CHAPTER TWO: SMALL TRIAL
Takoda, completely speechless at what he heard, gave a smile at Ivan. “.......Wow. I’ve never seen someone with the same power as me. But… “Stand”? Is that what it’s called? And I’ve been calling it “Mr. Blue Sky” this whole time.”
“Heheh. Let’s talk about this subject while we’re walking.” Ivan started to walk again, with Takoda following. He continued to speak again, “So, Stands are basically the visual manifestations of one’s fighting spirit. They come in many shapes and sizes, and can only be seen by its user and other Stand Users. And you don’t have to worry about just calling it “Stand”. Most Stand Users I know named theirs after bands, albums, or songs. So you’re not alone on that part. I only know, like, a couple of users. There might be more.”
“So there are more of us then? Thank god I’m not lonely anymore. But the real question is: how did people like us get these things? I got mine a long time ago out of nowhere, but I was able to control it well when I got used to it when the months past. But for some reason, I felt like Mr. Blue Sky is incomplete.” Takoda faintly grinned with some concerned mixed with it. He had a lot of questions to ask Ivan about these “Stands”.
“Well, let’s start with the question you asked. There are some ways to achieve a stand. Sometimes you’re born with it, sometimes you randomly get it for no reason. I even heard you can also get stabbed by some special arrow to get a stand. But that thing is like a coin. 50/50 chance. You either get a stand or die. Probably the most dangerous way to get one. But I think someone broke the arrow into little pieces. Using the arrow is basically a thing of the past now.” Ivan started giving hand gestures like he was going on and on about something important. It kind of is, but whatever.
“Damn. That does sound dangerous. But if you don’t have a stand yet, I guess that’s worth a “shot”. YES! Bow and arrow puns! Fantastico!” Takoda pumped both of his fists into the air triumphantly before putting them down again.
“Y’know, I think I’m gonna be really good friends with you in the future. Mostly because of your behavior. Anyway, you said something about MBS not bein’ incomplete? You don’t mind me callin’ it MBS, right?”
“I don’t mind at all. And yeah, I think Mr. Blue Sky might be incomplete. I feel like it can do more than just control wind.”
“Well, one of my friends did tell me that some stands can change forms or “evolve”. Kinda like Pokemon. Y’know how some Pokemon can evolve? Like that. Some stands might get different abilities too, and some might be able to switch between forms. Maybe MBS might have other forms and you don’t know it?”
“That…… could be a possibility, Ivan. If it so happens to be true, then I should start naming these forms.” Takoda started to think for a bit, until he came up with a good name. “I got it. This form can be called “Mr. Blue Sky: Above the Clouds” Pretty cool, right? But for now, just Mr. Blue Sky. I don’t know if it can actually change forms.”
Ivan chuckled a little, “I don’t know that much about Electric Light Orchestra songs, but I think it sounds neat.”
“Sweet………… Oh, look. There’s the school. We’re here. That was pretty quick.” Takoda stopped walking again and looked over at the building on the side of him. It was a fairly giant building with a courtyard in front of it, and windows on the walls that gleam in the sunlight. He knew this was going to be a new life for himself. “Well… I guess I’ll see ya later then?”
“Yeah. For sure. I’ll meet ya out here in the courtyard.”
“Fantastico. See you then!”
They both said as they walked off in separate directions when they went inside the school.
K I N G C R I M S O N ! ! ! !
Monday, September 5th, 2033. New York City, New York. 2:25. Seven minutes after school ended for the day.
Takoda walked outside the school and into the courtyard, finding Ivan waiting, like he promised. He waved to Ivan, “Sorry I’m late, man. I forgot where I had to leave, so I followed other students outside. This place is pretty big on the inside.”
“Don’t worry. New people get lost in there all the time. It’s kinda like a maze. You’ll get used to it soon enough.” Ivan smiled as he waved back at Takoda. “So, how was your first day in there? Pretty sweet, right?”
“Okay. I’m going to be completely honest right now. It looked pretty clean on the inside. Pretty fantastico.” He caught up with Ivan and started walking away from the school, with Ivan following behind.
“Great! You’re gonna have fun at this school. I can tell ya that. Also…” Ivan started to turn a separate direction from where Takoda was walking on the sidewalk. “Follow me. I know this really good restaurant nearby that I think you’ll like. Plus, I want ya to meet some of my other friends that are like ya. And no, they’re not the ones ya met this mornin’ at the fountain. Those were my “other friends” .”
