The New Year's Event
Amy never did tell us who would be attending the year-end event. As the date drew closer, she only grew busier. Except for mealtimes, she was practically invisible, and my frustration was slowly starting to build.
"Jeff."
"Yeah?"
Having finished my studying for the day, I was using my free time to watch NewTube. Shine, who usually didn't show any interest when I was on the computer, came over and sat down next to me.
"Something is coming."
She muttered, looking around. She didn't seem particularly on guard. Shine was just glaring at her surroundings as if something was annoying her.
"It's above us."
"Above?"
Shine pointed her finger at the ceiling. No, not the ceiling. She probably meant beyond this room—that there was something on the floor above. I hopped down from my chair and asked her, "Do you mean it's in the park?"
The floor directly above us was entirely made up of a model park. But Shine shook her head and replied, "No, even higher."
What on earth could be up there? Unlike Shine, I couldn't feel a thing.
"I don't feel anything."
"Mmm..."
It was a long time after that when I finally understood what Shine meant. As I was hanging the dinosaur pajamas—which had just finished in the washing machine—on the clothesline, I raised my head at a sudden prickling sensation on my skin.
"Ah...!"
Tingle, tingle. It felt like electricity flowing. Something powerful was up there. My white hair began to sway and drift. My ability was slipping out of control. I hurriedly shut it down.
Once I intentionally suppressed my power, the prickling sensation on my skin vanished. I could only instinctively sense that something was up there. Someone with the same ability as me. Victor? No, it felt completely different from Victor. This current, wild and raging like a bucking bull, was nothing like Victor's disciplined nature.
I rushed out of the bathroom.
"Shine!"
"Yeah."
"Someone is up there."
"Yeah, I know."
Shine and I lay on the bed, staring up at the ceiling as we talked.
"Who do you think it is?"
"Maybe the people attending the year-end event?"
"You think so?"
I muttered, rubbing my bare arms. Now that the dinosaur pajamas were in the wash, I was wearing my usual, plain pajamas. Shine also seemed to miss her fluffy tail; she lay face down on the bed, wiggling her butt.
Was today the day of the year-end event? I hadn't heard the exact date, but checking the calendar on the computer confirmed that today was indeed the last day of the year.
"I wanted to show it off to Rain."
Shine looked toward the bathroom with eyes full of lingering regret, clearly wanting to show off the dinosaur pajamas to Rain. Inside the bathroom, past a small door, was a drying room where laundry could be dried at high speeds.
"They'll dry quickly."
We hadn't seen Rain once since we received the dinosaur pajamas. Just as Amy said, she seemed incredibly busy.
"But won't she be here soon?" I said, taking Shine's hand. According to Amy, she, Rain, and Victor weren't attending the year-end event. That meant they would be coming to see us soon.
"We can just show her then."
I said that, but waiting around endlessly wasn't in my nature. After rolling around on the bed for a bit, I hopped off.
"Jeff?"
"I'm going upstairs."
I immediately threw a thin jersey over my pajamas. Shine, who had been watching me while lying on the bed, squirmed and slowly climbed down.
"I'm coming too."
She also threw on a thin jersey hanging near the entrance and stepped up next to me. It was getting close to bedtime. Normally, we would be lying in bed watching TV, but unfortunately, today was a day when Little Witch's Grand Adventure wasn't airing.
"I'm kind of excited."
I opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. The empty corridor felt eerie. Perhaps because it was late, there wasn't a single soul in sight. The brightly lit lights were the same as always, but it was fascinating how the mere absence of people could create such a bizarre atmosphere.
Staring down the long stretch of the hallway, I swallowed hard and began to walk forward. Tap, tap. The small footsteps of Shine and me echoed back from the end of the corridor. Even as I walked, I kept my eyes on the ceiling. The prickling sensation from earlier was starting up again. It felt as if it were provoking me.
Like this?
I muttered internally, drawing up my power. Zap! Blue currents of electricity scattered from my fingertips. Since we shared the same ability, I could tell exactly how the other person was dispersing their power. However, I couldn't spread mine as widely as they did. I raised the tip of my finger, trying to gauge the direction of the other person.
Crackle. My small finger acted like a lightning rod, drawing the scattered currents in the air into a single point.
"Jeff? What are you doing?"
"Mmm... someone keeps annoying me."
Crackle! The electric field grew so massive it was now clearly visible to the naked eye. The person on the floor above must have noticed me too, as they began to focus their scattered currents directly toward me. It wasn't a hostile use of power. It felt more like they were slowly scanning my body out of curiosity. But it was unpleasant. Extremely so.
