Rhyme sat on the top of a tower at Hogwarts, his legs hanging over the edge. He wasn't worried about the drop, if he really tried he had lots of ways to stop himself from getting hurt if he fell. As his legs swung back and forth on the wall he tilted his head back and looked at the blue sky with the white puffy clouds. It was a beautiful day and for once he felt at peace. His throat was almost better after what happened last week and he had a near infinite supply of lemon water on his person to keep it that way.
Rhyme was waiting for Stacey and whoever she decided to bring with them to come so they could go. He felt after the events of last week they both needed a break so he would treat Stacey to a day on the town, well, it would be insulting to call it a town, more like one of the largest cities in America, New York City. Theater was a tight knit group, once a thespian, always a thespian. Rhyme's mother was big into musical theater since many of the 'lost' bards as she described them floated toward musical theater or music in general. She said how ninety percent of singers, songwriters, and thespians in the world were the decedents of old bards who either forgotten the art, got watered down to much over the years, or just didn't have for some reason or another. Many though still knew the ways and were always willing to give a few tickets to a bard or other thespian.
As he waited though, he shifted through the infinite number of songs on his mental and physical ipod. For a short jump he could brute force his way through space and warp space so he could make the jump, for longer ones though, he would need something to guild his way. He was thinking of maybe "Purpose" from Avenue Q but turned it down since though there was what was called the Alphabet City, which was a part of New York, the streets skipped over Q, going from Avenue P to Avenue R. The Alphabet City though led him to another musical that occurred in that district, RENT supposedly took place in that district of New York. He ran through the song in his head nodding that it could guild them to one of the worse areas of New York but still New York.
He had the issue of how to get them there taken care of, but he still didn't know how he would land them there without getting caught. Having three or more people randomly appear in the middle of a street or in a living room would not be good. He could try and land them outside the city but that would cut down on their time in the city. He could try and land them up in the air but he wasn't sure if he could hold three people in the air while also doing such a hard warp of space itself. He shrugged as he leaned back going horizontal on the room as he let out a sigh. He would see who Stacey brought with them to see if they could help.
"Where is she?" he asked nobody as he let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding.
A slight shiver ran through Stacey as she jogged up the steps and she got closer and closer to Rhyme. She closed her mind off to any powers besides her own, but she still caught his stray thought.
Where is she?
*I`m coming.* She sent upwards, hoping her friend would hear it. Her breathing was measured and rhythmic, the product of years of physical training and fleeing from dangerous things. "Hold on, almost there." She added out loud as she jumped up the least few steps. She could have just transported up to the tower, but the last time she transported on the grounds she was almost caught and she didn`t want to take the chance.
"Hi." She greeted simply, smoothing down her frilly white shirt and black jacket. "You didn`t specify what we`d be doing, so I dressed nice and brought two changes of clothes." She held up her tiny silver clutch and waved it at him. She didn`t have anything else with her. "I invited Sky Mason. I thought she`d like to come, and she needs a break from work. She`ll be here any minute. How`ve you been." She spoke without taking a breath in the way only girls could really do and moved towards Rhyme at the same time to lean against the little stone wall. Her eyes were dark grey with concern, but there was a light blue highlight to them. She had never been to New York, and she was really excited. Her parents had always refused to take her there, but she never knew why. They said it was a dirty, dangerous place like she couldn`t take care of herself.
"Good, you know who has been a lot quieter since then. How have you been? You all together again? We can wait another week if you want. I would hate for something to happen from being around so many people. New York has thousands of people in any one area." Rhyme replied his voice still a bit horse though it was starting to get back to what Stacey knew as normal.
Hey don't talk like I am not here. Artemis added rudely to Rhyme's previous comment.
Rhyme laughed for the first time in a long time. A true, light hearted laugh that did not hold any traces of past hurts or pains. For the first time, even with Artemis in his head, he felt at peace.
"You can use my powers to create nearly anything in existence, and you still brought extra cloths?" he said jokingly. That was the only reason he was dressed as simply as he was in his classic ripped jeans and leather coat this time sporting a RENT t-shirt. "If you want to grab anything else though feel free to do it now, you won't have to worry about carrying it.
What Rhyme was referring to was something very simple and one of the first tricks he learned once he figured out he could bend space. It was an otherspace pocket, by warping space he could create a pocket that was nearly infinite in volume but only had a small hole that could be created anywhere in the world. It was the same principal that was used in Rhyme's coat but since the one in Rhyme's coat was always open the mass of the objects was still in his local area so he had to bear the weight. He always grinned when someone found out he was commonly wearing over fifty pounds of metal and other objects on him and he was still as graceful as he was.
Stacey smiled as Rhyme laughed and her eyes lightened. It was really the first time she had heard him laugh, and she liked to see that he seemed a bit happier.
"I don`t need you to make anything for me; I can manifest anything I want, too, plus I have this." She held out her clutch for Rhyme to take it. The absurdly tiny little bag looked so unsubstantial, but if you held it you could tell that it was at least fifteen pounds. She grinned wickedly and let her eyes flickering emerald green for a moment. "It`s just an Undetectable Extension Charm. Not as complicated as manifesting objects, and it hold a lot more." She didn`t need to add that her also held another fifteen pounds of knives on her person. She knew that Rhyme had his kunai, or whatever they were called, she could never remember, and she had her own weapons. They were Muggle-made, not an ounce of magic in them, but they worked just as well.
"I wonder what`s taking Sky so long. I told her eight, but maybe she got tied up with a student." She looked up at the sky, trying to figure out the time by the angle of the sun. She had gotten out of practice since she had graduated, and she was better with the stars and moon than the sun. She squinted and looked between the sun and the horizon as she spoke again.
