First Meeting

A Chapter by cywsaphyre

In which Takehiko is late (again), and an extracurricular project results in a fateful first meeting.

Cloud on the Horizon

Chapter 1 - First Meeting

Full Summary:

In the year 2030, a large group of people that form the Law Enforcement Commission seek to oppress the people's freedom of speech and activity because they want to change the society so that it would be "free of any discrimination and politically correct". For this purpose, the Commission has built an army consisting of both humans who are able to summon their own Resonance and monsters created from the labs, called the Black Fist. Any 'suspicious' books, documents, and artwork, as well as activities not directly approved of by the government that might cause people to oppose the Commission's rule are being destroyed or taken over. Actively opposing them is the Valhalla Order, also mostly formed by people with the same innate abilities as those in the Black Fist. Led by Commander Ozawa Hibiki, the Valhalla Order work to transport as many outlawed items as possible into the Shirudo Coliseum, the one place where people are allowed to freely come and go without the danger of being arrested or killed by the Black Fist looming over their heads, as well as to destroy as much of the monsters left to roam free by the Commission as possible.

One day, three complete strangers are thrown together under the strangest of circumstances. A university student, a police officer, and a racer whom have nothing in common except that they each have their own past demons to deal with, are thrown into a battle for the people's freedom. They must learn to trust each other and work together if they want to survive in this dangerous war.

�" Chapter 1 �"

Beep! Beep! Beep!

The blaring noise of his alarm clock jolted Miyake Takehiko awake. Slamming his hand down on the clock to give his ears some peace, his eyes widened as he saw the time.

"Oh crap! Not again! I'm going to be late!" Scrambling out of bed, Take hurried into the bathroom to get ready, almost tripping over several laptops and discs scattered haphazardly across the floor.

Fifteen minutes later, Take shot out of the dorm, his jacket in one hand and a bagel in the other, glasses perched haphazardly on his nose and partially hiding cobalt blue eyes, with his bag slung over his shoulder. Messy blonde hair that normally hung to his neck trailed behind him as he sprinted to class.

As he reached his Physics classroom, Take attempted to flatten his messy hair into something presentable. Hyoga-sensei was always annoyed about how unscholarly-like he was. Seeing that his efforts were futile, Take sighed and knocked a couple of times on the door. In his head, he started counting the number of times he had been late this month. Hyoga-sensei never failed to ask him this question.

The door slid open to reveal a mop of brown hair and amused brown eyes.

"You're so dead, Take." Iriye Keiji muttered as he stepped aside to let Take pass.

Take scowled as he walked past his best friend. "Don't remind me," he grumbled. "He'll probably have me wiping down desks for him for another month."

"Well, well," Take glanced up nervously at the professor. "Late again, Miyake-san?"

"Sorry I'm late, Hyoga-sensei," Take mumbled, waiting for the inevitable question.

Right on cue, "Tell me, Miyake-san, what part of 'please be on time for class' do you not understand? How many times have you been late this month?" Hyoga-sensei's face was slowly turning a bright red.

Take cleared his throat, blurting out the automatic answer. "Um, this is the sixteenth time, sensei."

A ripple of laughter drifted through the classroom, which seemed to infuriate Hyoga even more.

"Quiet!" He snapped. Turning back to Take, he spat out, "If you seem to think skipping my class is fine, then simply don't come to class at all."

Take glanced up in surprise. This was new.

Hyoga let a brief cold smile appear on his face. "Instead, I'll be sending you to a race."

Take was downright confused. Why wasn't he getting a lecture? Or a punishment? Or was the race a punishment?

Seeing Take's puzzlement, Hyoga's smile changed to a smirk. "I'll be giving you a… let's call it an extracurricular project. I assume you have heard of the upcoming car race, featuring the famous Honami Kisa?" At Take's uncertain nod, he continued, "I want you to go there and take down the speed of the car that belongs to the racer that comes in second."

Take's jaw dropped. "What? That means I'll have to track at least a couple of cars! What happened to taking down the speed of the first car?"

Hyoga's smirk grew. "But that would be too easy, Miyake-san. After all, everyone knows Honami Kisa will be the one to come in first. Now, get going. As I understand, the race will be starting at 3pm this afternoon. I'll give you until then to get ready. It's very simple. I expect a written report, including a graph, on my desk tomorrow morning. Of course, since you get a whole day off school, this simple project will be what determines your grade in this class. Dismissed."

Take stared back at him, feeling a deep anger stir inside him. But, after a moment, he gave a curt nod, spun around, and stormed out of the classroom, brushing past a stunned-looking Keiji.

Twenty minutes later, Take found himself just outside the city park. Taking a seat on a nearby bench, he stared miserably ahead of him.

"Something wrong?"

Take's head jerked up and to the side where the voice had come from. A woman, around his age by the looks of it, was sitting on the other end of the bench. She had layered, snow-white hair that stopped just below her jaw line, but her most distinguishing features were her eyes. They were a deep crimson red in color, captivating any who met her gaze. Take flushed and he suddenly realized he must have sat down on the bench the woman had already occupied.

"S-sorry!" He stammered, scrambling up. "I didn't see you there!"

The woman tilted her head, looking taken aback for a few seconds. Then, almost bemused, her face relaxed into a smile.

"It's alright," She reassured. "I don't mind, really. What's your name?"

Take hesitated for a moment before sitting down again.

"My name's Miyake Takehiko, but most people just call me Take." He gave a sheepish grin even as he realized that handing out his name to random people wasn't exactly the smartest thing to do. But there was something about this woman that put him at ease without any visible effort on her part. "I kind of zone out sometimes and do things without thinking first. Sorry about that."

The woman waved a delicate-looking hand in the air.

"I already said not to worry about it." She gazed curiously at him. "You're in uniform. I suppose you go to Sasaki University? Isn't there classes today?"

Take's face fell. "Yeah, I do go there. But I was late again for class today, and my sensei gave me a project to do."

The woman blinked. "That doesn't sound so bad, but you look miserable."

Take shrugged. "I have to record the speed of the racecar that comes in second in today's race."

The woman raised a slender snow-white eyebrow. "Whatever happened to recording the speed of the first racer?"

Take grinned reluctantly.

"That's what I asked him, but everyone knows Honami Kisa will win, which means all the other racers will be vying for second place." He sighed. "Not to mention he told me my whole grade will be based on this project."

The woman looked thoughtfully at him. "Then maybe I can help you a little."

The blond looked up, his gaze hopeful. "You can? Really?"

The woman nodded. "Two things: first, you should get a good place to watch the race so that you can keep track of the racers; second, keep your eyes on the first car and ignore the rest."

"What?" Take blinked, confused. "But I need the speed of the second�""

The woman smiled, genuine warmth lighting her expression and effectively creating a rising blush across the university student`s cheeks.

"Trust me on this one." She glanced down as her cell began to ring. "Ah, I have to go now, but remember what I said. Keep your focus on the first car."

She stood up and, with a nod goodbye, strode off briskly without looking back.

Take stared after her before standing up as well. 'I really don't have anything to lose,' He thought. 'Might as well do what she says.'

It wasn't until he was halfway to the racetrack that Take realized he had forgotten to ask the woman's name.