Chapter 5:
The Shadows
As the two sisters got ready, they heard a knock on their door; Kasumii stood up and went over to answer it. She expected it to be Jenny, making sure that they were getting ready for class, but as she opened the door she saw that there was no one there. She looked around to see if there was anyone in the hall, she was just figured that it was someone playing a practical joke on them; she was about to go back in and close the door when she looked down on the floor and noticed that there was a small piece of folded piece of paper sitting at her feet. She slowly bent over and picked it up, wondering what it could be. Just before she was about to close the door, she thought she saw someone in her peripheral vision wearing all black and run out of a nook in the hallway and dart quickly down the stairs, she looked but saw nothing so she went in the room and shut the door.
“Who was it?” Kuichi asked.
“I don’t know there wasn’t anyone there.” Kasumii replied.
She looked at the piece of paper in her hand and slowly unfolding it. As it was opened, she noticed that there was a message written on it, it said only one word ‘Welcome’ followed by a strange symbol with a mixture of shapes and symbols drawn together to form one larger one, it was marked on the paper with some kind of rubber stamp or seal.
“What’s that?” Kuichi asked walking over to see what her sister was holding.
“I found it outside of our door. I don’t know what it means.” Kasumii said showing it to Kuichi.
“Well just forget about that, we have to get to the dining hall for breakfast.” She replied.
“Oh right!” Kasumii exclaimed as she put down the piece of paper on the table.
The two finished getting ready, and left their room. They set out for the Dining Hall and while walking down the flight of stairs from their hallway, Kasumii felt a strange sensation, the same she had been feeling since yesterday, the feeling that someone was watching them. She quickly looked around so as to not worry her sister.
“Is something the matter?” Kuichi asked who had just seen her sister’s strange behavior.
“Oh it’s nothing, nothing you need to worry about anyways.” She sharply replied, followed by an awkward laugh, trying to act as if it hadn’t happened.
They continued on, all the while Kasumii having the feeling that someone was watching she just tried to ignore it as they walked to breakfast. As they reached the Grand Dining Hall, she turned to see if anyone was following them, she just couldn’t brush the feeling. As she turned, she noticed that behind other students that were also arriving at the same time someone dressed in all black, just like she had seen on the other occasions, dashed and hid behind a pillar. She was about to go over and see for herself just who it was, but just as she started to move over to that direction, her sister pulled her back and dragged her into the Dining Hall, she was thinking about releasing from her sister and running over, but other students filled in the door way and made it impossible to get past, so just decided to try and forget about it. They chose a spot, as Jenny hadn’t showed up yet, and waited for there friends to show up. Jenny was first, she sat down beside them.
“Good morning to the both of you!” Jenny declared as she took her seat beside Kuichi.
“Good morning to you, too, Jenny.” Kasumii said with a smile.
“Hello Jenny.” Kuichi said as well.
“What’s up everyone?” Zokeii said to the three as he was just arriving as well. He continued to take a seat next to Kasumii.
“Hey, did any of you get one of these weird messages at their door?” he said pulling out a small piece of paper revealing the same strange symbol as the one the girls had found at their door just half an hour earlier.
“Yeah we did, it’s really strange. What do you think the symbol means?” Kasumii replied, “Did all of the new students get one or something?”
“What is that thing?” Jenny asked as she saw the paper Zokeii was holding.
“Wait so you didn’t get one then Jenny?” Zokeii asked surprised.
“No I didn’t, what is it.” She answered, somewhat intrigued.
The four inspected the strange piece of paper. They could only see what had been seen before, the strange symbol and the message of ‘Welcome’ beneath it. There was nothing else written on neither the front nor the back of the paper to indicate who on earth could have or would have left the mysterious message for them.
“So both of you got one of these things?” Jenny said disappointedly, “How come I didn’t get one? I never got welcomed like you guys did.”
“What are you talking about Jenny?” Kasumii said confused by this statement, “You were there with us when everyone in the school greeted and welcomed us when we first arrived, remember.”
