Alisha Readman

CHAPTER THREE!!!! Can I believe my eyes!?! Things are starting to happen rather fast now. . . CHAPTER THREE Sakura and Keisuke looked over to where the voice had come from, hearing metal clanking and what sounded like a horse. “Who goes there, I said!?” demanded the blonde-haired man who had just come into the clearing. He was wearing a full-body suit of armor, carrying his helmet under his arm and leading a white horse. “Answer me, knave! Art thou a brigand, bent on hurting this young beautiful damsel in distress by yonder stream?” “Beg pardon?” Keisuke asked. “Didst thou not hear me, fool!?” the knight thundered. “Hey, buddy,” Keisuke said, starting to lose his temper. After being transported to this other world, being told suddenly that he was the reincarnation of someone he’s never even heard of, by a cat no less, and now being called a fool by this person who he can’t even understand, can you really blame him? “I don’t know who the heck you are, but first off: don’t you dare call me a fool, and second, why don’t you speak English!?” “Silence, wretch!” the knight shouted, drawing his sword and pointing it at Keisuke. “A bandit such as thyself does not have the right to speak in such a manner to a Holy Knight of the Tatsunoko Shrine!! En garde!!” The knight started to charge, only to trip over a rock in his path. He lay sprawled on the ground, while Keisuke and Sakura looked on in amazement, and Kagero shook his head in disgust. “I’ll be back in a minute,” Kagero said, trotting off behind a tree. “Stall him until I get back.” Once behind the tree, Kagero spread the claws on his right front paw out and dug them into the earth. Moving in a circle, he created five circles around him, each one made by a claw. He then scratched a symbol on the ground in the circle. He closed his eyes and started to cast his spell. “BY MY WILL, ONE WAY OR THE NEXT, GRANT MY WISH AND CHANGE!” The knight had recovered swiftly, and had started to attack Keisuke again, but Sakura had hurled a rock at him, trying to distract him. Instead the rock had hit him in the head, knocking him down again. “Oops,” Sakura said, grimacing. “Wench!” the knight yelled, jumping to his feet. “I try to save thee, and THIS is how thou dost repay me!?” “Who asked to be saved by you?” Sakura exclaimed. “I don’t even know you!” “Sakura-sama! Keisuke-sama!” a man’s voice exclaimed. Everyone looked up to see a man in his thirties come through the trees. He had two daggers hanging from his belt, his dark brown hair was pulled into a long ponytail, and his eyes were golden. He stopped between the knight and the teenagers, glaring at the knight. “Who are you!?” he demanded. “I am Nanbara Iizuka, of the Holy Knights of Tatsunoko Shrine!” the knight proudly declared. “Who, pray tell, art thou?” “I am Daisuke, vassal to Keisuke-sama and Sakura-sama of the honorable Takenaga family,” the man said. “Why are you attacking them?” “Because he thought that your master was a bandit, and that your mistress was being attacked by the bandit,” another voice chimed in. A young woman in her teens dropped down out of a tree, grinning widely. Her long brown hair was pulled into a ponytail, and her dark brown eyes sparkled with life. “Hey, Nanbara, can’t you tell that these people aren’t bandits or anything like that?” “Cousin Mitsuki, must thou interrupt me always!?” Nanbara yelled. The two of them then erupted into a slightly heated discussion, while Sakura and Keisuke looked over at Daisuke. “Who exactly are you?” Sakura asked. “I’m Kagero, stupid,” the man said, muttering out of the side of his mouth. “Just play along for now, I’ll explain later.” “Kagero!?” Keisuke said, barely able to keep his voice down. “What kind of a cat are you?” “I’ll explain that later, too,” Kagero said. Mitsuki and Nanbara seemed to run out of breath, for they stopped arguing. Kagero took advantage of the brief interlude to ask, “Which way to the Tatsunoko Shrine?” “Why do you wanna know?” Mitsuki asked. “We were on our way there,” Kagero explained smoothly. “We were attacked by bandits though, and had to rest here.” “Well, that would explain thy disheveled appearance,” Nanbara said, tossing his head back so that his hair went flying out of his face. He walked over to Sakura and knelt at her feet, and smiled winningly up at her. “I apologize, milady, for my earlier treatment of thee and thine brother. If thou shalt grant me a boon to make up for my behavior, I shall escort thy party to the Tatsunoko Shrine without fail.” “That’s okay, really!” Sakura said, not wanting to be around him for any longer than was necessary. “Nonsense!” Nanabara exclaimed, jumping to his feet. “I will make ready my horse! The fair lady shall ride, for a lady of her pedigree should not walk on the treacherous path to the shrine!” As he hurried to his horse, Mitsuko came over. “I’m sorry about my cousin. He looks like an idiot, but he’s actually a nice person, if a little obsessed with the Old Ages.” “Come, fellow pilgrims!” Nanbara called. “The day is waning, and the shrine is a good two-day’s traveling from here!” “Hey, Kagero,” Keisuke muttered. “Do we absolutely have to travel with these guys?” “Might as well,” Kagero said. “And for safety’s sake, call me Daisuke, all right?” “Yeah, yeah.”

