"The girl tried to find the man. She went to a city by cart."

 

Miaka leaned back against the hay that was piled inside the cart.  It was scratchy and pricked her through her clothes, but the ride was a welcome break from her long walk. She had found no trace of either Yui nor the blue-haired stranger on the bare, scrubby plain, so she had simply chosen a direction and started walking. When the horse-drawn wagon had happened by, she hitched a ride. Her arms behind her head and her legs crossed, she absently watched the fluffy clouds in the sky above, trying to make sense of everything that had happened.

They were passing other travelers now. One group of men gave Miaka a weird look as the cart passed slowly by. She glared back. "What are you looking at?"

Miaka chose to ignore the others and concentrated on the task at hand. That man was handsome, but he kidnapped Yui-chan. I won't forgive him! She resumed watching the clouds. But…where am I? The atmostphere, the people...it feels like this is Ancient China…like the book. Could it be?

Miaka's gaze trailed from the clouds. She glanced to her right and sat up with a gasp. "Su-sugoi!" The sight of countless Chinese houses filled the valley the cart was approaching.   Gone were the bare, rocky plains and scrubby trees. A beautiful palace sat at the top of a small hill, and lush trees dotted the landscape.

"It's like a movie set…I'm so impressed!"

The cart continued along the rim of the valley, Miaka hanging over the side, completely engrossed at the sight before her. "I've already reached a city!" Her eyes scanned the bustling crowds to come to rest on a familiar head of blue hair, complete with long ponytail, gathered at the nape of the neck. "Oh! There he is!" she exclaimed. Her eyes narrowed. I found him.

"Mister, thanks!" Miaka called up to the driver. She jumped off the cart to run into the city, threading her way through the crowds.

Pausing to gape about her at the sights and people, she could not help but notice how intent and lively the throngs of villagers around her were. "Everyone's so full of life…." Completely taken in with her surroundings, she gasped in dismay when she realized that she had lost the man. As if to purposely complicate matters, her stomach loudly grumbled its displeasure, and Miaka's eyes glazed over. "I haven't eaten dinner."

Her sight fell on rows of hot buns sitting in man's shop bins. She moved to them, lured by the delicious scent of food.

"Hey customer," the cook bopped Miaka on the head with his ladle. "It's not polite to drool on the merchandise."

Her gaze solidly fixed on the buns, Miaka absently asked him, "Mister, have you seen a handsome guy with the sign of the Oni on his forehead?" She placed a handful of coins in the man's open palm.

"'Oni' on his forehead?" He grew thoughtful. "Well….the handsome guy is right here," he cheerfully stated, pointing to his face with a chuckle.

Miaka took her chance and started to slink away, bun in her mouth.

"Hey! What kind of coins are these?!"

"Japanese heisei, 100 yen!" the girl yelled over her shoulder, pounding down the street.

*******

Her search continuing, Miaka lost track of how many different people she asked about the handsome man with the character for "Oni" on his forehead.  She wandered the streets for hours, not knowing what else she could do.  She eventually boosted herself up on a wooden crate, her body sagging. Time for a break. "I'm so tired…where am I?" She looked at the ground and wished for her friend's comforting presence. "Yui-chan…"

A warm hand appeared on her shoulder. "Miss…"

Miaka turned to look behind her.

"I've been watching you," a friendly face told her. He was a clean-looking young man, and not unattractive. "Would you like me to show you around Konan country?"

"Konan?"

"Yes."

"So that's what this place is called. I didn't know." Miaka suddenly blushed when she realized what had approached her. Could this guy be girl-hunting?! She clasped her hands together in front of her bosom. Ohhhhhhhh…he must be! I haven't had a boyfriend yet. I'm mature enough that he's looking at meeee!

The man stood behind her, smiling.

Miaka's face grew resolute. I shouldn't say 'yes' immediately. Must hold out! Gotta play hard to get! I'll let him try once or twice more.

He leaned forward, wondering where her answer was. "Um…"

She held up a hand to stop him. "I'm sorry, but I'm looking for someone," Miaka told him breathlessly, her eyes cast demurely to the side.

"Oh, is that so?" He turned and stepped away with a confident air.

Realizing her prey was escaping, Miaka reached out and snatched his blue shirt to drag him down to her level. "Wait a minute!"

He looked at her with a smile. "A person with the sign of the Oni on his forehead, right?"

Miaka brightly returned his grin, hope shining in her eyes. "Oh? You know him?"

"He's a friend of mine."

"Really?" Miaka squealed.

"I'll arrange for you to meet him."

"Great!"

The cool wind blew through the alley, sending a few leaves swirling past the pair. They were alone.

*******

"Did you hear?" a man asked another as he finished his dinner at their restaurant table.

"What?"

"It's goin' around that there's this strangely dressed girl roaming about the town."

