Finding Home Chapter 1 Edited
Puck ran after me, her long nails clicking on the tile cold tile of the kitchen floor. My bare feet struggled for a grip as I played with the dog. I waved the slobber –soaked white whale around from over the island, laughing as her head swiveled back and forth before turning around and barking at the door, wanting out. I looked at her, dropping the abused plushy onto the counter and rubbed her on the head.
"Come on, Puck. Let's go - " I cut myself off, as I opened the door and saw the rain pounding down from the angry-looking sky. "Oh no. Not right." I huffed and looked down at my large grey t-shirt and the short pj shorts covered in cute frogs. Looking over at the dog, I shook my head and stepped out onto the porch, feeling the puddles of rain water that had been blown there by the harsh wind. I ducked my head and ran out, Puck by my side. I hooked her to the rope tied around the basketball goal, retreating back the dry porch as soon as my chilly, wet fingers fumbled the hook on the loop of her leather collar.
As soon as she was done, I jumped from my haven and onto the wet grass and unhooked her, taking off toward the porch's offer of dry. Puck ran after me, her droopy jaws flying outward as she ran to the steps, clearing three of them and taking the last two quickly. I closed the door after us and grabbed a towel. As I dried us off, I smiled. I could hear her nails tearing into the carpet as she raced away from me, through the living room. A yawn forced itself from my mouth.
"I'll just take a nap real quick." I walked into the living room, laying down on the couch and relaxing. My eyes drifted closed and just before I fell into sleep, I felt a sharp pain in my temples. I grunted, but didn't feel like getting up to see what had happened, and since I was fine, I just let myself sleep.
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A banging in my head and a throbbing in my side woke me up. Groaning, I pulled my eyes open and rubbed the sleep out of them. Sitting up, I looked around, not fully taking in my surroundings until something dropped from my hand onto hard-packed earth. My eyes tracked a marble, clear in color and reflecting the light from somewhere. I reached over and picked it up, my hand cradling it in the palm. The light looked natural, like the noonday sun. I looked up, searching for a source. The sun beat down on me from above.
"Holy pancakes!" I breathed. I wasn't home, or anywhere else I knew for that matter. The world was bright and I was surrounded with trees. I was standing In the middle of a wide, well-traveled, dirt road that wound through the a flat countryside. I groaned, looking down at my clothes. I was still in my shorts, but instead of my t-shirt, I wore a tight fitting, camo tank top. On top of that was a light blue haori with white triangle things at the end of the sleeves. I stood, not liking not knowing where I was. Reaching around, I pulled a bag up from the ground. It was a purple-blue drawstring bag. I tugged it open and reached my hand inside. It seemed to go on forever like Mary Poppins' bag. I sighed, and sat back down in a huff, giving up on the bag. It landed beside me in a puff of dry, red dirt.
"Man," I said. "I really wish I had my music right about now . . ." I looked back at the bag, wanting to check it one more time. As I pulled it over to me, I noticed that it had gained some weight to itself. Reaching my hand in one more time, I grasped my ipod, pulling headphones out with it. I grinned, then stopped. How the heck did that happen? The bag was empty before . . . Anyway, I put one of the ear buds in and turned the music up. I flipped to 'Time to Get a Gun' by Miranda Lambert. I sang along with it while I looked around. Getting to my feet, I brushed the dirt from my knees. I studied my surroundings, trying to figure out which direction to go in. I opened the bag again, hoping to find a map or something that would show me where to go. While I was doing that, the next song came on: 'If I die Young' by The Band Perry. My hand brushed something so I pulled it from the bag. It wasn't a map. It was a balled up piece of paper. I tugged the paper to its former shape and read the words written on it. It said: "Find the Roshigumi and, uh, put some pants on."
"What the HELL?!"
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I looked down at the blue jean shorts I found in the magic bag. They fit like a glove. I was worried though about the note. Who had given me the bag and why? Also, why was I supposed to look for the Roshigumi? I had heard of them before, but it was in an anime.