“Meh. I got nothing else better to do right now. I guess I’ll go. Plus, I don’t think mom will mind.” Takoda did a small u-turn into Ivan’s direction and followed him.
After around ten minutes of walking and talking, the boys stopped walking after reaching the destination. The building looked like a bunch of paint buckets were splattered onto a brick box with windows and a roof, making it a colored mess.
“It looks… odd. Doesn’t really look like a restaurant that much.” He observed this so-called “restaurant” with a sceptical look.
“Now listen up. This place may look odd on the outside. But on the inside…” Ivan pushed open both doors, revealing a clean and tidy room with tables and booths that fill almost every empty spot. Fortunately, there is a walkway that goes around the place. He spoke again “… it’s pretty neat.”
Takoda looked around at the building’s insides. Neon lights that change color and fill the ceiling corners, chrome lining on the floor and wall corners, black and white checkered floor tiles, walls with paint splatters like the outside of it, and to top things off, an old but working jukebox that as playing music. This indeed looked odd to Takoda, but it had some good-feeling vibe coming from it. Takoda was about to speak until he heard a voice.
“Ivan!”
The boys turned to where that voice was coming from and saw a raised hand coming from one of the tables at a window that views the city.
Ivan started to chuckle. “There he is. I thought he was gonna be here before us. Guess I was right. Let’s go.” He walked off in the direction of the raised hand, as Takoda did the same.
“Who’s that?” Takoda questioned him.
“Just a friend I want ya to meet. Nothing too special.” Ivan replied with a short but sweet answer, as he stayed quiet for the rest of the way there, maneuvering through the walkway so he didn’t bump into anybody.
When they reached the table, there was a boy. The boy wasn’t far from Ivan’s age, and was combing his pompadour that had yellow zig zags that lead to the tip of the hairstyle, getting thinner and thinner the closer it is. The pompadour boy looked up at Ivan impatiently, “You’re late. I was about to leave.”
“You’re early. I was waiting for my little buddy so we can get here.” Ivan mumbled to him with a mocking manner as he nudged Takoda with his arm to show what he was the “little buddy”.
The teen sized up Takoda before looking back at Ivan. “This small fry is a friend of yours? What makes you think this kid’s special? You did tell me earlier when school started that you met him this mornin. Why the hell would you be friends with him? Is-” He started to ask questions before he got cut off by Ivan.
“Just shut up for 5 seconds so I can explain!” He shouted quietly as he sat down in the seat across from the kid, leaving Takoda the only one standing up. “Takoda, this is-”
“Jalapeño.”
“WHAT DID I JUST SAY ABOUT SHUTTING UP?!”
“..... Fine.”
“Got anymore interruptions?”
“...........”
“Good.” Ivan started over so he can say the full sentence. “Takoda, this is Jalapeño. He’s a friend of mine. I’m the only one that knows his real name.” He introduced Takoda to this “Jalapeño” kid before looking at Jalapeno dead in the eyes with a serious look.
Jalapeño smirked, “... You look cute when you’re mad at me.”
“Shut up, greaser boy. Listen up. This kid is Takoda. He just recently moved here from Connecticut. I’m showing him around.” The senior finally managed to introduce Jalapeño and Takoda to each other, but Jalapeno kind of just scoffed and his head away and looked out the window at the people walking by. Ivan sighed and rotated his head to the standing stand user.
“Can we just start the trial already, Ivan? I wanna see if he can pull through.” Jalapeño finally spoke. But what he said was weird.
“....... Trial? Why in hell is there a trial? What, do I need to be tested to see if I’m worthy to be y’all’s friends?” Takoda felt like something was off about this situation.
Ivan laughed at that quote. “Well… funny enough… yea. That was pretty accurate. Tip of the hat to you, buddy. What ya need to do is this…” He stood up and pointed at the freshman with a grin. “You are gonna fight me right now.”
This shocked Takoda. But seeing that this would make him have friends, he accepted the challenge. “I will fight. But, are we doing it in here?”
“You think I’m an idiot? Obviously not. We can probably destroy property in here. We’re going outside for this.”
“Fantastico. But, where exactly are we going?”
“Y’know the Bethesda Fountain in Central Park?”
“Yeah.”
“There.”
“Why there?”
“Because it’s scenic, for Christ's sake.”
“Ok then. Let’s get this over with.”
The trio grabbed their belongings and headed out the door and walked off to Central Park, where they would eventually make it to the Bethesda Fountain when it started to get dark. Jalapeño sat down next to the fountain and placed the bags down as Ivan and Takoda stood on opposite sides of the fountain. Takoda felt a tiny bit jittery. This is his first proper dust-up with another stand user. But unfortunately, Takoda had no clue what Ivan’s stand is and what it can do. So this may be challenging for him.