“Oh yeah!” Jenny exclaimed, the frown now gone from her face, “I guess I had forgotten about that, ha ha. But still, why didn’t get one of those weird messages?”
“Believe me Jen, I’m pretty sure it’s not that great of a thing,” Kasumii assured her. She looked around the room and beckoned the others in closer and started to whisper, “I’m not sure, but I’m pretty sure that me and Kuichi here have been followed around the school. Whenever we are walking in the hallways or in the courtyard, I always get the feeling that someone is watching us.”
“Oh you’re just a little paranoid that’s all.” Jenny tried to comfort her.
“No, it’s not just that, when I look in back of us, I always see like a brief glance of someone in all black dash and hide behind something.” She replied, “It’s happened quiet a few times now, including right when we were getting into the dinning hall just a few minutes ago.”
Jenny screamed, startling her friends and causing the whole student body to stare at her. She quickly realized her mistake and hid her face with shame. The students just as soon went on with there own conversations and the four went back to there small huddle.
“I’m so sorry I just up and screamed all of a sudden like that.” She apologized, “It was just so creepy, so do you think someone is following you?”
“I’m pretty sure that has happened to me as well.” Zokeii added, “This morning when the door knocked and I answered it to find the letter, I looked around too see who was around that could have left it, when I thought I saw someone matching your descriptions running down the stairs.”
Yet another scream was let out by Jenny, this time even louder than the first one. Again the entire student body, as well as the staff began to stare at the strange behavior of this new student. She as well hid her face out of shame, again.
“So where is Jake anyways?” Jenny asked, changing the subject of her humiliation.
“Who knows, that guy is a complete mystery to me, we probably won’t be seeing much of him anytime soon.” Kasumii replied, going along with the conversation change, trying to help her embarrassed friend.
They went on for a while talking about how much of a delinquent Jake was before breakfast was served, they quickly finished off there meals and headed for there first class, Advanced Calculometry.
They were heading for the class, located in area A, and were half way across the courtyard, when Kasumii felt the same presence, the same feeling as though someone was watching them, and knowing the previous occasions and given the fact that the strange figure was seen when both her and Zokeii found their letters, that they were in fact being watched by the mysterious black hooded person. She quickly saw someone matching this description leap and hid in the forest like garden in the middle of the courtyard. She was tired of the constant feeling of being followed and now knowing where her adversary was headed, she followed the apparition into the thick jungle of a garden that lay in front of her.
“Hey where are you going Kasumii?” Jenny called after her. “You’re going to be late for class!”
“Just go on without me I’ll get to class soon.” She yelled back as she disappeared in to the darkness of the trees.
The three of them stood there and watched in bewilderment at what had just happened. The first bell to get to class rang and they looked at each other and realized that if they didn’t get going, they would all be late for class. So they turned and ran for class.
As she ran through the forest and the sky and light from above slowly dissipated as the canvas of the trees became thicker, she felt as though she fun running forever, all the while she could see just out of reach, something dark, a figure, a shadow. She continued on through the darkness of the garden for some time when she all of a sudden felt as though people were surrounding her, staring at her. She turned her head in both directions quickly and as she did she ran, she saw what seemed to be an infinite amount of shadows, the same kind of shadow that she had followed there, they seemed to be surrounding her as her light jog turned in to a frantic run. Just as she was sure she was going to be overwhelmed by the darkness, she emerged from the denseness and arrived in a small perfectly round clearing. She looked around as she approached the middle of the clearing looking into the darkness of the forest and completely surrounding her were the same shadowy figures, just standing there and watching. At the opposite of the clearing from where she entered, a lone figure, she assumed that this was the one that she followed in to the death trap.
“Wh-Who are you?” She stuttered with fear. “Wh-What do you want with me and my friends?”
“YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN…” The cloaked figure said in a deep echoing voice that shook her bones.
