Ok, heres the real chapter 1. along with chapters 2-6, sorry about my terrible updaiting schedule...
A Destiny Unwanted (English title)
綬わ灯り (Himo wa Akari, Japanese title)
Chapter 1
“Mommy? Mommy? Where are you mommy?” A little girls voice called out. Ever since she had gotten separated from her mother at a particularly crowded intersection, she has searched the city’s winding streets, hoping to find her kind and comforting face in this faceless mass of people. Her searching would lead her to a Shinto shrine, nestled in-between two buildings in Tokyo’s business district. The wind blew her long, silvery hair in her face as she approached the shrines entrance;sitting in the lush grass surrounding the walkway and pondering her next move. What do I do now? She thought, her crimson red eyes beginning to water. If I get lost out here, then I might get abducted or killed, or something She gingerly touched the ocarina that hung around her neck as she thought, And I don’t want to make my mother sad because her only kid was killed She looked up and saw the orange light reflected in the building's windows, which signified to her that it was about time for night to set in. Oh well, I guess the only thing I can do is stay here and wait. She then started to play with the various-sized rocks that dotted the yard of the shrine, juggling them and seeing how far she can throw them. She was juggling a particularly big rock when she slipped and watched it fall back to Earth, going right for her head. She shut her eyes tightly, hoping that the rock would miss her, which it did, in a way. After a moment, she opened her eyes and saw the rock floating in the air. What? She thought, her eyes agape, as she saw it float a mere few inches above her head. She remembered a report on T.V. that said people that did that kind of stuff were taken for a special kind of treatment. She then thought, I wonder if I did a bad thing? touching it with her finger, and expecting it to disappear into thin air, which it did not. Instead, it fell on her foot, causing her to jump up and yell out, "YEAOUCH!" A few moments later, a shapely woman in tight jeans and a denim jacket ran to her. The girl saw her flaming red hair and jungle green eyes and recognized her as her mother, Kitsune Nishidake. "Michiko!" She heard her yell out. "Michiko, is that you?" She said, looking at the girls bright white overalls and sky blue shirt.Michiko gingerly held her aching foot, as she said, "Of course its me, mom. Who else around here has silver hair?"
"Oh thank god!" She said, kneeling down to her height and giving her a tight hug, her eyes overflowing with tears. "I thought I lost you forever." The girl wiped a tear from her mothers slightly tanned face, as she said, "Well I’m here now, mom. And that’s all that matters."
“Yes, that’s right” She said, tenderly touching her daughters snow-white skin. “That’s all that matters.” A few teardrops fell onto the girl’s shoes. "Oh mom, I swear. You worry way too much about me."
"Well, look where we live. Shinjuku isn’t exactly the safest place to raise someone." With a bright, yet weary smile on her face, Michiko said,"Yes, I know, but if we can make it out of there alive, then we can do anything, right?"
"Right." She said as she rose to her feet. "Now, lets go home. Together." She softly grasped her daughter’s hand, as her daughter looked up at her, and said, "Yeah." And with that, they went off together to the place they called home...
***
The alarm blared one of her favorite songs, Hemisphere, by Maaya Sakamoto, prompting Michiko to rise from her slumber, even if that was a slow process. She grabbed the ocarina necklace next to her and put it on, stretching her arms up while letting out a yawn. -Ugh, I had that dream again- She thought to herself as she grasped the small hand mirror and rat-tailed comb next to her bed mat and began grooming herself. My friend always told me that my face looked like a models, but she was probably trying to be nice. I wonder, though, why she asked if my hair was natural? She thought, -I mean, isn’t silver a natural color?- She then got up and opened the blinds to the windows, causing a flood of light to enter the room, and briefly blinding her, as she thought, -Now I remember why I hate mornings- Her pupils dilating to the size of a dot. When her vision recovered, she looked at her reflection and wiped some of the make up off her face, all the while, thinking to herself, -Hmm, my figure has grown pretty nicely, but I don't think I like having such a big a**. Boys at school certainly seem to enjoy it, though.- She then looked to her left and saw all the news articles she had clipped and posted on the wall over the years, with the headlines saying various things, such as: People Are Mysteriously Disappearing Off The Streets. Gifted Are Blamed; Freak Storms And Other Odd Occurrences Happening All over Japan. Gifted Are Pinned As Culprits. And Bizarre Rash Of Killings Near A Shrine In Tokyo’s Business District. People Point The Finger At Gifted As The Cause. A disrepsectful sneer crossed her face, as she thought, -They act as if things like nature and accidents don’t exist- Fiercely glaring at the articles as she walked to the bathroom, and thought -Well, I know the truth. I know that all that crap is only Government cover-up and its mostly made to keep the peace and put down those who wish to disturb it as one puppeteer for those fat cats put it. Well, thanks to Hikari, I know better,- She got her toothbrush from a mug that had a picture of a busty and bubbly girl with glasses and short, jet black hair posing with her in front of a DDR machine. -And I was able to avoid being another name in their Gifted Eliminated list- She smiled as put some Crest toothpaste Hikari had bought her on the brush and stuck it in her mouth. -Thank God I knew about it at an early age and learned to keep my trap shut and my powers under wraps, or else I would’ve ended up like those poor kids that mysteriously disappeared- She then gargled some water and spat it out, repeating as necessary. As she repeated, she remembered back to when she first met Hikari…
***
Kitsune hurriedly put her navy blue turtle neck on as she said, “Michiko, can I leave my friends kid here for a while?” Michiko wearily looked up at her from the Motel’s living room couch and said, “Why? Did I do something wrong?” Kitsune was frantically adjusting the arms on her sweater as she said, “No, don’t be ridiculous. I just need to go with them for a little while and work out a few things. Just be nice to her, ok?”
