The Path to Masaaki

Chapter 1: The Beginning

Daisuke Mitsuo rolled over in his soft bed. Swinging his arm over abruptly, he slammed his fist on top of the ringing alarm clock, ending the harsh tune. His eyes flicked open as he remembered that today was the first day of school! He jumped out of bed and flicked on the lights. Sitting on his chair was his school uniform, freshly washed and neatly pressed. He took a fast shower, and then dressed himself in his new clothes, admiring himself in the mirror. He ran a comb through his silvery hair, and ran downstairs to breakfast. He quickly chowed down his small meal of eggs, bacon, and lightly toasted bread. He scratched another day off his countdown to his 16th birthday, which was tomorrow. After a brief inspection by his mother, he was off to school. The Shining Valley High School was a convenient three mile walk. He admired the maple tree's lining the road, a hint of red was starting to show in the leaves.

He arrived at the school a few minutes early, which was fine with him. He wanted to look around and see if there was anything new with the building. As he looked at the sign-in sheet, he spotted a few new names. It would be nice to have some change, life in their tiny valley was very consistent. He made it to his first classes, and succumbed to the lilting voice of the teacher welcoming them all to class. He noticed a few new faces, and one girl stood out. Her hair was a light blue, and she was extraordinarily beautiful. He would have to meet her later.

The rest of the day finished in a blur, catching up with friends and acquaintances, making his classes, and finally he made it home. He sagged in a chair, exhausted by the day. His mother looked up, from feeding the small baby she carried. "Long day honey?", he nodded. His mother looked slightly annoyed by his refusal to speak. His parents seemed to be the only ones who were still annoyed by the fact that he didn't really wish to speak. His friends were all O.K. with it though. He ran upstairs, and changed into something more suitable to him than his school uniform. Tough black pants, and a rather worn green T-shirt caught his eye, and he pulled them on. Running outside, he surveyed the farm they lived on. The sun was just dipping behind the barn, where the animals he needed to feed were located. He hurried through his chores, trying to beat the shadows which were lengthening. It was dark when he came back in and washed up for dinner.

He decided to turn in early mainly because he was tired, but he was also tired of looking at the dark night outside. He preferred to stick around in brighter places. It was a restless night, shadows patrolled his dreams. He woke up often, turned and tossed, and he couldn't wait until the dawn of morning came. His overall feeling was that something had disturbed his mind. Maybe it was something from the school. He was greatly relieved when the first beams of sunlight shot into the room. He had been awake for a large part of the night, so he didn't bother going back to sleep. He just got into his school uniform, and wearily made his way downstairs.

"How'd you sleep?" the question roused Daisuke out of his stupor. He gazed at the bowl of cereal before him. His mother repeated the question. "Umm... fine" he lied. "O.K. good," she replied, "I didn't sleep too well, could you check on the animals on your way out?" He nodded. He finished off the bowl of cereal, brushed his teeth, and was out the door. He made a short detour toward the barn. He was alarmed by a stench that rose from past the creaking barn door.

Chapter II: The Discovery

The barn door fell off its hinges as he pushed it open. It pushed up a big cloud of dust as it fell to the floor with a crash. He was surprised, he had just fixed the hinges. Upon further examining, he saw that the hinges had nearly been ripped off the door frame. Something strong had wrenched open the doors last night, strong enough to break the padlock and chain which had bound the doors closed. The dust had settled enough for him to see now. He walked over to the source of the stench. He saw, laying on the ground, their only goat. It had been brutally killed. There was blood covering the sides of the stall, and splatters ran all over the walls. The latch into the pen had been cut open. He stood there in shock, comprehending what this meant. He couldn't think of any plausible solutions. He sprinted back to the house to tell his mother.