Gaea's Locket Ch. 8

“I think... I might have found another power...”

“What?! How do you know?” Keito answered surprised.

“This weird thing happened... and I got this strange feeling. This guy... he has Poseidon's power over water.” He answered as Keito thought, “Where is he? We have the locket so well head over to check.”

“I'm at World Cuisines, but you might want to hurry. I think he might be leaving soon.” Yuto told him.

“Alright, we'll be there in a few.” He answered.

~At World Cuisines~

“Haha oh my god! I remember that!” Yuki laughed as she and Kaori talked about old times together. “That was some good times.” Kaori nodded, “Yea. It sure was--”

“Yuki!” they heard as two boys ran over to them.

“Geez, more boyfriends?” Kaori raised an eyebrow. “What a player...”

“Shut up~! They're only friends!” she smiled. “Kaori this is Keito and Daiki. Guys, this Kaori.”

“Hi. Can we steal her for a moment.” Keito said in a hurry. Kaori a bit surprised nodded, “Um, sure.” They grabbed a hold of Yuki and hurried off as she smiled, “Man, when did she get acquainted with such hot looking guys...”

“What guys?! You interrupted my day out!” Yuki pouted. Yuto rushed over, “Great, you're here. He's right over there.” He pointed at Ryosuke paying for his bill. “You should hurry!” Daiki took out the locket as it light up.

“Yes! I was right!” Yuto said as the light showed the image of a trident. “It is Poseidon!” Keito said, “Alright... looks like we have our next person.” Yuki stated, “Then, you guys go talk to him. I'll be getting back to my day out..”

“But Yuki--”

“No! It's my day off! Come on I haven't seen Kaori in forever.” she sighed. “Let me enjoy my reunion.”

“Fine. We three can handle it.” Daiki stated.

“Actually, I'm still finishing lunch.” Yuto stated. “But you two have fun.”

“...” Keito gave them looks and sighed. “Well it's just us again Daiki. Let's go.” They headed off as Yuki said, “Well, I'll be going then--”

“Mind if I hang out with you and your friend?” he asked.
“What?” she said surprised.

“My coworkers went back to work, but I got the rest of the day off. Can I hang out with you two for a while?” he stated. She asked, “Then why didn't you go with--”

“I didn't feel like it. I already found him.. I can meet him some other time.” he explained. “So can I?”

“No! It's a girls only lunch!” she said heading over to Kaori. “Sorry about that.”

“It's cool.” she smiled. “I see you're very popular with the guys.” She laughed, “Haha, You know it.” Kaori then asked, “So seriously 3 boyfriends at once? How do you do it?” She groaned, “Seriously, you're still on that subject--”

“Hey.” they heard as Yuki glared at Yuto.

“Oh, Yuki's first boyfriend. Back so soon?” she stated as Yuki answered, “Alright, for the last time, he isn't my boyfriend. None of them are!”

“Alright, chill.” Kaori giggled. Yuki then turned to Yuto, “And you can leave.”

“Why? What did I do?” he wondered as she said, “Just go away! I'm trying to relax here!” He told her, “I'm not even doing anything...”

“Um... Yuki, is this a bad time?” Kaori asked. “If you two want to continue your argument alone, we can hang out some other time.” She answered, “I'm sorry Kaori. All my acquaintances are getting in the way. I really do want to hang out.” She smiled, “Heh, its fine. At least they're giving me something to tease you about. You always had the most funniest reactions.”

“I know right?” Yuto laughed as Yuki glared at him.

“So, what's it gonna take to get you to get off her back for the rest of the day?” Kaori questioned Yuto as he thought, “Hmmm... I'm kinda bored right now so I though it would be fun to bug her... I don't suppose you'd let me join you two?”

“Well she is trying to get rid of you if you haven't noticed.” Kaori said with a giggle. “But... I do know someone you can bug. It's fun getting on his nerves.”

“Nah. I prefer it being someone I know.” he sighed. “Sorry, but I guess you two are stuck with me.” Yuki growled, “Yuto! Just go away!” Kaori then said, “Fine. You can join us.” He smiled, “See, your friend agrees.”

