| Legend of the Kokoro Episode 7-Broken Fortunes |
| It was a late Sunday afternoon in the city of Toyama. Clara was sitting behind a counter, with a register resting on top, in her mother's store: Enchanted Woods. She was wearing a powder blue dress with transparent sleeves that ended at her elbows. Clara was staring down at the counter, skimming through a magazine, when she heard the bell for the front door ring, indicating that a customer had entered the store. She looked up and noticed that the customer was Kim. "Oh, hello, Kim," Clara greeted as she got up from behind the counter and approached her friend. "Hey, whassup, Clara," Kim greeted back. She slowly looked around the entire store. There was a display of dreamcatchers and small mirrors with hand-painted wooden frames hanging on the wall, about six racks of women's clothes, and many glass display cases crowded with woodcarvings, candles, boxes of incense, and incense holders. "What do you think of the store?" Clara asked as Kim glanced over the woodcarvings on one shelf. "It's all right," Kim admitted. Her hazel eyes focused on a medium-sized realistic carving of a male lion. "Dude, this is off da hook!" Kim exclaimed as she picked up the lion to have a better look at it. "I'm guessing that means you like it?" Clara asked curiously. "Hell, yeah," Kim admitted. She flipped it over to look for a price. "Eighteen bucks for this? That's cheap," she muttered out loud. "What do you mean?" Clara asked. "Well, I figured something like this would cost a lot more," Kim explained. "Your ma made this?" "Actually, I believe I carved that particular piece," Clara admitted. "Damn!" Kim muttered out loud. "I'd never have the patience to do this shit. You got yourself a sale." Clara smiled a bit as they both walked back to the counter. As Clara rang up Kim's purchase, she asked, "Weren't you with Rita, Sandra, and Roxie?" "Yeah, I was," Kim admitted as she dug in her pockets for her money. "What happened to them?" Clara asked. "They still in Mother Earth, that pottery shop next door," Kim revealed as she pulled out a crumpled twenty-dollar bill from her pocket and handed it to Clara. "I can't stand those kinda stores, Clara. Make me feel like if I even sneeze, I'll end up breaking something." Clara laughed a bit as she opened the register, put Kim's money in it, counted out her change, and handed it to her. As Kim put her change in her pocket, Clara asked, "Umm...Kim, did you happen to see Cye over in Mother Earth?" "Yeah, I think I saw him in back of the store. Why?" Kim asked. "Uh, n-no reason," Clara stuttered quickly. "Oh, I get it!" Kim exclaimed slowly with a big smirk on her face. "Cye's definitely your cup of tea, huh, Clara?" Clara quickly turned away so Kim couldn't see her face turning red. Just then, the bell rang again. Clara and Kim looked up to see Rita, Sandra, and Roxie entering the store. Rita and Sandra were each carrying a bag from the pottery shop. "Hello, girls," Clara greeted as Rita, Sandra, and Roxie joined her and Kim. "Buenos dias, Clara," Roxie greeted. "Mind if I put this bag up here?" Rita asked. "Sure, Rita," Clara replied. "What did you get?" Kim asked as Rita carefully placed her bag on top of the counter. "Oh, I got this beautiful new tea set for my grandfather," Rita explained. "I just know he's going to love it." Just then, she noticed a small revolving display rack on the counter. Several braided hemp bracelets were hanging from all four sides of the display. Woven within each bracelet were six glass beads; each bracelet containing different colored beads. "What are these, Clara?" Rita asked. Clara looked up at the display of bracelets that Rita was pointing at. "Oh, those are fortune bracelets," she explained. "Fortune bracelets?" Sandra repeated. "What are they for?" "Oh, it's something new we're selling at the store," Clara explained. "Each color represents a certain fortune. According to legend, if you were to wear one of these bracelets, when it eventually wears out and falls off, your fortune would come true." "There's a lot of different colors here," Rita remarked as she looked over the display rack. She found a small row of the fortune bracelets with red glass beads. "What does red stand for?" Rita asked. Clara glanced at a small stack of business cards in a plastic tray next to the display. "Let's see...red is for health," Clara read from the card on top of the pile. "You got 'em in green?" Sandra asked as she approached the display. "Yes, we do," Clara replied as she rotated the display a little to reveal a row of the fortune bracelets with green glass beads. "Green represents hope." Roxie noticed the row of fortune bracelets next to the green bracelets containing purple glass beads. "What about purple, Clara?" she asked. "Umm...purple stands for energy," Clara replied. Sandra looked over at Clara and noticed that she was wearing a fortune bracelet with blue beads on her left wrist. "What 'bout blue?" she asked curiously, pointing at the bracelet on Clara's wrist. The blond French girl was completely silent. "Gimme that!" Kim retorted as she quickly snatched one of the cards next to the display. She noticed that the card was a small list of what each color represented in the fortune bracelets. She quickly looked over the list until she found the word blue. When Kim read the meaning of blue to herself, she abruptly laughed out loud. "What's so funny, chica?" Roxie asked as she, Rita, and Sandra looked at her curiously. "Blue...stands for...love!" Kim barely got out as she attempted to calm herself down. Rita, Sandra, and Roxie looked back at Clara, whose cheeks were bright red. "I think we all know why Clara's wearing a fortune bracelet that be representing love!" Kim teased. Clara turned even redder in the face with Kim continually teasing her. Just then, the bell rang a third time. The girls looked up and were surprised to see Cye enter the store. In his hand was a bag from his mother's pottery shop. "Hey, Cye. What are you doing here?" Sandra asked. "You left this bag on the floor, Sandra," Cye explained as he handed the bag to her. "Oy! Thanks a lot, Cye," Sandra replied. "This was a little gift I got for me mom." "Hello, Cye," Clara greeted with a smile. "Oh...hi, Clara!" Cye stuttered quickly, his cheeks quickly turning red. "I-I got to be getting back to my mom's store now," he continued as he slowly stepped backwards toward the door. "Bye!" Cye quickly turned around to head out the door, but he accidentally elbowed one of the display cases, knocking down a few woodcarvings in the process. "Oh, I'm so sorry," Cye apologized as he picked up the carvings and set them back up. "Goodbye, girls. Goodbye...Clara." With that, Cye left the store as quickly as he could. As soon as Cye left the store, the five girls burst into giggles, except