Subject: [KOR][FanFic] Fugawari Orange Street Episode 15
From: "Greg Dreher" <[email-masked]>

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        FUGAWARI ORANGE STREET
        A KOR universe fanfic
        By FOS Project
        Web page-http://members.aol.com/Riiya/fos.html
        Discussion group-http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/
             FugawariOrangeStreet/
        FTP archive-ftp://ftp.cs.ubc.ca/pub/archive/anime-fan-works/KOR/
             Fugawari-Orange-Street/
        Archive-http://www.fanfic.net/pub/Anime/FanFictions/KOR/
             Fugawari-Orange-Street/

Introduction:

Fugawari Orange Street is a new fanfic series set in the world of
Kimagure Orange Road.  Its origin was a simple message on the KOR
mailing list, which somehow evolved into a discussion of what might
have happened to the original characters.  Specific comments about
Kazuya, and the mention that he is probably around the age Kyousuke
was during KOR, led to the proposal of creating a fanfic to follow
him as he travels through Kouryou High School.

FOS is set in the manga universe, and attempts to follow its specific
details and timeline as closely as possible.  However, details on
characters other than KOR's Big Three are sketchy, and ten years have
passed since we last saw these characters.  If you disagree with the
liberties we've taken, send us comments.  Send all comments to
[email-masked].

FOS was originally to be released biweekly, in real time.  However,
the real world has impeded these lofty plans.  In any case, we will
continue to set stories approximately two weeks apart, and we hope
you'll read this episode and all that eventually follow.

As is the case with many fanfic series,  |Word| represents English
dialog.

Fugawari Orange Street is based on the characters and situations of
Kimagure Orange Road, created by and copyright of Izumi Matsumoto;
new characters and situations created by and copyright of Tony Chen,
Greg Dreher, Daniel Lee, Paolo Valladolid, and Jeoff Wilks.  Episode
text copyright of Greg Dreher.  Any use of copyrighted or trademarked
material is not and should not be construed as a challenge to these
statuses.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Episode 15
"Two Worlds Collide!  Is This the End?"

Kazuya sat in class, looking at a new batch of trigonometry formulas on
the blackboard.  He wrote down formulas, and attempted to duplicate the
graph of a hyperbola from the book.  He looked, and thought he did a
pretty good job.  He looked again, and thought his mind was playing
tricks on him.  The two closed ends looked like they were sinking into
the table.  He touched the graph, and felt a hole.  A vacuum pulled at
his hand.

"Kazuya!" he heard yelled from somewhere.  He looked, but class
proceeded normally around him.  His arm twisted, as sheer force pulled
him into the swirling void.

"Kazuya!"  Again, he heard the voice.  He tried to respond, tried to say
anything.  Desperation and fear filled him as space warped around him.

He was heading towards oblivion, and no one noticed anything.  He
heard the furious pounding of his heart as light faded, and....

"Kazuya!!!"  This time, the scream was accompanied by a loud pounding at
the door.  As conscious thought clawed its way back into his mind,
Kazuya recognized the voice of his sister ordering him to get up.

"That's right, Akane is staying here through the weekend," he thought.
Kazuya struggled to lift himself out of bed.  He walked sluggishly to
the bathroom, hoping a shower would wake him up.  But no amount of
running water was making him stir any faster this morning.

After dressing, Kazuya walked slowly to the kitchen table, not bothering
to cover an enormous yawn.  Akane peered at him closely.  "You don't
look very good," she commented.

Kazuya yawned again.  "I didn't sleep well."

"Why is that?" asked Mrs. Kasuga.

"I've been having... weird dreams," replied Kazuya.  "Not nightmares,
not really.  I'm not sure how to describe them."

"Could they be premonition dreams?" asked Akane.  "You know your cousin
was known for them."

"Nah, I don't think so," Kazuya decided.  "They're too weird to mean
anything!"  He forced out a smile.

Kazuya chewed on a piece of toast while musing about his dream.  Where
was he going?  Why was he going?  No answers were coming to him.

