Dream Saga: Nakatsukuni

Author Notes: Ack! Apparently, I lost the "Author Notes" at the bottom of the first chapter since I kept updating it. Oh well. If anyone wants them back, I'll re-update them again in the near future. Anyways, I went back to both the Prelude and Act One editing them once again! I changed some of their punctuation concerning the real way to type quotes. I was doing it incorrectly like I use to do with my CCS fic. Unfortunate that I can't break that habit after all these years! I must also find a way to go around this site's omitting of having their name in my A.N.s.

It seems easier for me to update once a month. You can expect a new chapter up here before or exactly on the eleventh of each month (since I started on the eleventh, I felt like keeping it as a traditional deadline).

My response to you four reviewers:

Ladywarrior12- I'm pretty sure you can write better than me. You just need to practice, have a good imagination (which shouldn't be too hard), stick to a central plot, and be very patient. Also, read some books as reference for ideals on writing skills. I've been typing fan fiction since junior high but I don't consider my current writing level super good at all. I only see it as an improvement from the past. Nothing else. Thank you. I'm glad that I was able to help you get interested in Dream Saga: Takamagahara. I do recommend for you to read the series in order to get a better understanding of the characters and so on.

Fullmoonrose- Yup! Reading the final book does make everything clearer, otherwise, my warning note in Act One will serve no real purpose. I did put down a summarized version of it a little in Act One but it's nothing compared to the real thing.

Kiari Sage- Thank you, although, really THAT good? I've found a lot of fics better than this. Honestly! My work isn't that great. Nahhhh… (:-D)

Link Fangirl01- Hmmmmm… You'll find out definitely in this Act but I can't reveal its true intentions yet. My lips are sealed! (grins grins)

Disclaimer: I don't own Megumi Tachikawa's manga "Dream Saga: Takamagahara", her characters, her storyline, and also, her website. All of what has been mentioned is, and will always be, of Tachikawa-san's property.

Key:
"speech"
'thought'

Something critical is about to happen, but, is it okay to proceed as if it never occurred?

: Mysterious Magatama - Act 2 :

Yuuki was staring with wide eyes at the brown stone that resembled half of a yin-yang symbol. The magatama. After a few minutes have passed, the girl managed to compose herself so that both of her arms went to her sides. She stared straight at the boy holding the stone.

"Keima, where did you find this?"

"That's the strange part that I don't understand. It was lying near the entrance to a park near my house. It's very different from how we found ours in the past."

"Different? What do you mean by that?"

"I was walking with Souta on our way to school when we came across it. So, if this magatama was sent to us, who exactly should be the one to receive it?"

"Does it have anything written on it?"

"No," Souta came into the conversation with his arms crossed at his chest. "It could be someone else's magatama that was accidentally dropped on the ground. You know? The normal kind."

"But what if it isn't?" Nachi asked with concern.

"Well, as far as I can tell. It looks completely normal to me. Let's try to break it and see if it's real or not," Souta took the stone out of Keima's hand. He rose the stone into the air in an attempt to throw it to the ground.

"Wait!" Taizou's voice rang out loud causing Souta to freeze in his position.

"What is it? Can't you tell I'm in an experiment right now?" Souta looked over his shoulder to see Taizou coming over towards him. Yuuki and Nachi exchanged glances. Taizou instantly grabbed Souta's wrist with the hand that's holding the magatama.

"I don't care about this being some kind of experiment but let me break that stone!"

"No! You'll only break it into millions of pieces!"

"But isn't that exactly the same thing that you're doing right now?"

"I'm not that careless compared to you…"

"What did you say?"

Yuuki had enough. Angry veins were popping all over her face as she got between both boys.

"Stop it! Both of you! Can't you see that you have the same goal?"

This easily got Souta and Taizou's attentions right away. Nachi sighed as he walked up beside Yuuki.

"She's right. You can't accomplish this if both of you guys keep acting like guys."

Taizou shot Nachi a grumpy look.

"Excuse me? Did you forget that you're a guy in Nakatsukuni?"

"Well… I have my ways of trying to keep my Takamagahara self satisfied," Nachi grinned as usual. "You can help by kindly letting go of Souta, first."

