Chapter 2: A Savior And An Ally
[Setting: a large city. It's like New York City, except no skyscrapers. Kiyo and Ryuko are inside a small tavern. Ryuko is talking to someone at a desk to find two open rooms. Kiyo is looking around, distracted by something new all the time]
Kiyo: Hey, Ryuko, I'm going out for a bit. [starting to leave]
Ryuko: No, stay here. I don't want you getting lost.
Kiyo: [rolling eyes] Psh, I'm not going to get lost.
Ryuko: You don't know that.
Kiyo: Come on, why not?
Ryuko: I already told you. Now, stay here.
Kiyo: You're my partner. You're SUPPOSED to listen to me.
Ryuko: I'm also older, meaning I have more authority.
Kiyo: [frustrated] You can't tell me what I can and can't do.
Ryuko: Yes, I can. You're staying here, and that's final.
Kiyo: [furious] YOU'RE NOT MY FATHER! YOU CAN'T ORDER ME AROUND!
[Kiyo storms out of the tavern. All Ryuko does is sigh]
[The camera cuts to see that Kiyo is in the middle of a park on a bench with her face in her knees]
Kiyo: [thinking] I can't believe that I snapped like that. All he was doing was trying to protect me. And I yelled at him for it. I'm such a jerk sometimes.
Gang Leader: Hey, girlie! You lost?
[Kiyo's POV: You see some random guys wearing different casual outfits, except they are all wearing black wristbands]
Kiyo: [annoyed because they interrupted her sulking] Who are you supposed to be?
Gang Leader: [not answering her question] You seem lost. How 'bout me and my boys show you around?
Kiyo: [gets up warily] Thanks, but no thanks. I know my way around.
Gang Member B: Don't lie, girly. Everyone knows that this is Shadows territory. You obviously don't.
Gang Leader: Now, why don't you come with us...[he reaches and grabs Kiyo's arm]
Kiyo: Don't touch me, slime! [punches leader in the face]
Gang Leader: You shouldn't have done that. [snaps fingers and all of the members pull out weapons]
Kiyo: [thinks] Crap, now what? I'm outnumbered. Too many goons to fight. Dang it! Where's Ryuko now that I need him?!
Leo : Shadows? Here? Don't you guys remember that us Eagles took this from you last week?
Gang Member C: Boss! It's an Eagle!
Gang Leader: No kidding, nitwit.
Gang Member D: There's only one of him.
Gang Member E: And lots of us.
[The new character jumps off a nearby roof-top. DESC - Leo: a boy about 14 years old with dirty blond hair and sea-foam green eyes. He is wearing a bandana with a black background and a picture of an eagle head on it. He is also wearing cut-off jeans and a plain t-shirt with no writing, he also has bandages wrapped around his hands.]
Leo: Who cares about odds? [to Kiyo] Are you alright?
Kiyo: I'm fine.
Leo: Good. [Kicks an attacking member] Name?
Kiyo: Kiyo. You?
Leo: Name's Leo. [fighting] This is getting us nowhere. [grabs Kiyo] Come on! I know a way out of here! [drags Kiyo off]
[Later]
Kiyo: I'm not sure whether to yell at you for kidnapping me or to thank you for saving me.
Leo: [laughs] I'd take the second one.
Kiyo: Hey, can you please let go of my hand now?
Leo: Oh, sorry. [he lets go and shoves his hands in his pockets]
Kiyo: So, who were they?
Leo: Members of the southern gang - the Shadows. I'm a member of the northern gang - the Eagles. There's two other gangs, the Western Suns and the Eastern Brothers. My gang and the Brothers are the protectors of their territory. The Shadows and Suns are actually just bullies and theives. Everyone is terrified of them in their territory.
Kiyo: You know a lot about the gangs; I'm assuming that you live here?
Leo: Yeah, but I'm heading home soon.
Kiyo: This isn't your real home?
Leo: It's kind of complicated. I live here, but the rest of my family lives out of the country.
Kiyo: Visiting?
Leo: Ha, sorry, but you're wrong again. You see, a few weeks after I was born, my mom died of a serious illness. My dad quickly re-mairried after that. My step-mom hated my guts, so I ran away. Now, I wasn't like 4 or anything. I actually left three years ago. I came here, joined the Eagles and you can figure out the rest.
Kiyo: Why do you have to go back?
Leo: My dad died and my step-mom - thank the gods - is locked up far away in prison. I only have my grandparents and sister left, so...
Kiyo: What's you sister like?
Leo: Bossy, loudmouthed, annoying, and abuses me every chance she gets. Yet somehow, I still love Brianna.
Kiyo: You're lucky, then. The closest thing I have to family is my best friend, Ryuko.
Leo: What happened to your family?
