CHAPTER 4♍♍

GAME ON!!♣️

**Located in downtown, stone Haven.

The stone Haven police force base of operations was one of the oldest and most intricate building in the state. It was a monumental building; the grandeur of which was made as a tribute to those who gave up their lives for us to see a better future; to honor the fallen. It's main purpose, to protect and ensure the safety of the public so history doesn't repeat itself.

Haturii was working in the bullenpen/office of the police station, sorting and organizing some paperwork his boss-- Aomorii had asked him to do. He did so, piling them up inorder and he had just finished too when all of sudden, he heard some sort of commotion going on outside the room.

His curiosity grew, he wanted to know what was happening out there..why the place sounded more like a market square than it did a station but as he tried to leave, his hand slipped.

What a fluke accident that turned out to be!

All he could do was watch from the corner of his eye in frustration as the pilled up paperwork feel to the ground.

"What is going on out there?!" He yelled as he pushed open the door and to his surprise, right there in the waiting room stood Dr stane, struggling to break free of the officers that held him. It looked like they were trying to escort him out.

Throw him out to put it more efficiently.

"Aomorii... where's Aomorii?! Let me go, I need to talk to her!" He yelled, resisting!

"Woah..woah..woah...Haturii quickly intervened, stepping forward to the scene. He flashed the security officers his badge as he spoke;

"Let him go, it's okay. He's with me!"

The officers not saying a word, looked at the badge to see if it was authentic before letting go of the scientist, since he was actually known by an officer and not just another psycho who trod in and demanded to see the chief of police.

The officers who had held him had no business being there and so they left;Back to their post outside.

"Hey I know you...

you're that ganymede's aide, aren't you?!" Haturii asked."what are you doing all the way here?!"

"Aomorii... where's Aomorii?! The boy.. it's..it's not his fault, it's not...

"Calm down, what are you talking about?! What boy?!" Haturii asked again, this time very confused

"The boy...the panicked scientist answered. He had just ran all the way from the foundation once he heard what the officers were planning on doing when they caught up with him"...it's not his fault there was a leak in his sedation pipes"

"Sedation pipes?!" He thought. "...wait, hold up..how did...just then, a memory of what ganymede had said back in the foundation flashed through his mind.

----- Also known as the doom bringer. This is one of the dangerous anomalies we've ever encountered. Off all the troubles we've had having it here in the first place, it's proven it can't be contained any longer ----

" Off course"...he mentioned as he realized, gaining the scientist attention that very moment. "Ganymede did say she had troubles with the monster in the first place but then she used the sedation method to solve it" he went on. "No one knew how it escaped because I interrogated every and all personnels. Everyone....all except you".He spoke.

" ...being ganymede's aide puts you above the rest and the only way you could have known there was a leak is if...

...you caused it...

You broke the creature Out!

**This was a mysterious journey I had to undertake.

A path I had taken.

I had strayed far from home.

Now taking risks, being on the run..

Everything looked a lot different than it did back at home

I was lost... But free

I was in the place the eye does not see ️

"What course of action should i take now?!...Should i try to run?!"

He considered the thought but no, he quickly dismissed it for if he did so then he would be easily fished out.

"Uhmmmm...you okay?!"

Orenji asked, snapping the boy back from his thought. His senses had been blurred by worry that he didn't seem to notice how sweaty he had become.

"Huh?!"....

"I asked if you wanted to join us in the game of phantomball?" Orenji said still looking at him "you don't look so good" he uttered before trying to help out but the boy shuddered

"Yes..yes, Am fine...he replied.

"...what choice do I have??"

"Wait-- what does that mean?!"orenji asked

"Nothing!..the boy answered almost immediately, his gaze turned back at the officers.

Orenji finding the boy distracted for some reason followed his gaze and found them at the officers but unlike last time, one of the officers actually returned it! This made the boy's heart skip a beat for fear that he might have been discovered and so he did the one thing he could think of at the time.

"C'mon..what are you waiting for, let's move it" he said hastily pushing orenji forward, using him as a shield...a human shield!

"You mean the game?!" Orenji asked, being pushed from behind

"Yeah sure, whatever you say"he answered

**At The Skate Track **

Numbers of teenagers lined and positioned themselves on opposite sides of the track with the green boy being of no exception. They had earlier taken the liberty of grouping themselves into teams with the him being on orenjis'.

Similar to basketball, phantom ball is a team game in which the aim is to put the ball through the high hooped net using the vert ramps provided. This game is played on wheels (roller skates) Making it harder to keep control of the ball whilst gliding across the track. This only contributed to the dangerous and rough nature of the game. One that our green friend here would have to experience the hard way.

