Disclaimer: Nothing in this Fan fiction belongs to me except Yuriko, Nikki, and a few other characters but you can take them if you want because after this fan fiction I won't really need it anymore.

A/N: Gee, you're probably thinking. Oh-oh, not another useless fan fiction by 'the one and only Fire Arrow'. Yeah, I heard that disappointed groan but guess what! You were actually curious enough to click on the link to this fanfic so I'm not going to disappoint you (unless you wanted complete mush… that's where I excel… at least I think I do). It's my first Thriller/Romance (romance again… I know I know. You're now probably thinking 'when is she going to ever going to realize that she can't even write a decent romance bit'… live with it people, I'm like that!). Hope you like it.

Chapter one:

Whispers of the dead

Dedicated to my best friend who helped me on this one.

Prologue

The boat sailed gently over the calm waters of the Japanese Coast. The sun shone brightly over the two 4 year old twin girls, who giggled as they jumped around the boat's railings pretending to throw each other off.

" Yuriko! Look at me. I'm flying." Said one of the violet haired girls climbing onto the railing.

"Be careful. Mama will not like it if you fall." Warned Yuriko. Suddenly the sky darkened and the waters became wild. "Fuuko! Get down let's go inside." She said. Fuuko laughed and got off.

"No! I love the wind. Let me feel it!" she climbed onto a higher rod and spread open her arms. Yuriko nervously tugged at her skirt and begged her to come down. "No. I'll stay, you can go." The wind grew faster and Fuuko squealed with delight. Suddenly Fuuko felt herself get lighter.

She looked around and realized that the wind was trying to lift her into the air. She screamed, Yuriko grabbed her and both made their way to the stairs that lead below. Fuuko scrambled inside just before the door banged shut. She realized that Yuriko was nowhere to be found.

Her heart began to thump faster and she searched, suddenly she realized that everyone aboard was pointing to the window and screaming. Fuuko scrambled towards it and rushed out side as she saw that Yuriko was being tossed around the boat. The poor girl had been knocked out. Fuuko found her way outside and battled her way to her twin sister. To her horror she saw her being thrown into the water. Fuuko scrambled towards the railing and looked over just in time to see her sister's head disappear underneath the dark sea…

********************

The park was silent and asleep. The only sound that could be heard was that of the owls and crickets. It was 12:01, midnight. On top of that it was a school night; but she couldn't sleep. Not today, not now. Fuuko's eyes traveled wearily to the full moon above her.

'If only you were here Yuriko.' She thought. ' You would have enjoyed this night so much…' A tear fell down her pale cheek. The wind started to blow from behind her causing the hair to blow over her face. She didn't bother to push it away. She tore her eyes away from the moon and looked over at the park fountain. The water had been turned off and the only water in the fountain itself was still and untouched. The park lanterns had been shut off ages before she even got there.

Tonight was the night, Yuriko's death anniversary… every year it was like this. Sleepless nights for a week, no appetite. Then the day after, she would forget the entire ordeal and life would turn to normal.

There was a loud rumble and in seconds it started to rain. Fuuko just looked at the sky then went on walking as if nothing had happened.

" Rain, Rain go away little Yuri-ko wants to play…" a voice broke through the rain. A sweet little singsong voice. Fuuko looked up but saw nothing. The rain was falling hard. Fuuko looked around frustrated. The voice kept on going on and on and on and on! It was coming from everywhere. Soon the voice had become an entire choir.

"Rain, Rain go away little Yuri-ko wants to play… Rain, Rain go away…"

"STOP IT!" Fuuko screamed putting her hands to her head and fell to her knees. The voice was just too much! It was driving her insane.

"Fuuko?" asked a voice. Fuuko looked up;

"Mikagami…" she cried and jumped onto him crying.

"Whoa…" Fuuko continued sobbing uncontrollably into his jacket. For a few minutes they stood under the starlit sky. Mikagami was totally taken aback, too shocked to realize that he was standing with Fuuko's arms around him. Not understanding what else he should do, he just stood there.

"It's stopped raining…" mumbled Fuuko after she had stopped crying. She looked up into Mikagami's eyes then realized that her grip on him was making him uncomfortable.

"Sorry." She said stepping back.

"What on earth are you talking about? There never was any rain, just you screaming your head off." He replied calmly… in his usual cold voice. Fuuko gave him a confused look.

