The Great Untitled Book 1

“He’d better get ready to walk the plank.”

Kite looked around. Nobody was nearby. In fact, there wasn’t anything nearby. As far as he could tell, he was floating in a foreboding black abyss. With disembodied pirate voices? Just what did his mother put in that meatloaf he ate at dinner?

“Exactly. And nobody from G.U.M.M.Y can stop it. That country prohibits the use of magic.”

“That thief’s child will pay, by bullet or by shark.”

“If only it was today.”

“Patience. It’s everybody’s flaw. That’s what foils everyone’s plans.”

“I feel something. Someone’s intruding!”

“Kill them!! Nobody must know of this!”

The sound of a bullet woke Kite up. He screamed and fell off of his bed, startling the Braxus family cat, Gou.

“Kite, are you okay?” His mom called from the other room.

“I’m fine, mom.” Kite looked out of the window on the opposite side of the room. Sunlight was streaming in. His reflection showed someone with worried green eyes and a frown as he realized that he must’ve overslept. It was Tuesday. He had school. How come his parents didn’t wake him up?

“What time is it?” Kite called to his mom. His mom, Bailey Braxus, appeared in the doorway, drying her hands on a towel. Her elbow-length, dark blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail.

“It’s 12:34 in the afternoon. The school called and gave all sixth graders the day off.” She frowned, “You never told me that a smoke bomb went off in the sixth grade academic and locker halls. Did you have something to do with it?”

“What? No. I didn’t say anything because I figured you would freak out. You know what Gou does when anybody freaks out,” Kite explained. His mom ruffled his sandy brown hair. As she smiled, her green eyes crinkled a tiny bit.

“You’re such a thoughtful kid. Too bad it’ll probably all go out the door as soon as you hit your teenage years.” His mom itched a spot above and slightly to the right of her right eyebrow (there was a freckle there) and walked away. Kite changed into a gray school t-shirt and a pair of capris before getting himself a bowl of cereal and sat on the couch in the living room. He was in the middle of watching Ben 10: Alien Force when he felt a hand roughly clap his shoulder. Gasping, Kite twisted around to see who had startled him.

“Kaiba! You almost made me spill my cereal!” Kite gasped. The tall teenager’s name really wasn’t Kaiba. His real name was Kyle Walker, but because he was a good Yu-Gi-Oh card dueler and a huge anime and video game fan, he had earned the nickname at school in years previous. Kaiba stood at about 5 feet and 10 inches, but his wild mop of dirty blond hair made him look taller. From Kite’s view, who was only 4’7 (only one inch below the national average for 12 year olds!), Kaiba was a giant who wore a long, light green jacket over a dirty white t-shirt. Kaiba’s wallet chain that was hooked on his faded blue jeans clinked as he leaned over the back of the couch. Kite imagined that he had his muddied white tennis shoes on.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. It’s not like it’ll make your carpet any grosser than it already is,” Kaiba said, rolling his brown eyes.

“You know how my mom feels about this carpet. Anyway, why are you here? You’re in tenth grade, and they still have school today, because someone set off a smoke bomb in the sixth grade hallways,” Kite asked.

“Hey, are you accusing me? I had nothing to do with that; Sean Jacobs did it. Besides, there was a Bleach marathon on, and it ended at 7AM, so I figured I’d stay home and get some sleep instead of falling asleep in Mr. Soaf’s class again. It’s not a big deal, is it? It’s not the first time I’ve skipped school this year,” Kaiba explained, like it wasn’t a big deal. It was only the beginning of the school year; it was a big deal.

“Kaiba, you’re going to be the only senior in school who will be old enough to go to bars and gamble if you keep this up. By the way, when did you say you had Mr. Soaf’s class?” Kite asked.

“In the morning; first class of the day. Why?”

“Arkadius’s war boots, Kaiba, Seth is going to kill you! You two had that presentation in Mr. Soaf’s class today; now he has to do it by himself because you aren’t there! I had nothing to do with this, you hear?” Kite fretted. Seth Kagura was a long-time friend of Kite’s, and a ninth grader. He and Kaiba had several classes together either because Kaiba had failed them or because Seth was given them as part of his advanced curriculum. Seth could usually put up with Kaiba’s antics, but when it came to school and anything associated with it, he was serious. The three of them attended a K-12 school known as Romos K-12 Academy in the town of Romos. Romos was located in one of the nine countries of the world, Tarentum.

“He’ll kill himself trying to kill me, and I don’t even have to touch him. Hey, can I have some cereal?” Kaiba asked.

