Part 1: Strange

“Wait!”, yells a young girl, running down a bright sunny street, struggling to catch up with her classmates. Her long waist-length black hair flowing behind her, as she tries to pull on her maroon uniform blazer, while trying to hold onto her bento lunch box with her right hand. The huge red bow on the front of her white shirt does a funny dance in the morning’s breeze, as she tries to run quickly in her blue and black plaid skirt. Her name is Chiasa Moto, age 15, and her three friends find that it amusing to run ahead of her every school morning.

“Stop!” she yells, after the three girls, “This isn’t funny! Why must you guys do this to me!? Wait for me!!!” The girls keep running ahead, giggling. “Stupid jerks.” growls Chiasa, finally getting her blazer on, “I really need some new friends. Ones that won’t leave me!!!”

As she is grumbling about that, she suddenly feels that she is being watched. Nearby, in a cherry red luxury car, striking green eyes softly gazes at her. She had the sudden thought of a cat, by the color of them, but quickly snaps out of it. They belonged to an young man, short blonde  hair, a blank stare with no hint of emotion. Chiasa suddenly got an dark and heavy feeling, as chills ran up her spine. Who was this man?

“Come on, Chiasa.” smiles a young girl with long red hair, grabbing her arm and shaking Chiasa out of her daze, “We’re going to be late for the train! We’re done teasing you!” “Anna,” she says, confused, “What is…?” Chiasa turns back toward the man, but he is driving away, the windows rolled up now. “Strange.” she sighs. “Huh?” asks Anna, now confused too. “Oh,” sighs Chiasa, shaking her head, “I thought you said, ‘Morioka’.” “What?” she jumped, then grinned, “Who is Morioka? Is he your new boyfriend!?” “No!” frowns Chiasa, “I don’t have a boyfriend!!!”

“Hey,” frowns a tall girl, with short dark hair, “What are you two up to? We’re going to be late for the train!” “Yeah, let’s go!” nods a small girl with curly brown hair. “Right!” smiles Anna, pulling Chiasa along with her, “We’re coming, Mina and June. Let’s go!”

On the train ride, Chiasa is thinking about the strange guy in the car and of the strange name that popped into her thoughts. Was it the name of the man? She had no idea who he was or where she heard the name from. “It’s not like he said anything to me.” she frowns, gazing out the train door, “I’ve never seen that guy around before. I wonder who he was. And why was he on my street? Was he visiting someone there?”

“Huh?” asks Mina, “Did you say something, Chiasa?” “No.” blushes Chiasa, not realizing she was talking out loud, “It’s nothing, really.” “You’re acting weird.” shrugs Mina, as June and Anna giggle over a magazine they are sharing. “Yeah,” says Chiasa, starring off at the passing horizon, “Maybe.” “Hey,” frowns Mina, “You’re not upset with us for running ahead this morning, are you? Because we were just having fun! We wouldn’t really leave you. Lighten up!” “Yeah.” says Chiasa, not really listening. Her mind was somewhere else.

All throughout school, Chiasa went from class to class, not really there. Her mind was still racing about the strange man and the strange name that came to her. She even tried to look up the name, in the computer lab, during her lunch break. Nothing special came up, as she had very little hope that it would. She just wanted to know the answer to this mystery and it frustrates her to not know!

The bell rings, signaling the end of school. Chiasa walks into the courtyard with her friends. “So,” smiles June, “We’re going to stop by that new sundae shop today. You’re coming along, Chiasa?” “I can’t.” she sighs, wishing that she could, “I have a test to study for.” “Bummer!” whines June. “Well, that’s okay.” nods Anna, “We can help you study and go some other time.” “No,” waves Chiasa, “You go on ahead. You girls should have fun. I’ll be fine.”

“Fine,” sighs Mina, “Then you come with us, next time.” “Sure.” nods Chiasa. She notices a familiar cherry red car, driving by quickly. She is stunned, wondering if it was the strange guy again, now spying on her. “Chiasa!” frowns June, waving a hand in front of her, “Didn’t you hear us?” “Huh?” she asked, snapping out of her confusion. “We said ‘goodbye’ and ‘see you tomorrow’!” huffs June.