"You said Artemis was being quieter, does that mean he`s going to behave today and not try to do anything weird while we`re around so many people?" The only reason she asked was because she didn`t want to answer his first question. You all together again? How was she supposed to answer that? She was never together, even at the best of times. Something was always wrong with her. She didn`t like answering that certain question, never did.
"I am so frigging late." Sky groaned as she bulleted past students outside the grounds. She wore a maroon t-shirt and a black zip up hoodie with some torn jeans. Her hair had been almost perfectly straight, but was now probably desheveled and messy.
"I'm so sorry." Sky puffed as she came to a stop beside Stacey. "I had to finish some paperwork for the Professor." She worked on catching her breath and shivered. Why didn't she think to bring a jacket? Oh well, she could put a charm over herself or buy a jacket in New York or something.
She looked at Rhyme and smiled happily. "Long time no see." She said. "How are you?"
She looked at Stacey.
"Be glad you got to go straight to being a teacher. Being a student teacher means doing extra work. Honestly, it's like sixth grade year all over again."
((Sorry, it's pretty short.))
Rhyme was about to answer Stacey when Sky rushed onto the room. He saw that she looked pretty disheveled as if she just did a lot of running. He reached his left hand into his right coat sleeve and rummaged around with a lot of clanking metal before trying the other arm where he pulled out a brush still in the packaging and a small hand mirror which he offered to Sky.
"You would be amazed how forgetful my sisters could be." He said giving a reason to why he had a new brush and a mirror in his sleeve.
"Oh and Stacey, Artemis should be fine and if he is even getting close you will be able to tell because of the failsafe I put in the binding this time around."
Oh don't get me started on that little trick. You watch way too many musicals I swear. Artemis mentally grumbled.
"Oh...and none of you had a big breakfast right? Or get queasy easily?" Rhyme asked offhand. He was used to the effects of his form of transportation but not sure how the others would react. It felt as if he was being sucked in by the gut and being spun all around until you came out the other end. And coming through felt like you were pushing through thick jello.
Stacey turned to face Sky as she entered. She couldn`t help but smile as she apologized, looking rather winded.
"I didn`t get to go right to professor. The Defense professor is just a little bit more organized than the Potions master is." She smirked as Rhyme handed out the brush and mirror. Gosh, he had everything, didn`t he?
"And no, I didn`t have a big breakfast, although I`ve gotten quite used to transporting by now." She rolled her eyes to herself and leaned back against the wall.
"What are the plans for today? Or are we not allowed to know?" She asked and she ran her fingers though her hair. She had been really excited when Rhyme had asked her if she wanted to go to New York City. It seemed like such and exciting place to be, so many people.
((Blah. Shortness.))
Sky gratefully accepted the brush and mirror, carefully stroking it down her long black hair until it was straight and tidy. She handed it back.
"Thank's Rhyme." She said grinning. "I owe you one. I looked a hot mess." She made a goofy face at Stacey before turning her attention back to Rhyme.
"I didn't really eat anything, but I should be fine. I can deal with a little bit of discomfort."
"What are the plans for today? Or are we not allowed to know?"
"Yeah." Sky chimed in. "Where are we doing? I hope Jason can take care of Jake...."
"I was thinking we could see a show or two, maybe do some touristy things. We should be able to cram a whole weekend of sights into a single day since the hardest part about seeing it all is just getting to the places. We can see the Statue of Liberty, Statin Island Ferry, Empire State Building, China Town, Little Italy and lots of other places. If there is something you want to do in particular let me know, I can see what I can pull to make it happen." He said with a grin.
As he spoke he put the brush and mirror back into his sleeve and gave his arm a small shake to make the items go back into the space pocket in his sleeve. After he finished talking his eyes sparked from sudden remembrance. He reached into his front pocket and pulled out two sets of earplugs, he one set he held in his hands and the other he handed out for Stacey to take.
"Not sure how high you can hear anymore Stacey but what I do will be pretty high up there, it will be painful if you can hear it. Though Sky, you haven't spent enough time around me to develop any high frequency hearing yet. Though would either of you know a good cloaking charm, it would be really helpful since I can barely hit the city from this distance and I can't guarantee we won't be seen. That..or a good mind erase charm." Rhyme said with a small chuckle from Artemis at the last comment.
Stacey took the earplugs and winced. "I was wondering about that. I was just wandering the corridors yesterday and I kept on hearing things. Thought I was going crazy." She shook her head, but paused as she thought of something.
"How, exactly, are we getting to New York? I can transport us, if you want. It`d be really easy and I could do it without being noticed. There wouldn`t be any side effects, just some dizziness." She looked between Rhyme and Sky, waiting for their opinion. Her eyes flickered lime green and she mentally kicked herself.
*Gotta remember to keep that under control.* It had been a while since she had been around Muggles and had to worry about her eye color. The only Muggles that knew about her eyes was her mother and Ryan, Aiden`s uncle.
"I guess that could work" Rhyme said, "I just thought one of the main things with teleportation was having to know where you were landing. I figured you two haven't gone to New York before since it was in America that is why I offered to take you."
He paused for a moment trying to find a good way to explain how he did actually transport himself. It was really complex and he didn't even understand the finer points of it. It was really heavy with physics since unlike witchs and wizards, he couldn't do pure magic. He could bend the rules of physics but he couldn't completely break it like others could.
"I think the best way to explain how I do it Stacey is the realize there is a lot of empty space in the world, I just compress that space and use my magic to warp a hole in that space. It just takes a good bit of energy that happens to come out at high frequencies."
