Is it normal to dream of death?

I do. I have every night, for a few years, now.

I open my eyes, and I'm in my classroom on the third floor of a school at night. The building is completely empty, as everyone has gone home...

...or so I thought. As I step into the hallway, I feel a sharp pain near my ribs... unable to keep my balance, I fall onto the cold floor, and eventually become colored crimson with my own blood. I try to turn and look at my assailant, and then I'm violently kicked over, flipped on my back. Then I see them.

A girl, around my age, black hair hiding her eyes, wearing a uniform from a different school... what? I look more closely... There's a knife in her hand! It's covered in blood... my blood... she then holds me down as if she were a hunter and I were her prey.

A stab. In my stomach.

Another in my chest.

My ribs again...

It hurts...

It hurts...

It hurts...

...Then I wake up.

I look around in panic, only to realize I am safe in my room. The pain is gone, and the morning sun has vanquished the horrible night... I guess it's time to start my day.

So I hop into the shower, trying to forget it all, and think about something more positive. I start attending Lost Angel High today. My old school had closed, and grandpa decided I should go here. It's going to be strange, learning a whole new school, with different teachers, different students, different everything.

Out of the shower and into my uniform. Now I go to the dining room where Gramps and my little sister Miko are already enjoying breakfast. They greet me with a “good morning”, as always.

“How are you?” I respond with my usual morning smile. Miko then says,

“I feel great! I'm so happy to be starting middle school!” She's in 6th grade, now... time sure flies... “Hey, Azul, what was it like?”

“Hm?” I'm unsure what she was asking.

She clarifies: “Middle school. Do you remember what it was like for you?” It's funny she asks, because I can't...

“...It was okay.” A lie... My middle school years are a blur. I can only assume nothing happened. Nothing good, nothing bad.

“Oh... okay.” Not sure if she's disappointed with my answer or just not really concerned. I look at my watch. 6:30. Maybe it'd be good if I headed towards the bus stop now. I finish up breakfast, pancakes and bacon, made by grandpa, and head out the door, saying:

“Thanks, Gramps! See you later!” He and Miko wave good bye as I shut the door.

I suddenly think to myself that grandpa didn't say much this morning... Was something else on his mind? Never mind. Gramps is getting old, but he can still take care of himself.

I walk down the street and wait for my bus. Not a school bus, mind you, but public transit. It's been a while since I got on a public bus... Grandpa usually would just drive us everywhere, but I decided I was okay with this. I wait. It's nice and quiet... I feel that not-too-cold-but-not-too-hot September air, and signs of autumn are starting to creep in.

The bus finally comes. Nothing out the ordinary on this ride. I get on, pay, and get some empty seat near the middle. Not many people on this bus. Makes sense, though. It is early morning, and no students have gotten on yet, after all.

During this time, I get lost in my thoughts. I'm going to a completely new school... Will I be lonely? How long will it take for me to get used to the change in environment? Will I make new friends there? Would it be possible if I met someone I once knew all over again?

Time passes... I see someone getting on the bus. A student wearing the same uniform... must be going to my school. A girl, around my age, with black hair. She's not looking in a direction I can see her face clearly... She heads to the back of the bus, looking at me briefly. She has blue eyes... bright, beautiful, sky blue eyes.

The bus takes off. At the next stop, more students got on. One that stands out to me was another girl, wearing the same uniform.

Around the same age and size as the other, from what I can tell. She has... pink hair and red eyes...? I assume she dyes her hair and is wearing contacts. Did she smile at me? Why? She goes to the back of the bus where that other girl was. She smiles and greets her. They must be friends.

Time passes as I watch unfamiliar scenery fly by from my window. Anyway, The bus stops a few more times, more people get on, it's been kind of a long ride, I feel. We're now close enough to the school. It's time to get off...

As I walk inside, an announcement is made asking all the students to head to homeroom. Anyone without a schedule was to report to the office. Luckily, I was smart enough to have kept my schedule that came in the mail and bring it with me today. Room 3-3... alright. It must be on the third floor. So, up the stairs, just passed the second floor. Up again... now I look around the third floor. 3-3... Here it is.