“You ready to go, Connecticut boy? We don’t got all day.” Ivan shouted to him from across the other side of the fountain.
“Uh, yeah. I’m ready.” He said as he turned over to Jalapeño, “Can you count down for us or something?”
“Fine.” Jalapeño stood up again and raised his arm up, ready to swipe down. He counted down.
I have never seen this kid’s stand yet. He told me this kid was a user, and that was it. This better be good. “Stand off starts in 3…”
“2…”
“1…”
“GO!”
Without any moment of hesitation or thinking, Takoda started to sprint and jump off the circumference of the fountain, using small but heavy winds made by Mr. Blue Sky to propel himself forward and across the fountain’s waters to reach Ivan. The heavy winds faded away into a light breeze as he started to fall down in a slower speed as he started to speak again. “I don’t know what your stand is capable of Ivan, but there’s only one way to find out for myself. Let him have it, Mr. Blue Sky!” His body started to give of a yellow-ish white aura as thin clouds started to spiral around the floating child. The clouds became thicker and start to clump up, revealing the same four arms from before, but also the torso and head, which was also made of clouds. There were two short, vertical slits as nostrils and what looked like a rainbow skiing goggle screen that covered the eyes, along with long and thin strands of clouds to resemble hair.
This was Mr. Blue Sky.
The stand put its arms out as it shot sharp streams of wind from the palms and aimed them at Ivan.
Ivan cracked a smile, “Very bold of you to find out that way. I thought you were gonna plan this shit out. Whatever.” The wind streams came closer and closer, until they made a thick cloud of dirt and dust form from the impact. Did it miss? Takoda couldn’t see what was going on in the cloud. Was Ivan doing something in there? Is he going to attack from the inside of the cloud? What was going on? From the dust, a red glow that was similar to the one Takoda had was shining through the cracks. The dust started to clear, as Ivan was seen still standing there in the same spot with that red aura. But something was different about him. In front of him was a… Russian Doll?
He beamed at Takoda and Mr. Blue Sky. One word is all he said.
“...... Rasputin.”
To Be Continued…
Takoda, completely speechless at what he heard, gave a smile at Ivan. “.......Wow. I’ve never seen someone with the same power as me. But… “Stand”? Is that what it’s called? And I’ve been calling it “Mr. Blue Sky” this whole time.”
“Heheh. Let’s talk about this subject while we’re walking.” Ivan started to walk again, with Takoda following. He continued to speak again, “So, Stands are basically the visual manifestations of one’s fighting spirit. They come in many shapes and sizes, and can only be seen by its user and other Stand Users. And you don’t have to worry about just calling it “Stand”. Most Stand Users I know named theirs after bands, albums, or songs. So you’re not alone on that part. I only know, like, a couple of users. There might be more.”
“So there are more of us then? Thank god I’m not lonely anymore. But the real question is: how did people like us get these things? I got mine a long time ago out of nowhere, but I was able to control it well when I got used to it when the months past. But for some reason, I felt like Mr. Blue Sky is incomplete.” Takoda faintly grinned with some concerned mixed with it. He had a lot of questions to ask Ivan about these “Stands”.
“Well, let’s start with the question you asked. There are some ways to achieve a stand. Sometimes you’re born with it, sometimes you randomly get it for no reason. I even heard you can also get stabbed by some special arrow to get a stand. But that thing is like a coin. 50/50 chance. You either get a stand or die. Probably the most dangerous way to get one. But I think someone broke the arrow into little pieces. Using the arrow is basically a thing of the past now.” Ivan started giving hand gestures like he was going on and on about something important. It kind of is, but whatever.
“Damn. That does sound dangerous. But if you don’t have a stand yet, I guess that’s worth a “shot”. YES! Bow and arrow puns! Fantastico!” Takoda pumped both of his fists into the air triumphantly before putting them down again.
“Y’know, I think I’m gonna be really good friends with you in the future. Mostly because of your behavior. Anyway, you said something about MBS not bein’ incomplete? You don’t mind me callin’ it MBS, right?”
“I don’t mind at all. And yeah, I think Mr. Blue Sky might be incomplete. I feel like it can do more than just control wind.”
“Well, one of my friends did tell me that some stands can change forms or “evolve”. Kinda like Pokemon. Y’know how some Pokemon can evolve? Like that. Some stands might get different abilities too, and some might be able to switch between forms. Maybe MBS might have other forms and you don’t know it?”