By the time they got through the valley, the sun was starting to get low in the western sky. They saw the end of the valley up ahead, which seemed to breath new life into the caravan. Kei, Kanna and Shido, however, seemed to be anxious about something. Just as they were about head up the last small slope that lead out of the valley, the ground started rumbling. “Now what!?!” Sagara yelled. Rocks started falling from the cliffs again, except this time, they were falling right into the end of the valley, cutting off any hope of leaving. When the rocks had stopped falling, Kei yelled in frustration, jumping to her feet. “Sora, I know you’re there!!!” she yelled at the top of her lungs. “Would you give it up already!?!?!” Empty silence greeted her outburst, and she sank back down into her seat, sighing. “What the heck is going on here!?!?” Sagara demanded, grabbing Kei by the back of her shirt. His arm was immediately grabbed by Kanna, who, for her small size, was very strong. “Get your hand off of Kei,” Kanna said, in a threatening voice. Her grip tightened as she glared at him with cold eyes. Sagara let go of Kei’s shirt, and shook off Kanna’s hand. “That doesn’t answer my question!” “Sorry about this,” Kei said. “I thought he’d be incapacitated for a while longer.” “He who?” Ayumu asked. “Sora,” Kei answered. “He’s a bird-monster who lives around here. Unfortunately, he’s one who hates humans. He’s stopped us a few times before, but we’ve always managed to get by. Looks like he’s getting smarter.” “Then what are we going to do!?” Sagara demanded. “Not much to but wait,” Shido sighed. “Sora’s near to impossible to find here. It’s his turf, and he knows every cave and rock.” Sagara grabbed Shido’s shirt, and yelled in his face. “So why the heck are you so calm about this!?! We could be trapped here for the rest of our lives!! You monsters are all the same! You say that you’re like humans, but you don’t care about anyone other than yourself!! That’s why you’re always killing people!!” Shido grabbed Sagara’s wrist and looked him in the eye. “Look buddy. I don’t know what monsters did to you, and frankly, I don’t care. But I do know this. If you go through life with your prejudiced views, you’re going to infect other people with those views. And pretty soon, there’ll be a war breaking out between humans and monsters. And people and monsters alike will be dying because of that war brought about by those prejudices. And I don’t care if you hate me and my kind or not, but I don’t want to see anyone die in front of me again. So shut up and let us do our job.” He pushed Sagara’s hand away, and walked around him. He stopped at where the rocks had fallen and bit his finger, letting the blood run to the tip of his finger. He jumped all over the mound, marking the largest boulders with his blood. “What’s he doing?” Aoi asked Kanna. “Just watch,” Kanna said. Shido landed on the ground and took a deep breath, then chanted, “MARKED WITH MY BLOOD, OBEY MY WILL AND MOVE!!’ The mound shook, and the boulders marked with Shido’s blood shot up into the air and landed out of the valley. Shido sighed heavily, and sat down suddenly. “Shido-san!” Aoi exclaimed, running over to him. “Are you all right?!” “Yeah, I’m fine,” Shido said, smiling up at her. “It’s just kind of tiring.” Most of the caravan people started towards the end of the valley, but Kei stayed by Sagara. “You know, Shi-chan comes off as an idiot most of the time, but he’s really smart,” she said softly. “And he’s right about prejudices. I’ve seen what they can do firsthand, and so has Shi-chan and Kanna. That’s why I chose them.” Half an hour later, the caravan was ready to go, as the pass out of the valley had been cleared so the wagons could go through. Shido stood to the side, as Sagara came over. “All right, shut up so I can say my piece,” the man said, holding up his hand and cutting off what Shido was going to say. “I thought about it, and I realized that maybe my judgements of monsters are a bit prejudiced. So, I’m going to try and change some, but I ain’t promising I’m going to just change like that!” He spun around and started to walk away, but was stopped by Shido’s quiet words. “It doesn’t have to be right away. As long as you truly wish to change, even if it’s just a little at a time, it can happen.” Sagara looked embarrassed as he muttered, “Thanks. . .Shido.” He hurried away, and Aoi walked over. “What’s wrong with him?” she asked. “Nothing,” Shido grinned. The silence between them was awkward, as the two of them were blushing fiercely. “Um. . .I’m glad that I met you, Aoi-san,” Shido said. “Do you think that we’ll meet again?” Aoi asked. “Well, if your caravan comes back through the valley again, you’ll need a guide, right?” the cat-monster said, smiling. “Oh, just for good luck. . .” He pulled from his pocket a moonstone fragment and handed it to her. “I wish I had more to give you but. . .” Aoi shook her head and clutched the fragment tightly. “No, thank you,” she whispered. She stepped in close to him, and quickly kissed him. While he stood awestruck, she ran to the caravan and climbed into a wagon, then the caravan moved out. “Whoo,” Kei said, grinning as she walked up behind him. “Look at the stud.” “He sure is popular,” Kanna said, smiling slightly. “Quit teasing me!!” Shido shouted, blushing even more, if at all possible. “Well, let’s head back,” Kei said, ignoring Shido as she turned and started walking away. “I guess your horoscope was wrong, Shido,” Kanna said. “Horoscope?” Kei asked. “Yeah, my horoscope this morning said that I was going to have a rotten day today,” Shido said, catching up with them. “That’s why you were so gloomy this morning?” Kei asked, startled. When Shido nodded, she burst out laughing. Her laughter finally subsided, and she said, “You really are a moron! We didn’t have today’s paper. That was yesterday’s paper!!” “WHAT?!?!?” Shido exploded. “Oh, I guess that the date was yesterday’s,” Kanna said, thinking back. “You GUESS!??! You were leading me on intentionally, admit it!!” As the two monsters argued, Kei smiled and said quietly, “Come to think of it, yesterday wasn’t that bad for him either. I guess you really do create your own day, maybe even your own fate.” THE END Ran shuts the notebook and sighs heavily before turning to face the crowd in the Assembly Room. “First of, I hope you enjoyed the story and were able to understand it. Second, I would like to apologize for the delay in getting this posted. I suppose you can attribute it to a hectic work schedule and the fact I have no Internet access of my own, therefore I must go to the public library. Add to that the fact that it’s summer break, so the library’s computers are normally in use when I get there*sigh*.” “Plus pure laziness,” the Ninja Minion mutters. *snap* *slash* *crack* A moment later, with a bloody Ninja Minion behind her, Ran smiles sweetly and continues. “Also, it has come to my attention that in the first posting, I mentioned three main characters, Shido, Kei, and Kanna. Unfortunately, in the second posting, I was calling Kanna ‘Kaname’. In the original idea, Kanna’s name was ‘Kaname’, I changed it at the last minute. Last of all, I apologize again for the delay, and hope you enjoyed it. Please feel free to post your comments and let me know what you think of it.” Ran then exits the Assembly Room, muttering about needing sleep, and was followed by her wounded Ninja Minion.

Ran sighed, not completely understanding what had just happened between Degorram and Kikuyu, but understanding that something had to be done about the sprite who had gotten away. "Ninja Minion!" she said. "Yes, ma'am!" "Go with 'em and get rid of that. . .thing that got away." "Through. . .that little air duct?" Miho asked, glancing up at the duct in question. "You're a ninja, aint'cha?" Ran said, staring her minion in the eye. "You can get in there and get rid of the sprite, or you can commit seppokku right here and now." "Yes, ma'am," Miho sobbed. "I'll go." Ran chuckled evilly, as the others looked on in amazement and maybe even a bit of fear. . .

OOC: First of all!!! It came to my attention that I just went ahead and had everyone come through the portal. I am very sorry if you wanted to stay on Earth a little bit longer, I just went ahead and did what I wanted. I'm very sorry!!!

Loki stepped through the portal and saw a kaleidoscope of different colors (sorry, that's all I could think of). She landed on a grassy field, and looked down on Wy-er, William, who had somehow managed to land on his head. "Ya'll right there, mate?" she asked, smiling. "I think ya might be a li'l top heavy." "Sshut up!" the lizard-man hissed, pushing himself up. "Whoa!" Minta said. Loki looked up to see a town within eight feet of where they were. At the other end stood a castle, with green fields stretching to the horizon. But the strange thing was that there were zombies walking around!! "What in th' name o' King Henry the XIII is goin' on here?" she muttered. A zombie walking by suddenly had his arm fall off, and it rolled over by Minta. It walked over to her and began to speak. "I beg your pardon, young lady, but could you be so kind as to help me re-attach that?" OOC: Sorry if this doesn't go along with anyone else's ideas, but it was all I could think of. Please PM me if I'm mis-representing anyone's characters!!

Ran leaned back in her chair, already craving a hot cup of coffee (caffeine addiction much?) She pushed herself up and wandered into the kitchen. she opened a cabinet and groaned. "Dang," she said. "Forgot to tell Ninja Minion to get some instant ramen." Settling instead for a stale donut, she wandered back to her desk, expertly walking around the piles of old newspapers, dirty clothes, stacks of books, cobwebs, etc. She sat back down at her desk and picked up her ink pen again. "Lessee," she muttered, re-reading the sentence she was working on. "'Sakura looked up to see a giant pink and green Cat in the Hat.' What the. . .!?!?" She stared at the paper, the words "a giant pink and green Cat in the Hat" written in writing that was not hers. She heard giggling, and looked up to see a ninja hanging from the ceiling. She narrowed her eyes, instantly realizing that the ninja was the culprit. She vanished, and reappeared behind the ninja in mid-air. She hit it with her fist, and it fell to the ground, toppling a stack of old textbooks. Ran landed on the buried bed, and walked over to where the ninja had landed, finding a spandex suit. "What in the name of Yagyu Jubei is going on here!?" she exclaimed. "Miss Yoko!!" Miho said, coming through the door. "You'll never believe what I just . . ." Her voice trailed off as she saw the spandex suit. "Oh. they've been here too?" "What do you mean, 'too'?" Ran asked. Several minutes later, Miho was done explaining what she had seen. "And on my way back here, I saw several more." Ran thought for a few more moments, then snapped her fingers. "Ninja Minion!" "Yes!" "Get me my battle costume. We're going to find Wyvern and figure out what the heck is going on!" "Why Wyvern?" "He seems to be fairly knowledgeable about goings-ons around here. Besides, when something happens around here, he's normally the cause of it." (no offense, Wyvern, but it sounded good.) Ran dressed in her battle costume, a knee-length dark blue kimono with silver flames on the ends of the sleeves and the bottom on the kimono. She pulled on her sandals and handguards, tied her hair back into a ponytail, and fastened her two katanas on her back. "Let's go!" she shouted, as she and Miho charged out of the room.

