Second chapter of my rewrite of Rushioma Academy! Last time we met our protagonist Misako, her younger brother, her Gino and the other main characters. Enjoy!

Chapter 2: Mysteries

Dark mist surrounded the field, making the aura feel even darker. The mist cleared, revealing bodies everywhere, their blood painting the field. A cloaked figure appeared in a swirl of purple smoke; he looked up, his red eyes gleaming.

"I'm coming for you my dear Misako…I'm coming for you…."

My eyes fluttered open and I sat up with a gasp, panting slowly. I glanced around, everyone was sleeping, Kuniko was laying her head against the window, Sakura's book had slid down to her lap, and Takuro had his head lying against the seat, drooling while Kyoshi was lying down on the seat. The door slid open and I jumped, but let out a sigh of relief when I saw it was only the steward.

"Sorry for scaring you miss." The steward said as he bowed apologetically. I smiled and shook my head.

"No it's fine."

"I just wanted to inform you that we will be arriving soon." The steward bowed again and slid the door shut. I reached over and began shaking Kuniko's shoulder. Kuniko groaned as she slowly opened her eyes and sat up.

"What is it Misako-chan...?" She asked.

"We're going to arrive soon, mind waking up the boys while I wake up Fushida-san?" I asked. Kuniko nodded and kicked Takuro with her leg while I gently shook Sakura's shoulder. Sakura's eyes fluttered open and Takuro let out a yelp as he shot up, accidentally hitting Kyoshi in the head who woke up, sending a glare at Takuro as he rubbed his head.

"What the hell was that for Kuni-chan?!" Takuro exclaimed as he rubbed his knee, glaring at her.

"We're about to arrive so-"I gasped, cutting off Kuniko in mid-sentence as I rushed over to the window.

"The castle! It's so…..breathtaking!" I exclaimed as the others gazed out the window with me, a giant Western-style castle sat perched on top of a hill, lights lit it up, making it look even more magnificent.

"Wow…it's certainly a gorgeous sight." Sakura stated.

"Yeah." Takuro agreed. Kuniko and Kyoshi nodded their agreement. The train rolled to a stop and we began piling out, I blinked as I realized we had stopped by at the bottom of the hill.

"Why did we stop here? How are we supposed to get to the Academy?" I asked. Kyoshi smirked and pointed behind me, I turned to see carriages pulling up, the drivers dressed elegantly and holding the reins to the horses who were leading the carriages.

"Didn't you know that there are carriages that bring us to the Academy?" He said with a smirk, I blushed red and glared at him.

"Shut up." I said as I glanced around, looking for my brother. My eyes widened as I saw him with two boys and one girl his age, who I might add, was clinging to his arm and making him blush. He caught my gaze and I smirked, sending him a thumbs-up, causing him to turn redder and glare at me.

"Misako-chan! Come on!" Kuniko exclaimed as she grabbed my arm and dragged me to a carriage where the others were already seated. I sat beside Kyoshi (much to my disdain) and Sakura while Kuniko sat with Takuro. The driver snapped the reins and we headed off towards the academy. I watched as the castle seemed to become grander as we approached it, the carriage rolled to a stop at the front gates and we exited the carriage, joined by the other students. The gates opened and my eyes widened as a woman who had the same hair and eye color as my mother came out with two women and a man behind her, except her hair was chin-length and straight, she wore a long-sleeved white blouse with a blue bow tied around the neck with a long dark blue skirt and black heels.

"Hello I am Headmistress Ishida and it is an honor to meet all of you. Many of you have attended this school since you were young, but I also know that some of you are joining us for the first time. Therefore, I sincerely hope you will enjoy your time here at Rushioma Academy." She said as she smiled.

"I would like to introduce you to Professor Tanaka, who will be teaching Weapons Class to the high-school level students ONLY." I heard the elementary and middle-school level students groan, including my brother. I couldn't help but let out a small laugh. Professor Tanaka was a man with white hair and a beard; he wore a light beige long-sleeved shirt with a brown vest over top and a red tie, brown pants and beige penny loafers. He looked at me, his icy blue eyes cold. I shrinked away from his cold gaze, did I already offend him?

"He will be escorting the high-school level students to their dorms. The woman standing next to him is Professor Ato, who will be teaching Beginner Raka to the elementary-level students. She will be escorting the middle-school level students to their dorms." Professor Ato was a woman in her mid-twenties, she had soft blonde hair that fell to her shoulders in curls and she wore a purple dress with a black belt and matching heels. She gave a warm smile, different from Professor Tanaka's cold persona.