His mother's hand on his shoulder started Kazuya.  "Wha..." he started.

"Kazuya, will you please go to the market after school and pick up
the food on this list for tonight's dinner?"

"Why can't Akane do it?" grumbled Kazuya.

Mrs. Kasuga pressed a list into his hand.  "Because I asked you,
Kazuya," she replied.

"Don't be such a brat about it," retorted Akane.

"Hai, Okaasan," Kazuya replied, then glared at Akane.

Kazuya grabbed his bag and headed for the door.  He passed by his
father, who was sitting on the couch, reading the sports section of the
local paper.  He quickly scanned the headlines as he walked.  About the
only interesting story was the margin of victory in one of the baseball
games; the Swallows had crushed the Giants 16-1.  Maybe he'd read that
article when he got home, Kazuya thought.

"Itte kimasu!" Kazuya shouted as he left.

* * * * *

Kazuya arrived at school in plenty of time.  He headed to homeroom,
which was about half-occupied.  Various students were talking, and
some were furtively copying each other's homework.  Kazuya sat down
and placed his bag on his desk.  He withdrew and reviewed his
notebooks, finding everything in place.

As Kazuya put his work away, his vision swam, and his bag morphed
into a pillow.  He slowly lowered his head.  "Just a little rest,"
he thought, the words in his head already slurring....

Kazuya was jarred awake by something smacking him in the head.  He
gasped, then coughed, inhaling chalk dust.  Furuyama-sensei had
scored a direct hit with his eraser.

"So nice of you to join us," said the homeroom teacher.

"Sumimasen," replied Kazuya.  He hung his bag on the back of his chair,
and focused on the television in the corner of the room.  The morning
announcements were proceeding without a hitch, for once, with brief
stories about the baseball team's most recent game and several
activities of the school clubs.  Kazuya wasn't paying much attention,
as he was too busy pinching himself in an attempt to stay alert.

After homeroom, Kazuya scurried to the bathroom.  He frowned when he
saw the chalk dust pattern left in his hair, making it resemble the
fur of a skunk.  He splashed water on his hair and was mostly
successful in removing the chalk dust.  More water, splashed on his
face, still wasn't helping him become any more alert.

"Just let me get through this day," thought Kazuya.

* * * * *

The school bell sounded, indicating the end of morning classes and
the beginning of lunch.  Kazuya felt his energy level rise for once,
as only the prospect of a katsu-sand could.  He grabbed his bag and
dashed out of the classroom.  Picking his way around slower
schoolmates, he reached the lunchroom quickly.  As normal, the entire
school body appeared to be present, though Kazuya assessed their level
of activity as "rock concert," slightly below the normal "panicked
riot" level.

Once Kazuya finally pushed his way to the front, his eyes lit up.  He
saw an entire tray of katsu-sand, unclaimed!  "One katsu-sand," he
shouted loudly.  Miracle of miracles, he got one, for the second week
in a row.  He took one quick bite, savoring the taste of the breaded
pork cutlet, and then extracted himself from the crowd.

Kazuya looked around, but didn't see any of his good friends.  He sat
down at a corner table and ate.  His mind quickly drifted from the
delicious sandwich back to his dreams.  That feeling of disappearing
-what did it mean?  He felt fine; well, he felt fine except for being
totally exhausted.  So what was happening to him in his dreams?

"Kazuya!"

There it was!  Someone calling him, just like in his dream.  He
looked around, and fixed his eyes on a man a few years older than him.
No, wait, it really was someone calling his name.

"Oi, Kazuya!" the man shouted again.  He was standing next to Maiko.
Noticing their resemblance, it hit him who this person was.  He hadn't
seen Maiko's older brother Shinichi in while; he remembered he was
studying at an American college.

"Hi, Mai-chan, Shin-niichan," said Kazuya, waving them over.

"We had to call your name ten times before you responded!" said Maiko.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm just feeling spaced out," replied Kazuya, punctuating his remark
with a yawn.  "You're back in town?" he asked Shinichi.