“What do you mean I have been chosen?” She screamed, her fear now becoming rage. Just then, the late bell rang and as she looked up through the trees to see the clock on the top of the tower and just as quickly as she had turned her head to look, she turned back to face the mysterious apparition to the shocking discovery that the mysterious figure, along with the surrounding shadows were all gone and the darkness of the forest had completely disappeared, so that she could see the building through the trees. A bit startled by the whole situation, she stood there for a moment, pondering what had just happened, until she finally decided to head for class, which she would be at least ten minutes late for by the time she got there. She turned back and headed through the now lighter forest and realized that what seemed like an eternity of running through the darkness, was really only a few steps out of the garden. As she headed into the building, she again felt that presence that she was certain was another one of those strange stalkers, so she just ignored it and continued on to her class. Realizing that she was approaching her classroom, she started to come up with something she could use as an excuse for why she was so late. She reached the door to her math class and opened it, the students as well as the teacher turned to the surprising image of Kasumii covered in dirt and debris with tears in her uniform and twigs and leaves in her now disheveled hair.
“My goodness Kasumii, what happened to you?” Mrs. Hildegard, the math teacher asked with a shocked face.
“Oh, um, I… fell.” Kasumii stammered an excuse for her less than appealing looks.
“Oh dear, do you need to go to the nurse?” She asked walking over to her, making sure she wasn’t injured.
“No, I’m fine.” She replied to the kind gesture.
“Oh dear, you need to go to the nurse, why don’t I take you there?” She kept saying, ignoring Kasumii’s pleads.
“Really, Mrs. Hildegard, I’m fine.” Kasumii said, trying to not be pulled out of the room by her teacher.
Mrs. Hildegard, who incredibly was much stronger than she looked for her age, subdued her student and carried her out of the classroom, the other students watching in awe as their colleague was taken away. The teacher took her for some time down the ever expanding hallways, taking her to the school’s nurse.
“Please, can you put me down?” Kasumii pleaded, “I can walk.”
“Oh no dear, you may have sprained your ankle when you fell.” She said in a worried voice.
Kasumii could do nothing but be carried by this small old woman to their destination. They arrived at their destination, the school infirmary, which was on the complete opposite side of the school from their starting point, the whole time Kasumii being carried over the shoulder of her teacher. As they entered the building, they were greeted to a wonderful scent, the scent of some kind of flower, Kasumii assumed as she was carried past a vase that was sitting on the front desk which was full of some kind of exotic looking plant with huge white blossoms. As she turned her attention from the sweet smelling flowers to the rest of the room, she was surprised to see someone she recognized, the woman that the students had only just recently asked for directions in the garden that was reading the manuscript in a foreign text, the woman that wore a white uniform and had long flowing hair. She was attending another student at the moment, a second year judging by the color of his uniform, when they entered the building.
“Oh Khalidah, good you’re here!” Mrs. Hildegard stated as they walked closer to the two.
“Hello Millicent, what brings you here today?” She said turning her attention away from the other student, who upon closer inspection appeared to have a broken leg, due to the cast that was being elevated in the air by some kind of pulley system.
“I have a patient for you, dear. She said she fell and I brought her to you to make sure she wasn’t too seriously injured.” Millicent said, throwing Kasumii onto a neighboring bed to that of the other student.
“Be careful!” Khalidah exclaimed as she saw her throw the student down as if she was a sack of potatoes.
“Oh, I’m very sorry about that dear. I guess I don’t know my own strength! Ha Ha, just kidding.” She laughed out loud, “Well I’ll be seeing you Khalidah!”
The little old woman turned around and without a word left the building, leaving Kasumii in the capable hands of the school’s nurse.
“So why did Millicent bring YOU in?” Khalidah asked Kasumii in a some what sarcastic tone.
It took her a while to respond to this question as she was still in shock from being thrown ten feet into a hard bed, regaining her composure she answered, “Just what she said, I fell…”
“You know you can tell me the truth, I won’t tell.” She cut in, “You’re already here and I would advise you to not go back to her class today, as she would most likely drag you back here in the wink of an eye as soon as you stepped foot on the threshold of her classroom.”