"That's where the haori comes from!" It all made sense now: the Roshigumi were the early form of the Shinsengumi and I was wearing one of their shirts . . . That could mean only one thing. Holy crap! I was in Hakuouki! I was in my favorite anime with a magic bag that gave me anything I wanted! The day was going pretty good actually.
That is until about a good six hours after I started walking in the direction of the setting sun, hoping I would find them before the good stuff happened. I was still walking when the sun started fell behind the horizon, but in the distance once the tree line had fallen far behind me, I could see the outline of a village. The more I walked, the more I worried about how I was going to defend myself. I was very good at archery and fencing due to a camp I went to every summer, but that did me no good if I didn't have a weapon. Also, my stomach was starting to growl. It looked as if I still had a good hour's walk ahead of me. I groaned, wishing I had woken up some place closer to civilization. An eerie noise came from the darkness around me and I picked up my dragging feet. A high screech from some creature filled the darkness and I was gone. My feet pounded fast against the dry earth and my breathing came quick. As the village came closer, my heart rate slowed until I heard another noise. Then, I was at it again. I made it to the outskirts of the village, my bare feet, sore and dirty and my breathing labored. I grunted and slowed to a walk, huffing and trying to fill my empty lungs. I stumbled, but caught myself before I fell. Everything was dark, and I could barely see a thing. I squinted, trying to make out shapes when I remembered I had a magic bag. I pulled out a flashlight and the iPod I had stashed back in there while I was walking, along with a pretty decent looking sword. I flipped the flashlight on and swept it around, getting a general idea of where I was. I shoved it back in the bag as soon as I heard voices coming towards me.
"Crap!" I muttered under my breath, and ducked to the side, taking cover in an alley. A group of about four or five people passed by holding lanterns that shed light dangerously close to me. I prayed quietly under my breath until they were gone. They were dressed in the same haori as I was. Okay, so I was in the right place and obviously Serizawa had gotten the matching shirts. I took stock of myself in my head. I decided quickly that I needed to eat and sleep. Reaching into the bag, I thought 'food' and felt it gain weight. I pulled out a couple Twinkies and a dozen donuts from Krispy Kreme. I grinned, sitting down, I opened the donut box. I quickly finished those off and started in on the Twinkies. They soon joined their predecessors in my belly. I leaned back against the building and moaned at the feeling of contentment in my stomach. I sat like that for a few more seconds before shoving the trash into the bag and standing. There was no way I could just stay on the streets and I didn't know the policy for curfew if there even was one. I looked down at my toes, the dark purple nail polish making my toes look super short in the darkness. I wiggled them, wishing it wasn't so humid out. My long dirty-blond hair made the back of my neck feel about 200 degrees. I pulled it up, the hairband that was still wrapped around my wrist helping me keep my hair in a sloppy bun at the top of my head. Poking my head out from my hiding place, I made sure the men were gone before slipping out, bag over my shoulder and a full stomach. The only thoughts in my head were f a place to sleep. My mind went over the possibilities and I crossed each off one by one. I decided to find a secluded spot and rest as much as I could for the night.
My feet dragged the ground and I smiled when I saw another side street dead ended. I forced myself into the corner, pulling a light blanket from the bag, I wrapped myself in it and placed the bag under my head. I wondered just as I fell asleep if I could pull out the cloak of invisibility. My eyes slipped closed and I drifted off in the blackness.
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The sun woke me again and sleep left me feeling refreshed. I stretched slowly, like a cat, and gathered my things, shoving the blanket back from where it came. I had to think for a while about what to do with the sword, but finally decided to hang it from my hip, pulling a sword just like it out to hang it from my other hip. Once I was ready, I strolled lazily from my hiding spot, remembering it for the future. Around me were many shops and places set up along the road. They were filled with people attending to business or, as far as I could see, just shopping. All around me I heard whispers around me and people moved out of the way as I passed. I received many strange stares and shocked glances. I just kept on walking, not really caring. A few men made rude comments but I flipped them off and kept going. The swords bounced lightly against my bare legs.