Chapter 24- Plans and goals

The cloak's longer hand traveled a little since the last time I saw it.

"12 already huh, already 40 minutes."

"Yea"

Sugi answered back with a soft voice.

"Anna, when's your match?"

"It's on Saturday. I believe yours was on the morning of the same day, am I correct?"

"Yea, it's a little stressful."

"We're still in the pre-tournament quarter finals, still not in the main yet, but I guess if you fail here, you can't proceed."

"Who are you up against?"

"I'm not too sure; I'll worry about it when the times comes."

"I'm against one of the compactors from the pre-tournament finals last season."

…

Sugi paused and looked a little down

"You're lucky though, you have natural talent and don't have to worry too much."

"Yea sure is great."

Anna replied with a normal voice with a smile that almost reviewed that she was faking it.

-If only it were so easy, it was always this pressure of expectations that are placed on me.

"You know…"

Anna lowered her head to the sides as she said a few words in a delighted voice before stopping.

"Nah, it's nothing."

…

A line of silent was dragged around the room, unknowing what to say both of them.

"If we continue like this, we might have to fight each other, Anna."

"Don't worry about it. It's just a game after all."

-I envy your carefree altitude

"There's a forest area up front, want to see it?"

"Yea, might as well."

We hopped off our toilets and walked outside. Traveling across the second-floor walkway with few trees in the middle of it once a while that force the previously straight path to curve around it with the middle of the curve having a bridge connected to the opposite side of the walkway. I wandered up the skies as I slowed down to go behind Anna.

As I glazed up the skies, can't help what different would I feel if I was not myself but in Anna's body. The difference in talent and life. The ways how seamlessly small detail in life can change so much.

Building slide in and out of view, the passing of the green railed bridges and the often round thin light pals which fully lights up from top to bottom in the night.

"Anna, have you finished your homework yet?"

"Don't worry, I usually plan. For studies of starting of WW3 needs a read through, while the math just remains the type up for tomorrow. As the language studies, I am ready but need a little more time to get used to the different way of wordplay, but good enough for the test."

"What about sculpturing? It's due for tomorrow."

"Oh, I forgot. But… Do you think I'll have a problem with that?"

"Nope, but I thought I should remind you since you forget things once a while. But I've also thought you might need a bit more time to prepare compared to other due to you always being so strict with yourself all the time."

Sugi puts on a genuine charming smile as he tilts her head to the side of the rails.

"Thanks, but I think it's better always to push myself like you always do on your solidify."

"Yea, I'm not too gifted in it."

"Well, I basically use it all the time."

"In your manga. Makes sense. Should I do the same?"

"If you have time to, it'll take some time to get used to. It's a lot of thinking process."

[Command: notes]

[Command: visibly 60]

Rolls of words fall from the top left and down. Filled with words with a light-yellow background which blends in with the background road after lighting down the visibly of it. I scrolled down the countless dates from the time I was back at class. History folder opened.

"If I am correct, I believe people use to hand draw these things."

"Yea, without it now, makes it so much faster and easier to get into, since you don't need to learn how to draw and simply need to imagine what something will look like."

"Should I do it though?"

"I heard not many people do it at 10."

"But people do get a job at ten, right? Think of it this way; you're special."

"It's hard right?"

"Just need to get used to it."

"Always easy for you to say. I remember you not starting not too long ago right?"

"Yea, It was three months ago, just a little before my birthday. I had some trouble with handing both school work, tournaments and manga. It only took a month to get used to"

"I'll think about it."

"How do you get your ideas?"

"Just sit down in a quiet room and put your hand between your head and push."

"Sure. I'll think about it."

"If you decide to, I can introduce you to my publisher."

Anna said in a calm voice as she turned back to look at me.

"Ok"

"Want to come over to my house later to see what I do?"

"Yea, sure."

"How has your school work been? You always like to talk about anyone but yourself, so I'll start"

"Do I? Ok. It has been going well with everything finished for what's to be done this week but next week's haven't even touched it"

'It's not like you ever show too much of yourself too, but you have a point.'

"Well… Today is Thursday, and the publisher wants everything handed up on Sunday, and every chapter is needed to be handed up five weeks early, following the tradition I guess. Um… I have about three days to plan things and reimagine things out. You won't have the same amount of free time as you do now if you start you know."

"I know. Not to mention the tournaments too."

"Uh… Yeeeaaa"

We spoke a little and if not or should I join I join the manga industry or not. We passed a few more streets down the direction we were going before getting a bottle of sugar cane juice, which is split into two cups. Walked and walked, the walkway gradually lowers. Slower, slower we are on the ground. Walking down on an angle as the shops remain the same. Down and we go, finally back to the ground. We walked down as the walkway continued with a soft left tune as we walked passed an space between the walls of two old looking EDO buildings which leads to a land of trees.

Walking inwards, I took a look through the leaved trees to see a river with a few balder and rocks around its side.

Drop, drop

The main silvered haired main character peed off a balder from the top of a side like a man with a straw hat drank a bit of water with a piece of cut bando from the river, a little below the character while on the same side. And that's how Yoai was born.