Isn't that Haru kid you dated from New York too? Artemis added in Rhyme's head.
Rhyme didn't even flinch on the outside but gave Artemis a flaming look of pure hatred that rivals that he gave to Jonathan when he hurt Stacey. It was one that even made the thingyy Artemis shut up for the moment.
Stacey nodded, tilting her head to the side. She heard Artemis shoot the comment, and felt Rhyme reply with a really evil look, but she didn`t show it. She hated it when she felt things from other people`s mind. It felt so intrusive and... wrong. One of the worst things, though, was knowing that the person would never be able to tell. Only Ginny could have felt Stacey probe around, and that was if Ginny allowed her thoughts to be heard.
"Kinda, but not really. My kind of teleporting is different than Apparating or anything. Besides Aiden and me I don`t know if anyone can do it. I have no idea about the physics side of it like you do, so I`m really not a hundred percent sure how it works. What I do is make a tiny flame where I want to move to, and yes, I can get us to New York from here, then sort of concentrate on pulling myself towards it. I can`t explain it all that well, but I can do it really easily. Another plus is that it`s not traceable, so the Ministry can`t follow me." She said after the last remnants of Rhyme`s glare wore away from her mind. She shivered a little.
"Another thing, Sky, if you need or want something, I`ve got it covered." She moved one hand to her arm, her fingers curling. Her wand was strapped to her arm, as always, even though she hardly used it. She could do a lot more without her wand and it was almost a hassle to have to get it out. Still, she had everything she needed, whether it was manifested or not.
He grinned as he pushed himself from the wall and onto his feet which he didn't even realize were no longer on the actual castle but just floating there. He took a step up onto the castle the trace of anger at Artemis far from his mind. He was going to have a fun time today if it killed him.
"Let's get this show on the road then!." He said happily.
He put his first two fingers and his thumb in a pinching position in front of him. As he spoke he pantomimed tossing a hit into the air and right when it would come down on his head he did a sweeping motion with his first two fingers from his ear to his eye. When he did this a black with purple pinstriped fedora appeared on his head. He then motioned over his eyes and a pair of sunglasses appeared hiding his purple eyes.
"I don't feel like being asked where I bought my colored contacts" he said with a grin and a wink which couldn't really be seen behind the glasses though the playfulness of his voice was clear.
((I suggest we continue without Sky. Otherwise this thread would die before it began.))
Stacey nodded and smiled. "The same goes for me when my eyes happen to change color." She gave Rhyme a knowing look and stepped closer to her friend. She would have normally jumped up on the ledge beside him, but being newly pregnant she was becoming a little more catious about things.
"I`m ready if you are."
She tilted her head to the side and looked out to the castle grounds. A wind was blowing the leaves in the trees of the forest and that same wind was making little waves in the lake. It was simple, but it was beautiful.
((Shortness. =P ))
"Let's get going then. New York City here we come!" Rhyme said happily as he jumped down next to Stacey and wrapped his arm sideways around her giving her a loose hug.
~~~
Across the ocean on another continent a petite man stood in a very dingy looking kitchen with just a pair of sweatpants on and a hooded sweatshirt. He had his tongue between his teeth as he scowled at the sorry condition of his kitchen. It didn't matter as much when he was always out but since he got more and more steady jobs he found himself cooking more and more at home with horrible results. He could cook decently if the oven itself didn't burst into flames from the caked on grease from years of not being cleaned.
"Now, let us see how this will work with brand new appliances."
He waved his hands and the air shimmed creating a new illusionary effect. That was all he could really do at the moment and he frowned wishing at times that his illusions could stick around like his cloths did. The memories of how his cloths, once only illusions, would remain as well now made a small tear fall down his face. It brought both good and bad memories though he didn't find out until he got home of the little 'gift' his old friend had given him from their time together.
"The chrome is nice but way too shiny, I would have to polish it every other day to keep it looking this way, and I think I will go with the stainless steel appliances and maybe the pink marble for the counter-tops. This will eat a serious hole in my savings though he said with a sigh as he went over and sat in front of his TV and flipped it on to the late morning news.
Rhyme then blinked and when he opened his eyes he found himself and Stacey next to a trashcan fire thousands of miles away from Hogwarts. Rhyme didn't even feel himself move.
"Dang that is a cool version of teleportation Stacey" Rhyme said not noticing two hobos standing around that same fire cooking a very old and slightly green hotdog.
"Hoowa wha!" they yelled as they stumbled backward away from the fire dropping the hotdog into the fire. "Demons! The Demons are back!" One yelled as the duo ran down the alley.
"Well...at least nobody that people would believe saw us land" he said in relief.
~~~~
Back in the apartment the man walked back to his kitchen with a sigh to dispel the illusion. He released his power from the spell and instead of having it fade back to its original dismal state all the changes stayed.
The man's eyes widened than narrowed. He knew one good reason why that would happen but he didn't want to acknowledge it. One person he met a couple years ago left him a gift. The man, well teen's magic was unique, and it happened to change people around him who also had magic. The man in the apartment could make illusions, but with only a short duration with the other teen, things he made would stay, and even after leaving and never seeing him again, his cloths would stay.
"Does this mean...No...it couldn't be...could it?" the man spoke to himself as he shakily grabbed a cup of tea off the counter and went to sit on the couch.
"Let's see if your somewhere in the city, you never could figure out how to make a decent mental barrier." With that the man let his mind drift through the city doing a very low level scan. He didn't want to pick up many thoughts a stronger scan would do and since he knew the person he was looking for didn't have any mental barriers he figured it would work.