“I don't mind.” she shrugged. “I'm gonna use the restroom really quick. Yuki, come with me.” She nodded as they two headed for the restroom, but Kaori then headed for the door.

“Where are you going?” Yuki wondered as she explained, “Ditching him. Now come on, before he sees us!” She pulled Yuki out of the restaurant with a smile as Yuki told her, “But Kaori! We haven't paid for our lunch!”

“Easy. Gimme you phone.” Kaori answered as Yuki handed it to her. “You have Yuto's number right?” She nodded as she texted out loud, “Hey, we're going ahead. Thanks for paying for lunch! You're the best!” A large smile appeared on Yuki's face, “You naughty girl...Haha!” They two ran off continuing their fun.

~In World Cuisine's kitchen~

“Yui.” she heard as she baked some pastry. Yuri entered the kitchen as she asked, “Ah, Chinen-san... what is it?” He asked, “Do you have the cake designs yet for thanksgiving? It's in a few days!”

“Yes, its right over there.” she pointed as he took a look at it. “I'll be starting on that soon. Should I set up the meals too?”

“Please do. We're going to need a lot of orders. There will be a lot of guest.” he told her.

“Alright, I'll get to it.” she said.

“Oh, and Yui. I'd like to invite you to the party as well, when everything is set up. Be sure to invite some friends.” he told her as she smiled, “Thanks, sir! I'll be sure to!” He nodded, “Great. Good work on the cakes. Can't wait to see what else you have up your sleeves.” He left as she continued to her work.

~At the beach~
“Rena, why are you here?” Ryosuke groaned as he saw her approach. “Shouldn't you be at work?” She groaned, “I am...” Ryosuke then lit up, “Really?” He turned to see models posing on the beach. A smirk appeared on his face as he shouted to the other life guard on the beach, “Hey, I'm going on a break.” He stood with Rena, “Mind introducing me to a few of your friends?”

“They aren't my friends....” she sighed. “They're my co-workers... and no. If you want to meet them, do it yourself.” She headed back over as Ryosuke followed, “Alright, I will.” As Rena went back to work, helping the models with the outfits, Ryosuke approached one, “You must be exhausted from running through my dreams all night...” She giggled flirtatiously as more models joined them. Rena groaned, “Ugh... Men...”

“There he is... excuse me! Do you mind if we have a word with you?” she heard as two guys approached Ryosuke. He answered, still with his arms around the models, “Sorry. I'm a bit busy now. Find me later and we can talk.”
“It won't take long. Please? It's really important.” one said as he replied, “Look, come back tomorrow and then we can talk--”

“I'll handle this Ryosuke.” Rena sighed annoyed. She gave the two boys a flirty look, “I'm sorry, but he has a really tight schedule right now. Can you please come again later?” One wanted to argue but as he looked at her eyes, “Ok, we'll go.”

“What?! But Keito we--” the other said taking out a locket from his pocket. Rena lit up, “Wow~! That is a beautiful locket! It must be for a really special girl...” He answered, “Uh... well, no...”

“No? Hmm, then can I have it? Please?” she gave him cute puppy dog eyes. He wanted to say no, but he held it out the her, “Sure--” She smiled and reached for it when suddenly a blast of light emerged from it.

“Rena!” Ryosuke called as he moved towards her. One guy, Keito, said, “Daiki! Were you just about to give her the locket?!” He replied, “I couldn't help it! Something came over me--”

“Look.” Keito stopped him as an image of a heart appeared and then the light pointed at Rena. “Aphrodite's symbol!” The light faded as everyone on the beach stared at the two guys. Daiki quickly said, “Um, it was just holo-graphics... don't worry about it...” Keito then turned to Ryosuke and Rena, “We need to talk to both of you. Now.” They looked at each other and nodded as Rena said, “But you have to explain what just happened. What was that and why was the light aiming at me?!”

“We'll explain, but lets find some place private.” Daiki said as they left the beach.

~The Hospital~

“Sonsaku Hakufu right?” she heard as she sat in room. A doctor came in as she nodded, worried,“How were the results?” He stated, “Fine. You seem normal. There's nothing wrong with you.”