"Hmpf!" Taizou glared hard at Souta who only glared back. Both boys had a short glaring contest in silence. He eventually let go of Souta's wrist and stomped off towards the corner of the room. His sulking figure didn't give Yuuki the most pleasant vibe but she knew, he'll recover eventually. Souta was rubbing his wrist gently as he noticed how red it was. Suddenly, something else caught his eyesight.

"!"

"What is it, Souta? Did that stupid Taizou hurt you badly?" Nachi was fretting over Souta's expression. Yuuki gazed at where Souta was looking.

"The magatama is gone!" she exclaimed loudly. Taizou lifted his sulking head to look at where everyone else was. Soon, they all heard a noise coming from the music room's door. It began to slowly slide open. Everyone's hearts began to pound loudly as they all forgot that they were in a public facility.

"Yo! How's everyone doing?" Keima's smooth voice echoed all around the room. Everyone fell to the floor at once.

"You've been away? How come we didn't even notice?" Souta was about to go a bit nuts in front of Keima. The boy's smile did not fade once as he stepped into the music room shutting the door carefully behind him.

"While you guys were having a fun time insulting each other, I managed to steal and sneak the magatama to the bathroom."

"What? Why?"

"Please stop screaming in my ears mister four-eyes or I'm going to have to invent something that'll quiet you down. Anyways…," Keima pulled something from his pocket which was the magatama wrapped in toilet tissue, "I put this in hot water to see if it would give off reactions like any normal stone."

"And?" Souta asked this in a more quieter voice.

"What happened next was astounding. There were images coming from the stone appearing in thin air!"

"Do you think we can see what you're talking about? What you're saying is like something from some science fiction movie," Taizou's voice gave Yuuki a small jump in fright as she didn't realize that he was standing behind her.

"Sure, but this shouldn't be too surprising for all of us. I mean, remember two years ago?" Keima opened the music room door again looking back at everyone as he asked the question.

"YES! We know! Just go, Keima! This may give us a hint to our dreams!" Souta's voice sounded high in excitement. It was as if, he was super bored for most of his life until Keima came in with the news. He ran out of the room following Keima in an instant. The remaining three people in the room began to race for the door. Unfortunately, they all got stuck in the doorway as they tried to get out at the same time. This didn't stop Yuuki from being reminded of something.

"Oh, that's right. Your dreams! You guys never told me it!" Yuuki was able to squeeze herself through the music room door since her body was the smallest out of the three.

"Idiot Taizou! Move!" Nachi was growling at the other boy.

"No, you're in my way! Girly Nachi! If you weren't so girly, I would pound ya right here!"

Both boys kept squirming at each other for a few more seconds before Yuuki came running back to get them. She grabbed Nachi's uniform sleeve and began to pull hard on him.

"If you keep causing me this much trouble, I don't know what I'd do next! Both of you can fit right through that door just fine! You're just standing there having a mini fist fight!"

-----

"Sorry! Had some trouble getting these two dolts to behave," Yuuki glared hard at Nachi and Taizou as they entered the boys' bathroom sloppily. Both boys had a few bumps across their heads. They refused to look at each other regardless of whether they were walking or standing. Keima simply smiled at the scene as he turned on the faucet at one of the five sinks. Souta stared with that hard look of his. Nothing's really changed at all during these past two years, or so they thought.

"Hey Yuuki? What happens if someone catches you here? I mean, this is the boys' toilet," Souta blinked as he remembered that Yuuki was there among them.

"No trouble! I can always hide in one of those stalls, right?" the only girl, among all the boys in the room, pointed to a random stall with its door opened half-way.

"Shh! It's happening!" Keima's excited voice erupted around the restroom. Everyone turned their attention toward Keima's sink. His hands were cupped around the magatama as they were sitting underneath the running water. In between his cupped hands was an odd yellowish glowing light. It began to grow bigger until a new flash of light occurred that resembled the flash off of a camera.

Yuuki squinted a bit so she wouldn't miss whatever's going on, at the same time, try not to be blinded by the light's flash. As soon as the flash wore off, everyone was able to adjust their vision and their attention became focused back at where Keima was standing. What they saw next made a few of their jaws drop.

------

He was walking with a medium pace of speed. His shoes were making soft sounds against the ground as he went. He kept walking past a park, a child's playground, a few stores, and eventually, into another residential street. After passing six houses, he turned to his left and ended up facing a waist-height fence.

