From: "Calico " Gomen ne minna-san. I just realized that somehow about half of the fic was cut off when I posted it. Here is(hopefully) the full version. This one is also online at http://keruber os.tripod.com/rkff1.htm. Doumo sumimasen desita. ~Calico A Crooked Path - Prelude It was raining again. It always seemed to be raining these days. One would wake up to the sound of rain. All meals of the day were accompanied by the sound of rain. One would fall asleep, lulled by that same sound. The others said the weather was typical of this time of year. It was the rainy season after all. The others saw nothing unusual in the rain. And they definitely did not sense anything foreboding about it. But Makimachi Misao most definitely did. When she first tried to explain what the rain meant to her, they listened to her for a bit before putting forth reason after reason why the rain was no different from that of any other year. Later on, they laughed at her ideas, calling her thoughts childlike and unrealistic. Okon had said that Misao's ideas were very romantic and typical of any young thing. And the others had all agreed. Misao did admit to being more than slightly romantic. But she still felt that this year's rain was different, although she never told the others about it now. She believed that the rain, and just about everything else, changed after what happened last year. The rain before that day was gentle and not frightening. Even in the harshest of thunderstorms, Misao had felt safe and she had known that the rain would end. But this rain was threatening and ominous. It seemed to hint at a dark and dreary future. This rain provided no comfort for Misao-- it scared her and it was all she could do not to hide away in some corner. But ironically, when the sun came out, it was sometimes worse. For even though the rain was not friendly like before, it still hid them from those who would do them harm. In the sun, they were more open, more exposed and so more easily attacked. But worse of all were those times when the others would go out on a mission, and she would have to sit and to wait and to worry about what might happen. It would have been better for her if she was allowed to participate in those missions. But the others always fussed about what would happen to her. So they would point to her inexperience and her youth, and then say it would be best to leave such an important mission to those with experience. And Misao would have to sit and wait for them to come back. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ One email address - many people! Start a free email group on eGroups! http://click.egroups.com/1/1887/4/_/455156/_/951546657/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------