Earth, Nov. 19th 2016 @9:43 AM. After a long descent, the pod made a crash landing onto the streets in front of Zoey's grandparent's home. It wasn't dumb luck, she was able to put in an address on the pod's command board.
She kicked the door open, coughing and waving the dust away with one hand, still holding Amber in the other.
"Jeez, you're still asleep after all of that?"
She stepped out of the pod and escaped the clouds attacking her respiratory system.
"Man, Grandma is gonna kill me for this. The street in front of the house is a total mess now."
She shook her head but went on to the front door, looking up into the sky while she did, "oh, Genji. I hope you're ok up there..."
She opened the door and was taken back by the debris scattered around the living room and the hole in the roof.
"...I'm really gonna die."
She sighed but laid Amber on the clear part of the couch, figuring she wouldn't care where she was as long as she was lost in a dream.
"Can this day get any worse? Who do I even call to fix a broken ceiling?" She mumbled, picking up the remote to turn on the TV.
The screen buzzed on the flat screen, a hardware problem they've had for as long as she could remember. Though once it was over the screen worked normally. She saw sitcoms from the 50s, realizing her grandma must have been reminiscing on her youth with her childhood shows.
She flipped through the channels one by one, wanting to get to the channel that plays indie music, but an emergency broadcast came over the screen suddenly.
"Breaking news," the reporter said with a frightful expression, "Manhattan is under attack! Helicopters overhead have spotted crowds of people fleeing from a man and woman. Everyone in the area of Times Square should flee to a bunker immediately!"
"...This day is only getting worse," Zoey powered the TV off, not wanting to hear anymore, "Alyssa? Katrina? You guys here?!" She shouted from the bottom of the stairs. She received no response. She turned to face the kitchen table, noticing it was hardly touched.
"He would have eaten all of this...Genji..."
Quit worrying about him, I'm sure he's okay. Besides, we need to get out there and find the fight!
"Jeez, what's with you and fighting?"
Do I really gotta answer that for you?
"No, it was rhetorical," Zoey said, giggling a bit as she left the house, "we can scope out what's happening, but we're not getting involved."
Awww, c'mon!
She shut the door behind her and left for Times Square, wondering who this man and woman were.
Earth, Nov. 19th 2016 @9:48 AM. Off in a secluded and private alley, Katrina crouched behind some garbage cans facing a wall, seemingly talking to herself like a crazed woman.
"Whatever, just stay quiet. You'll be out when I see fit." She said, standing straight up.
She stared at the ground, but didn't see the murky concrete and dirty puddles, it was something else in her vision. She reached into her pockets, digging for something in particular.
In her pockets she dug out two colored contacts, holding them in her hands. She placed one on her finger and was about to put it in, but a sudden hand touching her shoulder startled her, causing her to drop them.
"Excuse me, missy. But what're you doing back here all alone?" The man asked, beginning to caress her shoulder.
"Oh, nothing really. I had dropped something earlier and came back to find it was all."
"Hmmm, is that so? You ain't an escort?"
"An escort? Oh, no no no. I'm not looking for any of that."
"I think you is. Let me see your face, I can give you the time of your life." The man said, trying to turn her around.
"I can't do that. It's probably best if you'd just leave sir."
"Huh?! What's wrong wit'cha? Turn around!"
The man forcefully turned Katrina around, but before he could see her face, she slapped him to the floor. While she was relieved to have hit him, she wasn't sure of the damage she did.
"Hello? Sir? Are you still there?"
Katrina kept her head up towards the sky, moving her arms around to feel for him. Shortly, his pained groans from the ground came through.
"Oh, thank goodness you're still alive." Katrina said, sighing with relief. She dropped to her knees and began feeling around for her contacts. It took a moment, but she found them both. She quickly dried them on her shirt and inserted them into her eyes.
She blinked a couple times, and her vision returned to Earth. She saw the murky ground, the surprisingly short man with a red spot on his cheek, and the abundance of flies surrounding the garbage.
"Forgive me, but it was for your safety." Katrina said, giving a small bow before walking away from the scene and back into the sidewalk.
"Now then, I'm sure Alyssa is done with the shopping. I guess I better make my way to the supermarket," Katrina said, looking down the street only to see stalled cars and people in a frenzy running in the opposite direction of the supermarket, "...and fast." She said before backing into the alley to climb up the walls and stand on the roof.
It was a bit clearer now, but there was a rising black smoke in the area of the market, and it began to worry her. Without wasting any more time, she charged straight to the market.
Earth, Nov. 19th 2016 @9:47 AM. Human life was deserted from the store and parking lot, leaving just one tattered and broken Alyssa alone with the persistent enemy who treated her ribs like a soccer ball.
"Come on! Tell me where he is! No point in hiding it!" He shouted.
Alyssa remained balled up, doing her best to protect her hearts.
"There's no use, dear. We won't be getting anything out of her stubbornness" The woman said, watching from some distance.
He let up on his assault and stared at the cowering girl beneath his feet. For a brief moment, his hands trembled but he turned away.
"What's the plan, then? How do we lure Genji out?"
"Well, if he hasn't found an escape pod yet, he's likely been locked in Heaven and is dying from environmental poisoning." She said with a cackle afterwards.
"Hm, no. I doubt he'd just lay down and die like that."
"What other choice does he have? There's only two ways for him to leave, and both are gone. I heard my castle's been destroyed and I am very upset." She said, folding her arms.
"Say, how did he get through in the first place?"
"Huh? Well, without the ability to teleport there...He went through space?"
"So, couldn't he just do the same thing?"
"Well, uh..." She stood there, dumbfounded, "ah! No! There is a floor, y'know!"
"No offense, but those are clouds. I doubt the difficulty to break through."
"Just because they're clouds doesn't mean they're not solid! We have buildings on top of them for christ sa-"
"He's right, it wasn't hard at all..."
From his left and her right, there he was. Genji stood there with his expression growing more into worry by the second. The only reason they're just now noticing him was because of his presence and the calmed but unconscious Jasper's conflicting each others, coming to a stalemate.
"Dad...What are you doing here?"
YOU ARE READING
Okami: Hero's Shortcomings
Fantasy(Book 1 of 5) Watch the journey of the loveable, playful, hyper-but-lax, and entirely unhinged Genji unfold as a disaster shakes his peaceful life into one of heroism. He strives to become the Ōkami, the protector of the world, to help save and prot...
