Sopp grabs Fatima's hand, and they make a break for it. Sopp has finally gotten the courage to go after the woman he loves.

"Look at those two! They were made for each other!" someone in the pressing crowd calls out.

"After them!" a guard shouts. "Out of the way! Now!"

Suddenly a mysterious man in a cloak appears in the hall, halting the pursuing guards. He pulls out a powerful light sword and slices off the heads of six men in one swing.

"Oh my god!" a guard calls out while another stutters, "What the...!"

The cloaked man finally speaks, saying, "This corridor has been temporarily closed. Please find another way around."


Classroom 2E, Seishin Joshi Gakuin All Girls Academy, Tokyo, Japan
June 9, 1986 3:23 P.M.


"Nakashima-san, do you want to go to a goukon with us today?" Akamoto Miho asked. She had her dyed auburn hair piled on top of her head, and her skirt was rolled up into a miniskirt, showing far more skin than was in accordance with school regulations. "Yamasaki-san skipped out on us last minute, and we need another girl."

Nakashima Hotaru slowly looked up, slightly dazed, and tucked a stray strand of hair out of her eyes. "A goukon?"

Hotaru's best friend, Chiharu, quickly came over. She had pitch black hair in a stylized pixie cut. Her skirt, too, was rolled up against school regulations. "Come on, Akamoto-chan," she chided. "You know Taru-chan can't go to the goukon with us. Her mom would kill her!"

Hotaru tucked her manga magazine into her school bag and stood up. She was nearly a head taller than any of the girls around her, and she was the only girl in the classroom with her skirt at its proper length, just brushing the tops of her knees. "She wouldn't kill me, Haru-chan," she said with a smile, using her nickname for Chiharu as Chiharu had done for her, "But she definitely wouldn't be very happy.

"And, besides, I really want to finish my manga. Sopp is finally with Fatima, but it might not last! And a mysterious man has come to help them. Does Sopp even know this? Who is he? And why is he so powerful?" Hotaru rambled, her face lit up with joy.

The girl in the next desk scooted her chair over and butted in. "Really, Nakashima-san, you're still reading that stuff? That New Type magazine only prints science fiction. Can't you just read something normal like Margaret for once?"

A look of utter shock and horror briefly passed over Hotaru's face. "Not read New Type? How could you say something like that? And Five Star Stories, this new one that just came out in April, is so good! It really shows great potential!"

"It's got robots and stuff, right? And aliens?" asked Miho. "That's so unrealistic."

"It's a look into the future!" Hotaru protested adamantly. "This is what life could really be like for our great great great great grandchildren."

Chiharu giggled. "Come on girls. Taru-chan can't come, just like I told you earlier. We'll find someone else." As the other girls dispersed to grab their things, Chiharu quickly hugged Hotaru. "See you tomorrow, Taru-chan. I'll message you later, nee? Tell you all about the cute guys."

"I don't care about the cute guys," Hotaru reminded her bubbly friend.

Chiharu grinned, a twinkle in her eye. "Jealous? Don't worry. No guy will ever come between us. Our friendship is eternal, remember?" she teased and ran off to catch up with the rest of the girls going to the goukon.

"I'm not jealous," Hotaru called after Chiharu, but it petered off near the end. In a whisper, she added. "And of course our friendship is eternal. How could I forget?"

She grabbed her bag and headed to her shoe locker. Time to go home. Five Star Stories was waiting for her.





Nakashima Residence
4:09 P.M.


Hotaru shrugged off her school bag and slipped out of her shoes. "I'm home!" she called and went to the kitchen to grab something to drink.

A middle aged yet beautiful woman stood at the counter top chopping vegetables. Even in her old cooking apron and with her hair pulled back into a loose ponytail she exerted a certain amount of class. She was elegant to the point that Hotaru believed even when crying she would still be still beautiful, not that Hotaru had ever actually seen her cry.

"Don't yell, Hotaru," she said softly. "Women should be gentle and soft, not brusque like a man."

Hotaru bowed slightly. "Of course, Mother. I apologize for my inappropriate behavior."

