Title: Path of Shadows

Author: Storm Bringer

Rating: R

Email: the_storm_bringer@hotmail.com

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in this story.

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<Chapter 1: Dreams and Encounters>

* * * * * *

Huge fires burning with the intensity of flames born of Hell itself raged around the girl. Whether it was day or night was impossible to tell due to the thick black smoke that filled the sky, causing her eyes to water and making each breath a painful, choking experience that made the girl wonder if maybe giving up breathing would be the better choice. Despite the smoke that clogged her nostrils though, she could still smell death and taste the coppery flavor of blood with every lung full of tainted air she sucked in.

The dead were everywhere, making it impossible to take a step without brushing up against the body of some unfortunate soul. Unmoving hands gripped swords that would never be swung again, sightless eyes gazed up into the smoke clouded heavens, and faces frozen in a rictus of horror seemed to plead with her to ease the pain that they could no longer feel. Through the fires and corpses she made her way, searching for a way out of the macabre maze.

Not all of the corpses were human. Scattered amongst the men and women were the corpses of monsters whose bodies were the twisted things of a child’s nightmares. Blackened limbs ending in large, curving claws, gaping mouths full of blood coated fangs, dark eyes that still held a hint of evil glee in them even in death, and faces that were almost but not quite human met the girl’s gaze at every turn. She wanted to run, to flee this terrible nightmare, but everywhere she looked it was the same, an endless field of death and fire.

She panicked then, and began to run heedlessly with escape being the only thing filling her mind. Tears of fear joined with the tears born of smoke rolling down her cheeks. Blinded by smoke and tears she could not see where she was going and tripped over an out flung arm, crashing to the blood soaked ground with a startled gasp.

Looking up from where she lay, the girl’s gaze met two unseeing gray orbs peering out of a bodiless head topped with a mane of thick, black hair. Her mind was a maelstrom of disjointed thoughts that paralyzed her body and left her laying on the ground staring helplessly at a face frozen with the mouth hanging open in what must have been a last, agonizing scream. Suddenly the mouth closed and thinned out to become a grotesque grin as life suddenly reappeared in the eyes of the decapitated head.

"Your doing…" The words came out as a sickly whisper. "All this is your doing Death… All this is your legacy Death… Death… Death…"

The voice continued to chant from the mouth of the bodiless head and the girl scrambled to her feet with a choked off scream. Other voices joined the first, echoing across the battlefield like a mournful wind. Staring around with eyes wide in horror, she saw all the dead staring at her as they chanted the name ‘Death’ over and over again. The blood soaked hand of a nearby body lifted slowly into the air and pointed.

Turning to look, the girl saw a mountain of bodies framed against a blazing inferno that could have outshone the sun. On top of that massive testament to death stood a single figure cloaked in darkness, and as the girl watched the figure turned her way. Two green eyes burning with a dark intensity that put the fires to shame were the only features visible against the shadowy darkness of the figure, and as they fell upon the girl she felt her heart constrict in a vise of fear.

Suddenly she couldn’t get enough air. The smoke had become as thick as water and every breath was a futile effort to keep herself alive a short while longer. Grasping at her throat, the girl collapsed to her knees and then fell to one hand. Beneath her, the ground suddenly opened wide like a mouth, and she was swallowed whole, plunged into darkness beyond black. The endless chant of the dead followed her down, as did the image of those two green spheres, chasing her into oblivion.

Makoto sat up with a gasp and barely managed to stifle the scream that threatened to tear itself from her throat. She sat there in her bed, soaked in sweat and panting as though she had just run a marathon. Her wide eyes stared around at the familiar effects of her room, trying to grasp the fact that this was home and not some terrible hell that she had been cast into. Makoto could still hear the voices of the dead echoing through her mind, and she could still see those burning green eyes in her mind’s eye.

"Water," she muttered to herself as she threw aside sweat soaked sheets and forced rubbery legs to carry her to the bathroom.

