Andromeda

(Update: Since it has been confusing a lot of people I wanted to try to address it again in this chapter. When you start reading Shift you will begin with Chapter 0 Pilot and then continue into this Chapter 1 Daydreams. As stated in the Pilot chapter, the first chapter “Pilot” is actually what you would call a “Pilot” for the series. It serves a number of purposes, one of which is to get you hooked and put in everything that you should expect out of the series, well not everything but a good chunk. The thing to remember though is that the “Pilot” exists in a different universe compared to the Chapters 1- to whenever I am currently. Think of it as a parallel universe to the series with all of the same characters and similar events, but they don’t connect.

So please when you read this chapter remember that this is the actual start of the story and not the previous. Do not take anything you read from the last chapter to actually have happened in this story. Chapter 1 Daydreams is the actual beginning. You will quickly find differences such as Ayumi being a transfer student and not a regular student as before. Yuki does not remember anything that happened to his family and the powers. That is because those events never happened to this Yuki. This is the true start of the story so please don’t hold what happened to be continued here. I apologize for any confusion this might have caused.

Author’s Notes: This is my new story, but unlike the previous stories which were based around an anime/episode formatting this one is different. I am formatting this as though it would be a manga/chapter. So that means they will be shorter and coming more frequently than the previous story Flesh is for Gods and more like the Inner Man. They will be weekly on Thursday. The length is undetermined at this point, but I will say that it is intended to be of Shonen Jump to some extent. So plan for this to be very long, much more so than either of the previous stories. I hope that you enjoy this. Thanks and read and review please.)

The castle was safe now; it had been defended well against the overwhelming numbers of enemy soldiers that laid siege to its walls. As the rising moon bathed its warm pale blue light over the field the victorious champion of the people stood up pulling his sword free from its bloody sheath. The blood of those he had slain was coating his dulled battle-worn armor allowing a subtle glow in the moonlight to surround him. Through labored breathing and aching muscles he marched through the battlefield of death where the Lord Armuti waited for him.

He knelt down at the lord’s feet saddened in the loss of so many, but relieved for the battle to be over. Lord Armuti lowered his hands on the champion’s shoulders displaying a proud smile for the miraculous victory achieved. The lord grabbed him then by the sides of his arms insisting that he no longer knee. “Champion Yuki, your name shall ring from these halls ever more! All praise Champion Yuki!”

The remaining soldiers gathered around the two shouting with Lord Armuti in honor of their champion. All cried out his name for him to hear echoing through fields. “Champion Yuki! Yuki! Yuki!” They repeated their chant clashing their swords against their shields building the champion to a smile.

“Yuki! Yuki… Yuki! Yuki…Yuki…” Amongst the chanting there was another distinct voice that he could hear rising over the others in a different tone. He barely acknowledged it at first, but it was persistent refusing to give up calling to him. As each call to his name came the voice became clearer and clearer until he could tell that it was a woman’s voice mixed in with all of the men. The voice drew him away forcing his focus on it. “Yuki…time to wake up!”

The entire world went black suddenly washing away as though it had all been freshly painted pealing way under the pressure of water. All that he could see was the black void around him and then a narrow line of light that slowly widened revealing his bedroom ceiling and his older sister, Momoko’s brown eyes staring over him.

Chapter 1 – Daydreams

“I see that you’re awake now, Yuki,” Momoko said with a warm smile that she always managed to have. Now that she was satisfied that she had breached through Yuki’s sleep she stood back up straight watching for another moment. She flipped back her ponytail of black hair that fell to the middle of her back just below the shoulder blades. Her short bangs adjusted themselves from leaning over.

Yuki scanned his room quickly feeling a little disappointed that it was only a dream again. He was back in his bedroom normal and ordinary Yuki a fifteen year old high school student attending Monou High School in Konomoka near Tokyo. A slow drawn out yawn escaped his mouth leaving him to feel suddenly tired and his bed was still very warm and comfortable. His dream might still be there for him to grab before it was too late. Yuki’s eyes closed rolling over. “Just a few more minutes, Momoko,” Yuki mumbled through his pillow.

Momoko rested her hands on her hips, not surprised by this, narrowing her eyes at him. “Come on, Yuki. You have to get up. I’m not going to be nice anymore.” She leaned in against his bed one more time staring at him to look for a change, but there was no movement. A faint sigh escaped her lips before she mounted Yuki’s bed and sat down on top of him.

The sudden weight on his chest and air forced out made Yuki nearly yelp as he was sprung forward in surprise. His eyes were widened ready to fall out as he tried to recover himself. “Momoko?! What are you doing? I can hardly breathe.” He flailed his arms at his older sister in an attempt to force her off of him, but she was able to easily prevent him.

She gave him a wicked smirk back pleased to see that she finally had his attention. “Gotta toughen you up a little,” Momoko said roughing Yuki’s hair up a little enjoying the moment.

“Fine…fine! I’m awake. You can get off me now!” Yuki pushed at Momoko as she gave him some room to move. Once he was freed from her hold he dragged himself out of his bed quickly standing recovering himself fully.

