Chapter Three

On her way to school, Suki never saw Kaosu and she was glad. She didn't see Mikomi either, which worried her a bit. Once at school she found Mikomi at her locker.

"Hey." Suki greeted with a smile

"Hi." Mikomi said without even looking away from the book she was reading.

"So, what's up? Did I miss anything yesterday?" Suki inquired.

"Nothing in particular." Mikomi answered, not really interested in talking. Suki was about to apologize when the bell rang and Mikomi walked off with out a word.

Suki didn't see her again until lunch. She found her at their usual table by the vending machines. When she sat down, Mikomi didn't say anything and they both ate in silence.

"I'm sorry, OK?" Suki blurted out.

"For what, ditching me or not telling me about your new friend?" Mikomi snapped.

"She's not my friend. I told you I thought I knew her and I wanted to find out if I did." Suki explained.

"Really." Mikomi snipped, "Cause you two looked pretty friendly in the alley."

"You followed us?" Suki asked meekly.

"Yeah, and you just lied to me. I thought you could tell me everything about you. I'm fine with you being a lesbian you didn't have to hide it from me." Mikomi said this as she tried to hold back tears.

"Mikomi, I-" Suki began but was cut off when she slapped her across the face and stormed off.

The sound of that smack was loud enough to make everyone in the lunch room quiet and look to see what was going on. Suki didn't notice everyone staring at her, because he was in a daze and her vision was unfocused.

Kaosu didn't want to go to school, but wound up going simply because she had nothing better to do. She was two hours late, so as soon as she walked into class she was sent to the Head Mistress's office. She knew she was in for a beating. This wasn't the first time she had been sent there. In fact she had been there so many times that the Head Mistress didn't bother yelling at her. She would take Kaosu by the ear, bend her over her desk, pull up her skirt, and beat her hard until the yard stick broke in half. She then would send her back to class, where if she didn't sit correctly or fidgeted, she would be sent back to the Head Mistress.

After Mikomi had stormed off she went into the bathroom and cried. All this time, thinking that Suki wasn't into girls, she wanted to be with her. She could never bring herself to tell her how she felt. She didn't really have a good reason to hit Suki, but she just wanted her to feel the pain she felt when she saw her with that girl in the alley. The pain wasn't across her face though, but in her heart. She loved Suki, she really did, but she couldn't stand to be around her knowing she loved someone else. This was a good thing though. Now she wouldn't have to tell Suki she was moving. Her father had gotten a promotion and they had to move for it. Now she could just forget all about Suki, and let her be with that other girl. After all, as long as Suki was happy, she would be happy.

Suki went to the coffee shop after school. She wondered if Mikomi would ever forgive her. Mikomi was like a sister to her, and she didn't want her angry with her. With a sigh, she finished off her coffee and headed home.

When Kaosu got home, she went in her room and laid down on her stomach. It would probably feel good to take a cold bath, but she didn't feel like getting up now. She laid there for hours, drifting in and out of sleep. She was woken when someone slammed a cane down on her back.

"What the fuck!" she yelled and then was smacked on the back of the head.

"Ditched school again!" her mother shouted as she pulled her off the bed and hit her in the stomach.

"Stop, you fucking crazy bitch!" Kaosu cried, as she curled in on her self and put her arms over her head to protect her self, her mother beating her relentlessly. Kaosu felt numbed and was slowly willing her self to loose consciousness, when suddenly she felt a strength within her. She then reached out and grabbed the cane before it hit her again.

Glaring at her mother, she kicked her in the stomach and smacked her across the face with the cane. Her mother tried to say something ,but Kaosu hit her in the head again and again until she stopped breathing and there was blood splattered everywhere.

Kaosu stood there, breathing heavily over her mother's corpse and began to laugh. She didn't know why, but that felt so right. She took the corpse and dragged it into the front room, where she pushed the couch aside and pulled up the floor boards under it that covered an old well. After throwing the body in, she put the boards and couch back and then cleaned up all the blood. She then took a nice long bath and went to bed.

That night, Suki had another weird dream. The woman appeared in her bed room and bid Suki to follow her. She lead her to Kaosu's house. She then showed her an image of them both in the chamber made from the roots. She backed away from the woman when she saw this. She didn't want anything to do with Kaosu. Then, the woman reached out and pushed a ghostly hand in to Suki's chest, grabbing her heart.

The first thing Suki thought of, when she abruptly woke up, was Kaosu. The door bell then echoed upstairs and Suki got out of bed to answer it. She was surprised and relieved to find Kaosu there. She wanted to be with her now more than ever. So much so, that she didn't think to question it. She welcomed her in and then, after the door was shut, Kaosu kissed her deeply.

"I missed you." she said, holding Suki tight.

"Me too." Suki replied, as she leaned into her.

The girls went upstairs and laid on Suki's bed, holding each other close. Suki's head was on Kaosu's chest and Kaosu rested her cheek on top of Suki' head. They had their arms around each other and their legs were pressed together.

"I had an odd dream." Suki voiced, breaking the silence.

"About?" Kaosu asked, stroking Suki's back. As Suki explained the woman and what she had seen, Kaosu stopped stroking her back and processed it all.

"I had the same dream, but she took me to your house." Kaosu said, with amazement in her voice.

"That's kinda weird." Suki mused, sitting up.

Kaosu sat up as well and stated, "I think we should find that tree. I mean if we both had dreams about it, it's probably there."

"I don't know, I didn't like the vibes I got from that woman." Suki expressed as she shook off some chills.

"I'll be there to protect you." Kaosu assured, tilting Suki's chin up and kissing her softly.

The girls packed some lunches an put them in a backpack, along with plenty of water. The forest was on a mountain, so the would be hiking for a long time. Suki dressed in a sky blue outfit, that was shorts and a halter top in one piece. Over that she wore a gray sweater. With this she slipped on some thigh-high, white stockings and tan hiking boots. The she threw her hair up into a high pony tail.

Kaosu was wearing a black tank top that showed her stomach and some short shorts. Her black leather, steel toed boots went up to her knees and had great grip on any terrain. Suki gave her a black sweater to wear, which she put on after some arguing.

They took the subway to the edge of town and then hired a taxi to take them to the summit. From their they hiked until two in the afternoon, which out a sign of anything purple. Then they sat down in the shade and ate their lunches. While they were eating, Suki saw some purple blossoms in the distance. They packed up and went over to investigate. The flowers where on some bushes in front of a tree wider than a car. Sure enough, behind the bushes was a passage way. Suki was reluctant to go, but was forced to when Kaosu went in. It took them about five minutes to get through. The chamber made by the roots was amazing and they instantly noticed the silver pool, it was about ten feet in diameter. The constant dripping of the liquid was the only sound, and they almost held their breath not to disturb the silence.

"Should we go in." Suki whispered barely audible.

Kaosu wasn't sure if they should. The liquid looked sort of like mercury, but it glowed strangely so that couldn't be what it was. As she thought this she walked over and dipped the tip of her boot in.

The pool glowed brighter and the drop that had just fallen because a vortex. The girls were sucked into the middle of the pool and the liquid swirled up around them, engulfing them. The everything went black.