“Ok.” Having her daughter’s blessing, Kitsune smiled and looked towards the open door as she said, “Hikari, dear! Can you please come here?” In a moment, a small, black haired girl with a plaid skirt and sunflower yellow shirt appeared at the doorway. Kitsune looked at Michiko and gestured to the girl as she said, “Michiko, this is Hikari Hamasaki. Say hello, Hikari.” Hikari blushed slightly as she said, “Hey there. Nice to meet ya.” She then greeted her with a small bow, looking downward. Michiko giggled slightly, then said, “Nice to meet ya.” Michiko recognized her voice and asked, “Are you that girl that’s always singing next door?”
“Umm, yeah. I’m a singer that’s just starting out, so forgive me if I sound like a wet cat…” Her soft, quiet voice gave away her lack of confidence in herself. Having heard her the night before, Michiko, with a hint of annoyance, said,
“No, on the contrary, I think you’re very good. Your voice is actually very soothing.” Surprised someone would actually find her pleasant, Hikari quickly looked up at her and said, “Really?” Michiko smiled slightly as she said, “I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it.”
“Oh, umm, thank you, umm…what’s your name?”
“Michiko Nishidake; and I can tell your going to be very big very soon.” She said as she extended her hand to her.
“You really think so?” Having finished cleaning herself up, Kitsune butted in by saying, “Well, I hate to interrupt, but I must be going. I hope you can keep each other company, Michiko.”
“Something tells me we will. Later, mom.” They smiled at each other as Kitsune walked out the door. As the door shut, Hikari rubbed her left foot behind her right calf and asked, “So…you like J-pop?”
***
When she stepped out of the bathroom, a short, terse beep from her answering machine told her that she had a new message. She went to the kitchen counter, where she had put it when she stepped on it too many times in the middle of the night, and played the message.
“Hey Michiko, it’s me, Hikki. Man, yesterday was crazy, huh? I never thought they would try to assassinate me at my graduation ceremony. Good thing you were there to spot him and warn me, eh? I probably should’ve stayed on my label a little longer, but that’s in the past, and this is the present, where were both marked for death. Anyways, I’m coming over in a few minutes to chat with you, cause it gets lonely here watching for people that want to hunt me dead. See ya soon!”
-She’s calling herself, Hikki, now.- Thought Michiko, shaking her head as she walked toward the kitchen.-Man, she’s obsessed with Hikaru Utada. Oh well, at least she don’t hug a Hikaru body pillow, at least as far as I know.- She searched the fridge for something to cook for breakfast and pulled out a few eggs, some sausage, and a package of bacon. She figured it would be nice to greet Hikari with her favorite plate when she gets to her place. As she prepared and cooked the meal, she remembered back on the oddness and closeness of her relationship with Hikari. And smiled, if only a little. Just as she was there for her whenever someone tried to bully her or push her into doing something, she was there for her when the stresses of relationships, pop stardom, or school were getting to her. She remembered Hikari trying to inspire some confidence in her and trying to get her to see that she was pretty and that all the boys (and some girls) were begging her for a date for a reason, and laughed. She remembered how fast her and Hikari went from elementary school students to college graduates, and from strangers in a motel to the best of friends, and once again chuckled to herself. She was just about done and was setting the dishes on the table when she heard a knock on the door. She opened it and was greeted by a girl in a black trench coat with lime green contacts and purple hair. At that moment she said, “And just who are you supposed to be? That chick from Star Cross’d Destiny?”
“Shut up, Chiko.”
“Just kidding, Hikari. Come in, come in. you must be broiling in that thing.” She stepped inside and took off her jacket, wincing slightly at the intense heat being released from being dressed in black in Tokyo summer weather. She then set her coat beside her and took a seat at the table. “Ahh,” She said. “You made Breakfast.”
“Yup, a wanted girl is a hungry girl, right?” She said as sat opposite of her.