A young boy came suddenly bounding into the room. His light hair was a little disheveled, but he didn't seem to mind. "Onee-chan! You're home!" he said delightedly and jumped into her arms.

Hotaru gently set him down and waved her finger at him. "No no, Hotaka-kun. You must be gentle with a lady. As a man it will be your responsibility to protect me some day," she said with a wink.

Hotaka bowed in mock seriousness. "I am very sorry, Hotaru-onee." Then he begged, "Are you going to play with me now? No one had time for me but Grandpa today, and he was no fun. Grandma's been being weird and spooky all day."

Hotaru ruffled his hair, messing it up even more, and chuckled. "Aww. Poor you. Let's go find one of our onii-chans."

"Which one?"

"Well, who's not busy?" Hotaru said thoughtfully.

"Eiji-onii's in the garden right now," Hotaka answered studiously. "Everyone else is busy."

"Yosh! Let's go there then!" Hotaru said.

Nakashima Eiji was pruning the rose bushes when they found him. Hotaru held a finger to her lips to indicate that Hotaka should be quiet, and they proceeded to sneak up on their older brother.

Once they were about a foot away, Hotaru jumped onto Eiji's back and wrapped her arms around his neck. Though Hotaru was already tall for her age, he was a whole head taller than her, so it was still no small task. The whole family was tall, thanks to their European blood. It had also marked a few in the family with light, red-toned hair, including Hotaru.

"Hello, Hotaru, Hotaka," Eiji greeted. At twenty-three, he was the second oldest in the family, though technically Takeshi was only older than him by two minutes. He was currently attending Medical School, so he still lived at home. Eiji wanted to be a pediatrician, and Hotaru just knew he was the perfect one for the job. He was kind and loved kids; and he had a way of putting people at ease without even saying a word.

Eiji reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a box of sweet cream covered biscuit sticks. "Pocky?" he asked. Hotaru opened her mouth expectantly, and Eiji gave her one. She chomped down and dropped to the ground, mumbling a quick thanks.

"What about me?" complained Hotaka, and Eiji obligingly gave him one as well. The three sat in the grass, contentedly emptying the small cardboard box of its delicious biscuit sticks and enjoying each other's company.

"Hotaka, why don't you go play with Kiko?" Eiji said after a bit of idle conversation.

"But--"

"I just need to talk to Hotaru about something for a few minutes. You'll have your onee-chan back in no time," Eiji assured the small boy.

Hotaka pouted. "Fine," he said, just a little ornery, and went off to play with the family cat. After he was out of sight and hearing distance, Eiji turned to his younger sister.

"Would you like to practice a bit of kendo tonight?"

Hotaru scratched her head hesitantly. "But exams are coming up, Onii-chan. Don't you need to study?"

"Yeah," he said with a nod, "But I worked it out with Arata to help you tonight. He may have exams in school coming up as well, but he's only in eleventh grade; it's not like he's a third year or anything. And he doesn't care about grades, anyway. He said he'd be glad to help train you tonight."

Hotaru pouted. "But Arata is a jerk. He probably only agreed because it's an excuse to break one of our parents' rules."

Eiji ruffled her hair. "Come on, Hotaru," he said. "You know that Arata cares about you. He just has a strange way of showing affection. He's a teenage boy; what do you expect? They are all socially awkward."

Hotaru frowned, obviously not convinced, and said, "You were never like that, Eiji, and neither were Takeshi, Fumio, or Shiro."

"Yes, but you were just a little girl when we were his age," Eiji explained. "Arata has to deal with a teenage girl, so of course it would be awkward for him."

"Chiharu's older brother isn't like that, and he's the same age as Arata."

Eiji held his hands up in submission. "Okay, you win, little sis. I'll admit that Arata is a little snippier than other boys, but he does still care about you and he's good at fighting. He can help you out with some other techniques besides just your kendo."

Hotaru huffed. "Fine. At least I'll get to practice a bit and learn some new stuff. But if Arata is meaner than necessary you'll be in trouble, Eiji," she threatened.

"Deal."

They both grinned at each other and burst out laughing.


Chapter End