Ran Yoko walks into the Assembly Room, her hair disheveled and her eyes bleary. She sets down the notebook she is carrying, and starts to speak. "Sorry that this isn't the entire rest of the story, but it's coming along really slowly. In any case, here's part of the rest." MONSTER VALLEY-PART TWO Ayumu scratched his head as he tried to read the sign Shido had hung earlier. He reached up and pulled the rope attached to the bell, sending the sound of the bell echoing through the valley a second time. “Hold your horses, we’re comin’ down!” Kei called from the top of the cliff. Ayumu and the entire caravan turned as one to see Shido jump from the top of the cliff, Kei on his back, with Kaname following them. Some of the girls screamed, and someone yelled, “Are they crazy?!?!” However, Shido landed on his feet with all the grace and ease of a cat, and Kaname jumped from projecting rocks all the way down. “Kei, can you hurry and get off?” Shido groaned. “You’re heavier that you were last time.” Kei climbed off, but whacked him on the head for good measure. “Maybe you should work out more.” She turned to the caravan, a professional smile on her face. “Welcome to Monster Valley!” she said cheerfully. “I’m your guide, Kei. How many people will be entering, and on what business?” Ayumu finally found his voice. “Are those. . .monsters?” he asked, pointing to Kaname and Shido. Kei saw the fear on the faces of the caravan people and smiled reassuringly. “Don’t worry, they won’t hurt you. I’m a Monster Tamer, and they’re mine.” “What proof do we have of that!?” a large, well-built man demanded. Shido and Kaname pulled down the collars of their shirts, showing a collar-like choker on each of them. “These are proof of our pacts with Kei,” Kaname said. “Besides, you need us as bodyguards through the valley,” Shido said, holding his hands behind his head. “Hey, Shido, while we’re getting ready here, run back up and gather some food and the regular stuff,” Kei said. “Yeah, yeah,” Shido said, and jumped up the cliff. “Now, then,” Kei said. “How many people and wagons approximately, what’s your business here, and how soon do you need to be through the valley.” “Well, as you can see, we’re a merchant caravan,” Ayumu said. “By the way, I’m Ayumu, son of Genma.” He held out his hand, and Kei shook it. “I’m Kei, this is Kaname, a wolf-monster, and Shido up there is a cat-monster,” Kei said. “There’s probably about 12 of us, and 3 wagons, all together. We’re going to Kali to sell stuff we’ve picked up, and the sooner we get through, the better, I guess,” Ayumu said. “Hey, Kaname!” Shido yelled down. “Where did you put the charms?” “How should I know!?” Kaname yelled back. “You’re the one that put them away last.” “Oh. . .never mind, I found ‘em,” Shido said. “Let’s see,” Kei said. “12 people and 3 wagons through the valley to Kali, that’s about 10 des per person and 20 des per wagon. . .120+60 equals 180, plus 500 to go through the valley, therefore, the entire cost will be 680 des. Half now, half when we’re through the valley. Sound good?” “Yes,” Ayumu agreed. He went to the wagon at the front of the procession, and pulled out a small bag and started counting out money. Shido suddenly landed by Kei and Kaname, a large bundle on his back and a smaller bundle in his hand. He swung them onto the ground and untied the smaller one, revealing a large pile of small jewel chunks on strings. “What are those?” Ayumu asked. “Moonstones,” Kaname said. “They’ll keep away all but the very strongest monsters.” “And what about the strongest monsters?” the tall man asked, folding his arms. “That’s what we’re for,” Shido said. “Okay, then,” Kei said, taking a handful of the moonstones. “Everyone should wear one of these, put two of them on each wagon, and it’d probably be a good idea to attach one to each of the horses’ bridles.” “What if we don’t?” the tall man asked. “Sagara!” Ayumu shouted. “If you don’t. . .well, we can’t protect everyone,” Kei said, smiling pleasantly. An hour later, the caravan was moving through the valley. Kei was seated in the front wagon, telling them where to go, Kaname walked by the second wagon, and Shido walked by the third wagon. For the caravan people, it was a strange experience. They could see monsters, sometimes in plain sight, sometimes behind rocks or half hidden in small caves partially up the steep cliffs that made up the valley. But, the monsters weren’t attacking, which was a whole new concept for the caravan people. “Hey, cat-monster!” Sagara called to Shido. He was riding a horse by the third wagon, and seemed to hold utter contempt and hatred for all monsters. “Are you sure that these moonstones will keep away the monsters?” “My name is Shido, and yes, I’m sure,” Shido answered. “Have a little faith.” “How exactly does it work?” a teenaged girl asked. “It’s actually pretty simple, Miss. . .” “My name’s Aoi,” the girl smiled. “Alright,” Shido said. “The moonstones emit a pure energy that most monsters seem to hate. The weaker ones can’t get past the moonstones’ energy, so they stay away. The really strong ones, though, can get past the energy, but the moonstone’s power weakens the monsters a bit, so they’re a little less strong.” “You know an awful lot, for a monster,” Sagara said. “Sagara!” Aoi exclaimed. “You’re being really rude!!” “It’s all right, Miss Aoi,” Shido said. “No, it’s not!” Aoi exclaimed. “You have feelings too, just like any human! And some monsters are nice too! Just like there’s bad and good humans, there’s good and bad monsters!!” Sagara scowled, and hurried his horse to be up by the front of the procession. “That was nice of you, standing up for us,” Shido said. “I meant every word of it,” Aoi gently said. Shido blushed fiercely, and scratched his cheek with a claw. “What’s wrong?” Aoi demanded, alarmed. “Well, it’s just that. . .” Shido sighed. “Not that many people actually see us as living beings with feelings. Almost all of the humans I’ve met see us as monsters that have to be killed.” “Kei doesn’t seem to,” Aoi commented, looking up towards the front of the procession where Kei was talking with Ayumu. “I met a Monster Tamer before I met Kei,” Shido admitted. “He saw monsters merely as tools, not as actual beings. Needless to say, I absolutely refused to form a pact with him. Then I met Kei. . .” Their conversation was cut off by a loud rumbling. Rocks at the top of the cliffs started to fall, and the ground was shaking. “Stop the caravan NOW!!” Kei yelled. “Kaname, get a barrier up and cover us!!” “Roger!” Kaname said. She raised her right hand in the air, her fingers outspread and her palm towards the sky. She slammed the palm of her hand on the ground, and a huge gust of wind seemed to come from her hand and surrounded the caravan. The falling rocks hit the barrier of wind and bounced off. “Shido, go check it out!!” Kei shouted. “Righty-o!” Shido jumped in the air, and landed partly up the cliff. Within seconds, he was out of sight. “Will he be okay?” Aoi asked anxiously. “Don’t worry,” Kaname said. “He looks like an idiot, but he can take care of himself.” A few minutes later, they heard Shido yelling, “Oh, for the love of all things living, will you cut it out!?!?!” A second later, he went flying through the air. He barely managed to land on his feet, then he hurried over to Kei. “Guess what?” he said, with an annoyed expression on his face. “Oni is having his temper tantrum again!” “Oh, for crying out,” Kei muttered, holding her head. “Keep the caravan going.” “What about the monster?” Ayumu asked. “It’s fine. DON’T make eye contact!” Kei snapped as Ayumu turned to look at the monster that had just appeared on the edge of the cliff. As the caravan kept going, Aoi took a quick glance up at the top of the cliff, where she saw a large hairy creature with one eye and a horn on each side of it’s head. The monster was blubbering like a small child.

