CHAPTER 24

Chiaki goes through her morning routine

 

Chiaki abruptly sat up in bed, gasping. She clutched at her breast, her heartbeat running wild, her breaths quick and shallow. Beads of sweat trickled down the side of her face. Her emerald green eyes were wide with shock. She had just woken up from a nightmare.

 

It was one she had every once in a while. She was standing in the central plaza of Halo Ridge. Strewn all around her were bodies of those who had fallen unconscious, their energy siphoned by a chaos-ridden soul. As she checked the vital signs of one that lay at her feet, she had a passing thought to herself that these poor victims would take weeks to recover. And the more unfortunate souls would take months, or worse…

 

She hadn’t the time at that moment to think any further. The perpetrating Shade stood only several feet in front of her. About its base spawned enormous, shadowy tendrils that wriggled and flailed in unsightly motions. It radiated chaotic energy on a level that was stronger than any she had ever faced. Its aura was so dark, so dense, and seemed to expand to a size as tall as High Tower.

 

But she could see the eyes. Glowing and purple like hers, leering at her menacingly. In its guttural voice, it rasped, “Chiaki…”

 

In light of recent events, Chiaki knew the reason why this nightmare happened again.

 

A waking mind settled into her consciousness, her senses returning to the real world. Her breathing slowed, and the tight feeling in her chest unknotted with a final, relieved sigh. As she looked around her, her attention briefly settled on the picture frame on her nightstand—her two beloved daughters, both in their younger years, smiling for the camera in front of the house. Then she looked the other way to see her husband who yet slept soundly beside her.

 

The sight of her family was always enough to ground her.

 

=-=-=

 

Another day dawned within the Tachibana-Callahan household, and Chiaki began to rove about her morning routine. First, a quick shower to jumpstart her thoughts and leave most of her drowsiness behind. After she finished dressing, a quick kiss on the cheek of her husband. Sean Callahan normally slept through his alarm. His body had started to rebel after so many late nights at the office, seeking whatever additional sleep it could afford. He would need a few more minutes before he was truly out of bed, but the touch of Chiaki’s lips always stirred him into awakening.

 

As she turned on the coffee maker in the kitchen, she could hear her two daughters bustling about in their respective bedrooms. By the time she finished packing something to go (she never knew if her children would need an extra meal during their busy days), both Ciara and Mindie were hurrying into the kitchen.

 

“Thanks Mom.” Ciara grabbed her packed meal and gave Chiaki a gentle squeeze on the shoulder before disappearing out the front door.

 

“Thanks Mom!” Mindie grabbed her own and gave Chiaki’s arm a full-on hug, snuggling it a bit before adding a kiss on her cheek. Then she waved as she rushed out the door after her older sister. Mindie was the more affectionate one between her two daughters. “See you tonight!”

 

“We’ll have another morning session later this week, okay Midori-chan?” she called to the slamming front door.

 

As she poured two cups of coffee, her husband shuffled into the kitchen, still sporting his boxers and bedroom shirt. He finally returned the kiss she had given to rouse him from his slumber, planting his lips on the side of her head and wrapping his arms around her waist. It prompted an easy smile from her.

 

“Good morning, honey.” Sean gave her another affectionate kiss on her shoulder before letting her go. He went about the cupboards. “Oatmeal for you too?”

 

“I’ll have breakfast later, hun. You’re the one who should hurry up and eat.”

 

“I’m not too worried.”

 

Indeed, her husband didn’t seem too rushed as he warmed up a bowl of instant oatmeal. A minute later, the microwave finished its heating job with a crisp ding! Sean then brought his breakfast to the kitchen table and took a seat.

 

“Aren’t you going to be late?” Chiaki asked.

 

“I’ll be gone all day anyway, so let me stick it to the boss this morning,” her husband reasoned flippantly, shoveling oatmeal into his mouth. He had a tendency to inhale his food. “I can apologize for being a bit late because I wanted to spend a few minutes more with my wife, right?”

 

He would get into trouble as soon as he stepped through the office door, but he was too charming and too good at his job to be let go. Hearing him say things like that stirred the blushing romantic in Chiaki, and she kissed him on the oatmeal-ridden lips. She sat with him for those few minutes more, sipping from her coffee mug.

 

Chiaki was proud to be a doting mother and wife. She owed it to her family.

 

Why?

 

Maybe it was her own mother’s traditionalism that she could never truly shake off, no matter how much she renounced it in her younger years. Maybe she felt it her responsibility to incorporate her diligence as Luminescence Chair into her personal life, serving as a well-rounded role model to her children. Or maybe she simply felt the need to keep herself busy at all times of the day, and if so, this would certainly be something her daughters picked up from her—particularly Ciara.