"B-but it was raining s-so hard… a-and I heard this voice singing… it was Y-Yuriko… I mean a little girl's voice." Fuuko lowered her head.

"Maybe you should go home." He said.

"Yeah, maybe I should…" replied Fuuko a little hurt. Biting her lip she turned around and made her way out of the park towards her house.

********************

The next day Fuuko woke with a bad headache.

"Oh," she groaned as she got up from her bed. Her mother knocked on her door.

"Fuuko dear, hurry up or you'll be late for school." She called.

"Coming Ma." She called back as she stepped into the bathroom.

She walked out a few minutes later ready and fresh in her uniform, which seemed unusually tidy and well ironed. Hopping on one foot while getting her shoes on the other she stumbled into the kitchen where her father sat reading a newspaper at the table and her mother at the stove cooking pancakes.

With one final tug at her shoelace Fuuko sat down on a chair opposite her father and looked down at her empty plate.

"MA? I'm getting late!" she squealed looking at her mom.

"What do you say?" asked her father as he looked at her over his newspaper while her mother smiled apologetically at her.

"Please."

"And…?"

"Sorry."

"Much better." With that her father went back to reading the newspaper. Fuuko sighed and rolled her eyes. Her mother laughed and put two think pancakes on Fuuko's plate. Looking at the time Fuuko quickly gobbled down both of her pancakes and rushed out side.

"BYYYE MA, BYE DAD!" she cried as she rushed outside, on her way picking up her books that she had left at the doorway the afternoon before.

Running as fast as she could she only stopped once outside Domon's house to check whether he was waiting outside for her. He wasn't so she rushed on.

Finally reaching school she slowed down her pace a little and walked up to her locker.

'I'm actually here before the first bell.' She thought, amazed at her speed.

"Fuuko? You're here early!" cried one of her friends from Music class. Fuuko smiled and quickly opened her locker.

The school newspaper had been dropped by her locker that morning as well as the school magazine. It always amazed her how they could fit such thick stacks of paper through those little vents in the locker.

"School's Art teacher retiring… new teacher coming on Monday." Fuuko sighed. Her most hated teacher was leaving. Putting both the newspaper and the magazine back in she quickly took her Japanese and French books out. First two classes, this would save her the trouble of running to and fro. Shutting her locker she walked into her homeroom class as the first bell rang.

********************

"Ma! I don't like this house." Grumbled Nikki, as she turned to face her mother from the passenger seat to the driver seat. Her blond hair hanging over her purple eyes, her pink lips pouting and her arms crossed over her chest.

"I don't really care Nikki. It's the best we could get." Replied the woman next to her. Her hair was a more natural blond than Nikki's and her eyes were blue. On top of that Nikki's face was more Asian than her mother's was. Her mother always said it had been her father's face. Nikki had dyed the blond hair herself.

"Humph, you should have taken an apartment on the campus." She snapped.

"Stop complaining Nikki. Just get your stuff and go inside." Nikki mumbled some swear words under her breath and quickly gathered her stuff to take in.

The house wasn't that bad, actually it was better than the last house they had, had in Boston. She shuddered as she remembered the rats… and the garbage dump. Oh the horror of living there was terrible.

Opening the typically Japanese sliding door she stepped inside. The polished wooden flooring screamed for her to take off her shoes, while the walls grumbled about her dusty hands touching them. Sauntering Nikki checked out all the rooms until she found a small neat one at the end of the corridor.

"Ma, I'm taking this room" she shouted and dropped all her things on the floor; then went out to get some more. Outside her mother was taking out the furniture… with another strong man helping her.

"Hello… I'm Nikki Kortin " She said extending her hand to him.

"Ishijima, Domon" he replied taking her hand and shaking it. "I live across the street, you see that flower shop… it's mine… well actually my parents."

"Oh… nice to meet you Ishijima…"

"Call me Domon…"

"Okay…" she replied uncertain why he was asking her to use his surname.

"And I'm Janice Kortin…. Your new arts teacher… Nikki, Domon jus happens to be going to the same school as you."

"Oh really?" asked Nikki not at all interested. Domon and her mother didn't realize that.

"I'd love to show Nikki around." Said Domon.

