Chasing Stars

The Inazuma Caravan

Victoria loved her father. It was a simple fact, and one that every person she'd ever interacted with knew. That love was the sole reason she could bear to stand in the middle of Nara park, stuffed in a fancy dress and surrounded by reporters, and still smile as if she didn't want to be literally anywhere else. Truthfully, she hated these Events - there were never any kids to play with at these kinds of gatherings, and she always had to wear shoes that made her feet hurt.

She'd much rather be anywhere else. But then, Papa had ruffled her hair and asked her to come, to be his 'little good-luck charm.' Without missing a beat, Victoria had said yes.

Today was supposed to be the unveiling of a new statue or other, and Victoria was bored out of her mind. They'd been talking for ages. How long did it take to pose for a few pictures, shake hands, and rip off a glorified blanket? No wonder her papa never had time to play with her.

Her papa preened under the attention of the cameras, flashing the audience a bright smile. He sauntered up to the statue, taking the white sheet into his hands - Much to his daughter's agony, he took his sweet time, building suspense and posing for the audience. If he hadn't gone into politics, he'd have made a great TV-Show host.

Then, with a proud declaration - "To World Peace!" - he finally ripped the sheet off the statue, and the crowd went wild. The amount of camera flashes suddenly tripled in size, each publication trying to get a good look at the work of art. It really was pretty; Victoria found the antlers especially impressive, and the eyes were surprisingly lifelike for a marble statue. Still, this entire circus seemed a little much, at least to her.

Then, her papa took a step forward, reaching out a hand to touch the stone, and everything went sideways.

There was what sounded like an explosion directly above his head, followed by a loud crash. In the resulting confusion, Victoria momentarily lost track of her father's whereabouts - only allowing herself to relax when she spotted him amidst the reporters, the head of the stone deer next to his feet.

She quickly turned around, looking at the statue. Its head was missing now, and a group of teens had appeared around it. Some stood behind the statue, some sat on top of it, but most of them had concentrated on the stairs in front - The most eye-catching one stood directly in front of the statue, right where her papa had been just moments ago. In his hands, there was a black soccer ball. 

The Aliens were here.

Victoria cursed; They hadn't seen this coming at all. The fact that the Alien attacks had been limited to schools so far had lulled them into a false sense of security - otherwise, they would have brought more personnel. As it was now, she had to hope three members of the Secret Service would be enough.

The Alien with the ball took a step forward. "Hello," he greeted calmly, rotating the spherical object on one finger.

The sudden appearance caused more than a few people to hide behind whatever they could find, be it their cameras, Nara's deer, or even other people. Not her papa, though. He calmly pushed himself upwards, dusting off his suit. Then, he looked the Alien leader square in the eye, meeting them head-on. "Aliens," he acknowledged, his voice steady. "What do you want?"

Her papa was so cool.

The Alien dropped the ball to the ground, putting his foot on it. With his now free hand, he pointed at her father, grin widening minutely when he reflexively took a step back. "You," he said, chuckling. "You're needed at headquarters."

Victoria felt her blood run cold. The threat was clear - they were going to abduct her papa.

Stubbornly, her father crossed his arms and planted his feet firmly on the ground. Victoria gulped. She knew him well enough to know he'd never budge.