CHILDREN OF SARJALIM

by Angela

 

Tuesday, Day Two:

         

The breeze was warm; Alice lifted her face into the sunlight, enjoying the feeling of the heat on her skin.  Branches from a nearby flowering bush tickled her shoulders as if to say hello.  "Good afternoon," she whispered back, a smile curving her lips.  Spring was slowly giving way to summer, but afternoons this beautiful were still rare.

         

"Sakaguchi!"  She looked up to see Jinpachi waving at her from across the courtyard, a bag of food from the vendors clutched in his fist.  He was followed closely by Issei, who smiled shyly as he drank his soda.

         

Alice smiled back, waving them over to her bench in the sunshine.  Now that the weather was warm, they could at least eat together, though they were still in different classes.  She moved her books and lunch, making room for the boys.

         

Issei sat beside her.  "Hello," he greeted her, his quiet voice friendly. 

         

Jinpachi threw himself onto the ground, grinning as he tore open his lunch.  "Hungry," he explained, taking a bite of the bread.  Alice smiled.  Jinpachi reminded her of her brother sometimes.  For a while the three of them ate in silence, enjoying the weather and the good food.

         

Issei spoke first.  "How's Rin doing, Sakaguchi?" he asked politely.  It had been several months since everyone had seen each other.

         

She smiled, happy to be able to talk about her favorite friend.  "He's doing so well!  They're thinking of letting him test out of a grade, next year."  He'd been first in his class since his awakening.  Alice knew it was because of Shion's knowledge, but she was still proud that he did so well. 

         

Jinpachi made an impressed snort, trying to swallow a chunk of bread.  "Wow!" he said, finally catching his breath.  "Not bad for the little brat!"

         

Alice's breath caught on the last word.  It was upsetting that her friend still held a grudge against Rin, but at least, she reasoned, he could be happy for him.  Issei seemed to have completely forgiven the boy for his behavior, understanding the difference between Rin and Shion.  She wished Jinpachi would hurry up and do the same. 

         

"He's clearly a very bright child," Issei added.  "I hope he realizes what a big deal this is."

         

Alice nodded.  Rin took his education very seriously.  If he continued on this track, he'd easily get into a great high school and probably one of the best colleges.  His aptitude for science and math would make him the perfect candidate for a career in engineering or even medicine.

         

"Has anyone heard from Shukkaido lately?  Kasama Haruhiko, I mean."  Jinpachi's voice cut into Alice's thoughts.  "I haven't seen him since he got out of the hospital last year."

         

"I haven't either," Alice admitted, though she hadn't given it much thought.  Haruhiko didn't trust them very much--and with good reason, after all.  "Why do you ask, so suddenly?"

         

Jinpachi looked at Issei and something passed silently between them.  For a moment, Alice watched anxiously, wondering if she would be let into their secret.  Then Jinpachi nodded, apparently coming to a decision. 

         

"I've been having dreams," Issei confessed slowly.  "They seem to be premonitions--though I don't know from where, or whom."  He took a deep breath and addressed Alice's puzzled expression.  "A woman . . . a woman named Nadeshiko seems to be trying to contact me, something about someone coming--here, I assume."  He glanced at Jinpachi.  "This has something to do with Enju--with all of us from the moon."

         

A shiver of fear ran through Alice.  Someone coming?  To Earth?  She glanced around the courtyard, at the newly bloomed flowers and the birds that chirped in the trees.  No one should disturb that.  Rin.  The memory made her feelings more ominous.  "Rin said something like that--that he felt someone watching us.  It made him uneasy."

         

"I thought so!"  Jinpachi jumped up in his excitement.  "Issei's a telepath, and Rin's a powerful psychic--only Shukkaido's powers are as strong his.  If the kid's felt something,  then Shukkaido must know something for sure!"  He grasped Issei's hands, his eyes gleaming.  "Don't you see what that means?" he cried.  "It's real!  Nadeshiko's real--from the mother planet!"

         

Alice registered Issei's blush at Jinpachi's sudden contact, but her stomach felt too queasy to think much of it.  The earth suddenly seemed very fragile to her, very vulnerable.  Something should be done to keep others from coming.  Something must be done soon.

         

"I think we should definitely call a meeting," Jinpachi continued with exuberance.  "Tonight--at my house!  I'll call Shukkaido."  He looked at Issei.  "You get Shusuran and have her contact Hiiragi," he ordered.  He smiled as his eyes met Alice's.  "And you'll tell Shion, right?  Man, this is going to be great!"

 

*****

         

The people at the mall seemed cheerful as they rushed around, meeting people and shopping.  Haruhiko watched them as he waited for his mother.  Even sitting in the crowded shopping center, he felt out of place, conspicuous.  He had thought the displaced feeling would fade as soon as he entered high school, but even around kids his own age, he felt abnormal.

         

There was a good reason, of course.  He was abnormal.  His skin, his heart, his memories, his power--not one thing about him let him blend with the background.  Only one person ever seemed to notice how it made him feel, and that person was about to make him an outsider again.