Kiyo: Don't know and don't care. They were never there for me. They just abandoned me on the edges of the desert in the village I grew up in. I mean, what kind of parent does that? [just remembering] AH! Ryuko! Aw, going to kill me when I get back!
Leo: Do you know where he is?
Kiyo: I have no idea! He was buying us some food at a tavern and asking about the inn rates when I exploded and ran off.
Leo: Hmm...Based on where you were, you came in from Shadows territory. They only have three inns in their sector...If you went straight, there's only one street...
Kiyo: I don't turn in my blind fury.
Leo: Then it narrows it down to two along that street. One right next to the park and one on the edge of town.
Kiyo: I ran for a while, so it must be the one on the edge of town.
Leo: CRAP! That's the Shadow's HQ! All their power stems from that place! They can get every branch of the gang there in less than a minute! They'll be all over Ryuko! Come on! [starts running]
[Kiyo follows. See them run off. When they get to the inn, they see at least 20 guys strewn around, unconscious. They're all Shadows]
Kiyo: Whoa, what happened here?
Leo: Don't know...
Ryuko's Voice: Kiyo? Is that you? You're late. [Ryuko comes out of the door, holding the leader by the back of the collar] I knew you'd still be mad, so I saved you one.
[He throws the leader on the ground, who scurries away]
Ryuko: Aw, come on.
Leo: [to Kiyo] So this is Ryuko?
Ryuko: And WHAT is THIS? [glaring at Leo]
Kiyo: Ryuko, Leo. Leo, Ryuko. [To Ryuko] Leo here saved me from some of those Shadows and showed me the way back here.
Ryuko: Shadows?
Kiyo: The gang you just fought.
Ryuko: Ah. [tilts head up in understanding]
Leo: [extends hand] Nice to meet you.
[Ryuko looks at Leo's hand as if debating to slice it off or not. In the end, he shakes it]
Ryuko: Likewise.
Kiyo: [anime sweat drop] Well, [to Leo] thanks for saving me and showing me back here.
Leo: [smiles] Hey, no prob!
[Ryuko says nothing, but stares intently at Leo and Kiyo]
[later that night, in Kiyo's room]
[We see Ryuko, in a slight frustrated or bad mood. He is standing against the wall with his arms crossed. Kiyo notices this]
Kiyo: What's with you? You've been ticked ever since I came back.
Ryuko: It's that Leo guy. Something about him I don't like.
Kiyo: Uh-huh. Why do you care? You'll never see him again.
Ryuko: [sighs] You're right. [starts to leave] I'm heading to bed. Good night.
Kiyo: 'Night.
[Once Ryuko leaves, a knock is heard on the window]
Kiyo: What in the... [Walks over to the window, opens it and looks out]
Leo's Voice: Hey! Kiyo! Down here!
[She looks down and sees Leo waving to her from the street]
Kiyo: Leo? What are you doing here?
Leo: I wanted to say good-bye to you. I'm leaving tonight and I wanted to make sure I wished you good luck on your journey. And who knows? Maybe we'll see each other again.
Kiyo: [smiles and nods] Yeah. I'd like that. And good luck, too!
Leo: Oh, here. [unties bandana and throws it up to Kiyo] There's an old saying that if you give someone a treasured item of yours before you leave, you'll see them again.
Leo: Yup. I've got to get going before it gets too dark. See you, Kiyo! [runs off smiling and waving]
Kiyo: [waves] See you. [looks kind of sad]
[The next morning. Kiyo and Ryuko are walking down one of the city streets with their backpacks on. Kiyo has Leo's bandana tied areound one of the straps. Ryuko seems to notice, but says nothing.]
Kiyo: So, where to next?
Ryuko: Hmm... the closest crystal is by the Atachi River.
Kiyo: And the element the crystal controls is...?
Ryuko: Water, if it's not already obvious. After we get that one, we should head up to the mountains to find Earth and we'll figure out the rest from there.
Kiyo: [shrugs] Works for me.
[Once they leave the city, Kiyo glances back at the city and in an actual book, it'd say:
And as I cast my glance back at the wonderful city, I could have sworn I saw Leo, smiling and waving, and heard him promise to see me again. Just to wait for him.
Ryuko, however, never heard.]
Chapter 2: END
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And there you have a completed chapter two! ^_^ Yay! Now, this is just going to be a little BONUS for those reading (I'm not putting these in a seperate post, hahahahaha!) called 'Secret Panels'. They're a lot like the bonus pages in a manga. This was actually planned to be a manga, so if you read this, you get a glance at what I may be like. So, here's Secret Panel Number 1!
When Kiyo is glancing back at the city, after that scene when she turns back, Leo falls out of a tree.
Yes, that's number one. There will be more, pretty much one every chapter, and most are like a twist on a scene or a continuation from another character's point of view.
