AUTHOR NOTES:

First off - don't own anything. Mai Hime and whatever else belongs to someone else. Yada yada yada

Second - going to write this as a way to pass the time until Crimson Kiss updates.

Third - As they say, no story is original (or something like that). I've always wanted to know what would happen if My Hime (Mai Hime) were combined with the plotline of Misery. Despite writing to multiple authors, NO ONE has written a story like that yet - boooooo. Thus I've taken the liberty of writing this until someone takes up that banner (please, someone). As the plot line wasn't un-original enough, I've also set the world in that of Tokyo Ghoul. So Yeah - basically did this on a whim because I NEED CRIMSON KISS UPDATES! (BTW, I'm you're biggest fan).

So anyway, enjoy. Please comment and leave possible plot points that I could include into this. I'm not an author so don't expect much but I'll try to spin something fun.

Chapter One

The Fall

This was a bad idea.

Natsuki seemed to have a lot of those lately, but this seemed particularly stupid.

"Weather man said it wouldn't snow for another week!" She grumbled under her breath as fat snowflakes hit the visor of her helmet.

Her better sense told her to pull over and call a cab while she still had cell reception. Riding a motorcycle through a storm, even a light one, was asking for trouble. As of yet, only gentle snowfall and mild winds were present. The snow wouldn't have had a chance to melt and refreeze yet - which was what made the roads up here slippery this time of year. It was probably the first storm of the season.

One. Week. Early...

Evergreen trees zoomed by on either side of her. It was getting colder. The biting wind seemed intent on driving itself through the skin tight leathers she wore. Emerald eyes stayed unblinking as the young woman slowed down her bike at another curve in the road.

If she could just make it to the cabin, she would be fine. It wasn't far off and she promised herself that if the visibility got too bad, she would turn off the road and walk her bike there. Riding on until the storm truly hit was the rational decision, even if she felt it in her gut to be a bad idea. This far in the woods meant that there was little to no passerby and little help to be had if something did happen.

However, due to the winding road, she would only be hit by harsh winds and snow when passing along the outer curves said road where the trees parted to cliffs and a stunning view of the horizon (when it wasn't snowing). Trees and mountainside gave shelter for the most part. She should be fine. She was a pretty damn good motorcyclist after all. And if she rode as far as she could go, that meant less time walking.

Another curve in the road meant a drop in speed before it shifted straight again. Natsuki's thoughts roamed over the events that led up to this ride through (maybe) possible peril.

Her deadline. The death. The men in white.

Why did they contact her now? What did they know? Or rather, what did they think they knew? She honestly had no connection to the murdered man. Their lack of evidence was confirmed through her editor's lawyer. And yet, they made her nervous. A group with that much power could make a nobody like her disappear overnight. So she had decided to disappear - overnight.

Well, not exactly a nobody. She liked to think she was a thorn in their side.

A splinter, more realistically. But that was hardly the point.

Emerald eyes flicked to the sky before resuming on the road ahead. Less sunlight passed through the clouds as more and more snow started to fall.

It had been a while since she'd last visited this spot. Natsuki usually only used it when she caught a serious case of writer's block. In fact, that was the excuse she gave her editor this time as well when she said she would be gone for a while. There had been a quick argument about her deadline but she promised she'd get it done. She was pretty much done with the story anyway.

Her bike created an echo through the darkening forest. The pack with her laptop felt comfortable on her back as it gave an extra layer to provide heat against the growing cold.

Some blue strands of midnight hair slipped out between her jacket collar and helmet, tickling the skin of her neck as it blew in the wind. She chanced her steering skills and took her right hand off the handlebar in order to try to push it back into her collar but couldn't do much good before she had to put her hand back in order to steer steadily around a curve in the road.

The bluenette realized she recognized this mile of landscape. Maybe a half hour or so to the cabin. Her readiness to be out of the snow spurred her forward and she sped her bike up a little bit.

It was about five minutes later that it happened.

The young woman didn't know why, but those loose strands of hair were started to annoy her. Worse yet, when she tried to fix it, more hair came loose. Her irritation gathered and she cursed her long hair under her breath. Thoughts of chopping off her mane once and for all resonated in her mind.

She was about to attempt to either fix it or just pull the rest of her hair out from under her jacket when suddenly... she went flying.

She was rounding one of the outer curves of the mountain, almost a near white out zone in the growing blizzard, when her bike just tipped, slid and threw her like a rag doll.

The bluenette's amazement at the weightlessness of her body abruptly shattered as she hit the ground legs first.

She didn't know if she heard the snap but she couldn't really think at all as intense pain moved from her feet up her spine. Natsuki didn't even realize until she stopped rolling down the hill, dazed and confused, that she had landed and was now lying face down in snow - the cold quickly seeping into her clothing.

The pain was immense but she somehow managed to roll on her back with gritted teeth. She wanted to scream but couldn't. The air had been knocked out of her. The entire world seemed to be shaking. She had the urge to throw up but couldn't. Was she breathing yet? Blackness surged in her vision - a stark contrast to the pure white of the snow around her. She couldn't think. Too painful. So cold...

...and suddenly warm.

Natsuki eyes shot open as something pierced her chest. She gaped like a fish as her lungs took in greedy mouthfuls of air. Had she died?

Everything was too fuzzy for her to grasp what was happening. She couldn't move her head but it was raised enough in the snow for her to move emerald eyes from the sky to her chest. Something was sticking out of it amongst the black leathers. A needle? What were they called? Syringe maybe?

Thoughts were pain laced and sluggish. She felt like there was something she had to do in an accident like this? Stay awake? She tried but her eyelids were so heavy.

She gave into whatever weight seemed to be closing her eyes and driving the pain away. Darkness ensued.

The last thing she saw were hands entering her vision before her head was tilted to stare into eyes - red as blood.