for Kim, who was laughing out loud. "Dude, that was priceless! Yo, Clara, maybe your fortune bracelet is really working!" Kim joked in between her laughter. "You know, Clara," Rita interrupted, "I think I'll buy one of these fortune bracelets. How much are they?" "A dollar each," Clara announced. Rita nodded her head as she handed Clara a dollar bill and removed one of the red fortune bracelets off of the display rack. As she tied the bracelet on her wrist, Sandra announced, "I'll have one of 'em bracelets, too." "Same here," Roxie added. As Sandra and Roxie each handed Clara a dollar bill and headed to the display case, Clara asked, "What about you, Kim? Do you want a fortune bracelet, too?" "Nah, I ain't down with that spiritual stuff," Kim replied. "Hey, Clara? You got the time?" Sandra asked as she was tying on Roxie's bracelet on for her. Clara looked up at the clock on the wall behind her. "It's almost 4:30," she replied. "Oy! I gotta get going!" Sandra exclaimed as she picked up her bags. "I promised me mom and da that I'd be home by five, and I also gotta study for that Biology test tomorrow." "Don't forget your bracelet," Roxie announced, who was holding Sandra's fortune bracelet for her. "Oh, right," Sandra muttered out loud as she took the bracelet from Roxie and put it in her pocket. "I'll have to put it on when I get home. Bye, gals!" Sandra shouted as she left the store. "You know, we should all get going," Rita suggested as she picked up her bag from the counter. "Yeah, you're right," Kim reluctantly admitted. "I'll see you all tomorrow when we walk to school with the guys," Clara announced. "Goodbye!" Rita, Kim, and Roxie shouted simultaneously as they all left the store... "Come on, Rowen!" Sage complained loudly. He was standing by the open door of Rowen's house, while Sandra and Roxie were waiting for them at the side of the street. "hurry it up, or we're all gonna be late!" "Okay, I'm coming!" Rowen shouted from somewhere inside the house. He finally appeared at the open door. After closing the door behind him, Rowen and Sage joined Sandra and Roxie, and they walked down the street together. "So, Sandra, you ready for our Biology test later today?" Sage asked. "You bet I'm ready!" Sandra boasted. "You seem pretty confident in yourself," Sage pointed out. "Well, I should be, Sage. I've only been studying ever since Mr. Kurgan made the announcement on Friday," Sandra told him. "Hmm, that reminds me..." Rowen muttered to himself. "Umm, Roxie? Would you like to meet with me after school so we can start studying for our test?" "That sounds like a good idea, Rowen," Roxie agreed. "Where should we meet?" "Whatever's okay with you is fine with me," Rowen admitted. "Could we study at your house today?" Roxie asked. "Mama has the day off from work, and she plans on painting the living room while I'm at school. Unless we want to breathe in the fumes, we should study at your house. That okay with you?" "Sure, no problem," Rowen agreed. "What's going on?" Sage asked curiously. "You two aren't the only ones with a test this week," Rowen revealed. "Roxie and I have a test for Latin class this Friday." "That's gotta be a tough language to learn," Sandra admitted. "Latin's not really that hard," Roxie admitted. "It happens to be the foundation of all the languages that exist in the world." "That's easy for you to say, Roxie," Sage pointed out. "You and Rowen are geniuses! Of course you two would think Latin is easy!" Rowen and Roxie chuckled a bit nervously. "Hey, guys!" they heard Kento shout. Sage, Sandra, Rowen, and Roxie looked up and saw Kento standing at the street corner, waving to them. Standing next to him was Ryo, Rita, Cye, Clara, and Kim. "Hey, guys," Sage greeted as he, Sandra, Rowen, and Roxie joined their friends. "Hey, Sage," Ryo greeted. As they started to head toward the school, he looked over at Sandra. "You ready for the last day of tryouts, Sandra?" Ryo asked. "You bet I am!" Sandra proclaimed. "Oh, is today your last day for soccer tryouts?" Cye asked. "Sure is, Cye," Sandra replied. "Hey, Ryo? Where do they post up the final cuts for the boys and girls' soccer teams?" "It'll be up on the gym's bulletin board tomorrow morning," Ryo explained. "It's right next to the gym entrance. You can't miss it." "So, Ryo, how long have you been playing soccer?" Rita asked curiously. "Ever since I was five," Ryo admitted. "This is gonna be my third year on the school's soccer team. Coach Zettler was even thinking about making me team captain this year, if I make the final cut, that is." "That's great news, Ryo! Good luck to both of you with the tryouts," Rita told both Ryo and Sandra. "Thanks, Rita," Sandra admitted. "Hey, what's with those bracelets?" Kento interrupted. "What are you talking about, Kento?" Rowen asked curiously. "I'm talking about those bracelets that the girls are wearing," Kento replied. "Hey! I ain't wearing one of them fortune bracelets!" Kim retorted. "Fortune bracelets?" Cye repeated. "It's a new item my mother's selling at the store," Clara explained. "We only had the bracelets for a few days, but they've been selling out so quickly. They have become very popular, particularly with the girls." "Well, here we are," Rowen interrupted as they arrived at Han`a High School. When the group of ten entered the school, they split up and headed to their separate homerooms. "Clara, once again, I'm really sorry 'bout what happened yesterday," Cye apologized as he, Clara, and Rowen headed to their homeroom. "It's all right, Cye," Clara admitted. "Just forget about it." "I can't do that, Clara," Cye admitted. "Please let me make it up to you. How about...I make you dinner? Would tonight be okay?" "Sorry, but I can't," Clara revealed. "Okay, umm...what about tomorrow night?" Cye asked. "I have plans tomorrow night," Clara muttered calmly. "Oh, really? What kind of plans?" Cye asked curiously. To his and Rowen's surprise, Clara quickly turned around and retorted angrily, "That is none of your business, all right?" With that, she stormed off, leaving Cye and Rowen standing there, baffled over what just happened. "What's wrong with her?" Rowen asked. "I have no idea," Cye admitted as they headed to their homeroom... "Now, let's discuss act one of 'The Crucible,' which you all should have finished reading by now," Mr. Garner announced. He was lecturing to his first period class: Introduction to World Literature. "Did anyone have any difficulties understanding 'The Crucible' so far?" Mr. Garner asked. A couple of hands immediately went up, including Kento's. "Of course, Kento would have a problem with the homework assignment," Sage whispered to Ryo, who was sitting next to him. "Knowing Kento, he probably didn't even read 'The Crucible!' " Ryo added. The two boys snickered quietly over their remarks. "I