“Yup.” She picked up a fork that was on the table and said, “You even brought out the silverware.”
“Yeah, it is kind of hard to eat eggs with chopsticks, isn’t it?”
“Sure is.” She said, smiling as she stuck her fork into the slightly burnt, but still fluffy eggs. “Hey, you have any ketchup?”
“Sure, one sec.” She got up and walked to the fridge. As she rummaged through the compartments for a bottle of the stuff, she asked, “So what’d you want to talk about?” Hikari fiddled with her food as she said, “Well, I’m kind of worried about what to do next.”
“You mean about looking for a job and all that?”
“Well, that and how I’m supposed to make a living when I’ve got a hit out on my head.”
“Ahh.” She pulled out a half empty bottle as she said, “Well I know it will be tough, but if you want to let them know you’re not afraid, you have to face them head on.”
“Are you nuts!?” She said, slapping her palms on the table. “They tried to have me killed yesterday-”
“And they failed.” She said flatly. “Some punks tried to scare you off when you saw them harassing an old lady, and they failed. A rival pop star tried to run you out of the business, and she failed. Miserably, I might add.” She said as she put the bottle on the table. She then sat opposite of her as she said, “Look, Hikari, you’re one of most positive and determined people I’ve met in my life. If a normal person have had to balance a rapidly rising career and getting the grades you got at your age, they would have crashed and burned.” She then glanced over at her, lifting her fork and pointing at her as she said, “But you’re different, you overcame those obstacles and turned your demanding work schedule into a degree from Tokyo U and a consistently successful music career. How long has it been now, 6 years?” she said as she put her fork on her plate And your still putting out platinum selling CD after platinum selling CD.” She then put a piece of egg into her mouth.
“Yeah, but there were a lot of times when I came close to breaking, like that one time you caught me in my room with the needle.” She said as she looked down at her plate.
“Yeah, I remember those all too clearly. But you bounced back from those not so great moments in your life.” Hikari then looked up as she said, “Yeah, I did.” downing the bacon. “I even got a few songs out of that. But if it wasn’t for you, I would have thrown my career away right then and there.”
“Perhaps, perhaps not. But whatever happened, happened. Nothing can change that or take what you have gained from that experience.”
“Yeah, your right. Like when you first experienced that kiss in your freshman year.” She said, putting a sausage into her mouth and smiling.
“Need I remind you that I was wasted that night, and that the person I kissed was you?” Hikari then choked for a brief moment, pounding her chest to get the food down. “It was?”
“That’s what I can recall from that night, anyways…” An awkward silence filled the room. Michiko then smiled as she said, “I was just kidding, Hikari.”
“Man, you sure are serious when you say stuff like that.”
“Well I learned it from the best.” She said, glancing up at her.
“Ahh, that so?” She returned the smile as she finished her food. She then put her fork down as she said, “Well anyways, today is a good day to go outside and enjoy the sun, so…” She pulled out her wallet and said, “Lets go shopping!”
“ Is that your solution to everything?” She said, finishing off her own meal.
“Well it helps to be among stuff you like, and having the cash to buy it helps, too…” A mischievous grin crossed her face when she said that. “Well, I’d rather stay inside and work on my songs and my stories.”
“Of course you would. You got the tan to prove it.” She quipped, going to the fridge and grabbing a can of juice. “Quiet, you. Anyways, what would you buy with all the crap you already have?”
“Lessee…More Gundam models, more anime, more manga, a new Hikaru Utada CD…”
“Heh, You and your Hikaru Utada obsession.”
“Oh yeah, your one to talk, Ms.-I-Spent-All-My-Savings-On-Metal-Dance-Pads-And-DDR-Stuff.” Michiko blushed after a moment. “I thought so. Anyways, lets get changed, don’t want anyone pointing us out, now, do we?”
“Nope”. She said, chuckling a bit as she walked with her to her changing room, which doubled as her walk-in closet. They went through several combinations of clothes before they finally arrived on a black, loose fitting jeans jacket and hip hugging jeans for Hikari and a Gothic Lolita schoolgirl outfit for Michiko, much to Michiko’s dismay. “It looks so cute on you, Michiko.” Said Hikari, stepping out of the closet. Michiko blushed slightly as she said, “No it doesn’t. I look like one of those girls that work in Shinjuku”
“Aww, youre just being stupid, Chiko. Now come on,” She said, dragging her by the arm. “Lets go!” Michiko grabbed her purse from the counter and locked the door as they rushed off to…wherever Hikari had planned to drag her to.
