Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Trouble in Meiji ❯ Where Am I? ( Chapter 2 )

Oh, um, by the way, Britini's name is pronounced Brit-ney, not Brit-een-ee. She gets really mad if you call her the latter, so please don't.

In the previous chapter…

I watch as the test tube bubbles up, and a small ball of fire starts burning in the center. Sparks fly from the test tube's mouth, and in the background I hear the teacher yelling for everyone to duck and cover. My limbs, however, are frozen, and I can only watch as the test tube explodes, releasing a clap of sound and a wave of unbearable heat that engulfs my body from head to toe. I scream, but no sound comes out as my throat is burned by the flames. I remember only a brilliant flash of light before I succumb to the darkness of unconsciousness.

The first thing I'm aware of is the pain. It courses through my body, filling every vein and pore. My eyelids feel as if they're weighed down with lead disks. I struggle to open my eyes, and immediately regret my actions. The world spins around me, never resting a moment as the colors bleed into an indistinguishable blur. I try to swallow, but my dry throat throbs as the air passes over it. My stomach jolts, and I barely react in time as I retch violently upon the ground. When I finish, I crawl over the dirt and rinse out my mouth in the river. Wait a minute. The RIVER?!

As I sit up, the world steadies and I'm able to observe my surroundings. Instead of the Chemistry classroom, I'm in a large, leafy forest. Soft, green moss blankets the forest floor, as well as many of the trees. Small shrubs hug the ground and small, brightly colored flowers bloom on every patch of ground not already claimed by the moss. Birds of a species I'm unfamiliar with flit through the trees, calling out their songs in sweet soprano voices. Stars unhindered by modern pollution shine through the canopy of the trees, brighter and clearer than I have ever seen them. I walk over to the river and watch the light of the moon flicker softly in the shadowy depths.

"Toto, I don't think I'm in Tewksbury anymore," I say. I spin slowly in a circle, staring at the untouched nature that surrounds me. "It's beautiful…" I whisper. I shake my head to clear it. "I can't think of the beauty right now. I have to find a way home." My body shivers as an icy wind pierces my summer shorts and T-shirt. "Hm. It's getting chilly. First things first, I need a fire." A few dry twigs catch my eye, and I gather them up into a small pile. "Now I need to light it. How do I do that? I don't have any matches or…" My words fade as a lump at the edge of the clearing peaks my interest. Crawling over to the lump, I brush away the blanket of leaves that cloak the lump. A gasp escapes my lips as I stare at what was lying beneath the leaves. Glowing in the moonlight is my blue backpack. For a brief moment I wonder how it got there, but the moment was indeed brief. My relief at finding the backpack drowns out all other emotion. Reaching into the bottom pocket of the bag I pull out a pack of matches. Even though other people may find it weird that I carry matches around everywhere, I decided long ago that it was better to be teased and prepared than praised and unprepared.

I strike a match across the back of the box and watch as the twigs flare up. "Bingo!" I whisper. Crossing my legs, I lean back against the rough bark of a large oak tree. I sigh, a whisper lost in the noises of the night. The fire pops as a branch succumbs to the flames. "What do I do now? I'm stuck in the middle of a forest in who knows where and I have no clue how I got here or how to get home." Another sigh. In an effort to cheer myself up, I quietly hum a few bars of my favorite pop song. The hum grows louder as I get into the music, and soon it becomes a full-out song as I'm lost in the swirl of shimmering notes.

Kaoru's POV

"Ahhhh. I'm full!" Yahiko exclaims. We're on our way home after a trip to the Akabeko for a beef hotpot, since it was my turn to cook and no one except Kenshin was willing to eat it. Hmph. They just don't know good cooking when they taste it.

"Yeah," Sanosuke agrees. "That was much better than anything the little missy could have come up with."

My eye twitches.

"Now, now. Miss Kaoru's cooking isn't that bad. In fact, this one rather likes it," Kenshin says. I smile a little inwardly. At least Kenshin likes my cooking.

Sanosuke raises and eyebrow. "Hey, Kenshin, are you sure you like Kaoru's cooking? Or was it so bad that it burned off all your tastebuds?"

That's the last straw. "If you hate my cooking so much, don't eat it! Day in and day out you come over and eat for free!" I throw everything I can get my hands on at Sano, including branches and buckets. Maybe if I hit him in the head hard enough it will knock some sense into him.

Sano ducks while using Kenshin as a shield. "You know I have no money! I can't afford to eat out!"

"That's never stopped you before! Every time you go to the Akabeko you cheat poor Miss Tae out of a meal!" I finally run out of things to throw and so I just stand there panting.

Sanosuke drops Kenshin with a loud thud. "Finally. No need to get all worked up like that," he says.

"Orororororo…" is all Kenshin can manage.

"Kenshin!" I cry, and rush over to him.

Yahiko rolls his eyes. "Sheesh. If you `adults' are done, I think I hear something."

We all stop talking and listen carefully to the still night air. A voice drifts down the road on a cool breeze. "It sounds like… singing…" I whisper.

"This one thinks we should check this out," Kenshin says. He stands up and carefully pats the dirt from his kimono. Adjusting his sword, he walks into the forest from which the voice seems to originate. I gather my kimono up and run after him, my speed hampered by the wooden shoes I'm wearing. Yahiko and Sano follow after me as we enter the forest, untouched save for a dirt path running down the center. We walk down the path for ten minutes as the voice gets steadily louder. Finally we reach a natural clearing in the center of the forest. Sitting in the clearing is a young girl of about thirteen or so. She had a fire burning, and it was she who was singing. Her voice is beautiful, but her words are foreign to my ears. What really got me, however, were her clothes. Never have I seen such a strange kimono. The bottoms are cut off way above her knees, and her haori is short and depicted an illustration the likes of which I have never seen. She doesn't seem to have noticed us yet, for she has not wavered in her song.