Momoko swiftly departed his room shouting back to him before she returned downstairs. “Get your brothers up before you go to the shower.” There was a momentary pause as Yuki was about to say something back. “Because I have to finish making your lunches and breakfast. You have responsibilities in this house too.” Once she was finished her presence was completely gone and Yuki narrowed his eyes slightly.

‘You were already up here. Why can’t you wake them up?’ Yuki reluctantly pulled his legs along to Ken and Jun’s, his two younger brothers, room where their door was left slightly ajar. He pushed the door open slowly, his eyes still half closed waking up, and walked into their room towards their beds that sat on opposite walls in the back of the room. The lumps in their beds told him that they were still asleep. However, he was suddenly attacked from behind by a small weight, but plenty to knock him over to the floor.

“Good morning, Yuki!” Ken said cheerfully having mounted his back with a proud smile across his face. He rocked around to Yuki’s displeasure and pain, even if it did wake him up further. Ken, the older of the two, age ten was beaming his dark black eyes down at his older brother while his spiked black hair seemed to have even more excitement than him.

Yuki reached his hand out to Jun seeing him stand near his own bed watching silently. Jun at age nine and youngest held a nearly blank silent look at Yuki with his dark blue eyes appearing like a void that could drag you in. His black hair nearly matched Yuki’s in style, but was evenly cut across before touching the shoulders while Yuki had opted more for an uneven cut.

“Can you get Ken off me, Jun?” There was a moment where nothing happened as though it was sinking in and then Jun moved towards him. Unfortunately, Jun took a hold of Yuki’s hand looking happy as well, if not distant. “No…Jun,” Yuki whined, “You’re suppose to help me.” Yuki let out a heavy sigh considering his misfortune and how he was going to get free. The pounding on his back was getting to the breaking point after already being assault by his sister only a short few minutes earlier.

After a couple more bounces he had had enough from Ken and finally broke through his sleep fogged mind to realize that he could just stand up. Ken slid down looking very disappointed as Yuki walked out of their room. Ken ran up to Yuki grabbing at his leg giggling as though he was playing a game with him. Jun silently joined him on the other leg to Yuki’s exasperation.

“I’ve got to get ready for school, as you do.” Yuki pulled on his legs trying to pull free, but only found heavy resistance that was too strong to break. “Guys, come on.” Neither of them seemed to be listening to him not wanting to let good. ‘This is too much energy for so early in the morning. I’m not ready to deal with this.’ He stopped trying to drag his legs free and quickly separate the two from him sharply with his hands and disappeared before anything more could happen.

Yuki stepped into the bathroom staring in the mirror for a moment thinking about his dream. ‘And it was such a fun one too. Oh well... there’ll be another tonight. Can’t wait.’ He roughed up his hair a little still feeling a little tired. It was difficult to tell, but if closely stared it he actually had very dark blue hair rather than the typical black that most Japanese did. He never understood it, but seeing as no one noticed there was no problem. The contrasting light brown eyes he had blinked one more time before he stepped forward to wake up the rest of the way.

A shower and a quick breakfast later Yuki was working his way out the door. Momoko called out to him before he was able to get too far. “Don’t forget your lunch! And remember you need to return home quickly since I’ll be at work late after class.”

Yuki gladly took the wrapped lunch and tried to ignore the rest of it emptily nodding to Momoko as he opened the door. “Yeah…sure…”

“I’m serious. You need to be here when Ken and Jun get home. I won’t be here and they can’t be alone.” Yuki disappeared out the door as Momoko finished her reminder that he had heard time again before. “Yuki!” she said not surprised, but still annoyed that he merely shrugged it off. ‘He never changes in that remark. He has to step up eventually.’

His house was finally behind him now making Yuki feel a little more relaxed and at ease now sliding his lunch into his school bag and strapping the flap back down. He tossed it over his shoulder letting it tap against his back and slide his free hand into his pants’ pocket taking a short easy step to resume his walk to school. It was still a little early so he would not have the other students walking around him just yet leaving him to enjoy the street alone.

‘She’s always going on about that like I haven’t heard it countless times before. You’d think she’d get tired of repeating herself.’ As much as Yuki wanted to relax he was still distracted partly from Momoko’s bothersome reminder. He did not have any where better to go, that was true, but he did not want to always be watching his brothers. She was always leaning on him with them and he tried to crawl away as fast as he could. He did not want to be their parents, just a brother and one that wanted to have his own time not weighed down by so many responsibilities. He was still in high school after all. ‘Why does she get to me? I need to focus on something else.’

Yuki looked forward down the street seeing the cars parked along intermittently narrowing his eyes for a moment. He pulled his arm up looking at his free hand stretching his arms out a little before tightened them slowly. Each finger slowly closed creating a fist as a sound escaped his lips attempting to mimic his knuckles cracking. There was a thin smile from his lips as a building excitement within him began. Once he was satisfied he thrust his hand out with his palm flat and opened. He continued to walk while focusing his mind on his palm allowing a blue glow to gather from the ambient air.