***
Their first stop was Akihabara, the Otakus paradise. They went in to every store they could see and bought bags and bags of Anime, games, manga, and other things like that. Unfortunately, they were still wanted by Hikari’s label security, so they had to dodge and duck in and out of places every time they saw someone ask, Have you seen Hikari Hamasaki or Michiko Nishidake anywhere? They were almost caught when they stepped into a multi level manga store and bumped into one of their massively muscled hired hands. They ducked and weaved through every aisle of that maze of a store, at times being so close that they could smell the pungent cologne he had on. After thirty minutes of running for their lives, they finally lost him in the Shoujo Manga section, after which they picked up every title that caught their eye and bought it. They continued on and went to the Ginza, where every piece of clothing that caught Hikari’s eye ended up in her bag, Michiko being much the same way. They then ended up at a local arcade, where Michiko (and surprisingly enough, Hikari.) could be seen tearing up the rhythm games, especially Dance Dance Revolution; The crowds were especially wowed by a Guitar Freaks, Drummania link up performance of Destiny Lovers, where they scored all perfects, (and even played to the crowd.), and an impromptu dance routine to El Ritmo Tropical (where the Latin groove could be seen in full effect). All in all, they had a fun and energy-draining day, with much sneaking and stealth abound. They rested on a bench outside of a local McDonalds, putting their many, many bags down to rest their aching arms. “Man, what a day” Said Michiko, wincing from the whirlwind-shopping spree they had just embarked on.
“Yeah, I forgot how tiring shopping could be.”
“Well, we did play a lot of DDR and rhythm games, too, Hikari.”
“Oh yeah, that too. I never knew you were such a good dancer, Michiko.”
“That’s what happens when you hang out with a pop star like yourself and a DDR dance crew.” She said, laughing to herself.
“You were on a dance crew?”
“Yeah, when I was in high school, I always went to play DDR, and eventually I ran into a group of people that played it, too.” She looked up at the night sky and smiled as she said, “Well that and all the other Bemani games they had.” She wiped the sweat of her forehead as she said, “They saw me dancing one day, and their Beat Mania expert came up and said, ‘Hey, girl, you’re pretty good. You wanna join our crew?”
“Really?”
“Yeah.” Hikari eagerly rifled through her bag of Gundam models as she said, “So did you win any contests?” “
“Yeah, I won that DDR contest a few months back.”
“I remember that.” She said, smiling to herself. “I was the one that tossed you your guitar in the middle of the routine.”
“Yeah.” She said, as she looked back down and noticed a crowd of people gathering around them. “But it was tough to figure out where to put the machine” She looked at the onlookers that seemed to watch their every movement and asked them, “Is something the matter?” A little boy in school clothes stepped up and said, “No, we just saw you at the arcade a few minutes ago, and…” Michiko smiled and said, “You want to ask us something?”
“Um, yes. Did you copy that routine from Hikari Hamasaki’s video?” Hikari immediately looked up, then at him and responded, “Nope, that routine was a Hikari Hamasaki original, and-” She immediately stopped when she realized that she said that. -Crap, I hope there weren’t any of those thugs around to hear that…- She thought to herself. Looking around to see if anyone had heard that. Unfortunately, she saw a group of men begin to shove and shuffle their way through the crowd. -Damn it- her eyebrows furrowed as she saw the men as come ever closer to her. She then laughed to herself and thought, -Oh well, I couldn’t have ran from them forever. They would have caught up with me at some point in my life. Guess now its put up or shut up time.- She exhaled a little, then looked back at Michiko and said, “Michiko, if I die here, I want you to know that I enjoyed every moment we spent together,” she then turned to the crowd, her eyes focused on them, as she said, “And I value our friendship like you value your dance pads, maybe even more so.”
“Me too. Does that mean you plan on dying here?”
“Hell no. Just figured I say that just in case.” As she said that, a tall, sharply dressed man asked, “Are you Hikari Hamasaki?” She glared at him and said, “Yeah, I am.” The man then said, “Then you have to come with Me.” grabbing her arm. She immediately pulled him towards her and used her other arm to deliver a straight punch to the bridge of his nose, instantly knocking him out cold. She then took her Karate stance and said, “Stand back, people. Your about to see how this pop star keeps in such great shape.” The crowd then cleared the way for the other thugs that were coming her way. She then let her body become loose and closed her eyes, sensing which one was the closest and what he was using. From what she could tell, there were 7 men in all, and the closest ones were at her immediate left and right. Out of the corner of her left eye she saw a straight punch coming, so she used her left forearm to knock it out of the way and send it into the family jewels of the thug on her right. She then flowed into a right roundhouse kick, knocking the rest of her opposition back and going into a kick into the straight punchers groin. She then grabbed her doubled over opponent by the arm and tossed him into the rushing thugs in front of her, knocking them down and buying her some breathing room. She quickly noted that they all got up at relatively the same rate, so she laughed to herself and let rip a left roundhouse, kicking their heads together and knocking all but one out. As he got up she said, “You must really want me to see your boss, don’t ya?
