My name is Atsuko, and my life has officially been turned upside- down. It all started a couple of months...well, actually, to really get to the heart of the story, I'd have to take you back a lot farther than that... ******** Dark Heart High Netherworlds Educational Institution For The Universal Propagation of Evil Started by Mads This Chapter by: Smlee Chapter Sixty-Three: Reiterations! ******** It all started back when we were seven. 'We' referring to me and my best friend Reika. I've known her since we were both babies...but that's a bit too far back for this story. Anyways. Back when we were seven, a new family moved into the neighborhood. I didn't really give it much thought till now, but when they moved in, it was in the dead of night, without so much as a moving van either. But then, I was seven at the time. It wasn't exactly on my mind. It was the very next morning that my mother, along with Reika's mother, and a few other neighbors, went out to greet the Mikagami family. My mother knocked on the door, and a few moments later, Yuri opened the door. She seemed normal enough at the time. She gave a childish grin and with a bit of a giggle, welcomed us inside. From my position hiding behind my mother's leg, I caught a glimpse of what seemed to be infinite darkness, flowing down to the basement. I blinked, and it was gone. But now that I know better, it was probably my first glimpse of Yuri's father. Yuri's father is...well...the best way to describe him is...a light consuming black mist...with two deep red pinpricks for eyes. Other than that...I couldn't say. I've never actually sat in a room with him, even to this day. He seemed to prefer not to reveal himself to those who were...normal. Most of what I know of him was relayed to me through Yuri...though I dismissed a whole lot of it till recently. Yuri's mother on the other hand...seems to radiate happiness and light. It's a rather indescribable feeling. I was completely floored the first time I met her. She greeted us in the hallway and invited the group inside, before giving both myself and Reika some cookies and sending us off to play with Yuri. Yuri seemed immensely happy to be able to make friends her own age from the get go...but there was always something odd about her. We spent time in her room, playing with an assorted collection of dolls she owned, before migrating outside to play. She told us stories about her family, and where they had lived before moving here...but Reika and I didn't believe much of it. After all, who would believe that the past seven years of Yuri's life had been spent in a couple of different dimensions? Even as a kid, I found it hard to believe. We became good friends despite that though...and Reika and I went on not believing a word of the stories Yuri told us...until her first birthday after moving... ************ "Atsuko! Breakfast!" called Atsuko's mother, from the bottom of the stairs. Atsuko responded with a "Down in a minute!" before returning her attention to the open journal on her desk. Following the events of the previous weekend, Atsuko had felt an overwhelming need to make sense of everything, and upon asking friends for advice on what to do (not being able to confide in anyone what had gone on...after all, who would believe her?), had settled on writing a journal. Atsuko quickly jotted down the remainder of her story, about how she and Reika had been terrorized by a three headed dog in the temporary care of Yuri's father. It was the first big event she could recall that had really put her in denial of what Yuri really was... Atsuko snapped the journal shut. 'And just what is Yuri?' she found herself thinking bitterly, recalling what she'd learned of her friend last week. "Atsuko!" Her mother bellowed. Atsuko gulped and rushed down the stairs. Getting on her mother's bad side this early in the morning was never a good idea. ************ Following breakfast, Atsuko sifted through the mail to find her copy of the Zeros Informational Paper, to which she'd taken up a subscription to...also since last week. Her mood, which had slightly improved thanks to breakfast, turned somewhat sour again. She quickly scanned headlines, having already acquainted herself with the various factions making daily news. She paused to read a particularly interesting article on last day's peace talks between the Doombringers and the Steel Thorns...which hadn't gone well at all. The death