Part 1: Shizukesa
Legal crap:
The song "Kiss the Rain" is © Billie Myers
The Playstation game "Silent Hill" is © Konami
"Ronin Warriors" is © its many owners
Other stuff:
"Shizukesa" means silence, calmness, serenity
*Hello...?*
*Can you hear me?*
The girl smiled and dashed behind a tree. The young man gave chase, but the girl disappeared. He whirled around, calling out for her. Rain fell softly among the forest. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves quietly.
Panic buzzed in the back of his head.
He looked about quicker now. The giggles of the girl could be heard, but no direction could be determined from them. Every time he thought he saw her out of the corner of his eye, he'd turn, and she'd vanish.
"Fujiko?"
His voice echoed harshly against the silence of the forest. Each echo sounded more desperate than the last. The rain fell faster, soaking the landscape.
"Fujiko? Fujiko?!"
The giggles were so loud now, hurting his ears, rising above the sound of the rain. The need to find her rose above everything.
"Fujiko?!"
The giggles were deafening.
Lightning flashed, striking a tree next to the man, causing sparks to fly. Flames sprung up from the tree, despite the ever-drenching rain. The cold of the rain and the heat of the fire clashed on the man's senses. He began to feel dizzy.
"F... Fujiko? W-where are you?"
The fire roared beside him, and the giggling pounded inside his head. His vision blurred and darkened. Lightning struck again, its thunder overpowered by the discordant giggling. The heat was unbearable.
He felt himself falling. The girl's tiny face flashed before him, then... blackness.
*Am I getting through to you?*
"Rowin? Rowin, buddy, wake up!"
"Sage?"
"You overslept. It's almost time to leave."
"Leave?"
"For vacation. Remember? Family reunion, you said you'd come to save me from grandmothers and their pinches of death?"
"Oh. That's today?"
"Funny. Now get up."
Rowin yawned, then stretched, futilely trying to run a hand through his tangled hair. He glanced with bleary eyes at his clock. The time was almost enough to shock him fully awake.
"Five in the morning?!"
"Yeah. So?"
"Remind me again why I'm your friend."
Sage gave Rowin a look. "Up."
The blue-haired man was having none of it. He flopped back onto his bed and pulled his comforter over his head. "Wake me at noon," he mumbled.
Sage left the room, muttering something about evil friends who sleep too much being trampled by water buffalo.
Unbeknownst to Sage, Rowin was more awake now than before. Time after time of Kento splashing water of varying temperature and origin had conditioned him. No one ever gave up the task of waking up Rowin. Sage was by now, no doubt, in the bathroom preparing a watery fate for his oversleeping friend.
Not today, blondie. Not today. Rowin slid off his bed, then rolled himself under it. Heh. I'm not the one who'll be splashed!
After a few moments, Sage had not yet returned. Rowin felt his eyelids droop, his body growing accustomed to the small space beneath the bed.
No! I will not fall asleep! I won't fall asleep... in this nice, dark, cozy place...
His eyelids closed and he was almost instantly asleep.
*Hello...?*
A young girl waved at him, giggling incessantly. Her features were very small and cute. Her eyes were a soft brown. Her nose turned up a bit at the end, and her mouth was proportionate and pouty, presently curled into a pretty grin. Her hair was short and black, hanging down to her chin.
She waved a small hand in front of his face again.
*Can you hear me?*
"Are you okay?" she asked, her voice still tinged with laughter.
"What?" he replied, his eyes focusing on her.
"You were staring into space again."
"Was I?" He sounded dazed.
She looked at him seriously. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I... where are we?"
The girl laughed. "At Shizukesa. We've been here a couple days."
He opened his mouth to ask another question, but he stopped when he felt a drop of rain hit his nose. Soon it was drizzling steadily. The girl didn't seem to notice or care. She continued to stare at him intently.
Fog began to settle in, blanketing his surroundings -- a forest, he noticed. Not a very lush forest, more like a field dotted with trees. Wherever Shizukesa was, he was surrounded by thin trees with white bark.
A raindrop hit his eye, causing him to look upward. The sky was a brilliant blue, with sparse cloud cover.
"Why is it raining?" he said aloud, to no one in particular.
"What?" the girl responded.
The sky seemed to reply to his question, darkening drastically. The fog around him grew thicker, and the rain fell harder and faster. He thought he heard sirens going off in the distance.
He looked back to the young girl, only to find her gone.
*Am I getting through to you?*
"A-ha! There you are!" Sage cried in triumph. He grabbed Rowin's ankle and dragged him out from under the bed.
Rowin snorted as he woke. He sat up and looked around frantically. "Where is she?" he asked.
"Where is who, Rowin?"
Rowin looked up, finally seeing Sage. "What?"
Sage regarded Rowin with concern. "You asked where she was."
"Who?"
"That's what I wanted to know."
Rowin shook his head. "Anyway, I'm awake now. Where'd you get off to?"
"I was trying to find Kento's Super Soaker. No dice, though."
"Ah."
Sage held out his hand to help Rowin up. The blue-haired man wobbled a bit, his legs still somewhat asleep. He tried again to run a hand through his hair, to no avail. Sage tossed him a brush.
"Sage?"
"Yeah?"
"What is this resort we're going to called, anyway?"
"Hmm... I think it's Shizukesa. Something like that."
"Oh. That sounds familiar..." Rowin finished brushing his hair and tossed the brush back to Sage. "Put that in my bag, will ya?"
Sage complied, then said, "All resort names sound familiar. They all have stupid names like 'Peace in the Forest' or 'Shady Pines'. Anyhow, we've got to get going. If we don't leave soon, we'll be late. No Date is ever late."
Sage handed Rowin his black duffel bad, then left the room. Rowin followed, pausing to look over his room one more time. As he turned away, he thought he heard giggling behind him. Dismissing it as only his sleepy imagination, he reached for the doorknob and continued after Sage.
Outside, it began to rain.
*Hello...? Can you hear me?*
*Am I getting through to you?*