The drive to Tokyo was long and rather tedius. Moving always is. "This is the last time. I promise. We won't move again until after you graduate." The words echoed in her head like a bass drum. Her father had finally been discharged from the military. Hopefully this means things will quiet down and maybe she will be able to actually enjoy school now.
The moving truck rolls up to an apartment not terribly far from Seiyou Middle school. A young, blue haired girl steps out. She's dressed in a cute blue skirt, as well as a US Marine's grey top which is slightly covered by a light pink jacket. On her jacket there is a brass pin that looks like pilot's wings. Quickly she starts helping her parents unload the truck.
Thankfully, This doesn't take terribly long. For the number of times her family has moved, Its become a rather fast thing. Sure she didn't unpack. She simply put stuff in her room and is now outside, looking around, taking in the new sights. "So this is it." She states in Japanese. Then she switches languages, "<Ugh, I wonder how long it will be until we have to move again.>" Disappointment resounds in her tone. Slowly Sierra goes for a little walk.
Kukai is jogging along the streets. It's strange, in a way. Even his brothers have commented on it - they've never seen him out doing this much roadwork, especially in the off-season now that school's out. He may or may not be wearing Daichi out, the little Chara resting in his light jacket pocket. The thing is, Kukai isn't jogging to jog. He's looking for someone.
This means, however, that he gets to meet a lot of new people and see a lot of new things. Until he gets a text telling him what's going on, or until he finds who he's looking for, he's out, burning that endless endurance at both ends, jogging. Always jogging, always looking.
This means he ends up running alongside a new blue-haired girl, someone he's never seen before. He slows and nods at her, smiling widely, polite. "Hi."
Utau Hoshina was in a particularly bad mood today. Since her attempt at debrainwashing and freeing her brother Ikuto had failed miserably, her manager had grown suspicious of her. Not only had they restricted her ability to visit Ikuto each week, but they'd also doubled her workload, forcing her to work twice as hard.
Unfortunately, she wasn't netting in as many X-eggs as before, still feeling there might be a small sliver of hope that she might be able to find some help to free him.
As chance would have it, she just happens to be walking from the school towards the apartments..She spots Sierra before Kukai, and immediately both she and Iru sense the powerful heart's egg within her heart.
"Utau-chan!" Iru's egg pops open and she settles on Utau's right shoulder. "Do you sense that!? We should take her egg now! Remember what Yukari said - 'If you are able to bring back even one powerful X-egg, we'll let you see Ikuto again!'"
She nods slowly, taking a step towards Sierra, then her other egg cracks open, and the angelic Eru settles on her other shoulder. "Utau-chan...Dont do it! Stealing eggs is wrong! I know we'll find another way to free him!" Utau pauses, uncertain, glancing between her two chara, unsure of what to do. She doesn't want to steal anymore eggs! She's trying to be good! But..Ikuto...
Then, suddenly she spots Kukai up ahead, who just happened to stop by the new girl and she freezes, fighting every urge to run away. "K-Kukai..." she murmurs. Well dammit, this is gonna make things more complicated!
Taking a bit of a detour from school, Chloe, now striding more confidently than before. She seems to be doing okay with herself lately, even with a few friends, that aren't with her at the moment. Even with this, she spots Utau. She also notices that her two charas are arguing with her. She smirks a little bit before walking over to Utau. "One of them is right, Utau.....and you know it." She says waving to Kukai.
Voices around her blend into a cacaphony. Its something she's used to from the bases though so she simply goes on, not paying any mind to the person chatting it up with a pair of charas behind her. Not that she'd even see the charas. She wouldn't even know what the heck they were! So Sierra just keeps going. At least that is until... OH goodness... This guy is CUTE!
Red fills her face as she looks up and sees Kukai. "Umm, Hi." She seems to retreat a bit. A cute guy just greeted her. WHY did a cute guy just greet HER!? She glances around to make sure he isn't talking to someone else and she just wound up getting confused over the whole thing. Nope the only people there are two girls, one who looks awefully familiar and, this rather cute guy.
"Umm I'm Sierra. Sierra Earhart. Nice to meet you?" She is still blushing about as bright as a girl can. Oh thank gods her parents aren't outside. Last thing she'd nead is her ex-military dad going drill sergeant on the poor guy.
Kukai grins and then blinks, watching Sierra sort of pull back. "Er... what, do I smell bad? I know I've been jogging a while but it shouldn't be that bad!" He looks himself over for a moment, then smiles as she seems to recover and respond. "Hey, American? Your Japanese is very good!"
He grins. "I'm Kukai. It's very nice to meet you! Are you moving to Tokyo or just visiting?" He looks around for a moment... and well, crap. There's Chloe.. And Utau. He waves, slightly, barely raising a hand past his shoulder and moving it back and forth, back in their direction - more waving at Utau than at Chloe. He doesn't move towards them just yet, or away for that matter.
Kukai's voice goes lower and quiet, meant for Sierra alone. "What a day. She probably thinks I'm flirting with you." He looks over at her and grins, a big, cheerful, shining grin. "I'll try not to get you into trouble."
