm sorry," the woman lightly smiled. "After all this time, I thought my name and who I was would finally be able to reach you, or perhaps you are not the person I am not supposed to be talking to"
"What do you mean by that?"
"Such an odd existence you are, both at the same place, living as one but at the same time—neither one or the other, never whole. It would make sense why my words never fully reached you"
"What the hell are you going on about? If I am not the person you are supposed to meet, then who is?"
Suddenly, an arm emerged from his chest.
"Ugh" Haruko grunted as he looked down at his chest.
There was a scaly white arm with light blue highlights poking out of him, along with long white fingernails.
"Gahhhhhhhh" Haruko let out a loud scream even though he felt no pain.
The arm was so unpleasant to look at.
It was so draconic in appearance.
Grabbing the arm with both hands, Haruko attempted to pull it out.
The woman stood up from the subway seat and began walking toward him as he was struggling with the arm.
"So close, yet so far away" the woman said, placing her hand above the draconic arm with her index finger. "So close"
A single spark of lightning emerged from that index finger.
She lightly tapped the arm.
Suddenly, it felt as if thousands of volts of electricity ran through his body.
Haruko let out a scream as everything went white.
Light blue eyes shot open belonging to Haruko Matsumoto as he jolted awake to see the ceiling of a quiet dark master bedroom.
He was breathing hard.
His hair was an undone mess as he laid in his bed half covered by his covers.
He slowed down his breathing.
(Those weird dream again) Haruko thought as he closed his eyes and squeezed the bridge of his nose with his right thumb and index finger and let out a groan.
For the last four days, ever since he left the hospital, he has had the same weird dream. No matter what he was doing in that dream, a woman whose face was hidden by light would always appear before him.
(I probably have to talk to someone about these dreams I am having)
Opening his eyes, Haruko began swiping his left arm across the surface of the bed, hoping to find his phone.
Nothing.
He removed his right hand from his nose and placed it on the bed; soon after, he began swiping that side of the bed too.
And once again, nothing.
"Huh" Haruko said as he stared at the ceiling.
Silence.
After a few seconds, Haruko lifted himself up and turned over to his hands and knees. He began swiping his hands and darting around the bed, the same way a cat chases a laser.
"Come on, where the hell are you?"
The sound of shuffling and creaking could be heard from the king-size bed as Haruko moved around frantically. He saw the corner of the phone peeking out from under his pillow.
"There you are"
Haruko moved the pillow aside, finding the phone. Haruko picked up the phone; it felt cold to the touch as he pushed the button on the side, turning the phone on, and fell on his stomach.
The date and time read Friday, June 5, 2009, 5:37 5;37 A.M.
"If I start now, I could probably do an hour and a half of training before everybody wakes up"
Laying on his stomach, Haruko closed his eyes and stretched his arms so that his fingers were touching the wall. Using the tips of his toes, he began pushing his butt upward to the sky.
There were several groans and grunts coming from the teen.
On his bed, Haruko was stretching in the same manner and posing as a feline would. With a final groan, he fell right back down to the bed, letting out a huff. He stared at the screen of his phone one last time before getting out of bed.
Slowly, his eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room.
Piles of clothes that laid on the floor, and trash cluttered his computer desk
Deciding that his white t-shirt and black gym shorts were a decent option to go outside to his back yard, he grabbed his black sweater jacket off his swivel chair and put it on. As he stepped into his slippers, he placed his phone in his pocket.
Zipping the jacket up, Haruko headed to the door of his room. With a sigh, he opened the door and walked into the hallway.
Everything was quiet as he began looking around the hallway.
(Good it seems that everyone is asleep, which should make everything easy)
This is the one time of the day he could practice with his powers unfettered, and to be honest, that was what he needed at the moment.
He made his way down the stairs.
Yawning, he stepped into the living room. It was cold and empty as he gazed upon the room. His eyes slowly drifted to the wall beside him.
His finger lightly brushed upon the dozens of puncture holes in the wall. The memories of that night flooded back into his head.
That night.
May 28th, 2009.
That dates from nine days ago.
The night a GOD came down and landed into his balcony, which had set off an unprecedented chain of events.
Letting his arm fall to his side, he started walking towards the white door that led outside to the backyard. Opening the door, he stepped outside, pulling the two strings to tighten the collar of this hood around his neck as the early morning chilly air hit him.
