Chapter 14: Zephyr

"What do we do now?" asked Koichi
"We must get a closer look at that crystal, Koichi." said Beschermer. "I don't know how, maybe you can go and talk to them, ask them a generic question and strike up a conversation."
"At once, master." said Koichi, standing up and walking over towards the group, stopping at a bookshelf first. He glanced over at the table and noticed the title of the book the girl was holding, "Les Miserables" and made his move.
"Excuse me, would you happen to be almost finished with that book?" he asked the girl. "Sorry, it's just I noticed you had it and there aren't any other copies on the shelf where it belongs." It just so happened that the correct shelf was right along the wall where they were all sitting, and the spot was empty.
"Oh, no, sorry. I just started it. I should have it back in a few days though, maybe you could check back then. I'm a fast reader, so mine will probably be back before most others." answered the girl. "By the way, my name's Fuu, and this is John and Tristan." said the girl with a hint of an oriental accent.
"My name's Ken. Fuu, huh? Doesn't that have something to do with "wind" in Japanese?" Koichi asked, intrigued. He glanced down at the table and there it was, the pure crystal of Wind, crystal clear with accents of a light blue/green hue. It was beautiful. Koichi quickly looked away and out of the corner of his eye saw Beschermer shift in his seat.
"Why yes, actually. How would you know that?" she asked. Koichi had once again changed back to the boy from Tampa, who was clearly nowhere near close to being of Japanese descent.
"Well, I'm a bit of a nerd...and I'm into Japanese culture and all that." he said. "Well, it was nice meeting you all, and thanks for the talk. I'll be sure to check back later. Hasta!" he said, walking off to pretend to look at another shelf before grabbing another random book and sitting back with Beschermer at their table.
~~~~~~~~~~~

10 minutes earlier:

Fuu, John, and Tristan were sitting at a table in the library when a boy about sixteen, with green eyes and black spiky hair and an older man, likely his father, walked up the stairs and sat down at a table a few yards away. Fuu watched them a moment and then resumed talking with her friends. They were talking about a school project that they had to do this week, coming up with a concept for the mandatory Science Fair. They all hated it, but it was being forced on them, and grades were being given. They had to do it.

Tristan glanced around the room a second and then stooped in close to whisper. "Listen, Fuu...how long do you want me to hold on to this thing for you?" he said, his hand reaching for his pocket.
"Well, I guess you can give it back now...I just wanted to hide it from Stacy while she was in town... she's obsessed with jewelry and I know she would have wanted it if she had seen me with it." Fuu answered.
"Great, I don't really like it very much, it seems really heavy in my pocket. It's almost like it's trying to get out." he said, reaching in his pocket and taking out the crystal and putting it on the table. "What's that symbol on it, anyways?"
"It's the ancient symbol for Wind, or Air, depending on the dialect or culture you're referencing." she answered.

A minute or two passed and the boy from the other table got up and walked over to the shelf a few feet away, looking on the shelf she had gotten her book from a few minutes ago. He then walked over and started talking to Fuu.

"Excuse me, would you happen to be almost finished with that book?" he asked. "Sorry, it's just I noticed you had it and there aren't any other copies on the shelf where it belongs."
"Oh, no, sorry. I just started it. I should have it back in a few days though, maybe you could check back then. I'm a fast reader, so mine will probably be back before most others." Fuu answered. "By the way, my name's Fuu, Fuu Ishida and this is John and Tristan." she said with a hint of an oriental accent. Her father was an American, while her mother was Japanese. They had met when he was in Japan for a school trip, and they had kept in touch and eventually married.
"My name's Ken. Fuu, huh? Doesn't that have something to do with "wind" in Japanese?" asked the boy.
"Why yes, actually. How would you know that?" she asked.
"Well, I'm a bit of a nerd...and I'm into Japanese culture and all that." he said. "Well, it was nice meeting you all, and thanks for the talk. I'll be sure to check back later. Hasta!" he said, turning and walking off to grab another book from the shelf and then sitting back down with his dad.

Fuu had a strange feeling about they boy. He had seen him glance at her crystal a few times during their short conversation, and then at the mention of her name, had recognized that it meant the same as her crystal's symbol. She was certain he was more than he appeared to be.

"That was random, huh Fuu?" asked John
"Yeah, and I had no idea that's what your name meant...no wonder you like that crystal thing so much." said Tristan.
"Yeah, that's one reason..." she said, glancing over at the boy again. He was talking with the older man who she thought was his father. Now she thought it might have been him that sent Ken to talk to her, maybe to find out about the crystal.
"Hey, we need to get to school, eh?" asked John, standing up and grabbing his pack.
"Yeah, let's go." answered Fuu, putting her crystal in her pocket and pulling her pack on, following John and Tristan down the stairs and out of sight of the two strangers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Koichi and Beschermer saw the three get up and walk out. They had gotten enough information on the subject and decided not to pursue them.

"Her name's Fuu Ishida. She's the bearer of the crystal." said Koichi. "I'm sure of it."
"How can you be sure...the boy had it to begin with." asked Beschermer.
"Well, her name's Fuu which roughly translates to Wind...plus the boy gave it to her. he seemed to not want to hold on to it. And she goes to the school down the road. I saw the name on her backpack. If we need to find her, we can always go there."
"Fair enough...I think we've got all we need. I'll call Drake and tell him we're on our way back. I need to give those two a little more training before we go. I think they're ready to move up a level in their elemental control." he said.
"Alright then, how will we get back this time?" asked Koichi
"There's not always going to be an easy way to travel, for now we'll travel on foot. But on our way back this time, we'll use our abilities...we'll be there by nightfall." he answered.

Beschermer pulled out his cell phone as they walked outside and into the California sun. He dialed Drake's number to inform him of the situation. Unfortunately, he didn't pick up so Beschermer left a message. "I forgot, they're at school now, there's a time difference here." he said, embarrassed. "Maybe he'll call at lunch or something..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Drake led Erika out into the hallway and spotted an empty bench. They sat down and Erika leaned on his shoulder, quietly sobbing. She was beginning to calm herself, breathing hard and the tears gradually stopped after a few minutes. "Erika, this might not be the best time, but there's something I want to talk to you about..." said Drake "It's kinda important, and I'm not sure how much long I can wait with things going at this rate."
"Sure, what's up?" she asked, mentally preparing herself to get gently let down, her heart broken again. She was sure he was going to say it was just too much, and they should stop hanging out.


END Ch. 14