Ah, so you've decided you want to keep reading. It was a bold decision, but it was a good one. I know you wont be disappointed.

And for your reviews, Dragi and Kouzumi, I thank you. You guys rock. You have the honors of first reviewers.

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And so the story begins...

Chapter One

The day was almost over at Woodinville High School; soon everyone would be able to throw their books into their bags and rush home from the hated place. Takuya stared up at the round black clock that sat above his Teacher's desk, wishing with all his might that it would move just a little bit faster. But as his grim, sour, history teacher always said, "if wishes were horses, beggars would ride." He slumped in his chair. If wishes were horses…what was that supposed to mean? He knew there was probably some explanation to the saying, but he didn't care too much. He thought it meant more if one said "If wishes were fishes," but he didn't really have any particular reason why. He just liked it better.

Someone speaking caught his attention, and he snapped out of his half-awake daydreaming. He noticed it was his teacher, Mrs. Brenton, and decided to listen. She was saying something about a historic field trip to some museum or something when the school bell rang. Takuya was only too happy to jump to his feet with the rest of the class and stuff his books into his bag. With one last glance to his teacher, he hurried out of the classroom. Mrs. Brenton pursed her lips disdainfully, watching the class go. "Very well," she said, almost to herself. "I'll tell you about the fieldtrip tomorrow. Don't forget to do your homework on page 157 by tomorrow…"

Takuya lost the rest of what she said as he entered the hall, her voice drowned out by the louder voices of the many students rushing to their lockers. Happy that school was finally over for the day, he headed toward the lockers as well.

Takuya Kanbara was a pretty normal 17-year-old senior in high school with ragged brown hair that was almost red, and reddish-brown eyes. His family being from Japan, he looked mostly Asian. The only thing that didn't seem quite Japanese was his hair and his eyes, but that didn't bother him too much. He had grown up in Washington, USA since he was 12 years old, and often wished he could move back to Japan. He was the kind of person to treat everything as if it weren't quite important enough to panic about, and had the tendency of always looking on the bright side of things. It was of particular annoyance to his close friends to say something happy when they were feeling upset. Despite their annoyance, he did it all the time. It never seemed to occur to him that when other people are feeling grouchy, the last thing they want to hear is the bright side of things.

Takuya found his locker and proceeded to open the combination. Someone bumped his elbow, causing him to turn a click too far, and he had to start over. It didn't bother him that the very same person bumped him every single day on purpose. He continued to ignore the person as if it hadn't happened, and swung his locker open. Suddenly, everything seemed to happen at once.

The contents of his locker toppled out, spilling on top of him and onto the floor. He staggered backward, tripped on a book that had fallen out, and fell backward. Takuya cringed as his head hit the floor and noticed that everyone around him was laughing. He could see now, glancing into his locker, that someone had deliberately broken into it and shifted the shelves so that everything would fall out. His face flushed, and more people laughed. Determined not to make a bigger fool of himself, he slowly stood up and began to gather his things.

"Nice one Takuya," someone sneered next to him. "I would take better care of your locker if I were you. Don't want that happen next time!"

Takuya turned to face who was talking, a collection of his belongings in his arms, and paused. He was not surprised to find himself face-to-face with the school's "most popular" guy. He suppressed a grimace, and stuffed the books back into his locker. "Hello Jeremy," Takuya said softly. He just managed to keep the annoyance out of his voice. If there was one thing he hated, it was giving the school's biggest jerk pleasure. "Looking forward to a four-day-weekend this Friday?"

Jeremy leaned against his locker with a look of disgust. "Don't you talk to me like we're 'buddies' nerd," he sneered at Takuya's face. For some reason, he had always hated Takuya. Perhaps it was because Takuya never seemed bothered by anything. Maybe it was because Takuya never liked Jeremy in the first place. Or maybe, and Takuya suspected this most of all, it was just because he was a jerk who just didn't like him. At any rate, Takuya thought as he stuffed more things back into his locker, Jeremy hated him, and the feeling was very close to mutual.

"Whatever," Takuya shrugged finally, ignoring the rest of the insults Jeremy had just said to him. He couldn't exactly remember what his enemy had said—due to the fact that he wasn't listening—nor did he care to. He paused from stuffing things into his locker, and then got an idea. He knew just how to make Jeremy mad, and he loved doing it. "You know, maybe it's because I always stuff my things in here that it is such a mess. I should probably organize it before I go home." He turned and gave Jeremy the friendliest smile he could muster. "Thanks," he said casually. Turning away from Jeremy's loathsome look, he began to organize his locker. He tried to keep the smug look from creeping onto his face as Jeremy stormed off, and was pleased to hear the snickering had changed sides. It's Jeremy who always ends up looking like the idiot, Takuya thought with pleasure, not me.