“That…… could be a possibility, Ivan. If it so happens to be true, then I should start naming these forms.” Takoda started to think for a bit, until he came up with a good name. “I got it. This form can be called “Mr. Blue Sky: Above the Clouds” Pretty cool, right? But for now, just Mr. Blue Sky. I don’t know if it can actually change forms.”
Ivan chuckled a little, “I don’t know that much about Electric Light Orchestra songs, but I think it sounds neat.”
“Sweet………… Oh, look. There’s the school. We’re here. That was pretty quick.” Takoda stopped walking again and looked over at the building on the side of him. It was a fairly giant building with a courtyard in front of it, and windows on the walls that gleam in the sunlight. He knew this was going to be a new life for himself. “Well… I guess I’ll see ya later then?”
“Yeah. For sure. I’ll meet ya out here in the courtyard.”
“Fantastico. See you then!”
They both said as they walked off in separate directions when they went inside the school.
K I N G C R I M S O N ! ! ! !
Monday, September 5th, 2033. New York City, New York. 2:25. Seven minutes after school ended for the day.
Takoda walked outside the school and into the courtyard, finding Ivan waiting, like he promised. He waved to Ivan, “Sorry I’m late, man. I forgot where I had to leave, so I followed other students outside. This place is pretty big on the inside.”
“Don’t worry. New people get lost in there all the time. It’s kinda like a maze. You’ll get used to it soon enough.” Ivan smiled as he waved back at Takoda. “So, how was your first day in there? Pretty sweet, right?”
“Okay. I’m going to be completely honest right now. It looked pretty clean on the inside. Pretty fantastico.” He caught up with Ivan and started walking away from the school, with Ivan following behind.
“Great! You’re gonna have fun at this school. I can tell ya that. Also…” Ivan started to turn a separate direction from where Takoda was walking on the sidewalk. “Follow me. I know this really good restaurant nearby that I think you’ll like. Plus, I want ya to meet some of my other friends that are like ya. And no, they’re not the ones ya met this mornin’ at the fountain. Those were my “other friends” .”
“Meh. I got nothing else better to do right now. I guess I’ll go. Plus, I don’t think mom will mind.” Takoda did a small u-turn into Ivan’s direction and followed him.
After around ten minutes of walking and talking, the boys stopped walking after reaching the destination. The building looked like a bunch of paint buckets were splattered onto a brick box with windows and a roof, making it a colored mess.
“It looks… odd. Doesn’t really look like a restaurant that much.” He observed this so-called “restaurant” with a sceptical look.
“Now listen up. This place may look odd on the outside. But on the inside…” Ivan pushed open both doors, revealing a clean and tidy room with tables and booths that fill almost every empty spot. Fortunately, there is a walkway that goes around the place. He spoke again “… it’s pretty neat.”
Takoda looked around at the building’s insides. Neon lights that change color and fill the ceiling corners, chrome lining on the floor and wall corners, black and white checkered floor tiles, walls with paint splatters like the outside of it, and to top things off, an old but working jukebox that as playing music. This indeed looked odd to Takoda, but it had some good-feeling vibe coming from it. Takoda was about to speak until he heard a voice.
“Ivan!”
The boys turned to where that voice was coming from and saw a raised hand coming from one of the tables at a window that views the city.
Ivan started to chuckle. “There he is. I thought he was gonna be here before us. Guess I was right. Let’s go.” He walked off in the direction of the raised hand, as Takoda did the same.
“Who’s that?” Takoda questioned him.
“Just a friend I want ya to meet. Nothing too special.” Ivan replied with a short but sweet answer, as he stayed quiet for the rest of the way there, maneuvering through the walkway so he didn’t bump into anybody.
When they reached the table, there was a boy. The boy wasn’t far from Ivan’s age, and was combing his pompadour that had yellow zig zags that lead to the tip of the hairstyle, getting thinner and thinner the closer it is. The pompadour boy looked up at Ivan impatiently, “You’re late. I was about to leave.”
“You’re early. I was waiting for my little buddy so we can get here.” Ivan mumbled to him with a mocking manner as he nudged Takoda with his arm to show what he was the “little buddy”.
The teen sized up Takoda before looking back at Ivan. “This small fry is a friend of yours? What makes you think this kid’s special? You did tell me earlier when school started that you met him this mornin. Why the hell would you be friends with him? Is-” He started to ask questions before he got cut off by Ivan.
