Strange Days

Part One

It had all started with an attempt to get back home. As Suzuki Yuri finally stepped back into the spring that had originally brought her to the ancient Hittite Empire, she had to use all of her willpower to prevent herself from looking back….and, subsequently, running back into Kail's arms shortly afterwards.

"Can't look back……Can't look back……Can't look back….." Yuri silently chanted in her mind like a sutra; struggling to ward off the crushing feelings of sorrow at leaving the prince's side like this. Yet, before she had any time to react, something suddenly knocked her into the spring, and pulled her down; not leaving her enough time to even hold her breath before the plunge.

"I'm going to drown! Help! Kail!" Yuri frantically thought, as she struggled to swim up towards the surface; feeling some relief when she felt the bottom beneath her booted feet, yet allowing some confusion to emerge within her, when she noticed that it was smooth.

"Was the bottom of the spring lined with stone? I can't remember….." Yuri mused, increasing her efforts when she saw a faint light appear above her.

"Finally!" Yuri thought, as she raced for the surface as fast as she could go.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

Marie Suzuki sighed, as she made her way to the bathroom with her bath towels and nightclothes in hand. It had been close to two years since her younger sister, Yuri, had disappeared without a trace, and still her family grieved. The intelligent, happy-go-lucky teenager had been a constant joy to her family…..and she found it especially hard to believe she was gone.

"I'm getting depressed again. It won't help the situation any, to worry like this…..But I can't seem to help it. I can't just give up on my little sister!" Marie thought, as she entered the bathroom and began to get the tub ready for her bath. As she settled into the tub and watched the water fill it, other thoughts began to run through her mind, especially of the time when Yuri had almost 'drowned' in that same tub…..now beginning to wonder if there had been some grain of truth in what the younger girl had tried to tell her and Eimi then. She was startled from her thoughts when something odd began to happen; the water in front of her suddenly started bubbling, and what appeared to be hair appeared in front of her!

"Kami-sama!!" Marie almost screamed, as she got out of the water as fast as she could go (almost slipping and falling in the process), and then watching from a safe distance just what was happening.

"Marie-chan? Daijobu?" a woman's voice called, concernedly.

"Mama…..something weird is happening! Get in here, quick!" Marie replied, as she hurriedly grabbed her towel and wrapped it around her; listening as her mother and Eimi rushed into the room and stood beside her, their eyes widening at the bizarre occurrence.

"What in the world…..?!" the woman muttered; falling silent when something abruptly broke through the water, gasped for air, and just about hit its' head on the rim of the tub while it was at it.

"Wait…..Is that……?" Eimi began to say, as the thing (which now appeared to be a seventeen-year-old girl) blearily looked up at them and smiled.

"Yuri!!" the woman suddenly shouted, as she rushed forward and wrapped her arms around the girl's sodden shoulders; sobbing with relief as she did that.

"What happened to you? Where in the world have you been?! We've all been worried sick!" the woman scolded, the tears in her eyes and the overjoyed smile on her face ruining the effect her words may have had. At this, Yuri could only manage a watery smile of her own.

"I made it back, Mama…..I really did." Yuri whispered; sniffling as she took in the faces of those she had missed so dearly in the past two years.

"We're glad you're back, Nee-chan!" Eimi said, gleefully; just as relieved as her mother and sister was about her elder sister's reappearance. But the surprises weren't over yet. Almost as soon as Yuri had caught her breath, and was able to stand up on her own, another bizarre thing happened; as they watched, what appeared to be the body of a man floated to the surface of the water……and alarm appeared on Yuri's face, when she saw this occur and seemed to realize who it was.

"Oh no……Kail! Mama, Onee-chan, help me! He'll drown if we don't get him out!" Yuri yelped, as she dove forward and grabbed the man's arms; struggling to pull him out of the tub and onto the linoleum around it.

"Calm down, Yuri-chan. I'll help you." The woman said, quietly, as she also took hold of one of the man's arms (gently moving her daughter aside so she could latch onto his other arm), and together they pulled the senseless man from the tub. In the meantime, Marie's mind was in shambles; not only had her sister returned in the strangest way, but she'd also brought a man with her!

