DISLCAIMER: I do not own Kenshin or Fushigi Yuugi, I am just using the characters and plot for my own fun. :)


PROLOGUE:

I find myself standing in what feels like old Japan, temples and mountains are sprinkled in the distance. People are walking by wearing old hakamas and Kimonos, bustling about their business, a stark contrast to my faded jeans and t-shirt. I feel strangely out of place in this ancient city, but nobody seems to notice me. It's some sort of marketplace with the sky a clear cerulean overhead, and a lingering smell of soap and sandalwood drifting by my nose, tickling my senses. Somehow I recognize that scent, but don't ask me from where because I couldn't tell you.

Suddenly I'm not in the marketplace anymore, but an infinite darkness surrounds me with the exception of dense white fog at my feet, creeping up to my knees. I can see a faint red light in the distance, and I start running towards it with long black hair swaying from a high ponytail. My feet pound the wooden floor, a familiar feeling from years of practice in my father's kendo studio, but they produce no sound. I can hear familiar voices, my parents, telling me that I need to study harder or I won't get a good job. My grades must stay high or my scholarship will be lost. Doubts of my own intelligence overwhelm my psyche and my thighs are pushing me faster, so fast as if I'm weightless.

The light is brighter now, so I know I must be getting closer. Wisps of smoke dance around my feet as I press on. There is something there in the epicenter of nothingness it seems, the crimson glow almost blinding. I can see it, calling to me, beckoning me to reach for it. My arm moves on its own, stretching out in front of me, and my fingertip brushes something soft, silky even.

There is a ringing noise in the distance, but I block it out because the radiance is so beautiful, but it seems further away now, and my legs are aching as I speed faster to catch it. What is it? The thought drifts through my mind as I see a pair of golden eyes coming through the light, the eyes of a man. Smoldering as they look into me, my breath catching in my throat. There is softness in his features, but a dangerous aura surrounds him, smothering any thoughts of femininity from his pretty face. And what a face, a single diagonal scar graces his left cheek, glaring at me. Flaming red hair blows by his features, shading his eyes, but not before I see something on his forehead, a symbol. It's glowing luminescence radiating through the mist and mingling with the surrounding scarlet. I'm not sure what it means, but when I look again it has gone. He smiles at me, a seductive smile that I have only read about in romance novels.

There is a strength that seems to emanate off of him as he reaches for me. I stop running, soft red light is surrounding us, and the fog is almost to my shoulders now. My heart is racing, a steady beat as his hand delicately reaches behind my neck, tilting my head up towards his, and I look into his eyes. Somehow they are violet now, but no less mesmerizing as he brings his lips down towards my ear. Tiny hairs on the nape of my neck react to the close contact by standing on ends, and he says, ever so softly, "Kaoru…" My name sounds like music in his masculine voice, as if he has always been meant to say only my name.

My knees buckle under me, but I can feel his strong arms reach around my waist, holding me, pulling me closer. The heat of our bodies mingle as he pulls his head back, and rests his forehead on mine, our lips a breath apart. "Kaoru… wake up," he whispers, "wake up tanuki or you'll miss your exam!" My eyes flutter open.


Well I hope you like the prologue. I have edited it since yesterday, so I think it sounds better than if you read it then. I will try to write the first chapter tonight, and have it out by tomorrow. Thanks for reading! Please review; it makes me want to write more!

For those of you who started reading this story earlier, I apologize for the delay in update, but I was a little busy with my new baby girl :) So, I have decided to completely rewrite the story in a different style because I didn't really like the previous version. Thanks, and please review, it makes me happy! I promise to update this on a regular basis now that the baby is sleeping through the night haha. ^_^x