"Yes, classes were over at the end of May," he said.

"We have a lot of catching up to do," added Maiko.

Kyouko found her way through the crowd.  Seeing Maiko and Kazuya, she
joined them.

"Oniichan, do you remember my friend, Moriyama Kyouko?"

Shinichi blinked hard.  "You mean, your little friend, Kyou-chan?"

"Yes, she moved back to town in February," replied Maiko.  "I told you
when you called home one day."

"Yes, but I didn't draw the connection until I saw you two together
again," said Shinichi.  "You know, you two really were inseparable
back then."

"And you'll be seeing a lot of us this summer!" said Kyouko cheerily.

"Say, Oniichan is taking me out to dinner tonight," said Maiko.  "I
want you two to join us."

"We're going to an Italian restaurant, called Palermo," added
Shinichi.

Kazuya's heart sank.  He wanted to take up Maiko on her offer,
especially with free food included.  But he had a study date with
Emi.  Things were going so well, and he didn't want to upset her
by backing out.  "She'd just call me irresponsible again," he thought.

While Kazuya was weighing what words to use, Kyouko responded.  "I'm
sorry, Mai-chan, but I have plans with my family tonight," she said.
"I'm sure if I talk to my parents first, we could go out another night,

but I won't be able to join you tonight."

Kazuya felt a small measure of relief; he wouldn't be the only person
to disappoint Maiko.  "Sorry, but I'm studying with Shimada-san
tonight," he said.  "But I'd like to stop by your apartment
afterwards," he added quickly.  "Would that be okay?"

Shinichi nodded, and Maiko replied, "Sure.  I will see you after
dinner, then."

* * * * *

Kazuya breathed deeply and tried to focus his mind on class.  Today
he had chemistry lab, and he knew he needed to concentrate to learn
the material.  However, the fog that had surrounded him all day hadn't
dissipated with the end of lunch.  He sat at one of the granite-topped
lab table, near the front of the room, and opened his notebook.

Yukio sat on an adjacent stool.  "Oi, Kazuya, can I check your
homework?" he whispered.  Kazuya shrugged and slid the notebook to him.

He noticed that Yukio wasn't checking his answers; he was scribbling
them down, word for word.

"Typical," thought Kazuya.

The chemistry teacher, Nakada-sensei, entered and soon started the
lecture.  Kazuya's hand summarized the teacher's words into the
notebook, but they weren't leaving any sort of impression on his mind.

He stared at the collection of test tubes on the table, and his eyes
lost focus, before he pulled himself back to attention.  He rubbed his
eyes, trying to increase his alertness.

At this point, Kazuya noticed that the teacher had finished his
lecture, and was calling on students to answer questions.  He hoped
desperately that he wouldn't be called; he didn't want to embarrass
himself in front of the class, especially in front of Emi.  Kazuya
fought a losing battle to focus his attention on class.

As Kazuya's thoughts once again turned to his dreams, he failed to
notice his teacher was preparing a demonstration.  First, Nakada-sensei
sketched a formula on the board: 2Na + 2H20 = 2NaOH + H2.  He then
tightened his white lab coat, and donned gloves and protective
goggles.  He pulled out a small brown jar.

"The sodium is kept in mineral oil to prevent a reaction like the one
I'm about to demonstrate.  Even the moisture in the air is enough to
cause a reaction, creating sodium hydroxide, also known as lye.
Now, observe, as I cut a small piece of the metal...."

"KAZUYA!"

"Hai, Sensei!" replied a startled Kazuya, as he straightened up and
diligently raised his hand.

Nakada-sensei was also startled, as he was intent on his experiment,
and definitely not asking questions of his students.  His hand jerked,
and cut a large piece of the sodium metal.  It fell, along with some of
the oil, into the beaker.  The metal flared and the water bubbled as
the chemical reaction raged out of control.  The beaker exploded, sending
pieces of glass everywhere.  Kazuya reflexively put up his hands, and also
projected a wave of Power, rattling the rack of test tubes.