count now stood higher with the slaughter of the Steel Thorn negotiators. Atsuko couldn't understand what drove them to clash. A bit of a conspiracy theory on both sides of the field, and they take it as hard evidence. It was almost like someone was playing both sides to their own end, but Atsuko couldn't even guess at who it could be. But then, they were 'evil'. Did they really need a reason to fight? Atsuko paid particular attention to a quote given by a (seemingly) noteworthy magical girl (Atsuko still found it difficult to believe they were real, even with all the weirdness in her life of late.), Violet Ringoshima, who it seems had recently gotten out of jail on bail. 'It's all in the prophecies! She's the cause! That impossible child!' Now, what she had meant by that, nobody knew. But what had made her pay particular attention to that quote was the fact that a week earlier, Ringoshima's arrest had been facilitated by none other than Yuri's grandmother. It seemed bizarre to her, for she had met Yuri's grandmother many times before...she seemed like a harmless old woman. The phone rang, and Atsuko put down the paper to answer it. "Hi! Is Atsuko home?" Reika's voice cheerily spoke. "Reika?" Atsuko asked, a bit unsure. After all, Reika had been mainly avoiding Atsuko since she'd told him about her little crush on Craig, a dark knight attending the same school as Yuri. Although, recent events had driven a wedge between them. She wasn't quite sure how she felt anymore. Perhaps Reika had somehow picked up on this? She could be psychic or something. Atsuko nearly giggled at the thought. "Who else?" Reika mock questioned. "I was calling to ask if you wanted to come with me and Yuri today? We've got a fun filled day of shopping planned!" Atsuko nearly did a double take. As much as Reika had been avoiding her, she'd been avoiding Yuri practically ever since she entered high school. "Uh...?" Atsuko stammered. "Great! Meet you at the usual place, noonish." Reika cheerfully finished, before hanging up. The dial tone told Atsuko it was too late to say no. ************ As I think back on some of the more...memorable events surrounding Yuri, I begin to remember other things I blocked out...like the first day of Junior High. Yuri had been on vacation during the break, and so we hadn't seen her since the finish of the previous school year. Yuri, late as usual, came dashing up to the gates, souvenirs in hand. That wouldn't have been so bad...had we not noticed Yuri's tan. Not that it was actually a tan. Yuri informed us that while vacationing with her family, they'd been attacked by some kind of slime creature. And while her father had successfully defended his family, the resulting gooey explosion left Yuri glowing a healthy reddish-brown for a few weeks. Not that we believed her or anything. Then, it went from bad to worse. In an attempt to change the topic, Reika inquired about the packages being held in Yuri's hands. So Yuri hands Reika one of the packages, and tells her to open it. I had gotten a bad feeling about it...but Reika went ahead and tore it open anyways. It turned out, curiously enough, to be a pet rock. Yuri gave one to me as well. Reika and I were happy (and relieved) to get this somewhat normal gift from Yuri...though we ended up being quite wrong about the normal part. Turns out that the shady dealer that had sold the pet rocks to Yuri hadn't warned her that taking the rocks into a yellow sun environment would produce side effects, such as increased intelligence, and the will to dominate mankind. Luckily, all that intelligence only amounted to death threats being yelled at inappropriate moments, as the rocks thankfully did not sprout limbs. I still sometimes wake up in the middle of the night, thinking I've heard its voice once more. Needless to say, both Reika and I were in psychotherapy for weeks afterwards. ************ Atsuko snapped shut her journal once more as the bus pulled into the stop. She thanked the bus driver and departed. She glanced down at her watch and up to the ice-cream parlor that she was supposed to be meeting the other two at. But the bus had been quicker than she'd expected, and she was early. Atsuko didn't mind though. It gave her a chance to think things over. 