“Its a very important matter, Miss Hamasaki.” He said as he spit out some blood and brushed his long hair from his eyesight, taking his own stance.” I bet it is.” She said, staring a hole into him as he did the same. They stared at each other for what seemed like forever to the people watching, looking for any sign of weakness in the others stance. Hikari saw her opponent flinch for a split second and went on the attack. He blocked everything and anything she threw at him and eventually threw her cross punch out of the way and palm thrust her in the back. Hikari tried to get to her feet, but she got a round kick to the head for her efforts. -So this is how it feels to be on the receiving end.- She thought as she hit the ground. As she looked up at what she thought would be her final opponent, she saw that his feet were getting nearer to her legs, and in an instant she got an idea. She waited for the right moment and wrapped her legs around his, turning it into a drop toehold and grounding him long enough for her to get up and stop him. He pushed himself up and back into position, but she had him timed perfectly and planted a side kick right in his jaw, knocking him back but not finishing him off. She then ran at him and jumped up into a Shining Wizard (which is a running, jumping knee thrust to the face.) that would make sure he stayed down. As she calmed down and let herself drift out of battle mode, she felt everyone looking at her, either in awe or in fear of her now public fighting skills. She took a deep breath, turned to them, and was greeted by a big applause. This was certainly not the reaction she expected from them, so instead of giving the speech she planned that explained her actions, she smiled and laughed it off as she said, “Thank you, thank you, everyone. It was a pleasure to entertain you all, as it always is.” She bowed to them all and even signed autographs for everyone. Hikari and Michiko then picked up their bags and headed to her house to rest, Hikari waving to her still loyal fans. As they walked to the train station, Hikari turned to Michiko and asked, “So what did you think of that?” Michiko looked over at her and said, “Of what? That little martial arts a** kicking you put down back there?”
“Of course.”
“Didn’t expect it, but it sure was a pleasant surprise. So where did you train at?”
“Trained myself.” A hint of surprise was in her voice as she said, “Yourself?”
“Yeah. Like I told those people back there, that’s how I keep my pop star figure so slim and fit.”
“Ahh, so how long have you been going at it?”
“Since my former manager told me that I needed to stay in shape to stay on top.” Her eyebrows rose slightly as she said, “You believed him?”
“At first no, but then I looked at the world of J-pop and figured he was right. Of course, me being me, I resented the idea of hitting the gym, so I just copied the moves I could do from Virtua Fighter and went from there.”
“So you copied a game for your fighting style? Heh, I should have guessed that from the way you fought.”
“Hey, man, that stuff is very realistic; to a point, anyways. Don’t you remember all those times I asked you to spar with me back in high school?”
“Oh yeah. Its how I got my own figure.” She looked at the time on Hikari’s watch and it read 7:00 P.M. in neon numbers. Hikari gave her a curious stare and asked,” What are you doing? We dont have classes anymore, we dont have curfews, and we dont have any restrictions. Were full grown adults, we can do whatever we want.”
“Oh yeah, youre right, how silly of me. So what are we gonna do when we get to your house?”
“Hmm…no idea. Lets think about that while were going there.”
“OK.” They walked in silence for the rest of the way, reading through their new collection of mangas.
When they got to Hikari’s house, they threw their shoes off, their bags on the floor next to the TV, and themselves on the couch. Michiko turned to Hikari and asked, “Ok, now what do we do?”
“Emm…” Their stomachs growled like rabid dogs, prompting Hikari to think, “Dinner.”
“Cool, whats to eat around here?”
“Hmm, don’t know. Lets raid the fridge.”
“OK.” They went to the kitchen and opened the fridge door, and found a half empty bottle of milk and a few bottles of soda. The freezer contained a box of Chocolate Ice Cream and several varieties of Popsicles, but no real food. Michiko then turned to Hikari and gave her a flat stare as she said, “You know, there are more important things than Anime and Manga, like food.”
“Hush, you.” She quipped. “I’m on tour half the time, so my company usually kept me fed. I had no urge to go out and waste my money on something that my label already gave me.”
“Your fridge shows that clearly.” She said as she searched her cabinets for some grub. “Anyways, now what do we do?”
“What do you think? Order the one thing every growing college boy and girl needs.”
“Money to pay of their loan?”
“Pizza, fool!” She said as she tapped her on the forehead.
“Oh yeah, right. You ordering or am I?” she said, gingerly rubbing her forehead “Me, of course.” Said Hikari as she picked up the phone and ordered 2 large pizzas with pepperoni and octopus. While they waited for their order to arrive, they popped in a Jazz CD and chilled on the couch, letting out a sigh of relaxation. Michiko then turned to her and said, “You know, this reminds me of the first time you came over to my apartment.” Hikari looked up at the lazily spinning ceiling fan as she said, “It does?”
“Yeah, I had nothing in my cabinets to cook, either, so we ended up ordering out and eating while we crammed for next mornings tests.”
“Hey man, when you get into Tokyo U., you either work for your grade or pay for it. And I preferred to work for what I want.”