"That's great! Nikki starts school on Monday…. I'll probably leave late. You can come here to collect her." Said her mother. "Isn't that great Nikki?"

"Oh yes, fabulous." Replied Nikki sarcastically.

********************

It was a windy day that day. Mikagami had found an empty bench under a Sakura tree and was quietly going over his notes.

"Mikagami… how nice to see you out of your usual throne in the Library, for once." Came the voice of Recca Hanabishi as he strolled by with his hands in his pocket.

"I've got a test on Monday, I'm studying for it… not that you would know anything about it, you are more likely to not pass your grade" Replied Mikagami; not taking his eyes off of his notes.

"What did you say Mikagami?" asked Recca, his voice getting a notch or two louder.

"Nothing, I can't do anything about your hearing problem." Mikagami said before taking off his glasses and shutting his notebook and walking off; leaving a very pissed-about-to-explode Recca behind.

"Stupid people…" he thought as he walked into the school building. He spotted Domon walking happily past him. 'Wonder what he's so happy about?' he wondered then opened his locker. The school newspaper and annual magazine were both lying inside it.

"Art teacher retiring…. Hmmm," quickly he flipped through the entire newspaper. Sighing and tucking it under his arm he picked up his Geometry book.

"Mi-chan!" exclaimed someone from behind him. He felt someone hit him hard on the back in greeting.

"Who let the sea monkey's out?" he asked as he turned around to face Fuuko. Fuuko laughed, and waved her copy of the school newspaper.

"Isn't it great! Ol' Uma is leaving us for an art school in China!"

"Don't talk like that of your teachers…" mumbled Mikagami as he walked off leaving a hyper Fuuko behind.

********************

"… Draw what you want… what ever is in your mind Fuuko." She whispered in Fuuko's ear; not because she was supposed to be quiet, but because she knew Fuuko would draw if she were scared.

Fuuko looked up into her teacher's eyes. They flashed at her…

"… But there isn't anything in my mind." Fuuko whispered back… her lower lip beginning to tremble.

"Oh… but that's because you refuse to see anything…open your mind… don't be afraid of what you might see."

Fuuko looked down at her paper. Then slowly picked up the crayon lying in front of her and began to draw. She didn't look at what she was drawing; she just did what her hand made her do.

For what seemed like ages she just drew with that one blue crayon… blue… Yuriko's favorite color. It had been one year since her death… 11 months since they gave up looking for her body. 11 months since Fuuko had lost every hope of ever seeing Yuriko again. Dead or alive.

She had finished… her hands refused to move any further. Her teacher picked up the paper from her hands…

"Beautiful Fuuko… my, you're getting as good as Yuriko once was…" Fuuko didn't say any thing. Tears were streaming down her face.

"… I hate you…" she said looking up at the teacher whose head had shot up from the piece of paper in her hand. " I HATE YOU!" she screamed and stood up. Tears were falling down her cheeks at maximum speed. With one last look at the teacher she ran out of the room leaving the teacher and the rest of the class to stare after her. The drawing fell to the floor… two girl's chasing each other on a boat… two very happy girls…

********************

"Oi Fuuko! Wake up." Shouted Recca as he waved a hand in front of Fuuko's face.

"Huh?" Fuuko finally snapped out of the trance she was in. Recca sighed.

"Finally! You haven't even touched your food…" said Recca pointing at the 'thing' on Fuuko's plate. Fuuko looked down at her food.

"Wha…? Oh yeah…" she quickly picked up her fork and stuffed her face with a spoonful.

"Ohh, pith colth…yuf" she said choking on her food as she tried to swallow it. Recca sweat dropped as he looked at Fuuko struggling with her food.

"Well duh! It's been lying there for 15 minutes untouched…" exclaimed Recca. Yanagi looked at Fuuko concerned.

"Are you alright Fuuko? You seemed upset, is something bothering you?" she asked. Fuuko looked up from her plate as she quickly swallowed her food. Wiping her mouth with a table cloth she answered,

"No… just thinking about my old Art teacher in my school before I came here," she said.

Recca grinned, " I bet you didn't really get along with her, comparing how you got on with this teacher." Fuuko tried to smile then got up.

"Okay, I'd love to stay but I want to throw this food away and read the rest of the school newspaper before History class so... Bye" she said as she picked up her tray and walked off. Recca frowned.