Switching on the light she stared at herself in the mirror, trying to equate the face staring back with her own. Makoto’s long brown hair hung loose around her shoulders, framing a face that was pale and drawn, and eyes that were still as wide as saucers. It had been a long time since a nightmare had shaken her up this badly. Then, it had been a dream about her parents just after she had learned of their death. Other nightmares had followed that one for months, but the first had been the worst by far.

"I look like shit," she said to herself. Staring down at the cup sitting next to the sink she shook her head. "Coffee, I need coffee."

The fact that it was three in the morning did not deter Makoto from her caffeine search in the slightest as she headed for the kitchen. It might keep her from sleeping the rest of the night, it might mean that she would fall asleep in school tomorrow, but at least it would calm her shaken nerves and that was all that mattered. Coffee would make the talking dead people and the glowing green eyes go away.

Reaching the kitchen and switching on the marvelous machine that had the ability to produce that wonderful substance known as coffee at all hours of the day or night, Makoto let it do its thing and returned to her bedroom in order to change out of her sweaty night clothes. She didn’t wear much to sleep in, only an oversized T-shirt and her panties, but the shirt was clinging to her skin in an unpleasant fashion. Taking it off, she threw on a green cotton robe and returned to the kitchen to check on her coffee.

The coffeepot was perking along cheerfully, happily going about its business, but it was rather slow about it and no glorious elixir had been produced yet. Makoto glared at the coffeepot and willed it to go faster. The intensity of her glare would have sent any human and many animals scrambling for cover, but the coffeepot, knowing that good coffee takes time, simply ignored her. Grumbling softly, Makoto sat down on a nearby chair and waited impatiently.

When the coffee was finally done, Makoto poured a cup and moved to the small alcove at one end of her apartment. Potted plants surrounded the alcove with a few even hanging from the ceiling, and there was a window seat that she curled up on, leaning her back against the wall. The window looked out over the city of Tokyo, which, like all big cities, was lit up like a Christmas tree even at three in the morning. It made for quite a sight when viewed from the twenty-third floor of an apartment complex.

It was raining outside; a light spring rain that was more like a fine mist floating down from the heavens above than actual rain. Makoto cracked the window a bit, allowing a cool morning breeze to enter, bringing with it the sweet smell of fresh rain. It mingled with the familiar earthy smells of the plants surrounding her and for a time Makoto forgot all about dreams or even life in general.

The wall she leaned against grew to become the base of an enormous, moss covered tree that had been ancient when Man had been only a dream floating along the currents of the Life Song. Makoto laid her head back against that tree and felt the passage of millennia enfold her like a soft blanket. Large ferns and colorful flowers surrounded her, their leaves and petals dripping with those raindrops that had managed to win their way through the huge canopy of the ancient tree during a recent shower. Fireflies danced in the air before her and high overhead thunder rumbled across the sky.

Makoto sat against that tree in the darkness for what seemed like an eternity, her eyes half closed and a peaceful smile on her lips. Then all of a sudden it was no longer dark, but almost painfully bright. There was also a thunderous banging sound echoing through the forest from some unknown source. Makoto stood up suddenly, searching for what had disturbed her peace, and…

She lay on the floor staring uncomprehendingly at the coffee mug in front of her face, sunlight shining through the window spilling across her back and onto the floor. Distantly she noted the fact that there was a large stain near the mug, but she was more concerned with the incessant banging that still had no definable source. At long last something penetrated her sleep-fogged brain and Makoto realized there was someone at the door and they wanted to come inside, hence the pounding on said door.

Makoto pushed herself up and groaned as muscles stiff from being crammed into the alcove for half the night protested her actions. The pounding on the door let up for a moment, and then continued once again. "I’m coming, I’m coming!" she shouted and the banging ceased, hopefully for good this time. Padding across the carpeted floor of her apartment she opened the door to find what she felt was a much too cheerful Usagi on the other side.

"Good morning, Mako-chan!" exclaimed the blond with a big, cheery smile.

Makoto, feeling extraordinarily uncheerful at the moment, wondered idly if hitting Usagi would make her feel better. Probably, but she discarded the idea based on the fact that she would probably feel even worse later for hurting her friend. She contented herself with running through a large list of colorful expletives in her head. Only some higher brain function dealing in common sense kept her from running through that list out loud.

