LIKE THE RAIN FALLS

CHAPTER ONE

ILLUSIONS OF REALITY

Small droplets of ice cold rain descended down from the dark skies. They hit the concrete and asphalt ground with hard sploshes and splatters before collecting at the side of the road and running down the streets in river-like streams.

A girl with short and spiky, vivid blue hair sat on the ledge of a tall statue of angels and demons that rose far above the city's main level. The rain would have soaked and pelted her just as much, if not more, than the people down below, but she had withdrawn to the shade and protection of a large wing of one of the demonic gargoyles. She sat with her legs hanging over the edge and her back against one of the angels' legs. The rim of her black leather trench coat was slightly damp from the spray of the splutters of water as they continued to fall quickly from the heavens. She opened her grey eyes that matched with the stone behind her and looked across the city.

A faint mist covered each rooftop with the droplets breaking away from each drop as they cascaded heavily and collided with the hard brick roofs. Each one looked the same. It was like taking a picture, printing it over and over again, and then stapling them next to one another. She lowered her gaze to look directly down beneath her. Her view shifted from one of calm serenity to one of the hustling and bustling that could only be expected of a city. Below was a sea of black umbrellas shifting through the streets. She pictured the black water gently rolling through the currents and waves.


In a small apartment in the center of town, a group of six young people were gathered together. Twins, Risa and Riku, sat on two separate chairs, both female but one with long brown hair and brown eyes and the other with short red hair and red eyes. A boy, Daisuke, with red hair and red eyes sat in a chair at the table along with another boy, Takeshi, with brown eyes and black hair. In a couch in front of the TV was a boy with long blonde hair and blue eyes, Krad, sitting next to another boy, Satoshi, with short blue hair and blue eyes.

"Where could she be? Do you think we should call her? Or go look for her? What if she got hurt?" Risa was worried about their friend, a girl with blue hair and grey eyes, who was supposed to meet them to go to the movies. Riku laughed at her worry and offered an excuse.

"Come on Risa, this is Morgan we're talking about here. You know she wouldn't get hurt. If anything, she's probably picking a fight." An even more worried look washed over Risa's face at the thought that maybe she had gotten hurt in a fight. Riku saw this and quickly added. "Besides, she wouldn't need our help to kick some punk's ass. She'll do just fine on her own."

"Yeah Risa, she probably just stopped somewhere to do something. She's never been one to be early or on time anyways." Daisuke attempted to assist Riku in calming down her twin.

"I wonder if she bought anything from those weird gypsies she gets all her cool stuff from! I can't wait to see what she got this time!" Takeshi couldn't wait to see what their friend brought home this time. They knew her for bringing home strange things with magikal properties. Either that or stopping by the Match Box, a small magik store, to learn some new tricks or but more cards or dice.

It was an unrealistic hope since she had quit magik five years ago when their other close friend, Dark, left. Of course, she practiced secretly and they all knew that, but didn't put on anymore public performances at bars of clubs anymore. Not even private ones for them, no matter how much they bugged and annoyed her about it. Just her room was filled with objects new and old used for magik or whatnot. Morgan was not a witch, but good at impersonating one.

Before Dark was forced to leave for the military, Morgan was always energetic, funny and humorous, and always had a good joke to tell. A conversation wouldn't be complete if she didn't offer her two cents and your day wasn't properly ruined unless she was there to help with sarcastic comments and rude remarks. And even if she was mean, it was always funny in one way or another.

Now that he had left, she mostly kept to herself and talked only when necessary. She and Dark had known each other since they were in diapers and it hurt her very much that he left. They almost never went anywhere without the other. They even shared the same roof to live under. Whenever she did speak, her remarks were still sarcastic, but no longer rude and funny. Now they were cold and biting, meant to hurt and not simply make fun of.


Her slight daze was broken when she felt the presence of someone watching her. She shot a quick look over her shoulder and saw a dark figure. She quickly spun around and stood at the same time. A figure stood behind her completely covered by the shadows. She threw a slow punch at it but was caught and had her arm twisted behind her back.