The second chapter is here!!! Scream in terror, my evil minions!! Er, I mean, rejoice, my loyal readers! (sweatdrops) As before, my loyal Ninja Minion will get some screen time after the chapter is over, with the translation notes (but I don’t think there will be very many:P) CHAPTER TWO “Shin-chan, do you really have to go?” Sakura asked her friend. The moving trucks were getting ready to leave, and the two of them were saying their goodbyes. “I’m sorry, but Mommy says Dad got a new job,” Shin said. “Ah, don’t cry, Sakura-chan!” he exclaimed, seeing her eyes fill with tears. “I. . .I don’t want you to go!” Sakura cried. Shin was at a complete loss. Then he ran over to a box sitting on the curb and rummaged through it. He pulled out a stuffed animal that looked like a black cat with wide eyes, then hurried back to Sakura. “Here,” he said, holding it out to her. “But, Shin-chan, your dad gave you Stray for your birthday!” the girl exclaimed. “It’s okay,” Shin said, smiling. “I want you to have him.” Sakura sniffed, then pulled off her necklace, which was amber, silver, and blue beads alternating all the way through. “Sakura-chan, I can’t take your necklace. Your mom made it for you!” Shin said. “If you won’t take my necklace, then I can’t take Stray,” Sakura said stubbornly. Shin finally relented, and they traded. “Shin, hurry up!” Shin’s mother called. “We need to leave!” “Bye, Sakura-chan!” Shin said, running to the car. “Shin-chan, I. . I really. . .” The rest of Sakura’s shout was drowned out by the truck’s motor revving. “Bye, Sakura-chan!” I never got to tell him what I had wanted to say. . . “Koshiba-san! Koshiba-san!” Sakura slowly opened her eyes to see Keisuke leaning over her. “Takenaga-kun?” Sakura asked, sitting up. “I’m glad you’re all right,” Keisuke sighed. “You were crying while you were unconscious.” Sakura rubbed her eyes, then looked around her, and realized that they were by a crystal-clear stream running through a forest. The second thing she noticed was that Keisuke’s hair was suddenly a light blonde, and his eyes were pale green. “Well, this is certainly an unexpected predicament,” a voice said. To their utter astonishment, Keisuke and Sakura found that the voice appeared to be coming from a black cat that had appeared from seemingly nowhere. “This is NOT what I had hoped for,” Kagero muttered angrily. “Maybe one of the priestess’ appearing and restoring their past memories, and something like that! But, no, they’re just catapulted into a different world, with no idea of what’s going on, not to mention being split up as soon as they get here!!!” Just then, he realized that the two teenagers were staring at him with dumbfounded looks on their faces. “Please pardon my manners,” Kagero said, bowing his head to Sakura. “My name is Kagero Nekokage, of the Demon Cat clan. I am pleased to meet you again, Princess.” He looked up to see Sakura looking around, as if expecting to see a princess in the vicinity. “Princess Sakura, I’m talking to you,” Kagero sighed. “Um, I’m sorry, but I think you have me confused with someone else, Kagero-san,” Sakura said. Kagero sighed yet again. “This is gonna take a while,” he muttered, then spoke louder. “I am not confusing you with anyone else. You are the reincarnation of Princess Sakura Lin, who was the Mystic of Healing, and your friend here, is the reincarnation of Ren, the Mystic of Lightning.” Sakura suddenly remembered the voice they had heard right before everything went black, mentioning Mystics. Then she realized something else. She felt the backpack on her back and pulled it off, rummaging through it. She pulled out the manuscript she had been working on. “What’s that?” Keisuke asked. “The story I’ve been writing,” Sakura said, flipping through pages. “In all honesty, I’ve been basing my story on these dreams I keep having. It’s focusing on a group of people with power to control different elements, and the people are called Mystics. Found it!” She stopped at near the end, on the page that started with “CHAPTER 34”. “This chapter I wrote last night, and after I went to bed, I had another dream. In that dream, the Mystics were fighting the main bad guy, a really strong demon called Kage no Yami.” “What’s the possibility. . .?” Keisuke said, looking at Kagero. Kagero nodded. “It’s as I thought. Somehow, when you were reincarnated on Earth, you still remembered things from your past life. But you can’t remember anything except for through your dreams, and even then, you don’t consciously recognize them as memories.” “I guess that makes sense,” Sakura said. “But why are we suddenly here? And is anyone else here?” “Considering what I found out on Earth, besides you two, the other six of the Mystics were reincarnated there. Princess Lin’s brother and two friends. . .” “Takashi, Tohru and Ran!?” Sakura exclaimed. “. . .the school doctor, your homeroom teacher, and your friend, Shin,” Kagero finished. “Shin!?” Keisuke said. “Oh, now I’ve heard everything!!” “It’s true,” Kagero said mildly. “Also, another detail you might be interested in. When you were reincarnated, your bodies automatically took on Asian features, so you wouldn’t stand out. But now that you’re back in Garea, you’ve probably turned back to the way you were in your past lives. Hence, your hair and eyes have changed color.” “I noticed that Takenaga-kun has changed, but I have too?” Sakura asked. Kagero nodded towards the stream, and Sakura stood up and walked over to it. She saw her reflection and gasped. Her hair had turned pure white, and her eyes were a dark blue. “Weird,” she muttered. Just then, an authorative voice rang out. “Halt! Who goes there!” Ran groaned, and rubbed her ankle. It was just her luck to land right next to a thorn bush. Sasuke knelt down by her. “Are you okay?” “Yeah, I’m fine, except for a nice gash,” Ran muttered. Sasuke pulled out his handkerchief, and wrapped it around Ran’s ankle and tied it with an expert knot. “Had much experience with things like this?” Ran asked. “Two younger brothers who are twins and are very mischievous, and a younger sister who’s a tomboy,” Sasuke said dryly. “It was always up to Big Bro to patch up their scrapes. But, enough of that. Any idea of where exactly we are, how we got here, or where we should go?” “Not really,” Ran said. When they landed, Ran’s hair had remained red, but her eyes had changed to dark blue. Sasuke’s hair had changed to a silvery-color, and his eyes were dark gray. “But, we might as well start walking in one direction.” Ran stood up, and looked around. They were in what looked like a forest, with no trail to be seen. Ran picked up a stick and peeled the bark off of one end. “What are you doing?” Sasuke asked. “How about, we toss the stick in the air. And when it lands, whichever direction the peeled end points, we go that way,” Ran said, tossing the stick in the air as she spoke. The stick landed, the peeled end pointing south. Ran and Sasuke headed south. Shin dug his foot deeper into the rocky slope to keep from sliding down. He sighed as he looked up at Takashi, envious of the younger boy’s agility. Somehow, when they landed, they had wound up on a narrow ledge with a several foot drop below them, and a steep slope above them. The way that life worked out. . . Shin grabbed a branch that was sticking out the slope and pulled himself up a few more inches. Takashi, already at the top, reached down and helped him up to the very top. Once there, they retreated a few feet away from the slope, and laid down on the grass, resting. “I do NOT want to do that again for quite a while,” Shin panted. He looked over at Takashi, and silently wondered why their hair and eye color had changed when they woke up. His own hair had turned light brown, and his eyes had turned dark green. Takashi’s hair had stayed dark brown, but his eyes were now a golden color. “What?” Takashi asked, suddenly looking over at Shin. Shin smiled. “I’m just surprised how tall you’ve gotten.” “Duh!” Takashi said. “It’s been 10 years, after all!” “By the way, how’s Tenmaru doing?” Shin asked. “He died a couple years back,” Takashi said, looking sad. “I kinda miss that mutt.” “You were pretty attached to him,” Shin grinned at the memory. “I mean, you did save him from those bullies.” “Only to get beat up trying to save him,” Takashi dryly commented. “I was only five years old. Then you came along and tried to help.” “A six year-old can only do so much damage to three eight year-olds,” Shin laughed. “Then Ayumu had to beat them off. Older brothers can be handy at times.” “I guess,” Takashi smiled. “Afterwards, remember how much Sakura was crying because we were so beat up? She was demanding how a simple mutt could be worth so much.” “Who knows?” Shin said, standing up and stretching. “I do know that it’s starting to get towards afternoon. And if we want to find out anything, even where we are right now, we should get going.” “Yeah, but where should we go?” Takashi wondered aloud, standing up as well. “There’s no road.” Shin thought a moment, looking around. “Over there looks a little easier to travel, so why don’t we try that way?” “Sounds good to me.” Shin and Takashi headed west. Yukino groaned in frustration as she glared at the trees in front of her. Her hair had turned silvery-white, and her eyes were pale blue. Tohru, on the other hand, looked pretty much the same as she had before, dark brown hair and eyes. “I wonder where we are?” Tohru said. “Who the heck cares!?!” Yukino yelled, finally starting to lose it. “We’ve been walking for probably an hour now, and we’re going in circles for all we know!!! This is why I HATE forests!!!” “S-Sensei, calm down,” Tohru said. “It’s not quite that bad. Do you have chalk or something? We can mark our way as we go. That way, if we’re going in circles, we’ll know.” Yukino had an ink pen in her pocket, so she used it to scrape the moss off of a rock is the shape of an arrow pointing east, and they walked to the east. After they walked away, the arrow on the tree vanished. END OF CHAPTER TWO   NINJA MINION’S TRANSLATION NOTES FOR CHAPTER 2 Well, here I am again, with the translator’s notes. Not quite so many this time, but FYI: the stupid author is insisting that I also explain certain parts about Garea. Stray: the stupid author thought that the readers might be interested to know that the stuffed animal is based on a drawing a friend of hers did a while back. Stray is a black cat with weird eyes and a huge appetite, in my opinion. Kun: another honorific used normally for guys That’s pretty much it. Since we have some space, I’ll share some of the author’s notes on the origins of the characters names. Please keep in mind that most of the names are inspired by characters in manga and anime that the stupid author likes. Sakura Koshiba: her first name means ‘cherry blossoms’, and her second name comes from Kiri Koshiba in “Beauty Pop” Takashi Koshiba: his first name seems to be one that the author likes. Ran Hanabishi: her first name comes from Ran Kotobuki, the main character in “Super Gals”. Her last name comes from Kaoru Hanabishi in “Ai Yori Aoshi” Tohru Ijyuin: her first name comes from Tohru Honda in “Fruits Basket”, and her last name is from Akira Ijyuin in “Clamp School Detectives” and “Man of Many Faces”. Shinji Kusanagi: his full name is Shinji, but ‘Shin’ comes from Shin in “Pretear”, which is also a sort of pun on the author’s part, for the Shin in “Pretear” also controls plants. Oops, I just gave away something there, didn’t I? Keisuke Takenaga: pretty much a name the author thought up off the top of her head. Sasuke Kazama: his last name is pretty much a pun. The first of it, “Kaz”, is also from ‘kaze’, the Japanese word for ‘wind’. Yukino Akari: the first part of her first name, “Yuki”, means snow, which is also. . . The author hits the Ninja Minion over the head with a steel pipe, then types this quick message: “So sorry, but my Ninja Minion needs to make supper, so we’ll just sign off here. TTYL!” She then turns towards the Ninja Minion, her steel pipe raised in the air, and the other people in the Pen Keep can hear faint screams. “You were giving away part of the story when you’re telling them about the meaning behind their names!!” “I’m sorry!!! Please don’t kill me!!” “You can bet I’ll kill you!!” Blood and tears fall on the keyboard, followed by an unearthly shriek, then silence. . .