"And a drop-dead gorgeous man, at that……" Marie mused, as she quickly got dressed, and returned to her mother's and Yuri's sides; wanting to be of as much help as she could, to her sister, and the stranger she'd brought with her into their lives.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

Yuri tried her best to tamp down on her rising panic, when she saw that Kail's face was getting paler, and his lips were turning blue.

"Not good…..he may have inhaled some water." Yuri's mother murmured, as she also noticed how shallow Kail's breaths were, when he even tried to breathe.

"Let me try!" Yuri said, as she carefully opened Kail's mouth, angled his head back, clamped his nose shut, put her mouth over his and blew and as strongly as she could. At first, nothing happened, and the second try yielded the same results……Then, on the third attempt, she got a response. With a gurgling cough, Kail choked up the water that had found its' way into his lungs; hacking almost painfully as he was turned onto his side, and his back was pounded on to help loosen whatever was left in his chest.

"Kail? Are you okay?" Yuri asked, worriedly, as she tearfully looked down at his pallid features.

"Yu…..ri? Wh-where…..?" Kail whispered, before Yuri gently put a hand to his lips to quiet him.

"Please stay calm, Kail…….I'll explain in a little while where you are, okay?" Yuri asked, in turn. With a weary nod, Kail agreed; finally truly settling down when his head was carefully placed on her lap, and drifting into exhausted slumber shortly afterwards.

"Yuri-chan? Who is this? Is he…..?" Marie asked, yet got a plaintive look from the younger girl in response to her questions.

"I'll explain as much as I can, after Kail has been settled, okay?" Yuri said, tiredly.

"Okay….." Marie agreed, even though her curiosity was growing by the moment. As they all slowly hoisted Kail onto their shoulders, Yuri could tell that she was in for a long evening of questioning; her mother looked worried, Marie seemed a little suspicious of Kail, and Eimi was, for once, quiet….

"This is definitely gonna take some explaining!" Yuri inwardly sighed, as they carried the senseless Hittite king into the guest bedroom…..and her family was just the 'icing on the cake'. How in the world was she going to explain to Kail just how her time worked?

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

The first sensation that returned to him was touch. He could feel what seemed to be cloth against his skin, the texture telling him that they were bedsheets of some kind. Then he noticed that the air around him was cool; almost as though it were autumn or winter again.

"But I know for a fact that it has to be spring! The Morning Star had been high in the sky when I'd sent Yuri back to her own country!" Kail thought, bewilderingly, as he slowly became conscious enough to open his eyes…..Instantly regretting that decision, when the light through the window struck them and made his head throb painfully within his skull.

"Curse it….." Kail hissed, painfully, as he quickly closed them again, and placed an arm over them, for added measure.

"Kail? Are you all right?" Yuri's voice asked, from close by; her drowsy tone hinting that she had been asleep up until just then, and had awakened when she'd heard him speak.

"Yuri…..? What in the world happened?" Kail asked, turning his head in her direction, but keeping his eyes closed, in an effort to ward off the pain.

"You sent me home, remember?" Yuri asked, after hesitating for a few moments.

"Yes……But what happened afterwards? Did you turn back?" Kail again asked. He could almost see it when the girl shook her head.

"No……I'm in Japan now…..we…..both are….." Yuri replied. At this, Kail's eyes shot open, and he gave Yuri a disbelieving look in response to this.

"In……your homeland?" Kail muttered, after a few stunned moments. Yuri nodded.

"Oh gods……" Kail mumbled, as he put one hand over his face, and breathed a shaky sigh, "What a predicament!"

"Kail?" Yuri questioned, worryingly. At this, Kail could only utter another sigh, and then look up at Yuri; somehow managing a smile, despite what this meant.

"I suppose I'll need to get to know your country, somewhat?" Kail asked, rhetorically; his words getting an odd reaction from Yuri. At first, she seemed shocked at how well he seemed to be taking this, uneasy, and then a giddy smile appeared on her childish face.

"Sure! Wait a minute, and I'll be right back!" Yuri said, as she quickly stood and made to leave the room.

"Yuri." Kail called, as he gently grabbed her wrist, pulled her close to him, and kissed her……releasing her, seconds after that.

"Just a kiss, this time?" Yuri asked, curiously; a bit taken aback by the usually lecherous king's restraint, this time. At this, Kail allowed a wry smile to cross his face.

"Judging from how you had reacted when we had first met, I don't think it would be very wise of me to try the same here." Kail replied, then added, as his eyes got a hint of a wicked glint in them, "Yet, if you wish, we can go a bit further than just a kiss."

