DARK SECRETS
CHAPTER ONE - VISIONS
~Heat. That was all she felt; spiraling, burning heat that flickered across her skin, but shied just short of singeing the hairs that were, oddly, standing on end along the lengths of her arms. Even more odd was the fact that she didn't resist; she was letting the fire play across her. And that's what it was doing: playing. She walked across the sand of a flame-engulfed desert, felt the granules of earth rise up between her bare toes and slip away from her feet. Blue eyes flickered across a world of fire. Her light-colored hair hung down her back, trailing out of the buns on either side of her head, adding an ethereal look to her porcelain doll-like appearance. This heat wasn't like she'd been expecting it to be; it was gentle, almost loving in the way it touched her. She knew it was merely another dream, but it didn't matter. There was someone here in these flames that she needed to find.
Behind her, echoing through the vast torch she was in, the steady, rhythmic clinking sound of her companion followed her steadily. Try as she might, she found herself unable to turn around and see him. Still, she felt the metal covering his hand come to rest on her shoulder, which was coated only by a nightgown. "Who are you?" she wanted to ask, but she didn't. She never would, not after the first meeting. She had asked him and he told her it was a secret. So, instead, she smiled, and leaned her hand back, touching his face, feeling a hand covered with armor touch her own hand. The armor covering his hand vanished and then…~
And then Serena awoke.
~Every instinct in his body urged him to follow the wisp of a girl, blonde hair trailing down her back. The heat was comfortable to him; he was worried that it wasn't to her. This desert, the sand burning and shifting, but never turning to glass, felt like home to his skin, to his armor. This, indeed, was where he was supposed to be, in this licking desert of flames.
The lady, his lady, was walking, never pausing for breath, never searching for water. For this, he respected her. Whereas high temperatures felt almost homey to him, most people found it highly uncomfortable. Wistfully, he wondered if she was real, but he was content with trailing after her by a pace. It didn't matter which way she turned, he would mimic her direction instinctively. If, for some reason, a cliff would appear and she walked straight off of it, he would follow her, and willingly. He wanted, so badly, to tell her who he was, but the dreams were special. He simply couldn't change the contentment of anonymity into the frightening intimacy of knowledge.
A hand, her hand, reached back, bent at the elbow and rest so that the cherubic palm could touch his cheek. Her palm, her fingers!, they burned his face. Lifting his hand, plated with metal, he wished away the sub-armor, leaving him in civilian clothes, touching her hand gently.~
Ryo opened his eyes unwillingly. Who was she?
*()*
~Padding across the smooth crystal surface of the dark cavern, she followed willingly where the haunting metal clinks led her. This guide of hers was one she trusted, unseen aside from the whispery green glow, unheard except for the sound of metallic footsteps, unfelt but for the occasional helping gauntleted hand. Every now and then, she would slip, and then the hands would catch her, helping her along gently. There was nothing to fear from him.
She knew she had no proof that her guide was male; she simply felt it. Bare feet molding to the wet rock under her heels, she tripped again, pitching forward, right into waiting arms that lifted her and settled her down on the next rock. The metal hand touched her shoulder briefly, and she felt her cheeks flush, a shy shade of soft red. Although every logical part of her mind insisted there was nothing to a dream, she felt flattered anyway.
To her deeper surprise, he, the other person, tapped a plated finger on the tip of her nose. She felt, rather than saw, a smile. Opening her mouth, she leaned forward, throat already producing a question.~
The loud humming static of a local station switching to off-air snow shocked Amy into a bewildered, sleepy awakening. Yawning, she briefly wondered what she'd been dreaming of, and touched her nose, shuffling into the kitchen of the apartment she shared with her mother.
~He was in the cavern again. Under normal circumstances, he would have panicked; darkness usually had him edgy and paranoid. Of course, when there was someone depending on him, his personal phobias were void and null. Everything boiled down to one simple, single fact: She needed him. So, he led her through the cavern, towards an opening he couldn't see, but knew was there, with soft pushes and tugs in the right direction.