“So did I. Hey, speaking of paying for a grade, did you hear about Kaoru?”
“Umm…don’t think I did. What about her?”
“She told me that she’s going to be a pop singer with her friends.”
“At their age?”
“They’re really good, they just need a label to sign them.”
“Can’t their daddy just pay someone to make them an instant hit?”
“She was considering that, but her last year in University she became really passionate about making it on her own two feet, so she’s doing everything on her own.”
“Wow, an indie pop singer in Japan. I never would have guessed. She really gonna make that her career?”
“Yup.”
“Hey, that reminds me, what are you going to do as a career, Michiko?"
“Me? I, umm…I don’t know yet.”
“You graduated from college and you still don’t know what you’re gonna do in the future?” It was then that the doorbell rang. “Hang on a sec”. She went to go pick up the pizza, and tipped him with 1000 yen, her autograph, and a small kiss on the cheek. Michiko then said, “Oh, yay, its here. Lets eat!” She put the pizzas on the kitchen counter and said, “No, not until I find out why you went through four years of hell at Tokyo U. and you still don’t know what you’re gonna do in the future.”
“Well, I thought about being a singer myself or playing guitar in a band, or maybe writing songs, but I don’t know if I’m any good at those”
“Any good?” She said as she sat back next to her on the couch. “Michiko, those songs you wrote for me were incredible; they were on the charts for weeks. And as for your guitar playing…did you hear yourself at the arcade? You didn’t even have to look at the screen to know what notes to hit. You just did it on instinct, and it looked incredible.” Hikari stood up as she said, “You’re also the only kid I know that can play Jimi Hendrix’s American Anthem off the top of your head and actually have it come out as awesome as it sounded back in Woodstock.”
“If I’m so good at so many things, then which one am I supposed to do as a career?”
“Uhh, well, which one do you think you could picture doing for the rest of your life?”
Michiko thought about it long and hard, but all she could say was “I…I don’t know”
“Michiko…” Her voice grew with concern. “You’re out of school, and you’re free to do whatever you want, you gotta have something that you’d like to do.”
“I don’t know, Damn it! What cant you understand about that?” Although Hikari saw some anger in her face, the waiver and unsure-ness in her voice told another story. Hikari put a hand on Michiko’s shoulder and said, “Listen, I know you’re scared right now, but if you want to have a good life, you have to do what you love.” Michiko looked up at her as she said, “Why do you think I worked so hard to be a pop star? You know that I love to sing and dance and all that. That’s why I’m so committed to my job, its something I have passion for.”
“Yeah, your right. If you do what you love, then you’ll give it everything you have.”
“Right. So, what do you love to do? What would you give everything to achieve?” Michiko thought about it long and hard, but once again, the only words that could be found were, “I don’t know.”
“Maybe you should go home and think about it.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right, but what about the pizza?”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll bring you some later, right now there are way more important things on your plate.”
“Right.” Michiko got up and walked to the door as she said, “See you tomorrow, Hikki”
.”See ya, Chiko.” As soon as Michiko left, Hikari opened the box and ripped into the pizza, savoring every octopus and pepperoni-topped slice. After her 5th helping, Hikari noticed something odd in her Gundam bag. It was pink, sparkly, and had a cute little kitty on the side.- Its Chikos purse!- She thought to herself. She must have been really bothered by that question if she forgot something like that. She put the pizza down and snatched the purse as she thought; and I know where she goes whenever she wants to have a quiet place to think. Hikari took her leys from the counter and scrambled out the door, Michiko’s purse in hand. Hope I get home in time for Gundam Seed. She thought as she locked the front door.
