Path Through the Forest

Chapter one

"Huh w-where am I? W-why is it so dark? W-w-what, what happened to me? Hm… what's this? Is that… light… it's not shining very brightly. T-the light, I-it's only shining at the bottom and …through a few cracks… could this b-be a door?" the owner of the voice crawled diligently toward the door. They felt pain all over their body, but were too frightened to notice much. They felt for a doorknob and, after a few minutes of searching, finally found one and turned it.

It was a rusty old doorknob, the person noticed as they turned it, and odds were it wasn't connected to anything and this supposed 'door' was just a piece of rotten old wood that could easily be pushed open. However, this delicate being was too nervous to think of such things. The knob of sorts, in fact, did not work, which only made this small being fear more. They crawled around to see if they could find any way out of this dark place. They found nothing but old wooden walls, seemingly ready to collapse.

By now, this person's eyes have adjusted to the darkness, yet, they still could not see a thing. They didn't know how long they had been in this place, nor where this 'place' was. All they knew was that they were alone, in darkness, and it seemed impossible to leave. But this person wanted to leave so badly; they were so frightened. They crawled and felt for the door they had found earlier. And, after turning around, saw the light that came from it. They crawled toward it; not knowing what would be waiting on the other side, but knowing that they wanted to leave. They reached the door, and started pushing, until finally, it opened.

They kept pushing the weak wooden door open, open, open. It was fully opened now, and the delicate figure crawled out onto the leafy dirt and soil, and into the light of a new day. The figure's eyes squinted until they adjusted to the light of the outside world. They took in their surroundings.

It was obvious, at first look, that they were in a forest of some sorts. Tons of trees and leaves were surrounding them, twigs, sticks and branches were everywhere and so much soil and dirt on the ground, as well as grass and different, flowers, were they? The individual turned around, to look at the shelter in which they were in.

The 'building' was a very old looking shack, in the middle of nowhere. Its wood was pretty much rotten if it wasn't already and the door was barely even connected to its timeworn hinges. The knob was a rusted color of orange, and, like this entire 'housing', it was obviously old and outdated.

The air was chilly; it seemed early in the morning and in a forest, it was going to be at least a little cold. However, the body of this particular being was bare. For a reason, unbeknownst to this young human, they were naked.

They looked at their tan skin, wondering why they were in an old shack in the middle of nowhere, unclothed. This person saw their silver hair falling from behind their shoulders and used it to cover up their bare breasts. The person hugged its body, the only warmth and comfort they figured they'd get for now, possibly forever. They figured if they wanted to live, they had to start moving, looking for something that would either keep them warm or at least alive. So for the first time for who knows how long, the young being stood up and started walking to who-knows-where. But it wasn't long before they started running, faster and faster, their dark grey, indigo-like eyes shaking with fear.

The young person couldn't stop running, ignoring the pain they felt. They were too scared to stop, scared of what would happen if they did. The mortal saw an opening, a space where trees weren't around, a path of some sort. The youth hesitated and slowed their run down to light fast walk. They heard a crack, and thought someone was coming; the young human jumped behind a bush, but tripped on a rock, and fell out into the open path.

"J-Julie?"

~J.T.J.T.J.T.J.T.J.T.~

A young male awoke at four in the morning, just as he did every morning. He got out of bed, brushed his teeth and put on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. He went into the kitchen of his house, where he was greeted by his grandfather.

"Shun, good morning. Eat, then go in the forest and take your morning run. After that, shower and we will begin your training. I expect this run to last for at least two hours and no more than three. If it lasts shorter than the minimal or longer than the maximum I expect a good reason. Am I understood?" Alright, so it wasn't much of a greeting as it was an order/command. But Shun nodded his head, nonetheless, and replied,

"Yes, grandpa, I understand, but quit acting like you're my ruler, I'm seventeen; I'm not a child."

"Oh, Shun, I know, but you're just growing up so fast," he said as he got those anime stars in his eyes. "I remember when you were just a little boy and I was first starting to train you, how excited you were when…" Anything else he was about to say, Shun didn't hear. He was already out the door starting his run.

Shun actually liked his runs, it gave him a chance to clear his head and let every little bit of his problems disappear. Every now and then he'd hear little cracks of sticks breaking beneath his feet, though they weren't usually followed by a little scream. He looked up and saw a girl on her hands and knees, shaking. She looked scared. He just stared at her, trying to think of where he had seen her before. It took him a few seconds, but he realized that the girl was one of the brawlers, the Subterra brawler, Julie. He just stared at her and something seemed… off. It took him a little longer to register that she was… naked. His eyes widened in shock. He managed a stutter that sounded like her name but he was still too stunned to make out what it was.

She looked up at the voice, fear evident in her indigo-like eyes. It took her a while to realize that the voice belonged to Shun, but when she did, she turned to face him. Her face red, knowing she was undressed, yet, also because of the running and well, everything else.

She could see the shock in his eyes, but was still too frightened to speak or pretty much do anything otherwise. He, still stunned beyond words, could see the fear and distress in her eyes. He saw no evidence of liveliness or delight in them. There wasn't any perkiness or pep at all in her grey orbs. She only showed fright, terror… dread. This fearful girl wasn't the Julie he knew. This wasn't the Julie anybody knew. But this being in front of him was, in fact and in truth, Julie. Shun knew he had to help her.