“As long as you wash that filthy jacket of yours, young man! I will not let you sit on my couch with that on!” Kite’s mom marched into the room and held her arm out, demanding Kaiba to give up his jacket. Kaiba looked a bit sheepish as she walked off towards the laundry room with it. Kaiba got himself some Lucky Charms and sat on the couch with Kite. After a few minutes of watching Ben 10: Alien Force, Kaiba spoke up

“Why are we watching this, anyway? Let’s watch this instead.” Kaiba walked over to the DVD player and inserted a movie.

“’Adventures in Voice Acting’? Why this movie?” Kite asked. Before Kaiba could answer, the front door was slammed open with an irritated huff of breath.

“Good afternoon to you too, Seth. How was your day?” Kite asked sarcastically, knowing that irritated huff of breath. Kaiba slid forward on the couch.

“Nice try, Mr. No-Show, but I can still see that disgusting, blond dirt mop on your head!” Seth shouted angrily. Kite glanced at Kaiba’s hair. It really needed a clean style to it. Seth came into view. When it came to appearance, Seth was quite average. He was 5 feet and 6 inches, had short dark red hair, wore an orange t-shirt (it was over a black longsleeve today because it was fall and getting colder out), gray-and-red lace up sneakers, and black pants. The only things that stuck out on him were his striking light blue eyes and gold wrist watch that had been passed down for generations in his family.

“Pipe down, shrimp, I can’t hear Vic Mignogna talking. Now, why are you here if it’s only 1:40 in the afternoon?” Kaiba asked, uninterested.

“My dad made me go to the dermatologist for the rug burn you gave me two days ago! That still doesn’t make up for the fact that you ditched me!” Seth accused.

“Hey, guilty, but it’s not exactly my fault that there was an anime marathon on TV, and I neglected to tell you about it.”

“Yes, it is!”

“Kite, if your friends were coming over, you should have said something earlier. I would have made something for you all to eat besides cereal… Seth, if you want some as well, you know where the cereal is, O.K?” Kite’s mom said, once more appearing soon after voiced started raising.

“No thanks, but thank you for the offer,” Seth replied. Gou walked by and hissed at Seth before heading towards the couch. Gou jumped on the back of the couch, then spotted Kaiba’s cereal. Gou made his way over to it, then settled down in the still-full bowl.

“Gou, no!” Kite picked the dripping wet, long-haired gray cat out of the cereal. Soggy marshmallows clung to Gou’s fur.

“Aw, now I have to give you a bath, Gou!” Kite protested. Gou hissed and scratched Kite, who dropped him. Gou ran for the open window and jumped through it.

“Gou!” All four of them shouted.

“Gotcha!” A voice said. Someone in a red-and-yellow uniform stood up from where they were crouching, hidden by the windowsill. In their hands was Gou.

“Gee, thanks dad!” Kite exclaimed. Kite’s father worked at a fire station as a fire truck driver and hose operator in the city next to them, Ekit. Sometimes, when he came home from work and knew no one would suspect it, he would climb in through the house’s open windows and surprise them. Kite’s father climbed in from the window. He handed Gou to Kaiba. Like Kite, his father had sandy brown hair, although his was very short, and he also had a mustache. Also unlike Kite, his father had hazel colored eyes. Kite’s dad scratched his head under his red firefighter’s helmet.

“Shouldn’t you three be in school?” He asked. Kite raised his hand.

“Smoke bombs in the 6th grade halls,” Kite explained.

“TV show marathon,” Kaiba said.

“Dermatologist appointment,” Seth answered. Kite’s dad looked at Kaiba’s cereal bowl. It had Lucky Charms marshmallows and fur clumps in it.

“Did you want-?”

“No, please, it’s okay, I don’t want more,” Kaiba replied.

“So, is there a reason that Seth and Kaiba are here?” Kite’s dad asked. Kaiba handed Gou to Kite’s mom.

“I needed a place to watch my ‘Adventures in Voice Acting’ DVD. My mom took my DVD player away again,” Kaiba explained.

“I was hunting Kaiba down because he skipped school when we had a presentation to do in class, and I had to do it alone. He wasn’t at his house, so I came here. Next, I was going to check the tunnel that leads to the small mountains in the west,” Seth answered. Kaiba put on a fake smile and elbowed Seth in the stomach.

“Why ever would I be there, Seth?” Kaiba asked through gritted teeth.

“Well, if you two don’t need anything, we have a doctor’s appointment in a half hour and we need to go grocery shopping afterwards. Seth, could you take Gou and wash him while we’re gone?” Kite’s mom asked, knowing that close ties between both families wouldn’t allow him to say no. Seth was about to answer, but Kaiba interrupted.

“I’ll take the cat, since it hates Seth.” Kaiba took Gou from Kite’s mom. Everyone stood there for a few moments.

“O-kay… so, um, we’re all going to go now,” Kite said, bringing up the fact that nobody was making any attempt to leave.

“Oh, yes, of course,” Seth said, leaving.

