Takei walks into her house. After recovering, everyone returns to their abodes. Her body still holds a nudge of pain, but she makes it safe. A good night’s sleep is sure to subside it entirely.

  “Takei!”

  She jumps in fright from the yelling in front of her. Her father is awake, his breath smelling of liquor, his collar unbuttoned, and his face filled with an enraged glimmer.

  “Dad… is everything all right?” she asks.

  “Where have you been!? Are you aware of the… the!” He hiccups, and a horrendous belch bleaches her nose. “Time! Time! The time! It’s late!” He squints down at her.

  “Sorry… my friends and I got caught up. I didn’t mean to be so late,” she squeaks out.

  “Sorry!? Sorry, is that all you have to say? You, you… Mmm… damn it…” He slumps over, falling onto her shoulder. Her newfound strength makes it effortless to keep him up compared to what it used to be, but at the same time, he still feels so heavy.

  “Dad…” All she hears from him is a rumbling snore. “You had a really hard day at work, didn’t you?” The weight of her father keeps shifting as she carries him to his room. His completely limp body hits the sides of the wall, making it difficult to get him fully into his room. His bed is a mess. The sheets haven’t been washed in a while and still stink of booze. She leans him against one of her arms, lifting them and placing him onto the mattress. She then gathers the dirty sheets and bundles them into the washer. She starts the machine as it clicks and clacks over the floorboards. She leans against it, feeling the washer shake.

  How I wish you’d take care of yourself better, Dad… Like a lost cat astray in the winter chill, she holds onto the washing machine, her mind not even realizing. She hugs it and lets herself stay there.

  Chapter 16: The Beginning of the Fight for the World

  The next day, everyone gathers after school. It has been a normal day. The irony of it all weighs on them. Keiko trots in front of them, turning around as she walks backward.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Hey, can you guys believe it? Today is the day we disintegrate that bad water guy!”

  “Yeah, I’ve been looking to get rid of that bastard once and for all,” Usagi growls.

  “Hell yeah, that guy is going to return to dust when we’re done with him!” Okazaki shouts.

  “Uh, don’t you mean petals? Wait… No. Puddles! Uh… no… droplets!?” Keiko struggles to form a coherent argument.

  “Keiko, that was just embarrassing.” Shoji yawns. “What’s more, we didn’t even get to rest, and furthermore, hey, we’re forgetting an important thing.” He taps his chin. “Where is this Mr. Pond guy going to show up? It’s not like we have exact coordinates on where he’s going to appear.”

  “Yes, Shoji is right. She never specified where he would show it, and this seems to put us in a bind.” Ishimoto strokes his chin. “Although, judging by this Miss Bones, I don’t doubt it was also intentional, perhaps to drive a sense of dread within each of us.”

  “I fear Ishimoto is correct,” Angel adds, her eyes meeting the ground. “There was something about that woman. Her eyes tell no lies despite her evil nature. She no doubt intends for us not to know.”

  Takei has her eyes glazed over. She had a hard time resting last night, and she had a strong headache. “I wish I could be more helpful, though. I don’t feel so good this afternoon.” The wavering pangs rummage through her head.

  “Yeah, you don’t look so hot. Do you need some medication?” Okazaki takes a bottle of headache medicine out of his pocket and shakes it. “I got plenty in case we needed it.” He smiles.

  “Why would we need headache medicine!?” Usagi protests.

  “In case someone got a headache, and lo and behold, one of us got a headache.” He pops the cap open and hands one to Takei.

  “I—s-shut up! I hate that it actually makes sense right now.” Usagi pouts.

  “Hey, no worries, it doubles as a pain killer. Does it make sense to bring now?” He chuckles.

  “Thank you, Okazaki…” She takes the medicine, and Shoji hands her a water tin. She gulps it down and is assured it will get better soon.

  Making their way to the field, they see Kubo. He sits with his eyes shut in a deep state of meditation. They wait for a moment, staring at him.

  “Starrrree,” Keiko audibly says.

  “Yes. I know you are all there.”

  They all sit down, stretching their legs out and keeping comfortable.

  “Don’t get too comfortable. We all need to move our location. As far as we know, they don’t know of this place yet, and it’s best to keep it that way.” He lingers up, his body wobbling, and heads into the woods. They all keep watching.

  “Hurry up, you useless kids!” he shouts.

  “Yes sir!” they all say, rushing to his side.

  The woods remain heavy with the scent of bark and animal hides in the backdrop. They all can’t help but wonder where the animals are. Surely, they’d see them more often. Today, though, the birds are silent. The whooshing of the tree tops only simmer, and the sounds of their footsteps against the dirt.