Arashi: An Ever Expanding Sky (Prologue)
FANDOM: Arashi
RATING: PG
PAIRING: Sakuraiba, Juntoshi
DATE: April 4th, 2010
WORD COUNT: 1,585
NOTES: This is a work of fiction. AU, kind of Sci-Fi.
START | Chapter One
Prologue
As the ship neared the city, Nino looked down, gazing at the tall structures that reached high into the skies. Smaller buildings sprawled haphazardly at their feet. He hadn’t been to Milna since he was ten, but he remembered its streets well - its sounds and smells would forever be etched in his memories.
His parents had died in this city. He had seen them killed before his own eyes, by one of the elite Guards who were supposed to protect Milna, and its citizens. He and his sister had stowed away into a ship flying out of the city, with only the clothes on their back and a deck of cards each. They hadn’t returned since.
Until now.
From the helm, Aiba noticed his friend’s pensive look, and called out, “are you sure about this?”
Nino brushed away the memory from his mind, and grinned at Aiba. “Of course I’m sure,” he shouted back. “This is easy money!”
His sister, Isuzu, had tried supporting the two of them as much as she could, but there were very few kinds of work that was available for twelve-year-old girls, and none of them were legal, or safe. At least, they wouldn’t be in most of the places they’ve been. Nino wouldn’t let her take on any of these jobs, so she had taken out their mother’s oracle cards, and started to make a living telling fortunes in the market. It didn’t earn much, especially in the early days, so Nino had to help out. In what he now thinks of as his previous life, he had played card tricks as a way to amuse himself and his parents’ guests, but after his parents’ death he realised that his quick eye and quicker hands were useful in other ways, such as picking pockets. He still played card tricks in markets, conning money from those who probably needed it as much as he did. He hated it, but he learned early on that everyone only looked out for themselves. And he had his sister to think about. With his pocket picking and card tricks, and his sister’s fortune telling, they could just barely make enough to survive. And that was all that they wanted - to survive.
The two of them moved from city to city, stealing into air ships or trains, and would have continued living that way, if they hadn’t met Aiba. Nino was thirteen at the time. He had heard of windups, but he had never actually met one, until Aiba had caught him stealing.
})i({
“Hand that back,” the boy said, grabbing Nino’s shoulder with one hand, and holding out his palm with another.
Nino just gave him a bored look and said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Sizing him up, Nino figured that the boy was just about his age, even if he was much taller. There was nothing threatening about him at all, and Nino knew that he had been quick enough that no one should have seen him palming the ring. Perhaps the boy had guessed that he took it, but he wouldn’t have seen it.
“You took my master’s ring,” the boy stated monotonously.
Taken aback, Nino studied the boy before him again. His clothes were simple, like a normal servant’s. He had assumed that the kid was a servant, but servants didn’t call their employers master, not in Eero, nor in any of the cities Nino had been in. Only slaves did that, but... “I thought that slavery is illegal in Eero,” Nino blurted out, before he could stop himself.
The boy blushed, and his grip on Nino loosened up a little. Nino would have taken the opportunity to run, but he was curious.
“I’m not human, exactly,” the boy said, his voice low, as if it was something he was ashamed to talk about. “I’m a windup.”
Nino’s eyes widened. Windups were very rare; as far as he knew, everyone had heard of them, but not many had actually met any. They were man-made creatures - that much, Nino had known - and were sold as slaves in places where slavery was supposed to have been abolished, or used in high class brothels. Nino didn’t know much about windups, but the boy in front of him looked very much human. He supposed that a specially designed human being was still a human being.
“You seem human enough to me,” he told the boy. “What’s your name? Um, do you have a name?”
The boy nodded slowly. No one had asked him that before. “I'm Aiba,” he said.
“Well, Aiba, I don’t know much about windups, but I figure that it doesn’t matter if you’re made or born; a person’s a person, you know?” He paused, and put on an innocent look. “You’re right; I took your master’s ring. But I only took it because I thought he could manage without it, and I really need to feed my sister before she starves to death.”