Time elapsed as it only can during dreams and she gasped softly, unconsciously, tripping over a particularly slippery rock, tumbling into his arms. For a moment, he was tempted with the idea of holding her there, but he moved her to another rock, brushing her shoulder with his hand. Unseen by her, he shivered, unnerved by his sudden shyness.
As if of its own will, his hand moved, one finger stretching out to tap her nose. He smiled, feeling that she was going to speak…~
Somewhere in the Date dojo, a door was slid shut noisily, jolting Sage awake briefly. When no more sounds came to disturb him, he nestled back into his bed, blue-lavender eyes drifting shut.
*()*
She was determined to make it through the peculiar maze on her own; she was walking through a labyrinth constructed out of a cloud. She knew, she just KNEW, that he was following her again. She was immensely irritated by that little thing. Whoever he was, he was gritting on her nerves, and she ground her molars together in annoyance. Still, there was no use in yelling at him; he'd fall back, then come back.
Hurrying her pace, slippers sweeping through the spiderweb threads, she turned around a corner, sharply, breaking into a run. A light masculine laugh drifted from behind her and, for no reason that she could recall, tears started to well up in a thin veil at the bottoms of her violet eyes. Forgetting every trick she had memorized on how to get through a maze, she simply ran, turning corners, until she came to a solid white wall. A dead end,
Scaring her momentarily, a pair of armored arms encircled her waist from behind, pulling her through the wall. They plummeted, headfirst, toward the ground. "Let's fly," he laughed, Japanese words tinted with a Brooklyn accent. And she smiled, laughing in absolute freedom.~
Raye turned over onto her side, flicking off her alarm clock. It was five in the morning. Time to start her duties on the shrine.
~He didn't quite know why she wouldn't let him help her. He just wanted to show her which way to turn. But, he realized, she could have a great deal of pride, rather like he. That thought only served to fascinate him even more. She was walking patiently, keeping her left hand on the left wall, following it wherever it moved. It was a simple trick, one that most people didn't know, and incredibly effective. As long as she kept her hand there, she would make it out of the labyrinth. He, in turn, was walking, in his sub-armor, along the tops of the walls, following her.
Her face had been gradually growing more and more agitated, until she started moving quicker. Unable to stop it, he laughed, mostly in admiration. Apparently, she thought he was mocking her, for she suddenly began running, pulling her hand from the wall. He frowned briefly. Didn't she realize she was going to get lost?
When she reached a dead end, he gave in to his more playful impulses. Leaping off the wall, landing behind her as she turned around, back to the dead end, he hooked his arms around her waist, pulling her with his body, through the wall of cloud, sending them both soaring downward. She want slack, surprised. "Let's fly," he laughed, again. She echoed his sentiment, arching her arms up like wings.~
Rowan smacked his alarm clock off the dresser, effectively shutting the drilling siren up. No longer caring about his resolve to wake up at an earlier hour, he fell back to sleep instantly.
*()*
~The rocky valley awaited her and she obediently descended into it, bounding from boulder to boulder, rock to rock. A figure, close enough for her to place it as masculine, but far enough to take away all details, goaded her on in a silent 'can-you-do-this' contest. She enjoyed it, feeling a warm wind tousle her chestnut locks, whipping through her loose tanktop and sweatpants. The dream, she was somewhat surprised to find, was extraordinarily detailed. She could even feel droplets of sweat bead on her forehead.
Laughter, friendly and hearty, stretched back to her and she responded in the like, bouncing forward off a boulder, swinging up into a bold, leafy tree, clambering quickly up to the top, where she held on with one foot and one hand, swinging her body out into air, a smile curving her lips. "Hello!" she called.
"Hello!" the figure replied, waving once from his perch on an enormous rock some distance away. She smiled again, feeling at peace.~
Lita opened her eyes, smiling into the darkness. Whatever her dream had been about, she liked it. Lifting her head off the kitchen table of her apartment, she stretched and kneaded one shoulder with her hand, smiling still.
~She mimicked his moves, following him exactly wherever and however he moved. He was in his element and he relished the thrill of movement, of exercise, of power. He kept that power under tight control, though; he'd had far too many nightmares of loosing control of his raw strength. She had created a lasting impression on his mind. She was doing stunts involving mass amounts of strength, things most people couldn't do.