heard that, guys," Kento retorted while Mr. Garner was talking to a girl on the other side of the room, who had her hand up before Kento. "Just so you know, I did read act one of 'The Crucible.' I just don't get why those people actually believed those girls. They were obviously lying about seeing people with the Devil. Come on!" "Well, at least we know Kento did read 'The Crucible,' " Sage remarked. "Yeah," Ryo agreed. He turned around to talk to Rita. To Ryo's surprise, she was breathing heavily and sweating profusely. "Rita, are you okay?" Ryo asked with concern. "You look a little pale." Rita looked up at Ryo with her eyes glazed over. "I'm fine," she whispered weakly. "You sure you don't want to go see the nurse?" Ryo asked. "No, I'll be okay," Rita whispered. Suddenly, she started to sway and fell out of her desk. "Rita!" Ryo shouted as he quickly left his desk and caught Rita before she hit the floor. "What happened, Ryo?" Mr. Garner asked as he ran over to Ryo and Rita. "I think Rita's sick, Mr. Garner," Ryo quickly explained. "Go take her to Nurse Anderson, Ryo," Mr. Garner ordered as he quickly got out of their way. Mr. Garner held the door open as Ryo helped Rita walk out of the classroom... As Ryo and Rita walked into the nurse's office, Ryo yelled, "Ms. Anderson!" A young woman in her thirties, wearing a white nurse's uniform and tennis shoes, came out from behind a white curtain. Her long brown hair was tied up in a bun, and glasses framed her bright brown eyes. "Hello, Ryo," Ms. Anderson greeted as she approached them. "What seems to be the problem?" "My friend, Rita, almost passed out in class," Ryo explained. "She's so weak that she couldn't even walk here by herself." Ms. Anderson gently pressed the back of her hand against Rita's forehead. "She's burning up!" she exclaimed. Ms. Anderson walked up to the curtain and pulled it back. "Take her back here, Ryo," she explained. "Rita needs to lie down and get some rest." Ryo nodded in agreement as he took Rita in back and laid her down on an empty bed. "Don't worry about your friend, Ryo. I'll take good care of her," Ms. Anderson told him. As she headed toward a nearby medicine cabinet, Ryo looked at Rita, whose eyes were halfway open. "Rita, I have to go now," Ryo whispered as he held Rita's hand. "As soon as class is over, I'll come back and see how you're doing, okay?" Rita slowly nodded her head. "You should head back to class, Ryo," Ms. Anderson suggested. She now held an electronic thermometer in her hand. "Okay, Ms. Anderson," Ryo reluctantly agreed. He looked back at Rita. "You try to get better, okay?" "Okay," Rita whispered weakly. Ryo gently squeezed Rita's hand before he let go of it and stood up. As he started to leave, Ryo noticed that there were two other girls in the beds across from Rita. "What's wrong with them?" he asked the school nurse, who was taking Rita's temperature. "They became ill earlier today," Ms. Anderson explained. "If they don't get better soon, I'll have to send them both home." "Do you mind if I come back later to check in on Rita?" Ryo asked. "Of course not, Ryo," Ms. Anderson admitted. As Ryo was about to leave, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that the other girls were wearing fortune bracelets with red beads, like Rita was. He didn't give it much thought as he left the nurse's office... It was now sixth period in the cafeteria. Sage, Cye, Kento, and Rowen were sitting at a table in the corner of the cafeteria, waiting for Ryo to show up. "What could be taking him so long?" Cye asked. "He said that he was going to check on Rita," Sage reminded him. "The nurse's office is all the way on the other side of the school." "It's kinda weird that Rita got sick so quickly," Kento muttered out loud. "She was fine this morning, and just like that, she almost passed out on the floor." "An illness is not entirely predictable, Kento," Rowen revealed as he brought down his textbook. "A person could be fine one minute and suddenly have a cold or the flu the next." "Hey! There's Ryo now," Kento announced, pointing at the entrance. Sage, Cye, and Rowen looked up and watched as Ryo slowly walked into the cafeteria. His head was hung down and there was a troubled expression on his face. "Uh-oh. Something bad must have happened to Rita," Sage muttered out loud. When Ryo finally reached their table, Cye greeted cheerfully, "Hello, Ryo." "Yeah, whatever," Ryo mumbled quickly as he sat down. "What's wrong, Ryo?" Sage asked. "Is it Rita?" Ryo slowly nodded his head. "It's getting worse?" "It already did. Ms. Anderson had to send Rita home," Ryo revealed. "There's more. Rita wasn't the only one sick. When I took her to Ms. Anderson, there were two other girls in her office, just as sick as Rita. They were sent home sick, too." "There's nothing to worry about, Ryo," Rowen assured him. "Probably just some bug going around. Rita will be just fine in a couple of days, at most." Just then, the guys noticed Clara walking past them, heading toward a table where Sandra and Roxie were sitting. "Hello, Clara," Cye greeted with a smile. Clara stared at him coldly for a minute. "Humph!" she retorted coldly as she turned her head and continued walking toward Sandra and Roxie's table. "Geez, Cye! What did you do to her?" Kento asked out of shock. "That's the problem," Cye admitted. "I haven't got a clue why she's so angry at me. As far as I know, I didn't break anything in her mother's store yesterday." "Wait a minute. What are you talking about, Cye?" Sage asked curiously. "Well, you see, umm...Rita, Sandra, and Roxie were in Mother Earth yesterday, buying some things," Cye explained. "I was in back most of the time. A while after they left, my mom called me to the front. She told me that my redhead friend left her bag on the floor. She didn't remember Sandra's name. Anyway, I overheard them talking about going to Enchanted Woods, so that was the first place I checked. And lo and behold, that's where they were. Clara was there, too." "Of course, she would be there Cye," Kento retorted. "It is her mother's store." "Anyway," Cye continued, after giving Kento a quick dirty look, "Clara gave me this strange look, and I panicked. I almost knocked down a display case on my way out, but as far as I know, I didn't break anything." "What kind of look did she give you that startled you so much, Cye?" Ryo asked curiously. "Was it like that look she just gave you a minute ago?" "Umm...no," Cye replied. "It was more like the way most girls here look at you, Sage." Suddenly, Sage started to laugh abruptly. "What's so funny?" Cye asked. "I can't believe it!" Sage managed to get out. "Clara obviously has a major thing for you, and when she lets you know, you chicken out!" Cye turned red from embarrassment as Sage and the others laughed over his situation. "What's