Chapter 1.
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The world is a different place. Probably not even the same place. A different, haunting and jealous place. A new place. Where people of many types, cannot live together in peace.
And it all started as this.
The world has two types of species, the anime, and the humans. Although, the anime disagree with the humans being called 'humans' as they believe they are humans too. So the two groups are called the Anime, and the Inanimate. Although the name inanimate doesn't seem to fit, it was all they could come up with. You see, the inanimate are the ones like you and me. The Anime however, well, they were the people that looked like anime. They were anime. That was the difference. And for thousands of years, nobody cared. But then something incredibly disastrous happened. Some so stupid it's unimaginable. Something that would change the books forever. Split a nation. An alliance. A world. A war.
The students of Kingsvale Secondary School were collecting their books from their lockers, after a long school day. Cassie, a 13-year-old year 7 student, had just closed her lock and was going to turn around when –
"BOO!" a voice yelled as she threw her keys in the air in fright, as the scary creature lurched over her and 'attacked'.
"What are you doing?!" She yelled, half smiling as she bent over to pick up her keys.
"Same thing I do everyday! I stand behind you at your locker, you put your books away un-knowingly and then turn around to see my charming face scare you half to death. Every day." Teased a boy. He was Cassie's height, maybe a little taller, had spiky black hat hair and chestnut brown eyes.
"Small amusements…" Cassie muttered under her breath.
"Anyway come on you slowpoke! Were gonna miss the bus if we don't hurry up!" He said and gave her the look that she hated. He wanted to race her there.
"Excuse me Ash Ketchum but I don't see Rapidash written all over your slimy face!" She yelled as she raced off after the boy who had already gotten to the door of the hallway.
The two made it breathlessly to the bus stop, just as the bus was leaving.
"Shit." Cassie swore under her returning breath.
"Looks like were walking…" Ash said, trying to cheer up.
"Again." They both sighed together.
They both started effortlessly walking westward towards their homes. Not much talking went on between them, only small chatter, as they were both thinking about getting home and just relaxing, their feet were killing them!
"So… what's on TV tonight?" Ash asked, snapping Cassie out of her spacey-ness.
"Oh! Uh, nothing really, your show and that's about it…" she replied startled.
"Great! I love my show! I get to be in a TV show without actually having to do anything! Being an anime is great!" Ash said happily.
"Whys that?" Cassie asked, it was the same thing she asked him every time he said that it was great being an anime.
"Well, lets see, I get my own show! I mean what anime exists without a show or a story or something to them? None. Oh and the best part about my show is that I don't even have to act in it! It just appears!"
"True. Well, theres good sides to being an inanimate too!"
"Like…?"
"Well, we can…. uh… bah theres no good points!!!" Cassie cried, then fell to the ground sniffing and spluttering in self-pity.
"Come on Cassie… its not that bad to be inanimate… anyway anime most of the time get the short end of the stick…" Ash tried to relieve her.
Cassie sighed then started bawling again.
"Why can't I be an anime like you?! Then I could do anything! I could do that stupid fall or the starry eyes and even talk in Japanese and English!!" She yelled then went back to crying.
"Kanojo sekai….aka makai. –bloody hell… she's right–" He whispered to himself.
"Well…. Come on Cassie, you're already crying like Serena does! That must mean you've got a little anime in you…"
"Serena? You mean bunny ears or meatball head!" she said giggling, though the giggle didn't come out right so it sounded more like a waterlogged cough.
"Yeah, meatball head…"
"Ok!" Cassie said as she stood up and wiped the tears from her eyes, "I'll be ok now… thanks Ash."
"S'ok Cass! Come on!" He yelled, then did the annoying chasey face before running off in front of her.
"Ash! That's not fair! Come back here and start again!" she yelled at him as she ran home after him.
As the two skidded round the corner, Ash in the lead and Cassie just behind, the came to a sudden halt, as they saw Sakura Kinomoto sitting on her front porch looking out into the distance, then incessantly waving at them.
"Oh great heres trouble…" Ash moaned as the enthusiastic 12-year-old approached the two.
"Be nice!" Cassie whispered, half grinning as she whacked him on the arm.
"Hey guys!" Sakura greeted them with a weary smile.
"Hey Sakura! What's up in Primary School?" Ash mocked, he knew she hated being in primary school when most of her friends were already in year seven at the local high school.
"Hehe… nothing much. Not long now till I'm at the same school as you two again!"
"Grrrreeeeeaaaaaaatttttt……." Ash and Cassie groaned at the same time at the thought.
Sakura giggled happily ignorant of what they were thinking.
"Anyway, I wanted to tell you guys to keep on your feet for a while. Both Li and I sense something totally strong and it doesn't seem good."
"Yeah Li told us at school today that he felt weird" Ash teased, Li had been put up to year 7 earlier in the year because of his intelligence. Cassie saw his smirk out of the corner of her eye and mentally kicked him, but physically stepped on his toe hard, but just enough that Sakura didn't notice.
"Oh… well he just rang me and told me then." She replied trying to ignore the comment.