I frowned and channeled more of my power. I didn't forget the control method Victor had advised me on. The currents scattering in all directions began to coalesce, forming a spear of blue light that settled into my hand.
"Whoa..."
Shine let out an admiring gasp beside me. With a dazed expression, I stared at the blue spear in my hand. It began to absorb every drop of electrical power I was drawing out. The light grew brighter and brighter, eventually becoming so unstable it looked ready to explode.
"Jeff?"
Panicking, I threw the blue spear in my hand with all my might. With a feeling of Take this!, my arm swung forward with full force. The moment my arm stopped, the blue spear left my hand. It flew straight toward the person using the same ability as me. Shooting like an arrow toward the ceiling, the blue spear left a slight scorch mark as it passed right through the wall.
It flew. It pierced through the walls at an incredible speed. It traveled in a straight line directly toward the target. The blue spear kept flying, passing through wall after wall. I could feel its movement vividly. At the same time, I was able to perfectly grasp the layout of this massive facility. The faint currents dispersing as it breached each wall sent information back to me.
Thud! A sound that shouldn't have been audible reached my ears. Despite the immense distance, the moment the blue spear I threw struck the target, a massive surge of electricity scattered in all directions.
"Oh..."
The dispersing currents vividly conveyed the situation of that place to me. Flustered movements. No sound could be heard, but a crowd of people scattered around were moving about in a frenzy. The target struck by my blue spear shook their head and stood up. That was it. That was the end of what I could sense.
"Jeff? Shine?"
"Ah...! Rain?"
I was still twitching my fingers when an incredibly familiar voice echoed from the end of the hallway. I looked up to see Rain running toward us. Seeing Rain smiling brightly, Shine and I ran toward her as well.
"Rain!"
"Hi!"
It had only been a few days, but it felt like we hadn't seen each other in forever. I grabbed Rain's hands and shook them up and down.
"Did you remember to do your exercises?" Shine asked, grabbing Rain's other hand just like I did. Rain nodded with a confident expression.
"Of course! I've been working hard at it every day!"
"Good job."
Shine smiled brightly and praised Rain. Though she used to get embarrassed, Rain now seemed accustomed to Shine's praise, naturally accepting her touch.
"Where are Amy and Victor?"
"They're waiting somewhere else."
"Waiting?"
"Yeah. I came to fetch you guys."
Rain tugged on our hands as if urging us to hurry. Shine and I looked at each other. A brief exchange of glances. Now, we could understand each other's thoughts without speaking.
"We have something to show you, Rain!"
I pulled Rain's hand back in the opposite direction.
"Huh?"
With her strength, she could have easily dragged us along, but Rain obediently let herself be pulled toward our room. This was perfect. With Rain's ability, she could easily dry our wet dinosaur pajamas.
Returning to our room, we led Rain to the drying room.
"This is...!"
The moment we arrived, Rain's eyes sparkled as she approached our dinosaur pajamas.
"You guys... got suits...!"
And at that moment—tick, crackle!—a series of small noises sounded, and the fluorescent lights suddenly went out. At the same time, the drying room stopped running, and darkness fell over everything. A familiar feeling. This was a blackout.
"Whoa!!"
Just then, Rain let out an amazed squeal. Her gaze was fixed entirely on the dinosaur pajamas hanging on the clothesline. Dripping wet, the glow-in-the-dark dinosaur pajamas cast a soft, ambient light. She was amazed that the pajamas glowed in the dark.
"Amazing! Me too! I'm going to ask for glow-in-the-dark stuff too!"
Cheep, cheep. Enveloped in the soft glow, Rain hopped around the dinosaur pajamas in circles.
"Rain, dry them for us."
Shine caught the overexcited Rain and spoke quietly. Her eyes sparkling, Rain calmed her excitement, nodded, and reached out her hands.
"Yah!"
With a small shout, Rain clenched her hands in the air. Immediately after, the water soaked deep within the pajamas drained straight down to the floor.
"Whoa...!"
The pajamas were bone-dry in an instant. I stepped closer and unclipped the clothespins biting the dinosaur's shoulders.
"Thanks, Rain!"
Shine and I immediately began to scramble into our pajamas on the spot. Slipping our feet in, we pulled them up to our waists. Then, we slid our arms in and zipped and buttoned them up. Finally, we pulled the dinosaur hoods over our heads to complete the look. The birth of perfect, glowing dinosaurs.
"Cool, right?"
Shine spun her dinosaur tail around like a propeller, showing off to Rain.