He was just about to slam his locker shut when someone rushed up behind him. "Takuya! There you are! I've been looking all over for you!" Takuya closed his locker and turned to find himself side-by-side with one of his friends. Lestly, who was the same age as him but a grade lower, looked distraught. She had short brown hair that was always braided, and big blue eyes that never seemed to blink. Normally a pleasant girl, the look of distress on her face seemed out of place, and Takuya wondered what was wrong. She was clutching her binder close to her body as if it were precious, and had a pencil stuck behind her ear.

Takuya smiled at her pleasantly. "Hi Lestly," he said, "What's up? You look depressed."

Lestly made a wry face at him and rolled her eyes. "Depressed, huh?" she sounded cross. "More like anguished or something." She sighed and clutched the binder closer to her unconsciously. "Look, I need to talk to you. Wanna walk home with me?"

Takuya blinked, considering this. He didn't mind walking her home, considering she lived only a couple blocks from the school. It was the fact that he'd have to walk back to the school to get his car that was the problem. He decided on a different idea. "Well, I have a car, so it would be easier for me to just drive you. Is that okay? I mean, I know you live just a couple blocks down so it's not much of a drive…"

"No," she said quickly, with a look of almost-relief. "That's even better. I can talk to you without anyone listening. Is that okay?" she asked timidly, glancing at Takuya with a worried expression. Lestly had a tendency of always feeling like she was imposing on people, when usually it wasn't the case.

Takuya chuckled. "Yeah! It's fine! Just let me get my stuff. If you want, you can even come with me to pick up my brother at his school before I drop you off at home. You know, more time to talk if you want." He liked hanging out with Lestly. She was one of his few friends he could really talk to when he needed to, and she could say the same about him. They were close friends. He didn't like her, meaning he didn't have a crush on her, but she was one of his closest friends and he liked it that way. He had no intention of dating anyone anyway.

Lestly smiled gratefully at him. "That would be great," she breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks Takuya." She waited till he was finished gathering what he needed for homework, and the two of them walked out toward the car.

Takuya gazed across the parking lot to where his truck was parked. His truck, an old Chevy, was brown and almost broken down. It only had two seatbelts, though there was probably room in the middle seat for someone. He kept it clean on the inside, but it wasn't much for looks. The engine was noisy and the car was so old it threatened to break down in the near future. Yet somehow, Takuya's father always managed to keep in running.

Lestly had driven with Takuya before, so she wasn't afraid. To someone who didn't know better, it looked pretty iffy. But it drove smoothly, even though it was old. She hoped into the passenger seat and buckled her seat belt, waiting for Takuya to get in as well. The second he got in and shut the door she started talking.

"It was terrible!" she exclaimed, still clutching her binder. Takuya turned to glance at her as he started the car, wondering how girls always managed to make everything so dramatically extreme. She was perfectly happy this morning, and now something happened to make her so upset. He wondered what it was, guessing it was something as small as dropping her pencil during a test, and waited for her to continue. "I was in the middle of P.E. practicing volleyball, and something gihugic happened!" Lestly shuddered. She was always mixing words to make her very own vocabulary. Her favorite words were "gihugic"—a mix between huge and gigantic—"funtastic"—a mix between fun and fantastic—"gimongous"—a mix between gigantic and humongous—and many more. She paused now without saying anything.

"Well?" Takuya egged her on, now driving past her house to pick up his brother. "What happened?"

"Oh Takuya, promise me you wont laugh," she pleaded. She looked even more distressed. "It's so ridiculous that you wont believe me. I know you wont, but it happened, I swear!"

"Alright, it's okay! I won't laugh, I promise!" Takuya chuckled, curiosity burning inside him. He wondered what she was going to say that would be so unbelievable. She never made any stupid stories up or said anything unpractical. "You didn't see an alien ship fly by did you?"

"Now you're teasing me," she pouted.

"I'm sorry. I'm just trying to lighten the mood," Takuya smiled at her. "It feels awfully gloomy in the car at this moment."

Lestly attempted a smile. "Well, I doubt you'll believe me, but this concerns you."

"Me?" Takuya wondered secretly if this had anything to do with Jeremy.

