Capturing the Cenataur

Later that day, Insei had been released from the hospital with nothing more than just a few stitches. His dad had been extremely concerned that Insei wouldn't talk to him at first, thinking that the doctor was just trying to cover up an extreme problem, but had relaxed knowing that his son was fine. "Now, Insei, I'm glad that you wore your helmet, but you have to be courteous of vehicles on the road," Mr. Kairyuu lectured as they drove back to their home, a small traditional Japanese/Western home in the less-dense section of Tokyo.

"But dad, he wasn't on the road, and neither was I!" Insei argued, "I was biking down the sidewalk and the guy pulled into me from the alley!"

"So I heard. But you weren't watching where you were going. You should have slowed down before you reached that alley and made sure there wasn't some Mitsubishi coming out. You need to be just a little more responsible, Insei. That's all I'm asking."

"Fine," Insei mumbled, crossing his arms and looking out the window at the scenery as they passed. "Hey, I never got to go to Manga House! I wasn't able to get Valor Five #26!!!" Mr. Kairyuu grinned as he reached with his left arm into the backseat, pulled out a manga, and handed it to Insei.

"I heard you had gotten hit biking over to Manga House, so I figured, hey, why not get what he wanted?"

"Really?" Insei's eyes widened in happiness as he took the outstretched manga. "Thanks dad, I can't believe you got this for me."

"Well, I thought you were hit hard. Doesn't look that way, though." He chuckled as he tousled Insei's hair. "You must have that Superman gene or something."

"Yeah…" Insei said, a lopsided smile on his face as he thought back to the dream. "Arrrrrg…"Insei growled as he abusively erased his answer from the worksheet he had been given. "I HATE Literate Arts! Stupid readings! I don't wanna read about some guy named Odysseus! Why couldn't we read something like the Tale of Genji? Something a little closer to home. Greece is halfway across the world!" Standing up, he threw down the pencil onto his work desk and stretched. Letting his eyes roam, they finally settled on a picture of his family gathered around a dolphin in Hawaii. That was before his mom had died of cancer and was still healthy enough to go on vacations. The dolphin had belonged to the research group that one of his father's friends worked for, and the mammal was tame enough it let them pet it and also gave Insei a ride on its back. Insei had been amazed at the creature's gentleness and the way it skimmed across the ocean's surface almost effortlessly. The water was its home… and his, too…

"Insei! Are you doing your homework? It's almost 9:00!" his dad's baritone voice bellowed from downstairs.

"Yes, dad!" He yelled back, settling back down and picking up his pencil. He was feeling a bit groggy, but began to work on the sheet he had been given. "The Greeks believed the world was made up of… lesse… fire, earth, airrr… and… ummm… waaa…terrrrr…" as the last syllable left his lips, he settled his head down onto the table. All I need is a nap… just a short one… he thought as his eyelids drooped and covered his eyes… A cool breeze flowed across Insei's shoulders, stirring him, "But I don't wanna wake up, Daddy," he moaned as his eyes slowly opened, "I wanna sleep s'more…" However, it wasn't his father's voice that greeted him. The voice was soft and supple, sweet and kind. It sounded almost like his mother's… but it seemed to glide on the breeze.

"Insei… wake up… child, wake up."

"Wha…." Insei mumbled subconsciously as he looked ahead towards where the voice seemed to be coming from. There, a woman stood, clad in a sailor fuku and wielding a long purplish staff, standing before a set of massive, glistening gates. "Who… who… who are you?" he asked, puzzlement in his voice. "Why am I having all these dreams?"

"You may call me the Guardian of Time, Insei. There is no other name you need to refer to me as. I am sending you this dream to send you on your destined path. There are others like you… you shall meet them in time. However, the one you must find is the sailor of Gaia… You will come across him soon enough, it will not be hard."

"How will I know him? I mean… there's millions in Tokyo!" Insei asked.

"You have seen him previously. He goes to your school, too." The maiden quietly replied.

"But…" Insei began.

"Trust in me, Insei. It will not be hard…" the Guardian's voice faded into darkness. A cold stream of wetness woke Insei, and at first he thought he was back in Hawaii, riding the dolphin that had been so kind. However, only Sensha, his iguana, greeted Insei's eyes, and it wasn't the lapping waves that had woken him, it was Sensha's lapping tongue. Glancing over at his digital clock, the bright red numbers blared 5:00 in the darkness of his room. He had fallen asleep during his homework… and he only had an hour to finish it before he had to get ready for school! Lifting up Sensha, he set the scaly reptile down on his shoulder and picked up the pencil. He had to get cracking…