"I knew I could find you here Blue." She stopped struggling and froze, partially in disbelief and partially in recognition of the stranger's voice. The figure belonging to the smooth dark voice released his grip on her arms and stood back from her. She turned around slowly, afraid that it was all just a dream and that if she tried to look; he would disappear with letting her see him. Before she could turn around all the way, he put his hands over her eyes.

"C'mon, guess who?" His voice teased her playfully but it was no joke for her. He took it all too lightly. She put her hands over his on her face and followed them up to his wrists and then his arms, as far as she could go.

"Mouse?" Her voice was a shaky whisper that disappeared as it was blown away with the wind. "Oh Mouse, Mouse! Wherefore art thou small white rodent? Deny thy breed and refuse thy race; or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my pet, and I'll no longer be a color." She put up a small, feeble attempt at a joke; it was their own version of a few lines written in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. He remembered and played along, taking his hands away from her face.

"But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks! It is the east and Blue is the color. Arise, fair color, and kill the envious rainbow, who is already sick and pale with grief! That thou her maiden art far more fair than she!" All they did was take the verses and twist the words slightly to make them humorous.

"My only love sprung from my only hate, too early seem unknown and known too late. Prodigious birth of love is to me, that I must love a loathed enemy." It was their own little joke, just between the two of them.

"Why then, oh brawling love, oh loving hate, oh anything of nothing first create?" She turned to face him fully and the shock that she wasn't dreaming almost hit her too hard. She quickly looked him over and how he had changed in the time they hadn't seen each other.

"Your lips speak soft sweetness
Your touch a cool caress
I am lost in your magic
My heart beats within your chest
I think of you each morning
And dream of you each night
I think of your arms being around me
And cannot express my delight
Never have I fallen
But I am quickly on my way
You hold a heart in your hands
That has never before been given away." He surprised her with a few verses she didn't recognize. She pouted and thought quickly.

"But in her web she still delights
To weave the mirror's magik sights,
For often through the silent nights
A funeral, with plumes and lights
The Lady of Shallot." Proud with her response, she let a small smile grace her lips. "Besides, too much Romeo and Juliet can get you thinking." She winked at him. He put his hands on her waist and pushed her off over the edge, not letting go. She let her arms wander around his neck as he twirled her around and around in midair. Black feathery wings emerged from his back and through a couple of slits in the back of his black shirt. He had dark purple hair and exotic matching eyes to go with a charming Mr. Sexy smile.

"Oh Dark, I can't believe you really came back!" She said after he finally stopped spinning them in the air, but held her close to him, beating his wings to keep them suspended as the rain soaked them from head to foot.

"Of course I came back! I'm sorry it took me so long, I told you three years but it was really five." He looked at her guiltily and waited for her response. She slapped his hard across the face, snapping his head to the side.

"You jackass! I thought you were dead! Couldn't you even have written a letter of called! Once! Just to let me know you were still alive!" Her eyes burned and she felt a pressure in her nose as tears welled up in her eyes. She shook with rage until finally the tears overflowed and fell to earth along with all the other drops of rain.

"I would have called Blue, honestly. But I never got a chance to! When I was finally released, I wanted to see you so bad that I didn't even bother to call, I wanted it to be a surprise." She hugged him tightly to her as waves of tears raked her thin frame. He too held her tightly and began flying in the direction of the small apartment on the corner of Twelfth Street and Clear Springs.

She released them once their feet touched he ground and he opened the door for her. An argument between Krad and Takeshi immediately stopped as soon as the door opened and Morgan walked in. They suspected something was wrong when they saw the smile on her face and the door shutting on it's own without help from anyone. She immediately had their attention as she stood in front of the black television screen. She demanded respect without even saying a word. It was strange how Morgan could walk into a room and she didn't even have to do anything for things to happen around her. It's as if her mere presence was enough.