“Just shut up for 5 seconds so I can explain!” He shouted quietly as he sat down in the seat across from the kid, leaving Takoda the only one standing up. “Takoda, this is-”
“Jalapeño.”
“WHAT DID I JUST SAY ABOUT SHUTTING UP?!”
“..... Fine.”
“Got anymore interruptions?”
“...........”
“Good.” Ivan started over so he can say the full sentence. “Takoda, this is Jalapeño. He’s a friend of mine. I’m the only one that knows his real name.” He introduced Takoda to this “Jalapeño” kid before looking at Jalapeno dead in the eyes with a serious look.
Jalapeño smirked, “... You look cute when you’re mad at me.”
“Shut up, greaser boy. Listen up. This kid is Takoda. He just recently moved here from Connecticut. I’m showing him around.” The senior finally managed to introduce Jalapeño and Takoda to each other, but Jalapeno kind of just scoffed and his head away and looked out the window at the people walking by. Ivan sighed and rotated his head to the standing stand user.
“Can we just start the trial already, Ivan? I wanna see if he can pull through.” Jalapeño finally spoke. But what he said was weird.
“....... Trial? Why in hell is there a trial? What, do I need to be tested to see if I’m worthy to be y’all’s friends?” Takoda felt like something was off about this situation.
Ivan laughed at that quote. “Well… funny enough… yea. That was pretty accurate. Tip of the hat to you, buddy. What ya need to do is this…” He stood up and pointed at the freshman with a grin. “You are gonna fight me right now.”
This shocked Takoda. But seeing that this would make him have friends, he accepted the challenge. “I will fight. But, are we doing it in here?”
“You think I’m an idiot? Obviously not. We can probably destroy property in here. We’re going outside for this.”
“Fantastico. But, where exactly are we going?”
“Y’know the Bethesda Fountain in Central Park?”
“Yeah.”
“There.”
“Why there?”
“Because it’s scenic, for Christ's sake.”
“Ok then. Let’s get this over with.”
The trio grabbed their belongings and headed out the door and walked off to Central Park, where they would eventually make it to the Bethesda Fountain when it started to get dark. Jalapeño sat down next to the fountain and placed the bags down as Ivan and Takoda stood on opposite sides of the fountain. Takoda felt a tiny bit jittery. This is his first proper dust-up with another stand user. But unfortunately, Takoda had no clue what Ivan’s stand is and what it can do. So this may be challenging for him.
“You ready to go, Connecticut boy? We don’t got all day.” Ivan shouted to him from across the other side of the fountain.
“Uh, yeah. I’m ready.” He said as he turned over to Jalapeño, “Can you count down for us or something?”
“Fine.” Jalapeño stood up again and raised his arm up, ready to swipe down. He counted down.
I have never seen this kid’s stand yet. He told me this kid was a user, and that was it. This better be good. “Stand off starts in 3…”
“2…”
“1…”
“GO!”
Without any moment of hesitation or thinking, Takoda started to sprint and jump off the circumference of the fountain, using small but heavy winds made by Mr. Blue Sky to propel himself forward and across the fountain’s waters to reach Ivan. The heavy winds faded away into a light breeze as he started to fall down in a slower speed as he started to speak again. “I don’t know what your stand is capable of Ivan, but there’s only one way to find out for myself. Let him have it, Mr. Blue Sky!” His body started to give of a yellow-ish white aura as thin clouds started to spiral around the floating child. The clouds became thicker and start to clump up, revealing the same four arms from before, but also the torso and head, which was also made of clouds. There were two short, vertical slits as nostrils and what looked like a rainbow skiing goggle screen that covered the eyes, along with long and thin strands of clouds to resemble hair.
This was Mr. Blue Sky.
The stand put its arms out as it shot sharp streams of wind from the palms and aimed them at Ivan.
Ivan cracked a smile, “Very bold of you to find out that way. I thought you were gonna plan this shit out. Whatever.” The wind streams came closer and closer, until they made a thick cloud of dirt and dust form from the impact. Did it miss? Takoda couldn’t see what was going on in the cloud. Was Ivan doing something in there? Is he going to attack from the inside of the cloud? What was going on? From the dust, a red glow that was similar to the one Takoda had was shining through the cracks. The dust started to clear, as Ivan was seen still standing there in the same spot with that red aura. But something was different about him. In front of him was a… Russian Doll?
He beamed at Takoda and Mr. Blue Sky. One word is all he said.
“...... Rasputin.”
To Be Continued…