"What do you want, Usagi?" she asked groggily.

It was not Usagi, but Rei who answered the question. At that moment Makoto realized that there were other people besides Usagi in the hall, specifically Rei, Minako, and Ami. Minako had on the same cheerful face that Usagi did, but Rei and Ami were giving Makoto looks that were both questioning and slightly amused. She wondered what that was all about, and was quite sure she was about to find out.

"Well," began Rei, "normally we all walk to school together and normally you meet us downstairs, but today you weren’t there so we came up to see if something was wrong."

The word ‘school’ entered Makoto’s ears, winded its way through her ear canal, and eventually wound up in that part of the brain where critical information is considered, analyzed, and then spewed back out when no sense can be made of what was said. It then traveled through various synaptic pathways and finally exited through Makoto’s mouth in the form of a question, the brain having deduced that this would be the best way to get further information.

"School?"

"Yeah, you know," said Usagi. "It’s that place where they send us to be tortured five days a week. Evil teachers, homework," shudder, "math."

"What time is it?" asked Makoto. The fog of sleep was beginning to lift, as her situation became clear.

Pure amusement showed on Rei’s face. "About a quarter to eight."

That sentence followed the same path the word ‘school’ had moments before, but with entirely different results. This time Makoto’s brain took the word ‘school’ and placed it in conjunction with the fact that it was 7:45 and came to a rather alarming conclusion. The four girls out in the hall were suddenly left staring at an empty doorway.

The list of colorful expletives was back; this time directed at Makoto herself. Stomping into her room, she grabbed her school uniform from the closet and began to go about dressing herself in a rather speedy, if unrefined, fashion. Next it was to the bathroom to brush her teeth, deal with her hair, and see how much makeup she could apply in thirty-seconds. Her stomach was rudely informing her that it was hungry and Makoto explained that it would remain hungry until lunch time. This made for a grumpy belly.

A few minutes later, the five girls were headed towards school at a brisk pace. A very brisk pace. The day was slightly overcast and the air smelled of last night’s rain as well as the promise of more in the near future. Small pink buds were beginning to appear on the cherry trees and soon it would be time for the annual festival celebrating their beauty and majesty. Rain and festivals were far from Makoto’s mind this morning, however.

"I think Usagi’s bad habits are rubbing off on you, Mako-chan," said Rei in a teasing voice.

"Hey!" protested Usagi. "I was up on time this morning!"

"Only because you fell out of bed while lavishing your pillow with kisses."

Usagi’s face turned beet red. "And just how did you know about that?"

"From Luna of course. So just who were you dreaming about, hmm? As though we couldn’t all guess."

"That furball is dead when I get home!" growled Usagi. Then, turning to Makoto, she changed the subject. "So why were you still half asleep when we showed up, Mako-chan?"

Makoto glared at Usagi, angry for having attention shifted back to her, but the blond just smiled innocently. The brunette was forced to fight down some of those instincts that don’t work out so well in social situations. She knew her bad temper was due to a bad night’s sleep and the dull ache in her neck and back, and that she had no right to be angry with her friend, but she was grumpy and grumpy people have a tendency to ignore such logic. The general philosophy among grumpy people is that: "If I’m not happy then no one around me should be allowed to be happy either."

"I didn’t sleep well," she grumbled. Makoto’s stomach made an answering grumble and she told it to shut up or it wouldn’t get lunch. The thought of food only made it grumble louder.

"Did you stay up late studying, Mako-chan?" asked Ami.

Makoto blinked. "Uh… No."

Minako’s face was suddenly directly in front of Makoto’s, a sly smile plastered across her lips. "I bet it’s a guy. You were up all night thinking about some guy you met, huh? Admit it!"

That glare that had slid right off of Usagi was very effective against Minako, causing her to back away several steps. Biting off each word, Makoto said, "It wasn’t a guy."

"Then why," asked Usagi, "didn’t you sleep well?"