I took a sit near the rocks, facing across the river as Anna investigates the details of the main character. The wind blew, and the leaves flip with some that fall off down to my face.

I have a question but unknowing how to begin.

"Umm…"

Sugi paused for a while as Anna turned her head towards her, getting her attention.

"What do you really want to do as your job for your future? Do you plan to have manga for your job?"

Sugi spoke with a firm and gentle voice, not wanting to hurt Anna if she happens to say something rube for Anna

"To be fair, I don't really know myself. My father is a controller for the magnetic fields which he controls through a computer without needing to be there. Mother is a teacher at a different school, s she needs to go outside. I don't know. So far, manage has been really fun for me, but feel like it may not last forever."

Anna paused for a little before continuing.

"I like an adventure. I want to try something new is what I would say. I would most likely have a side job for money for that risky thing though"

"I see…"

Sugi still held up a smile, but a facial expression of confusion.

"I really don't know, what to do."

"It's normal. Just work on something you like for now is what my father use to tell me and that's how I started manage."

A time of silent once again came by.

The water glistened in the sunlight, between the two side of trees. Small amounts of sunlight shine through the layered leaves from the waggling brunches. The air was nice as the air curves around my face.

A message slides into my view with a few number codes at the end.

"We need to meet with class again."

"We still have 30 minutes before 1."

Anna said in a soft and unpleasing voice as if she wanted to be here longer.

Anna got up from the previously cross-legged position she was sitting onto of a small balder near the river bank. She pushed one of her arms down into the knee of the first leg she used to stand up.

[Command: Map]

Anna released her screen into the air, allowing Sugi to see. She showcased a map in the sky as she points to the estimated area which the code suggests. The area which Anna pointed to wasn't too far away from a dotting red circle which is where we currently are. The map that was showcased was in a 3D model with the area around the islands in a soft outline on an angle. The point where Anna's fingers are, and the red dot was on the same platform. Anna flipped the presentation of the map a little as now we get to see from an overhead view of just the Gintama island that we are currently in. The soft outline of the islands became for detailed as simple drawings begin to appear, labeling each change in the area. The size of the map didn't change as the area which Anna was previously pointing to just went under her finger again when the change happened.

The location that we're supposed to head to is the port at the east edge, near the shogun's palace.

"It's to our right; I say maybe a good 20 minutes of walking or few minutes of flying should do."

"Do you want to stay here a little longer? There's still have about 30 minutes before the meeting."

"What do you want to do?"

"I don't mind."

"Alright then, let's get to the port and have a few minutes of looking around the palace before heading off."

"Sure"

"Flight?"

"Flight"

[Command: Solidify]

Wings are created behind us.

[Command: Link]

The muscle of our backs scratched out to take the wings. The nerves are connected but still feels like a fake.

I created mine with two wings on each side. A large 2m long is at the front of the force and strengths while a smaller one is at the back, designed to control the small angle changes. It was fully black is a bit of oil that makes it shine a little. The bone and muscle joints are placed at the front while the features follow in behind, facing the back.

Sugi got her wings out too, in a shade of gem green. It was a simple one wing on each side. Dyed in shades of green, with the features stretched out look like green dinosaur features with its different shades of a similar colour.

I went first, lifting my wings up and smashing it downwards to lift myself up. Flying through the cracks of air between the two-sided tree, I took a look down to the shaded spots under the tree. Sugi flapped her wings too, and she has started. I few a few meters up from the tree and waited for a little as I looked at the crack where is the source of the sunlight for the river. Sugi flew through the crack, and I went back in action. I followed her, seeing her wings flap top forwards and back downward on consistent repeat. The wings she had was almost a little flat as she turned her body straight pointing straight forwards, it was clear she wasn't trying to fly high. Her legs dangle a little as we flew, due to tiredness and a lack of speed due to us not being in a rush.

We flew and flew as I still had the map open as I shrink it down to the bottom left of my view. We were close and 10 minutes has already gone by, and now I'm flying side by side with Sugi. We were slow, but it was relaxing to have the wings hitting my face and blowing my hair backward.

I looked down past the many roofs of the Edo district and into a clean area of a grey stoned area near the edge of the island. A bus sign was there with a mostly white with a straight line of grey in the middle vehicle stored inside a hollowed-out cylinder. The vehicle has two heads with an overall shape that resemble a bullet train back in 2018, especially in the thin down and softly curved head. The body is it round with not much of any edges as it rests floating in the upwards facing cylinder with neither of the sides touching.

"Sugi looks down; we're near."

"Ok"

We dived down which caused Sugi's head to straighten. My wings were straight and still on my drive until I got closer, I lift up to once again maintain my height. I stopped once a while until the tip of my foot tickled the grey-stoned floor. The teacher was there, laying down next to a thin cylinder light pale. I've arrived before Sugi, but she quickly followed. I looked around, and not too many of our classmates have made it yet. I turned left to see the shogun's house right next to us.