***
Michiko walked down the now street lamp light business district of Tokyo, frantically walking forward as she thought to herself, -Damn it, Hikki's right. How can be a college graduate and not know what the hell I want to do next? How can I be 20 years old and still be in the same situation I was in when I was 16? How can I not know what I love to do and what I would want to do for a living?- The gates of her special place, the Shinto shrine, soon came into view. -The shrine…- As she stepped inside she thought, -this has always been the place I came to whenever I needed time to think or write or cry. It almost feels like it can sense my pain, which is kind of odd, but as long as it helps…- At that moment she saw that inside of the small rock cave had changed. The once indecipherable tablets surrounding the room, including the one oddly balanced on its bottom-right corner, became readable, saying such things as, “The smallest words shall spark the greatest conflicts.” And “The body reaps what the mind sows.” Once inside, the woodcarvings that hung on the walls seemed to come alive, pointing her to the raised stone slab in the center of the room. As she approached it, a sword bearing an inscription rose from the crevice in the stones top. The moment she picked it up, her mind translated the blades message. It read, “The wielder of this blade shall bring harmony to an era of discord.” As soon as she finished translating, she lost her grip on the hilt and cut her finger. Before she could even feel pain from her wound, visions of darkness and evil began filling her mind. Visions of a world surrounded by death, famine and pestilence; of a man standing in the center of it all bellowing with a maniacal, blood curdling cackle. Then, in a brilliant flash of light, a mysterious, winged being rose from the ashes. In its left hand, a sword of justice of justice and atonement; and in its right, a shield of truth and courage. The two towering figures began a long and arduous battle
While Michiko was lost in fantasyland, Hikari arrived on the scene with purse in tow. She saw Michikos long, sliver hair and knew she found her. As she approached, Hikari called out to her, saying, “Hey Chiko!” She waved her bag in the air as she said, “You forgot your purse!” Michiko didnt move an inch, which slightly agitated Hikari, since she ran all the way from her house to meet her. “Are you deaf, or something? I have your purse!” Still no response from Michiko. Hikaris watch went off, which instantly caused her to think, Crap, that shows almost on. Better make this quick. She looked up and thought – I bet she wouldn’t expect me to do this- and grinned a devious grim as he said, "Hey Chiko, hope your catching arms still good!" With that said, she gave the purse a mighty heave
***
Just as Michiko’s vision came to an end and the winged one was about to strike a deathblow, Michiko felt something smack her right in the back of the head, abruptly ending her stay in fantasyland. She stumbled headfirst over the slab and into the shrines back wall. The jolt dazed her jarred a stone loose from the ceiling. It landed directly on top of her head, delivering the knockout blow. She hit the floor with a thud, causing the oddly balanced tablet by the entryway to fall, causing a chain reaction of falling tablets, which created a tremendous shockwave that made the entryway cave in on itself. Hikari could only look on as the shrines only exit, and her friends only exit, was sealed off. She immediately began clearing stones, hoping that she would still be alive. Please be alive, she kept thinking to herself as the night passed on and she kept on clearing stones. By the time the morning light had shown itself, Hikari had removed enough stones to enter, only to find that the purse, her friend, and the sword had vanished. The first thought that popped into her mind was, What the hells going on here!?
Chapter 2
After Michiko awakened from her involuntary catnap, she saw a not-so friendly face hovering above her. “Why do you have that sword?” he asked. She could only respond with a moan. “O.K., I’ll be more specific, how did you get your hands on it?” When her vision came into focus, she saw his face and something she heard on the news the other day before came to her.
Be on the lookout for Shinji the Shoujo slayer. He is approximately 5’11 with medium length black hair. He has a slight muscular build and tends to dress as random samurai characters. He is incredibly strong and extremely dangerous. If you see a man fitting his description asking you for directions to a cosplay store or convention, DO NOT APPROACH. He is known to rape his victims and sever their limbs...
Her heart skipped a beat, and then started beating like a jackhammer. Her eyes widened, her face turned pale with fear. She barely managed to get out the words, “Ohmigod, you’re that rapist who carves up his victims, aren’t you?”
“What ARE you talking about?”
“Don’t play d-dumb. I k-know what you do, and I’m going to make sure you never do it again.” Said Michiko as she, with terror in her eyes, raised the sword. Before he could even say a word, she started swinging at him. Unfortunately for her, every crazed slash, swipe and thrust she made found nothing but air. For him, this was nothing more than child’s play. After a few minutes, she tired herself out. The man approached her and reached for something inside his clothes. Her instincts told her he was reaching for a gun. “NO!” she screamed; as she put everything she had left into one mighty overhead slash. He had the attack perfectly spotted, and stopped it by clapping his hands together as the blade fell. After witnessing her final desperation attack fail, Michiko dropped to her knees in despair. “Please spare me,” she pleaded, “I don’t even know what real love is like. I’m not ready to die yet.”
“Die? Why would I need to kill you?”
“Well, isn’t that what you do, Shinji?”
“No, and my name isn’t Shinji, its Dante.”
“Oh.” her cheeks turned a slight shade of red as she got up off her knees stood up straight. She dusted herself off and examined him from head-to toe. “Are those your real clothes, Dante?”
“Well I’m sorry if I don’t follow the latest in 16th century fashion.”
“Did you say 16th century?”
“Yes, did you expect me to say it was the 18th century?”
Michiko stepped outside the shrine and observed that skyscrapers no longer surrounded it. Vast azure blue skies, cherry blossoms as far as the eye could see, and many other signs indicated that this land was still untouched by man. ”Oh crap, I’m lost! I think I better give Hikki a call.” She pulled out her cell phone, only to discover that everything but the casing was gone. “Oh no, my cell phone! I hope I can find something else in here that can tell me where I am…”she emptied out her purse, and all that popped out was a comb and her wallet. “Where’s all my stuff? Did…” she looked up at Dante and said. “Did you take it?”
“Take what?”
“My MP3 player, my P.D.A., my, um, special toy”
Do you mean those?” he pointed to the other empty cases that lay in the grass beside him.