Makoto knew that her friends weren’t trying to annoy her with their stream of questions, they were just worried about her. Lack of a good night’s sleep wasn’t a big thing to worry over, so the attitude was light and playful. The fact that she did have friends that worried over such a small thing in her life took the edge off of Makoto’s less than pleasant disposition. It was always nice to know that there were people out there who cared about her.

"I had a bad dream," mumbled Makoto. Caring friends or no, she wasn’t so sure she wanted to admit that her lack of sleep stemmed from nothing more than a nightmare.

Usagi moved closer to Makoto. "What did you say? I couldn’t hear you."

"I said I had a bad dream," repeated Makoto in a louder voice.

At the mention of dreams, Rei grew a bit more interested. For her, dreams sometimes meant more than they did to others. "What kind of bad dream?"

Makoto made a dismissive gesture with one hand. She felt silly talking about some stupid dream. So what if it had woken her up at three in the morning and shaken her badly? She wasn’t some child that ran to her parents crying because the bogeyman was hiding under her bed waiting to snatch her away.

"Talking dead people, glowing green eyes," she said. "You know, just your average nightmare. It woke me up and I had trouble getting back to sleep. That’s all."

"I’ve found that a nice glass of warm milk often helps me when I can’t get to sleep," offered Ami helpfully.

"I had a cup of coffee," said Makoto without thinking. Silence descended over the group as everyone just turned to stare at her. "What?"

"You drink coffee in the middle of the night and then wonder why you can’t get back to sleep," said Usagi in an exasperated tone. "And people think I’m not very smart!"

Hindsight being twenty-twenty, Makoto realized her mistake too late. If she explained that she had chosen coffee in order to settle her nerves, then more questions would no doubt be asked. She really just wanted to put this entire incident behind her and forget about it.

"It was about three in the morning, not the middle of the night and I did get back to sleep. I just fell asleep on that window seat in my apartment instead of my bed and it wasn’t a very comfortable sleep." She reached up and rubbed her sore neck for emphasis.

"Still," began Ami, "drinking coffee in order to get back to sleep is not a very good idea. You should try something else if it happens again."

Makoto made a sound that could have been interpreted as agreement, and was saved from any further discussion of her sleeping habits by their arrival at school. The sight of the large gray building looming over her didn’t bring much relief however. The very idea of spending the next seven hours crammed into the small wooden chairs provided by the school caused the dull ache in her neck and shoulders to grow worse. Being taller than other girls her age was not always an advantage.

Makoto shared her first class with Usagi and Rei, and the three of them set off after making plans to meet with Ami and Minako at lunch. They began walking to class at a leisurely pace, but when first bell rung they broke into a mad dash along with a few other students who didn’t relish spending the morning standing in the hall as punishment for being late. The three of them barely managed to squeeze through the door of their classroom before the final bell signaled that all those who were not in class were officially tardy.

Their math teacher, Ms. Kusanagi, fixed the three of them with a withering glare, taking special care to linger over Usagi. The blonde’s habits hadn’t improved much upon entering high school. "You made it—barely. Take your seats!"

The three girls hurried to their seats, making hasty apologies as they passed Ms. Kusanagi. As expected, just sitting down in the hard, wooden chair at her desk caused the ache in Makoto’s muscles to flare up, and she had to stifle a groan. Already she could feel a dull throb between her temples that signaled a headache was imminent. It was going to be a long day.

Makoto was so caught up in her misery that she didn’t realize something different from the daily routine was happening until Ms. Kusanagi began speaking. Then her eyes were pulled to the front where they alighted on what had to be the most handsome young man she had ever seen. His face was a bit pale, but that only made it seem as though a craftsman of unparalleled skill had carved it from fine marble. Pulled back from his head in a tight ponytail, his long raven black hair seemed to shimmer while those stray strands that had come free fell about his face like shadowy strands of a spider’s web. Eyes that were pale blue like a clear winter’s sky seemed to shine as they gazed out across the classroom.

"We have a new student, class," began Ms. Kusanagi. "His name is Hideo Aramoro and he has just transferred here from Kyoto."