"Yeah…" she sounded uncertain, but she continued her story. "Well, I was practicing volleyball with my team when I saw something behind the tree next to the court. I didn't know what it was, but it looked like a person staring at me with huge yellow eyes and…" she shuddered. "I couldn't stop staring at him! It was like he was calling me over, because I found myself walking toward the fence that separated the court from the tree. I came up the fence, and he asked me what my name was."

"You didn't tell him, did you?" Takuya's cheery mood fell. He knew enough to know that creepy people often took advantage of girls. Suddenly he felt more protective of his friend, and glanced in his rear-view mirror to see if he was being followed.

"I…I couldn't help it!" she sounded scared, her voice lowering to a whisper which was hard to hear over the engine. "I told him my name was Lestly, and he asked if I knew you."

Takuya frowned. His protective feeling grew slightly, and he found he wasn't pleased. Why had Lestly talked to this person, and why was he asking about Takuya? "What did you say?" he asked, fearing he already knew the answer.

"I…" Lestly stared at her shoes miserably, and Takuya knew what she was about to say. "I told him yes. I couldn't help it. It was like I was in a trance. I couldn't tell him anything but the truth. I'm so scared!"

"What happened next? Did he follow you around? Did you tell the teachers? Did he ask you anything else?" Takuya stopped himself from asking too many questions, and lowered his voice. He had raised it in frustration.

"Well, he said he had a message for you, but he couldn't find you because he wasn't aloud in the school." Lestly stared out the window, obviously looking to see if someone was following them like Takuya had done. "He asked me to give it to you, and handed it to me through the fence. He said that only you would be able to open it, and he would know if I didn't give it to you. He also said it was important, and that you must read it before coming back to school tomorrow. I have it in my binder."

"What did he look like?" Takuya asked urgently. "Did you tell the teachers?"

"My P.E. Teacher came over to me and asked me what I was doing. I pointed to the man leaning against the tree, but she didn't seem to see him. I couldn't open my mouth to tell her who I had been talking to because something was keeping me from speaking. She looked at me strangely, and told me to get back to practice. I turned to look at the man, and he just smiled at me. And then he vanished. I thought the whole thing was a dream until I found that I still had the note. I tried opening it, but it wouldn't open. Oh Takuya, I was so scared, I almost died!" She finished her story with an exasperated sigh.

Takuya pondered her story in amazement, wondering what to think of it. Curious about the note, and yet wary for both his and Lestly's safety, he tried to decide what to do. Did he open it and read it? How did he know it wasn't some trick or prank, or that Lestly wasn't in danger somehow? He found himself pulling into his brother's school parking lot, and turned off the engine. With a sigh, he turned to look at his friend. "Well," he said at length. He couldn't find any other words to say, so he left it at that.

Lestly fiddled with the pencil she had taken from behind her ear, still staring at her shoes. She didn't seem to want to talk anymore, and since Takuya didn't know what to say, the silence was a strange kind of relief. It was interrupted when someone banged on the passenger-side window, and both Lestly and Takuya turned to see who it was. Shinya, Takuya's 14-year-old brother pounded on the window rudely, waiting for the window to be rolled down. Lestly wound the handle, sliding the window down; the windows weren't automatic.

"Hey," he said casually. His dark brown hair was spiked today, and he wore a white visor upside down and sideways on his head. He was definitely what one would call the 'skater-boy' and was proud of it. Most of his time was spent on the skateboard or playing X-Box. He had a slight grin on his face as he nodded a hello to Lestly, and then turned to his older brother. "Can I ride in the back since the seat-belts are taken?" he asked.

Takuya stared at him a moment, wishing he'd stop slouching, and shrugged. "I guess," he stated. He didn't have a chance to say anything else, as Shinya was already throwing his book-bag into the back and bidding his buddies farewell. When Shinya was safely in the back, he gave Takuya a little thumbs-up to indicate he was ready to go. Takuya started the car and began to head back to Lestly's house.

The rest of the car ride was silent, as neither Takuya nor Lestly knew what to say. Lestly looked like she was about to be sick, worry written all over her face. It was not until they pulled up to her house that she finally turned to look Takuya in the face. "Do you think," she asked timidly, her eyes beginning to fill with tears, "do you think I put myself in danger? Did I put you in danger? Did I do something terribly wrong?"