"I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly,

Though it's not easy to tell you good bye,

I gotta take a risk, take a chance, make a change
And break away

Out of the darkness and into the sun
But I won't forget the place I come from
I gotta take a risk, take a chance, make a change
And break away."

She finishes her song in a flourish, and jumps in surprise as we applaud her. She spins around and opens her mouth, but the words that come out are unintelligible. Seeing we don't understand, she swallows and changes languages.

"Wh-who are you?" she asks.

Lisa's POV

"Grew up in a small town

And when the rain would fall down

I'd just stare out my window."

As I sing, I am momentarily relieved of my immediate issues.

"Dreaming of what could be

And if I'll end up happy

I would pray."

Music has always made me feel better. Singing is good for the lungs, and good for your self-esteem as well. I always feel refreshed when I finish a song, as if someone took a sponge and washed out my lungs, scrubbing out all the modern-day pollution I am forced to breathe in. My soul is free, liberated from all the problems of everyday life. It's as if I can face any problem, take on any challenge, and pass with flying colors.

"I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly

I'll do what it takes til' I touch the sky

I'll make a wish, take a chance, make a change

And break away."

As I get towards the end of the song and my voice rises in a crescendo, then tapers off on the last note. I sit there, soaking in the glittering notes that seem to sparkle in the moonlight of the clearing. I take a deep breath, filling my lungs and clearing my head.

I'm startled out of my trance by applause from behind me. I twirl around, scattering the leaves on the floor of the forest. My eyes open wide, for at the edge of the clearing stand four people. One is tall wearing white clothes with black trim and his hair in a spiky cut. A young girl in a Japanese dress kimono and wooden sandals with her hair in a high ponytail stands in front of the spiky-haired man, her hands still raised in applause. On the right of the girl is a young boy with messy hair who seems about two or three years younger than my own thirteen years. Next to the girl on her left was a young man. He is the one who catches the front of my attention. Bright red hair, blue eyes, and a cross-shaped scar on his left cheek stand out from his darker-haired companions, but what really catches my eye is the long sword hanging from his side.

I wet my lips, calming myself down enough to ask the obvious question, "Who are you?"

The confusion apparent in their faces told me that they did not understand. Taking note of the kimono the girl was wearing, I try a different language-Japanese. As I speak, I thank the heavens I took Japanese lessons. (Where, you ask? Online, of course. www.japanese-online.com is a good site for it.)

"Who are you?" I ask again, this time in Japanese. (From now on, all conversations will be in Japanese, unless I say otherwise.)

The red-haired man steps forward and bows. (I prefer to use the manga version of his lingo, rather than the unnecessary repeating of the anime version) "This is Kamiya Kaoru-dono," he says, pointing to the girl. She smiles and bows, the long sleeves of her kimono fluttering in the breeze. "This is Sagara Sanosuke," he continues, this time pointing to the spiky-haired man.

"Yo," Sanosuke says. He raises two fingers in a peace sign.

The young boy steps forward, his thin sandals scraping on the dirt. "I'm Myojin Yahiko, Tokyo samurai." He puffs out his chest and raises his head proudly.

"Yes," the red-haired man states. "And this one is Himura Kenshin, a simple rurouni."

`Okaayyy…' I think. `There must be an anime convention around. That would explain the weird clothes…' "My name is Baumoel Lisa," I say, taking care to place the last name first in the traditional Japanese way. `I might as well play along until I can find a phone,' I think. I place my hands together in front of me and do a small half-bow.

Kaoru-dono steps forward. "Konban wa, Lisa-san," she says, bowing as well.

"Konban wa," I reply. "Um, do you know where I can find a payphone? I need to call my family…" I trail off as I see the puzzled looks on their faces. "Umm, what's wrong?"

"What is this `payphone' of which you speak?" Kenshin asks.

"Yeah, um, well…" `They must be real fanatics, to be so in character to pretend to not know what a phone is' I think. `This must be something like Sturbridge Village, where the actors pretend to know nothing except what was known at the time they are reenacting. I can do that.' I raise my hand to my ear, thumb and pinky extended. "Well, it's something like a telegraph. It allows people to talk to others over long distances." Still no signs of comprehension from the others.

"Nobody except the police and people with high rankings in the government can afford telegraphs," Kaoru-dono says.

"O-kay then…" I put on a false-cheery smile while I think, `Okay, I think this is going a little too far… Maybe I should just go with them until I pass a phone. I will at least be able to find out where I am. "Look," I say. "I'm lost. Can I follow you to the town so I can get some information?" I hold out my hands, to show I mean no harm.

"Sure. You can come with us," Kaoru-dono says. "It's no problem."

A sigh of relief escapes my lips. "Thank you so much!" They turn around, walking through the forest to reach a rough dirt footpath winding through the bushes, following the crooked bank of the shimmering river. I trail a ways behind them, unsure of how to address these people. They are good actors, I must admit. No one I've ever seen could act as if they really didn't know what a telephone was.

Kaoru-dono looks over her shoulder, and notices my distance from their group. She turns around, her high wooden sandals clopping on the paving stones that have replaced the dirt road. "Come on! The dojo is just past this bridge."

"Dojo?" I ask.

"Yes," Karou says. "My family teaches the Kamiya Kasshin style of martial arts."

"Wow! That's cool!" I exclaim.

Karou stares at me. "Temperature has nothing to do with it."

`Wow. They're really getting into the act!' I think. "It's an expression. It means that I think it's impressive."

Kaoru relaxes, comprehension dawning on her face. "Oh! I see."