Ice Obsession- chapter 3

Mannen slept under the warm covers of his bed. He tossed and turned while he was in a dream. It was dark out and only stars and fireflies lit the sky. It was fairly warm and at the end of summer.

Mannen looked around him. He was in a dark purgatory with no up and no down. He heard his name being called and turned but found no one. "Mannen. someone called again. In his head a picture of Himino passed. Again his name was called and he thought of Go, then Hajime, then Shin then the rest of his friends.

"Mannen."

"Who's there?"

"Mannen. The well."

"What?"

"The well."

He was suddenly in a forest with a woman who looked like Himino. She pointed deeper into the forest.

Mannen woke up. He stood outside looking into the forest. "Huh?" he said confused.

"Mannen!" Chiyome came running out and hugging him. "I made breakfast!"

"I had a weird dream."

"What about?"

"I'm not sure..."

"Come eat." she tugged on his arm. They walked into the house.

Sometime later Chiyome asked Mannen to run into town and fetch some things. Mannen commented that she was treating him like a dog and Chiyome responded by patting him on the head. He took his time walking through the forest and into town.

When Mannen arrived he found some towns folk gathered around something. He pushed through the crowd to find a little girl being pushed around. "Hey! Cut it out!" Mannen yelled. When they wouldn't stop, he grabbed the girl's hand and ran. But the crowd of people would not give up so easy and gave chase.

Finally, they lost them in the forest and now they walked towards Chiyome's house. "So, what's your name?"

"Nana." the young girl told him. She was about 7 and had a plain dress on. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail and she had droopy eyes. "I'm an orphan.

"Why were those people hurting you?"

"I stole something to eat."

The rest of the way they walked in silence. They got to the house and Chiyome was waiting outside. "She's so cute!" Chiyome ran and hugged Nana. "You must be hungry!"

They all sat around the table as Nana ate. "Do you have anyplace to live?" Chiyome asked. Nana shook her head. "Live here with me! All you have to do is keep the house clean! That will be your job."

"Really?" Chiyome nodded. "Thank you Master Chiyome!"

"Just Chiyome."

Mannen walked away silently. As he walked he could hear the two talking and it faded slowly. He was now outside looking out into the forest. He didn't want to know but he knew what he was thinking about...Reki. Nana reminded him of Reki. What was she doing now that he was gone? What were all of them doing? Why was he thinking about this now?

"Mannen, the well." he heard someone say. The same person...from his dream! He couldn't remember before but now he did. What did it mean? What well? He took a step forward and for a moment he could have sworn it was a nightmare but something he didn't want to wake up from just yet. He backed away, back into the house and away from whatever was pulling him into the forest.

"I'm sorry...Reki...everyone." he thought to himself. He walked into the room where the other two had been eating but they were gone. "Figures..." suddenly someone covered his eyes.

"What's wrong, Mannen?" Chiyome's voice asked.

"I wish I knew..."

"Is it something from home?"

"Just thinkin."

"About what?"

"Why are you so nosey?"

Chiyome pulled at his cheeks. She leaned over into his ear. "Fallow her." she whispered then ran away to find Nana who was outside sweeping.

"What?" Mannen soon fallowed. He felt a single raindrop fall on the tip of his nose. He looked up at the stormy sky then closed his eyes. He wanted to welcome the rain and he wanted the rain to wash away all this confusion.

"Please go..." a woman's voice said.

"Go where?" Mannen thought.

"Maaaaaaaannen!" Chiyome called. "Traaaaaining!" she looked at the boy then tilted her head. "Mannen?"

"Go where? Go where?" he mumbled to himself. He then felt someone pulling on his cheeks. He knew who it was but he tried very hard to ignore her. Angry grew inside of him while he tried not to think about it. But he soon exploded. "WHAT DO YOU WANT, CHIYOME!" he yelled at her. She looked at him with puppy-dog eyes.

"I just wanted to train you. Your so mean." she fake cried.

Mannen sighed. "I'm..." he mumbled.

"What was that?"

"I'm sorry, ok?"

"You learn so well."

"What?"

"You haven't said your sorry too often have you?"

"Errr..."

"It's good to apologize when you hurt someone."

Mannen thought instantly of Shin. He always made him cry or would tease him when he cried. Was it really that bad, what he did to his little brother? Surely he knew that Mannen was only teasing,right? Maybe...he didn't. Maybe none of them knew how sorry he was for all the trouble he caused or that he didn't mean anything by it. He just liked to cause mischief. He was so thankful to them for taking care of him while he was sick... and for worrying about him.

He looked out into the forest again. "I wonder..."

"Whatcha thinkin' 'bout?" he didn't answer her but continued to stare into the unknown forest which held a secret, a secret he would soon uncover.

FeatherWings: I'm glad someone's reading this story. T.T please keep reviewing!

tidus2529- yeah, I'm alive. guess I was frustrated. thank you for reviewing! n.n

bobbyneko- yup a sequal! I have more to come! -thumbs up-