Takuya fought for the right words to say. "Lestly," he said softly, aware that Shinya was watching them from the back with an impatient expression on his face. "To be perfectly honest with you Lestly, yes, I do think that what you did was unwise." Lestly looked even more upset. "I don't know if you're in danger, or if I'm in danger, but I think we shouldn't take any chances. I think you should tell your mom what happened, and I think you should tell the police that someone gave you a mysterious note and you think you're in danger. It doesn't hurt to be safe. Don't worry about feeling stupid just make sure that when you go back to school tomorrow, you have nothing to worry about. Okay?"

Lestly looked doubtful, but she nodded.

"Don't give me the note," Takuya said softly, making a decision. "Give it to the police for evidence. Give them my number if you need to. Just make sure you tell them. Alright?"

Lestly nodded again.

"Okay." Takuya still felt uneasy. "I'll call you later to see how it went. I'd go in with you now, but my brother has an X-Box tournament with his friend today, and he'd kill me if he's late." Takuya forced a smile on his face, and Lestly got out of the car.

"Thank you Takuya," she mumbled. "I just…"

"I know. You feel stupid and afraid. Just be sure you tell your parents and the police, and you'll feel better, I promise."

"But the note," she whispered, glancing at Shinya. Since she was standing outside, he could hear what they were saying. "He said he'd know if you didn't get it!"

"The police will handle it." Takuya said grimly. "I'll call later, okay?"

Lestly nodded once more, and walked toward her front door. Takuya waited until she entered the house before motioning for Shinya to come sit in the front. His brother hopped in as quickly as he could.

"Took you long enough!" Shinya mumbled impatiently. He was always in a hurry to play video games. "And what was that about the police anyway?"

"Nothing." Takuya mouthed without really saying anything. He started the car and drove away, feeling worried. He didn't understand exactly what was going on, but he knew it was dangerous. He hoped Lestly would tell the police right away. "But why was it for me?" he asked aloud, forgetting Shinya was sitting next to him.

"What was for you? The note she was talking about?" Shinya stared at his brother suspiciously. Takuya couldn't help feeling slightly surprised at how quickly his brother could catch onto things. He was always fast…

Refusing to answer his brother, he made his way back home. It was not until he was safely parked at his house that he began to stop feeling worried. Lestly was sensible. She'd do the right thing. He'd do his homework and not worry about it. And tomorrow, everything would be normal. Nobody would be in danger once the police found out someone was lurking around the school giving secret messages to girls. The police would take care of that immediately. So there was nothing to worry about, right?

Takuya followed his brother into the house, some of his worry washing away. Soon he was back into his normal mood. He trudged up the stairs to his room and tossed his book bag on the floor before throwing himself on the bed. Homework could wait. Right now, he was going to take a little nap...

...A feeling of cold dread slowly spread through Takuya's body. He was standing in a forest somewhere, and a white fog was swirling around him menacingly. He couldn't understand what he was doing there, or where he was, but he knew he didn't like being there. His vision was blurred, and he could barely see his own hand in front of his face. A cold sweat spread across his back, and he shivered uncontrollably. Something was drawing near…

A voice like ice sliced through the fog, seeming to come from everywhere at once. It was harsh and evil, and spoke something in a language Takuya could not understand. Just the sound of it was terrifying, and Takuya found himself panicking. What's wrong with me? He could barely concentrate on what he was thinking, but some small voice in his head chided him. I'm not supposed to panic like this! I don't even know what I'm afraid of! But he couldn't shake the feeling of horror. Something…something evil…was creeping toward him, speaking to him. Yet he couldn't understand what was being said.

Terror suddenly seized him without reason, and he ran as fast as he could through the fog. He knew he had to get away, but he didn't know where he was going. He tripped on an unseen root and fell flat on his face. He couldn't bring himself to turn over, couldn't bring himself to get up and keep running. It was almost upon him…

CRASH!

Takuya woke with a start, staring at the ceiling of his own room. A cold breeze was sweeping through his open window, and he found his skin covered in goose bumps. He sat up, shaking, and looked around for the noise that had woken him up. The voice of his mother shouting at Shinya answered his unspoken question, and he gladly left his room to find out what had happened.

Takuya walked downstairs, feeling weak and cold. He felt as if something like ice had crept into his veins while he was sleeping, and hadn't left when he woke up. He tried to forget his nightmare, and went into the kitchen for something to drink. Maybe tea would warm him up.