so funny, guys?" Kim asked curiously as she approached them. "N-Nothing's funny, right, guys?" Cye asked nervously, pleading silently to his friends not to tell Kim. "Yeah, right, Cye," Kento replied quickly, trying to cover up his snickering. Kim looked at the guys suspiciously. "Whatever," she muttered out loud as she turned around and walked over to where Clara, Roxie, and Sandra were sitting. Kim noticed that Roxie was starting to nod off, Sandra was skimming over some notes in her notebook, and Clara seemed ticked off about something. "Hey, whassup, gals?" Kim asked as she sat between Clara and Roxie. Roxie quickly snapped into attention when she heard Kim's voice. "Hello, Kim," Sandra greeted, still reading over her notes. "What are you doing?" Kim asked. "Just doing a quick review of me notes before me Biology test next period," Sandra explained. Kim nodded and then looked over at Clara. "What's up with you, Clara?" she asked. "You look like you're pissed off at the world." "Not the world," Clara muttered angrily. "Just at a certain British imbecile that we all happen to know, unfortunately!" Kim, Sandra, and Roxie were surprised to hear these words coming from Clara. "You mean Cye?" Sandra asked out of shock. Clara slowly nodded her head. "But, why are you angry at him, Clara?" The young blond girl didn't answer right away. "I...I don't know, really," she finally answered, a bit confused. Both Kim and Sandra were confused as well. "That's weird, ain't it, Roxie?" Kim asked. She got no response from the Hispanic girl. Kim looked over and noticed that Roxie had fallen asleep at the table. "Yo, Roxie!" Kim exclaimed loudly as she elbowed Roxie's arm. "Hmm...what?" Roxie mumbled as she lifted her head from the table. "Are you okay, Roxie?" Sandra asked with concern. "You've been nodding off all period." "I have no idea why I'm so tired," Roxie muttered groggily as she rubbed her eyes. "I felt fine this morning, but ever since my last class, I've been feeling very tired." "Did you get enough sleep last night?" Clara asked curiously. "Si," Roxie replied. "I just can't shake this off." Just then, the bell rang, which snapped Roxie into alertness. "Well, looks like we're off to more classes," Kim muttered out loud as she, Clara, Roxie, and Sandra got up from the table and picked up their things. As the four girls left the cafeteria with the other students, Clara announced, "Good luck on your Biology test, Sandra." "Yeah, good luck to ya," Kim added as she, Clara, and Roxie turned down a separate hall. "Thanks, gals," Sandra admitted as she headed to room 178. Before she reached the classroom, however, Sandra felt a terrible pain going through her head. She stopped walking and held her head for a few moments. As she held her head, Sandra didn't notice that the green glass beads on her fortune bracelet glowed with an eerie green light for a couple of seconds. "Sandra? Are you all right?" she heard Sage ask. Sandra turned around and saw Sage standing behind her. "Yeah, I'm okay," she replied. "You sure?" Sage asked. "Maybe you caught what Rita had earlier." "No, I'm fine, Sage. It was just a little headache. No big deal," Sandra assured him. "Maybe it was from all that cramming you did for our test," Sage suggested jokingly with a quick laugh. Sandra gave him a dirty look and he kept quiet. Just then, the bell ran again and Sage and Sandra headed into their Biology class... Meanwhile, somewhere in Dulcea's mysterious spaceship, Devaki was standing alone in a strange room. He was surrounded by dozens of large black crystals. Devaki was focused on one crystal in particular, which was continually flashing on and off with a mysterious deep violet light. "My plan is working perfectly," Devaki gloated to himself. "I must tell Lady Dulcea the news." He left the room full of black crystals, walked through the dark hallway, and entered the throne room, where Dulcea was sitting on her throne. "Ah, Devaki," Dulcea started as Devaki bowed to her. "What news do you have for me?" "I think you'll be pleased to hear that my plan is working just as planned," Devaki announced. "Excellent work, Devaki," Dulcea admitted. "Tell me more about this plan of yours." "It's actually quite simple, Lady Dulcea," Devaki explained as he pulled out a couple of bracelets from his coat pocket. "I have created these so-called 'fortune bracelets' and distributed them throughout several stores located in Japan. The beads on these bracelets have been specially stimulated to trigger powerful negative emotions in the wearers of these fortune bracelets, which will produce a vast amount of Black Chi within them. Ha! Fortune bracelets indeed! Humans can be so incredibly naive." "That sounds like an excellent plan indeed, Devaki," Dulcea admitted. "Tell me, what kind of negative emotions are triggered by these bracelets of yours?" "Well, it all depends on the color of the beads, Lady Dulcea," Devaki revealed. "For example, the red beads will trigger illness, the green beads will trigger despair, the purple beads will trigger tiredness, and the blue beads will trigger hatred." "How much Black Chi have you gathered from these bracelets so far, Devaki?" Dulcea asked. "The Dark Crystals are already starting to gather and store the Black Chi that is being produced," Devaki admitted. "Unfortunately, it will take a lot of time to gather enough of this dark energy to bring the people of Earth to their knees." "Well, I suggest you come up with another plan to produce more Black Chi, so the Dark Crystals become fully charged more quickly," Dulcea stated coldly. "Yes, I'll do that." Devaki agreed. "Do it now!" Dulcea shouted angrily, which caused her servant to jump nervously. "O-Of course, Lady Dulcea," Devaki stuttered nervously as he quickly hobbled out of the throne room, leaving Dulcea alone... Meanwhile, back at Han`a High School, the final bell for seventh period just rang. Several students poured out of their classrooms and into the hallways, including Sage and Sandra. "That test was a lot easier than I thought!" Sage admitted to Sandra as they walked down the hallway. "How did you think you did, Sandra?" "I think I failed," Sandra muttered miserably with her head hung down, just loud enough for Sage to hear. "What?" Sage exclaimed in surprise. "I thought you said you were studying for this since Friday!" "I did," Sandra muttered. "Then, what happened?" Sage asked. "Did you forget everything you studied or something?" "I don't know, Sage," Sandra muttered miserably. "I think me chances of passing this test are slim to none." "Don't say that, Sandra," Sage told her as they reached the staircase. "Yeah, whatever you say," Sandra muttered as she started to head downstairs to her next class. "Hey, wait a minute!" Sage shouted. "Since I'm not gonna see you later on, good luck