"And this is Professor Ueda, who will be teaching Art and will escort the elementary-level students to their dorms. " Headmistress Ishida said as she gestured to a man in his mid-thirties. His brown hair was messy and his eyes were apple green, he wore a black suit with a red tie and loafers. He smiled gently and bowed.

"Now that that's settled, please follow your respective teacher to the dorms so you can unpack and then meet us down in the dining hall for supper." I and the other high-school level students followed Professor Tanaka down the hallway towards our dorms, chandeliers hung over us and paintings of past headmasters and headmistresses decorated the walls.

"I would like to go over some rules with you: you are to be in bed by 10:30, no later. No Raka is to be used outside of classes and boys are forbidden to be in the girls' dorm." The last rule caused some groans from a few boys, including Takuro. Professor Tanaka glared, causing the boys to close their mouths. We walked through a door to reveal a set of staircases leading in three different directions. We followed the professor up a staircase that led north. We entered a room with a fireplace on the left wall, couches facing it, some bookcases pressed up against the right wall and a door on the left and right.

"The breaking of any of these rules will result in an immediate expulsion. Now please check the board for your room assignments." Professor Tanaka said. I ran over to the board to see who I was rooming with, I smiled when I saw I was rooming with Kuniko.

"Kuniko-chan, we're rooming with each other!" I exclaimed. Kuniko grinned.

"Alright! Let's go unpack!" Kuniko exclaimed as she rushed up the stairs on the right that led to the girls' dorm. I laughed as I followed her and opened the door to our room, there were two windows on the front wall, two queen-sized canopy beds with red bedding and drapes were pushed up against it with mahogany night tables on the left and right side, on the left wall were two dressers and a door leading to our bathroom and on the back wall was a desk. Our suitcases were lying on our respective beds; we walked over and began unpacking.

"So where are you from….?" I asked. Kuniko smiled.

"I'm from Kyoto, you?"

"Tokyo." I replied. Suddenly, a bell rang indicating it was time for supper. Kuniko and I headed downstairs along with the other girls to the dining room, elegant chandeliers hung over top and three separate tables sat in the middle, one for the high-school level students, one for the middle-school level students and the final one for the elementary-level students. I sat down beside Kyoshi and Kuniko (unfortunately) and began eating dinner. Suddenly, Headmistress Ishida appeared at the podium, she coughed as she adjusted the mike.

"Once again, I would like to welcome all of you to Rushioma Academy! Tomorrow morning at breakfast, you will be given your class schedules and books and will begin your first day of classes." Headmistress Ishida's voice turned grim.

"Now there are some rules to go over. First: You must never leave the Academy grounds after midnight, dark…things are known to occur then. Second: You must NEVER use your Raka on another student outside of your Raka training and third: always look after each other." Headmistress Ishida stated firmly.

"Understood Headmistress." We all answered in unison. She smiled.

"Now go back to your dinner and relax…" She said. We went back to eating, however I was curious…what did she mean by "dark things occur after midnight"….?

"Hey Kuniko-chan, what did she mean by dark things?" I whispered. Kuniko blinked.

"Don't tell me you haven't heard of the Shadows….?" She asked. I blinked.

"Shadows…? What are those…?" I asked.

"The Shadows are dark beings, created from the darkness in people's hearts left over from when they die. They were originally servants of Lord Takago." Sakura explained. I blinked.

"Lord Takago?" Kuniko's eyes widened as did Sakura, Takuro and Kyoshi's.

"Don't tell me you've never heard of him?" I shook my head.

"Never." Kuniko shook her head.

"Man you must've been really sheltered not to have heard about him." I silently cursed my parents, they never told me about the Rakanen world, stating that there was no need for me to know.

"Lord Takago was a Rakanen with the Death Raka, it was said he could kill you with a single look. He recruited an army of dark Rakanens and beings and attempted to overthrow the Royal Rakanen Family. He attacked the Academy but was eventually defeated and sealed within the Stone of Misery. His followers were either killed or banished but a few, like the Shadows, still remain." Kuniko explained. My eyes widened, why did my parents not tell me about this? You would think I would be aware of something like this.

"There are rumors that he was released from the Stone and is searching for something." Takuro said. Kuniko thwacked him.

"Ow!" He hissed, grabbing his head.

"That's impossible, the King himself sealed him!" Kuniko said.

"Still….." I frowned, could the Lord really have been released?

I feel like…something is going to happen…..

So I finally updated! I am slowly updating my Manga stories again…..anyways, please review!