“Really?!” she said surprised. “I still have a burning feeling within my chest. Are you sure?” He nodded, “Yes, all your organs seem to be fine. Your blood circulation is normal. Nothing seems to be out of the ordinary.” She thought confused as he said, “Well, maybe you should relax for a while. And drink lots of water to keep cool.”

“Alright...” she sighed as she left his office. However, the flaming feeling would leave her alone.

~BLING Animation Studio~

“Shirika!” she heard as she was leaving the recording room. Kei rushed towards her, “Where's Kaori?!”

“Wow, calm down Kei. What's going on?” she wondered. He told her, “I've got something really important to tell her... so where is she?! She's not in her office!” She answered, “She went out. I guess with one of her friends...”

“Oh, crap! Yuki!” he groaned as she then noticed him. He was sweating like crazy like he had just ran across the world. Then she noticed a scratch on his face as she asked, “Where'd that scratch come from?”

“Oh, don't worry about it. Little scratch from work...” he sighed trying to call Kaori's phone. But she didn't answer. She told him, “Come on. You should get that cleaned up before it gets infected.” He answered, “But I--”

“Don't worry, it won't take too long.” she said pulling him into Kaori's office. “I know she has a first aid kit in here somewhere... here it is.” She pulled it out as Kei asked, “Does she let you hang out in here when she's not here?”

“Yea, she doesn't mind as long as I don't mess up her sketches.” she stated putting disinfectant on he scratch. He flinched as she then placed the band-aid on. She touched his cheek and smiled, “There good as new.”

“Thanks. Do you know where Kaori went out to?” he wondered.

“Nope. But that was a couple hours ago.” she thought. “Is she working at the shelter today? She might be on her way there already.” He nodded, “Alright, thanks Shirika. I'll see you around.”

“Ah, wait!” she said stopping him. She pulled out invitations, “I already told Kaori about this, but there's gonna be a party at World Cuisines on Thanksgiving. Can you give her these invitations? 5 are for her, 5 for you. Invite your friends. They can only get in with these invitations.”

“Alright thanks.” he smiled taking them from her.

“Ouch!” Shirika groaned as the invitations cut her finger.

“Ah! Sorry.” Kei apologized. “Let me help you...”

“Don't worry...” she stated. “A small paper cut won't kill me. Besides weren't you in a rush to see Kaori?” He nodded, “Thanks. I'll see you later.” He left as she waved him off. She then looked at the small cut on her finger and it slowly closed up, returning to normal.

“Kota! Did you see the garden?!” he heard as Ryutaro rushed into his room. A large smiling was on his face as he said, “All the flowers are in full bloom! We barely planted them last week!” Kota smiled, “You must have a green thumb to make them grow so fast Ryuu...”

“You were apart of it too.” he stated. “If only we could grow trees and everything else this quickly. It would definitely be helpful to the Earth right now.” Kota nodded as he stared out his window to see the full grown plants. He sighed as Ryutaro noticing his brother said, “Kota... are you hiding something from me?” He flinched surprise as his brother sighed, “I thought so... I know you've been seeing a Psychologist. What's going on?”

“Don't worry about it Ryuu. I'm fine--”

“Then why are you seeing a psychologist?” he raised an eyebrow. “Kota, I'm your brother. If you need someone to talk to, talk to me. I may not be a professional psychologist, but I'm your family.” Kota smiled, “I know. I'll tell you Ryuu, but don't laugh or make fun ok?” He nodded as he explained his situation to his brother.

“That's so cool!” he answered as Kota laughed, “Really?” He nodded, “Yea. You could really help the Earth like that! Look at all the plants you've grown for us! You could do so much for the world!”

“But.. is this really happening?” Kota asked. “I can't control it... I don't know if its just my imagination or not...” Ryutaro then said, “Well, I'll be watching from now on! So if it does happen again, you'll know its real because I saw you do it too!” He smiled hugging his brother, “Who's the best brother in the world?!”

~Elsewhere~

“Are you crazy?!” Rena asked Keito and Daiki as they finished explaining. They sat outside a small cafe as she continued, “There's no way that can actually be true.” Ryosuke just smirked, “Huh, I'm a god...” Rena gave him a look as she whacked the back of his head. He groaned, “OW!” She then said, “Gods and Goddess. Those are just myths! Nothing more!”