“Whatever.” Kaiba left as well. Kite and his family got into their pickup. As Kite’s dad started up the vehicle, Kite watched his friends outside. Kaiba and Seth were walking through a small, grassy field, when somebody shouted.

“Yo, Kaiba, man, go long!” They shouted.

“Gotta go, shrimp. You’re on your own.” Kaiba plopped Gou into Seth’s arms. Kaiba ran and caught the football that his friend that had shouted threw, then tossed it back. Seth just stood there as Gou clawed his way up onto his shoulder, pressing his milk-and-cereal-drenched fur into his face. Then Kite’s family drove away.

THE NEXT DAY…

“Bye mom, bye dad, I’m going to school!” Kite called as he shut the door and walked outside. The school bus came ten minutes later. Kite got onto the crowded bus.

“Hey, Kite, there’s a seat here!” Kaiba called from the very back of the bus, pointing to a seat next to him that was occupied by a scrawny curly-haired kid.

“But I’m sitting here.” The kid protested.

“No, you’re not, Jimmy. Go sit next to Brandon.” Kaiba ordered. Snivelling, Jimmy went and sat next to Brandon, three seats forward. Kite took Jimmy’s seat next to Kaiba and handed him back his jacket that was washed at his house the previous day. After that, Kite’s day was fine until he went to his fourth class, gym. The coach lined everyone up, single-file. There was a wide assortment of kids in that line, ranging from fifth grade to twelfth grade.

“Alright, students, line up and shut up! Today we’re ending the basketball unit, and starting tomorrow we’re starting the swim unit! So bring your whatever-you-swim-in, because you’ll be swimming no matter what! I don’t care if you can’t swim at all or if you can swim like a mermaid; you’re still doing it! Since you all took the written basketball test two days ago, you can play dodgeball today. 12th, 11th, 8th, and 10th graders, you’re facing the 6th, 7th, 9th, and 5th graders! No objections!” Coach Marsh, the gym teacher and lacrosse coach, barked. He dumped a bin of dodgeballs in the middle of the floor, then walked away, grumbling about the student’s handwriting on the tests he had to grade.

“Hi, Seth,” Kite whispered.

“Hello, Kite. It’s been nice knowing you.” Seth ran away from Kite as the other team grabbed all of the dodgeballs and aimed at them. Kaiba was the first one with a ball, and his target? Kite. The red rubber ball slammed into Kite and threw him onto the floor. Seth grabbed the ball and threw it. He missed.

“Move, Kite, you’re making everybody trip!” A fellow 6th grader, Josh, protested. Kite picked himself off of the floor and moved to the sidelines where half of his team already was. Kite watched Seth dart around the court. He finally got his hands on a ball. He threw it at Kaiba.

“Human shield!” Kaiba shouted, grabbing one of his teammates and throwing them into the ball.

“Good job, Mitch, now get out of my way.” Kaiba took Mitch’s ball and shoved him out of his way. Kaiba threw the ball. It smacked against the wall where several of Kite’s teammates were huddled in fear. Kite picked the ball up and ran onto the court. Having 5th graders on his team meant little perks, but one of the few was having modified dodgeball rules so that he could just pick a ball up from the sidelines and go back in the game when the other team couldn’t. There were four other people on the court that were on his team. As he watched, that number became three. He also saw that his side of the court was littered with dodgeballs. Kite faced his side.

“Come on, guys, don’t give up! Grab a bunch of these dodgeballs and let’s fight back! Aren’t you tired of losing? Just because they’re bigger, smarter, and scarier than us, it doesn’t mean they’re better!” Kite encouraged. Josh looked like he wanted to say something.

“So come on and let’s fight back! They’re not better than us!” Kite finished. Just then, a ball slammed into his back and make him face-plant into the floor. They lost the game. Typical.

“Seven and a half minutes; that’s a new record, people!” Coach Marsh called, “Now start a new game. … Is that a bloody nose I see, Braxus?” Kite touched his nose. His fingers came back red.

“I guess it is, Coach,” Kite answered.

“Walker! I have no doubts that you caused it, so go take him to the office!” Coach Marsh ordered. Kaiba rolled his eyes, knowing that the coach was not wrong in his accusation.

“C’mon, pre-freshie.” Kaiba started walking towards the door. Kite grabbed his aqua-colored overshirt from the bleachers and followed him, tilting his head back.

“Don’t tilt your head back, Kite, you don’t want all of that nose blood dripping into your throat. It won’t taste good,” Kaiba advised. Kite did as he said, knowing that his advice came from experience, and instead used his overshirt as a tissue. He hoped none of the teachers would make him take it off later; all he had on underneath it was a gray tank top for gym class, and that alone was against the dress code because exposed shoulders were evil. Today, he was also wearing a pair of capris and his white shoes. It was what he normally wore any day at school in the fall.