He slowly closed the door so as not to wake the occupants upstairs.
Sighing, he walked into the grassy backyard that was surrounded by a white fence.
He stood at the center of the yard, reached into the neck hole of his t-shirt and took his necklace out. The necklace was a six-sided red crystal that was attached to string around his neck.
Though it was not always like this,
Over a week ago, Haruko had always assumed that it was a normal necklace that had a normal stone on it,
But-
Haruko let the crystal fall below his chest as it rested there and began to slowly inhale and exhale repeatedly.
The necklace was something entirely different.
On the final exhale, Haruko closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind.
A breeze began to pick up.
His face began to wince as he began to concentrate harder.
(Start small)
(Just focus; just do what she did—the way that she did it)
In his mind, it was a memory of Aoi
The girl who landed on his balcony.
The memory was when she was standing in Haruko's room with a dragon made of water surrounding her after she was asked to prove her powers to Haruko.
(I have the ability to create and manipulate water at its highest level without any limitations, natural or manmade)
Haruko focused on those words.
Aoi was a Crystal Guardian, an individual with godlike control over the elements, with hers being water.
And now, Haruko-
Small sparks of lightning began to emit from his body.
And now Haruko, too, was a Crystal Guardian.
One of the unforeseen results of the night Haruko had met Aoi was that he would become a Crystal Guardian by using his soul to awaken the crystal hanging from his neck, and now he had complete control over the element of lighting.
The sparks began to intensify, and suddenly his body was engulfed in lightning from head to toe.
Through trial and error, Haruko learned that he was immune to the lightning he created, allowing him to suffer no ill side effects.
Haruko opened his eyes to glance at his hands.
"Wow" Haruko said to himself.
It was like an aura of lightning wrapped around his body. To the teen, it felt like a really light sheet was touching his body.
Haruko started shadow boxing, throwing a few punches in front of him.
Sidestep.
Punch.
Dodge.
Punch.
Sidestep.
Jab.
Punch.
Back step.
Dodge.
Spin around
Back hand.
Each move caused sparks to fly off his body.
Duck.
With his right hand and a yell, Haruko threw an uppercut.
With his fist in the air, Haruko started to exhale. Slowly, the lightning that surrounded him began to flake away, disappearing into the air.
The teen collapsed on his palms and knees.
Sweat was dripping onto the ground.
(I was able to do that much and still maintain control. Without lighning or the sparks flying everywhere)
The Crystal Guardians abilities allowed for the user to manipulate one of the six elements without any limits-except one. After nearly blowing up his room and the city block his house was on, it would prove to be the hardest lesson he had to learn.
The mental control that was needed to control the output of his lightning.
Even though she was not that good of a teacher, Aoi tried to explain it to the best of her ability.
_____________________________________________________________________
(June 3rd, 2009
Time 5:34 P.M.)
"Do we really have to do this now can't this wait until the weekend?, I just got out of school"
In a park on a sunny afternoon, a voice broke out, coming from Haruko Matsumoto.
"Yes" Aoi replied. "If you're not at school or sleeping, you need to practice your powers until you can better control them. May I remind you that this schedule was agree on by all three of us. Myself, you, and your legal guardian"
Haruko sighed
"On a technicality, she is yours as well"
He stood there, holding his right wrist outward and his palm facing the sky.
A small spark of lightning formed in his palm.
Aoi noticed that Haruko was struggling.
"Come on, come on,….COME ON" Haruko said, straining the muscles in his hand as more sparks were emitted from his palm.
"Do not force your powers out; bringing your powers out should be as second nature to you as breathing," Aoi said as he walked up behind him. "You have to focus"
"I'm trying to; now stay quiet" Haruko gritted through his teeth.
Haruko took a deep breath.
Suddenly, the sparks began to connect to each other as lightning engulfed his arm.
"Alright, I did it" Haruko said as he stood up straight.
Aoi ran from behind his back to his front.
"It is not exactly the result that we were hoping for, but it is a start. I wanted for you to summon your lightning at the center of your hand" Aoi said.
"After two days, I think I am starting to get the hang of this now" Haruko said looking at his lightning-covered arm.
Aoi closed her eyes and placed her hands on her hips.
"Well, of course you are getting the hang of it, you are being taught by the greatest teacher in the universe" Aoi said smugly.
Haruko looked at her.