OOC: Loki doesn't have amnesia. She just enjoys being an enigma BIC: Loki vanished again and reappeared by Minta, smiling as always. She looked at Wy-er, William and raised an eyebrow at his shocked expression towards Stick. She held her hands behind her head, grinning. "Looks like this'll be a fun adventure, eh, mate?" She vanished and reappeared behind Wyv. . .I mean, William, and pulled a pen out of her pocket and started doodling on the back of his robes.

The Ninja Minion who works for Ran Yoko, AKA Miho Kusanagi, walks into the Assembly Room. She steps up to the podium, and sets down a notebook covered in what looks to be coffee stains, ink blotches, and other unidentifiable things. Clearing her throat, she starts to speak. "The author is unable to come herself, so she has sent me. In order to understand this better, please envision a world somewhat like ours, except for having some forms of magic, monsters and knights, the whole shebang. The starting point of our story is the beginning of a valley filled with monsters. This valley is on the border of two countries, and one of the few trade routes between these said countries. This valley's name is Monster Valley." MONSTER VALLEY WELCUM TOO MONSTIR VALLEY. IF YU REKWIR TH SIRVISES UV TH GIDE, PLEEZE RIN BEL. Shido hung the sign on the metal spike driven into the rock face, then grinned proudly as he surveyed his handiwork. He dipped the end of his white cat's tail into the bucket of paint, and painstakingly painted a small arrow under the letters, pointing up at the brass bell hanging above the sign. His cat ears twitched as he smelled bacon cooking. He grabbed the bucket and leaped into the air, landing partway up the cliff. With a few more leaps and bounds, he arrived at the top of the cliff and the shack set a few feet away from the edge. He turned to see the sunrise, the sky turning golden as the sun started to rise over the mountains, the early-morning mist vanishing. Shido grinned, the smile reaching up to his golden eyes. "Today's gonna a great day, I know it!" "You're going to have a bad day!" Shido recoiled in surprise from the girl standing there. Her shaggy dark gray was pulled into a long braid, and her dark green eyes glared at him suspiciously, as if to say, "What did you do now?" "What do you mean by saying I'm going to have a bad day, Kanna?!" he exclaimed. "Just what I said," Kanna answered, lifting up the newspaper. She read from the horoscope section. "'Your day will start out bright and sunny, but beware! Shadows of gloom will creep up quickly.' Your lucky color is black, etc." Shido snatched the paper from her and read it for himself. "You're right!" he wailed. "What am I gonna do!?" "How should I know?" Kanna asked, walking to the stove. "All I know is that I need to get the bacon out of the pan, or it'll burn. Get me a plate." The shack consisted of two rooms, a curtain stretched from one wall to another separating the bedroom from the rest of the place. A stove was set in the corner, a sagging couch by the curtain, and a table in the middle of the room. The rest of the room was mostly taken up by stacks of old newspapers, piles of dirty and clean clothes mixed, dishes, and other things that could be termed up in one word: 'junk'. Such as swords, daggers, even an old battle-ax, that were rusted or broken, an old cuckoo clock, broken chairs . . .(you get the picture. it's a mess ) The curtain pulled back, and out stepped a woman who still looked half asleep. Her blonde hair was pulled into a short ponytail, and sticking out everywhere else, and her half-lidded eyes were two different colors. Her right eye was black, and her left eye was pale blue. "Good morning, Kei," Kanna said, setting the plate of bacon on the table and pulling out from the oven a tray of slightly-burnt biscuits. Kei took a bite of bacon and muttered, "G'mornin," around it. She accepted a cup of coffee from Kanna and drank down half of it in one gulp. "What's wrong with you, Shi-chan?" she asked, looking considerably more awake. "I'm going to have a rotten day," Shido muttered, his reply barely audible as his face was on the table. "You don't know your day will be bad until you decide it will be," Kei said, making a sandwich from a biscuit and three strips of bacon. The three of them were mostly done eating when they heard a bell ringing. "Fire alarm or visitors?" Kei asked, standing up. "The nearest town is five miles away," Kanna said. With that, they left the room. OOC: Miho set down the notebook. "This concludes all that the stupid author, er, Miss Yoko has written up so far, as she fell asleep the minute after she finished writing this. She asks me to tell you that Shido is a cat-monster, half-human, half-cat, and that Kanna is a wolf-monster, half-human and half wolf. The rest of the story will be posted at a later date." She then vanishes in her smokescreen.

Ran stares at Wyvern, then sticks her tongue out at him childishly. "In your dreams, bub." She stalks off, leaving Miho behind. Miho tiptoes over to the shocked Wyvern, and whispers to him, "The stupid auther told me to get rid of the mushrooms. However, I still have some of them with me, and I can get more. I'll sell them to you for, say, 15 geld each?"