He laughed, free of worry and anger, and her own laughter reached his ears. His eyes saw her figure climb up a tree, swinging at its top in a carefree manner. "Hello!" she cried.
"Hello!" he called back, waving idly. There was something peaceful about it…~
Kento woke with a start, finding his youngest sister, Chun Fa, staring at him with wide, sorrowful eyes. "Nightmare?" he yawned. She nodded fervently and he pulled the afghan over her, letting the six-year old curl up next to him. He hoped Chun Fa's next dream would be as pleasant as his had…whatever it had been about.
*()*
~Kicking her legs, she dove through the water, hand entwined with another that was plated in hard metal. Bubbles caressed her skin, slipping along her thin yellow nightgown, weaving like tiny pearls in her hair. Turning, she smiled at her companion, feeling her heart pound happily at his answering smile. The world was all ocean; water covered her, but she felt no discomfort. She could breathe and move freely, slicing her legs through the water in a movement that had her in an upright sitting position underwater.
She wrapped her arms around his slim shoulders, holding him to her, resting her cheek on his back, staring dreamily out at a sparkling, jeweled fish that wriggled by. After a short amount of time spent this way, she kicked her legs, propelling herself backwards, releasing him. Streaking through the water, golden hair streaming out around her body like a strange halo, she radiated a bubbly happiness, dancing over a thick reef of breathing coral.
The sound of soft swishes announced his approach and she barreled up to the surface, her face breaking it and entering the world of land.~
Mina cracked open one eye, spying the rays of dawn peeking into her room. Disappointed, she swung her legs over the edge of her bed, muffling a yawn with her palm, patting her widely parted lips a few times as she yawned. Junior high school called, as much as she wished a freak hurricane would prevent her from having to go.
~Through the metal of his sub-armor, he could feel her hand in his, squeezing it gently. They were in the ocean, in the dark blue of the seawater, swimming through it. Bubbles surrounded her, obscuring her features for a second. Almost magically, the tiny bubbles wove into her long, pale gold hair, becoming, for just an instant, graceful pearls. She was the image of every beautiful mermaid in the fairytales his mother and sister had raised him on. Feeling shy all of a sudden, he turned around.
Then he was gripped from behind in a hug that all but stole his mind in its tenderness. Her cheek pressed against his back and he lifted his head, face flushing lightly. She released him after a bit, and he looked over his shoulder, watching her spiral backward, her arms outstretched. As she flew over a reef, he imagined her to be some kind of Greek goddess, like Aphrodite…
And as he swam after her, he wanted to beg her not to swim up to the surface; he couldn't follow her there…he wanted her to stay with him…~
Cye snapped his eyes open the instant his head impacted with the table. Clutching his sore forehead, he winced, hissing softly in pain. An idle glance at the clock had him forget about his aching head and the kinks in his back and neck, product of falling asleep in a hardwood chair. He was going to be late for Han'a High School's first bell.
*()*
Author's Notes: Geez, it took me long enough to get this out, no? *rolls eyes* Anyway, how did ya'll like it? Okay? Good? Not okay? Bad? Remember: Writers like to get comments! (Not flames, though. I don't feel like getting flames: school started on Monday the 20th here in New Mexico. Ah, the joys, of junior high. Bah. So, flames will make me feel SO bad that I'll actually THINK about school and NOT about my fanfics. Maybe that's what I should be doing in the first place…) Wow, it's been over a year since I first started writing DARK SECRETS [v1.0]…I can remember the response on the SMML (at www.moonpoint.com) when I posted the prologue…I can't believe they gave me compliments for THAT crap!! (Seriously. If you think THIS is bad, you do NOT want to know what it was like in its first draft. Oi. Do you know that I never got past the third chapter in the first version? And it's supposed to have at least fifteen chapters!! 0.o Eep.) And for the sake of this fanfic, please, please, PLEASE pretend that Han'a High School is in Tokyo and that the Ronins live nearby. (Okay, I know Ryo and his dad live in the mountains, but STILL…) Please?