The boy didn't really pay much attention to all these details going on. He only stared thoughtfully, his mind still not at ease nor at rest. He still wondered if it was possible he was spotted or made out but nooo...

"It might have just been a coincidence, right?"

He thought to himself and sure enough, he was right. He spotted the officers and the pecca that feared him wonder down the path he and orenji had earlier stood on.

His eyes widened but then narrowed In concerntration as they trode on, not paying any attention to the teenagers replicating a sport.

.....he heaved a sigh of relief, his mind was at ease now at least for the meantime and soon his eyes cleared.

He realized where he was now. From trying so desperately to escape a problem that he had unknowingly wondered into another --- the game!

He looked down at the spare skates he wore. It was a bit tight and uncomfortable but it's not like he could ask to change it as that was the only spare available. And to make matters worse, the game was about to start.

"So uh how does this work again?!" He asked looking at orenji who stood a few metres beside him.

"Trial by fire, it's the best way to learn phantom ball"

"So...what does that mean?!" the boy asked

Orenji turned to look at the boy, his face more in a thrilling expression as he admitted.

"I believe in learning on the job!

..."wait...WHAT!!!"

And without the slightest hint of warning, a loud beep sounded like that of a car's horn going off,..immediately starting off the game with a centre jump by both team captains but unfortunately it was in the opposition's favour. The captain of the opposition had grabbed the ball in time and then passed it over to his team member who ran past, starting off with an offense.

The opposition made their way past the best players orenjis' team had. It was the green boy's turn now to secure the ball from them. He wasn't the best phantomball player in the world. Hell, he was not the best at handshakes either but he could throw a ball pretty damn well but right here in the track, he was a complete klutz.

The captain of the opposition stopped, bouncing the ball against the ground continuously. It was the boy who he had seen earlier talking to the orange haired girl ---the blonde one.

He took a quick look at the girl, only to find her staring back at him.

She closed the book she was reading, stood off her seat and then walked away

"...And what do we have over here?!" The blonde boy said with a sharp grin on his face, bringing him back to his senses"...an amateur, a rookie...mimizu?" he continued, still bouncing the ball as if taunting him, edging him to come closer and retrieve it.

Also, mimizu meant the word "worm" in japanese.....

Tired of standing around and doing nothing, the boy does so

At once falling prey to the blonde's trick.

As soon as he lunged forward, the captain of the opposing team swiftly rotates himself and past the boy, making him fall flat on his rear end.

What an amazing dribble that was- And this slight mistake on the green boy's end gave the captain an opportunity to score a winning goal!

" Ahhh... crud" the boy uttered disappointedly as the opposition jubilated.

"Hey...orenji called out to him as he rode by. "...try to at least secure the ball"

"Oh now you tell me," the boy muttered to himself before slowly getting back up.

The skates proved a great heap of difficulty for him to get used too at first but slowly as he stood up, he became accustomed to it. He knew how it worked now. He knew how it operated and with enough confidence in his voice, he spoke

"Alright..he said, his mind bent on getting back in the game and giving it his all"... Let's try this one more time!

******

The cloud began to part a little and the sun got hotter.

Again and again, the boy tried to secure the ball but failed miserably, each time than the last. He had learned how to move in the skates but the art of the game still seemed a mystery to him.

The opposition kept scoring goals after goals. They were winning, eight to seven. The boy had messed up all through, so much so that his teammates hesitated to pass him the ball whenever they had it.

They deemed him the worst player in history.....

On one of the games, the opposition had the ball stolen from them by one of orenjis' teammate, immediately going on the offensive.

All other openings she looked out for were completely blocked by now, leaving her teammates struggling to get across the strong defense.

This in turn left her stranded as she maintained possession of the ball.

"Pass it...came a boy's voice

She turned to see orenji urging her to pass the ball over to a player in the far distance, over to the person left standing available.

The one person who the opposition must have thought was a waste of time and space in trying to block,

...The boy in the yelllow hoodie.

She shook her head disapprovingly but orenji remained constant, nodding his head as well in approval.

She shook her head again but orenji remained hesitant, still nodding And then finally after much persuasion she made up her mind.

She tossed the ball over to the boy which he then catches and without thinking, immediately acted upon. He moved quickly, picking up the pace. He does so, dodging in coming opponent heading his way.

Somehow it felt exilerating, all he had to do was maneuver his way past the defense and the skates would do the riding for him

He took a look back in surprise once he'd dodged them all.

