AMUSEMENTS
AND HISTORY
Of course, this time I made the wrong choice… again. I told myself I was pressured into it, but like most things we tell ourselves... Well, with a plan outlined, part of me was excited for the hunt. I could not help thinking there might still be a chance, if I could just get rid of him…
Although David had expected his classmates to stay up late into the night, chatting or trying to sneak out, it never happened. Sure, they talked for a bit, but after the busy day they had and with an even heavier schedule planned for the next day, they were all asleep just after the scheduled ten-thirty. Without being able to recuperate in their tiger form, David was having unfortunate flashbacks to the constant exhaustion of his first months of training. After scribbling out a postcard for Jessica and his father, and then redoing them in English, David drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, the students ate a large Japanese style breakfast with miso soup, rice, fish, and several local side dishes. They had another quick ceremony in the hotel’s lobby, and then were out the door and on the bus. David was able to secure the very back seat with Takumi. Since Natsuki and Rie were just in front, David took the time to tell Takumi about the woman’s warning and the owl attack. He almost stopped when his host-brother started laughing.
“What should we do? Maybe I should sneak off and try to lure Chul Soon out, if he is really here.”
“If he is on Kyushu,” Takumi whispered, “he’ll come for us. If you leave, Reimi and I won’t be able to keep the rest of our classmates safe. I know you want to go hunt him, but we can’t put the rest of our class at risk.”
They discussed other options, but soon their buses pulled onto a large ferry. As they crossed the loading ramp, David felt a heavy sense of unease descend upon him. It was not as bad as the flight, but he could see the ferry was still connected to the port. As he fought the roiling tension from Kou, their tour guides ushered them out of the bus and up toward the passenger areas. While they exited, Moriyama handed out packets of stale shrimp flavored snacks. Their use became clear once they were on the upper levels. Seagulls darted around the boat catching the snacks mid-air.
David remained inside as his classmates braved the cold to feed the gulls. Sure enough, as soon as the boat began pulling away, the tension shifted within him to an instant panic. It took a long time for Kou to withdraw, but David was able to recover enough to walk outside and join his classmates about halfway through the trip. On the weather decks, students and other passengers threw the shrimp snacks and in return, the birds twirled and dove through the air after them. The more adventurous birds would even fly in and pluck the snacks right from the screaming students’ hands. David watched in amusement, and handed his own packet off to Naoto, who was trying to lure the birds onto Shou’s head. Then he saw Takumi.
His host-brother stood alone and away from the other students. His face was pale as he followed the birds. As David got closer, he realized Takumi’s strange appearance was not just from the intensity with which he looked at the other birds but that his eyes were a darker gray than the water running by swiftly below them. Startled, David realized that Reimi was very close to breaking through.
‘She must be able to sense the other birds around her.’ Kou’s lack of reply struck David, but he managed to turn his attention back to Takumi.
Although there was no mental connection between boy and bird, Takumi and Reimi could still sense the world around them while in the other form. Even if they were unable to access each other’s senses or talk, they could still see the world through the filter of their separate existences. Takumi had trouble describing it, and since David and Kou were connected, they did not have to worry about out of body experiences when they changed. Still, David could tell that Reimi wanted to transform and join the darting birds. Takumi’s hands were turning bright white with the pressure he was exerting on the boat’s guardrail. David checked to ensure no one was watching them, and then made a quick decision.
“Go around the corner and change. I’ll cover for you and hide your clothes,” David whispered.
With a look of great relief and gratitude, Takumi popped around the corner. David knew they were taking a chance, but he also knew that if the pressure Reimi was exerting on Takumi was half what Kou could do, then it was better to let them fly. As soon as David turned, he saw Reimi, the small gray phoenix. She looked up at him with wide deep eyes, the color bright red as if flames smoldered within.
“I know it’s been awhile since you’ve been able to fly, but be careful please! And no showing off. There are a lot of cameras over there. Make sure you’re back so Takumi can get changed,” David whispered. Anyone watching might have thought David had gone insane talking to a bird, but David knew Reimi was more intelligent than anyone but Kou.
“It’s not my fault you two are on this trip. If you had stayed home I could have done my regular flying,” Reimi said sweetly, blinking her fiery red eyes.
“You are so much like Natsuki,” he replied, exasperated. “You’d better take off before she finds us. She’s going to be pissed.”
With another blink and shuffle of sleek feathers, Reimi opened her gray wings and hopped up onto the railing. She swayed for a second before tilting forward toward the water. Her wings caught and she rose high into the air on the turbulence behind the boat. David smiled, and then hid Takumi’s clothes behind a bench. Walking back around the corner he ran right into Natsuki.
“Where is he, she?” asked Natsuki in a harsh whisper. Rie just behind her. David glanced back and up.
“Reimi couldn’t let the seagulls have all the fun,” he said, deciding to enjoy his decision, rather than worry over it. As if accentuating his point a gray blur swooped in among the white birds and snatched a snack from a Mizuki’s hand. She screamed and backed all the way into the boat’s interior.
“At least there’s no fire,” Rie said.
Natsuki looked as if she was going to burst, then let out a loud laugh and sat on the bench to watch Reimi fly. Rie sat beside her, an odd expression on her face.
“How come you’re not mad? You always got mad at me when Kou summoned you without warning,” David whispered, curious and more than a little annoyed.
“It’s different with us,” she said.
After a few more dives, spins, and other aerial stunts, Reimi tilted her wings and curved around behind the boat. She landed awkwardly on the railing, and then hopped down onto Natsuki’s lap. The little bird seemed to smile, her eyes blazing white-hot for just an instant.
“That was fun, thank you Natsuki. I am sure Takumi is a nervous wreck. Tell him not to worry. Also, thank him for the chance to spread my wings a little. It’s the first time I’ve been able to fly over water, pretty scary!” the phoenix said in her haunting voice.
After nuzzling Natsuki one last time, she hopped over to David, allowing him to take her and Takumi’s clothes to a nearby restroom. A few minutes later, Takumi emerged and they were able to join their classmates unobserved.
With the ferry approaching its destination, the second years threw the last of their bait over the side to the still swooping birds.
Less than half an hour after leaving the ferry behind, their two buses pulled into a giant parking lot and stopped next to a line of similar