I open the door and the teacher notices me immediately. He gestures for me to come where he's standing.

“This is our new student. He just came in from... Victorica High?” He looks at me, and I nod. “Hopefully he'll fit in with us just fine.” he then turns to me. “What's your name, young man?”

I am feeling a little nervous... “My name is... Azul Ryukawa. I'm a senior... nice to meet you all. I hope we get along well.” I must look like a wimp while I'm saying this... I think everyone can tell how uncomfortable I am.

Well, I then take my seat, which is two rows behind those two girls I saw on the bus, who sit next to each other.

Why do I keep noticing these two...? The rest of these students are just people to me, but them... their faces, their bodies stick out to me. Is something wrong with me? It's not that they're girls, I wasn't even paying attention to any of the girls, here, except these two. I just...

I hear a voice... who is it? The voice fades away. I can't even pay attention to what's going on around me anymore... I... I feel pain...! I feel... like I'm being stabbed!!! Pain... Blood... What's happening to me!? My head... hurts... I can't... focus... then I hit the floor. I hear something, some screaming, maybe... I can't even hear or see straight, right now... I can feel my consciousness fading away...

Then I open my eyes. A good deal of the class is standing over me... “Are you okay?”

"Wh... what?"

The teacher comes over and comes to see what's wrong. He makes a worried face, then turns to that black haired girl. “Ms. Prince, can you help him to the nurse's office?”

“But... Why me?” she says.

Another female voice says, “Because you're right there. Just help him.”

Prince, or... whatever her name is, lets out a sigh and pulls me up. “Damn, you're heavy... Come on...!” Now I'm on my feet. Barely. “Okay? Come on, this way.” She pulls me out of the classroom, with a smile, maybe to make it seem like everything's okay.

She keeps pulling my arm... “I'm okay. I can walk.” I pull away from her. She seems a bit surprised. It must have looked pretty bad when I fell. I just follow her to the nurse's office.

“Geez, what's the matter with you, passing out like that?” I don't know why, but something about the way she just said that pisses me off a little.

“Well, what? Do you want me to apologize?”

After making a confused face, she says, “No, it's okay, just... what happened? Are you sick?”

No... I wasn't sick, far from it. Why did I suddenly feel so bad? “I can't be sick, I felt fine this morning. It just came out of nowhere.” Silence.

“Ah well, that's nurse's problem, not mine. She's pretty smart about stuff like this, so don't worry... Blue?”

Funny. She called me Blue. Because of my blue hair, perhaps? “My name is Azul, but Blue's fine, Prince...”

“Trace.”

“Huh?”

“Trace Prince. That's my name, 'kay?” Oh... What a strange name. Then again, my name is rather weird, too... That silence has crept back in as we walk the halls and descend the stairs. I fumble around for a topic...

“Who's that girl you hang out with?”

She seems surprised I even took interest in her. “Her name is Cleo Arkald. Why?”

“Oh, nothing, I just... noticed it looked like you two are pretty good friends...”

She stops walking. Now she speaks with a softer voice than before. “Yeah, we are. Cleo is probably my best friend in the whole world. It's just that we understand each other so well... I felt... something special from her the first day we met, know what I mean?”

Actually, I don't think I do...

“Sounds nice. How did you meet such a nice friend? Just curious.”

Trace turned to face me as I said this. She smiles. “Well... It's kind of a long story.” She must really like this Cleo girl... “Okay, the nurse's office is right there. You know your way back, right? See ya later.” I, uh... don't know my way back, but before I can protest, I notice she had already walked away. Oh well... I go into the nurse's office.

...

“Well, I don't see anything physically wrong, so nothing in the school should be making you sick... You seem to be fine.” The nurse says this after doing a quick check. She looked very young, couldn't be much over 20. She had long, bright, purple hair that reached all the way down to her waist, and a gentle face with equally purple eyes.

“You said you fainted. Did you sleep well?” she asks.

“Yeah, I slept fine. I wasn't tired, I don't think,” I say. She seems just as confused as I am...