“I’m seriously fine though, just a few scratches that’s all” Kasumii tried to convince the good doctor, “So I should be heading back to class now…”
“Like I said, if you even try to return to her class today, she will drag you back by your, so I would advise staying here unless you like being earless.” Khalidah tried and succeeded in convincing Kasumii to stay.
“Alright, I guess I can skip one day of Calculometry, wait but won’t I get in trouble with the headmaster?” Kasumii replied.
“Don’t worry, as long as Mrs. Hildegard believes that you are truly injured, she won’t report it to the main office and you will be completely excused from her class today.” She assured her, “Then, when this period ends you can leave here and go to your next class as normal.”
“Thank you, I hope I won’t be burden.” Kasumii thanked her.
“Please do not worry about that, Millicent is a really caring person, unfortunately I believe that she is too caring.” She said to ease Kasumii’s mind, “I often have her students in here for some of the smallest injuries, even something as simple as a paper cut. So now tell me what really happened, won’t you?”
“I was running through the garden and I guess I got scratched up by the tree branches.” She confessed.
“Why were you running through the garden?” Khalidah asked, “It must have been very important if you didn’t even care if you were scratched up or late to class.”
“I was chasing something.” Kasumii hesitated to answer.
“Oh, what was it?” She responded, now very interested in the story.
“Well it was more of a whom. Actually, to be honest, it was more like a shadow…” Kasumii started but was interrupted by a phone ringing on the wall near the entrance.
Khalidah stood up and swiftly moved towards the phone, her long robes flowing behind her. She answered the phone and Kasumii could hear someone on the other side of the phone rapidly speaking, Khalidah told them that she would be there right away and then proceeded to hang up. Without a word she went to a cabinet, opening it and taking out some kind of medical equipment case and headed for the door.
“I am very sorry we had to cut this short, but there is an emergency that I must see to immediately.” Khalidah explained before rushing out the door, leaving the two students alone in the quiet infirmary.
Khalidah raced to the scene, located behind the main building where the staff housing was located. As she arrived, several other members of the staff, including Master Onderwijzer as well as Wilonius, were already waiting for her arrival, all of whom were masked by grim faces of sorrow. One of the teachers proceeded to showing her the shocking discovery, two bodies hidden in the roots of a large oak tree. They were the bodies of two young students, a Second Year by the name of Shana who was eighteen, and an older boy, a Third Year who was twenty, named Robert. There mangled bodies, slightly burned by some unknown assailant, were systematically dumped in this location unusual.
“It’s strange though,” Wilonius said, “I have no memory of these two students having anything to do with each other. Shana had her own group of friends, while Robert was more reclusive.”
“Not only that,” Duchess added in, “but they weren’t even in the same year as each other, Robert being a Third Year student, and Shana being a Second.”
“Who found these bodies?” Khalidah demanded.
“That would be me.” A tall and lanky man with dark shabby hair and large spectacles came forward.
“Guillermo.” She said addressing the man, “How did you find them?”
“I was having lunch in the branches of the oak, as I always do at this time.” He began his story, “When I noticed something protruding from the ground in the roots of the tree. I was curious so I teleported down to see what it was. At the time it was mostly just cloth showing, so I unburied a little and to be horror, I found the two of them here. I was frightened and did not know who to tell, so I went directly to Meester’s office to inform him, then he called you and that’s how it happened.”
“How long ago did this happen to you?” Khalidah responded to the account.
“Maybe around ten minutes ago.” He quickly replied, “How long do you think that they have been, you know?”
“It appears as though they have been dead for at least twenty-four hours,” She said, “However it is strange, the dirt that is covering them has only been moved within the last twenty or so minutes. Mr. Capotreno, how long were you here for before you noticed them?”
“I don’t know, maybe just a couple of minutes, why?” Guillermo stated, “Wait a minute, you think I did it don’t you?”