"Takaomi, welcome back," said a middle-aged man, who came out of the house to greet the boy at the fence.

"Father, I'm home," said the boy emotionlessly as he opened the gate to let himself in.

"How was your first day of school? Did you find your old friends? Any of them?"

"Yes, old man. I did."

"Takaomi! How many times do I have to tell you how rude that is! You even have to keep calling your own mother 'Grandma'?"

"Because, she is not of my concern. I can call her whatever I want."

His father sighed. It wasn't the first time that he had to deal with his son's unusual behavior. Hopefully though, he could find a cure to this and make this year, the last he would see of it. He smiled wistfully as he watched his only son walk into their house slamming the front door behind him.

---

Takaomi grimaced as he entered his bedroom. There was someone sitting on his bed...again. He hastily closed the bedroom door making sure no one was outside the hallway. Upon closing it, the figure stood up from Takaomi's bed. He was wearing a long purple cloak embedded with a few navy blue jewels. His face was hidden underneath the cloak's hood. Only a few strands of brown hair could be seen streaming down within the sides of the hood.

"He has not returned yet?" were the very first words that escaped his mouth. Takaomi glared hard at the guest. He hated how this person in front of him reminded him of what he's trying to escape.

"Daes, right? It can probably be a long time before he returns. In fact, I can guarantee you that he's living a much happier life in Yomi," Takaomi couldn't help but say it in a sarcastic tone of voice.

"I understand. I shall report this to Master, then. Although, Master is rather displeased of what you've done with the course of destiny."

"Yah yah. Blah! I don't care what you say. This has nothing to do with me but him! Why don't you go and find him? Why keep coming to me?"

"Because, you contain a part of him. That is why, I was asked upon Master's wish to keep surveillance on you."

"……….You knew?" Takaomi's face turned a little pale.

"I've always knew. Always. Ever since the first day we met, I could sense that in you. Thus, I realized that if I went to find him, not all of him would be there."

"…… G-get out! Leave! I order you to leave my presence at once!"

"As you wish. I will be back though," the cloaked figure bowed slightly before vanishing into the air. Takaomi rubbed his forehead a little as he placed his school bag onto his desk. He didn't think he could pull his stunt off for two years now, but he's beginning to worry that his façade will be broken soon. Eventually, he'll be discovered for who he really is. Not now though.

The boy stepped towards his bed and fell backwards on it staring up at the ceiling. His expression could be read as pensive or lost in thought. He knew his time was running short. Especially, if that Daes guy kept snooping around him. Curling up into a ball, he stayed that way until he fell dead asleep.

-----

"It's Takaomi at his third-grade birthday party! I remembered that!" Yuuki squealed upon seeing the image in mid-air floating above Keima's head. It showed a little Takaomi smiling as he was about to blow out his candles. Everyone stared in amazement as they watched the floating image like it was some kind of silent movie. The only difference to an old fashion silent movie was that it was in color.

"I don't understand. What's going on? Is that Takaomi's memory or something?" Taizou couldn't let his eyes off of the projection.

"We don't really know for sure. I could theorize a little as to the connection of that magatama to Takamagahara though" Souta adjusted his glasses as he watched Takaomi beginning to announce what he wished for to all of his classmates. Of course, no one in the restroom could hear him but they could tell what he was saying.

"Ok, my hands are becoming numb. I'm going to turn off the sink now," Keima reached towards the faucet to turn it off. Yuuki felt her heart pounding as the image started to fade. Just seeing Takaomi's carefree smile brought her some yearning to go back in time.

"Hey! Oi! What are ya doing? There could be something important at the end of this projection!" Souta ran towards Keima's side at the sink. Keima, himself, was simply staring at the magatama as if he was lost in a daze. Was it really that simple to begin with? He sighed and turned to face everyone in the room. His eyes settled onto Yuuki's.

"You want to know about our dream that we shared? All four of us?"

"…… Yes!" Yuuki lit up a hopeful face toward her friends. Now, it was time for whatever the boys were hiding to be revealed upon her.

"Keima, maybe we should wait. The dream might not mean anything after all," Souta turned to Keima with a worried expression.

"No, she has every right to hear this," Keima beamed. Souta huffed out a grunt before letting the boy continue.