“...and this has never happened before? Well, how do you feel? Your mind, I mean. Are you having any nightmares or seeing strange things?”

This got me thinking... The nightmares, the things I saw before I passed out... “Yeah, I have been, lately... is that why I fell unconscious?”

She looks at the floor, thinking, and then says, “It's possible. You said your head still feels strange, right?”

I nod. “I heard something. Someone kept asking if I could hear them. I have no idea where the voice came from, though...” She sighs.

Nope, she can't help me. “Look, I want you to come back tomorrow if it doesn't get better, okay? I'll write you a note back to class so you don't get in trouble.”

Great... Not even the nurse knows what to do with me. Well, good for me that the rest of the school day went pretty well. Got introduced to my teachers and got to know some of the people that would be in my class for the rest of the year. I kind of wonder how this year is going to play out... Anyway, before I knew it, the dismissal bell had rung, and it was time to go home. I gather my things and head out from the main gate, to go wait for the bus. Wait a second...

...Is that my bus over there? Oh, crap!

“Wait!” I run. Everyone else gets on and I don't think anyone can hear me. “Wait!”

No luck. The bus takes off without me and I'm left there looking stupid...

With a sigh, I flop down on the nearby bench and just watch the ground in irritation.

...It's quiet. It's really quiet. Worryingly so. Suddenly... I hear footsteps. I look over to my left. Some dark haired pretty boy with medium length hair concealing most of his face... he's walking towards me. What does he want?

“Have they contacted you yet?” What...? He must have seen the puzzled look on my face, as he then says, “I guess that's a no...” He sort of shakes his head, then looks around, seeing no one. I don't think I like where this is going...

Then, from thin air, a dark “mist” appears around him... and from it he brings out a great-sword. What the hell!? Am I losing my mind or something!? I just saw this happen... This is crazy... but what I should be more worried about is why he drew this blade!

“So if it hasn't gotten to you... It'd be best to just kill you right here, right now...” I can tell from the cold look in his eyes... he's dead serious. I... I have to run from him!

As I start to run, all of the sudden, I feel a force that knocks me over. Was that... just from the swinging of his sword? I'm so confused, and scared... He then comes to stand over me. I'm frozen. I'm just so freaked out I couldn't even try to run. He points his blade at me. “I'm just doing my job. Don't take it personally.” He brings the sword down...!

Then from nowhere, a bolt of light hits him in the chest. As he falls backwards, someone comes near me. A girl, asking “You alright?”

What is this girl wearing...? She's wearing a skin-tight suit of armor with a breastplate... Does she think she's some kind of superhero? That guy must have knocked me out, and now I'm dreaming. No... maybe I fell asleep waiting for another bus? I have no clue...

Wait a second. This girl has pink hair and red eyes... Oh my God, don't tell me...

Before I have time to gather my thoughts, I realize another super-powered girl is fighting that weird guy from before. Wielding what looks like a kodachi, she unleashes a flurry so fast that my eyes can’t follow it all. This is crazy. They're moving so fast... Dodging each others attacks, moving at such a high speed... It's like I'm right in the middle of some action anime... The mystery boy then jumps over her, and towards me.

“Cleo!” she shouts.

Oh God, don't tell me I was right... The girl next to me, Cleo, then says, “Okay!” She pulls a bow and arrow from nowhere, much like the boy with his sword, nocks, draws, and looses.

The arrow flies. It hits him square in the chest, and tears through his body like paper. He falls to the ground with a thud, and it becomes silent again. The other girl now goes over to high-five Cleo, and now I can see her face... She was wearing sunglasses, but they were transparent enough that I could see her blue eyes—really?

“Trace... Cleo... is that you!?” They both look at me as I say this. We stare at each other in dead silence. What the heck is going on...?

The defeated stranger now stands up, as if ready to continue fighting, but he seems seriously hurt. “This isn't worth dying over... Even if I do beat them, the Magic Knight's Force might reach him... Damn!” He runs.

More silence. I'm just so confused by what was going on in front of me, that I'm not sure how to react. Trace lets out a groan and scratches her head, walking over to me. “I guess... you've figured out our secret, huh...?”