Rei was sitting next to Makoto and she had begun a silent countdown in her head the minute her friend had set eyes on the young man. When the expected comment never came, she looked over at Makoto in amazement. "Doesn’t he remind you of your last boyfriend?"

Replying in a dreamy voice, Makoto said, "None of my boyfriends have ever looked that good." Rei simply nodded and turned her attention back to Hideo.

"Now then, who’s going to help Mr. Aramoro find his way around our wonderful school?" asked Ms. Kusanagi. Instantly, the hand of every girl in the class shot up. The teacher gazed around the room and, with seemingly very little consideration, chose a guide. "Umino, why don’t you show Hideo around."

Makoto’s hand dropped along with everyone else’s and she let out a low groan. "Why does he get to do it?" She asked in a fierce whisper.

"You didn’t really think Ms. Kusanagi would hand over a new student to someone who was almost late, do you?" replied Rei.

Makoto said nothing, lapsing into a sulky silence. For a moment she had been able to forget all of her aches and pains, but now they were back in full force and she felt absolutely miserable. The teacher began to speak, but to Makoto her voice was nothing more than an incessant drone that melded with the throbbing in her temples and made her give serious thought to flinging herself out the window. It was definitely going to be a long day.

* * * * * *

Although it was cloudy outside that afternoon, it was warm and relatively dry. Makoto and the others had chosen to eat their lunches on benches set up beneath a large pine tree growing on the campus. Since winter had passed only a short time ago and spring was the rainy season, the chances for them to eat outside were rare and they took the time to enjoy themselves. Well, they tried to enjoy themselves anyway.

Makoto stared down at her lunch in disgust. She hadn’t had time to prepare her own lunch that morning so she had had to resort to buying a school made lunch. Picking up her chopsticks, she prodded at the stuff in front of her trying to figure out if it was actually edible food. So far the results weren’t promising.

"I can’t believe they actually expect people to eat this stuff!"

"They don’t," said Usagi from around a mouthful of food—food from a nice homemade lunch. "They expect students to eat it. There’s a difference."

Grimacing, Makoto took a bite of shrimp. At least she hoped it was shrimp, she couldn’t be sure, but it sort of resembled shrimp. It didn’t taste like shrimp though. In fact, it didn’t taste like much of anything. Makoto swallowed the bland, rubbery, shrimp-like object and then forced herself to do it again. Hunger could drive a person to eat almost anything, but this was definitely pushing it.

"I’ll share some of my lunch with you, Mako-chan."

Makoto looked over at Ami and gave her a grateful smile. "Thanks, Ami."

"Will you share with me too, Ami-chan?" asked Usagi eagerly as she stuffed the last morsel of food from her own lunch into her mouth. No one else had taken more than a few bites of their meal.

Rei reached over and slapped the back of Usagi’s head playfully. "If you eat anymore you’re going to wind up a fat pig, meatball head."

"But I’m still hungry," whined the blond.

"You’re always still hungry," said Minako. "You have to learn to eat in modulation."

Makoto’s eye twitched and both Ami and Rei let out twin sighs. "That’s moderation, Minako," corrected Ami.

Minako blinked. "Oh."

Usagi watched hungrily as Ami and Rei portioned out some of their lunches to Makoto. She thanked them both and gulped down their generous offerings almost as fast as Usagi would have. It tasted like the best food she had ever eaten, but it was only enough to dull the hunger gnawing away at her belly. She found herself staring at what was left of the school lunch she had bought—which was most of it—but just couldn’t bring herself to put any of it in her mouth again. Makoto was perfectly content to wait until she got home, at which point she planned to eat the entire contents of her fridge.

Without really looking, Makoto turned and tossed the rest of her lunch at the mouth of a garbage can several feet away. Seconds after it had left her hand she wished she had it back again. More so when it careened into Umino and Hideo as they were walking past her intended target. Pieces of unidentifiable, food-like objects fell from their hair and clung to their school uniforms in small patches. The words ‘brilliant scarlet’ were not adequate to describe the color that suffused Makoto’s face as she watched any hope of obtaining the handsome new student as a boyfriend vanish like a puff of smoke.