"Eru...Shut up!!" Yells Iru, flying circles around Utau as she and Eru continue to argue. "She cant count on anyone but herself! She needs to do that!" Peering back at the blue haired girl, Utau cant help but notice her face turn bright red..And Kukai's suddenly paying a lot of attention to her!
She grits her teeth, looking quite ticked off! Utau hasn't seen him forever, and he's still flirting with girls!? She takes another step towards Sierra, and doesnt seem to think long on Chloe's words in her blind anger.
"Sierra Earhart..." she says between clenched teeth. Eru whimpers as Iru grins wickedly, and without a word, she chara changes with Utau, creating mini black bat wings to sprout from her shoulder blades. Utau takes another few steps towards the girl until she's only a foot away, if so much.
"How about I sing you a song!? One you'll never forget.."
Chloe facepalms as Utau is visibly enraged. "And....I can tell which direction you're thinking." She groans a bit as she gets in Sierra's face. Without hesitating, Chloe puts herself in between the now transformed Utau and Sierra, apparently not the least bit afraid of the girl. "Kukai, get her out of here." But she never takes her eyes off of Utau. "have a bit of a jealousy problem, do you?"
Sierra Earhart looks at Kukai, "Oh umm. Sorry. It's not you. I was just taken by surprise. Also, My mom is from here. She taught me Japanese and the culture since I was a little girl. She was an exchange student in the US and she sorta fell in love with my dad. I still have an accent though." She blushes softly.
Then he leans in and mentions his little ruse. She raises an eyebrow, "Seems a little... I dunno, maybe a bit mean. Its just a joke though right." She giggles a little which likely doesn't help her cause.
If that isn't enough, she hears something, "Where are those voices coming from!?" She turns and looks around just in time to have Utau in her face.
Part of her is getting edgy. When Utau mentions singing, she figures it out. "Oh my gods. You're Utau Hoshina!!" SHe beams brightly, "I love your music. You're really great!" She smiles bright but that doesn't exactly help matters. "I umm... I would be flattered. But maybe when you aren't looking like you are going to explode..."
Then the other girl is between her and Utau. "Hey what?! I'm standing right here." She rolls her eyes. With a grouchy tone she switches back to english for a moment. "<Ugh Is this really what Tokyo is like? Maybe I'd be better off back in the States.>"
Kukai smiles and nods at Sierra. "Oh, that's pretty cool! But hey, it sounds better than a lot of people. You can barely tell!" He lets out a sigh. "It's... a long story. Put it this way - she'd think I was flirting with you no matter what, so..."
He hears Utau, and can't help but frown as Utau Chara Changes in public. He raises a hand and points at Utau. "Hey, now. You're really ticked off, aren't you?" He looks back over his shoulder at Sierra just as Utau goes past him. "Um, maybe now isn't the best time for a concert. Miss Earhart? You might want to run."
Chloe interposes herself between the two of them, and he reaches over, patting Utau on the shoulder to get her attention, trident and all, waiting for her to swing at him. "Utau, I just met this girl, come on. Leave her alone." Daichi is watching the whole thing from Kukai's pocket - he knows Kukai isn't in the absolute best shape to fight, and if Utau gets really mad, this will all go pear-shaped.
Utau's eyes widen as Chloe intercepts her. Oh yes, the annoying girl from the other day..Rena's friend. Utau never really trusted her before, but now she's starting to dislike her. "Jealousy? Please.." she glares at the girl but shakes her head. "My fight's not with you. Get out of my way."
Iru snarls at Chloe, "Utau-chan, shall I chara transform? Let's blast her away! I haven't seen enough action in a long time! I'm getting bored!" Eru pops up again on her other shoulder, "No! You must believe in Rena-chan..And Kukai-kun too! I know they'll help you find another way.."
She looks between the two of them for a long time, uncertain of what to do. Sierra's comment about her music causes her to give a strange, bitter laugh as she realizes all her music ever does is give people despair and emptiness. But its only when Kukai tries to get her attention that she backs off, her anger quickly melting to sadness.
"Kukai..." she murmurs, turning to face him after what seemed like forever. For a moment her gaze softens. She doesnt transform, doesn't even sing to trap the girl's heart. Instead, her wings melt away and Iru grumbles, glaring back at Kukai. "You're such a jeeeeerk!" she makes a face at him.
"I'm....I'm sorry." Utau says, trying to fight back the tears now. "Nothing makes sense anymore.."
"<Some of us can understand english.> Chloe says as she switches to english too, at least for a moment. "There's a lot explaining to do here, but let Kukai smooth things over." She says, at least, trying to get a little bit of distance away from Utau. "I do apologize for the frank way I spoke towards you, but.....She's kind of going through some difficult times right now." She says looking to Kukai.
Sierra looks worried. In fact she is just about to do what Kukai told her to do. Run away, but then things seem to change. Then she hears something. "Who said that?! I keep hearing voices and I know I'm not crazy! Ugh maybe I need sleep or something." She frowns
Then there is the comment from Chloe about her understanding English. "<And?>" She states sounding very much annoyed by the comment. "Its not like I said anything offensive. I miss some people, alright!" She shakes her head and just starts walking away.