“What did you…” when she saw the hollow plastic cases, she remembered a conversation between her and Hikari that occurred while they were shopping in Tokyo.
“Hey Hikki, if I went back in time, could I take my G.B.A. with me?”
“Yeah, but it probably wouldn’t work.”
“Why not?”
“Well, this is just a theory, but depending on how far back in time you go, I think it could range from simply not working to the insides disappearing altogether.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Also, anything made in our century, or the year it was made, probably won’t be there if you go past that year.”
“Okay.”
“In addition…-hey, why am I telling you all this? It’s not like your going time traveling anytime soon…”
“Oh no, that means no Internet, no TV, no…” as she went down the list of things she couldn’t do, eat, or go to, Dante looked at her with confused eyes, wondering to himself, -What is she babbling on about? Does she speak of foreign foods and rituals? Maybe she’s not just from a different land, but a different era, as well?- Dante saw her gothic schoolgirl outfit, silver hair and fiery red eyes and thought, -She sure as hell looks like it…- Michiko came to the end of her list about a half-hour later. “…No indoor plumbing, wait a minute, that means no baths or showers!” As the shock of having none of the comforts or amenities of home settled, Michiko asked Dante one question; “so, this is really the 16th century?”
“Yeah, it is.”
“Would you excuse me for a second?” She stepped out onto the plateau behind the shrine, took a deep breath, and let out a scream that pierced the heavens, and Dante’s poor eardrums. “Oh god, what am I going to do? No electricity, no cars, not even indoor plumbing exists in this era! I can’t make it out here; I feel like I’m gonna, like I’m gonna…” Dante immediately saw that she was gong to crack, and gave her a swift slap to the face. Michiko lightly rubbed her cheek as she said, “Thanks, I needed that.”
“I know you did, and you also need to learn a few things.”
“Really? Like what?”
“Well, as you have made perfectly obvious, you wield that blade as if you were a geisha instead of a samurai."
“I do?”
“Yes, and you have also made clear that have no survival skills whatsoever.”
“Well, I may not know much about the great outdoors, but I know a few things about surviving the wilderness.”
“Okay then, how do you start a fire?”
“Well first you, uh…”
“Exactly, so why don’t you hang with me for a while? I can teach you everything you need to know about making it in modern Japan.”
“Like how to play a Chinese fiddle?”
“What? NO, not that kind of stuff! I’m just offering you a chance to learn more about the world around you, that is, if you want to.”
“Oh, okay, sure”
“Great, you look like a very interesting girl to play with…” As soon as Michiko heard that, she reached for her sword. “Kidding, kidding! But seriously, though, before we head out, I have one ground rule you must follow.”
“What’s that?” Dante patted his scabbard and said, “Take only what you need with you.”
“Well, the only thing I have to take is this,” She pulled her Sanrio purse up to eye level. “So you don’t have to worry about me weighing you down.”
“Hmm…okay, I guess that’ll work. Let’s start traveling, uh, what’s your name again?”
“Didn’t give it, name’s Michiko.”
“Michiko, huh? I heard it means ‘beauty and wisdom’.”
“Oh, really?”
“That name doesn’t suit you at all.”
“Oh…”
“Ha, ha, ha, just kidding, Michiko-chan.”
“You seem to like doing that.” Michiko said in a mater of fact tone.
“Well aren’t you the feisty one? Well, at any rate, we really should get moving. The sun is starting to set, and this is a dangerous place to be at night.”
“I can tell.” She said as she glanced at the skeleton sitting at the shrines entrance, “So, where are we going?”
“It’s the place where I learned the fine art of the blade. It’s only a two hour walk from here.”
“Two hours!? Isn’t that kinda far?”
“Well there’s always a first time for everything.”
“I suppose your right.” Michiko watched Dante polish his sword on his clothes and said, “Well, get going, Dante.”
“Are you giving me an order, girl?” He said as he looked up from his sword and shot her a mean glare.
“Sorry!” she said with a panicked expression on her face.
“Relax, I was just kidding; you need to stop taking things so seriously, Michiko.”
“I’m sorry.”
“And don’t be so apologetic. One of the most important things in a battle is not showing weakness. If your opposition senses any hesitance from you, you’ll hitting the floor in no time flat.”
“Right, put on my angry face.” She said as she attempted to furrow her brow and let out a kitten like, “Grrr.”
“Yeah, that’s the spirit.” –It’s gonna take me a long time to teach this girl how to swing a sword- “Well, lets get going, Michiko.”
“Alright.” She grasped his hand and they walked off. Dante looked at her, thought about everything she said and done so far, and thought, -Why couldn’t destiny have at least chosen someone who could fight worth a damn?- He looked away and let out a sigh. Michiko then looked at him and thought, -I wonder what’s eating him?-
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