“Then how else would you explain your powers?” Daiki question as she remained silent. “That's what I thought--”

“I may not know, but it can't be because of the Gods! It's just too crazy--”

“Hey guys.” they heard as someone slumped into the chair next to them.

“Excuse me, where trying to have a private conversation--” Rena growled when he pointed his finger at the lamp next to their table. It zapped off as she went speechless. He stated, “I'm Nakajima Yuto. I hold Zeus' power of thunder. What about you two?”

“Nice..” Ryosuke smiled. “Yamada Ryosuke. Poseidon's power over water.” Keito asked, “Believe us now? Yuto was the first we found a few days ago. We're trying to find the last 4 remaining people. Once we do, we might be able to figure out an explanation for all this. We just need your cooperation.” Ryosuke nodded, “I'm in. A God? I knew I was destined for greatness.” Rena whacked his head again as he glared, “Ow! Would you stop doing that?!”

“Then stop being overly conceited! It's getting annoying.” she sighed. She turned to the other boys. “Fine, I'll help you out, but I do want an explanation as soon as possible.” Daiki and Keito nodded as Yuto asked, “So, an introduction and what can you do?”

“Yamada Rena.” she stated with a flirtatiously glance. “I have Aphrodite's power of seduction. I can make people do whatever I want.”

“Oh. That explains almost giving her the locket.” Daiki said. Keito nodded, “And wanting to leave before we finished our work here.” She nodded, “But it only works on guys...” Yuto thought, “Try it on me. I want to see how it works...”

“Fine.” she gave him a flirty smile. “Yuto~ I forgot my wallet at home, can you please buy me a smoothie?” He beamed, standing up, “Sure thing...”

“See?” she smiled happily. “So easy--”

“If you give me the money to pay for it.” he interrupted, sitting back down as she gasped, “It didn't work?!” Ryosuke thought, “I don't think it works on other god powers.... it doesn't work with me either right?” Rena nodded, “This sucks... I hate limitations....”

“Alright, so we have Aphrodite, Zeus, Artemis, and Poseidon found. The powers of Seduction, thunder, wildlife, and water.” Daiki said. “We're half way done!” Keito nodded as he looked at the two siblings, “We want to know how you got your powers. Can you tell us?”

“Truthfully, it surprised us.” Rena said. “Boys... out of no where started doing what I told them to.” Ryosuke nodded, “Same for me. It just came naturally, but it was pretty easy to control. I was moving the water easily the first day I found out about them.”

“When did you two first notice the powers?” Daiki wondered. Rena thought, “A little more than a week ago.” He thought, “About the same time I opened the locket. So they noticed their powers right away...” Keito nodded as they continued as them questions.

~Near the Animal Shelter~

“Man, today was so much fun!” Kaori smiled as she and Yuki walked towards the shelter. Yuki nodded, “I know right? Just like back in high school. Gotta do this again sometime soon!” She nodded, “Oh I got an idea! There's gonna be this huge Thanksgiving party at World Cuisines. Come by for some fun!” She smiled, “Big parties are always a blast! I'll be there for sure--”

“Kaori! Thank god!” they heard as Kei ran over to them. She said, “Hey, Kei. Whoa, what happened to you? Did you run here all the way from work?! Why do you have a band-aid on your face?”

“Yes, and ignore the band aid. I really need to talk to you.” he pleaded as Yuki smirked, “Well, I guess you and your boyfriend need to talk...”

“Oh, you're enjoying this aren't you?” Kaori laughed as she nodded, “Yup. Payback time.”

“Kaori, please!” he stated as she nodded, “Alright, just give me a few minutes. We'll talk inside.”

“But Kaori-”

“Not now!” she said as he groaned and seriously said, “Kaori, this is really important! It's about You-know-what!”

“Oh~ You-know-what? So secretive huh?” Yuki giggled as she answered, "It is secretive, but not in the way you're thinking... Kei--”

“Now Kaori!” he shouted as she glared, “Kei! I said give me a few minutes! Stop ordering me around!” There was a silent but deadly silence between the two as Yuki, a bit worried, said, “Umm, I think I'll get going.”