Ran sighed, crumpling the sheet of paper up and throwing it over her shoulder. It bounced off the edge of the overflowing wastebasket and joined a growing pile on the floor. She reached for her over-sized mug that had the words "RAN YOKO ONLY" stenciled on the side, only to find that it was empty. "Ninja Minion, get yourself over here now!!" Ran yelled. The Ninja Minion appeared at her side, looking extremely tired. "Yes?" "More coffee, now!" "I'm afraid we're out of coffee grounds." "All right then, tea." "We're out of tea bags, also." "Cocoa?" "Nope." Ran felt like screaming, but instead she stood up, her long hair that was black, the bottom four inches dyed blonde, reaching to her waist. She turned to the Ninja Minion. "Then get yourself down to the Keep's 24-hour Convenience Store and get some more!!" "Yes, ma'am!" Ninja Minion(OOC: Her real name is Miho Kusanagi. To save space, I will refer to her as Miho. ) walked across the grounds, feeling ready to crash for about 48 hours, if only the stupid author would let her. "Is there even a convenience store around here?" she muttered, looking around. Miho had only moved in recently, and didn't know that much of the layout or even the people who lived there. Suddenly sensing danger, she whipped out her two sais from the inside of her sleeves, and took up a fighting position. She noticed about five ninjas around her, looking ready to attack. "Only five of you?" Miho scoffed. "If you want to kill me, Miho Kusanagi, heir to the Kage-Tsubasa clan, you'll have to come at in larger numbers!" She charged, taking out a ninja, her eyes widening slightly as it deflated, leaving behind spandex. "Fine, then," she said, pulling out what looked like a small rock. She flung it at the remaining four ninjas, and it exploded, taking care of them. Miho returned her sais to her sleeves, frowning slightly. "Interesting," she muttered, suddenly wide awake. She jumped in the air, landing about ten feet closer to the west wing where Ran was living. Her boss would be interested to hear about this.

Loki smiles, her eyes closed and her hands in her pockets. She is wearing jeans, a tank top, combat boots, and a flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, with a black collar-like choker and several earrings, mostly small hoops and studs. "My name's Loki," she says to Stick. Her voice is a strange Southern drawl, for she uses many English 'cockney' phrases. "Nice t' meetcha, mate." She looks over at the newest arrival and Mai, taking one step forward. She suddenly disappears, only to reappear hanging by her legs from the roof just above them. She looks with undisguised interest at the paper Mai is holding.

If I am allowed to make a character on here, it would have to be Loki. No idea about stats and stuff, but here's a basic description. LOKI--- looks about twenty-five, black hair pulled into a ponytail, right eye is silver, left eye is dark green-blue with a slitted pupil, very tall and lanky with long legs Shadow-walker-able to teleport(?) distances very hard to kill Acts very cheerful, smiles a lot, but turns very mysterious and dark at times always evades questions about herself fights with martials arts mostly

Have you ever traveled cross-country on a bike? Have you ever milked 6 goats per morning? (i have, no fooling) Have you ever made pancakes with salt instead of sugar and baking soda instead of flour? Have you ever sang yourself to sleep? Have you ever been shot at? Have you ever fallen off a cliff?

I truly suck at trying to rhyme or even get things in the context for a poem, so please enjoy it nonetheless. An Ode to Clothes Taking off shoes then socks, tossing the socks in my hamper, later to be washed, soon to be buried under others. A sweatshirt with mustard stains, jeans with grass stains, a T-shirt with dirt spread across it, a bandanna smelling of sweat. Weeks pass, and finally, I wake up with little to wear. Wearing sandals and sweats, I get ready for the laundromat. Opening up my hamper, I start to scream, running from the room. The shock was too much. The smell was unbearable, and the visual was worse. On top of my favorite clothes, were growing fungus and mushrooms!!