with the soccer finals." "Yeah, sure," Sandra mumbled out loud as she continued going downstairs. Sage stood there for a few moments, puzzled over Sandra's sudden lack of confidence, before he headed to his own class... About an hour later, after the final bell had rung, Kim and Roxie were already waiting outside the school for their friends. They were both sitting on a small bench near the old oak tree. Roxie was nodding off again, while Kim was watching the main entrance. She then noticed Ryo, Sage, Cye, Kento, and Rowen coming towards them. "Roxie, wake up!" Kim shouted, nudging the sleeping girl slightly with her elbow. Roxie woke up just as the guys approached them. "Hey, Kim. Hey, Roxie," Kento greeted. "Whassup, dudes," Kim greeted. Roxie slowly nodded a greeting to the five boys. "Umm, have either of you seen Clara?" Cye asked curiously. "I saw her a few minutes ago. I think she already left, Cye," Kim revealed. Cye had a slight look of disappointment on his face. "Listen, guys, I have to go get ready for soccer practice," Ryo announced. "I'll see you all later, okay?" "Hey, Ryo, you want one of us to go check on Rita for you?" Sage asked. "It's okay, guys. I'll call her when I get home from practice, okay?" Ryo asked. "Okay, Ryo. See you later," Rowen replied as Ryo headed back inside the school. As the remaining four boys and two girls headed down the main road, Rowen noticed that Roxie was walking a bit sluggish and had dark circles under her eyes, as though she had been up all night. "Roxie, are you all right?" Rowen asked with concern. "I don't think so, Rowen," Roxie muttered groggily. "I'm very tired. I'm sorry, but I'm gonna have to cancel our study plans for today, okay?" "I understand, Roxie. If you didn't say that just now, I would have told you to forget about it," Rowen admitted. "You should try to get some rest." Roxie slowly nodded in approval as they approached their street corner. "Do you need help getting to your house, Roxie?" Sage asked. Roxie nodded her head once again, too tired to speak. "We'll help you out, Roxie. Sage, go on that side," Rowen instructed, pointing to Roxie's left side as he held the exhausted girl up by her right side. Sage nodded in agreement and together, he and Rowen helped Roxie down the street to her house. "Is it just me, or is there something strange happening with the girls?" Cye asked as he, Kento, and Kim slowly continued walking down the main road. "You know, maybe it's a kokoro thing," Kento suggested. "Don't ya think I'd be acting weird if that was true?" Kim asked sarcastically. "Okay, never mind," Kento muttered out loud. As they turned the next street corner and headed toward their homes, Kim went fishing through her pockets for her house keys. As she pulled the keys out of her flannel shirt pocket, a small piece of paper fell out and landed on the road. "I'll get that for you, Kim," Cye offered as he bent down and picked up the piece of paper. "Thanks, Cye," Kim replied as Cye handed her the piece of paper. She looked at it and scoffed a bit. "What is it, Kim?" Kento asked curiously. "It's something I picked up at Clara's store," Kim replied. "Forgot I still had it." "What's it about?" Cye asked. "It's like a little list, showing what the different colors in them fortune bracelets stand for, ya know." Kim glanced at the paper again and remarked, "Clara obviously hated your guts today, Cye, and according to this, her blue fortune bracelet stood for love. How ironic is that?" "What about red?" Kento asked abruptly. "Red? Uh...it stands for health," Kim read from the paper. "Wasn't Rita wearing a red bracelet?" Cye asked. "Yup, she was," Kim revealed. "Obviously didn't work for her today," Kento retorted. "You know, both Sandra and Roxie were also wearing fortune bracelets, right?" Cye asked suspiciously. "Yeah, that's right. So?" Kim asked. "I'm guessing that Sandra's green fortune bracelet stood for hope, and Roxie's purple fortune bracelet stood for energy. Am I right so far?" "Yeah, you are," Kim admitted after checking the paper again. "How'd you guess?" "Well, Roxie has been acting as though she's been drained of her energy, and from what Sage told me earlier as we were heading out of school, Sandra's been acting rather hopeless," Cye explained. "What are you getting at, Cye?" Kento asked suspiciously. "You don't think the bracelets have anything to do with the way they're acting, do you?" "Well, that's what I think," Cye admitted. "And if I'm right about these bracelets, Dulcea could be behind all this. But, then again, I could be wrong. Clara and her mother do make everything they sell at Enchanted Woods." "Well, they didn't exactly make them fortune bracelets," Kim revealed. "Clara told me yesterday that some dude came by their store selling those bracelets." "Kim, could you possibly call Clara and find out who sold her mother those fortune bracelets?" Cye asked. "Why don't you do it? She lives right next door to you...Oh, yeah," Kim remarked. "All right, I'll do it." "Okay, umm...Kento, could you call Sage and try to find out more 'bout how Sandra had been acting earlier?" Cye asked. "You got it, buddy," Kento replied. "All right, then. I'll call Rowen and ask how Roxie's doing," Cye announced. "What about Ryo?" Kim asked. "Don't worry. I'll call him when he gets home from soccer practice," Cye replied. "What do we do after that?" Kim asked. "Well, Ryo isn't going to be home till an hour from now, so why don't we meet outside your house, Kim? Around four o'clock, perhaps?" Cye suggested. Kento and Kim nodded in agreement. "All right. Let's get going, Kento," Cye told his friend as they continued walking down the street, while Kim went inside her house... Meanwhile, inside the Dark Crystal room, Devaki was watching the same Dark Crystal that was still steadily flashing on and off with a deep violet light. After a couple of minutes, the Dark Crystal glowed with a solid deep violet light. "Excellent," Devaki murmured to himself, pleased with the results. Suddenly, a ringing noise echoed throughout the room. Devaki removed a black cell phone from his jacket pocket, turned it on, and asked, "May I help you?" After listening to the person on the other line talk for a while, Devaki asked, "How many boxes of fortune bracelets do you wish to order, sir?" He listened to the person's response. "Five boxes, sir?" Devaki repeated. "Don't worry, I can have them delivered to you today. It's no problem at all, sir. Thank you, sir. Goodbye." As Devaki put the phone back in his pocket, he yelled, "Torrent! Hardrock! Get in here!" The two Ronin clones entered the Dark Crystal room, both in their sub-armor. "What do you want, Devaki?" Hardrock asked. "I need you two to make a special delivery in Tokyo," Devaki explained. "How many boxes of those fortune bracelets do we need