“Help! Help! Sky Pirate! She’s come to steal my produce!” the self proclaimed, 'Old Papa,' screamed.
“No—no—no!” I cried waving Tadahiro’s money out, “I-I-I-I was going to pay for it! See!”
“Guards, save me!” the man cried. Immediately, everyone’s eyes were on me. Some started screaming along with the man while others ran away.
With nothing else to do, I threw some money at ‘Old Papa’ and grabbed as much food as I could. Then I made my escape screaming, “Tadahiro! Tadahiro!”
While running full speed, I scoured each stand that I passed. I saw colorful porcelain vases, intricate portraits even a few beeping things, but I could not see where Tadahiro went. He told me that he's getting water, but where could that be?
"Stop thief!" a deep voice demanded.
I looked behind me and saw three men wearing metal suits that melded to the shape of their bodies; judging on how big the metal was, made me think the men inside the metal suits were huge even without the gear. I ran passed a tree and felt the sun sear into my eyes. White light covered the men’s faces, the clanking sound of their shoes hitting the dirt grew louder with every step I took forward.
I cringed, wondering what I have just gotten myself into. Who were these guards chasing me? What did they have against Sky Pirates? Was Tadahiro a bad guy? Am I some kind of accomplice? That can’t be right because I was going to pay for the produce with money. Why are they calling me a thief? Are Sky Pirates really thieves? Is that what Tadahiro was? A criminal?
“Stop right there!” the deep voice called again. Whether Tadahiro was a thief or not, is something I should worry about later. I may not actually be a Sky Pirate like Tadahiro, but that “Old Papa” guy had already labeled me as one. If the guards catch me now, they won’t believe my side of the story, especially when I’m a girl with amnesia. I’m sure they’ve heard that excuse before. What would they do to me if they caught me? I don’t want to find out, so I have no other choice but to find Tadahiro. So far he’s the only one I can trust.
With no sight of him, I thought maybe he was inside a building. Quickly, I made a sharp turn left and pushed open a door to the nearest house. When the door closed behind me it bounced off its hinges and tilted to the side.
“Careful now, that door is fragile,” a weak voice called. Just to the right of me was an old woman. She was tiny with wrinkles all over her face and hands, but she was mostly covered by a burlap cloak with a hood. "Oh my, so rare that I receive any visitors. Would you like some tea, dear?"
"Um," was all I could say before clunky footsteps reached the door. As it flew open, I dashed behind the old woman's china cabinet and squeezed myself as close as I could to the wall.
"Oh, goodness! More visitors! This must be my lucky day!" the old woman cheered.
The guard grabbed the woman's cloak and with his forehead nearly pressed against hers, the guard sneered, "Where's the girl?"
"Oh my!" the woman cried.
"Tell me where you're hiding her!"
Tears started to fall from the old woman's face, "Please, don't hurt me, Mr. Guard, sir."
My heart ached. This little old lady didn't do anything. How could he treat her this way? Are all the guards this cruel? Could it be that they are the real criminals and not Sky Pirates like Tadahiro?
I shook my head, and realized that staying here thinking isn't gonna help me or the old woman. I have to make a break for the door. Maybe he won't see me and we both can get out of trouble.
I dashed to the broken door. Just as my foot passed the doorway the guard called out to me.
"Hey! You! Stop!"
His clanking footsteps right behind me, I gritted my teeth and didn't look back. I needed to find Tadahiro.
My heart pounded through my chest, my breath got heavier with each shallow inhale. I guess that's another thing I learned about my past, I definitely wasn't much of an athlete.
Finally, after what felt like hours of running, I found Tadahiro. His backpack seemed to have filled up a bit, but he definitely was not standing at a water stand. Instead, he was leaning on a red lacquered stand run by a woman who wore a cotton outfit instead of the burlap dress code of other residents. Her stand had four wheels held in place by a lever and instead of a house behind it, a large brown animal was tied to a pole. It grazed on the dry patches of grass surrounding it.
"You do realize that I haven't made a decent profit since coming here, right?" the woman said to Tadahiro, eyeing him suspiciously.
"But I'm sure that you also haven't received any male companionship either. No one to warm your bed?" Tadahiro suggested, "What do you say? I scratch your back and you scratch mine?"
The woman smirked, "My horse keeps my bed plenty warm. I don't see a need for such an offer like yours."
Tadahiro laughed, "Is that so? Then why is your hand trembling?"
The woman grabbed her hand and pulled it closer to herself.