Howdy, this is Ran Yoko again. If this is starting out different that the rest of the story, so sorry, I’m trying a different mood for this part of Taro’s narrative. And yes, this is “Mystics of Garea”. Mai is simply posting it on here for me because of a system error that I made. So you know, when words in the text have ( ) on either end, it’s normally someone thinking. ‘Kay? Good, we’re cool. So shut up and read the story. GAREA Taro stumbled over a rock, and fell on his face. He was an Outcast, one of the few who looked different from the other people. He angrily shoved his jet-black hair out of his face, still sore from the rocks the last town’s villagers had thrown at him. All he had done was ask for a drink of water, and they treated him like a freak. (Maybe I am a freak,) he thought. (I’ve had black hair and eyes since I was a child. Nobody else looks like me.) He staggered to his feet and continued walking through the desert-like land. He had taken only a few steps when he tripped over what seemed to be a dried tree root, and tumbled down, head-over-heels, into a huge crater. He simply lay there on his back for a few minutes, staring up at the cloudy sky. “I hate my life,” Taro muttered. IS YOUR LIFE THAT BAD? a voice asked. “Yes, it is,” the man practically spat. “I can’t even walk through the edge of town without being treated like I’m carrying a disease, I’m constantly hungry and thirsty because no one willingly gives me anything, and even the sun never shines for me!” THAT DOES SOUND VERY BAD. “Thanks for agreeing with me,” Taro sarcastically said. Then he realized something. He sat up quickly and looked around. He was alone, except for a large rock in the middle of the crater. “Great,” he said, holding his head in his hands. “Either the rock is talking to me or I’m hearing voices!” I AM NOT A ROCK, NOR AM I A VOICE YOU ARE IMAGINING. Taro realized that the voice was coming from the rock, so he walked over to it. He then noticed that the rock bore symbols written in a pattern around the top. DESTROY THE ROCK. “What?” the man said. “How am I supposed to destroy it, smash it with another rock? And why should I destroy it anyway?” PLACE YOUR HAND ON THE ROCK AND REPEAT AFTER ME. Shrugging, Taro did as he was told, and repeated the words he heard. “KOROSHI NO YUME, KAGE NO YUGURE, TSUBASA NO KURAI, AWAKE.” Taro was blown backwards by the blast of the rock exploding. He sat up, coughing, and waited until the dust and bits of rock settled. He gasped at the creature sitting there. It resembled a large Kaiser dragon, except it was pitch black, and its glowing eyes were dark purple. A mane of dark gray fur flowed down its scaled neck and back. As it stretched its huge black wings, it gave a roar that seemed to shake the very foundations of Garea. WHAT IS YOUR NAME, OUTCAST? the dragon said. “T-Taro,” the man stammered, as he wondered what he had done. FROM THIS DAY FORTH, YOU ARE TO BE KNOWN AS KAGEKEN, the dragon said. AS THANKS FOR FREEING ME FROM MY PRISON, YOU WILL BE MY AVATAR. YOU WILL GAIN BUT A SMALL PORTION OF MY POWERS, AND DO MY BIDDING. “W-who are you?” Taro asked. The dragon seemed to give an evil smile. MY NAME IS KAGE NO YAMI. “What?” Taro whispered. The dragon changed into a large black shadow, and shot towards Taro. It hit him in the chest, and he screamed, his voice echoing throughout the land. He straightened up, panting slightly. His eyes turned from jet black to dark purple, and he flexed his hand. He turned the palm of his hand toward the side of the crater, and a huge ball of dark energy shot out of his hand, making the crater twice as big as before. “Kageken, huh?” he said. “I like that name.” Kageken turned back towards the village he had come from, and grinned. Those villagers would be the first to die. EARTH Sakura stared at the teenaged boy standing in front of her. “Shin-chan?” she repeated. “Sakura-chan, it is you!” he exclaimed. “This is totally awesome!” “Uh, Sakura?” Ran asked. “Who’s this?” Tohru asked. “This is Shin Kusanagi,” Sakura explained. “He lived next door to me when we were kids, until his family moved away 10 years ago.” “I never thought we’d be going to the same high school,” Shin said, grinning widely. “Shin-chan, these are my two best friends, Ran Hanabishi and Tohru Ijyuin,” Sakura introduced her friends. “Hey, Shin,” another boy said, coming up. His half-lidded eyes looked at the group with curiousity. “Oh, this is Keisuke Takenaga,” Shin said, introducing his friend to the girls. “Okay, people,” a teacher said, standing on the steps. His dark hair was pulled into a short ponytail, and he wore glasses. “I’m the school doctor, Sasuke Kazama. All teachers, please report to your respective classes. All students, please go to your classrooms. Thank you.” All of the students and teachers filed into the building, and Sasuke sighed. “First day of school is always so hectic. I’m probably gonna have a lot of people coming by the office,” he said. He started to turn to go into the school, but he stopped when he saw a young teenager running through the school gate. “Okay, class,” the homeroom teacher said, pushing away some of her short hair hanging loosely around her face, “I’m Yukino Akari. I expect you to be on good behavior this year.” The door to the classroom opened, and Sasuke stepped in, followed by Takashi. “Sorry for interrupting,” Sasuke said. “Koshiba-san’s younger brother has a package to deliver.” GAREA TATSUNOKO SHRINE The woman sweeping the walkway to the shrine suddenly gasped, and looked up. She turned around to the east, and saw a faint red glow on the horizon. Dropping the broom, she dashed headlong into the shrine’s main room, shouting, “Kikyou-sama!” The older woman sitting in the room was panting, clutching the prayer beads around her neck. “Did. . .you feel it too, Kagome?” she asked. Kagome nodded. “What should we do, Kikyou-sama?” “We have no choice,” Kikyou said, standing up. She picked up the sword that was on the table set in the middle of the room and started to leave, saying, “Follow me.” They went to the back of the shrine, and entered a cave hidden behind bushes. Deep in the cave, a small shrine was set up, with a large stone in front of it. A small waterfall trickled from the wall into a pool by the shrine. Kikyou frowned at the stone, which was purely black, and drew the sword from its sheath. She dipped the blade of the sword into the pool, then pulled it back out. “Here is the powder,” Kagome said, holding out a small bag. Kikyou reached into the bag and pulled out a small handful of silvery-white powder. Standing in front of the stone, she sprinkled the powder on either side of the blade. “Are you ready?” she asked. Kagome nodded and stood on the other side of the stone. They both took hold of the sword’s hilt, the blade pointing down towards the stone. The two women closed their eyes and began to chant. “TSUBASA NO HIKARI, RETURN TO US OUR SAVIOURS. UTA NO HIKARI, SING OF A HOPE OF REDEMPTION. MYSTICS, RETURN TO FREE US FROM THE DARKNESS!” At the last words, the blade of the sword shone white, and the two women thrust the blade down into the rock. The sound of an explosion followed, and the entire cave lit up with a white light. Moments later, Kagome and Kikyou stood at the entrance to the cave, gazing up at the sky. “Do you think they’ll come?” Kagome asked. “Only the Divine Being, Tsubasa no Hikari knows,” Kikyou replied, exhaling. EARTH Sakura gasped, feeling like something had just tugged at her. “What’s wrong, nee-chan?” Takashi asked. “I don’t know,” Sakura said. Suddenly, a voice spoke, quiet and calm, but full of power. “MYSTIC OF HEALING, SAKURA; MYSTIC OF PLANTS, RIKOJI; MYSTIC OF LIGHTNING, REN; MYSTIC OF EARTH, ADRIAN; MYSTIC OF BEASTS, SHARAN,; MYSTIC OF ICE, SYLEA; MYSTIC OF WIND, WINDREA; AND MYSTIC OF FIRE, YUNA. RETURN TO GAREA, AND SAVE THEM FROM THE SHADOW OF DARKNESS.” “What the heck!?” Shin said. The glass of the windows suddenly shattered, and Kagero leaped into the room, then jumped onto Takashi’s shoulder. The room filled with light, then, for Sakura, everything went black. END CHAPTER ONE   Hey, there! I’m the Ninja Minion working for Ran Yoko. Here’s the translation notes for chapter one of “Mystics of Garea”. I hope it all makes sense. If it doesn’t, too bad TRANSLATOR’S NOTES CHAPTER ONE Nee-chan: an informal term for older sister. In this case, Takashi is basically call Sakura ‘Sis”. Dashing out of the house with toast: this is actually a very common thing in manga and anime. The hero/heroine wakes up late and only has time to grab a piece of toast before running to school. Lunch: the lunch that Kasumi is referring to here is an ‘obento’, or boxed lunch. Apparently very common in Japan, Very similar to brown-bag lunches here in the states. Chan: it’s a Japanese honorific, like ‘san’ and ‘kun’. However, ‘chan’ is more often used for best friends or young children. Which explains why Takashi doesn’t want to be called ‘Taka-chan’, considering he’s a teenager at the awkward stage in life. No honorific: when Sakura, Ran and Tohru are speaking to each other, they don’t use any honorific, which indicates that they are very close friends. Not using any honorifics means that the two people are very close. Okonomiyaki: a sort of Japanese pizza. It’s a flour mixture, with cabbage, meat and other vegetables fried on top. Very delicious! Kaiser dragon: in this story, a Kaiser dragon is like a large Eastern dragon, more like a serpent. San: the equivalent of “Miss”, “Mr.”, or “Mrs.” Tatsunoko Shrine: Tatsunoko means ‘dragon child’, according to a movie I saw. The stupid author was out of ideas after an all-nighter, so she decided on a random name. It’s based on a Shinto shrine. Sama: this indicates that Kagome has a high level of respect for Kikyou. If you were to translate it into English, it might be similar to “Lady Kikyou”. SPELL TRANSLATIONS Kage no Yami’s release spell KOROSHI NO YUME, KAGE NO YUGURE, TSUBASA NO KURAI, AWAKE KILLING OF DREAMS, SHADOW OF TWILIGHT, WINGS OF DARK, AWAKE Kagome and Kikyou’s spell TSUBASA NO HIKARI (WINGS OF LIGHT), RETURN TO US OUR SAVIOURS. UTA NO HIKARI (SONG OF LIGHT), SING OF A HOPE OF REDEMPTION. MYSTICS, RETURN TO FREE US FROM THE DARKNESS! OOC: i will get to answering any questions as soon as possible I just ran out of time today:)

Ninja Minion walked into the Pen Keep, carrying a huge platter of sushi, with a kotatsu strapped to her back. She set the platter on a nearby desk, then removed the kotatsu, setting it on the ground. Plunking the platter down on the kotatsu, she straightened up, brushing her hands together. Reaching into the sleeve of her black kimono, she pulled out a sheet of paper and a bullhorn. She cleared her throat and began to slowly read the note, speaking through the bullhorn. "*ahem* To our friends the garden gnomes, myself, Ran Yoko, and all of the Mystics have decided to buy you some deluxe sushi. We hope you en-en. . ." Ninja Minion's voice trailed off as she tried to read the author's handwriting. She finally just crumpled up the paper and tossed it over her shoulder. "Since when do they have money to buy deluxe sushi?" she muttered. "Okay, gnomes. The stupid author and the Mystics were too busy brainstorming over the first chapter after they made the sushi, so they made me bring it. I also got something for you." She reached into her sleeve again and withdrew a small Buddha statue and a bottle labeled "Poison Antidote". "Kagero sent the antidote," she said, setting the two objects on the kotatsu. She clapped her hands together twice and bowed before the Buddha statue. "May their souls rest in peace." Ninja Minion then vanished in her smokescreen, leaving behind very nervous gnomes.