"What's wrong with her?" he asked Yanagi. Yanagi shrugged.

"I'm really not sure."

********************

Nikki quietly laid her quilt over her bed. After 3 hours of sweeping and dusting she had finally moved in all furniture. That boy, Domon, had helped take out all the stuff they needed badly like beds and all but said he's be around later because he was getting late for school. Luckily they didn't have much furniture and the house was bigger than any before so lot's of room's very empty. Except for one in the corner… it was jammed shut, and her mother didn't want to break down the wall…

Sitting down on her greenish-blue bed-sheet she took one quick look around her room. They couldn't bring much along. She only had a suitcase of clothes, her jewelry box, a couple of books and her teddy bear that her father had supposedly given to her when she was two… just before he left. She didn't remember him, or him giving the teddy bear… but it didn't matter, it had happened and that was what mattered… too her.

"Love me like you used to… don't leave me like before, hold me like you used… before you walked out of that door…" she started to sing. Her favorite song, the one her mother claimed her father loved the most. She used to listen to it every night…

"Nikki honey, I just opened the door… come look at the room, it's amazing!" Nikki sprang up from the bed and rushed out where her mother was standing with some weird looking tool in her hand and beaming at the open door.

Nikki quickly rushed in; her mouth fell open as she stared at the room. It was fully furnished, two mattresses on the floor… a small table that was below her knees in the middle of the room. It was all so typically Japanese.

"My gosh Ma, this room… but don't we have to return all this stuff?" she asked her mother totally stunned.

"Probably, I'll talk to the real estate agent," she said then stepped up and wedged open the trunk. It was filled with Kimono's and Japanese trinkets.

"Being a Japanese house in Japan I'm not surprised by all this but… how long has this place been like this?" asked Nikki.

"I don't know honey, but maybe we should move out of here. It could have some disease or something… that's why it could have been locked up…" said her mother as they both stepped out.

"Wow ma, it's just like a book… maybe there's a ghost haunting this place…." At exactly that moment they heard a glass break.

"Oh no! My priceless vase! I left it on the doorstep!" exclaimed her mother as they both ran to see what had happened to it.

********************

Ganko bit her lip as she looked up at the woman. Tears welled up in her eyes.

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to do that… I was just completing my paper rounds…" she exclaimed.

"You are the latest subscriber aren't you?"

"Yes dear I am… oh no, no need to cry honey, it's only a vase you poor baby come inside, would you like any milk and cookies?" asked the woman. Ganko stopped crying then shook her head.

"Thank you but I got to finish my paper rounds," she said then looked closely at the girl next to the women.

"Are you by any chance Japanese?" she asked. The girl smiled and shook her head.

"No." she said.

"Oh, here's the news paper and I'll be off now." Ganko said to them then cycled off wondering why Nikki looked so different from her mother. Not even thinking that maybe Nikki's father was Japanese.

********************

Mikagami flung his book bag over his shoulder before checking the gateways of the school. There was only a single person leaning against the gate. From the way the person was standing, one would assume that it was a guy yet the uniform indicated that it was a girl.

"Fuuko…" thought Mikagami realizing only Fuuko would be so easily mistaken as a boy from her actions. He began to walk, and he passed her, pretending he didn't notice her. Yet at the same time he was surprised when she just stared through him, as if he weren't there.

Not used to being ignored by anyone but rather pestered or drooled over, (the first one applied to this particular person), he stopped and wondered what was wrong.

"I know you're there. I was waiting for you." Said Fuuko, still staring through him as if she were blind. "I need to talk to you about last night." She said. Mikagami looked uncertainly at her then nodded.

"Fine with me." He said and Fuuko twisted around and walked past him waving her hand in the air as if telling him to follow her. They walked up to Fuuko's house, passed it, up to Domon's house, passed it, right to the end of the street. For a long time Fuuko stood staring at it.

"I thought I'd explain my behavior last night to you… nobody knows this… in fact many people believe that I lived next to Recca all my life. It isn't true. I was at a boarding school in London from the age of 3 to 6. Then I came here with my sister…" she began to explain. Mikagami looked up with a raised eyebrow at the word 'sister'.

"Yes sister… she died in an accident. Exactly 10 years from today." She said. "I was just grieving for her." She told him. Mikagami nodded.

