The rapid cadence of boots running echoed throughout the corridor.
“Waaaaaaaaaay too close!” The teenager had long since discarded the stolen finder coat a few stories above. Cat, the unfortunate little scamp, had a rather unsavory run-in with exorcist general, Froi Tiedoll. She had managed to escape after accidentally crushing his only pair of glasses, temporarily rendering him blind. Cat had now tumbled down several flights of stairs and by several I mean enough to make someone think they fell down a wormhole. Bruised, battered, and feeling the symptoms of adrenaline rush, the poor girl had tumbled to the floor, panting like an old dog.
“Never again,” she swore. “I cannot believe I let them talk me into this.” By them she meant her most beloved (and feared) friends, Zhen-chan and Chessy-sensei. All three of them resided in a small, backwoods town where they spent their days stealing food, roughhousing, and causing general mayhem in their quite, modest community. “I hate those two…” Cat furrowed her brow as she reminisced on the dare they had sent her on.
“Caaaaaaaat-chan~!” A bubbly voice that secretly resonated the pure essence of mischief called across the dining hall. Cat, a favored student at the school, lifted her face from her lunch just in time to have a stack of papers flung into her drowsy face.
Flailing away the offending parchment, the girl hissed her disfavor at her buddy. “I was eating.” Managing to get her favorite food, that was a good day in her book. However, when her friends had that deceptively sweet tone in their voices, her good day was about to go down in a spiraling, flame-engulfed nosedive.
“Yeah,” a few munches filled the pause. “You were eating.”
The gruff voice belonged to Chessy-sensei. Who, much to Cat’s despair, had eaten the last mouth-watering piece of chicken. Chessy was seventeen years of age, had really frizzy, black hair, and an attitude eerily similar to a certain red-haired general. She was Cat’s instructor on martial arts, writing, and math tutor. Her occupation of choice was mainly causing bodily harm to her disciples and challengers alike.
“Cat-chan! Pal! Best buddy!” Cooed Zhen-chan as she embraced her friend in a bear hug.
“Can’t. B-breathe.” Cat rasped as she made a futile attempt to claw her way out of the death grip.
Chessy sauntered around the table and had a small sheet of paper in her hand. “What she means to say, my bumbling learner, is that we have an offer that may intrigue you greatly!” Her lips parted into a sharp, white smile.
“Yes! You’re gonna love it!” Zhen-chan’s coffee toned face shone like she was inwardly laughing at some private joke. No doubt she was.
Scrambling over the table and into the adjacent seat, Cat lowered her head and glowered at the duo. Why were they so chipper? Chessy reached over and grabbed the unwilling girl’s hair much to her chagrin and hauled her over the counter.
“Listen! I’m serious. This is an assignment we made only for you!” Chessy propped her legs onto her backpack and smiled warmly. She handed Cat the tiny slip of paper and observed the reaction. Like she expected, the younger friend’s jaw nearly broke off of her face.
“Y-you want me t-to-!” Before she could speak any further, Zhen clapped a hand over her mouth and shushed her.
“This is very important. You know more about the place than the both of us, and you said you had a friend who worked there, right?” The dark skinned teen’s eyes glittered with an inquisitive light even though she already knew the answer.
Cat snapped out of her daze and tilted her head. The Black Order? What business did they have there? None. That’s how they were; always off causing trouble. Cat frowned and replied, “Even if I did, what do you want there? And why do I only have to go? I thought the best covert teams consisted of at least three people!”
Her sensei fully expected this question. “Like I said, you have the most knowledge and we’d only get in the way. Besides, if you don’t go I supposed I could go and see your beloved Cro-.” Faster than most eyes could follow, Cat was boldly towering over her master with an almost tangible homicidal luminosity hovering around her like a swarm of bees.
“You’ll do no such thing.” Death seeped around each word.
“Then you accept?” Even the teacher knew how to pull the right strings.
“How do I even get there?” Cat dusted of her light jacket and stood at attention. Zhen-chan flipped through the massive pile of documents in her hands and handed an envelope to her friend. She raised an eyebrow after she tore open the package to find a tiny black device. While she had no access to such high-end technology, her sensei’s father had past ties to the military, which consummated that loose end.
“Think of it as a sort of GPS/instant messenger.” Chessy flashed her winning grin once more. “It has instructions on how to get there, survival tips from yours truly, and,” she paused to amp up the suspence, “ a video recorder.” Her friends gaped at her. Wow.
“Um. Wow, Chessy-sensei!” Cat was too dumbfounded to speak any further. Her friend was living version of a 007 mary-sue! “Wait! Hey! What do I tell my parents?! I’ll be gone for, like, a couple of weeks!” Zhen-chan waved her hand dismissively.
“Don’t worry ‘bout it. I phoned your folks a few weeks in advance and told ‘em that my parents were taking all three of us backpacking. In India.”
“India?!” Her parents were actually that permissive to getting her out of town? Dang. This is new. Chessy chimed in.
“When they want pictures, I’ve already doctored a couple dozen in Photoshop!” She proudly displayed the colorful, seemingly realistic photographs of the three of them in front of the Taj Mahal.
Zhen-chan and Chessy-sensei wrapped their arms around the still thunderstruck girl. “You’re so lucky! We’ll miss you!”
Cat couldn’t help but whimper at the looming disaster she had just gotten herself into. No matter how hard she tried to stop it, one heck of a trip was coming….
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How was it? Not too mary-sueish I hope! D: Geez. Chessy-sensei (Batousai-chan) is all of those things I mentioned: Scary, helpful, and oddly mysterious. Her dad was in the military, so of course he has some connections, but obviously not enough to get that kind of tech. I know this chapter bites. I’m having a terrible writer’s block, but this is most likely gonna be the last flashback. I hate flashbacks…