to deliver?" Torrent asked. "Five," Devaki replied, "and take this with you." He removed what appeared to be a miniature version of a Dark Crystal contained in a black handle from his pocket and handed it to Torrent. "What's that for?" Hardrock asked curiously. "This navigation crystal will help guide any Black Chi that was recently produced from the fortune bracelets back up to the Dark Crystals on the ship," Devaki explained. "Be extremely careful with it. Not only is that crystal irreplaceable, but if it breaks, all the fortune bracelets I've created will become worthless. They'll no longer be able to produce Black Chi within the humans who wear them. Do you understand?" "Yes, Devaki," Torrent and Hardrock replied simultaneously. "Good," Devaki replied. "Now, get to work! We do not want to disappoint Lady Dulcea." Torrent and Hardrock both nodded as they teleported away, leaving Devaki alone in the Dark Crystal room... Meanwhile, outside Kim's house, Kento and Cye were sitting on the front porch, waiting for Kim to join them. A few moments later, they heard the front door open from behind them. Both Kento and Cye turned around and saw Kim leave the house. "Whassup, guys," Kim greeted as she sat in between the two boys. "So, what did you two find out?" "Well, I found out from Rowen that Roxie's still way out of it," Cye announced. "She's been sleeping ever since Rowen and Sage brought her home." "Speaking of Sage," Kento interrupted, "I just got off the phone with him a while ago, and he said that when Sandra came home from soccer practice, she was totally depressed. The only thing that Sandra was positive of was that she wasn't gonna make the team!" "Dude, that don't sound like Sandra," Kim admitted. "Did ya get in touch with Ryo, Cye?" "Sure did," Cye admitted. "Just got off the phone with him before I got here. Ryo told me that he called Rita's house after he got home, but her grandfather picked up the phone. Ryo said that according to Mr. Niitsu, Rita had gotten worse and wasn't able to come to the phone at all. There's more. Ryo also told me that he recalled seeing two other girls in the nurse's office when he took Rita there, more or less as sick as she was at the time. And by sheer coincidence, those two girls were also wearing red fortune bracelets, just like Rita's." "Man, Cye, that's totally freaky!" Kento admitted. Cye nodded in agreement and looked over at Kim. "So, what did you find out from Clara?" he asked curiously. "Well, according to Clara, the guys that supplies the fortune bracelets is some dude named A. E. Clud," Kim recalled. "You recognize the name at all? Maybe this Clud guy sells other craft stuff and has done business with your ma." "I don't recognize the name at all, but maybe my mom will," Cye muttered out loud as he wrote the name down in a small notepad he had on his lap. He flipped the page over when he noticed something about the name by seeing it through the paper. "I can't believe this!" Cye muttered out loud in surprise. "What is it, Cye?" Kento asked curiously. "I think my suspicions about these fortune bracelets may be right," Cye revealed as he scribbled something down on the first page. He tore the piece of paper off of his notepad and handed it to Kento. "Look at what A. E. Clud is when it's spelled backwards," Cye explained. Kim looked over Kento's shoulder at the paper that Cye handed to him. Written on top of the paper in black ink was "A. E. Clud," and right below it was "Dulcea." "Well, I'll be damned," Kim muttered out loud. "Okay, so you proved that Dulcea is behind this, Cye, but how are we gonna stop her?" Kento asked. "We have no ideas how these fortune bracelets work, or where else they deliver them to." Suddenly, Kim bent halfway down, leaning her head against her knees. "Kim, what's wrong?" Cye asked with concern. "Man, I got this killer headache," Kim mumbled just loud enough for Cye and Kento to hear. Kim never had a headache like this before. Not only was her head throbbing like crazy, but she also saw images flashing by quickly in her mind. She first saw an image of a white unmarked delivery truck on a highway, with whom she recognized as Hardrock and Torrent sitting in front, wearing uniforms. The next image was of the truck pulling onto an exit ramp to Tokyo. The last image she saw was of the truck pulled off to the side of a dirt road, with Hardrock and Torrent standing next to it, now wearing their full armor. "Kim, are you okay?" Kento asked loudly, quickly bringing Kim back to reality. She looked up at her two friends with a shocked look on her face. "What happened, Kim?" Cye asked. "Man, that was so weird," Kim muttered out loud. "I saw things, in my mind or something, while I was having this headache." "What did you see?" Cye asked curiously. "I saw your evil twins, Hardrock and Torrent," Kim started. "They was driving this delivery truck to Tokyo." "I don't know about this..." Kento muttered, a bit skeptical about Kim's visions. "This could be for real, Kento," Cye told his friend. "I just remembered that, according to what I've heard, kokoro were said to be seers of the future. And don't forget, Kim is part kokoro." "You mean I'm gonna have a freaking headache every time I have one of these visions? This totally sucks!" Kim exclaimed loudly. "Calm down, Kim. We need to stop Torrent and Hardrock from delivering more of those fortune bracelets," Cye announced. "Do you have any idea when this is going to happen?" "Within the next hour or something," Kim replied. "If we hurry, we can stop those imposters, Kento!" Cye explained. "All right!" Kento cheered. "Everyone in the van!" "Sure thing, Colonel Custer," Kim retorted sarcastically as she, Kento, and Cye headed next door to Kento's house and got into his gold van... "Here you are, sir," Torrent replied as he handed the last of five boxes to a middle-aged man in a business suit. The man set the box down on the sidewalk and pulled his wallet out of his pocket. He took out a few bills and handed them to Torrent, who was dressed in a khaki work uniform, a matching hat, sunglasses, and black work boots. "Thank you, sir," Torrent replied as he pocketed the money. As the man picked up the box and headed back to his store, Torrent added, "Have a nice day." Cye's clone chuckled evilly to himself as he headed toward a white unmarked delivery truck parked at the curb. "Foolish humans," Torrent muttered to himself as he got into the passenger seat of the truck. "Let's go," he told Hardrock, who was in the driver's seat, wearing the same uniform as Torrent. "You got it," Hardrock replied as he pulled away from the store and drove down the road leading towards the highway. As the truck sped down the highway, Torrent glanced at the side view mirror and his eyes widened in surprise. "Hey, Hardrock? Take a look at who's