"Hey there sports fans, is there anyone from the audience that would like to volunteer? Anyone? Anyone?" Takeshi's hand shot into the air. Even the ever-quiet Satoshi had set down his book and was wondering what had gotten into her. This sort of cheerfulness was not something she had been offering recently. Takeshi knew she was doing a magik trick and wanted desperately to be part of it.

"Ah, thank you Takeshi." He began to stand up and walk over to her but she quickly got to him first and pushed him back down into the chair. "No need to get up, just relax and don't worry. It's all good, right?" It certainly was all good, now that Dark was back, but they didn't know that small particular so it seemed to them as if she were possessed. She stood behind Takeshi and put her hands on his shoulders. He got the Goosebumps underneath her and she couldn't help but giggle. She began rubbing her hand over his face as if trying to wash dirt off of him. Little by little, she wiped away and something different appeared until Takeshi's face looked like an exact replica of Dark's. She handed him a mirror and he almost dropped it. Everyone applauded and she smiled happily.

Next she cracked her knuckles and with each crack, something changed about him to make him look more and more like Dark. The group watched in fascination as she recreated their long-lost friend. Finally, she arranged his clothes and swiped her hand over his throat, changing his voice to match Dark's. "Ta-da! And there you have it sports fans, Dark Mousy has come back home after his five year absence!" She expected applause but got none. "You've been a great audience... Thanks." She bowed low and wondered why they didn't like him. "What's wrong you guys?" She asked after finally realizing the looks on their faces. Satoshi was indifferent as always, except this time it was a little more standoff-ish than usual. Daisuke and Riku were in shock with their mouths hanging open. Krad seemed to have taken it offensively and Risa looked as if she were about to burst into tears.

"Look Morgan, we know you're upset about Dark leaving. We know it really hurt you, a lot. And we know that we could never miss him as much as you do or feel as much pain as you do, but please, be rational, for all of us because we all do miss him very much." Morgan stood confused as Satoshi spoke to her.

"So is that where you were all this time we were waiting for you to go to the movies? You were buying some new crap at that store so you could show us your reappearing act of Takeshi into Dark. How pitiful." Krad glared at her hatefully.

"He's right Morgan; Risa was worried sick about you, we all were. You know that turning someone else into Dark won't bring him back. He's dead Morgan. He won't be coming back." Daisuke's comment finally took the confused girl and shone a light of understanding on her. The corner of her mouth twitched into a smile and she chuckled to herself.

"And to think I thought you guys would enjoy a magic trick. After all, it's been five years since I've done an illusion. The thing is, this is really Dark. Dark really came back." A chorus of sighs echoed around the room and Risa burst into tears. Riku tried desperately to calm her.

"Great, we lost her now. She's gone over the deep end. Nothing can bring him back Morgan. Not even magik!" Krad put his head in his hand and leant on the sofa's arm rest.

"What are you talking about Morgan? What's going on?" Daisuke seemed slightly more worried and agitated as he tried to figure out what was really going on.

"Look." Morgan walked over to the cabinet and yanked open the door. Out tumbled Takeshi as he spread over the Oriental rug grunting with cramps from being stuck in the small space for so long. "See? Here's Takeshi and here's Dark. There's no illusion, I was just messing around with you guys. I didn't think you'd take me so seriously while I was trying to do magik. You never used to." She trailed off quietly and soon the whole room was in silence as Dark gave them his best smile and stood next to Morgan with one arm around her neck in a friendly manner.

"Sorry I didn't call or send you a letter, I never got the chance." Risa had stopped crying and was now staring incredulously. Dark wasn't sure if he preferred the crying Risa or the staring one. Either way, he was beginning to feel uncomfortable as nobody moved not even a millimeter. "Wow, I didn't realize Morgan got to good at magik that she can make people turn to stone. Nice work Blue, they almost look life-like." She giggled but still no one moved an inch. Krad inched closer and closer until he was only about two feet away from Dark. He punched him softly in the stomach and received a growl in response. Krad's features lit up as he realized Morgan was telling the truth; Dark really had come back.