Tadahiro smirked, "You know I'll make it worth your while."
"Tadahiro!" I cried out once I got close enough to him.
He turned, his eyes widening when he saw the guards chasing me. My legs burned. I could feel my throat closing up as I made a last push toward him.
"Can't-run-anymore!" I wheezed.
Tadahiro snatched something off the woman's stand and ran in my direction. He gave one last look to the stand owner and said, "So sorry we couldn't make a deal. I'm sure it would have been worth your while."
He clicked his heels together to activate his hoverboard and said, “You see, I have another girl,” then he turned his head towards me and said, “Hop on, Amalia.”
I jumped up on his extended hoverboard and locked my arms around his backpack. Tadahiro hit a button with his left foot and we rocketed into the air. This time instead of being three feet from the ground, we were high enough to see the tops of buildings.
We flew a little higher and I let my pounding heart relax. That's when a sharp light made my eyes water. I blinked a couple times and saw that the light came from the reflection off the three men in armor on their own hoverboards, heading full speed toward us. My stomach clenched, "They have hoverboards too?"
"Hang on!" Tadahiro called as the three guards gained speed toward us. He hit a button with his left foot and his hoverboard sped up forward. The guards took out their guns and fired. Bullets flew in all directions, one nearly missing Tadahiro’s head.
“Well, isn’t this a pain,” Tadahiro said casually to himself as he pulled out his own gun. Then he turned his head toward me and said, “Hold on, Amalia. We’ll lose them yet.” With that, he faced our pursuers.
“What’s he doing?” one guard yelled.
“Drop your weapon and land slowly!” another guard commanded.
“Heh, okay you got me,” Tadahiro said cockily with his hands up, gun loosely in his grasp.
The guards cautiously moved forward, then suddenly a massive spark came from one of the guard's hoverboards. It zigzagged out of control and plunged downward, sending the guard flying down with it.
“Not!” Tadahiro jeered, his gun pointed in that guard's direction.
One guard went after his comrade and Tadahiro spun his hoverboard in the opposite direction. Just when we got some distance from the remaining guard, a new guard appeared right in front of us.
“Tadahiro!” I cried, but Tadahiro did not slow down.
Instead, he charged for the new guard and yelled to me, “Hold on tightly!” Then he lunged for the guard’s right boot. With a tight grip around it, he used the downward momentum to yank the boot off the guard’s foot. The guard’s hoverboard disappeared and he plummeted to the ground.
This scuffle closed the distance between us and the guard behind us as Tadahiro’s hoverboard slowed down to a stop.
“It looks like your board is running out of juice,” the guard sneered.
Tadahiro shrugged and said, “Shouldn’t you go after your friend?” Then he revealed the other guard’s boot in his hands, swinging it by its laces.
The guard looked down at his falling comrade, “Dammit!” then rocketed downward to save him.
Tadahiro shifted his weight and we snuck off into the clouds. We traveled a few miles then were forced to land due to Tadahiro’s hoverboard’s low battery.
When his feet gently hit the ground, Tadahiro chuckled, “I always get a kick out of messing with those lousy guards.”
“They seemed so cruel," I said, thinking back to the old woman.
"Yeah, most of them are. That's what happens this day and age. They're pretty rough on regular people, but when it comes to Sky Pirates they just turn into demons."
"Why do they hate Sky Pirates so much?” I asked.
“Well, most Sky Pirates are thieves and like to cause trouble for the government,” Tadahiro said rummaging through my backpack, "I guess they don't like anything that can fight back, maybe."
“Thieves? But I wasn’t going to steal from Old Papa!” I cried.
“But you are not a Sky Pirate, are you?” Tadahiro pointed out.
“I…I don’t know what I am.” I said forlornly.
“Well, Amalia. How about it?”
“Huh?”
“Did you enjoy our brush with danger?”
My heart was pounding and my arms were still shaking. Even so, I still had a smile plastered on my face. What a rush! Did I truly enjoy it that much?
“Yes. It was so much fun! I feel so on edge. I do want to be a Sky Pirate too!” I exclaimed.
A smirk landed on Tadahiro’s handsome face, “Alright then. Looks like I found a new partner. I could definitely use a hand in getting my airship back anyway.” He stood up and held out his hand to shake. “I knew you’d agree,” he said with a wink.
I took his hand and looked into his sapphire eyes. Sure, I didn't know who I was or what I was getting myself into, but one thing is for sure, I would figure it all out with this man standing before me.
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