“What was that all about, with the dodgeball? You didn’t have to hit me so hard,” Kite asked.

“I was paying you back for your cat lounging in my cereal, and saving you a seat on the bus,” Kaiba replied.

“Oh, you mean the cereal that you took two bites out of? That I gave you?” Kite retorted.

“Hey, look on the bright side, if your nose is too encrusted with snot and blood, then you can’t swim tomorrow,” Kaiba said optimistically.

“Yay. Do you have any tips for that? You owe me for that cereal that you hardly ate,” Kite asked. Kaiba appeared to be thinking.

“Welllllll… if you don’t bring your swim clothes, Coach Marshy can’t make you swim in your school clothes, now can he?” Kaiba asked.

“Are you sure? There’s a rumor that says Coach Marsh keeps all the swim clothes left behind at the end of each semester. He’ll just make me wear one of those,” Kite pointed out.

“Just who do you trust more, some kid who could be lying, or me? …Oh, look, we’re at the office. Buh-bye.” Kaiba turned around.

“Wait, Kaiba! There’s still time left in class! If you go back this early, Coach’ll pound you!” Kite exclaimed. Kaiba visibly sighed. He turned back around.

“Fine. But only because I don’t need another detention this early in the school year, got it?” Both of them walked into the office. The secretary, Ms. Dorshna, frowned once she saw Kaiba. She looked at the time on a digital clock. She shook her head.

“Gym class; I should have guessed. Okay, what did you do this time, Kyle?” Ms. Dorshna asked. Kite explained what had happened. Ms. Dorshna tsked.

“Each and every day, Kyle, you bring in some helpless kid that you just had to pick on. It’s crazy! Can’t you pick on some of the older kids who at least stand more of a chance?” Ms. Dorshna asked.

“But where’s the fun in that?” Kaiba joked.

“You’re going to get yours someday, Kyle. You’ll pick on the wrong kid, and it’ll be them bringing you in here for some injury or another. Hang on, kid, let me get the nurse.” Ms. Dorshna walked into the nurse’s office.

“Seriously, Kaiba, everyday?” Kite asked. Kaiba just shrugged as the nurse walked in.

“That’s him? By the way you reacted, I thought he spilled battery acid on himself! He’ll live, just stuff some paper towel in his nose, and he can go when the next class starts,” The nurse said. She walked back to the nurse’s office.

“I’ll get the paper towel,” Kaiba offered. He left to get it. Ms. Dorshna handed Kite a pen and paper.

“I’ll need you to fill out this accident report paper,” Ms. Dorshna said. Kite started filling it out.

“So, have you signed up for the field trip yet?” Ms. Dorshna asked. Kaiba returned and gave a handful of paper towel to Kite, then started doodling on the accident report paper. Ms. Dorshna took it away from him.

“Oh, no you don’t, Mr. Walker, I’ve seen enough of your drawings to last a lifetime!” Ms. Dorshna scolded.

“What field trip?” Kite asked.

“You haven’t heard? For the past two weeks, it’s been on the morning announcements! Anyway, this Friday, the students who have signed up will be going on a field trip to Dawlsom’s new aquarium. You can still sign up; there’s 11 spots left. All you need is a parent signature and $10. Here, have a permission slip, you two.” Ms. Dorshna handed them each a permission slip.

“Oh, hey, wasn’t that what Seth was blapping about this morning in the cafeteria?” Kaiba asked Kite.

“Now that I think about it, I think so. It was kind of hard to hear him over your talking,” Kite replied. Kaiba read his slip.

“Huh, supposedly they have sharks there. Hey, Kite, wanna go for a swim?” Kaiba asked.

“No. Go throw Jimmy or Brandon in,” Kite said drily. The bell for passing time rang.

“I’m outta here; gotta go annoy Seth in geometry. See ya at the game tonight, Kite; don’t kill yourself.” Kaiba shut the door and left. Ms. Dorshna looked at him with new eyes.

“You’re that kid who joined the football team last minute? You’re the size of a fifth grader! You won’t last long; our team is going up against Dawlsom’s Great Whites! They’ve been in the state regionals seven years in a row, and won it five times! Take my advice and drop out of the team before the game tonight. There won’t be enough players on the team, and we’ll be forced to forfeit. It’ll be better for everyone; nobody will get hurt,” Ms. Dorshna said. Kite put on a stubborn face. So what if he didn’t go to summer football training camp? He could catch and throw the football and he understood the patterns and rules. Yes, he was far shorter than the other football players, but his size could be an advantage. No one else seemed to understand that. No one but his dad had encouraged him; everyone else told him to quit because he’d get seriously hurt. But that was what the padding was for!

“I can do it. And I won’t die,” Kite promised as he left.

“Famous last words… Kite Braxus.”