“Oh… sorry.” , bow Chiasa, “See you girls, tomorrow.” “Yeah,” giggles Anna, “And don’t study too much!” They walk away, as Mina tells the girls, “Chiasa has been strange all day… I hope she’s not stressed or anything.” “Don’t worry,” waves Anna, “This is Chiasa we’re talking about.” “Yeah!” giggles June. And they fade off into a crowd.

Chiasa sighs and walks toward the train station alone. All kinds of thoughts come to mind, as she makes her way home, “Who is that guy? Why is he following me? Is he some kind of pervert? Yeah! Maybe that’s why he was staring at me! He was planning on kidnapping me, but left when he saw my friends returning! A stalker!!!” Her heart now beating fast, “I can’t believe I almost got caught my a pervert/stalker!!! I know that mother always warn me of the dangers of Japan, but still… I never thought it would happen anywhere near my neighborhood! Wow, is it safe for me to be traveling alone now?”

When the train stopped, Chiasa rushed straight home, looking for signs of any red cars. When she got to her front gate, without seeing any cars, she was relieved and relaxed a little. “RARR!” an shadow jumps at Chiasa, causing her to shriek. “Ha!”  laughs a little boy, on the other side of the gate, “Got you!” A little boy with short brown hair, in his baseball uniform, gave Chiasa an impish little grin. It was her little brother, Ryu, waiting for her.

“Ryu!” frowns Chiasa, “You little brat! You almost gave me an heart-attack!” “Well,” shrugs Ryu, “Your fault for being so easy.” Chiasa sighs and opens the gate. “Hey,” he smiles, “Want to toss around the ball for a while? Coach says I need to practice my catching!” “Maybe later.” she waves, “I have to study for a test.” “Another one?” he frowns, “Wow, your school sure is tough, with so much work to do!”

They both take off their shoes and enter the house. Ryu leaves his bat by the door and rushes off to play video games! “Ryu!” calls their mother, a pretty and petite woman with long brown hair, “Do your homework first, before video games! Do you hear me, Ryu?” There is only the sound of his door shutting as a response. “I swear!” frowns mother, “That boy is exactly like his father, lazy with work, all fun all the time.” “No,” smiles Chiasa, heading for the stairs, “Ryu’s a brat and father isn’t anything like that.”

“Oh,” blushes mother, “I was thinking of your father, when he was younger… when we both were. I suppose your father has long grown out of it, maybe there’s hope for your little brother yet.” “I wouldn’t hold my breath.” grumbles Chiasa, heading toward her room. She removed her uniform and got into a short white nightgown, with thin lacy straps, no sleeves. She plopped across her bed and began her studies.

By the evening, she got a strange feeling that someone was near. She took a look outside her window, only to see a glimpse of blonde hair moving from sight under the street light, a figure hiding in the shadows! “It’s him!!! And he’s watching me!? In my nightgown!?!” she shrieked. Normally this would cause a girl to be frighten and disturbed. But this made Chiasa very angry! She stormed from her room, down the stairs, and without thinking she grabbed Ryu’s baseball bat and headed out the door!

The strange guy was still standing there, looking toward the window still. “Hey!!!” growls Chiasa, waving the bat toward the guy, inching closer, “So you like to look at little girls, do you? You pervert bastard!!! This is private property! Go away, before I beat you of every inch of your life!” “Wow,” sighed the stranger, in a calm and smooth voice, “I didn’t think you’d find me so soon.” “Who is Morioka?”, she growls, so very angry, “Is that your name?”

“No.” he says, looking a bit concerned, “My name is Kain. But where did you hear of that name? Did you remember it?” “It doesn’t matter!” she growls, poking the guy with the bat threateningly, “I don’t even care anymore! Perverts like you disgust me! Go now, before my father gets here and breaks your neck! Or better yet, I’ll do it myself!”

“Hmm.” he says, giving a faint grin, for the first time showing emotion, “You don’t remember yet, do you, Chiasa?” “What!?” she shrieks, “How do you know my name!?” “We once knew each other.” he says, plainly, “In another life and another time. But you don’t remember it, yet. It’s was always my job to protect you.” “Protect me!?” frowns Chiasa, “From what!?” “Them.” he says, looking toward the other end of the street.

In the shadows… there are glowing eyes, sharp teeth, talons, and even the hint sound of wings…