"You lech." Yuri muttered, half-heartedly; smiling mischievously at him as she said that, before kissing him on the tip of his nose in retaliation to that comment, and then sauntering off.

"But that is why you love me, is it not?" Kail asked, with a laugh, before he got another pillow thrown at him, in answer to that.

"Maybe this country won't be so bad, after all….." Kail mused, his spirits already lifted when he'd seen how happy Yuri was acting. Little did he realize just what kind of learning curve was ahead of him…..

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

"How's your friend doing, Yuri-chan? Has he woken up yet?" Marie asked, when she'd seen the seventeen-year-old emerge from the guest room.

"Hai. He's a little confused, but otherwise he's just fine." Yuri replied, the relief in her voice very evident.

"Is it true, Nee-chan? Is he really a famous Hittite king?" Eimi questioned, eagerly. At this, Yuri could only sigh in exasperation.

"Hai….he is. I just wonder how he's going to react to seeing everything here. I'll even have to explain electricity to him!" Yuri muttered, then added, "I was more used to being the student, not the teacher!"

"Then we'll just have to help you, right, Onee-chan?" Eimi said, as she looked up at Marie.

"I guess so….." Marie agreed; jumping slightly when a slight thump came from the guest room, and Yuri rushed back upstairs to see what had happened, with Eimi and Marie right behind her.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

Yuri couldn't help but chuckle, when she entered the room again, and saw what Kail had gotten himself into. The bedsheets had somehow managed to get tangled around his long legs; effectively bringing him down in a cursing heap.

"Better be glad he's using his own language……Don't think Mama and Tou-san would really appreciate Eimi picking up any more bad language……." Yuri mused; giggling, despite herself, when Kail growled a foul-sounding epithet about Nakia's ancestors (and knowing, without even needing to really be there, that the evil queen was now sneezing her head off, in response to it).

"Not a word, Yuri. Not a single word." Kail grumbled, as he finally got his legs untangled, and then lifted himself from the floor; wincing when he felt how stiff he truly was, and then pausing when he noticed that Yuri wasn't alone, this time.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Kail." Yuri replied, cheekily, then glanced at her sisters, "By the way, this is my older sister, Marie, and my younger sister, Eimi."

"Good to meet you, Kail-sama!" Eimi chirped, cheerfully.

"Yes. It's good to meet you." Marie added, politely.

"Likewise." Kail replied, bemused by Eimi's bubbly personality, and Marie's more sedate, patient one; seeing how Yuri was a good mixture of the two…..and also seeing how this land was easier on them.

"They've had none of the internal strife I've had to grow up with…..In which case, they have been very fortunate." Kail thought, as he then stood, and looked to Yuri for the next course of action……only to find himself confused, when she uttered a squeak of surprise, and then dove to cover Eimi's eyes. On the same token, Marie was blushing profusely; her face practically glowing in embarrassment, even as her eyes remained riveted to him. Finally thinking to look down, Kail could see what now had the girls to flustered; he was completely nude!

"Oh kami……I'd completely forgotten that Mama had removed his clothes so they could be dried off!" Yuri thought, as she looked up at Kail and gave him a look that was a cross between mortified, and minutely irritated, since he was just standing there, and making no attempt to cover himself.

"Do you like what you see?" Kail asked, with his usual lady-killer smile. Marie could only nod dumbly in response.

"Uh-huh….." Marie replied, almost incoherently, through her beet-red blush.

"Onee-chan, you're drooling." Yuri muttered, dryly, before hissing at Kail, "Get covered up! Eimi-chan's too young to see…..that….yet!"

"As you wish." Kail answered, with a gracious smile…..before promptly turning around and showing them his bare butt, instead.

"KAIL!!" Yuri shouted, in exasperation; only further frustrated when he started laughing at her.

"Infuriating man! This is gonna be a long week!" Yuri thought, in annoyance, as she ushered both of her sisters out of the guest room, so Kail could at least get covered up again. She never even realized just how right she would be, about that!

Author's Note!

Very odd idea for a story, I know (and yes, I have indeed read all of Red River, up until the most recent release. This just makes an interesting 'what if'!) Hopefully I'll be able to manage a few surprises, in the meantime! Thanks for reading!

Gemini14