Hideo brushed food from the sleeve of his coat, glaring at Makoto with eyes that made ice seem warm and stone soft. His imperious voice made the air seem chill. "Might I ask why you felt the need to hurl your leavings at my person?"

"I’m really sorry," began Makoto before she was cut off rudely by Hideo.

"I should certainly hope you are. You need to work on your aim or your manners, whichever happens to be at fault here." Hideo picked a piece of food out of his hair and tossed it aside with a disdainful sniff. "Although it appears to me that neither are adequate."

Anger was quickly taking the place of embarrassment. Hideo had a right to be angry with her, but she had apologized—tried to anyway—and there was no reason for him to get insulting. Still, it had been Makoto’s fault and she fought to keep her civility. Not an easy task given the day she was having.

"I said I was sorry, and I am. I didn’t see you there, that’s all."

Hideo arched one thin eyebrow. "Didn’t see me here? Have I then become invisible? Am I beneath your notice?" He said the last as though Hell would freeze over before such a thing happened. "Girl," Makoto’s teeth began to grind together, "I do not believe I shall accept your apology. It’s simply not worth my time."

Everything about the young man seemed to scream arrogance. From his stance, as though a charging bull would not dare do anything less than move quietly around him, to the way he went about picking food off of his uniform, like it was beneath him and someone else should have been performing the menial task. Makoto was suddenly glad that she hadn’t gotten the chance to show Hideo around the school like she had wished. Judging from the sickly look on Umino’s face as he watched the scene unfold from several feet away, he was regretting the job himself.

Embarrassment had long since fled along with any idea Makoto might have had of being civil to this arrogant jerk. Now she only wanted to see him on the ground screaming for mercy.

"Maybe you’d rather accept my fist in your face!" she growled.

Hideo’s eyes widened in surprise then narrowed again as he favored Makoto with a deep frown. "Also not worth my time." Turning on his heels he walked off calmly, leaving Makoto spluttering and trying desperately to come up with some sort of scalding reply.

A hand settled softly on her shoulder. "Calm down, Mako-chan," soothed Rei. "He’s not worth it."

"But I…! But he…! And then…!"

"I’m really sorry about that, Makoto," said Umino staring after Hideo. "He’s like that with everyone."

Makoto took a deep, calming breath and reasserted control over her anger. The throbbing in her temples that had been beginning to die down was flaring up again, and it was all that jerk’s fault! Massaging her head with one hand, she put Hideo out of her mind and reminded herself that the school day would be over in a few more hours and then she could go home and crash. She just had to remain calm and everything would be fine.

"It’s not your fault, Umino," said Rei. "He’s nothing more than an arrogant jerk and you shouldn’t be apologizing for him."

"I guess," said Umino alternating from looking at his feet and throwing furtive glances at the now distant Hideo. "Anyway, I better go. He doesn’t like it when I’m not there to answer his questions." Before anyone could say another word he turned and trotted after Hideo. Makoto couldn’t help but liken the action to that of a dog trailing after its master, and that thought set her teeth on edge.

"Geez," said Usagi, "that guys sure got Umino cowed."

"From the way he acts you’d think he was some sort of prince or something," said Minako. "Who is he anyway?"

"A new student," answered Rei. "He’s in the same class as Usagi, Makoto and I. I thought he was cute, but after that demonstration I’m beginning to think otherwise."

Minako grinned. "He’s still cute, just not very nice."

"He’s not cute!" spat Makoto. "He’s an arrogant, selfish, pig-faced…pig! Someone needs to teach that jerk some humility!" So much for trying to keep calm.

"Pounding him into the ground isn’t going to teach him humility, Mako-chan," said Ami.

"Maybe not, but it would sure make me feel better."

A low peal of thunder sounded from high above and all five girls looked up at the rapidly darkening clouds hanging ominously over their heads. A single drop of cold rain splashed against Makoto’s forehead, followed closely by a second and then a third. She and the others took the hint and hurried to find shelter before the rainstorm began in earnest and they were drenched.

They almost made it, and a dripping wet Makoto decided with firm conviction that she was not getting out of bed tomorrow.