'What do I say?' Atsuko wondered, 'Reika's been avoiding me...and I've been avoiding Yuri since...' Atsuko looked down, trying to hold her breakfast in. The last time she'd been this nervous was back when she'd started in the drama club. Not that she was so much better now...but at the very least she was able to keep her food where it was supposed to be. "Are you all right? Miss?" A familiar voice chimed in from beside her. Atsuko snapped upwards, and pointed an accusing finger at him. "YOU!" Ki scratched his head in confusion. "Yes?" "Y----Y----YOU!" Atsuko restated. "We've established this, yes." "What are you doing here?" Atsuko asked as she toned her voice downwards to a more standard level. Ki shrugged. "I'm free to do whatever I want, aren't I? And what I want to do right now is get myself an ice-cream milkshake." Atsuko's jaw hung off at a bit of a funny angle. Why did evil have to be so confusing? "So what are you doing here? Last I saw of you was at that dreary party Maimsworth was hosting. You didn't look too happy then either." "I...uh...uh..." Atsuko was at a loss for words. She just wanted him to go away! "Would you care to join me then?" Ki inquired, "...Not that I really want to ask you, but I just wouldn't be able to stand watching you start to whimper through the windows." Atsuko opened her mouth to tell him no, but as earlier, words failed to come out. ************ I suppose now would be a good time to tell you all about Yuri's 'evil' friends. I'll start with Ki Tamaida. He's a swordsman from the Steel Thorn clan. I only really know what Yuri tells me about him. He's one of those dark, mysterious types. And Yuri swears that even though he presents an outwardly gruff attitude, he's got one of the biggest hearts of the people she knows. I don't know about that. I wouldn't be surprised if he cut out his heart in some sort of bizarre ritual in the attempt to rid himself of 'unimportant' emotions. Then there's Balabalalde. Or Bala for short. I know even less about him. He's the strong, silent type. And some sort of a mummy. I'm a bit sketchy on the details. Both he and Ki have somehow formed a love triangle with Yuri. She's spent many hours of late lamenting over the situation. Personally, if it were up to me, I'd have neither...but I guess Yuri actually sees something in them. Amy Angeleye actually seems normal in comparison with the others. She seemed a decent enough girl when I met her at Yuri's last sleepover party. Though I did learn afterwards that she operates on the other side of the fence, if you know what I mean. She apparently had a very obvious thing for Yuri at one point, but was rejected. I kind of feel sorry for her. But then, I've heard the stories from Yuri. Hard to believe she'd turn out to be some sort of psycho gun wielding maniac. Another girl I met at the party, Leilei, is apparently entirely mysterious, even to Yuri. She looks to be a small kid...but she not only is caretaker to Bala, but she's some sort of college grad. Wierd. Then, there's Yasuko Wareme. Succubus by nature, sex fiend by choice. Scary thought that. From what Yuri told me, Yasuko had declared the two of them to be rivals from the moment of her arrival at Dark Heart High. She'd even tried to kill her before the first day was done. But Yuri had also told her that most of that bad blood seemed to have vanished, and Yasuko was grudgingly accepting Yuri's friendship. ...And lastly, there's Craig Maimsworth... ************ Atsuko tapped her pen in frustration. Craig was one topic she was hoping to avoid...but he came up anyways. Atsuko glanced up from her journal to see Ki moving back to their table with the milkshakes, so she snapped the journal shut and shoved it in her bag. "Here." Ki shoved the glass down in front of Atsuko before sitting opposite her. "So you're supposed to meet Yuri here?" Atsuko nodded, reconfirming what she'd already told Ki a few minutes ago. Ki looked to his watch, and mumbled something akin to, "She's late. As usual." At which point the doors flung open. "BWAH!" Yuri breathed, and then mopped sweat from her forehead. "I had to run all the way to make...Ki?" Ki nodded briefly to Yuri before pretending to busy himself with his drink. "I met him while I was waiting." Atsuko filled in the blank. Yuri, still looking somewhat befuddled said, "Oh," before plunking herself down in the seat next to Atsuko. Atsuko found herself engrossed in her own drink. Yuri made a few false starts at conversation, obviously picking up on the uncomfortable vibe emanating from Atsuko. Then Reika walked in. "Sorry I'm late guys! I had