((If it isn't clear, the man is Haru and he just sent out a scan for Rhyme, could Stacey please block it since it isn't that strong? Though don't let her tell Rhyme yet ;) ))
Stacey looked around as they landed in another place, one she hadn`t ever been before.
"Yeah, I like this kind of transportation better. Less side effects." Her brown eyes fell on the two homeless people and she tilted her head. As soon as she did so they turned and ran, carrying on about demons. Ha. Like they knew anything of real demons. "And I`m fairly sure no one will believe them when they do tell on us." She added with a sad note.
She looked around some more, letting her mind expand around the new place. Without warning she felt a little ping against her shield. Her forehead wrinkled a little as she concentrated on it. She could tell that it was a medium-strength signal coming from an apartment. Probably just some halfway-there physic trying out their powers.
"Come on, we only have a day." She turned to Rhyme, pushing the mental flare out of her mind. She wanted to have a good time today, and she wasn`t about to worry over a little signal.
Rhyme walked out of the alley and looked around, trying to get his barring in the city. He didn't recognize this part exactly since it wasn't the best area of the town to land in. He looked up and saw brick buildings with crumbling mortar and rusting fire escapes. On the concrete stoops random people watched as the two strangely dressed people came out of the alley. It wasn't that they were dressed strangely for the area just not for that exact area.
"Let see...even the most run down areas of this city should still have a..." he looked down the street and saw a staircase going downward with a post of what used to be a sign next to it.
"A Subway!" he said happily as he started to run toward it.
As he walked down the stairs he talked lazily to Stacey. "I hope the ATM works down there and that they got around to updating it. Last time I was at home they said they were starting to integrate their network with technology and my mom gave me a copy of the ATM card. If not we may need to charm the computer to phase through the gating until we can hit a bank."
The 'they' Rhyme was referring to with bards in general. Though few in number they still had a large impact on society so they normally made a good bit of money in the process. Because of a bards love of traveling they set up a magical network where you can withdraw money from a general fund in any city location or any bank. It was just expected to be paid back eventually.
Stacey smiled widely, her eyes changing to a merry blue. She looked around as they walked, taking in everything. The sound of cars and other forms of transportation was loud and close by. The air smelled odd, like fast food and exhaust and sweat. It wasn`t at all fresh like the air back at Hogwarts. She hadn`t expected it to be, and she certainly hadn`t expected for there to be much mind traffic.
Oh, yes. There was a lot of junk hogging up the mental level of New York. After Stacey pushed away all of the normal thoughts it was easy to tell exactly where people with more mental powers were. There was a large flareup a dozen or so miles away, where she guessed the United Nations headquarters was. She was aware that half of the people on that board were wizards trying to help out the unseeing Muggles. Away from that area there were spots stronger than others where she guessed magic bareing people hid out spooking people. Maybe there were some smart Muggles out there after all.
"Are you hungry or something?" She asked, laughing at how he seemed so excited by a restaurant. He started talking about money, but she was still only half listening. "I`ve got plenty of cash, Rhyme. I have my resources." She reached inside her little jacket and pulled out a thick wallet. Popping it open she showed it to her friend. A scroungy looking man nearby seemed to perk up at the site of the green money and Stacey shot him a dangerous look. She wasn`t about to be taken advantage of in a place she had never been on a day where she was supposed to enjoy herself.
Rhyme gave her a strange look at first since he didn't say anything about a restaurant or being hungry.
"No not really...wait...hun...subways are American for the Tube. Its an underground train used to get around the city since as you can see the top is too crowded to drive and I doubt a taxi would dare come out to this area." Rhyme said understanding part way through the misunderstanding they had. He was used to hearing different slang terms for thing and could yell out "Move stupid tourist" in at least twelve languages.
As he finished explaining this they found themselves at the bottom of the stairs in a bleak concrete room. On the wall closest to the stairs was two machines, one was an ATM another was a token machine.
"Stacey can you buy us two tokens then. If you go to that first machine and just follow the prompts given it should guild through the buying process. I'm going to check on the ATM."
He walked over to the machine and reached into his pocket for his wallet and pulled out a shiny gold card which he put into the machine. It buzzed and clicked, oddly to a strange beat and then asked him the question:
State your bardic last name.
He raised an eyebrow at it but did what it asked. "Enturi"
As he spoke his voice patterns where recorded and he guessed it was approved since it took him to the password screen. He punched in his number, 68742-47-5433 and it then went to the withdraw menu. It showed him having a very large number, larger than the last time he had to access it before finding out about Hogwarts.
"Hmm, mom must have released another album" he said more to himself then Stacey before withdrawing three hundred dollars in twenties from the machine.
((Bonus: The numbers spell out a phrase on the average phone number/letter system.))
((Music is life? And when you said Subway I thought you were talking about the restaurant. =) ))
Stacey shook her head with a smile and followed Rhyme down the stairs. It was darker down here, and it smelled funnyer than even aboveground. It smelled like stale fried food and... piss. She wrinkled her nose and stepped up to the machine.
The thing was grimy from thousands of hands touching it every day. The buttons were worn down from use and everything had a faint sheen of oil on it. Stacey sighed and rubbed her hands together.
"Complicated Americans." She mumbled, punching buttons with one finger. A minute later the machine told her to put in ten dollars to receive two tokens. She did as it asked and two worn down disks slid down into a little tray.
"Are we done here?" She asked, turning to Rhyme. She was uncomfortable down here. The smells and leftover memories were messing with her head. She wasn`t used to being in places like this, and it was sort of disorienting.
