Ayame Sakuchi frowned as she saw a dark haired girl walk down the hallway with one of the Tendou sisters." Hey, Nosome, who is that? " she asked her new friend, Nosome Hazuki, as she turned around and closed her locker. " And why is she walking with a Tendou? ".
Nosome Hazuki blinked up at Ayame in surprise. " Who is who? I don't see anybody..... " she said as she looked up and down the empty hallway. " Aya....w-we better hurry up! We're going to be late for class...and I don't want us to be the only ones in the hall " she whispered softly as she looked up and down the halls once more.
Ayame said nothing and continued to stare down the hallway." I swear I saw a girl...she was new...she had to be...and she was walking with that girl, Akane.... I don't understand...It's like they....disappeared."
Nosome sighed a sigh of irritation, but fear was evident in her eyes. " I swear Ayame....y- you must still be suffering from jet leg. The only new person coming is a guy, and that girl you saw with Akane probably ducked into her classroom...which is where we should be by now! " she said as she grabbed her friend's hand. " I want to go...NOW! "
" B-but...I never saw her before...and how can she walk with a...Tendou? " Ayame whispered as she still stared down the hall.
Nosome frowned fearfully at her friend. Ummm....Aya? Are you okay? Did something happen on your trip? "
Ayame shook her head. " No...No...it went fine. I just think it's odd someone would walk with a...Tendou. Especially after what they did a week ago."
Nosome's fear grew. ". You don't really think they killed Taechi, do you? " she asked frightfully.
Ayame sighed and frowned. " No...no, I'm sorry, I don't. I just think what happened to Taechi was odd...whose car was it, anyway? "
" It was... Miaka's....Taechi's bestfriend..... " Nosome said in a tone that implied Ayame should have known this already. After all, Ayame had been going to Furukien long before Nosome even knew it existed. Ayame's frown deepened as she stared at her friend. " Who in the world is Miaka?..... and just when did Taechi have a bestfriend? "

----------<-----------@

Ranma sighed as he sat down by a tree to think.
Sinister.
Every thing about this school was sinister.
Death and despair seemed to cling to the air in magnitudes....
And the stench of fear was overpowering.
The students...the falculty.....none of them rose to talk about what they were afraid of...the only things that really said anything were their eyes.
Thier eyes...they seemed to hold a growing terror....a terror that should not be spoken of lest they wanted to die....
Ranma shook his head as he pulled out his bento.
He just didn't understand it....
He just couldn't understand why his mother would move to such a strange district....He tried to ask her a few times....but she would always change the subject to how much she missed him and how glad she was that he was back.
He loved his mother to death.....but he feared for her safety in this town. The feeling of evil was too strong...too strong for him to ignore. He had to figure out a way to make sure his mother would be okay when he and his father was away from her....
He had to...
He just had to...
" Umm.....are you okay? " a lilting voice asked as a shadow covered him.
Ranma snapped out of his depressing thoughts to see a pretty golden eyed girl staring down at him. " Uh...yeah...why did ya ask? " he said uneasily. Her eyes got to him.
A beautiful smile lit the girl's face. " Because you killed your poor bento...." she said pointing down at the mangled heap of metal and ruined lunch.
Ranma blinked and groaned at the mess. As if sending him to a demonic town wasn't enough, Fate had to go for an extra kick in the ass and made him destroy his lunch.
Great.
This was just great.
Seeing the boy's expression, the girl burst into giggles.
Ranma's eyes widen as he saw this. Her eyes....the girl eyes see to laugh with her. The sight was strange....almost scary...yet very beautiful at the same time.
Seeing Ranma's odd expression. The girl covered her mouth and tried her best to control her mirth. " I...~giggle~ I'm really s-~giggle~orry. " she said, shaking slightly before she calmed down. " 'm sorry " she said again. " I really didn't mean to laugh at you like that. "
Ranma shook his head to clear the cobwebs. Her laugh...and smile....they were memorizing. " It's...it's alright. I'm Ranma Saotome....I'm new here. " he said,extending his hand. He didn't want to admit it, but he really wanted to know the strange girl's name.
The girl dazzled him with an even brighter smile and shook hands with him. " I know. " She sad shyly. " I'm Akane Tendou. You want some of my lunch? " she asked, sitting next to him. " My friend won't be here for awhile and I need someone to talk to."
" Uh...sure...T-Thanks...You said Tendou, right? I think I heard that name before. " Ranma said as he took the sandwich from Akane with a smile.
Bitterness clouded Akane eyes. " I'm sure you have. " she said sadly, looking away.
Ranma's heartached to see the smile go. " I-I'm sorry, did I say something wrong? "
Akane turned to see genuine concern in the boy's eyes and smiled. " No...no you didn't. I'm sorry I-"
" Hello Akane. " a soft voice interrupted.
Ranma turned to see a tall, dark haired girl, with large sad eyes. Akane smiled and stood to greet her friend. " Hey Miaka, this is Ranma Saotome. Ranma, this is Miaka. "
Ranma only nodded in the girl's direction. He got strange, sad vibe from this girl. The girl stared at him, and her dark brown seem to pierce into the soul. And as she stared into his eyes, Ranma could not shake the feeling that he met this girl before....

----------<-----------@

Nabiki frowned as she saw Akane talk to the two new students. " I don't like this, Kasumi. I don't like this at all....something about those two worry me...do you think they'll ruin our work? "
Kasumi frowned. " I don't know...I just don't know. The vibes I get from them are...odd to say the least....Very odd. "
Nabiki nodded. " Something is going on, Kasumi....I checked their files at the office....The girl, her name is Miaka Mizuyo. Her records say she has been here since freshman year....but I never saw her until about a week ago. "
Kasumi's eyes widen. " Are you sure? "
Nabiki nodded gravely. " Yes, I'm positive....I tried to find records on that guy, Ranma, but he has none. "
Kasumi's frown deepened. " Could it be that they just haven't got his records yet? "
Nabiki sighed. " Yeah...that could be it...but I'm still worried about Akane....her talking to those people can undo all of what we worked for. "
" Should we get rid of them? " Kasumi asked in an almost cold tone.
Nabiki shook her head. " No...not until we're sure they are what we think they are...."

----------<-----------@

I smile as I see,
the scene unfold infront of me.
This shall be so amusing....
So amusing.
I wonder how much blood shall be shed?
I wonder if it'll be enough to quench my thirst?
Or will they attack each other instead?
Or will I kill them all first?
No matter, No matter.
I shall just feed on their fear.
And watch the repeation,
of a dark, evil, year.

----------<-----------@

O.O My goodness....that's the longest chapter I ever wrote! < insert dramatic music here > Who is this bad rhyming fiend? Who do Kasumi and Nabiki think Ranma and Miaka are? Why hasn't any body heard of Miaka? Why did Nodoka move to Nerima? What is Akane planning? Or is she just making friends? Tune in next time to learn these questions and more ( like why in the hell the Tendou pond glows ) on...Dark Echoes!!!!!!!!< end of dramatic music > Ranma , Akane, Nabiki, and Kasumi do not belong to me in any way or in any fashion. I'm just 'borrowing' them to try out new forms of cruel and unusual punishment. Please note that I'm feeling incredibly lame today and this fic might display that and large quanitities.

^_^ Thanks to SPM for proofreading this for me and showing me my errors! * glomps SPM * Thank you! You're so thoughtful and sweet! ^^