“Sorry about this.. I'll see you on Thanksgiving...” Kaori sighed as Kei then said, “Here. You might want to give her these. The tickets to get into the party.” He hand her all ten of the invitations. She took them and handed four to her. Kaori winked, “Invite your three boyfriends too ok?”

“Oh, shut up!” she laughed. “See you then.” She ran off as the two then went into the shelter.

“I told you it was important! Why couldn't you just listen?!”

“I was, but I wanted to finish up talking to Yuki! Come on Kei! It's been years since I've seen the girl! Let me have my fun without being interrupted!” she stated. “And seriously, what's with the band aid?!” She grabbed it and ripped it off his face, “OW! What the hell was that for?!”

“Being rude to Yuki.” she answered mad. “What was the point of the band aid?! There's nothing on your face!” He answered, “Hello?! Theres a scratch--” he stopped as he tried to feel it, but it was gone. He looked in a mirror and saw his face was completely clear.

“What the... well there was a scratch when Shirika put it on...” he said. He shrugged it off, “Well forget about it, there's more important things to worry about.”

“Yea, like how you don't know how to listen.” she stated. “You've been on my back about everything lately! Seriously, Kei! I'm not a little girl anymore! I can take care of myself!” He answered annoyed, “Well the way you've been acting lately begs to differ! You've been acting like such a child! Ignoring problems when you should be facing them!”

“Look, this isn't your problem so don't worry about it!” she groaned. “I know you want to help, but I don't need it! This isn't a problem I want to watch out for! I can avoid it! I have for the past two days!”

“Two days doesn't mean forever!” he angrily said. “Kaori, you need to think about this seriously. This could be more dangerous than you think!” Suddenly the animals in the shelter began panicking. The dogs were barking like crazy and the birds were squawking loudly. She groaned, “You know what? Just drop it. I don't want to talk to you about this at all. We have things that need to get done...”

“I couldn't agree more.” he said walking off to work, completely forgetting what he needed to tell her.

~Elsewhere~

“Hey, well here's a familiar face...” Yuya said as someone walked into the music store. Hikaru smiled, “Yuya! Been a while.... I didn't know you work here.”

“I didn't know you shop here.” he smiled as Hikaru nodded, “Yea, but not today.” He took out his uniform as Yuya surprised said, “Ha! So you're the newbie! You never did like working at the same job for too long.” He laughed, “You know me... I get bored of the same job. I need to try out a bunch just for the fun. This week is music.”

“I see that.” Yuya said. “Put your uniform on and we can start your training.”
“Alright., manager!” he said as he went to change.

~Daiki and Keito's home office~

“Oh, Yuki. You're here.” Daiki smiled as she came into their office the next afternoon. She nodded, “Yea, I told you I'd come by after work. Like I always do.” She then gave them a look, “And if you ever bug me on my day off again, I swear I'll kill you.”

“Alright, we won't.” Keito stated. “We're half way done.”

“With what?” Yuki wondered as he answered, “Finding the Gods. We have Yuto with Zeus' power, Kei with Artemis, Ryosuke with Poseidon, and his sister Rena with Aphrodite. Only 4 more to find.”

“Wow. I'm impressed boys. You sure got a lot done without me.” she said.
“Well we wouldn't have been able to do anything if it wasn't for your help.” Daiki stated as Keito nodded. Yuki took hold of the locket as she asked, “What will we do after? When we find all 8?” The two boys shrugged as Keito said, “I guess just research and talk to all of them. It's just figuring out the mystery.”

“I guess...” Yuki sighed as she then lit up, “Hey, guys. Did you notice this?” The two quickly got up to look at the locket. She pointed at the 8 gems as Daiki said surprised, “Wow! They have a symbol in them now!”

“Well not all of them...” she said. “There's only three... A thunderbolt, a trident, and a heart. The rest are still blank.” Keito said, “It must appear when we find the Gods. We found those three already.”

“But what about Artemis?” Daiki said. “Her symbol hasn't appeared.”

“This is weird... why would her symbol not be there.” Yuki wondered. “We found Kei... unless...”