Thanks, Wyvern. Mai is actually my older sibling, so yeah, you are right. By the way, to all of the readers, I will not be able to post the rest of this story very often, due to killer work and school, plus the fact that I have limited internet acces, so please pardon the choppy postings. I forgot my manuscript today, so please enjoy the omake of Ninja Minion's. (evil laughter) Oh, so it's up to me to bail you out cuz of your absent-mindedness, huh? Since I can't do my para-para dance with "Super Gals"(a popular Japanese anime) music, here's the second choice. Here's a preview of the rest of the story. "Many years ago, on a world named Garea, a battle took place. A battle between Kage no Yami and the Mystics ended indecisevely, with the demon being sealed away, and the Mystics vanished. On Earth, a group of people have met at Kaio High School, a homeroom teacher, the school doctor, and the rest students. However, on Garea, a young man has stumbled across the seal that kept Kage no Yami locked up, and unknowingly broken it. Due to this, the reincarnations of the Mystics are transported back to Garea, where they must seal away Kage no Yami for the second time. But what of our heroes? Will the effort break them, or will they triumph? Look for the coming first chapter of "Mystics of Garea", "In Which Old Friends are Reunited, and New Friends are Made"! So, what'd you think? Author: I am in awe of your stupidity. That's one of the worst previews I've ever heard, and what's up with the long title for the chapter?! It's like the chapter titles in the "Enchanted Forest Chronicles" by Patricia C. Wrede! You got a problem with it!? Author: Yes, I do! Keep this up, and no paycheck! (scribbling on paper while sobbing) Dear mother and father, I realize that as a ninja, I'm expected to stay in the shadows, do my jobs and not complain. But, due to the harrassment of a certain author, I may be committing seppoku soon, so I'm sorry that I'm such a failure as a ninja. . . Author: To all you readers out there who don't know what seppoku is, it's taking a knife, and plunging it into your gut. From what I understand, dishonored samurai were expected to do it, and normally a "second" would be there, ready to chop their head off to end their suffering. Oi, Ninja Minion, don't think I'm gonna be your second for you. (scream of ultimate anguish)

Hey, there! I'm Ran Yoko, and this is my first story on here, so I hope you enjoy it. It's only the prologue, but depending on popular opinion, I may or may not put more on here. So, please enjoy the first part of "Mystics of Garea"! PROLOGUE- In a barren wasteland, the hot, dry breeze blew dust and the dead branches of a lone tree. The sun was hidden by dark clouds that had crept up, shadowing the land for miles around. A black cat sat on the edge of an enormous crater, it's golden eyes watching the battle taking place in the crater. "Are you enjoying this, Kagero?" a voice asked behind him. The cat turned slightly to see a woman standing there, her long ponytail blowing in the breeze. Her gray eyes looked at him with something akin to humor, and her blonde hair was extremely messy, sticking out every which way. "I should have known you'd show up, Sora," the cat said, turning back to the fight. Sora sat down by Kagero, showing no surprise that the cat had talked. "So, who's winning?" she asked. "The Mystics or Kage no Yami?" (Ninja Minion: Translator's note- "Kage no Yami" is Japanese. Loosely translated, it means "Shadow of Darkness". What? (checks earpiece/headset) Oh. The stupid author says to tell you that Kage no Yami is pretty much the top bad guy, like the most powerful demon of all. *mutter*[why did I sign up for this job anyway? I don't even get a name, for crying out loud!] In any case, continue with the story. Remember, I was never here.) "See for yourself," Kagero answered, nodding toward the battle. A ball of dark energy shot through the air in the crater, digging a furrow in the ground, only to be deflected by a wall of ice. The energy flew back off the ice, hitting the side of the crater, and creating another hole. The wall of ice started to crack, then shattered. Sylea dropped down on one knee, coughing up blood. Throwing up the wall of ice, conjured out of almost nothing, had taken a lot out of the Mystic of Ice. "Are you all right?!" exclaimed Sakura, Mystic of Healing. "I'm fine, Princess," Sylea said, wiping blood away from her mouth. "Don't waste your powers." "You're too stubborn for your own good sometimes, Sylea," said Ren, Mystic of Lightning. "Princess Sakura!!" Down the side of the crater came sliding two more people, Sharan, Mystic of Beasts, and Windrea, Mystic of Wind. "What happened to you?" Sharan asked, stopping by Sylea. "Did you evacuate everyone from the villages?" asked Yuna, Mystic of Fire. Windrea nodded. "We did," he answered. "Have you made any progress?" "Hardly," Ren said. Rikoji, Mystic of Plants, agreed. "If we throw an attack at him," he nodded towards the black barrier surrounding Kage no Yami, "he seems to absorb it, and it comes right back, almost two times as powerful." "Have you noticed something?" spoke up Adrian, Mystic of Earth. "When we throw an attack at him, it takes about two minutes for it to come back." "So, what you're saying is that, if we take advantage of those two minutes and keep hitting him, we might have a chance?" Yuna asked. "FOOLISH HUMANS. DO YOU REALLY THINK YOU HAVE A CHANCE AGAINST ME?" Kage no Yami's voice thundered. "Why don't you butt out of our conversation!!" Sharan yelled. "Take a nap or somethin'!" "What if we throw at him a strong enough attack that he can't throw back at us?" Sakura asked, lowering her voice. "You mean like combining our powers or something similar?" Windrea asked. "Sort of," Sakura answered. "But I meant summoning the Spirits." This drew a concerted gasp from everyone. "Sakura, are you out of your mind!?" Rikoji demanded. "You know what the penalty for summoning THEM is!" "Yes, Rikoji, I know," Sakura said calmly. "But doing that is probably our only option. Even if we aren't able to be reincarnated on Garea. If we don't do it and die here anyway, what's the point of being reincarnated here? Kage no Yami will simply destroy this world soon enough, with or without us. If nothing else, maybe Tsubasa no Hikari will be able to seal him away." (Ninja Minion: Translator's note- "Tsubasa no Hikari" is also Japanese. Loosely translated, it means "Wings of Light". (checks earpiece/headset) The stupid author is saying to tell you that Tsubasa no Hikari is the ultimate divine being, reigning over all the different worlds. Oh, and that the "Spirits" they were talking about are the Spirits reigning over the different Elements, like Fire, Ice, etc. I'm going to vanish in my smokescreen now. Remember, I was never here.) "Well, I don't have anything against it," Sharan said, after a pause. "What the hey!" Sylea said, standing up straight. "Even if we aren't reincarnated on Garea, maybe we'll be together in the afterlife." "Who knows, it might be fun!" Adrian chimed in. "Wow, they're really gonna do it!" Sora said, shading her eyes as she gazed down at them. "Your enthusiasm knows no bounds," Kagero said. "By the way, won't your assistant be getting worried?" "Nah," Sora replied, standing up and dusting off her jeans. "Yuu-chan never worries. He just gets mad. But, I should be getting along." "You're not stayin to see the outcome?" the cat asked, sounding mildly surprised. "Nope," the woman said. "I already know how it's gonna turn out. That's one handy thing about knowing the Time-Keeper. You oughta visit, y'know. She and your brother haven't seen you in a long time." "Last time I was there, the Time-Keeper tried to sell me a cursed painting from that crazy antique shop of hers. What's more, Yue and I aren't on speaking terms. Last time I saw my brother, we almost killed each other." "I wonder if Demon Cats always do that?" Sora muttered. "In any case, I'll see you later." "Good-bye," Kagero said, not turning around as Sora walked away. The woman walked a few steps, then turned back towards the crater. She muttered to herself, "'Even if we aren't reincarnated on Garea, maybe we'll be together in the afterlife', huh? Just because they won't be reincarnated on this world, who's to say they won't be on another world? If anyone knows about chances in other worlds, it's me!" She laughed as she vanished, leaving a shimmer in the air behind her. "Is everyone ready?" Sakura asked. Seeing the nods of everyone, she began to chant. Thus began the last battle of the Mystics of Garea versus Kage no Yami, which would decide the fate of an entire world. . . EARTH, JAPAN RIIIIINNNNNGGGG!!!! The black-haired girl sat up in bed abruptly. Turning off the alarm for her clock, she yawned and stretched. "Another dream," she muttered, scratching the back of head. "That's a good thing. I'm needing the next part of my manuscript soon anyway. Guess I'll write it down later." "Sakura!" her mother yelled from downstairs. "If you don't hurry, you're going to be late on your first day of high school!" "Oh, shoot!" Sakura exclaimed, jumping out of bed. Outside the room, a black cat sat on the branch of a tree, it's golden eyes watching Sakura running out of the bedroom to get ready. "I've finally found you, Mystic of Healing," he said. -END PROLOGUE-