((I figured but felt that was more fun than asking you to change it since it is an easy mistake for someone from Brittan to make. Oh and correct!))
"I agree and I am starting to find warping reality easy so that is really something. So now we will go through that big steel bar thing. You put the token in and it will let you go through."
He frowned when he saw her flinch a bit, it was the same face he had described to him when a loud noise goes by or at random times for most people but for him it was a high frequency noise that others couldn't hear. He didn't hear anything so he was guessing it was Stacey's personal powers.
"We should be getting to the better area in a few minutes, the subways aren't the best place but some places are better than others."
He then walked to the gated area and put his coin into the coin slot, there was a small click and he put his hands to the revolving door made out of steel bars and it rotated slowly until he was on the other side and it clicked again locking.
(( I just figured that there were Subways in London and Rhyme was hungry. ;D ))
Stacey watched Rhyme move through the iron bar rotating thingy. Why did everything have to be so complicated? She exhaled loudly and pushed the coin into the slot. She quickly pushed past the bars, slightly surprised when it moved. She moved towards Rhyme, still uncomfortable in this new place. Everything was different here, and she felt like the most clueless witch.
She had been mostly raised as a Muggle, enduring hundreds of extra classes in everything her mother could force her into. Still, she didn`t know how to work this subway system.
"I hope you know where you`re going." Stacey said, looking towards Rhyme. She`s get lost in this place without him.
"Not exactly but there should be a map here soon." He walked as he said it and right when he finished he turned the corner and saw a giant wall map of New York City with different color lines snaking their way around the map. Each line had a letter somewhere along the line with dots at each subway station.
He put his finger on the star that marked where they were and started to drag it along to try and find a way out as he spoke.
"It looks like we are in Harlem which is really far North. We can either go here to Central Park or further south to hit up the sites like Time Square, Statue of Liberty or Empire State Building or the famous Broadway."
He pointed to each district they would be in on the map and the stop they would get off at if they took the train.
((Map of Manhattan (http://strangemaps.files.wordpress.com/2006/09/nyc.gif)
Stacey hummed, looking over the map carefully.
"Well, I have a feeling that Broadway appeals to you the most, and I`d really like to take a look." She gave Rhyme a smile, her eyes glowing for a moment. She really did like theatre, and Broadway seemed to stand out a bit.
"Looks like if we take this route we`ll end up really close. What do you think." She traced a line of the map as she spoke, watching how the different lines intersected and tangled at different areas. Really, it looked just like the train maps back home.
"Then we need to take the Red Train to Avenue D and then take the blue from there to Broadway. It should take about 20 minutes which isn't bad for how far we need to go." He said as he traced the Red line until he got as close as he would get and then traced the blue line to dot labeled Broadway.
On the walls there were arrows pointing them to the correct platform. He followed the arrows that were red until he found himself in a big open area with benches covered with graffiti and tile walls covered with the same graffiti. There was also a hobo currently in a drunken stupor on the bench.
"Lovely" Rhyme muttered to himself when he saw the sorry condition of the subway station.
Rhyme walked gingerly around the puddles of things he didn't want to know what they were until he got to a big yellow strip of paint on the edge of a channel. Looking down he saw the tracks and he looked down the dark tunnel giving a listen. He could hear the train clearly though it was a good mile away.
~~~~
Haru's brows knit together when he didn't get any reading from the psychic scan.
Hmm, I guess he isn't here. Oh well, I got work to do.Haru walked over to the full length mirror hanging on the walls and looked at himself as he tried to figure out what he should wear. He would be on his feet all day getting the theater ready for the show tonight. It was opening night for his latest show and he was put in charge of getting everything ready. Since he would be around thespians all day he could go more elaborate than other jobs but he still didn't want to go too big.
"I feel like pink today" he said as he waved his hand over his hair and it gained a faint pink tint.
He then waved his hands again and his comfy closes got turned into a simple pink dress that went down to his knees but then he realized that he would most likely actually be doing work that the dress wouldn't be great for.
He made another hand movement and this time he was in a tight pair of black jeans and a tight cream hoodie in a girls cut for both. Around his neck there was a loose black cord that went to a silver dolphin pendant beneath the hoodie. On his feet pink slip on shoes appeared totally clashing with the jeans but Haru didn't really care.
He then walked out the door a pink purse in hand.
Stacey nodded as Rhyme traced the lines on the map, almost understanding everything. What was with the letters and colors, seriously? Again her thoughts were interupted by a slight pulse from that same person as before. She shook her head to clear it away, not wanting to notice it any more. She concentrated on closing of her mind. She definately did not want any mental problems to happen today. The block in her mind had to built up, quite literally. Block by block, by block.
"Lovely."
"Hhmm? Oh." While she had been strengthening her mental shield up she had followed Rhyme onto a platform. Her eyes took in everything at once-- the graffiti, the homeless person, even the puddles of who-knows-what. Then the smell welled up in her again. It was slightly rancid, like mold, and damp. It wasn`t a good kind of damp.
"Is the train coming?" Stacey asked, seeing Rhyme look down the tunnel. With his hearing he probably could, as long as the train was on its way. She didn`t want to stay in this place too much longer. It reeked both physically and mentally.
"Yea, it should be here in a few minutes."
He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out two small handkerchiefs one of which he held to his nose to drive away the smell of the subway the other he handed to Stacey. If she chose to use it she would find it smelled lightly of lilac
When the sound began to become quite loud to him he crouched and grimaced as he placed his fingertips on the ground and focused on claiming an area as his domain. When he did the air shimmered lightly and the sound dramatically decreased and also the smell disappeared. It was only a very slight change so it shouldn't have given of the raw power of his other changes of reality. He purposefully tried to tone it down so Stacey wouldn't suffer from him using too much of his power.