Kukai arches an eyebrow, looking at Sierra. Is she crazy? Maybe. He's got other things on his mind all of a sudden. He moves in closer to Utau, reaching down to take her hand, even as Daichi pops up onto his shoulder, sticking his tongue out back at Iru and waving to Eru. "Utau-chan... You look sadder than I've ever seen you."
He looks over at Sierra for a moment, then tugs at Utau's hand, trying to pull her away a few steps, lowering his voice a notch as well. "Rena said she was trying to help you, and that you'd need my help. Do you want to go somewhere and talk about what's going on? She said you found Ikuto, but that you couldn't get him out."
He squeezes her hand. "I've never seen you like this before. Usually even if you're doing the wrong thing you're always sure about where you're going. You look so lost."
Iru and Eru both blink as Sierra talks about voices. "Wait, what!? You can hear us!? Can you see us too!?" both of them fly towards Sierra, buzzing around her head excitedly, waving their hands in front of her. "But she didn't seem to be able to see us..Is she really a Guardian?"
"Oooh Ooh!" Iru speaks up, excitedly, "Her egg hasn't hatched yet, but if she can hear us, she really does have a lot of potential! Utau! I cant believe you're gonna let this one go! Her heart's egg could help out, a lot!"
Utau just ignores them, feeling torn, confused..And yes, she is utterly lost as to what to do. She is surprised when Kukai takes her hand, walking her a little ways away, and being able to see him again seems to make her feel a bit happier. Enough not to cry, at least.
"Kukai..." she murmurs again, and there are so many things she wanted to tell him..But she's already feeling nervous as she sees more black suits out of the corner of her eyes. Utau presses closer, hugging him tightly as she whispers into his ear. "I..Dont want to hurt anymore people. I cant t ake it anymore! But...I wasn't strong enough to set Ikuto free on my own. I dont have anywhere else to turn, so please.."
Utau slips a piece of paper in his hand, with her phone number written on it, as well as an address of some place and a date and time. "You'll come, wont you? It should be safer there.." Then she leans over, kissing him on the cheek, reddenning a bit, before letting go, and running away, the men in black suits slowly following after her.
"Heeey! Wait for us!" Iru and Eru zip after her, Iru glaring at Kukai, Eru smiling sweetly at him, "Thanks, Kukai-kun!"
Chloe seems to relax a little more when Utau leaves, but then Sierra's leaving too. That's a plus....sort of. Chloe seems to be ticking everyone off lately. "Mmmm....that could've gone better." She says before looking to Kukai. "I didn't want to see her get hurt...that's all. I guess I'm a little too blunt, hmm?"
Sierra doesn't get too far. Not far at all before suddenly, voices again! "Yes I can hear you. No I can't see you, whoever you are." She is really beginning to worry now. "What the heck is a guardian... What about eggs!" She sighs. Quickly she covers her ears and lets out a little growl before resuming walking. "This is crazy! I am not insane! Come on! I'm sane I know I am!"
She tries to shake it off. The whole thing is freaking her out. She doesn't hear anything more from the charas thankfully, though this is because she's still got her hands over her ears. "This place is insane!" She practically shouts!
Kukai looks back over at Sierra for a moment and gets it. "...Oh. She's going to have a Chara, soon? Oh!" He looks back to Utau, intent on keeping her away from the newly-created Bearer, only to see her lost and confused. She looks so upset...
It raises his hopes to hear her talking about her desire to not hurt anybody anymore. He smiles and nods. "Yeah. I said I'd help you whenever you needed it. I'll be there. " He takes the piece of paper and then nods. "I'll be there." He watches her walk away, holding the piece of paper and then pocketing it in his jacket, waving bye to Eru.
He finally looks over at Chloe, then shrugs. "Everybody goes a little crazy just before they find their magic, I think. Being blunt isn't a bad thing. And thankfully nobody did get hurt."
He looks at Sierra as she heads back down the walkway. "Think I should go after her?"
"Yeah, I thought I was nuts when I saw Rena's fairy, then yours, but.....I think I can handle it now." Chloes says looksing to Sierra, but talking to Kukai. "No...I don't think going after her is a good idea. She might try to 'fend you off' and the like. You do realize, if utau hadn't backed down, I'd have launched her into a lake, right?"
Sierra doesn't get any answers. She is simply left alone. She's used to it sadly. She doesn't know these people she doesn't know anything really. All she knows is she is walking and who knows where to? Turning a corner she catches sight of a park in the distance. Seems like as good a place as any for her.
"These people are nuts. Or am I nuts. I just met one of my favorite musicians and she looked like she wannted to skin me. Then I start hearing voices about guardians and eggs..." She trails off in her mumbling. "I'm amazed I didn't hear about farmers and chickens with this." She lets out a little laugh to herself and just keeps moving. Within a few minutes, she's gone. Gone to get lost in thought for a long while.