“Your sister?” Aiba frowned. No one had really engaged him in a conversation, either, and he didn’t know what to think of it.
Nino nodded. “Her name’s Isuzu. She’s really talented; she’s the most accurate oracle I know. But my sister and I, we’re orphans, and we hardly make enough to get by. Why, I haven’t eaten in three days! Not that I’m complaining or anything; I’m just worried about my sister, because she’s getting weaker every day... if you had a sister, you’d do anything to help her, wouldn’t you?” He almost cursed himself after the last sentence, remembering at the last minute that Aiba couldn’t possibly have a sibling. Nino wasn’t sure if Aiba even had parents. Would the people who made him be considered as parents? Would the other windups made at the same factory or raised in the same nurseries be counted as siblings? He had no idea. But he looked at Aiba appealingly anyway, figuring that since he had said it, he might as well go along with it.
“But I’d get in trouble if my master noticed that his ring was gone,” Aiba said apprehensively. “He’ll blame me for it, and I’ll be punished.” He looked stricken as he said the last words, as if it was something that was too terrible to even mention. Nino tried to steel himself from feeling any sympathy for the boy, but he didn’t quite succeed. An idea came to him suddenly, that he probably should have dismissed straight away, but for some reason it took hold of him and refused to let go.
“Come with me, then,” he said. Aiba looked at him in surprise. “I’m leaving Eero this afternoon anyway, with my sister. You could run away, and come with us. Your master would never find you.”
})i({
When Aiba joined Nino and Isuzu, and they became a trio, Nino began to put away some of the money he made, and started to save more and more as time went on, with Aiba’s help. They didn’t tell Isuzu about it, but she seemed to know their plans anyway, and on Nino’s eighteenth birthday she had given him all the money she saved up. Even put together with Nino and Aiba’s money, it wasn’t much, but it was enough to get them an airship of their own. It was old, and barely functioned, but it was theirs. Rainbow’s End used to be a cargo ship, but with newer, faster ships being built every day, it was used less and less, and had fallen into disrepair. They had bought it from the owner, cheap, and worked for or stole the parts they needed to fix it up, which Aiba did. Aiba knew a lot about airships, since one of his previous owners owned a ship-making company.
Things weren’t easier for the three of them after, but at least they had a roof over their heads, and they no longer had to stow away in other ships when they needed to travel. While there was no demand for the services of an old cargo airship, Nino soon discovered another source of revenue - smuggling contraband and/or doing small jobs for those who would rather keep their businesses a secret.
His return to Milna felt somewhat triumphant, Nino thought. He had left the city as a scared young boy, still in shock over the death of his parents, and without even enough money to pay for the passage out of Milna. Now, he was returning, co-captain of his own ship, and a good job on the line. So the job wasn’t exactly legal, and his ship would stand out at the port out of pure shabbiness, but he counted it as a victory of sorts.
They were breaking into one of the Houses of Milna, to steal an item that one of their clients requested. Despite Nino’s confidence, they were going to need all the luck they could get. But the client had offered a large amount of money for this job, much more than Nino thought it was worth. So, in that sense, it really is easy money, he thought, glancing uneasily at the door to his sister’s room. Isuzu had refused to come out of her room since Nino had announced their impending return to Milna. She had protested against it, saying that it was a bad idea, but the money was too good for him to refuse. She’ll cheer up when we get the money.
~ to be continued ~
START | Chapter One
Notes:
Hmm... this will be an SF AU that's not really SF? Kind of steampunk-ish, maybe. I haven't quite decided how SF/steampunk I want it to be yet. But two things inspired this - the image from the cover of Jay Lake's Mainspring, which is pretty steampunk I suppose (or clockpunk? Haha...) and the idea of a wind-up idea from a steampunk novel, The Wind-Up Girl by Paul Bacigalupi. That said, the wind-ups in this series are completely different from Bacigalupi’s. This is the first time I’m attempting anything in the speculative fic AU, so I hope that you'll bear with me ^_^;;
RATING: PG
PAIRING: Sakuraiba, Juntoshi
DATE: April 4th, 2010
WORD COUNT: 1,585
NOTES: This is a work of fiction. AU, kind of Sci-Fi.