The students, including Kazuya, looked up to see what happened.  The
teacher's lab table was a mess, with the beaker in pieces, as well as
a lot of other glassware broken or cracked.  Nakada-sensei bore the
brunt of the explosion, but was fortunately protected by his safety
gear.  Kazuya looked to his left, and noticed Yukio clutching his hand.

A large shard of glass, probably from one of the test tubes, was
imbedded in his hand.

It took a few moments for the pain to register with Yukio.  "Itee!"
he hissed.  Nakada-sensei, having confirmed that the reaction had
concluded, then surveyed the damage.  Seeing Yukio's injury, he said,
"Go to the nurse's office right away."

"That's the last time I copy homework from you," deadpanned Yukio as
he left.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

[In the middle of an ice skating rink, a tall, stunningly handsome
young man with dark brown hair and a small, overly cute girl with
light brown hair stand together, posing for the crowd.  The crowd
cheers loudly, throws roses on the ice, and snaps pictures.]

[A plain woman skates up to them.  She is holding a partially
finished needlepoint work.]

Woman: Where can I find needlepoint patterns?

Shiratori Azusa:  [Grabs the needlepoint and squeezes it.]  Marianne!
Marianne!  You're Azusa-chan's little Marianne.

Announcer: Don't ask a champion martial arts figure skater.  Ask
Jeeves, and get what you're looking for.

Writer's note: Standard Disclaimer.

END COMMERCIAL BREAK

The final bell rang, and Kazuya grabbed his bag.  He headed to pick
up his shoes, and saw Emi.  "Shimada-san!" he called.

"Konnichi-wa, Kasuga-kun," replied Emi, smiling.  "How is
Motomura-kun?"

"Eh?  Oh, I heard he needed three stitches.  He seemed fine when I
spoke to him."  Kazuya smiled slyly at Emi.  "Now, why is it you didn't
check in on your own vice president?"

Emi laughed, tossing her head back.  "You know I'm a very busy
student, and I'm sure I will talk to him in due time," she replied,
in mock seriousness.

Kazuya laughed as well; they both knew how Yukio had ended up as
student body vice president.  Kazuya hesitated, then said what was
on his mind.  "I'll see you at 7, at the public library?"

"Right," replied Emi.  "We need to review In the Garden tonight."

"Bye!" said Kazuya, smiling.  He grabbed his shoes and left with a
spring in his step.  He walked out of the school grounds, and the
sunlight sapped him of energy.  All Kazuya wanted to do now was go
home and crawl in bed.  However, he needed to run his errands after
school, so he headed to the market.  Grabbing a basket, he filled it
with vegetables, and then double-checked his list to make sure he
got everything.  Satisfied, he paid for the food and headed home.

Kazuya's stomach growled as he passed by a convenience store.
Although very tasty, the katsu-sand he had at lunch apparently wasn't
very filling.  He followed a young mother and her baby into the store.

Kazuya found it fairly busy; he recognized a few classmates by their
school uniforms, though he couldn't place their names.  Maneuvering
through the crowd, he selected a rice ball and a can of juice.
Fortunately, the cashiers were working quickly, and before he knew
it, Kazuya was ready to go.

Kazuya walked to the exit, strode out the doorway... and bumped into
the door.  He stood there confused; he was sure that was an automatic
door.  "Must be broken," he thought.  He reached out to push the door,
only to find it swing open in front of him.  He shrugged, and walked
out the door, followed by another two shoppers.

Kazuya sat down on a nearby bench and unwrapped the rice ball.  He
ate hungrily, making the snack disappear in seconds.  He pulled the
tab off the juice can, and drank it more slowly.  Once he had drained
the can, Kazuya tossed it into the garbage can a few meters away.
His aim was off, and the can clanged off the rim and clattered to the
ground.  Grumbling, he got up, heading to pick up the errant can.  As
he did so, he acutely felt the tiredness that inhabited his body.