"I see." Was all he said. At that exact moment Fuuko leaned over and kissed him. When she pulled away, without any expression on her face, Mikagami could see she was crying. With out a word Fuuko walked away, before Mikagami could register what just happened.

********************

Fuuko stood in front of the coffin, staring at it with hate.

"It's empty… we're burying Yuriko in an empty coffin. We were supposed to cremate her and then keep her ashes on the fireplace… we're not supposed to bury her doll in a Christian graveyard!" she thought, tears falling down her face.

The burial was catholic style… because in a conversation they had with Yuriko a week before her death, she told them she wanted to convert to a Roman Catholic. Nobody had taken her seriously, and Yuriko had cried. Only in front of Fuuko… because Fuuko understood, they had both been under the influence of the boarding school. That was why they couldn't go back and had to attend a local school instead.

"Yuriko… I want you back. I want to go to that school again. I want to play with Susan and I want you to play with Jerome. I want us to sneak around the halls at night and to be sung to sleep by Ms. Witherboune every night. I want to play house-house on the monkey-bars… I promise I'll be the pet dog this time, and you can be the mother." She said. Her mother heard and hugged her. They cried while they stood in front of the grave. Fuuko's father was staring blankly at the grave and men from the church were instructing what to do. It was their parent's way of apologizing to her for laughing at her that day.

"How could you two do this to her?" asked Fuuko. Then without waiting for a response she ran back home.

********************

Nikki looked inside the forgotten room. Behind the beds she'd uncovered a small opening with a few essence sticks and one catholic cross hanging from it. A weird combination. Yet a very fascinating one. She stared at it for a long time, her mother walked in just then.

"Ooh Nikki! When did you uncover this?" she asked quickly taking out a lighter and lighting the essence sticks. Nikki smiled.

"Just now but isn't it so cool!" she exclaimed. Her mother laughed.

"You uniform has arrived. Go check it out." She said. Nikki got up and ran to her room where her uniform lay spread out.

"Oh goodies! A mini-skirt, just like in Sailor Moon!" she thought sarcastically. Then walked back into the secret room. Her mother sat there staring at the sticks as if in a trance.

"Ma! Are you okay?" she asked leaning over. Her mother shook her head abruptly and then turned to Nikki.

"Oh gosh, the essence is so over whelming!" she thought while trying to blow out the sticks.

"That's not how you do it." Said Nikki and put her fingers around the stick. It burned her skin a little but Nikki hardly felt it. Then she looked up at her mother who smiled at her strangely then got up.

"Ugh, but that away now Nikki. I'm sick of essence sticks. Let's go out to eat tonight, there's a great American place just around the corner." She said. Nikki raised an eyebrow.

"Ah, okay… but didn't you say you were looking forwards to learning more about the Japanese culture?" she asked. Her mother shrugged.

"Yeah but suddenly I'm in the mood for American food. Guess I'm already homesick. Let's go." She said. Nikki followed her mother, completely Dumbstruck.

********************

Mikagami walked back to his place slowly. He lived in a more high-tech part of the city. Therefore he had a long way to go. He had already missed the bus.

He stopped by a fish and chips shop on the way and for the first time sat in a restaurant and ate in there. He opened his economics book and ate silently, not paying attention to his book, food or surroundings. His mind was on Fuuko. Why did she kiss him? It obviously wasn't meant to mean something… could it be a way of taking her grievances out in a less violent manner? Yes, that was probably it. He finished his snack and quietly picked up his books. He took the late bus home. He had no homework and he had no desire to study so after having a nice and long shower he changed into a shirt and khaki coloured pants. He got out his favorite soda and sat in front of the fireplace and aimlessly started going through the old newspapers. His eye suddenly caught a picture. A picture of a graveyard. Looking closer he could make out the name of one of the grave. It read Kirisawa, Fuuko Kirisawa.

********************

To be continued…

A/N: I started writing this at the age of 12, now I'm 14. It was my most well planned and favorite fic after Different Worlds but after I started getting serious about different worlds I just forgot this fic. I still remember the plot I'd planned out for it! Well, I'll upload chapter two soon but until then, if there is any life left over here, this is my contribution to keeping this fandom alive…^_^. Cheers.

NOTE: My next chapters may be shorter than this one because this was an introductory chapter.