START | Chapter One
Prologue
As the ship neared the city, Nino looked down, gazing at the tall structures that reached high into the skies. Smaller buildings sprawled haphazardly at their feet. He hadn’t been to Milna since he was ten, but he remembered its streets well - its sounds and smells would forever be etched in his memories.
His parents had died in this city. He had seen them killed before his own eyes, by one of the elite Guards who were supposed to protect Milna, and its citizens. He and his sister had stowed away into a ship flying out of the city, with only the clothes on their back and a deck of cards each. They hadn’t returned since.
Until now.
From the helm, Aiba noticed his friend’s pensive look, and called out, “are you sure about this?”
Nino brushed away the memory from his mind, and grinned at Aiba. “Of course I’m sure,” he shouted back. “This is easy money!”
His sister, Isuzu, had tried supporting the two of them as much as she could, but there were very few kinds of work that was available for twelve-year-old girls, and none of them were legal, or safe. At least, they wouldn’t be in most of the places they’ve been. Nino wouldn’t let her take on any of these jobs, so she had taken out their mother’s oracle cards, and started to make a living telling fortunes in the market. It didn’t earn much, especially in the early days, so Nino had to help out. In what he now thinks of as his previous life, he had played card tricks as a way to amuse himself and his parents’ guests, but after his parents’ death he realised that his quick eye and quicker hands were useful in other ways, such as picking pockets. He still played card tricks in markets, conning money from those who probably needed it as much as he did. He hated it, but he learned early on that everyone only looked out for themselves. And he had his sister to think about. With his pocket picking and card tricks, and his sister’s fortune telling, they could just barely make enough to survive. And that was all that they wanted - to survive.
The two of them moved from city to city, stealing into air ships or trains, and would have continued living that way, if they hadn’t met Aiba. Nino was thirteen at the time. He had heard of windups, but he had never actually met one, until Aiba had caught him stealing.
})i({
“Hand that back,” the boy said, grabbing Nino’s shoulder with one hand, and holding out his palm with another.
Nino just gave him a bored look and said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Sizing him up, Nino figured that the boy was just about his age, even if he was much taller. There was nothing threatening about him at all, and Nino knew that he had been quick enough that no one should have seen him palming the ring. Perhaps the boy had guessed that he took it, but he wouldn’t have seen it.
“You took my master’s ring,” the boy stated monotonously.
Taken aback, Nino studied the boy before him again. His clothes were simple, like a normal servant’s. He had assumed that the kid was a servant, but servants didn’t call their employers master, not in Eero, nor in any of the cities Nino had been in. Only slaves did that, but... “I thought that slavery is illegal in Eero,” Nino blurted out, before he could stop himself.
The boy blushed, and his grip on Nino loosened up a little. Nino would have taken the opportunity to run, but he was curious.
“I’m not human, exactly,” the boy said, his voice low, as if it was something he was ashamed to talk about. “I’m a windup.”
Nino’s eyes widened. Windups were very rare; as far as he knew, everyone had heard of them, but not many had actually met any. They were man-made creatures - that much, Nino had known - and were sold as slaves in places where slavery was supposed to have been abolished, or used in high class brothels. Nino didn’t know much about windups, but the boy in front of him looked very much human. He supposed that a specially designed human being was still a human being.
“You seem human enough to me,” he told the boy. “What’s your name? Um, do you have a name?”
The boy nodded slowly. No one had asked him that before. “I'm Aiba,” he said.
“Well, Aiba, I don’t know much about windups, but I figure that it doesn’t matter if you’re made or born; a person’s a person, you know?” He paused, and put on an innocent look. “You’re right; I took your master’s ring. But I only took it because I thought he could manage without it, and I really need to feed my sister before she starves to death.”