CHAPTER ONE - VISIONS
~Heat. That was all she felt; spiraling, burning heat that flickered across her skin, but shied just short of singeing the hairs that were, oddly, standing on end along the lengths of her arms. Even more odd was the fact that she didn't resist; she was letting the fire play across her. And that's what it was doing: playing. She walked across the sand of a flame-engulfed desert, felt the granules of earth rise up between her bare toes and slip away from her feet. Blue eyes flickered across a world of fire. Her light-colored hair hung down her back, trailing out of the buns on either side of her head, adding an ethereal look to her porcelain doll-like appearance. This heat wasn't like she'd been expecting it to be; it was gentle, almost loving in the way it touched her. She knew it was merely another dream, but it didn't matter. There was someone here in these flames that she needed to find.
Behind her, echoing through the vast torch she was in, the steady, rhythmic clinking sound of her companion followed her steadily. Try as she might, she found herself unable to turn around and see him. Still, she felt the metal covering his hand come to rest on her shoulder, which was coated only by a nightgown. "Who are you?" she wanted to ask, but she didn't. She never would, not after the first meeting. She had asked him and he told her it was a secret. So, instead, she smiled, and leaned her hand back, touching his face, feeling a hand covered with armor touch her own hand. The armor covering his hand vanished and then…~
And then Serena awoke.
~Every instinct in his body urged him to follow the wisp of a girl, blonde hair trailing down her back. The heat was comfortable to him; he was worried that it wasn't to her. This desert, the sand burning and shifting, but never turning to glass, felt like home to his skin, to his armor. This, indeed, was where he was supposed to be, in this licking desert of flames.
The lady, his lady, was walking, never pausing for breath, never searching for water. For this, he respected her. Whereas high temperatures felt almost homey to him, most people found it highly uncomfortable. Wistfully, he wondered if she was real, but he was content with trailing after her by a pace. It didn't matter which way she turned, he would mimic her direction instinctively. If, for some reason, a cliff would appear and she walked straight off of it, he would follow her, and willingly. He wanted, so badly, to tell her who he was, but the dreams were special. He simply couldn't change the contentment of anonymity into the frightening intimacy of knowledge.
A hand, her hand, reached back, bent at the elbow and rest so that the cherubic palm could touch his cheek. Her palm, her fingers!, they burned his face. Lifting his hand, plated with metal, he wished away the sub-armor, leaving him in civilian clothes, touching her hand gently.~
Ryo opened his eyes unwillingly. Who was she?
*()*
~Padding across the smooth crystal surface of the dark cavern, she followed willingly where the haunting metal clinks led her. This guide of hers was one she trusted, unseen aside from the whispery green glow, unheard except for the sound of metallic footsteps, unfelt but for the occasional helping gauntleted hand. Every now and then, she would slip, and then the hands would catch her, helping her along gently. There was nothing to fear from him.
She knew she had no proof that her guide was male; she simply felt it. Bare feet molding to the wet rock under her heels, she tripped again, pitching forward, right into waiting arms that lifted her and settled her down on the next rock. The metal hand touched her shoulder briefly, and she felt her cheeks flush, a shy shade of soft red. Although every logical part of her mind insisted there was nothing to a dream, she felt flattered anyway.
To her deeper surprise, he, the other person, tapped a plated finger on the tip of her nose. She felt, rather than saw, a smile. Opening her mouth, she leaned forward, throat already producing a question.~
The loud humming static of a local station switching to off-air snow shocked Amy into a bewildered, sleepy awakening. Yawning, she briefly wondered what she'd been dreaming of, and touched her nose, shuffling into the kitchen of the apartment she shared with her mother.
~He was in the cavern again. Under normal circumstances, he would have panicked; darkness usually had him edgy and paranoid. Of course, when there was someone depending on him, his personal phobias were void and null. Everything boiled down to one simple, single fact: She needed him. So, he led her through the cavern, towards an opening he couldn't see, but knew was there, with soft pushes and tugs in the right direction.