Numerous tiny particles continued to gather in thin countless streams to his palm all the while he continued to smile. ‘Yes…this is it.’ He would not be normal, not for them. Once enough had been pulled together there was a small orb floating just away from his hands shining a bright blue that began to tint the environment around him the same hue. He lifted his hand up to stare at its beauty directly letting it wash it’s blue paint over his face. It made his excitement grow in his mind even more. His muscles tensed up along his arm that was struggling to keep everything whole. The stress was tolerable for him. For this it was nothing to him. He began to pull at his fingers feeling the stretching along his forearm of the muscles against the pressure.

Slowly the orb was surrounded by his fingers while it fought desperately lashing out with blue beams of light that pierced harmlessly through the sky. His fingers clashed with the orb as though it was a solid object that he was taking hold. It was cool to the touch even with the fierce light that he had drawn out. He pulled his arm back quickly and then thrust it straight crushing the orb in his palms just as suddenly. The particles were pulled into his hand making his fingers and then his entire hand glow blue. He could feel it coursing through his skin and bones with the cool touch to give him strength.

As he continued to walk down the street he raised up his hand, as it glowed brighter, and pulled it down in an arc unleashing a stream of energy from his fingers that beat at the ground. He moved his hand around several times seeing it dig through the concrete of the street as he walked. A path of cuts along the ground trailed forward as he viewed the effects. He sliced his hand through the air in a flat horizontal arc as though striking at something invisible, but rather producing a blue arc of energy that cut through a tree bringing it down upon a car. Within his mind he could hear the sound of glass shattering and metal groaning under the weight.

“Hmm…what’s that?” Yuki said detecting a slight presence as the tree came to a rest on the ground. He whipped around staring at the wrecked remains of the car and tree. The air was still with a strange feeling through the wind that made his hair stand on end. Yuki could taste it making his skin sweat a little for a reason that he could not understand. His body knew something that he did not. “Something’s not right. Who’s there?!” He moved his eyes over the ground and houses looking for anything that would narrow in on the ill feeling that was building up inside his body. It was churning his stomach and drying his throat until it seemed like there was no water inside him. He attempted to moisten his lips, but they just stuck together. The very life seemed to be drained from him.

‘Who is this being to cause such a thing to me?’ All he could do was feel the tension in the air as he turned his body still seeking his opponent. His muscles tightened through his arms making his shoulders ache with stiffness. Even the end of his nerves was ringing at him shouting out through his body. ‘Got to calm down…I won’t find them like this.’

Yuki attempted to breathe, but found it strain even his chest feeling the heavy pressure against him. He tried to walk forward grasping at the air as to take hold, but nearly fell forward. This sensation was unlike anything he had experienced before. He had never felt anyone like this before to be able to do this to him without even touching him. There was not going to be a chance for him like this. He was wide open.

He heard a noise behind him of the enemy approaching, but he could not pull his body to turn. His eyes widened in surprise at his legs unwillingness to listen to him. He was going to be struck without even seeing who it was. “So I have found you!” a dark mysterious voice said to him. Yuki suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder roughly snapping all of the tension in two leaving his body weakened.

“So I have found you!” a girl said to him.

Yuki turned now that his body was his again to see that it was Saki Furukawa standing behind him smiling. He let out a sigh of relief letting the frightened look that he had the moment before fade away. “Oh, Saki it’s you. You scared me.” Yuki bent over feeling the aching of his body, a little still, from nearly jumping and the stress he had put on it.

Saki changed her smiling expression to confusion before she understood, somehow. “You were daydreaming again weren’t you, Yuki?” She leaned in at him making sure that she had his attention looking like she was ready to scold him.

“Daydreaming?” Yuki said looking a little sheepish. He knew what she was talking about. He gazed over her shoulder looking at the street that he had just been down it was normal unaltered by what he had done to it. It had simply been him making an otherwise boring walk more interesting. But he became serious for a moment thinking to himself. ‘There was something strange about it though. It was unusually real this time. A little frightening. Guess I don’t know the power of my mind.’

“Are you listening to me, Yuki?” Saki said grabbing him by the arm and pulling him on track to school. “Honestly Yuki, I don’t know how you can tell reality from fantasy with how much you are daydreaming. You need to focus on reality and what’s in front of you.”

Yuki rubbed the back of his head a little laughing innocently at Saki. “I’ll try, Saki.”

“You can’t laugh it off, Yuki.” Saki turned her head looking back down the street seeing the school in the distance. She let go of him and jogged up ahead of him for a moment before looking back at him. The frame paused for Yuki for that moment as the wind blew up around them. Saki Furukawa, the same age as him, was his closest and longest friend that had stuck with him through everything that he had been through. She had shorter black hair now that stopped at her shoulders and a gym bag for her track team clothes.

Yuki rushed up pulling her along forcing her to recover her balance to join him. “What you standing around for we’ve got school soon,” he said with a wide smile.

“Hey! I’m going to fall! Yuki!”

Once the two disappeared behind the slope of the street a tree finally after all of it’s struggling to stay up fell over hitting the car underneath it setting off the alarm. The passing students pulled back in fright not certain how the tree had just mysteriously fallen out of nowhere.

To be continued…