After a few minutes, Shun regained control of his senses. He took slow and quiet steps towards the terrified girl in front of him. He knew she was scared and he didn't want to startle her more. He held out his hand, asking her to take it, but he knew she was too panicked to take it without reassurance.

"It's okay, Julie. Take it, I won't hurt you. I'll keep you safe… don't worry… come on, Julie… it's me, Shun. It's okay." He said gently, still trying to get her to trust him. She just stared at the hand Shun offered, not knowing what to do.

Shun kept saying things like 'it's okay' and 'you don't need to be scared', but he could see it wasn't working. He could still see her shaking. He realized once again that she was bare and his eyes widened a little, in realization. It was kind of cold outside, and she was in front of him. That's got to be discomforting and maybe a bit intimidating if not demoralizing. He took off the jacket he had put on before he left and offered it to her. She only stared at it, the fear starting to disperse from her eyes, but still very evident.

"It's alright, Julie, you can take it. You've got to be cold… come on, it's okay." Shun stated, still trying to get the young girl to show any type of sign that she trusted him.

After a few more minutes of comforting words from Shun, Julie moved one of her hands a little. Shun noticed and brought the item closer to his friend. She moved her hand little by little and, slowly, she had the jacket in her hands. Shun turned away to give her some sort of privacy while putting the jacket on her bare skin.

He waited until he felt something jerk at his shirt. He turned and saw it was Julie, clothed in his green jacket and looking down at the ground. It was quite a long jacket, on Shun, it reached his waist, but on Julie, it reached her mid-thigh. Therefore, it kept Shun from... seeing her. That brought some relief to the young beauty, but not nearly enough. She was still looking to the ground, the terror in her eyes still evident.

"I guess she's not ready to talk," Shun thought to himself. He turned to face Julie completely and noticed that she was still shaking, but not as much as she was. This made him feel a little better, but he was still very concerned for his female friend.

"Come on Julie, I'll take you to my house and we'll get you some food and some... clothing," He said to her. He turned around and started walking, but stopped when he felt something tug at his shirt. He turned and saw it was Julie. He arched an eyebrow at her action.

"What's wrong, Julie?" He asked her, but he didn't get a reply. He turned and started walking again when he felt the same tug on his shirt. He turned his head but kept walking. He noticed that Julie was walking too but holding on to his shirt.

"… Hm she probably just wants to hold on to something…" He thought to himself. "For reassurance."

After a little while longer of walking, Shun looked back at Julie. He noticed that she was barefoot. He stopped; so did she. He turned to face her and made a motion to try and pick her up. Out of shock, she backed away.

"It's okay, Julie. I promise you, I won't hurt you; I just didn't want you to be walking barefoot. Is it okay if I carry you back the rest of the way?" She answered by backing away. He nodded, saying that he understood. He felt the tug at his shirt and started walking again, Julie right behind him.

They had walked for over thirty minutes when Shun felt something being wrapped around his arm. He turned his head and found that Julie was holding on to his left arm. She was looking forward, the anxiety obvious in her indigo-like orbs. She was still shaking, more from the fear than the cold; it was getting warmer.

Shun looked down at the young girl who had latched herself onto his arm. He was worried about her, but he knew that she didn't place herself in this forest. He knew that someone must have done this to her. He started to get angry, wondering how someone could be so heartless as to put a young girl in danger; to place her in a forest and… unclothe her. What kind of person could do such a thing?

Shun got angrier with each passing second he thought about it. He looked down at Julie and mentally promised her that he would make the monster, or monsters, that did this to her pay; he'd make them wish they were never born. They would be sorry that they had messed with Shun Kazami's friend, Julie Makimoto.

Author's Note: OMG!OMG!OMG!OMG! I feel sooooo awkward right now! I normally would never think of writing something like this but it just sorta popped into my head... heh.. pls don't hate me for this pls pls...i have chap 2 already typed out but i would like some reassurance on if i should continue this or if you like it or not... so pls review and tell me what u think. I promise i will not put anymore... nakedness...(Feeling wierd saying that...) in the story unless i have too and even then it will be VERY MINIMAL! I will warn you on the top... i didn't this time beacuse i wanted to 'surprise' you. I normally would not put any A/N on the top but I will if I need to warn you about something... just saying... i like to start my stories off with the story and A/N's at the bottom... however, as i said, if I need to warn u about things or the items are urgent then I will put them on the top... just letting u know. Anyway, i think that's it... OH! this is my first chapter story so if u do think i should continue then, well first off thank you for the support, and keep ur fingers crossed that i can figure out how to put chap 2 on here..lol... there will be romance... but down the line, maybe fluff here and there, but nothing major (my type of major) until l8r... now i think that's it...

I OWN NOTHING!

Points: (summing things up) :

pls tell me if you think i should continue or if this is something you would not like; and if it is then I have Chap 2 all typed out but i just want reassuance... so thanks for what you say (if you say it)

no more ( feeling wierd) nudity unless i have to put it; even then it will be VERY MINIMAL! (like what u c here if as far as i will go) and i will warn you. I didn't this time because i wanted to catch you of guard...

this is my first chapter story

there will be romance l8r on

:Points complete

constructive critisism pls (if you have any). Also i will take into consideration wat u have 2 say; thankyou.

THANKS FOR READING :)

LUV Y'ALL 3

GOD BLESS!

J.T.