         

Haru wondered how Tamura felt about Ayako.  Sure, he must love her, everyone loved her, but what made her so special that he wanted to dedicate the rest of his life to her?  What was it about her that made him want to come home to her every evening, to sleep next to her every night?  He blushed, unwillingly imagining Tamura kissing her, touching her.  What quality did she have that other women--other people--lacked?

         

Why did she have to bewitch him so he couldn't see anyone else?  What was he going to do when Tamura was married, with responsibilities and kids of his own?  Haruhiko trembled, and he was suddenly very afraid. 

         

Tamura had once said that they were in synch with each other, that they understood each other more closely than most people.  That's why he'd been able to see him as Shukkaido.  If he went away and married Ayako, Haru was sure that bond would be severed.  Then who would be his friend?

         

No one.  Haruhiko dropped his head against his knees, trying not to cry.

 

*****

         

"Wow," Jinpachi said as he dumped a bag of convenience store snacks on the carpeted floor.  "It's been a long time since we've all been together like this."  This time they were meeting at his house--five of them were crammed into his tiny bedroom.

         

Sakura huffed, picking up a sweet bean cake and tossing it in one hand.  "We're not all here, you know.  Hiiragi couldn't get all the way here on such short notice."

         

Jinpachi wondered at the challenge in her tone.  He shook his head.  She was hard to figure out sometimes.  Shukkaido wasn't there, either.  Jinpachi had called, but the boy had refused to talk to him.  "I think he's still holding a grudge against us--Shukkaido, I mean.  I called his place twice, and both times his mother said he wasn't well enough to talk."  He exhaled sharply.  "Jeez, and we need him, too."

         

"Do we?" Alice asked softly from the corner.  "Maybe we should leave the poor boy alone."  She glanced around the room, seeking everyone's faces, then dropped her eyes back down to her hands.

         

For a long time, no one spoke, and Jinpachi thought they were all feeling a little ashamed.  But it wasn't their fault!  He wanted to shake everyone and shout that it was really only Shion that should feel bad.  It infuriated him that they should all be lumped in the same category as Shion and his lunatic behavior.  "But--" he protested.

         

"I think Mokuren is right," Issei pointed out at the same time.  "Even though we didn't hurt him, we didn't notice anything was wrong either."

         

"Poor Shukkaido," Sakura whispered.

         

Rin stood up, his hair masking his eyes as he looked at his shoes.  "We must continue," he said, his young voice barely wavering.  "We have to figure out whether this presence from the mother planet is a threat."  He looked at Issei.  "Enju, what have your dreams shown you?"

         

Issei told him the same thing he'd said to Jinpachi and Alice that afternoon at lunch.  "Each night it gets a little clearer, but I always forget who Nadeshiko is, and how I know her."  He scratched his head.  "I wonder if she's someone who trained with Enju."

         

"Has anyone else had any kind of dream or premonition about this?" Jinpachi asked eagerly.  Alice and Sakura shook their heads.  Jinpachi wasn't going to let that quell his exuberance.  The idea of meeting others from the past was beyond his wildest imaginings.  He had a million questions--just thinking about having one or two answered filled him with excited anticipation.  He remembered his glee that night that Hiiragi answered their ad; that was nothing compared to the way he felt now. 

         

"I'm sure something's definitely going to happen," Rin answered slowly, pacing around the small room.  "I can't tell what, exactly, but it has to do with the mother planet.  I suppose it's very possible that others like us survived the destruction of our world; there were three separate observation missions,  as well as a research ship working on the same project, after all.  It makes sense that someone might have survived.  Maybe all of them."  He looked at each of the teenagers very seriously before sitting next to Alice.  "But what do they want here, with us?"

         

"And why," Alice added, "would they wait eighteen years before contacting us?"

         

"What does it matter?!"  Jinpachi was on his feet in a moment.  "A great civilization may in fact live on--some of our old friends may still be alive!  This is the best thing that ever happened!"

         

Sakura smiled, looking up at Jinpachi with friendly eyes.  "For once, I've gotta agree with him," she said, grinning.  "Things like this are too incredible to ignore.  I think we've got to get in touch with these people as soon as we can!"  She popped open a can of soda and held it up in a toast.  "To Sarjalim!" she cried.

         

Her mood was infectious.  Issei laughed and grabbed a can for himself, spraying soda in the air as he popped the tab.  In a moment, everyone was giggling.  Jinpachi picked up the phone to call Hiiragi.  This was too big to keep quiet.  As the phone rang, he looked at his friends.  "I still think someone ought to try to talk with Shukkaido."

         

Rin looked serious.  "I'll do it," he offered evenly.

         

Jinpachi was startled.  He'd meant someone who wouldn't have to use scare tactics to get him there. 

         

"No," Alice interceded gently before Jinpachi could say anything.  "I'll talk with him."