Time elapsed as it only can during dreams and she gasped softly, unconsciously, tripping over a particularly slippery rock, tumbling into his arms. For a moment, he was tempted with the idea of holding her there, but he moved her to another rock, brushing her shoulder with his hand. Unseen by her, he shivered, unnerved by his sudden shyness.
As if of its own will, his hand moved, one finger stretching out to tap her nose. He smiled, feeling that she was going to speak…~
Somewhere in the Date dojo, a door was slid shut noisily, jolting Sage awake briefly. When no more sounds came to disturb him, he nestled back into his bed, blue-lavender eyes drifting shut.
*()*
She was determined to make it through the peculiar maze on her own; she was walking through a labyrinth constructed out of a cloud. She knew, she just KNEW, that he was following her again. She was immensely irritated by that little thing. Whoever he was, he was gritting on her nerves, and she ground her molars together in annoyance. Still, there was no use in yelling at him; he'd fall back, then come back.
Hurrying her pace, slippers sweeping through the spiderweb threads, she turned around a corner, sharply, breaking into a run. A light masculine laugh drifted from behind her and, for no reason that she could recall, tears started to well up in a thin veil at the bottoms of her violet eyes. Forgetting every trick she had memorized on how to get through a maze, she simply ran, turning corners, until she came to a solid white wall. A dead end,
Scaring her momentarily, a pair of armored arms encircled her waist from behind, pulling her through the wall. They plummeted, headfirst, toward the ground. "Let's fly," he laughed, Japanese words tinted with a Brooklyn accent. And she smiled, laughing in absolute freedom.~
Raye turned over onto her side, flicking off her alarm clock. It was five in the morning. Time to start her duties on the shrine.
~He didn't quite know why she wouldn't let him help her. He just wanted to show her which way to turn. But, he realized, she could have a great deal of pride, rather like he. That thought only served to fascinate him even more. She was walking patiently, keeping her left hand on the left wall, following it wherever it moved. It was a simple trick, one that most people didn't know, and incredibly effective. As long as she kept her hand there, she would make it out of the labyrinth. He, in turn, was walking, in his sub-armor, along the tops of the walls, following her.
Her face had been gradually growing more and more agitated, until she started moving quicker. Unable to stop it, he laughed, mostly in admiration. Apparently, she thought he was mocking her, for she suddenly began running, pulling her hand from the wall. He frowned briefly. Didn't she realize she was going to get lost?
When she reached a dead end, he gave in to his more playful impulses. Leaping off the wall, landing behind her as she turned around, back to the dead end, he hooked his arms around her waist, pulling her with his body, through the wall of cloud, sending them both soaring downward. She want slack, surprised. "Let's fly," he laughed, again. She echoed his sentiment, arching her arms up like wings.~
Rowan smacked his alarm clock off the dresser, effectively shutting the drilling siren up. No longer caring about his resolve to wake up at an earlier hour, he fell back to sleep instantly.
*()*
~The rocky valley awaited her and she obediently descended into it, bounding from boulder to boulder, rock to rock. A figure, close enough for her to place it as masculine, but far enough to take away all details, goaded her on in a silent 'can-you-do-this' contest. She enjoyed it, feeling a warm wind tousle her chestnut locks, whipping through her loose tanktop and sweatpants. The dream, she was somewhat surprised to find, was extraordinarily detailed. She could even feel droplets of sweat bead on her forehead.
Laughter, friendly and hearty, stretched back to her and she responded in the like, bouncing forward off a boulder, swinging up into a bold, leafy tree, clambering quickly up to the top, where she held on with one foot and one hand, swinging her body out into air, a smile curving her lips. "Hello!" she called.
"Hello!" the figure replied, waving once from his perch on an enormous rock some distance away. She smiled again, feeling at peace.~
Lita opened her eyes, smiling into the darkness. Whatever her dream had been about, she liked it. Lifting her head off the kitchen table of her apartment, she stretched and kneaded one shoulder with her hand, smiling still.
~She mimicked his moves, following him exactly wherever and however he moved. He was in his element and he relished the thrill of movement, of exercise, of power. He kept that power under tight control, though; he'd had far too many nightmares of loosing control of his raw strength. She had created a lasting impression on his mind. She was doing stunts involving mass amounts of strength, things most people couldn't do.
