Other Fan Fiction ❯ Hakuouki : A trip back ❯ Chapter one: A journey begins ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
It was another rather dull day as the morning sun began its ascent over the city of Tokyo, Japan. The birds were chirping, dogs were barking, the streets were crowded, and it was all the same old thing day after day after day. Just a routine that went on without end...and it was BOOOOOORING !  At least, for one rather tall eighteen year old it was. She was sitting at the window of her sixth floor apartment at the people rushing by, looking and acting like ants as they scurried by on their way to work.  Her fairly long ginger hair was tied back in a loose ponytail, her bangs hanging to one side of her face, and her rust-colored eyes were narrowed with mild annoyance and a glint of something though what was not obvious.
      She always felt out of place, almost as if she was born in the wrong era, even if she did manage to blend in to the chaotic induced society of the modern age. Well, she and a couple of her closest friends anyways.  A feeling of nostalgia for the era of the Samurai, even though she never lived it, always filled her when she thought of it. Amongst that, she was unnaturally natural skill with a katana and her sense of style leaned towards that direction though she kept that hidden. 'This is...Uh-oh !' She leapt up from her perch upon seeing the time and made a mad dash to her room then out the door, both realizing and feeling like she was about to be horribly late to the prison-like establishment the system had dubbed "School".  
      'Confined to a living of meaningless labor and learning, while the notions of honor and loyalty are slowly fading away into nothingness. It's such a sorry state of being the world is in, and I have the feeling it's only going to get worse as the years go on...' Shaking her head and bit and sighing slightly, the youth couldn't help but be distracted when she arrived at the massive school just before the other tardies arrived...one of which happened to be her best friend and practically twin separated at birth, Yin. "Saaaayoooomi !" The ginger-hair was almost knocked over as her friend rushed over to her, nothing unusual for them though. "Hey Yin. What's been up ?" "Since you asked me that yesterday ? Nothin' but the sky." "What about the universe...and gas prices." "Tou'che."
      Before they could say anything more though, along came a teacher. "You two hurry up and get to class unless you actually WANT a weeks detention !" Needless to say, that motivated the duo to hurry along to their first class. "You know what I think Yin ?" "That that teacher had a porcupine up her butt ?" "Well, that to..." "That we don't belong here or even in this time period." "Yup." "I wonder if there's a way..." "To go back in time. I WISH..." "Would you two be kind enough to stop talking while I'm trying to teach !?" Once more interrupted by a teacher, the duo just sat in the back of the class and passed notes back and forth. However, they both knew what the other was thinking. 'The school system went back to the "Women should be seen and not heard" era.' It was pathetic, truly pathetic...
     It was that way that every class passed, the duo talking and getting in trouble. The only exception would normally have been 2D Art, but not so today since the teacher was giving a lecture on Impressionism. Not exactly the duos favorite subject and certainly NOT their favorite teacher...mainly because she'd given them three weeks detention once before for something so menial that neither student remembered. "Drama, drama, and more drama ! That's all we're dealing with at this god-forsaken poorhouse of a dump of a prison that dares call itself a school !" Sayomi was once more on a rant about how horrible the school system was, and Yin was nodding along as well as spurring her on. "I know ! And what's the point of making us sit in detention doing nothing, OVER nothing ? I mean, it's completely ridiculous !" "You're tellin' me. So, you still coming over for the weekend for our mega-twin party ?" "Wouldn't miss it for the world !"  Best friends and virtually twins by nature, who could ask to see a better duo ? Nobody, that's who. Well, maybe the teachers but that's about it. "Do you think..." "that we belong in the Edo period or a little sooner ? All the time."  "Hurry up and get to clapping those erasers, or you two will be here all night ! " With a unison sigh the duo got back to work. "Teachers..." "I couldn't word it any better myself..."
      Later that night, Sayomi spent all night setting up the apartment and getting everything ready. She wasn't about to let her partner-in-crime suffer a dull evening just because they both spent the afternoon, and most of the evening, clapping erasers for a teacher who has nothing better to do than waste their time and trying to make the both of them miserable. 'Food, check. Drinks, both Sake and Cola, check...' She sighed a bit and pulled her sheathed katana from it's hiding place. Not a day went by when she didn't want to pull it out and slice someone annoying in half. But in todays society, such a thing was considered unacceptably barbaric and could land someone in jail for life...if not in death row. Still, to have such an elegant blade hidden forevermore within it's casing seemed like such a shame. 'I swear, one day I WILL invent time travel. Then I'll take Yin and...'
      As if on cue, there came a 'tap tap tap' upon her door. '"Right on time..." Sayomi hurried to the door and opened it, her "twin" standing there with a bag of spare clothes and a grocery bag full of chocolate snacks. Of course she also had her katana RaitoMasamune, the compliment to Sayomi's YamiMasamune, with her. " Let's get this party staaaarteeeed !"  "Then get in here already !" Sayomi couldn't help but laugh as she said that, moving aside to let her different looking double inside. "So, what's first on the list ? Drinking all the soda, crank-calling the neighbors, driving the people below us crazy by making as much noise as possible, or walking to that old shrine outside the city that has the legend of out swords written on the parchment ?" Sayomi thought for a few moments before smirking slightly. "It's too early to drive people crazy, so we'll wait until later. Let's go to the shrine. While we're there, we can see if the old legend is true." "But what if it is ? We'd be sent ba...Ooooh, I see what you're thinking now. But what about the others ?"  "Their loss. Anyways, just let me grab YamiMasamune and we'll get going." "Alright...Think we should dress for the time, just in case ?" "Good thinking." Grabbing her katana, Sayomi headed to her room to change into a black and crimson samurai-esque outfit while Yin went to the bathroom to change into a white and cerulean one.
     So after a few minutes the duo headed out, after downing some of the soda and putting the rest in the fridge anyways. They couldn't help themselves, it was their favorite brand and flavor. "Soo, how ridiculous would we feel if the legend was false ?" Yin laughed nervously as she asked that, glancing around the dark woods to make sure nothing was trying to creep up on them. Sayomi merely shook her head and sighed, more confident than her companion but just as alert. "Not at all. Just as boundaries are  made to be pushed to their limit, myths and legends are made to either be proven or busted. Besides, I have the feeling that this isn't a hoax or false in any way. I can't explain why, but I just have this gut instinct..."
      A silence fell over the two for the first time since they headed into the woods, fifteen minutes ago. It was caused by the shrine before them, it's sheer massive size and structure itself awe inspiring. "Well, it's now or never." "Never's not an option, huh ?" "Nope, now come on."  "Alright. Not like you can pull this off without me anyways..."  "Weeell, technically..." "No, you can't. I'll leave right now if you say that again." "Oh, alright. Not like I'd want to go alone anyways. Just wish we'd brought Ranko for bait. Ya know, if there's any wild animals in there." "Oh Sayomi, you can be so cruel sometimes." The duo laughed quietly as they approached the ominous building, both aware as ever. Little did they know, they were about to embark on the journey of a lifetime. A journey that would span across the very fabric of time itself and thrust them into an adventure even they would never believe if not for the fact they were about to live it.