"I wish I were home right now, so I could take a nap," thought Kazuya,
as he discarded the juice can.  An idea hit him; he could be in bed
in a matter of seconds, if only he could teleport home.  "It's worth a
try," he thought.  Kazuya started walking home, then ducked into the
first alley he passed.  After checking to see no one was there, and no
one was looking into the alleyway, he concentrated hard.  He envisioned
the location, his bedroom, his soft bed.  He willed himself to find
that special pathway to his home.  He strained and struggled, but
when he opened his eyes, Kazuya discovered he had only succeeded at
giving himself a headache.

Dejected, Kazuya proceeded to head home in a more mundane manner.  He
walked as quickly as possible, not stopping at any of the shops that
might otherwise attract his attention.  He was so out of it, he
nearly bumped into a couple of passers-by on the way home.  He shook
his head at his own foolishness.  Fortunately, he made it home without
further incident.

"Tadaima," announced Kazuya, as he entered his apartment.

"Welcome home, son," replied Mrs. Kasuga.

Kazuya proceeded into the kitchen, and deposited the groceries on the
counter.  Without a further word, Kazuya headed to his bedroom.  He
laid down on his bed, without even bothering to change out of his
school uniform.  A deep dreamless sleep quickly overtook him.

Moments later, Kazuya felt someone gently shaking him.  He opened his
eyes and saw his mother.  "It's time for dinner, Kazuya.  We tried
calling you, but you were sound asleep."

"Hai," he muttered, still groggy.  He noticed the shadows in his room
appeared longer.  Then he glanced at the clock by his bed.  It was
already after 6!  Adrenalin kicked in as he quickly changed out of
his school uniform and into some clean clothes.  He checked himself
in the mirror, and after combing his hair, judged himself presentable.

Kazuya sat down at the dinner table, after kicking the cat out of his
chair.  Tera hissed before scampering away.  Kazuya's parents and
sister were already eating, and Kazuya endeavored to catch up with them.
He scooped rice and stir-fried vegetables onto his plate, and grabbed
the last of the pickles.  Mrs. Kasuga frowned as Kazuya shoveled food
into his mouth.

"It's not good for you to eat so fast," chided Mrs. Kasuga.

"Sorry, Okaasan," replied Kazuya when he next came up for air.  "I
have a study session at 7:00, so I don't want to be late."

"A study session?" queried Akane.  She smiled.  "Oh, Kazuya, you're
so studious," she said, in an admiring tone of voice that was anything
but.  Kazuya looked up at Akane, seeing an illusion of Emi instead.
He shook his head, and concentrated on the cup of tea in front of him.

Kazuya finished his meal and pushed back from the table.
"Gochisousama," he said.

"When are you going to be home?" asked Mr. Kasuga.

"Let's see, I should be studying at the library for about an hour,
then I'm going over to Mai-chan's apartment," replied Kazuya, counting
on his fingers.  "I should he home by 9:00, 10:00 at the latest."

"All right, Kazuya.  Please call if you're going to be late," said
Mrs. Kasuga.

"I will," replied Kazuya.  He grabbed his bag from his room and dashed
out the door.

* * * * *

Kazuya paused to catch his breath on the steps leading up to the
Kouryou public library.  He checked his watch, and saw he was a
couple of minutes early.  He didn't feel tired, not with the adrenaline
still rushing through him after racing to the library in record time.
Still, he stopped at a nearby vending machine and bought a can of coffee,
to give himself a little extra energy.

Sipping the coffee, he entered the library, and looked to see if Emi
had already arrived.  He quickly found her, already busy writing.  She
nodded as she noticed him approach.

Kazuya sat down.  "It looks like you've got a good handle on this paper,
Shimada-san," he commented.

"Yes, I feel better about this assignment," she agreed.  "It's clear
that our paper should begin with an analysis of the testimonies of the
seven people.  So I've written that."

"So who do you think killed the samurai?" asked Kazuya.