"How bad is my power pushing against your barrier? I am trying to learn how to control it better?" he asked wanting to make sure he didn't give his friend a headache or some other mental pains.
Stacey took the handkerchief and waved it in front of her face. Ever since she found out she was pregnant she had toned down on her mental powers, but everything just smelled so bad. The flowery smell of the cloth was comforting against the stink. Inhaling deeply, she watched Rhyme croushed and the air around him wavered. It was like someone had turned down the volume on a radio; everything was suddenly quieter.
"You know, you really don`t effect me anymore. I`m only effected by stronger powers now, and they bother me most when I`m not used to those powers. I`ve been around you a bit now, so you don`t have to watch over yourself on my behalf." She smiled, her eyes lightening to a meduim blue. "Truely, you`re not going to hurt me unless you sudden explode with energy without warning."
Her eyes moved to the dark tunnel. She felt a sort of shuddering under her feet, and she assumed it was the train coming.
The ground shuddered as the train got closer and the homeless person grunted as he turned over going back to sleep. A bright light emerged from the dark tunnel as the train pulled to a stop. The door opened with a ding and Rhyme walked aboard letting the area of effect go as the air returned to normal.
"That's good to know. I doubt I will have to do anything big anyway, not like I will have to effect an entire block or something."
The subway train was in much better condition than the station they got on was. The cart they got on had no others on it though on the next one down a few people of Hispanic decent could be seen. They were talking though Rhyme couldn't hear it over all the news of the train though they seemed to be gesturing a bit toward Rhyme and Stacey.
Rhyme let out a soft sigh before giving a small gesture to the door. He didn't say a word to Stacey about what he did but when the people tried to open the door they found it would not open for them. He grinned as he sat back against the seat and watched the bleak tunnel wall flashing back with a sudden splash of color now and then from graffiti.
Stacey obediently followed Rhyme onto the underground train, holding the scented cloth back to him. She settled into one of the seat and looked around. It was a lot cleaner here, surprisingly. It didn`t even smell. Well, it did, but not like dirty people. There was a hint of... anxiety in the air. Like a lot of people had been worrying about something in the car.
"Wonder what they were talking about." She nodded towards the door Rhyme had locked. She stared at the people curiously. They had given up opening the door and had grumpily slumped into their own seats. "Hhmm." She hummed to herself, letting her mind expand just a little. She brushed against the edge of the Hispanics` minds, tasting slight frustration and unease. "Interesting."
Stacey slowly turned her gaze to the large windows that flashed with artwork. The train was slowly gaining speed, she could feel that, but she was still a little confused on the whole map thing.
"You do know where we`re going, right?
"Oh Course. Now let's see..." he said as he arched slightly to get into his side jeans pocket and pull out of mp3 player. He frowned when he noticed how old the model it was. It was in the old block style Ipod style. Small screen turn wheel, it all had to go.
"Dang I forgot the last time I upgraded this thing. Time for you little buddy to catch up on the times." He said. After the last line he waved his hand over it and it transformed into a modern iPhone. "Hey, it can make calls now cool!. Doubt I will get any service at the school though magic or no magic. Only reason it works at all is because the bards power of music supersedes Hogwarts enchantments against technology." He said expecting just the normal ipod touch.
He grinned as he tapped the screen a few times and then showed it to Stacey. On their screen it had two blips, one pink one yellow close together moving quickly across the city.
"We should be where we change trains in a few minutes." He said pinching and pulling apart his fingers on the screen to expand the map which showed a blinking dot of where they got off of.
Haru walked down the stairs to the Avenue D railroad station. He got a few looks as he walked from people who could tell he was in drag which was not a lot. He even got a few whistles which made him blush or roll his eyes depending on if the person was gay or not.
When he got to the rotating door he pulled his subway card out of his purse and swiped it bypassing the long line for tokens.
~~~~
The door dinged in front of Rhyme and Stacey which jolted Rhyme out of a small boredom induced daze. This jolt also caused the spell on the door to break which ended up having about four Latinos fall through the now free to open door.
"Time to go!" Rhyme said as he grabbed Stacey's hand and dragged her from the train. They both could have beat the group easily but then they would have to answer a lot of questions and he just didn't want to have to deal with it or worry about how strong Stacey's memory altering charm was.
~~~~
Haru stood in the station as he waited for the train to arrive. Suddenly from behind him a person ran into him spinning him around in his haste. The person was dragging along women but even from the glance he knew exactly who it was. The purple hair and the mental signature made it so it could not have been anyone else.
"Artemis Rhyme Enturi get your purple haired ass back here this instant!" Haru yelled at the top of his lungs as he stomped his foot.
~~~~
Rhyme stopped in his tracks which nearly made him fall on his face from the sudden jerk. He turned slowly his purple eyes wide behind his sunglasses.
"No..." he muttered.
"Yes bakka." Haru replied as he walked with a purpose up to Rhyme and in his hand a large spiral notebook appeared which Haru brought down over Rhyme's head. He then began to rattle off in angry Japanese which through it all summed up to "What are you doing here you [curse] [curse]. [curse][curse][curse]"
((Lol. Thanks.))
Stacey settled into her seat for the next few minutes. She let her mind expand over the train, feeling the engine and its motion. She felt when they pulled into the station, and lifted her head slowly as she came out of her reverie. She felt Rhyme snap back and feel alert. Instantly she was standing up and found herself rushing after Rhyme.