"Careful, if your head gets any bigger, you will start pulling in other planets" Haruko chuckled before moving his head as a blast of water blew past him.
"Woah, what the hell are you doing?" Haruko shouted out. Suddenly, the lightning on his arm started to spark out of control.
"Shit, no,no,no,no"
Haruko turned to his hand.
"Haruko focus" Aoi shouted
"Quiet" Haruko replied.
The lightning began to expand in size, now touching the floor and spreading out.
"Haruko, clear your mind" Aoi shouted out.
There was no reply from the teen besides a few grunts.
Now the lightning was tearing into the ground and nearby trees.
Aoi slammed her left palm on the ground, creating a wall of water in the area around both her and Haruko.
Noticing this, Haruko looked at the rising walls, which caused the lightning on his arm to spread out.
Without thinking.
Without thinking, Haruko unclasped his left hand from his right wrist.
Aoi watched on in shock.
With his left hand free, Haruko created lightning that covered his left arm.
With a yell and a left hand covered in lightning, he clamped it over his right hand.
Haruko let out a yell.
BOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!
As he forced both hands together, the clash of both hands created a small shockwave that extinguished the lightning, knocking him off his feet into the grass.
Aoi lowered her right forearm, which was blocking her face.
She saw Haruko lying on the ground, not moving.
Aoi ran towards him and knelt down beside him.
"Haruko!" Aoi shouted out, rubbing his chest. "Haruko, wake up!"
Haruko winced before letting out several coughs.
"Stop yelling… I am still alive" Haruko said as he closed his eyes.
"Well, that is no doubt good and all, but this is your fault for easily losing control of your power"
"Huh"
Haruko's eyes opened with an annoyed look on his face, and we weakly sat up.
"Are you fucking stupid? I lost control of my powers because you decided to-" Haruko was cut off as Aoi flicked his forehead, cranking his head back.
"That excuse is not going to always hold up; your powers went out of control because you can't control it" Aoi said, sounding like a mother to the teen sitting on the floor as she stood up. "You're a Crystal Guardian, so now you need to have some control over your powers if you want to overcome their most inherent flaw and prevent your powers from becoming a liability"
"A liability" Haruko slowly replied.
"The Crystal Guardian powers, yours and mines, have a single flaw, one that if not taken into account can be fatal"
"What…..fatal" Haruko said sitting on the grass-covered ground. "I thought you said that we were unaffected by our powers"
"Yup, that is what I said. This flaw is not really known to those beside the Crystal Guardians themselves so it really doesn't factor into much. That flaw is the output of our abilities, do you remember when I showed you my abilities?"
Haruko turned his head away.
"How can I not? You almost blew me out of my room"
"I was holding back" Aoi responded nonchalantly.
Blank
Haruko paused before turning to the girl.
"You were holding back! How there was so much water, wind, and shockwaves"
Aoi stared at the teen.
"I can't really explain it fully, but imagine that the output, every time you bring your lightning out, is like running a faucet that only releases high-pressure water. The Crystal Guardians powers work the exact same way. While we are immune to our powers, not everyone else is"
The wall of water began to liquify, falling to the ground.
Haruko looked around the park to see kids playing soccer and parents pushing baby strollers.
The stuff of a normal, peaceful life.
"If you don't take that into account every time you bring your lightning, Your very power will end up destroying everything, whether you want it to or not"
Haruko clenched his fist, squeezing the grass.
______________________________________________________________________
Haruko held out his right palm before him and used his left hand to grab the wrist of the right.
"Now, let's try this again"
He grunted as lightning engulfed his right arm.
_____________________________________________________________________
Laying in the bed in the room on the second floor of the Matsumoto house was a brown-skinned, blue-and-black-haired girl.
She was in a room that was not used much, so there was not that much furniture in the room except a full-size bed and a dresser with a small alarm clock.
She was sprawled across the bed wearing a white-strap nightshirt that revealed her midsection and black gym shorts.
Aoi.
The girl from another world that landed on Haruko's balcony set off an unexpected chain of events on the night of May 28th, 2009.
The Water Crystal Guardian.
At the pressure of a faint shockwave outside the house, her left index finger twitched.
She groaned as she lazily opened her eyes.
It took awhile for her blurry vision to focus; she was staring at the ceiling. Aoi brushed the strands of hair that were stuck to her checks by her drool.
Groaning again, she closed her eyes.
It would be easy for the girl to head back to sleep.