to stop on the way to pick up some...YOU!" Reika finish abruptly, pointing an accusing finger at Ki. "..." Ki sighed upon being accused for the second time in less than an hour. "You're that bum from the store a while back!" Reika supplied, possibly noting the confused look upon Atsuko's face. "Ah. The loudmouth." Ki stated. "What did you call me? Wanna take this outside?" Reika seemed abnormally quick to anger today... "What's the point? I'd just kick your ass anyways." Ki said, rather dismissively before returning to his milkshake. Reika's eyes flared. "Why you...!" Yuri had stood up without Atsuko noticing, and had placed a restraining hand upon Reika's shoulder. "Calm down. Ki doesn't really mean it. He's just a big softie at heart. Right Ki?" Ki grunted. Which, oddly enough, seemed good enough for Reika. Reika plunked herself down next to Ki. "So what's he doing here anyways? ...and come to think, you actually know this guy?" Yuri thought a moment. "Haven't you met him before now?" "...I don't think so. Unless you count that time he was staring at me through the shop window..." Reika replied. "Hrm...I was sure you met him that one day where you two got changed into werewolves." Reika paled. "...Except that never happened. It was food poisoning or something." Ki rolled his eyes. ************ Somehow or another, the group had managed to spend a pleasant afternoon catching up on the year's events. Yuri was extra careful to edit some of the content of her time...but it was mostly Reika talking anyways. "Hey." Reika cut in on Yuri's story suddenly. "We haven't heard much from Atsuko today." Atsuko blinked. There was a reason she didn't feel like talking. And it had to do with the reason she didn't feel like being here. "Come on! Tell us how that summer program of yours is going!" Reika prodded. Atsuko's face flushed, and she slunk down into her chair. "Last I heard, you were really into this one guy there...what was his name? Craig...something or other?" Ki snickered, and Atsuko slunk even further down into her chair. Yuri, actually taking note of Atsuko's distress, changed the subject. Atsuko excused herself a minute later to use the restroom, taking the opportunity to duck out of the store. She breathed a sigh of relief as she left that trio behind. Atsuko found herself wandering aimlessly, her thoughts tuned to Craig's party. She'd gone on Craig's invitation, feeling entirely nervous because she'd only decided that morning that she would tell Craig exactly how she felt about him. Then she found out what the party was for. Craig had murdered his brother, and was proud of it. Now, Atsuko didn't know exactly how to feel towards him. And to make matters worse, when Yuri had come to cheer her up, she found herself asking if Yuri had killed anyone during her stint at the school. To which, Yuri had replied...yes. Somehow, Atsuko found herself thinking that Yuri's kill count far exceeded that of Craig's. And that scared her. She paused, and blinked. Where was she? She looked up at the massive gates in front of her, behind which lay a massive school campus. She looked to the side, and noted a ramen shop she visited on occasion. But she could never remember this school being here... She looked at the nameplate beside the gate. Dark Heart High. DARK HEART HIGH? This...this was Yuri's school? Lost in thought, Atsuko failed to notice someone had crept up behind her, until the shock of feeling a hand on her shoulder caused her to faint. ************ Atsuko awoke and glanced to the window. It was still dark out. She flopped over to look at her alarm clock...before realizing that she wasn't in her bedroom. She sat up with a start. "Ah, good. You're awake. I was beginning to worry." A voice spoke from the darkness. "W...W...Who?" Atsuko's voice quavered. A light flickered on overhead to reveal...someone Atsuko didn't know. "My name is Amakusa. I am principal of this school. You are Atsuko, friend of Yuri?" The way he asked the question made it seem more like a statement. "Y...Yes..." Atsuko stammered. "Come come. No need to be afraid." Amakusa assured Atsuko. "After all...if I wanted you to be afraid...you'd know it." That statement sent shivers down Atsuko's spine. "What do you want with me?" Atsuko choked out after a moment. "Actually, I'd like to make you an offer. I'm aware that Zeros Academy has offered you a position at their school. But, given your unique relationship