"I still don't have an idea," said Emi.  "And I think that's the point
of the story."

"Exactly," replied Kazuya.  "The writer could have written a normal
narrative, describing what happened before describing the testimonies.
But instead, Akutagawa chose to render this story through the narratives
alone."

"Each person's testimony isn't designed to get to the truth; it serves
their self-interest."

"Yes," agreed Kazuya.  "Their words aren't useful to understanding the
truth; they're basically useless."

"What other themes do you see as worthy of discussion?" asked Emi.

"The decline of the samurai; he is not the idealized image we often see

today, but in many ways portrayed as common, as one who cannot uphold
the code of bushido.  The author would certainly have weighed recent
Japanese history in his mind when writing this story.  The tradition
of religion is also besmirched.  For example, consider the priest.  For
a Buddhist priest, he seems rather worldly, don't you think?"

"Those are good points," admitted Emi.  "This discussion has really
helped me see how the story works as a whole.  Thank you, Kasuga-kun."

"You-you're welcome," stammered Kazuya.

Emi went back to her writing, adding to her outline and partial passages.
Kazuya had decided to work on his paper as well.  He thought himself
mostly done; he figured he could get at least a B with this paper as
written, but he wanted to make it shine, to impress anyone who read it.

He set about revising his paper, marking out passages that could be made
stronger with new wording or additional arguments.  The more he wrote,
however, the more tired he felt.  Both the coffee and the adrenaline
were long gone, and the words on the paper blurred together.

"Kazuya!"

Kazuya started.  "Yes?" he said, a little louder than he wanted.

"Yes what?" asked Emi.

"Didn't you... didn't someone call my name?" asked Kazuya, confused.

"Not that I heard," said Emi evenly.

"It must have been my imagination," said Kazuya.  He kicked himself;
he must have fallen asleep and drifted into dreams.

Kazuya concentrated harder to stay awake.  He found he had to get up
and walk around twice just to stay alert.  Even going to the bathroom
and splashing cold water on his face didn't help.

After an hour of work, Emi was satisfied, and started to pack up.
Kazuya followed her lead.  "How is your paper?" he asked.

"I think it will be well-received, with a little more polishing," said
Emi confidently.

"I don't think I heard how you did on last week's paper," queried
Kazuya.

"Oh, I got an A," said Emi nonchalantly.  "And I do thank you for
your help."

"Thanks," said Kazuya.  "But didn't you get an A on your last paper?"

"That was an A-minus.  I wanted to do better."

Kazuya let that sink in as they walked out of the library.  Once
outside, they prepared to go their separate ways.

"I'll see you tomorrow," said Emi.

"You too," said Kazuya happily.  "Good night."

* * * * *

Kazuya enjoyed the pleasantly cool night air.  "A beautiful night,
spent in the company of a beautiful lady.  What more could I have
asked for?" mused Kazuya.  There was still a spring in his step as
he walked along the sidewalk, passing a variety of shops.

"Hmmm... a cake-seller," thought Kazuya as he passed a combination
caf/bake shop.  "A cake would be a nice thing to bring to Maiko's
apartment."  Kazuya checked his wallet, finding a lone bill.  "A piece
of cake would be a nice thing to bring," he thought, revising his
plan.  "Payday can't get here any sooner," he muttered.

"Irasshaimase!" greeted the clerk.  Kazuya nodded, then looked at
the luxurious cakes.  One display case held a trophy wedding cake,
complete with plastic bride and groom figure.  He envisioned himself
and Emi replacing those figures.  Kazuya shook his head.  "An
overactive imagination will get me in trouble," he thought.

Kazuya turned to another case, with cakes available by the slice.
"A slice of strawberry cake," he said, in a decisive fashion.
The clerk took a piece of the white-frosted cake with strawberries
and placed it in a small box.  Kazuya drooled at seeing the one
perfect whole strawberry decorating the slice of cake.  The clerk
closed the box and tied it with string.