following us," he announced. Hardrock looked at his side view mirror and grinned mischievously when he recognized the gold van behind him and its three passengers. He especially noticed the looks of determination on Kento and Cye's faces. "Looks like someone wants to settle the score with us, Torrent," Hardrock commented with an evil chuckle. "Perhaps we should give those two what they want, Hardrock," Torrent suggested with a sinister grin. "I totally agree with you, Torrent," Hardrock admitted as he steered the truck toward an exit ramp. "Don't lose 'em, Kento!" Kim shouted from the back seat of the van. "Chill out, Kim! I'm not gonna lose them!" Kento shouted back to her as he got off the same exit ramp as the unmarked delivery truck. He continued pursuing the truck as it left the main road and entered an old, unpaved dirt road. The truck sped up around a sharp corner and left Kento's sight for a few moments. When he finally turned the corner, Kento, Cye, and Kim noticed that the unmarked truck was parked along the side of the road. Kento quickly pulled to the side and stopped the van, and he and his two passengers cautiously got out of the van. "Where the hell are they?" Kim asked. "Perhaps they ditched their truck and continued on foot," Cye suggested. "I don't know, you guys. Something just doesn't feel right," Kento muttered as they started to walk toward the truck. Suddenly, the driver's door flew open and Hardrock and Torrent jumped out of the truck, both in their full armor. "SUPER WAVE SMASHER!" Torrent shouted, aiming his energy-charged trident at Cye, Kento, and Kim. As the powerful blast of water flew straight at them, Cye yelled, "Duck!" The three friends dropped to the ground just in time. Torrent's attack flew right above their heads, barely missing them by inches. Unfortunately, for Kento, the attack didn't miss his van. "Aww, man!" Kento shouted as he watched Torrent's attack slam into the side of his van, pushing it all the way to the other side of the road into a muddy ditch. Seeing the large dent left by the attack only made Kento angrier. "You're gonna pay for that, Torrent!" he shouted angrily as he and his friends stood up. Kento and Cye quickly changed into their sub-armor. "Oh, no! I'm really scared now!" Torrent gasped mockingly. "You know something, Kento of Hardrock? One thing I don't understand about you is how you can care so much about that piece of trash!" Hardrock retorted with a sinister laugh, pointing at Kento's overturned van. The sinister comment only made Kento even angrier. "Looks to me like you two wanna shake things up with us," Kim remarked as she stepped in front of Kento and Cye. "How's about I return the favor?" Hardrock's eyes widened when he noticed that Kim's ring was glowing. "Better hold your ground, Torrent," he warned Cye's evil clone. "What for?" Torrent asked. "You're about to see for yourself!" Hardrock retorted. "EARTHQUAKE!" Kim shouted as she brought her fist down to the dirt road. She opened her fist up, and the ground started to shake violently under Hardrock, Torrent, and the unmarked delivery truck. Kento, Cye, and Kim, however, did not feel the ground moving underneath them at all. "Whoa! I didn't know Kim could do that!" Kento exclaimed out of surprise. "It's amazing how she can focus her powers like that," Cye admitted with awe. "Are you two gonna suit up or what?" Kim retorted loudly. "I ain't gonna be able to do this all day!" Kento and Cye nodded in agreement. "Armor of Hardrock! DAO GI!" "Armor of Torrent! DAO SHIN!" While her two friends were transforming into their full armor, Kim stopped her attack, tired and out of breath from using her kokoro powers. She noticed that Torrent took a moment to check on something in front of the truck. He turned around and quickly nodded to Hardrock. What the hell was he looking at? Kim thought curiously. Kim's thoughts were interrupted when she felt a heavy armored hand on her shoulder. "You better move out of the way, Kim," Kento suggested. Kim nodded as she headed towards the side of the road next to Kento's van. She watched as Kento and Cye withdrew their weapons and charged at Hardrock and Torrent, who were ready for them. As weapons clashed and blows were exchanged, Kim carefully snuck over to the other side of the delivery truck. She approached the passenger door and looked through the window. "What the fuck is that?" Kim asked herself as she stared at the small black crystal, which was attached to a black handle, resting on the passenger seat. She watched as the strange-looking crystal began to glow with a deep violet light. "Whatever that thing is, it must be important," Kim muttered to herself as she opened the passenger door. She carefully picked up the crystal by its handle. Kim could still hear the sounds of Kento and Cye battling Hardrock and Torrent as she closed the door and cautiously made her way to the back of the truck. She peered around the corner of the truck and noticed that Cye and Torrent were locked in battle, neither one willing to give in to the other. Kento and Hardrock were also stuck in the same headlock as Cye and Torrent. Torrent looked up for a moment and gasped slightly when he noticed Kim heading to the van with the mini Dark Crystal. "Hardrock! That kokoro has the crystal!" Torrent shouted as he continued fighting Cye. "I'll stop her!" Hardrock shouted as he quickly swung his naginata under Kento's legs, knocking him to the ground. "IRON ROCK CRUSHER!" Kim looked over her shoulder and gasped when she saw Hardrock's attack flying straight at her. She quickly fell to the ground, but in the process, she let go of the black crystal, which went flying into the air. "NO!" Torrent shouted as the mini Dark Crystal was struck by one of the jagged boulders, shattering it into tiny shards. Instantly, the immediate area was flooded with a deep violet light. Kento, Cye, and Kim shielded their eyes from the nearly blinding light. As soon as the light disappeared, the three friends opened their eyes and were surprised to see that Hardrock, Torrent, and the mysterious delivery truck had vanished. "Where did they go?" Kento asked, looking around. "They disappeared!" Cye exclaimed. "Whatever that crystal thing was, it must have been really important if they had to make like chickens and run," Kim muttered out loud. "Let's get outta here," Kento told Cye and Kim. "Good idea," Kim agreed as they headed toward the overturned van. Kim stood out of the way as Kento and Cye turned the van back on its wheels, using the power of their armor... "You are such an idiot!" Torrent shouted at Hardrock as they walked down the dark hallway. "What were you thinking? Just wait till Devaki finds out that you destroyed that navigation crystal!" "What was that?" Devaki asked. The two Ronin clones turned around and saw Devaki