"Ah, I know I know!" The other replied. "She's looking for a guy with the sign of the Oni on his forehead, right?"

Near them, leaning on a pillar and picking his teeth with a twig, a certain man with bright, steel-gray eyes was absently listening.

"Yeah, I hear she used foreign coins to pay, ate, and ran away."

"And she's alone, too. Where could she be from?"

"Um, excuse me. May I interrupt?"

"What do you want, young man?"

"I overhead you talking about a strange girl. Weren't there two of them?"

"Um….I don't know any more than that. I only heard that one weird girl skipped out on paying for her dinner."

"One?" He grew thoughtful, then shrugged. "Then she's not one of the girls I met."

*******

"Um….where's your friend?" Miaka uncertainly asked the guy she was following. He had lead her through the city, passing the marketplace and homes, into the dark slums of the city's outer reaches.  Miaka was finally becoming nervous.

He stopped and looked back at her. "He's right here."

Miaka took a step back from his evil gaze, her mind buzzing with alarms.

"Oooooh. This girl looks weird."

With a gasp, Miaka's gaze snapped over to where three scruffy men appeared, walking out of a crumbling hole in the side of the alley's walls. They joined the man she had followed to leer down at her.

"You don't get an opportunity like this every day," he stated to his revealed friends. "We'll get good money for her clothes, as well."

The one on the right grinned. "Is it true that foreign women taste different?"

Miaka's heart pounded in her chest. She took another step back. "Did you trick me?"

One of the men lifted up her uniform's skirt and peered up her legs. "It was your own fault for following him."

"Stop that!" Miaka smacked him on the head with her fist.

"That huuuurt…" he remarked softly, a hand to his cheek.

Miaka backed up against the alley wall as the men laughed with evil anticipation. Her thoughts raced. This is ancient China. They're street thugs. I was deceived by these guys! She straightened. Wait a sec! "This" is ancient China! No matter what I do, it won't affect my school record! Her eyes narrowed and she bared her teeth. YOSHI!

Miaka flung her uniform's jacket into the air and bared her left upper arm, dotted with six scars, arranged like the six-side on a die. "Hey! You see these injection scars? They'll witness your bad deeds!"

The thugs stared, saucer-eyed, at the suddenly ferocious girl.

"Although the sun forgives you, Yuuki Miaka will not! Instead of the sky, I'll punish you! And I'll do it using a deadly attack I saw on a satellite pro-wrestling show!

"Western lariat!" Miaka flung herself off the wall at the first thug, catching him completely by surprise.

"Hip attack!"

"What is this girl!?" the man who had tricked Miaka cried in disbelief as she knocked down each man with one incredibly forceful attack each.

"I've never seen this kind of kenpo!" his cohort gasped.

"Back drop!" Miaka landed backwards on a thug, then snatched up the leader and hurdled him over her head. "Splash Mountain at ninety-five degrees!" Screaming in terror, he skidded down the rough stones of the street.

Panting, Miaka grinned in triumph at the dilapidated thugs. "I did it. If I try, I can do anything!" She giggled. "I could even beat the pro-wrestler, Aja!" Miaka, busy gloating, failed to notice the leader had recovered until his iron grip fastened around her ankle.  With a powerful yank, he sent the girl sprawling backwards onto her rear.

He snarled at her, "Don't think you can make a fool of me!"

Petrified at their quick recovery, Miaka could only stare in shock as the thugs climbed to their feet.  Her mind frozen and bravado vanished, she could not believe what was happening.  "N-no! Noooooooo!" Eyes clenched tightly shut, Miaka's mind screamed with a quiet whisper. Help me!

A powerfully thrown rock came sailing down from the rooftop across the alley to smack into the leader's head. With a snarl, he glared over his shoulder. "Who did that?!"

A strong figure stood above them on the close rooftoom, silhouetted against the intense sun. He tossed another stone in the air again and again with a slow, supremely confidant motion. Only his eyes shone brightly in the contrasting darkness of his shadow.

"For one woman? Four guys?" He snatched the stone out of the air with an angry snap of his fist. "What REAL man needs to do that?" The breeze caught his bangs, and the red light of a kanji burned upon his forehead.

*******

"The girl was in danger. Then, the young man with the sign of the Oni….appeared. He punished the street toughs."

Yui's eyes shone down upon the simple ink illustration of the strong man, fighting to save the innocent girl.

*******

The stranger pummeled each thug without pause, soundly knocking down the leader with a powerful kick to the face. Miaka silently watched from the ground where she knelt, her jacket in her arms. The men scrambled away, and she could only blink at their retreating forms.  A second time, this man had saved her.

He stopped in front of her and quietly looked down at Miaka's upturned face.

Lips apart, eyes quivering, she stared back.

** end episode one **