Kindred Hearts: Esper Chronicles

Arc 2, Chapter 1: A New Beginning

Many months later after Blood Gear's downfall, Sunshine City returned to its normal and peaceful state. The birds were chirping, people were seen walking around the city and life continued as usual. Meanwhile, a hostage situation ensued in the downtown district. A group of armed thugs seized a school bus and held the students and the teacher inside. Children were seen banging the glass for help as one of the thugs held the driver at gunpoint. The driver stopped driving before being thrown out of the bus by the thug. The driver screamed for help after the thugs hijacked the school bus.

Rachel and her friend Cathy prepared for the moment to come. The blonde Esper jumped out from her hiding first and stopped the bus using her electromagnetic Sigil. The students rejoiced as they saw the Esper girl coming to save them. Cathy leaped into action and used her Sigil to liquefy herself while sneaking into the bus. She went inside and fought against the thugs all by herself. One of the armed thugs attempted to escape, but he was pinned down and electrocuted by Rachel. Cathy threw the unconscious thugs one by one out from the bus. A group of security officers came into the scene and arrested the armed thugs for acts of terrorism. The teacher and the students thanked Rachel and Cathy for saving them.

"Thanks for saving me and my precious students! We were almost being turned into minced meat by those gun-toting bad guys!"

"No probs. Our job here is to keep Sunshine City safe from criminals and other dangers. After all, we're part of Azure Shield, right?"

"Sure thing, Rachel!"

"Those guys from Takahitsuji Securities will be handling those scoundrels. You can continue your field trip"

"Sure thing! I told those children that you two are real-life anime characters and they were very happy"

"Real-life anime characters? Whoa there, we're not just a bunch of anime characters or superheroes. We're Espers, remember?"

Rachel and Cathy went back to their school after saving the teacher and her students. Ever since they joined Azure Shield, a small peacekeeping organization formed by Dr. Marina under the guise of the school's student council, Rachel and Cathy have a routine of patrolling around Sunshine City for any potential dangers. They mostly handle criminals and similar threats with the help of Takahitsuji Securities, a subsidiary of Lazuline dedicated to protecting Sunshine City formed by Alfredo's deceased parents.

Lazuline also has a school called Rurigaoka Academy, an inclusive school for humans and Espers alike with the Cambridge IGCSE curriculum. The teachers and school staff mostly comprise of robots known as Zarvox, an autonomous robot made by Lazuline and ROFL Technologies, a partner of Lazuline based in Chicago. Meanwhile back in the class, Rachel bumped into a rather familiar face from her childhood. A redhead Esper girl with blood-red eyes and a ponytail. She was one of Rachel's friends back from her days in elementary school, and she was known to be a prankster back in the days.

"Well well well, if it isn't my old pal Rachel"

"Hi, Nicole! I haven't seen you for a long time!"

"I'm glad to see your face again after we graduated from elementary school together. You and Cathy went to the same school but I had to go back home with my family to Newport"

"How did you became an Esper?"

"The same as you. I saw them on the news, and I was pretty shocked after hearing that children and teenagers are gaining supernatural powers from the meteorite's dust clouds. I became one when I went for a walk in the park during the meteor's impact, and I accidentally set someone on fire with my powers. I had to be arrested, and someone bailed me out of jail and took me to Sunshine City. I think it was one of those Lazuline people or something"