"Do you think it's a Clow card?" Cassie interrupted her moment of thought.
"Probably, Kero says its most likely an elemental card because its feels so strong. Well anyway watch out, its likely to target people like you, because, well, I think they like to get people who are my friends before they get me… you know… to wear me down."
"Uh… yeah we better watch out" Ash said sarcastically.
"We'll keep a good eye out for it Sakura!" Cassie said happily as she half dragged Ash off by the ear.
"Alright Mr. Smarty-pants lets get going…" She whispered to him once they were well away from the Kinomoto residence.
After Cassie had let go of his bright red ear, the two started talking again.
"I don't see why you're so mean to her Ash! I mean sure… she a little annoying, like you aren't… and yeah she's sometimes even more of a ditz than me! I mean that's an achievement… but its nothing to get pissed off about. I mean, you always laugh when I fall over!"
"I'm not laughing at you… I'm laughing with you… just pointing at you and telling you you're the clumsiest person on Earth!" Ash replied, acting like a smart-ass, which he was, which wasn't unusual.
"Yeah well I just wish you'd be less over the top with being mean to her… I mean she misses us HEAPS since we left primary school last year, and it's been even worse since Li went up too!"
"Ok… I'll try and be a BIT nicer… I mean she could hurt me seriously with those wacko card things she carries round with her all the time!"
"Exactly" Cassie said with a satisfied smile.
Almost reaching home (a few 100m away), Cassie suddenly remembered that she forgot her maths homework!
"Oh my god how could I have forgotten that!! She gives us homework everyday how could I?!" Cassie yelled, going frantic, she didn't want to have to walk half and hour back to school for homework.
"Don't worry Cassie!! Stop freaking out and listen!!" Ash said, trying to calm her down, she seemed to be over reacting for this situation.
"Come on Cassie! We can take the short cut!" He said, and grabbed her wrist and guided her jogging slightly through the small forest that lay between the road that Ash and Cassie lived on and the main road that the school was on.
"Ash we can't go through there! Mum won't let me and plus you heard Sakura! She said to watch out and this is NOT the place I want to be right now after hearing that!" She said, trying to convince him out of it, but trudging on.
The forest was only small, a couple of hundred metres around the perimeter maybe. Nobody ever ventured in it, so the road that Cassie and Ash took to go home went all they way around it, making their trek long and annoying.
maybe he'll stop when we get just a little bit into the forest she thought.
But Ash kept running. He only seemed to run. She ran behind him, slightly slower as always, while he still had hold of her wrists. Something was different. He didn't even speak, and he just kept running into the forest. When they reached just into the forest so they couldn't see the break of it, just trees, he stopped.
"Aren't we going to the school Ash?" Cassie asked, getting a little scared and clinging onto his jacket.
Ash looked around, as though he could see something that wasn't there.
"Sshhh…" he whispered, holding her hand.
"Just wait here ok, I'm gonna check something…" Ash said, wearily, then walked off into the bushes.
"Ash! Don't leave me here…. alone…" Cassie whispered to him, but he didn't hear.
Cassie fell to the ground, afraid to move from that spot. She knew anime were different to her and the other inanimates, but Ash usually told her when he could sense something present, but this time he just went off. Suddenly she heard a rustling in the bushes from where Ash went. The rustling then turned into a slight running noise, and then a very loud one. And then finally she saw Ash run out of the bushes faster than she'd ever seen him run. He ran almost straight past her but just as he went by he grabbed her by the arm and raced her out the forest in front of him.
"Ash what happened?!" Cassie screamed as she bolted out of the forest.
"Clow card! I think. Just keep running!" Ash yelled as he guided her to the edge of the forest. When they reached the grassy area in front of the forest the stopped and collapsed, exhausted.
"Ash why did we stop running?! The thing will catch us if we don't keep going!" Cassie yelled, still trying to catch her breath.
"It won't venture very far out of the forest, well not at daytime at least. Come on… lets go get Li or someone." Ash said, breathing deeply. He tried to stand up, but failed pathetically, and collapsed breathless on the ground again.
"Ash! What was it in there?" Cassie asked getting worried, aftershock.
"Like I said.. a Clow card probably…"
"And you know what a Clow card looks like because….?"
"I just do. Sakura warned us about one, Li could sense one, then this horrible monster lurks around the bushes and your telling me I don't know what I'm talking about?"
"Guess your right. You never know though, could have been one of Beryl's minions." Cassie warned teasing him.
"Maybe… we should tell Serena too then, or at least Luna, Serena might go ballistic if we say that…" Ash said and both of them sighed, thinking about how pathetic she could be.
"Yeah… can we go home first at least?" Cassie began to whine.
Ash laughed and whacked her on the head playfully.
"Sure, come on ya whacko…" he teased.
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So.. how ya like? Review me and I mmmmaaaayyy post more ;) lol ok! I'm already chapters ahead of this soo… nya-ah! Oh well keep reading (please!!)
-'Mist
bakacasoodle@hotmail.com