"In our sleep, we ended up in some alternate dimension of some sort. The area was very foggy so we couldn't see well. These three people in long cloaks were standing before us. One was holding a sword. The second person was carrying a long staff. The third person was holding a magatama. We had no ideal why they appeared before us, nor, did we realize that we were all having the same dream.

The magatama, that the third person was holding, was exactly the same type of magatama as this one in my hand. Interesting, right? Before we left that dimension, one of the figures spoke to us."

"Yeah, it was rather sad actually," Nachi interrupted Keima's story with a shock look on his face. "That guy said this, 'Help us young ones for you are among the destined to re-direct his fate. Help us find him!' Rather suspicious, don't cha think?" Nachi finally grinned.

"Well, at least you are getting more exciting dreams than I do," Yuuki didn't quite understand her friends' descriptions too well. She stretched slightly before gazing at her watch. A worried look appeared across her face.

"What is it? You have to go?" Souta followed her gaze transfer from the watch to the bathroom's door. Without taking her attention away from the door, she responded in a clear voice.

"Un. Yeah. I forgot that I need to buy groceries before going home. My parents are both going to be out leaving me to baby-sit the rest of the family."

"Should we go with you? Just in case anything strange happens?"

"No, it's ok! I'll be fine on my own," Yuuki turned around for her last look at all of her friends before waving and exiting out the door. "See you tomorrow!"

----

A few minutes after Yuuki left, the entire bathroom became quiet. Taizou had his arms crossed as he stood up straight from his leaning position against one of the stalls.

"You twisted the story a bit."

"Me? Oh, wait. You mean Nachi," Souta shot daggers at the blonde haired boy who smiled sheepishly at him.

"Hey, I didn't want to worry her that much," Nachi shrugged like it was no big deal.

"If she found out, I don't think she'll forgive us," Keima stared innocently at his friends who all backed away from him because of his expression.

"And if someone found you guys out, I'll be the one to take the credit!" interrupted a newcomer's voice. Everyone quickly turned towards the bathroom door. To their surprise, they saw a dark brown haired boy, their age, standing there holding the door slightly open behind him.

"What do you mean by that?" Souta gazed at him suspiciously.

"A girl was seen coming from the guys' toilet. Don't you think it's rather strange? Something must've happened here," the boy whipped his head back and forth as if he could spot something more.

"That girl came into here by mistake. There's nothing going on here," Souta waved his hands in front of him representing 'no'. The newcomer smirked.

"I'm not stupid. You shouldn't let your guard down when it comes to people like me. I'm not like the other ignorant people around here. You better be careful tomorrow, idiots. There might be trouble following. Especially, for that girl. ….Excuse me," the boy pushed his way through the restroom and headed toward one of the stalls. As soon as he slammed his stall door behind him, Souta and everyone else quickly got out of the room. Their expressions were mixed between anger and surprise.

-----

"Who was he? Is he a new student? What he said creeps me out a little," Nachi's voice was floating above the four boys' heads. They were finally walking outside breathing in the fresh late afternoon air. Their school was several blocks away behind them now.

"Peh. Who cares? We have a lot of new incoming students transferring to our school, you know? Probably someone who thinks he knows better than everyone else," Taizou had his hands resting against the back of his head.

"………….," Souta thought silently to himself. He knew something isn't right. Takaomi's behavior. The magatama. Even that boy. Everything was a puzzle to him. His eyes tightened as he began to replay events over in his head.

'It doesn't make sense at all!'

------

"Yuuki….," a voice whispered around her room as soon as she got out of her bathroom wearing her pajamas and had a towel laying across her shoulder. She didn't pay much attention to it first, but, the second time the voice spoke, she jumped.

"Yuuki! Get away from your mirror! Hurry! Run!"

"Eh?" the girl froze and looked immediately at her mirror. There was something eerie coming through it. A mini black hole billowing with light smoke. An insect's tentacle was creeping out of the hole slowly.

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>>>To be continued…

Extra Author Notes:

Ahhh.. I couldn't stop typing this up! I had to end it somewhere. Right now, the plot is still on a slow pace. The main action is probably going to start in the next chapter. See you next month! (waves hands)

Extra Extra Note: I'd like to point out to westerners that in a lot of Asian and other nearby countries in the eastern Pacific, they don't use the words "bathroom" or "restroom" in their public places. They use "toilet". So, if you were in Australia or Taiwan, you would ask "Can I use the toilet?"