with Yuri, I'm willing to offer you a spot right here." "...What?" Atsuko was completely taken aback by what Amakusa had just said. "I said I'm willing to offer you a spot here at Dark Heart High." Amakusa calmly repeated. "...And before that?" "I'm aware of the offer Zeros Academy made you?" Amakusa sounded a bit puzzled. Atsuko was even more confused. "What offer?" Amakusa arched his eyebrows. "You didn't receive an offer?" Amakusa glanced down at a file in his hand. "Uh...not that I'm aware of..." Atsuko gulped, wondering if she'd said something wrong now... "Interesting. Then you may go." Amakusa waved his hand towards the door. "Uh..." Atsuko began. "I retract my own offer." Amakusa stated. "Uh..." Atsuko repeated. "As long as you don't end up at Zeros, I don't need to steal you away from them, do I?" Amakusa stated. "Now go, before I decide you cannot." Atsuko ran from the room. Amakusa pulled a withered parchment from the folder, and scrutinized it under the light. "But I was sure the prophecies..." ************ Atsuko surprised herself by finding the exit to the building easy enough. She ripped back out onto the streets, and took off in a random direction, not stopping until she found herself collapsing from exhaustion. She was bent over and gasping for breath when she received her third shock of the day. "Atsuko? What are you doing here? Is something wrong?" Atsuko looked up, tears welling in her eyes, before she lunged into Craig's embrace. Craig, not exactly knowing what to do, put a comforting arm around her shoulder. And Atsuko cried. ************ Author Notes: Well. That was fun. If only I actually spent more time writing what I wanted to. Oh well. So what was the purpose for this writing? Well, it all started two weeks ago. I had shown my girlfriend a few of my DHH chapters, and realized, with sixty-two chapters, it would be rather hard for her to jump right in and know who all these characters are. Then I realized, it was the same for any new readers. So...I wanted to try my hand at recap. Unfortunately, I ran rather low on time, so I was only able to touch base on a handful of the major characters, and a few minor ones. MIA this round...Tokiko, Kashin, Akurei, Lily, Ryuji, Liza...and more. I also meant to dig more into the background relationship between Yuri, Reika, and Atsuko. That didn't pan out as I'd hoped, also due to a lack of time. Although, it was kind of interesting to write this story from the outsider perspective of Atsuko. Oh, and in case anyone's wondering...the offer for DHH is done and over with. I only used it as a bit of a plot point to have poor Atsuko meet up with Amakusa. It was fun to intimidate her a bit. And then drive her right into Craig's arms. Have fun with that next author! (Oh, and you may as well ignore the Zeros Academy stuff...though I see Atsuko fitting in there much better than at DHH or Sakura Arts. I was just implying the prophecies are bigger than just Yuri.) Hmm...what else? Oh, right. Obligatory references. The birthday party w/three headed dog was lifted from chapter 4. Reika references the time she met Ki while working in chapter 42. The party was last chapter, though that one was a bit more obvious. I've probably referenced other stuff...but I just cannot recall. Bad me. Hmm...no time for pre-readers, so I just have to thank Amy (My girlfriend, not Angeleye...) for the inspiration for this one. I hope everyone enjoys reading what turned out to be a rather short part compared to what I had planned. (...which isn't really a bad thing, considering DHH 54...) Monday, March 22, 2004 (First impro part of the new year, and first since May of last year. Stupid school killing all my time to do anything fun.) ************ "Say...Atsuko's taking an awful long time in the restroom..." ************ An owl swooped down the chimney and dropped a letter upon Atsuko's mother's head. She cursed, and reached up for it. "Again!" She said, rather frustrated, before tearing up the envelope labeled with a Zeros Academy logo and Atsuko's name... She quickly composed a letter, mostly containing death threats, and attached it to the owl's leg before sending it back where it came from. ************ A rather large audience had surrounded the DDR machine. "What's going on?" One female asked of another as she approached. "There's some guy wrapped in bandages with the highest score I've ever seen!" And indeed, Bala was in the groove.