standing behind them. "Hardrock destroyed your navigation crystal for the fortune bracelets," Torrent admitted. "That was an accident!" Hardrock shouted. "Besides, I didn't see you trying to stop the kokoro of earth, Torrent!" "I had me hands full with Cye of Torrent!" Torrent shouted. "Stop it, you two!" Devaki interrupted. Hardrock and Torrent reluctantly kept quiet. "With the navigation crystal destroyed, the fortune bracelets are completely useless!" Before he could continue, Devaki, Hardrock, and Torrent heard Dulcea yell, "Devaki! Hardrock! Torrent! Get in here!" Devaki took in a deep breath before replying, "Right away, Lady Dulcea." He headed down the hallway and into the throne room, followed by Hardrock and Torrent. "What's the progress on this 'fortune bracelet' plan of yours, Devaki?" Dulcea asked as her three servants bowed to her. "Unfortunately, there's a slight problem, Lady Dulcea," Devaki admitted nervously. "What kind of problem?" Dulcea asked. "Thanks to these bungling idiots, the navigation crystal that would guide the Black Chi back up to the ship has been destroyed!" Devaki exclaimed angrily, pointing an accusing finger at the two Ronin clones standing behind him. "With my navigation crystal destroyed, the fortune bracelets can no longer produce Black Chi." "Hey! Don't be accusing me, Devaki!" Torrent shouted. "Hardrock's the one who broke your crystal." "Well, I didn't see you trying to stop her, Torrent!" Hardrock argued. "Silence!" Dulcea shouted loudly. Devaki, Torrent, and Hardrock stopped arguing and turned towards her. "Devaki, how much Black Chi was successfully gathered?" Dulcea asked. "Not much, I'm afraid," Devaki confessed reluctantly. "Only one of the Dark Crystals have become fully charged." Dulcea let out a long frustrated sigh. "You better come up with some more plans to gather Black Chi, Devaki," she stated coldly. "O-of course, I-I will, Lady Dulcea," Devaki stuttered nervously. "I'll get started right away." Devaki quickly bowed to Dulcea before leaving the throne room, while Torrent and Hardrock watched. "What are you two still doing here?" Dulcea asked angrily, causing the two Ronin clones to jump nervously. "N-nothing, Lady Dulcea," Torrent stuttered with Hardrock nodding in approval. "Then, I suggest you leave...now!" Dulcea shouted. Torrent and Hardrock quickly bowed to her as they left the throne room as well... "Yo, Kento?" Kim asked Kento, who was sitting next to her on the porch steps of her house. "Yeah, Kim?" Kento asked. "Ya think Clara's back to normal?" Kim asked. Kento looked down the street and noticed two familiar figures approaching them. "Looks like we're about to find out," Kento remarked as he and Kim stood up. "Aww, how cute!" Kim muttered out loud when she noticed that Cye and Clara were holding hands. "Hey, Kento. Hey, Kim," Cye greeted as he and Clara approached their friends. "Hey, Cye," Kento greeted. "Hey, Clara. How ya doing?" Kim asked. "I'm fine, Kim," Clara replied as the foursome continued down the road. "Umm...Cye?" Clara asked. "What is it, Clara?" Cye asked. "I'm really sorry about the way I acted yesterday," Clara apologized. "I honestly don't know what I was thinking at the time." "It wasn't your fault, Clara," Cye told her. "You were being controlled by that fortune bracelet you were wearing." "Yeah, I know. There's one other thing I wanted to ask you. Is your invitation for dinner still available?" Clara asked with a small smile. "Yeah, it is," Cye quickly answered with a pleased look on his face. "Is tonight okay with you?" "Tonight's perfect," Clara admitted. "Check this out. We got a little love connection going on here!" Kim announced teasingly. Both Cye and Clara turned a bit red in the face when they realized that Kento and Kim had heard every word. Maybe I should be calling you Casanova from now on, Cye!" Kento joked mischievously. "Kento!" Cye shouted, his face becoming even redder. "Hey, guys!" the foursome heard Ryo shout. They looked up and saw Ryo standing at the street corner waiting for them, along with Rita. "Hello, Ryo, Rita," Cye greeted as they joined their friends. "How are you feeling today, Rita?" Clara asked curiously. "Much better now," Rita admitted. "That's good to hear," Clara admitted as she and Rita walked ahead of the others. "So, can you guys fill me in on what happened last night?" Ryo whispered loudly to Kento, Cye, and Kim. "Don't worry about it, Ryo," Kim told him. "We stopped Dulcea's scam cold. Hell, we put it on ice!" "You know, since Clara and Rita are no longer under the effects of those fortune bracelets, then Sandra and Roxie should be okay as well," Cye announced. "Well, time to judge for yourselves," Kento remarked as he pointed at the street corner ahead of them. Ryo, Cye, and Kim looked up to see Sage, Sandra, Rowen, and Roxie waiting for them. "Morning, everyone," Sage greeted as Ryo, Rita, Kento, Kim, Cye, and Clara approached them. "Hey, Sage," Ryo greeted. "Ready for another day of school?" Rowen asked. "Did you have to bring up school, Rowen?" Kento complained loudly. Everyone else laughed at Kento's antics as they continued the walk to Han`a High. The five boys purposely lagged behind the five girls so they could discuss something amongst themselves. "So, guys, how are Sandra and Roxie doing?" Ryo asked Sage and Rowen. "Much better than they were yesterday," Sage remarked. "There's no sign whatsoever that they're still under the negative effects of those fortune bracelets," Rowen added. "That's good to hear," Cye admitted. "Yeah, but we're not out of the woods yet," Ryo reminded his friends. "Whatever Dulcea was trying to do with those fortune bracelets, she's going to try it again." "Yeah, right, Ryo," Kento retorted. "There's no way Dulcea's gonna try that scam with the fortune bracelets again." "Of course not, Kento, but Dulcea has got to have more than one plan in mind," Ryo reminded him. "You know, I'm a bit puzzled as to why Dulcea would want to force people to express such strong negative emotions," Rowen muttered thoughtfully. "Perhaps it was a means for her to attempt to control everyone," Cye suggested. "That could be a possibility," Rowen admitted. "I'll have to look into it, though." "Well, you'd better figure it out soon, because who knows when Dulcea's gonna strike next!" Ryo revealed. "You got that right, Ryo," Sage agreed. "We can't let her get away with this!" Cye added. "Well, one thing's for sure: if Dulcea tries anything, we'll be there to stop her!" Kento claimed boldly. "Right, guys?" "Right, Kento," Ryo agreed as the others nodded their heads. "Hey! Don't forget about us!" Kim retorted. The five boys looked up at their five new friends. "Of course not! All ten of us are in this together," Ryo admitted as the group of friends approached Han`a High School...TO BE CONTINUED |