 

Maybe it was in no small part due to the incident ten years ago.

 

After that day, she had decided to officially use her husband’s surname as part of her own. There was no real significance behind it; she just felt the urge to do so. And both her daughters, attempting to copy her every move in their childhood innocence, followed suit from IDs to test papers. Their long, hyphenated name gave them a sense of pride.

 

When Sean returned to the bedroom to fully dress himself, Chiaki went about her final piece of the morning. She shuffled a short way down the first-floor hall and entered a largely unfurnished room. At the far side of this room was an Eastern-style shrine that she had set up a long time ago. Adopting the mannerisms she inherited from her mother, Chiaki sat herself on her haunches before the shrine, neatly placing her hands on her thighs before bending forward at the waist in prostration. She offered her thoughts in silent prayer.

 

Moments later, Sean appeared in the doorway. He was in the process of straightening his tie as he watched his wife pray before the shrine. “You never miss a day. But aren’t your shrines supposed to be for family members? Not just friends?”

 

Chiaki took a moment longer to finish her ritual prayer. Then she straightened herself upright and stood, turning towards her husband. She flashed him a coy grin as she approached. “Are you jealous, hun?”

 

“Ha! The only reason I’d envy the dead is if I pull another all-nighter at the office.”

 

She stopped just in front of him, barely any space separating her from her beloved. Raising a hand to his chest, she lightly traced her fingers along his necktie. There was a slight air of dreaminess in her eyes as she gazed up at him. “You will be home tonight, won’t you?”

 

“Of course, I will,” Sean responded quietly, an easy grin on his face. He caught her hand and gave it a gentle kiss.

 

Chiaki knew that he would come home late.

 

A few moments later, Sean closed the front door behind him. Chiaki watched from the shrine room doorway as he disappeared outside. She would have to head to work soon too.

 

She glanced back into the room, her gaze focusing on the picture she had put there to identify whom the shrine was for. It was the university graduation portrait of her best friend—Soren Park. And for a moment, she allowed herself to reminisce on those young, foolish days…

 

=-=-=

 

More than a decade ago, three Superstars dominated the top ranks of the Luminescence Department. They were friends who met at Halo Ridge. They pushed each other to become the best Stars they could be and pulled each other up the ladder.

 

Sheila DeSanto. The Number Three Superstar. Crafty and clever, her insight and preparation played key roles in saving her peers when they recklessly charged into the fray.

 

Chiaki Tachibana. The Department’s Vice Chair and the Number Two Superstar. Her martial prowess was unmatched, earning her a reputation for quelling some of the toughest rampages of chaotic energy with ruthless efficiency.

 

And Soren Park. The Department’s Chair, unanimously the top-ranked Superstar in the world, and the brightest and most well-loved individual to ever grace the field of luminescence. Neither as smart as his beloved Sheila, nor as strong as his best friend Chiaki, something else about him afforded him his status. Something tangible, but undefined. It was this elusive allure that seemed to dissipate chaos with ease, and it won him the people’s admiration and favor over his peers.

 

As they surveyed a city by the sea, they saw an extraordinary amount of chaos amassing over a fault line. In a few more moments, it would become an enormous Shade that would quite literally shake the earth. It was a rare type of chaotic incident that didn’t center around a single person.

 

“Putangina… That’s a lot of chaotic energy,” Sheila remarked. “As expected from an impending earthquake.”

 

Chiaki glanced at Soren, raising her eyebrow skeptically. “You realize I have a family, right? I’d like to get back to my hubby and my girls in one piece.”

 

Sheila glanced at him as well. “Sure ka (Are you sure) we can get through this, love?”

 

“We can, and we will. We’ve still got plenty of life ahead of us.” Soren was unfazed by the doom-worthy threat before them. He stepped forward and erected his chin confidently, beaming at his companions. “Besides, it’s us three.”

 

He threw a fist up in the air in a rallying gesture. “We’ve come this far together, and someday we’ll meet the end together!”

=-=-=

 

Looking back on that stage of her life had usually been bittersweet for Chiaki. But as it faded further and further into the past, only the bitterness seemed to remain. They were young back then. Young, ignorant, and full of themselves. They were blissfully unaware of the ways being a Superstar tested your limits.

 

It was a domino effect. One incident to set it on a tenuous track, and several more instances to urge it along. Instances that no one ever bothered to think about. Because when a good friend looks depressed, why wouldn’t a simple pat on the back be helpful? What’s wrong with receiving accolades from the most esteemed ranks of luminescent peers? How could someone feel alone when surrounded by people who praised them?

 

Why would anyone think too deeply about the brightest Star in the world getting rid of yet another bothersome Shade?

 

Ten years ago, the world lost Soren Park. And Chiaki didn’t shed a single tear about it.