But something kept her awake—something that her body would not let her ignore.
There was a grumbling sound that broke out in the room that came from her stomach.
She was hungry.
She could not tell the exact time of her last meal; according to her, the mortals of this world had a different method of telling time in this world, something she had a hard time getting used to.
At the feeling of her stomach and hunger becoming unruly, Aoi sat up, the black part of her hair covering most of the full-size mattress.
She stretched her arms with a loud yawn.
Her arms plopped down on the mattress, and she began scanning the room.
There were empty snack boxes on the floor, with multiple wrappers on the mattress.
Leaning over the edge of the mattress, struggling to grab a box with a picture of a brownie with sprinkles off the floor.
Still leaning over the bed, she lifted the snack box off the floor and looked inside, hoping to find nourishment.
To her disappointment, the box was empty.
Her body had slid onto the floor.
At the sound of another grumble from her stomach, she quickly moved around the room, checking various snack boxes.
Apple pies.
Empty.
Strawberry shortcakes.
Empty.
Cinnamon rolls.
Empty.
Box after box was empty.
"Come on" Aoi said on her knees before throwing away another empty box across the room.
Her body fell forward, but she caught herself by using her hands to break the fall.
She glanced over to the small alarm clock on the dresser.
The time was read in bold red numbers: 06:03 a.m.
For the last week, she had closely watched the habits and schedules of the three occupants of the Matsumoto household. She knew that it was too early for Reiko and Alexis to be away, so her mind drifted to the third person.
Haruko Matsumoto.
The other Crystal Guardian, the person whom the city has designated as her legal guardian.
Even though Reiko and Alexis were the ones who cooked all the meals, surely Haruko's skills were not that far behind.
She stood up and inhaled.
She made her way out of the room into the empty hallway. The floor was cold beneath her bare feet.
Making her way down the hallway, she stopped in front of the door that led to Haruko's room. She lightly opened the door, peeking her head inside, before stepping fully inside.
The room was a mess as she began looking around.
There was no sign of Haruko or life in the room.
She slumped her shoulders and grumbled underneath her breath.
Suddenly, there was a strike of lightning that flashed outside the balcony window of the room.
Aoi jolted up.
She knew.
She stood up on the bed and jumped off, landing on the floor.
She knew that this lightning was from only one person.
She quickly ran towards the closed window, opening it.
(Food, food, food)
Aoi ran onto the balcony, making her way to the ledge.
She placed her hands on the ledge and took a deep breath.
_____________________________________________________________________
Haruko grunted as his right arm was covered in lightning and the spark flew all around him. He was immune to his lightning, so he wasn't grunting in pain or even feeling any discomfort.
But rather-
(Focus, focus, and try to make lightning smaller)
Haruko began to concentrate.
The lightning began to travel down his arm.
The spark began to shrink as he tried to focus all the lightning into his right palm; this was harder to do due to the fact that he was trying to pin point all of the power and control he had in one small location, which was different from the mass of his body.
(Come on)
The lightning traveled down his forearm.
(Focus)
Haruko closed his eyes, trying to clear his mind.
(Focus)
(Focus)
(Focus)
With Haruko lightly breathing, he opened his eyes.
"Just clear your mind" Haruko said to himself.
With a deep exhale, he attempted to do that.
(Just shut off all the noise, find your center, and bring that to the surface)
Quiet.
Silence.
Nothing.
Over the sound of his lightning, that was what he heard at the moment.
The lightning moved down his wrist, now fully covering his hand.
Then-
"HARUKOOO!, I'M HUNGRY, SO FEED ME!!!!!!!!" A voice shouted out above him.
Haruko's eyes shot open as he let out a scream.
He quickly turned his head towards his balcony to see a brown-skinned girl with dual-colored black and blue hair waving at him.
Looking at the girl, Haruko shouted out "What the hell are you doing?"
It was just for a moment—a quick second.
A momentary lapse in his concentration.
The lightning that engulfed his hand detached itself and flew up towards the early morning sky, causing both Haruko and Aoi to look up.
"Oh" Haruko said in a deadpan tone in his voice. "That is not good"
There was silence as both Haruko and Aoi watched the speck of lightning disappear.
After a few seconds, the sky began to rumble.
BOOOOOOOOOOM.
The sound of thunder broke as purple lightning flashed across the sky above the city as several car alarms broke out.
It was the start of the morning.