He found Mrs. Kanbara giving a lecture to a guilty-looking Shinya. Her face was flushed, and her eyes glowed dangerously. Shinya was staring at the floor, his ears slightly red. He mumbled an occasional "yes ma'am" through the lecture, and looked like he hoped he'd get no other punishment than the shouting he was receiving now.

"What happened?" Takuya interrupted. He didn't feel sorry for his brother, but he knew that his mom need to calm down or she'd be cross for the rest of the evening.

His mother turned her glaring eyes upon him, and Takuya figured that if it were possible, steam would probably be coming off of her. "Someone has decided that skateboarding through the house is a common thing, and managed to knock down the only thing of value the house has!" she pointed to their father's favorite piece of china, something he had brought to Washington with him from Japan. It was the only piece left in his collection, a teapot that was at least a hundred years old. The teapot had been part of a family heirloom, and was the last one still in one piece. At least, Takuya thought, staring down at it, it had been the only one still in one piece. It was lying on the kitchen floor, scattered to pieces. Shinya had obviously skateboarded into the china cupboard where it used to rest with the other set of china his mom had collected.

No, Takuya thought to himself, he did not feel sorry for his brother. Instead of trying to calm his mother down, which he now knew to be impossible, he turned to give a condemning look to his little brother. Shinya looked crest-fallen, as if he had been hoping for Takuya's support.

"No tournament today," Mrs. Kanbara said softly, quivering in anger. "No X-Box at all. You are on restriction. In fact," she wrenched the skateboard from Shinya's grasp, and glared into his horror-struck face. "You are not to skateboard at all until I decide you are trustworthy enough to have it back!"

"But mom," Shinya protested, the look of horror increasing, "You can't…"

"I very well can!" she said so loudly, it was almost a shout. "I am your mother! Go upstairs and do your homework!"

Shinya stood there for a moment, shocked, and then dashed up the stairs as quickly as he could. Takuya knew he felt like his mother was being cruel and unjust, due to the slamming of Shinya's bedroom door.

Mrs. Kanbara scooped up the pieces of the teapot, trying to suppress her anger. She seemed caught between the emotions of grief, anguish, and anger, as if she didn't quite know what to do. Suddenly she burst into tears, turning to face Takuya. "It was the only thing your Father had left," she sobbed, "the only thing he inherited from his family! The rest was destroyed in a fire years ago. What am I going to tell him?" she asked.

Takuya stood silently, watching her cry as she finished picked up the pieces and placing them in a plastic bag. He didn't know what to say, or what to think. Shinya's dead when Dad gets home, he thought finally.

Mrs. Kanbara attempted to stop crying, and swept the floor. She muttered something like "hope he isn't too hard on Shinya…" and turned back to Takuya. "Would you like something sweetie?" she asked. She still looked distressed, but her anger seemed to have evaporated. Now she was worried for Shinya. She never seems to make up her mind on how she should feel, Takuya thought. She was always having conflicting emotions. Are all girls like this? He wondered to himself.

He suddenly remembered that he was cold. "Strange day," he mumbled, opened a cupboard to find a mug. He stuck a tea bag in the cup and put a kettle on the stove to boil. "First Lestly's story, then my nightmare, and now the china breaks. I've never had a day this messed up before."

"Then you're lucky," his mother commented wryly. "Most teenagers don't get to say that, and you're seventeen."

Takuya shrugged, watching the kettle. He ignored the impudent voice in his mind reminding him that a "watched pot never boils." It was nonsense anyway. He shivered, wishing it would hurry up and boil.

"Are you alright?" his mother asked. "You look pale." She was staring at him with a worried expression.

Takuya smiled reassuringly at her, though he didn't feel like smiling at all. "I just had a nightmare, that's all. And I'm cold. I thought some tea would warm me up. I've got homework to do…" he stopped speaking. The words in his mouth seemed cold and empty, as if it was a waste of time to say them at all.

"You took a nap when you got home?" his mother asked suspiciously. Takuya merely nodded. "Well, I guess it goes to show that you should do your homework before taking naps. Then you probably wont have any haunting dreams."

Takuya nodded again. The kettle finally boiled, and he poured the warm water into his cup eagerly. He left his mother in the kitchen and went upstairs to do his homework. He could still hear her sniffing and talking to herself as he shut the door.

He took a sip of tea, feeling the warm liquid run down into his stomach. The warmth died away as quickly as it had come, leaving him feeling just as empty and just as cold. Yes, he thought, taking another sip with the same result, today was not the best of days, even by Takuya's standards.

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And so he has no idea of what's to come...

I'm waiting for your response.