“Your sister?” Aiba frowned. No one had really engaged him in a conversation, either, and he didn’t know what to think of it.
Nino nodded. “Her name’s Isuzu. She’s really talented; she’s the most accurate oracle I know. But my sister and I, we’re orphans, and we hardly make enough to get by. Why, I haven’t eaten in three days! Not that I’m complaining or anything; I’m just worried about my sister, because she’s getting weaker every day... if you had a sister, you’d do anything to help her, wouldn’t you?” He almost cursed himself after the last sentence, remembering at the last minute that Aiba couldn’t possibly have a sibling. Nino wasn’t sure if Aiba even had parents. Would the people who made him be considered as parents? Would the other windups made at the same factory or raised in the same nurseries be counted as siblings? He had no idea. But he looked at Aiba appealingly anyway, figuring that since he had said it, he might as well go along with it.
“But I’d get in trouble if my master noticed that his ring was gone,” Aiba said apprehensively. “He’ll blame me for it, and I’ll be punished.” He looked stricken as he said the last words, as if it was something that was too terrible to even mention. Nino tried to steel himself from feeling any sympathy for the boy, but he didn’t quite succeed. An idea came to him suddenly, that he probably should have dismissed straight away, but for some reason it took hold of him and refused to let go.
“Come with me, then,” he said. Aiba looked at him in surprise. “I’m leaving Eero this afternoon anyway, with my sister. You could run away, and come with us. Your master would never find you.”
})i({
When Aiba joined Nino and Isuzu, and they became a trio, Nino began to put away some of the money he made, and started to save more and more as time went on, with Aiba’s help. They didn’t tell Isuzu about it, but she seemed to know their plans anyway, and on Nino’s eighteenth birthday she had given him all the money she saved up. Even put together with Nino and Aiba’s money, it wasn’t much, but it was enough to get them an airship of their own. It was old, and barely functioned, but it was theirs. Rainbow’s End used to be a cargo ship, but with newer, faster ships being built every day, it was used less and less, and had fallen into disrepair. They had bought it from the owner, cheap, and worked for or stole the parts they needed to fix it up, which Aiba did. Aiba knew a lot about airships, since one of his previous owners owned a ship-making company.
Things weren’t easier for the three of them after, but at least they had a roof over their heads, and they no longer had to stow away in other ships when they needed to travel. While there was no demand for the services of an old cargo airship, Nino soon discovered another source of revenue - smuggling contraband and/or doing small jobs for those who would rather keep their businesses a secret.
His return to Milna felt somewhat triumphant, Nino thought. He had left the city as a scared young boy, still in shock over the death of his parents, and without even enough money to pay for the passage out of Milna. Now, he was returning, co-captain of his own ship, and a good job on the line. So the job wasn’t exactly legal, and his ship would stand out at the port out of pure shabbiness, but he counted it as a victory of sorts.
They were breaking into one of the Houses of Milna, to steal an item that one of their clients requested. Despite Nino’s confidence, they were going to need all the luck they could get. But the client had offered a large amount of money for this job, much more than Nino thought it was worth. So, in that sense, it really is easy money, he thought, glancing uneasily at the door to his sister’s room. Isuzu had refused to come out of her room since Nino had announced their impending return to Milna. She had protested against it, saying that it was a bad idea, but the money was too good for him to refuse. She’ll cheer up when we get the money.
~ to be continued ~
START | Chapter One
Notes:
Hmm... this will be an SF AU that's not really SF? Kind of steampunk-ish, maybe. I haven't quite decided how SF/steampunk I want it to be yet. But two things inspired this - the image from the cover of Jay Lake's Mainspring, which is pretty steampunk I suppose (or clockpunk? Haha...) and the idea of a wind-up idea from a steampunk novel, The Wind-Up Girl by Paul Bacigalupi. That said, the wind-ups in this series are completely different from Bacigalupi’s. This is the first time I’m attempting anything in the speculative fic AU, so I hope that you'll bear with me ^_^;;