"A gift for your girlfriend?" asked the clerk, cheerily.

"No, ah-hah, actually, for my friend," stammered Kazuya.

"That will be Y600," said the clerk, passing Kazuya the box.  Kazuya
dutifully handed over a Y1000 note, collecting four 100 yen coins
in return.

Smiling, Kazuya left the cake shop.  He continued his journey.  He
passed a large electronics store, with banks of televisions in the
window.  His attention was drawn to the fiery scene repeated across
the display.  Fire engines were shooting jets of water into the
inferno, struggling to put out the fire.  Reporters were present
at the scene.

Kazuya listened to the reporter.  "We are here in Kouryou district,
where firefighters are attempting to contain a fire at the restaurant
Palermo.  Witnesses reported hearing an explosion and seeing jets of
flame shoot from the back of the building.  Many people have fled the
building, but as of this time, there is no word on whether anyone
remains inside.  The heat is too intense for firefighters to head
inside..."

Kazuya paled.  "Palermo.  That's where...."  A sick feeling coursed
through his body.  "MAI-CHAN!" he screamed.  Power coursed through
his body, and he reached across space, desperate to save Maiko.
Space disappeared as he teleported, and the image of the fire on
the television screen was replaced by the very real, very intense
inferno.

The heat and light of the fire was overwhelming.  Already, fire had
consumed most of the front of the building, with only beams supporting
the roof.  Flames reached for the sky through holes in the roof.
Kazuya shielded his face and searched the crowd.  He looked at the
gawking pedestrians, the stunned men and women who were probably
patrons, the police officers and firefighters.  Where was Maiko?
He looked into the fire.  He could vaguely make out figures still
trapped inside.

Kazuya pushed forward through the crowd.  The bystanders moved aside
in response to his urgent pushing.  Soon, he was at the front of the
crowd.  He could see through the flames a form trying to crawl forward.

Was it Maiko?  It had to be Maiko!

Kazuya ran forward, but was grabbed by a police officer.  "You can't
go any closer!" the officer yelled.  Kazuya looked past him to the
burning building.  There was a loud crack, and one of the beams fell
inwards, followed by a portion of the roof.  Kazuya saw the figure
disappear behind the debris and flame.

A distant scream came.  "KAZUYA!"

"MAI-CHAN!" he yelled, and focused his Power to teleport to Maiko,
in the building.  If he could touch her, he was sure he could pull
her with him as he teleported.  He stepped into a gap in space, but
unlike his previous teleport, he couldn't find a way out.  His
intended destination was there in front of him, hazy and indistinct
as if behind frosted glass.  But try as he might, Kazuya could not
will himself forward.  Instead, he was pulled backwards by a powerful
force.  He felt as if electric current were coursing through his body.

Numbness was followed by increasing pain.

Suddenly, the pain stopped.  Kazuya opened his eyes.  White arcs of
electricity were still tracking down a large metallic rock, but their
frequency and intensity were rapidly decreasing.  To the left was
Grandfather, and to the right was Grandfather again, although this
time ghostly and indistinct.  Kazuya stared, mouth agape.

The corporeal Grandfather walked (drifted?) towards Kazuya and
embraced him.  "Thank heavens, we were able to rescue you."

Kazuya's stunned expression didn't change.  "Wha... rescue?  What
do you mean?"

Grandfather motioned to the air behind Kazuya.  "Take a seat,"
said Grandfather.  Grandfather assumed a seated posture, though there
was nothing supporting him.  "Here's what happened...."

TO BE CONTINUED... in Episode 16.

Fugawari Orange Street Episode 15 Credits      | Episode Date: 6/6/96
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                                  Lead writer: | Greg Dreher
                      Editing and pre-reading: | Tony Chen
                  New characters and concepts: | Tony Chen
                                               | Greg Dreher
                                               | Daniel Lee
                                               | Paolo Valladolid
                                               | Jeoff Wilks
This series would not exist if it weren't for: | Matsumoto Izumi-sama
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