'Why this time frame to land into?' Kaori mumbled to herself.
Kaori had just seen her first beyblattle when she was exiting the park. 'Kids settle arguments and more by hitting tops together? What an interesting way I guess..however ineffective.'
She was now sitting on the grass next to a small stream. Looking at her reflection she saw how altered her appearance was. However, no one had seemed to pay her unique form any attention at all.
She needed a map, to see what people thought of the world and where she happened to be in it. 'Maybe there are stores here that contain maps....'
"Here you go," the girl behind the counter replied with a smile.
"Thank you," Kaori smiled back as she looked at the map laid out.
The woman pointed. "You're right here, in the center of Kyoto," she informed.
"By any chance....do you happen to have a full-sized map?" Kaori needed more info than the city she was in. Its name, if she was in the same place, had probably changed long ago.
"Alright," the woman looked confused but produced a world map without complaint. "You are here," she pointed to an island to the far right, where it said 'Kyoto'.
"Thank you so much," Kaori smiled and turned around to leave. 'Well, at least I know I'm in the same place AND that this time seems to be generally knowledgeable of world geography. Now I just need to find a way out.'
While in thought, Kaori bumped into someone. "Oh, I'm sorry," she looked down and tried to walk around the figure.
"No, it's my fault, I wasn't paying attentin. Are you okay?" a boy's voice responded.
'I can't wait to get home!' Kaori thought when she was three streets away. Caught up in her excitement, she bumped into someone.
"Hey, watch where you're going!" the demon yelled.
"I'm sorry..." she rushed away. Demons were the worst people to get along with even though she was one herself.
"Hey, you're kinda cute," the demon grabbed her hand. "Why don't you come with me?"
"Get away from me!" she screamed and unsheathed her katana.
......
There was a scream from a nearby alley.
When she reached the spot she landed in upon reaching this world, she stood in silence, the memories flooding back.
"Hey! Wait a minute!" the boy was following her. As he approached, fire exploded from her hand.
"Woah! Take it easy!" he stopped in his tracks. He paused and concentrated on her image. "Aren't you the girl from this morning?" he asked.
She looked at him as if puzzled, not quite sure if he was in fact one of the boys who confronted her that morning. "Yes..." she replied without dropping her guard. His manner was friendly enough and he seemed to have very little spiritual energy.
"Anyway, I just wanted to see if you were okay..." he seemed speechless.
"Thanks....I'm fine," she replied, used to kindness only from Kurama and a friend or two.
"Alright then, I guess..I'll be going now," he started to walk away cautiously.
"What's your name?" Kaori asked him.
"Max. Max Mizuhara," he said after some hesitation.
"I'm Kaori. Kaori Tsukamoto," she responded before he left. 'I've never felt kindness from a complete stranger before....' ran across her mind as he left.
Still don't like her. ((sorry ^^;;))
I still like Kaori!! She's a kick butt character! ((yay!))
Still think there should be more Max! -_- ((it's coming!))
Two new slashes appeared on the tree as Kaori practiced her sword technique. Sweat poured down her face from the continuous workout. She had been practicing for the past two months for the next dark tournament and wasn't going to miss out on training just because she wasn't home.
"You know swords have been banned ever since the Meiji, right?" a voice called out from behind her.
She turned around sharply only to find Max. "The what?" she asked puzzled, at ease knowing she wasn't in any immediate danger.
"The Meiji era, you know, after the Tokugawa Shogunate came to an end?"
"No, I don't know," she started to walk away. "But anyone who tries to tell me that next won't be alive long enough to enforce that rule."
"Hey, where do you live? I've never seen you before."
"Um..." she hesitated. "Somewhere further south of here," she faked.
"Near Kyoto?"
"Yeah," she was saved.
"Where are you staying?"
Maybe not..."North of here?"
"You don't have any place to stay, do you?"
"I've survived worse, I'll be fine," she continued to walk away.
He crept up to her and grabbed her hand, her hand came up but stopped when she heard his voice.
"Hey, why don't you come to the dojo and stay there a while?" he asked.
Kaori looked startled. "No thanks," was her reply as she released herself from his grip.
No matter how nice he appeared to be, Kaori knew that she could trust only one person: Kurama.
Max sighed but left her alone.
Kaori sat on the branch of a tree, manipulating a ball of fire that was floating from her hand.
"How am I going to get out of here?" she groaned.
"I can help you with that," a man's voice came from behind her. He was standing perfectly balanced on a nearby tree branch. "You can join your step-brother in Hell!"
As the branch broke from under her, she shot the fireball straight at him, replacing it with wind and holding it downward. She made it just in time to float to her feet on the ground.
"So you can manipulate the other elements as well? Impressive!" the man jumped, landing on his feet with the grace of an accomplished fighter.
"My father could manipulate anything but my fire is from my mother," she growled.
"You want to see me manipulate more elements?" she smirked as a water dragon burst from her hands. Eventually, it met with its target.
"Very impressive," the man responded as a knife flew into her stomach. She held her face straight, showing no pain at all.
"Kurama's NOT going to Hell," she said in a steady voice and by touching the sword, she created an electric current. She ran it through her body and into the ground. It connected with her target as he screamed and collapsed onto the dirt.
Hoping she was safe for the moment, she eased herself against the nearest building and pulled the knife out in one swift movement, letting out a small gasp at the pain.
Blood was flowing heavily out of the wound. 'Shoot!' she ripped off part of her long skirt to wrap around it before passing out.
When she woke up, she was no longer propped up against a building. She was in a bed. Immediately she created a thin barrier around herself.
"The killer's awake!" a boy with blue hair yelled.
A small spark of fire came from the barrier and into Tyson's hair.
"Hey!" the boy started running around the room in a panic.
Kaori couldn't help but chuckle. But just before the fire could get any bigger, a ball of water put out the fire.
"See?! I told you she was a killer!!" he yelled.
"Tyson, do yourself a favor and shut up," a boy with cold eyes said from the corner. She liked that comment.
Max and a Chinese boy laughed from the other side of the room.
Kaori rose and walked over to a shelf far away from everyone else. "Who's this?" she asked when she came to a picture.
Max approached her. "Oh, that's Cherry. Mr. Dickenson asked her to join the team when he saw her beybladeing skills. Speaking of Cherry, we haven't seen her recently," Max shrugged it off. She came and went when she pleased at times.
Geeze, you think she could be nicer! ((you'll find out why soon enough))
Still like her, a girl has to be strong! ((that's right!))
Yay! Max! ((:D))
Still don't like Kaori, huh? Well, I guess you'll just have to continue reading to see her true personality. Maybe she'll grow on you.
I'm glad you like her, or are beginning to like her. Thank you for being patient with me and continuing to read. I had to improvise since my writers block is getting pretty bad.
Max is the best! ^^ haha Now that he's in the main plot line, you'll be seeing a lot more of him! :)