"Why are you worried about them? Are they friends of yours?" She asked as he pulled her out of the subway. Rhyme ran into someone and she jerked. "Sorry, sorry!" She called, still being pulled along, then she froze. She could feel that it was the same person that had tried to probe Rhyme`s mind when they had arrived.
"Who are you?" She asked just as the man started yelling. *Guess he knows Rhyme.* She said to herself mentally, slowly building up a one-way mind block. She wanted to be able to observe this man fully, not be blocked off. She was curious.
Rhyme didn't even notice the smack to his head with the notebook. He was smacked by much harder objects by Haru for stupid stuff he did.
"Oh my god Haru, I can't believe it's you. I haven't seen you since To-"
"DO NOT speak of that time." Haru interrupted. "What you did to me is unforgivable. You made my parents disown me. I was tossed out of my own home and nobody in my family will even look at me. All because of what you just had to say at my great uncles funeral! Baka!" Haru said yelling at first to cut him off then getting quiet before building to another dramatic climax.
"And who is this tramp? What next, gonna tell me your straight now too? Well toots I'll tell you who I am. I am his EXXX!-Boyfriend." Haru said stressing the Ex part.
Haru was beyond mad at the moment. Rhyme broke his life to pieces without even a single word or remorse. Seeing him again he expected some sort of Sorry but nope. Looks like Rhyme wasn't as considered as he thought.
Rhyme in contrast had a very confused look on his face. He had no idea what was going on. When he was in Japan one day he was with Haru in Tokyo and then the next he found himself in a Shinto shrine in another island many miles away. He had no idea what happened during that time but from Haru's anger he was betting it could not have been good.
Stacey looked between Rhyme and the other guy-- Haru, aparantly. She had just about decided to keep walking when she heard a name thrown out.
"And who is this tramp? What next, gonna tell me your straight now too? Well toots I'll tell you who I am. I am his EXXX!-Boyfriend." Haru had yelled. Stacey raised an eyebrow, her eyes flaring into a slow red.
"Excuse me?" She asked, "I don`t believe I`m the tramp here. One, because Rhyme is most definately not in a relationship with me beyond friends and I`m married to someone who is not Rhyme." She spoke clearly and with accusation, like a lawyer. There was no anger in her voice, although she had to fight to keep it down.
Stacey lifted one hand and her eyes slowly turned back to blue. She let part of her guard down and left the essence of calm leak from her.
"Settle down dude, seriously."
Haru's shoulders visibly dropped as he let out a sigh as the calm washed over him. The anger leaving though brought out another emotion to replace it.
"Please. Don't tell me to settle down. This two faced ruined my life. I would be careful if I were you. Who knows the next time he may turn and ruin your life next. He was my friend once too. He can be the sweetest person in existence and then turn into something truly evil."
Haru wasn't as angry as he was before when he said this. He sounded more like he was on the verge of tears. There were random sobs as he tried to keep his composure during it. It showed him as more than just a pissed off ex and more like a person who was truly hurt.
Stacey again looked at Rhyme then Haru.
"You know, I really don`t know what went on between you two, but whatever it was it`s in the past now. You can`t change it and it won`t make you feel better to yell at him about it now. You have to put the past behind you, or you`ll never get over it and it will ruin your life." She was still speaking calmly, and she even took a step towards him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Nothing good comes from violence. The sooner you learn that the happier you`ll be." She got a few looks from people around her, but she ignored them. Who cared what they thought?
"Uh, Rhyme," She stepped back beside her friend, "I think there`s something you two need to figure out. Do you want me to... I don`t know, go to the bathroom and come back in ten minutes." She whispered to him, unsure of what to do now.
((Muse has left me for the longest time))
Haru let out a snort at her comment about violence.
"Coming from the girl with at least three lumps under her cloths which are most likely weapons. Please honey, I have done enough costumes to know what is and is not normal on cloths. I even did a few secret pockets. Who do you think made the templar pockets in Rhyme's coat?" Haru said flat out with a swish of his hand as emphasis.
Rhyme's eyes zoned out as he remembered the day Haru did that for his coat. He remembered it since it was the last thing he could remember from Japan. It was right before he was about to go to Haru's uncles funeral, Haru had to go ahead and set up some stuff so Rhyme would go later then...
Rhyme flinched violently and fell to a knee as he clenched his head. It wasn't from Artemis coming out, he was suppressed recently enough for it to take more than a past memory to let him out.
You didn't! Rhyme screamed in his head.
The memory was starting to loosen though it was still really blurry. He could see images of himself, no Artemis, trashing a large gathering. He couldn't see faces though he could make a good guess.
"Wait. I know what happened now. Haru, what shirt was I wearing that day?" Rhyme asked. It was random but he knew Haru OCD about clothing. He could remember what even the most obscure star war on the red carpet from five years ago.
"What you usually wear." Haru replied somewhat confused.
"What band was on the shirt?" Rhyme pressed on.
"Lil' Wayne" Haru replied getting even more confused.
"Honey, when do I ever listen to rap?" Rhyme said a grin on his face.
Haru's face dropped as the realization hit him. "If it wasn't you, who?" Haru replied, no anger in his voice, just confusion.
Rhyme gave Stacey a knowing look, she knew exactly who would ruin someone else's life just for the fun of it. She knew who looked exactly like Rhyme but had almost nothing in common. She knew who it was who ruined Haru's life.
Stacey tensed a bit when Haru called her out on her weapons. That had never happened before. Ususally people were completely surprised when she pulled out one of her wicked daggers or a pistol.
