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 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 her 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 at 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 rang 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 naïve.”
“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 will 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 and 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 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 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 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 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 at 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 guy 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 idea
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 he 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
put a stop to 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 thin 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 the 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 glanced 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 min 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 onto 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. “I’ve never felt
better.” “That’s good to hear,” Clara admitted as she
and Rita walked ahead of the others. “So, can you guys
fill me in 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 just 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
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