"Did you see that?!.. I'm doing it" he yelled."..am getting the hang of this...am...."

He had skated his way through the opposition's defense or so he thought, unaware of what headed at him next.

Luckily, he turned his gaze back to his front but unfortunately it was bad timing, a little too late Infact. This was because as soon as he did so, as soon as he turned his gaze forward, he catches a glimpse of someone heading straight for him hard and fast with elbow raised.

And then....

Everything went black for him but only for a short moment. The boy found himself hitting hard against the ground, his arm scrapped the gritty dirt beneath him.

The blonde boy had knocked him down to the ground with an elbow to the face. He showed no remorse whatsoever only from the thrill he had gotten from it

Just as the boy lay there on the ground, he found himself blinking constantly, trying to put 2 and 2 together, trying to figure out what had just happened.

And that's when he saw it.

Coming up from a distance less than a mile away, he noticed the black outline of a person shuffling slowly across the track as it approached him. He couldn't clearly see nor describe who it was because of the intensiy sun which shown down upon him.

He couldn't see who it was. He could bearly make out the face, all he see was the silhouette; the silhouette of a man.

His eyes narrowed in concentration and turned to attention. The sun's Ray hitting his eye lids made it hard to tell much.

But the voice...

...there was something about the voice, somehow he recognized it...

" Get up...it said, the figure keeping it's gaze steady at him."...kieru you gotta get up"

The boy could only stare at the shape before him and as if under water, he heard muffled cries. The figure slowly faded and before him, revealed a young boy who called out to him, trying to reach him... trying to snap him out his night terror.

"Was he yelling at me, calling me?!" He couldn't quite hear or get what orenji was saying when he came through, he felt as if he had been dragged out of a lake but then he realized..

it was his own sweat that had drenched his clothes

He was still in the track ....still at the game!

"You feeling a little overwhelmed?! Cause you look like you've just seen a ghost" Orenji asked as he sat the boy up.

"No, I'm... I'm okay" the boy answered

"Well...have you been getting enough sleep?!" Orenji asked again

"Since when did you become a doctor? The boy smiled a bit as he got back up, back to his own two feet now.

"Oh well,..just now, he answered " you know when I thought someone was about to die because I brought him out to play. you know what happens when something like that does happen?? They sue em' alright? They they get sued and I on my part am not ready to be sued.

...but you know teenagers have different circadian rhythm,so maybe your body is still producing more melatonin. So all you need is more sleep"

"Got it, thanks..." The boy responded

"..Oh and uh you've got a little... something there"orenji mentioned, pointing to his nose

The boy in the hoodie felt something running down his nose and using his hand to touch,there it was --BLOOD!

"Sorry about that,...orenji spoke " injuries are part of the thing in this game, I guess I should have mentioned that from the beginning. You'd need like 12 set of eyes around here"

"Why are you apologizing?!..you didn't do anything" he said"...and it's okay though, I'm literally known for taking hits well but that guy, who was that anyway? He asked looking at the blonde in the distance.

"Oh you mean the jerk standing over there?! Sadly that jerk belongs to us...yes that's uh our jerk. Surprisingly every school has one but he...he is by far the worse" orenji said as he followed the boy's gaze"...his name is Sean. He's the raining phantomballer, well at the game that is. He does whatever he wants too and doesn't care if it hurt others in the process... literally. Like what you experienced just now.. you know, right now..some minutes ago"

"Yeah....I get it"....

".... You know, there's always been this rigid consistency to our relationship and somehow, just once... I'd like to turn things around....." orenji continued, standing behind the boy in the hoodie.

He hadn't seem to notice the unusual detail on the boy that just revealed itself. It wasn't just the odd coloration of his skin nor was it the fact that he was a monster on the run. No...it was something more than that.--- his eyes!

Around his irises, blue pigmentation stripped forming his pupils but only for a brief moment, turning it from the once brilliant shade of yellow to a cold steel blue before reverting back to it's normal form. To it's original form.

He had his fist tightly clenched as the anger welled up in him slowly builds.

"....but if I'd did that then I'd just be as bad as he his" Orenji added, completing his statement.

He didn't seem to notice but till his gaze fell on the boy's hand, seeing it fully and tightly clenched into a fist.

He followed his gaze and there it was, stared and focused on sean

"Umm hey...what are you planning on doing?!....he asked, his tone in a worried one

NO RESPONSE.....but then he began moving forward, orenji in pursuit after him

"Hey...hey.. heyy" he yelled..

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