“Don’t worry Guillermo; I know you didn’t do it.” Duchess said.
“It is strange that they didn’t hide them better, it may be that the culprit wanted us to find them.” Wilonius suggested. “Or perhaps they were scared away before they could finish the job, maybe even by Guillermo himself. They probably took them a while before they could find the right area. Did you see anyone around when you were up in the tree?”
“No I did not… Wait a minute, actually now that you bring it up, I do remember seeing some strange shadows running away from me and hiding in the forest area.” He recollected.
“Shadows?” Khalidah said wondering if what Kasumii had said earlier was related to this now.
“Do you know something about this Khalidah?” Meester asked.
“Oh no, I only was thinking that it was strange and suspicious.” She replied.
“What I don’t understand though is why there Armas are missing.” said Wilonius.
“What do you mean?” Khalidah asked, sounding astonished, “Were they stolen?”
“It’s possible.” Wilonius said, walking over towards the crime scene, “They did not have them with them and they weren’t in the storage locker.”
“What does it all mean?” Meester questioned. “What ever the case, we must keep this from the other students and contact these poor youngsters’ families. Understood?”
The other teachers and staff nodded in agreement and went on there ways, each of them feeling that a great evil was soon coming over the place they once felt safe. Guillermo and Khalidah were left to attend to the bodies.
“So what is your name?” Kasumii asked the other student, trying to be polite.
“The name’s Björn.” He said with a smile.
“So what happened?” She asked, hoping too not hurt his feelings.
“I had a accident during gym and fractured my ankle.” He said. “It’s not really a big deal.”
She was about to say something when they heard the door to the infirmary open, they looked to find that three people were standing in the doorway. It was Kuichi, Sunny, and Zokeii.
“What are you guys doing here?” Kasumii said, surprised to see them.
“We were done with our lessons for today in Mrs. Hildegard’s class,” explained Sunny, “So we asked if we come over and visit you to see how you were doing.”
“Well I am fine, just a few scratches that’s all.” Kasumii said, “Khalidah, the school’s nurse, advised me to stay until the end of the class, that way I don’t get dragged back.”
“Excuse me?” Björn said softly, not meaning to interrupt, “Who are your friends Kasumii?”
“Oh, sorry about that. This is my sister Kuichi,” She said pointing to her sister, “and these two are my friends, Sunny and Zokeii. You guys this is Björn, he had an accident in Gym.”
“Hello, it’s very nice to meet you all.” He said.
“Hi!” Sunny shouted with excitement from meeting a new friend.
“So what happened, Kasumii?” Zokeii asked, wondering about the incident, “Why did you run off like that earlier and how did you get all scratched up?”
“I got scratched the branches in the garden.” She replied, “I saw one of those shadows run into the garden so I went chasing after it to see if I could find out anything about it.”
“Shadows?” Björn asked, confused.
“Yeah, for the past couple of days they have been followed all around school by these strange shadow figures,” Sunny answered.
“I see.” He said with a strange look on his face.
The bell for the class ending sounded and Kasumii and the others decided that it was time to get to their next class, not before saying good bye to Björn, he said good bye and hoped that they would meet again some other time and they headed out.
“So tell us all about it.” Sunny pleaded with Kasumii, wanting to know every little detail about what had happened to her in the garden.
“Don’t worry, I’ll give you all of the details about it at lunch.” She assured her curious friend, “But now we need to get to our next class. I’ll race you.”
She started to run, the three others looked at each other, and smiled then all chased after her, not knowing that while they ran, someone was watching them, someone hiding, a shadow.
Also, one more thing, I don't know how soon I will be posting another update on this story, as I will be starting to work for my parents to earn some extra money to buy something I really want, that is as soon as the rain stops here. What is it I want so much you ask, well originally I was going to use the spendings on a 3DS, but I changed my mind, now what I am going to get is a Shamisen! That's right, the three stringed Japanese instrument! Well that's all for now, Later.