"Weapons can be used for things besides intent on hurting." she mumbled, crossing her arms and putting her weight on one foot. Honestly, this guy was starting to annoy her a tiny bit. She had nothing against homosexual people-- and it was quite obvious that he was gay-- but something about the way he was acting just made her want to roll her eyes and give him a long talk about tampons or something.
When Rhyme fell then started talking about clothes she couldn`t help but be a little worried for him. Her mind automatically reached out to his, but she felt no trace of Artemis. Instead she found a partially-blocked memory. Pulling back into her own head, she gave the two men curious looks. Suddenly things came together and Stacey threw her hands up.
"Are you serious?" Stacey sighed dramatically. "No, it wasn`t him. Let`s just say it was an evil twin, and he can elaborate if he choses two." Looking to her friend she added quietly, "I guess this scratches out Broadway, huh?"
Haru was looking really confused. He knew from his discussions with Rhyme that he didn't have any other brothers then his little one. And at the time he was only six. It couldn't have been him or Rhyme's sisters, they didn't have that type of power.
"It wasn't illusion I know that for sure. I can see through that in an instant." Haru said trying to figure it out for himself.
"No, I got a feeling it may actually be better than we planned. Though I may need a hand getting a certain person to speak up." Rhyme said with a sigh.
He then put his fingers on the ground in a deliberate gesture. He then moved them in a circle a small sound shield rose around them without any effect to the air. It would just stop any sound he made from leaving. He didn't want to cause a scene in a crowded subway.
"Artemis Enturi get your ass out here! You have made yourself noticed at the worst possible times before and now you choose to be quiet. I swear by all that is holy and right, do not make me and Stacey and possibly Prada go in there and drag you out by those greasy purple locks!" Rhyme stood and bellowed at the top of his lungs toward the sky he even stomped his foot for good measure.
Times like this it really sucked for Rhyme to not have mental powers. He could most likely have kept Artemis in line much better if he did.
Haru took a small step back when Rhyme started yelling feeling like the other boy was having a nervous breakdown or something. He then felt something rising from Rhyme's mind. It was like there was two of him in there, no, more like two sides of the same coin.
You don't have to yell. Artemis said mentally and very crankily. You made it clear you didn't want me around for this trip. And my locks are not greasy, they are exactly the same as yours.
Stacey smiled at herself at herself. All of this was quite amusing to her, and she wasn`t afraid to show it. Artemis had obviously done something a while back that had upset Haru, and Haru didn`t even know it. Rhyme had taken the liberty of making a sound shield around them, when she could have easily spoken to Artemis for him. Maybe he liked the yelling, who knew.
"I could have done that in a much quieter fashion." She stated, grinning at her purple-haired friend. *And Artemis, dearest, I centainly don`t want you here. I`m sure Rhyme doesn`t like having you up there, either. Please don`t do anything you would find amusing, because today is supposed to be a fun day for us.*
While she spoke mentally and out loud her eyes traveled to Haru. Poor guy, he didn`t have a clue. "I guess I shouldn`t make him sounds so horrible; Artemis can be of some help sometimes." She tried to give an assuring smile.
When Haru heard the mental voice he knew it was true. It was nothing like the one he knew from Rhyme. Rhyme's was vibrant and always changing slightly like the score of music, this was darker and more chaotic. He broke up with the love of his life because of this. It hurt him every day afterwards though he ignored it in his anger.
Haru fell forward toward Rhyme who grabbed hold of him to find Haru sobbing into his shoulder. All the anger that was pent up for admittedly good reason came rushing out. Rhyme smiled sadly to Stacey as he held Haru and waited for him to calm down.
After Haru's sobs subsided Rhyme lifted him and wrapped him in a proper hug. Rhyme began to make shushing sounds until Haru's breathing evened out.
"Oh Rhyme, can you ever forgive me?" Haru asked, his eyes sparkling from the tears.
Rhyme didn't answer. He just leaned in and pressed his lips to Haru who returned the kiss whole heartedly. They kissed for a long moment until a gagging sound could be heard from Artemis.
"Excuse me for a second." Haru said sweetly with a devilish look in his eye. "Let's see if I can remember the Kanji for this."
He reached for his purse and opened it with a click. He then reached in and pulled out a fan about half his size. It had wooden arms and white paper inside. He propped it against his knee and pulled out a black sharpie marker. He then wrote the kanji symbol for seal (http://narutofever.com/images/kanji-words/kanji-seal.gif) on the side of it.
The fan was odd though since it seemed to only be half there. After the seal was added it glowed slightly.
"Now hold still honey, this won't hurt you one bit." Haru said more of the devilish tint to his voice.
Wait! What are you gonna do!Artemis said scared.
"Oh nothing." Haru lied as he brought the fan down seal first over Rhyme's head. It went into his head slightly but did not hurt Rhyme in the slightest. It ended up hitting Artemis right in the head and knocking him out and deep into Rhyme's subconscious.
After that Haru put the fan away with a click of his purse and a grin on his face.
"Now, as repayment I insist on showing you two around this marvelous city I call home." Haru said happily.
Stacey had no idea what to do. When Haru started crying she felt the urge to turn away to give them a moment, and that feeling intesified when they started kissing passionately. She cleared her throat softly and turned around, mkaing sure to look at the people around her and stay away from Rhyme and Haru`s minds. They deserved that kiss to have to themselves.
Well, a busy subway wasn`t exactly the best spot for privacy, but who cared?
After the couple parted she faced them again. Her eyes were buble-gum pink and she was smiling widely. She was always happy when things turned out for the better.
"I`d love for you to show us around," Stacey replied, then glanced at Rhyme, "and I`m sure Rhymey would too."