He laughed, free of worry and anger, and her own laughter reached his ears. His eyes saw her figure climb up a tree, swinging at its top in a carefree manner. "Hello!" she cried.
"Hello!" he called back, waving idly. There was something peaceful about it…~
Kento woke with a start, finding his youngest sister, Chun Fa, staring at him with wide, sorrowful eyes. "Nightmare?" he yawned. She nodded fervently and he pulled the afghan over her, letting the six-year old curl up next to him. He hoped Chun Fa's next dream would be as pleasant as his had…whatever it had been about.
*()*
~Kicking her legs, she dove through the water, hand entwined with another that was plated in hard metal. Bubbles caressed her skin, slipping along her thin yellow nightgown, weaving like tiny pearls in her hair. Turning, she smiled at her companion, feeling her heart pound happily at his answering smile. The world was all ocean; water covered her, but she felt no discomfort. She could breathe and move freely, slicing her legs through the water in a movement that had her in an upright sitting position underwater.
She wrapped her arms around his slim shoulders, holding him to her, resting her cheek on his back, staring dreamily out at a sparkling, jeweled fish that wriggled by. After a short amount of time spent this way, she kicked her legs, propelling herself backwards, releasing him. Streaking through the water, golden hair streaming out around her body like a strange halo, she radiated a bubbly happiness, dancing over a thick reef of breathing coral.
The sound of soft swishes announced his approach and she barreled up to the surface, her face breaking it and entering the world of land.~
Mina cracked open one eye, spying the rays of dawn peeking into her room. Disappointed, she swung her legs over the edge of her bed, muffling a yawn with her palm, patting her widely parted lips a few times as she yawned. Junior high school called, as much as she wished a freak hurricane would prevent her from having to go.
~Through the metal of his sub-armor, he could feel her hand in his, squeezing it gently. They were in the ocean, in the dark blue of the seawater, swimming through it. Bubbles surrounded her, obscuring her features for a second. Almost magically, the tiny bubbles wove into her long, pale gold hair, becoming, for just an instant, graceful pearls. She was the image of every beautiful mermaid in the fairytales his mother and sister had raised him on. Feeling shy all of a sudden, he turned around.
Then he was gripped from behind in a hug that all but stole his mind in its tenderness. Her cheek pressed against his back and he lifted his head, face flushing lightly. She released him after a bit, and he looked over his shoulder, watching her spiral backward, her arms outstretched. As she flew over a reef, he imagined her to be some kind of Greek goddess, like Aphrodite…
And as he swam after her, he wanted to beg her not to swim up to the surface; he couldn't follow her there…he wanted her to stay with him…~
Cye snapped his eyes open the instant his head impacted with the table. Clutching his sore forehead, he winced, hissing softly in pain. An idle glance at the clock had him forget about his aching head and the kinks in his back and neck, product of falling asleep in a hardwood chair. He was going to be late for Han'a High School's first bell.
*()*
Author's Notes: Geez, it took me long enough to get this out, no? *rolls eyes* Anyway, how did ya'll like it? Okay? Good? Not okay? Bad? Remember: Writers like to get comments! (Not flames, though. I don't feel like getting flames: school started on Monday the 20th here in New Mexico. Ah, the joys, of junior high. Bah. So, flames will make me feel SO bad that I'll actually THINK about school and NOT about my fanfics. Maybe that's what I should be doing in the first place…) Wow, it's been over a year since I first started writing DARK SECRETS [v1.0]…I can remember the response on the SMML (at www.moonpoint.com) when I posted the prologue…I can't believe they gave me compliments for THAT crap!! (Seriously. If you think THIS is bad, you do NOT want to know what it was like in its first draft. Oi. Do you know that I never got past the third chapter in the first version? And it's supposed to have at least fifteen chapters!! 0.o Eep.) And for the sake of this fanfic, please, please, PLEASE pretend that Han'a High School is in Tokyo and that the Ronins live nearby. (Okay, I know Ryo and his dad live in the mountains, but STILL…) Please?